//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: DJ Valkyri-3 // by Dark0592 //------------------------------// Vinyl happily trotted to the Wonderbolts Stadium just outside of the city, where there were already massive lines forming. She had to admit, having Twilight take care of the tedious things for her was starting to get pretty nice. Especially since she always forgot to do them anyways. She flashed her VIP pass  at the entrance and was directed to a side staircase. It was a lot more crowded than she thought a VIP box would be, but then again it was only closed off during the performance. Friends with less advantageous seats or things like that would hang out in there until it was about time to start. Vinyl froze at the door and suddenly felt the desire to back away slowly and pretend she was never here. Twilight was there, as well as the Elements, but they were all in various seats surrounding a larger seat where Princess Celestia herself sat. She almost went through with her plan before Twilight noticed her and waved her over. She hesitated, and that got a look from the young Alicorn that was clearly a pleading ‘plleeeeeaaaaaaaaase?’ face. She couldn’t resist that face, that face that she wanted to kiss as she walked up. She refrained from doing so, though, due to present company. “I’m sorry, Vinyl. I know you’re not used to hanging out with the Princesses like I am, but this isn’t an official visit or anything. She’s just here to watch the show, same as us!” Twilight practically pleaded. Vinyl still hadn’t taken her seat, and she could have sworn she saw what looked like a hint of sadness in the Princess’ expression before she spoke. “Don’t worry, miss Vinyl. I don’t bite.” She said, almost playfully. “She might, though.” She continued, nudging Twilight with a wing. The look the younger Alicorn gave her mentor probably would have caused at least ten years of war if it was a foreign dignitary, but the Princess just snorted rather un-princess-like and nudged her again. “Princess!” Twilight just whined before digging her hooves into the Princess’ side, causing the older Alicorn to snicker and giggle as it apparently tickled her. “Oh Twilight sto-o-o-p!” Celestia practically whined back, trying not to break into a fit of boisterous laughter. Judging by how the other elements seemed mostly unphased by the interaction, though, this wasn’t exactly out of the norm for the two. A lot of the others in the VIP box were staring in disbelief or awe, or something similar, and Vinyl was one of them. “Princess Celestia, Darling, if you two keep up with that then you’re going to cause a scene, and that childish hooting is very unlady-like.” Rarity scolded the two, though she was trying not to snicker herself. Celestia gave Twilight a knowing look, Twilight rolled her eyes, and they settled back down properly. They both looked at Vinyl then, who was still standing a few feet away. “Please, I won’t disrupt the event any further. This is a chance to get to know everyone better, just pretend I’m Twilight’s older sister or something, I certainly do.” Celestia said warmly to Vinyl. That finally snapped her out of it, and she grinned wide as she took her shades off. “You know, when I walked up and saw Princess Celestia, THE Princess Celestia, I thought I’d have to do the whole regal thing and I know I’d flop hardcore. But after… that? That makes me feel good about coming here. You totally aren’t as regal and perfect as everyone thinks and I love that.” Vinyl said as she trotted over, although she took her seat rather hesitantly since she was very close to the Princess. It was just Twilight between them. The younger Alicorn quickly wrapped a wing around her, gaining looks from most of the Elements and a good deal of the other spectators in the box. Some of them even seemed like they were going to yell at her for saying their princess isn’t perfect, though. Celestia just laughed. She laughed pretty hard, actually. Enough to end it with a cute snort. “Eloquently put, miss Vinyl. While I am performing my duties as a Princess I do have a certain air of regality and power I must maintain, I’m here as a friend today. SO I’ll be damned if I act like anything but.” The Princess said. The other nobles in the box looked almost appalled. Some Unicorn just walked in and insulted the princess after she almost had a tickle fight with her student in public, and the Princess accepted it like a compliment? And even CURSED? Celestia knew she was never going to hear the end of it from her advisors and from other nobles in court, especially if it gets into the paper, but she subtly hoped the fact that Twilight had her wing wrapped around the Unicorn she was kissing in the paper would be a flashier headline. “Alright I gotta fly girls, see you after the show!” Dash said, speeding out of the room before anyone could even give her a goodbye. The noble with a frazzled mane that just walked in didn’t look to happy about it, but he is at a wonderbolts show. “Thanks for showing up, I was worried you were going to be late.” Twilight said softly to Vinyl, pecking her on the cheek when most of the attention was put to the stadium as an announcer started calling out. Vinyl stuck her tongue out and leaned against the Alicorn in response. “Well sorry, I actually took the time to wash my mane properly instead of using prestidigitation when I go out. I was still pretty early, Miss Perfect Scheduling.” The Unicorn retorted. Twilight’s only response was to stick her tongue out back and shift to get more comfortable with Vinyl leaning on her. Celestia was watching them closely out of the corner of her eye and she was practically beaming. After about half an hour in, Vinyl had a question as the latest batch of hopefuls finished their routine of stunts and formation flying. “Say, Twilight, how come Dash is still auditioning? I thought she aced the hell out of the last one?” She asked. “Well, she got into the Wonderbolts yeah, but the auditions take place over multiple events. In Dash’s own words ‘Yeah anyone can be awesome once, but to be consistently awesome is a talent. They want that talent’. I think this is the last one she has to do.” Twilight explained. Vinyl started to nod, but Celestia hummed a bit. “Was that incorrect, Princess?” Twilight asked, apparently she knew what that hum meant. “Technically no, but I specifically remember approving Rainbow Dash’s induction into the Wonderbolts over a month ago. She impressed the commanders enough to where they waived her third audition completely, this one is just her showing off. Although, Spitfire has come to me about taking on an apprentice. Perhaps young Rainbow Dash heard wind of it too?” The Princess replied. “Well, knowing Rainbow, I think she just found her new apprentice.” Applejack said with a smirk as the speedster’s name was announced. There was silence at first, this was a solo routine. She had already proven herself in formation flying, both as a squaddie and as the leader. This was to test if she could steal the show all by herself. Murmurs and yells came over the crowd as a single speck appeared in the distance, way high up. It dropped from the clouds to gain gliding speed before shooting towards the stadium. At its current speed it would take probably around ten minutes for the speck to reach the stadium. But it wasn’t maintaining a speed, it was speeding up. Extremely quickly at that. As the speck got closer they saw that it was Rainbow Dash, her mane and tail were starting to leave a chromatic haze behind her as her speed kept going up and up. Just as she reached the center of the arena, she miraculously managed to bounce off of the ground and shoot into the sky. The impact on the ground from where her back hooves left craters in the ground, and the entire stadium shook as a blast of chromatic force diffused into the ground. The force cracked even the stone floor of the stadium, throwing up a massive pillar of dust. Dash was way ahead of it, the cacophonous boom of a sonic rainboom propelling her so fast the clouds were torn away from her ascent. The rainbow blur behind her remained, though the visible chromatic force from breaking the sound barrier dissipated as she spiraled downwards around the pillar of dust, carving away at it with her wings to send it spiraling around almost like a dust tornado. She hit the ground again at the center, the force of air from her sudden landing completely dispersing the cloud again to reveal her panting and dusty form standing tall and strong. It took only a moment for the crowd to recover from the ringing in their ears to give an uproarious round of applause. Even the nobles in the VIP box joined the group of friends near the Princess in their cheers. “Whoa! When did she learn how to do THAT?!” Applejack exclaimed. “I have no idea but holy high hell that was AWESOME!” Vinyl let out, her forelegs squeezing Twilight in excitement. “I can’t believe she managed to break the sound barrier reliably, let alone on a rebound. I don’t think talent quite describes her.” Celestia said, even she was a little amazed. “That was the first test, and oh man did it work!” Dash’s raspy voice came from the doorway. Everyone looked towards it and watched as she cantered over to the group and proceeded to unceremoniously flop onto the ground. “But GEEZ that took a lot out of me. Wake me up after the recess.” She said, already half asleep before succumbing to it in full. A medic trailed in after her and looked at her hind legs for a moment before scratching her head and turned to yell something back out, but was startled to find the Princess had stood behind her. “Is something wrong with her legs?” Celestia asked, a bit of worry tinting her tone. Everyone was silent after that. “N-No no! There’s nothing wrong with them, at all. That’s what confused me… An impact like that should have at least rattled the joints, if not break and shatter bones.” The medic explained. They were all startled again as a new voice spoke. “Her timing and precision was so perfect in the rebound, it perfectly transferred the dangerous energies and momentum into the ground, which propelled her further.” A pegasus in a Wonderbolts uniform said as she entered, flanked by two more. It was Spitfire and her lieutenants. Vinyl was just kindof in shock. She was in the presence of so many famous and awesome ponies she was worried she might start squealing. Twilight must have sensed it, though, as she pulled her just a little closer with her wing. It definitely calmed her down, at least. “Well, Commander, I think we’ve found your new apprentice.” Celestia said with a smile. Spitfire nodded and walked over to the sleeping mare before carefully picking her up and draping her across her back. “We’re gonna go double check on her. Her legs may be fine, but after such rigorous maneuvering she might have pulled something.” The Wonderbolt said. Celestia nodded. The other Elements stood as well. “Mind if we join you? We want to make sure she’s alright.” Applejack asked for them. The Wonderbolt nodded and turned to leave, the other elements in tow. Twilight had shifted, but never actually stood. “I’m sorry girls, can you let me know how she is? I don’t think having me in there would be the best idea. Four spectators is bad enough, let alone one as big as I am.” The young Alicorn said, there was deep conflict in her voice. “Don’ worry about it, Twi. Dash would understand.” Applejack said with a wink as they left. Vinyl felt a little uneasy then. She pushed away from Twilight, just slightly enough to look at her proper. “Twilight, you don’t have to worry about leaving me. We’ll have plenty of time to spend together later. Go make sure your friend is ok.” The unicorn said very seriously. She did NOT want to come between Twilight and her friends, especially the other elements. And ESPECIALLY not the element of loyalty. That’s just wrong. Twilight gave her an uncertain hum, looking between her and the door. “Go on, Twilight, I’ll keep her company.” Celestia said. Twilight may have caught the mischief in her tone if she wasn’t so conflicted. With a final sigh she quickly nuzzled Vinyl and sped out after the group. The Unicorn smiled after her, but quickly lost all of the comfort she had garnered in the situation. She was practically alone with the princess. They sat and watched the next audition before Celestia broke the silence. “Do you care for her, Miss Vinyl?” She asked with a warm smile, finally turning towards the Unicorn. Vinyl was startled by the sudden break in silence, but quickly recovered. She rubbed the back of her head and glanced sideways at the princess. “Of course I do, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.” She replied with a bit of indignation. Was it not obvious? “Oh you know what I mean. Beyond friendship. Every little hunch and feeling I get from you is positive, but I have to hear it. Is this just a fling? I would not hold it against you if it was, but I’d like to be prepared for when things end. She gets rather attached to her friends, especially when she has a crush.” The Alicorn explained. Vinyl actually gave the princess an agitated look. Celestia was actually happy to see it, not that her expression changed from her warm smile. “The whole reason I wanted to hang out with her more is so that I could figure that out myself. I’ve had quite a few bad boyfriends, and even a bad girlfriend or two. Even with that arcane resonance or whatever the hell it is, I wasn’t going to just rush into this. I still won’t, we still have one more night drinking and at least two more meals before I can give you a solid answer since I’d rather not lie to a princess of all things. For now, though, I’m having the time of my life with her.” The unicorn answered.It was a little heated at first but it quickly calmed to a happy smirk by the end. Celestia was beaming at that. Vinyl was surprised by the pristine white wing that brushed up against her. It wasn’t anything like the wing-hugs she did with Twilight, it was more like a forehoof on the shoulder albeit with a little more reach. She froze up again at that, remembering just how she was talking to the Princess. “You are quite an extraordinary pony, Vinyl. I may have to invite you to the palace to share a drink every now and then on my own. Between you and me, Luna’s too much of a lightweight to keep up with me.” The Princess started, the last part in almost a whisper as she leaned in close. That caused Vinyl to relax a bit, and even snicker at the comment before the Alicorn straightened up again to continue. “I have no doubt that you’ll have your fair share of hardships, but I can’t imagine you two apart now. If not romantically, then at least as close friends. I can promise you that you’ve garnered her love, I just hope you covet it like she covets yours.” Celestia continued as she turned her attention back to the performance. Vinyl slowly rubbed her side, the side that had previously been against Twilight. It was still cold. She heard voices outside of the box and saw that the others were returning without Rainbow Dash and smiled. Twilight’s worry had gone and they locked eyes for a second as the group entered the box. Twilight gave her a shy smile and Vinyl returned it with a shit eating grin. “Princess, you have no idea.”