Rainbow had decided that the better choice was to sleep with Phoenix that night. As much as Rainbow didn’t want to pick favorites, she had to say that Phoenix had done a better job of comforting her. Not for lack of trying on Ashes’ part. After all, she had done a pretty good job too. But Phoenix was the better comforter, just like Ashes was the better news-breaker.

When Rainbow and Phoenix went to bed that night, Rainbow did a little inventory of Phoenix’s house. It was much more spacious than Ashes’. It still had the same basic setup, just with three bedrooms instead of one. There was also more space in the living room, which was separated into two distinct sections, one part living room, one part dining room.

Despite the abundance of bedrooms, Rainbow wanted to sleep in Phoenix’s bed. She felt guilty; she didn’t want to cause problems between Phoenix and Ashes. Still, Phoenix had agreed with her, saying that Ashes wouldn’t mind and it would comfort her to be with someone, especially on the first night.

Sometime during the night, the two had ended up snuggling into each other. They were locked into a sensual embrace, facing each other, both with contented smiles on their faces. Rainbow was the first to awake. She wasn’t really aware of her surroundings at first, but she gave a start when the previous night’s events came rushing back to her.

“AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!”

Phoenix was jolted awake as Rainbow jumped out of the bed, a fierce blush on her face.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to get so close. Sometimes I move around in my sleep, and I guess I ended up hugging you, and –“

She found her mouth, for the third time, filled by Phoenix’s hoof. Her blush only grew in ferocity when she realized that Phoenix was actually laughing. It took a while for him to calm down enough to speak again.

“Haha, ha, sorry. Thinking of somepony else?”

If it were at all possible, Rainbow’s blush pronounced itself even more.

“Hey, don’t sweat it. You didn’t mean to. And even if you did, you probably were just thinking of somepony back home. Am I right?”

Rainbow’s face was now taking on a good impression of Big Macintosh’s coat. Speaking of Big Mac…

Rainbow searched desperately for a change of topic, but found none. Instead she settled with: “Okay, MOVING ON!” Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say, as Phoenix resumed his laughter.

“Oh, I knew I wouldn’t regret this. You’re the best roommate ever, Rainbow.”

“Oh really? What about Ashes?” She had been hoping for a little revenge, but was disappointed when he waved the comment off without missing a beat.

“No, she takes the gold for best mare in general.” Damn. Oh well. “C’mon, let’s get some breakfast. I’m sure Ashes is awake from our little commotion. We’ll stop by and see what she’s up to.” Rainbow presumed that the walls in this place must be paper-thin. She suddenly felt guilty about being so noisy. “Aww, lighten up. She normally gets up around this time. I’m sure she was getting bored of her alarm clock anyway.”

“How did you-“

“Like I said, I’m good at this kind of thing.” He opened the door as he spoke, gesturing for Rainbow to pass through it. Rainbow took the gesture, turning her head towards Ashes’ house. Phoenix trotted past her and knocked on her door. It opened after a few moments.

“What happened? Was it a nightmare? Is she alright?”

Rainbow felt her cheeks begin to redden again as the topic of her scream had been brought up once again.

“No, Rainbow’s fine. It wasn’t a nightmare. She just got a little bit closer than she’d meant to overnight.”

Ashes turned and had to stifle a giggle as she saw the fierce crimson growing on Rainbow’s cheeks. It had almost spread out to reach her whole face. “Missing somepony?”

What was it with these ponies wanting to see her blush? She knew she was never going to live this down.

“So, Ashes,” Rainbow was glad for the change of topics, as Phoenix felt she had enough embarrassment for one day. “What do you have planned for the day?”

“Nothing much. I was just going to join you and Rainbow for breakfast, check for announcements, you know. The usual.” When it was that Rainbow had been incorporated into the category of ‘the usual’ was a subject she decided not to pursue.

“Okay. You ready to head down?”

“Sure.”

The trio trotted through the hallways, the whiteness once again beginning to hurt Rainbow’s eyes. She began to wonder if all the ponies’ eyes were so hollow because they had all gone blind. If it weren’t for the fact that Phoenix had been here his entire life, she would have believed it.

They reached the cafeteria in silence. It was almost completely empty. Rainbow now spared a glance around the cafeteria. There was a raised stage with a curtain on the far side. The walls, save for the one behind them, were completely blank and empty. A solitary chandelier hung from the ceiling. Rainbow wasn’t even aware of the fact that chandeliers were capable of being boring and blank, but apparently, the world had a reason to prove her wrong. One giant, white light stood on the center of a round, wooden platform. You guessed it; the platform, just like everything else in this Celestia-forsaken structure, was a boring white.

Now that Rainbow could see them all, Rainbow counted the tables. There were thirty-seven total. Two long, rectangular tables stood facing the stage, which currently had its curtains drawn (heh, guess what color they were), and only had chairs behind the side opposite the stage. It was as if they were bars, and the stage normally had a bartender upon it.

Behind them were the other thirty-five tables, all haphazardly placed among the vast cafeteria, each one of them meant to comfortably seat six. Despite the number of tables, there was a surprising amount of room left to maneuver between the tables. Most of this was due to the cafeteria’s vast size. There were no chairs. Instead there were cushions on the floor. Rainbow guessed there was no point for chairs, really. Ponies were designed to sit on their rumps. Chairs were just awkward.

On the wall opposite the stage was what appeared to be a long list. Upon further inspection, Rainbow learned that it was a list of everypony in the Underground, as well as their number. Rainbow searched far and wide and finally found it. It was definitely meant to be temporary, as it was written on a piece of tape, and Rainbow could see why.

ROOKIE

= 2592537

PEGASUS MARE

CYAN

RAINBOW

TEMPORARY CODENAME “RAINBOW”

Rainbow shuffled her hooves as she stared at the last line. Despite her best efforts, whether they realized it or not, they were calling her by her real name. The number didn’t really matter to her. She had seen it in the letter that had been delivered to her. Then, she caught something out of the corner of her eye, just as the announcement began.

Two more pieces of tape.

“Ponies of the Underground. May I have your attention, please?”

She trotted over to the pieces of tape.

“We have two new arrivals. Everypony is expected to be here at-“

Mistress’s speech was drowned out as Rainbow started to read the pieces of tape.

ROOKIE

= -------

PEGASUS MARE

GREY

BLONDE

TEMPORARY CODENAME “YELLOW”

ROOKIE

= -------

PEGASUS MARE

ORANGE

SILVER

TEMPORARY CODENAME “SILVER”

Rainbow focused on the first piece of tape, or, more specifically, two lines of it.

GREY

BLONDE

This meant that either Derpy or Kicker came looking for her. Tears stung her eyes as it sunk in. It wasn’t enough that she was here to begin with.

Just when she thought it couldn’t get any worse, she had to drag a friend down with her.