“Alright everypony, nothing to see here, let’s keep the party moving! Come on, let’s go! March those legs, move those flanks! Hut two, hut two, hut two! Pinkie Pie marched like a drill sergeant and ushered all the guests out of the kitchen. Twilight was rummaging through the upstairs bathroom looking for a first aid kit, and Fluttershy was diligently applying pressure to Applejack’s hoof with a dishtowel. As you cleaned the blood up from the black and white tiled floor, Rainbow Dash sat next to the broken window with her head tucked between her knees. Rarity was busy keeping the party going and out of the kitchen and had just started to sing along with the D.J. when Twilight came back into the room clutching a white box with a red cross on it.

“I found this in your parents bathroom. There's a needle and threat already in it, as well as some bandages.” She levitated the box over to Fluttershy, who took it and immediately opened it up and removed the necessary supplies. Being the most experienced pony when it came to injuries, having nursed many animals back to health, Fluttershy did her best to help her friend. While Twilight had read many books about first aid, everypony learned firsthoof that, when it came to blood, Twilight had a weak stomach.

Wiping up the last spec of blood, you tossed the stained towel into the wash basin and sat down next to Rainbow, placing your right foreleg around her. She responded by sniffing and leaning against you, wrapping her forelegs around your neck.

“You must think I’m a horrible pony…”

“No, I don’t think that at all. But I do need to know what happened.”

Rainbow sighed and looked up at you. “Alright… well… Me and Applejack were talking and she told me…”

“Ah told Rainbow about how ah beat ya up.”

You and Rainbow look over at Applejack as Fluttershy cleans her wound. “Ah told her what happened. At first she was mad, but then ah explained everythin to her. How I felt, how ah was mad, and how everythin just happened…”

“I was really, really mad at her. But after she told me everything, I just…. Couldn’t be mad at her. I didn’t know she felt so strongly about me…”

“Alright, that’s all well and good, but how did the window come into play?” Twilight was standing in the pantry with her back to the group, not wanting to see any blood.

“Well… we went in fer a hug and…”

“And I lost my balance and accidentally pushed her into the glass…” Rainbow laid her head on your chest and sighed, looking up at you. “You didn’t actually think I pushed her into the window on purpose, did you?”

“No… no I don’t think you would actually push your friend into a window out of anger.” You pull her in tighter and give her a kiss on her forehead. She smiles and returns the gesture, looking up and kissing you softly on the lips.

“Alright Applejack, were all done.” Fluttershy finished wrapping a bandage around Applejack’s leg. “It wasn’t nearly as bad as you thought. I didn’t even need to stitch anything up. Just be sure not to put to much weight on it.” Applejack nodded as she climbed to her feet, holding her hurt hoof inches from the floor.

“Well… this night certainly has been an interesting night if ah may say so.”

You nod in agreement. “Yeah, I really don’t see how anything could eclipse the last couple of hours.” Smiling, you lean in and kiss Rainbow again when someone in the living room said something that caught your attention.

“Hey! I found a guitar!”

You freeze in mid kiss, your eyes bugging from their sockets as Rainbow pulled back to look at you. “Is something wrong?”

Scrambling to your hooves, you rush into the living room, forcing yourself through the crowed towards the pony who was drunkenly strumming what was your mothers most prized possession: Her vintage, cherry wood, sun light yellow, signed by Dave Mustang, Sunny Reigns Les Paul. You watched in horror as this red and blue pony tried in vain to rock out on your mothers guitar, the noise worse than a billion hooves on a black board.

“No! No, no, no, no no! Stop, please just stop!” leaping from the crowd, you snatch the guitar in mid lunge and immediately begin to look it over, inspecting it for any signs of damage. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that you realized all fixed on you.

“Um… sorry everyone…. It’s just… this is my moms and it’s… kinda special to her.”

“Your mother plays guitar? Dude, that is sick!” You look over at the DJ who is smiling at you. “Can you play to!?”

Looking back at the crowd you notice that Rainbow and her friends have gathered amongst the crowd. “Uh… yeah, she taught me to play when I was young….”

“Oh dude, we so gotta jam together! C’mon, let’s give these ponies a real show!” The DJ turned back to the crowed. “You party animals want some real jams!?”

The crowd responded with a unanimous roar of approval, Rainbow Dash included. “C’mon, don’t be chicken!”

“I… I don’t know… I never played in front of people…” you were about to put the guitar away when Rainbow started chanting “Play, Play, Play!” Soon, the entire crowd was chanting. Feeling the enormous amount of pressure that had suddenly been placed on your back, you sighed in defeat and fit he strap over your head and stood up. Taking a moment to think and place your hooves on the instrument, you stepped forward to the chanting crowd. You had never sung for a crowd, only in the shower, but that was about to change. You looked over at Rainbow who flashed you a smiled and a wink. Smiling back, you clear your throat and address the throng of chanting ponies.

“Um… alright…. Uh…. I never done this before, but uh… I do know a couple songs my mom taught me….” You look back at the DJ, who smiled at you and winked from behind her sun glasses. “Uh… I don’t know if you… can play along, but you can if you want to.”

Tapping a hoof on the ground, you counted out the beats and took a deep breath. “No turning back now you thought.” You play the first few chords, your hoof moving up and down the neck as you begin to remember the motions and chords. After a few mistakes and one restart, you find that all the knowledge and lessons to come back to you. You step forward again and open your mouth to sing.

“I had visions; I was in them, looking into a mirror to see a little bit clearer, the rottenness and evil in me!”

The crowd began to cheer as you played, and Rainbow Dash looked on in awe.

“Hooftips have memories; mine can’t forget the curves of your body! And when I feel a bit naughty, I run it up a flagpole and see who salutes but no pony ever does!”

You feel a rush of euphoric of adrenaline as the DJ places a couple of records on the turn tables. Her horn levitates as she begins to scratch them along with your singing. Soon, what your song was previously lacking is not made up for twenty fold. For a moment, it feels as if you have an entire band backing you up. If your special talent wasn’t already understanding, you would share as it was being a musician.

“I wanna publish zines, and rage against the machines. I wanna pierce my tongue, it doesn’t hurt it feels fine. The trivial sublime, I’d like to turn off time, and kill my mind. You kill my mind…”

A couple of pegasus had flown around the room and blown out all the lights, leaving the room dark and the only source of light coming from behind you and from the various unicorns horns who bobbed their heads along to the song. You couldn’t see, but rainbow was on her feet whistling and cheering for you louder than any other pony in the crowd.

“Paranoia Paranoia everypony’s comin to get me!”

“Just say you never met me!”

Your shocked to see Pinkie Pie standing next to you, holding a wine bottle and signing into it. You shrug and continue to play, singing along with her. together the two of you rock the party, switching between lines of the song in turn.

“Hearing voice in my in my head, I swear to Celestia it sounds like they’re snoring!”

“But if you’re bored then you’re boring!”

“The agony and the irony, they’re killing me!”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Together with Pinkie Pie and the DJ, you finish out the song. As the last note fades from the air, the entire crowd of guests bursts into cheers and applause. As the music fades, you feel your chest rise and heart race with excitement. You had only felt this surge of energy once before, and the Wonder Bolts concert, but now that energy was coming from you and infusing the crowd. You look to Rainbow, who is cheering the loudest and demanding an encore. You can’t help but smile as you place the guitar back on its stand and push your way through the sea of ponies. If this is what was going to happen to you when Dash was around, then you couldn’t be happier.

An hour after your performance and the crowd had all but left your home. The hose was almost vacant save for a few ponies who hung around, while most of them had gone outside. The DJ had long since stopped her show and simply set the turntables to play some slow songs while she talked to a couple of fans who had stopped her by the stairs. Twilight and the others had bid you and Rainbow Goodnight shortly after your performance, leaving you and Rainbow alone upstairs in your parent’s bed. With the door shut and the blinds drawn, the two of you snuggled together enjoying each other’s company.

“Sounds like the party has died down .”

Rainbow nods, not lifting her head off a your chest. “I guess they spent all their energy cheering you on. You were really good.”

Smiling, you stroke her mane. “Naw…. I was just drunk… “

“Drunk? You were rocking!” Rainbow rolled over and sat on your hind legs, looking down at you. “You totally need to do that more often. You looked like you were having a lot of fun.”

Trying not to blush, you concede to her affections. “Alright, I admit it. I was pretty awesome, wasn’t I?”

She chuckled and pinned you to the bed. “Don’t go getting a swelled head. I like you the way you are.” She kissed you softly. “But it was nice to see you enjoying yourself.”

A crack of thunder from outside caused you to sit up in your bed, almost rolling Dash off you in the process. “What the hey was that!?”

Dash smiled and pushed you back down on the bed, laying her head on your chest again. “Oh, that’s just the rain storm I asked the Weather Crew to whip up… everyone should be leaving right about…. Now.” Another, much louder, crack of thunder rocked the house. You heard shouts and screams as ponies left the house in panic, trying to get home before it rained.

“Oh dear, it looks like I’m stuck here for the night…” Rainbow looked at you and smiled.

You were amazed. Just when you think that Rainbow couldn’t surprise you any more, she goes and blows you away by showing one more instance of cunning and foresight. She really did cover every angle in her preparations, and the curiosity was eating you alive.

“Alright Rainbow, you can stay the night on one condition.” You sat up and looked her in the eye. “How did you plan all this? How did you manage to keep me busy and get all this done?”

With a laugh, the pegasus leaped into the air and hovered just over the bed. “I’m glad you asked! I felt bad the other day when I offended you, and I wanted to make it up to you! But, I wanted to do something really awesome that totally would catch you off guard! So, while I skipped weather detail and went to talk to my friends, we all came up with the idea to throw you a party! Well, it was Pinkie’s idea really, but we all agreed that the best way to tell you I was sorry.”

You bit your lip and try not to blush. No pony had ever gone to such lengths just for you before, and you were not accustomed to being to object of someone’s affection. Hearing all the trouble she went through on your behalf made your heart swell with pride.

“Alright, but how did you fake being sick and everything?”

“Oh! That was easy; I used to play sick all the time when my parents tried to make me go to school. A thermometer over a candle flame, taking a cold shower before you got up and not drying off to simulate sweating, and just acting really out of it. Plus it was pretty easy to just complain and say I had body aches.”

“And the uh….” You twirl your hoof around slowly, trying to allude to what you didn’t want to say.

“The puking? Oh, that. I just made a lot of noises. Like I said, I’m good at playing sick.”

You nod, unable to argue with that. “And let me guess, me going into town was all just part of your plan?”

“Yup! I counted on you caring enough to go to the nurse and run whatever task she had for you. The errands were designed to send you to each of my friends. After you left them they would report back to me and help get everything set up!”

“I take it that me getting beat up wasn’t part of the plan?” You knew the answer, but enjoyed seeing Rainbow blush when you brought it up.

“No, no that was all her. Um… I’m sorry about that to.” She descended from the air and landed next to you, still blushing.

“so you did all this, all of this, just for me?

She nodded. “I felt really bad for what I said… and I wanted you to know that… I really, really like you.” Scooting closer, she kissed you on the cheek and smiled.

“I really like you to… and I feel awful for how I acted. I should have been more civil about it. It’s a touchy subject, but that was no excuse for me blowing up at you.”

You were about to continue when you felt Rainbow place her hoof on your chest and push you back onto the bed. She curled up next to you, nuzzling your neck and closing her eyes. “Don’t go getting mushy on me now. “

“But it’s true!” You protest and lean up a bit. “I really didn’t mean to do that…. I just…. Never being able to fly when I have all the right equipment… it gets aggravating. Never having anyone to talk to about this… I guess I just bottled it up a little to long…”

Rainbow was silent for a moment, and then leaned against you, embracing you in a hug and sighing against your neck.

“But that was until I met you.”

Her eyes opened and she looked up at you, wondering what you meant.

“I may not know what flight is like… and I don’t think it’s possible I ever will. But since I met you… I’ve felt happier… lighter, more able to be myself.”

You wrap her in your legs and hold her close as you continue to admit your feelings. Never for a moment does her gaze break away from you. Your words are rapture and wonder to her, each syllable makes her heart jump.

“When you are around, I feel like I’m flying. I felt so grounded before… so alone, so sad. But at the show you took me to… just being around that atmosphere and excitement… I felt like I could lift away and soar through the skies… and I felt that way tonight at the party.” You look down at Rainbow and smile. “You bring about you an energy that just…invigorates me… makes me soar…”

You smile as she pulls back and looks you in the eye. “ I fly when I’m with you Rainbow. For the first time in my life, I fly.”

A moment of silence persists as Rainbow leans in and kisses you, slowly at first then full of passion the next as she pushes you back onto the bed.

“Let’s keep you flying… for just a bit longer.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning you wake up to the sound of chatter coming from down stairs. You look around your parent’s bedroom and find Rainbow where you left her, sleeping next to you. Her mane is disheveled and she reeks of sweat, but none of that maters when you see the smile of contentment on her face. Hearing the chatter grow louder you leave the bed, but not before pulling the covers up over Dash. after a quick kiss on her forehead you descend the stairs, stopping only to listen to the voices down below.

“Honestly love, did we really have to leave just because of what one pony said? I mean they weren’t even a licensed brewer.”

“You may not understand, but when giving a speech, the last thing you want is for someone to begin blantenly tarnishing your labels name!”

“Alright One: they said they didn’t enjoy the autumn brew, and that was only after you yourself had mentioned that the autumn brew was the least lucrative, and two, I have to agree with them. Mixing lemons and pumpkin was a really stupid idea.”

You hear your father grumble in response and make his way across the living room. “Why is it so messy here? Was there a party?”

“I hope so. Poor foal of ours could do with some good social interaction.”

“I just hope they stayed out of the wine cellar….”

“Oh honestly, you and that cellar! It’s not like you don’t have warehouses all over the blasted continent.”

More grumbling as you father heads off into the kitchen. You come down the stairs and see your mother standing in the living room, looking around at the mess. She smiles when she see’s you, holding her forelegs out in a invitation for a hug. You happily oblige and enjoy the embrace.

“Oooohh honey! It’s so good to see you! I hope you weren’t to lonely while we were gone… It certainly looks like you had fun.” She chuckles and kisses you on either cheek.

“Oh, no I had some friends over…. Guess we made a bit of a mess. Sorry about that mom.”

She smiles and tussles your mane. “Between you and me, I’m happy to see this old place getting a bit of fun injected into it, been ages since it saw a good party. C’mon… I’ll help you clean before your father asks…. Oh… hello there.”

You follow your mothers gaze and look behind you. On the stairs, stepping onto the landing was Rainbow Dash, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and yawning. She looks around the room, stretches her wings and smiles at you.

“Hey sweetheart… Who’s this, your mom?” She extends a hoof towards your blushing mother.  It’s obvious she knew what Rainbows Presence meant.

“Yes… thank you, I’m Rose, Rose Briar.” You mother shakes her hoof then smiles at you, winking.

“Oh… uhh.. mom.. this is Rainbow Dash… she’s my umm…”

Before you can finish talking, the four of you turn to the kitchen when you hear your father shout.

“LYRIC! What did you do to the wine cellar!?”

Both you and your mother exchange glances before looking at Rainbow, who blushes and shrugs.

“Oops?”