Pinkie Pie is roused from her slumber by a thin ray of sunlight prodding through her curtains and landing directly on her nose.  Even with closed eyes, the sunlight seems to burn deep into her skull and worsen her awful hangover.  Every single muscle in her body is stiff; just moving causes several of her joints to crack.  To her, this sounds like somepony operating a jackhammer on the pillow right next to her head.  She lifts her body up and tries to sit straight, glancing around her room and beholding the spectacle of various party favors (ones that shouldn't be in there) scattered around the floor and furniture.  She keeps her eyes squinted to try and reduce the amount of light entering them; she can almost hear the beams of light burning her retinas.

"Never... again..."  She says softly and follows with a groan, rubbing her temples with her hooves and moving to get out of bed.  A muffled noise and feeling of movement grabs her attention and brings her to turn her head around.  She spots Soarin' (though can't remember his name) sleeping soundly in the space next to where she had apparently passed out last night.  "Oh sweet Princess..."

Soarin' rolls onto his stomach and positions his forelegs under the pillow, still half asleep and supporting his body so that his wings can be free above the covers.  The pink earth pony stumbles out of bed and lands on a pillow with a soft poof.  She crawls away, trying not to wake the stallion, and exits through her door to the smell of fresh coffee.  She slowly and quietly steps down the stairs and into the shop, holding her hoof on her forehead to continue filtering out any light that tries to find its way to her eyes.  

"Is somepony there?"  Pinkie calls down just above a whisper, to which a happy response is given.

"Mhmm, and we made coffee, come and get it before it gets cold."  Fluttershy gently rubs a towel across the glass display case at the front of the store while Twilight pours Pinkie a mug of coffee.  The pink earth pony moves over to the chairs lining her counter and slumps down facing away from the windows, slowly sipping on the mug and trying to keep her eyes closed.

"So, did you have a good night?"  Twilight's voice, though teasing in nature, sounds to Pinkie like a bellowing dragon from her sensitivity, and she responds nearly inaudibly.

"I have no idea..."  The earth pony drops her head down and rests her chin on the counter, holding her hooves over her eyes and not moving from this position.

"Yeah, we figured that would be the case.  You had an awful lot to drink last night, Pinkie."  Fluttershy sets down her cleaning supplies and moves to sit next to the hungover earth pony.  

"Who's in my bed?"  She asks in a muffled tone, not remembering anything past about the time that she saw Twilight and Fluttershy.

"That would be Soarin' from the Wonderbolts...  Rainbow Dash rejected him last night and you kinda scored on the rebound."  Twilight doesn't stop her sarcastic remarks even for a second, having no sympathy for the miserable mare.

"Well...  At least it wasn't some random colt from around town..."  Pinkie still hasn't moved from her sheltered position.  "Is somepony knocking on the front door?"

"No, that's probably just your heartbeat."

"This coffee tastes kinda funny..."  Pinkie's mind still jumps from topic to topic, but her body is simply unwilling to cooperate with any kind of enthusiasm.

"That's because there's licorice root in it, chase it with a big glass of water and you should start feeling better pretty quick."  Fluttershy quietly hums as she cleans up her mess, putting away the small pouch that she brought along from home.

"Hangover cure?"

"Yes and no, the root will help your body retain water, which should help with the dehydration.  The headache and nausea should go away if you drink enough.  The coffee is just to wake you up so you shouldn't drink too much more, caffeine dehydrates you too."

"Thank you..."  Pinkie continues to sip from her mug, loving the pungent smell of fresh coffee and the now-identifiable licorice root.  It leaves a smooth aftertaste in her dry mouth, though bitter from the lack of sugar; she hates coffee but drinks it anyway because she knows it'll help.

"What are we going to do about Soarin'?"  Twilight asks just before sipping some of her own coffee; hers is the same formula as Pinkie's, but only because she likes the taste.  Pinkie just groans in shame and frustration at the mention of her 'lover's' name.

"We should probably just let Pinkie handle that, Twilight..."  Fluttershy sits next to the unicorn and nestles her head against her shoulder.

"Please feel free to help...  I don't even remember meeting him, let alone slee--"  The pony gags and has to fight herself from dry-heaving.  

Twilight mistakes the action for a 'comment' on the stallion's 'skill' and laughs a little, patting the earth pony on the back.  "He couldn't have been that bad."

"I have no clue how he was..."

"Maybe you ought to give him another chance while you're sober."

"It's been a while since I've been with anypony at all...  Maybe I'll just go back to bed and talk to him when he wakes up and I'm feeling better."

"That sounds like a good idea Pinkie.  Do you want us to put up the 'closed' sign before we go?"

"No that's okay, I'll just tell Mr. and Mrs. Cake that I can't work the register today...  They'll understand."  Pinkie stands up and very slowly trots toward the stairs, trying not to clop her hooves against the ground too loudly.  

"Mmn, I've been meaning to ask,"  Twilight says the instant she swallows some of her coffee, having to slow down and clear her throat. "How do you know about the medicinal qualities of different plants?"

"When you make your whole life into helping animals and ponies feel better you start to learn some things.  I'm not nearly as good as Zecora, but I've got a little bit of experience in what works and what doesn't."  Fluttershy stretches her wings out and flaps them a few times, ridding herself of a pestering itch near her shoulder.

"So I take it you're around hungover ponies fairly often then hmm?"  Twilight follows this up with a short laugh, kissing her marefriend on the cheek and gently scratching between her wings with her free hoof.

"More often than I'd like, I'm afraid."

Rarity wakes up in her own bed, happily stretching as she greets the day by flinging her curtains open.  She may not have gotten home late with anypony last night, but at least the party was fun and she had a good night's sleep afterward.  Sweetie Belle actually managed to stay in bed without destroying half the store, so everything went far better than the unicorn had expected.  She yawns and heads toward her bathroom, levitating her toothbrush over and calmly beginning her morning routine.  She had a little to drink last night, knowing that the punch was spiked, but didn't have any trouble handling herself like a true lady and keeping her composure.  She does, however, remember vividly kissing that pegasus from the post office, and nearly gags just thinking about it.  She checks the small clock that she keep on the countertop to be sure she'll have enough time for a shower before she opens the boutique, and decides to just make it a fast one.  As much as she's repulsed by the idea, kissing a mare certainly was a 'different' experience.  Though she picked possibly the most unsophisticated and uncouth of all mares in Ponyville, she still seemed somewhat... softer than a stallion.  For the longest time fillyfoolers have been taboo as far as Rarity is concerned, and this certainly didn't convert the unicorn, but it did spawn a new kind of understanding from her.  Even if she would never admit it.

Her shower is a quick and practical one; she goes through the robotic motions of washing her mane and tail very carefully, as well as the rest of herself, and exits with just enough time to delicately dry off.  After a quick look in her steamy mirror she determines that she's 'presentable' and heads downstairs.  The unicorn compulsively checks every single mirror and reflective object as she walks past it, making sure everything on her body stays absolutely pristine, as well as keeping those reflective surfaces clear of dust and debris.  She catches a tiny splotch of grime on the corner of the glass on a hanging clock and so rubs it off with her foreleg.  She smiles and strikes a small pose with her mane covering part of her face in the reflection, only to notice a blue earth pony standing outside of her front window with a box hanging from his teeth.  She quickly turns around and goes to open the door, letting him in and trotting back to behind the front counter.

"My apologies for opening late, sir.  Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, how may I help you?"  Rarity smiles nervously as the frustrated looking stallion drops the box onto the counter top and takes a deep breath to compose himself.  

"It's no trouble, I'm just looking to return this dress."  He seems very level headed as he tries to suppress his anger and behave calmly in front of the unicorn.  Rarity takes pride in her ability to 'read' ponies, though the art of sexual-orientation-determination still eludes her apparently.  She analyzes his body language and can only fight her intense curiosity for some new gossip.

"May I ask what was wrong with it?  Was the fit wrong?"  Rarity simply opens the box and checks on the garment: it seems to still be folded in the box without even being touched.

"Oh, well I wasn't planning on wearing it so I'm not quite sure how the fit is."  The earth pony jokes a little but can only prompt a short snippet of uncomfortable laughter from the unicorn as she looks over the price and begins to gather her funds.  "It's actually never been worn.  It was going to be a birthday present for my marefriend, but I found out a few days ago that she's been spending a little too much 'special' time with another stallion, so I figured I'd just take it back and not even tell her about it...  Say, weren't you at that party last night?"

"I'm very sorry to hear that; clearly you have great taste though, this dress certainly wasn't cheap.  Oh, and yes, yes I was...  I'm sorry, I'm afraid I didn't see you there."  Rarity moves the bits that she owes him over the counter and takes the dress back to re-box it and get it back up for sale.

"Nothing to apologize for, I was mostly just lurking around the edges.  My friends dragged me to that thing because I've been moping around my house since the breakup, so they thought I needed to loosen up and I have to say it worked."  The mysterious blue stallion takes his money and drops it into a small pouch.  "By the way, my name's Noteworthy."

"Rarity...  Pleased to meet you."  Rarity smiles over the counter, acknowledging his flirtation and responding with some very subtle cues of her own; she has to play hard to get.  It's just in her code.

"The pleasure is all mine, ma'am...  Well, I was originally going to spend these bits at a liquor store, but I think they might be better suited for, let's say, dinner for two?"

Noteworthy would be putting it lightly;  Rarity knows she'll be thinking about this one for a while.  Something about his stance and his demeanor reminds the white unicorn of some kind of royalty, but without the condescending attitude.  "I'd like that...  I close up at around nine, you don't mind eating late do you?"

"Not at all, ma'am."  The earth pony bows his head and turns to walk out of the store; even his stride is confident.  

Rarity looks down at the box he returned as soon as he leaves and levitates it up to the counter, opening it up and examining the garment.  It's a nice dress, lavender colored with white filigrees, not too formal but certainly complimentary of a mare who likes to look her best.  Rarity glances around and thinks for a minute, deciding almost immediately to wear it later that night.

Rainbow Dash carefully places dishes into the Apple Family's various cabinets around their kitchen.  Applejack is busy at work washing more of them for the pegasus to put away.

"Thank you kindly for helpin' out with the dishes, Rainbow."  Applejack taps her hoof on the countertop to signal Rainbow that another stack is ready for her to put away.

"No problem, sorry I didn't help with them last night."  Rainbow picks the stack up with her hooves and sneaks a kiss on Applejack's cheek, making the mare blush a little but hide it with a smirk.

"Well none of us were really in the mood for it last night, s'why they didn't get done."  Applejack gets back to her robotic chore of washing and drying plain dishes in the sink.  

"Hah, well still, I'm happy to help."

"And we're happy to have ya."  The earth pony taps the counter for the final stack but intercepts Rainbow before she can grab the dishes.  She pulls the pegasus, mid-flight, into a tight hug that she happily accepts.  "So you're really wantin' to move in with me?"

"Honestly, AJ, I can't think of anything better in the world right now...  Plus I'm pretty much already moved in, and building another cloud house would be such a pain... you know how lazy I am."

"You can't be that lazy if you're helping me with the dishes out of the kindness of your heart right now."

"You and I both know I'm only doing this because it'll get me some action later tonight."

"Just fer that I should cut you off for the rest of the dern month!"

"You couldn't handle cuttin' me off for that long."

"That sounds like a challenge, Dashie."

"Well... It was a challenge, but giving it a little thought brings me to think it's not one that I really want to test you on."

"Smart move."

"Hey, be proud of me.  I'm learning about boundaries."

"That's somethin' you should'a learned some time between learnin' how to read and learnin' how to fly."

"Oh c'mon, at least I'm working on self-improvement!"

"Alright I'll give ya that...  But still, you owe me for lettin' you live here and still givin' me grief all day."

"Okay, I'll bite.  What is it you want?"

"Well...  Bein' pretty much self-sufficient all mah life I've realized that I like bein' somepony who's got power and control.  Not to say I'm horribly dominant or nuthin', but I like feelin' strong."

"I don't know if I like where this is going..."

"Well let's just say this: I've got some old farm equipment, mostly leather straps and a ridin' crop or two... not even sure why we have the things, but we do, and I'd say y'gotta let me try some of that out on you tonight."  Rainbow Dash looks at Applejack like she's anticipating a punchline, but unfortunately for her the earth pony keeps her very serious look on her face. "It's either that or I make you wear an apron and clean this place every day for the rest of the month while I watch and order you around."

"Alright, alright...  We can try it out tonight.  But only tonight."

"Only tonight if you don't like it, but somethin' tells me you'll be willin' to give it another try."  Applejack snickers now that she's finally managed to bring Rainbow down a peg.

"The things I do for you..."

Pinkie Pie has rejoined Soarin' in her bed and fell asleep almost immediately after laying down.  The caffeine hasn't had enough time to get into her bloodstream so her exhaustion quickly took over.  The pegasus however rolls onto his back and feels his outstretched wings strain against the bed, waking him from his restful slumber.  He looks over to see the mare he fell asleep with last night, snoozing in a completely adorable way: head sunk into the pillow and forelegs outstretched in front of her with a slight bend at her knees.  She faces the pegasus as a beam of sunlight through her curtains brightens her muzzle, painting a shadow on her mane and bringing the curvature of her body into full view from where he's laying.  Soarin' adjusts his body since his wings are trapped and accidentally wakes Pinkie from the movement.  The earth pony opens her eyes to find her hangover much less dreadful, though the glare from off of her muzzle could hurt anypony's eyes.

"Good morning, Pinkie,"  Soarin' says softly as he watches her eyes flutter open.

"Nngh...  Mornin' Soarin'."  Pinkie is still waking up, and Soarin' doesn't know that she's already been out of bed, so is under the impression that she's extremely hungover.

"Feelin' okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine...  But I do have to ask..."  Pinkie hesitates but opens her eyes all the way, laying in the exact same position, but wide awake now.  "What did we do last night?"

Soarin' smiles softly and reaches his hoof forward, resting it against Pinkie's just to be cute.  "Look, Pinkie.  You were wasted last night...  I admit I got in bed with you, but I swear on my life I kept my hooves to myself... it didn't feel right to take advantage of the fact that you were drunk, so I just spent the night, but that's all."

"That's...  Not at all what I expected..."  Pinkie feels a small warmth in her heart from the sentiment, believing him without any doubt.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint..."

"No, no that's not what I mean.  Just...  Well, you're a Wonderbolt... you can have anypony you want."

"That doesn't mean I'm not honor-bound sometimes."

"I guess you're right...  I'm sorry, Soarin', I didn't mean to offend you."

"Nah, it's alright.  I'm used to everypony thinking we're all 'high and mighty' feeling.  It's really not like that at all though."

"Well...  I think I'm sober now...  Wanna go on a real date or something?"

"Sure, Pinkie...  By the way you're very different with a hangover."

"Isn't everypony?"

"True, but I just never thought I'd see you as still as you are.  You haven't moved since you opened your eyes."

"Actually I got up a little while ago, had some coffee and came back up here, but you were asleep so I guess you didn't know that..."

"No, but I think it's a good sign that you came back up to bed."

"I guess that is a good sign...  I didn't even think about it."

"So I take it you'd prefer a dinner date instead of lunch?"

"Dinner sounds great...  I don't think I could keep anything down right now anyway.  Plus we can pass the time together."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Oh c'mon...  I know you've got that reputation for being kinda silly in the head, but I think even you can figure that out."

"You sure you're feeling up to it?"

"Why don't you just get over here and hold me for a little while, then we'll see where it goes."

"That sounds like a great idea."