//------------------------------// // Chapter Thirteen: Battered and Worn // Story: Shut Up And Dance // by TheVClaw //------------------------------// Since the sun was nearing the horizon in front of him, Rainbow Blitz was sporting his shades while leisurely soaring through the air. Despite the constant droning sound of wind whooshing past his ears, the pegasus could still hear the loud buzzing coming from beneath him on the ground. Scootaroll’s wings may have not been the best for flying, but the colt was able to put them to great use as propellers while on his scooter. Behind Scootaroll’s wheels was an old wagon he found in his attic, which was connected to his scooter by a small chain; the wheels wobbled with a constant creak from the rusty bearings, but it was still able to hold all the groceries and items needed on their trek towards Silver Bell’s house. Given how lavish and high-class Elusive made his own home, it was almost jarring to see that his parents’ house was completely plain. From the white walls and grey shutters, to the pristinely well-kept lawn with a two-cart garage, Rainbow Blitz was sure he would’ve missed it among the identical houses on this street if it weren’t for the numbers by the off-white door. Of course, even if the address wasn’t easy to read, the distinct smell of charcoal burning from the backyard was enough to let them know they were at the right house. With his wings buzzing like a small motor, Scootaroll was the first to arrive to the quaint suburban home with a loud screech from his scooter’s wheels. Blitz landed on the ground beside Scootaroll’s wagon with an impressed smirk pointed at the colt. “I gotta say, dude,” said the mentor with an approving shrug while the colt got off his scooter, “I’m pretty sure you could beat me in a race if we both had to ride those things.” “Oh, come on,” replied Scootaroll in dismissal as he took off his helmet. Blitz did the same with his shades. “I was barely moving that fast while towing with that heavy wagon!” “Hey, you were going at least twenty-five down that hill back there.” Keeping a carefree smile on his face, Blitz went to pull the deep-fryer off the wagon with booth hooves. “Hnnnnggg… Besides… You kept a steady pace with that load without even breaking a sweat! That’s not something to shake a stick at.” “Yeah, I guess…” Scootaroll went to get a couple of the paper grocery bags full of supplies, but stopped momentarily to ask his mentor, “Uhhh… you need help with that?” “Nope!” the pegasus lied with a strained grunt. Despite his extensive training, Blitz forgot just how cumbersome his old deep-fryer really was. Even when it was empty, the metal device wasn’t exactly as compact or light as modern cooking appliances. Plus, the fact that it was covered in decades worth of oil and grease residue made it fairly hard to grip with his hooves. But alas, Blitz was able to hold it with both forelegs while his face turned red from overwhelming strain. “I’m… I’mgood…” Fortunately, Blitz only had to take three steps before an aura of blue magic wrapped around the fryer and pulled it off his hooves. The pegasus fell backwards onto the grass from that unexpected loss of weight, leaving him to stare up at the culprit in surprise. “Oh, heaven’s t’betsy!” shouted Magness, who lifted the fryer effortlessly with her magic and let it levitate towards the house. “You really had an old one, didn’t ‘cha? Don’t worry, Cookie and I will plug this up for you!” Even Scootaroll looked surprised at how easily the mare grabbed Blitz’s fryer and took it into the house. Of course, he was distracted when another aura of pink floated past with the two jugs of vegetable oil Blitz brought as well. “Got the oil!” shouted Cookie Crumble with a smile while trotting past the two pegasi. “Huh,” said Scootaroll to himself while Blitz got back on his hooves, “So that’s why they disable magic at the Equestria Games.” “Ugh, yeah…” After brushing some grass clippings from his fur, Blitz went and got the remaining grocery bags from the wagon. He also pulled the cooler he brought by his teeth as he walked backwards towards the house. “C’mon, thwurt!” After a bit of balance and strain from carrying so many things at once, Blitz stepped into the house while Scootaroll held the door open for him. In the living room, some pop song was playing on the radio while Scootaroll’s friends sat on the couch with a couple of JoyBoys. While Silver Bell sat on one end of the couch with his hoof-held game, a wire was connected from the console to the second one held in Twinkle Toes’ hooves. Apple Buck was seated next to her and watching her gameplay intensely. “Put the ‘L’ shaped one at the corner!” he shouted while pointing at the pixelated icon slowly moving down Twinkle’s screen. The filly had her tongue stuck out in concentration while maneuvering the piece over to an empty spot along the wall of various colored blocks. Scootaroll put his bags down by the kitchen and ran over to see Silver Bell’s progress. While Blitz sighed and went over to the kitchen with his things, he heard Buck say, “Wait, why’re ya puttin’ the long piece there?! There was an empty spot in the middle fo-- Ohhhhh, Ah see now…” When he stepped into the kitchen, Blitz saw that Magness was chopping up some heads of lettuce for the salads. “Oh, you can just put those on the table, dearie,” she said without looking back at the pegasus. “The fryer is heating up right now, so it might be a while before you can get things ready too.” “Oh, okay…” Blitz put his groceries down and took a beer from the cooler before looking around the kitchen, noting how the majority of the tiles and appliances were obscenely yellow. Even though there was also a bit of white on the countertops and floor, Blitz felt like this sort of room would give him a headache if he stayed in it for too long. After taking a swig from his bottle, Blitz asked as he tossed the cap in the nearby trashcan, “So, where’s Lucy at?” “He’s up in his old room,” she said while chopping up some cucumbers with delicate precision with the knife in her magic. She then turned around with a smile and pointed to the doorway where the stairs are. “Upstairs, second door on the right.” “Alright, thanks!” Blitz left Elusive’s mom to finish her salad bowl, and trotted up the stairs that had a few distinct creaks on the wooden steps. When he reached the top, his ears twitched when he overheard the distinct sound of a certain genre of music that made him groan with gritted teeth. Even though he should’ve known he would have to hear it some time this week, the muffled sound of disco music coming through Elusive’s bedroom door was enough to turn Blitz’s stomach like an expired gallon of milk. Nevertheless, he downed half of his bottle before going towards the room. He opened the door slowly and peered inside to see what his friend was doing. Most of the the unicorn’s old bedroom was darkened with the curtains closed and the light off, but an old movie projector that was reeling beside the bed gave enough illumination for Blitz to see Elusive sitting next to it. While on the bed, Elusive was jotting down some notes on a pen and paper while studying the footage displayed on a sheet hung across the back wall. Blitz entered the room to see the film, which looked to be a recording of an old disco routine between two absurdly-dressed ponies. Despite how ludicrous the song and style of the routine looked, Blitz had to admit that the dancing itself was really solid. The quick-timed steps, combined with the fluid movement and symmetrical style, really made it look like a complicated and well-rehearsed routine. There was also quite a bit of contortion and gymnast-style lifts between the two dancers, which Blitz did not expect. For the finale of the performance, the stallion lifted up his partner so that her crotch was right up against his face as he stood on his hind-legs. Even though that move quickly turned to him spinning her around the stage by her hindlegs on his shoulders, Blitz looked back at his partner and said, “We are not doing that move.” “AAAHHHH!” Elusive nearly fell off his bed when he heard his friend’s voice out of nowhere, but was able to catch himself before glaring back at him. “Rainbow! Just what do you think you’re doing barging into my room!” “What? I wanted to see where you were!” Blitz pointed to the open doorway and added, “Also, for a guy who prides himself on noticing the tiniest things, I’m surprised you didn’t hear the door open.” While the film reel continued to play, Elusive looked between Blitz and the door with a surprised look of his own. “Er, um… I was focused on my notes!” After holding up his notebook for his partner to see, Elusive used his magic to turn on the bedroom light and turn the projector off. With the added illumination, Blitz was able to see the posh, lavender accented room his friend used to stay in; or more accurately, what was left of the room which was now stuffed with dozens of boxes around most of the floor. “Besides,” continued the unicorn as he carefully went to tend to the projector and get the film out and back in place, “this was the only place I could use the projector without hearing anypony downstairs.” “Yeah, I guess…” Blitz was listening to his friend, but his attention was geared towards the shelves high up on Elusive’s faded white walls. As he finished his beer, Blitz scanned the little wooden shelves that were delicately painted purple, with at least a dozen trophies stacked side-by-side and collecting dust. Upon closer inspection, Blitz’s brows raised when he read the titles of them. “Wow, you were a bit of a theater kid, huh?” Elusive chuckled a little while putting the film reel back in the metal drum resting on the bed. “Oh, that was more of a hobby than anything else,” admitted the unicorn meekly. “I preferred working the costume department in most of the theater productions I participated in, but I was alright with being a replacement actor every now and again.” “Are you sure it was just replacement?” asked Blitz with a raised brow back at him. “Because I see a few big-ass trophies for acting up here!” “Well, it’s not my fault that I had to replace a lead actor two shows in a row!” Elusive then shrugged and added with a smirk, “Besides, it’s easy to be seen as a good actor in a musical when you have a splendid singing voice.” “Okay, yeah. Good point there…” Blitz looked back up at the trophy shelf, noticing the ones near the end that were for glee club and choir meets. “I’m kinda surprised your parents didn’t make a trophy case for you or something! Most of these are pretty good.” “Well, thank you,” said Elusive with a smile as he hopped off the bed, “but I take more pride in my works in fashion than I do in some trophies. If you want to see the accomplishments I’m really happy about, my Father can show you the fashion binder he and my Mom made for me.” Blitz couldn’t help scoffing when his friend said ‘fashion binder’ so proudly. “Like, what? Pictures of old dresses you made?” Elusive huffed with a disapproving scowl pointed at the pegasus. “Not just pictures of ‘old dresses’. I have pictures from some of the first shows I participated in, original sketches of some of my most successful works, as well as photos of some of the most famous celebrities who have worn my garments! Not to mention the countless magazine and catalogue pages where my work was featured.” “Alright, alright, I get it!” With both hooves up apologetically, Blitz skewed away from his friend and looked back at the shelf. “I wasn’t being insulting or anything, I was just surprised, that’s all.” “Why?” asked the unicorn condescendingly, “Because I don’t place all my pride in trophies?” Ignoring how his friend inflected that last word, Blitz shrugged and said, “I just mean, like… trophies can be a big deal to a lot of ponies. Like… it’s straight-up proof that you did something that mattered, you know? Somepony saw that you did something really cool, so they gave you a cool award that showed you were worth something that day…” Elusive paused briefly, and looked up at the old shelf as well. Meanwhile, Rainbow Blitz continued with a small sigh that escaped his growing smile. “I remember the very first trophy I ever got. It was back in the first grade, and I won a medal for Fastest Skater in the Cloudsdale Junior Hockey league. I mean, our team was very last in the league that year, but still...” After a tiny huff, Blitz bit the inside of his cheek before continuing. “I remember when I came home that day, the very first thing my Dad did was help me build my own trophy case for it. That medal stood right in the middle, which just made the rest of the shelf look massive and empty. When I was looking up at it, he looked down at me and said, ‘One day, you’re gonna fill that sucker up so much that we’ll end up making a bigger one’...” Blitz blinked a few times as he looked back down to his hooves. Elusive turned to see the strained smile on his friend’s face after Blitz let out a heavy exhale. “I remember we ended up building a new shelf by the time I started middle school. We made another right before my Junior year of high school…” After that, Blitz stopped talking as he kept his face pointed away from his friend. Elusive waited for a brief moment with his muzzle skewed, not wanting to say anything to ruin Blitz’s train of thought. But after a small sigh, he looked back up at his shelf and shrugged meagerly. “Well… I suppose I can see your point there, Blitz…” After another couple seconds of thought, the unicorn glanced back at Blitz and added, “And I’m happy you did that sort of thing with your father. He sounds like a good stallion.” He wasn’t able to see Blitz’s face, but Elusive did notice how the pegasus’ ears pulled down a little after that remark. Elusive tried to lean over and catch a glimpse of what that motion meant, but was interrupted when a knock came at the door. “Elusive?” asked his dad from the hall. “Is Blitz in there? Magness is finished in the kitchen, so he can stark cooking now.” “Alright, thanks Da--” Before Elusive could even finish that response, Blitz quickly went to the door and left the room. Cookie Crumble stepped back in surprise as the pegasus rushed past him and trotted down the stairs. He blinked a couple times before looking back his equally confused son. Of course, the pink unicorn then huffed with a smirk and said, "Well! I guess someone was excited to start cooking, huh?” Elusive leaned his head out of the room to see where his friend ran off to, and it took a short pause of silence before saying in an unsure voice, “Well… I guess so…” Rainbow Blitz spent almost an hour in the kitchen getting everything ready, although it could have been a lot longer if he hadn’t agreed to let Scootaroll and Apple Buck help out. Silver Belle offered to assist as well, but was quickly escorted out by Magness and Cookie for his own good; Elusive wanted to feel bad, but he remembered his brother’s most recent attempts at “cooking” clearly enough to not blame his parents for keeping him away from a vat of boiling oil. Fortunately, the other two colts were more than helpful at getting everything from Blitz’s groceries battered and breaded. Meanwhile, the cyan stallion used an old washrag to tie over his forehead like a bandanna as he worked, getting everything prepped and cooked like a true professional; by the time everything was fully prepared, Scootaroll and Buck had been sitting at the table for at least fifteen minutes watching him do everything flawlessly. After cleaning up the mess his brother and Twinkle Toes made outside when making the salad vinaigrettes, Elusive breathed out in exhaustion as he walked into the kitchen. He first noticed Rainbow Blitz (or at least Blitz’s sweaty back) as his hooves constantly moved from the fryer to the other ingredients which were either finished or still cooking. The unicorn then blinked before glancing back at the two colts and asked, “So, I take it you two needed a break?” “Not really,” answered Apple Buck with a shrug. “Blitz just sorta took over, and we didn’t have nuthin’ to do.” “Yeah,” added Scootaroll while nodding in agreement. “He even pushed me out of the way a couple times! I mean, I think it was because a lot of oil was splattering around, but it was still weird.” Elusive turned to stare at Blitz again, blinking a couple times with his eyes narrowing on him. The pegasus seemed to be completely in his own world, not responding to anything happening behind him. Heck, if King Metamorphosis showed up right now with an ovipositor pointed at his butt, Blitz probably wouldn’t have even batted an eye. Elusive slowly walked up to see what was happening, and saw his partner dumping the last of something from the fryer basket into a large strainer lined with a bunch of paper towels. The unicorn had no idea what those clumps of fried batter had inside of them, but he only saw the bowl for a second before Blitz tossed it across the kitchen. “Order UP!!” Elusive shrieked and ducked before the bowl could hit his head. Scootaroll flinched at the sudden bowl of fried food being thrown towards him and his friend, but Buck caught the handle of the strainer with his teeth like a pro. “God id!” The colt then trotted out of the kitchen to the backyard with a satisfied smile on his muzzle. After looking to make sure Elusive was alright, Scootaroll got out of his seat and went to get one of the other prepared bowls to take outside. “Rainbow!” shouted Elusive when he got back on his hooves with a scowl. “You should really pay attention to your surroundings!” “GAH!” The pegasus turned around in a jolt, clearly not having heard his friend a minute ago. Blitz seemed briefly surprised at seeing Elusive right next to him in the kitchen, but was able to retort back, “Hey, YOU were the one who snuck up on me while I’m frying stuff! That’s kinda your own fault!” “Well, maybe you…” Before he could begin to berate Blitz for almost throwing a bunch of fried food at his face, Elusive’s words trailed off when he finally got a good look at his friend. After almost an hour straight by the deep fryer, Blitz looked absolutely drained by the heavy bags under his eyes. Despite the towel hung around his head, the fur on his face was completely matted in sweat. Even as he stood with a seemingly oblivious look on his face, the stallion was panting heavily like he just ran a marathon backwards. Elusive also saw that the pegasus’ hooves were wobbling a tiny bit, which was alarming enough for him to quickly stop his previous statement and say, “Okay, you really need to lie down a bit.” Blitz didn’t catch the concern in friend’s voice and just scoffed with a wave of his shaking hoof. “Pbbt! Dude, come on! I just finished cooking!” “Rainbow, you really look exhausted!” Elusive then pointed to the mirror on the wall by the dining table. “Do you even see how you look?! You should at least rehydrate yourself!” Blitz sighed and walked past him. “Lucy, we both know I’ve dealt with worse. I do Wonderbolt practices, remember? Besides, it’s not like your training doesn’t make me sweat a…” The pegasus’ words trailed off when he looked at the wall his partner was pointing towards. Elusive hoped that seeing how overworked he looked would be enough of a wake-up call for Rainbow. But surprisingly enough, it was the clock above the mirror that caught Blitz’s attention. “What the…” The stunt-pony had a confounded look on his face when he turned back to Elusive and asked, “Was I really cooking that long!?” Elusive was surprised that that was the question he was asked, but he still nodded after a couple blinks. “Umm… I think so. Why?” Blitz made a quick shake of his head like he was rattling something out of it. After pulling off the rag from his head and tossing it to the sink (which made a very nasty-sounding “plop”), the stallion wiped some remaining sweat from his brow and slowly walked towards the stairs. “Uhhh… I’m gonna take a shower, alright?” “Ummm, alright then,” said his friend worriedly. He then made sure to add, “and drink some water too.” “Alright…” Blitz took a beer out of his cooler before heading up the stairs. “Rainbow, I said water!” “Shower beer is better!” Elusive groaned after his friend disappeared, but there was nothing much for him to do but rub his eyes in strained thought. Even though he knew that Blitz wasn’t a stranger to pushing his limits, the way he was acting recently seemed quite a bit out of character for him. And despite how fretful Butterscotch looked the previous night at seeing Blitz's behavior, he absolutely refused to tell Elusive the reason why when he was asked; all he did was state that he made a Bubble Berry Promise to never say anything about it without Blitz’s permission. And given how sensitive that pegasus was, Elusive was sure that any further interrogation could've easily put a strain on their friendship. Elusive knew better than to risk asking any unneeded questions to Blitz, but he also knew that his friend’s behavior was getting way out of hoof. Butterscotch tried to warn him not to press the matter any more than he already had, but the unicorn was honestly worried about what might happen if this was left to fester any longer. Eventually, he lowered his hoof with a pained sigh, making a mental note to try and ask Blitz about it before their show in Las Pegasus. It might be risky, but it’s hard to turn away from a risky idea after the countless endeavors they did as Elements. “Elusive?” shouted Magness from outside through the window. “Your Dad’s finished with the kebabs! Tell Blitz to come outside!” “Alright, Mum!” After a brief exhale, Elusive lit his horn to get a couple of the covered bowls that Blitz finished frying up earlier. He was just about to lift up the last one too, but Blitz’s hoof came into his view and grabbed it by surprise. “What the?!” Elusive turned to see Blitz was not only out of the shower, but completely clean and dried up. Elusive peered up at the clock, noting that not even two minutes have passed. “How the… How did you do that?!” “Told you, dude,” said Blitz before taking a swig of his beer and walking out to the backyard with his food. “Only one minute showers on Wonderbolt grounds.” Elusive wanted to ask if Blitz took any showering lessons from Bubble Berry to be that quick, but decided to let that statement remain unsaid and followed him outside. The backyard was just as meticulously trimmed as the front yard, and a large picnic table was set up that was crammed with everything for their meal. The four kids were already seated along one side of the table with their plates, and Elusive’s parents were on the other side, motioning the two stallions to come over. “C’mon, guys!” shouted Cookie Crumble with a jaunty smile. “Everything’s ready!” Blitz smiled and trotted to the table first, seemingly looking like nothing odd happened over the past five minutes. Elusive wanted to pause his trot while staring at his friend in bewilderment, but was able to keep his appearance casual as he followed him and took a seat. While helping himself to some salad and one of the kebabs, he overheard his dad ask Blitz, “So, how did the frying go in there? I swear, the smells coming out could be good enough to make into cologne!” “Oh, yeah. Sure,” jeered his wide with a roll of her eyes. “I can imagine it now: Ol’ De Fry Cook.” “I’d wear it!” piped Silver Bell happily, which just made both his parents laugh. Of course, Cookie’s chuckling turned to a few impressed “Ooohs” as he saw the various items Rainbow Blitz made for the occasion. Even though Elusive had no idea how to discern one bowl of fried items from the other, his father used his magic to pull out individual pieces with a grin. “Holy crow, look at all this! Fried mushrooms, zucchini, onion rings--HUUUHHH!” That gasp caught Elusive’s attention when he turned to see how wide his dad’s mouth was. “You made cheese sticks too?!” “Eh, what can I say?” asked Blitz with a shrug and his hooves raised. “I was kinda in the zone back in the kitchen.” Elusive wanted to point out that 'in the zone' isn't exactly the term he would use, but he kept himself silent and enjoyed some of his father's grilled peppers. “Yeah, I’ll say!” added Scootaroll as he helped himself to some pieces from one of the massive blooming onions Blitz prepared. “You were like a robot near the end there!” Blitz looked away with an uncomfortable look while he and the other kids giggled. Elusive stopped chewing momentarily and stared at his fiend cautiously. Meanwhile, a cheerful Magness waved her hoof to settle the kids down, “Oh, don’t be like that! I’m sure that the time spent was more than worth i--” “MMMMPH!!” With the way Cookie Crumble reacted with a hoof over his mouth while bug-eyed, it seemed like whatever he just took a bite of struck a major chord. After a couple chews, the stallion quickly swallowed and handed some of the cheese sticks from his plate to his wife. “Honey, try this!” he said in an excitedly insistent voice. Hearing how the unicorn sounded, Blitz glanced past Elusive to see what the commotion was about As soon as Magness took a small bite from one of the sticks, her eyes opened just as wide as her husband’s. She blinked a couple times while the remainder of her cheese stick hovered in her magic. “Oh… my…” Seeing the mare’s stunned face, Blitz couldn’t resist smiling a little. “Heh heh heh… I’ve seen that look before.” While Elusive glanced back at the pegasus, all four of the kids got cheese sticks themselves to see what the hubbub was about. Of course, that first bite soon turned to many after a brief moment of silent awe. Even Twinkle Toes was chowing down alongside the colts as they all got huge helpings of Blitz’s fried goods. Meanwhile, Magness was still reeling about the food with her husband with a sense of nostalgia. “My gosh!” she shouted with a shocked smile at Cookie. “These taste just like the ones we had on our first date!” Cookie Crumble chuckled and nodded heartily. “I know, right?! It’s uncanny to Wingman’s!” The mention of that name made the stallion groan with his head leaned back. “Oh, I thought I’d never get myself any of those again!” Blitz may have been happy about the positive reception, but his smile dropped when he heard what Cookie said. Elusive asked his Dad, “Wait, what’s Wingman’s?” “Oh, that place was the best!” raved the older unicorn with a grin back at him. “Seriously, I went there almost every day after classes back in college! It was also where I took your Mother on our first date.” “Mmhmm,” piped Magness with a smiling nod. “And it was where we went on our anniversary six years in a row! The place has a special place in our hearts.” Cookie chuckled and added while tapping his belly with a hoof, “and given how many of those cheese sticks I ate there, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of it is still in my heart!” “Oh, you!” jeered his wife as she slapped him on the shoulder. Nevertheless, Magness laughed just as heartily as her husband from that joke. Meanwhile, Elusive smiled with a chuckle himself, but stopped when the two started nuzzling. All four of the kids made a unified “Ewwww!” in response, which did little to stop the nose-nuzzle. However, Cookie paused when he noticed how uneasy Rainbow was looking. “Hey Blitz, you alright?” he asked with a raised brow. Elusive turned to see Blitz as well, instantly seeing the uncomfortable expression the pegasus had while fidgeting his hooves. But upon hearing that question, Blitz breathed out slowly while struggling to break a fake smile. “Uhhh, y-yeah,” said Rainbow in a tone that made Elusive wary. The cyan stallion then sighed briefly and added, “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just… kinda surprised you know that place.” “Wait, you know about it?” asked Magness with her eyes widened in interest. “That place hasn’t been around for years!” Scootaroll, despite stuffing his face along with his friends, swallowed before piping out to Blitz, “Hey, was that the place you said your parents owned?” Blitz whipped his head back to Scootaroll wide-eyed, but then cringed a little when he heard both of Elusive’s parents gasp in pleased surprise. “Well, what do you know!” shouted Cookie with an honored look on his face. “I knew there had to be something special in there!” “Wait, really?” asked Elusive back towards his friend with a brow raised. “Blitz, I don’t think you ever mentioned that.” Upon seeing how Rainbow’s head slumped down with a long sigh, Elusive quickly realized that there may have been a reason for Blitz never speaking about it. Unfortunately, the mood wasn’t helped when he heard his mother chime in with a groan in nostalgia. “Ugh! I remember how sad we were when we found out that place shut down. One day it was busy as a bee and the next day it was just… gone. I still don’t understand why that happened.” Blitz squirmed a little in his seat while looking away from his friend’s parents. After noticing, Elusive looked back at his folks and tried to keep them from saying anything else. “You know, maybe we shouldn--” “Actually yeah, I was wondering about that too,” interrupted Cookie as he looked over at Rainbow. He made sure to say in addition with a respectful raise of his hooves, “I mean, I’m not trying to kill the mood or anything. If I’m going too far you can say so. We were just curious what happened.” Despite how well his father worded that last part, Elusive still looked apprehensive as he glanced back to his partner. Blitz, who was staring down at his hoof as it scratched the wooden surface of the table, hoped that his lips didn’t look as shaky as he thought they did. “W-Well, ummm…” The pegasus had to take a small breath before speaking in a less feeble voice. “The place was bought out by some real estate company before I went to college, and… and that company fell under before anything could be built.” Magness’ ears dropped down with a disheartened look on her face. Cookie Crumble seemed upset as well, and sighed before asking, “Really? They sold that place? Man, if I owned a business like that, you’d bet your butt I wouldn’t let it--Oomph!” Elusive hoped that he didn’t cross any lines with that hard kick to his dad’s shin, but it seemed like a better alternative than just letting him continue and upset Blitz any further. Fortunately, Cookie got the hint when he noticed how the pegasus’ head was lowered even further. “Ummm… you know what? I’ll go get some more beers from the kitchen. I have some artisan stuff from Vanhoover you might like.” While the stallion quickly made his leave with a limp, Elusive placed a cautious hoof on Blitz’s back. “I’m sorry, Blitz,” he said quietly. Even though the only response he thought he would get was a sharp inhale from his partner, Elusive was glad to hear him murmur back “Th-Thanks…” Magness, who had a guiltful expression as well, lit up her horn to float over a large bowl of salad and some kebab pieces towards Blitz. “We really are glad you came here for dinner, Rainbow,” she said with a warm smile. “And you’re always welcome to come back if you want.” Blitz glanced back at her with a tiny smile and nodded. “Thanks, Magness.” By the time Cookie Crumble came back out with a couple of fancy-looking bottles in his aura, Blitz was back upright in his seat when he took one. After taking the first swig, Blitz smiled a little and said towards both of them, “Well, just so you guys know, I wouldn’t mind giving you guys the recipe to those cheese sticks if you want it.” “Wait, really?” asked Magness with a look of shock. She tried to put up her hooves and say, “Oh, Rainbow you don’t have to do something like that.” “No, I insist,” returned the pegasus with a raised hoof of his own. “I mean, it’s not like I have to worry about it being stolen or anything. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt for you guys to know how to make it yourselves.” Magness looked like she wanted to say something more in refusal, but eventually just sighed with a grateful smile on her face. Elusive seemed especially touched by that sentiment as he stared at his friend with a smile of his own. “Wow, that’s… that’s really nice of you.” “Eh, what can I say?” said Blitz with a shrug. “Maybe your generosity is rubbing off on me.” Cookie decided to say jokingly, “Hey Elusive, dance with him some more! Maybe he can give us the blooming onion recipe too!” Even though Blitz laughed at that, Magness elbowed her husband sharply. “Ow! Come on, it was a joke!” While rubbing his side with a wince, Cookie helped himself to another cheese stick and said, “Seriously though, I would love to know what you guys did to make these. I swear, we have never found a place that made mozzarella sticks that good!” Curious himself, Elusive helped himself to one of the few remaining cheese sticks in the basket. Even though the idea of fried cheese was beyond appalling, he had to admit that all the raving at this dinner made him more than a little curious. The unicorn took a meager bite, and was immediately rewarded with a savory creaminess that went shockingly well alongside that salty, crispy breading. His eyes shot wide-open as well, and he huffed with a bewildered smile while chewing. He hated to admit it, but that may have been one of the best uses of cheese he ever experienced outside of fondue. “Oh, wow…” “Hey, what did I tell you?” said Blitz with a cocky grin pointed at him. “Fried cheese IS good!” “Well, it’s nice to see him opening his culinary tastes a bit,” chimed Magness. “I remember Elusive used to be the pickiest eater in Equestria.” “Oh, no I was not!” retorted Elusive sharply. “Yeah you are!” said Silver Bell back at him. “Remember when you went with Mom and Dad on that vacation in Neighpon, and you wouldn’t stop complaining because you couldn’t get macaroni and cheese?” Elusive’s face soured up in an instant. While Rainbow Blitz covered his mouth and snickered, the unicorn’s right eye twitched violently as he said in a peeved hiss, “I was very young when I went on that vacation, Silver Bell.” That was when both of his parents said at the same time, “You were fifteen!” Despite the furious glare Elusive had, everyone else at the table started cracking up. Blitz had to wipe his eyes while keeping himself from falling out of his seat. “Oh man! That reminds me of when me and the guys gave Lucy a wine-tasting experimen--” “DO NOT BRING THAT UP.” Warned the unicorn with a stare that could’ve shot fire at his friend. However, it only took Elusive a pert breath before he was relaxed enough to bring his tone back to a civil level. “But as long as we’re talking about taste-testings, I think I know what the secret ingredient to your sticks are.” Blitz immediately stopped laughing, as did the others. Even though he wanted to smirk at how quickly his friend’s smile dropped from that comment, Elusive instead took another bite of his stick for clarification. After swallowing with a knowing grin, he looked back at Blitz and said, “More specifically, I can tell that the cheese you made for these isn’t mozzarella.” Blitz’s eyes widened dangerously wide, which seemed to be more than enough proof that his dancing partner’s claim was correct. Of course, the pegasus still looked away with a nervous laugh and said, “Y-Y-Yes it is…” “Blitz, I have been to countless wine and cheese parties, and I know mozzarella when I taste it. And this, my friend,” he said while holding up the remainder of his piece, “is NOT mozzarella!” He then turned back to his parents and stated with a smirk, “It’s brie.” He then tossed the remainder of the stick into his muzzle and added while chewing, “and quite well-made, I might add.” With his mouth gaped open, Blitz had nothing to say in defense while his eyes twitched in befuddlement. Meanwhile, Twinkle nudged Apple Buck and whispered to him, “I think he’s right.” Apple Buck giggled back at her with a small blush on his face. Due to his friend’s cocky smirk, Blitz ended up having a bitter pout with an accompanying growl. Since he knew his friend figured out the secret to his dad’s recipe, there was nothing else he could do but look away from Elusive with his forelegs crossed. “Whatever, dude. At least I’m not the picky one.” With his own bottle of beer in his aura, Elusive just chuckled and said before taking a sip, “Says the guy who’s too insecure to dance to disco.” Elusive didn’t look at Blitz while he drank, but he could sense that glare the pegasus had which somehow didn’t make his beer start to boil. Twinkle Toes looked away with a muffled giggle and muttered out, “Burn!” Bt surprisingly enough, Blitz’s glare didn’t last long. In fact, the stunt-pony started to smirk while staring at the cocky Elusive. “Well, we’ll see who ends up looking insecure when I choose the song for our routine…” Elusive immediately looked worried as he pulled the bottle away from his lips. “And just what do you mean by that?” asked the unicorn with an annoyed tone to hide his growing worry. Unfortunately, it was clear that Blitz knew he got him. And with his grin growing by the second, the pegasus just sat jauntily with his eyes narrowing on his partner. “Oh, nothing major… just expect to dye your mane.” Of all the things Blitz could’ve said, that was what made Elusive legitimately afraid.