"I just don't get it," Rainbow Dash muttered. "I mean—good on Lyra, Bon Bon, and Caramel. But betting is just not my thing."
Vinyl sat beside her, sipping from some cider. "Mmmmhmmm."
"Bits aren't that easy to come by," Rainbow said. "Seems like an awful thing to waste."
"You do know that I've agreed to lend all of you some bits for this excursion," Vinyl said.
"Pffft..." Rainbow smirked bitterly. "I'm not about to leech from your pocket." She sipped. "No matter how deep it may be."
"It's not leeching," Vinyl droned. "It's called a gift, Rainbow."
"Still... even your money isn't worth burning to ashes." Rainbow cleared her throat. "I just... don't get what ponies dig about coming to a place like Las Pegasus and throwing everything away."
"Yes." Vinyl nodded, adjusting her shades. "Because Celestia forbid that you should be into needlessly punishing yourself."
Rainbow arched an eyebrow. "You still on about that?"
"I never flipped the switch off."
"I'll have you know that I do take care of myself, Vinyl."
"Well, I'm all ears."
Rainbow cleared her throat and spoke across the bar. "You know Zecora? Local shaman? Owns a hut inside Everfree? Makes concoctions and is generally all around awesome pony?"
"Of course I do," Vinyl said. "She let me hang out at her place once, collecting percussion samples. The acoustics of her tree-house place are amazing."
"Well, she's been making a brew for me these past few months that undoes the numbness and atrophy in my limbs." Rainbow raised her glass and took a sip. "Makes living a great deal more bearable, if you know what I mean."
"Uh uh." Vinyl nodded. "And how long until she brews up a cure?"
Rainbow Dash fidgeted in her stool. "She hasn't... uhm... she hasn't come up with a cure."
"And is the medicine you're currently taking requiring denser and denser doses to maintain the same effect?"
"Er... m-maybe?"
"Then it's yet another temporary solution staving off the inevitable, isn't it?" Vinyl exhaled. "Have you even consulted Zecora about a permanent cure?"
"She... uh..." Rainbow coughed. "She hasn't promised me anything of the sort."
"Then it seems as though you're in the same old leaky boat, Rainbow."
"Hey, if it wasn't for Zecora—"
"—you'd probably be looking for a permanent solution to your and your dad's ailment," Vinyl said. "Like any other healthy pony."
"Every doctor I've ever been to has told me that there's one solution and one solution alone." Rainbow frowned. "And it's not one I'm willing to settle for."
"So you'll punish yourself over the long term instead?"
"Vinyl, I'd be punishing myself if I settled for a life where I couldn't use my wings. I mean... take a look at me... at what I do for a living." Rainbow sighed, staring down into her drink. "Without flight, I'm pretty much useless."
"You are so long as you tell yourself that," Vinyl said. "I find you to be a very brave, tenacious, supporting equine being. Wings or no wings."
"Are you suggesting that I go on and accept an operation that would leave me grounded?"
Vinyl took a sip and shook her head. "No. I'm suggesting that you give yourself more credit and stop depending so much on one particular state of being." She raised an eyebrow. "All of these months of doting on Applejack, and where has it gotten you?"
"Mmmmm..." Rainbow hung her head. "Nowhere."
"All of these months of depending on doses of a single type of medicine. Are you getting any healthier?"
"I... uh... I-I guess not."
"Then consider switching gears," Vinyl said. "If you've been living your life one way for all this time and it's gotten you nowhere, then maybe it's high time you seriously tried moving in another direction. What do you stand to lose if you haven't gained anything so far?"
Rainbow sighed. "I'm afraid to find out."
"Being afraid of stuff hasn't stopped you before." Vinyl stared at her thoughtfully. At last, she took another sip and said, "Consider this crazy week in Las Pegasus as a send-off."
"A send-off?"
"Yes." Vinyl nodded. "To your past life. And when you return to Ponyville, you will be a whole new mare... with whole new things to pursue."
"Starting with what?" Rainbow muttered. "Lemme guess. A brand new crush on a brand new pony?"
Vinyl shrugged. "Who knows... maybe you'll knock that out tonight."
"Huh?"
"Look where we're sitting. They say there's plenty of fish in the sea. But here? In Hurricane's Last Stand? I'd say we're in a pretty tight net." Vinyl winked. "So go out there in score."
Rainbow squinted at her. "You realize this kind of advice is almost like a snail telling a jack rabbit to breed."
Vinyl shrugged. "Just because I don't dance like the rest of you girls doesn't mean I can't sit and smile in the stands."
"Wow." Rainbow smirked. "What a creep."
"It pays, sister. Let me tell you..."