“We're here, squirt!” Rainbow Dash chirped as the chariot grinded to a stop in the road before my house.
“Awwwwwwww...” I pouted, slumped over the side of the vehicle. “But we just took off—like—minutes ago!”
“Hey. Not my fault I was born fast!” Rainbow Dash winked, unhitched herself, and trotted over. “Besides, we got to spend plenty of time together today, didn't we?”
“Mmmmm-yeahhhhhh...”
“Then what's to complain about?” Rainbow Dash gripped me by my sides and hoisted me out and onto the grass. “Now, no whining. Or else you'll start to sound like my friend who may or may not be a vampire.”
“Heeheeheee...” I glanced up at her, smiling. “How do you manage to be so awesome, so funny, so talented, and so sure of yourself all at once?”
“Eh... I dunno...” She shrugged with a smirk. Reaching into the chariot, she pulled my scooter out and planted it down beside us. “Guess I just don't sweat it, y'know?” She suddenly blinked, her face blank.
I was leaning in, nuzzling her chest with a happy smile. My wings twitched as I said, “Well, thank you for sharing it all with me. You're the best, Rainbow Dash. You totally made my day... my week!”
Rainbow Dash bit her lip, but ultimately produced a subtle grin. “Heh... don't get all gushy on me, kid. You'll stain the fur...”
“Heeheehee...”
“Seriously. Run along, Scoots.” Rainbow Dash patted my head. “Your folks are probably cooking dinner for you or something.”
“Yeah...” I winced slightly. “Odds are, it's my goose too.”
“Huh?”
“Heh... don't you fret. Everything's gravy.” I hopped onto the scooter, kicked with my hooves, and zoomed over the lawn to my front door. “See ya, Rainbow Dash!” I hollered over my shoulder, waving a forelimb. “Stay awesome!”
“Yeah... uh...” Rainbow Dash quietly waved back. “I'll try.” A brief gust of wind blew at her mane. She was alone. Silently, she glanced down and ran a hoof over her chest where the little filly had nuzzled her.
Clink! Rainbow slapped the empty mug onto the tabletop.
“Hic!” Bleary eyed, she wiped her muzzle free of cider foam and squinted at the other ponies seated across from her. “You guys ever had an idol when you were foals?”
Vinyl Scratch glanced up from her music sheets. “Hmmm?”
“You mean...” Bon Bon rubbed her chin while gripping a mug in the other hoof. “Like... somepony we always wanted to be like?”
“Does Sylvia Plots count?” Lyra droned.
Vinyl glanced across the table. “I didn't know you read Sylvia Plots.”
“I don't.” Lyra sipped at a mug, smirking. “I just love her friggin' name.”
“Marilyn Maneroe,” Caramel said, his ears drooping over a dumb smile. “I always... always admired her glamour and class...”
“Easy there, princess,” Lyra muttered aside. “Don't make me put the hose on you.”
Caramel blushed red as a beet. “It w-wasn't ever like th-that!”
“No—not like celebrities, guys!” Rainbow frowned. “I mean more like—hic—somepony you grew up with. A pony older than you that you wanted to follow in the wingstrokes of.”
“Ohhhh!” Bon Bon smiled in the neon light from the bar's frontside window. “I had a fantastic teacher when I was in third grade. She helped me discover my love of baking which led to my cutie mark.”
“I had a music instructor who taught me classic orchestral symphonies in high school,” Vinyl said.
Bon Bon glanced aside. “Wow. That sounds like such a wonderful subject matter.”
“Pfft. You kidding?” Vinyl smirked. “I hated his guts.” She turned back to her music sheets and continued scribbling. “Ticking him off was the first step I took in exploring the world of unconventional discotheque music. I haven't looked back since.”
“Unnnnngh...” Rainbow Dash's head sank to the tabletop.
“Lemme guess...” Bon Bon smiled nervously. “Not what you're aiming at either?”
“It might help us get to the friggin' point by getting to the friggin' point,” Lyra grumbled into her mug.
“You ponies know me well,” Rainbow Dash muttered. “Sometimes even more than my other friends do.”
“You mean your friendly friends?” Lyra said.
Caramel giggled. “Her daytime friends.”
“Hah...” Vinyl's lips curved.
“It's not—hic—like that!” Rainbow frowned.
“We know, Rainbow.” Bon Bon reached across the table to pat her hoof and smiled. “Please, do go on.”
“What... just...” Rainbow fidgeted. “What is it that would make a foal think the world of me?”
“Uhhhh...” Vinyl penstroked a few music notes and glanced up above her shades. “You might wanna be a bit more specific.”
“There's a lot of little tykes here in Ponyville that fill that rocking boat, girl,” Lyra said.
“You serious...?” Rainbow slurred.
“Are you kidding, Rainbow Dash?” Caramel said in a gasping voice. “The foals of this town adore you!”
“She's onto something,” Vinyl said calmly. “I've performed at cute-se-nearas, y'know. They no longer hire clowns or Princess Celestia impersonators. Yeesh, if I had a bit for everytime I've seen a rainbow colored mane...”
Rainbow Dash squinted. “You bucking serious?”
“Is it really that hard to friggin' believe?” Lyra asked. “I mean, you eat this sort of crud right up.”
Rainbow Dash fidgeted both hooves around the mug, her gaze falling to the floor. “Yeah... I guess I do...”
“Surely you've thought about it before,” Bon Bon said. “I mean... really thought about it.”
“Guess I haven't,” Rainbow muttered. “I mean... heh... I am awesome.” She tipped the mug over into her mouth, then frowned as she remembered it was out of cider. With a sigh, she slumped back into her seat. “I earn cheers and applause every friggin' day. As much as I dig it, a lot of it kind of goes over my head.”
“I guess with as big as it's gotten in the past, it was only natural for the swelling to subside,” Lyra said with a grin.
“Hardy har har...” Rainbow Dash slicked her mane back and sighed. “But you've got something of a point. There was a time when it was all cool, y'know? But now... it's... it's...”
“Not cool?” Caramel asked.
“No. It's still cool. It's just...” Rainbow bit her lip while her wings coiled tightly at her side. “It feels different. A little weirder, almost.”
“What's changed?” Bon Bon asked.
“I dunno. Me, I guess?”
Bon Bon brushed her banes back, gazing off in thought. Then, with a gentle smile, she stared at Rainbow again. “Is it really so hard for you to imagine a pony who spends everyday worshipping the ground that another pony walks on?”
“Yeah, well...” Rainbow Dash blinked crookedly. She lifted her gaze up at Bon Bon. “What are you getting at?”
“I've got an even better question for you, Rainbow.” Bon Bon leaned forward. “What is it that really brings you here tonight?”
“Huh?”
“We haven't seen you in over a week,” Vinyl said.
“Right,” Lyra muttered, her voice muffled by her mug. “And we all know that only one pony drives you to drink these days.”
Rainbow's eyes narrowed. She snorted, then snorted again. “Guys!” A weak laugh. “That has... HIC! That has nothing to do with anything!”
“You sure?” Lyra glanced over. “That's an interesting choice of drink you've made for the umpteenth time in a row.”
“Look... even if there was... some...” Rainbow gestured and gestured and gestured. “...connection...” She teetered in her seat, then grimaced. “It's not the same! I... I...” She sighed. “I love her...”
“Nopony's doubting that, honey,” Bon Bon said. “And far be it from us to ever dissuade you from clinging to those feelings.”
“Far... far... super far be it from us,” Lyra droned. “Like... you'd need a Celestia-damned telescope just to see how—”
“That's enough, Lyra,” Bon Bon said, caressing the unicorn's shoulder. She turned to smile gently at Rainbow once again. “But, perhaps—just maybe—it's a tad bit frightening for somepony who's so used to loving to get acquainted with what it means to be loved.”
Rainbow Dash sat still, gazing into nothing. Her muzzle hung agape while her left and right ears twitched alternatively.
“Fully and unconditionally,” Bon Bon added with a soft grin.
Rainbow Dash gulped. Slowly, her head shook, and she looked up with misty eyes. “I... I don't get it. I mean... what am I? Just... what am I?” She sniffled, and toyed with a few of her prismatic bangs while staring into the tabletop. “Every week... day in and day out... I go to sleep and I wake up thinking about the same thing... dreaming about... about her.” She swallowed hard, then murmured, “And it's not like it's ever going to go anywhere. I know what she wants. I know what she doesn't want. So why don't I just drop it? Besides, a clever pony would have done something by now. What do I ever do? Fly in circles and bang her head against the floor over and over again? That's not awesome. That's lame. And one of these days, I swear, it's going to bring me crashing straight... st-straight through...” She winced as her words trailed off.
The other four stared at her quietly. Muffled music wafted through the bar like a distant dirge.
Rainbow sighed. Her vision went foggy, so she clenched her eyes shut for as long as it took to dry them. Clearing her throat, she finally muttered, “I swear, I often wonder why I don't just... y'know... drop the whole thing altogether...”
Silence.
Caramel meekly spoke up, “Because then it wouldn't be love...?”
Bon Bon and Lyra flinched. Vinyl turned to blink at the stallion.
Rainbow's wings drooped while a shadow crossed her slack features. She sighed out her nostrils before ultimately muttering, “The cider here friggin' sucks.” The pegasus dropped some bits onto the tabletop and flapped her wings. “It's been a swell time, guys, but I gotta skate. Got cloud kicking to do in the morning.” She teetered slightly to the side. “Whoah!”
“Are...” Bon Bon half-stood up. “Are you sure you can make it home on your own?”
“Pffft. Of course. What do you take me for?” She smirked down at the group. “Thanks for the offer.”
“Oh... uh... no pr-problem!” Bon Bon said with a nervous smile.
“Saves us the trouble of building another catapult,” Lyra muttered.
“Lyra!” Bon Bon hissed.
“HIC!” Rainbow fluttered towards the front door and waved at the bartender on the way out. “Smell ya horses later.” With a rattling bell, she was gone.
The group sat in somber silence until Lyra spoke up. “Hey Vinyl. Be a dear and pass me one of those pencils of yours, kay?”
“Uhhhh...” Vinyl rolled the utensil in question over. “'Kay.”
Lyra grabbed it, pulled her hoof back, and tossed it against Caramel's skull. Bonk!
“Ouchies!” The stallion grasped his silken head.