“Look, all I’m saying is what does Twilight have that I don’t? If I had access to all of Canterlot Library and Celestia’s patronage for as many years at Twilight did, I could probably beaten her at magic. It’s just not fair.”
Lyra rolled her eyes at the blue unicorn’s rant as she neared the booth. She stopped and levitated five pint glasses onto her tray. They were all empty, though drips of tan foam still clung to the rims. The earth pony sitting across from Trixie nodded, occasionally muttering an “mhm” as she sipped from another glass still a third full with beer.
Lyra looked at both ponies. When Trixie paused to take a breath, Lyra broke into the one-sided conversation with a practiced chirp. “Would you like anything else?”
The earth pony muttered a polite “No thank you.” Trixie shook her head vigorously.
“So how do you want to divide the check?”
The earth pony remained silent, staring lazily at Trixie. Trixie looked up at Lyra and beamed with pride. “I will buy!” She waved her forehooves with a flourish, wobbling slightly. “I promished this young mare a night on the town, and The Great and Powerful Trixie always keeps her word!”
Lyra glanced at the other mare, who shrugged. “She did and hey, I’m not going to say no to free drinks on St. Pudding’s Day.”
She set a slip of paper on the table. She walked away, setting the tray of glasses on her back, and shook her head and chuckled. Saint Puddinghead’s Day always brought out the strangest ponies.
Lyra reached the bar and set the tray down. Her brewpub, as always, was exceptionally busy on Saint Puddinghead’s Day, but she always appreciated the extra traffic. She sat down behind the bar glad for even a moment’s rest. The sun had long set and most ponies were finally going home for the night. Lyra smiled as she surveyed those few late night drinkers who still lingered.
She turned to see the three familiar faces at the bar. Bon Bon and Berry Punch were in loud conversation about something or other. Lyra was not paying enough attention to decipher what. She smiled at Bon Bon, gazing fondly at her. Bon Bon caught her eye and cheerily waved. Lyra lifted an aching foreleg and waved back. She knew Bon Bon was never much of a drinker, but Bon Bon had visited Everfree Brewery nearly every day since Lyra began the venture. Bon Bon got to know most of the regular customers just as well as Lyra did and became fast friends with many of them. But Lyra knew deep down that Bon Bon stayed largely to support her best friend, and for the company whenever Lyra could catch a break.
Lyra was lost in the labyrinth of happy memories when she noticed her other regular at the end of the bar. The pegasus let out a deep sigh and took a large gulp from her glass. She swallowed hard, continuing to stare blearily ahead of her. Lyra took her eyes off Bon Bon and cocked an ear. She frowned as the pegasus grumbled. She trotted over.
“Hey there Rainbow Dash,” Lyra said. The pegasus’s eyes shifted for a moment toward Lyra before settling back in their forward position.
“Hey Lyra,” she said. Rainbow took another sip of her beer.
Lyra glanced back toward Bon Bon and Berry Punch. The two earth ponies were still jovially chatting away. The rest of the brewpub was almost empty by now, save Trixie and her acquaintance.
“Why so glum?” Lyra leaned on the bar and stared intently at Rainbow. Rainbow turned her head and stared at the amber-tinted reflection in her glass.
“No reason.” Rainbow Dash’s lips tightened as she paused. “Just having a lousy day, that’s all.” Lyra frowned. Rainbow kept her head down as she briefly looked up at Lyra. Only Lyra’s chin was visible below the inside of Rainbow’s eyelid, “What?”
Lyra furrowed her brow. “Oh come on now Rainbow, that’s not the pegasus I know.” She softened. “What’s eating you, Rainbow?”
Rainbow took a deep breath and let it out slowly, raising her head slightly. Rainbow could see most of Lyra’s face now. She still avoided meeting Lyra’s gaze, letting her red and orange mesh of a mane obscure Lyra’s eyes. She sniffed at her glass of beer gingerly and took another sip. “I’ve been thinking and, well,” she paused, “what have I really done with my life?”
Lyra started to speak but stopped. Rainbow’s question caught her off guard, and it took a moment for Lyra to form a proper answer. “Really? You of all ponies are asking me that?” She spoke with all the kindness she could muster. You’ve saved Ponyville almost a dozen times! You’re the Element of Loyalty!”
Rainbow cut Lyra off before she could start another sentence. “Of course I know that,” Rainbow spat. The look of shock on Lyra’s face made Rainbow hesitate. She let out a puff of air through her nostrils to calm herself. “But… but for everything I’ve done, I’m still,” the words seemed like they were stuck in Rainbow’s throat. “I’m still not a Wonderbolt.” Rainbow went back to staring at the reflection in her glass.
Lyra digested the statement before giving one simple response. “And? You’re still awesome.”
“Ugh!” Rainbow pounded the counter with a forehoof. “I know, but everything is happening so slowly. I should be a Wonderbolt by now. I mean, look at Twilight! She’s got wings and a castle already!” She pouted. “It’s just not fair. At this rate I’ll never be a Wonderbolt.”
The mention of Twilight made Lyra grin inwardly. It was kind of endearing to see Rainbow Dash be jealous of another pony’s success. “Come on Rainbow,” Lyra patted the pegasus on her shoulder. “Twilight has been preparing for this in some way for her entire life. You can’t really compare her achievement and yours-”
Rainbow Dash flared her wings and shouted, “I’ve been preparing my entire life too! I’m the best damn flyer in Ponyville!”
The exclamation was loud enough that Berry and Bon Bon stopped talking and looked over to see what was going on. Lyra smiled sheepishly at the pair, and they shrugged. Taking advantage of the pause, Lyra glanced over to the booth and noticed that Trixie and her companion had left. A pile of bits lay unattended on the table. She made a note to get the money before she closed up.
Rainbow chuckled sheepishly as she shrank back. Lyra tried to comfort her. “Rainbow, you’re a great flyer, nobody’s denying that. But you have to admit, you’re only seriously pursued becoming a Wonderbolt in the last few years. And you’re already in the reserves! I doubt many pegasi can say that!”
“Yeah, I guess.” Rainbow sighed. “I don’t know, it still feels like it’s just moving too slowly. I mean, I look at everything that’s happened with Twilight and I just feel inadequate, you know?”
Lyra’s expression hardened. “Rainbow you are not inadequate,” she said emphatically. “You carried Ponyville to a silver in the aerial relay last year! If it weren’t for you we wouldn’t even have reached the finals!”
Rainbow tried to brush off the accomplishment with another sigh, but Lyra noticed a glimmer flash across her eyes and a slight upcurl in the corners of Rainbow’s mouth. “I guess that’s true. But still, Twilight’s done so much more than I have!”
Lyra could not help but blurt out the first thing that came to mind. “You need to stop comparing yourself to Twilight.” Rainbow’s eyes widened. Lyra hesitated, wondering if she had been too harsh. She glanced over at Berry and Bon Bon again to get her focus off Rainbow. Lyra’s eyes wandered and found the bits on the booth again, and she remembered what Trixie had said. Even if it was the drunken rambling of a hack stage magician, it still carried some weight. “Look,” Lyra started, trying to get the words right in her head. “Being Celestia’s protege gave Twilight a huge head start on her life goals. But ponies like you and me, we’ve built ourselves and our dreams from scratch. I remember when you first came in here years ago, talking about the Best Young Flyer competition. You were bragging about your sonic rainboom all cocky like, and I remember nopony believed you could do it. And then a few weeks later after the competition, you came back. And you’d pulled it off. I don’t know if you remember,” she pointed at Rainbow, “but the moment you trotted in here after you got back from Cloudsdale, everypony was cheering.” Lyra swept her extended hoof across the room. “I mean everypony. I think it was even louder at that moment than the busiest it got today.”
Rainbow’s ears perked up as she half remembered half imagined the brewery packed with ponies cheering for her.
Lyra continued. “And you’ve made great progress toward becoming a Wonderbolt. Going to the academy, making the reserves, do you think just any pegasus can do that? No. But you did, and you did it in only a year! Come on Rainbow Dash.” Lyra rapped on the bar with a hoof with each word, “you are awesome.”
Rainbow sat up straight and puffed out her chest. Her smile growing bigger as Lyra spoke. “You’re right, I am awesome!” Rainbow grinned and looked as if she was about to lift off into the ceiling. Luckily for Lyra’s expense account, she instead stayed seated and swallowed the rest of her beer.
Lyra’s pep talk had pumped herself up just as much as it had Rainbow Dash. She jumped when a loud thud suddenly echoed around the room.
Lyra and Rainbow looked toward where the sound came from. Berry Punch had disappeared from next to Bon Bon, who was staring downward with her mouth hanging open.
Lyra rushed over and craned her neck to peer over the edge of the bar. Berry was lying on the floor. Bon Bon slid off her stool and helped Berry back to her hooves as Lyra rushed around to aid her. Berry blinked. Berry tried to wave Lyra away as Lyra reached out to steady her. “I’m,” Berry hiccupped, “I’m fine. Really. I jussst lost my balance.”
Lyra and Bon Bon steadied Berry on her hooves. Lucky for Berry the only injuries were some minor scrapes and a slightly bruised knee. Lyra brought her head close to Bon Bon and whispered. “Can you take her home? I’ve kind of had my hooves full with Rainbow.” Bon Bon nodded sweetly and began leading Berry Punch out of the brewpub.
Behind her, Lyra could hear Rainbow’s muffled laughing. Even if it was at Berry’s expense, Lyra was relieved to hear Rainbow seeming happy again after the previous half hour. She walked back toward Rainbow and let out a soft laugh. “You doing alright now?” Rainbow brought a foreleg up to her mouth to stifle her giggling.
Rainbow calmed herself and nodded, smiling the first smile Lyra could call genuine since their conversation began. “Yeah, I’m good now.” Rainbow turned away toward her beer glass but returned her gaze to Lyra. “Thanks.”
Lyra gently hugged Rainbow. “Sure thing.” She started cleaning up the brewery for closing, gathering the bits from Trixie’s booth into a bag and putting the used glasses into a bin behind the bar. Lyra stopped when she noticed Rainbow wobble slightly as she stood up. “Are you sure you’re fit to fly home?” Lyra raised an eyebrow. “I don’t want you dropping out of the sky.”
Rainbow scoffed, brushing aside Lyra’s concern. “Yeah, don’t worry, I’m good.” She flitted about near the open front doors but bumped the lintel with her back as she flew outside. “Ow!” she yelped as she returned to the ground, landing on the cobbled street with a cacophony of ungraceful hoofsteps. She poked her head back inside. “Actually Lyra, maybe not,” Rainbow said with an embarrassed grin.
“Alright, just let me finish closing up,” Lyra shouted reappearing briskly from the brewery area of the pub.
Ten minutes later and Lyra and Rainbow were walking side by side through the moonlit streets of Ponyville. Rainbow occasionally meandered closer to Lyra, and more than once Lyra had to stop and prevent Rainbow Dash from lilting too much and steady her. By now, the streets of the town were nearly empty, even on the aftermath of Saint Pudding’s Day. Lyra wondered where to take Rainbow for the night. Rainbow certainly couldn’t go home, not in that condition. Lyra considered taking her to Twilight’s castle, but after the night’s discussion she thought that perhaps that was a bad idea. After talking more with Rainbow, she settled on Fluttershy’s. It was a bit of a walk outside of town but Lyra knew Fluttershy would care for her friend well. Fifteen minutes later, they reached the cottage and Lyra handed Rainbow off to Fluttershy.
She bid Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy a good night and walked back into the center of town toward her own home. As she walked through the empty streets, Lyra’s mind wandered and she began pondering what more she could do to continue encouraging Rainbow Dash. The pegasus wanted to feel accomplished, to have a legacy. When Lyra passed her brewery, the outside vats glowing silver with moonlight, at last an idea struck. As luck would have it, Winter Wrap Up was only a few days away. She wanted to surprise Rainbow and knew that she always stopped by the Everfree Brewery once the pegasi were done with their job. Lyra would have to work quickly.
Lyra eyed the doors of the brewery from behind the bar. The brewery was packed with ponies wearing blue, green, and beige vests. Lyra still had her animal team vest on from earlier that day. She sucked in a breath through gritted teeth as she looked at the wall clock. It was almost seven in the evening.
“Are you sure she’s coming?” Lyra turned to Fluttershy, who sat calmly at the bar.
“I’m sure she’ll be here any moment now,” Fluttershy said calmly. “She said she just had a little more cloud clearing to do when I talked to her before I came over here.”
Lyra eyed the doors again nervously. “I hope she’s here soon. I want to have a packed house for her.”
Almost ten minutes passed without any movement of the brewery’s doors. Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie, Twilight, and Lyra exchanged glances as the five wondered when Rainbow was going to arrive. At last, the doors swung open and Rainbow Dash trotted in to join the packed crowd.
Lyra cupped her hooves to her mouth to amplify her voice and shouted over the din. “Everypony! Everypony, may I have your attention!” She waited for the noise level to die down as Rainbow trotted up to the bar, beckoned by her friends. “I would like to announce the tapping of Everfree Brewery’s newest creation. In honor of Ponyville’s own Rainbow Dash, we have specially crafted a beer in her honor. I am proud to unveil the Sonic Rainbrew and give everypony here the opportunity to taste our newest beer for free tonight!” Lyra paused for a moment, before saying her final word. “Can I please get a round of applause for Rainbow Dash.”
The crowd of ponies in the brewery erupted in cheers and the stamping of hooves as Lyra pointed out Rainbow now seated at the bar. Rainbow Dash beamed, soaking up the praise like a sponge. After the cheers died down and ponies returned to their food, drink, and merriment, Rainbow took a seat next to Twilight at the bar.
“Were you really waiting for me for that?” Rainbow said excited.
“Of course,” Lyra replied. “After we talked a few days ago I wanted to show you how appreciated you are by all of us. Even if you’re not a Wonderbolt yet, you’re still admired by everypony in Ponyville.”
Rainbow’s grin elongated fully across her face as Lyra fetched a tulip glass. She returned with the glass, half filled with amber beer topped with a thin layer of white foam. Lyra set the glass down in front of Rainbow. “Here you go, try it. You ought to be the first one to taste it. You are the pony of honor, after all” Lyra playfully winked at Rainbow.
Rainbow eyed Lyra with mock suspicion and sniffed the air above the glass. She brought it to her lips and took a small sip. Rainbow swirled it around before swallowing. It tasted like a regular wheat beer. As she set the glass down, however, she noticed the coloration of the liquid began to shift. Light refracted through the beer turning the glass into a swirling kaleidoscope of color.
Then the spice hit. The slow building burn attacked the back of Rainbow’s tongue and throat. She coughed as the heat reached its maximum. It lingered but quickly died down enough that it was bearable.
“Whoa,” Rainbow stammered once she could speak again. “What did you put in this?”
“Oh, nothing much. It’s a pretty common wheat, moderately hoppy,” Lyra’s smile became a mischievous grin. “And just a dash of raw rainbow to give it that extra kick.”
Rainbow Dash matched Lyra’s expression. “Oh, you’re good.”
“Oooooh, I want some!” Pinkie reached over for Rainbow’s glass, nearly falling off her stool.
Lyra laughed. “Okay, I’ll get you all some now.” Rainbow tapped Lyra’s shoulder as she turned.
“Hey, I just want to thank you. That talk really helped.”
Lyra smiled warmly back. “Any time, Rainbow Dash.”