Shut Up And Dance

by TheVClaw

Chapter Twenty-Three: Complications of the Mind

Even though it might be needless to say, the rest of that first night spent in Manehattan was unbelievably awkward for Elusive and Rainbow Blitz. Fortunately, despite having ran out of the apartment to overcome his own weirded-out feelings regarding their… moment… Rainbow actually did get some take-out to bring back for himself and his dance partner. However, the pegasus basically threw Elusive’s food at him before hunkering inside of the guest room by himself to eat in silence. And for the rest of that night, the apartment was fairly silent for the unicorn as he sat in the living room with nothing but his lingering thoughts, and Bubble Berry’s unconscious body sprawled out on the floor.

Elusive couldn’t sleep for a good portion of the night, especially after he began hearing Rainbow Blitz’s animalistic snoring around midnight. Long after he finished his meal, the white stallion remained on the couch with a bit lip and an uncomfortable fidgeting of his hooves. He may have been extremely grateful to not have any disgusting habits like smoking or hoof-biting, but he really wished he had something to help distract him from his intrusive thoughts. It was at times like these that he wished he remembered what that stupid spinning toy his brother had was called, since he could see himself using one of those right about now.

Oh Elusive, get a hold of yourself! He clenched his eyes shut as leaned back on the couch with his teeth gritted in frustration. That moment was awkward, yes. We certainly can’t say otherwise. However… This can not get in the way of our competition tomorrow! After all that practice we endured for Blitz’s sake, it would be downright insulting to just back out now! Especially because of something like… that…

His inner monologue may have been helping a little, but that added reminder made him wince in slight discomfort. However, the unicorn took a breath while keeping himself in that mindset, knowing he had to think it over logically in order to fix things.

Alright, well… First off, that foxtrot really was flawless, wasn’t it? I mean, we moved so wonderfully, and Blitz was… he was a natural! If anything, that really showed how good of a choice it was to pick him as a partner. Nopony else could really… compare to him…

Elusive wanted to curse himself for going off-track so quickly, despite the fact that it was clear he was avoiding the big issue which was keeping him and Blitz in separate rooms in the first place. Alas, the unicorn breathed in once more while thinking more critically.

Okay, this… this can’t be ignored, Elusive. You saw it just as clearly as he did. He… he was staring right at you! And… and it’s not completely out of place to think he would… you know…

Elusive’s eyes clenched shut even tighter during his momentary pause, not wanting to come to terms with what was running through his head. Of course, that lingering mental image of Blitz holding him so tightly, and the look of his magenta eyes staring at him so intensely, left the unicorn completely unable to deny what he was thinking about. The idea terrified him to a large degree, just because he didn’t want to admit what was happening between them. Not only was Rainbow Blitz his dancing partner, but one of his closest friends; the very idea that something intimate was going to occur made the stallion feel sick in despair.

Unfortunately, the unicorn could only wince silently while laid out across the couch, feeling like he was having an internal monologue with an imaginary therapist now. I… I can’t deny it, can I? Elusive thought with a tone of unease apparent in his internal voice. Maybe it was just his mind’s way of helping to coax him to the right response, but his breathing still came out shakily as he thought to himself in worry. He… he and I were about to… perhaps…

Out of nowhere, Bubble Berry rose up from the floor like a classic horror-movie mummy and yelled out, “N-NO MOM, I WAS VACUUMING LINT OFF MY LEGS!!”

Elusive yelped in surprise and jolted over the back of the couch, falling back-first on the floor and out of Bubble Berry’s sight. The pink stallion sat upright and looked around the dark living room with a confused expression, blinking a couple times while processing what he did earlier. “Uhhhh… where did the ostrich go?”

The height of his drunkedness had clearly passed, but Bubble was still tipsy enough to not think too much about it. After shrugging absent-mindedly, he fell back down to the floor after saying to himself, “Oh well. Night Night!”

Whump!

Elusive slowly peeked his head up from the back of the couch with a frazzled look on his face, seeing that Bubble Berry was back asleep like nothing happened. His heart was still racing, but he wasn’t sure if it was from that interruption or the thoughts coming before it. Either way, the unicorn closed his eyes and sighed tiredly before getting back on his hooves. “Oh, screw it,” he uncouthly muttered to himself as he went to his bedroom. “I need to sleep.”

---

The next morning, Bubble Berry had disappeared from the apartment sometime while the two stallions were asleep. The pony’s unseen exit may have been a bit of a jarring surprise when Elusive woke up first, but it wasn’t that different from how he arrived in the first place. By the time he and Blitz were both awake, it seemed that Bubble was nice enough to leave a plate of apology muffins for the two in the kitchen. Elusive had absolutely no idea how the baker did that when there were virtually no baking ingredients of any sort in his kitchen, but the muffins were delicious nonetheless.

Of course, by the time the two finished their breakfast in awkward silence and went out to the venue for their competition, it became clear what happened as soon as they got out onto the crowded Manehattan streets. Every newspaper stand, as well as at least a third of the ponies they walked past who were reading them, had headlines which displayed Bubble Berry in his full drunken glory on the front page. The image, which may have gotten some photojournalist a lot of money for taking it at the perfect angle, showed the Element of Laughter riding a screeching ostrich down a crowded street. While the bird looked to be cawing in a mix of fear and primal impulse, Berry seemed to be shrieking in delight while holding a bottle of cucumber vodka in one hoof, and a real cucumber in the other. The headline above that timeless photo read in bolded letters: ‘Element of Harmony Causes Havoc At Middle Park Zoo!’

“Hmph.” Even though that scoff was fairly small, Elusive turned his head towards Blitz rather quickly after hearing him make it. Considering how it was the first thing he heard the pegasus say since the previous night, his ears were raised slightly in hopes that wouldn’t be it. Fortunately, even though Blitz kept his face pointed away from his partner’s, he still sighed and said with a shrug. “You know what? Knowing Bubble, he’s probably gonna want a copy of that headline to frame in his bedroom.”

Elusive couldn’t help giggling a little to that comment, and shrugged his shoulders in agreement. “Yes, I could see that happening. I just hope he doesn’t go to jail because of it.”

“Eh, I doubt it,” replied Rainbow with a shrug of his own. “I really don’t think Dusk would want him to miss our show. Especially since he helped with that decoration thing. He’ll probably just get a lecture and a fine or something.”

Even though he was sure Blitz was right, the unicorn still sighed apprehensively. “I certainly hope so. He also made something for Apple Buck and Twinkle Toes’ routine as well.”

Rainbow closed his eyes and breathed out strongly as the two continued walking. He didn’t look back at Elusive, but he was sure the unicorn could see he was looking stressed. But in an effort to keep himself from thinking too hard, he bit his lip briefly before he asked, “So, ummm… do you know what they’re doing for this round?”

“The jive, I believe,” Elusive answered as he leaned his head forward, hoping to get the slightest glimpse of Blitz’s expression so that they could talk more honestly. “But, I… don’t know what song they’re doing…”

Unfortunately, when the pegasus caught the slightest glimpse of his friend trying to lean in towards him, he instantly blushed like mad and rushed off. “W-Well, they don’t know ours either, so that sounds fine I’mgonnacheckourdressingroom!”

Before Elusive could even reply to that panicked blurt, he was left alone once more as Blitz ran off towards the stadium they were set to compete at. While he couldn’t blame Rainbow for still feeling so flustered, the continued rejection from him was leaving the unicorn more distraught than anything else. Given how limited their practicing really was, the last thing they needed was to postpone it any further. But as his ears lowered while trotting slowly, the only reaction the stallion could make was a saddened sigh as he walked alone among the crowds.

---

Contrary to popular belief, the highly-acclaimed venue of Faust Square Garden wasn’t that hard to sell out in such a crowded city like Manehattan. However, considering how abuzz the arena was getting with lines already growing at the front doors, it was doubtful that many ponies would try to deny how large the Equestrian National Dance Competition was getting. Due to Elusive and Rainbow Blitz being part of the competition this year, it was surprisingly easy to fill the stadium with eager ponies wanting to see them in action against the competition. Although, from the look of determination all the other dancers inside the building were showing on their faces, it didn’t seem like any of them wanted to be overshadowed during the Semi-Finals.

The two couples who seemed the most tenacious for a spot in the finals were the Hoofingtons, and Twinkle Toes with Apple Buck. Since both of them faced similar fallbacks in the Las Pegasus rounds, Twinkle and Julianne pretty much took the reins to ensure their dances would go perfectly this time around. While Derek tried to keep himself from getting on his sister’s bad side again, and Apple Buck tried to keep his partner from getting too exhausted during their near-constant practicing, neither of the couples seemed to notice Elusive looking around the stadium for his partner.

“Blitz!” he yelled out while trying his hardest not to start running around frantically. The competition wasn’t set to begin until a few hours, but he was still growing more fretful by the second while shuffling past dancers and crew members down the hallways. Since Rainbow wasn’t in the dressing room when he finally arrived, the unicorn was starting to worry where he may have ran off to. He was sure the pegasus didn’t just run away, but Elusive would be damned if he was going to let his friend turn what’s supposed to be their practice time into a game of homophobic hide and seek. “Ugh!” Elusive stopped for a second and stomped the tiled ground under his hoof in frustration. “RAINBOW!!!”

Of course, the instant he bellowed out his partner’s name, the stallion quickly gasped and covered his mouth with both hooves. His face blushed embarrassedly when he looked around the crowded hallway, and all the ponies who briefly stopped to stare back at him. After a couple seconds of awkward silence, Elusive put his hooves down and sheepishly walked backwards out of the hall. “Uhhh… heh heh heh… s-sorry…”

As soon as he was out of the hallway with his face glowing red, Elusive was fortunate enough to come across a familiar face. It may have not been Blitz, but the stallion was still fortunate to see Barb running up to him with a worried look. “Elusive?” shouted the dragoness as she emerged from the main practice room and went up towards him. “What’s going on? I thought I heard you yelling something.”

Elusive cringed a little and rubbed the back of his neck while avoiding eye contact with her. “Uhhhh… y-yeah,” he admitted with a wince. “Sorry about that. I was just…” After making a small exhale, Elusive looked back at the drake and asked, “You… didn’t happen to see Blitz anywhere, have you?”

“Ummm, no?” replied Barb with an unsure expression and a shrug of her shoulders. “I kinda figured he’d be with you.”

“Oh, great.” Elusive didn’t want to sound too upset, but his snarling tone was apparent while he rubbed his temple in frustration. He tried to calm himself down with a lingering sigh as he said, “Hopefully he’s at least trying to practice somewhere.”

Barb pursed her lips shut for a moment as she stood with a look of unease on her face. She had no idea what was going on between Elusive and Blitz, but she didn’t want them to be facing any quarrels so close to their dance routine. Of course, if it turns out any of the other guys’ cutie marks start flashing for a friendship mission, the drake would know where to lead them. But instead of hoping that wasn’t the case, Barb breathed out and asked hesitantly, “So, ummm… did something happen with you and Blitz?”

“N-No!” Elusive blurted way too quickly, causing Barb to tilt her head with a suspicious look. The unicorn groaned and turned his muzzle away from her before adding, “I-I mean, I… I don’t think it’s anything we can’t talk about. I just need to find him, that’s all…”

While Elusive kept his line of vision pointed away from the dragoness, he didn’t see how her emerald eyes were narrowing on him in growing concern. Barb only waited another moment before huffing and crossing her arms sternly. “Dude,” she stated in a firmer tone than expected, “what happened?”

The unicorn closed his eyes and sighed pertly before turning his back towards her. “Nothing happened, Barbara! Seriously, nothing!” However, the instant he saw that unrelenting stare the drake had on him, Elusive bit his lip and avoided eye contact with her. He then breathed out and admitted in a more sheepish tone, “Things just got a little… awkward, okay? It’s nothing to be concerned about.”

Despite the stallion’s insistent tone with that last sentence, Barb just tilted her head puzzledly. “So… how awkward are we talking about?”

“It’s none of your concern!” he stated with a strong stare back at her. “I’m pretty sure I said too much as it is, and I don’t need to say any more.”

“Oh, come on!” griped the dragoness with a roll of her eyes. “You can’t just say things got ‘awkward’ and not give specifics! What kind of awkward do you mean? Was it like, ‘making an inappropriate joke’ awkward? Or ‘getting caught with a cucumber in your bed’ awkward?”

“I’d rather not explain the specifics of what happened, Bar--” Upon catching what she said, Elusive’s head reeled back briefly while raising his brows at the drake. “... uhhhhh… what was that second example?”

Barb quickly realized the mistake she made, and tensed up for a second with a blush spreading across her cheeks. “N-Nothing!” she blurted after using such an oddly specific detail. “I’m j-just… I’m just saying that awkward can m-mean a lot of things, Elusive! I can’t exactly help if I don’t know who it was awkward for!”

“Barbara, I don’t think I need any outside help with this.” After covering his eyes with a hoof and sighing, Elusive made sure to add in a kinder tone, “Listen, I really do appreciate you wanting to help, but this isn’t something I want everypony getting involved with, alright? It was an awkward moment for both Blitz and myself, and I don’t think he’d appreciate me telling anyone else about it. I just need to find him, and straighten things out between us in private.”

Even though she was a little upset that Elusive was dismissing her assistance, she could tell that he wasn’t lying about his explanation as to why. So instead of dwelling over the stallion not wanting her help, Barb exhaled with a pout and shrugged her shoulders in acceptance. “Well… okay then,” she said while trying not to sound disappointed. “I can try to see where Blitz is, at least. Two pairs of eyes is better than one, right?”

Elusive smiled kindly to the suggestion, and nodded as he said, “I couldn’t agree more, Barbara. Just let me know if you find him before me.”

The drake nodded with a smile on her own and began to walk off. However, Elusive raised a hoof and quickly added, “Oh! And if you do find him, please don’t ask him what happened!”

Barb just sighed and looked back at him with a raised brow. “I’m not stupid, Elusive. I’m not gonna try and press his buttons or anything.”

“Alright, I’m just making sure.” Elusive put his hoof back down, only to whinny worriedly while looking away from the drake. “I swear,” he muttered with a shake of his head, “with the way he’s acting, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was looking for a memory-erasing spell or something.”

Barb may have not known what Elusive and Blitz did, but still scoffed and rolled her eyes at the unicorn’s statement. “Oh, please!” she said in a more carefree tone. “I think you’re exaggerating, Elusive. I don’t think Blitz would try something THAT stupid!”

Unbenounced to Elusive or Barb, who laughed a little after she said that, Rainbow Blitz was at the other end of the stadium nearby the exit doors. He wasn’t able to find Dusk Shine or the other Elements, but he did come across Starshine by lucky chance. Unfortunately, the unicorn just stared at Blitz flatly after hearing what he was wanting him to do.

“Rainbow,” he said in a very unamused tone, “there is no way I’m going to try to wipe a specific memory from your head. Especially when you won’t tell me what it is.”

“URGH!” Rainbow clenched his eyes shut and groaned like a colt who was told by his Mom he couldn’t get a toy at the store. “Dude, come on!” he whined while staring at Starshine pleadingly. “It’s only one spell, isn’t it?! Besides, it’s not like you haven’t done worse.”

That just made Starshine look angrier. “You know, I don’t try to win arguments by bringing up any past mistakes you made.”

Blitz paused for a second and sighed with his eyes closed, not wanting to escalate things with him any further. Despite being very tempted to point out how he never did anything as bad as Starshine, the pegasus withheld that urge and replied with a shrug, “Alright, alright. I’m sorry. I just wanted to talk with someone who’s good with spells, and you’re one of the best guys I know for that aside from Dusk.”

Starshine waited a second with a skewed muzzle, and breathed out through his nostrils before saying, “Well… I’m fairly sure that if Dusk Shine were here, he would tell you the same thing I did. You can’t just remove a specific memory out of somepony else’s subconscious! Even Prince Artemis would have trouble trying that with his dream powers.”

“UGH! Dammit!” Blitz stomped his hoof like a bratty child and turned away from Starshine to hide how upset he looked. But despite his brooding sneer and the way he emanated a lingering growl in response to the unicorn’s statement, Rainbow kinda figured that his request was too stupid anyway. However, the pegasus still found it easier to look mad about the answer given to him, than to contemplate the stupidity of the question he asked beforehoof.

Of course, Starshine just saw Blitz as acting all pissy for nothing, which caused him to sigh and say in response to his tantrum, “Blitz, come on! I don’t know what’s putting you in this kind of bind, but I really doubt that acting like a foal is gonna fix it! And I’m also fairly sure that attempting literal brain surgery on you right before a competition won’t do much either!”

Rainbow wanted to turn back to Starshine and chastise him for his blunt words, but he knew that the unicorn was right. So instead, the stunt-pony just groaned and dragged his hoof down his face. Unfortunately, his mood wasn’t improved when he heard a familiar voice say in response to Starshine’s statement, “Uhhh… what’s that ‘bout you sayin’ something about brain surgery?”

While Blitz pouted and kept his face away from them, Starshine sighed and looked towards Applejack to explain. “It’s not anything important, okay? Blitz was just asking about memory-erasing for some reason, and I was explaining it’s not something worth trying.”

“Yeah, Ah hope so,” noted the orange stallion with a small huff while looking between Starshine and Blitz. “Ah remember the last time you messed with Rainbow’s brain, he threatened to make you pick your teeth off the floor if you tried it again.”

Now it was Starshine’s turn to groan while rubbing his temple with a hoof. “Well, it’s not like I was gonna try it against his will again! HE asked ME about it!”

“Alright, alright,” said AJ as he put his hooves up to settle him down. “Ah ain’t assumin’ nuthin’ on you. Ah know you’re not that dumb.”

Before Starshine could sigh or give the stallion his thanks, Applejack turned to Blitz and added bluntly, “BUT! Ah am gonna question what the heck you’re tryin’ ta do! Are you seriously wantin’ Starshine to wipe a memory out of yer head!?”

“Ugh! I dunno!” groaned Blitz with a pissed-off glare back at AJ. “I just figured it was worth a shot! Get off my back about it!”

Applejack sighed with a roll of his eyes and looked back at Starshine to ask, “Okay, what exactly is he tryin’ to make you magic away? ‘Cause Ah think Ah a good idea what it is.”

“No you don’t!” shouted Blitz with a vein throbbing on his forehead. Of course, neither of the other two stallions took notice to his pissed off look while Starshine answered AJ’s question.

“I have no idea,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “He refuses to tell me, so I’m kinda in a standstill here.”

After a brief exhale through his nostrils, Applejack glanced back at the stunt-pony with a flat stare. “Dude… whad’ja do with Elusive?”

“NOTHING!” bellowed Rainbow in an obvious lie, not caring that his booming response caused a few ponies nearby to stop and stare at the three momentarily. But to the pegasus, the only thing he was focused on was Applejack with narrowed eyes. “Nothing happened between me and Elusive! And don’t you DARE try to say differently, dude!”

Blitz may have looked more furious than a cat that was thrown in a lake, but that didn’t stop AJ from huffing with a small smile on his muzzle. “Well, if nuthin’ happened, then there ain’t nuthin worth erasin’, is there? Besides, Ah really doubt it’s any worse than that thing that happened after your first dance.”

“Dude!” Rainbow leaned in with the strongest glare imaginable on AJ, and made a silent “cut-it” motion with a hoof across his neck to make the stallion shut up. Even though Applejack did just that, his knowing smirk made it clear that he was aware why his friend wanted a memory wipe.

“Ummm…” Starshine leaned in from the side as he looked at both of them puzzledly. “What’s Applejack talking abou--”

“Nothing!” said both of them at the same time, although AJ’s tone when he answered was much cheekier than Blitz’s brash growl at him. Starshine blinked a couple times, and then scoffed while rolling his eyes.

“Whatever,” said the unicorn with a shake of his head and a smirk. “I won’t ask for details, but I seriously doubt it’s anything that’ll surprise me. Heck, I held weekly orgies back in my old town! So whatever happened between you and Elusive, it prob…”

Starshine’s words trailed off when he saw the wide-eyed stares Applejack and Rainbow both had on him. After a couple seconds of silence, the unicorn briefly pursed his lips shut before saying with a nervous smile, “Uhhh… heh heh heh… I never mentioned that before, did I?”

“Nnnnope,” replied AJ with a strong shake of his head as he unknowingly mimicked his older sister. But unlike the orange stallion, Blitz was able to relax after a moment and shrug casually.

“Hey, it’d explain how you got everypony to follow you~” he said with an almost impressed-sounding tone.

“Well, the sex was about as good as the food, so that should give you a good idea how mediocre it was. B-But that’s not the point!” Starshine shook his head to clear his thoughts, and brought things back to topic after taking a breath and saying to Rainbow. “Listen, all I’m saying is that unless his horn went up your butt or something, I really don’t see any reason to be this freaked out right now! I mean, you two have a huge routine to do, right? Is this really worth all the trouble you’re making for yourself?”

Rainbow had to pause momentarily while letting Starshine’s statement sink in, and hopefully ignore that “horn in the butt” remark. While the dancer stood with a skewed muzzle and look of contemplation growing across his face, Applejack decided to intervene and add on Starshine’s behalf, “Honestly, Ah think he has a point there, Blitz. Ah mean, Ah don’t know what happened. But if you compare it to that, uhhh… ‘You know what’ moment… Can you really say it’s as bad as that?”

The pegasus looked away from both of the stallions, growing a more uncomfortable expression as he thought things over. Even though he hated to think back to what happened the previous night, and especially that horn-sucking moment a few weeks ago, Rainbow knew that his friend brought up a damn good point. Compared to fellating a stallion’s horn like a popsicle, almost… well, technically not doing anything at all, shouldn’t be seen as being worse by any means. It was still awkward, no doubt, but definitely not something he couldn’t overcome.

So after a pregnant bout of silence, Rainbow Blitz closed his eyes and took a breath before turning back to Applejack and Starshine. He sighed as he reopened his eyes and admitted in a hesitant tone of voice, “Well, I… I guess it… isn’t as bad...”

Despite how uneasy Blitz looked as he said that, even going as far as to avoid eye contact with either of the ponies while saying it, AJ was quick to pull him in from the side with a smile and an optimistic tone. “There ya go! Was that so hard to say? Now you don’t have any excuse to keep yourself from talkin’ with Lucy ‘bout it.”

“Dude, come on!” griped Blitz while trying to pull himself away from Applejack’s side-hug. He may have known that his friend was right, but that didn’t make the stunt-pony feel any less uncomfortable about confronting Elusive about last night. Alas, Rainbow could only let out a faint whinny while pouting away from AJ’s smile.

“Oh, don’t be like that now!” said the orange stallion as he gave a friendly punch to Blitz’s shoulder. “You two have already done a lot together, both in this competition and before it. Do ya really think he deserves a cold shoulder now?”

Blitz groaned with his eyes closed in guilt, knowing he couldn’t try to debate with AJ about this. After sighing painfully, the cyan pony swallowed his pride and pulled Applejack’s hoof off of his back. “Okay, I get it dude! I’ll talk to him.”

“Alright then,” stated AJ with a firm nod as he watched Rainbow make his leave. “Ah think Ah saw him near the practice rooms, so look ‘round there.”

Blitz just nodded silently and walked away, leaving Starshine to stare at Applejack with a worried expression before asking, “Ummm… don’t you think you were being a little forceful there? I mean, he seemed a bit uncomfortable about talking with Elusive again.”

“Okay, one,” said Applejack as he looked back at him with a raised brow, “no offense, but you might not be one to talk when it comes to judgin' ponies for doin' forceful stuff, alright?”

While the unicorn gave him an especially sour scowl, Applejack added with a shrug, “And second, Ah know Blitz a lot longer than you have. Sometimes he needs a good kick in the butt to do somethin’ he should.”

“Oh really?” asked Starshine coyly with both brows raised, not looking worried about mentioning, “like when you and your friends dressed up as a superhero to make him feel worthless?”

Seeing why Starshine mentioned that, AJ could only reply with an annoyed scowl, “Alright, fine. Tit for tat.”

---

By the time Elusive checked their empty dressing room for the third time, he was starting to get legitimately worried. Given how determined the rest of the competition was getting with practicing their routines, the fact that Blitz was still missing made him begin to assume the worst. He was sure that the pegasus wouldn’t just betray his Element for something as silly as an unexpected close moment with a friend, but Elusive was sure he’d try something tremendously stupid if he felt he had no options. Of course, if he had known what Rainbow was trying to do earlier, he would’ve been fairly right on that assumption.

Nevertheless, the unicorn moaned painfully as he dragged his hoof down his face for what felt like the dozenth time that morning. Given how frustrated he felt, he was determined to smack his friend over the head if all this added stress lead to a grey hair in his mane; or worse, a wrinkle on his face. The very thought of either of those consequences occurring made Elusive shudder fiercely with his teeth gritted. Fortunately though, the white stallion didn’t have to think about that mortifying mental image for too long before hearing Barb’s voice from the distance.

“Elusive! ELUSIVE!!” Rushing down the crowded hallway like she was late for a train departure, the dragoness darted through and between the legs of countless ponies with expert precision while the unicorn was in her sights. Behind her, a familiar cyan pegasus was quickly, albeit apprehensively, following Barb while scooting around crew members and other dancers. “Elusive, I found him!” shouted Barb with an excited and prideful smile as she got closer to him. “He was by the back of the stadium!”

“Oh, Barbara!” Elusive sighed in sweet relief and smiled the instant he saw the drake and his dancing partner. Despite how badly he wanted to chastise Blitz for putting him through such a fret, all that the stallion could think to do was give Barb a quick hug in gratitude. “Thank you so much for your help! I really appreciate it.”

The dragoness nearly melted in Elusive’s hooves as she blushed and shuddered from his embrace. “Uhhhh… i-i-it’s no problem…”

Meanwhile, Blitz rolled his eyes and shook his head with a smirk when he saw how Barb reacted to Elusive’s hug. Unfortunately for him, Elusive only held her for another couple seconds before locking eyes on him angrily. After putting the drake down, the unicorn stormed up to Rainbow with a livid scowl. “RAINBOW BLITZ! Exactly WHAT were you…”

Elusive paused when he realized they were still in the middle of a crowded hallway, and that most of the dressing room doors were wide-open. Not wanting every dancer to overhear their spat and assume the worst about them, he took a deep breath before lighting his horn and making a sound-bubble around the two. They might still be seen through the tinted blue dome that took up half the hallway, but they were completely silent to keep from disturbing anypony that walked past them. Nevertheless, Elusive still lowered his tone to an aggravated hiss while he and Rainbow were in the confined space. “Blitz, do you have ANY idea how long I tried to look for you!? We have less than three hours of practice, and you running off is completely unacceptable!”

Blitz was a little embarrassed being put on the spot in such an open space, but he knew he couldn’t blame Elusive for being so pissed off. Despite noticing a few puzzled glances from crew members who walked around the sound-bubble they were in, the pegasus still sighed and replied apologetically to his partner, “Dude, I… I know I messed up, alright? I mean, I’m pretty sure you can understand why I feel a little weirded out right now, but… yeah… y-you’re right. And I'm sorry.”

Blitz had a guilty frown on his muzzle, and his head was lowered while looking back at Elusive, but the unicorn only exhaled silently while maintaining his firm stare. After pausing briefly with his eyes closed, he replied in a more understandable tone, “Rainbow, I… I’m not saying I don’t get it, alright? We… were in a bit of an awkward position when Bubble Berry saw us…”

Elusive bit the inside of his cheek hard to conceal a wince that almost surfaced across his face. Even though he knew that he wasn’t being honest about why that moment was awkward for both of them, it seemed like a better way to address it than with the whole truth right now. Given how frazzled Rainbow got over what they almost did, things might end up getting worse between them before it gets better. And considering how little time they had left to nail down their contemporary routine, the last thing they needed was to let their moment get in the way of reaching the finals.

The unicorn closed his eyes and took a breath to keep from looking too upset, even though his thoughts were screaming at him to get things settled properly. Elusive, come on! Screamed his conscience in the brief couple of seconds he was silent. Don’t try to muddle the issue! You know exactly what was going to happen, and so does he! Just say it, you imbecile!

Elusive couldn’t even notice Blitz’s expression, or what his friend was doing as his own heart pounded from his conscience berating him internally. Please, just say it! Get it out of the way! You can’t ignore what happened, and you certainly can’t stay silent on it! You know what you wanted to happen last ni--WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN! N-Not--

Before he could try to change his intrusive thoughts, Elusive violently shook his head with his eyes clenched shut to keep from thinking anything else. The entire moment of mental frustration only lasted a couple seconds, but it was enough time for Blitz to start talking without his friend realizing it. By the time Elusive came back to his senses, he blinked repeatedly when he caught the second half of what his friend was trying to say.

“... and I know it’s dumb to freak out about being seen like that, alright? It’s just with all the attention we’ve been getting from ponies, and… and coming back to reality of what we’re doing, it all just sorta… bottled up a bit, you know? It’s just weird getting used to this and not thinking too much about it. And, uhhh… it just made me a little worried about getting back into that mindset I was in before. I mean, I know that I agreed to it, but it’s just--”

Before Blitz could continue with his ramblings, Elusive raised a hoof to press against his lips and make him stop. A second after the pegasus stopped talking and looked back at the fretful-looking unicorn, Elusive took a calming breath before trying to take the reigns (as well as silence his thoughts) once more. “Rainbow, I… I just need to ask you one thing, okay? Do you… think you’ll be good to practice again?”

Elusive pulled his hoof away so that his friend could speak. Blitz, despite having his lips pursed worriedly, sighed through his nostrils and waited a second before nodding faintly. “I… I think so, yeah…” Despite the faint blush that appeared on his cheeks after giving his answer, it didn’t seem like any dishonesty was apparent in his voice. Fortunately, Elusive didn’t feel like it was necessary to bring up his partner’s reddening cheeks, since he felt his own face growing warmer the longer that moment of silence lingered between them.

“Alright,” said Elusive in a flustered tone of his own as he breathed out weakly. “I… I know what I said yesterday about not wanting you to feel overwhelmed. Especially with you, ummm… doing this routine. But… I just want to make sure that you’ll be okay to do it. Because if you can’t, I’ll completely understand.”

Even though hearing his friend say that meant a lot to him, Blitz barely hesitated to huff and shake his head in dismissal. “Dude, no,” he blurted in a firm tone of voice. “I know what I said, and… and I knew what I was getting into when I suggested that song. I know it’s a big deal, and… it’s definitely out of my comfort zone…”

Despite not intending to word that last part the way he did, Rainbow still huffed uncomfortably at having it remind him of other things. His eyes veered away from Elusive, not wanting to look back at him and be reminded of even more that would leave him too frazzled to function. After exhaling strongly, Blitz looked down at his hooves and said in a somewhat-confident voice, “But… I made a promise I’d do this competition for you, and… the last thing I’d ever want to do is leave you hanging. You’re a really good friend, and I… I know I can trust you with this.”

Elusive wasn’t sure why, but those last eight words made his heart thump particularly hard in his chest. Maybe it was how sincere the words sounded coming out of Blitz’s muzzle. Maybe it was because the statement itself was something he didn’t expect him to say in a moment like this. Or maybe… after learning so much about the pegasus in the past few weeks, he was finally able to see how much closer they were getting…

Alas, despite how much his cheeks blushed, the unicorn was able to keep his mind blank long enough to sigh and nod with a shaky smile. “Blitz, I… I trust you too…”

Hearing how hoarse his voice got at that last part, Elusive sucked in a deep breath and covered his face with a hoof to ensure he wasn’t becoming too emotional out of nowhere. Luckily, he didn’t feel any tears coming down his cheeks in the split-second before Blitz looked back up at him. After huffing and putting his hoof back down, the stallion ignored his blush as he said with a forced smile and a disingenuously cocky tone, “An-And… And I trusted you when you suggested that song. I know it can get us to the finals, and… and I know you’re more than able to shine for it. We’ve been through a lot worse, and… we can’t let one little moment get in the way of that.”

Rainbow quickly nodded in agreement, and swallowed his worries before saying with a shrug, “Well, ummm… We can’t exactly prove that without getting back in gear, can we?”

Elusive’s smile turned more natural as he nodded in response, and he used another flash of his horn to undo the sound-bubble and bring them back in the crowded hallway. “Absolutely,” stated the unicorn as he used his confident demeanor as the perfect shield for Blitz to see. “Now come on! I think I saw an unoccupied practice room we can use on the east quarter.”

As he motioned Blitz to follow him, Elusive turned around so that his face was unseen by the pegasus. However, despite the fact that Rainbow couldn’t see his partner’s hesitant and confused expression behind a wall of blush, Barb certainly did when the stallions walked past her with barely a goodbye. The drake stood worriedly as she watched the two disappear, unsure whether or not dancing was the only qualm getting in the way of them.

Okay, this is getting weird! Barb thought to herself with her brows furrowed. I mean, it’s bad enough that I don’t know what’s going on, but those are acting so different lately! I swear, they’re starting to act like the guys in those weird manga things Butterscotch has at his place. Hmmm… maybe I should ask him about it. He seems like he’s the closest to those two recently....

“Uhhh… Barb?” The dragoness jolted a little from hearing the distinct voice of the colt who came up to her. Apple Buck, who was still only wearing his red bandana, seemed a little puzzled as he looked at the drake with a tilted head. “You okay there?” he said as he looked between her and the end of the hallway she was staring at. “You seemed a bit lost for a sec.”

“Oh! Ummm…” Barb wasn’t sure how long she was lost in her thoughts, but Elusive and Blitz were long gone by the time she was brought back to reality by Apple Buck. She quickly breathed out with an instinctual nod before saying to him, “Y-Yeah, I’m alright. Just, ummm… thinking about how the competition is gonna go today.”

“Yeah, Ah guess Ah can’t blame ya.” Buck huffed with a smirk as he scratched the back of his neck with a hoof. “With all the practicin’ me an’ Twinkle were doin’, Ah’m just glad Ah’m able to walk around for a sec.”

“Mmmhmm…” Barb tried not to look too lost in her thoughts, but it was clear something was on her mind from the way her mouth was skewed a little to the side. Before Buck could notice or ask what was up, the drake took a breath and decided to ask, “Hey, umm, Buck? If you don’t mind me asking, have you, ummm… like…”

Apple Buck looked back at her with a raised brow, unsure what she was trying to ask. It wasn’t until she sighed that the dragoness felt bold enough to say, “Have you started feeling weird since you started dancing with Twinkle Toes?”

Apple Buck had no idea what prompted Barb to suddenly ask that question, but it was definitely enough to make his face blush immensely. “W-What?! Uhhh…” After darting his eyes every which direction except the drake’s, he tried to redeem his flustered look with a shaky smile as he replied, “Ah… Ah don’t… d-don’t know what ya mean, Barb. Uhhhh… Nope! No weird feelins at all! Just normal… un-weird feelins! Heh heh…”

Barb tilted her head as her eyes narrowed on the colt, which caused him to bolt off to avoid what felt like an interrogation. “Uhhh! Ah gotta go and check on her outfit, BYE!!!”

In a flash, Apple Buck rushed off to leave the dragoness alone once more. After a long moment of silence, and her worried look growing in unease, Barb sighed as she slumped downward and looked at her feet. “Well,” she said in a disheartened tone, “that’s only making things more confusing…”

Comments

[CrackedInkWell]

Boy, Freud would have had a field day with Blitz, Elusive, Berry and Starshine in this chapter.

[TheVClaw]

8523078
Don't forget Barb!

[Vectored Thrust]

Blitz and Elusive are acting more and more like a couple with every chapter, I love it!

Also, Starshine hosting orgies in his village that were terrible was both surprising but not really surprising

[purple pegasus]

This story is so pent up, the font is turning blue.

Stop being such a homophobe, rainbow pegasus!

[Evilhumour]

Out of nowhere, Bubble Berry rose up from the floor like a classic horror-movie mummy and yelled out, “N-NO MOM, I WAS VACUUMING LINT OFF MY LEGS!!”

Oh god, that got me to laugh!