Staring at AJ in bed next to me, I still couldn't help but feel sick myself. She was grunting in pain on occasion, and holding onto her stomach. I sat up and sighed, looking at the clock. Three in the morning. I rubbed my eyes and gently got out of bed, making my way out of the room and into the kitchen. It was pretty dark, so I had to pretty much hug the wall when I walked towards the kitchen. I gave a silent yawn and opened up the fridge, pulling out a small can of iced tea. The caffeine definitely wasn't gonna do me any good, but, hey. I wasn't gonna catch much sleep anyway.
"Alex?" A quiet voice called out from behind me, catching me totally off guard. As such, I nearly choked on my drink, and fell into a suppressed coughing fit. "Alex, are you alright?" Fluttershy then said, revealing herself into the small light of the open fridge. A few moments later, I caught my breath, and wiped my eyes. "I'm so sorry, Alex." Fluttershy said, letting her hair fall and cover the right side of her face.
"No, it's alright," I said, albeit a bit hoarsely. I cleared my throat, and looked down at Fluttershy. "Why are you up?" I asked her.
"Well, I couldn't really sleep…Then I heard something out here, and thought it'd be a good idea to just… Come out." She replied hesitantly. I quirked a brow, not entirely understanding her response, but I moved the conversation along all the same.
"Oh, I see… Would you like a drink?" I asked. She shook her head no.
"…How's Applejack?" She asked, glancing up at me. I stared down at my drink for a minute before replying.
"Still feeling the effects. She's sleeping, but I don't think she'll have the greatest morning." I replied honestly.
"…Oh." She replied. Another moment of silence, and I heard Fluttershy give a small and, honestly, adorable yawn. I smiled a bit and shook my head.
"Go back to bed, Fluttershy. You sound tired." I said, still smiling. She looked up at me and blushed a bit, returning the smile.
"R-right. Um, goodnight, then." She said. She stood there for a few seconds, just looking at me, before turning and walking down the hallway. I sighed and scratched the back of my head, ruffling up my hair, before going and sitting on the couch. The dark and quiet air of the room surprisingly put me to sleep, despite the caffeine running through my system. Seems like my body was trying to force a shut down, and I felt myself surrender to my exhaustion.
"Alex?" A quiet and weak voice asked. I opened my eyes, and glanced at the clock on the stove. It was only an hour after I fell asleep. I looked up to see a slightly dizzy Applejack.
"AJ! Are you okay?" I asked, quickly standing up and going to support her before she swayed anymore. She shook her head and sniffled, leaning her head against my shoulder.
"No, Ah'm not. I don't feel good at all. Ah hate this feeling. Ah'm scared, Alex." She admitted, slowly beginning to cry.
"Oh, Applejack..." I said quietly, holding on to the scared girl. It was tough, trying to keep a strong face for her and refusing to cry, but I managed. I sat her down beside me, and AJ began to calm down, though still frequently shuddering in pain or discomfort. "Shh…" I whispered, gently running my hand over her hair, staring straight ahead.
This continued until the first rays of sunlight poked through the windows. By that time, AJ had finally fallen back to sleep. Fluttershy and Twilight were the first ones up, entering the living room and looking surprised to see us.
"Alex, Applejack…How's she feeling?" Twilight asked, lowering her voice when she realized that AJ was asleep.
"Sobering up. She's gonna have a nasty hangover, though." I whispered in reply, looking back down at AJ.
"Hangover?" Fluttershy inquired.
"It's the pain your body feels after you drink too much alcohol." I explained simply. The two nodded in understanding.
"I'll get some breakfast ready." Twilight stated, walking to the kitchen. I watched her get some things out of the fridge and pantry, and sighed before rubbing my tired eyes.
When I opened my eyes again, the other girls had appeared in the kitchen as well, helping Twilight prepare a light breakfast. I looked down at AJ, who seemed to have awoken the same time as me.
"Hey, AJ. Feelin' better?" I asked her, and she looked up at me with those bright emerald eyes.
"Ah…Honestly, Ah feel like I've been run over by a wagon." She replied with a weak chuckle.
"To be expected. You did drink a bunch of whiskey last night." I replied with a small chuckle of my own. She playfully punched me in the chest, before sitting up and stretching, then quickly bringing her hands to her head as the pain came back.
"Ohhh, nuts, that doesn't feel nice." She said quickly.
"Here," I began, moving next to her and gently rubbing my fingers against her temples in a circular motion. "Feel better?" I asked after a few seconds.
"I-it is helpin' a bit, yeah." She admitted, closing her eyes a bit. I continued for another minute, before stopping, and clasping her shoulders. I gave her a quick smile, before turning and walking to my room.
The rest of the day went rather smoothly, as AJ recovered after breakfast. The day consisted of lazing about and watching television, which was a treat for them. Pinkie even suggested we watch some 'Friendship is Magic.' It was nice to see that they were all accepting of the fact that they were just a television series in my world. But, to me, they were real no matter what. Friendship isn't supposed to be separated by anything, whether it's worlds, gender, or, hell, even species.
Afternoon had come, and Gray and Dana came to visit, bringing along some more clothes and other necessities for the girls. Dana took them to the restroom, and I was left with Gray in the living room. Excusing myself, I got up and wandered around my house, and found myself in front of his room again. I sighed and shook my head, staring intently at the door. An instinct inside me told me to open it. Just to go in, sit down, and think about it all. But I forced my brain to think otherwise, and practically had to tear myself away from the spot. I walked back to the kitchen to get a drink, ignoring Gray's questioning glance, and struggled to move my mind elsewhere, but to little success. I brought my glass of water with me as I stared at the door once more.
"Alex?" A voice called out, catching me completely off guard. I yelped and jumped, dropping my glass of water. As fate would have it, the small twist of lemon I had in the cup slid under the doorway, and I groaned in annoyance. Rarity, the source of the voice that startled me, approached me with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sorry, did I scare you?" She asked in slight surprise.
"A bit, yes..." I replied quietly, staring down at the doorway.
"...Aren't you going to get it?" Rarity asked.
"Get what?" Dana asked, exiting the master bedroom with the others. Rarity took a moment to explain the past thirty seconds, and Rainbow Dash scoffed.
"It's just a little lemon, why hasn't he gotten it yet?" She inquired, reaching for the door. I quickly shot my hand down to intercept her extended arm, keeping her from even touching the doorknob.
"Don't." I said quickly, and she wrenched her hand away.
"Hey! What's your problem?" Rainbow asked in annoyance.
"...That's his room." I said in a whisper.
"Whose room?" Applejack asked.
"My brother." I replied hesitantly. The girls instantly understood my reluctance to step foot inside.
"Well, why can't you go in there?" Twilight asked.
"I just can't, okay? I haven't stepped foot in there since...Since..." I trailed off, clenching the dog tags around my neck.
"Alright, Alex. We understand. Would you like one of us to go in there and clean it up?" Fluttershy asked carefully. Again, I replied with a vigorous shake of the head.
"No. No, don't go in there." I said, my voice like steel. Grayson entered the hallway, and if I could guess, I'd say he knew what was going on.
"Alex, it's just his room! Why are you getting so upset?" Rainbow asked in annoyance.
"Because you don't understand the situation, Dash! Okay? You have no idea how long it's been since I even touched that door knob! I can't go in there! I can't! No one can!" I cried out. Realizing the damage she dealt, Rainbow Dash recoiled, crossing her arms and furrowing her brow.
"Alex, calm down." Dana said sternly.
"No! No, you all think that it's nothing, that it's just a room! It isn't! It’s not just a room!" I sobbed, feeling the remnants of my sanity slowly wither away.
"Alex! Calm down!" Gray said, taking a step towards me. I stepped back in fear, hitting the wall behind me.
"Don't tell me to be calm!" I shouted. The other girls looked at me with worry, but Dana and Gray knew better. They looked at me in fear. This was like déjà vu for the two of them. They remembered seeing me like this, backing away like an animal being driven to a corner, ready to snap and lash out. It was just like that day, all those years ago...
"Alex! What did you do?" My mom asked, looking at the hole in my wall. I clenched my gloved hands, ignoring her and talking to Gray and Dana, though they looked at my mother.
"What hole?" I asked tersely.
"What do you mean what hole? The one in your room!" She explained, and I scoffed. "Alex, what is with you all of a sudden? You've become so disrespectful lately! Ever since your broth-"
"Alright, I'll fix it!" I interjected, standing up abruptly.
"Don't interrupt me like that! Especially in front of your friends!" She shot back.
"Alex, maybe we should go...?" Gray asked uncomfortably, as he and Dana sat upright.
"Fine, whatever!" I snapped, but that only angered him.
"Hey, man, you need to calm down!" He retorted.
"Don't tell me to be calm! Just leave me alone!" I said, stepping back as Gray took a cautious step towards me, staring at me with worry.
"Alex, man...You're scaring me." He said shakily.
"Good! Maybe you should go, then! Wouldn't want crazy Alex to scare you all!" I said backing away, hitting the wall behind me. Mom looked on the verge of tears, staring at me in fear, and Gray took another step closer.
"Alex...Come on, man." He said.
"Go away!" I shouted, letting my right fist fly forward.
The psych evaluation the next day didn't go too well. They diagnosed me with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the stressor being the sudden loss of a family member. What killed me the most, was how everyone seemed to forgive me, almost as if I was normal. As if I wasn't crazy.
I opened my eyes to rid myself of the memories, and Gray was still staring at me in fear, and kept a good distance. Refusing to let myself see their pained expressions, I heard a gasp, and was suddenly pulled into a gentle embrace. My first instinct was to defend myself, but my body didn't move, or react to my commands. A soothing voice then spoke in my ear.
"It's alright, Alex...We don't have to go in there..." Fluttershy said gently, running her hand down my back. She leaned my head against her shoulder, and I stood in utter shock. Then, as if nothing had happened, as if I never had this mental breakdown, the others slowly crowded around me. Again, my base reaction was to run. Mow them all down and run. But I didn't. I let Fluttershy soothe me, let the others embrace me, and I just stared ahead in utter confusion.
"You're alright, man. You're alright." Grayson said quietly.
"Promise?" I asked with a scratchy voice.
"Yeah, man. I promise." He replied, managing to keep his voice from faltering.
They led me back into the living room, where they sat me down. I went on and on, apologized at least a hundred times for what I had just put them through. But they only smiled and shook their heads, telling me not to worry, that I had nothing to apologize for. They treated me as if I were normal. As if I really wasn't crazy.
... As if everything would really be okay.
( A/N
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Also, BIG update! As I said before, I needed to change the title, and I've made my decision. By next update, this story will be changed from 'Brave New World' to 'Torn Between Two Worlds', so look out!
Again, thank you Pissfer for editing.
And don't forget to follow dat tumblr!
alexbarkhorn.tumblr.com
Thanks, everyone. Have a good night!