And Snap Goes the Dragon (Melanite, Open?)

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The Wonderbolt walked into the club known as Snapdragon Leaves. It was a very red establishment, but the shades varied enough that everything didn't blend into itself. The most colorful thing in the establishment (aside from the ponies) was the flashing dance floor in the center. The pony currently supplying the music for the dancers, and the reason the stallion was there, was none other than the Baroness of Bass, the certified Wub Doctor, DJ-Pon3! Tonight the doctor was indeed dosing out a heavy prescription of wubs.

Fire Streak wore his team jacket, the kind they all wore when out and about together and not in uniform. The Pegasus let the thumping wubs wash over him, feeling it it in his feathers before he made his way to the dance floor. The stallion was flying solo tonight, no team with him. He walked out onto the dance floor, into the flashing lights and moving bodies to join in the fun!

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Lights, sound, parties, drinks.  The perfect place for ANY PARTY PONY! Even the oddest pony in the room, the Bat Pony.  Despite their photosensitive and their sensitivity to sound, this bat found a way to make it work.  Upon closer inspection, the Mare was wearing dark lens sunglasses, for when daytime rolls around.  And her ears hold what look to be Ear Rings with a chain on them, but the chain moves into her ears, blocking out the excess noise.


Her wings twitched slightly with the beat of the song, obviously itching to get out there and dance.  But this wasn't just any party.  This was Melanites idol.  The most awesome DJ around, DJ-Pon3.  Melanite was barely containing her joy, a grin spread across her face from ear to ear.  And here she was, at another one of the DJs concerts.  She took a sip from the drink next to her, looking as if she winced before putting it back down, which would be odd to anyone else around as the glass holds a clear liquid that looks a lot like water.

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Spotting the Bat-pony in the room wasn't that hard to do, and it immediately caught the Wonderbolt's interest. He know about their sensitive hearing, and couldn't imagine why one would be in here. This caused for further investigation. He casually made his way over to Melanite, sizing her up on his approach. Her earrings gave away the secret to her volume tolerance. She probably had earplugs in.

"HEY! I didn't know Bats liked DJ-Pon3. Great way to start a night isn't it?" The last time Fire Streak had seen a Bat-pony hadn't been the greatest. He was out on maneuvers during his training, landed at the wrong base, and walked into the wrong bunk. Depending on who you ask either a comical chase scene occurred set to wacky music, or Fire Streak got in a lot of trouble. Either way, he didn't recieve a negative mark on his record... though there were a few mares that made promises of bodily harm should they see him again. Melanite, thankfully, didn't look like one of those mares. "I'm Fire Streak, what's your name?"

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Melanite took another drink of her clear, waterlike beverage, a happy smile on her face as she's approached by a pony with an orange mane.  She looked him over for a few moments as he moved closer.  


"HEY! I didn't know Bats liked DJ-Pon3. Great way to start a night isn't it?"


She gave the stallion a bit of a smile.  "Yeah, it is!  And most bats don't!  But I can't get enough of her!  She's the best."  Melanite said, gesturing to the spot next to her at the bar so Fire Streak could join her.  The Stallion did look quite familiar, but Melanite couldn't place it right away.


"I'm Fire Streak, what's your name?"


More familiarity... She'd heard that name before.  "I'm Melanite.  But you can call me Mels, or Mela.  Whichever."  She gave him another look, seeing the symbol on the jacket, and thinking for a few moments.  "Wait a minute... Are you a Wonderbolt?"  It would explain the team jacket, and her recognition of the stallion, but she wasn't going to make a big deal of it... the Big Deal was on the stage playing the best music in Equestria.

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"I know, right?" Fire Streak agreed as he moved to the spot Melanite gestured to. The stallion could see the gears working in Mela's head, but couldn't hear them. The music was too awesome to let sound like that exist. Nevertheless she did recognize him eventually! That was something he always liked hearing. "Yes I am! The few, the fast, the awesome! I'm under the awesome category."

"What do you do Mela? I don't see enough awesome bats around much." The Wonderbolt turned to order himself a drink, a very dark ale. A thought occurred to him. He had never been one to abuse his celebrity status but maybe... maaaybe just this once he could use it for something a little extra. "You know Mela... I might be able to get Vinyl to come hang out with a little later when she's isn't so busy."

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"Yes I am! The few, the fast, the awesome! I'm under the awesome category."


Melanite smiled a bit at this.  She'd seen a couple of Wonderbolts shows, and she knew she'd never be anywhere near as good as them.  She had too thick of a build for their stunts.  "It's always good to be proud of what you do."  

She had been taking a drink when Fire Streak said those words.  A sentence that made Melanites heart beat seven times faster than it should.  Words she never thought she'd hear.

"I might be able to get Vinyl to come hang out"

She coughed a bit, setting the drink aside, giving a wave of her hoof to show she's fine.  "Sorry, Wrong pipe."  She said, taking a deep breath after a short moment and returning to her normal, laid back smile.  "If you could, that'd be pretty cool.  Meeting her would probably give me a story to write home about."  She said, containing her giddy... but just barely.

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Fire Streak looked a little concerned when Mela started to choke. She did let him know she wasn't in distress. That was a good thing. While the Wonderbolt did have some medical training, that kind of possible mouth-to-mouth wasn't the kind he'd want to do tonight. He wasn't the type of pony to go around to clubs to pick mares up, but tonight was turning out to be interesting, and the night was still young and filled with possibilities.

Her smile may have been laid back, but the flier had seen enough to know that the mare was holding back a fan girl. For the lengths she'd have to go to in order to enjoy this concert it'd more than 'pretty cool' to meet the DJ. He also caught smaller things like the way her eyes dilated, or wings shifted just a little. She was playing it cool, but there were explosives beneath it.

The fact that she was so excited she nearly choked on her drink also gave it away.

"Just give me a moment to flag her down Mela." Fire Streak took a sip of his drink before taking his jacket off. He looked at the DJ booth through the crowd of dancing ponies. It'd be hard trying to wave her down through them. Luckily he had a set of wings. It was sort of a job requirement. There would be a few fliers in the air, but given that wings needed space to flap there'd be less of a crowd.

The Wonderbolt flew up and held his team jacket above his head with the back facing the DJ. It was a jacket only Wonderbolt team members got. He watched Vinyl's shades as they looked over her equipment, then looked out at the ground. There was a moment of pause, and that's all he needed to see to know she'd seen the jacket and recognize it. Mission accomplished, he dropped back down to the lovely mare he'd been chatting with and put his jacket back on. "She knows a Wonderbolt is in the crowd. She'll probably come say hi as soon as she gets the chance."

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Melanite nodded, still trying to look calm about the entire thing.   How could she?  She's having a drink with a Wonderbolt at a club that DJ Pon-3 is preforming at... and to top it all of, she may meet her idol?  She let out a light giggle before downing the rest of her drink to get the giggle to stop.

"So.  Y-you're a Wonderbolt...  What's it like?"  She asked, trying to get a bit of a subject change, trying to distract herself from the DJ for the time being (Not that that would be possible, but she was trying.).  "I met Soarin' during the Hearts and Hooves Blind Dates, he was a nice stallion, an spoke highly of all of his teammates."

Melanites eyes drifted for a brief moment back toward the DJ, smiling at the Electric Blue mane and White coat.  She turned suddenly, facing back toward the bar and ordering herself another drink, and one for the Wonderbolt beside her.  This was going to be an amazing night.  

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Fire Streak sipped his drink while Melantie downed her. He was more content to sip and take his time enjoying things. The bat-pony wanted to know what it was like to be a Wonderbolt. Lots of ponies wanted to know that. She had also met Soarin', and on top of that on a date.

"You went on a date with Soarin', talk about a tough act to follow!" he laughed. "Being a Wonderbolt is a lot of hard work. A lot of conditioning, drilling, practicing... Whatever you're thinking, double it. Aside from training from the show we do a lot of cross-training. I have experience from being in Dragon Watch, and having a search and rescue background. I teach the others what I know, and they teach me what they know."

Fire Streak took another sip of his drink. The show team could sometimes be called a rather oddly assembled group of ponies once you got to know who they really were. Different personalities and backgrounds all together under the same uniform. "You wouldn't believe it, but Fleetfoot has some great gardening tips. What is it that you do Mela?"

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"Being a Wonderbolt is a lot of hard work. A lot of conditioning, drilling, practicing... Whatever you're thinking, double it."


Melanite nodded, smiling.  She knew exactly how that was.  Boot camp was horrible, especially considering the first large part of it had taken place during the day, until she took to the Night Guard training, which was primarily at night.  Either way, the drilling and conditioning was something she knew all to well, even if she didn't seem like she did.


"I have experience from being in Dragon Watch,"


Melanite sighed slightly, her face turning to a bit of sorrow as she thought about it.  She had heard about the Dragon Watch, and their involvement with the mission her friends, Midnight and Silhouette, had been on when Midnight... lost her life.  She kept this information quiet, not wanting to kill the Wonderbolts mood, and her smile came back, albeit a little forced.


"You wouldn't believe it, but Fleetfoot has some great gardening tips. What is it that you do Mela?"


Another one of the Wonderbolts.  Fleetfoot, from what Melanite remembered, was the fastest on the team.  She smirked, looking at the Wonderbolt in front of her.  "Yeah, the Date with Soarin' was pretty fun, we had a good time talking about the Mares you fly with and their tight suits."  She said with a wink and a chuckle, taking a sip of her newly refreshed drink.  She paused, reaching into her bag and pulling out a necklace with the sign of the Night Guard on it.  "Night Guard.  Though, I'm off duty and out of my assigned area, I keep my badge with me, just in case something goes down."  She said with a nod, putting the necklace away, hoping none of the others around saw it.  She knew everything in this club was completely legal, but ponies may feel a bit off being around a guard...  Right?

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"Officially I am not allowed to make a comment about my teammates and how they may appear in their flight suits. That's a personal rule. Don't get involved in workplace romances. That said, some of them look reaaaaaallly good in a bomber jacket." Fire Streak never had the bad work place relationship from which to learn from, but he had seen and heard tale of it. If things ended badly it could affect everyone around them, and that wasn't something he was alright with.

The Wonderbolt looked impressed at the sight of Mela's badge. He had a high amount of respect for all forms of law enforcement. Apparently they also came in size cute. "I had a run in with the Night Guard when I was still in basic. It was... less than pleasant. I think I might still be barred from stepping hoof at one of their training facilities." That had been an awkward night. A sleep deprived Fire Streak wound up getting lost during the night and not only landed at the wrong destination, but entered the wrong bunkhouse, and very wrong bunk.

There was screaming, and yelling.

It was too dark and he was in too much of a scramble to get out of there that he didn't catch whoever made the catcall. Fire Streak should have been written up for what happened, but the fact he was able to make it to where he did without being noticed by anypony was quite the fumble. Officially Fire Streak had gotten lost, made an official landing at the base where he very politely asked for directions and went on his way.

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"Officially I'm not supposed to make comments about how my fellow guards look in armor, but there are a few of em that..." Melanite trails off, fanning herself with a wing and letting out a light laugh.  "In all seriousness, I understand.  If something gets back around, it can be seen as harrassment and Blahblahblah."  She said, taking another drink.

She listened to his story  A story about a run-in at a training ground, apparently.  He didn't say much about it.  Obviously, Melanite needed to know more.  "Come on, you can't pique my interest like this and then not finish the story.  The lady needs to know what happened!"  she grinned.  "Tell you what, You tell me your embarrassing story, I'll tell you mine."  She offered, a grin on her face.  She wasn't sure if the wonderbolt would accept, but a girl could dream, right?

Her eyes drifted back over to the Electric Blue mane on the greatest pony in the place.  The song that had just started was a new one.  One she hadn't heard.  Her eyes widened as she took in every second of it, wings twitching with anticipation on what the next beat may be.  Almost as if she wanted to get out into the crowd and dance.  She looked back to the Stallion she was talking to with a wide grin.  She had to stay with him, but hopefully he'd offer to dance?

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Fire Streak let out a laugh at Melanite's antics. Just because workplace and personal rules kept ponies from getting involved, it in no means stopped anyone from looking. Bomber jackets and any type of uniform could make anyone look more desirable anyways. Except prison uniforms. It might work for someponies, but not this flier.

"Well with an offer like that, why not? It's not so bad, anymore." the Wonderbolt took a long sip of his drink before continuing. "In basic I was the go-getter type. I had some confidence issues so I volunteered for anything to prove I was useful. Doing so much extra stuff usually left me about ready to hit the sack as soon as I got any dinner in my belly. One day, silly me, I volunteer for some night maneuvers."

"I'm worn out by the time they start, and dead tired by the time we finish. We're wrapping up when the CO gets told some paperwork needs to get to Canterlot by the morning. I plead temporary insanity, but I was so conditioned to volunteering that I raised my hoof and said I'll do it!" The Pegasus rubbed his face as he retold the story. If he ever had to train cadets and got one that was like he was, he'd make sure they didn't bite off more than they could chew.

"So I fly off toward Canterlot, deliver the paperwork, and start heading back toward the base. This is where I get horribly lost. I must have dozed off in flight and got carried off course by the wind. I open my eyes and I'm able to make out some buildings that look right and head straight for a bunkhouse. Maybe I can get an hour in before sunup. I hope into my bunk, and somepony's there. I get shoved off of the top bunk and land with a thud. Everyone wakes up, and suddenly there's a bunch of mares yelling at me."

"I freak out, a chase ensues. Outside where there's a bit more light I notice I'm being chased by a bunch of bat-ponies. Next thing I know my face is hitting someone's solid chestplate and I'm out cold. When I come to I'm being interrogated. Someone seemed to think I was some hot shot cadet that was trying to sneak over to the Night Guard's base to chase a little tail. Things get worked out with the help of a medic who backed up my explanation of everything being related to fatigue. I got an escort back to my own base where I spent the next few days in the infirmary getting bed rest."

"That's my story. The fact I got where I did without anyone noticing looked bad on their part so officially that incident never happened. While suffering from fatigue I stopped to get directions, and with there being some concern for my well-being I was given an escort to make sure I wouldn't fall out of the sky, or crash into a mountain while sleep flying." He watched Mela as he took another drink to judge her reactions. It was easy to notice the mare's signals. Mela was honest with her reactions, and he liked that about her. It always sucked when someone said one thing, but their body language so very loudly proclaimed another.

"You said that you and Soarin' had gone out on a date. Are you two together? I wouldn't want to step on his hooves if I asked you to dance, after you finish your story. You're not getting off the hook Mela."

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Melanite sat down her drink as she suppressed a laugh. "I g-guess -Giggle- you could say -hehe- The Wonderbolts work quick."  She said with a wink.  She took a deal breath, and then a sip of her drink.

She looked at Fire Streak, Pondering for a moment.  "during basic training, we were timed on our runs through the obstacle courses, and graded on our take-downs.  I was... Not the best at it.  I ended up falling down the rappelling wall and knocking myself out for Five minutes."  She laughed, then shifted. "And then during take down practice...  I was paired with a pretty nice Stallion.  Told him not to go easy.   He Grabbed me, spun and pinned me.   I reacted by screaming, and breaking his Jaw."

She wasn't going to say why she freaked out.  She was going to leave it at that.  She took another sip of her drink when Fire Streak asked about Soarin'.  She sighed. "Honestly, we had a great time.  I'd probably say yes if he would ask me out again.  But as it stands, we decided to stay friends." 

[Vinyl Scratch]

"Broke his jaw. Dang, remind me not to surprise you...probably a bit late though huh?" Vinyl said, approaching from Melanite's side. She had put the music on auto A.K.A, using her magic to play it while being somewhere else. It was an impressive feat of multitasking, especially impressive for Vinyl Scratch, the magic school drop out and SUPER especially impressive for being in the middle of a loud club with distractions and junk everywhere! She couldn't credit this one to her knew magic teacher though. She had always been good at turning all the small knobs and shifting the little levers. It was her only self taught magical feat for her to be proud of really. It wasn't as fancy as a spell, but it was neat.

Of course she couldn't keep it up awfully long. Her horn would stop glowing almost as soon as her knew song ended. She, of course, had it memorized, she wrote it after all! "So, Wonderbolt AND a batpony, seems like this is gonna be a fun night she said, smiling at Mels before shifting back to Fire Streak "But before that, Wonderbolt in da house! Fire Streak right?! Nice t'meet ya. Hope you're having a good time, I see you got an awesome date along with ya. I barely ever see batponies here, I mean, past the whole 'usually they find me WAAAAT to loud, they also tend to blend in a bit, totes sucks ya know?" she said, ears lowering...before quickly returning to normal

"Doesn't really matter as long as this one is here though!" Vinyl set a hoof on Melanite's shoulder. "Come on Firesteak, have some manners and introduce your mare to me!" she said demandingly!