//------------------------------//
// Rumors and slander 
// Story: Filia Noctis 
// by Storylover-Vodhr 
//------------------------------//

The second she cleared the doors of the ballroom, Dash shot off like a rocket, ignoring the pair of silent sentinels as her wings carried her in a rush to get to Twilight's room. It only took a few seconds; Dash knew the castle like the back of her hoof and all, and after she shot past the pair of guards that always kept watch over the royal wing, the pair not even bothering to try and stop her, she found herself at Twilight's door. 

It only took a moment for her to shove it open, and even less time to shoot into the bathroom. And once she got there she slammed the door behind her and locked it, and the weight of her dumbness caught up with her.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

It was official; this was the absolute worst thing she had ever done. Never mind the time she got Cadence stuck in the washing machine for an hour, or the time she accidentally got that one foreign diplomat completely covered in honey; this was officially the dumbest and worst thing she had ever done. 

After all, anyone could knock over a jar or catch a maid's skirt ablaze, but no one was dumb enough to try and kiss the Crown Princess at her own birthday party. Especially when they were her best friend. That was a dumb that belonged to only her.

Even the thought made Dash grit her teeth in anger as she slumped against the bathroom wall, her face held in her hooves.  

She could still see Twilight's face, still see her expression and trust, the exhilaration and joy, the energy and happiness. She could see the lights, see the curve of her smile, her lips moving closer as they...

"What the hay is wrong with me?!"

Dash couldn't help but smack the back of her head against the wall, hoping the pain would knock some sense into her big, dumb head. But nope, she could still see Twilight, and the thought made her even angrier. What kind of pony tried to kiss their best friend on their birthday? And Twilight, no less? It was like trying to kiss a book crossbred with a puppy. It had to be some mortal sin or something,  never mind the whole "She's the crown Princess" thing. That was a whole other mess.

Dash gave her head another well deserved smack against the tiles behind her. Could this get any worse?

Well, yeah, it could. She could've actually kissed her. Ruined five or so years of friendship, get herself immediately arrested for being just the dumbest horse. Get banished and never see Twilight again. Make Twilight look like a total idiot and chump in front of all of Equestria. 

Well, at least she didn't screw up that bad. She just almost ruined everything. She was just a tier below.

Alright, so maybe it wasn't so bad. Yeah, she almost kissed Twi the wonder-nerd, queen of text and paper, but she did stop herself, even if it had only been because of her stomach. All she had done was get really close to her, and heck, they had been dancing at the time, so most ponies wouldn't suspect Dash getting in Twilight's space as something other then a friendly dance.

Maybe she just wanted a hug. To the world, it was a mystery. She was strange and unknowable, whatchyacallit. An enigma. She didn't do anything wrong, not really. At least not to anyone who was watching.

Yeah, if anything, she didn't really do anything wrong in the first place. She had just finished a really cool and awesome Sky-Dance with her ultra-cool best friend, and had been all hopped up on adrenaline and stuff. She probably just followed the whole natural progression thing with what her parents always did; they practically made out after every time they danced. She just took a cue from them after having a totally awesome dance and tried to finish the whole thing as they would've. If anything, this was their fault.  

Yeah, that kinda made sense. It wasn't a train-wreck, it was just a close miss. A stumble, and nothing more. 

With that in mind, Dash allowed herself to calm a bit and let out a shaky sigh. Yeah, kissing Twilight was still not OK, but it was a pretty easy thing to avoid. Heck, she'd have to try and screw that one up. And the whole thinking she was cute thing was totally normal too, the girl was a princess, and that made her adorable right off the bat. She'd have to be totally crazy to think anything else.

"Alright, yeah. Nothing happened. Everything is fine."

And everything would be fine. She was fine, she didn't do anything wrong, and Twilight was waiting, and she was gonna give Twilight the best birthday she could possibly ever have. She would remember this for her whole life, and remember that it was the Rainbow Dash that had done it. And Dash herself would be cool, calm, and be the awesome best friend that Twilight needed and deserved, looking cool and awesome beside her as Twilight sat there and got to be cute and all Princess-ey. 

It would be epic and cool and nothing would go wrong. 

With that thought, Dash forced herself off of the floor with her normal determination in her gut doing it's best to fight the butterflies. She had a best friend to wow. 

Just not in *that* way.





The butterflies cheated. It was the only way this could've happened. Dash had only been about halfway back into the abyss that was the lower levels before the tide had turned and the fire she had built up died, and now, Dash was stuck halfway between the ballroom and Twilight's bedroom, but this time she couldn't run away. Half because she had been seen by the guards and would be asked what she was doing if she ran back after a whole minute, and half because the idea of abandoning Twilight alone on her birthday sickened her more than the butterflies bouncing around in her belly. 

So, she marched back to the ballroom, her stomach twisting the entire way until she got to the door and reentered the ballroom. The music was still blaring, the dim lights still flashing, the food still being served. It was like nothing had happened. 

Which nothing did. Nothing at all.

Now, all she had to do to make everything totally normal was to find Twilight and get stuck to her side like the best friend she was. Then, everything would be fine, she'd be with Twilight, and the whole party could go like it should, with Twilight having a totally awesome time. 

Now if only she could figure out where the heck Twilight was. She couldn't see her in the crowd, She wasn't by the door anywhere, and she didn't have a guide to show her where Twilight's own table was. 

Flying it was. With a push of her wings, Dash shot up into the air a bit, and she looked down upon the crowd.

Yeah, she still had no idea where she was. The flashing lights made it hard to tell ponies color, and the tables were all packed, meaning if Twilight was at one, she'd have to check every pony to see which one she was. And if she was in the crowd...

Yeah, maybe flying wasn't the best idea. 

So, with a disappointed huff Dash returned to the ground, and looked hesitantly into the crowd. Yep, it was totally cramped. And yep, they were all mostly taller than her, practically guaranteeing the they would step on her, at least a little. 

The things she did for Twilight. So, she took to the crowd, pushing through the first bit of the crowd as she started her search for her wayward nerd. And, wouldn't she know it, it only took a whole ten seconds before someone stomped on her tail. And then her back hoof. Heck, if the first party was full of totally calm and peaceful ponies, this party looked like it was trying to balance the whole dumb thing out by being twice as bad as a normal crowd. By the time she made it out of the first packed group of ponies, not spying Twilight the whole time, she felt as if she had been stomped on at least a million times.

"Dangit Twi, where the hay are you?"

The unfeeling crowd didn't answer, and she didn't spy hide nor hair of her nerd anywhere. All she saw was a ton of ponies dancing, with the occasional group of ponies turned inward, gossiping or talking about who knew what. 

Wait.

Maybe they were talking about Twilight?

The idea bounced around Dash's head for a moment, before she felt herself grin. Yeah, they were probably talking about Twilight. Nerd, Princess, Alicorn? Who wouldn't talk about her? This was her birthday party, after all. She was probably the only thing any of them could even consider talking about.

This was the best idea ever.

So, with her new plan of awesome, Dash made her way forcibly to the nearest group of ponies and tried her best to listen in.

"Oh my gosh, Do you think he saw me? He's so-"

Nope. Next group.

"I totally need to fix my makeup, it's smearing like crazy!"

Nada. 

"Gosh, those mud ponies-"

Huh. Some ponies were mean.

For a few minutes, Dash pushed through the crowd, stopping only to try an eavesdrop on ponies. But as her luck would be, she couldn't find a single pony talking about Twilight. Colts, yeah, makeup, sure, being unable to even? Way more than what Dash would've guessed. She would've thought that they could even, whatever that even meant. 

But after five minutes, Dash was about to give up. She had heard boys, makeup, girls, makeup, boys and girls, rumors and compliments on both the food and the music. But not a whisper about her wayward geek. 

"So, did you see the Princess dance? She looked marvelous in that dress."

Wait. Dash froze in place for a second, and tiled her head in the nearest group's direction. Finally, some paydirt.

"Yeah. But did you see that Pegasus with her? What was with her mane? Attention hog much?"

Dash swore that her eye twitched at the words. She was totally not an attention hog, and her mane wasn't nearly that bad. Sure, it was a bit... colorful, but even Twilight thought it looked nice. 

"Yeah, totally. I mean, she did fly pretty well, but what kind of girl just walks up to the Princess and demands a dance? She's a total dy-"

Yep, Dash wasn't going to listen to another word of that, unless she wanted to punch a pony. Regardless, She took a quick look at the group, a quad of white unicorns all gossiping and dressed to the gills, and gave them the angriest glare she could manage. Nobles, probably, thinking they were better than everyone and everything. But they wouldn't be better when she put her hoof up their-

No, it didn't matter. She had to find Twilight. Vengeance would come later, when they least expected it. And with no accountability on her part. With that, Dash turned away from the four annoying unicorns and instead pushed through another part of the crowd. She was better off just wandering the crowd and finding Twilight the old fashioned way.

So, She did just that. Wandered through the crowd for several minutes, until she finally took a moment to stop, and grumble at her luck. A single Alicorn should not be this hard to find. There was literally two in existence, you'd think that it'd take a whole ten seconds.

"Oh, do you see that mare's mane? A total fashion disaster!"

Really? She couldn't find Twilight, but she could find these four again? 

"I mean.... It would look better on her if it was put up, rather than down. It's too curly for-"

"And her dress! It totally doesn't match with that blonde."

"Erm, yes, totally!"

Dash angrily pushed her attention off of the four heckling mares. Even when they were talking about other ponies it made her angry, and she was already peeved as it was. All that she needed to focus on was finding Twilight. So, she once more pushed into the crowd, angrily shoving anyone that bumped into her. She needed her nerd, like, ten minutes ago.

And, as if karma for all those times she ruined Cadence's tea times, Dash found not a sign of the mystic book pone. No ink, paper, not even a single quill. Dash was quickly losing any tiny bit of patience she had, and she was never a patient mare to begin with. 

"She looks like a total charity case."

And then there was these four!

"Oh, easily. That dress was a Hortensky's, and he often does work for the palace for free. You can tell by the stitching. She's not just a charity case, but a broke charity case."

Nope. She didn't have the time nor the patience. She already wanted to sock a pony, and she wasn't gonna get kicked out of the party because of some snobby rich girls. So, with a sigh, and stomp and a shake of her head, she pushed back into the crowd, to get stomped, kicked, and pushed.

And get stomped, kicked, and pushed she did. But she forced her way through it, until, finally, she found a clearing empty of ponies. 

And there she sat. Twilight, in the center of a clearing, dancing like the textbook definition of a dork with a pair of her standard guards surrounding her. Her mane swinging, her butt wiggling adorably, her movements spastic and as uncoordinated as it got. It literally couldn't be anypony else.

Thank Faust. She was worried she'd never find her. So, she moved forward and attempted to reclaim her book horse. 

"Oh my gosh, she's dancing like a total mule."

And like that, Dash immediately froze into place. 

"And I thought Princesses were suppose to be graceful."

Dash didn't even register herself turning around. She just found herself staring at the four unicorns. Them.

"What a waste of a beautiful dress."

Purple hair was closest, and she was the last to speak. 

Before she knew it, Dash shot forward, and clocked the mare in the jaw with her front hoof. It wasn't a good punch, but it didn't seem to matter because the mare went down almost immediately, crashing into one of the other Unicorns before finally hitting the ground. 

And, just like that, the switch was flipped, and she had control again. There was suddenly shout and screaming, and Dash found herself very, very angry, standing over a prissy unicorn that totally needed another punch to the face. In fact, she needed several more punches. She thought she could make fun of Twilight? She'll insult her face with her hooves.

"Stop."

The voice was cold, metallic, and terrifying. And Dash didn't care, moving forward to hit the unicorn that dared to insult her best friend. But her hoof didn't get very far, instead finding herself pulled bodily away from the downed unicorn by a adamantium clad hoof, which Dash reflexively kicked backward against.

"Lemme go!"

Whoever held onto her didn't seem to care, and continued to pull her back, a second set of hooves grabbing her.

"Grab the unicorn as well."