The convention was in full swing, and from the looks on everypony's faces, it was clear to all that fun times were being had. From the cosplayers showing off their creations, to the groups of friends discussing their favourite bits of Daring Do books and trivia, to the makers of props selling their wares, there was not a single spot in this place that didn't seem to have something interesting going on, or had ponies enjoying themselves. Into this mix came Rainbow Dash, walking along in her Daring Do costume, with a massive smile plastered all over her face. But, she was not alone here today, for beside her was a recent acquaintance and fellow fan, Quibble, and together, the two made their way through the various stalls of the convention.
"I tell ya, Quibble, this place is awesome!"
The stallion chuckled to that.
"I'll say! I come here every year, and the place just never lets up in how much fun it is."
Rainbow turned to her companion, still beaming.
"Like that guy over there? Making costumes for the kids? That's some pretty neat work, right?"
Quibble looked over to where Rainbow was pointing, only to look back to her with a smirk.
"Agreed. I mean, still not as good as our costumes, but still..."
Rainbow cackled to that, taking a moment to look briefly prideful.
"Yeah, can't argue there."
The two laughed together, and were obviously enjoying themselves, as indeed were the small collection of colts and fillies that suddenly ran right through them on their way to some new stall. Though taken aback by their arrival, the two older ponies soon regained their smiles.
"You know...I think that's what I enjoy most about all this. The kids get introduced to these great books."
Rainbow gave him a brief nod before turning her attention once more to the stuff around them.
"Yeah! I mean, they get to see those books for the first time, then they'll go around here meeting fans..."
She pointed to a nearby food vendor, where collections of friends were still gathered and talking amongst themselves.
"...they get to have fun with each other..."
She then looked to the other side, where she happened upon a stall containing a number of Daring Do memorabilia.
"...and they even get to check out all of this awesome...stuff..."
Slowly, the mare came to a halt, her eyes fixed on the stall beside her. Quibble stopped too, looking to his companion with a raised eyebrow.
"Rainbow? What's wrong?"
Rainbow turned to him, then back to the stall, before finally looking back to Quibble.
"What's wrong?! Just...just look!"
She stepped aside, and raised a hoof to point at a particular item on the stall. It appeared to be a larger-than-average pillow, but upon it was imprinted a fan-made picture of Daring Do. However, rather than being depicted in a confident or adventurous manner, the fictional mare was instead seen on the pillow to be tied up from neck-to-hoof in rope, completely binding her. Still pointing at it, Rainbow seemed positively livid.
"What the heck is this?!"
Glancing at the offending pillow, Quibble let out a hearty chuckle.
"Oh, that? That's just a body pillow depicting Daring Do all tied up and stuff."
Rainbow narrowed her eyes.
"Yeah, I can see that much. But...what's it doing out here?"
Quibble raised an eyebrow.
"I know it's a rather risqué thing to craft, but fans make what they want to make. We shouldn't judge them for it."
Rainbow rolled her eyes after hearing that.
"Yeah yeah, I know, don't judge and all that. If some guys wanna make stuff like this, then fine. But that's not what I'm talking about!"
Quibble looked to her, confused.
"Then what?"
Rainbow frowned at him.
"Seriously?! I mean...there are kids at this thing, Quibble! What if one of them sees this thing?!"
To that, Quibble let out a brief snort of laughter.
"Oh, Dash. There's no need to get so worked up about a little thing like that. I mean, sure, some little colt or filly might happen upon it, but it's not like it's gonna mess them up for life or something."
Rainbow narrowed her eyes, clearly unconvinced by his words. But, she didn't get the chance to voice her feelings on the matter, for at that very moment, she was distracted by a sudden poking in her sides. Turning, she found, to her surprise, that she was now staring into the wide and happy eyes of Scootaloo. Immediately, all angry feelings from a few moments ago were gone, replaced in stead by genuine joy at seeing her adopted little sister beside her.
"Hey there, Scoots! How's it going?"
The filly smiled widely at her idol.
"It's going great! Me, Bloom and Sweetie are all really enjoying ourselves here! All the costumes and the book signings, it...it's just awesome!"
A laugh escaped the older mare at that, and she placed her hoof upon the youth's head, lightly tussling her mane.
"Happy to hear it, squirt. Better find your friends now."
Scootaloo nodded, turning in readiness to do just that. But, before she did, she looked back to Rainbow, a curious look upon her face.
"Hey, Rainbow. What does bondage mean?"
Here, Rainbow froze, looking more than a little lost for words.
"Wha...where did you hear that word?"
Scootaloo shrugged her shoulders.
"Some of the girls were talking about it. Something about seeing it on a pillow or something."
It was clear to anypony that Rainbow was doing her best to keep herself under control, though her clenched jaw certainly didn't put anypony at ease when looking at her. In the end, she simply put on a grin that even Scootaloo could tell was forced, before giving the youngster an answer through gritted teeth.
"I'll tell you when you're older, Scoots."
The filly would have probably wanted to ask more about this, but one look at the twitch on Rainbow's eyelid did away with such notions. Instead, she busied herself with looking past her mentor, over to where her friends were on the other side of the convention.
"Ooh! There's Sweetie and Bloom! Gotta go!"
And with that, she was off, running as fast as her hooves could carry her. Rainbow waved her off, forcing her grin all the way. When Scootaloo was gone, however, she dropped the act, giving Quibble a veritable death glare.
"See?! What did I just say?!"
But the stallion simply rolled his eyes.
"I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?"
