//------------------------------// // Chapter Fourteen: Viva Las Pegasus // Story: Shut Up And Dance // by TheVClaw //------------------------------// Unlike their trip to Baltimare, Rainbow Blitz and Elusive couldn’t necessarily take a train to Las Pegasus since it’s a city that’s on a literal cloud. So instead, they and the other competitors had to take a specialized airship to reach the venue location for the ENDC Quarter Finals. The ship itself was a marvel of Equestrian engineering, able to carry hundreds of ponies at a time through the skies with the aid of a gigantic balloon. But despite how amazing the view was from the windows of the aircraft, most of the ponies in the competition were too tired from their intense practicing that week (and just before their flight) to even think of appreciating the trip. Elusive seemed especially pooped as he laid on a plush padded bench away from the window. After he and Blitz enjoyed their cheat day with that barbecue, the two were in full-blown practice mode for the rest of the week at Dusk Shine’s castle. Even though the unicorn was worried that most of that week would be spent bickering with Blitz about doing a disco routine, the pegasus was surprisingly cooperative with learning the sets of moves planned. He even had a song picked out before their first day of practice, which the unicorn wanted to be happy about; heck, it wasn’t even a bad song choice for their routine, despite it technically being a track from a rock band. However, the song choice also pretty much dominated what the costumes and theme would be, which aggravated Elusive to no end. But alas, the two were able to get a full choreographed routine set to Blitz’s song without any major hiccups. By the time they finally got ready to fly out to Las Pegasus, the only major issues were their aching joints, as well as Elusive’s hesitance to wear such a gaudy costume at his partner’s insistence. While the white stallion laid groggily and sighed with a foreleg over his eyes, he could overhear Rainbow Blitz’s grunting as he performed multiple pull-ups on a metal bar hanging from the ceiling. Despite all the intense practicing the two went through, it was clear that Blitz’s Wonderbolt training made him more than capable to take Elusive’s lessons without getting too overwhelmed. “Forty-eight… forty-nine…” Clenching his teeth with sweat beading over his brow, Blitz pulled himself up by his forelegs with all his might to do his last chin-up. “... Fffffffifty!” Blitz then let go of the bar and landed back on the ground, sighing with a tired smirk as he plopped on the bench beside Elusive. The pegasus was panting deeply while wiping his head with an aching foreleg. After taking a moment to get himself relaxed, Blitz glanced over at his resting friend as he sat in a numb state. He grinned a little and asked cheekily, “Wanna try and beat that?” “No,” the unicorn answered bluntly, even though he knew Blitz wasn’t really expecting him to say yes. He lowered his foreleg to look up at his partner with a befuddled expression. “Although I have to ask, how in Equestria are you able to keep working out after our practice session at the Airdock?!” Elusive rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, coming to the realization that maybe he shouldn’t have laid down on this bench without proper lumbar support. Blitz just shrugged, not thinking that their little rundown of the routine was that exhausting. Of course, he could also see that most of the other passengers in their section of the airship were pretty worn-out as well; since it took so long for the airship to arrive at the port, a lot of the competitors decided to get some last-minute practice under their belts while waiting. Realizing he may have been the only dancer who wasn’t too tired, he responded to his friend’s question with, “Eh, I’ve done worse. You think our practicing was rough? Try doing a hundred laps around the Wonderbolt barracks before getting breakfast.” “Good heavens!” shouted Elusive with an appalled drop of his jaw. “How could you do something like that?!” “Uhhh, cause I’m a Wonderbolt?” Blitz answered in a tone like his friend just asked a stupid question; Elusive rolled his eyes and looked away from him. “Besides,” added the stunt-pony as he leaned back with his hooves behind his head, “it’s nothing I can’t handle. I could probably get a hundred-fifty laps done if I wanted to.” Elusive didn’t want to contest his friend on that claim, but he still sighed with a shake of his head and retorted with, “Well, I’d rather start my day with a good cup of coffee and breakfast before doing anything that physical.” “Eh, whatever,” said Blitz with a shrug. “It makes breakfast taste better. And believe me, their biscuits and gravy are worth flying a hundred laps for!” Elusive felt his stomach growl a little at thinking about breakfast, leaving him with his muzzle skewed in discomfort. “Eurgh… I really wish they offered proper meals on these flights…” He sighed and looked over at Blitz to ask, “Do you want to get something when we land in Las Pegasus?” Blitz just huffed and glanced back at Elusive with a look of excitement on his face. “Are you kidding?! This is Las Pegasus we’re talking about! Of course I do!” Elusive couldn’t help chuckling with a smile at seeing how giddy his friend looked. Of course, he couldn’t exactly blame him either; even though Blitz technically visited Las Pegasus a while back for one of his Wonderbolt shows, he didn’t really get much time to experience the city between rehearsals and autograph signings. After a short moment of thought, Elusive decided to say with a positive tone of his own, “Well, considering how I wanted to check out the location for where I want my boutique, how about we take a day-cation? I think we earned it after all the practice we’ve done.” Even though he looked surprised that his friend suggested doing this after being so militant about their routines, Blitz couldn’t have agreed more. “Hey, that sounds good to me! Besides, it helps we got a friend who came to Las Pegasus before.” Elusive leaned his head to the aisle to see where the Apple family was; the group were all slumped near the front of the passenger section, leaning against each other and clearly trying to get some much-needed sleep. Since they finished Zap Apple Harvest in record time, as well as all of their major farm duties in advance, Apple Buck’s family were able to join him and Twinkle Toes to catch their next show. Even Toffee decided to join them, who was resting her head against Macarena’s shoulder innocently. Applejack was near comatose in his seat, but his ears twitched when he heard Blitz shout out, “Yo, AJ! Where’s a good buffet on the Pegasus strip?” The orange stallion groaned and pulled his Stetson up so it wasn’t covering his eyes. Looking like he was rising from the dead, Applejack slowly turned his head back to where Blitz and Elusive were seated. “Murrrgh… Is that the start to a dirty joke or somethin’?” Even with all the details Applejack and Butterscotch gave after their friendship mission to the city, Las Pegasus looked even more dazzling and vibrant than Elusive could’ve ever imagined. It may have not had the regal sophistication of Canterlot, nor did it have the grand scale and cultural synchronicity of Manehattan, but the floating mecca certainly outdid both of those cities when it came to its levels of entertainment and freedom. When he and Blitz walked down the world-famous Las Pegasus strip, the countless casinos and hotels boasted every recreational activity the two could even think of: arcades, gambling, live shows, ball-pits, extreme sporting, and quite a few risquè venues that were probably kept out of the sights of Apple Buck and Twinkle Toes. “Oh, my goodness!” marveled the unicorn as he gawked up at the massive buildings that boasted every type of architecture there was. Since all their luggage was back in their hotel room, nothing was holding Elusive back as he trotted alongside Blitz down the strip with a gleam in his eyes. “Blitz, can you believe it?! I don’t know about you, but Applejack certainly undersold how this city looks!” “Yeah, I know,” replied Blitz as he followed his friend down the crowded walkway. Even though all the different casinos looked pretty cool (as well as a lot of the advertisements for shows that he wanted to see), the pegasus was keeping his focus on how cheerful Elusive looked. Of course, it helped that it wasn’t night yet, so Elusive’s exaggerated reactions to things were a bit more entertaining than looking at Las Pegasus in the daytime. Blitz chuckled under his breath as he said, “Man, I can only imagine how you’re gonna look when the lights come on!” “Oh, you,” jeered Elusive with a playful nudge against Blitz’s side, although a genuine smile remained on his muzzle. “It’s not like I can help it! This is the first time I actually visited this place.” “Oh, really?” asked Blitz with a brow raised at him. “So, you don’t even know what this possible future shop of yours looks like?” Elusive might’ve still looked chipper, but that question made his smile skew a little. “Er, um... I received the blueprints and size dimensions of the property, but… no. I have not.” Blitz trotted up closer beside his friend, not wanting to accidentally kill the mood with the question he asked. “Hey, don’t sweat it! This is Las Pegasus we’re talking about! You could sell your clothes from a cart and you’d make a killing here!” That assurance helped to unskew Elusive’s smile as he said in return, “Well, I wasn’t worried about that, Rainbow. I just wanted to make sure this property is at a good location.” With a light of his horn, the unicorn picked up his map to see where they were in relation to the place circled with red ink. “The realtor said it was right off the strip, but I want to make sure that detail isn’t exaggerated or purely technical.” Blitz sighed and nodded while rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Like when you ask for extra guac at a taco stand and they add like, a tiny little glob and still charge you for it.” “Exactly.” While he wanted to poke fun at Rainbow’s comparison, Elusive knew it was relevant enough to keep silent about. It wasn’t clear how long the two were walking down Las Pegasus’ main strip, but the unicorn stopped just as the Gladmane’s resort could be seen a block away. “Oh, here it is!” he shouted while looking at the map. “It says the location right off the corner from Gladmane’s.” The location may have been right off the strip as promised, but the mention of that casino made Rainbow Blitz wince in slight worry. “Uhhh… you think that’s a good idea, dude? Remember what AJ and Butters said about Gladmane’s?” Elusive sighed and rolled his eyes. “Oh, don’t be so paranoid, Blitz! I highly doubt that the Shim Sham sisters will be that much of an issue. They have an entire resort and casino to run on their own, and I highly doubt they’ll have enough free time to focus on other things.” “You sure about that?” asked the pegasus in a more blunt tone of voice. “The first time we met those girls was when they tried to expand their company over AJ’s farm. It wouldn’t surprise me if they tried to bulldoze your place to build a big-ass apple slicer or something.” Despite the validity of Blitz’s worries, Elusive only thought about it for a few seconds before huffing briefly. “Well,” he began while closing his map with his magic, “it still wouldn’t hurt to inspect the place. Maybe it’ll be worth having a couple of unsavory neighbors.” As the unicorn trotted ahead to find the potential spot for his next shop, Blitz just exhaled with apprehension before following him. The two ended up walking side-by-side as they passed the resort on their way to the shop, neither of them even looking up at the grand size of the casino building. They also didn’t notice the two huge windows that stood at the very top above the Gladmane’s sign, which gave a bird’s eye view of the entire city. Behind those windows was the main office of the resort, although it would’ve been hard to see due to the curtains that were slightly open at the sides. It wasn’t until the two stallions disappeared around the corner that the curtains closed fully, although an eerie green hue of magic could be vaguely seen through them. With a glow of Elusive’s magic, the back door of the half-finished shop was unlocked with ease from the key the realtor lended him. When he walked inside, the unicorn coughed a couple times due to the thick clouds of drywall dust that could barely be seen through the rays of light shining in through the boarded-up windows. Elusive kept his horn lit as he walked inside, his eyes widening at the sheer size of the massive space. Even though the interior was far from finished, as evidenced by vacant workstations and piles of sheet-rock beside half-complete walls, the stallion could see so much potential past all the clutter strewn about. By the time Rainbow Blitz entered the building with a hoof over his muzzle, Elusive was already going up the spiral staircase that lead to the loft-like second floor. “Oh, sweet Solaris!” shouted Elusive as he trotted around the construction zone like a colt in a candy store. His eyes had stars in them as he scanned each wall and angle of the place, his design-oriented mind already coming up with the perfect colors and decor to liven up the shop when it was completed. “Rainbow, can you believe this?! This has to be at least twice the size of my Canterlot shop!” Instead of going up the stairs, Rainbow Blitz decided to use one of the long ramps that hugged along the curved walls of the building to meet Elusive on the second floor. “I have to admit,” said the stunt-pony while looking around through the limited light, “this could actually be a pretty good place for your franchise.” Elusive was already excited, but hearing his friend say “franchise” was enough to make him stomp giddily with a huge smile on his face. “Ohhhhhhh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness! This place is perfect! I mean, if I were to borrow your vocabulary, I would dare call this place, ‘Slammin’! Hehehehehe!~” If Blitz had seen how his friend was acting before this competition, he probably would’ve made fun of him for it for a while. But as he stared over him acting so hyped for a building that still had its framing exposed, the only thing running through the pegasus’ mind was how happy he was for Elusive. Granted, he saw the unicorn do this same thing before with his other two shops, but something about this one felt… different. He wasn’t sure what, but it was enough for him to smile back at his friend when he reached the second floor. “Man…” With the aid of his friend’s magic, Blitz was able to see just how large the shop’s interior was without squinting his eyes. “It’s hard to believe this could actually be a feasible thing for you to get, you know?” “And what do you mean by that?” asked Elusive in a tone that sounded like he was prepared to get offended. “Do you think I couldn’t?” “Hey, I’m not saying that! It’s just…” After thinking it over briefly, Blitz sighed and stared back at his friend. “Could you ever imagine that a few years ago, either of us would be in the positions we’re in now?” “How so?” Elusive asked with a tilt of his head. “I mean, like…” Blitz rubbed the back of his name with a hoof as he tried to explain. “Before all that Element of Harmony stuff happened to us, I was just some weather-patrol pony who practiced his stunts and broke stuff, and you were just some tailor working in Ponyville…” Before Elusive could raise his brows and chastise him for his word choice, Blitz got on his hind-legs and motioned around the grand space they were in with his forelegs out for emphasis. “And now look at us! We’ve saved Equestria like, over half a dozen times! You own a friggin franchise, and make clothes for celebrities and royalty! And I’m a bucking Wonderbolt!” Upon realizing his dance partner’s point, Elusive sighed with a warm smile in agreement. “Yes, I suppose it has been a crazy few years for us, hasn’t it?” “Yeah!” Blitz dropped back down on all four hooves, taking a few breaths to calm himself down before glancing back at Elusive curiously. “Do you ever think what things would’ve been like if we never met Dusk?” Elusive couldn’t help cringing a little as he replied, “Ummm, are you sure you want to open that can of worms after hearing Dusk Shine tell us about those alternate timelines?” “N-No, not like that!” Even though Elusive’s point was something he should’ve considered, Blitz shook his head and clarified, “I mean, if neither of us became Elements, or… none of that crazy shit happened between then and now, do you… do you think either of us would’ve been friends?” Elusive widened his eyes with a surprised glance at Blitz, not expecting him to ask a question that big. The unicorn paused and looked away with a bit lip, unsure how to answer him. After all, Dusk’s explanation of alternate timelines made that question rather open-ended when it came to an answer. “Well… I suppose there’s a chance, but…” He sighed and looked back at Blitz to finish his response. “Probably not like what we have now.” Blitz nodded with a tightly-shut muzzle, choosing to turn away and stare out from the edge of the second floor. Elusive wasn’t sure what he could say, mostly because it was hard to think about how things could’ve gone if it wasn’t for that Summer Sun Celebration that changed their lives and destinies so drastically. Thinking back, the only one of his friends who the unicorn actually socialized with in Ponyville was Bubble Berry; and considering how he was social with everyone, that felt like a cheat to include. When it came to the other three, Butterscotch and Applejack were merely just some friendly stallions who provided services Elusive used from time to time. If anything, Rainbow Blitz may have been the one friend Elusive was least connected with before Dusk Shine flew in from Canterlot; before then, the longest conversation he ever recalled having with Blitz was a heated argument after the pegasus crashed through his shop window. Despite how cringe-worthy that moment felt now, it made Elusive walk up to stand beside Blitz at the edge of the second floor. “You know,” began the white stallion as he looked outward with a smile on his face, “it’s not exactly easy to think about what could have been. But the fact of the matter is that we’re in this moment right now. And if I were to be frank, Rainbow Blitz…” When he turned to look over at his friend, Elusive waited until Blitz stared back before saying happily, “I don’t think our lives could’ve turned out any better than they are now. Especially with us as friends.” Hearing the sincerity in Elusive’s voice, Blitz couldn’t help smiling back at him in solid agreement. “Yeah, totally…” As he looked back at out from the unfinished ledge of the space, Blitz didn’t seem to mind when he felt Elusive’s side press up against his. He also didn’t say anything when the unicorn’s foreleg went over the back of his neck. Instead, Blitz just did the same with his own hoof as they stood and looked outward. “You know what?” said Blitz with a confident smirk on his face. “If anyone can open a shop here and be successful, even with the Shim Sham sisters as neighbors, it’d be you.” While holding Blitz from the side, Elusive looked back at him with an honored smile. “Thanks, Rainbow…” Blitz smiled back at his friend as the two stood so close with their hooves around each other’s shoulders. In those brief couple seconds the two stood in silence, neither of them seemed to realize how they may have looked from an outside perspective. Nor did they notice a brief flash of light that came in from a crack between the outside window and a loose board. If anything, the moment that broke the mood was the sound of Elusive’s stomach growling in hunger. Elusive pulled his hoof off of Blitz to rub at his belly uncomfortably. Blitz shook his head and said with a smirk, “I told you you should’ve just gone to that carrot dog stand.” Elusive groaned and retorted back at him, “What, and eat something from that vendor?! He was picking his nose!” “Yeah, but then he used hoof sanitizer!” “Only because he saw us!” Elusive began to make his leave, hoping to find a good restaurant before the sun went down. “I bet he would’ve just wiped it off on his apron if he thought he was alone!” Blitz was pretty hungry too, so he followed while saying, “Oh, give that guy a break! We all pick our noses from time to time!” “I don’t!” “Yeah you do! I saw it myself!” Elusive stopped and whipped his head back at Blitz with a furious look in his eyes. “For the last time, I WAS SCRATCHING MY NOSTRIL!” After watching his friend storm away, Blitz chuckled to himself and said in a whisper, “I bet you were gonna eat it.” “I HEARD THAT!!!” Along with the countless forms of entertainment and relaxation Las Pegasus had to offer, the elevated city also boasted the highest number of restaurants per capita in all of Equestria. So when it came to finding a good place to eat, Elusive and Rainbow Blitz actually had some difficulty agreeing on one place. Eventually though, the two compromised and decided on the buffet connected to their hotel. The White Pearl, a resort which was one of the few places in the city that actually catered to more than just equine species, had an adjoining restaurant that had just as much variety as the guests who stayed there. Because of that, both stallions were able to get what they wanted without bickering like a married couple. Fortunately for Elusive, the vegetarian options of the buffet were in a different section from the meats, which helped keep his appetite quite active as he got himself a sensible tray with fettuccine alfredo, a dandelion crostini, and a lovely arugula salad. When he arrived back to his table, Rainbow Blitz already had his tray loaded up with a large amount of potato-fries smothered in mushroom gravy and cheese curds. The unicorn wanted to say something about his partner’s inappropriate diet choice before their show, but it was the small rectangular plates beside Blitz’s food that made him go wide-eyed. Elusive knew exactly what those little discs of rice were, but he would’ve never guessed that Blitz of all ponies would actually get them (especially not alongside something so clashing as poutine). “Ummm… Blitz?” asked Elusive with his head tilted in bafflement. “Did you actually get sushi?” “Mmhmm,” murmured Blitz while his muzzle was stuffed with his deliciously unhealthy main course. He swallowed before wiping the gravy from his muzzle with a napkin. “Yeah, can you believe it? It’s hard to find good sushi anywhere in Equestria!” Elusive only blinked as he grew more puzzled. Even though Equestria’s stances on seafood were a bit neutral in comparison to other meat products, dishes like sushi or shrimp were things that were usually eaten sparingly in high class functions. And given what Blitz’s diet usually consisted of, the fact that he would enjoy something so high-brow was quite surprising to the unicorn. Elusive sat down with his food and asked, “Wait a minute, since when did you enjoy sushi of all things?” “Ummm, Flight Camp?” replied the pegasus as he he pulled one of the dishes towards himself. Instead of trying to fumble with the chopsticks, Blitz just picked up a piece of spicy tuna roll with a hoof and dipped it in his bowl of soy sauce. “You know my gryphon friend Guilder, right? Well, there were a few times back in camp where he would go into town and buy a big-ass fish to cook with. Since it technically wasn’t allowed on camp grounds, I always played lookout when he cooked since we were bros like that. And one day, he dared me to eat one of the sushi rolls he made.” He then popped the piece of sushi into his mouth like it was nothing and shrugged with a smile. “As it turns out, sushi is pretty awesome! I even got Berry to try some when we went to Griffonstone for that friendship thing. He wasn’t a fan though.” Elusive sighed in sudden realization. “Oh, so that was why he made those ‘dessert sushi treats’!” Granted, Bubble Berry’s “sushi” was basically just crispy rice cereal treats filled with marshmallows and rolled in a sheet of fruit candy, but Elusive remembered it was a huge hit at Sugar Cube Corner for a while. The unicorn chuckled with an impressed smirk at his friend. “Well I must say, Rainbow! I would’ve never expected you to have a palette for that sort of cuisine.” With some sushi still in his mouth, Blitz tried to keep his mouth closed as he giggled. He had to swallow before saying coyly back at Elusive, “Well, you really shouldn’t be judging my food habits, Mister Mac and Cheese.” Elusive groaned and rolled his eyes. “Oh, give it a rest! I eat more than just macaroni and cheese! My parents were just joking about that Neighpon thing!” “Sure they were,” Blitz replied with a smirk, his eyes looking down at Elusive’s plate of fetuccine alfredo. “And should I ask what kind of dish that is? Noodles and cheese?” Elusive looked like he just sucked a lemon with the scowl that grew on his face. Instead of causing a scene, the stallion just muttered a small “Shut up” before tending to his own meal. Unlike his friend, Elusive made sure to use the silverware offered with his magic to carefully eat each bite with as little mess as possible. Meanwhile, Blitz went back to his food with the use of his hooves and his muzzle, leaving his chopsticks understandably untouched. After finishing half his plate of alfredo, Elusive picked up his glass of wine with his magic as he started to speak, “You know, it’s surprising how much we’ve learned about each other since we entered this competition.” “Yeah?” said Blitz in a muffled voice before swallowing. “How so?” “What do you mean, how so?!” Elusive seemed a bit confounded by his partner’s response as he responded dutifully. “Well for starters, I was able to learn about your cooking skills, and that you can make some impressive cocktails.” Blitz paused while holding a piece of his salmon skin roll, shrugging in agreement to his friend’s claim. “Yeah, I guess so.” He then pointed his sushi at Elusive and added, “Just like I learned that you have a secret bar in your house like a friggin gigolo!” “Oh, I am not a gigolo!” Elusive corrected as he said that term with as much distaste as he would with ‘Mixologist’ before he replied, “That bar was my Dad’s idea, by the way. He figured it would be a good way to dazzle my clients when they came in for consultations, which it is.” That added detail made Blitz reply with, “And that’s another thing! Before that barbecue thing last week, I would’ve never thought you were so chill with your family like that! I mean, I’m not saying I assumed otherwise or anything. I just wouldn’t have expected someone as prim and proper as you to be comfortable with ponies that’re so… normal.” Blitz tried not to wince at how that last adjective may have sounded out loud, but it didn’t seem like Elusive seemed to mind. In fact, the unicorn chuckled as he put his glass down. “Well, I guess I can understand your point. After all, I am a bit different from my parents. In fact, most of the things I learned and was inspired by were from my grandparents. But still, it’s not like I’m unable to appreciate a simple meal made by my Mum, or be happy at a stormball game with my Dad and Silver Bell. To me, what really matters is that I’m around ponies who I love, and who love me back just as deeply. As long as that connection’s there, it really doesn’t matter what it is we’re doing.” Hearing the sincerity in his friend’s tone as he gave that answer, Blitz smiled with an impressed look on his face. “Wow, I… I guess I can’t really argue with that, can I?” “Well, of course not! Who would?” Elusive then used his magic to pick up his crostini before he said, “I mean, it’s just common courtesy to be on good terms with your own family, isn’t it? Otherwise what else do you have?” Elusive then took a bite from his bread, not noticing how quickly Rainbow Blitz’s smile and ears dropped. In the small few seconds the unicorn had his eyes closed while savoring his surprisingly good crostini, Blitz looked away from him with a saddened expression clear on his face. By the time Elusive swallowed, all he saw was the pegasus leaned in against his table with a foreleg covering his face. Blitz used his other hoof to pop another piece of sushi into his mouth. It took a couple seconds before Elusive's brows rose in concern. “Umm, Blitz?” he asked as he began to recognize that same look back in his old bedroom. “Did… I say something I shouldn’t ha--” “No,” said the pegasus firmly. After a brief sigh, he pushed one of his sushi plates towards Elusive. “Uhhh, I think I might be getting a little full. You want some of these?” Elusive’s eyes narrowed on his partner suspiciously; with the way Blitz was avoiding eye contact, the unicorn didn’t need to be an expert in detail to know his friend was avoiding something. But considering that fact that he acted that way shortly after Elusive made that poorly worded comment, Elusive figured it may have been best to let it pass for the time being. So after a small shrug, the stallion lit his horn to pick up Blitz’s chopsticks and help himself to a rather nice-looking piece of salmon skin roll. “Well, thank you very much, Rainbow. I appreciate that.” After a quick dip in soy sauce, Elusive was fairly impressed by Blitz’s choice in sushi. The complex texture compositions of the rice and fish, combined with the salty and savory taste of the piece, danced across the unicorn’s tongue quite wonderfully. After taking a small piece of ginger as a palate cleanser, Elusive decided to say in an attempt to lighten his friend’s mood, “You know what I noticed on our way to this place? Apparently, the White Pearl boasts quite a deluxe spa around here, and a brochure I read claimed that they carried award-winning hooficures~...” That made Rainbow Blitz perk up pretty quickly. “Wait, what?” “Mmhmm,” nodded the unicorn as he floated out the brochure he kept by his seat. “I was going to surprise you with it later, but… I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to ask you about it first. I didn’t want to endanger your machismo by thrusting it at you after all.” Blitz read through the brochure’s description of their hooficure package, which made his eyes widen as he saw how much detail was listed. Even though he didn’t want to openly admit to liking those things, he could tell that his friend was smirking at him knowingly. With a small blush on his cheeks, Blitz put down the brochure and tried his best to reply in a casual-sounding voice, “W-Well, I mean… If you wanna go do it, I wouldn’t mind joining you, but…” Seeing the sheepish way the pegasus was averting his face from him, Elusive almost giggled openly at how quickly Blitz’s mood improved. “Well, then it’s settled!” He put his hoof down on the table and said in smiling confirmation, “We’ll both go visit the spa after our meal, and then I’ll rent us a carriage to see the city up close tonight. I wouldn’t want our hooves to get too worn out, after all.” At any other time, Blitz would’ve showed a bit of apprehension to Elusive’s plan since it was only the two of them. But with the promise of a killer hooficure, along with getting out of practice a little longer, Blitz couldn’t help smiling back before putting his hoof over Elusive’s. “Alright then,” he said in agreement, not noticing a brief flash of light from somewhere. “I’m down with that.”