[Backdated to Friday/Open]

[elementofloyalty]

[Not everyone was off having a grand old time at the Homecoming Dance.]

[For example, take this pegasus pony, who -- after clearing the clouds out from around Balamb as promised -- has snuck a purloined cumulus into the Training Center. Not terribly deep inside, but high enough to be out of range of danger, she lies on her cloud and looks miserable.]

[She is, after all, clearly not cool enough to go to the stupid dance where no one wants her around anyone and it's not like she has anyone to impress so she gets an invite onto the Wonderbolts so why should she bother even showing up.]

[Stupid dance. Stupid Garden. She's way too cool for ANY of them.]

Comments

[tempesting]

Not attending the festivities Ms. Dash? [ Dolphin stands in the doorway, not at all dressed for dancing and celebrating, no. She's wearing her unicorn pajama bottoms and a yellow, Balamb t-shirt. She'd been working on late paperwork instead of attending festivities in the evening. ]

[elementofloyalty]

No!

I'm... busy!

[tempesting]

[ she looks at the clouds. ] I see.

[ looks back to Dash. ] Did you see the cake and cookies they made for the party?

[elementofloyalty]

Yeah, yeah, they looked great, everyone can enjoy.

[See!? See how totally unconcerned she is?! Does she have to yell louder about how FINE she is?!]

[tempesting]

[ well actually the rising decibel level kinds tells Dolphin that things are not all right in Rainbow Dash Land. ]

Did you try some of the fudge cake? It's really yummy and hard to not take a second slice.

[ she has to be careful. posing some casual questions in order to figure out whatever it is that is bothering Rainbow Dash. ]

[elementofloyalty]

I'm sure it's great. Hope everyone likes it.

[Sensing a pattern here?]

[tempesting]

[ okay. time to switch things up. ]

Rainbow Dash, I really miss my baby boy, Cerdian. I feel very lonely and would love to have a hug from my friend. May I have a hug, please?

[elementofloyalty]

[After a moment of silence, Rainbow peers over the edge of the cloud with a confused look on her face.]

Wait, what?

[tempesting]

I miss my little baby. He is not even a year old yet.

[rewritethis]

[There seem to be a few people sitting out the dance tonight. This particular person is a strong contender for the least surprising. Losing the title would bruise his ego, winning the title would bruise his sanity; he figures the optimal solution is to ignore the ballroom altogether and take advantage of the relative quiet everywhere else.

He strolls into the training centre, stripped down to his shirt, and... huh. Okay, even if he's not quite the least surprising, Rainbow definitely has him beat. Although he's not sure where else he'd expected her to be. Outside, racing the Garden along the coastline? Something stupid like that.]

Hey, that's weird. How'd that cloud get in here?

[He might almost be talking to himself... if he wasn't more than loud enough for her to hear and looking straight up at her with a slight smirk on his face. He can't clearly make out what she's doing up there, though.]

[elementofloyalty]

[Rainbow drags herself out of her funk long enough to look over the cloud at Ed and put on a brave -- or, at least, irritated -- face.]

You're skipping out to avoid the voting, aren't you.

[rewritethis]

[Irritation is a pretty common reaction to noticing him, so he doesn't suspect anything's wrong.]

What voting? I was just hoping this place would be empty for a change. [That smirk morphs seamlessly into an innocent smile.] Guess I was wrong. What about you? Did you get bored after all that campaigning you were doing or something?

[elementofloyalty]

[She waves a hoof, and sounds alarmingly hearty when she speaks.]

Ohhhh, Twilight and Princess Luna will win for SURE. I don't even have to be there to see that.

[rewritethis]

[Okay, that's a little uncharacteristic... but still not a blatant red flag. All he does is raise an eyebrow.] You think? So you're just gonna trust all of the other candidates not to pull anything funny at the last minute? That's pretty generous of you.

[C'mon, the least she could do is head up there for a couple of minutes and vote for Zak or Damian...]

[elementofloyalty]

[The thought honestly hadn't occurred to her. She cocks her head, thinks about it a moment, then points a hoof at him.]

If YOU're not there, YOU clearly trust them not to all vote for you while you're gone and can't stop them.

[rewritethis]

Yeah, I could go stop them, or I could do something other than waste an entire evening. Let them have their fun. It's not gonna matter to me either way. [It's just as well he picks that moment to look away, because his expression blatantly gives the lie to what he's saying.]

[elementofloyalty]

Oh yeah. "Ed Elric, Homecoming Prince!" How terrible that people like you enough to wanna vote for you.

[Bitter? She's not bitter. Rainbow Dash is the least-bitter pony in the entire world! NOT BITTER!]

[morphitudinous]

[Billy's just passing through to get some training in. He's loaded down with his usual backpack, glancing down to avoid the roots when he notices an unusual shadow. Since when are there clouds?

Ah. The equine cadet he'd seen in Winhill, and countless times before and since. It really was unusual for her not to be somewhere more...socially vibrant.]

Are you feeling well, Miss Dash?

[elementofloyalty]

Huh?

[She picks her head up to look down, then tries to muster a smile.]

Sure! I'm feeling great, just... great. Great!

[morphitudinous]

You usually sound happier when you're 'great'. I thought I heard about a big show with you as the star tonight.

[He taps his foot. Yes, this is odd.]

[elementofloyalty]

Well, today I sound like THIS while I'm great! It doesn't mean I'm any less great!

[Huffing loudly and dramatically, she flops back down very pointedly.]

[morphitudinous]

[He winced, pressing a hand to his ear. Ow.]

...I see. So you'll have a great performance tonight, right?

[elementofloyalty]

Yeah, sure, best in the world! Really great!

[She lifts a hoof and waves it. Unconcernedly. SEE HOW UNCONCERNED SHE IS.]

[morphitudinous]

If acting is part of your show, you might need some more practice.

[He sees what you're doing there. If she ever sees his face, he's trying to hide concern. She doesn't like that, does she.]

[elementofloyalty]

Luckily I'm just flying, huh. Because that's what I do. I fly. Fast and far and better than ANYone else!

[It's all true! And said without a stitch of modesty! And somehow doesn't cheer her up at all...]