"...and I can't help but feel as though... I can change... but it's like I dunno where to start," Rainbow Dash found herself murmuring. The techno music was just as loud as before—the lights just as bright and annoying—and yet she found herself able to carry on a hushed conversation. "I have friends. I have lots of friends. But they can't... understand me, y'know?"
"Of, definitely," Smoke Rings said, nodding. She leaned against the bar counter, gazing softly at Rainbow Dash as the smaller pegasus continued speaking.
"But... I can't blame them." Rainbow bit her lip. "It's all because I've chosen to keep myself so distance, y'know? I mean... I worry about them a lot. And I wanna protect them with all my might. It's all part of being the Element of Loyalty, ya feel me?"
"Sure..."
"But... but it's like that's my burden as much as my joy... and I don't want to place any hardship on them. So... so I just... float, y'know? And... and as lonesome as it sounds, it's... it's something I can handle. Because I gotta handle it, y'know? They don't deserve any of my baggage."
"I'm sure they'd be open to you if you aired your feelings," Smoke Rings said.
"Eh... it's not that simple," Rainbow muttered. "And it certainly doesn't help that for the longest time, I've... I've..."
Smoke Rings arched an eyebrow. "You've what?"
Rainbow sighed. "I've always dreamt that one of them could be more than just a friend."
"Ahhhh..." Smoke Rings nodded. "It's not something that could possibly work out..."
Rainbow glanced aside. "How do you know?"
Smoke Rings stifled a giggle. "Well, you're here, aren't you?"
"Mrmmmfff..." Rainbow sipped up the last of her current glass of cider. "Touche."
"If you ask me, Rainbow Dash," Smoke Rings said, leaning forward and tapping Rainbow's shoulder. "The life you've been living sounds awfully constricting."
"Eh... it's good enough."
"Does it feel 'good?' Are you happy with the way things are?"
Rainbow merely bit her lip.
Smoke Rings smirked. "You're the athletic type... a proactive pegasus. I'm guessing you're adventurous too."
"Heh..." Rainbow rolled her eyes, nearly toppling off her stool from the motion. "You've got no idea."
"I think you have everything to gain from trying new things," Smoke Rings said, patting her shoulder again. "Rather than being stuck in the same place all the time. Go outside your comfort zone. Experiment. I promise that you won't be disappointed."
"You..." Rainbow teetered. "You really think so?"
Smoke Rings didn't answer. Instead, she stammered, "Egads, Rainbow. Has anypony ever told you how silky smooth your coat is?"
"Mrmmf... yeah... sure..." Rainbow smirked drunkenly, staring into the lights and haze. "A few."
"It's like Celestia sliced a piece of the sky and gave it wings."
Rainbow coughed, then chuckled breathily.
"What?" Smoke Rings blinked, giggling as well. "I meant it!"
"That was cheesy as Tartarus," Rainbow muttered.
"Well, I couldn't help myself," Smoke Rings remarked, smiling. "There's something about you that's just... priceless."
"Uh huh..."
"I mean it. And the colorful way you dye your mane—"
"I don't."
"Huh?"
Rainbow gulped. "I don't dye it. It just... is what it is."
Smoke Rings leaned back as if shot by a bullet. "Get out of town... are you serious?"
"Mrmmfff... it's my mane, isn't it?"
"That's... that's just amazing," the mare cooed. She ran a hoof through Rainbow's bangs. "Even feels softer than a cloud."
Rainbow hummed, her nose and lungs filling with the luscious perfume. The warmth from Smoke Rings' touch spread through her neck and chest, chasing the numbness away. Before she knew it, she was leaning into the mare's hoof, nuzzling against her fetlock.
"Hehe... something got you off balance?"
"Mmmm..." Rainbow's back tingled as her wings stretched out on instinct. "...maybe..."
"Say... Rainbow..."
"Mmmm... y-yeah...?"
"... ... ...when was the last time a pretty mare kissed you?"
"Mmmm..." Rainbow gulped. "Let me tell you a few seconds from now." She held her breath.
Sure enough, less than two breaths later, a soft warm pair of lips brushed with Rainbow's.
Rainbow squeaked. Her ears instantly drooped. Something melted deep inside her—far beneath the drunken haze and the numb cloud of her center of being. It was a sensation she hadn't felt in countless years. Part of her flinched, as if expecting something sharp... something blunt and painful to accompany the softness, but it never came. Before she knew it, Smoke Rings was kissing her more intensely. A gentle set of feathers brushed against Rainbow's neck and shoulders. She let loose another squeak, quivering from head to tail.
"Hmmmmmm..." Smoke Rings' voice was a breathy thing, fountaining over her. "Those sounds you keep making are adorable."
"Mmmmm..." Rainbow could only squeak again. "Yeah..." She brushed her cheek in the direction of Smoke Rings' voice.
Smoke Rings nuzzled her back. The air grew thinner, hotter. "Shhhhh... want to know a secret, Rainbow Dash?"
"Mmmmm-what's thatttt...?"
Smoke Rings kissed the mare's ear before whispering, "I absolutely adore perky little pegasi..."
"Mmmmm..." Rainbow Dash slurred. "That's... cool..."
Smoke Rings kissed, nuzzled, and breathed once more. "And I would really... really love to show you a good time..." She tickled the small of Rainbow's neck with her featherips. Rainbow teetered on her stool, sensing a crescent moon grin from across the swirling lights. "...would you like that too? Hmmm?"
Rainbow fought the urge to whimper. She teetered in the direction of the other mare's heat, her heart pounding... pounding... settling. Something flickered in the distance of her mind... pale and isolated... like freckles. Or stars. It all melted, turning black, forming a voice: "That... would be pretty cool as well..."
"Heehee... well then..." A hoof tugged while the voice rolled. Purred. "...let's go somewhere less noisy..."
"Yeah..." Rainbow teetered, drifted, disappeared. "...why not?"