//------------------------------// // Flying High // Story: Echoes of Loyalty // by Silent Whisper //------------------------------// There were many things that Rainbow Dash could say of Fluttershy’s taste. The soft-spoken mare found the strangest nooks and crannies to drag Rainbow into, and most of them were either too loud, too bright, or too unnerving for Rainbow’s taste. Give her an open sky and a fast ride on her bike over the odd spots Fluttershy adored, but hey, when Fluttershy found a place, it was the sort of place that reeked of the new, the fresh, and the different. No wonder Rarity hung out with her so much. Those two were perfect for each other, and Rainbow sometimes wondered if part of the reason they invited her along so often was out of a strange sort of pity. They didn’t think she got out enough, and Rainbow didn’t have a rational enough argument or enough scheduling conflicts to convince them otherwise. Twilight’s map led her down winding alleyways and into darkened corners that she’d never look twice at otherwise. The long shadows of the buildings huddled together blocked out the sunlight of the afternoon, revealing neon-lit signs of secretive shops. If it weren't for the affirmative hum of her visor, Rainbow would've walked right past the club. A neon fish surrounded by swirling vapors was the only sign that there was anything behind the beaded doorway worth investigating. A bored-looking bouncer leaned against the door, perking up only when Rainbow stopped in front of him. “Identity check. Stand still and unlock your visor, please.” To an inexperienced observer, he looked like an average unicorn taking a break in a questionable alley, but Rainbow knew enough about the way he sized up a situation immediately to know he wasn't to be messed with. “Really?” She sighed and switched off Twilight’s total-scan restrictions. He made a huffing noise that could’ve been mistaken for a laugh. “Yeah, really. You’re new here, huh? Gotta say, you don’t look like the type. Most ponies that go for this experimental jazz seem half-high when they enter Nightgill. You ever been high on vapors before?” “Once, yeah.” It was true; she’d tried a whiff of Cirrus with Rarity on a dare once, and couldn’t remember most of the rest of the evening. She had a sneaking suspicion that it had involved singing. “This stuff’s different than a lot of the other kinds you’ll try. It’ll mess with your mind a bit, and make time feel weird, but ponies have been clamoring to get in because of how quickly it fades. Since it’s experimental, we’ve gotta double-check that everypony’s old enough to partake.” He gave her a smile that was about as attractive as microwaved lettuce. “Looking good so far, Ms. Rainbow Dash, almost done with the verification.” “Oh? Most vapors don’t go away fast enough.” This was welcome news to Rainbow, since it meant she wouldn’t have to sit in an Insta-Sober booth for half an hour of headaches and nausea. “Don’t worry, they’ll wear off once you’re outside again, real quick. See the sign? ‘Effects wear off immediately,’ which means you give it five or ten minutes to feel just like you did before you walked in.” His horn lit up the sign next to him, which did little to improve the readability of the grimy parchment. “Why does anypony even go to this sort of place? Isn't the whole lingering effect what most customers want?” The guard’s face darkened. “Sure, they say they want that, but then they forget that they’re not safe to trot home alone, and a few take a tumble over the edge of the walkways and we’re the ones that have to hear about it. If you want that sort of place,” and Rainbow could hear the mockery in his voice, “just go to a pub with the other drunken idiots.” Rainbow chuckled nervously, locking her visor again. “As if. Thanks for the tip, but I’ve gotta meet some friends inside.” He turned his head back to the street, and just like that Rainbow felt like she was invisible to him. “Have fun,” he said disinterestedly, and after a few seconds of awkward silence Rainbow wandered through the beaded curtain and into the club proper. The first thing that hit her was the scent. It smelled like a pair of young dragons had gotten into a heated fight in a candle shop. A whiff of vanilla one second, then the lilting sweetness of jasmine, then a sharp scent of firewood… the assault on her nostrils was almost enough to have her leave the club immediately, but after a few seconds of sensory overstimulation it suddenly became much more tolerable, the smells fading into the background. Above her head neon fish swam through a sea of multicolored mist that ebbed and flowed through the club. A trick of the light, no doubt, with cleverly-placed lasers strobing against the moisture, but that realization didn’t stop Rainbow from batting her wing through one of them to see what it felt like. As expected, nothing different, though the tips of her feathers were tingling. She’d gone there for something, hadn’t she? Right, Fluttershy and Rarity. Rainbow made her way in between booths and cushions spread out around the main bar and lounge area. The ponies around her didn’t notice as she wove between them. One of them was singing, another drank from an empty glass that reflected the light onto his muzzle like a prism, and a third simply swayed where she sat perched on a cushion, eyes closed and content with life. “Rainbow!” A familiar voice whispered, words swaying in time with the faint music. A sleepy-looking pegasus waved her over, strands of her mane pulsing in the colors of the rainbow in greeting. “Hey, Fluttershy. Thanks for saving me a, uhh…” Fluttershy’s wings were draped across the booth. She’d made no move to shift them when Rainbow approached, so she settled for leaning against the table. “A seat, I guess. Did I miss Rarity?” “No, she’s at the bar. I think she was trying to… I don’t know. I wasn’t listening very hard. Something about salt and diamonds? The food is reasonably-priced, all things considered.” Fluttershy smiled unhelpfully, blissfully unaware of her surroundings. “Are you early? It feels like you’re early.” “I’m, um… late, actually, and I already ate.” The room looked a lot brighter than it had a moment ago. Did they turn up the lights? “The colors are so pretty up there.” Had she said that out loud? “Aren’t they?” Fluttershy smiled at them, then at Rainbow Dash, then she said something else but Rainbow wasn’t listening because she wasn’t worried about whatever it was she was supposed to be worried about. She watched them for a little bit before a flash of something distinctly not misty and swirly nearly clipped her in the muzzle and brought her back into the moment. Fluttershy was dancing on the table, her tail flicking back and forth, nearly missing Rainbow’s face by a few inches each time. The fiber optic strands woven in her tail strobed between yellow and blue, in a precise pattern that gave Rainbow the vague sensations of a distant migraine. She tried to tap Fluttershy’s hind hoof a few times to get her attention, but Fluttershy was too far out of it to notice. Whatever. Rainbow set her chin on the table and wrapped her hooves around it. The steady hum of the background music carried on, lulling her into a tranquil state of mind. Some ponies might have tried to snap Fluttershy out of it, but she worked for the Administration, just like Rainbow Dash, though she couldn’t remember quite where. Some awful desk job, probably. Fluttershy rarely complained in her few clear-headed moments when Rainbow talked about her bike, so she supposed she couldn’t begrudge her the strange escape of a vapor club. So she sat there, head buried in her hooves, vapors swirling in and out of her vision. For what she could’ve sworn was just a few minutes, she could’ve sworn that the table and floor were perfectly transparent, and she could see all the lost ponies wandering in the dark hundreds of floors beneath the Upper Reaches of the City, down down in the Underneath. It made her nauseous, looking down. Most ponies didn’t even think about what was down there. Most ponies made it a point never to look down, but Rainbow couldn’t afford not to, not with her line of work. It made it difficult not to wonder. Slowly, deliberately, she craned her neck upwards, and a burst of comforting neon made the corners of her muzzle twist up. Fluttershy was no longer dancing on the table, but Rarity was sitting next to her in all her clothed glory, eating from a bowl of something that looked as though it had once been nachos. Nachos, according to her hazy memory, didn’t usually come in that many colors. “Where’s Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked, idly reaching out a hoof towards Rarity’s food, then deciding against it. She didn’t want to know what that shade of purple tasted like, anyway. Rarity shrugged and stuffed her muzzle with iridescent cheese. “Probably swaying her hips at some poor fool that isn’t a regular, darling.” She squinted in the general direction of Rainbow’s face. “Are you feeling alright? I’m quite aware this isn’t your usual sort of venue. Why don’t you go ask the bartender for a drink? No alcohol, of course, but you won’t know the difference; I never do. They’ll know whatever it is will help you. It’s their job.” “Ugh, don’t remind me about… about jobs.” Rainbow wove to her hooves and unsteadily made her way towards one of the few empty seats at the bar. In what felt like a few moments, a primly-dressed mare appeared in front of her stool. They peered into each other’s eyes for a few moments, the bartender’s irises shifting colors underneath the black lights before the mare whisked off again to go mix a drink. It tasted of cinnamon and regret, and was exactly what she needed. The world became a blur of bubbles of light and gentle waves of sound. Rainbow was pretty sure she’d kissed somepony at one point, but couldn’t remember who or why, and it comforted her a little to know that the feeling was mutual. Color strobed across her fur, dappling her wings until she felt like a real Rainbow. Music faded in and out, distorting and rippling the air. The club was gone, and she was lost in the sky, the City far from view and the clouds a welcoming presence. There was nowhere she had to be, and she could soar as high as the stars above if she wished. There was, there was… somepony was talking to her, as she was flying. “I hate to interrupt,” Twilight whispered in her earpiece, snapping Rainbow back to the present. “It’s just… it’s already 4pm. You’ve got a job at 5, remember?” Crap. Nothing like a cold splash of reality to partially wake her up from the pleasant haze of a vapor club. Rainbow propped herself up against the seat and waved at her friends to get their attention. Fluttershy was slumped against the table, her mane pulsing with a gentle white light in time with her dozing heartbeat. Rarity teetered back and forth a few feet away from their booth, but her eyes managed to focus on Rainbow for a few seconds before she was out of it again. That would have to be enough of a goodbye, she figured as she stretched out her half-asleep legs. She doubted they’d notice whether she left either way, but at this point it didn’t matter. It was time to work, and she had somewhere to be.