In a daze, Rainbow limped out of the bathroom and across the loud, pulsing nightclub. The only thing she felt was the jingling weight of coins hanging off her flank. It was a meager consolation at best.
Her vision traced across the interior. Eyes scraped over her frail, moist figure. She could have sworn that over half of the patrons were staring at her. Gawking. The mare shuddered, quickening her pace—only to teeter and bump into random stallions and mares seated around the dance stages.
"Hey, watch it!"
"Go home, ya mule."
"Sorry..." Rainbow muttered into the shadows. She sought the exit. Words glistening red. Like apples. "I'm so... s-so sorry..." Her vision fogged up, clouding the sight of gyrating creatures on a flickering stage. Sniffling, Rainbow rubbed her eyes dry. By then, she had reached the door leading out of Hurricane's Harem, and only then did she start to breathe easier.
It was vastly empty on the outside. Rainbow squinted into the dim light of the casino corridor. She heard whimpering voices to her right. Haunting. Familiar. She turned her head.
Bon Bon leaned against the railing of a balcony overlooking the glittery lengths of Upper Las Pegasus. A cold wind carried her sobbing breaths aloft.
Beside her, Lyra paced and paced, stammering into the breezy night air. "Look, will you just get over it?! We all came here to have fun! That was the whole point of this damn thing!"
"You h-have a rotten way of 'having fun,' Lyraaaa," Bon Bon cried, burying her muzzle in her hooves. "'That's right, baby! Wave that horn! Earth ponies have nothing on this shit!' I mean... how am I supposed to take that, Lyraaaa?"
"For crying out loud, Bon Bon. I was getting my kicks on! I mean... why not?! She's a hot unicorn! You had the friggin' zebra, didn't you?"
"I don't want any stupid zebras, Lyra..."
"Bon Bon, don't—"
"I j-just want you."
"Grnnnnnghhhh..." Lyra face-hoofed. Her face tensed as her eyes clenched tightly shut. She sighed into her fetlock, frozen in place.
"Don't you realize th-that by now...?" Bon Bon wept, shivering all over. "I adore you. I wish... mmrmmfff... I wish that you were mine..."
"Bon Bon... dammit to Celestia..."
"Don't pretend that you don't know th-that..." Bon Bon sniffled. "Don't pretend that you don't know how much you drive me crazy..."
"Bon Bon... just... just no, okay?!" Lyra's voice wavered. She looked up, frowning, although her eyes were misty. "A stripper is one thing. An escort? Sure, when I'm friggin' starving. But I just don't do relationships. You know that..."
"But you c-could, Lyraaaa..." Bon Bon whimpered. "You and I would be so... so gorgeous together."
"Bon Bon, no. You don't want..." Lyra shuddered, her ears drooping. "You d-don't want to be anchored to a lousy p-piece of shit like me, okay?" She gulped hard as the shivers came on. "Because that's exactly the k-kind of miserable pony I am and I d-don't want... dammit..." She sniffled, glaring off into the starlight. "I didn't want this to friggin' happen on this stupid trip..."
"I'm sorry..." Bon Bon hung her head, crying. "I'm so sorry. I'm always ruining everything."
"Don't say that. Bon Bon—you hear me?! Sonuva..." Groaning, Lyra reached over and wrapped her forelimbs around the mare. "Come here, you sniveling little sob-job."
Bon Bon curled against Lyra's chest, quietly weeping.
Lyra rubbed her shoulder, staring across the casinos of Upper Las Pegasus. She breathed in and out, her expression dry... lifeless. "What am I ever going to do with you, girl...?"
"Mmmmm..." Bon Bon breathed against Lyra's coat. "I think y-you're the m-most spectacular pony ever... and I-I wish you would j-just learned to embrace that..."
"I know, B-Squared," Lyra muttered, closing her eyes. "Celestia on a bike, tell me something I don't know..."
The two huddled together on the balcony.
Rainbow watched from afar, dull and deadpan. She teetered slightly, caught her breath, and pivoted about. On numb legs, she hobbled far... far away... until she left the levitating foundation of The Last Stand entirely.