“Whaaat?” Score’s tiny voice was full of awe despite its scratchiness. “You saw a rainboom?”
 
 
Dumbbell closed his book with a huff. Homework was boring, his understanding of the subject stashed somewhere far off and unattainable. He looked up when Score scampered into their shared bedroom and leaped onto the bed. He coughed and squirmed as he struggled to climb.
 
 
“Who said anything about a rainboom?” Dumbbell asked.
 
 
“I saw Cloudkicker outside and she told me bout how you hit that pillar.”
 
 
Dumbbell flinched. “What’s she talking about, that didn’t happen,” He grumbled, there wasn’t much he could say to bolster his lie, just hope Score wouldn’t take Cloudkicker’s word so easily.
 
 
“And then she said Rainbow Dash made the sky explode!” Score bounced around on the bed before tripping over his own hooves and hitting the pillows face first. A wondrous smile dimpled his cheeks when he looked up again, his little nose still red from all the tissues. “Did it really happen?”
 
 
“Huh…” Dumbbell scowled. “It was..a…It was a thing.”
 
 
“But was it a rainboom?” Score insisted. Dumbbell couldn’t see his eyes under the thick brush of mane but he imagined Score’s eyes were the size of dinner plates. “C’mon, tell me! Pleeeease.”
 
 
“Okay fine!” Dumbbell said. “It was a rainboom. Or at least I think it was a rainboom. I mean, I really only saw the end of it.”
 
 
“Yeah?” Score persisted, Dumbbell continued. “It was really colorful.”
 
 
“Was it the whole sky?”
 
 
Dumbbell shrugged. “I guess so. Hoops said it went so far he could see the colors splitting off into the horizon, but I don’t believe him.”
 
 
“Uhmm, well,” Score paused, squeezing the pillow to his chest. “What did it feel like?”
 
 
“Pfft. Feel like?” Dumbbell tilted his head and grinned lopsidedly. “Weird question.”
 
 
Score returned the smile. “I don’t mean what it feels like to lose to Rainbow Dash. You could write a book report about that by now.”
 
 
“What?” Dumbbell warned, his mood plummeting.
 
“Sorry.” Score withdrew from his cousin like a scolded dog. His voice was small again. Dumbbell felt his anger building up somewhere between his ears, but seeing Score curled up and away from him did something to release the pressure. He didn’t want Score to feel bad for what he’d said, nor did he want any trouble from his parents.
 
 
“Whatever, it’s no big deal.” Dumbbell said. “As for what it felt like, that’s hard to say.” He paused to think. “It was really tingly. Like all the magic in the air started to pop.”
 
 
“Did it feel bad?” Score asked.
 
 
“No it didn’t,” Dumbbell pressed his cheek against his hoof. “It was like…” His brows knit together. He remembered the sky flooding with light brighter than the sun, the pressure of shock waves crashing against his body. It was exhilarating, exciting, like diving into a cold mountain lake. Dash’s victorious smile radiated over all of them like a second shock wave. And at some point he realized he wasn’t as mad as he should have been. The whole class laughed and cheered, everyone except for Hoops and himself. At least on the outside.
 
It was amazing just being caught in the wake of it.
 
 
“Are you okay?” Score’s voice pulled Dumbbell back, there was a prevailing sense of warmth on his cheeks. “Uhm…It was…”Dumbbell’s frown deepend. “Shut up.” he said, and shoved his face between his forelegs.
 
 
“Huh?” Score tried to inspect his cousin. “Are you sure you’re alright?” Dumbbell mumbled something unintelligible in return. Score groaned and sat back. “I can’t believe it. I actually wish I coulda gone to school today.”
 

 
I gave Score his Dash Academy freckles because why the heck not? They’re cute.