Rainbow Dash rolled out of bed at the crack of noon on a brisk Autumn day.
The Wonderbolts were on break between seasons, and she had the next few days off from cloud duty. What reason was there to get up?
Her stomach growled, and she sighed in defeat, leaving the soft, warm confines of her bed for the soft, cold cloud floor.
After fixing herself a small breakfast, she continued through the rest of her daily routine: brushing her teeth, setting out food for Tank, and stepping outside to check the mail.
When Rainbow Dash opened the mailbox, an explosion of confetti and streamers nearly sent her off the side of her cloud. After getting her heart rate under control, she briefly wondered how exactly Pinkie managed to get a letter into her mailbox hundreds of feet in the sky, but she quickly discarded the thought: this way madness lies.
Opening the envelope and retrieving the letter, Rainbow’s eyes widened. Pinkie wanted her to attend a party. This wasn’t surprising at all, but what was surprising was that Pinkie wasn’t going to be the host; she wanted Rainbow Dash to go with her to a rave.
Rainbow naturally knew about Ponyville’s late-night party scene; You don’t live in the same town as Vinyl Scratch without learning a thing or two. Occasionally Rainbow’s cloud house floated over the old repurposed warehouse where DJ-Pon3 worked her magic and the wubs could be faintly heard even from the sky. But actually attending? This would be new to her, and she started to smile in excitement.
After killing time in the afternoon playing with Tank and practicing her aerial acrobatics, Rainbow flew down and landed in front of Sugarcube Corner at 5 o’ clock sharp, just as the invite had instructed her. Rainbow knocked on the door, then let herself in. The bakery had closed for the evening and appeared deserted, but her ears flicked when she heard noise from the kitchen.
“Hey Pinkie, is that you? I got your invite.”
“Hi Rainbow! Give me just a sec, just getting everything put away for the night.”
She heard more clanging, a cabinet door closing, and after a few minutes, Pinkie Pie joined her at one of the many vacant booths on the customer side of the bakery.
“Whew! Another busy day today. So, you ready to party Dash?”
“Heh, you know it, Pinks. My first rave! Luckily I’ve got the day off tomorrow, so I can sleep in a bit.”
“Oh, that’s great!” Pinkie rubbed her chin and looked off to the side for a moment before returning her gaze to Rainbow. “Actually, you probably shouldn’t make any plans for tomorrow at all really. At least not if you really want to get into the spirit of the rave tonight.
Rainbow furrowed her brow. “Huh? Pinkie, just how long do these things go for? Ponies gotta sleep sometime ya know.”
Pinkie laughed and shook her hoof. “Oh, no, it’s not like that. They’re usually done by about 3 in the morning. It’s just that molly usually wipes you out the next day. Best to take it easy.”
“Who’s molly?”
“OH!” Pinkie bonked the side of her head with a hoof. “Duh! First rave, of course you’ve never heard of it. Molly isn’t a pony, it’s a party drug. Lots of ponies take it at raves, it’s just part of the experience really.” She reached up and pulled a sandwich bag out of her mane containing some small pink disks, and showed them to Rainbow.
Rainbow’s eyes widened and she pushed back slightly from the table. “Pinkie, drugs? Really? I mean, I know you’re the party pony in Ponyville, but I didn’t think you did that! Are you okay?”
Pinkie’s ears wilted slightly. “Rainbow, I might be silly sometimes, but give me some credit.This is perfectly safe in moderation. I’m not gonna hurt myself.”
“Oh.” Rainbow coughed. “Right, sorry Pinks, I just panicked a bit I guess. I’ve heard a lot of horror stories out there from the bigger cities while I was on tour. I should know that you’d be smarter than that. My bad.”
“That’s alright RD, you don’t have to take it if you don’t want to. It just enhances the experience.”
Rainbow was curious, but a nagging thought held her back. “I don’t think I can really. Gotta stay in top shape for the Wonderbolts, you know? I can’t have anything holding me back.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that! Like I said, you’ll just need a day off afterwards, maybe two, but then you’ll be right back to your dashy self!”
“Ok…but like, what does it actually do?”
“Welllll…ok, so it’s real name is MDMA, but most ponies call it Ecstasy, because it’s just that. It’s like you’re walking on clouds.” Pinkie paused and furrowed her brows in thought. “Wait, you’re a pegasus, that analogy won’t work. Umm…” Pinkie glanced at the ceiling, trying to find a way to do it justice, in a way that Rainbow would understand.
“Got it! Do you remember how you felt when you finally got accepted into the Wonderbolts? That elation when all your hard work finally paid off? How it felt like everything was right in the world?”
Rainbow nodded, smiling at the warm memory.
“It’s…well it’s not quite like that probably, but it feels like everything is perfect. And you can party forever, and everypony else is having just as much fun as you are. Nothing else matters, just fun, friendship, and the music.”
“That…does sound pretty awesome. If it makes you feel like that, how come you aren’t always doing it?”
“Everything in moderation, my dear Dashie.” Pinkie said in a motherly tone of voice. Rainbow was briefly reminded of her instructors back in flight camp as a filly. “Besides, it doesn’t really fit the mood for the kind of parties I throw around town. This is Vinyl’s gig, she has more experience with the rave scene than I do. Still!” Pinkie clapped her hooves together. “It’s fun once in a while, and I thought you might like it too.”
“I…” Rainbow shrugged. “Well, why not. You do make it sound pretty fun, and I know you’d never put me in harm’s way…yeah, let’s do it Pinkie.”
“Yay!” Pinkie Pie jumped out of the booth and spun around to face Rainbow. “You’ll have fun. And I won’t let anything bad happen to you, Pinkie promise. Let’s have dinner, and then we’ll head over.”
***
It was dark, and Rainbow could hear the music long before she saw the club, but they were finally here. The Source was previously an empty, abandoned woodworking factory on the edge of town before Vinyl Scratch bought it and installed a dance stage, a sound booth, and an almost excessive amount of neon lighting both inside and outside. Dozens of ponies from all over Equestria were shuffling their way inside past a pair of bouncers flanking the entrance on either side. Their dark sunglasses hid their eyes but it was clear that they were on the lookout for any troublemakers. Upon seeing Pinkie, their faces lit up in happy recognition.
The bouncer on the left waved. “Well hey Pinkie Pie! You’re here early tonight!”
“Hi Creamsicle!” Pinkie gave the stallion a brief hug. “Yeah, just wanted to beat the crowd. I brought Dashie here with me and didn’t want to make her wait in line.”
Creamsicle turned to the newcomer. “Oh sweet! Welcome to the party Wonderbolt! Hope you have fun!”
“Heh, thanks.” Rainbow’s cheeks tinted slightly; she still wasn’t quite used to her new title.
“Head on in you two. Vinyl’s doing her final soundchecks, the party should be popping off pretty soon.”
Rainbow and Pinkie ducked through the curtain separating outside from inside and made their way to the stage at the opposite end of the build. Rainbow craned her head around as they trotted, taking in everything around her. Countless light fixtures lined the ceiling of the massive industrial warehouse, lenses tinted every color of the rainbow focusing the light into beams that danced across the checkerboard-patterned dance floor where dozens of ponies were already swaying to a repetitive, bassy beat. Rainbow saw the dopey, smiling faces of a few ponies swaying softly to the music and wondered if they had already taken drugs earlier.
Ducking through and around the crowds, Pinkie and Rainbow made it to Vinyl, who was adjusting dials on a massive soundboard with one hoof and holding one cup of a pair of headphones to her head with another. When she glanced up and recognized Pinkie walking toward the stage, she sat the headphones down and trotted around the soundboard to greet them.
“Yooo, Pinks! Good to see ya again! And RD!” Vinyl held out a foreleg for a hoofbump, which Rainbow gladly returned. “Welcome to The Source!”
“Heh, thanks Vinyl. I’m a bit nervous to be honest.” Rainbow scratched the back of her head with a hoof. “I’ve partied plenty of times with Pinkie, but never something like this.”
Vinyl waved her concerns away. “Aw, don’t sweat it Dash. Pinkie’s a good pony; she’ll make sure you have a great time.” Vinyl turned to Pinkie Pie and winked.
“Hehe, of course I will! I brought party favors and everything.” She fished the bag out of her mane and showed it to Vinyl. “You want one?”
Vinyl gently shook her head. “Thanks, but we’re expecting a big crowd tonight.” She pointed a hoof toward the crowd, which had seemingly doubled in size since their conversation started. Rainbow’s mouth opened in shock for a moment before she turned back around to Vinyl. “I gotta be on my A-game tonight. But you fillies have fun.” Vinyl winked at the pair before she leaned in close to them. “Rainbow, remember to stay hydrated. Drink some water at least every half hour, okay?” Rainbow nodded. “Pinkie, keep an eye on her, make sure she relaxes and massages her jaw muscles once in a while, kay? You know what ponies do when they’re tripping. Colgate will kill me if I send her a Wonderbolt with a chipped tooth.”
Pinkie nodded, looking more serious than Rainbow had seen her all evening. “I gotcha. It’s Dashie’s first time, so I’ll make sure it’s a good one. I’m not rolling tonight, just gonna make sure she has fun.” Pinkie grinned and glanced at Rainbow.
“And you tested it, right? It’s pure?”
“Of course! Every pill, every time, just like you told me.”
Vinyl mussed Pinkie’s mane with a hoof, making Pinkie giggle. “Good filly. Now go have fun! It’s just about time to unleash the wubs!”
Pinkie led Rainbow to a less crowded area by the restrooms, where she pulled out one of the pink disks and handed it to Rainbow. “Here you go, you can just swallow it like a vitamin.” She pointed to the water fountain near the entrance to the restrooms. “And wash it down with lots of water. No point getting dehydrated before we even get started.”
Rainbow glanced at the pressed pill in her hoof. It was a solid pink disk, maybe half the size of a bit, with a raised image of a generic smiling pony. “You sure you don’t want to do this with me, Pinkie? You made it sound like it’s not as fun without it. I don’t want you to be left out on my account.”
“Aww, Dashie!” Pinkie swooped in for a hug. “That’s so sweet! But not tonight. I’ll still have plenty of fun, but I wanna make sure you do, too. Next time we can both trip out, kay?”
“Well, alright, if you’re sure.” Rainbow looked at the pill for a moment, then closed her eyes, opened her mouth and popped the pill into her mouth. She stepped to the water fountain and washed it down with lots of water, as instructed.
“Alright Dash, let’s get this party started!”
***
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had been dancing for a little while now. Rainbow didn’t feel any different than usual yet, but she did recall Pinkie telling her that it would take about half an hour to kick in, and that Rainbow would know when it did. A bit ominous, but whatever. While she waited, gently swaying and bobbing her head to the pre-recorded, repetitive beat that played before DJ-Pon3 started her set, she occupied herself by observing the crowd around her. Most ponies were standing around in small circles of friends, just chatting while they waited for the real party to start. Some ponies were gently swaying on their hooves roughly in time to the music, a lazy smile underneath half-lidded eyes. Rainbow wondered if that’s how she would look in an hour. A few ponies were acting even stranger, like the pair near the edge of the dance floor that she didn’t recognize. A pair of stallions, one an earth pony with a deep brown coat, the other a dark blue pegasus with a silver mane, were gently…stroking each other’s fur. Rainbow almost felt embarrassed, but on second glance it didn’t appear to be sexual. It was like both ponies were simply enjoying the texture of the other’s fur to an extreme degree. She turned back to Pinkie and was about to ask her to explain what that was all about, when the music faded out and the lights turned to illuminate the stage, where Vinyl Scratch, now DJ-Pon3, held up a microphone.
“Sup, party ponies? DJ-Pon3 is in da house!” The packed crowd cheered in unison. An ocean of ravers ready to party until sunrise.
“That’s what I like to hear! You ponies ready to rave?” Another roaring cheer answered. “LET’S BUCKING GO!”
It was like all the dials were turned to eleven. The music got louder, the lights moved faster, and the crowd turned electric. Rainbow mimicked Pinkie who was bouncing in place to the beat, her cotton candy mane flying in every direction. Rainbow was starting to get into the rhythm, the infectious mood of the crowd around her lifting her up as well. She thought she might have been starting to feel the effects of the ecstasy a little bit, when it suddenly hit her, launching like a sonic rainboom.
She suddenly felt as light as the feathers on her wings. Rainbow felt like it all made sense now; the multicolored lights beaming onto the stage, the repetitive trance music, the crowd swaying around her like a stormy sea, it all complimented the drug perfectly. She saw a flash of color at the edge of her vision and turned to locate it. Pinkie Pie had at some point attached dozens of glowsticks in loops around her legs and her neck, half pink and half blue. Rainbow Dash was mesmerized; the glowsticks seemed impossibly bright and vivid, illuminating Pinkie like an omnidirectional spotlight. Pinkie caught Dash staring at her and laughed.
“Hey filly, you having a good time?”
“Oh Celestia…Pinkie, this is amazing!” Rainbow pointed a hoof at the glowsticks wrapped around Pinkie’s neck. “You’re amazing!”
Pinkie laughed and gently wrapped a foreleg around Rainbow’s neck. “I didn’t think you were such a flatterer, Dashie!”
Rainbow Dash barely understood what Pinkie was saying, completely distracted by the feel of her fur meshing with the fur on Pinkie’s leg. She felt every individual hair in her mane move in tandem with the Pinkie’s movements. She felt Pinkie’s heart beating in her chest. She felt the breeze against her ear from Pinkie’s breath, heavy with exertion.
It was overwhelming. It was electrifying.
It was perfect.
“Oh Celestia, Pinkie, keep…keep doing that.”
Pinkie giggled. “Oh, you’re the touchy-feely type when you roll, huh? Alright, I gotcha Dashie.”
Pinkie brushed her hoof through Rainbow’s mane, slightly damp and matted with sweat. Rainbow craned her head to the ceiling, a goofy grin stretched across her face. She was in heaven, Pinkie could tell. But then she noticed something that made her pause her brushing.
“Hey, Dash, look at me please.”
Rainbow didn’t react for a second, but she eventually noticed that the hoof brushing through her mane had stopped, and she turned to Pinkie.
“Open your mouth for me, okay?”
Rainbow complied. Or, at least she tried to; she suddenly noticed that her jaw was clamped shut like a vice. When did that happen? After some effort, she managed to unlock her jaw and open her mouth, a questioning look evident in her eyes.
“That’s called bruxism Dash. It’s bad for your teeth, especially if you start grinding them. Remember what Vinyl said? Try to stay loose, and massage your jaw once in a while, okay?”
“Got it…sorry Pinks, I didn’t even notice I was doing that.”
Pinkie giggled and brushed a hoof through her mane, sending another jolt of pleasure through her body. “It’s okay Dashie, I’m just making sure you don’t hurt yourself. I said I’d take care of you tonight, and that’s a Pinkie promise.”
Rainbow was practically crying in pleasure. At that moment, everything was right in the world. The music flowed into her soul and through her body in waves of bliss. She felt connected to the hundreds of ponies around her, dancing to the same beat in her heart. She was with one of her best friends, a pony she trusted completely in mind, body, and spirit. One who was dedicated to making sure that Rainbow had the time of her life.
Rainbow suddenly had an idea. An amazing idea. She turned her head to look directly at Pinkie.
“Hey, Pinkie?”
“Yeah Dashie?”
“I love you.” She leaned forward and pecked Pinkie on the lips.
Pinkie’s eyes opened as wide as dinner plates, before she relaxed and chuckled. “I love you too, Dashie. C’mon, let’s get you some water, silly filly.”
***
Hours later, two ponies exited the warehouse, leaning on each other for support. Pinkie Pie looked exhausted, but Rainbow Dash was still full of energy. Pinkie had let her redose as she was coming down from her high, but warned her that it would be the last one for the night. “You have to join the rest of us on the ground eventually” Pinkie had told her.
Rainbow Dash was fascinated with the new environment, particularly the new tactile experiences: the cold night breeze against her coat, the feel of individual grains of gravel against the frog of her hoof, as well as the now familiar brush of her fur against Pinkie’s. Despite dancing for at least 6 hours, she had never felt better. Whether this was because of the drug or her athletic training was anypony’s guess.
“Alright Dashie, let’s get you back to Sugarcube Corner. You’re definitely not flying home tonight, and I need to be there with you when you wake up.”
Rainbow nodded “Sure Pinks, that sounds great.” She didn’t feel like sleeping yet, despite the late hour, but right now she was cool with anything. Pinkie hadn’t let her down yet, after all.
Pinkie led Rainbow through the front door of the bakery and upstairs to her room, taking care not to wake Mr. and Mrs. Cake or the twins. Pinkie guided Rainbow to the bed and, after clearing space amongst the dozens of pillows, laid Rainbow atop the sheets.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes with some cocoa, and then we’ll get some sleep, kay?”
“Okay Pinkie, sounds good.” Pinkie saw that Rainbow's eyelids were starting to flutter. She was exhausted, she just didn’t realize it yet.
Pinkie returned to the kitchen and made herself a cup of cocoa with lots of marshmallows. She returned to her bedroom to see Rainbow Dash sprawled out on her bed, snoring softly. She gently smiled to herself.
“Heh, I knew I’d only need one cup.”
***
Rainbow Dash stirred to consciousness, briefly confused by the unfamiliar bed she awoke in before recalling the events of last night. She felt…okay. It was a bit sad after the euphoria she felt last night but she knew that this was normal; Pinkie had told her as much last night before she had taken the pill.
Pinkie walked in the door right at that moment, like she somehow sensed that Rainbow had woken up. She carried a tray balanced on her back. “Good morning, sleepyhead. I made prench toast. You want some?”
Rainbow’s stomach grumbled in reply. “Sure Pinkie, that smells…fine.” She crawled out of bed and joined Pinkie at the small table in the middle of the room.
Pinkie Pie smiled gently; she knew what Rainbow was feeling and emphasized with her. The day after could be pretty rough, especially after a redose. “How are you feeling?”
Rainbow lifted her head slowly to gaze at Pinkie. “I’m…alright. Normal, I guess. It just feels kinda…blah. You know?”
“Oh, trust me, I know.” Pinkie nodded in understanding. “Don’t worry Dashie, you’ll feel better tomorrow, okay?” Rainbow nodded, and they ate in silence.
Rainbow Dash thought back to last night, going through the evening in her head. The sounds, lights, colors like she had never seen before. The kiss…wait, the kiss‽
Rainbow froze. “Hey, Pinkie?”
Pinkie swallowed a piece of toast, then looked up. “Yeah Dashie?”
“Did we…did I…um…”
Pinkie raised her eyebrows. Here it comes. “Yes, Dashie?” She grinned in amusement.
“Did I really kiss you last night?”
“Yup. Do you wanna talk about it?”
Rainbow’s blush reminded Pinkie of the apples on Applejack’s farm. “Can it wait for a while? I need to get my head sorted.”
“Of course, Rainbow. Let’s wait until you’re feeling better.”
Several moments passed.
“Hey Pinkie? Thanks for last night, that was incredible.”
“Of course, Rainbow. I’m glad we both had fun.”