To Find a Rainbow

Scoots and I made it back just in time, if Sweetie Belle’s chiding rebuke was to be believed. As we took our seats and Scoots reclaimed her stuffed Wonderbolt from Apple Bloom, all the auditioners were in the air again. They were flying in groups of five, with one leading the rest in a ‘v’-shaped formation. The six groups were evenly spaced across the stadium, giving each a little room to maneuver. They seemed to simply be flying in circles at the watch of a suited Wonderbolt with a whistle, and at the sound they would stop the circle and do a loop-de-loop before continuing. It took me a moment to find Rainbow’s group, and when I did I saw that she was in the lead position under Soarin’s command, if I wasn’t mistaken.

They continued in their little orbits for a little while, keeping a sedate, steady pace that I was sure had to be boring Rainbow. Finally my curiosity got the better of me. “What are they doing?”

“Formation flying, I think,” Twilight said from next to Applejack and Rarity. “From what I can gather, they appear to be judging the participants’ ability to fly in sync with others, as well as giving each member a chance to take the lead position. The second stallion on Rainbow’s right led their group first, for instance, before she took over.”

“Since they always fly in teams, I reckon it makes sense they need ponies that can work with others,” Applejack mused.

After a few more minutes of going through the same routine, Soarin’ gave two sharp bursts on his whistle and Rainbow moved aside, letting the next pony take the lead. They went through the same motions with each of the remaining members of the group, letting each pony lead them through the loop-de-loops in turn. It was probably a very necessary test for team like the Wonderbolts, but it didn’t exactly make for the most riveting experience to watch. Eventually, though, everypony had gotten a chance to be leader and the auditioners were all brought back down to the field where they formed three rows of ten, much like they had when they first came out. Spitfire resumed her pacing in front of them while the other Wonderbolts flew over to a private box on the other side of the arena.

“Alright, here we go!” Scoots said excitedly. “They have to be moving on to individual stunts now, right? What else could they want to test?”

“I don’t know about that…” Twilight said as the auditioners broke formation and began filing back towards the entrance to the locker rooms.

“N-no! They can’t be done!” Scoots shouted. “She didn’t even get to show them any of her cool moves! How can that be it?!”

“I can’t imagine Rainbow’s happy right about now,” Applejack said somberly. “We’d better go and see what’s goin’ on.”

We all joined the crowd moving through the halls and reconvened in the lobby, where our little group stood to one side as we waited for Rainbow to come out of the locker rooms. Near us, Flitter and Rumble stopped and stared anxiously at the locker room door. When it opened to reveal a slightly limping Cloudchaser still being carried by Thunderlane, both dripping from a post-workout shower, Flitter and Rumble rushed over to meet them. By the time Rainbow finally appeared, Cloudchaser was being dragged along on both sides by her herd with Rumble trotting at his brother’s side. I was glad that despite looking a little worse for wear, it seemed like she was going to be fine.

I couldn’t help but think of how happy they were. They looked like they all just… belonged together.

I also couldn’t hold back an envious sigh as I turned back to my own little world.

Rainbow was wearing a dejected frown as she dried her mane with a towel until she saw us, where she tried to replace it with a cocky grin. “Hey, everypony! How’d I look?”

“You looked great, Rainbow!” Twilight said, pulling her into a hug. “But I don’t think anypony’s surprised about that.”

Rainbow chuckled as they pulled apart before striking a confident pose. “Could I ever not look awesome?”

I guess Scoots couldn’t take it anymore and darted forward, stopping in front of Rainbow and stamping her hoof. “The auditions can’t be over! You didn’t do a single one of your tricks! What in the hay is going on?!” The sight of her that angry might have been intimidating had it not been diminished somewhat by the stuffed Wonderbolt balanced on her back.

“I don’t know either, Squirt,” she said. “They’ve had solo flights every time I’ve auditioned before, so you’re guess is as good as mine. But I sure plan to find out.” A trace of irritation slipped through her otherwise calm demeanor.

“Well, uh…” Twilight said, glancing nervously between the frustrated mares. “I’m sure they had their reasons for structuring the auditions as they did. Maybe they were looking for something specific in a new recruit this year, and this was the easiest way to find it?”

Rainbow seemed to think it over for a moment before shrugging. “I guess. I’m still gonna ask Spitfire when we hang out tonight.”

“Actually, what are the plans for tonight? Are we meeting them here or what?” I asked. Rainbow’s posture became just the slightest bit tenser as I spoke; I suppose she was still thinking about last night.

“Oh, uh…” she mumbled as she ducked her head into her saddlebag and withdrew a piece of paper. “They left this note with the address and time pinned to my bag. We’re supposed to meet them there tonight at six.”

Rarity cleared her throat to get our attention. “Well, I had expected the auditions to take longer than they did. What does everypony say to getting some lunch before we head back? I would love to try some more Cloudsdale cuisine!”

Everypony and myself agreed, with Pinkie Pie getting the last word in. “Oh, oh! Can we go somewhere that has cupcakes? Or nachos? NO! Someplace with cupcakes and nachos!”

Rainbow laughed at her friend’s antics. “I know someplace even better!”

‘Someplace even better’ was apparently a rundown, hole-in-the-wall pizzeria on the outskirts of the Heights closest to the Residential District. We were greeted at the counter by an aging mare with a bushy white mane and pince-nez glasses who graciously allowed us to move three tables together so we could all fit. She brought us three larges for a fairly good price, especially since we split the bill between us. Sweetie Belle gave Spike a sappy kiss on the cheek when he covered her portion, to which Apple Bloom and Twilight just rolled their eyes to everyone else’s amusement.

While we ate, Scoots spent most of her time talking with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, and judging by the excited squeal the latter gave, I think Scoots told her that I’d said yes to her date. I got a few surreptitious looks from the three of them for a while after that, but I tried to ignore it.

Instead, I focused on Rarity. As one of the only other people that somewhat kept up with her work, she was using the opportunity to talk over the orders she was working on and what she’d need me to do next Friday. I think she mostly wanted a soundboard, but I tried to chip in as best as I could. When she starts talking about accentuating and seasonal accessorizing, I was completely lost. At least Applejack, the only other dragged into the conversation, looked as nonplussed as I felt.

And Rainbow… well, she was engrossed in discussing the Daring Do books with Twilight while Fluttershy listened patiently. She didn’t strike me as being terribly fond of such adventurous books, but Rainbow loved talking about them and I couldn’t see Fluttershy having it in her to interrupt.

That only left Pinkie, but she was too busy gorging herself on pizza, getting cheese and tomato sauce all over her cheeks and chin.

Once we’d all had our fill, we walked together back to the park to see everyone off home. It turns out that the Cloudsdale idea of a park is a mass of small clouds floating in random intervals throughout the sky over an open field on the edge of the city. Most were just big enough for two or three ponies to sit together comfortably though a few bigger ones were interspersed. On the floor level, there was even a small playground with several foals playing merrily. The same rainbows that weaved through the rest of the city were here as well, many falling amongst the floating clouds like waterfalls. All in all, it made for a very pretty sight.

As we approached Twilight’s hot air balloon, Applejack in particular seemed hesitant to get inside despite having ridden in it many times in the past, but a loving nuzzle and a quick peck from Rarity was enough to soothe her nerves. Once they’d settled inside, Applejack swiped the hat off of her head and plopped it on Rarity’s, and though the latter complained about how her mane was going to be ruined, she didn’t so much as lift a hoof to remove the offending article.

Scoots shared her own goodbyes with her friends while I gave Spike a fistbump and a promise that I’d come around more often.

Once everypony was settled and Spike had the balloon ready, they lifted off and were soon gone, leaving Rainbow, Scoots and myself alone.

Before an uncomfortable silence could set in, I cleared my throat. “So, uh… We both thought you looked amazing out there, Rainbow,” I said, giving a look to Scoots who nodded in turn. “How do you feel?”

She put on a mostly-convincing grin and opened her mouth to speak, but her façade fell apart before she could say anything. “I don’t know how to feel. I think I did pretty good, but I’ve always thought that after an audition and I’ve never gotten the spot, obviously. And I didn’t even get to show them any of the tricks I’ve been working on!”

“I know!” Scoots shouted, scowling. “Nopony would have stood a chance against you then! You would have gotten it for sure!”

Despite her fervor, Scoots’s words seemed to do little good. Rainbow just gave a sad smile and pulled her in for a half-hearted noogie. “Thanks, Squirt. I’m glad you believe in me.”

“I’m not the only one,” Scoots said. Both of them looked to me with smiles, one brimming with hope and the other tinged with sadness and regret.

“Yeah… you’re right,” Rainbow said. For half a second, she looked like she was going to say something more but then she shook her head. “Anyway, we have a few hours before we need to meet Spitfire and Soarin’. Why don’t we head back to Mom and Dad’s place to drop off our stuff?”

“Sounds good to me,” Scoots said. “However nice of Soarin’ it was to give me this” –she bounced the stuffed Wonderbolt on her back– “but I don’t really want to take it to a club.”

We spent the following hours taking it easy at Rainbow’s parents’ house, watching a couple of movies until her parents got home. Firefly apologized for not being able to make it to the auditions; there had been a crash in her Advanced Flying Tactics class and she’d had to escort the student to the infirmary which took far longer than she would have liked. Rainbow was happy to retell the whole audition from start to finish, embellishing a few parts here and there as she’s wont to do, but the knowing smiles on her parents’ faces showed they could see through it.

After a fast and light supper, we took off again for the Heights where Rainbow led us several blocks in, until I was completely lost. I knew we were getting closer to our destination, though, as the street she took us onto was bustling even on the floor level. Spotlights shone down from overhead in a kaleidoscope of colors, combining with the dull roar of a thousand voices shouting and laughing to fill the air with thrumming life. It was like the beating heart of the city was here on display.

We had to fight our way through the crowd, a prospect that would have been daunting had I not had the innate ability to repel ponies that aren’t used to me. Even with that benefit, however, it wasn’t easy as the sheer amount of activity going on made even me stand out a little less.

The building we finally entered didn’t look like much from the outside, but the inside held a sea of bodies writhing and grinding to the basslines thudding from a live DJ’s turntable on the far side of the room. A burly-looking stallion stood just beyond the door, eyeing each pony trying to come inside. He held out a wing to stop us.

“No minors,” he said, pointedly looking at Scoots. Rainbow stepped in between them.

“The name’s Rainbow Dash. We’re meeting somepony here.”

“Rainbow Dash, you say?” he asked, unimpressed. Regardless, he checked a clipboard on the small table next to him and, clicking his tongue, nodded. “Alright, you can go in. Your… hosts are already upstairs waiting.” He took the time to lazily point to a set of stairs behind him before losing interest in us and turning to the next pony in line. Rainbow scowled but acquiesced to let it go.

The stairs led to a walkway overlooking the floor below. Now that I had a better vantage point, I saw the club was packed from wall to wall, leaving everypony rubbing shoulders not only on the dancefloor but at the bar where only two ponies tried to keep up with the flow of drunk customers demanding drinks.

The walkway led only to a door with a plaque on the front that read simply ‘Private’. Another bouncer, this one a stern-looking mare with mirrored sunglasses, stood to block our progress, but Rainbow cut her off by telling her who we were. She gave three sharp raps on the door before sitting back down. Only a few seconds later, the door opened and Spitfire’s head poked out.

“Rainbow! Glad you could make it, come on in!” she said, waving us inside.

The interior of the Wonderbolts Private room was simpler than I’d have imagined. It was comfortable enough; two couches sat in an ‘L’ around a low coffee table while a mini-fridge was tucked into a corner next to a folding card table and the droning music from outside was now a barely-noticeable hum. All in all, it looked more like a lounge than something I thought I’d see in a nightclub.

Soarin’ was reclining on one end of the couch facing away from us, and he peered over the back as we came in. “Hey! About time you guys got here. Spits was going to start the party without you!”

Spitfire scowled as she grabbed a bottle from the mini-fridge and hopped onto the seat beside him. “Soarin’, must you use that nickname around every new pony we meet?”

“But Spits, how else will they know that you’re my best friend and I love you?” he asked.

“And that you love to tease me mercilessly?” she asked rhetorically, rolling her eyes. Then she turned to us. “Anyways, make yourselves comfortable! Help yourselves to anything in the fridge, and if what you want isn’t there we can have it brought up. The staff here’s pretty great.”

Scoots and I both went for the fridge. There was quite the selection inside, ranging from beers to ciders to even some soda, of which Scoots took one. I selected a nice-looking wheat beer. I was about to ask Rainbow what she wanted when I noticed that she hadn’t followed us over. She was still standing by the door, staring at the floor while she tapped a hoof impatiently.

“So, it was cool of you to let us come chill here with you,” she started softly, but then her voice suddenly jumped in volume. “But what the hay was up with today?!”

A deathly silence fell over the room. I held my breath, waiting to see how Spitfire and Soarin’ would take her outburst. I knew she was aggravated, but did she have to blow up at the people who invited us out? She couldn’t have been even a little more tactful?

Oh wait; this is Rainbow I’m talking about. Never mind.

For their part, Spitfire and Soarin’ exchanged a wordless glance. Spitfire frowned and gave a deep sigh. Just when I thought they were about to toss us out on our asses, Soarin’ grinned and started laughing, soon setting Spitfire off as well.

“Dammit!” she said, rubbing a temple. “I thought you’d hold out for a little longer at least! Now I owe this loser twenty bits.”

“You never should have underestimated Rainbow’s propensity for having a one-track mind!” Soarin’ replied.

Rainbow glanced back and forth between them, her mouth hanging open. She seemed unable to formulate any kind of response, so Spitfire must have taken pity on her.

“We knew you were going to be pissed about the auditions today. I take it you aren’t happy you didn’t get to show off… what was it going to be this year, the Buccaneer Blaze 2.0 or something?”

Rainbow grumbled something under her breath along the lines of “Filly Flash 2.0…”

Spitfire laughed. “Well, I’m sure it’s really impressive and would have blown us all away. But we’ve had a few problems with the way we used to run auditions and I thought we needed to try something a little different this year.”

“What kind of problems?” Rainbow asked.

Spitfire took a long swig of her drink before sighing. “The last few times we recruited somepony, we were looking for somepony who looked like they could impress a crowd. And letting everypony have a chance to show off what they could do on their own was a great way to do that. But then we’d find out that they couldn’t fly in tight group formations, or they couldn’t get along with the rest of the team, or whatever else. A few times, we accepted a pony onto the team only to have to let them go and find somepony else.

“We need ponies that are capable of flying in a group. So I got the idea that maybe the reason we weren’t getting the ponies we needed was because we were looking for them in the wrong way. I came up with the new regimen for this year hoping it would help us refine our criteria. It’s a prototype, I guess, and if it works this year we plan to use it from here out.”

Rainbow was speechless for a moment, her eyes flicking across the floor like she was searching for inspiration for a way to refute Spitfire’s words. “I guess that makes sense… I guess you couldn’t have told me this before the audition, huh?”

“And risk giving you an unfair advantage over everypony else? I don’t think so,” Spitfire said. “I want you to get the spot, Dash, but not at the expense of somepony else if they deserve it more.”

“Nopony deserves to be on the Wonderbolts more than Rainbow Dash!” Scoots suddenly snarled. “She’s been working for it for years! Training every day! What more could she possibly do to deserve it more?!”

“I didn’t mean to imply she didn’t deserve it,” Spitfire started, her voice strained, but Rainbow held up a wing to silence her.

“Scoots, she’s saying that she has to pick who’s best for the team. If somepony did better than me today, then they deserve the spot. Nothing else to it.” The tension left her body as she sidled over to us and grabbed a cider from the fridge before taking a spot on the empty couch where she gave a sly grin. “Besides, it’s good that she didn’t tell me. If I’d known something they hadn’t, it wouldn’t be as fun when I beat them!”

Soarin’ laughed and clinked his bottle against Rainbow’s. “Now there’s the Rainbow Dash spirit we know and love!”

As the unpleasant heaviness in the air subsided, Scoots and I joined Rainbow on the surprisingly comfortable couch. Scoots wore a rueful frown as she settled in the middle between us, though nopony else seemed to notice as the conversation continued.

“Well, I’m glad you understand, Dash,” Spitfire said. “I’m sure you weren’t the only one who was a little upset over today, but like you said, I had to do what I thought was best for the team. But I’m tired of talking about work! Let’s talk about something else. How’s life in Ponyville been treating you? I haven’t been out that way since the last Apple Family Reunion!”

I’d heard of the famous Apple Family Reunions. Every one hundred moons, the entire family gathered from around Equestria to celebrate with each other. Every time they went to a different family branch’s home, usually a farm with a lot of space (it’s a very large family, after all), with the last one taking place at Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville.

“Wait, so you’re related to the Apples?” I asked.

“I’m not, but he is,” Spitfire said, pointing to Soarin’. In turn, he just shrugged.

“My partner’s an Apple,” he said simply. “We have our own little orchard out in a little town called Appleloosa.”

The name sounded vaguely familiar. Applejack had probably mentioned the place before if she had family out that way. “Oh? What’s her name?” I probably didn’t know her, of course, but I thought I might at least recognize the name.

However, my question was met with a snort from Spitfire and a smaller chuckle from Soarin’. Then the latter spoke.

“Braeburn. His name’s Braeburn.”

No wonder they were laughing. I must look pretty funny with my foot in my mouth. At least I did faintly recall the name as one of Applejack’s numerous cousins, not that it made me feel much better.

“Heh, sorry! Shouldn’t have assumed,” I said.

But Soarin’ just played it off with a casual wave of his wing. “Don’t worry about it! You couldn’t have known. But that reminds me of the news I was supposed to tell you all about. The news that was supposed to be a secret until somepony decided to open her big, fat mouth!” he said, glaring at an innocently whistling Spitfire.

“Oh yeah, I nearly forgot!” Rainbow said, sitting up a little straighter. “What’s going on?”

“Well, Brae and I have decided that we’re ready to have foals,” he said, a small smile lighting up his face in pride. “We been thinking it over for a while now, going through all our options and everything and we think it’s time.”

To my surprise, Rainbow seemed to have nothing to say. She was just sitting there, her brow wrinkled in confusion. Soarin’ looked around, obviously expecting some kind of reaction, so I spoke up to not be rude.

“That’s great! Have you decided how you’re going to go about it? Foster parenting? Adoption?”

“Surrogacy, actually,” he said. “Family is really important to Brae, so he wanted the foal to be one of ours if it was possible. And he knew just who he wanted to ask to carry it: his ‘favorite cousin in the world,’ Applejack.”

“Waitwaitwait, hold on!” Rainbow finally spoke up. “Applejack’s having your baby?! Applejack? One of my best friends. She’s having a baby? W-what?! How has she not told me?!”

Soarin’ recoiled at her outburst. “Well, we asked her to not say anything yet. There’re a lot of hoops you have to jump through to get a surrogacy going. Physicals to make sure she’s healthy enough to carry as well as psychological screening to make sure she won’t have a problem giving up the foal afterward, plus STI testing for me and a flank-load of paperwork we all have to look over and sign. There are so many things that could stop us from moving forward, and we didn’t want word spreading before we were surer it was going to happen.”

Instead of looking pacified, Rainbow just frowned at the floor. “I still can’t believe it… But you’re a Wonderbolt! How in Equestria do you have time for a relationship, let alone a foal? Don’t either of those things need, like… all your attention?”

“Wonderbolts can have lives, too, you know,” Soarin’ said. “Sure, we don’t get as much time home as we’d like. Sometimes we’re away for weeks at a time, but those are the exceptions rather than the rule.”

“Rapidfire’s been seeing a mare for what? Seven years now?” Spitfire asked aloud. “I know Misty’s got two stallions back home, and hay! Fleetfoot’s got two foals.”

“And Brae and I’ll manage, just like we always have,” Soarin’ concluded. “Just because you’re a Wonderbolt doesn’t mean you can’t have a family or a life. It may not be easy, but nothing worth having usually is.”

Rainbow slumped back onto the couch, a thoughtful look in her eyes. She fell into an uneasy silence, long enough that Soarin’ and Spitfire both seemed to pick up on it, sharing a concerned look.

“Dash, are you okay?” Spitfire asked.

Rainbow snapped out of her thoughts and refocused her attention on Spitfire, blinking. “What do you mean? I’m fine.”

“You’ve just seemed a little… different tonight; like you’re on edge or something. You sure everything’s cool?”

Rainbow suddenly reeled back and gave a loud, forced laugh. She scratched the back of her head abashedly while she waved off Spitfire’s words. “I’m fine! I’ve just been… uh… a little stressed about today lately. Yeah, that’s all! Actually…” she trailed off before turning to look instead at me. As she continued, her voice became softer and lost its disingenuous air. “I’ve probably been kind of a jerk lately. I’m sorry about that. I’ll try to be better, okay?”

I was too confused by the sudden shift to say anything. What was she apologizing to me for? Did she regret turning me down, or for even sleeping with me in the first place? Was she just sorry for the poor way we handled last night?

“Well, if you need help de-stressing, I know just the thing!” Spitfire said. “Why don’t we get another round of drinks in us and then do something fun? Anypony like poker?”

Whether she had noticed anything between Rainbow and I or was just trying to change the subject to something more light-hearted I couldn’t tell. I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts to have been paying attention, trying to ascertain what in the world was going through Rainbow’s head. I suddenly couldn’t wait for this weekend to just be over so I could go home and start getting things back in order in my life.

Until then, some poker with some new friends would make for a good distraction.

It’s amazing how just a little bit of alcohol can really loosen a group up. We were all gathered around that small folding table I had seen earlier, scrunched up close enough that we were practically rubbing elbows and Scoots was nearly in my lap, but nopony seemed to mind as we swapped stories and jokes.

“So, this one time at school our teacher asked my friend Apple Bloom to fix the air conditioner since it went out and she’s pretty good with machines and stuff, right?” Scoots said as she hauled in the chips she’d won quite soundly in the last round. “She takes it apart and finds that the filter is so clogged with dust and dirt that no air’s getting through. But we don’t have a vacuum or anything to clean it out with, right?”

We all nodded to show we were listening as Soarin’ shuffled the deck and dealt out the next round.

“So Apple Bloom tells Ms. Cheerilee that she isn’t sure how to clean it. Now, Ms. Cheerilee was already irritated because it had been a long day in a blazing hot schoolroom, so she snaps at AB to ‘Just blow it out yourself, then!’”

Rainbow and Soarin’ both snickered while I bit back a snort. Spitfire gave an amused sigh as she said, “Not the best way to have worded it to a class of teenagers.”

Scoots just grinned even wider. “It gets even better! One of the colts, Snails, had been sleeping at his desk all day, but he chose that moment to wake up and say ‘That’s what she said!’” She paused in her story while we all burst out laughing. Even if I hadn’t been a little tipsier than what was probably wise, her imitation of Snail’s thick accent was priceless. “I swear, I have never seen Ms. Cheerilee so embarrassed! She couldn’t even look at any of us for the rest of the day!”

Spitfire cracked up so bad she had to put her hand down and wipe her eyes with a hoof. “Did he get in trouble at all?”

“Nope!” Scoots said, beaming. “She’s always been really cool about stuff like that. As long as it doesn’t get out of hoof or distracting, she lets us joke around and stuff. Keeps things from being too uptight and boring, you know?”

“Shit, any of our teachers back in the day would have had a fit if we said something like that!” Spitfire said. “Soarin’, you remember old Mrs. Melody?”

“Celestia do I!” he scowled. “I lost count of how many detentions she put us in. She’d have burst a vessel if either of us had said something like that.”

“Yeah, but we were a couple of little shits back then,” Spitfire said, grinning conspiratorially. “You remember the time we broke into her office and –”

“And completely rearranged everything?” Soarin’ finished for her, shaking his head. He faced the rest of us. “She hated anypony touching her things. Seriously, she’d freak out if you so much as bumped her desk. Looking back, she might have been OCD or something. Anyway, we got into her office after school one day and flipped everything around so that it was facing the opposite way.”

“Damn, that is mean!” I said, laughing at the thought. “What did she do?”

“Nothing!” Spitfire barked. “All that work and she said nothing! The next day she was the same cranky old crone she always was.”

“She did have a serious twitch in her eye, though,” Soarin’ said. He gave a wistful look to her. “We had some pretty crazy times back then. Those were the days, huh?”

“You two sound like you were really close,” I said.

Spitfire smiled and sighed as she tossed in her ante. I realized with a start that I hadn’t even checked my hand yet. A three and a five in different colors was all I had to work with as she reminisced. “We sure were. I was unlucky enough to meet this dork on my first day of Primary. Five and a half years old and I didn’t know any better, so when I said ‘hi’ to the colt sitting next to me, I had no idea I’d be stuck with him for the rest of my life!”

“I seem to remember you chasing me down during recess that day and demanding I play with you,” Soarin’ countered as he laid out the flop. A queen, a ten and a two; a whole lot of nothing for me. I cursed inwardly as I tossed in my ante, too.

“I only asked you to play because I knew you’d be all alone without me,” Spitfire said, sticking her tongue out. “But yeah, we’ve been best friends ever since. Or partners in crime if you believed our teachers!”

When we had all put in our antes, Soarin’ dealt a fourth card, another queen. At least I had two-of-a-kind, so I wasn’t completely out of the game. We took turns around the table; Scoots, Soarin’ and I checked while Spitfire and Rainbow both made a small bet and raise respectively. After the chips were down, Soarin’ dropped a three as the final card, giving me a two pair. I had a chance to win this hand after all!

“I never would have pictured you guys as troublemakers,” Scoots said.

I made a bet of my own which Spitfire confidently met as she raised an eyebrow to Scoots. “Why do you say that?”

“I don’t know,” Scoots quickly said. “I guess… It’s just that you’ve always been these famous Wonderbolts for as long as I can remember. It’s hard to imagine you guys being school foals…”

“Damn, filly,” Spitfire said without looking up from her cards. “You sure know how to make a mare feel old.”

The completely casual way Spitfire said it seemed to confuse Scoots, as it took a moment for her to react. She bolted upright, her eyes wide and her ears folded back. “N-no! That’s not what I meant! I, uh… I’ve always looked up to you and all! Well, not always, of course! I mean–”

“Woah, slow down filly!” Spitfire said, holding up a hoof and smiling disarmingly. “I’m just messing with you.”

Scoots let out a breath and awkwardly rubbed her shoulder. “Heh… Right. Sorry!”

“Aww, cut her a break, Spits,” Soarin’ said. “Everypony gets a little nervous around their first celebrity.”

“Since when are there celebrities here? I’d love to meet them,” I teased.

“Now see, that’s what I like!” Spitfire said, pointing a hoof at me and laughing. “I’m so glad Dash dragged you two along. You’re both alright! Now show what you got, bitches.”

She went first, laying down a two pair in queens and twos. Rainbow groaned with only the queens, the same as Soarin’. I confidently laid down my own two pair and reached to take the pot when Scoots brushed my shoulder with a wing, a smug, shit-eating grin on her little muzzle.

“Read ‘em and weep, losers!” she said, laying down a queen and a ten, giving the little punk a full house. We all watched in horror as she gleefully scooped up the winnings, leaving her with over half of all the chips on the table stacked up in piles nearly large enough for her to hide behind.

“I never would have guessed such an innocent-looking filly could be such a cardshark!” Spitfire complained. She tried to take a drink from her bottle only to find it empty. She got up and trotted to the fridge, the barest trace of a wobble in her stance, and rifled through before giving up with a huff. “You know what? I can only lose so many rounds of poker before I get bored. Who wants to go downstairs and dance with me?”

“I thought the point of the private room was so that nopony knew you were here?” Rainbow asked.

Spitfire shook her head and came back over to nudge Soarin’ up and out of his seat. “Well yeah, but it’s getting late. By now, everypony down there will be too drunk to recognize us. And I like dancing! Find some hunky stallion or pretty filly to brush your coat against and get down to the beat; what’s not to love?”

“I hear that!” Rainbow said knowingly. “Well, I’m game. Will, Scoots?”

Scoots gave a half-hearted but by no means unexcited shrug. “Dancing can be fun, I guess. Sounds good to me!”

If I were to be honest, I was a lot more hesitant. I’d never been a particularly talented dancer, usually barely managing to not embarrass myself whenever the tunes started, but I didn’t really want to be a party pooper, either, so in the end I agreed and we all made our way downstairs.

No sooner had we opened the door to our private suite did the roar of sound in the club reassert itself. Some song I couldn’t really recognize was playing, filling the air with rumbling bass, electronic sounds and some mare singing about drinking and getting laid. Typical club fare.

True to Spitfire’s word, nopony seemed to really pay them any undue attention; even I got only a couple of passing looks. Between the colored spotlights revolving around the floor being the only illumination in the dark hall and the general level of drunkenness in the club’s patrons, none of us must have stood out much.

It was still as packed as it had been earlier, but with the practiced ease of somepony who’d done it a thousand times before, Spitfire led us to one side of the floor, not too close nor too far from the blasting speakers and spread her wings to usher everypony aside and clear a small space for us.

She wasted no time in diving into a sort of two-step, swaying her hips and bobbing her head side to side. Soarin’ laughed and fell into place beside her, mimicking her motions while occasionally making a peace sign with his wings and waving it in front of his face goofily.

When nopony else immediately jumped in with them, Spitfire rolled her eyes and threw a wing around Scoots, dragging her over. She ran through the motions slowly to let Scoots catch up, but it wasn’t needed. She picked them up almost instantly, and within moments she was dancing like she’d been practicing it for years.

With a laugh and a shrug, Rainbow grabbed my pant leg with her mouth and dragged me into place as well. We formed a small circle with Scoots and Rainbow on either side of me. The moves were obviously designed for ponies, but I did my best to adapt them for me. I probably looked ridiculous as I shook my hips and rolled my shoulders, but we were all having too much fun for me to care.

We lost ourselves to the beat and the moment. All I could hear was the music, all I could see was the swirling lights and the sea of bodies swinging and churning about. Every now and then a face would come into view before dissipating back into the shapeless crowd. All around me was fur and feathers and sweat and bodies and heat and they were all pressing into me and becoming one big mass of sensory overload.

And it was brilliant.

At some point we had rearranged. Scoots and Soarin’ were face to face, beaming competitively as they circled around each other like predators sizing the other up. Spitfire was in the air, grinding her back into my chest as my hands explored her body and my cheek nuzzled her neck. Her spicy scent lulled my mind into a haze as in front of us I could barely recognize Rainbow dancing with some mare I doubt she even knew.

As the song switched to a more up-tempo-almost-funk song, I found myself with Scoots. She was standing on her hindlegs, her forehooves in my hands to help her balance as we danced in a style that was almost swing. She was laughing and trying to shout something to me but the words couldn’t reach me and were lost in the jumble of the night.

I couldn’t tell you how long we were at it. Constantly changing styles and partners as the mood struck us as the night went on. At one point I even ended up with Soarin’ in my arms, and had I been a little more sober or a little less high on the party, I might have found it weird to be holding another dude, but as it was it was fun and we enjoyed every minute of it.

I knew it was getting late after a while as the crowd started to thin and we were all getting tired. Spitfire had left to escort Scoots to the bathroom while Soarin’ went to the bar to get some shots and rest his hooves for a while, leaving just Rainbow and I still on the floor. A slower song came on, giving us the chance to move a little closer and even hear each other now that we weren’t fighting a hundred other voices.

“Some night, huh?” she asked into my ear. She had deigned to let me hold her for this dance, as my back was hurting from having to bend over to reach the tiny ponies. And so we swayed with her in one of my arms and the other between her wings while both of her hooves were around my neck.

“Yeah. This has been really great. I’m glad you know ponies cooler than you,” I said mockingly, to which she gave a mock scowl. “What time do you think it is?”

“Who cares?” she said wildly. She leaned back until she was practically looking upside-down at everypony behind her with me struggling to not drop her from the sudden move. It was the most relaxed I’d seen her all day, though whether it was from the drinks or just having the auditions done and over with I couldn’t know.

She suddenly reeled back, gracelessly bumping her chest into mine and slumping her chin onto my shoulder.

Okay yep, it was probably the drinks.

“Do you like Cloudsdale?” she quietly asked, her voice barely a whisper above what remained of the crowd. “I grew up here, you know. It’s all so… so different from what I remember. But not really. After school, I used to go to that pizza place every day with Gilda or Fluttershy. Well, sometimes with Fluttershy. Her parents didn’t like me.”

“Uh… why do you think that?” I asked, confused by the sudden shift in her demeanor.

“They said I’d be a bad influence on her. Get her into trouble,” she sighed. “They were probably right.”

I rubbed her back comfortingly. “Rainbow, are you okay?”

She gave a tired, slurred ‘hmmm?’, sounding like she had just woken up. “Wha…? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” A pause. “No, I’m not. I don’t know anymore. I’m sorry about last night.

“I’ve been thinking about it all day. You deserved a lot more than just ‘I don’t do relationships.’”

I cursed inwardly. I really didn’t want to have this conversation all over again, especially tonight after we’d been having so much fun. Did she really need to go through the specifics of why she didn’t want to date me, now?

“Look Rainbow, I get it. You don’t want to date me; that’s fine. Yeah, we probably have a lot to talk through, but we can figure things out. Can’t we just have fun tonight?”

“It’s not like that!” Rainbow snapped. She lifted herself off my shoulder to glare at me. “Y-you’re right, we do haf’ta talk! But it’s not… it’s not easy, you know? You always wanna talk and I don’t… I don’t know the words and…”

She trailed off and fell silent before, with a painful hoof to my chest, shoved herself away from me. She nearly tumbled as I let go, but she caught herself in the air with several powerful, if uneven, flaps of her wings. Even drunk she could handle herself as she hovered in front on my face.

“After… after everything, you deserved more!” she said. “And I-I’m trying, but…”

“Rainbow, woah, slow down,” I said gently. She hung her head, shaking it as her mane hid her face from my view.

After angrily rubbing her eyes with a hoof, she said, “’M’sorry. This izzn’t the time, I know. I don’t even know why I’m saying all this.” Her voice was slurring and she looked around the dance floor like she didn’t even know where she was. “There’s just… so much I wanna say and I don’t know how…”

Her eyes flicked past me and her expression darkened. “Shit…” she mumbled under her breath.

I turned to see Spitfire and Scoots making a beeline across the floor towards us. Just before they got within earshot, Rainbow brushed by me, whispering, “We’ll talk later.” She waved to get Spitfire’s attention. “Yo, I need another drink! Buy me a shot of… something, I don’t know.”

Scoots watched them walk away with concern before she turned back to me. “What’s up with Rainbow? You two didn’t fight again, did you?”

I didn’t think so, did we…?

Scoots got my attention by slinking around me, rubbing herself against my leg not unlike a cat would. The opening notes of a slower song started up, which struck me as strange choice of music for a nightclub, but as I looked around I saw that the crowd had thinned somewhat and everypony that remained were pairing off like it was completely normal.

“Last call, folks. Enjoy one last drink while you have a song for the road,” a voice spoke over the speakers, and I looked over to the turntables to see the DJ holding a microphone under his wing.

“C-can I have this dance?” Scoots asked. She looked up at me with this hopelessly adorable-yet-terrified smile that washed all other thoughts from my head. Nodding, I leaned down and extended my hand for her hoof.

She took it, surprising me when she stood back up on her hindlegs and leaned against me. Wrapping her free foreleg around my thigh, she stood just tall enough to rest her cheek against my stomach. Amused at the slight absurdity of the situation, I did my best to reach her back (only managing her shoulder) and together we started to rock to the music.

At first, I couldn’t help but look around us nervously, expecting disapproving stares to be pointed my way. Now that there was no one else from our little group around, it was just me and a seventeen year old filly. I guess I half-expected somepony to burst down the door and take me away, but…

Nopony was even looking at us. There were couples all over the place; mares and stallions in all kinds of pairings all wrapped up in their own lives. We didn’t even register to them.

For all the souls moving around us…

…we may as well have been alone.

And with that thought solace fell over me. Nothing mattered anymore beyond the hoof in my hand, the breath billowing my shirt, the warmth against my navel and her body against me.

I pulled away from her ever so slightly, earning the ghost of a hurt frown until I swept her small body up in my arms. I held her against my chest, one arm under her rump all it took to bear the burden of her being. The silken soft of her mane was under my chin and between my fingers as I clutched her tight. Her wings fluttered in alarm until she recognized the safety of my embrace and melted against me.

Somewhere above us in the darkness, a light blossomed forth. The rest of the club faded into a void, leaving only Scoots and myself to bear witness to the moment. The music carried my feet across the floor without my heed and I allowed myself to be its thrall. Somewhere further still humming graced the melody, lilting and flowing between the bars like leaves on the September wind.

Scoots lifted her head to nuzzle against my cheek. Her coat, her warm, velvety coat glowing like fire under the light. She was humming, a small, subtle thing. Quiet; just for us.

One step forward, one to the left; spin, one step back, one forward again. Her lips against my neck. Spin, one step forward, one to the left. Her breath against my ear. Spin, one step back, one forward.

“Will…”

Her face was in front of mine then. Her eyes, deep and purple and shining. Her lips, parted, leaning closer to mine. Her hoof, grasping my neck as if holding on for dear life.

Suddenly, the music was gone and the spotlights overhead were stars; thousands of twinkling stars bathing us in their gentle glow.

And under the light of a thousand stars…

We kissed.

Even after she pulled away, pressing her forehead against mine, I could still taste her on my lips. The sugary sweetness of the soda she’d been drinking, her salty sweat, and oh the taste of her lips themselves.

Her eyes could barely stand to meet mine, a large and dopey smile on her face as her chest expanded with every panting breath she took. She gave me one more quick peck before sighing and laying her head back on my shoulder.

“That was awesome,” she whispered.

At the moment, I couldn’t bring myself to laugh at her choice of words. Instead, I simply pressed my cheek against her head, filling my senses with the smell and feel of her mane. “We’ll have to do this again sometime.”

“Mhm. Maybe when we go on that date? We could go to the park and dance under the moon.”

“I’d like that.”

As the world began to reassert itself back onto us, I realized the music had long since stopped and the floor was much emptier than it had been before. A few tired-looking staffers were ushering the drunker ponies out the door and the DJ was packing up his gear. Not feeling like letting go of Scoots, I continued holding her as I turned to look for the door.

And instead found Rainbow.

Alone on the floor. Her wings drooped to the ground. Staring at us.

“Will? What’s w–” Scoots began to ask, but stopped as she saw her sister. Her hooves wrapped tighter about my neck as the realization dawned.

Rainbow had seen.

And now she knew.

She was silent. Her lips slack like she wanted to say something. Her mouth working and nothing coming out.

Her eyes didn’t mist over, nor did she start to cry. Instead, she looked around, for what I couldn’t know, before shrugging.

And without a word, she turned and walked away.