Scene One: Eclectic Taste

It is often regarded by only the highest and poshest variety of ponies residing in the heart of Equestria, that Class and Elegance are the red ropes of Canterlot; Decorative and fetching in appearance, but more or less a barrier of entry so for only the finest of guests may fancy among the city. That is, unless one contributes to saving the world from multiple monsters, tyrants, and infestations, that any apparent low land country folk might receive a free pass through the ropes. Such a dynamic is to always attract the most puzzling of circumstances. So, as such, this is precisely what makes this visit so exhilarating for a certain couple of Ponyville friends.

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An ecstatic rainbow-maned pegasus jets through the hallways of the Canterlot castle suites, alerting and confusing the guards at the entrance, as if they’d seen a ghost rush past them. At the doors of a nearby dorm where her friend was staying for the weekend, an intense and speedy hoof knocking was all the halls could echo.

“Rarity! Are you almost ready?? The Wonderbolts Garden Dinner started 45 minutes ago! I wanna get there in time before the veggie table is emptied!”, the excited pegasus Rainbow Dash yelled.

“I’ll be out in a few!”, a high-register sing-songy voice replied.

“Yeah…a few what, exactly?”, Rainbow rhetorically asked.

The doors swung open, revealing a white-coated unicorn mare and a particularly stunning white silk dress adorned with a blinding theatrical glow behind her for dramatic effect.

“Seconds, perhaps?”, a coy response was heard from the mare. “One can never be over-presented when attending a dinner in honour of her friend, especially that of a Wonderbolt!”

“I appreciate it Rare”, Dash assured, “but being on time I’d argue is much more valuable than some dress.”

Rarity restrained herself not to address such a dismissive statement on her wardrobe. “Well, Rainbow, it wouldn’t hurt for you to wear something from time to time either.”

A puff and a grin could be heard from the blue pegasus, followed by a shared giggle among the two.

“I really am happy that you decided to share this evening with me, Rarity, and that is certainly a beautiful get-up you have”, Rainbow complimented. “Looking to impress anypony tonight?” She teased.

Rarity giggled as the two made their way near the castle’s ballroom. “Not anypony more than a fellow Shadow Spade connoisseur might recognise”, she retorted. “This dress in particular is an interpretation of the dress described in the banquet scene of Chapter 7 where Miss Spade met…”

The sounds of novel lore and character names soon drifted out of focus from Rainbow’s ears as they entered the ballroom. Rarity herself managed to fall silent for the decor, though it wasn’t completely unlike any event she’s seen. Rainbow immediately flew off to grab a plate of grilled carrots and broccoli, with Rarity following shy a few seconds behind her. Before she could levitate an item of food, however, a particularly pleasing yet familiar fragrance guested her nose. Sniffing the air around her for a better guess, it was clear the scent that had come over her.

“Mmm..Is that Juniper Phoenix I smell?” Rarity questioned to herself but loud enough for anypony around her to respond.

“No, it’s Broccoli!”, her pegasus friend answered.

“Yeah, Juniper Phoenix is one of my favourite stallion colognes”, the deep aged voice of a stallion from her left replied.

Rarity and Rainbow both turned to put a face to the mysterious voice next to them, only to be met with a striking and handsome blue stallion pegasus in a puffy wind jacket and a slip-knot scarf around his neck. Taken by his elegance, Rarity was eager to converse.

“Oh, mine as well! It’s masculine, and yet soft, with the barest hint of floral notes and-” the unicorn was interrupted by an even more excited Rainbow Dash.

“Rarity!” She yelled through a whisper, “Don’t you know who this is??”

“A gentlepony with fabulous taste in colognes and scarves?” the mare both correctly and incorrectly guessed.

“It’s Wind Rider!”, Rainbow yelled, a bit louder this time. “He’s a living legend! He holds the Wonderbolt record in the Mustang Marathon!”

The stallion softly laughed, as a smidge of modesty fell upon him. “Well, that was a long time ago. Honestly, I can’t believe I still hold the record”, he admitted.

“Wind Rider!”, a raspy mare’s voice called out. “I see you met Rainbow Dash! She's one of our most promising Reserves. She just might beat your record!”, Wonderbolt Commander Spitfire suggested.

“Really now?”, Rider intriguingly questioned.

“Oh heh, I’m nowhere as good as you!” Rainbow confessed, rambling a bit further against herself.

“Ah don’t be so modest!” Spitfire responded. “A little practice and you’ll be breaking records in no time!”.

“Heh heh..well, it’s nice to meet you, fillies.”, Rider parted, continuing down the food line.

“I can’t believe I just met Wind Rider!!” Rainbow celebrated!

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Following in a party of his fellow Wonderbolts, a slightly concerned Wind Rider hung near the caboose of the group. It was clear to anyone who may have noticed that he was pondering something.

“Hey Spitfire”, he called out, not too loud as to bring any more attention to himself.

“Yes sir?” she replied in volume.

“You were just humouring that reserve pony back there, right?”, he begrudgingly asked.

“Not quite sure what you mean, sir. But I’m not exactly known to be one to humour anypony”, she joked, though with a genuine demeanor.

“Right..but you don’t honestly believe she’s gonna beat my record, don’t you?”, Rider elaborated, the nervousness in his voice beginning to cut through his attempts at a laugh.

“I don’t know, sir! Not everypony can perform a Sonic Rainboom!”

A surprised and yet infinitely more worried Wind Rider was nearly at a loss for words, as if the feelings of impressiveness and resentment fought over his tongue and couldn’t decide what to say. “I-I uh…I thought that was just an old mare’s tale!”.

“Welp, not anymore! Come to think of it, she’s done it quite a few times now. Downward, upwards, even once as a filly! Heh… It’s a wonder she hasn’t broken all of our records yet.” Spitfire once again joked, though a slight concern fell on her as well.

“Well uh…I’m gonna get a drink”, the now defeated stallion trudged off, with any attempts at hiding his disappointment now ceased.

“Alright, well don’t get too down in the dumps! You’ll need to be sober for tomorrow’s rehearsal!”, Spitfire yelled back before whispering to herself, “Wouldn’t want another hangover ruining this performance too”.

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“Rarity, come on! Soarin and Firestreak are having a cider drink-off out back!” Rainbow eagerly called for her friend to join.

“Erm..uh…you go on ahead, dear! I’ll fix myself a more adult drink at the bar” Rarity responded.

“Eh, suit yourself!”, the pegasus shrugged and bolted out the doors to the garden.

The unicorn made her way to the bar, noticing a familiar face and jacket at the corner stool, his hair a slight mess from before and a couple empty wine glasses to his right.

“I’ll take another Red Ruby”, an even less enthusiastic Wind Rider asked the tender.

“Mmm…an excellent choice of red wine, if I must say!”, Rarity approached. “It seems you’re as tasteful in wine as you are in cologne and scarves”.

A reluctant smile from the stallion, followed by a lack of response prompted a bit of an odd reaction. Rarity had spent much of the day flirting with quite a few male counterparts, most of which were too dumbstruck to last more than a sentence in reply. Even her more genuine conversations with other stallions tended to last just long enough until they’d suspiciously excuse themselves to the restroom. In a sense, she was certainly relieved to finally converse with somepony that didn’t seem too shy and frightened around her, however, this felt more like a mirror opposite, leading to the same awkward silence that had befallen her previous attempts with other stallions of her age.

“I suppose it is a favourite among your generation”, she pursued a tad further in hopes for a response. “Most foals today don’t seem to care for properly aged fermentations”.

“It sure seems the young ones have a knack for rushing the fine arts”, a response finally delivered, laced with a hint of contempt in his voice on the word rushing.

“Oh I concur!” Rarity agreed, “It’s especially troublesome in the art of conversation, where everypony today is so uninventive of their verbal presentation, but they’ll surely be quick to the point…unlike yourself, I must add”. Before he knew it, Rarity had trotted up right next to his side, between himself and the empty stool to his right, placing a hoof over his as he turned to meet her face, only now getting a chance to truly admire the details. “Now, how about you tell me what’s got you so down?”

“Heh heh”, Rider let out a slight chuckle. “You truly can see right through me, can’t you?”, he asked with a nervous but relieved smile.

“Well, you may call me a detective for this evening of course”, Rarity joked, outside of Rider’s understanding of context. “Erhm…Now, go on! Tell me, is retirement not treating you as it should? Perhaps it’s a lady that upsets you? Do spill!” She eagerly pressures in hopes for any amount of gossip.

Wind Rider looked around for potential evesdroppers, whereas the majority of the party found themselves either at the dance floor, finishing off the last of the snacks, or out back witnessing Fleetfoot outdrink Soarin and Firestreak. “Okay…”, he relinquished. “Let’s say… there is this mare…”

“Ooh!! I knew it!!” Rarity nearly jumped with exhilaration. “Do go on!! Is she something special?”, she asked.

“Yeah…I guess you could say”, his smile turned to a disappointed frown. “But…”, he trailed off in silence.

“There’s somepony else, isn’t there?” Rarity concluded.

Rider sighed. He didn’t want to accept the reality of his envy enough to tell her the truth. But the envy was there, and somepony was standing in his way.

“Look, I know how it feels to want something so badly, and yet it just seems so far away-” she was cut off.

“Oh filly, you have no idea how it feels!” Rider bursted with a bit more volume and emotion in his deep, now almost menacing voice. “How can I carry on as the stallion I am if I can’t…” he paused, remembering the surface story he’s disguised under. “If I...”, struggling to come up with a save and settling for a simple exhale to conclude his near self-incrimination.

Though slightly taken aback, Rarity only leaned closer, placing her hoof around his neck. “And she’s somepony you’d do anything for, isn’t she?”

“Oh I surely would do anything”, he admitted.

“Well, I’ll tell you what”, Rarity told “There was a time when a dear friend of mine stood in the way of something I desperately wanted, a fashion show where I was to be the star. I couldn’t bring myself to step in her way, and it ate me alive”.

“And how did that work out for you?” Rider asked with a hint of sarcasm.

“Well, it was quite funny actually”, her tone cheered up a bit. “Her show was sabotaged by another of our friends, heh heh”.

Wind Rider’s ears jolted upwards quickly, like a deer in the meadow. “Sabotaged?”, he pardoned himself.

“Yes, well, it was quite a big misunderstanding”, Rarity laughed, noticing Rider taking a bit more interest now. “It’s not exactly among our proudest moments, but we opened up and resolved our issues. I suppose I say this to show that, though somepony may stand in the way of something, or somepony you want, there is always a way to put your ambitions at the foresight and do what it must take to achieve your destiny!”

Rarity failed to realise, but she was now standing on the stool next to him as if it were a soap box. “Oh…uhm…apologies for that little display”, she laughed while lowering herself back to the floor. “I may get a bit dramatic at times”.

“Well, Rarity”, Rider looked in her eyes “You should never apologise for your brilliance”.

“Oh well, I-I do of course appreciate the compliment”, Rarity stuttered, realising she was on the opposite side of the flirt for once.

Across the room, the musicians near the dance floor broke out into a slow jazz ballad, one familiar to the seamstress.

“Oh! I absolutely adore this number!” Rarity exulted.

“As do I”, Rider agreed. “In fact, I was close friends with the artist in flight school.”

“Is that so?” Rarity reacted with surprise.

“Indeed! Louis Hoovestrong”, he elaborated. “Brilliant Trumpeter! He wanted to be a Wonderbolt, but his dreams didn’t quite work out for him. Though, it seems he was able to settle with a different career path.

“Well if you ask me”, Rarity retorted, “he was certainly born for the path he ultimately chose”. The lights dimmed for the slow dancers on the floor, making the text on the glass bottles behind the counter all but blurry smudges on glass. Rarity inched closer to the stallion. “If…if you…wouldn’t mind”, she hesitated, “...w-would you care to dance?”

Wind Rider got up from his stool, taking more than a few seconds to consider. It surely was a tempting offer and would finally allow him some fun for the night that was already nearing a close. “I appreciate the offer, darling”, he said with an earnest smile, “But it sure is getting a bit late for me, and I have something I need to do”. A slight look of disappointment on her face began to show, managing to tug at his guilt for a split moment even. “But I’ll be sure to give you a raincheck for the next dance”.

A smile upon Rarity’s face returned. “Well then, I’ll certainly have to hold you to that, won’t I?”. She approached, a bit more movement in her trotting than before. She leaned near his ears for a whisper, “And between you and me, whoever this mare is, she’s surely missing quite a lot from a stallion like yourself”. Before parting the inch-width distance between their faces, she planted a quick sensual kiss upon his right cheek before exiting the ballroom through the garden entrance. Every step purposefully accenting herself, knowing the retired stallion was watching every second.

When she finally left the ballroom, Rider finished down the last of his Red Ruby and flew out through the north wing to his room. Eagerly shutting the door behind him, he locked the latch and made his way to the desk across from his bed. Using his teeth, he closed the blinds to the window that hovered behind the desk, and pulled out a sheet of paper with a quill and ink. “I must do whatever it takes”, he mutters to himself.

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End of Scene One

Author's Note

This was my first ever attempt at a real fanfiction. Though I've written a handful before, this is the first one I truly meant in earnesty. I've always been somewhat of a solid writer of commentary and analysis, but I've always looked to make the translation from analytical to artistic in my writing. In terms of romantic and, soon to be revealed, explicit stories, this is the first of its kind from myself. I sincerely hope this one is enjoyed well as I may look to pursue this art a bit more going forward. Thank you greatly for reading! Peace and Love from The Black Queen!

-Queen Out