The day had gone on with little else to occupy Twilight, leaving her enough free time to sit back and watch the sunset.  As the fiery orb approached the horizon, Twilight held one hoof above it, keeping it in line with the very top of the sun and pretending to force it down.  Twilight normally would have felt silly with this kind of imaginary act, but it could very easily become a reality should something happen to her old teacher.

From her vantage point on top of the Carousel Boutique, Twilight could see nearly to the edge of town; luckily nobody noticed her fly up there and perch near the central spire.  She stood up and trotted quietly over the pink and purple shingles toward the edge.  With a graceful bounce she stepped onto the wall, telekinetically holding herself up perpendicular to the ground and walking down the wall just because she could.  She reoriented her own personal gravity back down to the ground and continued toward the door, knocking a few times with the back of her hoof to signal Rarity that she had come over (rather than doing so the hour before while she watched the sunset).  

Rarity opened the door, dressed up in a somewhat tight fitting blue dress that rode fairly high on her flanks, along with a similar color of eyeshadow and lipstick.  She flashed a smile and eyed Twilight curiously, noticing that she chose not to wear anything at all for the night out.

"Well, well, well.  You got awfully dressed up, Rarity."  Twilight moved away from the door and beckoned Rarity to join her.  

"I never mind getting dressed up for all the boys out there.  Don't you like it, Twilight?"  Rarity closed her eyes and tilted her nose up as she walked past Twilight, giving off her usual air of superiority.

"I have to admit you do look great, though the blue lipstick is a little out of the ordinary."

"It's not too much is it?  I just think it brings out my eyes."

"Well I don't exactly think it's your eyes that all the fellas will be looking at."  

This comment sparked a coy giggle from Twilight's friend.  "Oh, I suppose you're right.  But this way at least it makes it look like I'm trying."

"Is that a crack at the fact that I'm not dressed up?"

"Why no, Twilight!  Honestly with your new look I'd think it strange that you'd consider covering it up.  I was only saying..."

"It's no problem at all, Rarity.  I'm just teasing you."  Twilight trotted alongside Rarity and passed the time during the walk with idle conversation.

"Of all the ponies I thought would tease me tonight, you've got to be the last of them."

"So how often do you do this sort of thing?"

"Not too often.  Every now and again, though, my 'drive' kicks up and begs me to go find somepony who can take care of it.  I've honestly tried my best to have a long relationship with some of the colts here in Ponyville, but frankly I can't hang onto one to save my life."

"Is that so?"

"Well, it's my fault mostly.  I can admit to being a touch...  High maintenance."

"No offense, but that's a little bit of an understatement."

"Okay fine...  Needy, is that better?"

"Needy sounds about right."

"Irrelevant as that is..."  Rarity gave Twilight an annoyed glare in the middle of this sentence,  "I don't see an issue indulging myself in the rituals of my desires.  I pamper myself at the spa with Fluttershy every week, I make my own robes out of fabric that is hoof-picked by ponies in very far-away lands, and I live in my own store and make money doing something I love.  All of those are desires that I've taken it upon myself to entertain, why's that any different from... carnal pleasure?"

"Well...  I guess I just worry about the reputation it might cause."

"Oh please...  Society and its double-standards can go ahead and kiss my hooves.  Why is it that if a stallion sleeps with a new mare every weekend he's considered a stud, but if a mare has a new coltfriend all the time she's filthy?"

"Now you're on about double-standards?  It's like a whole new Rarity comes out on club-nights, hm?"

"You're going to be giving me a hard time all night aren't you, Twilight?"

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry.  I'll stop now.  I actually agree with you on that last part, it really is a little bit insensitive to the ladies."

"Thank you!  I'm honestly glad I've got a friend to go with...  The place is usually full of other mares and only a few guys, but I can't help but feel a little unsafe going places by myself."

"Is this place in a bad part of town?"

"Oh, I don't think it's a particularly bad part of town.  I'm just a poor little mare all by my lonesome dressed up like... this... walking around at night.  Seems dangerous to me regardless of the location."

"Heh, well don't worry, Rarity.  I'll make sure you get home safe tonight."  Twilight looked up to see the dimly lit streets cast in the shadows of downtown Ponyville.  She had never actually wandered the back roads of the town despite how long she'd lived there, and so was going into brand new territory; the discovery was exciting.  

"I'll take you up on that if neither of us find a colt to have a good night with.  Otherwise I'd hope you don't follow me home."

"As oblivious as I seem to be as far as social situations go, I think I could figure that one out, Rarity."

"Just making sure, darling.  You know that old adage: 'Hope for the best, expect the worst'?"

Twilight simply rolled her eyes in response and gave Rarity a friendly hip-chuck to let her know that she wasn't actually offended.  The two shared a short laugh and progressed with their leisurely walk; Twilight continued to analyze her surroundings and try to memorize the layout of the streets.  Before long, the lavender unicorn spotted a flickering neon light off in the distance that must have been their destination.  As they approached, she could make out the bright purple lettering: Ataraxia.

"This the place?"

"Mhmm.  It seems a little dingy on the outside but it's actually very nice.  I think it's one of those spots that's only ever populated by ponies who know it's there, so most of them are regulars and are very polite.  Honestly I think you'll love it here."

"How'd you find out about it?"

"Some time ago a friend brought me here, I suppose the cycle repeats itself hm?"  

"Yeah I guess so."

Twilight and Rarity walked toward the unguarded front door and stepped inside.  The club wasn't exactly modern, but the inside was beautifully maintained.  All of the wood appeared to be from back when Ponyville was first established, coated in a beautiful vintage finish and retaining all of the natural wear and tear of years gone by.  The walls were all paneled with the same original wood, and the ceiling housed dozens of small mirrors that each reflected and refracted the dozens of candles strewn around the place.  Inside, the building really opened up into a very well laid out floor plan with a lot of space and a great energy abound.  

"Wow.  I gotta say, Rarity.  This really is a beautiful building."

"Oh I know!  It's all original paneling and that dark finish just brings out the lovely ambiance of the dim lighting...  I love the feng shui of the room."

Twilight and Rarity found an empty booth along the wall to sit, somewhat out of the way but not hidden in a corner.  Rarity gazed around, presumably to size up the crowd, while Twilight just sat back and relaxed, waiting for any kind of signal as to what was expected of her.  Fed up with the brief moment of silence, however, Twilight decided to engage in a little smalltalk so that she didn't seem like her usual awkward self (she was desperately trying to display that she had reinvented herself, if only for a small gain of respect).  

"So...  Ataraxia huh?  Odd name for a night club."

"Mmn, yes, one of the great few pegasi who came down to help settle Ponyville picked the name.  I think it roughly translates to 'tranquility', or something along those lines.  This isn't exactly supposed to be an exuberant club, just a sophisticated lounge where ponies can go to enjoy themselves and socialize...  Would you like something to drink?"  Rarity kept her chin tilted down and her muzzle facing Twilight exactly.  Twilight caught that Rarity was  trying to keep her 'good side' displayed in a cute way toward the rest of the lounge.  The lavender unicorn couldn't turn down the offer for a drink, though.  She had never had liquor before, mostly due to several irrational fears: addiction, alcohol poisoning, brain degradation or several other maladies that she had heard of on the subject.  None of that mattered anymore, though, so she threw caution to the wind.

"Mmn, why not?  Might as well loosen up, right?"

"That's the spirit!  Heh-heh... no pun intended."  Rarity's awful pun made Twilight roll her eyes, but she flashed a smile anyway.

"So what do you like?"

"I'm not exactly well-versed in the flavors of alcoholic beverages, Rarity.  Got any recommendations?"

"Well, I assume you've already eaten dinner... I certainly have.  With no heavy food to go with it we can stay away from any chianti or zinfandel.  Frankly, in the absence of food I can't exactly say that there's any perfect choice of wine to drink, but since it's a relaxed occasion I'd say a dessert wine would be a good start.  Perhaps a sauterne or even Port wine."

"I have to say I'm impressed.  I had no idea you were such a connoisseur."

"Just another hobby I've picked up over the years.  You know, because I need just one more thing to spend all of my time and money on.  Speaking of which, those wines are kind of expensive but I'd say they're entirely worth the price.  You don't drink much, do you?"

"Not at all, as a matter of fact"

"Well then try the sauterne, it has a little less alcohol in it and ought to be a little sweeter.  Port is fortified with brandy so it's more of an acquired taste, at least in my humble opinion."

"Mmn, I think I'm feeling adventurous.  I'll give the Port a try."  Twilight sat back and made herself comfortable while perusing the rather slim crowd.

"Well alright then, I'll be right back."  Rarity stood up from her side of the booth and walked over toward the back wall.  The bar area was very minimal, but Rarity stepped up to it nonetheless and took a rather seductive stance over one of the stools in front of it.  A few stallions took notice as she ordered the drinks, following her with their gazes as she trotted back.  

"You didn't pay?"  Twilight noticed no money changing hooves and needed to slake her curiosity.

"I just had them put it on my tab is all,"  Rarity said happily as she took her seat once more and flicked her mane away from her eyes.  Twilight caught the echo of Rarity's true motives behind the obvious lie: One of those guys will probably pick up the charge.

Twilight chose not to let on that she caught her meaning, simply grinning and giving a little huff before looking down and dragging her hoof in a little circle on the beautiful antique table.  "So how'd you pick up wine culture?  I don't imagine we get the best selection in Ponyville."

"I guess you could say it's one of my silly obsessions that go along with dreams of Canterlot fame and glory.  I actually forced myself to learn about wine culture with the hopes that I could impress some noble or other, but really I've only been to two events where it's come in handy.  One was a visit to Canterlot on a date that ended just dreadfully, and another was a friend's cousin's birthday..."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Rarity, but you go to some awfully great lengths to pander to 'important' ponies."

"Oh no offense taken whatsoever, darling.  Honestly I've since given up trying to do all that for other ponies and started paying more attention to my own interests.  Ugh, as if I wasn't always out for myself."

"Well I think one of the things I've always liked about you is that you spend equal portions paying attention to your own needs and the needs of others."

"Hah, well thank you, Twilight.  I do appreciate that."

"Hello there, ladies, having a nice night?"  A yellow-coated unicorn appeared with two large glasses of wine floating magically together.

"We're having a lovely evening, Joy, thank you."  Rarity greeted the waitress (obviously a close friend) with a hug.  "Twilight, this is Joyful Day."

"A pleasure to meet you,"  Twilight said with a nod and a forced smile.

"The pleasure's all mine.  All my friends call me Joy, by the way."  The waitress delicately lowered the glasses down and set them in front of the other two unicorns, standing up straight and flicking her head to the side.  Her short-cut mint green mane didn't fall too much further than her eyes, but still seemed to bug her incessantly.  "Here are your drinks, hope you enjoy them."

"Thanks a million, Joy!"  Rarity smiled and picked her glass up, smelling the brim before taking a very slow sip.

"You're very welcome, oh and by the way your old trick is still working.  That handsome orange colt over there and his pegasus buddy picked up the check.  I swear you've put a dozen drinks on your tab and haven't paid for a single one."

"So that's your secret?"  Twilight decided to join in on the friendly jeering of Rarity's calculated plan.

"Hey, I didn't tell them to pay for it!  That's their choice."

"I don't blame you at all, Rarity.  You've got quite a system going and frankly," Joy paused and leaned down, lowering her voice and flashing a wink to both of the unicorns at the table "frankly I'd take anything I could get at this point."  

"Oh don't even start with that, you're gorgeous!"  Rarity gently nudged Joy's shoulder with her hoof, sharing another friendly chuckle.  "I'm sure you could get any colt in this place if you just asked them."

"I'm on the clock, Rare, that's a bit unprofessional."

"Just a suggestion, Joy."

"We'll see, anyway enjoy, I gotta go do some dishes."  With that, Joy left the pair behind to enjoy their wine; Twilight had been sitting quietly and only then took the first sip.  It was far less 'sweet' than she had expected, but it was by no means unpleasant.  The light burn of alcohol lingered in her throat as she swallowed the wine, and the flavors lightly bounded from her tongue as she took a breath and placed the glass back on the table.  

"So, what'd you think?"  Rarity eyed Twilight in anticipation for her reaction to the first time ever drinking wine.

"It's great, actually.  I couldn't drink a whole lot of it, but I definitely like it."

"I'm glad to hear it!.  By the way, a sauterne would go perfectly with any of Applejack's baking.  We ought to buy a bottle one day and just have a little get together with them, don't you think?"

"I thought Applejack was a little too 'rustic' for you."

"Oh she and I may not agree on everything, but I couldn't possibly deny her talents in the culinary arts.  Plus apples go well with that sort of white wine."

"Well that does sound like it could be fun.  Maybe we can."

"I'm sure it'd be very entertaining.  Oh, speaking of which, what do you think of those two over there who so graciously paid for our drinks?"

"What do you mean?"  Twilight hadn't really been paying attention to the pair, in truth she wasn't entirely interested in the pursuit of what would very likely be a one-night-stand.

"Well, how do they look to you?  Attractive?"

"I guess...  I'm not exactly getting a great look from all the way over here."  Rarity rolled her eyes and grinned to Twilight, hailing over to the two stallions with a wave of her hoof to which they promptly responded.  The two approached calmly; an orange earth pony with a red, long mane accompanied by a beige pegasus with a black, short-backed mane that hung over his right eye who clearly had reservations about socializing.  

"Hello there, ladies."  The earth pony stepped up and bowed his head, his friend following close behind and mimicking his movements (with a slight delay, of course).

"So I understand we have you two to thank for the payment of our drinks tonight, hm?"  Rarity flashed a smile as the two approached the table, sitting with one leg crossed over the other and not moving from her spot at the edge of the booth.

"That you do, I suppose, and I certainly hope you're enjoying them."

"Why yes I believe they've certainly hit the spot.  Twilight?"

"Oh, yeah it's wonderful, thank you very much."  Twilight was caught off-guard with the question and tried to seem like she was paying attention and not just lost in a virulent mixture of crippling boredom and slowly rising disdain for socializing.

"This is my good friend Twilight Sparkle, and my name is Rarity.  A pleasure to meet you mister..."  Rarity paused at the end of her sentence to bait the answer.

"I'm Dawn Ray and this is Thunderhead, and the pleasure is all ours I'm sure."  The bright orange earth pony cheerfully introduced himself, though his pegasus friend was awfully quiet.  "What brings you two beautiful mares to this place tonight?"

Twilight rolled her eyes at the comment and ended with a rather pained look to Rarity.  Of course, she came to discover that the ivory unicorn was absolutely loving the cheesy affection.  "Twilight here isn't exactly the social butterfly that I am, but she expressed interest in going out so I decided to bring her to one of my favorite places in town.  Figured it'd be a good first date, hmm?"  With this she flashed a wink at 'Dawn Ray'; a name that Twilight found more than just a little ridiculous.

"Interesting coincidence, I dragged Thunderhead out here because he's been moping over a breakup for the past two months."

"Not exactly the same thing there, fella."  Twilight decided to voice her distaste to the pompous pony through a snarky comment, but he remained unphased.  The earth pony was expressing far more interest in Rarity anyhow.  

"W-well I didn't mean any offense.  Just trying to break the ice is all."  Dawn Ray recovered quickly with this response.  The lavender unicorn shrugged, figuring that she'd sufficiently expressed her dominance and taking a little solace in that.  

Rarity stood up and offered Dawn Ray a seat, to which Twilight followed suit for the quiet pegasus (who nervously took the offer).  Twilight and Rarity immediately took the outside seats next to their counterparts, keeping a quick path to the exit ready just in case they should wish to leave.  Smalltalk erupted from the other side of the table, with Rarity keeping her usual coy evasiveness to test the interest level (which Dawn Ray was producing in droves).  Twilight turned her head to the nervous gray pegasus and flashed a smile, taking consolation in the fact that he hadn't proven to be a complete douche-bag yet.

"So... moping over a breakup for two months, huh?"  Twilight rested her hoof on the table and propped her head up, trying to show a little feigned interest in the pegasus.

"O-oh...  Uhm, it's not exactly that.  Yeah I was dumped two months ago but that's not what I'm 'moping' about...  I actually rather hate it when he says it like that."  Thunderhead tried to explain his disposition, but was clearly one of the more reserved types.  This, however, definitely piqued the interest from Twilight now that she'd garnered a little more dominance in her attitude.

"Then what is it?  And why don't you just tell him to quit introducing you that way if it annoys you, hm?"  Twilight lowered her eyelids a little and smirked, trying to see if she could make the pegasus shrink away a little bit.

"Oh I couldn't do that.  At least he's nice enough to bring me out with him every now and then."  He spoke quietly enough so that his buddy couldn't hear across the table; luckily the surrounding noise (soft as it was) helped to drown it all out.  "I just haven't really wanted to be in a relationship since then...  No offense or anything but I've had better things to do with my time and money."

"Hah!  That's a very practical way to look at it...  I like."  Twilight tilted her head to the side a little and looked up into the pegasus's dark brown eyes.

"I-I-I just, I didn't...  I just don't see the point is all.  Putting myself out there just to get my heart broken again...  I'd rather not.  Or at least wait a little while before I set myself up for failure again."

Twilight leaned a little closer to the stallion and spoke just a little more quietly, knowing her voice would be a little seductive from it.  "I know the feeling, I've got a friend who likes to pester me about that same thing, but I just enjoy most of my nights to myself, honestly."  Thunderhead grinned and looked down, blushing just a little and oddly evading eye contact.

"I guess I'm glad you understand, then."

"Well...  Since we understand each other, mind if I make a proposition?"

"G-go ahead."

"Why don't I go to your place, we have a little fun, then I head home and not have the pressure of a possibly-failed-time-wasting-heart-breaking-relationship to wake up to?  We appease our friends, relieve a little stress, and then go our separate ways, pursuing it if we decide we want to afterward."

"W-well I, uhm...  I..."  The pegasus blushed intensely; it was clear that he hadn't ever been in this situation before.  "I don't really see anything... wrong with that..."

"So just say yes, there's no pressure and there aren't any strings attached."

"Well...  you are one of the most... beautiful mares I've ever met."

"Now you're just tryin' to flatter me, mister Thunderhead."

"W-w-w-well I ca-an stop if you w--"

"Relax!  I was only giving you a tough time.  Now c'mon, let's get out of here."  Twilight leaned up and moved her muzzle closer to his ear, "I don't like your friend, anyhow."  Twilight and Thunderhead each glanced over to the couple that had been hitting it off thus far.  Rarity was sitting back and fluttering her eyelids and Dawn Ray was showing her some magic trick with a coaster and her wine glass.  Twilight immediately thought of a 'magic trick' of her own where she'd make the coaster 'disappear' to someplace very uncomfortable, but chose not to voice that little gem.

"Oh he's not that bad...  but I agree, let's get out of here."

Twilight stood up and smiled contentedly, calmly whispering across the seat, "Glad you saw it my way."

Thunderhead followed suit, but the sudden shift captured Rarity's attention.  "Leaving already, darling?"

"Well yeah, you brought me here to meet somepony and, well, I met somepony.  Figure we'll get out of your hair."

"Haha!  Wow, buddy, you sure do work quick."  Dawn Ray tapped at the table with his free hoof a little bit to emphasize his point.

"Hey, c'mon now Ray, let's keep it kinda classy."  Thunderhead said gingerly as he escaped the booth seat.

"Do have fun, you two.  Oh and Twilight..."  Rarity beckoned her friend over to whisper in her ear.  "Come check in with me tomorrow, I want to make sure everything went alright."

"Will do, Rarity.  I'll see you later, and you have a good night as well."  With that, Twilight left the interesting little bar and headed out into the town.