Shut Up And Dance

by TheVClaw

Chapter Fifteen: Twisted Sisters

Elusive had his horn brightly lit, with his blue aura going dashingly well with the turquoise suit he was wearing. Standing at the top of the balcony, he could see the sea of ponies smiling up at him while he held the giant pair of scissors in front of his red ribbon. “Fillies and Gentlecolts!” he shouted with glee. “I present to you… Elusive’s Delights!”

After cutting the ribbon to open his newest shop, Elusive was smiling wide while peering down at the ponies cheering below. While upbeat pop music began to play, Bubble Berry’s party cannons shot out countless puffs of confetti that rained down from the glass ceiling. Ponies from all over Las Pegasus arrived to see the unicorn’s newest boutique, and Elusive couldn’t have felt more proud of himself as he stood before them glamorously.

Mares and stallions alike were already looking around the ground floor, marveling at his newest garments which were hung on racks or draped on mannequins. Seeing the vibrant lines of red and orange that dashed across the pristine white walls, it was surprising to think that this place was merely a construction site the last time the unicorn stepped his hooves here. Elusive could hear the clamoring from down below, ponies giving high praise and compliments to his designs before they could even trot up to the second floor.

With tears building up in his eyes, Elusive sighed with an overwhelmed smile before wiping his face with a hoof. “My gosh, I… I can’t believe this is actually happening…”

Elusive then felt a foreleg wrap around his shoulder, causing him to put his hoof down and see the cyan pegasus standing beside him. Wearing a fetching white suit that contrasted wonderfully with his own coat, Rainbow Blitz smiled back at his friend and said, “Believe it, dude. You finally did it.”

The unicorn’s smile widened even more before pulling Blitz in for a strong hug. His heart raced as he felt his friend return the gesture, his chin nestled against Elusive’s shoulder while squeezing him with his masculine forelegs. He wasn’t sure how long the hug really lasted, but he didn’t want it to stop as he nuzzled the pegasus lovingly. “Oh, Blitz… I couldn’t have done this without you…”

Elusive could feel Blitz’s muzzle nestle against the side of his neck, giving a light nuzzle of his own. The pop music began to fade away in the background, not that either of them seemed to notice or care. After a long and loving sigh, Elusive finally pulled his head back to peer at the stallion holding him. Rainbow Blitz’s magenta eyes were shimmering under the chandelier lights, revealing nothing but the purest warmth and devotion while staring back at the blushed unicorn.

Of course, Elusive could see that Blitz was beginning to blush too. Even though their smiles didn’t fade away, that brief moment of hesitation seemed to have felt like an eternity as the two let their stares linger on each other. Elusive’s heart began to pound even faster in his chest, and his breath turned shaky as he saw Blitz’s face lean in closer towards his. The fur on his back began to raise up when he felt the stunt-pony’s hot breath against his snout, and Elusive felt helpless to his own desires as he moved his head forward slowly.

Both their eyes began to narrow, focusing solely on each other as their muzzles came in closer. With every inch of distance that was lost between their lips, Elusive’s face grew warmer while marveling at the stallion holding him so close. By the time their snouts touched, leaving their lips just barely out of reach, Elusive felt like his whole world was put on hold with time standing still.

“B… Blitz…”

Elusive closed his eyes before leaning in first, letting his lips grace against Rainbow Blitz’s tenderly. The pegasus might have been rather brash and masculine, but his lips felt as pillowy soft as they were warm while kissing him back. Elusive let out a muzzled and sensual moan before kissing Blitz even deeper, letting himself get lost in the moment as his heart fluttered. He felt Blitz’s hoof grasp the back of his head strongly to keep him in place, and the unicorn did the same with his own. The two were in full embrace by the time Elusive’s tongue began to pull out from his muzzle, pressing against the outside of Blitz’s lips teasingly in hope that--

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

“GYYAAAAAAHHH!!!” Elusive jolted up from the bed wide-eyed like he was hit with a cattle prod. While the alarm clock continued to blare out, the unicorn was panting with his face heavily blushed and matted with sweat. With the way his heart was thundering, Elusive was worried whether or not he was experiencing a heart attack. Meanwhile, a heavy groan came from the other side of the bed as Rainbow Blitz pulled himself from underneath the heavy covers.

“Mmmmnnnnnghhhh…” The groggy pegasus looked rather pissed when he looked towards the alarm clock with his eyes just barely open. He blinked a couple times before muttering in a confused and peeved groan, “Whathe… fi… five in the morning?!”

Rainbow leaned over to Elusive’s side of the bed and slammed the snooze button with his hoof hard enough to almost break it. He then collapsed back on his side of the bed and disappeared underneath his covers. “Not cool, dude…”

With the blaring alarm paused and the room silent once more, the only thing that could be heard was Elusive’s rapid panting as he struggled to calm himself down. The unicorn clenched his eyes shut and tried to take deep breaths, hoping to Artemis that this would be one of those dreams he’d completely forget in ten minutes or so. Unfortunately, the fact that he even thought that made him worried that it wasn’t going to happen any time soon. Even though he was grateful that Blitz was too tired to notice how flustered he looked, Elusive was still absolutely shell-shocked by what he just experienced.

Considering how much he and Rainbow drank last night while touring Las Pegasus, the unicorn was convinced that he wouldn’t have been able to dream at all. But as the seconds passed within the pitch-black hotel room, Elusive was feeling more dreadful by the second as he recalled how vivid that dream really was. He could recall every detail of what he saw, and not just how the finished boutique looked. He shuddered uneasily at the memory of Rainbow Blitz’s eyes, and that look he was giving him, and those soft… tender lips…

That was when Elusive gasped wide eyed and brought his hooves down to cover his crotch. His left eye twitched in growing panic, not wanting his friend to wake up and see him like… this. He originally wanted to have Rainbow Blitz take the bathroom first due to him getting ready disturbingly quick, but the unicorn couldn’t risk it as he jumped out of bed and bolted to the bathroom with a pillow over his waist. “Uhhhhh, We need to get ready for the show, Rainbow! You get yourself up while I take a quick strok--SHOWER! I take a quick shower, so you wake up andI’llletyouusethebathroomwhenI’mdoneokaybye!!!”

SLAM!!!

Rainbow wasn’t paying attention to his friend’s frazzled words, but the sound of the bathroom door slamming got him in a slightly more conscious state. While slowly raising his head up in the dark like a recently reanimated zombie, he heard the shower turn on through the bathroom door. He rubbed his eyes tiredly with his hooves for about a minute or so, and was luckily unable to hear any of his friend’s grunts while making a pronounced stretch.

“HnnnnnngggGGGHHHH!” With his hooves behind the back of his head, Rainbow Blitz pulled his chest forward with another heavy grunt. Due to fate’s impeccable timing, the stunt-pony’s groan was heavy enough for him to not overhear Elusive’s shuddered gasp through the bathroom door. After letting out a deep yawn, Blitz sighed while remaining seated on the bed. “Ugh… That buffet better be open for breakfast.”

---

While he and his dancing partner went down to the buffet to get some nourishment, Elusive looked quite frazzled as he trotted with a heavy blush and a bit lip. He wanted to keep himself from looking over at Rainbow Blitz, despite how suspicious that may have looked if his friend were to notice. Unfortunately, it seemed that the interior designer of the White Pearl had quite a fetish for incorporating mirrors at nearly every wall and ceiling. Whenever Elusive tried to look elsewhere, all he saw was himself standing next to the stallion he just dreamed about; and considering how he had to rid himself of the side effects of that dream, it took everything within the unicorn to not shudder in growing shame.

Much like their lunch and dinner options, the White Parl’s buffet had quite a massive array of food to satisfy any palate. Blitz wanted to get himself something from the breakfast burrito bar, but was lead elsewhere by the aid of Elusive’s magic. Despite pouting about it like a child, there wasn’t much Blitz could do while the unicorn focused on floating healthy food options on both of their plates. “Rainbow, I know you’re upset,” said Elusive sympathetically while also avoiding eye contact with him, “but we already strayed from our diet enough as it is! And considering our performance is today, the last thing I need is for you to be muddled down because you decided to overeat and flood your arteries with an unhealthy amount of cheese and starches!”

“Dude, it’s cardio!” argued Blitz in response. “We’re gonna need carbs to keep up with practice, right? Don’t you think that should be a good excuse for something a little more filling than a friggin’ fruit salad?!”

Even though he wanted to debate Rainbow on his knowledge of proper nutrition, the unicorn knew that he was also technically right. Since he was already in a fragile state by being next to Blitz at that moment, Elusive sighed in defeat and lit his horn. “Oh, alright. Fine.” Both of their trays were already arranged with fruit bowls and spinach omelettes, but there was plenty of extra room for Elusive to add a plate of vegetarian breakfast hash with Blitz’s meal.

Rainbow huffed a little at Elusive’s choice, but he’d be lying if he tried to say the potatoes didn’t look decent. So instead of arguing, Blitz gave his friend a quick thanks before they went to their table. However, it wasn’t until the two were seated that the pegasus started to notice Elusive’s sheepish behavior. Instead of trying to make small-talk with Blitz, the stallion was reserved to picking the grapes out of his fruit bowl while staring at the salt and pepper shakers on the table.

Blitz narrowed his eyes on him briefly before asking, “Uhhh… You okay there, Lucy?”

“Hm?!” Elusive jolted a little, and only glanced back at Blitz for a second with a small blush on his cheeks. He then looked away timidly and answered, “Y-Yeah, Blitz, I’m… I’m fine…”

Blitz started to look even more suspicious, not needing to be a detective to know his friend wasn’t being honest. He tilted his head and sighed bluntly. “Dude, don’t lie to me. What’s up?”

“N-Nothing!” blurted the unicorn as he glanced back at Blitz for a little longer this time. Despite feeling increasingly uncomfortable by the second, Elusive maintained his composure and said in a half-truth, “I was just… n-nervous about the competition, that’s all.”

“Pbbt!” Rainbow Blitz rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Oh, come on! Is this because of the face-paint thing? Because I’m telling you, it’ll work.”

“No, it’s not that!” Elusive may have still hated the theme for their routine, but he knew that wasn’t the biggest issue plaguing his mind. But he since he couldn’t mention the biggest one to Blitz, the stallion had to start by saying hesitantly, “I’ve just been thinking a lot about this, and I just…”

Elusive exhaled through his nostrils with his lips pursed shut, not sure how he wanted to say his words out loud. His sights went down to his hooves, which he tapped together nervously while reopening his mouth. “It’s just when I saw that building yesterday, I just… I didn’t want that to end up being a space I couldn’t get. And the more I think about it, the more I realize how important this competition really is and I…”

Rainbow Blitz sighed as a more relaxed smile emerged on his muzzle. “Hey, it’s alright, dude,” he assured Elusive with a confident tone of voice. “Believe me, I get it. Sometimes you don’t wanna lose sight of your dreams when they’re that close, but you also don’t wanna fail at the same time.”

Elusive nodded with a bit lip, hating that he was agreeing with Blitz’s words more frequently over the past few weeks. He wasn’t sure if it was just because of their prolonged close proximity, or if Blitz was just becoming wiser because of this competition. Hopefully it was just one of those options, and NOT something related to that dream he had. “W-Well… yeah, I think you have a point there…”

Elusive tapped his fork against his plate with the aid of his magic, unsure what he wanted to say next. In an attempt to change the discussion and hopefully get his mind off of recent events, the unicorn huffed and asked, “So… how much did we have to drink last night, exactly? Because it’s hard for me to recall much after that cart tour around the city.”

Blitz scoffed with a playful smirk. “You’re kidding me, right? You may have hit some of the harder stuff, but I know you didn’t drink more than me!”

“I’m just wanting to ask, that’s all!” The stallion looked away from Blitz embarrassingly and took a sip from his glass of orange juice. “I know I slept a couple times during that carriage ride, and my memory is still a bit hazy on where we went before going back to the hotel.”

Blitz shrugged his shoulders, not thinking his friend was lying with that remark. “Well, you did get a hold of some absinthe at that one bar we went to. After that you went kinda loopy.”

“How so?” asked Elusive with a more direct stare on the pegasus. Even though he barely recalled drinking any absinthe, it certainly sounded correct in retrospect. He distinctly remembered that his mouth tasted like licorice when he was brushing his teeth after showering.

“Wellllll…” Blitz’s smirk became more chipper as he spoke with a cheeky voice, “First, you tried to go to that hotel that offered bungee jumping from the top, but then you ran away crying when you remembered you weren’t a fan of heights. Then you dragged me to see that Prench circus show-thing, which was actually pretty awesome, so thanks for that. Although, you were passed out through most of it and pissed off a few ponies by snoring.”

Elusive’s hooves shot up to cover his dropped mouth, not recalling any of those events. Blitz just chuckled and continued, “When you finally woke up, you tried to climb one of the lamp-posts on the Pegasus strip. Luckily I got you down before any cops could, and you thanked me by letting me go to Five Ponies for some hayburgers.”

“Five ponies?” asked Elusive with a puzzled look. “What five ponies do you--Ohhhhhh!” Elusive’s eyes widened when he quickly realized what Blitz was referring to. He hazily recalled that they wounded up in some greasy hayburger place that smelled like a carnival. Even though Elusive didn’t remember ordering anything for himself, that didn’t explain why his wallet was so empty by the time they went back to the hotel. Either Blitz had the stomach of a manticore, or that place was supremely overpriced, despite how many fries they included in that paper bag.

“... Huh.” said Elusive after a brief moment of recollection. “So… nothing weird happened?”

Blitz shook his head and swallowed some potatoes he stuffed into his muzzle. “Nope. Unless you count that one contortionist routine those circus guys had. That was freaky!”

Elusive shook his head with a chuckle and sighed, not wanting any context to what Blitz may have seen. While his partner went back to his breakfast, Elusive did the same as he continued to think things over with a more rational mindset.

Okay, Elusive, thought the unicorn while he enjoyed his omelette with a little additional pepper, it seems like you got a bit drunk last night and did some… questionable things. But that’s fine. You didn’t do anything illegal, Blitz didn’t make fun of you, and it doesn’t mean anything big…

Like that dream, for example. Yes, that’s not something to think about for too long, but I think it’s clear that it was just a fluke. We all have crazy ideas when we’re drunk. It’s basically a side effect! Especially with something like absinthe! You’re fine!

Elusive breathed out with his tension lessening a little bit, helping him enjoy his breakfast a bit more. And I must say, this omelette is fantastic! But I digress. Elusive, that dream didn’t mean ANYthing. You were drunk, and you had a nice night out with Rainbow Blitz. If it was any other friend, you probably would’ve had a similar dream with one of them. And you also probably would’ve… settled that matter the same way after waking up. That doesn’t mean anything more pressing, right? So take a deep breath, calm yourself down, and just tell yourself that it was just a silly dream. Nothing more.

After finishing his omelette, Elusive sighed with a smile and said faintly, “A-Alright.”

“Hm?” asked Blitz as he looked up with his muzzle stuffed with egg.

“Oh! Ummm, sorry Blitz,” replied Elusive with a wave of his hoof. “I was just thinking out loud.”

“Oh, alright.” After a shrug, Blitz returned to his breakfast without much thought. Meanwhile, Elusive paused to briefly look at the pegasus in silence. Seeing how Blitz was just devouring his plate of food ravenously like some hyena, the unicorn exhaled with a more certain confirmation of his thoughts. Blitz is a great friend and loyal dancing partner, but that’s it. Nothing more.

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

But before he could go back to his meal, Elusive overheard the sound of a familiar-sounding cackle from the entrance of the buffet. The raspy and heavily-accented laughter became louder, alongside a couple of feminine giggles, before Elusive and Blitz caught a glance at Applejack’s grandpa trotting past them. The elderly green stallion was usually as frail as a paper doll back in Ponyville, but now he was wearing an expensive-looking white suit as he strutted flawlessly between two giddy showmares. Due to the thick sunglasses he had over his face, Grampy Smith didn’t seem to notice the gawked stares from either of the stallions as he walked past them and said, “Eeeeeee, hee hee hee!! Ah swear, you two make me feel like Ah’m seventy again!”

As the stallion made his way towards the beginning of the buffet, Elusive and Blitz leaned out of their seats to make sure it was really Grampy Smith dressed like a player. While Elusive narrowed his eyes and blinked repeatedly in befuddlement, Blitz huffed before saying, “Huh. I guess AJ wasn’t wrong about him being a good gambler.”

---

By the time they ended their breakfast, the two stallions ended up leaving the buffet quite hastily. As soon as Applejack and the others arrived and saw Grampy Smith, a pretty heated argument arose since the stallion never came back to their hotel room. While AJ and Macarena tried to chastise their grandpa for making them worried sick, Elusive and Blitz left shortly after hearing Grampy Smith defend himself by saying he “Just wanted to get his pecker wet.”

While the buffet erupted in the sounds of the Apple family arguing even louder, the two dancers made their way back to the elevator in the lobby. Since it was still morning, the only other ponies in the massive space were the front desk clerks behind the desk, and a few tired tourists who were checking out early and lining up by the complimentary coffee machine. Elusive groaned a little and pondered if he should get a cup as well, but decided against it in fear that the machine wasn’t refilled since last night. It seemed like Rainbow noticed his friend’s glance quickly enough to say with a smirk, “Hey, don’t worry dude. I have some cans of Red Manticore stashed in that minifridge.”

Elusive groaned while the two waited at the elevator. “Blitz, are you even aware how much sugar are in those cans? Even Bubble Berry doesn’t drink them as often as you do!”

“So what? I burn off the sugar by flying anyway!” Blitz then added just as the doors began to open. “Besides, they’re cheaper than those mocha crappuccino venti whatevers you constantly--GYAAAA!!”

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Blitz and Elusive both reeled back when they saw the two unicorns who were inside. At first glance, the tall and thin mares looked exactly the same with their matching tan fur, red and white manes, and blue-striped shirts they wore over their torsos. In fact, one of the only real differences between them were their mane-styles; the one on the right wore a bow to tie up her braided ponytail, while the left mare had her mane in low-hanging pigtails. There was also the fact that the left mare had a single apple slice on her flank as a cutie mark, while her sister had the remainder of the same apple as a mark on hers.

Elusive and Blitz’s faces both soured up at the sight of the twins, remembering them clearly from the antics they pulled the last two times they arrived in Ponyville and scammed Applejack and his family. But before either of them could say anything to the Shim Sham sisters, the left one smiled in surprise at seeing the stallions. “Oh, won’t you look at that, sister?” said Shim before glancing towards the right mare. “We weren’t too late to see them after all!”

“It seems like you’re right indeed,” concurred Sham while smiling wide at Elusive and Rainbow. She continued while both of them exited the elevator, “I will admit, it’s a nice little coincidence that we came across you two right after we tried to check your room. It’s almost like it was meant to be~”

Rainbow Blitz narrowed his eyes on the sisters with a strong pout. “What do you two want?” he asked coldly.

“And how exactly did you know what room we were in?” added Elusive with a suspicious raise of his brow. “Because I find it highly unlikely that this hotel would break Equestrian law by handing out that information to either of you.”

“Oh, you two are so paranoid!” dismissed Shim with a playful wave of her hoof, clearly not wanting to answer Elusive’s question. “Aren’t you guys even a little curious as to why we wanted to see you both privately?”

Elusive and Blitz both stated without a moment of hesitation, “No.”

Despite how blunt their answer was, it didn’t seem like Shim or Sham were too peeved by the stallions’ behavior. In fact, Sham just scoffed and retorted, “Well, I have a feeling that you two would be a little more welcoming if you heard us out.”

“Besides,” added Shim with a more optimistic smirk at the two, “You guys should give us a little credit. Despite our previous encounters, we’re not monsters or anything. We did help your friends when they came to Las Pegasus, did we not? I think that should count for something.”

Blitz shot a bitter glare back at her and replied, “Yeah, you did help AJ and Butters. But you also said that was last time you two were gonna do any good. Did you not?”

With the condescending way Blitz emphasized those last three words to shoot back at her, Shim’s muzzle skewed to reveal a brief look of frustration on her face. Meanwhile, Sham spoke up on her behalf, “Well, if it helps, I can assure you both that my sister and I aren’t planning anything to mess with your performance. We just wanted to come by and let you two know you have our support.”

Elusive and Blitz both narrowed their eyes on her, not wanting to believe the mare’s words by any stretch. Despite the fact that it didn’t sound insincere, they knew how deceptive Sham and her sister could be. Nevertheless, Shim was still smiling as wide as her sister when she lit her horn and pulled out a folder from underneath her shirt. “In fact!” she chimed as she floated out a small note-card from inside the folder for Elusive and Blitz to see. “My sister and I just began to incorporate sports gambling alongside our other casino venues. And as luck would have it, your little dancing competition is one of the entries we’ve received a lot of slips for so far! I just figured you two would like to see how you fare alongside the other competitors.”

Despite the mare’s cheeky grin, Elusive was more than wary as he picked up the note-card with a hoof. It turned out to be a betting slip from Gladmane’s Casino and Resort, which showed all the listings of the competitors and their odds of winning. Not surprisingly, the Hoofingtons had the lowest odds at four, with a twenty percent probability. Apple Buck and Twinkle Toes were listed as the second-lowest odds with five, but their probability was the highest with twenty-three percent. While Elusive scanned the numbers of each competitor one by one, noting each one’s chances with a keen eye, Blitz leaned in to find their names before the others; unfortunately, seeing that they were at the very bottom threw the pegasus into a heavy rage.

“WHAT?!?” shouted Blitz before glaring back at the Shim Sham sisters. “How the BUCK are we at zero percent?!?”

“Oh, don’t let that bother you too much,” assured Shim with another wave of her hoof. “It’s rounded up to the closest whole number, so it’s more like… zero point two or three, I think?”

“But two-hundred fifty-one odds?!” retorted Blitz as voice grew rawer from yelling so loud. “We got perfect NINES at our last show!”

“Well technically,” chimed Sham with a small shrug of her shoulders, “that was still a three-way tie for the last to qualify.”

Blitz looked like smoke was going to start bellowing out of his ears. Fortunately, Elusive used his magic to keep his dancing partner’s hooves firmly planted to the ground while he finished reading the slip. “Hmmmm…” He finally looked up from the card and stared at the twins with a suspicious look on his face. “You know, it’s awfully suspect that the odds against us are so high in comparison to the other competitors. And considering how this is coming from your property, I have a feeling that other bookies in this city have slightly different statistics.”

“What other bookies?” asked Shim with a smug-looking smirk at the stallion. “We’re actually the first casino to incorporate sports betting in Las Pegasus.”

Her sister then added with an equally confident expression and a tilt of her head, “Besides, it’s not too unusual to think that you two would have numbers like that. You guys are a bit of a wild-card in that competition, and a lot of ponies still assume that it’s more of a gimmick than anything else. And since that appeal is starting to die off, rumors are speculating that this show could easily be your last.”

“EXCUSE ME?!” roared Blitz as he tried to lunge forward, only to be caught by Elusive’s magic.

“Rainbow, please,” said the unicorn calmly to his partner before turning back to the Shim Sham sisters. He cleared his throat to mask the angered tone in his voice as he asked, “So if you don’t mind us asking, who exactly is trying to spread rumors like that about us?”

“We are,” stared Shim casually with a shrug. “Considering how many bits we’re betting on you two, we wanted to make sure we get as much of the winnings as we could when you guys prove them wrong.”

Blitz tried to yell out in fury, “YOU LITTLE BIT--MMMPH!!!”

Fortunately, Elusive shoved a hoof in Blitz’s mouth before he could finish that slur in the middle of the lobby. While the pegasus struggled in his bindings, Elusive narrowed his eyes on the two as a vein started to throb on his forehead. “So if I’m hearing this correctly… you two are purposely trying to besmirch our character and undo our reputations, just so you could try to rig a betting pool?!”

Even with how his voice raised near the end of that question, Elusive’s brooding tone just made the mares roll their eyes. “Oh, please!” said Sham in disapproval of the unicorn’s statement. “We’re not rigging anything! We just figured that you two had a good chance to get the highest scores today, and acting out this plan was the best way to raise the funds for our own personal office hot-tub.”

“It really is nothing personal, guys,” added Shim with a sickly sneering grin. “We just like to take the biggest risks. It is Las Pegasus after all.”

Blitz finally wrangled Elusive’s hoof out of his mouth, and his face was seething as he said venomously, “Oh, really? Well, what’s going to be your big plan if we end up losing?”

“You won’t,” answered Shim in a strangely confident tone. “Because unlike any of the competitors, you two have something they don’t: proper motivation.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” With the way Blitz’s angered eyes were widening on the twins, it was clear that he could recognize a threat when he heard one.

“Well, if you insist…” Shim floated her folder back up, and pulled out several photographs that made both stallions gasp in shock. They were freshly developed, highly detailed, and obviously candid shots of Elusive and Rainbow Blitz at various times the previous day. Of course, all of the shots were also taken at the exact times that the two stallions were in questionable positions. One was of the two with their forelegs over each other in the vacant shop, and another was of them holding hooves at the buffet. While Blitz and Elusive gawked at the blackmail material presented in front of them, Shim and Sham just grinned wide like they just checkmated them.

“You see,” began Sham condescendingly, “even if we lost that bet, we could easily make back our losses with interest by selling these photos of you two to PMZ. I’m sure they’d love to make an article about two of the Elements of Harmony being gay lovers~”

Now it was Elusive’s turn to look just as enraged as his friend was, but neither of them were able to speak while Shim added, “And boy, oh boy! You two look so adorable in these shots!” She began to shuffle the photos in front of the two with her magic, each one more assuming than the next. “Here are you two side-by-side, holding hooves, getting hooficures, riding in a carriage in the city. Oh, and here’s one of Elusive sleeping on your shoulder…”

Elusive didn’t even remember passing out in the carriage, but there was no denying that shot showing him resting against Blitz’s side when they were riding through Las Pegasus. And from the look on Rainbow’s face, it didn’t look like he minded the unicorn laying beside him at all.

“And look!” said Sham as she pointed to one of the last photos in Shim’s magic. The picture, which was taken through the window of Five Ponies last night, showed Elusive and Blitz drinking out of the same milkshake cup with two straws. “Isn’t that so romantic? I can’t remember the last time I did that on a date!”

If it wasn’t for Elusive’s magic keeping him restrained, Blitz would’ve completely waived his “Never hit a girl policy” in regards to the Shim Sham sisters. But with that option thankfully unavailable, his next option was to redirect his anger towards the blushed unicorn still staring at that photograph. “I told you to get your own damn milkshake!” growled the pegasus in a furious hiss.

Elusive quickly shot back in a heated whisper of his own, “Well, excuse me for not wanting that many extra calories that night!”

Sham couldn’t resist jeering, “Oh, how cute! They’re arguing like a married couple already!”

“YOU SHUT UP YOU CUN--MMMPPHHH!!!” Blitz popped Elusivve’s hoof out of his mouth again and shouted at him, “STOP DOING THAT!!!”

Meanwhile, Shim and Sham’s smiles both dropped before Sham stated firmly, “You know what? You should be really lucky I’m in a good mood, Rainbow Blitz. Because I could easily send these photographs out right now for what you tried to call me.”

“I should do it anyway,” added Shim in a much colder voice while glaring at the still pissed-off pegasus. “It is my sister after all. And that put me in a rather bad mood myself.”

“Yeah?” said Elusive to the sisters while wiping Blitz’s saliva off his hoof, “And then we could sue you two for slander and invasion of privacy.”

Sham quickly replied, “All of those photos were taken from public spaces and are perfectly legal. Plus, you can't call slander on photographs. It wouldn’t stick in court, and you know it.”

“You know what?” said Shim as she glanced back at her sister with a bitter tone still apparent in her voice. “I really think we should go get ourselves some mimosas to calm ourselves down. Meanwhile…”

Her glare became especially venomous when she looked back at Elusive and Blitz with narrowed eyes. “You two should really consider practicing your routine. Otherwise, there might be some more unfortunate rumors spreading out.”

Elusive’s hooves grinded against the marble floors while glaring back at her, looking like even he was considering throwing a punch at her smug face. Nevertheless, the mare then left without saying another word. Her sister began to follow, but not before saying with a condescending smirk to the dancers, “Just think about it like this. If you guys win, you’ll prove you aren’t just a couple of colt-cuddlers making a scene. As for us, we’ll win no matter what.”

After making her leave with a hoity strut and an accompanying “Ta-Ta~”, Elusive and Blitz were left by themselves by the still-open elevator door. And from the looks of burning anger in their expressions, it seemed like both of them were contemplating how many garbage bags would be needed to properly dispose of the Shim Sham sisters’ bodies.

But instead of resorting to that scenario, Elusive was the first to storm to the elevator after releasing Rainbow from his magic. “Come on, Blitz,” he growled nastily.

Rainbow Blitz paused briefly to look over at the exit doors, still thinking about going after those two. But after a low and seething breath through his gritted teeth, Blitz begrudgingly turned to follow Elusive into the elevator. Before the doors could close on them, Elusive breathed out shakily and said while his eyes were clenched, “Rainbow… how well do you perform under anger?”

Blitz was glaring down at the floor of the elevator, not answering until the doors closed. “It helps…” He then looked up at Elusive and said, “Although I never tried dancing with anger.”

“Well, you’re going to,” stated the unicorn while the elevator moved up to their floor. “Whatever physical actions you want to unleash on those… things,” he spat out with strong malice while keeping himself composed enough to not start shaking, “... I want you to convert that for our competition. I didn’t come this far to let a couple of half-rate charlatans sabotage everything we’re striving for, and I doubt you did either.”

Despite his badly his hooves were clenching in need to lash out, Blitz knew that his friend had the best plan. If he were to fly out and attack those twins right now , all it’d get him is a criminal record and a reputation as a mare-beater. So after a long and shuddered exhale, the pegasus nodded with a strong pout before responding, “... Okay…”

He then added with a nasty stare back at his friend, “But we ARE going to make those bitches pay!”

“After we win, yes,” stated the unicorn with an equally angered look back at him. “But right now, we need to get ourselves ready.”

After the elevator doors opened, Elusive stormed down the hall with a newfound look of determination on his scowling face. “This is war.”

“Buck yeah!” growled Blitz while following him. “And luckily for us, we already have war paint.”

Comments

[The_Commune_243]

Blitz was glaring down at the floor of the elevator, not answering until the doors closed. “It helps…” He then looked up at Elusive and said, “Although I never tried dancing with anger.”

This suddenly came to mind after reading this:

[BlackPowder]

In my opinion, this would fall under "Justifiable Homicide".

[TheArchive]

So what's to stop them from suing for blackmail and character defamation? Plus it being public property (does the store they were in which Elusive wanted to buy even count as a public space?) wouldn't even matter considering the pictures were taken with a malicious intent.

It wouldn't even be too hard either. It's the word of two world saving, famous and well respected Elements vs the accusations of two ponies who have repeatedly been caught lying and deceiving and doing all other kinds of underhanded schemes. Honestly there's nothing stopping Elusive and Rainbow from going straight to the authorities (or even Dusk Shine) and exposing what they're trying to do to them. They have absolutely zero leverage in this situation, so for the story to make it out as them being trapped feels really silly.