//------------------------------// // Confrontation // Story: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic -- Off The Record // by The King of Hearts //------------------------------// //// Confrontation //// Hours had passed, and Pinkie still had no idea where she was going to go with the information she had just been supplied with. So many things were thrown in the air when she learned of Rainbow Dash and her time spent with Speed, that she was having trouble keep track of exactly what it all meant. She had been over it again and again, and still wasn’t sure who the pony at fault here was. In his defense, despite her running from their first night together, she came back and asked for more, telling him that it was nothing more than an… exchange. She got to release tension, and he got, well, to bang Rainbow Dash. In many circumstances, that would be a dream come true for any guy. But, from what the letter said, he obviously fell in love with her over the months they secretly spent together. Had she really kept using him, despite hearing that? Any sensible pony would have ended things right there. But, if she did indeed continue their relationship… that would make her terrible. However, on the other hoof, Speed may have had more control than Pinkie was giving him credit for. After all, he did practically beg Rainbow Dash in to sleeping with him, while she was drunk and he wasn’t. That’s like playing tennis with the net down. And further, despite his confession of love to her, he may have begged her to stay when she tried to leave, or he may have even only confessed his love to her on their last encounter before she ended things… But that letter did sound like it was the end-all. Had Alex not returned, would she have gone back? The problem was, there were too many questions. There were two ponies in the world who could answer these questions for her, and she had no idea where one of them was. So, truly, her only option to keep her from going mad with these endless questions, was to confront Rainbow Dash. But what if she exploded again? What if she lost her mind? Dash was obviously guilty that she had done what she did… Then it dawned on Pinkie. A sad, sad revelation. How bad did Rainbow Dash feel right now? Horrible. Worse than Pinkie had ever seen her friend. She was sad, she was exploding at her friends, and worst of all, she had lied to them all to cover it up. Those feelings couldn’t have just started now. If Pinkie were in the same situation, where somepony she loved went missing for an undetermined amount of time, and she were to sleep with some stranger, it would have destroyed her. It would have made her feel worse than that time she ate an entire wedding cake in one bite. And that was bad. So, if something were to make you feel so horrible, why would you go back ten more times? Pinkie was afraid of what the true answer might be. But, she needed to learn it for herself. No matter what it cost her, or Rainbow Dash. Her faith in one of her best friends was shaken, and she wanted nothing more than for this to be a grave misunderstanding. So. She was going to go to the source. The barracks in Ponyville. //// Rainbow Dash sat at her desk in silence. Across the table from her, was somepony she would usually be happy to see. The fun-loving Pinkie Pie. The mare she had spent countless hours with, partying, pulling pranks, and all around having a good time. But, not right now. Neither had exchanged a word yet, but they both knew the topic of conversation the moment Pinkie walked in to the room and threw a letter on the table. The letter Rainbow Dash had sent to her lover, Speed, a little over a month ago, when Alex had been freed from his stone imprisonment. It was a secret that had literally been ripping her apart from the inside since the changelings had been cast out of Canterlot. A part of her was incredibly happy to have the secret known by somepony else… but she knew that happiness wasn’t what she was going to be experiencing during this exchange between them. “Where did you get this?” Dash asked flatly, her eyes locked with Pinkie’s. “I think you know the answer to that question.” Pinkie said back, a sharp edge in her tone. Dash narrowed her eyes, and looked away from her friend, “Listen, Pinkie—“ “Don’t try to feed me some line, Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie barked, “You’ll answer every question I have!” “Fine.” She said, knowing this to be the best way of surviving this. “How many times did you see him?” Pinkie asked, her voice shaking in both fear, and anger. Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment, before looking up from her desk, “Twelve times.” A small squeak escaped from Pinkie’s throat, breaking both her own heart, and Rainbow Dash’s. However, she held her composure, and continued her line of questioning. “Why did you tell us all it happened once?” Pinkie asked, “If you had come out with it, everything would be so much better for you.” “Because!” Dash said, standing up, “I was supposed to be the one fighting for him! And I- I was out there fucking some other guy! How could I ever explain that to him? I almost convinced myself it only happened once, with the amount I lied about it…” Pinkie shook her head, and she thought back to Speed. “Did you go back to him, after he told you that he loved you?” Pinkie exhaled, knowing the answer already. “Yes…” Dash said sadly. “How could you do that?” Pinkie asked, not expecting an answer for this one, as she continued talking, “How could you play with the feelings of this guy? Nopony deserves to be used, Rainbow Dash.” She had no answer. “How could I ever look at you the same way again?” Pinkie asked, her voice tearing, showing her incredible sadness, “You might as well have gone out and murdered somepony, because… you’re not the pony I thought you were.” “You don’t know how lonely I was!” Dash retorted, her eyes now filled with tears, “A-and he… He reminded me so much of Alex!” “So that’s the only prerequisite?” Pinkie snapped, tears running down her own cheeks, “They have to remind you of the pony you love? Because it doesn’t sound to me like you love him!” Dash was silenced by this. “I understand a lapse in judgment, and I can even see it happening twice,” Pinkie said quietly, “But tonight, Rainbow Dash, I think you ended our friendship.” “Pinkie…” Dash muttered, having no luck finding the words for her “Lying, cheating, leading him on… you aren’t loyalty anymore.” She continued, smashing Dash’s heart to pieces, “I wish I’d just wake up from this horrible dream…” Dash wished that she could articulate her feelings about all those times she had cheated on Alex. But she was helpless to do so. What good would it do to say that she simply couldn’t control herself, because of how good it felt? None. “What are you going to tell everypony?” Dash asked quietly, fearing that this would be the end of her life as she knew it. “Nothing.” Pinkie said, turning and walking away from her. Dash perked up at hearing this. “On the condition that you come clean yourself,” Pinkie said over her shoulder, exhaling sadly still, “Prove to me that you still have somepony good inside of you.” Dash closed her eyes and felt that familiar, horrible pang of guilt. “Alex is my friend too, Rainbow Dash,” Pinkie said, “I won’t let him be kept in the dark for long.” And with that, Pinkie stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. Dash was able to hold herself up for only a moment, before she collapsed in to a quivering pile of worthlessness. She hated herself. She hated how much she loved what she did with Speed. And she hated the fact that his face would come to mind, while she was spending time with Alex. Pinkie was right. She was a monster. She had tainted what it meant to be loyal. And when she finally came clean to everypony… she was going to leave. There was no happiness in her life with Alex being lied to like this, and there would be no happiness even if he were to forgive her. “I’m sorry, Alex…” She muttered through her tears, “Soon, I won’t be your problem anymore…” //// I was truly a shame that Alex had decided to surprise Dash with dinner, as he was the third participant in the conversation between the two girls. ////