Heat Rises

Rainbow stared into the VIP section of the pub with a gleam in her wide eyes. The room had a low ceiling, only ten foot tall or so, and the tables placed around the edge of the exclusive area were made of plastic fashioned to look like glass. Curtains adorned the walls, sectioning off private VIP booths, and a thick fog of smoke permeated the stuffy air. Even the barstools lined up on the counter where she sat were clouds that had been factory pressed to be flashy, but, much to Rainbow’s ire, their sharp contours were already digging into her flank. In the center of the room sat a stage, a solo DJ atop it filling the air with an upbeat melody, the few ponies in the audience paying him no attention, grinding into each other as they danced.

The bartender smiled from ear to ear, her eyes never leaving Soarin as she chirped her practiced portmanteau. “So, what’ll you have to drink?”

He flashed a smile in return and leaned forward, resting his body on the bartop. “Tsk tsk… Hazie Daze…” He pouted for the briefest of moments. “ I go to the trouble of coming to my favorite bartender for drinks and she doesn’t even remember the regular?”

“O-Oh! Sorry, Soarin, you just know how I get when you visit,” Hazie admitted with a faint blush. “Which should be more often for your favorite bartender, you know. Alright, then—a Wonderwing for the Wonderbolt. And what’ll you be having, miss Soarin’s friend?”

Rainbow’s head was turned around, paying more attention to the scenery than to the bartop.

The bartender’s smile faltered a touch. “Impressed by the VIP section, hun? You’re lucky—only the best of the best get through that velvet rope.”

“Eh. I’m not a huge fan myself.” Rainbow shot a glance and a grin to Soarin. “Not enough rainbow motif if you’d ask me.”

Soarin chuckled. “Oh, I get it. She’s just not used to the Wonderbolt treatment. Yet.”

Rainbow blinked, then shook her head vigorously, flushing red as she realized her words weight. “N-No, I mean, it’s nice… I just don’t… Yeah, I’m just not used to it.”

Soarin opened his mouth to respond but Haize beat him to the punch. “So you want anything to drink, hun?”

Soarin gave her an eager smile.

“Oh. Me? Uh… W-well, what kind of cider do you have?”

Soarin cocked an eyebrow. “Cider? Babe, we’re in Cloudsdale’s finest pub. Drink the good stuff while you can!”

Rainbow blinked, again, and flushed red. Did he just call me… She shook her head and let out a weak chuckle. “R-Right, I knew that. So… uh… what’s your wine selection?”

“Oh man… Rainbow, don’t tell me you’ve never had real drinks,” Soarin chided with a teasing smirk.

“What! Of course I have!” Rainbow’s blush deepened. A petulant clock ticked in her head; for once she wished she had any sort of records in speed-impressing. “I have cider third thursday of every month with the girls! Rarity even made me try a glass of wine…” she gulped, “once.”

Soarin let out a weak chuckle, moving his head a little closer and his eyebrow a little higher. “Thursdays?”

A drip of sweat rolled down the back of Dash’s neck, only just realizing how stuffy the small room was. “Well, yeah. I mean, I train on weekends too, so it’s gotta be thursday night... Friday is at least a late work day.”

Hazie Daze put a hoof to her mouth and choked back a snicker. Soarin leaned forward and put his head between his hooves. “Oh, Rainbow, Rainbow, Rainbow…” He rocked his head back and forth, before ruffling her hair with one of his hooves. “You adorable little thing.”

“H-Hey! I’m not…” Rainbow pouted and kicked a hoof lightly against the counter.

Soarin only smirked, his eyes darting between the pout, the kick, and her eyes.

“Fine,” she said, looking back to Hazie. “I’ll just have what he’s having.”

“Sure thing, sugar. I’ll be back in a jiff!” Hazie ducked beneath the counter and started rustling around in the bottles underneath.

Rainbow crinkled her snout and turned back to Soarin. “Hey, what’s the deal with making fun of my training regimen! Aren’t you supposed to be the Wonderbolt?”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Soarin said, raising his hooves in defense, “I think it’s great that you’ve got something that works for you. You just seem like… y'know. Like a mare who’s experimented a little. Didn’t you drop out of flight school?” The brow of his nose twitched slightly as he said it, but his gaze never faltered.

“Psh—yeah! Because they were holding me back! After three years that obstacle course was way easier than cloudkickin for ‘eight’—” She made air quotes with her hooves and rolled her eyes. “—hours a day and I wasn’t getting paid to be there when all I cared about was flying and Equestrian History.”

“Equestrian History?”

She shrugged. “It was my back-up plan. Don’t even try to tell me Teddy Hoovsavelt wasn’t a badass.”

“Who?”

Hazie’s head popped up over the counter, placing before them two tall glasses with stars embezzled into the sides and wings spread out wide from each side of the brim. “Tah-dah! Two Wonderwings. I gotta say… Rainbow, was it? You’ve got some gusto for trying this.”

Rainbow smirked, but shifted slightly in her seat. “Hell yeah! Gusto is my middle name. Well, actually it’s Florence, but it’s not like that sounds any more Equestrian.”

“Thanks, babe,” Soarin said with a wink, wrapping his hooves around the oblong glass as if it were a foal he were about to kiss on the forehead. “We’ll call you if we need ya’.”

Hazie looked at Rainbow and gave her a half-smile, then turned and left without another word.

Bringing the drink to her lips, Rainbow closed her eyes and let the sickeningly-sweet smelling liquid pour down her throat. The Wonderwing was anything but sickeningly sweet—it tasted like rusted iron, quickly wrapping its noxious flavor around her tongue. After a battle that must have lasted nearly ten seconds, she gulped the liquid down her throat and sucked in air, coughing as tears formed on the corners of her eyes.

“Too rough on ya, huh?” Soarin said, rolling a hoof around the base of his still-full glass. “Yeah, ponies who aren’t fond of raspberry don’t really like the flavor.”

There was raspberry in that? There was flavor in that? She looked over to Soarin, who watched her with a curious smile as he leaned onto one of his hooves. Despite the noxious taste, she couldn’t bring herself to do anything but grin. “...Yeah… I’m more of a blueberry fan myself.” I’d be a soggy wet spinach fan compared to that.

He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. Drinks are on the house in here—we’ll just get you something else.” He leaned up over the counter, his eyes sweeping back and forth.

“Wait,” Rainbow said, placing a hoof on his shoulder. “Could we maybe do something else?”

He blinked as he looked back at her. “Something else? Nonsense, I can tell you’re nervous. Trust me, you’ll feel feel better with some drinks in you.”

A knot inside Rainbow tightened. Her mind flashed back to a night out singing karaoke where she had drank just a little too much and belted classics until the owners kicked her out for hogging the mic. To think that Soarin might see her like that was…

Rainbow sighed, and turned her eyes away. “Look, I uh… I didn’t want to say this, but… I’m allergic to alcohol.”

“...Allergic?” Soarin looked at her like she had uttered ‘I love wearing dresses’.

“Yeah, you know. Like, it doesn’t do anything for me. Just… the more I drink the bigger a headache I get.”

Soarin sighed. “Well, if that’s how it is then that’s how it is.” He tapped a hoof against his chin. “ I guess darts might be fun for a mare with such delicate wings.”

“D-Delicate?” Rainbow said, flushing red again. She wrapped her wings around her, so they were positioned in front of her face. Her primaries were straight, orderly, and fanned from her coverts as a dense forest of feathers. The bones the feathers were attached to, her scapulars, were covered in muscle, full and toned meticulously by years of training.

“Haha, damn! Dexterous, dextrous was the word I was looking for...” He shot her a sly wink. “Come on, let’s go.”

As Rainbow jumped down from her stool she felt something coarse and firm slap her on the cutie mark. Her ears shot up and her limbs instinctually went stiff, an angry fire building within her as she turned her head like clockwork to look for the offender.

Soarin blinked innocently, but a flick of the tail and a slowly-growing grin gave him away. He tapped one of her outstretched wings with a hoof. “Better put those away, babe—ponies have a way about being presumptuous, don’t you think?”

She took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes, about to let loose a rain of slurs that would pummel his ego straight into next week.

Wait! She huffed. This is a Wonderbolt! He’s probably just used to Cloudsdale mares! She puffed. C’mon, Rainbow! This is the Stallion who first broke mach three! This is the Stallion who made it to the Wonderbolts two years out of Flight School with only a single dad! What have you really got to complain about? A shitty drink? She tossed the bangs out of her eyes, but forced a calm, concerned expression on her features as she did. Good! No yelling!

She exhaled all the air she had inhaled in a slow, tension-relieving breath. “H-Hey,” she said, a pained smile on her face. “What was that for, huh?”

“Oh, nothing,” he said, turning his body away from hers and taking a step towards the dart board. “Just a little joke, Dashie.”

“Good one,” she said, perhaps a bit more flatly than she intended. She followed his step and walked across the room, a brass riff ringing in her ears as they passed the stage.

“Don’t be afraid to get me back for it—I’ll be prepared.”

“Prepared, huh? Are you prepared for me to kick your flank at darts?” Rainbow said, walking to the dartboard and pulling the darts out with her wingtips.

“Is that a challenge, filly?”

Rainbow shot a quick glare to Soarin, who had made his way over to her side. “Filly? I should be calling you a filly for losing so bad on that race up here!”

Soarin smirked back and rolled his eyes. “Well what if I said I let you win, rookie?”

She thrust a dart into the space between their eyes. “Well I’d say don’t let it happen again.”

In one swift motion he took the dart with his forehoof, and, without turning his eyes to the dartboard, tossed it. Both of them turned slowly, each refusing to break the gaze first, before snapping their gaze to the dartboard.

The dart was lodged three feet above the board, half-submerged in a cloud.

Rainbow cackled, slamming her hoof against the floor, but Soarin just shrugged it off. “I only need two to beat you, babe.”

“Oh yeah? Beat this!” Dash crouched over and drew a bead on the bulls-eye. After a moment she snapped up and sent the dart whizzing through the air, sailing and impaling it into a slice that read ‘18’ beneath it.

Soarin smiled. “Never mind. I’ll only need one.” He tossed the tossed the dart with a flick of his hoof and sent it sailing straight into the bulls-eye. “See? Fifty.” Without another pause, he tossed his last dart and sent it careening into his first, knocking both of them off the wall. “Come on, Dashie, you can beat one dart with your three, right?”

“Hah! It was… It was just dumb luck! Watch and learn...” Rainbow crouched over and sent another dart flying, embedding it in the slice marked ‘10’. “...Ten.” She shot a dark glare to the wonderbolt, who was busy staring at his own hooves, a satisfied grin on his face. “Well, whatever! I only need twenty-three to beat you, now. I’ll just land my dart in a double wedge, no problem.” She crouched over and prepared to throw her last dart, but Soarin held up a hoof.

“Wait, wait, I can’t let you do this. Who taught you how to throw darts, that cowpony friend of yours? You’re throwing like an Earth Pony.”

“Oh yeah? And how do you throw like a Pegasus?”

Soarin leaned forward, a gleeful smile suddenly adorning his face. “I’ll show you,” he said, stepping forward and placing a hoof on the bridge of Rainbow’s back. “Come on, crouch over like you’ve been doing.”

Rainbow glared at him, but crouched down, holding the dart upright with her right forehoof and making sure her tail was pressed firmly against her other end.

“When you throw from that position you’re trying to give your dart enough power that it flies straight no matter how much distance is between it,” he said, voice low as he slid his hoof down the length of her body, resting it above her tail. A desire to flick her tail away itched at her brain, but she suppressed it.

“What you want to do…” he said, pushing his body against the side of her own, “is lean back, and put your weight on your haunches.” His breath poured over her ears from above, and she fought a shiver as his hoof ran up the length of her body again. “Come on, now.”

Without thinking, she obliged, and in doing so pushed her neck back into where his face was. His muzzle rested on the bridge of her neck, and she could swear he was rubbing it ever-so-gently up and down in her fur. A shudder betrayed her.

“Aw, unsteady hooves isn’t good for a game of darts, Dashie,” he murmured, bringing his hoof up and under her own that held the dart. “Let me help. Keep your focus on the bulls-eye, now...”

His hoof lingered under hers for a moment, but it felt like an eternity—Rainbow froze in place, unable to bring her body away from his own. With an unmistakable brush of his tail against her flank, he guided her hoof with his own and sent the dart sailing.

It landed perfectly centered inside the double-wedge marked ‘12’. Rainbow could feel Soarin’s smile through her fur. “Well what do you know—you pulled by on the fringe of your blueberry-scented coat.”

Rainbow jumped away, jostling Soarin as she took three long steps in the other direction. She looked away from him, eyes hidden behind her bangs as she breathed heavily.

“Rainbow, you okay? You look like you’re gonna be sick…”

This is not how it’s supposed to go. Numerous diary pages, blue and yellow posters, and fitful nights with her hoof between her legs flashed through her mind. We… we should be on a cloud, looking at the stars, or racing each other until we collapse in a pile, or… or… She took a deep breath, inhaling only air musky with fumes from open liquor.

Bile rose from her throat. She slammed a hoof to her mouth, fighting back the urge to vomit.

“Fuck! Uh… Hazie!” Soarin called from behind her. A brown body was next to hers in a matter of moments. She felt hooves around the barrel of her chest, leading her slowly across the stylish black clouds through a squeaky door. Through blurred vision she could make out tile floors and, eventually, a porcelain bowl.

Hazie’s voice beside her was low, soothing. “Ssh… c’mon, girl, just let it out. It’s okay; you’ll feel better when you do.”

Rainbow nodded through tear-stained eyes, threw her hoof from her mouth, and emptied the precious few contents of her stomach.

“I don’t blame you,” Hazie said, patting Rainbow on the back.

“I—” A cough cut off Rainbow’s wet and ragged words. “I didn’t… drink any…”

Hazie sighed. “I know.”

Rainbow heaved as the words reached her ears, dipping down for round two against her stomach. There was nothing left but drips of saliva and dry heaves, but she felt like she’d be there all night. Her body burned in ways that felt detestable, foreign.

She lay there, her head on the rim of the bowl, until a blank numbness crept over her.

“Good girl. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up so you can make the trip home.” Rainbow stood, her legs shaking under her, but Hazie’s brown hoof found it’s way under her barrel, supporting her weight. “Lean against me.” She did. They made their way over to a sink, each step putting more confidence into Rainbow’s hooves.

A faucet turned on, and Rainbow splashed her face, sighing as the water dripped down her fur. “I… I’m not going home. I can’t yet.”

“I’m not gonna tell you what you can and can’t do,” Hazie said, leaning against the tile wall beside her. “But you should go, for your own good.”

“I’m fine. Besides, when am I gonna get another chance to hang out with Soarin?”

“Just about every day, if what they say about you is true.”

Rainbow groaned. “But this is the first day.”

“That only means what you make it mean, hun.” Hazie’s hooves clopped against the tile below. “Do what you gotta do, but make sure that this is the last bathroom you stumble out of feeling sick.” The bathroom door creaked open and closed, but the clouds made no noise as it slammed shut.

“Hey.” Rainbow fidgeted, her eyes glancing to Soarin’s as she stood before the glass-imitation table.

Soarin sat, twiddling his wings and humming a tune as Rainbow pulled out a chair. He sprung up, lazy features snapping to a suave smile as she sat next to him.

“Hey there! Damn, that’s a rough break,” he said, dropping a hoof on her own. “I guess you weren’t joking when you said you were allergic.” He gave her a worried smile. “Want me to take you back to your hotel?”

Rainbow grinned, shaking her head. “Nah, it left as quick as it came.”

He whistled, leaning back in his seat shaking his head. “Rainbow Gusto Dash. Gotta say, if it was me in there I’d be begging for somepony to take me home.”

Rainbow shifted in her seat, trying to think of something to say. Soarin didn’t let the silence linger. He leaned forward, smiling as he looked her in the eyes.

“Listen, Rainbow… I didn’t want to bring it up, but…” He paused and cocked his head. “I figured it would just embarrass you, but I guess that was dumb of me considering what you just went through.” He sighed, and took her hooves in his own. “Look—it’s pretty obvious that you need it bad. We’ve just been dancing around it all night, but I’m not the kind of stallion you need to try and impress, Rainbow.”

Rainbow tried to look away. She wished her eyes had widened, or that she had blushed, or laughed, or grinned, or anything.

“I like you, Rainbow. I think you’re sexy.” That did it—she felt her tail flick, and took in a breath of air. He continued. “My place is just a couple blocks from here. Why don’t we go back and get started on that problem of yours?”