Wonderbolt Trials and Tribulations

by White Comet

Chapter 23

Rainbow Dash and Soarin’s hooves clacked in sync as they landed on the pavement on the street in Canterlot. Dash was feeling a little hot, which was weird as it wasn’t unusually warm outside. Was she nervous? Perhaps meeting some more Wonderbolts on a more personal level was more important to her than she realised. Plus these were Soarin’s friends as well as his (and hopefully soon to be her) colleagues. She wanted to make a good impression.

“So...where does Fleetfoot live?” Dash asked as they trotted up the street.

“Just here,” Soarin motioned with a hoof, taking a right turn to walk up a short gravel path.

“Whoa…” Dash let the word escape her lips as she saw Fleetfoot’s house. While she kind of expected a classy house since she was in a high-end district in Canterlot, she was still trying to comprehend she was about to go inside one and have a drink. She had never imagined owning the kind of money needed to own a house like this. Sure it’s only a little bigger than her current house, maybe even the same size. But cloud homes were cheap. Brick ones weren’t, especially in Canterlot.

“Nice isn’t it?” Soarin asked, pushing the gate open.

“Yeah, that’s one way of putting it…” Dash replied, walking through the gate after him. But it did make her wonder something; “Does she live with anypony?”

“Nope, just her on her own. But because it’s big, she tends to have quite a few parties.” Soarin answered.

Dash nodded at the answer, making her think. She couldn’t tell for sure what a Wonderbolt’s salary was, but with a house like this, Fleetfoot’s was obviously decent. Dash took in her surroundings again. The house had big wide windows, but the blinds were closed now because the sun was beginning to set. The front gardens were very well cared for. Did Fleetfoot do that herself? Everything seemed to intricately placed, from the flowers to the bushes to the small trees. Dash felt like she was upsetting the balance just by the action of her hooves pushing the gravel path out of its way. The walls of the house had a perfect pearl white finish, a stark contrast to the black roof tiles. It looked like a very sleek, modern design.

Dash slowed her pace as they neared the door, before stopping altogether just before the step up. She looked around, then glanced down and sighed.

“Ready?” Soarin asked, raising his hoof to the door. But then noticed Rainbow Dash wasn’t standing beside him. “Dash?” He looked back behind him, seeing her standing there.

He pulled his hoof away, turned around and trotted back over to her. “Something wrong?” He asked.

“Soarin…” she looked up at him, “I don’t want to do anything that will end up costing you your career. What if they don’t like me? Or worse, question you for bringing me here?”

“Pfft,” Soarin rolled his eyes, “You kidding me? Blaze has been practically begging me to bring you. And Wave Chill is like, your biggest fan.”

Dash raised an eyebrow. “I have fans? In the Wonderbolts?”

“Well not you personally,” Soarin batted his hoof, “But he loves reading about Princess Twilight’s adventures with her friends. And that includes you. We even have a running joke about him having a secret crush on Twilight. But you didn’t hear that from me.” He answered, winking.

Dash couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well guess I could introduce him if he asks,” she replied sarcastically.

“That’s the spirit!” Soarin replied, “But remember, you didn’t hear that from me. Now let's go,” he leant in to give her a quick peck on the cheek before turning back to face the door.

Soarin hopped up to the door and eagerly banged his hoof a couple of times against it. Dash breathed slowly and stood up next to him, anticipating what was coming.

The door slowly opened, revealing Fleetfoot behind it. “Soarin, you made it! And you bought Rainbow Dash along!” She extended her forelegs to hug him.

“Yeah, you have no idea the trouble I had to go through to convince her to come.” He replied sarcastically, returning the hug.

Dash chuffed a little as the two of them laughed at Soarin’s sarcasm. She didn’t say anything and just for them to finish hugging, which didn’t take long. Soarin walked past, and Fleetfoot turned to Dash. “Good to see you here Dash.” Fleetfoot extended her hoof.

“Hehe, happy to be here,” Dash replied, shaking her hoof in return. She was still trying to get it through her head that they weren’t in the professional setting she was so used to seeing Fleetfoot in. She needed to loosen up.

“Come on in,” Fleetfoot waved her through. Dash walked through into her house, Fleetfoot closing the door behind her.

The inside of her house was just as classy as the outside. Having spoken to Fleetfoot, she didn’t strike Dash as a pony with this kind of taste. Perhaps it was just a status thing? Or maybe she only has it because she can? Anypony could do almost anything they wanted on a Wonderbolts salary after all…

The house had a very open planned theme to it. She walked through with Soarin into the lounge, where the rest of the Wonderbolts were sitting on the sofas, along with some other ponies she was unfamiliar with. The house had a sort of indoor balcony for the first floor. Which immediately made Dash wonder how often the stairs were used considering Fleetfoot was a pegasus.

The few cheers erupted from the room as Soarin came in. Looks like they were the last to turn up.

“Soarin, you made it!” Fire Streak greeted, sliding a pint glass and a small cider keg across the table. He knew what Soarin was gonna ask, but his eyes then landed on Rainbow Dash. “And one for your lady friend?”

“Uh…” Dash couldn’t help but blush at the way Fire Streak identified her.

“Yeah, she’ll have one,” Soarin finished the sentence. Fire nodded and slid another glass along.

Soarin took a seat on an empty space along the long sofa. Dash immediately took a place next to him. He leant over towards the coffee table and started pouring cider into his glass.

“Oh boy,” a familiar voice sounded next to Dash. She looked over her shoulder to see Blaze scooching over to her, an eager smile on her face. “I’ve SO been looking forward to this for ages. You’ve gotta tell me EVERYTHING from your point of view!”

Dash raised an eyebrow, “Umm...about what?”

Blaze burst out into laughter and wrapped her wing around Dash, pulling them closer together. “You know what I mean. Between you and Soarin of course.”

“Umm…” Dash could feel her face growing redder and redder as she felt herself being pulled down the rabbit hole.

She looked over at Soarin with her eyes pleading for backup. But Soarin couldn’t help but snicker. He held his hoof to his mouth to try and help suppress his laughter. But at the same time, he felt the heat in his cheeks rising a little.

“Blaze, stop embarrassing her!” Misty Fly told her.

Dash felt a little bit of pressure off her when she realised not everypony was here to deeply question her about her relationship with Soarin.

“At least let her have a drink first,” Misty added.

...This was going to last for a while, wasn’t it?

“Alright, alright,” Blaze released Dash, “But I wanna hear details later.”

“I’m sure you will,” Soarin replied, presenting a drink over to Dash. Dash took the cider in her hooves and started drinking right away. She was gonna need it to help her loosen up with all the personal questions her and Soarin were bound to be answering tonight.

“So this is the girlfriend Blaze hinted so much at?” Fire Streak asked. “When did you start seeing each other?”

“Well...officially, around a month and a bit ago,” Soarin answered.

“You’ve done well to keep that under the radar,” Wave Chill chimed in. But his tone of voice sounded incredibly...dissatisfied. Which Dash found strange considering the way Soarin had hyped him up about being a huge fan of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.

“I suppose we have,” Soarin replied, placing a foreleg over Dash’s shoulders. “It’s been tough. But we’ve made it work.”

“Yeah, it’s been rather impressive that you’ve managed to evade the rules, Soarin.” Wave Chill commented, taking a drink. It wasn’t that Dash didn’t believe what Soarin said earlier...but all his sentences have been negative so far...

Soarin furrowed his brow, “I haven’t even come close to breaking them,” he objected. Dash held back a grimace. She had her doubts about coming because she didn’t want to be the centerpiece of an argument, but it was looking like that was going to happen.

“I think you’ll find--”

“OKAY,” Fleetfoot held her hooves up from where she was sitting, “enough of that guys. We’re here tonight to forget about work for a little bit. Let's keep it that way huh?” She suggested.

Soarin looked over at Fire Streak, looking at a way to change the subject. “So Fire, your brother couldn’t make it tonight?”

“Nah, he’s got a hot date.” Fire replied, bringing his drink to his lips, but paused when it got there. “A date that we might gatecrash later.” He added before tipping the glass into his lips.

Soarin smiled as he gulped down some cider. “This sounds devilish...what are they up to?”

Dash couldn’t help but listen in as Fire Streak and Soarin joked about showing up to wherever Lightning Streak was on a date tonight.

“So Dash,” Blaze asked, drawing Dash’s attention back to her. “What do you reckon your odds will be in the final?”

Dash smirked in response, “I’m gonna give it all I got and hope for the best!”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Blaze replied, a smile crossing her face and she presented her glass to Dash. “Cheers!”

Dash clinked her glass against Blaze’s and took a drink.

“You’ve got some tough competition. But you’ve got plenty of supporters here, you just need to put in the results to prove it,” She explained with a wink.

“Oh I’m gonna do that for sure,” Dash felt herself growing more confident around them, taking a few more sips. She was sure everypony wanted to either hear about her and Soarin or not be interested at all. But she was wrong. They were all...well, mostly all, very cordial about her being there. Despite the fact she felt like the elephant in the room.

“So Dash, I heard you took the helm of the Canterlot last week?” Misty Fly inquired.

“Oh yeah, that was me,” Dash acknowledged, nodding. “I guess you saw me mess it up huh?”

Misty spat some of her drink back into her glass when she heard that. “Mess it up? Dash, you were amazing for somepony that had never operated one of those things in her life.”

“Haha…” Dash scratched the back of her head, “I did alright I guess.”

“Oh come off it,” Blaze joined in, batting a hoof at her. “I was on the Canterlot assessing some of your competitors and felt the shells raining down. They may have just been holograms produced by unicorn magic, but they were as real as they come without being in an actual battle. The fact you held your nerve as those were raining down was impressive. More than most I can tell you that. I was in the engine room and during the first round, there was a couple of ponies convinced the real thing was going on outside as there’s no windows in the engine room. Part of the ships actual crew even played along with it and acted as if it were the actual thing, terrifying the poor ponies.”

Dash chuckled as she could easily imagine that.

“Yeah, and so what if you made a few mistakes? Nopony expected you to be perfect at it on your first try,” Misty explained.

“Yeah, it’s not like some magical power that suddenly got bestowed onto you, and you immediately knew how to use it,” Blaze tapped Dash’s chest at the same time she spoke, referring to her status as the bearer of the Element of Loyalty.

“For me, it was when you were less than a ponies’ length off Spitfire in the Equestria Games that I knew that you were gonna do great things,” Misty added.

Dash couldn’t help but let her smile grow as these two ponies spoke so fondly of her. She had no idea how well known she was to the group of ponies she had admired the most throughout her whole life.

While she was hoping to ask some questions to them herself, Dash found herself being the centre of the questions. Luckily they all mostly avoided the subject of her and Soarin, but she was sure that they would come later. But it just felt so strange being in this position. They were as interested in her as she was with them. She didn’t expect to be the one telling stories tonight.

“And then while we're locked in a grapple with one, another Twilight jumped right on top of me. That was the weirdest fight I’ve ever been in.” Dash finished off her telling of the Changeling attack on Canterlot.

“Yeesh, Changelings are creepy enough being those half-bug half-pony things, let alone pretending to actually be somepony else,” Fleetfoot commented, going to fill up her glass again. But all she got was a dribble that barely filled the bottom of her glass. “Looks like the ciders gone. Guess we’ve gotta hit the town now,” she declared, quickly necking what remained of the contents of her glass and tapping it down on the table. “Drink up everypony.”

Dash didn’t need telling twice and quickly finished her drink. “Hey Fleetfoot, can I use your bathroom before we go?”

“Sure, it’s up there,” she pointed at the balcony with her hoof, “Right at the back, door on the right.”

“Got it, thanks,” Dash replied, walking over to the balcony and gently taking flight.

“Well, she seems easy going enough…” Fire Streak commented.

“Yeah, she is for the most part,” Soarin replied. “I guess that’s one of the things I...admire about her.”

“I heard that hesitation,” Misty replied, smirking, “Just admit it already, you’re head over hooves in love with her.”

Soarin rolled his eyes, “Alright...I guess I am…” he reluctantly admitted, blushing a little.

“Don’t be ashamed to admit it brother,” Fire Streak replied as he got up from his seat, gently tapping Soarin on the shoulder in a punching motion. “She seems perfect. It’s not often you get mares that just click like that.”

“And she can certainly put it away,” Blaze also commented, pushing hers and Dash’s glasses towards Fleetfoot. “She drinks cider like it was water. I’m gonna have to up my game.”

“They’ll be plenty of time for that, don’t worry,” Fleetfoot replied with a smile, picking up the glasses. “As long as the drinking stays out there. I wasted my whole weekend the last time I invited everypony around for a house party.” She took the glasses away in a bundle hugged by her forelegs and brought them into the kitchen behind the living room.

“Well I did offer to help,” Fire Streak called to her.

“And a second later, you threw up in one of my plants.” Fleetfoot hollered back, causing giggles from everypony in earshot. “Spoiler alert; it didn’t survive.”

“Hehe...whoops…” Fire replied sarcastically, scratching his head.

“I’m not sure we should be discussing our personal escapades in front of…” Wave Chill trailed off, not needing to say no more.

“Oh lay off it already Wave,” Misty replied, “we didn’t come here to talk about work, we came here to have fun. Besides, you’re a huge fan of her, and the other Elements of Harmony aren’t you? You’re not exactly gonna get on her good side if you’re this grumpy all night.”

Wave remained silent for a few moments before letting out a long sigh. “I guess not. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“I think…” Soarin went to say something, but then his ears swivelled around. The trotting of hooves that he heard coming from the balcony behind him signalled that he should park this conversation for now.

“Alright guys, I’m ready to go,” Dash answered, hopping down from the balcony and gliding down with her wings.

“Yay, pub time!” Blaze threw her hooves in the air then began trotting over to the door. “Hope you guys have enough bits.”

“Easily once you’ve bought a round for everypony with IOU’s,” Fire Streak sarcastically replied.

“You’re a real joker, you know that?” Blaze answered back, getting her saddlebags on.

“I can be,” Fire replied, pulling the front door open and stepping out into the Canterlot evening.

As everypony made their way out, Fleetfoot closed the door behind her and locked it. “Alright, to The White Tower!” Fleetfoot told the group, starting to walk.

“The White Tower? We only talked about this last week, how did you manage to get a booking so close? You normally need at least a month in advance.” Blazed asked.

Fleetfoot shrugged, “I just know the right ponies I guess,” she replied with a smile and a wink.

The streets of Canterlot were never quiet. But everything just seemed to move in harmony when compared to another busy city, like Manehatten. When they arrived at the restaurant, Dash immediately recognised the building, but never knew it was a restaurant. But then again, she had never spent too much time around these parts. It was definitely an old building, but it had been kept in excellent condition. The paint was still glistening, and none of the bricks seemed to be falling away. But at the top was where they wanted to be. The top of the tower looked very out of place, being a much more modern design that looked like it had just been slapped on top of the old building.

It was very tall, but luckily, with them all being pegasi, it didn’t take them any time at all to get to the top. Dash hoped they would at least have an elevator to help anypony unfortunate enough to not have wings.

They landed atop a platform just outside the entrance to the restaurant. Just like Blaze said, it was bustling. Ponies were queueing from down the stairs. Dash immediately noticed the big sign with the restaurant name on it, The White Tower. A very fitting but easily assumed name. But that didn’t seem to put anypony off, and the five stars underneath the sign showed it.

Fleetfoot moved towards the front of the line and gave her name to one of the waiters. He immediately greeted her with a smile and led her on. Dash and the rest followed them through while Dash took in the surroundings. It was easy to see why this place was rammed. The smells of all the different foods were so inviting. And the red velvet carpets felt silky smooth under her hooves.

They were led up to a big oval table at the front of the restaurant, with an absolutely astonishing view over Canterlot. The only way Dash could get a better look than this was to either fly up or head into Canterlot Castle. She was beginning to understand why this was a highly sought after restaurant.

Dash took her seat next to Soarin and picked up the menu. To her surprise though, it was all just drinks and a few sides. She raised an eyebrow and flipped it over, expecting to see more, but there wasn’t. “Is this just a drinks menu?” Dash generally asked to the table.

“Yep. But that’s all we need,” Fleetfoot explained. “You see, with this restaurant, you just tell them what food you like or don’t like and they surprise you. Trust me, they never disappoint.”

“...Huh,” Dash smiled, “I’ve never heard of that before. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Good, because I’m hungry.” Blaze replied, rubbing her hooves together.

Dash took a look through the drinks menu. While there were a few things she recognised in amongst all the exotic drinks she didn’t recognise, there was one thing that immediately stood out; the price. While she would be able to pay for it, it was gonna leave a severe dent in her bank account. It was more than triple what she would normally expect to pay!

“Something wrong Dash?” Soarin asked, noticing the worried expression on her face.

“No no, everything’s fine,” Dash replied, smiling awkwardly at him. But she could tell without even looking in the mirror that she wasn’t convincing at all.

“Price a bit of a shocker?” Soarin whispered to her. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.”

Dash sighed, “Soarin...you don’t have to do that. You’ve been amazing enough already.”

“I don’t HAVE to. But I WANT to. I don’t want you to have anything to worry about coming up to your big day.” He explained. “Besides,” He put his hoof on hers, “You can always pay me back later if you really want to make it up to me.”

Dash smiled, but genuinely this time. “Okay, I will. Thank you so much Soarin.”

“Hey, you know I’d do anything for you,” he replied with a wink.

Dash placed her food order as the waiter came around to take their orders. He was surprisingly chatty and wanted a lot of detail to what they wanted. He also poured them all a glass of wine from the bottle of wine that Fleetfoot ordered for them all.

“So where will that brother of yours be taking that lucky lady he’s with tonight Fire?” Soarin asked.

“Not sure exactly, but I’ve got a few ideas in mind,” Fire Streak replied, winking.

“Any clubs?” Fleetfoot asked. “I wanna get my hooves moving later.”

“Maybe,” Fire answered back, “But I don’t know what kind of mare he’s with and if she’ll like that sort of thing.”

“Well, I’m sure they’ll be around somewhere. Should’ve got him to bring her here tonight,” Blaze suggested, taking a sip of wine.

“I could’ve, but I think they’d prefer to be alone for their first date,” Fire added, raising his glass.

“Well, we’ve got Soarin and Dash here,” Blaze motioned her hoof at them, “It’s not like they’re complaining.”

“They’re not on their first date though. Besides,” Fire smirked, “They’re probably waiting for this to be all over so they can take it back to the bedroom.”

“Guys…” Soarin’s ears flopped down and rolled his eyes.

Dash tried her best to suppress blushing, but the...thought was quite a difficult one to get out of her head.

“Fastest in Equestria in more than one way, am I right?” Fire continued to jest, wiggling his eyebrows at Soarin.

“Pfft,” Dash’s cheeks puffed out as her ears folded down. She hold her hoof over her mouth to cover her smile. She was trying to think of a retort, but she just couldn’t come up with anything.

“Fire, stop it.” Misty finally came to their aid. “You’ll get him in trouble. And then he’ll go home tonight with just himself and his hooves for company.”

That did it. Dash couldn’t help but let a laugh escape, which Misty’s ears were quick to twist in the direction of. “Dash gets it!” She added quickly, pointing at her.

Dash felt herself immediately feel a lot more embarrassed again, which promptly caused her to stop chuckling. Her thoughts started rushing to find answers to potential questions about their....personal escapades...

“Alright, enough of that,” Blaze finally cut in. “We’ll pick that up later, after a few more. For now,” she raised her glass “A toast to a good night, a new friend,” she winked at Dash, “and to the final of the competition.”

“Cheers!” Everypony said and clinked their glasses together at the same time. Dash bought the glass to her lips and took a sip. The white wine was a surprisingly easy drink, very smooth and fruity.

They conversed for a few moments before their food arrived. Needless to say, Dash was impressed by the way it was presented. If she saw all the various brown and yellow colours in her food in any old place, she probably would’ve barfed at the smell. But this place seemed to present the unattractive food attractively. And luckily it tasted as good as it looked. A little spicier than Dash was anticipating, but not so much that she wouldn’t eat it.

There was finally a little bit of silence as they ate, with the occasional sentence being thrown around. Not that Dash minded, because it let her tuck into the delicious meal. That and it prevented more questions being aimed at her and Soarin.

“How's yours?” Soarin asked her.

Dash swallowed, “Amazing. How about you?”

“Very good,” Soarin replied. “It’s amazing what they can make just from being told what you like.”

Dash looked over at Soarin’s food. He seemed to have something similar to hers, but he had less sauce and more rice in his.

“Wanna try some?” Soarin asked, picking some up in his fork and presenting it to her.

The action threw Dash off somewhat as she wasn't expecting it. But it did look good… “Uh...sure,” She quickly agreed. She had no idea if this was the right way to do it in this situation or not, but she leant her head towards the fork he was holding out and pulled the food off it.

“Wow, that’s good,” she commented as she ate it, feeling a bit more of a spicy kick in the flavour. “Wanna try some of mine?”

“I’d love to,” Soarin replied.

Dash quickly picked some of her food up with a fork and presented it to him in a similar fashion. Soarin did the same action she did and leant in to eat it. “Mmm,” he nodded as he chewed, then swallowed. “I could eat two of those.”

“Damn you two are so cute I think I’m gonna hurl,” Blaze joked.

“I know right?” Misty agreed.

Dash felt her face burn bright red as she got a swift and blunt reminder that they were being watched. She almost wanted to cover her head with her wings, but she knew that would make it more awkward. She just kept her cool and smiled awkwardly.

“You lovebirds should get a room if you’re going to be that unprofessional about it,” Wave Chill commented, not staring up from his food as he said it.

“Oh change the record already Wave,” Fleetfoot commented, “Besides, you know Dashie here is a friend of Princess Twilight. Gotta be friends with her to be on good terms when you meet her.”

Wave sighed and rolled his eyes, not saying anything and only continuing to eat.

“And don’t worry about the room,” Misty replied, looking over at Dash. “We’ll sort that out later,” she explained with a mischievous smile plastered on her face.

Dash gulped at what Misty was implying and just looked down at her food and got back to eating.

The meal was fantastic, very high up on Dash’s list of best restaurants she’d ever been to. Although the bill did make her eyes water. Luckily she had Soarin backing her up for that part. But most of all, she enjoyed getting to know the others a little better. They all seemed like a bunch of jokers like herself when they weren’t wearing their Wonderbolts uniform. Not something she was expecting at all. And they were all from Cloudsdale apart from Fire Streak. In another life, they probably would’ve been friends from the start...

After the bill was settled, they left the restaurant in a somewhat unconventional fashion compared to how they came in. They spread their wings on the edge and jumped off. They glided down gracefully towards the streets, tapping their hooves down one after another. The sun had almost entirely set, and all the street lamps were starting to come on.

“So, which pub?” Blaze asked.

“The Two Sisters?” Fleetfoot suggested.

“Nah, it’ll be full at this time since it’s a restaurant also,” Misty commented. “But The Pony’s Progress might be alright.”

Fleetfoot looked at them and shrugged, “Pony’s Progress?”

Soarin shrugged in response, “Pony’s Progress.” He said in agreement.

“Then let's make progress on getting to the Progress,” Blaze added, wasting no time in taking flight. Everypony else followed suit.

It was a very short flight above Canterlot, and before Dash knew it, her hooves touched down in front of a pub. The building itself looked very old. With a sign at the front that looked just as wethered with the pub name, The Pony’s Progress. It had some lights above it illuminating it.

As they went to go inside though, the number of bodies in there made everypony’s heart sink. The place was rammed. Dash looked at Misty, as did everypony else. She was obviously thrown off by the discovery also. “It’s not normally this bad,” she commented as they stood outside the doorway.

“Well there’s obviously loads of ponies with the same idea I guess,” Fleetfoot deduced, “Anypony else got any better ideas?”

“If you like fancy griffon beers, The Three Talons might be quieter,” Fire Streak suggested.

“Bleugh, beers,” Blaze cringed at the suggestion. “If anywhere’s gonna be this busy, we might as well hit the party early right?”

“I’m fine with that,” Misty immediately added.

Fleetfoot shrugged, “I guess if everywhere’s gonna be like this we might as well if your wallets are up to it.” She added in, looking over at Soarin and Dash. “What about you two?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Soarin replied, nodding in agreement.

“Uhh...I’m happy to do whatever everypony else wants to?” Dash added, smiling awkwardly.

“Sounds like we’re off to The Crown then!” Fire Streak said, punching the air. “Time to shake my tail,” he spread his wings and took off without waiting for anyone.

Canterlot sure is an easy place to navigate when you’ve got wings. The twisty streets are easy to decipher with a bird's eye view. And they were able to just fly directly to their destination.

Dash followed the lead of everypony else. Eventually touching down outside a circular building in the middle of Canterlot. Like all the architecture in Canterlot, it looked like it had been there for a long time, but had been changed and modernised over time. There was a big neon sign flashing in red and green with the clubs name, The Crown, blinking on it.

As they approached the club, Dash could hear the music playing from outside. But the line leading up into the club was very off putting. It wasn’t moving at all. “We don’t have to stand in that do we?”

“Watch and learn,” Blaze replied, winking. “Just follow my lead, keep close, and play it cool.”

Giving no more instructions, Blaze trotted up to the bouncer on the door. Who immediately saw them coming. “Name?” He asked bluntly.

“I think you’ll spot us on there,” Blaze subtly replied with a wink at the end.

The bouncer looked down at the clipboard he had hanging from a piece of string around his neck, raising an eyebrow. “I’m afraid I don’t...see...your…” his words trailed off as he saw Blaze getting right up close to his face. He looked behind them and finally put it all together. “Wait; are you guys the Wonderbolts!?”

“We might be,” Blaze slyly replied, taking a glance over at her friends behind her before looking back at him. “Well, most of us and some friends. We’ve had a tough day training, and we just wanted to find some place to chill and have some fun.”

“Well you came to the right place, come on in!” The pony immediately stepped aside, presenting his hoof to let them through.

“Thanks, hun,” Blaze replied, blowing a kiss to him as she walked on by. The others didn’t hesitate to follow Blaze. Whilst Dash found her method...interesting, she was sure she wouldn’t be using it anytime soon. Plus Soarin probably wouldn't’t appreciate it.

Inside the club, the noise of the dance music was so loud they had to yell right in each other's ears to speak. And Dash saw the reason why there was a bouncer on the door. The place was crowded. Most of the ponies were in the middle of the room bopping to the beat of the song the DJ in the middle was playing, with a few scattered around the outside edges.

“SHOTS?” Fleetfoot suddenly called.

“SHOTS!” Blaze replied instantly, pulling her towards the bar. Everypony else just followed them, but the agreement seemed clear anyway…

Blaze pushed her way through the ponies to make herself a space in the bar. Everypony behind her seemed to jump on the opportunity to squeeze themselves in too. Dash just followed everypony and pushed, but she felt a wing drape itself across her shoulders.

Soarin pulled her in towards him and then towards the bar, getting both of them close enough to place their hooves on the counter.

“Still feeling nervous?” He put his muzzle right next to her ear so she could hear.

“Nervous?” Dash looked up, “I wasn’t nervous,” she said with a grin.

Soarin smirked in response, “Whatever you say Dash,” he laid a quick kiss on her forehead as he finished speaking.

“Soarinnnn…” Dash groaned, feeling the heat in her cheeks rising. But before she could complain anymore, a small glass appeared in front of her with a mysterious dark brown liquid in it. Dash could already tell what it would be.

“Cheers everypony!” Blaze gently raised her glass up.

“Cheers!” Several unified voices replied back.

Dash did her best to raise her glass up without spilling any, then gently bringing it to her lips before tipping her whole head back. She had no idea what it would taste like or if she would like it. But it smelled quite sweet, so it had that going for it. She just wanted to get it down her throat as quickly as she could and get it over with.

As the smell suggested, it did taste very sweet. But the high alcohol content soon hit her, feeling her insides clenching at her throat to force it down, trying to suppress heartburn.

“Feel good?” Soarin asked.

“Great,” Dash replied, half-suppressing a cough by talking.

“If you keep putting ‘em away like that Dash, I’m gonna need to catch up,” Blaze added in, a mischievous smile crossed her face, and she rubbed her hooves together.

“You’re not coming back to my place in that state again,” Fleetfoot quickly butted in.

“Enough talk, let's dance.” Misty quickly ignored Fleetfoot and ended the conversation, placing her wings over Fleetfoot’s and blazes shoulders and pulling them away from the bar, “You guys too.”

Dash gulped as everypony started moving away towards the crowd of other ponies. She grabbed Soarin just before he began to walk, drawing his attention. “Something wrong?”

“Soarin…” she raised her muzzle up to his ear before continuing her sentence, “I don’t know how to dance…” She reluctantly admitted.

“And you think I do?” Soarin replied with a smirk, “Places like this is more swaying with style. Besides, give it time and everypony will be so drunk they won’t care.”

Dash looked over at the dance floor, cringing a little as she tried to picture in her head what to do.

“Just follow my lead,” Soarin quickly instructed, pulling a wing over her shoulder.

Dash and Soarin quickly followed the rest of their friends into the crowd of ponies, watching Blaze, Misty and Fleetfoot slowly start moving to the beat of the music. This particular song had quite a fast tempo, probably not ideal for a beginner. Nevertheless, Dash was gonna give it a shot.

Just like Soarin said, it seemed to be more swaying with style. She found herself picking up the rhythm pretty quickly and before she knew it, she was doing it so passively her mind was beginning to wander.

She wasn’t sure what her head would be more sore from later. The alcohol, or the loud music. It made any conversation on the dance floor nigh-on impossible, but conversation wasn’t exactly the point. While she wasn’t trying too hard, she found it to be more physical than she anticipated.

She danced for a little while before she began to feel her throat getting dry again. She slowly shimmied herself out of the crowd of ponies before being able to walk normally again towards the bar. As she walked towards it, she noticed Soarin also in the pile of ponies surrounding the bar. She smirked at their perfect timing.

The ponies serving drinks behind the bar were undoubtedly earning their salaries tonight. Dash could barely hear their conversations when they were standing next to her, let alone with a bar in between them. She had no idea how they did it.

She sneaked herself next to Soarin’s left side and tapped his right shoulder with her wing. He looked to his right, but to his surprise, saw nothing. He glanced back over his left shoulder and saw Dash beside him, a cheeky smirk on her face. He chuckled himself and rolled his eyes, pulling her closer to him with his left wing. “Enjoying it?” He asked.

“Totally,” Dash replied. “I mean, I enjoy everypony’s company, but…” she felt the heat rising in her cheeks, even more so than the alcohol she had already consumed was making it. “I just enjoy doing things with you.”

“Awww, that’s sweet,” Soarin taunted jokingly, knowing that Dash had a thing for keeping her calm and cool image about her and him treating her so cutesy always wound her up. He leant towards her and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

Luckily they didn’t have to wait another minute before Soarin managed to force his way to the bar with Dash in his wing. Dash noticed that he wasn’t hanging around, he had obviously done this before. He made it look like the only way to get service was to force your way to the front. Making Dash think about the nightmare Fluttershy would have if she ever bought her to a place like this.

Dash watched Soarin order drinks, but couldn’t hear him speak. She noticed his wing raise up holding up two feathers though, implying that he was ordering her a drink as well. But whatever he was telling the pony serving seemed a little more complicated than ‘two ciders’.

The pony nodded before going away to make their drinks. Dash waited patiently, wrapping her wing around Soarin in a similar fashion.

The mare returned not long later, with two glasses of cider for them. Soarin dropped some bits on the bar then slid one of the glasses over to Dash. They clinked their glasses together before taking a sip each. Dash tasted the cider but immediately noticed that it wasn’t a typical cider. It had...something in it. But she wasn’t quite sure what it was. It was definitely something with stronger alcohol, as she could feel it burning more. She liked it though, it tasted even sweeter.

She moved her muzzle to Soarin’s ear so she could speak. “Did you add something to this?”

Soarin raised an eyebrow and shrugged, “I might have done,” he said with a smirk crossing his face. “It’s a little something I came up with ages ago. Tastes pretty good doesn’t it?”

“Yeah it does,” Dash agreed, taking another drink of it.

“That’s where it can get ya though,” Soarin continued. “It’s so sweet, it doesn’t even feel like you’re drinking alcohol anymore. And it creeps up on ya real fast.”

Dash chuckled in response, “I can handle it,” she replied nonchalantly. Truth is, she was already beginning to feel the effects of the previous drinks she's been having. If she kept going on these for the rest of the night, she would probably pass out somewhere that wasn’t a bed…

“C’mon, let's go up here,” Soarin pulled himself back from the bar, Dash in tow. Once they were clear, Soarin trotted up the stairs to the exit, then spread his wings and took flight. Dash immediately followed him, feeling the effects of alcohol on her flying. It almost made her feel sick. Luckily it wasn’t her first time flying drunk, so she was used to it. It took a lot of concentration not to spill her drink though.

She followed Soarin to the roof of the building, where they perched themselves on the ledge. They leant back and embraced each other in their wings as they sat side by side, watching over the Canterlot nightlife. The sun was well and truly down, and only the streetlights highlighted their surroundings. The drinks they had downed were doing an excellent job of keeping them warm, and they could hear nothing but the faint music below them and the slight noise of other ponies conversations around them.

“So have you been enjoying tonight?” Soarin asked.

“Yeah…” Dash replied, her answer not changing from earlier. “It’s a weird feeling seeing this side of the ponies I admire so much. I never imagined I’d be here like this with all of you.”

“I guess at the end of the day, all we have is a title and a rank. When it boils down to it, we’re just regular ponies like everypony else.” Soarin explained.

“Regular ponies with a fat paycheck more like,” Dash replied.

“Ehh…” Soarin shrugged, “We’re not as rich as we’re made out to be. But yeah, our salary is more than the average pony I guess.”

Dash chuffed, then took another drink before resting her glass by her side. She looked out over the skyline. “The view sure is beautiful from up here isn't it?”

Soarin looked over at Dash. Her eyes concentrating on the horizon ahead of her. Her mane perfectly falling in place on the calm night.

“Yeah,” he placed a hoof on her cheek, gently turning her head until their eyes met. He felt himself beginning to blush. “Beautiful…”

Dash smiled sheepishly and couldn’t help but feel herself blush harder at his compliment. She was certain it was spreading from one cheek, across her nose to her other cheek. But she didn’t care. It was just her and him. Together. In the moment.

They slowly leaned forward towards each other until their lips touched. The kiss started out gentle, just holding in place. Until they started pushed with each other's lips. Finally, their tongues enveloped each other and began a slow dance between their mouths.

The kiss lasted for what seemed like an eternity. Dash felt Soarin’s hooves exploring her mane and shoulders. She didn’t hesitate to do the same. She ran a foot through his mane, then down his back. She had no idea what she was doing, but it just felt right. There was a voice in the back of her mind telling her that she was going too far, and she should stop. But she didn’t. She ignored it and carried on. Perhaps it was her intoxication giving her false confidence, or maybe this was just the way she about it now. Either way, she liked it.

The kiss slowly broke away, the pair of them exhaling as they relaxed. Dash watched the saliva trail hang between their lips before eventually dropping off.

Dash spent a moment catching her breath before eventually looking up at Soarin. But thinking back on the last few seconds, she remembered she never asked him something important. “Am...am I good kisser?”

“You were amazing,” Soarin replied, “I mean, room for improvement, but ya know...we can work on that,” He added with a cheeky wink. Dash couldn’t help but roll her eyes at what he implied. “I know I don’t need to tell you, but...I love you, Dashie…”

Luckily it wasn’t possible for Dash to blush any harder, so his words didn’t have any visible effect on her. “I love you too, Soarin.” Was all that came to her mind to say. She was honestly still feeling speechless from that kiss.

“Hey, guys!”

Dash and Soarin quickly whipped their heads around in unison upon hearing Fire Streak’s voice. “I’ve been look--Whoa!”

He somehow failed to stop as he flew towards them, causing him to throw his forelegs out and hook onto Soarin for a brake. Unfortunately, the force was enough to pull Soarin over the edge. He yelped briefly, but his wings quickly sprung into action, and he managed to at least slow the decent enough to stop Fire Streak hurting himself from falling.

Dash dropped down to the ground alongside Soarin, watching Fire Streak pick himself.

“As I was saying,” he began again, holding a hoof up. “I’ve been looking all over for you guys,” he was slurring slightly and couldn’t even stand still. No doubt about it, he was pretty drunk. “The DJ’s bouta put on a killer mix, and we ALL need to be on the dance floor. So let's go!”

He pointed towards the stairs and immediately started walking towards them. However, he lost his footing on the first step and stumbled down the stairs.

Usually, Soarin would be concerned if Fire Streak was alright. But as far as alcohol-related shenanigans go, all he could do was chuckle. He looked over at Dash, “Care to dance?” He asked, seductively wiggling his eyebrows at her and draping a wing over her back.

Dash couldn’t help but giggle at the goofy eyes he made at her. “I was hoping you’d say that,” she replied, returning his wing hold and letting him guide her down the stairs. Fortunately with more success than Fire Streak. She didn’t plan to end up like him. But at the rate they were drinking, it felt inevitable...

---

The world was a blur to Rainbow Dash. But at the same time, she felt vaguely aware of her surroundings. She was pretty sure she wasn’t walking straight, but that must mean that Soarin wasn’t either since she was leaning against him. So she couldn’t take all the blame...right? She had no idea what time it was, all she knew is that it was late and the tiredness was starting to set in...or drunkenness...or both…

She looked around at her friends. She was walking pressed up against Soarin, who was laughing along with the others in the conversation. He was also somewhat leaning on her, keeping them both balanced.

Fleetfoot was walking in front of everypony on the walk back up to her house. While she seemed to be enjoying herself, it was clear she had something on her mind. She was probably wondering why she agreed to let six drunk idiots crash at her house.

“Ya know…” Wave Chill began to slur, “I was wrong ‘bout ya Rambow,”

“Rainbow,” she corrected.

“Whatever,” he batted a hoof at her, “You’re...a very fine lady.” He said as he went to put a foreleg around her shoulders...but missed her entirely and ended up slamming himself into the floor.

Misty burst into laughter as she watched the whole act. “Smooth,” she commented sarcastically through fits of giggles.

“Yeah, don’t go hurting ‘em Wave,” Blaze added in, stumbling over the top of him as he fell in her path. “They might do that to each other later.”

Dash blushed at Blaze’s implications but played along with it. She felt like she was finally able to play along with the jokes about her and Soarin. “I dunno, I’m pretty tough. Can you handle the heat Soar?” She jested, tapping a hoof on his chest.

Soarin smirked in response, “Oh you have no idea Dashie,” he replied, wiggling his eyebrows a little.

“That a challenge?” She asked back, raising an eyebrow.

“Hey, if you can last as long as you did downing those ciders tonight RD, you’re gonna win by a mile,” Blaze added, winking.

“Please don’t,” Fleetfoot quickly joined the conversation. “You’re not the ones that have to clean the bedding in the morning. Although I might just burn it if you get a bit frisky.”

Blaze and Misty burst into laughter beside them. Dash’s ears flopped back as the realisation suddenly hit her; she had started a conversation talking openly (and very loudly) about their sex life. She bit her lips to stop herself talking, trying to think of another topic she could change to.

“Just don’t wake us,” Fire Streak asked, “We don’t need no reminders we ain’t getting any action tonight.” He said in a slurry grumpy-drunk way.

“Well knowing that he passed out in the garden at the front of the hotel last time we went to Las Pegasus, I don’t think we’ll hear anypony screamin’ his name tonight,” Misty said, starting to giggle, like everypony else did at her analysis. Then she looked over at Rainbow Dash. “Sorry Dash.”

“Guys please…” Dash wasn’t sure what else to say, she just wanted to get off the conversation. Her drunkenness wasn’t exactly helping her think.

As they walked towards the front door of Fleetfoot’s house, Dash quickly thought of something. “What happened in Las Pegasus?”

“Now THAT - ow!” Fire Streak raised his hoof up, but accidentally thumped one of the shrubs in Fleetfoot’s garden and pricked his hoof. He shook it a few times to get rid of the pain. “That stays in Las Pegasus.”

“More like your money stayed in Las Pegasus when you put it all on black,” Fleetfoot jested as she unlocked the door to her house, leading everypony in. “Alright, find some space and crash. Bathrooms are limited, so...compromise with each other. And if you have to barf, don’t you dare do it in the sink. I’m out,” Fleetfoot didn’t hang and immediately went for the stairs, stumbling her way up them through the dark. She had obviously done it plenty of times before, so knew where her hooves were going.

“You guys have a good night,” Wave Chill said through a yawn beyond the door, “This is quite comfy.”

Misty looked behind her to see Wave making himself comfortable on a bed of gravel on Fleetfoot’s garden. Obviously delusional in his drunken state.

“Wave…” Misty giggled, then sighed. She knew he would be stubborn, but she also couldn’t consciously leave him there. Despite how hilarious the situation was. “C’mon, come inside,” She said, poking him.

“No.” Wave said stubbornly, rolling over to face away from Misty. Some small chunks of gravel were sticking to his fur.

Blaze rolled her eyes, “You’re gonna catch a cold if you sleep out here.” She tried to reason with him.

“Yeah right, I’ll prove you wrong. Now let me sleep.” He replied bluntly again.

“Alright,” Blaze trotted over to his head and placed her hooves under his shoulders. “Little help Fire.” She asked.

“I dunno, I find it kinda funny actually…” Fire admitted with a smug grin on his face.

Misty responded by glaring at him with narrow eyes, telling him exactly what she thought of that.

“Okay, okay, I was just kidding,” Fire Streak batted his hoof at her, trotting over to Wave. He pulled some hooves around his barrel while Misty grabbed his hind legs. “On three. One, two, three.”

The three of them lifted the blue stallion’s weight between them and slowly carried him in through the doorway. Dash couldn’t help but chuckle at the scene she was witnessing. The most professional flight team in Equestria; and here they were drunkenly escorting each other. And she was part of it. They carried Wave into the living room and set him down on a couch. After a little bit of moaning, he was quite quick to relax.

“Okay, I guess we go find a bed each and--”

“Actually, I’M taking the spare single bed.” Blaze cut Dash off with a smug smile on her face, then glanced over at Misty Fly. “How about you Misty?”

“Guess I’ve got a couch with these birdbrains,” She replied, motioning over to the couches where Wave had crashed, and Fire was in the process of drifting off. She had a half-smile on her face as she caught onto what Blaze was getting at.

“Looks like you two will have to share. What a shame that is,” Blaze said sarcastically, looking at Dash and Soarin with knowing eyes.

Dash gulped at the implications. Sure, sharing a bed with her lover wasn’t something she would protest, but...this would be the first time they did. And she didn’t want to let that fact on. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt like it would be even more embarrassing to admit that they’ve never slept together until now.

“I dunno Blaze, you could always ask Fleetfoot to share her bed. Bet she’d love that,” Misty joked with Blaze, earning a chuckle out of Blaze and Soarin.

“Yeah I bet she would,” Blaze agreed, still chuckling.

Dash chuckled with him but still wasn’t getting it. “What’s so funny?” She asked, feeling stupid that she was giggling along for no reason. A lot of random things sound funny when you’re drunk though…

Blaze shook her head, “Sorry Dash, not our secret to give out. I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough though,” Blaze explained to her, winking as she finished her sentence.

“Well, best we got to bed then,” Soarin suddenly spoke up. “C’mon Dash lets go,”

“Wha-eep,” Dash felt her hoof get hooked up against Soarin’s as she felt herself get pulled along. Her ears folded down and her head hung low as she heard some quiet cheers and wolf whistles coming from Misty and Blaze. While she quite enjoyed the thought of what they were heavily implying her and Soarin would be doing in the bedroom...she felt like she was being pressured into it, and it just didn’t feel as special.

Soarin opened the door to the bedroom with his wing and flicked on the light. He closed the door once Rainbow Dash was in there with him.

The room was a little messy, but the bed was made, and that's all that mattered to the two of them. Fleetfoot probably used the room for storage when she didn't have anypony staying. There was cardboard boxes of various sizes scattered everywhere. Some had stuff in them, some were empty.

“So…” Soarin begun, closing the blinds. “Wanna come to bed?”

“...Yeah…” Dash replied, unsure of what else to say. Her eyes were reasonably adjusted to the dark, giving her at least a little bit of vision.

Soarin flopped onto the closest side of the bed. “Ya know they were only joking about all the stuff they said...right?”

“Y-yeah, of course…” Dash stumbled her way over to her side of the bed and slowly set herself in.

Soarin pulled the duvet up and over them and draped a foreleg over her. “Did you enjoy their company tonight?”

“Yeah, they were great…” Dash answered, but not convincingly.

“But?” Soarin added.

“But...well...it’s nothing really....it’s just I think...well, ‘us’ made it a little awkward…” She admitted.

Soarin shrugged, “I think they liked you. And as I said, they’re a bunch of jokers when out of the uniform.”

“I know, I know...just felt a little pressured,” Dash added.

Soarin chuffed, “I mean, you could prove ‘em right if you wanted it. I wouldn’t have a problem with that,” he replied sarcastically, winking.

“Yeah I bet you wouldn’t,” Dash replied with a smug smile, tapping him slightly. “Jerk.”

“See, funny right?” Soarin replied, getting a small chuckle out of Dash. As it subsided, a silence grew between them. But he had a hunch they weren’t done talking. “Anyway...we don’t necessarily have to do ‘that’...but if you’re up for it, we could finish what we started on the roof before we were inte--”

Soarin didn’t even have to finish his sentence before Dash’s lips landed on his. He smiled and played along with her, encompassing her lips with his own and gliding his tongue around hers. He pulled her closer towards him and felt one of her hooves touch his body. Their hooves explored each other's upper bodies the same way their tongues did their mouths.

Soarin slowly backed away from the kiss to look her in the eyes. He used a hoof to brush her mane back, out of the way of her eye. “You didn’t need to be asked twice.”

Dash chuffed and pulled him towards her, leaning her forehead into his and then resting on the pillow. They felt each other's gentle breaths from the close proximity of their muzzles. Soarin let his forelegs lay relaxed, but Dash still squeezed him tightly.

“I would’ve never taken you for a cuddler in bed. Ow!” He felt a jab to his stomach.

“Don’t push your luck,” Dash said with a slight jab in jest to his stomach with her hoof. “I can be soft sometimes too ya know.”

“And I love it when you do,” Soarin replied with a smile. “You act tough and cool, but I always knew you had a softer side. The fact you so openly let me see it makes it so special to me. It makes me love you even more.”

“Please, I didn’t plan on throwing up tonight,” Dash joked, pretending to clench her stomach.

“Me too,” Soarin agreed. “It is getting late though. I’m tired.” He suggested.

“Yeah, me too…” Dash replied, rolling the other way to face away from Soarin.

Soarin slowly lifted his foreleg off her, “So do you want me to--” he was cut short when he felt her tug on his foreleg, pulling him towards her.

Dash tucked right up to Soarin, running her back along his barrel and tucking her head right underneath his chin. “Goodnight Soarin. I...love...you…” Dash mumbled out as she felt herself already drifting away.

Soarin couldn’t help but chuff at the way she was so quick to drift away. “Love you too, Dashie. Goodnight.” He gave her a quick kiss behind her ear, getting a very quiet moan of bliss out of her before resting his head down to drift off himself.

Author's Note:

Drunken shenanigans = best shenanigans.

Sounds like Soarin and Dash had a good night mixed in with some banter. Although they didn't quite make it to the point of all the jokes directed at them throughout the night. (sorry fellas, but this is a T-rated story ya know? )

Feels good to be on a regular chapter upload pattern again. I just gotta keep the momentum going now, so on to chapter 24!

Thanks for reading!