"I can't believe that just happened...Again..." Gray said after finally getting Alex in bed. Rainbow Dash nodded her agreement from a recliner, hunched over and scowling at a random space on the wall. 'I can't believe I was so mean to him!' She thought to herself, huffing lightly. 'I must have sounded like a total jerk...' She then thought, more sullenly this time.
"Ah can't believe he was that... scared." Applejack added in a whisper.
"My hands are still shaking..." Fluttershy whined with a sniffle, holding up her hands as proof. Rainbow tried her best to ignore the comments, still upset at herself.
"I just hope he gets a good night's rest, then tomorrow, he'll be as good as new!" Pinkie said optimistically, causing the others to smile. Even Rainbow couldn’t help but to couldn’t stop the ghost of a smile that danced across her lips.
"Rainbow Dash, are you alright? You seem quiet." Rarity asked as she observed Rainbow Dash silently from across the room. Rainbow’s head perked up as Rarity mentioned her name.
"Wha? Oh, right...No, I'm fine." She replied, sighing heavily.
"You're not a very good liar, sugarcube. Go on, tell us what's eatin' ya." Applejack said with a sad smile. Rainbow sighed again and closed her eyes.
"I just...I feel horrible, about the way I talked to Alex earlier," she began. "I mean, did you see his face? He looked like he was in pain. And...I didn't even care. I was just a jerk!" She spat, standing abruptly and walking into the kitchen, throwing the door to the fridge open and grabbing a juice box. The others simply looked at each other uncomfortably until Twilight stood up.
"You can't beat yourself up over that, Rainbow Dash. I mean, sure, maybe you didn't react fairly to Alex, but how were you to know how he'd react?" She said, trying to be helpful. Rainbow only shook her head, leaning against the fridge.
"I dunno...I just feel awful about it." She said with a sniffle, hanging her head in shame. Twilight also shook her head.
"Come on, Dashie, you seriously don't think Alex would stay mad at you just because of a few words, do you?" Dana asked with a smile. Rainbow shrugged in response.
"Trust me, sweetie, I'm sure it'd take more than just that to get Alex to be angry with you." Rarity assured with a smile of her own. Rainbow didn't shrug, only raised her head by just a bit.
"But...Did you hear what he said? I mean, he seemed really ticked off... He may not be mad, but still, I know I shouldn't have said any of those things." Rainbow said skeptically, shaking her head once again.
"Well, what do you think you should do, then?" Twilight asked, tilting her head and smiling softly. Rainbow opened her magenta colored eyes, and looked up, meeting Twilight's shimmering purple eyes.
"I should go in there, and apologize." She said, Twilight replying with a slow nod. She pushed herself off of the fridge, and set down her drink. "Fine, fine. You're right." She said with a soft chuckle. Looking at the others and taking a deep breath, she smiled before heading to Alex's room. She was about to knock, when she heard something on the other side of the door. Gently pressing her ear against the wood, she listened, and heard quiet, muffled sobbing. Rainbow felt a knot form in her throat, and her eyes welled up with tears. She let out a determined breath and knocked on the door, and the crying seemed to stop.
"Who is it?" Alex asked from the other side, his voice hoarse from the crying.
"It's me, Rainbow Dash. Can... Can I come in?" She asked slowly. There was a moment of silence that absolutely killed her. It felt like an hour. Finally, the door opened, just a crack. Through the gloom of the room she could see that the bags under Alex’s eyes had returned. And speaking of his eyes, they were a dull silver in color, any hint of their usual midnight blue had disappeared, not to mention that they were bloodshot from all the shed tears. And his raven-like, jet black hair was a mess and shaggy all over.
"Yeah?" He asked, his voice was evidently strained. He tried clearing his throat to cover up.
"I, uh... Can we talk?" Rainbow asked, averting her gaze to the ground. Another moment of silence, and the door widened, allowing her to enter. Now that she was in the room, she saw the only source of light in the dark room was the soft glow of the television. Alex sighed and sat on the bed, but Rainbow stood in the middle of the room. "Alex, I, uh..." She began, twiddling her thumbs together, a nervous habit she had apparently picked up from Alex.
"What is it?" Alex asked, with an unexpected tone in his voice. It wasn't annoyed, or upset. Not even tired. No, he sounded worried. She looked back over at Alex, who had stood up and was now approaching her. An instinct told Rainbow to back away from him, worried what he might do. But she managed to stand her ground, even as he stood just an arm’s length away. "Are...Are you alright?" Alex asked quietly, leaning in to get a better look at her.
Rainbow felt a warm feeling spread across her face as she stared at the eyes that were only inches away from her. It suddenly dawned on her why he was so close and she brought her fingers up to her eyes, feeling no tears. Good.
"Tch. Of course." She scoffed. Alex backed away, only by a bit, before placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Wanna tell me what the problem is, then?" He asked, sounding quite concerned at this point.
Her breathing wavered and her eyes twisted in confusion. "Aren't... aren't you mad at me?" She asked with a quavering voice.
Alex raised a brow in confusion. "Mad at you?" He repeated, before shaking his head. "Why would I be mad at you?" He returned to his spot on the bed as Rainbow started to explain.
"Because... because of what I said to you. Outside of... his room," she said her eyes closed in guilt. Suddenly she felt his arms wrap around her. She opened her eyes in utter surprise, and looked up at him.
"What do you mean?" He asked gently, cocking his head to the side a bit.
"Well...I mean, I was totally insensitive to you earlier. I sounded like a real jerk..." She replied, rubbing her tired eyes. Alex let out a soft chuckle.
"Rainbow, come on. Are you serious?" He asked. She looked at him again, and nodded. Alex sighed and brought his arms back to his sides, causing Rainbow to feel a strange sense of regret.
"Rainbow Dash, you're my friend. It's gonna take a lot more than just some mean words that stung for just a sec, don't ya think? Especially since you didn’t know it hurt." He asked, somewhat mimicking Dana, who spoke nearly the same words minutes before. As such, Rainbow Dash sighed
"I dunno...I just feel awful about it. I shouldn't have been so mean. Can you forgive me...?" She asked, choking on her words and trying to think of a different approach to the situation. Alex smiled softly, and nodded.
"Of course you’re forgiven, Dashie,” he said gently. “You already were." Rainbow smiled brightly, and happily accepted his offered embrace. She nuzzled up against his shoulder, and they sat there like that for a couple minutes. The silence was broken by a gentle yawn coming from Rainbow, causing Alex to laugh lightly. "Little tired, there?" He asked, pulling away. Rainbow pouted at the sudden break in contact.
"Yeah, kinda..." She replied in a mumble, messing with Alex's bedsheets. After a few more silent minutes Rainbow decided to speak, "Alex...?"
'Yes, Rainbow?" He replied, lacing his fingers together and hunching over a bit, supporting himself by placing his elbows on his thighs.
"Mind if I crash here tonight?" She then asked, feeling the warmth return to her cheeks and glanced up at him. He smiled and shook his head in amusement.
"Sure." He replied with another chuckle. He stood up and stretched, walking over to his couch, shutting off the tv and laying down. When their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they looked at each other and smiled.
"Goodnight, Alex." Rainbow Dash whispered.
"Goodnight, Rainbow Dash." Alex replied just as quietly, turning over and resting his head against the pillow. Rainbow waited until Alex fell asleep, evident by his light and even breathing, and smiled. 'That went... way better than I thought.' She thought to herself, before falling asleep herself.
The Next Morning...
"Nngh..." I moaned, poking my head up from the pillow in which I had been deeply buried. My room was well lit by sunlight, so I assumed it was pretty late. I slammed my head back into my pillow. When a tap on my shoulder destroyed any further thoughts of sleep. I peeked out and saw Rainbow Dash standing above me, smiling. "Dashie? What...It's, like, noon!" I groaned, throwing my head back into my pillow.
"Yeah, so?" She began with a small giggle. "I thought it'd be nice to bring you breakfast!"
Well, the sound of food appealed to me, and I looked up at her. Sure enough, there was a small bowl of cereal, some wheat toast, and a cup of apple juice. It wasn't five-star hotel worthy, but, hey. It was the thought that counts.
"Really?" I began, sitting up and taking the food from her.
"Well, yeah. I still feel bad about last night..." She trailed off as I cut her short.
"Dash, I already said. All is forgiven-"
"No, no. I still felt bad about it, so let me apologize my way." She insisted with a gentle smile. I returned it with one of my own, and nodded. "Well, I'll let you get started. The basketball game is about to start, and I don't wanna miss it!" She said. I smirked and shook my head as she made her way down the hall. That girl was such an athlete. Needing to adjust from the Wonderbolts, she moved her athletic interests into another great sport, good old basketball. So far, her favorite team was the Stallions, ironically. A pretty decent team that was in the same state. Hopefully, if things went smoothly, I could have a great surprise for her soon enough.
"Mornin', Alex." A voice chirped, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see AJ and the others. "Have a nice sleep?" She asked with a pleasant smile. I nodded and replied.
"That I did. And you girls? Did you sleep well?" I asked smartly. "Or did you decide to stay up late yet again?"
"Very funny. You're a riot." AJ replied with a scoff. Twilight and the others giggled and led a chuckling AJ away, leaving me alone with my meal.
Looks like it'd be a lazy day. Good, because that's exactly what I needed.
( Yeah, yeah. I know it's been a while since I updated. But! I have not forgotten about you, my lovely readers! Barkhorn is back with multiple chapters on the way!
I just wanna say a huge thank you to Pissfer, who helped me edit this chapter! You da man!
And another gigantic thank you to all of you who are reading. It means a lot to know you all enjoy the fruits of my labor, the writing I love doing.
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Thanks, guys! Have a great night! )