Under The Blue Sky

Alfred made his way back to the waiting room with a large smile on his face. Although it probably wasn't the right thing to do, Alfred had enjoyed being in control for once. The feeling reminded him of when he first found that gun. At that moment, he felt like no one could stop him, he felt powerful for a change, and he liked it. Moonlight needed to be put straight anyway, after recalling what he had said to Alfred earlier. Just thinking about it made Alfred's skin crawl. How dare he, he had no right to call Rainbow those names, and insult himself and his family. Alfred knew that he couldn't let it slide, but if he did let Moonlight get away with it, what kind of man would he be?

A coward, that's what he would be, and Alfred was done with being a coward.

Alfred marched forward into the waiting room, meeting several surprised faces as he entered. Rainbow immediately went in for a hug, making Alfred feel even better.

"So, Alfred, how did it go in there?"

"It went fine, Twilight. We both made up and decided that we should just move on."

"That's great."

"Good, darling."

"Yay."

Rainbow looked at up Alfred, still trying to hug the life out of him.

"How's he doing?"

"Uhh, he's looking.....better."

"Good," Rainbow whispered sweetly while returning back to holding Alfred.

"Hey, Alfred."

"Yeah, Twilight."

"I've received word that Princess Celestia wants to see you right away."

"Alright, let's not keep her waiting."

And with that, they all left the hospital, leaving Moonlight behind. They began to walk towards Celestia's castle, talking as they did so. None of them mentioned Moonlight, even though they all knew that was reason why he was going to see Celestia. Alfred wasn't bothered, in fact he was quite lively. He caught a few stares passing by, but none of them were hateful or disgusted looks. Alfred strolled freely down the streets, never once being stopped by anypony at all. It was almost like nothing had ever happened, which is exactly what Alfred wanted.

As they were chatting casually, Alfred noticed that Twilight was a little tense.

"Hey, Twilight, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. Why?" Twilight said taking her eyes off the ground quickly.

"It just looked like you were a little upset, that's all."

"Well, I am a little worried..."

"About what, hon?"

"Well, Alfred, you have to understand that this hasn't really happened before. Sure, there's been a few fights, but not like this."

"So?" Pinkie asked quickly.

"I don't know, I may be overreacting. Hopefully Celestia will understand."

"Twilight, I'm sure she will," Alfred said calmly, still staying confident.

"Anyway, did you guys hear about what's happening in two weeks...." Rainbow said, squealing with excitement. The others looked to her a little confused, and then turned their heads to the poster on a nearby wall that Rainbow was gesturing towards. They all stood in front of it, bewildered by what they saw. Rainbow could see the amazement in their eyes as they were swarmed with precious memories. The poster was glamourising tryouts for the return of 'The Last Stand Games', which was also the games where Alfred had proposed to Rainbow. It seemed like that after a long year and a half, the creators had decided to pick it up again, and Rainbow couldn't be happier.

"Isn't this just awesome guys!?"

"It's............. amazing Rainbow," Alfred said, gazing deeply into the poster. He was lost for words. After a year and a half, he never would've thought that the games would be making a come back, but apparently here they were. Alfred took his eyes of the poster and directed them to Rainbow who was still staring at the poster, biting her lip in excitement. He smiled at Rainbow's burning passion, that's what he loved about her, on top of all the other things. She was smart, loyal, brave, kind, but most of all, she had heart. She had a fire in her that could never be extinguished, a light bulb that could never break or die out. She was truly something incredible, and Alfred wasn't planning to let her go. Just watching her trying to contain her enthusiasm made Alfred feel ten times better. He turned back to the poster and held that smile. He knew what this was, and he was thankful for it. These games were a chance to forget everything that had just happened and move on. It was also a chance to spend more quality time with Rainbow and his friends. This was the perfect opportunity to get away from all the madness and take a second to breathe.

"Wow. I didn't think that these games were ever coming back," Twilight said curiously.

"Yeah, I know, but it's totally happening," Rainbow quickly responded, bouncing into the air and flying loops around them all.

"Hhmm, I don't know.........." Rainbow suddenly dropped from the air and stared at Applejack, confused. "I mean, they've cancelled just about everything else because of this Discord problem, are you sure they haven't cancelled this too?"

The others looked to her sadly, understanding that what she was saying could very well be the case. Rainbow just shook her head, refusing to believe this nonsense.

"Guys, come on. This is only the tryouts. The actual games don't take place for ages."

"That is true," Alfred added, backing up Rainbow. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Okay, but I still ain't feeling good about all this."

"Applejack, stop being such a party pooper!" Pinkie exclaimed, managing to make everyone jump back from the sudden shout. "What? I was only saying...."

"Alright, come on, let's get moving again. Princess Celestia said that she wanted to see you as soon as possible," Twilight murmured a little nervously, but the others started to pick up the pace and continue walking to the castle, leaving the poster alone on the wall.

XXXXX

"Well, Im very disappointed that you would even dare to harm another pony like that. Alfred, you do understand that this is a very, very serious matter?"

"Yes I do, Princess Celestia, and I'm sorry. I promise that nothing like this will ever happen again. I have already tried to make amends by visiting Moonlight today and apologising. He accepted it and we are both willing to leave this all behind and move forward. I know that I made a mistake, and I want to fix this," Alfred admitted, sinking his head towards the floor. Princess Celestia took note of Alfred's actions and processed what he was going through. She looked at the miserable state he was in, and immediately understood the pain and confusion he was surrounded by. Alfred held his hands while looking down, revealing his damaged knuckles to Celestia.

"I know you do. Although what you have done is honestly horrifying, I do respect your eagerness to right your wrongs. You will not be punished, but you have been warned."

Alfred suddenly shot up from his crooked position.

"Really? You're giving me a warning?"

"Due to recent events, it's understandable why you have acted this way, and therefore I will not treat this as seriously as I normally would. You've got a lot of potential and I think us ponies could really learn a thing or two from someone like you. I'm sure that everypony will be willing to accept you as their friend, even after this slight hiccup."

"Thank you so much, Princess Celestia. I really can't begin to thank you enough for this."

"Do not worry yourself, just make sure not to take part in anything like this again. If you have any other problems similar to this, don't be afraid to come to me."

"I will, thank you."

Alfred strolled out of the large, wooden doors that he knew so well and was surrounded by his friends, all waiting to hear the news. Twilight looked to be the most nervous, shortly followed by Rainbow who was shaking a little. However, they both were swept away by a flood of relief when they saw Alfred smiling. That one smile made everything alright. It was golden.

"What happened in there?" Rainbow asked quickly.

"I told her the truth."