Rainbow Dash's Revelation

“Woah, woah! Woah Nellie!”

Applejack shouted in horror and annoyance as she flew messily across the clouds, doing cartwheels and loops as she spun out of control before being caught and brought back down to cloud ground by Pinkie.

“These wings are horrible! They make me look stupid, both by appearance and what they do!” Applejack protested.

“Aw don’t be so silly Applejack, you just need to learn to accept them!” Pinkie replied cheerfully, controlling her wings with relative ease.

“I’ll accept these wings when Big Mac becomes an alicorn princess…”

“What was that?”

“Nothin. Where are we right now?”

There was not much in this corner of the city. All they could see was a long track of clouds, and one single building in the middle, the sign bearing the words: The Weary Flier. Loud noises could be heard from within.

“In the south of Cloudsdale, like Twilight said!”

“Yeah…of course I know that. The problem is that there’s nothing to look for but inside that bar.” Applejack grumbled.

“So why are you all grumpy then? We can get a drink while searching for clues!”

“This is ridiculous. It’s bad enough that I had to show these ugly wings to everyone around me…but now I have to show them in a secluded area? Ugh…let’s get this over with. I give up.” Applejack sighed.

She pushed open the fluffy door and it opened accordingly, revealing the inside of the populated bar. Ponies were separated into three different groups. Some were drinking at the bar counter, others were grouped at the tables, and the rest were gathered around a single table yelling and cheering wildly.
“What the hay is going on…” Applejack groaned, pushing the colts and mares aside to get a better view of all the commotion.

Two colts, both obviously in the shape of athletes were hoof-wrestling, their faces scrunched and hardy as they tried their best to push the other hoof down on the surface. A large pile of bits lay at the side as the rest of the ponies cheered.

“SKY! SKY! SKY! SKY! SKY! SKY! SKY!”

“RAZE! RAZE! RAZE! RAZE! RAZE! RAZE!”

The harder they pushed, the more the crowd cheered. With a final act, the black-feathered Pegasus gave out a cry of power as he brought the other colt’s hoof crashing onto the table.

“YEAH! WHO IS THE CHAMPION?!” The winner roared.

“SKY! SKY! SKY! SKY! SKY…”

KABOOM.

“PINKIE!”

The whole party fell silent as the confetti fell slowly down from the ceiling from the explosion by the Party Cannon.

“Erm…who are these two mares?” One of them asked.

“I dunno…wait…what is that? Are those their WINGS??”

“Look at them! They’re so…magnificent!”

The crowd shifted its focus as they surrounded both Pinkie and Applejack, gasping in amazement and wonder as they poked and felt the wings of both ponies before being shoved back by Applejack, who was starting to get annoyed.

“Ok boys…I know how “lovely” these wings are…but we came here to find information. Does any-pony know who Rainbow Blaze is?”
“Rainbow Blaze?” The crowd murmured as they tried to remember the specific name.

“Didn’t he come with you guys last time?”

“Yeah, we took some drinks and partied a bit…”

Applejack cleared her throat loudly to avoid the crowd going back into conversation. Rainbow Blaze was apparently very popular among the bar.

“So he comes here often?” She asked, curious.

“Yeah, we hang out here all the time. Have you seen him?”

“Yeah…but he’s in the hospital.” Pinkie piped.

“Pinkie!” Applejack interjected. But it was already too late as one of the members of the group stood out, his face both angry and apprehensive.

“What do you mean that he’s in the hospital?!”

“He encountered an unfortunate accident. We’re here to find out something about his past life in order to help him get free.” Applejack explained.

“Get free from what?” The colt asked, still on the defensive side.

“From being evicted from society. He…has been holding a foal under his care without a legal permit.”

“You can get evicted from this town just because of that?!”

“No…but eventually he will do it. His wife has already kicked him out of his house.”

“…. Fine. I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

He sat down on one of the tables along with two other colts. Motioning over to Applejack and Pinkie, he moved over, inviting them to sit on the added space. The rest of the crowd slowly disappeared as the situation was settled.

“So…who are you guys?” Applejack asked, sitting down. Pinkie had already got off her seat to order a vanilla smoothie.

“My name is Skylight, and this is Razor and Nova. We’re Rainbow Blaze’s pals.”

“Nice to meet you, missy.” Razor said, tipping his black fedora.

“You have pretty nice wings.” Nova added, snickering a bit.

“Erm…likewise. So you three along with Rainbow Blaze group together in this place in some evenings?"

"Yup. More or less. It's just a colt thing, you know, happy hours after work without our managers or wives to scold us." Skylight grinned.

"Well, save for Rainbow Blaze, he's got both big problems in one." Razor chuckled.

"Ooh! What do you mean by that?" Pinkie questioned, coming back with her mouth full of foam before licking herself clean.

"Firefly is both the manager of the cloud factory and Blaze's wife!" Nova laughed.

"Wait...isn't Rainbow Blaze an athlete? Or a wonderbolt, to be specific?" Applejack asked. This was really getting confusing.

"Used to be. Until he fell for Firefly. They used to hang out here so long the bartender always had to kick them out in the morning...but we all thought it was just a wild puppy love...then imagine how shocked everypony was when he joined the factory as a normal employee under her! We've been friends ever since...got the similar problems to face and stuff."

"But why would he do that? Shouldn't a Wonderbolt have much more salary...oof!" Applejack grunted as Pinkie Pie slammed her hoof onto her face, her eyes teary and wet as she exploded with emotion.

"How could you not understand, Applejack?! It's about the LOVE, not the money! Ooh...it's so sweet of him!" Pinkie squeed.

"I dunno about that." Razor replied, a hint of satire in his tone.

"Why?! It's true love! Nothing should stand in his way for his lover!" Pinkie yelled.

"Because Rainbow Blaze never cared about the mares in his life. At the time, to him mares were just objects of desire...things to play with. To be honest...he was a player. Girls would fall for him so easily, and he took advantage of it."

"So what you're saying is..."

"There is no way Firefly and Rainbow Blaze could have married under normal circumstances."

Applejack gasped. The word was now clear. Very clear.

Blackmail.