The music was loud, louder than Rainbow Dash liked. Not that she was some kind of party-pooper or anything, but feeling the beat echo in her chest wasn’t a pleasant sensation. Pinkie Pie had really outdone herself this time. There must have been almost everypony in Ponyville there, dancing and laughing and gorging themselves on the seemingly limitless supply of cake and candy. Personally, Dash avoided that kind of food for the most part, she couldn’t afford to gain much weight, especially not if she wanted to remain the fastest flier in Equestria.
Fluttershy was huddled in the corner, dancing quietly to the music. She had her eyes closed and was completely immersed in the rhythm, a big smile on her face. Dash loved seeing the normally shy pony enjoying herself as she often skipped Pinkie’s parties if there were too many people.
Pinkies screams and shouts of joy were louder than even the music as the pink-haired pink-skinned pink-everything pony leapt wildly around the room. Dash laughed at her antics. Without Pinkie, these parties just wouldn’t be as good. She truly was the life of the party. And not bad on the eyes when Rarity got her to stay still long enough. Dash’s smile waned. Couldn’t she just go one day without thinking that way? She jammed a cupcake in her mouth to disrupt her thoughts.
Dash considered going over and dancing next to Twilight, Rarity and Applejack, who were somewhere in the middle of the crowded dance floor, but thought better of it. She had some serious moves, but they were more suited for the sky. Although now that she looked, there might be enough room for just one or two barrel rolls...
“Hey! Rainbow Dash!” a voice said from behind her. Mouth stuffed with cupcake, she spun to see who it was. A colt with a dark brown mane was standing next to her, attempting to look casual.
“Wur yufgh taughin t’ murgh?” Dash attempted to say, face going red. She swallowed her food and tried again.
“Um...Sorry about that. I said are you talking to me?” The colt looked familiar, what was his name? Steer Clear? It definitely had a ‘st’ at the beginning.
“I don’t know any other Rainbow Dash around here!” he shouted over the noise with a grin, “I’m Arty Eyes, pleasure to meet ya!” Dash returned the grin, inwardly wondering where the heck Steer Clear had come from. They stood there for a few moments, giving each other a smile when their eyes caught each other and idly moving to the rhythm. Arty was the first to break the ‘silence’, so to speak.
“So...uh...” he began awkwardly, “Are you enjoying the party?” Dash had to strain to hear him.
“Yeah, I guess it’s pretty cool! It’s a bit loud though!” she called back. He nodded his head, either in agreement or just as acknowledgement, she wasn’t sure. A few seconds later, the colt seemed to gather himself up to ask,
“D’you maybe wanna dance?” His eyes were full of hope and a bit of mischief. Dash was startled by the offer and found that she began desperately grasping for an excuse.
“Oh...well um...I’m not really much of a dancer...I do my tricks in the air, heh...” she rambled lamely. Dash couldn’t remember the last time she had been this tongue tied. She normally approached every challenge with extreme confidence and bravado (as befitted the fastest flier in Equestria), but now she just felt like a little filly again. Although when she thought about it, she was full of confidence and bravado when she was a filly too, so maybe that wasn’t the best comparison. She didn’t feel like herself. That sounded better.
“Well, uh, that’s fair enough. I’m not exactly smooth on my hooves either,” said Arty, “Not-not that you aren’t, of course! I’m sure you’re perfectly fine on your hooves! I just...urgh. Sorry for bothering you, Rainbow Dash.” Arty moved away into the crowd, quickly putting a few ponies between them.
Shame burns across her face. She couldn’t help but feel like she was supposed to say or do something before he left, but she wasn’t about to go chasing after him to make a fool of herself. A quick scan of the crowd to check for any watchers didn’t help; Rarity and Twilight were staring at her with open mouths and questioning eyes while Applejack danced on, oblivious. All Dash could do was shrug. This party is starting to feel uncomfortable and she wanted to avoid being interrogated by her nosey friends, so she began to make her way to the door. Sidestepping chatting ponies and a spilled drink, Dash shoved through the crowd and out the door.
The cool night air washed over her, sweet relief from the hot dance room. She realised she was panting and took a moment to sit down on the road.
“Now what’s a brave pony like yourself doin’ out here alone? Don’t tell me the music got to ya, ah won’t believe it. You’re one of the hardest partiers in this town!” Applejack said brightly as she sat down beside Dash, who quickly avoided the question.
“Why are you out here? Last I saw, you were rocking up the dance floor and not even looking my way.”
Applejack smoothly brought the question back to her. “To be honest, Twilight and Rarity sent me out here to see what was wrong. Ah think they’re worried that you’re angry at ‘em for watching your run-in with a brown-haired colt or somethin’. It was pretty loud in there. So what’s wrong, sugarcube?” She looked at Dash with concern.
“It’s nothing, really. My head just hasn’t been on straight lately,” Dash muttered.
“Was it that colt? Was he rude to you or somethin’? Because ah can drag him out here and buck him right outta town if that’s-“
“No no no! He was totally polite and friendly and all that. The problem was me.”
“Oh...” She could see that Applejack was dying to ask for more details, but was too polite to do it. Grudgingly, she elaborated.
“He asked me to dance. But instead of saying yes like a sane pony, I sorta made an excuse not to. Then he tried to keep talking but I couldn’t think of anything to say and he must’ve just got sick of me so he left,” Dash blurted out. Applejack chuckled lightly, making Dash a little annoyed.
“You find it funny, Applejack?” she asked accusingly.
“What ah find funny is that you of all people are reactin’ this badly! Bravest pony in Equestria, my flank!” the earth pony replied, laughing slightly harder. Dash was furious.
“I’m still not seeing the joke here!”
“The joke is that we all have trouble when we gotta talk to colts, sugarcube. Most of us don’t leave the building if it goes badly.” Applejack stopped laughing and gave her a sympathetic look.
“I don’t think talking to colts is my problem,” Dash muttered to the confusion of her friend.
“Whaddaya mean by that, Rainbow?” she asked.
“Don’t worry about it. I think I might go hit the sack, I feel pretty tired.” As Dash faked a yawn, Applejack shrugged and turned to leave.
“Well...Alrighty then. Y’know you can come to me with anythin’ and I’ll be happy to help, right?”
Dash gave her a small smile. “I know. Thanks Applejack.” The earth pony trotted back inside, hips swaying with each step...
Dash smacked her head against the ground as hard as she could. Her vision blurred with tears of pain, and her forehead would probably be bruised, but it definitely distracted her. Dirt clung to her rainbow mane but she didn’t care.
Extending her wings, she turned toward her homes general direction and with two flaps was rising above Ponyville. The majority of lights came from the party, though there were a couple of other pinpricks scattered through the town. The night air was freezing, but it didn’t bother Dash. The feeling of slicing through the clouds was refreshingly normal. It was a cloudless sky tonight, she had seen to that. It never rained on Pinkie’s party days unless there was a special rain scheduled.
It was bad enough that Twilight had to keep reminding her which days didn’t need rain and which did. Just because Dash was too busy napping to check with the other Pegasus ponies about the weather plan didn’t mean she was bad at her job like the others kept telling her. Well, they didn’t outright say that, but she could see they thought it.
“That party was totally a waste of time,” she said to the wind. As usual, the wind neglected to reply.
“Why did I even bother going? I should just stay at home, like, forever.” The only response was a rush of wind through her hair as a gust sheared through her. The cold still wasn’t getting to her though. That’s one of the many benefits to being a Pegasus pony. She was born so high up in the cold sky that she got used to it pretty quickly. The downside is that she was more vulnerable to heat, at least according to Twilight. That purple pony knew everything about everything!
Dash hated reading. Where was the fun in sitting down for hours and hours just reading stupid words? Much better to be out doing stuff, she reckoned. Although her friend’s knowledge had come in handy a couple of times, Dash admitted to herself. Like when they all first met and Twilight knew how to defeat Nightmare Moon. That had impressed her more than she had let on.
Her mind finally caught up with...well, her mind and she remembered why she was trying to distract herself. That colt. That damn colt. He just had to come up and ruin her night. He asks her to dance and all of sudden she remembers how broken she is in the head.
Suddenly, an idea blazed brightly behind her eyes. She hadn’t been feeling right for a while now. Her stomach was always churning, she had trouble talking to people and now even flying didn’t seem as fun anymore. What if she was just sick? Dash hadn’t been ill for a while so surely she was due for a bit of disease. That was how diseases worked, right?
It was settled. The next morning, the smartest pony Dash knew would be getting a visit, and she wasn’t going to leave until she had finally settled what was wrong with her.