Author's Note

I'm still in a weird kind of mood, so I apologize for this, but I didn't edit this. I'm just not feeling up to it right now, but it's been a while since I put up anything and this chapter has been sitting here for weeks so...enjoy

It's Alive...Sadly

The work day finally came to an end. The sky was clear and the sun was just barely hanging over the horizon, casting a yellowish orange light over anything its ray touched. With her schedule clear, Rainbow Dash could finally go home. However, she found her thoughts plagued by a certain human that she had visited the day before.

She couldn't seem to get him out of her mind. No matter where she tried to direct her thoughts, something always brought them back to him; Whether be a simple memory, or even just a reminder of how he acted.

Hovering in the air, she contemplated going to see him. While she did apologize to him for everything he had to go through with her, she knew he wasn't one to open up out of the blue. Sure he could forgive and forget, mostly forget, but his trust wasn't something he would just hand out to anypony who asked. He was far more complex than that, no matter how one-dimensional he tried to act. There were small slip ups he had in the past that gave him more depth, in her eyes at least, but he was always quick to recover.

It was almost like he was trying to hide who he really was; Beneath all of the random sex, drinking, and vulgarity, there was a well developed, and maybe even kind, character in there. She would never understand why he would hide that from everypony, but that didn't stop her from wondering.

Seeing that how she didn't really have anything to lose, she decided to swing by his place. It was easy to spot from above, a simple fly by and a quick stop would get her there in under a minute. With a few quick flaps of her wings she was off, even mentally timing herself as she came upon the small home. Turns out, she overestimated the time; Forty-six seconds was all it took for her to get there and stop just a few steps away.

Rainbow looked over herself to make sure she was at least decent enough. The weather outside was starting to pick up, so she didn't have to put on anything too thick. Her jeans were a little beat up from all of the stunts she's done in the past, but her black tank top was in much better condition.

Satisfied with how she looked, Rainbow Dash hesitantly raised her hand to the door and gave it a few soft knocks. A small amount of movement could be heard from within before the lock clicked and the door opened.

Rapid looked out at Rainbow dash, a neutral expression on his face as he did so. He didn't know a whole lot about this mare, her name included, all he knew was that she and Ryan have a pretty complicated past. "Hello..."

"Hi..." Rainbow replied with a confused look. It's not uncommon for Ryan to have a random mare as a guest, this much she knew from watching him during their feud, but something seemed off about this one. "Is Ryan home?"

"No...well, yes." Rapid really didn't want anything to happen, but he didn't like lying either. Knowing that their relationship was pretty toxic he felt as though he should keep them apart, at least until he was better. "He's not feeling well right now, so if you could come back-"

"What's wrong with him?" Rainbow asked, looking slightly annoyed. If he wasn't feeling well, then she would have liked to be informed. "And if he's sick, why isn't he seeing a doctor?"

Rapid was starting to feel uncomfortable, it was almost like she was trying to start a fight with him. While he isn't one to be a pushover, he is no fighter. "I-I tried, but every time I pull out of bed he collapses."

Rainbow's annoyed expression quickly shifted to worry as she started trying to look past Rapid. "Where is he? Let me see him."

Still not thinking that her meeting him would be a good idea, Rapid shook his head at her. "I'm sorry, but I don't think that-" Rapid fell silent as he felt a hand grip his shirt and pull him forward. His eyes became filled with fear as they were forced to meet the angry Pegasus'.

"I wasn't asking..." Rainbow growled, glaring at Rapid. "Now move it!' She yelled shoving Rapid to the side and marching into the house. Making her way into Ryan's room, she couldn't help but have this sinking feeling in her gut, like she wasn't going to like what she was gonna see.

If only she knew how right she was going to be.

Rainbow Dash stormed into the humans bedroom, ready to tear it apart to find him if she needed to. But, she didn't. His figure could be seen beneath his sheets, laying at an awkward angle on the bed. Moving to the other side of the room to get a better look at him nearly caused her to gag, forcing her to place a hand over her mouth.

To say that Ryan looked like hell would be an understatement. The upper half of his body was hanging off of the bed, his nearly ghost-white skin making it all too easy to find him in the dimly lit room. His body was sweating, and his hair was a disheveled greasy mess. His eyes were just barely open and several strings of saliva and vomit could be seen dripping down from his lips into a plastic bin under him.

His sensitive ears picking up on the sound, Ryan raised his head, barely, to look for the source. "Rapid?" He said weakly, his eyes trying desperately to scan the room. "I thought I told you to fuck off."

Rainbow removed her hand from her mouth so she could speak as she looked down at him in fear; Not of him, but for him. "Actually, it's me..."

Ryan's neck twisted in every direction but hers. "Dash...Where are you?"

"I'm in front of you..."

"I can't see you." He said as he continued looking around. After about a minute of searching he finally gave up and let his head hang down again. "How are you doing, Dashie?"

"I could ask you the same thing." She said with a forced giggle, doing her best to mask how hurt she was to see him like this. Not once had she ever seen him so weak and defenseless. It was kind of sad, really.

"Well, my eyes aren't working and I feel like I got kicked in the head by the horse." Ryan began, keeping his head hung low. "Aside from that, I feel great. Got to stay in bed all day. Bet you wish you were me, you lazy bitch." He finished with a soft laugh.

"I think I'll pass." Rainbow replied, slowly moving closer to him.

Ryan chuckled, "Yeah, I would to." Unknown to him, Rainbow Dash was only a few inches from him now, kneeling down so she could look over him more closely. He felt her hand gently touch his forehead. "What are you doing."

"Nothing..." She said, brushing a few strands of his hair out of his face. Her next words could have been taken as an insult, but they held a large level of both sincerity and worry. "You look awful."

"I feel awful..."

Out of her peripheral, Rainbow spotted Rapid standing by the doorway looking scared and concerned. "I'll be right back." She says to Ryan, who groans in response as she gets up and goes to join the pony. She stops when she's standing right in front of Rapid, crossing her arms and wearing a disappointed look. "I'm sorry." She whispers to him before putting on a small smile, "Thanks for watching over him. I'm Rainbow Dash, by the way."

Rapid felt a blush work its way onto his face. It wasn't often that a cute mare thanked him for something, or even spoke to him at all. "It's fine- I mean, it's no-uh, I'm glad to help. I'm Rapid Manes"

Rainbow Dash smiled at him, ruffling his mane with a hand. "Calm down, you act like you've never spoken to a mare before." She said, causing Rapid to feel uncomfortable again. "Come on, let's get to work."

Rapid shot her a curious gaze as she walked past him. "What do you mean?"

Rainbow stopped, turning to face Rapid. "If we can't get him to a doctor then we'll just have to take care of him ourselves." She said proudly, "Now move your flank. The pharmacy is gonna close any minute."

The trip there and back wasn't a long one, but it gave them enough time for Rainbow Dash to explain a majority of what happened between her and Ryan. Rapid couldn't say that he condoned Ryan cheating on her, but vouched for him on not understanding pony culture and even having the balls to confess to it rather than keep what he did secret.

While Rainbow Dash should be happy he did fess-up about his mistake, part of her wished that he didn't tell her. But she knew that would just be a kick to the head cause she'd eventually have found it out on her own. It really wasn't his fault for not knowing about Pegasi courting rituals, but at the time she was too mad to think about it and let her emotions, and her pride, get the best of her. It took her hearing say that he wanted her out of his life for her to finally cave. Despite all they've gone through, she didn't want to lose him. What they had in between may not have been considered good, but it was all she had left of him.

Rainbow Dash would never say it out loud, but she really does care deeply for Ryan and would do anything so that they can still be a part of each others lives. For the longest time she hoped and prayed that she would wake up one day and be back in his house while they bantered back and forth. They would get annoyed and get in each other face, throw a few punches, then go into the most brutal make out session. This would go on for only minutes before Ryan would slide his hand up her shirt and-

"Rainbow Dash!"

"Huh?" Before she could process what was happening, Rainbow Dash walked face first into the front door of Ryan's house. She took a few steps back, using her free hand to rub her muzzle as she continued to hold a paper bag in her other hand. "Ow..."

Rapid was quick to come up to her, looking over her muzzle to make sure nothing was out of place. "I'm sorry, Rainbow. I tried calling your name, but you didn't respond."

Rainbow waived Rapid off. "It's okay, I'm fine." She sniffed a few times to be sure everything was working properly. "Guess I zoned out for a bit there, huh?"

"No kidding." Rapid responded, giving Rainbow Dash he space. "It was like you were in a completely different world."

"Yeah, a little bit." Rainbow Dash walked back to the door, this time doing her best not to fuck it with her face.

They stepped into the house, setting their bags on the coffee table to sort through everything they had. It was getting late, so after being sure they had everything they needed, they did one last check-up on Ryan; He was fast asleep. The two moved back out into the living room, Rainbow Dash grabbing the coffee table and pulling it off into a corner.

Rapid watched her curiously, "What are you doing?' He asked, unsure of why she was rearranging his furniture. "I don't think he'll be happy if we reorganize all of his stuff."

Rainbow rolled her eyes with a small grin on her face, but didn't say anything. Instead she walked over to the couch and removed the cushions, once off she grabbed a small metal handle from within and pulled on it. The inside of the couch came out and unfolded into a bed.

Rapid stared with wide eyes, his mouth opening into an o as the realization hit him. "Okay, I see what you're doing now."

"About time." Rainbow teased, pointing over to a nearby closet. "There's some spare blankets in there. Grab them for me, would ya."

Paid nodded and went over to the closet, grabbing the spare blankets and returning to the couch with them. Rainbow Dash grabbed one from him and placed it down on the bed to give them a softer surface to lay on. Grabbing the cushions she removed earlier, she set them at the head so they could be used as pillows.

When all was said and done, Rainbow eagerly plopped down onto the fold-out bed, letting out a content sigh as she got comfortable. An odd silence accompanied her once she was in place, prompting her to look over. Rapid was standing awkwardly beside the bed, just staring down at it and her.

Rainbow Dash blinked a few times as she watched him stand their like...well, she didn't know how to describe it, but it was weird. "Are you gonna come to bed, or just stare at it all night?"

5 AM

Rapid reluctantly awoke from his sleep as the sound of running water assaulted his ears. Lifting himself up a bit, he looked over toward the kitchen, but nothing was going on over there. Craning his neck a bit further he saw that the bathroom light was on. Assuming Rainbow Dash was in there, he waited for about a minute or so, but the water didn't stop running.

"Rainbow, what are doing?" He all but yelled over. There was a groan to his side, causing him to jump slightly as his head shot over to the rainbow maned pegasus.

Rainbow Dash lifted herself from the bed, propping herself up with an arm as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes with her other arm. "I'm sleeping; What does it look like?"

It took her a moment to notice, but Rapid was staring at her with a look of shock on his face. Naturally, this confused her, at least until she picked up on the sound of running water as well and looked over to see light creeping out from under the bathroom door.

Suddenly, and without warning the water turned off and the door was kicked open by a refreshed and healthy looking human. "Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me! I aint the sharpest tool in the shed." Ryan damn near skipped over to the couch, turning around so his back was facing the ponies, his hand on his head with his thumb out and his middle finger pointing toward the ceiling. "She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb in the shape of an 'L' on her forehead." His song ended as he fell backward, letting his body land on top of the ponies crashing on his couch.

Rainbow Dash and Rapid were too surprised by his appearance to react. Just a few hours ago he looked like he belonged in a casket and now, here he was; Looking as though he had just walked out of a spa. His skin had color again, his eyes were bright and full of life, and his voice was as loud and obnoxious as ever.

"Ryan..." Rainbow Dash began, looking like she was about to explode with joy. "You're look great!"

"Damn right I do!" Ryan yelled in response. "Bitch, I'm beautiful!" He sifted around on the bed, squeezing himself between the two ponies before placing an arm around either of them. They were about to say something, but he stopped them by using his hands to cover their mouths. "Shhh! No talkie, I'm still tired." He removed his hands from their mouths, but kept his arms around their shoulders, yanking them back down to the bed as he forced himself down. "Embrace me!"

The two settled with going back to bed, being more than happy with the fact that their friend was feeling better. Rapid and Rainbow found a spot on Ryan to huddle into. Rapid stuck to his side like a barnacle, while Rainbow Dash rested her head on his chest and curled her legs around his.

The room was once again silent, but for the first time ever, it was a peaceful silence. One that you could just kick back in. Of course, Ryan found this to be an issue.

This is an easy fix.

"So, Rapid." Ryan began, "Have you shown Dash your penis yet?" The air in the room suddenly became extremely awkward as both ponies tensed up, their eyes nearly bulging out of their skulls; but for different reasons.

Much better