Gel sighs, closing the door to the house behind her. That was rather...interesting. She steps into the kitchen, grabbing herself a glass before opening the fridge. "...Why are there three gallons of milk in here?"

Rhino, who had heard the door, walks into the living room and hears the question. He walks into the kitchen and answers. "Because I just restocked when you were out. I was running low."

She stares blankly at him, stunned. "...You like milk that much?" In most places, I'm certain that's called an addiction. She pours herself some apple juice before closing the door, sitting down at the table. "...glad you restocked, though...I love this apple juice..." I probably shouldn't throw that word around so lightly.

"Well, glad I can keep you happy." He seems to be generally comfortable around her in her uniform now. "How was work?"

"It was...interesting..." She sighs, loosening the apron strings around her barrel. "...one stallion was leering at me a bit, but I suppose that's to be expected..." She holds up a bit bag, beaming at him. "I got paid today, though, and he gave me a big tip!"

Rhino grunts as his eyes narrow. "I'm not sure how I should respond to that... so I don't think I'll say anything about it." He puts on a clearly forced cheerful face. "So, first paycheck huh? Any special plans?"

"...Not sure, to be honest..." She puts a hoof to her chin, thinking a bit. "...Maybe we could go somewhere tomorrow? I have a place in mind..." She moves her hoof to his shoulder, smiling softly. "...It'll be fun...I promise..."

He smiles. "Sure, I'm interested to see what you have in mind for a Saturday." He replays what she said in his head, his smile turning into a smirk. "You know, the way you worded that almost sounded like you were asking me on a date. If it ends up being dinner, I think I might get suspicious of your intentions."

"Not dinner." She giggles, waving a hoof playfully at him. "More like a game. You'll have to get the proper protection before we can do it, though!" She freezes, an eye twitching slightly. "...s-sorry...I-I didn't mean it the way it sounded..."

He chuckles. "You dirty mare you..."

She lowers her head, ashamed. "...Rhino..." He can't possibly know, can he? "...w-why do you say that? I-I've never even been with a stallion like that..." As Angel, of course. Or my true self, but they'd probably run away or even attack me if I was in that form...

His whole body seems to droop as he drowns in guilt for making her feel bad. His voice is a whisper. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean anything by it... please don't be sad... I'll umm, go away if you want me to... I truly am sorry..."

She wraps a foreleg around one of his, shyly looking up at him. "...I-it's fine...please...s-stay..." She averts her eyes, blushing softly. "...y-you make me feel...better..."

He looks away from the contact but doesn't make a move to end it. "Well, I'm glad about that... now if only I would stop making you feel bad in the first place." He takes a few deep breaths before looking back at her. "Feeling a bit better now?"

"...Yes..." She leans against him, gently nuzzling his soft fur. "...if you don't mind, though, I think I'll be going to bed, soon...it's getting kind of late..."

He shivers at the nuzzle, but manages to keep his thoughts straight. "I doubt Pinkie Pie will appreciate you skipping out on your party."

She looks up at him, confused. "...party? Is that today?" She pulls out her notebook, flipping through it carefully. "...I don't have a time written for it...when is it at?"

Rhino's horn lights up and a pink envelope floats out of his saddlebags. "According to this, it starts in... 20 minutes."

"What?!" She leaps to her hooves, frantically racing about the room. "I-I don't know where it's at! W-what should I wear? W-who all did she invite?" I have no idea what to do! "Wah!" She trips over her own hooves, falling flat on her face.

He races over and nudges her with his head. "Angel? Are you hurt? Do you need the first aid kit?"

She shakes her head, her words muffled by her mouth being pressed against the ground. Talk about embarrassing... She looks at him with one eye, a blush creeping onto her face. ...but, sometimes...being embarrassed is fine...

The stallion gets down on one knee and offers her his other hoof. "If I may?"

She gulps quietly, tentatively taking his hoof. ...definitely fine...

He pulls her up and nods. "Now then, if I may alleviate some of your concerns. Wear whatever you want, most of her parties are casual, so whatever you want is fine. On average, she invites about 30 ponies. As to not knowing where it is..." He does a little bow. "Milady, it would be my honor to be your escort for this gathering, including getting you there and home safely."

E-escort?! She blushes brightly, fidgeting a bit. "...I-I'd like that, Rhino..." ...my sundress. I-I'll wear my sundress. "...p-please excuse me...I-I need to go change my clothes..." She leaves the room, rushing up into her own.

He heads up the stairs at his own measured pace. "I suppose I should freshen up a bit as well... maybe I'll wear my jacket..." He comes back down a few minutes later with a simple dark jacket as his attire, and sits on the couch as he waits for the mare to finish getting ready.

Soon enough, Gel descends the stairs, taking measured steps to not appear eager. She looks into the living room, giggling softly. "...You look handsome in that, Rhino...I wonder if some lucky mare is going to...well, you know..." She playfully winks at him.

"Well, it'd be a shame for them since I am already taken for tonight." He winks back. "You look lovely, guess I'll have to keep an eye out for stallions trying to steal you away."

She giggles, bumping her side against his. "They'd be out of luck, Rhino." She wraps her tail around his, fighting back a blush at her own actions. "Since I'm also taken for tonight."

He chuckles even through his own small blush, treating this like some fun game as his own long tail wraps around hers. "Well then, as one-half of tonight's pair, I say we should get moving before we are late." He opens the door for her.

She blushes brightly, feeling the affection coming off of him. "O-of course."

***

The two arrive outside Sugarcube Corner. Rhino announces as they near the door. "And here we are, one of the most identifiable buildings in town."

Gel blinks, putting a hoof on the doorframe. "...Is this...a gingerbread house?"

He lets out a quick laugh. "Yes, it's a bit unusual, but it does almost scream 'I'm a bakery!'"

She laughs along with him, shaking her head a bit. "...It definitely fits Miss Pie..." She moves the hoof to the door but pauses, unsure. "...D-do I knock?"

Rhino shakes his head. "No, I think you just walk in."

"If you say so..." She pushes open the door, walking inside next to him. "...Why is it so dark?"

The stallion doesn't get a chance to answer as the lights suddenly all turn on at once and dozens of ponies scream out:

"Surprise!"

Gel squeaks in surprise, freezing in place for a moment before sighing in relief. "...O-oh...i-it's a surprise party..." Glad they didn't try that when I wasn't disguised. Otherwise... She shakes her head, not wanting to think about that any further.

"Yep!" Pinkie appears next to the two. "It justs goes to show that even if you know about a party ahead of time, it can still be a surprise! Now come on everypony, LET'S PARTY!"

With the word given, the music starts up and ponies cheer as they mingle, dance, go to the snack table, or any combination of the three. Pinkie bounces off happily, leaving the two ponies at the door on their own.

Gel stands in the doorway, looking at the activities around them. "...She seems to do well with planning these...I didn't think she'd be able to guess my favorite colors..." She glances up at the deep blue and green streamers hanging from the ceiling. "...not to mention use them in a way that's...actually quite energizing..."

Rhino nods as he too looks around. "I had heard that Pinkie was the best at what she does. Guess that wasn't an exaggeration." He turns to her and gestures to the party at large. "Well then, Angel, the night is yours. What would you like to do?"

She gulps softly, squirming a bit. "...A-anything but dancing...please..." She rushes over to the snack table, looking at all that was available. "...c-cream puffs? Oh..." She grabs a few in her magic, happily eating them. Delicious!

Rhino, in the meantime, looks like a fish out of water as he walks around the party trying to find Angel. He doesn't try making conversation with anypony, focusing solely on his mission. Eventually he finds her still at the cream puff end of the snack area. He sighs in relief. "Phew, lost you for a bit there. Guess you have a bit of a sweet tooth."

She swallows the food in her mouth before responding. "...N-not really...j-just a weakness for cream puffs..." She sheepishly smiles, even as her magic brings a few more next to her. "...S-so, do you know anypony here?"

"Hmm..." He grabs a cup of punch with his magic to fiddle with as he thinks. "A few come to mind: Twilight the librarian, Rarity, who made me a very nice fedora and is lovely to chat with, Applejack run the local farm where the cow herd lives, everypony knows Pinkie, Lily, Daisy, and Roseluck the flower trio..." He points out each pony as he lists them.

She nods, glancing at the farmer for a few seconds. Applejack, Element of Honesty. Kicked drone twenty in the head and fractured the carapace. She shakes her head, looking off to the side. ...That's the mare from my first day at work... She follows her line of sight before returning her own gaze to the mare. ...interesting...

“There's probably a few more around, but I'm having trouble telling with the shifting crowd." He turns to Gel. "So, you said you were tired earlier, is that still true?"

"...sort of..." Gel turns back to him, nodding her head towards the mare she saw. "...What about her?"

He follows her gaze as recognition dawns in his eyes. "Who, Manila? Yeah, she's a coworker of mine. Very nice, perky, a bit like Pinkie I suppose, but more toned down."

...Definitely interesting... "...are there any other coworkers of yours around here, Rhino?" She glances around curiously, a small smile on her lips. ...Now I've seen every one of the Elements...right? She blinks, realizing something. ...No...I haven't seen all of them...where is the Element of Kindness?

"Hmm... Mane should be around here somewhere if Manila's here..." He narrows his eyes as he peers through the crowds. "Ah, there she is! It looks like she's talking to Fluttershy. She's an animal caretaker of sorts."

That's her! She whips herself around, trying to follow his line of sight. "F-Fluttershy? Y-you mean that famous model?" ...Why do I remember that detail?

He shrugs. "I think I saw her on a magazine at one point so, maybe. I don't really keep up with that sort of thing."

"...O-okay, then..." She sheepishly smiles, rubbing the back of her neck. "...um...a-anything you'd like to-" She stops mid sentence, staring at the lavender unicorn in the middle of the dance floor. "...is...is that even a dance?"

Rhino looks towards the dance floor where Twilight Sparkle was giving her all. About half the ponies in the room were either giving her a wide berth or amused stares. "I don't think that's an official one, but if I had to give it a name I would call it 'Random Flailing'. I suppose you can't fault her enthusiasm though."

"...Sadly, I think it's better than I could even do..." Gel sighs, shaking her head. "...I think I'll just go get some air...I can't think of anything to do here..." She silently takes a few more cream puffs. "...aside from eating these...I-I'll be right back..." She turns and starts to walk off. ...This is just plain embarrassing...

He walks after her. "Umm, do you want some company? Parties... aren't really my thing."

She turns to look at him over her shoulder, eyes wide in surprise. She smiles softly, nodding a bit "...S-sure...I-I'd like that..." ...Time alone with Rhino...this can't be more perfect... She faces forward and continues to walk, giggling to herself. Nothing could ruin this moment!

Suddenly, the path forward is blocked by a purple mare with a drink in one hoof and a stagger in her walk. "Hey..." she says as she sways, "you're that new mare...I got something I wanna say to you..."

Rhino tenses up behind Gel.

Gel blinks, looking at the mare in confusion. "...um...o-okay?" I can smell the alcohol on her breath. What is this mare up to?

The mare walks closer. "Pucker up sexy." She drops her drink and forces her lips onto Gel's own, her tongue seems to be trying to force itself in as well. The disguised changeling freezes up at the action, whereas Rhino springs into it.

His horn flares to light and none-too-gently rips the drunk mare away from his roommate. He marches up to the mare with a ticked off look in his eyes. "Berry, go home. You're drunk."

The white unicorn behind him, on the other hoof, is smoldering with embarrassment, smoke coming off the top of her head. "...D-did she just...k-kiss me?" Of all the...I wanted Rhino to be the first to kiss me in this form! She groans, silently walking out of the building before her emotions got too hard to control.

Rhino, on the other hoof, was setting Berry in a corner after she passed out. He let Pinkie know about what happened and where the drunk was before he went back to look for his friend. Not seeing her anywhere, Rhino makes his way outside, looking back and forth worriedly as he calls out. "Angel? Angel are you out here?"

She watches him from the top of the building, sighing softly. ...Can't face him...n-not after that... She sniffles, rubbing her nose with a hoof. ...Why did that mare have to do that?

The stallion continues searching for her, slowly making circles around the building. After the third lap he stops and sighs. "Okay okay, focus. Maybe she went home? If I check there and she isn't though, then what?" He sighs again, muttering calculations to himself. After a moment, he becomes understandable again. "Okay, twenty Blinks to get home, I can be there and back in five minutes if she isn't there... One more lap, then I'll try it."

Right at that moment, a book hits him on the top of the head.

Gel gasps, her pupils shrinking down to pinpricks. W-why did I bring that with me?!

"Ow!" Rhino rubs his head as he looks down to see what hit him. "Hey... isn't that Angel's journal?" He floats it up to his face. "It is... wait, how would this have gotten up there?" A glow forms on the underside of his hooves as he walks to the nearest wall then starts walking up it like it was just more ground.

She shrinks into as small a ball as she can on top of the large cupcake, starting to get nervous. H-how can he do that?! She groans softly, holding her head in her hooves. I can't even check to see if that info's in my journal!

Rhino reaches the top of the main floor of the building and looks around. He even tilts his head to look up on the tip of the top floor but still doesn't see a sign of the missing mare. With another sigh, he sits down on the roof and looks out over the dark town. "Come on Angel... where'd you go? I'm worried something happened to you..."

She bites her lip, slowly standing up. ...I just...can't stand to see him upset... She leaps, landing next to him. "...I-I'm here, Rhino...p-please cheer up..."

His eyes light up at seeing her while his arms grab her in a hug. "There you are! I thought something horrible happened to you!"

She squeaks, eyes wide in surprise. "...R-Rhino..." She smiles softly, calming down as she returns the embrace. "...I'm sorry...I was just so ashamed..." She blushes brightly, remembering what just happened. "...I didn't know how to react...so I...I tried to hide..."

He leans back so he can looks her in the eyes. "Hey, it's not your fault. Berry was just really drunk, ponies do crazy things when that happens. I'm just glad you're safe..." He looks back out at the darkened town before swiftly scooping her up onto his back. "I think I've had enough excitement for one night. Do you want to head home?"

Gel quietly nods, nuzzling the back of his neck. "...Yes, please..." ...Such a gentlestallion...if only I...

"Alright, here we go." The green glow of his magic appears on the bottom of his hooves again as the same glow is seen from an arcane circle that appears on his back. He walks to the edge of the roof and transitions back to the wall, the magic making sure he stayed attached to the wall while she stayed attached to him.

She blinks at this, confused. She opens up her journal and looks through it, trying to understand what's going on. "...Um...i-isn't this your spell for decreasing surface tension? H-how are you walking on walls with it?" ...This unicorn keeps getting more and more interesting...

He continues walking down the wall, turning to avoid a window. "Since it's a spell of my own creation, I know everything about it. I designed it so that with minimal alteration, I can reverse the effects. The spell itself I call Res for short, with the version I'm using now as Hi-Res and the other variant as Low-Res."

The mare puts a hoof to her chin, thinking on this a bit. "...This is one of your rune spells, isn't it?"

They reach the ground. The glow on his hooves flares a moment while the one on his back remains. "All of my spells are rune spells. Beyond basic levitation." He barely lifts off the ground and starts skating down the road at a leisurely pace.

"...All of them?" There's more than this one? She sighs, shaking her head. Further investigation is required.

"Yes, it's the way I use magic. This spell isn't the only one I know, it's just the one I use most often." They skate along further. "If you want, I could show you another one when we get closer to the house."

She tilts her head, curious. ...or he could just show me. That works too. "...s-sure..."

"Hmm... we should be close enough in a moment. There might be a slight bit of disorientation for you." His horn flares for about a half-second before the two disappear and reappear about 25 meters ahead of where they were. The house could be seen ahead of them for the split second before they disappeared again and reappear inside the living room, a single drop of sweat on Rhino's brow.

Gel rests the side of her head against his neck, groaning softly. "...I don't...f-feel so good..."

Rhino levitates over a trashcan and sets it below her as he speaks. "Sorry, I thought it would be only minor disorientation. Ponies who aren't used to my kind of teleporting tend to react that way."

"...I'm not used to...a-any kind of teleporting...ulp..." She grabs the trashcan in her forehooves, falling off his back in the process. She holds her head above it, not wanting to chance getting sick all over the floor.

Not actually having done this before, but hearing about it from other ponies, Rhino gathers her mane with his magic and holds it behind her head so it doesn't get messy. "Do you want something for your stomach?"

"...I-I don't know...m-maybe?" She gulps, trying to think. "...w-what would help with that?" Why can't love help heal my nausea?! This sucks!

"I believe I have some ginger ale in the pantry. Do you think you'll be alright without me while I go check?"

"...I-I think so..." She breathes deeply, steadily, trying to calm her rebelling belly. "...p-please hurry, though..."

The stallion nods before disappearing and reappearing in the kitchen. He quickly rifles through the cabinets. "Ah ha!" He pulls out a green bottle and pours a generous amount into a glass before rushing back into the living room. "Here, try this, just drink it slowly and it should settle your stomach. It used to work for me when mine wasn't agreeable either."

She gratefully accepts the glass, sipping it carefully. She pulls it away from her face, grimacing a bit. "...it...it tastes weird..."

He rubs the back of his head. "Yeah, it's more of an acquired taste, but it does help. At least it tastes better than most medicines."

She glances up at him, then back at the glass. ...Nothing to lose, I suppose... She continues to drink, closing her eyes tightly as she forced through the taste.

"Sorry if this crosses a line, but I think this is what you do for ponies in this situation." He puts a hoof on her back and rubs up and down.

She lowers the glass, sighing softly. "...I wouldn't know...I've never had to do this before..." Nice save. "...it feels nice, at least...so thank you..."

"Your welcome." They remain like this for ten minutes before he speaks up again. "How does it feel now?"

"...B-better...a lot better..." She smiles softly at him, setting the empty glass down. "...S-so...you ready for tomorrow, Rhino?"

He smiles back. "I look forward to seeing what you have in mind."

A playful grin crosses her lips. "...Trust me...it's going to be fun..."