Shut Up And Dance

by TheVClaw

Chapter Two: When Inspiration Strikes

Usually when he was in this office, Rainbow Blitz couldn’t help feeling at least a little worried. After all, most of the ponies who come into Captain Flamethrower’s office either do so to deliver important information, or to have their heads torn off by his well-known verbal assaults. But considering what he wanted to speak with him about, Blitz was hopeful that he was only in front of his superior for the first reason.

However, from the way the yellow pegasus leaned back in his large leather chair with Blitz’s doctor notes in his hooves, the stoic look on his face (along with his trademark aviators over his eyes) made his expression hard to read. He still had his commander’s cap on to cover his thick orange mane, and any movements on his muzzle or lips were easily covered by the thick goatee he was sporting. Even though most recruits had to shave regularly, the Captain was somehow exempt from that ruling; Blitz was sure that it was probably a power-based thing.

After exhaling hard through his nostrils like a bull, Flamethrower leaned forward and placed the papers back in front of Rainbow Blitz. “I’m sorry Ditz, but I can’t break protocol. Your mandatory medical leave stays.”

“Oh, come on!” griped Blitz in disheartenment. He picked his papers back up with a hoof, but kept them in front of the Captain while saying in a pleading tone, “They say I’m fine, Captain! This wasn’t anything serious! You know that I’m perfectly capable of--”

Flamethrower got up from his seat to lean his hooves against the desk and below out, “Ditz, my decision is FINAL!” As soon as he did so, Blitz cringed so hard that his neck almost disappeared into his torso. After letting his lingering stare last a few more seconds, Flamethrower sighed with his eyes closed before removing his sunglasses.

“Look,” began the Captain in a more sympathetic tone of voice, “I understand that you don’t want to miss the Canterlot show. Believe me, I don’t want you to miss it either. We’ve worked too damn hard to change our routine so close to the date. But the fact of the matter is that I can’t risk letting a recruit with a head injury come back on less than two weeks after the incident.”

Blitz opened his muzzle with his papers still out, but not before Flamethrower interrupted him prematurely. “And despite what that note says, protocol is very strict on matters like this one. Any recruits with head injuries, despite severity or medical intervention, HAVE to be on medical leave for two weeks minimum. No exceptions.”

Despite knowing that his Captain disliked that ruling just as much as he did, Blitz could tell that nothing was going to change his superior’s mind. With a disappointed whinny that escaped his muzzle, Rainbow Blitz lowered his papers while his stance slumped downward. “So… that’s it, then?”

Seeing how upset his recruit looked at hearing that, Flamethrower sighed with his ears slightly lowered. “I’m sorry about this, Blitz,” said Flamethrower in a stern but sincere tone, “but you know that the safety of my recruits is something I can’t cut corners with. If it was, I wouldn’t have kicked Lightning Snap from training for endangering your friends’ lives.”

Even though Blitz hated being reminded of that guy, he knew that his superior brought up a valid point. Although, he was pretty sure that almost killing five of the six Elements of Harmony with that stunt may have contributed to Lightning Snap’s expulsion as well. But regardless, Blitz stayed silent as he heard Flamethrower continue.

“And if you remember your training, Ditz, you would know very well why we take head injuries so seriously here in the Wonderbolts. Do I need to remind you of the Voltage Dawn disaster?”

“No, Sir,” said Rainbow Blitz as he shook his head without hesitation. Even with all the time he spent sleeping through most of his classes, he still knew of the incident involving that mare. She suffered a head injury a couple days before a big show, but was allowed to perform her routine anyway. The incident happened almost a century ago, but the epileptic fit she suffered that caused her to fall to her tragic death ws still talked about in the Academy like it happened yesterday.

“So you understand why I’m taking this so seriously, right?” Flamethrower waited until Blitz nodded his head before continuing. “Regardless of that doctor’s note, the last thing I need is to be responsible for one of my most talented flyers suffering the same fate she did. Voltage Dawn was somepony I looked up to when I was younger. She had an excellent reputation on her team, and she still has several records that haven’t been broken to this day. But despite that, all that most ponies know about her was the fact that she died during a show. Nothing else. And given your own record and history, Ditz, you should be thankful that I don’t want you to be remembered as only a fatality as well.”

Flamethrower may have been as blunt as a kick to the balls, but Blitz got the gist of what his superior was telling him. Regardless of how minimal his injury was, even the recruit knew that he’d rather miss one big show than to just be remembered as some grim statistic. Plus, given how often he and his friends saved this nation with their Elements, he knew that suffering some random aneurism during a show would most likely put all of Equestria at risk later on. So, after breathing out in reluctant acceptance, Blitz looked back up at his Captain and nodded his head. “I… understand, Sir.”

“Okay then.” Flamethrower walked around his desk towards his recruit while saying optimistically, “If I were you, I would just treat this as an extended vacation leave. Canterlot was going to be the last show of the season anyway, so at least you can say you have eight weeks of off-season training as opposed to the other recruits only having six. That’s a pretty big advantage in my book.”

Blitz sighed once more and shrugged his shoulders apathetically. “Yeah, I guess…”

Flamethrower placed a hoof on Blitz’s shoulder before saying, “Ditz, you’re one of the best flyers I have on this team. I’ve seen what you can do in the skies AND for Equestria as a whole, and I know you’ve dealt with worse than this. Don’t let a single missed show keep you down, alright? You're still a Wonderbolt.”

With his lips pursed shut briefly, Blitz nodded his head and looked towards his Captain. He then took a couple steps back from him before using his right hoof to give him a strong salute. “Yes Sir!”

Flamethrower smirked and returned the salute to him. “That’s better! Now go back to resume ground training at home. And you better not think I’ll go easy on you after your leave!”

“I know you won’t, Sir!” Blitz then left Flamethrower’s office with a prouder canter in his step. He may have still been upset, but he didn’t let that show on his face when he exited the room and closed the door behind him.

---

After a long, arduous day of “auditions,” Elusive was absolutely drained as he collapsed on a conveniently-placed fainting couch. “Oh, sweet Solaris!” moaned the unicorn with a foreleg over his eyes. “What a day!”

Barb, who was still behind the judging table in the emptied-out ballroom, looked rather tired as well. She was leaned back in her seat with her head pointed to the ceiling. “Tell me about it,” she said in a weak exhale. “So… many… mares…”

Elusive groaned bitterly, not wanting to even try counting how many ponies came to him to audition for the spot as his new dancing partner. While he knew that Rainbow Blitz wasn’t one to break a promise, he was still blown away after seeing how many mares were gathered outside his house that morning. The unicorn ended up needing Dusk Shine and Barb’s help to not only organize the auditions properly, but to use the ballroom in their castle for everypony who showed up. Of course, given the method Blitz used to acquire so many ponies so quickly, Elusive was seriously contemplating punching him for real next time he saw him.

Barb eventually slumped forward in her seat, and picked up one of the flyers that was left on the audition tables next to her and Elusive’s notes. The flyers were apparently spread all over Ponyville and Cloudsdale, as well as a lot of nearby towns, by Rainbow Blitz himself just a day after his promise to Elusive. While it certainly gained a lot of attention, Elusive absolutely loathed Blitz’s method of getting interested ponies.

The flyer said in huge letters at the top, ‘Hey ladies! Want to get FIFTY THOUSAND bits?!’ There was then a large arrow pointing down to a picture of Elusive (or more accurately, Elusive’s face pasted on top of a bodybuilder’s body) followed by the caption ‘Then go to the Carousel Boutique in Ponyville and dance with this guy!’

Needless to say, there were a lot of pissed off ponies who thought they would instantly get the money if they twerked outside of his house like hooligans. By the time everything was settled down and organized, the number of prospective mares who actually auditioned barely fit the bill by any means. But despite how arduous the audition process was, Barb couldn’t help looking at the absurd flyer with a tired giggle. “You gotta admit,” said the baby dragoness towards Elusive, “Blitz certainly put effort into this thing. He even got a stallion’s body that was the exact same size as your head! That’s really hard to do!”

Barb’s attempt to lighten Elusive’s mood just made the unicorn growl in frustration. “Why couldn’t he have just used one of my modeling headshots?” he muttered to himself bitterly. Before he could brood over his friend’s decision any longer, Elusive’s attention veered towards the door he heard reopen. Prince Dusk Shine, who seemed much less fatigued than the others, had his horn lit while floating a tray of drinks into the room. Of course, any chipper smile he may have had on his face was quickly extinguished when he saw Elusive’s exaggerated sprawl on the fainting couch.

Dusk sucked some air through his teeth before looking around the room and placing the tray on top of the audition table. “Soooo,” began the Prince as he saw that nopony else was present aside from himself and the other two, “I take it that the mare who just left was the last one?”

“Hopefully,” groaned Elusive tiredly, not even trying to get up from his position. Dusk took the hint and levitated a water bottle towards him silently. “Hmm? Oh, thank you,” said the unicorn gratefully before taking the bottle from Dusk’s aura. “It feels like I’ve been cooped in this room for fifty moons, and I have absolutely nothing to show for it.”

“Wait, really?” asked Dusk in genuine surprise. He picked up both Elusive and Barb’s notes and began to scan through them. “You mean there isn’t a single pony who auditioned and met your expectations? There are at least two hundred mares the last time I checked! It seems like a statistical anomaly that none of them would fit the bill.”

Barb shrugged her shoulders while remaining in her chair. “Well, it doesn’t help that most of those mares were more interested in the money than actually dancing. I can only think of like, five who actually did kinda decent.”

“And even those mares had more flaws than they did potential,” added Elusive after taking a sip from his water bottle. “Honestly, I think the time restraint is a bigger issue than anything else! If I had at least a month’s worth of time for training, then maybe one of them would have a chance. But as it is, I don’t think there’s a single mare on that list who I could actually get to Toffee’s level in less than a week.”

Hearing how defeated Elusive’s tone sounded near the end of that explanation, Dusk’s ears lowered with a sad look on his face. He sighed and placed both clipboards back on the audition table in front of Barb. “I’m really sorry, Elusive,” the Prince said in genuine disappointment. “I wish there was more we could do.”

“Yeah,” added Barb in an equally solemn voice, which was then followed by a more optimistic, “but still, at least you can’t say you didn’t try, right?”

With an upset whinny escaping his muzzle, Elusive lifted himself from the couch and slowly left the ballroom. “I think I need to take a walk,” he muttered in a voice just barely audible to Dusk and Barb.

After watching Elusive exit through the grand doors, the dragoness huffed sharply enough to make a tiny plume of smoke poof from her nostrils. Dusk, who didn’t want his assistant to wind up as blue as their friend, thought it over for a second before hatching an idea. His horn lit up once more before making a small bag of bits appear through his magic. He placed the pouch in front of Barb and said with a smirk, “You know what? I don’t think it would be a bad idea to treat him to some macaroons at Sugar Cube Corner. Maybe it’ll cheer him up a bit.”

Barb looked up at Dusk with a raised brow. “Seriously?” she asked in a less than convinced tone.

“Well…” Dusk looked away with a cheeky curl of his lips while slowly floating the bag away from Barb. “I was hesitant to suggest it since it might be seen as taking him out on a date, but if you don’t want to do that I’ll completely understa--”

As soon as Dusk said the word ‘Date,’ the drake’s eyes shot wide open. She didn’t even wait for the Prince to finish before snatching the bag from his magic and running out of the room while shouting, “ActuallyyouknowwhatIchangedmymindSEEYA!”

Dusk couldn’t help chuckling to himself as he watched Barb run out of the castle to chase down her crush. Even though a part of him felt bad for giving her that kind of hopeful mindset, he still shook his head with a smile before sighing. “Oh, young love…”

---

Blitz may have been a top-notch athlete, but he was still sweating like a workhorse as he carried bale after bale of hay around the empty field. With a heavy grunt, the pegasus strained deeply before lifting up the last stack as high as he could. He then groaned loudly and heaved the bale powerfully, making it land conveniently in place by the marker he made with a stick.

Before he could even wipe his sweating brow with a foreleg, Blitz overheard his friend shout out from the other side of the field, “Rainbow Blitz, just what in Solaris’ name are ya doin’ wit’ my hay stacks?!”

Blitz turned around to see the peeved-looking Applejack, who was leaned on top of the wooden fence while staring him down. The pegasus went over to the closest hay bale to lean against it and say, “Oh hey, AJ. I was just needing to borrow this field for some training exercises. Won’t take any more than a half hour. Full hour tops.”

Applejack just narrowed his eyes on him in confusion while trying to process Blitz’s logic. “Why would ya… There’s...” He then sighed and pointed up to the sky to retort, “Why ain’t ya just practicin’ up in the air?! That’s kinda what Wonderbolts do, right?”

“Yeah,” replied Blitz with a roll of his eyes, “but I’m on medical leave. I’m not allowed to perform, or do any extensive flight training two weeks after a head injury. It’s kind of a big deal to them.”

Applejack blinked a couple times, but was able to see that his friend wasn’t lying about that. “Wait, really?” asked the farmpony with a tilt of his head. “That seems pretty--Ohhhhh…” His eyes instantly widened in understanding. “Is that ‘cause of that Voltage Dawn thing?”

Blitz looked quite surprised by an Earth Pony knowing that detail. “Uhhh… actually, yeah. How’d you know that?”

“Grampy was at that show when it happened. He told me ‘bout it a couple times.” With a more relaxed look on his face, Applejack readjusted his Stetson and exhaled through his nostrils. “Well, Ah suppose it’d be alright for ya to practice for a while if ya need to. Ah’m just surprised yer actually listenin’ to them! I’d expect you to just find a private place and do flight training anyway.”

“Believe me, I would if I could.” Blitz then took a breath before starting one of his warmups. Using a hay bale as a plyometric stand, the pegasus started to hop over the stack back and forth with two of his legs always perched on top. As he did this, he continued to explain why he couldn’t fly to Applejack. “The problem with flight training is that the skies aren’t exactly private. Anypony could easily see me if I tried, and I could be in serious trouble if that info went back to the Wonderbolts. They take safety things like that really seriously, and it doesn’t help that I’m still on probation.”

“Wait, yer still on probation?!” asked Applejack in shock. “Ah thought that first show was months ago!”

“Hmm? Oh! Not that one!” After finishing fifty reps on the bale, Blitz stopped and quickly rolled onto his back. He grabbed the bale with his forelegs, and began to lift it over his body like a deadweight. His voice became more strained as he spoke between heavy grunts. “Apparently… Flamethrower isn’t a fan… of recruits placing a… blow-up doll in his office… as a birthday present.”

“Pbbbt!” Applejack had to cover his muzzle with a hoof to keep his laugh from being too audible. “Are ya serious, Blitz?! Why the hay did ya think that was a good idea?!”

“I thought it’d be funny!” replied Blitz while continuing his reps. “How was I supposed to know he would be showing his parents around the place?! I think he just overreacted!”

Applejack shook his head while chuckling under his breath, “Well, Ah won’t ask what he did to ya as punishment, but Ah’m hopin’ it taught ya a lesson.” While Blitz could be heard growling under his breath from that response, the farmpony tapped the fence with a hoof and pulled himself off of it. “But if ya excuse me, Ah’m gonna get back to work. Just be sure to put those hay stacks back when yer done.”

“Will do,” said Blitz between grunts while getting to the last of his reps. Just as he was finished, he heard Applejack come back to the fence to add a quick detail.

“Oh! Before Ah forget,” he began in a more cautious tone of voice. “Not that Ah think you would try anything stupid around her, but it might be a good idea to steer clear of Macarena for a while. She’s a bit sore about how ya hurt Toffee.”

“Oh, come on! It wasn’t like I tried to break her leg!”

“Ah know that, and she does too,” replied Applejack sincerely, “but don’t be surprised if she gives ya the stinkeye for a while.”

Rainbow Blitz sighed and nodded after putting the haybale aside. Even though he knew that Applejack’s older sister became gal-pals with Toffee a while back, he wouldn’t have expected the farm-mare to be that upset with him about the incident. “Alright, I’ll be sure to remember that.”

---

Just outside the property of Sweet Apple Acres, Elusive was feeling a tiny bit better while trotting down the quaint dirt road with Barb seated on his back. Even though he was surprised when he first met Dusk Shine and saw the drake riding him like a common mule, he eventually came to accept the practice as a form of convenience. Considering how short Barb’s legs were, it only made sense for her to ride on the backs of others if necessary (just as long she didn’t go ‘Hiya!’ while doing so). So, Elusive barely paid heed to the light dragoness as she quietly sat on his backside and munched on the last macaroon in the box.

“Mmm!” Barb licked the last of the powdered sugar from her claws before saying, “Man! I don’t know what Bubble Berry puts in those things, but I’m pretty sure it could be considered illegal.”

Elusive giggled at that observation with a nod of his head. “You know, I think I might have to agree with you on that one.” He turned his head around while walking to smile at her graciously. “And thank you for getting those, Barbara. It really was a kind gesture.”

Barb usually hated it when ponies referred to her by her full birth name, but Elusive was the only one she didn’t mind hearing it from. In fact, the dragoness’ cheeks blushed a little as she smiled back at him. “It-It’s not a problem, E-Elusive,” she said bashfully while looking away from him. “I just thought it’d be something to cheer you up.”

“Well, it certainly did,” said the unicorn confidently before turning back to see the road ahead of him. Unfortunately, a brief moment of silence passed, which was just enough to make Elusive’s smile lessen slowly. “I mean, it…” With his lips pursed shut, he quickly shook his head clear before repeating his answer, “Y-yes, it did help, Barbara…”

Barb may have still been a baby (at least in regard to dragon lifespans), but she was still able to tell that Elusive wasn’t being genuine with that last statement. The drake sighed with a disheartened look on her face before rubbing one of her arms with a claw. “I really wish I could’ve done more,” she muttered in a saddened tone.

“Now, don’t be like that,” stated Elusive bluntly. “You and Dusk have done a tremendous job helping me today, so don’t you dare sell yourself short! I couldn’t have asked more from you if I tried.”

Even though she could tell that the unicorn was being honest with his claim, Barb still looked upset while rested on his back. “Still, I…” A tiny blush began to grow on her cheeks, and she turned her head away despite the fact that Elusive wasn’t looking at her yet. “... n-nevermind,” she muttered timidly.

“Never mind what?” asked Elusive curiously.

“N-nothing! I just…” Taking a deep breath, the drake continued rubbing her arm awkwardly before getting the courage to admit, “I… may have checked the rulebook to see if dragons could compete with ponies, so…”

Elusive instantly realized what Barb was trying to say, and he stopped to look back at her with a touched smile. “Oh, Barbara,” he said in a grateful voice, “that’s really sweet.”

However, the drake still looked away from him with her disappointed expression remaining. “Yeah, but… the rules also said I was too young.”

Elusive’s ears dropped down quickly, hating how upset Barb’s voice sounded at that last part. He quickly lit his horn to pull the dragoness’ head towards him, and waited until she was looking at his face to say, “Barbara, if you were old enough, I promise that I would love to have you be my dancing partner.”

From the way the unicorn said that promise so sincerely, Barb almost started tearing up while smiling back at him widely. She quickly scooched forward to hug Elusive’s craned neck, and the stallion wrapped a foreleg around her back to return the favor. “Oh, it’s quite alright,” cooed Elusive in a caring voice. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.”

After a small moment, the unicorn returned to his trot, leaving Barb to sit on his back with a heavy blush and tiny hearts popping over her head. As he walked, Elusive decided to add with a huff, “Honestly, given how difficult it’s been to find a good dancer, I’m starting to seriously contemplate finding someone of a different species.”

Barb just scoffed at that exaggeration. “Oh, come on!” She leaned back on Elusive’s back so her claws were pressed against his backside without realizing it. “I’m sure there has to be at least one pony out there who can take Toffee’s place! You just need to keep an eye out, that’s all!”

“Well, that’s easier said than done,” retorted Elusive while turning his head back towards her. “By this rate, I don’t think there’s a single mare in a fifty mile radius who can be my partner!”

Barb raised her claws with a shrug and asked, “Well, what other options can there be?”

Just as Elusive was about to open his muzzle, the sounds of faint grunting caught the attention of both him and Barb. The two turned to see where the source of the sound was, and noticed Rainbow Blitz out in the field while in the middle of his ground runs. The pegasus galloped through the field as powerfully as he could, going between several closely-placed hay bales to test his agility.

“Oh, cool!” Barb turned so that both her legs were hanging from Elusive’s side as she watched Blitz training. “I haven’t actually been able to see Blitz train in a while. His ground exercises are actually pretty cool.”

“Really now?” Seeing that Barb was interested, Elusive sighed and decided to stay as well. “Well, if you say so…”

While Blitz thundered through the field like a true athlete, Elusive watched with about half the interest that Barb had. Honestly, he wasn’t sure why the drake was so interested when all he was doing was running between stacks of hay. Just as he was about to tune out completely, the unicorn’s ears perked up when he saw something he didn’t expect. Right before reaching the last two bales of hay, Rainbow tensed down on his last steps to jump over both of them at the same time.

Elusive could’ve sworn that Blitz’s leap was in slow motion, but it may have just been how it felt when he saw how distinct the pegasus’ movements really were. The stallion’s legs spread as wide apart as they could go through his jump, making him perform a perfect split. And just as quickly as he made his leap, Blitz’s legs came back into form to stick the landing with a graceful trot.

“Nice!” said Barb with a pump of her claw. Meanwhile, Elusive’s eyes just widened at the display. Even though he was sure that was common training in the Wonderbolts, the unicorn couldn’t help being reminded of something else from seeing such an example of power and balanced poise. Blitz didn’t use his wings in any way during that jump, but was still able to elongate it by pure physical prowess alone through an impressive ballon. In fact, for a split second Elusive could’ve sworn that it resembled a near-perfect ciseaux.

Without skipping a beat, Blitz then went towards a line of intricately-placed sticks that were planted in two tight rows in the ground, and lined with rope like a broken ladder. With sweat dripping from his forehead, the stallion quickly stepped along the open spaces of the rungs two hooves at a time like an intense game of hopscotch. Each hoof went in and out without ever touching a single rope or stick, all while keeping a steady pace that got him in and out of the obstacle like it was nothing.

Barb once again cheered, but Elusive stayed silent with his eyes growing wider. Not a single hoof was out of place. No amount of precision or discipline was left unheeded. And even though he and Barb were quite a distance away, the unicorn could tell that Blitz kept a perfect rhythm during that entire routine. In fact, it reminded Elusive distinctly of a bourree, pas de.

Blitz then ran to the next obstacle, which was several hay stacks arranged on top of each other long-ways like columns. The stallion ran between each one in a flash, darting between the stacks as close as possible while constantly turning and alternating direction with his hooves. When he reached the last column, Blitz went around the bale clockwise to move through the slalom the opposite way; however, at the midway point of the turn, he actually spun his body counterclockwise with a single hoof remaining on the ground, leaving Elusive’s jaw to drop.

Was… was that a Pirouette?! Thought the unicorn bafflingly.

Blitz then went back through the course the same as before, hitting all the obstacles with the same energy and precision he showed the first time. Not a single step went out of place. No movement was muddled or flat-fallen. And as he ran through the course, Elusive was now peering at his movements more closely than Barb was. With each step Blitz made, Elusive was able to catch more moves that the stunt-pony was absolutely nailing without any problems.

The pique...

The À la seconde...

The Battement...

Every term and display that Elusive learned from his years of dance training were being seen before his very eyes. Despite the fact that it was fromBlitz of all ponies, all the stallion could ponder was how he never noticed that level of grace and balance before today. For the grand finale, he watched as Rainbow Blitz returned to the two hay bales he jumped earlier. Only this time, Elusive was able to see the air, en l' the pegasus gave as he launched from the ground; he once again elongated his leap with a flawless ballon, and landed on all four hooves with barely even a skid in the grass.

It may have not been a proper reverence, but Elusive could still see the poise of it as Blitz sighed and kept his landing position for a brief moment.

Of course, the pegasus’ ears perked up when he overheard Barb clapping her claws in applause of Blitz’s training. He looked up at the road to see the drake cheering him on while on top of Elusive’s back. “Woooo!” she cheered triumphantly. “Nice one, Blitz!”

Blitz blushed a little as he smiled back at her, even though he wasn’t the bashful type by any means, he still gave a courteous bow back at her with the lowering of his legs.

Now THAT’S a reverence! Elusive nearly shouted in his mind. Of course, his muzzle was luckily closed before he heard his friend yell out, “Hey, Lucy! How are auditions going?”

It took a second for the unicorn to register what Blitz asked him, so Barb yelled back before Elusive could reply. “It’s probably best not to ask right now!” she shouted honestly.

Even from the distance, Elusive was able to see Blitz wince a little at that answer. “Oh! Ummm… Tell him I’ll make more flyers tomorrow!”

Barb face-clawed with a groan. “No, that isn’t what I--”

Before she could finish, a loud beeping could be heard from Blitz’s hoofwatch. He looked down at it before saying, “Oh, it’s time for my nap already! See ya!”

With only a quick wave, Blitz opened out his wings and shot up into the clear skies. Barb tried to call out to him to listen, but he was already long-gone. Meanwhile, Elusive just stared up at the stallion in silent awe, his eyes remaining wide-open as he watched Blitz disappear into the distance. He wasn’t sure how long he was staring, but it was long enough for Barb’s claw to dangle in front of him to catch his attention. “Uhhh… Equestria to Elusive? You there?”

Even though she had his attention now, Elusive was still standing like a statue while looking up at the skies. The gears in his mind were turning quickly, and a glimmer of inspiration flashed across his eyes like a brilliant garment idea. A couple seconds passed after Barb’s question before he said in a faint tone. “Barb… I have it.”

“Hm?” she asked with a puzzled look. “You have what?”

Elusive blinked a couple times as a grin began to spread across his face. “... I have my partner.”

“Wait, what?! Who?!”

The idea was beyond insane, and he knew it would take far more than a little convincing to get it to work. He may have needed to recheck the ENDC rulebook for clarification, but the stallion was certain that he wasn’t going to break any rules with his plan. It may have been a long-shot, but after seeing the same display that Barb did, his confident smile was unwavering when he answered her question with a hoof pointed to the skies.

“Him.”

Barb needed a good moment before realizing what he meant, but her reaction looked more like he just suggested the stupidest idea possible. “Uhhh… do I need to get your head checked!?”

Comments

[jxj]

7871191 My thing with Barb is that everyone has these really nice pony names, and then we have Barbara. This random old lady name. It's also a human name which I think in general is something to avoid. I'm not blaming you for the Flamethrower thing (like I said, I don't read a lot of R63 and I don't know the standard names) but I really don't like it. I think Spitfire should have the same naming scheme she has in the first place, if it even changes.

[TheVClaw]

7871272
Actually, my headcanon is that Barb is her official name, but Elusive says Barbara to be proper.

[jxj]

7871276 that's not a bad idea, but it's been ruined for me already. I can't unsee Barbara.

[Skrive Flip]

7870025
There has to be, somewhere...

[jxj]

The flyer said in huge letters at the top, ‘Hey ladies! Want to get FIFTY THOUSAND bits?!’ There was then a large arrow pointing down to a picture of Elusive (or more accurately, Elusive’s face pasted on top of a bodybuilder’s body) followed by the caption ‘Then go to the Carousel Boutique in Ponyville and dance with this guy!’

oh dear god that's great. It really seems like something Rainbow Dash/Blitz would do.
I'm still not a fan of Captain Flamethrower, especially now that he has facial hair. I never really liked that look for ponies.
I know it seems like i'm ragging on the story a lot, but I really do like it.

[Storm butt]

> Even though he knew that Applejack’s older sister became gal-pals with Toffee a while back

Wow you totally just gal palsed away the total lesbian relationship didn't ya.

> The stallion’s legs spread as wide apart as they could go

Well then.

Also...

Blow up doll. Photoshopped head on buff stallion. This is starting to sound like a scrapped script from a Friends episode.

Also Elusive and Blitz are gonna dance and it's gonna be the gayest thing ever. I am ready for that believe me.

I like the pacing of this one a lot more. A lot more slow, everything seemed to fall into place sort of at once. The only confusing thing was when Elusive and Barb found Blitz because I thought they were still at Sugarcube Corner but I think that was just me missing they were out walking together. I'm just shocked you didn't gay it up and make Elusive notice all of Blitz's muscles during the end.

[fireflutterpony]

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But the gay's better when it sneaks up on you!

... Hrrm. I could probably word that better.