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!