( Slightly edited due to my previous thoughts of slight errors being true. . Sorry. And thanks, Neonz, for helping with that! )

"I can't believe that just happened...Again..." Gray said, after sending Alex to bed. Rainbow Dash nodded, sitting down in the recliner, slumped over and seemingly scowling into a random space on the wall.

"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. As stated, they were indeed trembling. Rainbow tried her best to ignore the comments, still upset at herself.

'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.

"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, and even Rainbow to let loose a small quirk of the lips.

"Rainbow Dash, are you alright? You seem quiet." Rarity asked, looking in the direction of Rainbow, who perked her head up in surprise and looked over at Rarity.

"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 looked at eachother, slightly uncomfortable, 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 slight 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 slight 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 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, heading towards 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 her throat catch a knot, and her eyes began to prickle with tears. She let out a determined breath, and knocked on the door. The crying instantly stopped.

"Who is it?" Alex asked from the other side, his voice hoarse from the crying.

"Alex, it's me. Rainbow Dash. Can... Can I come in?" She asked slowly. There was a moment of silence that absolutely killed her, and felt like an hour. Finally, the door opened, just a crack. Looking at Alex as best she could from his dark room, she could see the bags under his eyes had returned. And, speaking of his eyes, they were a dull silver in color, any hint of their usual midnight blue completely gone. His jet black, raven like hair was a mess and shaggy all over. Finally, his eyes were red from all the shed tears.

"Yeah?" He asked, his voice still scratchy. 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 Rainbow 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 picked up from Alex.

"What is it?" Alex asked, with a strange tone in his voice. It wasn't annoyed, or upset. Not even tired. It was worried. She looked back over at Alex, who had stood up by now, and was advancing towards her. An instinct told Rainbow to slowly back away, but she was glued to the spot. "Are...Are you alright?" Alex asked quietly, leaning in to get a better look at her. While he was inspecting, Rainbow felt warm, and stared at the eyes that were only inches away from her. It 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 very concerned at this point. She breathed shakily, and narrowed her eyes 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 then asked, sitting her down as she began to explain.

"Because...Because of what I said to you. Outside of...His room." She said, feeling 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?" He asked, somewhat mimicking Dana, who spoke nearly the same words minutes before. As such, Rainbow Dash sighed, yet again.

"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.

"You already are forgiven, Dashie." He said gently. Rainbow smiled brightly, and happily accepted the embrace he pulled her in. 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, and causing Rainbow to pout.

"Yeah, kinda..." She replied in a mumble, messing with Alex's bedsheets. Another silent few minutes, and Rainbow decided to speak. "Alex...?" She asked.

'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 a bit warm in the cheeks and glancing 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 eachother 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.

The Next Morning...

"Nngh..." I moaned, poking my head up from the pillow I was buried so deep in. Light was poking brightly through my window, so I assumed it was pretty late. I slammed my head back into my pillow. Feeling light tapping on my shoulder, I peeked out and saw Rainbow Dash standing above me, smiling, with a plate, bowl, and cup in her hands. "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!" She then said. Well, the sound of food appealed to me, and I looked up at her. Sure enough, there was a small bowl of cereal, wheat toast, and a cup of apple juice. Well, 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, and 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. 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? 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, allowing me to eat.

Looks like it'd be a lazy day. Good, because that's exactly what I needed.

(Sorry yet again for the slight delay in updates. Last week was a week I kinda decided to take to myself. It was rather hectic, what with projects, a local Battle of the Bands, and prom -_- Anywho! I hope you enjoy the chapter! Remember to follow me on my tumblr if you haven't already!

alexbarkhorn(dot)tumblr(dot)com

It'd really mean a lot to me if you told your friends about this story and my tumblr page! Also, concerning new titles, I've now narrowed it down to two.

Waking Up

Torn Between Two Worlds

Go ahead and make a choice!

Also...This would be kinda cool. On my tumblr, last month, I posted the official pic of my OC pony. Was wondering, if anyone who could draw humans and/or ponies, or if you know of someone who can, point them in my direction? I kinda want a couple pictures of my pony and the human Mane 6/Alex.

Thanks, guys and gals, and have a good night! )