Another satisfied table and another dozen-bit tip. Gel sighs softly to herself, straightening out her maid outfit before moving on to her next group. That family sure was nice. I don't know why they brought the filly here, though... She shrugs a bit. Oh, well, if they think it's fine, who am I to judge? For now, I think I should be more concerned with my gift for Rhino...maybe I can convince him to do some more roleplaying with me...maybe I can get him to wear his white coat... She stumbles, squeaking as she falls onto the floor outside the private booth. ...m-maybe I should focus back on work... She quickly stands up and knocks politely.

One of the stallions, a brown unicorn, winks at the waitress. "A round of hard ciders for me and my buddies here, and keep them coming!" As the other stallions cheer, he gives Gel a lewd smile before tugging one of her socks partially down and laughing with the others.

She quickly pulls the sock back up as she writes it down. "...I-I'll get right on it..." Honestly, I'd cut you off right now, but I'm not in charge of that... She leaves the room and heads over to the drink mare, sighing softly and giving her the slip of paper.

As the gushing of the tap starts to sound she leans against the wall, looking out to the restaurant. As she is looking, the front door opens and three ponies stroll in. Not just any three ponies though, the familiar forms of Rhino, Manila, and Doctor Goodall are the ones arriving. The mares are smiling and leading the stallion into the restaurant and to the hostess.

Gel smiles to herself, seeing her coltfriend at her workplace. ...I suppose it was about time for you to see where I work, love... She giggles, shaking her head.

His ears flick from the unexpected voice in his head. He turns and spots her, giving a bright smile. I didn't expect this to be the place the girls treated me to. The uniforms are a giveaway though. Here's hoping you get to serve us. He winks in her direction just before he follows the rest of his group to a booth.

She blushes softly before looking at the booth, a small pout on her lips. ...phoo. I'm not your server, today...my boss is... She turns to the drink mare, taking the beverages and heading over to the private booth. And here I was hoping I could chat with you and your coworkers a bit... She knocks and waits for an answer.

Before the group of stallions answer, he sends one last message to her. Well, we can still talk, it'll just probably be really distracting for both of us considering we'll have ponies already talking to us.

As her coltfriend's statements ends, the door to the private booth opens and Gel is greeted by wolf-whistles, cat-calls, and lewd eyeing. The stallion from before addresses her again after chugging half of his cider. "About time, you were gone for minutes! Bring us back a table's worth of hay fries and then why don't you join us? You can have a seat, right here!" He pats his crotch.

Meanwhile, Silk has arrived at Rhino's table and has introduced herself. Recognizing the stallion, she gives him a flutter of her eyelashes, which he seems to not notice. She pouts for a moment before cheering up and continuing. "So, what can I get all of you to drink?" Rhino orders milk, Manila gets pink lemonade, and Doctor Goodall has tea. The yellow mare writes all this down and addresses the stallion, who is sitting on the edge of the booth seat. "I'll be right back~." She winks and flicks her tail as she walks off.

Back at the booth, Gel stares at the stallion in shock, her mind trying to come to terms with what was said. ...did...did I hear that correctly? She snaps out of her daze, smiling sheepishly at them. "...um...I-I'll be right back with your food..." She rushes out the door, blushing brightly. She shakes her head before writing the order down and hurrying off to the kitchen.

Inside the booth, the unicorn narrows his eyes before turning to his friends, smirking slyly. "Yeah, she wants some of this." He bellows out in laughter, slamming a hoof against the table. "Get ready to pay up!"

Another of the group, a sky-blue earth pony, beams hopefully at him. "Mind sharing her with us?"

The brown unicorn snorts, glaring at him. "No way in Tartarus! I'm gonna pop that mare's cherry, and I don't want any of you trying to horn in on my action!"

At the table across the restaurant, Manila looks at Rhino with a smile. "See? I told you they were friendly here! You're just lucky they don't do birthday songs or I would have you so red from embarrassment!"

The other mare nods. "My sister's right, though I do have one question: How come you aren't already red just from their outfits? Was my first impression of your wrong?"

Rhino shakes his head. "You're more right than you know, but having a marefriend who works here and wears the uniform tends to give a pony a tolerance for it." He looks between the two of them. "Thanks again for treating me to this little surprise lunch you two."

The two mares simply giggle as Silk returns with the drinks. "Alright, here are your drinks." She looks pointedly at the stallion. "So, do you see anything you like?"

He looks down at the menu. "Umm, yes actually, can I have the tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich?"

She writes down the order. "You can have anything you want, I assure you." Her wings ruffle as she turns to the others to take their orders.

Gel sees her boss heading over to her and gives a small smile. "...how are you doing, Silk?" ...that's...a lot of love hanging around her...huh...

The yellow mare puts a hoof to her chin before answering with a slightly forced smile. "Optimistic, testing the waters to see if I can get a ship sailing." She giggles. "I do like a challenge."

The white mare tilts her head to one side, curious. ...what could she mean by that? "...i-if you say so..." She notices the food for the booth is done. She carefully takes the large plate of hay fries, nodding to her friend. "...I-I should head off, now...g-good luck?"

Silk returns to waiting for her own food order, a smile and distant look on her face. "You too, hon~!"

She giggles softly before heading over to the private booth. Knocking, she hears someone say to enter and does so.

The brown pony grins at her, waiting for her to put the fries on the table before speaking again. "Thanks, doll." As his friends dig in, he motions her closer, patting a hoof on his lap. "Care to join us?"

She blushes brightly, glancing around for an excuse to avoid that. "...um...I-I'm not sure I should...I-I have other tables to take care of..."

He shrugs, leaning back against the seat in an unattached manner. "No problem. Just be sure to come back soon, alright?"

Gel shakily nods before carefully backing out of the room and closing the door. Once she has, she shivers. ...that was...rather odd...

The stallion turns to his friends, noticing the smirks on their faces in spite of his inebriation. "What?"

The blue one speaks up again, shaking his head. "You're freaking her out. There's no way she's gonna leave with you!"

He growls, glaring at the earth pony. "You want to see how much she wants me? Fine. I'll get her to give me a direct answer when she returns." He chuckles, turning his gaze to the door. "You'll see..."

Meanwhile, Gel arrives at a table near Rhino's, looking as if she was checking for a tip. ...so, are things satisfactory, love?

He looks out over the restaurant to excuse himself from speaking to the two mares he is with. Friendly staff, good atmosphere, excellent company both physically and mentally... yes, I'd say things are going very well for us. Is the same true for you?

She pauses in her 'search', a salt shaker held in her magical aura. ...well...I just got hit on...but he seemed to back off...

Rhino instantly tenses, his eyes narrowing slightly. Was he respectful?

...he seemed like it, I guess? She continues straightening up the table, unsure. He did ask me to come back soon...I suppose he might want something else to eat...

The stallion takes a sip of his drink to distract himself. The dozens of spidery cracks in his glass afterward from his magical grip show that it didn't work. His mental voice becomes forced. Yes... I'm sure that's what he meant... let me know if there's trouble...

...um...o-okay, then... She walks away, somewhat worried by his behavior. She dismisses that thought for the moment as she heads over to a group that was about to leave.

The other two mares in Rhino's group notice his glass as he sets it down. Manila asks the question. "Rhino, what happened to your glass?!"

He looks down and notices it for the first time. "Oh... I guess I just put too much pressure on it while I was thinking..."

Mane responds. "What, watching some other stallion hit on your marefriend as she waits on them?" The look on his face takes the wind out of her sails. "Oh... well, I'm sure it'll be fine. You need to relax and be happy, this day only comes once a year after all!"

He closes his eyes for a moment before coming up with a small smile. "I suppose you're right... maybe I'm just being paranoid..." A sideways look back at where he had seen Gel betrays his lingering thoughts.

She arrives back at the private booth, silently dreading what might await her on the other side. Hesitant, the disguised changeling knocks on the door before entering.

As she does, every eye turns to her. She squirms, rather uncomfortable from this. She glances at the half-full plates before sheepishly smiling. "I-I guess you're not done yet. I'll be back later, then." She turns to leave...

...only to run into the door. She falls on her rump, gingerly holding her snout. ...oh...I hope I'm not bleeding...

Glancing over her shoulder, she realizes the brown pony has approached her, a lecherous grin on his lips. "You can stop making excuses, gorgeous. I know you want me."

She trembles, trying to back away from him. "N-no I don't. P-please, m-maybe you should lie down for a bit? L-let the alcohol wear off?"

He shakes his head, following her to the corner she was backing into. "Stop lying to yourself." He places a hoof on her cheek, leaning in. "No mare can resist the Hammer." With that, he nips at her neck.

Gel whimpers, unable to move while fighting off the sheer amount of lust coming off this stallion. What made it worse for her were the other three ponies watching without making a move to help.

In a desperate move, she reaches her mind out to her love. R-Rhino...h-help...

The green stallion acts immediately. In an instant, he teleports to the space just in front of the door to the booth he had seen her go in. Emotion outweighing control, he grips the door and rips it open, tearing off one of the hinges in the process. As he sees the other pony nipping at Gel neck as she whimpers, the blue stripe in his mane and tail turn blood red as he shouts. "Get away from her!" He grabs the brown pony's arm in his magic, wrenching it away at an unnatural angle, causing him to cry out in pain. As the stallion holds his hoof, Rhino moves protectively in front of the mare, his eyes constantly going between the other ponies, his protectiveness at its highest level.

He glares up at him, annoyed. "What the fuck?! You almost broke my foreleg!" Before he can say anything else, he notices the white mare clinging to the taller pony's barrel. He snorts, turning to the broken door as he mutters to himself. "Just perfect. I had to pick the day her brother was eating here."

Gel, meanwhile, is on the brink of tears. ...R-Rhino...t-thank you...I-I didn't k-know what to do...h-he reeks of...a-alcohol and lust...i-it was almost too much...

Rhino turns so one of his eyes can see her. As soon as he does, his heart twinges from seeing her so scared, and he turns back to the other pony even angrier than before. His voice, whether mental or physical, is deep and sounds almost like a growl with every word. I will protect you... His horn light sup as his aura yanks the brown pony back towards them. "Apologize."

He huffs, staring defiantly at the pony, too buzzed to be scared. "What for? She was asking for a piece of me, being all flirty like that!"

She holds Rhino even tighter, frantically shaking her head. N-no, I wasn't! I-I was just being polite!

The blue pony raises a gangly foreleg, confusion clear on his face. "Does this mean you lose the bet, Hammer?"

He spins around, scowling at the pony. "Shut up, Frost!"

A growl forms in Rhino's throat. "Bet..." His eyes narrow at the stallion. "Vermin..." His magic yanks the pony's head back around to face him, likely giving him a small case of whiplash in the process. "I don't care about whatever excuses you have. Apologize to my marefriend, or the red sauce covering your friend's hay fries won't be ketchup."

He takes a moment to recover from the room spinning before sneering, moving to walk around the taller stallion. "Big words from a psycho. You hurt me here, especially after gathering so much attention," he nods to the majority of the restaurant outside, most of whom are craning their necks to watch, "and you'll be sent to jail. Besides..."

Gel looks up, realizing that his gaze had fallen on her.

He chortles, shaking his head. "She's obviously not much of an Angel if she's working here. So just back off, cunt." He walks through the doorway, certain that he'd won.

He was sadly mistaken. Before he could get all the way out of the booth, the mare grabbed his tail and yanked him back in, a fire in her eyes. "You do not speak like that to him! I swear to Luna herself, if I hear another snide remark or stupid retort out of you, I will personally roast your flank until it looks like two ugly lumps of coal I wouldn’t even want in my furnace!" She holds up a hoof, a will-o-wisp appearing above it. "Have I made myself clear?"

The brown pony gulps, shrinking in on himself, frightened by the sudden personality change in the mare. "C-crystal."

She smiles brightly and nods. "I'm glad! Now, be a good pony and pay for your food, please." She puts a hoof on her chin. "Did you want any dessert?"

He shakes his head.

She shrugs, giggling quietly. "Suit yourself." She exits the private booth, thinking to herself. ...I should get an apple...might help calm me down...

Rhino gives the stallions in the booth a final parting warning look before following the mare. Well, that was all kinds of unpleasant. Good job back there though. He nuzzles her affectionately as his stripes turn blue once more.

...well, that’s the benefits of being an ex-drill sergeant...but what I’m curious about... She looks up, staring pointedly at his mane. ...was why your mane and tail suddenly changed like that...

He looks out to the rest of the place, starting to feel a bit self-conscious. A conversation for later perhaps... want to come back to my table? I think we could both use a moment to collect ourselves.

She thinks for a moment before nodding, smiling softly at him. ...I’d enjoy that... She glances at the mares at his table, worried. ...they won’t be scared by what I said, right? I-I mean, I don’t know if they heard me, but still...

Rhino looks at the sisters. I don’t think they heard exactly what was said, but they probably had a pretty good view of the reactions... it should be fine...

Mane and Mania scoot over to make room for the couple, waiting a moment for the restaurant to rise back to its usual sound level before speaking. Manila, as usual, is the one to speak her mind first. “Are you two alright? That didn’t look like it was any fun for anypony...”

“W-we’re fine...” She tenderly nuzzles her stallion’s cheek, blushing brightly. “...thanks to Rhino...i-if he didn’t step in, I don’t know what would’ve happened...”

A low growl comes from the stallion as he envisions exactly that, but the timely arrival of Silk interrupts those dark thoughts.

Her eyes widen in surprise as she sees Gel. “Angel? Are you taking a break?”

The white mare squirms slightly, uncomfortable. “...um...n-not exactly...y-you see...I...” She glances around the room, trying to figure out a good way to word what happened. ...I-I can’t just let her know that...can I? She turns her gaze to her hooves, going silent.

The pegasus looks at her strangely before shaking her head and muttering. “I’m sure you’ll tell me later.” She turns to the other three. “Here are your orders~!” She tilts her wings forward so that the plates balanced on them slide easily onto the table before turning her flank towards Rhino and flicking it at him so that his bowl and plate skip off it and in front of him. “Hope you enjoy it!” She turns around, fluttering her eyelashes. “Anything else you want, anything at all?”

Gel looks up, her eyes moving between the pegasus and her stallion. She tilts her head to one side, giving her a confused expression. “...Silk? A-are you...h-hitting on Rhino?”

The mare gives her a ‘duh’ expression. “Well, at least one of you noticed... I swear he doesn’t react to any hints!”

Her eyes narrow dangerously, ire welling up in her once more. “...oh really? So he’s the one you have your eyes on?” She tenses, trying to keep herself under control.

The sisters and stallion hold their silence as the two mares converse. Silk nods at Gel. “Yep, this is the one! Quite a catch, too! At least, if I actually manage to catch him.”

Gel’s fur bristles at this. She quickly puts on a sickly-sweet smile, her voice taking a purposely melodic tone. “Sorry, but he’s actually taken!” She gives a small pout, looking up at her friend. “Didn’t you know?”

Behind the pegasus, some of the other maids are rapidly talking before sending one of their group to their boss. As the waitress approaches, Silk continues the conversation, a surprised look on her face. “What? By who?!”

The white mare wraps her forelegs around one of Rhino’s, giggling brightly. “By me, to be honest. We’ve been together for...” She trails off and turns to him, blushing brightly. “...h-how long has it been, again?”

He nuzzles her. “So much has happened... but I think it’s been about two weeks now."

Gel nods, directing her attention back to the pegasus. "...a-about two weeks. Like he said."

Silk's eyes widen as she silently stares at the couple. The maid who was walking over arrives and taps the boss on the shoulder. She whispers into her ear and gestures towards the private booths. The pegasus' eyes narrow as she continues looking at the two ponies.

The smaller unicorn shifts in her seat, nervous. "...i-is something wrong, Silk?" W-why do I have a bad feeling about this?

The yellow mare straightens herself up, sniffing before looking at the disguised changeling. "Miss Grace, for damages to property and threatened damage to customers, your employment with us is terminated, effective immediately. The uniform is yours to keep." She whips out a pad and scribbles into it before laying it on the table and addressing the earth pony mares. "This is your bill, the hostess will take care of it when you're ready." She marches off with the other mare in tow.

She stares at the paper for a moment, her mind shutting down. Briefly, almost a flicker of a thought crosses her mind. ...fired?

The weight of all that happened to her in the last five minutes suddenly comes down on her. Growling angrily, she rushes after her former boss, grabbing her shoulder and whipping her around, snout-to-snout and a fire in her eyes. "...you're firing me...because a stallion tried to rape me, and my coltfriend broke the locked door down to rescue me?" A lick of blue flame appears at the top of her head, hardly able to contain her fury. "How the fuck is that fair?! Oh, I'll pay the damages!" She tosses down a bag full of bits at the other mare's hooves. "I got plenty of bits from tips, and a whole mess more at home! I just can't believe you're letting a case of broken-heart syndrome destroy our friendship!" She huffs and turns away, heading back to her table. "And to think, I considered you a decent pony. I guess you proved me wrong."

As Gel arrives back at the table, almost literally fuming, Rhino looks at her with a surprised face. As the mare mutters, the stallion looks over to the pegasus with an apologetic face, mouthing 'I'm sorry.' She takes this rather well, smiling brightly at him before continuing on her way.

***

Gel quietly enters the house. She trudges to the living room, collapsing onto the couch. She doesn't make any attempt to move so her face isn't pressed into the seat cushion.

Rhino sets his bag in its usual corner, hanging up his lab coat on the coat rack by the door. He walks ver to the couch and settles on one of the arms, rubbing a hoof on the disguised changeling's back in a soothing manner. He debates making a remark, but decides that this is one of those times where it would be best to follow his reflex to be silent until she speaks.

She shudders as he touches her, whimpering. ...I-I can't believe...I-I just lost my only friend... She turns her head to one side, revealing the wet trail down her cheek. ...w-was I...w-wrong to lash out like that?

He chooses his words carefully. Reactions were... understandable for all those involved... He thinks back on how Silk had been acting. She may have acted like that... but her feelings were genuine... and heartache can make ponies lash out. This is true for both friends and crushes... She technically did have the grounds to fire you... especially after your outburst... but your actions were not unwarranted... He finally can't take seeing her like this anymore and scoops her up into a sitting hug with her back to his stomach. It'll be fine... we'll get through this...

She sniffles, trying her best to calm down. ...I-I guess you're right...like always... She bitterly chuckles, shaking her head. ...I'm sorry your birthday turned out like this, love...

He nuzzles her from his position behind her. It's just a day, there are good ones and bad ones. It's just snuck up on me some years anyway, gone before I knew it. It usually ended up being more about the days all around my birthday anyway. Even with all this... I can still see this day ending happily...

Gel blinks, turning to look at him in confusion. ...w-what do you mean by that? H-how do you see this day...having a happy ending?

He stays silent before letting a line project to her from his head. You... He starts humming a tune, a beat of about-walking speed. His sounds lift and fall as if telling a story until he gets to the part he wanted. He opens his mouth and sings.

"My wish for you
Is that this life becomes all that you want it to
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small
You never need to carry more than you can hold

And while you're out there gettin' where you're gettin' to
I hope you know somebody loves you
And wants the same things too
Yeah, this is my wish”

She smiles softly, turning herself over in his embrace and gently kissing him. "...how'd you know one of my favorite songs, love?"

He kisses her backs softly. "I just always liked that song... and I thought it would help in this situation. Just so you know though... I don't sing for just anypony... in fact, you're the first pony to hear me sing besides those who manage to hear me hum a few words to myself."

She giggles, tenderly nuzzling his cheek. "...thank you for that honor...though, honestly, I think you sing rather well..." She closes her eyes, letting herself get lost in the warmth of his fur. ...it may not be the best I've heard, but it's still pretty good...

As long as it helped... it was perfect. He slides down into a prone position on his back so that he's more comfortable. She ends up on his chest. He lets out a sigh and kisses the tip of her nose. Certainly an eventful day...

...I wish it could be more eventful... She playfully winks before becoming somber. ...sadly, I...kinda lost the mood to do that back at the restaurant... She stays silent for a moment before looking down at his face, a hopeful gleam in her eyes. "...can we just...sleep down here, for tonight? Please?"

He smiles. "You know I can't resist that face... we could probably use an early night anyway after our early morning. We just need a few things..." He whistles towards the stairs and the sounds of stampeding little feet approach before the three pets scamper into view and immediately glomp the two ponies.

Gel giggles, feeling the soft fur of her favorite feline brush against the center of her back. ...it seems like our little princess has claimed the top spot... She shakes her head before resting it underneath his chin. ...see you in our dream, love...