Exception to the Rule; or, Last Winter

"What, leaving already?" Rainbow Dash pulled a comical pout, even throwing in a lip quiver for dramatic effect.

Rarity smiled and shook her head. "Terribly sorry, darling, but I'm afraid I simply must get home and get to bed." She raised her voice over the pounding music, her lilting tones still only barely audible. "Beauty demands beauty sleep, you realize."

"But we're just getting started!" Rainbow whined piteously. "And you're already so beautiful," she added, not altogether intentionally.

Rarity blinked and chuckled softly, her cheeks turning a light pink. "Oh, my. Darling," she said, leaning forward. "I think you may have overindulged this evening. Perhaps it's time you...slowed down a bit."

Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively, teetering on her remaining limbs as she did so. "Nah, I'm good." Then she stumbled forward, barely catching herself in time to grab Rarity around the shoulders to keep from collapsing to the ground. The unicorn squeaked in surprise, but managed to stay upright. Rainbow struggled back to her hooves. "Sorry, Rares."

Rarity primly rearranged her mane, smiling at the pegasus. "Not at all, darling." She leaned forward again. "But do be careful, please. It would be a terrible shame if you were to hurt yourself on the eve of your triumphant departure, don't you think?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged noncommittally, but said, "Yeah, alright."

"Wonderful." Rarity gave her a brief hug. "Good evening, Rainbow Dash. And congratulations again!"

Rainbow Dash waved as Rarity disappeared into the deepening night, then turned back towards the party. A brief assessment of the remaining attendees revealed that Rarity's departure was neither early nor unexpected. Despite Rainbow's claim, the party was, in fact, winding down. The punch bowl was empty, having been refilled twice already. The snack table was completely barren, the crumbs being picked over by various ponies' pets with muted interest. Even the streamers and confetti littering the floor seemed limp and exhausted. Even though almost the entire population of Ponyville had attended her "Congratulations on Becoming a Wonderbolt" party, most of the crowd had since dispersed.

Then again, the party had been going on for several hours already. Pinkie had really pulled out all the stops; it had been an absolute blowout, easily on par with her birthiversary that Cheese Sandwich had assisted on some years ago. There'd been punch and pinatas and pizza and dance contests and music by the DJ Pon-3, karaoke and presents and speeches and so much food, conga lines and line dances, games and embarrassing photos (of course), tears of joy and hugs and laughter so long and hard that her cheeks and her sides were still sore. And there had been alcohol. A lot of it. She recalled somepony shoving a tall glass of something fruity and strong into her hooves early in the evening, and there hadn't been a moment since that she hadn't had something intoxicating in her possession.

The effects of this were just now starting to become clear to her. Rarity was right, she realized through a warm, fuzzy haze. Maybe she had drunk a little more than she should've. She had a long flight tomorrow, after all. Cloudsdale was several hours away by wing, and even though she didn't have to be there until the evening roll call, it would be hard enough without a blinding hangover to contend with.

With that in mind, Rainbow carefully weaved her way across the ballroom of Twilight's castle, making for the kitchen beyond. A glass of water was definitely in order. Along the way, she caught sight of Pinkie Pie and detoured slightly, coming up behind her and giving her tail a gentle tug to catch her attention. The party pony paused in her post-party cleaning to glance over her shoulder and smile broadly at the pegasus. "Hiya, Rainbow! Didja have a good time?"

Rainbow grinned and nodded. "You know it. Nopony throws a party like you do, Pinks."

Pinkie giggled. "That's what I like to hear! Too bad they always have to end, though."

"Yeah. Anyway, I just wanted to come over and say thanks. You really outdid yourself this ti-urk!" Pinkie's bonecrushing hug forced the air from her lungs as the earth pony suddenly burst into sobs and started squeezing the life out of her.

"Rainbow, I'm gonna miss you soooooo much!" Pinkie blubbered, tears cascading out of her eyes in comical arcs. Rainbow struggled to escape her vicelike grip to no avail. "I'm so happy for you, and I want you to be a Wonderbolt, but I don't want you to leave!"

Rainbow gasped and whispered hoarsely, "Uh, thanks, Pinkie, but I don't think the Wonderbolts will let me in if you break my win-GUH!" She grunted, flashbulbs popping in her vision as Pinkie's grip tightened briefly before the unreasonably powerful pony released her. Rainbow collapsed to the floor of the ballroom and lay limply for several seconds, panting. The pink pony above her was still sobbing in earnest, her wails echoing loudly in the circular room. Rainbow struggled to her hooves and looked around uncomfortably, wondering what she should say. Twilight suddenly came to her rescue, trotting out of the kitchen and up to them.

"Pinkie!" the alicorn said, her voice audible over Pinkie's blubbering even at a normal volume. "The last batch of cupcakes you baked are still in the kitchen, waiting to be iced!"

The tears stopped instantly. Pinkie's ears pricked and her eyes widened as she said, "Oh! Right! The cupcakes! See ya Dashie!" She bounced across the ballroom and into the kitchen. Rainbow watched her go, dumbfounded.

Twilight smiled wanly. "Sometimes," she mused, "I wonder if that pony escaped from a cartoon or something." She looked down at Rainbow. "How are you doing?"

Rainbow shrugged, woozily half-closing one eye to try and keep the taller pony in focus. "I'm alright, I guess. Why?"

The princess raised an eyebrow at her. "Because you're about to leave the place that's been your home since you dropped out of flight school. Because you're going to be gone for years with only the occasional vacation to come visit us. Because you're leaving all your friends behind." She frowned. "Because we're all going to miss you horribly, and you don't seem to share the sentiment."

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Of course I'm going to miss you. I'm just not gonna get all weepy about it, that's all." She tossed her mane proudly, the gesture only slightly spoiled by a minor drunken stumble. "Rainbow Dash does not get sappy."

Twilight gave her a look. "You have before."

"Have not."

Twilight sat back on her haunches and started counting on a wing. "There was the time you cried over not getting any cider, the time we all chased Applejack out to Dodge Junction and had to convince her to come home again, then there was that time you thought you were going to fail the Wonderbolts history test, and of course you cried at the end of at least three Daring Do books--"

Rainbow waved a hoof to stem the tide. "Alright, alright, I get it." She sighed and shrugged. "I dunno, Twi, I guess I just...it doesn't feel that sad to me. I mean, I know I'm gonna be gone for a while, but I'll still get to see you guys from time to time, and we can still write each other all the time, plus I hope you'll come to a couple performances a year, right?"

Twilight smiled. "I suppose that's true." She paused, then added, "I'm still going to miss you a lot."

Rainbow smiled back. "Yeah, I'm gonna miss you girls, too."

"What about Trixie?" The voice said the name with a flourish so intense it was almost visible. Rainbow glanced over her shoulder to see the sky-blue unicorn trotting across the ballroom, a pair of trashbags hovering in the air behind her and filling themselves with debris as she walked. "Surely you are going to miss your greatest and most loyal friend?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes, smirking. "Yeah, yeah, I'll miss you too, I guess."

Trixie gasped, scandalized. "You guess? You guess! Rainbow Dash, I would think that you, of all ponies, would miss Trixie most of all."

"Psh, why would I do that?"

"Hah! Where would your performance for the Wonderbolts scouts have been without my sublime pyrotechnics?"

Rainbow Dash snorted. "It would have been longer, because I wouldn't've had to spend the second half of it funneling a waterspout out of the reservoir to put out the trees you set on fire."

"Regardless," Trixie said pompously, waving a hoof. "I'm sure your swift reaction time and dazzling weather control was much more impressive to them than your silly Double Rainbloom or whatever you called it."

"Rainboom," the pegasus corrected her.

"Yes, that. Anyway, if you ever need any advice on how to deal with...overenthusiastic admirers, don't be afraid to call upon my ample experience in such matters." Trixie grinned and made a show of shining a hoof on her coat before draping it over Rainbow's shoulders. "Being famous can be quite the challenging experience for the uninitiated." She poked Rainbow in the chest with her other hoof. "Luckily for you, you have the most experienced, most patient fame coach a pony could ask for." She sighed dramatically and smiled. "How fortunate."

Rainbow groaned and rolled her eyes to look at Twilight. The alicorn was shaking with silent laughter, her hoof stuffed in her mouth and tears collecting in the corners of her eyes. Rainbow shook her head. "Yeah, fortunate." She struggled out of Trixie's grasp. "To be totally honest, though, I think your little stunt actually did help a lot that day." She smiled. "You really are a good friend, Trix." The smiled morphed into a mischievous smirk. "You know, when you're not being a huge pain in the flank."

Twilight burst out laughing. Trixie scowled at her and sniffed. "Well, I suppose you're welcome." Her hard expression softened, and her eyes began to glisten slightly. "I will...I mean...Trixie will miss you very much, Rainbow Dash."

"Yeah, me too." Rainbow gave the showmare a hug.

Trixie sniffed in her ear. Then she sniffed again and pulled away, wiping at her eyes with a hoof. "D-drat! Trixie has gotten c-confetti in her eye!"

Twilight shook her head with a smile and came over to nuzzle the unicorn affectionately. "It's alright, Trixie; you can cry."

Trixie vehemently shook her head. "T-trixie is not crying! Trixie is f-frustrated!" With this, Trixie burst into tears and galloped away, making for the door to the upper chambers of the castle.

Twilight sighed. "Someday. Anyway, it looks like the party's winding down. Why don't you take off and go to bed, huh?" She tilted her head and gave Rainbow a cursory examination. "You look a little...unsteady."

Rainbow scoffed. "I'm fine." She spread her wings and gave them an experimental flap. They came down at different speeds. She fell over.

Twilight frowned at her. "Yeah, I don't think so." She held out a hoof and helped the pegasus back to her hooves. "Tell you what, why don't you spend the night in one of the guest rooms here in the castle? I don't think you should be flying in your condition."

Rainbow tossed her mane in irritation. "I said I'm fine! I can fl-oouugh..." She trailed off as the room suddenly reacted to her defiant gesture and began to spin wildly. She closed her eyes and sat back on her haunches. "Alright," she groaned. "I guess I can...lie down for a bit."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Twilight mused with a tiny smile. "You go ahead and find your way into the first guest room in the east wing. I'll have Spike bring you a big glass of water."

Rainbow slowly assembled the castle's floor plan in her head. "First...room...in the...east wing?" She blinked. "The Eclipse Room?" Twilight nodded. "But I thought that was, like, permanently reserved for the other princesses for when they came to visit."

Twilight shrugged. "It's my castle, isn't it? I think you deserve to be treated like royalty, just this once." She smiled and winked. "Don't you?"

Rainbow smirked and puffed out her chest. "Buck yeah, I do." With this, she swaggered off across the ballroom, weaving back and forth across the flagstones. The door to the main hallway danced hazily in her field of view, but when she finally managed to reach it, the handle stayed obediently in place while she pushed it open and staggered through.

As soon as the door closed behind her, Rainbow sighed and settled to the floor, resting her suddenly exhausted haunches on the thick purple carpet. The ceiling of the hallway towered above her, with brilliant crystalline chandeliers hanging every fifteen or so hooves. The fairy lights within glowed gently, casting a calming white light up and down the hall. The silence pressed in on her like a thick, fuzzy blanket, soothing her overstimulated nerves. Her pulse slowed. Her breathing evened and deepened.

Then she heard the crying.

Rainbow's ears pricked and swiveled to locate the source of the sound. Somepony was sobbing, deep, shuddering, heart-wrenching sobs the likes of which only a truly broken soul could produce. Alarmed, Rainbow hefted herself back to her hooves and started trotting down the hall towards the sound, checking in each door she passed. Finally, she came to a small, nondescript door in the wall. The sound was clearly coming from inside. Rainbow Dash paused for a moment to consider whether she should knock and ask if the pony inside was alright, but another wracking sob tore at her until she couldn't resist. She pulled the door open.

Her jaw fell slack. "Scootaloo?"

The crying stopped instantly as the young orange pegasus inside the tiny room jumped at the sound of the door opening. Her eyes widened in horror as she looked up and saw Rainbow Dash staring down at her, stunned. Scootaloo reflexively shifted away from the door, backing deeper into the linen closet and pressing herself against the shelves behind her as if cornered by a predator. "R-rainbow Dash!" She sniffed deeply and swiped at red-rimmed eyes with a hoof. "I...th-this isn't what it l-looks like!"

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at her. "It's not?" Scootaloo shook her head, now trying to rub the moisture off her cheeks. "Alright," the blue mare said, "then what is it? 'Cuz it looks like you're hiding in a closet and crying your freaking eyes out."

Scootaloo's cheeks colored and she looked down at her hooves, her ears folding back against her skull. "Alright, alright...yeah, it's exactly what it looks like." She sighed, her wings relaxing and drooping to the floor at her sides. "I'm sitting in a closet, crying like a filly and looking stupid doing it."

Rainbow's stomach tightened sympathetically. She smiled down at the younger mare. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with needing a good cry once in a while. At least, that's what Twilight always tells me." She smirked. "I mean, I never need one, but..."

The joke did not have the intended effect. Scootaloo winced and looked away, tears filling her eyes again. "Great. Just one more way I'm never going to be anything like you." She pulled one of her wings up over her head.

Rainbow cringed. "No, wait, that's not what I meant." Scootaloo turned further, her back facing the door now. "Scootaloo--"

"Just go away!" Scootaloo snapped, peeking over her shoulder and glaring at Rainbow Dash through eyes glittering with hurt tears. "Just get lost and leave me alone, okay?" She turned away again, muttering under her breath. "You're getting good at it."

A jolt of guilt and anger sliced through Rainbow's chest. "Hey, that's not cool! Since when have I ever 'left you alone'?" Scootaloo didn't respond. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

"Don't bother!" Scootaloo suddenly jumped to her hooves and bull rushed the older mare, effortlessly shoving her back and out of the closet. Rainbow stumbled over her own legs and rolled backwards across the carpet. She regained her senses just in time to see Scootaloo's tear-streaked face disappear as she shrieked, "Just go away!" She slammed the door with an earth-shaking crash that echoed down the long, curving hallway.

Earth pony strong, Rainbow thought to herself, struggling back to her hooves. And earth pony stubborn, too. The pegasus snorted in anger and determination as she stomped back to the door and knocked hard. "Scootaloo! Open this bucking door!"

"No!"

Rainbow grabbed the handle and tugged on it. She was thoroughly unsurprised to find herself unable to budge it at all. Scootaloo was probably holding it closed, and of the two of them Scootaloo was stronger by a tremendous margin. Rainbow knocked again. "Scootaloo, you can't stay in there all night!"

"Watch me!"

"Don't make me get Twilight out here!"

"Hah!" Scootaloo barked mirthlessly. "Like you could ever admit you couldn't handle something on your own!"

Rainbow gritted her teeth and headbutted the door. "Luna dammit, Scootaloo, I swear I'll kick this door in half if I have to!"

"Then do it!"

The pegasus hammered the door a few more times, each blow as fruitless as the last. Finally, she growled in frustration and gave it a two-hoofed buck. It remained solid. "Fine! Stay in there, then! See if I care!" She tossed her mane--somewhat less intensely than before--and stormed off down the hall.

Or at least, she started to. She hadn't gotten far when her conscience finally caught back up with her and she stopped. The crying had started again in earnest, more heart-breaking and more pitiful than before. Rainbow sighed heavily. Some Element of Loyalty you are. She frowned at the snarky little voice, more upset that it was right than at what it was saying. She turned around and plodded back to the closet door, pressing an ear against the wood. "Hey, Scootaloo, I'm sorry I was so spurred. Can we talk?"

"I don't want to talk!" Scootaloo shouted.

"Alright," Rainbow said, "but can I talk, then?"

"Go ahead! Do whatever you want; it's what you do anyway, right?"

Rainbow winced. "I want to talk to you muzzle-to-muzzle. You know, like friends." She waited for a rebuttal. When none came, she pressed the advantage. "Come on, kid, you talk to me about everything. What's different tonight?" More silence. "Come on, Scootaloo, open the door. Please?" Rainbow's tone changed almost imperceptibly over the word she rarely said.

The impact was not lost. The crying stopped, replaced by a steady sniffling. After several seconds, the handle turned and the door slowly swung open, revealing a pitiful-looking young orange pegasus with a disheveled magenta mane and broad, dark streaks of wet fur on both cheeks. "There, it's open," she muttered softly, staring at the floor between her hooves. "Happy?"

"Not yet," Rainbow said. "Come on, kid, let's get you out of this closet." She smiled. "Twi gave me the Eclipse Room for the night. Why don't we go chat in there, huh?"

Scootaloo shrugged. Rainbow reached out and put a hoof around the younger mare's shoulders and led her down the hall.