As usual I had gotten to the club early to set everything up, making sure I had the regular party goers drinks ready in case they arrived to get a bit of the work done beforehand. Putting on my uniform, a black vest with a shire button shirt underneath, a small black bow tie and black dress pants. Vinyl had already told me I didn't need to wear it but I put it on regardless, gotta look nice for the mares.

I switched on the neon lights at the bar and leaned against the counter, waiting for the party to start. Vinyl walked in the front boor and I waved. She nodded and winked at me playfully before going to make sure everything was in place for the night ahead. The rest of the staff arrived and Vinyl briefed everyone on what the night would entail. Before heading out to the front of the building the bouncer, a stallion I knew as Steel Heart, walked over for a cold one before he had to deal with the ponies in the queue.

"Usual please Zero." He said as he pulled up a stool. I reached behind the counter and lifted a glass with a green liquid in it. "Thanks."

"No problem Steel. Say, how are the kids doing?" I asked while wiping down the bar to look like I was at least doing something other than talking.

"They're doing well, their grades slipped after their mother passed away but they're getting better." He replied with a smile as he took a sip of his drink. "You ever gonna tell me what this is made of?" He asked.

"Hey, we all like milk but we want nothing to do with how it's made." I answered with a smirk.

"Curse you and your logic Zero." I shrugged and began setting out more beers.

"So, think you'll ever get back out there? I know you and Mist were divorced for a few months before the accident, so there shouldn't really be a problem with you havin a little fun every now and then." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I don't know Zero, I'm pretty sure that every mare in town is taken other than Mayor Mare. As nice a mare as she is I just don't see it happening." I placed a hand to my chin in thought before snapping my fingers.

"How about that mare that just moved in, I think her name was Carrot Top or something?" He looked to me unsure.

"I don't know dude, she seems outta my league."

I slammed by hand out the bar. "Bullshit, you're a good guy Steel, even Mist knew that when she broke things off, don't you ever doubt yourself." I leaned over the bar and looked him in the eye. "Look, she needs someone to show her around the place anyway, you can go offer her some help, talk to her if you pass each other in the street or something, just be yourself when you do it, don't try to impress her that only ends badly because I'm sure this world runs on romance clichés anyway."

He sighed and smiled. "You're right, I'll give it a shot tomorrow." I smiled and patted his shoulder. "What about you? You ever gonna find a special somepony?"

"Eh I'm more a one night stand kinda guy, plus I'm like fourteen, don't think anyone would go for me though. A lot of the ponies here aren't really that fond of interspecies relations."

"Age doesn't matter here." I just looked at him in shock.

"Come again?"

He took a final sip of his drink and looked to me. "Love surpasses age here, although you do still have to wait to a certain age to do the intimate stuff but other than that you're basically aloud to date anyone as long as they're at least eight or something, and they have to be willing."

"Well I'm not looking to date a filly anytime soon, I may be a bit crazy but I still got some morals. Although that does help, thanks Steel." He nodded and jumped off his stool. As the night started I began thinking about what I had just learned. Sure Symbol was going to start a relationship with Twi and Tavi, did he already know about that? He was much more mature than me so he should have known what he was doing.

Shaking my head I returned to serving the ponies their drinks as the approached the bar. Looking around at the mares in the club my sight often found itself on Vinyl. "Oh boy, I know where this is going."

After a night of loud pounding techno and wubstep I returned to my home to see Crystal and Flare sleeping on the two couches, Aloe and Lotus cuddling up to them. 'Seems like the date was a success then.' Chuckling I grabbed two blankets from the closet underneath the stairs and placed them on the sleeping pairs.

I threw myself on my bed and looked to the ceiling in thought. "Why can't I get what Steel told me outta my head? It's just getting annoying now." Sighing I looked to a photo on the bedside table, it was of me and Symbol before the Xram incident. "What would you do in this situation Symbol? You were always better with the women than I ever was, you got a lotta info from those girls back home I'll tell ya that, you'd know what to do."

Closing my eyes I fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up in my dream I was floating about with no control, strange as Luna had given me free roam in my dreams. I was in a black void until a light shone on a chest. It was the chest in my room.

"Find the key, solve the puzzle, piece together the mystery that I could not solve." That voice, it was him! It was Symbol!

As I tried to call out the dream collapsed and I woke up violently as my alarm clock rang out. I grabbed it and smashed it against the wall while breathing heavily. "What the hell was that?" I got up and looked out the window, everything in town was different. Buildings were floating upside down and the ground was a multicoloured checker pattern. "Uh oh."