( Hey, everypony! Quick thanks to Kiyo Hosokoawa for helpin' me out this chapter and providing a mighty fine idea! )
A good night's rest.
That's what I got last night. A perfect good night's rest. And it felt amazing.
Unfortunately, my brain decided it'd be a good idea to wake up after a normal eight hours instead of letting me sleep in! As such, I stared at the ceiling for a good while, before I had a little idea. I got out of bed, careful not to wake the sleeping Twilight Sparkle, who was out cold with a content smile on her face. The sight caused my lips to go up in a small smile as well, and I made my way towards the kitchen, and got started on breakfast for the girls.
Almost half an hour later, the pitter patter of bare feet along the kitchen tile caught my attention. "Alex? What're you doing?" Fluttershy asked, yawning quietly and rubbing her tired eyes. I smiled and motioned to the eggs and potatoes on the stove.
"Thought I'd make you all some breakfast." I replied. She looked at the food, then back at me, before giving me a small smile that nearly melted my heart.
"How sweet. Thank you." She said, giving me a small hug. "I'll go tell the others." She offered, turning and walking off down the hallway. Not too long afterwards, Fluttershy brought back a sleepy bunch of girls, save for Pinkie, of course, who looked at the food and smiled brightly.
"Oh, gosh! This looks absotively posolutely scrumptious!" She exclaimed, observing the food with incredible detail. I laughed aloud, finishing up the eggs and throwing some on individual plates. I then removed toast I had made earlier from the microwave, so as to preserve the warmth, and we all dug in.
It really felt like things were going along smoothly, but, just as one event subsided, a thought entered my head, as I looked around at the girls.
How long would they be here? How long until Celestia found a way to bring them back? I didn't want to think about it, especially not after all that's happened, but I knew, deep down in my heart, that nothing lasts forever.
"Alex?" Twilight asked, breaking me out of my daze. "Everything alright?" She then asked. I smiled and nodded.
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine." I answered. Thankfully, they didn't push the matter further, avoiding quite the awkward conversation. Dana and Gray came over later, and we all hung out in the backyard, starting a barbecue- veggies for the girls, and chicken for me and Gray. They didn't entirely agree with our choice of meals, but, they knew things were different here on Earth, so didn't protest much. Throughout most of it, though, I remained quiet, with the thought of the girls leaving me still fresh in my mind.
"I'm gonna head inside for a sec," I announced, standing up. "Gonna grab a drink." I said in half truth. I opened the sliding door and entered my house, grabbing a soda from my fridge, and sitting down on my couch. What if that day came sooner than I wanted? I don't think I'd be able to handle that. I mean, things were just now starting to go right, everything was starting to come together. Even then, right around the corner was prom-
"Alex?" Dana called out, snapping her fingers in front of my face. I blinked and looked up in surprise, seeing Dana staring at me with a slightly annoyed, yet slightly concerned face. "Christ, I've been calling your name for a while." She stated with a slight giggle. I chuckled and shrugged.
"Sorry." Was all I replied with, looking past her again. She leaned over a bit, placing her hands on her knees, to meet eye level with me.
"Something the matter?" She asked, quirking a brow. I looked up at her, and opened my mouth to tell her everything was fine, but this was Dana. I could trust her with anything. So, I spilled it all. My fear of losing the girls, of losing my best friends. Thankfully, I managed to keep a straight face, even though my heart was throbbing in pain the more I thought of the dreadful situation.
"Well...I don't entirely know what to say." Dana said quietly, now sitting at my side on the couch. I sighed heavily, shaking my head.
"I don't think there's anything to say. It's inevitable. At least, I'm sure it is. On the one hand, I lose my best friends and the people that helped me find happiness. On the other, they're condemned to a life away from their homes. Either way, someone loses." It was a rather bleak look, but, hey, I felt it was the truth. Dana nodded, trying to think of a reply that would relieve me. But, Dana, being one of my best friends, told it like it is.
"Well, Alex. You're right about one thing. It can't last forever, and I'm sorry to say that...But, hey. You got this much time with them, right?" She said, placing an arm around me. "You should cherish the time you get with them. Learn from them. Enjoy it all while you can." She finished, smiling up at me. I gave her a thankful smile of my own, placing an arm around her as well. Eventually, we got to chatting again, mainly about the sudden appearance of the girls.
"It's just crazy. I never thought this would be possible." Dana said with a chuckle.
"You're telling me. Man, when it happened, I thought, 'No way. This isn't happening.' Sure enough, it was. Damn, sometimes, I still can't grasp it." I replied with a laugh.
"Yeah...Hey, so. You've been getting close to them too, huh?" Dana asked from far left field. I quirked a brow and looked down at her.
"Uh...I guess you could say that. Why do you ask?" I asked carefully. She shook her head and shrugged.
"Oh, I was just wondering..."
"...Wondering what?" I inquired, thoroughly curious at this point.
"Wondering, if..Ya know. How close you'd be willing to get with them." She explained. It took me a second, but my eyebrows rose and my eyes widened.
"Oh, god, you mean, like...?" I asked, and she nodded her head. "I-I dunno...I mean, I haven't really thought about it...And haven't really ruled it out either, to be honest..." I replied truthfully, before shaking my head vigorously.
"It's fine, I was just curious." Dana said in defense, slightly averting her gaze. It was silent for a while, though, oddly enough, we barely took notice of the sound of the opening sliding door.
"Um, Alex? Dana?" Fluttershy called, walking closer to us. She noticed the way I had my arm around Dana, and I retracted my arm, sticking my hand in my pocket.
"Yeah, Fluttershy?" I asked. She hesitated, before smiling and looking at me.
"Gray says the food is ready." She replied quickly, before making her way back outside. I huffed and took a drink of my soda, before standing up. Dana remained in the couch.
"We should probably go out there." I suggested, motioning my head to the back door. She nodded, but the look on her face threw me off for some odd reason. Like her mind was on something else. I didn't delve too deep into it, and stepped outside, ready to eat.
Dana didn't act any different the rest of the night. She was relatively silent, and didn't even make the occasional snarky comment. It was most likely due to the conversation we had earlier, so I figured the feelings would subside in due time. I thanked Dana and Gray for coming over and cooking, and they left afterwards, taking some leftovers with them.
"Alright, girls," I said, standing up from the chair I was sitting in. "It's ten at night, tomorrow is Saturday, meaning school's coming fast, so I wanna start getting some good sleep in." I announced with a light yawn. I stepped into my room, and Fluttershy followed me. I assured her I didn't need anyone to crash in my room, but she insisted that I let her. Since it was Fluttershy offering, it didn't take me long to accept her offer. Unlike the previous time, though, she also requested that we slept on the same bed. Odd, but, hey, who was I to decline?
Saturday went by perfectly- completely lazy. The girls and I did not a damn thing all day, and it felt good to just lay down and enjoy myself without all the crazy antics in my life. Though, the next day- Sunday, that is- didn't go by so perfectly.
It wasn't too late, probably just around nine at night, maybe a half hour after. It was raining, too. Not too hard, or cold, but it was still coming down all the same. Rainbow had offered to sleep with me that night, thankfully letting me sleep on the couch by myself, when I heard a piercing scream- Fluttershy's scream. I bolted up and ran into the room with the girls, fearing that I might find something horrible.
"Fluttershy, what is it?" I cried out, turning on the light. Fluttershy was staring at the window facing the front yard in horror, and pointed at it. "J-J-Jake! Aaron!" She stammered in fear. I looked up, and saw someone outside of the window- two someones, wearing dark hoodies and darting to the front door. I noticed cracks on the window, so it was either a scare tactic, or they were trying to actually break in. Either way, I was pissed, and very tired of these two. The odds may be two on one, but I was fully capable, and in top health this time. I tore my door open, and the two of them looked about ready to book it, before I stopped them.
"Hey! Dickheads!" I barked, stepping out into the rain with only my black tanktop, silver sweatpants, and grey sneakers. "How many times do I have to beat you shitheads before you leave me alone?" I snapped.
"Can it, Barkhorn." Aaron growled, clenching his fists.
"Honestly, what's the point of even coming here? Ooh, you scared the girls. Big fuckin' whoop, you want a cookie?" I mocked, crossing my arms. I heard my door open, and turned to see who it was. Rainbow, who was wearing the hoodie I bought her, stepped out and matched towards the two.
"You know, I'm getting sick and tired of you two!" She exclaimed in anger. "All you do is bother people and pick on people! Why don't you two get lost, and get a life!"
"Piss off. We're not here for you." Jake snorted, pushing Rainbow to the side. A puddle on the ground caused her to slip, and she cried out in pain. They looked at me with satisfied smirks, and I darted towards them, fists up and ready, as were theirs, and we were all ready to strike.
"Hey!" Someone shouted from my front door. I stopped in my tracks, fists still raised, shocked that Jake and Aaron hadn't tried to get a cheap shot in during the distraction. After a second's hesitation, I turned my head to see who interrupted.
Fluttershy, who was giving Jake and Aaron the worst Stare I've ever seen, was marching right up to the two. My heart froze in fear as she bravely approached the two, who seemed to have no problem pushing around girls. I was trying to move, to go and pull her away before they hurt her, but my legs were glued to the spot. I could only watch in horror as the events unfolded.
"How dare you! Look at you two! You're grown boys who do nothing but shove around people who can't even defend themselves!" She scolded. I hadn't seen her this pissed since she dealt with the dragon. "You two have no idea what you're putting people through! It's people like you that cause people to be depressed, and to feel all this pain! You even have the nerve to hit a girl- Not just a girl, but my friend! You do not! I repeat! You do NOT. EVER. HURT. MY. FRIENDS." She shouted. To my utter surprise, it actually seemed to intimidate the two, and they promptly ran off into the night.
I looked down at Rainbow, who was grasping her injured ankle. I observed it for a moment, before looking at her. "It's fine, just rolled it a bit. It'll be fine in the morning." I said, helping her up, and looking back at Fluttershy.
"Thanks, Fluttershy," Rainbow said with a smile. "You really know how to deal with jerks, don't you?" She said with a smile. Fluttershy retracted back into her hair, allowing it to cover a good portion of her face. She sneezed, and shivered a bit, before I took her in my other arm.
"C'mon, girls. Let's get you inside." I said, leading them inside and into the living room. I got them both blankets and towels, and warmed them up. After sending Dashie back to my room, I looked over at Fluttershy.
"That was a really brave thing you did," I commented with a smile. "Thank you for that, Fluttershy."
"No problem at all, Alex." She replied with a small smile. "Those two...They're such bullies. I don't like people like that...They think they can walk all over someone just because they're bigger, or scary. Well, They're nothing but big...mean...Jerks." She said, obviously frustrated by the persistence of the two mooks. I approached her, placing a hand on her head and smiling.
"Hey. They're gone now, thanks to you." I said, kneeling down to meet eye level with her. We looked into eachother's eyes for a few minutes, until a sound from the hallway caught our attention.
"Hey, is everythin' alright?" Applejack asked us, smoothing out her hair.
"Everything's fine. Fluttershy managed to drive those two off, so we're safe for the night." I explained, patting Fluttershy's back with a smile.
"Really? Wow." Was all Twilight had to say, obviously surprised as I was by this outcome.
"Anyway, you girls get some sleep. We have school tomorrow, so rest up." I said, and they complied, heading back to bed. "You too, miss." I then said to Fluttershy, winking at her. She nodded and stood up, but I pulled her into a quick embrace. "I'm very proud of you, Fluttershy." I whispered, looking down at her. She hid her face into my shoulder, and I smiled, pulling away. "Now, c'mon. Let's get to bed."
( Woo! The return of the two mooks -_-
At any rate, by this time you're probably wondering, "What's with this title?"
Well, Like I said, I changed it from "Brave New World" to "Torn Between New Worlds" because...Well, it's in my "Author's Note" chapter. Anywho, thank you for reading, and a HUGE shout out to Prowers00 for reviewing my fic. Also, if you would all please follow my tumblr, I'd greatly appreciate it :] You can find it at
alexbarkhorn(dot)tumblr(dot)com
Thank you all for your love and support, and remember to tell your friends! Good night! )