The Ember Effect

Chapters

Clouded Thoughts
Events and Memories
Singled Out

Clouded Thoughts

Rainbow Dash watched the three girls, each almost pulsating with thinly veiled excitement. In a chorus, each one detailed their latest scheme to find their cutie marks:

“There’s gonna be balloons and cake,” Sweetie Belle started.

“Music and games,” Scootaloo added.

“And we even got a DJ for the dance!” Apple Bloom shouted, her eyes bright with excitement from the prospect of this upcoming event.

Pinkie Pie jumped around in a large circle, her excitement apparently supercharged by the contagious energy of the three children. “This is gonna be super fantabulous! It’s been forever since I just went to a party! Usually, I have to throw them.”

Rarity bristled at that. “It’s not a party, Pinkie Pie, it’s a dance. There is a very large difference.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at the nit-picking. “So what? If a place has free food and awesome games, I’m there!” Rainbow Dash shouted, flying in a tight circle. What could top that? A night of jamming out, eating, party games, and probably showing off her dancing skills. She was totally into this.

“Now hold on, there, Rainbow. The difference between a party and a dance is that a dance requires ya have a date. Sure, you can go on your own, but ya might miss out on a couple of games, and the dancin’ might make it a ‘lil awkward for ya,” Applejack chimed in.

Twilight simply sat there, looking over at Applejack, probably geeking out about the fact this was their first dance, or something sappy like that. Rainbow couldn’t be sure about them, anymore. It was like— Wait. A date? Her mind ground to a halt at the prospect. A date. Like… another pony? Romance? Togetherness?

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I have to get a date?” Rainbow Dash asked, her enthusiasm quickly dying out. Her mind quickly thought back to the last time she had scrounged up a date for a one-off event. How long had it been? She couldn’t even remember. Probably before Twilight even moved to Ponyville. She just didn’t really keep any tabs on anypony like that. “But the dance is in three days! How am I supposed to scrounge up a pony that fast?”

“Don’t worry, Rainbow. I’m sure you’ll find somepony. You always have a couple of tricks up your sleeve.” Twilight reassured, actually taking her eyes off of her girlfriend for the first time in what seemed like forever. Rainbow Dash was honestly shocked she was even paying attention.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This is nuts! I’m never going to be able to find a date in less than three days. I can’t really ask them the day of without looking lame—that just screams ‘desperate’. So that leaves me two days. But what am I supposed to do? Just ask the first pony I see if they wanna go?

Rainbow Dash was a loss at this point. Dropping the bomb of a dance with such short notice was not exactly the coolest thing somepony could have done. Usually when a dance was announced, Rainbow Dash had quite a bit of time—like a week or more—to drag a fan of hers out to the park, show off a few of her latest flying moves, and as an afterthought, ask them to whatever the latest social gathering was. It was easy. She just built the hype, and by the end they thought it was an honor to go with her. But in two days—she’d have to get right on it. And since she had been so preoccupied with all of Twilight Sparkle’s latest antics, she hadn’t been exactly showing off as much as usual, lately.

After the pint-sizes had pitched their latest scheme (apparently “party planner” was their suspected destiny, Rainbow Dash assumed), she really wondered whether she should just not go. Now that Twilight and Applejack had started dating, she really wasn’t feeling up to going to the show on her own. Going stag right after two of your best friends hit it off? That just had “loser” written all over it.

Now that everypony else had dispersed, doubtlessly to go ask that special somepony they had in mind out to the dance, Rainbow Dash just flew up to the nearest, fluffy cloud, collapsing on it with a small ‘huff’. Drowning in her own pity for just a moment, she gazed down to see the slow hustle and bustle of the ponies beneath her. Where were they all off to? To go ask their dates out? To couple up and fawn about their special someponies, planning what they were going to wear and practice their dancing? To giggle and gossip about how great it was to have their date night planned for them?

She sighed, shaking her head as she sat up. “What am I talking about?” She began, trying to shake herself out of this slump. “I’m Rainbow Dash, the coolest pony in Ponyville. I’ll get a date. Somepony has to ask me out.”

Everything would work out; she was sure of it. Besides, who wouldn’t want to go to the dance with a legend?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Apparently, no one wanted to go to the dance with a legend. It had been a whole day—24 hours—and not a single pony had even mentioned the dance to Rainbow Dash. It was like everypony had already paired up, and she was the odd-pony out. Everywhere she went, there were ponies preparing for— despite it being thrown by three little munchkins—what was shaping up to be the biggest dance of the season. They had rented out the ballroom in Twilight’s castle. There was talk of even Princess Cadence and Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor, coming out of the Crystal Empire, for heck’s sake!

So much for it not being a big deal… Rainbow thought, kicking a hoof through the cloud she had perched on. Looking down at the small town, she wondered how long, exactly, she had been so—alone. I had that one stallion—what was his name? Neon something... She tried to picture the face. What did he look like? He was… okay. Neon… Neon what?

She sighed, staring through the hole in her cloud. Oh what am I talking about? It’s been so long, I can’t even remember the guy’s name…

The thoughts brought her further and further down the mental rabbit hole of self-loathing, until she couldn’t take it anymore. She took off into the late afternoon sky without any particular destination in mind. She had only one objective: get her mind off of how much her life sucked, at that point.

As per her usual routine, she scanned the sky, then the ground, then back up to the sky again as she soared through the air. One by one, she saw her friends, sometimes up close with a wave, and other times far in the distance. Twilight and Applejack, sitting on the rolling hills of Sweet Apple Acres—Rainbow Dash practically gagged at imagining how mushy their conversation probably was; Fluttershy, walking along the path from the park to her cottage, keeping Angel the bunny company. Thinking on that particular pony, Rainbow Dash assumed Fluttershy probably wouldn’t even attend the dance. She… didn’t really do social events. And then there was Big Mac, walking along with his ‘special somepony’, Cherilee. There were couples out, and those who just wanted to be left alone—and then there was Rainbow Dash, who was neither…

Or maybe she really just wanted to be both, in some weird way. She wanted to have somepony for this dance, but not really wanted it to be a long-term thing. Rainbow Dash was her own entity—she had her own agenda, and her own dreams. She wanted to be free, not held back. It seemed like finding any pony who would let her be her but be waiting when she got home… there weren’t too many ponies in Ponyville who would fit that bill.

Being exact, Rainbow Dash estimated that number to be roughly… zero. Otherwise, she wouldn’t really be alone.

So where did that leave her? Either she needed to find someone fast, or she wouldn’t be going. Her mind tallied each pony that would maybe be willing to go, but probably not scooped up yet. Who would be just as alone as she was? Glancing down at the ground beneath her, not a single target jumped out at her. It was still couples and loners, as far as the eye could see.

She sighed, tilting her head back in annoyance. This wasn’t working. Rainbow Dash, as much as she hated to admit it, needed help. She had to get a date to the dance. And with all of these ponies pairing up, she just couldn’t think through this one on her own. She needed somepony who wouldn’t make a big deal about it, who wouldn’t do something ridiculous. Somepony who wouldn’t go telling all of Equestria... She needed somepony who wouldn’t judge, because they could relate to wanting to be left alone, in a weird way. She needed somepony who would give her as much time as she needed to explain what was going on, who wouldn’t push, and would just hear her out…

Oh my gosh… I need advice from Fluttershy? She thought, wondering if she had finally lost it. I must be desperate. Or nuts…. Probably both, honestly.

Performing a quick U-turn, flawless as always, she raced back to where she had last seen the pink-maned pony, who was only a tad further up the path then she had been previously. Making a slow dive—not wanting to scare the poor girl—she flew gently to Fluttershy’s side, landing only a few feet to the left of her. “Hey, Fluttershy!” she welcomed, slowing down to match the wandering girl’s stride.

The smile was as pure as ever. Rainbow Dash always wondered just how innocently sweet this girl was. She was fragile, like a flower. Like one little touch too hard, and she’d crumble. “Hi, Rainbow Dash. Enjoying the quiet evening air, too?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at the western horizon.

Rainbow looked over at the distant mountains before pausing, wondering what in Tartarus she was supposed to be looking at. They were rocks. Shining, orange-y rocks… but still just rocks. “Something like that…” she answered, her voice fading in disinterest. She turned back to face Fluttershy before continuing: “I just came here for… advice, I guess?” she fumbled, struggling to find the words to fit this situation. She was Rainbow Dash, she wasn’t used to asking for help! This was, like, the second time ever… and hopefully the last.

Fluttershy stopped, turning to face her friend, a look of concern etched on her face. Rainbow Dash almost winced at the sudden gravity her friend was putting on display. This… was exactly what she had been trying to avoid. “Oh, my goodness, this sounds serious. What is it?”

The usually fearless mare kicked at the dirt on the path, unsure of exactly how to phrase this: “It’s nothing big, just…” her voice once again faded as she tilted her head to and fro, beating around the bush. She paused, glancing up at Fluttershy, who hadn’t seemingly even blinked since they last made eye contact. “I—uh—we’re friends, right? And whatever I say—it stays between us?” she asked, seeking confirmation.

Fluttershy paused, glancing almost vacantly at the Pegasus. Rainbow Dash knew the question came out of nowhere, but she had to be sure. This was about her reputation; there wasn’t much that she valued more than that. But in hindsight, she kinda knew the question would probably make Fluttershy freak out even more. Like she was hyping this up to be a disaster-level catastrophe. Just as she was about to calm Fluttershy’s nerves and tell her it wasn’t that big of a deal, she was beat to the punch. Rainbow Dash watched as she nodded, almost dutifully, before finally answering: “Of course, Dashie. You can trust me with anything. If it needs to stay a secret, I won’t tell a soul. And neither will Angel, right?” she asked, looking down at the little rabbit, who merely crossed its arms, tapping its foot in annoyance with this whole ordeal.

She didn’t really see a way to frame the question, so she just blurted it out. Nice, simple, direct, and—most importantly—getting it over with as fast as possible: “It’s… about the dance. I kinda don’t know what to do.”

Fluttershy once again continued down the path. Rainbow Dash saw her almost deflate in relief. Definitely not as life changing as she was expecting, but at least the both of them were back in something a lot closer to their comfort zone. “Okay, what exactly is the problem, Dashie? Did two ponies ask you to it, and now you have to decide?” she guessed, probably assuming Rainbow had a list of people that had asked her out. She wasn’t the only pony who thought that would be the case by now. But apparently, her awesomeness made everypony assume she was already taken.

“That’s just the problem, Fluttershy. The dance is the day after tomorrow, and no pony has asked me out, yet. I just am worried that no one will ask me, and then I’ll go to the dance alone. Do you know how weird that’d be?”

Fluttershy looked at her, her head tilted in confusion. “I thought you went to dances alone all the time? You’ve been the life of the party at every gathering I’ve seen you in, whether you went alone or with your old boyfriend… what was his name, again?”

Rainbow Dash lifted a hoof to dismiss the question, “Couldn’t tell ya, but that’s not important.” She jumped up in the air, hovering just above the ground as she flew backward, a few paces in front of her friend. “This dance is different, Fluttershy. Now that Twilight and AJ are dating, going alone isn’t an option anymore. Once your best friends get hooked up, you have to, too. Otherwise, you just look weird. It’s the golden rule!”

“I…don’t know about that, Dashie.” Fluttershy shook her head with a small smile. The ease that she defused the situation almost frustrated Rainbow Dash. Every bit of negative energy was brought down to almost zero, around her. She was just so calm and quiet, that it was like being upset, even if not at her, wasn’t possible, just because she was around. Rainbow Dash sighed as Fluttershy continued. “Why don’t you just go with one of our friends? You could just go as friends, and you won’t have to worry about finding somepony like that. That’s what Pinkie and I are doing.”

So that’s why none of our friends are talking about it… I bet you Rarity is going with that weird journalist guy that is back in town, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy played the “go as friends” card before I could get to either of them, and the last two are going as girlfriends. Odd pony out? Once again, yours truly. “Well—got any available stallions who need a date at the last minute? Otherwise, I’m staying home.”

Fluttershy gasped, as if this was the worst news she had heard all day. “You can’t do that! This means a lot to the girls. If you don’t go, do you know how crushed Scootaloo would be? She’s been working extra hard on this party, just to impress you.”

Rainbow Dash groaned with a roll of her eyes. That little superstar of a munchkin was probably the coolest kid ever, yet she somehow managed to make Rainbow Dash’s life awesome, and torture, at regular intervals. If Scootaloo was going out of her way to impress her, she definitely had to show up. What kind of an example of loyalty was a mentor setting if she bailed on her own student? “Fine, I’ll just go alone. But I’m not staying long!” she retorted. She turned to fly away when she heard Fluttershy call after her.

“Rainbow Dash, wait!” the small voice cried. She paused, desperately wanting to fly away, but at least looked over her shoulder. She watched for half a moment as Fluttershy struggled to find her words, but at the end… said nothing.

“It’s fine. I should never have even brought it up.”

Flying high, far from any other pony, Rainbow Dash curled up on a large, heavy cloud. Once she touched it, the billowing mist turned dark and foreboding, swirling with the negative thoughts that echoed in Rainbow Dash’s mind. She didn’t care. She didn’t care about anything, at that moment. What did it matter? A little storm wasn’t going to harm anypony. There wasn’t even anypony around this part of town. They were too busy getting ready for the dance.

This party was going to be a really huge bummer…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Events and Memories

The night of the dance had arrived, and Rainbow Dash? She wasn’t exactly thinking it was gonna be awesome. She stood outside of the castle, standing a few feet from the crowd, watching as each couple slowly filtered into the wide front gates of the venue. Everypony, all dressed to the nines, wore wide smiles and excited eyes, taking in the rare spectacle before them. To greet the masses stood Twilight and Applejack, side-by-side, just inside the door; Twilight to welcome everypony in, and Applejack… just to stand there, nodding and shaking hooves with those who offered. Rainbow Dash guessed she was just there because her girlfriend was.

She had just decided that going in was not quite the best idea when she heard the music kick on inside. When she did, she paused just a moment, looking up at the sky. Seems as if either a lot of ponies had donated their equipment to the cause, or that castle truly was magical, because a light show was erupting from the top of the castle. “Not bad, Cutie Mark Crusaders…” she whispered, a strangely proud smile slowly growing on her face.

The smile quickly disappeared. Cutie Mark Crusaders… she thought of what Fluttershy had told her last night. She couldn’t leave, no matter how bad things got, until she at least saw the trio. Once she saw Scootaloo, she could leave. It was a small objective but had one really hard requirement: she had to go inside. Scootaloo… the things I do for you. She turned with these thoughts, starting her slow, defeated walk to the front entrance to the castle.

“Rainbow Daaaash!” Her name was called in entirely too many syllables. Before she had even taken a dozen steps, she followed the noise, seeming to come from the front balcony. She looked up to see Pinkie Pie standing side-by-side with Fluttershy, the former of the two energetically waving for her to come and join them. Rainbow Dash mentally shrugged at the call. If nothing else, it’d mean she didn’t have to talk to Twilight and Applejack. Those two were certainly not high on her list of meet and greets, right then. She jumped into the air, making short work of the distance between them, landing a few paces away. She cleared her throat, awkwardly rubbing one hoof with the other as she gave a small smile to Fluttershy. “Hey guys…” she softly welcomed, wondering if the Pegasus remembered their less-than-stellar conversation two nights before.

“You look great!” Pinkie Pie shouted. She began using a hoof to dig in her mane. A moment later she pulled out a cookie, tossing it in her mouth. Rainbow Dash watched, an eyebrow lifted, only to have Pinkie smile, cookie crumbs falling away.

Rainbow Dash didn’t give a feather about clothes, especially about frilly stuff like dresses and shoes. Her philosophy was that if it fit, it was comfortable, and you could fly in it, then what else did you need? But this was some black-tie occasion, and while she loved being the center of attention, it had to be good attention. So, she just wanted something to blend in, here. That being the case, she did keep a few nice dresses—however confining they were. This one? The same dress she wore for the Grand Galloping Gala—just with a little less of the layers Rarity had given her. It was cool, comfortable, and if this DJ was who she thought it was—she would definitely be able to get her jam on in this dress.

“Thanks…” she finally answered, giving a subconscious once-over to herself. “So, how’s the party so far?”

Pinkie Pie shrugged. “Nothin’s really happened yet. We’ve mostly just stood around and waited for everypony to show up. They do have cake though, and it looks super yummy! Not as yummy as these cookies, though…” She continued, digging in her mane for yet another snack.

“Right…” Rainbow Dash answered, giving a look over at Fluttershy, who merely shrugged in return. Rainbow Dash was starting to think that possibly the pegasus was mad at her. Flutters hadn’t said a single word—but then again, she really didn’t talk too much to begin with, when she was in social situations like this. It was always a bit hard to read her when she was put in front of other ponies.

As wavering as Rainbow Dash’s theory was, it was immediately crushed by Fluttershy speaking up: “I’m glad you decided to show up, tonight, Dashie. I’m sure it’ll mean an awful lot to the little ones. Scootaloo has been asking around for you since I got here.”

Perfect… Rainbow Dash thought. I can get in, see Scootaloo, and go from there, Rainbow thought. Maybe if I play my cards right, I can leave before the party gets too crowded. She smiled at Fluttershy and excused herself from her friends: “Right—I better go talk to her. I’ll catch you girls down there, right?” she asked, looking between the polar opposite ponies.

After their confirmation, she trotted down the large flight of stairs leading back to the main floor of the building, pondering why, exactly, she was so scared about this party to begin with. Why hadn’t she just planned this from the get-go? Jump in through the balcony, make an appearance, maybe stick around for some food and tunes, then bail before things get awkward. Sure, it wasn’t completely cool to show up alone—but this wasn’t so bad, now that she had skipped the entrance.

Walking right down the stairs and weaving through the corridors, she entered the grand hall. Immediately her senses were drowned out with the sights, smells, and sound of the dance.

Ponies. More ponies than she had seen in one room in… probably forever. She smelled a combination of perfumes and colognes—it was almost suffocating. And the chatter, mixed with the low thudding of the music she could feel reverberating through the floor. It was familiar, in the least comfortable way possible. She glanced around, looking for her smallest friends amongst the varied group. Knowing she was at a loss, she lifted a few feet in the air, finally spotting them toward the corner of the room, coordinating something, she was sure.

It was at this point the familiar feel of the party drowned her, as well. The people shifting and shoving, moving and pulling—she felt like a member of the paparazzi, the crowd always trying to push forward, shoving and clawing to get close enough for a picture. Except usually she was the star. Or at least—everypony looked her way at least once.

She scoffed at the thought. Who knows? Maybe she could find a date here? There had to be somepony else who came alone.

“Rainbow Dash!” It was the second time that night her voice had been called, and with every time, the party just weighed a little bit lighter on her. Putting on her best (albeit hollow) smile, she ruffled up Scootaloo’s mane, looking around the party with awe. “Quite the little dance you guys put together, here!” She welcomed, hoof-bumping the pony that saw her as a mentor.

“Thanks! I’m glad you like it!” the little one squeaked, fixing her hair with a single hoof. No matter how many times Rainbow Dash saw her, she still found it a little awesome that such a little one looked up at her that way. It was like the little sister she never had… not that she wanted one, but the option was always good.

“Scootaloo, c’mere! We got ourselves a problem!” The familiar voice of Applejack’s little sister called, drawing the admiring pony away from Rainbow Dash. The filly excused herself before running toward her friends, leaving Rainbow Dash all alone… again. Well Dash, you’ve made your appearance, she told herself, looking around at the party—dance, she mentally corrected, not a party—and the ponies in attendance, whatever you do from here on out is up to you.

It was only the smallest of exchanges, but that was enough, right? Knowing the trio, they’d probably be busy running the show the entire night. It wasn’t like they had time to actually hang out. So, what did that leave her with?

Usually, she would jump all over this opportunity, throwing caution to the wind and embracing the night. Usually, she wouldn’t give a pony feather about what other ponies thought of her, dancing by herself or not. But despite the idle bass-heavy music that was currently drowning out the conversations on the dance floor as people milled about, this seemed a lot more stiff-necked and lovey than the events she came to.

She supposed that was the difference that Rarity had mentioned. This wasn’t meant to be fun. It was meant to be memorable. This was meant to paint a perfect picture for you and your special somepony—something that would last a lifetime. It wasn’t supposed to be a blur. It was meant to be slow.

Or—and she hated to admit it—maybe it wasn’t anything so deep. Maybe this was just because of Twilight and AJ. They had managed to make her think of all this romantic junk, and now it was just stuck in her head. Come on, Dash… she told herself, you aren’t AJ and Twi. You’re your own pony. Now get out there and find somepony to just have fun with.

She looked back over at the three little fillies huddled in conversation, who had somehow thrown the best dance Ponyville had ever seen, despite their combined age being barely older than herself. She was going to enjoy this. If not for herself, then at least for Scootaloo. No leaving. At least—not just yet.

Okay—find a pony. If you want people to see how awesome you are, you just show them. Fit in, be social, make friends. Remind Ponyville that you are awesome.

The pep-talk seemed to work as she looked around, a new fire in her eyes. Just as she began to make her way around the room, the music track faded, and another took its place. But as much as she was hoping it’d be something she could still have fun with—it turned out to be something ridiculously slow and boring. Almost immediately, all of the pony couples were spread out in pairs across the dance floor. She knew Ponyville’s resident princess and resident cowgirl were out there, being all gushy together. But as much as that made her want to gag, it did make her job a little easier, as the ponies who decided to sit out were a lot less intimidating. And probably more likely to be single. Couple… couple… couple, couple… She thought, her eyes making sweeps across the sampling of ponies avoiding the dance floor, littered about at the tables and against the walls.

There weren’t many options…

Okay, scratch that, she thought, there aren’t any options…

No pony. Not a single pony in sight was here on their own. Rarity and that journalist guy—Rainbow Dash didn’t even bother to know his name—were sitting at a far table, with Rarity looking slightly miffed about her date’s attention tracking a single hatted-pony waltzing along to the music, a purple princess in hoof. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were at the punch table, Fluttershy giggling silently—likely due to Pinkie’s antics. And then there was Rainbow Dash…

I guess it’s just me and the music, then… she thought, even though I apparently can’t even enjoy that… She rejected the idea of retreating to the punch table, and just waiting it out with her friends. She just didn’t want to deal with the gnawing guilt of practically blowing off Fluttershy, all night. She would apologize later—but for now? She just wanted to have fun.

In the end, she decided to just wait this song out, and hope the next one was better. Who picked this music, anyway? She thought, wanting to blame anypony else besides herself at that moment. Wait—the music! She thought, remembering what Applebloom had mentioned. They said they had gotten a DJ, and if it was who she was suspecting, this might not be such a bad night, after all…

Vinyl Scratch, the only pony Rainbow Dash knew that could compete with herself for awesomest pony in Ponyville. While Rainbow Dash was the source of all awesomeness in sports, Vinyl was the source of all awesomeness in music. The two didn’t talk much outside of these types of parties, but when they did? They usually had a blast.

Approaching the DJ booth—which was quite an architectural feat, had the three ponies created it, themselves— she climbed the stairs, seeing the lone unicorn look rather bored with the whole display.

“Not quite your pace, huh, Scratch?” Rainbow Dash welcomed, chuckling a little as she watched her victim jump at the sudden voice behind her.

The DJ turned, a wide smile playing on her face. It was thinly veiled behind the large, ever-present sunglasses donning the pony’s eyes, but still very, very present. “Horseapples, Dash. You scared the breezies outta me!” she exclaimed, lifting a hoof to playfully hit her friend on the shoulder. “And what brings you to my domain? You should be out there, cutting a rug with your special somepony,” the last two words were laced with sarcasm, as the DJ threw her hooves in the air like the words were holy.

Dash let out a snort. “Yeah right, me? A special somepony?” she began, the worlds drawling like the two were water and oil. She would never tell Vinyl the truth: that she had tried to find one. Vinyl would never understand in a million billion years. “Besides, if I got a special somepony, what would you do during these things?”

“I’d probably fall asleep, to be honest.” The pony admitted, flipping a record between her hooves before placing it on the turntable. “The tracks those pint-sizes gave me? Classy—but not exactly jumpable. I brought a few of my own, just as samples, in case this thing gets pumpin’, but I doubt that’ll happen.” She placed a hoof on a slider and slowly moved it to the left just as the previous song ended, and another track grew, slowly engulfing the fading echoes of the previous record. She sighed after, apparently not having anything else to do until the next song. A hoof came up to run through her spiked blue mane, before she unceremoniously flopped back in her chair. “Definitely not gonna happen.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged, leaning her head against the side wall of the booth. “I hear ya. These parties usually last forever, and never get anywhere near exciting. I hafta give those fillies credit, though: as far as stiff-necked events go, this one pretty much takes the cake.”

The DJ nodded her admittance. “Can’t complain with you there. Remember the real parties, back in Cloudsdale, though? That night at the Academy was hoppin’, I don’t care if you’re a Pegasus or a unicorn. Best gig I ever had.”

Rainbow Dash remembered the night all too well. That was where she had met that stallion whose name escaped her—and, despite that whole relationship ending in disaster, it still went down as the best night of her life. Next to, of course, finding out that she was the living embodiment of an Element of Harmony. That night was cool, too.

That night was when she first met Vinyl. Her and Neon… something, were setting up the party decorations. Vinyl Scratch was one of that guy’s friends. And, despite not being in the Academy—or even a Pegasus at all—they had both been invited to DJ the party, strictly because they were one of the best in the business—even at that young of an age. A magical spell from the Academy’s local magic professor (one of Rainbow Dash’s least enthusiastic subjects), and Neon What’s-His-Name and Vinyl Scratch were walking on clouds, getting ready for the big bash.

Rainbow Dash, being the party pony that she was, offered to help set up as well. Neon was nice enough—enough to get her interested, at least. And Vinyl became one of her newest friends that night. In fact, if Vinyl Scratch had been a Pegasus, and had been at the academy, Rainbow Dash might have never ended up the loner that she was. She might have stopped protecting Fluttershy so much, and probably would have never met all of her friends…

Who knows what woulda happened, then?

Rainbow Dash shook the memories out of her head. She didn’t want to think about it. Vinyl was awesome… but her friends were awesome, too. And if she had to pick, no one would even come close. She wouldn’t ever abandon Fluttershy. That was the exact opposite of everything she stood for.

“Whoa, Unicorn to Pegasus, do you read me, Pegasus?” the words and a hoof waving in front of her face brought Rainbow Dash back to the present. “There she is! Where’d ya wander off to?” Vinyl asked, a smug look on her face.

“Honestly?” Rainbow Dash replied, “Back to that party in Cloudsdale. Things were so weird then.”

The DJ snorted. “We were, like, barely older than those Cloudy-marked Commanders, or whatever they call themselves. Everything was weird, back then.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. Vinyl had a point, so she let her continue: “Back then, the biggest worry in the world was if you got an A on an Equestrian History exam. Now? Now you’re off with a princess and four other ponies fighting evil spirits and legendary gods of chaos.”

Rainbow Dash smiled, recounting all of the crazy adventures she had been on over the last few years. “It is pretty awesome, isn’t it?” she asked, never missing an opportunity to admit it.

“I’d pay to see it,” was all the response Vinyl had for her.

The two sat in companionable silence, Vinyl trading off records from every other turntable every so few minutes. Just being next to the DJ without any dancing or anypony else getting in their way? It felt strangely familiar. Almost reminiscent. It hadn’t happened in so long because each one had their own agendas and schedules, now. Vinyl Scratch was one busy pony, and these types of snooze-fests weren’t exactly her target demographic. Rainbow Dash was an element of harmony and was constantly rushing all over Equestria. Their paths didn’t cross much, anymore. Dash almost forgot how nice it was, even if the party wasn’t exactly her speed, to just hang out with her friend.

I don’t know. Maybe this party won’t be so—

“Ugh, I can take this anymore.” The words cut through her thoughts, shattering any hope of the night just going smoothly. “I. Need. Real. Music.” One at a time, each word grew more and more desperate. “I’m dropping the floor off this place, Dash. Whether or not they want it.”

Rainbow Dash just burst into laughter. This was going to be a party after all, it seemed.

“All you party ponies get on the floor. DJ Pon-3 is about to shake the roof! Here we go!”

With a blur of movements, Vinyl had swapped out all of the records, replacing them with two tracks that, despite obviously undergoing extremely harsh use, Rainbow Dash knew would liven up this party. With a flip of a switch, the grating, pounding music blasted from the subwoofers planted directly below the stage. And with that, Vinyl began doing what Rainbow knew she did best: partying.

The sounds pulsated through the room and reverberated into the walls, while the deep throbbing of the music seemed to settle in the pit of Rainbow Dash’s stomach, shaking her to her core. There weren’t even any words in the song yet—just a harsh mixture of high highs, low lows, and electronic noises Rainbow Dash didn’t even know how to describe.

Rainbow Dash had only one thing to say: “Now this—this is a party.”

She didn’t even leave the DJ booth for the rest of the evening, not even to go out and join the pit of dancers enjoying Vinyl’s performance. She just behind the DJ, watching Scratch have at it, admiring the finesse and talent the pony had. It was crazy to think that such a task that seemed so simple to someone unfamiliar with the art required so much work and dedication. And, despite how rare the compliment was, Rainbow Dash knew she had to admit it: Vinyl was better at it than she would ever be.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Author's Note

Hoping to get the rest edited & uploaded in the next few days!

Singled Out

The day after the dance was, or at least Rainbow Dash expected it to be, the beginning of her life returning to normal. The newness of two of her besties dating had faded, with the rumor mill taking its course at the dance and the revelation becoming old news. It seemed to not bother her as much, as long as she didn’t have to be near them, and now even the party was a thing of the past. This was the beginning of the rest of her life, and Rainbow Dash was determined to make it awesome.

That is… until she left her house. Something just seemed off.

It couldn’t be the weather; it had been like this for weeks. “Rainbow Dash, we need a little bit more cloud-cover in the air, our crops are starting to blah, blah, blah…” It was always clouds: Cold and clouds, rain and clouds, a light breeze and clouds… she hadn’t seen the sun for what seemed like two months. And with winter just around the corner, she probably would be seeing snow before the sun came back out.

So, what could it be? Everything just seemed so… dull. Maybe she was just riding the after-party high, where reality seemed so unimpressive in comparison. Maybe with nothing too insanely stressful, the average day-to-day life just seemed unfit for Rainbow Dash’s awesomeness.

Or maybe she just knew that it would be forever until she could just hang out with Vinyl Scratch again.

Oh, for Celestia’s sake, I have tons of friends! Sure, Vinyl is awesome, but so is everypony else! I can’t be getting all sappy over it. When we do hang out, it just makes it that much more awesome. The thoughts were, Rainbow Dash knew, poor comfort, but she had to convince herself that, despite how much she wished she could party like that every night, Vinyl Scratch would be moving on to her next gig before Rainbow Dash knew it. And she couldn’t follow. Why? Because Ponyville—and more importantly, her friends—needed her here.

She was the living embodiment of loyalty, for heck’s sake! She couldn’t go off deserting her friends just because one night of awesomeness with an old friend. That’s not cool, and Rainbow Dash should know. She was kinda the embodiment of cool.

Descending from her flying mansion in the sky (or at least she liked to think of it as a mansion), she soared down to the little town below. The other winged weather ponies had taken care of the skies; meaning that all Rainbow Dash had to do was enjoy her day.

Taking this opportunity to maybe just get a little bit of down time, she decided to find one of her friends. As she flew slowly through the streets of Ponyville, she thought of potential candidates. It was Sunday, which meant most of Ponyville would be out enjoying their weekend. She glanced around, seeing the various residents go about their mid-morning chores. There had to be somepony around that she knew. She would settle for anypony at this point.

She gave a brief sigh. Maybenot anypony. There were two, in fact. She still couldn’t do it. Being around Twilight or Applejack was still just so weird… And right now? She didn’t want weird. Maybe she just needed another day or two until she was ready for—

“Hiya, Rainbow!” Rainbow Dash froze in mid-flight, visibly wincing from those words. The country lace to them could only mean one thing: it was Applejack.

She wasn’t mad at Applejack. In fact, it was the exact opposite: she was really happy for AJ, and immensely proud of her. Her friend had found her happiness, and it turned out to be right in front of her! That was just wicked awesome. But being around either of those love-ponies just—as much as she hated to admit it—made her uncomfortable.

Why? She didn’t want to even go there. She knew in the end, it was her being—not jealous—just… envious. Was there even a difference? She didn’t like either of them—heck, she didn’t even like girls! They were two of her bestest friends in the entire world—but seeing them together so much made her… feel alone. Why didn’t she have somepony like that, too? Why was nopony there for her? There with her?

In a weird way, it took two of her bestest friends getting together, to make her realize she didn’t have somepony, herself. And every little thing they did, every word of affection they didn’t even realize they were saying, just highlighted how lonely Rainbow Dash hadn’t realized she was.

But, like she had done last night, she put a brave face on, smiling as she swooped down to circle her friend: “Hiya, yourself!” she welcomed, landed right next to Applejack. “What’re you doing out here with the city-folk?” she teased, nudging her with her shoulder.

“Well, I was honestly just goin’ to see Twilight,” she sheepishly answered. “But we really do need to get together sometime, Dash. I feel like I haven’t see ya in ages!”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head a moment, pretending to be in deep thought. “Yeah, I guess it has been a while, huh? We should definitely do that, sometime…”

Applejack thought a moment, taking a second to lean against the wall of the nearby restaurant they had stopped outside of. “Well, how’s about tomorrow night? You could stay over at the farm, and we could make a day of it!”

Rainbow Dash froze. To be completely honest? That sounded great—if it was old Applejack. If this was the Applejack that would wake her up at the crack of dawn, having already made breakfast. If it was old Applejack, who would talk about the weirdest stuff, but would have the weirdest passion about it. She would have loved to, if she knew the day was going to be about them pitting their stubbornness against each other, seeing who the best was at the stupidest of things.

But this wasn’t the old Applejack. This was going to be the new Applejack—who was just like the old Applejack, minus one very small, yet very important detail: she had Twilight. It was like Applejack had found a new source of attention in all aspects of her life, replacing every single friend she had with one overarching obsession. And Rainbow Dash was pretty positive that this new replacement would be the center of AJ’s attention, whether Twilight was there or not. And that many hours of talking about her new girlfriend? That didn’t exactly sound like a fun time.

“I—ah—can’t make it then. Sorry AJ. I have…plans.” The word came out before Rainbow Dash could stop it. Of course, she didn’t have plans… she didn’t even know what she was doing for lunch, let alone tomorrow night. But now, apparently, she did. What those plans were… what, exactly? She just hoped that AJ didn’t—

“Oh, whatcha doin’? Anything excitin’?” the country pony asked, her curiosity piqued.

Panic. It was pure panic that answered the question: “I have a—uh—a thing that I gotta do...” Smooth, Rainbow Dash. Very smooth, she thought, mentally face-hooving her own stupidity.

“Right,” Applejack said, lifting an eyebrow at her friend. Rainbow Dash’s panic was bubbling over, at this point. Just under that look of confusion, she could see AJ had a small look of pain in her eye. She knew that something was wrong, she just couldn’t place what, and, with the massive heart that AJ had, she was going to the directly worst situation possible: that Rainbow Dash didn’t want to be around her.

Was it true? Absolutely. Was it wrong? …Absolutely. But Rainbow Dash just didn’t want to spend a night listening to her drawl on about Twilight. It wasn’t anything more sinister than that. Applejack, of course, wouldn’t jump to that conclusion. She’d jump to something way worse. Heck, she might even assume that Rainbow Dash didn’t like that they were dating. That was a total possibility. So, she had to double down.

“I—I—” Rainbow dash didn’t even know what to say. What should she do? Give up and go hang out with AJ? No, that’d only make it look entirely more suspicious. But what kind of event would take up an entire night? She stumbled through her catalogue of excuses, picking out the only one that seemed even remotely possible for filling her alibi: “I have a date, okay?”

Applejack’s look of hurt turned into one of disbelief… and then, surprisingly, joy. “Well now! Gotta say I didn’t see that comin’! Who’s the lucky pony?” she asked, looking over Rainbow Dash’s shoulder, apparently expecting to see the new special somepony lurking in the shadows somewhere.

A DATE? The question was Rainbow Dash’s first thought. Why did I say I had a DATE? What in Equestria am I supposed to say now? I can’t say it’s a secret—she’ll know I’m lying. If I do answer, I’ll have to… I don’t even know! Make someone up? Her mind was racing with potential candidates, but none of the ideas even made any sense. The dance had just happened the night prior. Everypony knew everypony’s relationship status. And if she couldn’t find anypony for that, she certainly wasn’t going to create a convincing lie in a few seconds.

In an act of desperation, she began to look over Applejack’s own shoulder. Maybe this date of hers would be lurking in the shadows... Or maybe, just out in the open. She wasn’t exactly being picky, right now. First pony you see, Dash, first pony you see.

Applejack immediately caught on to the roaming gaze, her eyes narrowing into a glare. “I knew it, Rainbow Dash! You don’t even have a—“

“Fluttershy! I—it’s Fluttershy.”She blurted, spotting the pink-maned Pegasus stepping along the cobbled path a few paces away. At hearing her own voice, the pink-maned pony lifted her head before smiling and began to trot over.

Fluttershy! Fluttershy? Of all the ponies I could have picked, I picked FLUTTERSHY? I could have picked any pony else that I wanted—literally anypony—and it would have made more sense. But there is no way that—

“I—yes?” The small voice of Fluttershy approached, and instantly Rainbow Dash could feel the worst, most foreign feeling in the history of her existence creeping up on her: she started to blush.

Rainbow Dash, in all of her years of living, had never been this embarrassed. She had never done anything that put her in a tight spot like this. Rainbow Dash didn’t like to lie, she never abandoned anypony, and if she bragged about something, she knew she could do it. But now? She had to lie—only to protect her friend’s feelings. That was okay, right? Right? That was like the one time you could lie, wasn’t it?

Applejack grew a curious look, planning on getting to the bottom of this mystery. “Rainbow Dash was just tellin’ me about your girls’—“

Damage control. She jumped between the two ponies, giving Fluttershy the biggest silent plea for help she could muster with a single pointed stare “—plans for tomorrow night, right Flutters? I’m really looking forward to it. I know we’re gonna have a lot of fun, just me and you.” Rainbow Dash didn’t have a single plan on how to convince Fluttershy of the situation, but she knew that she could at least save it, now, as long as she was in charge of the conversation.

Fluttershy, on the other hand, looked between the two of the ponies, her anxiety and confusion getting the best of her. She began to almost whimper, taking a single step back. “I don’t—” she began, looking at Applejack. She turned back to Rainbow Dash, taking yet another pace back. She looked like she was about to bolt. “We could---I suppose—”

“It’s okay, Fluttershy. I told her everything.” Rainbow Dash stepped over to the practically shaking girl, placing a hoof on her shoulder. She looked over at Applejack, thinking on her hooves. “We didn’t want to tell anypony about it. We aren’t sure about—well, anything—right now, but we are going to see what happens. Please, don’t tell anypony? For a while, at least?”

Please work. Please work. Please work… The words repeated through her mind as Rainbow Dash looked between the two ponies, equally shocked and confused, but for completely different reasons. If she could get AJ to buy it, she could explain everything to Fluttershy, and hopefully everything would work out. If Rainbow Dash was right—and let’s face it, she was right way more often than not—AJ would be riding on her new-relationship high, and she would be willing to believe almost any—

“Well, I’ll be—this is just amazin’! I’m happy for ya both, I really am. I won’t tell a soul, I promise.”

Thank Celestia. All that was left was the easiest part: explaining everything to Fluttershy…

Applejack cantered away; a large, incredibly goofy smile plastered on her face. For some reason, Rainbow Dash had a feeling that AJ would be squealing about the new relationship the minute her and Twilight were alone. She would have to take care of that later…

She turned, looking over at Fluttershy, who, strangely, was simply staring at her expectantly. It wasn’t anger, it wasn’t fear, it was just… well, Rainbow couldn’t think of any other word. There was just… expectance. She lifted a hoof to scratch the back of her neck as she met Fluttershy’s gaze. “I—uh—can explain.” The words came out, but Fluttershy didn’t even flinch. A single blink came from the pink-haired pegasus as she still just waited for Rainbow Dash to elaborate on the strange situation. “I—Okay, look Fluttershy, I can’t really explain all of this with you glaring at me like a stone statue. At least give me the stare, or something…”

Fluttershy shrugged before casting her glance downward, drawing invisible patterns on the cobbled path with her hoof. “You told Applejack we were dating. I just want to know why.”

The words were so innocent. They were simple. They didn’t hold any hidden meanings. They weren’t pushing. That was classic Fluttershy; she was just there. She was there when you needed her, and she never asked anything in return, even when you put her in a tight spot… well—she expected an explanation, but could you really blame her for that one?

But for some reason, that was what made using her so absolutely wrong, in Rainbow Dash’s mind. It was like breaking a sacred rule. Abusing her friendship with this very fragile, very sensitive pony was absolutely one of the least coolest things she had ever done.

She sighed, huffing as she promptly collapsed, sitting on the cobbled path, leaning her head against the wall of that same restaurant. Rainbow Dash was happy there weren’t any windows on this side of the building. The last thing she needed was an audience. “I told Applejack that I couldn’t go to her place tomorrow, because I really don’t feel like sitting there while she goes on and on about her new girlfriend. She asked what I was doing, and I just kinda froze. I couldn’t think of any excuse, so I just said that I had a date. She asked me who, so I didn’t really have a choice.” It was a simple explanation, but Fluttershy already knew that this new relationship wasn’t sitting well with her. Rainbow Dash didn’t really think an encore performance of that conversation was necessary.

“That’s it?” she asked, looking a little hesitant.

Rainbow Dash paused it thought, thinking through her explanation. No, that pretty much covered it. “What else is there?”

Fluttershy’s mane fell in front of her face, covering one of her eyes as she hid behind herself. The words came out in almost a whisper. “I just kind of… maybe… wanted to know why you picked me? I mean, I know I was right there, but there are a lot of ponies around, and—I just don’t understand.”

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, looking around the town for anypony nearby that might give her an escape from this nightmare. Had there really been other ponies around? In her mind’s eye, she didn’t really remember seeing anypony else. Well—maybe a few other ponies, but certainly no pony she thought was worth mentioning. Some were married, others in steady relationships—and a few were just plain creepy. In a weird way… maybe she did filter some of them out. “I don’t know… I guess I figured if all of this went down, and I really did have to end up spending tomorrow night with somepony, I would want it to be with a pony who I could at least have fun with. We don’t exactly have a lot in common, Flutters, but you gotta admit: we have fun, sometimes.”

Fluttershy tilted her head in thought, continuing to just stare at Rainbow Dash. That stare… it was making her uncomfortable. It was like Fluttershy wasn’t looking at her, she was looking in her. She was watching the thoughts Rainbow Dash was working through, and somehow reading the reasoning behind each answer that she gave. “They’ll ask us, you know. You won’t be able to just pretend like this never happened.”

Despite this situation escalating more and more, Rainbow Dash knew that she was right. She knew that, despite all of this going according to plan, there was one thing she hadn’t yet taken into consideration: this was Applejack they were talking about. AJ didn’t just let things go. It wasn’t like they could just lay low for a couple of days and hoped she forgot. It wasn’t like they could bury this under the rug.

“So, what do you suggest we do, Dashie?” Fluttershy asked, interrupting Rainbow Dash’s train of thought.

A deep sigh, some quick thinking, and a resignation later, and Rainbow Dash looked back toward Fluttershy: “Well… do you have any plans for tomorrow night?”

She giggled, and Rainbow wasn’t sure if it was out of excitement, the joke, or even if she was just laughing at Rainbow Dash’s predicament. “I do, now.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~