> Strangers
>  by Jesterday
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: The Bar
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dark dress flowing out behind her, Pinkie Pie bounced as she and her date made their way up to the front of the line. As they reached the front, Pinkie gave a very excited hop and went a little too high; she went quite a bit further back than she'd planned and nearly knocked the person behind her completely onto the pavement. Pinkie quickly apologized and turned to see her date, Spitfire, speaking with the bouncer. After a quick look at their ID's, he gave Pinkie a small blue pass that stated in bold letters, NO DRINKING, and removed the soft violet rope. 
"I'm really glad you like this place, Pinkie," Spitfire stated loudly over the noisy crowd and band, "it's always been one of my favorite stops after work, and I even used to come by to support the bands when I was in school."
Pinkie bounded lightly behind her, her high-pitched voice ringing clear over the other noises in the room. "Yeah! My bestie, SunShim used to work here, and I'd visit pretty often to keep her company during her shifts. I eventually started liking the bands they showed here, like Fortessimous, TaVin, Poppin' Top, Immortals, Galax-Zee's, Koparts, Break the Mic-"
"I... I get it, Pink, I saw 'em a lot too," the fiery-haired bombshell giggled, and the warmth in Pinkie's cheeks grew. Spitfire looked confused though, and quickly asked, "But... Who's Sun...Shim? Is that what you said, SunShim?" 
Pinkie was shocked for a second, but realized she wasn't amongst her close friends at the moment. "Sorrysorrysorry, I forgot you didn't know! Sunset Shimmer, the med student. She worked here before her grant was accepted for Canterlot Med, but it got so boring at times that she asked me to start coming in during the times it was slow..." Pinkie trailed off as a man walked on stage, announcing into his mic that the next band would be up in a few minutes after setting up.
"...them yet?"
Pinkie snapped back to Spitfire. "Huh? Sorry, I get distracted pretty easily, what did you say?"
"Oh, y-you're fine; I was asking if you'd heard the next band yet. They're called the Rainbooms, and they've made quite a few appearances here specifically." Spitfire tilted her head slightly, and her gaze gave Pinkie quite a feeling. Not like fear, more like... intimidation.
Pinkie pondered for a few moments, not quite sure. To her, the name sounded familiar, but it wasn't quite making itself noticed in her memories. "I'm... not exactly sure, honestly. The name sounds familiar, but I can't... put my finger... it's on the tip of my tongue..."
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Rainbooms!
Leisurely, Pinkie swung her head towards the stage but stopped dead when she saw one of the members. A mohawk of six colors lit aggressively bright in the blacklights, a scarlet guitar balanced on her knee, and... and... captivating magenta eyes. "It's nice to be out folks! We've got two songs for you tonight, named Awesome As I Wanna Be, and Nothing Can Stop Me Now, both written by Flash Magnus here, give it up for Magnus!" The cheers of the bar crowd were muted; Pinkie still couldn't remove her gaze from those piercing pink eyes. "We hope you like 'em!"
During the first song, the heat of the blacklights sent a sheen of sweat across the lead guitarist's forehead, and near the end she whipped her hair around, trailing droplets through the air like vibrant stars. The next song was a little faster and much more uplifting than the last. It built confidence within the crowd, and someone even threw the lead singer a flower from the boxes out front. The bright-haired guitarist spent most of this song scanning the crowd for reactions, and suddenly stopped in Pinkie's direction. Her eyes, nearly glowing in the blacklights, pierced Pinkie's soul. Her heart skipped a few beats. When the song ended, Pinkie stood up to go meet the guitarist, but felt a gentle grip on her arm.
"Where're you headed? You ignored me during their songs, is everything alright?" Spitfire asked, her cheeks burning with a few too many shots. 
"S-Sorry, Spits, I don't know if we'll work-" Pinkie started. A quick finger to her lips shut her up, and Spitfire slurred out, "Don't worry, Pinka Ponka, I wasn't sure if we'd work either way. Can I at least count on you for a ride? I'm... not exactly in the, ah, best of shape for driving home." After a quick nod, Pinkie took the keys to keep Spitfire from leaving before she got back, and pushed her way towards the back of the stage.



"My God, Flash, did you see Pink Haired Girl staring at me? I can't believe I saw her again! I'm so glad she noticed me this time!" Rainbow Dash practically shouted, pacing frantically by the bus.
"Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't notice her sooner. She was starin' the whole time you were doin' Awesome As too." Magnus teased, his smile and tone jovial at best. "You must've really given her a show, cause here she comes now. Act natural, Dashie."
Through gritted teeth, Dash exclaimed "WHAT?!" before silently fixing her hair a bit and rubbing the glee from her face. The flush of red across her nose and tinting her cheeks wasn't going anywhere though, as the recently dubbed Pink Haired Girl made her way towards the bus. A quick glance made the glow become a little more intense; resting against supple breasts was a NO DRINKING laniard that matched the cutting blue eyes Dash had just noticed. 
"That was... an incredible show you guys put on, I just... I had to say hello!" Jutting out a hand, she smiled sweetly and stated proudly, "My name's-"
"Dash!" Both girls jumped at the shout; it was the percussionist, TieDye, leaning from the bus doors. "Guys, I hate to break up the meeting, but our plane leaves in a few hours, it's gonna be at least a two-hour drive from here! We gotta go!" 
Rainbow Dash hesitated for only a moment, then felt the slip of a small piece of plastic into one hand, the swift tug of Magnus on the other, at the exact same moment. When she'd finally been thrown into a seat, Dash turned around to see Pink Haired Girl leading a woman to a motorcycle. Her heart sank when she saw the woman with fiery hair lean in and steal a kiss. She turned forward in her seat and heard a sharp crackle as she closed her fist. In her hand was the vibrant NO DRINKING laniard. She tossed it in the seat next to her and rose to get water.
After a few minutes of sulking, Magnus leaned over the seat set and asked, "Dash, you good, man?"
"No," Dash said forcefully, her bottle straining from the sharp squeeze. "Pink was with someone tonight... An... an older woman, clearly drunk, but... I doubt she was out to see us, and her bartender friend doesn't work there anymore, so they must've been on a date."
"Dash."
"Heh, what-what on earth would such a... a... beautiful, sweet... kindhearted person like Pink Haired Girl want to do with a dirty guitarist like me?"
"Dash!"
"Why did I even think I'd have a chance with her? God's sake, they KISSED- oh. Oh my God. They... left. Together. MAGNUS-"
"DASH!" Magnus shouted. The AC had kicked on, and Dash felt the tears trailing her cheeks begin to grow increasingly cold. She roughly rubbed them from her face and stared into the empty seat next to her. Empty- "Dash, she left you this." He held the laniard above her eyes. The pass spun lazily until she noticed something on the back. "Ow!" Magnus cried playfully as the lanyard was stolen from his hand. Flipping front to back, Dash read what was written; hastily-scrawled yet neatly curly, written in gold permanent marker, was two simple words: Pinkie Pie.



"C'mon, Spits." Pinkie was leading Spitfire back to her motorcycle, a bright blue bike with pale yellow lightning bolts running jagged down the side. "We've been here long enough, you're completely trashed. Sorry we couldn't work out; I'm not exactly surprised since you're so much older than I am, but I still- Mm!"
Within a sharp headbutt - or at least very nearly one - and the slip of a tongue, the acidic burn of whiskey filled Pinkie's mouth and nostrils as Spitfire violently, drunkenly, stole a kiss. Pinkie wanted to lean into it, her mind quickly associating the soft lips with the guitarist, but the burning scent of the drinks - and along with it, the fact that it just felt wrong - forced her to shove Spitfire away. The woman stumbled a little, looking more than a little proud. The remorse was highly evident under the surface, though.
"Honestly, babe, I'm sorry 'bout tonight. I'm pretty glad you can-" she burped dangerously, sounding as though it was very close to throwing her food and drinks back out onto the pavement, "r-ride a bike, though... Hey... are'ya doin' anything tomorrow? I was thinkin' 'bout comin' back, but I'd need a ride..." Spitfire gave another small burp followed closely by a hefty hiccup that threw her off balance. 
Pinkie lurched forwards to grab the poor woman before she faceplanted into the concrete, and led her towards the bike. "Hold out here for just a moment, Spits, so I can get on the bike and get it started up." Pinkie swung a leg over the seat and felt the shock of the cold leather through her spandex shorts. As the bike rumbled to life, Pinkie felt Spitfire slump heavily onto the back of the seat and lean heavily against her back. "Make sure you've got my waist, okay?" Pinkie asked, hoping the woman actually was listening. After a bit of waiting, Pinkie reached behind her and grabbed Spitfire's arms and wrapped them around her waist. As a last minute idea, Pinkie took her belt off and tied it around Spit's wrists to make sure her arms didn't slip away. Finally, after watching the tour bus pull away, she took off down the road towards her own house. 
After about ten minutes of driving, with Spitfire snoring loudly against Pinkie's back, she finally allowed her mind to wander a bit.
What was it the drummer called her? Dash? She thought, keeping her eyes focused on the world around her. It's such a fitting name... I really hope she got my lanyard... Why on earth were her eyes so vibrant? And was she really looking at me? It seemed like she couldn't take her eyes off of me during the second song... But when I got out there she was talking to the guy of the group... Are they a thing? God, I hope not... Was she blushing when I went out to say hey? It was way too dark to tell... The guy was for sure staring at her. I couldn't see if he was blushing either. I really hope she didn't see how red I was, I can't believe she didn't say anything about it. I felt like my face was going to catch fire. A car honked behind her as she forgot to use her blinker while pulling off the highway. Waving her arm in apology, Pinkie began to wander through her mind again. Did the drummer say anything about where their next gig was going to be? I should look them up when I get home, maybe I can find a schedule. They said it was a two-hour drive to the airport, but there's a closer one that really only does shorter flights... Maybe it'll be overseas... I wonder if I could potentially find them at their next show somewhere? Maybe they've posted when they'll be back here...
Pulling into her driveway, Pinkie hefted Spitfire off the bike and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Her snores were soft as she dozed away, having slept nearly the whole drive there. After struggling with the front door, Pinkie set Spitfire onto the couch and covered her up. She set a small trashcan near the couch if Spitfire woke up and needed to vomit. After wiping her makeup off in the bathroom, Pinkie kicked off her boots and threw herself onto her bed, falling asleep in her dress clothes almost immediately. As she drifted into a dream, the girl - Dash - filled her thoughts and took her into a sugary-sweet dream of a future; a gorgeous diamond ring on her finger, a white picket fence, a nice car, and two little girls they had adopted together.