Chapter 4: "Apologies"

Night came quickly and, even with the absence of the sun, the air remained hot and muggy. Derpy had managed to build a decent fire far away from any potentially flammable vegetation deep within a dank cave. The meager facility wasn’t ideal, but it would provide the protection necessary to survive the night.

Derpy fed more wood to the hungry flames as Rainbow sat up. The sky blue Pegasus ran a hoof down her sides, which were now wrapped in a series of long, flexible leaves and padded with a greenish, cloth like moss. The tourniquet was, once again, less than ideal but still better than nothing.

“How long was I out?” Dash asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“Not long” Derpy replied with a faint smile as she prodded the fire with a stick.

Dash looked around the cave for a moment before returning her eyes to Derpy.

“Thanks… for back there” Dash began. “It was really brave of you to do what you did”.

Derpy smiled again.

“I’m sure you would have done the same for me.” she returned.

“Yeah” Dash sighed as she turned her head.

“You were bleeding pretty bad,” Derpy continued. “So I found some leaves and patched you up”.

Rainbow looked back down at the bandages around her chest. “Thanks” she found herself repeating.

Silence. The two sat still for a long while as the dull roar of the creatures from the world outside of the cave slowly dwindled into little more than a whimper. Dash wasn’t typically an apologetic pony, but she wasn’t beyond manners either.

“I’m sorry” Dash spoke softly.

Derpy looked up at the sky blue Pegasus, her eyes slightly more confused than was typical of her.

“I’m sorry for what I said earlier” Dash explained. “I didn’t really mean any of it. Well, I did but I was angry and that made me… ugh… what I’m trying to say, Derpy, is that Twilight’s death wasn’t your fault”.

She choked that terrible ‘D’ word out of her throat.

“There’s no way you could have know that showing up like that would have such an effect. I was upset and when I didn’t know who to blame, I blamed you. I shouldn’t have because… well… because you’re my friend, and blaming each other isn’t what friends do. Will you forgive me, Derpy”?

In some respects, Derpy would have been completely justified in cursing out the rainbow maned mare right then and there. She was absolutely in the right to throw her out into the darkness on her haunches to fend off the creatures of the night alone, injuries and all. Dash had not needed to sling insult after hurtful insult at her and had no right to blame anypony for an event brought on by naught but fate itself. But unrelenting kindness prevailed.

“I forgive you Rainbow Dash” Derpy said as she smiled warmly, content with the fact that she had been called ‘friend’.

It was at that moment when Dash realized how horrible it must have felt for Derpy to have her own apology rejected, especially when it brought on an undeserved hatred from the one she only wanted to get closer too. Rainbow would have much to think about tonight.

“Why did you decide to come over anyway? To the library, I mean” Dash questioned, trying her hardest to quench any resilient embers of ill will.

Derpy blushed and turned away as she produced two dilapidated pieces of paper from under her wings. She handed the tickets over to Dash who quizzically inspected them.

“I—I don’t understand” Rainbow stammered.

“I know how much you love the Wonderbolts” Derpy explained. “And I never get to spend any real time with you, so I found these tickets and rushed over to give them to you”.

Rainbow’s eyes began to well up and tears trickled down her cheeks. She buried her head in her hooves. She had been such a stupid, selfish, inconsiderate pony.

Derpy slowly trotted over to Dash and plopped down by her friend’s side. The grey mare wrapped a foreleg around Rainbow.

“It’s okay Dashie”.

The night passed on and soon the two pegasi gave way to sleep as the final few waning embers from the fire died out.