"Alright, here's the plan, girls!"

Three ponies barely into their mare years sat huddled around a corner, out of sight of the group that threatened their good times and club enjoyments. "That club is having one of the best nights ever! Not only is there some big music names there... there's one pony there that makes all the difference in the world! One pony that I know I can impress with my amazing awesomeness! One pony, the ONLY pony in there that matters right now?" Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy looked at each other, and then back to Dash, who grinned as she continued her 'pep talk.' "That pony is none other than new Wonderbolt recruit Soarin'!" The other two ponies nodded in understanding as Dash continued. "I'm gonna go in there, sweet talk him, wow him with my amazing stunts, and who knows, maybe end up Mrs. Soarin'!"

Pinkie blinked in confusion as she heard an unfamiliar voice speak up.

"Uh... Rainbow Dash... d-don't you think you're putting a little too much thought into this..?"

Rainbow shook her head. "No way! Besides, ending up Soarin's lady aint my real goal! Just a potential thing! Cause he... is freakin' hot."

"... B-but Rainbow... you're two... maybe three years younger than him? I don't think a relationship between you two is exactly legal right now..."

Rainbow waved her hoof, blowing a raspberry at her friend. "Details details, celebrities can date anypony they want. Besides, the REALY goal here is getting into the Wonderbolts' good graces! Just imagine it; Rainbow Dash, Champion flier, best in Equestria, first pony in generations to perform a sonic rainboom!"

Fluttershy put a hoof forward. "B-but Rainbow Dash, you haven't pulled off one of those since we were in flight school..."

Rainbow returned Fluttershy's comment with a glare. Clearly, this was something of a sore spot for the mare. The butter pegasus only pulled back, hiding behind her mane and mumbling apologies under her breath. Rainbow returned her gaze to a more central stage as if to be paying attention to both girls at once. "Alright! Clearly, we can't get in there with the muscle blocking our entry... but where there's a will, there's a way!" Rainbow drew a map in the dirt - map being a strong word as it was more or less a square. "This club is too big to have only one entry. I've scanned the place over before, and learned that it's got a side entry. Now, they'll probably have guards that we'll have to take out with sleeping darts-"

"-We don't have anything like that..."

Rainbow turned to glare at Fluttershy, who shrank back into her mane once more.

".... Fine. We'll get onto the roof and look for the air ducts. Surely there are patrols keeping their eyes open, so we'll have to utilize all our powers of stealth and-"

"But we're very brightly colored... stealth would be pretty-"

"Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy whimpered a bit. Rainbow Dash rubbed her forehead with her hoof, trying to ponder a move her long time friend would not burn.

"Why don't we just get somepony to get my friend inside to let us in?" The two ponies looked to Pinkie Pie. She smiled nervously. "I have a friend jockeying discs in here... she offered to help sneak me in earlier but my sister said no cause she didn't want to break any rules..."

Rainbow Dash stared wordlessly for a few seconds.

"I know we just met, but Pinks, I think I might be in love with you right now."

Pinkie blushed. "Wha--oh! I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, but I'm not that kinda mare!"

Rainbow Dash gave her a deadpan stare. "I was joking..."

"Do you think that pony'll take the note to her?"

Pinkie shrugged. "I don't know, Rainbow, but I think she looked pretty trustworthy... she had such shiny teeth..."

The three ponies waited by the rear exit. The door was locked from the inside, so there was no need to set up any further security measures to protect it. The biggest problem was that it was rather dark and unfamiliar, so Pinkie was feeling some level of guilt about being there; she had promised her sister she wouldn't go anywhere dark or unfamiliar. Still, she didn't know when she'd get another chance to go into a club. IF she'd get another chance to go into a club.

For some reason, she was drawn to it. Pinkie admitted quietly to herself that she didn't want to come at first; having witnessed a pony's untimely passing, well, that was enough to shake the pink pony to her very foundations. Pinkie didn't think that she would ever be able to forget that moment. And yet, when she had come close to the club, and she heard the noise inside? It was as if there was a voice inside, calling to her, telling her 'Pinkamena, come to us, we love you, we can make it all better.' Of course, Pinkie began to wonder if she might be going crazy at this point, but a disembodied voice told her to go inside. She was going to do it even if she had to come back later when nopony was there.

Just as that thought entered her mind, there was a click, and the three ponies turned to face the door as it swung open, and standing there was none other than Vinyl Scratch herself. "Heya Pinkie... uh.... who're these two?"

Pinkie nodded and gestured with a hoof. "These two ponies are Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy."

Rainbow waved. "'Sup?"

Fluttershy nodded her head, trying to shrink into the wall.

Vinyl waved back. "Hey girls... Pinkie, a moment?"

Vinyl took Pinkie a short distance from the other two ponies and pulled her close, looking back to be sure they weren’t listening in. "Pinkie, look, I'm glad you made some friends, but I'm not sure I feel cool about this. Sneaking you in alone would have been easy and, really, if I got caught, a smaller issue to deal with since I don't TECHNICALLY know how old you are... but sneaking THREE of you in? I could really get in trouble, Pinkie."

Pinkie frowned a bit. "Please, Vinyl? For me? Octavia said you break the rules a lot, so what's one more time...?"

Vinyl sighed, dragging her hoof across her mane to the back of her head. "Yeah, but Pinkie, breaking the rules in this club could be a bit harder. Ponies aren’t surprised when a DJ starts yelling drunken slurs in public, but when she's letting a bunch of underaged minors into clubs, they'll worry that that's gonna become a problem..." Pinkie stared at her, eyes pleading, becoming wet with tears. Vinyl bit her lip and looked around, hoping to draw strength from the walls of the dark alley way. "Fine... fine... I'll do it..." Pinkie grinned wide, as did Rainbow Dash, holding a hoof up for a hoof bump from Fluttershy, who gently and unenthusiastically gave it to her once she figured out what she wanted.

"HOWEVER..."

The three ponies turned to face Vinyl.

"You three have got to be on your best behavior. Do NOT draw attention to yourselves. Do NOT drink any of the drinks, and do NOT let anypony else in. Once you are all finished, come back out this way, and please, stay reasonably close to me so I can grab you if I have to." Pinkie smiled, nodding. Behind her, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked at each other, Rainbow bearing an obvious grimace. Fluttershy was smiling, clearly pleased by the guidelines, until she noticed Rainbow's expression, and her smile quickly turned into a frown and she looked away. Vinyl smiled a bit. "Remember Pinkie, you owe me for this. This is a pretty big risk I'm taking, and I hope you three can appreciate it."

Pinkie nodded. "Of course, Vinnie, I promise we'll be on our best behavior."

Vinyl smiled a bit, putting a hoof on Pinkie's withers. "Atta girl. I trust ya. Now, let's get in there and have some fun, alright?" Vinyl then turned around to face the door she had come from.

Which had closed.

"... As soon as I get back inside... hold on a second."

Pinkie's eyes were wide at what she was seeing.

Ponies all over the place. Bright colors filling the room, filling the air itself. Loud music, a beat that seemed to permeate her very core. Laughter, joy, pleasure, happiness... it was all here. This chaos, this madness before her, ponies who were letting their base natures come forth in an ecstasy of motion, of dancing, of smiling, and even ponies talking, just hanging together, enjoying one another’s' company as they yelled to speak above the music.

Pinkie Pie felt as if for the first time in her life, she was home.

Vinyl turned around and spoke to Pinkie, a little louder than she had been to make up for the difference brought on by the loud music. "Alright, Pinkie, I'm gonna go on out! That pre-made stuff can last all night, but if those ponies don't get a DJ to spice things up, they'll get bored pretty fast with this rave stuff! You three be good, alright? And if you're leaving, tell me before hoof!" Pinkie nodded in agreement towards the DJ, who turned to her friends. "And YOU two!"

Fluttershy and Rainbow looked to Vinyl.

"If you're caught, then I have never met you!" Rainbow rolled her eyes, Fluttershy's response being more along the lines of whimpering, even if it couldn't be heard. Vinyl nodded and, with that, took off towards the DJ table. Pinkie looked to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "So! What do we do now!?"

Rainbow Dash grinned. "Now!? Now I'm finding Soarin'! You're free to do whatever you want!"

Pinkie Pie frowned a bit. "What!? But... I thought we were gonna hang out together!?"

The rainbow maned pegasus groaned. "Pinks, look, you're cool, and I'm glad you helped us get into this place, but why in the wide wide world would I spend my entire time here with you when I could be impressing a new recruit of the Wonderbolts!? I mean, that's totally mad!" Pinkie just stared at Rainbow Dash, her jaw hanging open a little. Fluttershy was looking between Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, clearly a little shocked by the current situation. Rainbow Dash, however, remained firm; sure, she wanted to have fun in this club, but she also wanted, more than anything else in the world, to impress a Wonderbolt. This was perhaps the best chance she would have at doing just that, and she was not about to waste it on a pony she had just met.

Pinkie bowed her head a bit. Without another word, she turned and started trotting into the crowd, off to do who knew what. Rainbow Dash looked to Fluttershy, grinning. "C'mon, Flutters! We've got a Wonderbolt to wow, and I don't want to keep him waiting!" Fluttershy, however, stared at Rainbow Dash with a look of clear disappointment. Rainbow's grin faltered a bit at this. "What!? What's wrong!? What did I do!?"

Fluttershy spoke, but every word was lost to the sound of music.

"What!?"

She spoke again, once more, if she made any sound, it was snuffed out.

"I can't hear you! You'll have to speak louder!"

She spoke once more, clearly talking quite loud for her own comfort, but even that was just enough that Rainbow Dash could only hear the faint tinge of her voice; not enough to hear words.

"Louder!!"

Fluttershy scowled and she looked around for a bit, seeing a napkin on the floor. She picked it up, grimaced at the filthy thing, then approached a nearby bar. Soon, she came back with the napkin, and written on it were a few words.

Rainbow Dash balked. "Abandon her!? She knew the plan! That's why I went over it outside! So nopony would get any wrong ideas! I'm clearly in the right here!"

Fluttershy frowned a bit, looking at Rainbow with an expression mixed of sadness and disappointment.

"What!? I'm not saying I'm not grateful! But I came here for something, and dammit 'Shy, I'm gonna do it!" Fluttershy sighed a bit, nodding her head, letting her eyes fall to her hooves. The butter yellow pegasus turned, and she trotted away from Rainbow Dash into the direction Pinkie Pie had gone. "Fluttershy, wait! C'mon, don't be like that!" Fluttershy didn't hear her, or if she did, she wasn't acknowledging it. She simply shoved past some ponies and disappeared into the crowd. Rainbow Dash bit her lip and looked at where her friend had gone, as well as towards the VIP doors.

Pinkie was sitting at a table that was surprisingly empty, staring at all the dancing ponies. They seemed to be having so much fun, dancing together, partying, and yet here she was, all alone, nopony to party with, nopony to have fun with.

Just then, the music stopped.

And then, a voice spoke on a mic.

"Hey everypony, we all havin' fun tonight!?"

A loud chorus of voices all cheered. "Yeeeah!"

"C'mon, you can do better than that!"

"Yeeeeeeah!"

"One more time, everypony!"

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!"

Everypony broke into a chorus of laughter and cheers. Just then, a bathroom door nearby burst open and a massive, muscular white pegasus with tiny wings hopped from the bathroom with toilet paper hanging from his hoof. "YEEEEEAAAH!!"

"Alright ponies! DJ PON3 is IN! THE! HOUSE!"

Once more, the room broke into cheers as the music changed. Was it? Yes, it was!

Wubs!

Pinkie listened to the music, and before she knew it, her head was bobbing a little. She felt the uncontrollable urge to jump from her seat and dance her little pink booty off. She sighed a bit, figuring a little dancing might cheer her up, and sat up from her seat. Just then, she noticed somepony moving towards her. Pinkie squinted her eyes. It was then she realized it was a butter yellow pegasus.

Fluttershy.

"Hi! Did you girls already find the wonderbolts!?" Fluttershy shook her head and said something. Whatever she said, though, Pinkie could not hear. "Sorry! Can't hear you over the music! Say it slower so I can read your lips!?" Fluttershy nodded and spoke again. Pinkie Pie stared at her mouth, trying to pick up the words best she could.

"... Friends...... don't.... abandon..... friends....?"

Pinkie stared at Fluttershy, slowly letting those words sink in. "You.... you think of me as a friend!?"

Fluttershy nodded, smiling at the pinke pony.

Pinkie stared at her for the longest time. Suddenly, her lip quivered a bit, and tears welled in her eyes. Fluttershy gasped a bit, saying something lost in the wubs. Pinkie also said something, but it, too, was too quiet to be heard. Had Fluttershy been able to hear it, she would know Pinkie Pie had said something she didn't think she would say before she had left.

'I have a friend.'

Pinkie lunged forward and grabbed Fluttershy into a hug. The shy pegasus had clearly been surprised by the act, but she returned it, gently putting her hooves around Pinkie and returning the hug.

"Hey! Room for one more!?"

The two ponies turned to see where the voice was coming from. Standing there, with an apologetic expression that seemed so foreign on her, was none other than Rainbow Dash, rubbing one of her forelegs with the other, trying not to look at the two ponies.

"I.... I want to impress the wonderbolts.... but I don't want ponies to be sad because of it!"

Pinkie and Fluttershy looked at each other for a minute. They then turned to look at Rainbow Dash. And both of them smiled, throwing their hooves open and pulling her into the hug.

"Ah! Wait! I didn't mean the hug! I meant to hang out! No! I.... I.... ah.... fine... just this once!"

Rainbow Dash hugged both girls.

The three ponies broke up the hug, and Rainbow and Fluttershy blinked in confusion as they noticed something odd about Pinkie.

"Hey, Pinks!"

"What!?"

"Was your hair all poofy and curly like that when you came in!? Or is there something in the air here!?"

Pinkie shrugged. "I don't know!"

Rainbow stared at Pinkie for a bit, before shrugging. The three ponies then made their way onto the dance floor, staying close to each other, and once they were convinced they were in the appropriate area, they did the only thing that made sense; they danced. Vinyl had noticed the three ponies dancing, and smiled a bit. She hadn't known Pinkie Pie very long, but she had already grown fond of the pink pony, and it filled her with no end of joy to see her dancing, smiling, poofy-maned and having fun. Indeed, Pinkie Pie was the physical embodiment of joy.

They say that at that party, the DJ had started off fairly mediocre. Then, at some point, for some reason, she seemed to become impassionate, and the quality of her music had jumped, as if fueled by some sort of energy she had lacked earlier that night.