[DE - 5] AiE : Complications

Continued from AiE : Dauntless
-------------------

>You walk into the kitchen.
>Somethings bothering Rainbow, but she's not telling you.
>You had been petting her, talking about lunch.
>
>Did she not want you to pet her?
>Was it something you said?
>
>Rainbow is running around gathering the ingredients to a salad.
>Her wings are extended.
"Rainbow?  You ok?"
>She freezes in place.
>Wings in full extension.
>Maybe she's tense about something and just not telling you?
>Regardless, holding her wings in that position doesn't look like it would be pleasant.
>She looks tense.
>Why not try and give her a back rub?
>Maybe you could work on her wings too.  Couldn't hurt, right?
>She looks stressed the fuck out.
"Rainbow?  Hello?"
>You poke her in the shoulder.
>She turns her head and looks at you.
>It's like she's holding something back.
>
"You can tell me if somethings bothering you, you know that, right?"
>She just whimpers.
>Ok then, your hands have worked magic on her before, no reason they couldn't now.
>You start rubbing her shoulders.
>This gets you the response you were hoping for.
>She seems to loosen up a bit.
>Finally.  Now maybe you can get some answers.
"So, whats bothering you Rainbow?" you ask as you continue your massage.
>Nothing.  Odd, usually she's one to talk.
>Maybe you should try the wings now.
>You move your hands onto her left wing, and begin rubbing it.
>She seems to tense right the fuck back up.
>She's turning red, and you could swear you heard her moan.
"Rainbo-"
>She suddenly snaps to attention.
>"OHSWEETCELESTIADON'TTOUCHME"

-------------------

>She darted over to a corner of the kitchen.
>
>You look down at your hands.
>Was she having a reaction to you touching her?
>Did you smell bad or something?
>Your gaze returns to her, trying to decipher her body language.
>Her eyes are wide and dilated.
>She's curled up on the floor in the corner she darted to.
>Her wings are still fully extended.
>And they look kind of like they're twitching.
>
"Rainbow, whats going on?"
>
>She just stares at you, like you're something out of a horror film.
>You start to head over to her, and she just curls into a tighter ball.
>You stop at that reaction.
>Something to do with you, definitely.
>
>Ok then, maybe she needs to be alone or something.
"Well, if you decide you want to tell me whats bothering you, I'll be in my room."
>You turn around, and head through the living room up to your room.
>You lie down on the bed, recalling what had happened.
>It didn't make any sense!
>You remembered petting her, and talking about cheese sandwiches.
>You looked down at her, and she wasn't saying or doing anything.
>Like she was waiting for something to happen.
>Or maybe holding something back.

-------------------

>Since you seem to elicit some sort of reaction if you're near her or try to help, there isn't much you can do.
>You don't want to force your help on someone.
>Though you kinda did when you went over and started rubbing her shoulders.
>She seemed fine then!
>It wasn't until you touched her wing...
>Wait a minute.
>Her wing.
>Did you brush her wing when you were petting her mane?
>Are pegasus wings super sensitive or something?
>Oh god what if you hurt her?
>Shit.
>
>Nothing you can do until she opens up to you about what's bothering her though.
>
>Damn.
>Waiting is not one of your strong points.
>Especially if your friends might be hurt.
>It's like waiting on someone you know to come out of the ER.
>
>And so begins your mind's quest to send you into a horrible world filled with terrible what-ifs.
>That is one of your strong points.
>
>God dammit.
>
>A couple of hours pass, and you're still creating horrible scenarios.
>What if you injured her wing and she may never fly again?
>She'd kill you.
>If her friends didn't get to you first.
>What if--
>"Anon?  Can I come in?"
>You snap out of your spiral down what-if hell.
"You going to tell me whats bothering you?"
>She seems to think it over for a bit before finally responding with "yeah."
"Then please do come in."
>She flies into your room, and you sit up on your bed.
"So.  Whats this all about?"

-------------------

>She takes a big breath before she starts.
>It's like she's confessing to a murder.
>"You see...  Pegasus wings are.... Sensitive..."
>Aha!  You knew it!
"I'm sorry Rainbow, I didn't know...  I didn't hurt you, did I?"
>"What?  No, no, nothing like that...  Quite the opposite..."
"Well then whats all the fuss about?"
>"Pagasus wings are sensitive....  sexually."
>Your brain takes a minute to process what she just said.
>Slowly.
>
>You basically just rubbed your hands all over her vagina.
>You look down at your hands.
"I...  I don't...  I..."
>"Listen.  You didn't know, so I'll let you off the hook this time."
"....thanks."
>"But, you do it again, and there'll probably be violence."
>Right.
>Point fukken taken.
>Don't touch your friends junk.
>
>"Now, I'm gonna go finish what I started, and make us some lunch.  I'll try my hoof at those cheese sandwiches you were talking about."
"Thanks Rainbow...  If there's anything I can do to make it up to y--"
>"Don't bring it up again, with anypony, and I'll consider it made up.  Ok?"
>Fair enough.
"Right.  Deal."
>She left your room, and presumably headed towards the kitchen to make lunch.
>Well, great start to your day so far, huh?
>Rubbing all over your friends junk--
>STOP IT BRAIN.

-------------------

>You finish your lunch with Rainbow.
>Cheese sammiches and a salad.
>You both ate in silence.
>The awkward in the air was so thick, a spoon could probably cut it.
>But you powered through it, determined to not make the situation worse.
>
>"So Anon, got anything you need to do in Ponyville this afternoon?"
>You think about that for a minute.
>You needed to find out just how much money Vinyl had given you, and what you could do with it.
"Well, a couple things, but there's something I was hoping you could help me with first."
>Rainbow was equally ready to get the little incident put in the past and move on.
>"Sure!  Whatcha need help with?"
"I have no idea how much a bit is worth, so I have no idea how much Vinyl paid me."
>"Hmmm...  Well, Vinyl paid you quite a bit of money, no need to worry there."
"So how much is 'quite a bit' of bits?  I have no idea what I can do with the money."
>"She gave you so much money, that you could go to the square right now, and buy five of everything at every cart.  That perspective enough?"
>Ok, that works.
>Maybe you had enough to buy a house.
>Or one built even.
>Now THAT excited you.
>You could finally stop mooching off of Rainbow.
>Give her her privacy and space back.
>She'd probably appreciate that.
>Especially after today.
"Would it be enough to have a house built?"

-------------------

>She looks at you, and you'd swear she looked like you had killed her pet.
>What would a pegasus have as a pet anyway?
>FOCUS BRAIN.  FOOOOCUUUSS.
>"Why do you want to have a house built?  Is there something wrong with mine?"
"No, of course not!  It's pretty awesome living in a cloud, but it also has its limitations."
>"Like what?"
"For one, I have no wings.  If I want to go anywhere, I have to rely on you.  I told you already, I hate being a mooch."
"There's also the fact that this house was designed for a pegasus.  I'm nearly twice, if not three times your size."
>"I could make it bigger!"
"And that'd be me mooching even more.  I won't have it!  This is YOUR house, not mine.  You shouldn't have to change it for me."
>Dash looked down at the table.
>"Yeah, I guess it makes sense."
>"I don't know any contractor ponies though."
"Do you know anypony that would?"
>She looks up again, and you'd swear she was getting agitated.
>At your efforts to move out?  Huh.
>Shouldn't she be excited?
>Oh well.  You've pushed enough of her buttons today.
>No need to push more.
>"Applejack might.  I'll ask her next time she's in town."
>Well, at least it's something.

-------------------

"Thanks, I appreciate that."
>You both sit there.
>More awkward.
>Great.
>Just what you needed.
>There has to be a way to get through the awkward.
>Time, bitch.
>Damn.
"So..."
>"So."
"Are there any sports ponies play?"
>"Yup."
>
>Silence.
>
>Curse this awkward.
>
>You both remain planted in your seats, not saying a word.
>You had so much you wanted to say, but just didn't.
>Shit it was driving you up a wall.
>How were you supposed to know that you shouldn't touch her wings?
>How mad was she about it?
>All those questions and more, dwelling inside you.
>How much longer is she going to stay pissed at you?
>Along with that ever clear statement, "Don't bring it up again."
>
>The fuck do you do?
>
>Why not try to do what you did at home in these situations?
>Go home?
>Right.
>About that.
>
>You can't escape this.
>And there's nothing you can do about it that won't piss off Rainbow.
>
>Jaws of death.
>
>You both sit there.
>Waiting on the other person to make the first move.
>To say something.
>To fucking do something.
>
>She was already pretty upset about the wing incident.
>You only managed to piss her off more with the whole house bit, for whatever reason.
>It's just going to be one of those days.
>
>Waiting is driving you crazy.
>So, why not sleep it off?
"I'm gonna go take a nap."
>Rainbow remains silent, stairing into the great nothing.
>You head up to your room, and you could swear you felt the air pressure drop.
>You could breath again.
>
>You throw yourself onto your bed, letting your brain just go with whatever.

-------------------

>You'd thought you'd be safe in your dreams, but no.
>You kept re-living feeling up her wings.
>And her reaction.
>It only made you feel worse.
>Like some sick sexual predator.
>The shame.
>
>Something so innocent.
>Why had you gotten it in your head to start petting her anyway?
>The hell is wrong with you?
>You wouldn't just reach over and start petting another human.
>Let alone start groping them.
>
>It had to be just some sort of natural reaction.
>Other ponies probably didn't just out and pet other ponies.
>But would a human do that?
>Fuck if you knew.
>Like it mattered anyway.
>
>Oh great, another re-enactment of the wing incident coming up, courtesy of your fucked dreams.
>Yup, cheese sammiches.
>Yup, freezes.
>Aaaaaaannnnnd, shame.
>Soooo much shame.
>
>What were you doing?
>Why couldn't you stop thinking about it?
>Rainbow said to drop it, so why couldn't you?
>
>Cursed brain.
>You knew things were going waaaay too swimingly for you anyway.
>Things had to start getting complicated soon, it was only a matter of time.

-------------------

>Well, time can go eat a dick.
>
>Ooohh, a wild dream appears!
>And it's not about the wing incident!
>Holy shit!
>What could this be?
>
>You're standing in a field.
>Ok, nothing wrong with that.
>There's a cloud, laying rather low to the ground.
>It's approaching you, rapidly.
>Whatever, it's a dream.
>It gets closer, and it's not a cloud...
>OHJESUSFUCKSHITROCKS
>It's a cloud of MOTHERFUCKINGWASPS
>FUCKSHITDAMNASSWHY
>RUN YOU MOTHER FUCKER
>
>Wait.
>Who's that?
>
>WHO GIVES A SHIT MOTHER FUCKER, WASPS!
>Right!
>Resume running!
>You sprint at the speed of sound itself for a few moments, before finally turning around to see if you're going to die or not.
>There's a pony in a gas mask and suit of some sort.
>It's got a tank of something on it's back, and...
>Dear god, it's standing on its hind legs, and carrying...
>Is that a flamethrower?
>
>The pony lights the wasps up.
>Yup, it's a god damn flamethrower.
>Ok, this dream is beyond fucked.
>But hey, no more wasps.
>
>Whoever the pony is, incinerates the wasps.
>
>And then, after the wasps have been disposed of, places the flamethrower in a holster on its back.
>
>And starts bouncing towards you.
>
>It must want to see what cooked human flesh tastes like.
>FUCK.
>
>You run and run, as fast as you can, but the bouncing flame pony is always getting closer.
>
>Finally, exhaustion takes you, and you fall over onto the ground.
>No more, you're done.

-------------------

>The pony gets closer and closer.
>Finally it's there.  Right in front of you.
>It's on its hind legs again.
>
>It takes the flamethrower out of its holster.
>
>And sets it down.
>
>It starts to remove its mask, and you see some pink hair puff out of the mask.
>
>Then you woke up, sweating.
>
>Man, the fucked up dreams you've been having since you got here...
>Not cool.         >>not cool   >>flamethrower dream           >>punpunpunpunpunpunpunpun
>
>Well, you're awake.
>Now what?
>
>Better go check on Rainbow Dash.
>See what she's up to.
>
>You make your way into the living room, and Rainbow is still on the couch.
>But she's curled up into a ball, using her wings like a blanket.
>
>Fuck thats cute.
>
>You head over to the couch and sit down.
>
>Wonder if you could move her without her waking up?
>The least you could do is put her in her bed.
>
>Worth a shot.
>Maybe you can start an anti-awkward effort.
>
>You scoop her up.
>Awake?
>Not yet.
>Good.  Moving on.
>
>You make your way up to your room, and then to hers from yours.
>You place her in her bed, and pull the sheets up over her.
>Her ear twitches slightly, and you could've sworn you saw a grin creep its way onto her features.
>
>No time to think about that!
>Escape!  Before she wakes up!
>
>You make it out of her room, and close the door separating your rooms as quietly as possible.
>That's pretty quite, considering it was made of cloud.
>
>You didn't see or hear her wake.
>GREAT SUCCESS!

-------------------

>You plop down on your bed again.
>Wonder what time it is?
>Eh, who gives a fuck.
>
>Nap resumed.
>
>Several hours later
>
>You awake from your glorious dreamless sleep.
>You hadn't been plagued by a flaming cloud of wasps again, which was good.
>
>You head to the bathroom with the shower, which means you have to go through Rainbow's room.
>She's not there.
>Huh.
>Maybe she's in the kitchen cooking something up?
>At any rate, you proceed with your morning rituals.
>After you're clean and at least somewhat presentable, you head downstairs to the kitchen.
>
>No Rainbow.
>
>Well, this is awkward.
>
>You head to a nearby porthole-like window, and find the sun.
>Judging from its position, it's about 11 ish.
>
>Guess you're not doing shit today.
>Rainbow is probably at work right now.
>You have no other way out of this house.
>
>Well damn.
>
>You sit down on the couch, and contemplate a way out of this mess.
>Short term: you're fucked.
>Long term: you've gotta get a house.
>
>As you sit there pondering your current situation, there's a knock on the door.
>You get up and go answer it, to find the Mail pony from the other day.
"Derpy, right?"
>"Thats me!"
"What can I do for you, Miss Derpy?"
>"I've got a couple letters here for you Mister Anon."
"I've... got mail?"
>You wonder who the letters could possibly be from.
>You take the letters from Derpy, and she says her good-bye and flies off to her next stop.
>
>The first thing to catch your eye has a familiar looking seal.

-------------------

>You've gotten yourself a letter, and a scroll.
>The letter is catching your attention though, as the seal used on it also happens to be on Vinyl Scratch's flank.
>
>Not that you paid attention to her flank.
>Dammit brain.
>
>You open the letter, before being reminded that ponies don't write or read in English.
>Now you know.
>
>That pretty much destroys your chances of reading the letter.
>Or the scroll for that matter.
>
>Shit.
>
>Lightbulb.
>You run outside, and search the skies.
>Nope, not there.
>You look down towards the ground, and you spot her.
>She was heading towards Ponyville from what it looked like.
>You really ought to pay more attention to where Rainbow's house is in relation to Ponyville.
"Miss Derpy!"
>She stops at hearing her name being called out.
>She turns and hovers in place for a minute, like she didn't quite hear you.
"MISS DERPY!"
>She turns towards where the voice was coming from, and spots you.
>She flies over to you.
>"Mr. Anon?  Did you call for me?"
"Yes!  I uh... I'd like to ask a favor."
>"Uuuhh, sure!  What can I do for you?"
"Can you read this letter for me?  I can't read pony language."
>She looks at you, dumbfounded for a moment, before it apparently dawns on her what your asking.
>"Sure!"
"Come on in" you say as you hold the door open for her.
>She flies in and stands in the living room.
>You shut the door and head over to the table, where you'd set the letter down.
"Would you be so kind as to read this to me?"

-------------------

>She looks at the letter on the table, and separates the two sheets of paper.
>"Well, this one is a schedule.  You want me to read that or just the letter?"
"All of it, if you don't mind."
>"It says here that you're supposed to work every other day during the week, but you don't start until the middle of this week."
>Ok, so basically Wednesday.
"What time?"
>"Noon."
>So see Vinyl Wednesday at noon.
>Mental note acquired.
"What about the letter?"
>She looks over it, and mouths a couple of words to herself, before responding.
>"It's from Vinyl Scratch.  She's saying she'd like to see you for lunch today.  Something about wanting to thank you for your work this weekend."
>Great.
>Lunch date with your boss that you can't get to.
"Ok, would you mind reading this scroll for me?"
>You hand over the scroll.
>"Oh no no no, I can't read that to you."
"What?  Why not?"
>"My job is government paid, and there are very specific rules for scrolls.  Especially scrolls with that seal."
>You look down at the seal binding the scroll, and admire the design.
>It looks like a sun.

-------------------

"So there's no chance you can read this to me?"
>"Sorry, but I shouldn't even be here right now.  I should be continuing my route through Ponyville, actually..."
"Oh!  Sorry to hold you up.  I completely forgot!  Ok then, can you do me one last favor?"
>"If it's quick, I don't see why not."
"If you see Vinyl Scratch in Ponyville, can you tell her that I won't be able to make it today?  Just tell her that I'm stuck at Rainbow's house.  She'll understand."
>"Ok, no problem!"
>You open the door for her, and she flies out.
"Thanks again for your help!"
>"Don't mention it!"
>And she's off, resuming her route.
>
>She's a nice pony.
>Wonder why her parents named her Derpy?
>Maybe you'll find out another day.
>
>You mind brings your attention back to the mysterious scroll you'd received.
>Why would you get anything from Royalty?
>
>Oh, right.
>Technically, you're an illegal alien.
>
>You can only hope that's all the letter is about.
>
>No sense in worrying yourself over it.
>If someone in a position of Royalty wanted you gone, you probably wouldn't have lasted a week here.
>
>No sense in worrying about it.
>
>Right?

-------------------

>It was almost noon now, judging by the sun.
>Confounded lack of clocks.
>
>One hour.
>Thats roughly how long had passed since you'd received your mail.
>
>What had happened since then?
>You could swear you could see an indention in the floor where you'd been walking in circles.
>
>Why?
>
>A letter from Royalty.
>That you couldn't read.
>
>You'd been fine so far, as there was always a pony around to help you out.
>But now, you can't read.
>
>The things you take for granted.
>
>You just need to relax, ya know?
>Just chill for a bit.
>
>You walk out front, and sit down on the edge of the cloud.
>
>It was a nice view, reminding you of why living in a cloud is pretty awesome.
>You sat there for a while, enjoying the view.
>This is just what you needed.
>A little time to clear your mind, and focus on nothing in particular.
>
>Unbeknownst to you, there was a unicorn on the ground trying to get your attention.
>It wasn't going exactly as she'd hoped.
>She got an idea of how to get your attention though, and teleported.
>
>You were just sitting there, minding your own business, then Vinyl.
>Out of fucking nowhere.
>
"GAAAH!"
>"GAAA!"
>She had teleported right above you, and landed on you, pushing you back onto the cloud.
>
>You sit there, with the white unicorn pinning you against the cloud for a moment, still processing what happened.
>
"...Vinyl?"
>"Well it's about time you noticed me!  I was trying to get your attention for like 20 minutes!"
>She went to hop off of your chest.

-------------------

>Right onto the cloud.
>That she couldn't stand on.
>You saw her fall through the cloud like it wasn't even there.
>She was disappearing fast.
>Good thing your reaction time was pretty good right then.
>You reached over and caught the only part of her you could, her tail.
>"OW!"
"Hold on!"
>"Do I have a choice?"
>You ignore her remark, and pull her up.
>As soon as you could grab her by one of her hooves, you grabbed it and released her tail.
>You pulled her all the way back up, and she wound up on your chest again.
"Cloud, remember?"
>"Right...  thanks."
"You wanna teleport us down to ground level?"
>"Uuummm....  well, ya see....  My magic is focused around music, so any other use of my magic is really taxing..."
"So, what you're saying, is you're stuck up here?"
>"For a little while."
"Great."
>"Aww, come on, it'll be fun!"
>You pick her up in your arms.
>It's a good thing these were ponies, not full-on horses.
>Vinyl was heavier than Rainbow, but you could manage.
>You'd have to.
>
>You made your way back into Rainbow's house, and sat down on the couch with Vinyl in your lap.
"So, what brings you here?"
>"I wanted to thank you for your performance this weekend.  It went great!"
"You didn't have to strand yourself on a cloud to tell me that."
>"Party pooper."

-------------------

"By the way, I had to get Derpy to read me your letter."
>"What?  Why?"
"Because I can't read pony."
>She was silent for a minute.
>"I never thought of that..."
"It's no biggie, got the gist of what you were saying."
>"We'll have to work on that then."
"Yeah, I guess I'll be going to school.  Again."
>Vinyl looked around from the safety of your lap, admiring the house of cloud.
>"So this is what it's like to live in a cloud, huh?"
"Pretty cool, huh?"
>"I'll say!  I've been to the Clouds Dale arena before, for a concert, but we had a platform lifted into place.  This is waaaay different."
>She looked around the living room, and the scroll you'd gotten earlier caught her eye.
>"Hey Anon, whats with the scroll?"
"I dunno.  Apparently it's from some form of royalty."
>She squinted her eyes, and looked at the seal.
>"That's not just royalty, that's from Princess Celestia!"
"Isn't she the ruler of Equestria?"
>"Yeah.  Wonder why she sent you a scroll."
"I'd love to find out, but I can't read it."
>"I could read it to you, if you want."
"That would be most appreciated."
>You lean over and collect the scroll, popping the seal off once it's securely in your hands.
>"Can you hold it for me?  I don't want to waste any magic."
>You unravel the scroll, and hold it off to the side where you can both read it.
>More or less.
"So, what's it say?"
>Vinyl cleared her throat, and read the letter.
>"Dear Anon"

-------------------

>"My name is Princess Celestia.  I am the ruler of Equestria, along with my sister, Luna.  Your arrival has not gone unnoticed."
>Oh boy.  All ready it doesn't sound like she's too happy with you.
>"While my sources tell me you can be trusted, and mean no harm, I would like to meet you myself.  While I do not wish to force you to see me, I will if it should become necessary."
>Great.
>"Please respond as soon as you get the opportunity.  If I fail to receive a response in one weeks time, I will send Guards to collect you.  I mean you no harm, but I must consider the protection of my subjects."
>"I would suggest you bring any friends you've made in your brief time here, as they could attest to your character."
>Attest to your character?
>She wanted you and any friends you've made to see her.
>Goody.
>Vinyl continued reading the letter.
>"Upon reception of your letter, I will send a train to take you and up to five other ponies to Canterlot to meet with me.  Specify a date, and the train will be at the station, waiting for you."
>"Sincerely, Princess Celestia."
>You sit in silence for a minute.
>"Dude!  The princess wants to meet you!"
"Yeah.  Sounds like fun."
>"Aww come on, I'm sure if she didn't want you here, she'd have done something a while ago."
>Nice choice of words there, Vinyl.
"So, when are you free next?"
>"Me?"
"Yup.  She said she wanted to meet my friends, and I'd like to count you as a friend."
>She was silent for a bit, before responding with "Whenever you're ready, I'll be ready."

-------------------

>For the next couple of hours, you and Vinyl chatted it up in the living room.
>But you were getting hungry.
"Hey Vinyl, I dunno about you, but I'm getting hungry."
>"Yeah, I'm kinda feeling the same.  I think I can get us down now."
>She started to charge her horn.
"Hold on a minute."
>"Whats up?"
>Her horn stopped glowing.
"Can you do me a favor and write a note for Rainbow?  I don't want her to worry."
>"Sure thing lover boy, where's a quill?"
>Lover boy?
>You position Vinyl in your arms again, and stand up.
>You think about where Rainbow would keep a quill, and make your way into her bedroom.
>"Why would she keep a quill in here?"
"I don't know, but I don't know where else to start."
>You look around, and your instincts were nice to you.
>There was a quill on a nightstand.
"Here we go."
>You walk over and pick the quill up, and find a blank piece of paper.
>It was lying next to an open book.
"Hey Vinyl, whats that say?"
>She looks down at the book and mutters to herself for a minute.
>"Uuuhhhh, it's just a... uhhh...  Daring Doo book!"
>She was lying through her teeth.
>Oh well, you could ask Rainbow later.
"Well, you gonna wright that not or what?"
>"Yeah yeah.  What you wanna say?"
"Just tell her that you and I went to Ponyville for lunch."
>"Simple enough."
>She collects the quill with her magic, and writes down the short note for Rainbow.
>"Ok, all done!"
>You put the quill back where you found it, and take the note back downstairs with you.
>As you're heading back down to the living room, you notice Vinyl is rather quiet.
"Vinyl, you ok?"
>"What?  Yeah yeah, I'm fine!  Just thinking about what Rainbow wrote in her diary."

-------------------

>You stop.
>Immediately.
>You'd made it to the living room, and had set the note on the table.
"I probably shouldn't be told any more than that, huh?"
>Vinyl had turned as red as Rainbow when you grabbed her wing.
"I'll take that as a no.  Care to get us to Ponyville now?"
>"Right."
>Her horn lights up again, and there's a bright flash of light.
>You feel like you're being pulled towards a really powerful magnet.
>Really, really powerful.
>
>It's kind of like that feeling you get when a roller coaster shoots out of the gate.
>Except backwards.
>And much faster.
>
>Ok, a lot faster.
>
>You see another flash of light, and then you're standing on the outskirts of Ponyville with Vinyl in your arms.
>
"So thats what it feels like to get teleported."
>You look down at Vinyl when she doesn't respond.
"Vinyl?  You ok?"
>She looks up at you, and you can feel her breathing harder now.
>"Yeah... Just...  need a minute...  catch my breath..."
"Yeah, I gotcha."
>One of Vinyl's guards had been waiting on her to return, and was standing next to you after you arrived.
>"Hey, Bobbie, why dont...  why don't you lead the way... towards that sandwich shop..."
>The guard nodded his head, and said "follow me."
>You obliged.

-------------------

>By the time you arrived at the shop, Vinyl was breathing regularly once more.
"You ok now?"
>"Yeah, I think so."
>You set her down on her hooves, and let her get her bearings.
>"Ok, I'm good."
"Just in time for sammiches."
>"Food!  Yes."
>She led the way into the shop, and the guard opted to wait outside.
>Anti-social bunch, these guards.
>No matter, food awaits!
>
>You both are seated, and eat your meals without incident.
>After you finish, you make to get your bits, but Vinyl stops you.
>"Hey!  I told you I wanted to meet you for lunch.  It's on me."
"Oh thats all right, I can cover myself."
>"Consider it a thank you for thinking and saving me when I fell through the cloud."
>You pause.
"Oh all right."
>She squees and gets her bits from the guard.
>A thought enters your mind.
"Hey Vinyl, you know any contractor ponies?"
>"Of course!  Who do you think had the Auditorium built?"
"You think you could hook me up?  I wanna see about getting a house of my own."
>"No problem!  He's doing a project right now, but he'll be done in the next couple of days.  I'll have him meet us day after tomorrow, when you come in to work."
"Great!"
>"One condition though."
"What's that?"
>"You gotta let me see this place when it's finished!"
"Done."
>Finally, things are starting to look up.
>If only a little.

-------------------

>Next thing on your list of shit to do is to wait for Rainbow.
>Not much you can do to speed things up there.
>Your favorite game - the waiting game.
>
>Damn.
>
>At least you got to spend some time with Vinyl.
>Much better company than being alone with your thoughts.
>"So what do you wanna do?"
"Well, not much I can do until Rainbow gets off work."
>"That sucks."
"I'll have to talk to my boss.  See if I can get some more hours or something."
>She punches you playfully in the shoulder.
>"I'd love to, but there's only so much to do.  Lotta down time."
"I've noticed.  How do you spend your down time?"
>"Usually just blastin music through my headphones."
"You don't chill with your friends?  I'd think being who you are, you'd have quite the assortment of people begging to hang with you."
>"And that is the problem.  I know plenty of people, but I don't know too many I'd call my friends..."
"Well, if you want, you can count me as a friend."
>She looks over at you and smiles.
>"Lets see.  So far, you've saved me from, at the very least, a pretty bad injury; you haven't tried to do horrible things to me; you don't pester me constantly; you're not a crazed fan."
>"My past has no influence on your opinion of me; you at least seem to like my music; and you're an alien."
>"Yeah, I like where this is going."
>
>Yeah, a pretty good deal.
>
"So Vinyl, you gonna tell me what the diary said?"
>"NOPE!"

-------------------

>The two of you had decided to pass the time waiting on Rainbow at Vinyl's auditorium.
>Not much was going on there, so you'd shut the doors to the main hall and were relaxing on the stage.
>It was calm.
>Quiet.
>Almost ghostly.
>
>"Hey, I've got an idea."
"Whats that?"
>"You got your phone-thingie on you?"
>It was a pointless habit to keep, but you'd managed to take your phone with you if you left the house.
>Old habits really do die hard.
"Yeah, here ya go."
>She took the phone in her magic grip, and looked it over for a minute.
>"Ok, I want you to think of a song that's on here."
"What?  Why?"
>"Sssshhh, don't worry, I'm a professional."
>Eh, just go with it.
"Ok, ready."
>She warped in a record that didn't have a label on it.
>Her horn started to glow, as well as your phone and the record.
>Then she walked over to you, and started getting pretty close.
"Ummm, Vinyl..."
>"Sssshhh"
>She touched her horn to your head, and there was a loud blast of sound.
>Like a sonic boom.
>Once your ears stopped ringing, you looked around and found Vinyl laying down on the stage, panting.
"You ok Vinyl?"
>She pants for a minute, then says "Yeah...  where's.... the record?"
>You look around and see that it had landed a couple feet away from you.
>You walk over and pick it up to examine it.
>It still didn't have a label.
"Here it is" you say as you bring it over to her.
>She stands up, and she has the aura about her like someone who had just sprinted a long ways.
>"Great!  Put it on the turn table!"
>You obey, and place the record on the turn table.

-------------------

"Ok, now what?"
>"Now you start it silly."
"How do I do that?"
>"Just put the needle on the record, and hit the green button."
>You did as she said, and the song you were thinking of started playing.
"What?  But...  how?"
>"It's magic, I ain't gotta explain shit!"
>You think about what she just said.
>And the fact that she's a talking unicorn.
"You'll get no argument from me."
>The two of you are back on the stage, listening to the song you were only moments ago thinking of.
>To her, it was alien and fascinating.
>To you, it was a reminder of home.
>Not too sure how to feel about that.
>Should you just drop all ties to home?
>Or should you keep a constant reminder?
>
>Dammit philosophy.
>
>Or psychology.  Whichever.
>
>The song ended, and the two of you just sat there.
>You were doing nothing.
>But you were doing nothing with a friend.
>Far more enjoyable than it should've been.
"Now how about we listen to one of your records?"
>You head over to her collection behind the stage.
>You found one that looked interesting, popped it onto the player, and started it.
>"So, what'd you find?"
"I still can't read pony, but it had a green label, outlined in blue."
>Her eyes went wide.
>"What.  Nonononono--"
>Before she could stop it though, it started playing.
>It was classical music.
>She froze in place.
>
"So this is what Vinyl Scratch listens to?"
>She made her way over to the player, and went to stop it.
"Now wait a minute, I'd like to listen to what you listen to."
>"Really?  You wanna listen to this?"
"Sure."
>She walked back over to where you were, and sat down next to you.

-------------------

>The classical music was going, but you could just barely hear something in the background.
>
>Was that a bass?
>She looked over to you, trying to read your body language.
>Trying to figure out what you thought of her music.
>Of her.
>
>The bass was prominent now.
>This pony had remixed classical music.
>
>The song continued, a strange mix of classical and this unicorn's own creation.
>
>After the song ended, Vinyl was looking at you intently.
>Trying desperately to decipher your poker face.
>"So... what'd you think?"
>You looked over to her, and your gaze met hers.
"That.  Was fucking. Awesome."
>She squeed at what you said, and tackled you in a hug.
>"No pony has ever heard that song before."
"Then I'd say your record is still clear.  I'm not a pony."
>She broke the hug, and looked at you.
>"No.  You certainly aren't."
>Then she resumed her hug.
>
>Life was good.
>
>For now.
>
>Several hours passed with the two of you just blasting your eardrums with music.
>There's a reason the auditorium was on the outer edge of town.
>
>You could feel time creeping up on you.
"Hey Vinyl, I think I'd better go.  It's probably getting late by now, and I don't want Dash to worry."
>"Yeah, you're probably right.  C'mon, I'll walk you."
>After shutting off the equipment, you both head back into town.
>"Where you gonna wait for Rainbow?"
"I think the square.  That's where I usually wait for her."
>She nods and walks with you to the square.
>It was definitely getting late out, the sun was starting to set.

-------------------

>As you were walking, you began to search the sky for Rainbow.
>No sign of her.
>Maybe she'll be at the square.
>You still don't know how mad she is at you.
>Or why she's mad at you, for that matter.
>The square crept up on you during your thoughts.
>You locate a park bench, and sit down.
>You get that sneaking Lyra feeling.
"Hey Vinyl, you mind sticking around until Rainbow gets here?"
>"No problem; you need me to protect you from the big mean pegasus?"
>You lean in to keep your voice down.
"Actually, it's a certain unicorn I'm worried about."
>She gives you a rather confused look, but shrugs it off.
>"Don't worry, I got your back.  Along with Bobby over there" she gestured towards one of her guards.
>You relaxed a little more.
>Surely Lyra wouldn't stalk you if you were with another pony.
>Whatever you did to Lyra, you'd really rather not find out today.
>
>The shops were closing up for the night at the square.
>A couple still stayed open for the last minute customers, as per usual.
>One of the carts caught your eye, or rather the little filly tending to it.
"I'll be right back Vinyl."
>You went over to the cart, and the little filly noticed you.
>"Hey there Anon!  You wanna buy some apples?"
"Apple Bloom, right?"
>"Thats me!"
"Well Apple Bloom, I was wondering if you made any progress on that job we talked about last time."
>"Oh!  Right!  I talked to Apple Jack, and she said she'd like to meet you first, but she could probably find a place for you at the orchard."
"Awesome!  When and where should I meet her?"
>"Stop by anytime!  My brother should be able ta help you out.  His name's Big Macintosh."

-------------------

"Will do.  Now, how much for those apples?"
>"Two bits per pound!"
>You reach into your pocket, and fish out two bits.
>The little filly jumps up and down after accepting your money, and disappears behind the cart.
>A few seconds later, she re-appears with a bag of apples.
>"Here ya go Anon!"
"Thanks Apple Bloom.  I'll see ya around."
>You walked back over to the bench, and Vinyl was still there.
>She had put her goggles on, and had a content look on her face.
"Watcha lookin at?"
>"Oh, just enjoying the sounds of the square."
>You make a mental note to try that some time.
"Wanna apple?"
>She pushes her goggles back up onto her head.
>"Sure!"
>You reach into the bag, and hand her an apple.
>She takes it in her magic grip, and begins munching away at it.
>You take another apple out, and do the same.
>
>Save for the magical grip.
>
>A couple of hours pass, and the square is all but deserted.
>Save for you and Vinyl.
>
>Vinyl had snuggled up to you, and was starting to doze off.
>You search the sky once more for Rainbow, but you can't seem to find her.
>Must've had a long day at work or something.

-------------------

>You could feel your eyes starting to get heavy.
>But the cold was setting in.
>Vinyl had wound up curled up in your lap.
>How you failed to notice her crawl onto your lap is beyond you, but whatever.
>You pick her up in your arms, and walk over the the guard.
"You wanna lead me back to her house?  I think she's a little tired."
>He nods, and leads the way towards the auditorium.
"No no, her house."
>"The auditorium is her house.  She lives on the top floor."
"Oh."
>The rest of the walk is completed in silence.
>
>You finally make it to the auditorium, and up to Vinyl's room.
>You locate her bed, and manage to place her in her bed and under her sheets.
>Somehow, she hadn't woken up on the trip there.
>She was sleeping peacefully now, in her warm bed.
>Time for you to get to yours.
>You head out of her room, and as you're closing the door, you didn't hear her mutter "thanks, Anon."
>
>You're outside the auditorium again, and making your way back to the square.
>The moon was now high in the sky.
>Luckily for you, it was full and lighting up the way for you rather well.
>
>You made your way back to the bench at the square, and resumed your wait for Rainbow.
>
>Might as well take a nap, right?
>Might as well.
>What could possibly go wrong?
>You lie down on the bench, and doze off.

-------------------

>Some unknown amount of time passes, and you're woken up by a hoof poking you in the side.
>You open your eyes, and it's Twilight.
>It's still night out, and there's an owl perched on Twilights back.
"Twilight?"
>"Anon, what are you doing sleeping out here?"
"I was waiting on Rainbow to come pick me up.  She hasn't yet."
>"You don't have to sleep out here.  Come on, you can stay the night at my place."
"Well thanks Twilight."
>You follow her back to the library tree house, and she's prepared a guest bed down on the first floor.
>"Just be quite, Spike is already asleep."
>You nod your head, willing to accept anything for the promise of a warm bed.
>Twilight went up to the second floor, presumably to her bedroom.
>You crawl into your bed, and pass right the fuck back out.
>
>You wake up to the smell of... eggs?
>You sit up in your bed, and re-affirm your previous thought.
>Eggs.
>Someone was cooking eggs.
>You made your way towards the smell, and found Twilight in her kitchen, cooking up some eggs.
"Twilight?"
>"Oh!  Good morning Anon!"
"Are you cooking... eggs?"
>"I sure am!  Do you like eggs?"
"I love eggs, how did you know?"
>"Your teeth!  Your eye teeth, to be more precise.  I asked Rainbow what you'd been eating, and when I noticed your teeth, I figured you were doing it just to be nice."
>This mare is quite a bit smarter than you first gave her credit for.
>It's a little scary.

-------------------

>"I figured you eat meat by your teeth, and since Rainbow said you'd been eating other non-meat foods, like salads and sandwiches, I figured you were an omnivore."
>You almost asked her how she kept so much information in her head.
>Then you remembered she lived in a library.
"You didn't tell Rainbow, did you?"
>She looks over at you when you ask her that.
>"You don't want her to know?  Why not?"
"I... I don't want to scare her."
>"You might want to soon.  You need protein, and beans and rice are fine, but I think you'll get burnt out on those pretty quickly."
>She was right.
"I don't suppose you have a spell to change my diet, do you?"
>"No, but I'm sure I could find one.  Why would you want to do that, though?"
"It's got to bother you ponies if I eat meat.  If I'm gonna fit in around here, the last thing I should do is eat meat.  Besides, where would I get it?"
>She ponders your statement for a bit, while eying the egg she was frying.
>"I'll look Anon, but I don't think you should try and change who you are.  At any rate, breakfast is ready!"
>Using her magic, she placed a plate with two eggs and some toast at a table; while pouring herself some cereal.
>The eggs were a blessing.
>They were soo good.
>
>Then it dawned on you, ponies probably eat eggs anyway.
>At least in cakes and whatnot.
>
>Best not to push things.
>Shut up and eat your damn breakfast.
>
>After you finished breakfast and helped Twilight put away the guest bed, you thanked her for her hospitality and understanding before heading out to the square.
>Time to track down Rainbow.

-------------------

>You walked around Ponyville for the better part of an hour, trying to spot the cyan pegasus.
>Not easy against a blue sky.
>
>You wandered for quite a few hours before you decided to take a brake at the Ponyville park.
>This was nuts.
>Was Rainbow punishing you for something?
>The wing incident maybe?
>Was she avoiding you?
>The fuck can you do?
>
>As you're once again pondering your life while sitting on a park bench, a pony comes up to you.
>"Hey there mister!  I've never seen you before!  What's your name?  Mine's Pinkie Pie!"
>You look over at the energetic pony, and the pink mane freaks you the fuck out.
>Flamethrowers.
>Wasps.
>feelsbadman.jpg
>
>"Oh no!  Did I scare you?  I didn't mean to scare you!"
>After you retract your claws and climb down the tree you flew up, you regain your composure.
"I'm sorry, you just reminded me of a bad dream I had...  Anyway, no I don't think we've met.  My name is Anon.  Pleasure to meet you Ms. Pinkie Pie."
>"A bad dream?  Thats no fun!  How long have you been in Ponyville?  I usually meet everypony that comes to Ponyville.  Although, you're not a pony are you?  That might explain why I didn't meet you!"
>Oh boy.
>This pony might just be the end of you.
"No, bad dreams usually aren't fun, being bad n all;  I've been here a little over a month I think;  and no, I'm not a pony."
>"I knew you weren't a pony!  I've gotta throw you a party!  How could I have not seen you around?  Thats just crazy!  Where are you staying?  How long are you staying?  Wanna be friends?!"
>Yup, one of those days.

-------------------

"I don't think you should throw me a party right no--"
>"Of course I should!  I'm the best at parties!"
"I"m sure you are, but you see I've got to leave town pretty soon, and I don't know when I'll be coming back, if at all."
>"Oh no!  Do you need help with anything?  If I can't throw you a party, the LEAST I can do is help you out while you're here!"
>Maybe this pony could help you.
"Actually, I've been looking for a cyan pegasus named Rainbow Dash.  Have you seen her?"
>"You know Dashie?!  Oh my gosh, how have I NOT heard about you?!  I don't know where she is right now, but I bet I could find her!"
>Dashie.
>More ammo has been acquired.
"Ok, where do we start?"
>"You go this way, I'll go that way, and we'll meet up in the square in one hour, ok?  We'll be sure to find her this way!"
"Sounds like a plan.  Thanks, Ms. Pinke Pie."
>"You can call me Pinkie!  I'll see you in an hour!"
>She disappeared with a speed that could rival Dash's.
>How are these ponies that fast?
>No matter.
>You begin your search in the direction Pinkie had gestured.
>
>About a half hour into your search, you heard crying.
>You looked around, but you were on a road between sections of ponyville.
>There weren't any buildings close enough that you could hear crying inside them.
>You thought for a moment, and looked up at the clouds.
>One of them had a rainbow tail hanging down.
"Rainbow?"

-------------------

>You see her sit up at attention.
>"Anon?  Where are you!?"
"Down here!"
>You wave your arms, but she's facing the wrong way.
>She spins around a couple times before looking down and seeing you.
>Next thing you know, you're on the ground, covered in Rainbow.
"Wooaaahh, easy Rainbow, you alright?"
>She loosens the death grip she had on you, and looks you in the eyes.
>There were clearly visible trails of tears, and her eyes shown that she had been crying profusely.
>"Am I alright?  I've been searching for you all night!  I was so worried when you weren't at home last night!"
"Didn't you see the note?"
>"Note?  What note?"
>Long story time.
"I'll explain everything, but first we need to find a pony named Pinkie Pie and let her know I found you."
>"Pinkie?  When did you meet her?"
"Not long ago.  While I was searching for you."
>"You were looking for me?"
"I told you, I'll explain everything in detail later.  First, we need to let Pinkie Pie know I found you.  She seems like the kind of pony to gossip."
>"You have no idea.  Ok, lets go.  Where is she?"
"She said to meet her at the square, so lets go wait there for her."
>She's still sniffling, but she seems much better now.
>This is going to be one hell of an explanation.

-------------------

>The two of you made your way to the square, and found a park bench to occupy while waiting for Pinkie Pie.
>You sat in silence, but it wasn't an awkward silence.
>More like a content silence.
>
>Pinkie Pie showed up a little later, and proceeded to have a conversation with Rainbow that should've lasted about three hours, in roughly five minutes.
>After you thanked Pinkie for helping, Dash took you back to her house of cloud.
>"So."
"So."
>"I believe you said a 'full and detailed' explanation?"
"Right."
>This'll be fun.
>You proceeded to recount the events of the last twenty-four hours to her, in great detail.
>It took a while, but you finally made your way to this morning.
>After you finished your twisted tale of events, Rainbow was silent for a while.
>"So...  all this time I spent looking for you, you were looking for me?"
"Thats about right."
>"No wonder we couldn't find each other...  Where'd you leave this note?  I didn't see it."
>You pick the note up off the living room table and hand it to her.
>"Right..."
"Hey, no worries.  We found each other, didn't we?"
>"Yeah, I guess there's that."
"Now, about the scroll from Celestia..."
>"I'm ready to go as soon as you are."
"Good to know you still count me as a friend."
>"Always."
>You decided that was enough stress for one day.
>After you two ate dinner, you both headed straight to bed, ready for the day to be over.
>Boy it felt good to be in that familiar cloud bed.
>Wonder what horrors tomorrow will bring?

###Last Edit: 7/19/2012 1805