You stretched. Damn, that was a good night's sleep. You fumble around under your covers. Upon finally poking your head out into the room, sunlight smacks you right in the face. Yup, forgot to cover the skylight too. As you squint in the unnecessary brightness of the daylight, you manage to find your way to your bathroom. After a warm refreshing shower, you snoop around your room trying to find your goggles. You'd never go anywhere without them.

After you place the goggles around your neck, you make your way out of your room and into the hallway. Time to start-- Wait a minute. That sound. It wasn't familiar. You follow the faint sound over to one of your penthouse suites, and realize what the sound was. Voices. Anon and Rainbow! You'd totally forgotten that you let them stay with you! You trot over to the door, and knock a couple times.

"Anon? Rainbow? You guys up?" You knew they were up. You hear some scuffling behind the door, before it opens revealing Rainbow Dash. She seemed almost giddy.

"Oh hey Vinyl! Come on in!" You follow her into the living room, where she plops down on one of the couches.

"Well you're certainly in a good mood. Where's Anon?" Her wings extend ever so slightly at the mention of Anon.

"Oh he's... uh, well he's--"

"Hey Rainbow, where'd you put my--VINYL!" You look over, and discover why he reacted the way he did. He was naked. He ran back into the bedroom while hollering at Rainbow.

"RAINBOW! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!?"

"Sorry Nonny!" She giggled, and turned her attention back to you.

"So... Nonny is in the bedroom..." You look back at her.

”Spill."

"What?"

"Why's Anon naked?"

"Oh... um.... he sleeps naked?"

"Nice try. Now spill." She's blushing at this point.

"Uhhh... well... ya see..."

You're not stupid. "No way." She looks back at you, blushing the most fascinating hue of red. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. Yeah, she knew she was busted. She slowly nodded her head in confirmation. You looked at the bedroom door, then back at Rainbow. "So? How was it?"

And so she recounted the events of the previous night for you. In great detail. Probably a little too much detail. Her wings had become fully extended shortly after she started telling you what'd happened. You DID ask for it though... After she finished her story she looked at you, eager for a response.

"You make it sound like it was the best--"

"That's because it was! You have no idea! His hands alone..." She shuddered at the thought.

"Okay, I get the idea. Calm down Rainbow."

"No, you seriously have no idea! You gotta try it!" Your turn to blush. "Umm... I-I-I mean... Uhhh..."

"I didn't know you were into that sort of thing Rainbow" you said, deciding to torment her a little. You didn't think a pony could turn such a vivid shade of red, but there she was. She was stammering now, trying to form words. "Calm down Rainbow, I'm just messing with you." She stopped her gibberish, and finally started to calm down. As the two of you discussed Rainbow's adventures from the previous night, you almost didn't notice Anon come in. You both looked at him and proceeded to giggle like little fillies.

"What'd I do?" That only brought on more fits of giggling. "Alright, alright. Don't tell me. Let's get some lunch going though, I'm starving." You couldn't help yourself.

"From what Rainbow tells me; I'd be surprised if you weren't, you stallion you." He scrunched up his brow in thought for a moment, before realizing what you meant. Huh. Who knew he could blush like Rainbow?

"Right. Well. I'm going to go fix some lunch. I'll whip you two little perverts up something while I'm there. You want anything in particular?"

"I'd like a tomato sandwich, Nonny!"

"Me too! …Nonny!" You just couldn't help yourself. It was just too good watching him blush. He sighed, and wandered off to the kitchen. "Heh, Nonny."

"I heard that." You and Rainbow burst into giggling fits again. At least it'd be interesting around here for a while. You missed the sounds of friends more than you'd realized. Fame had taken its toll on you, driving you away from the few childhood friends you had. But now, you had Rainbow and Anon. And you couldn't be happier.

You had the feeling that they'd play major roles in your life. So far, your intuition has been dead on. Why else would you hire an alien to work for you? Funny how things work sometimes. A boop on the nose from Rainbow brought you back to reality.

"You ok Vinyl?"

"Whazzat? Oh! Yeah, just thinking."

"Well come on; let’s go help Anon make something to eat." You shook your head in an effort to clear it. Since when were you so mushy? That was Rainbow's department. What if Rainbow and Anon... What if they start to rub off on you!? Eh. Could be fun. After the three of you finished lunch, you discussed what needed to be done.

There were a few things. Rainbow would have to inform work about her change in address, just as Anon would have to inform the Apples. Nothing too serious. But it left you alone for a good portion of the day. After Anon and Rainbow went to work, you started the activity that seemed to take up most of your day: doing nothing in particular. That wasn't entirely true; you would work on your audio equipment or try and wrestle a conglomeration of wires. But it wasn't anything really productive. Nothing really needed to be done.

So, while fiddling with a subwoofer that probably didn't need to be fiddled with, your mind began to wander. Your mind began to string up things to think about, the first one being something you weren't entirely sure you -wanted- to think about. How serious was Rainbow with her offer? Would you even take her up on that offer if she was? That'd make the friendship you had with Anon and Rainbow just a little awkward, wouldn't it?

Best not to overthink it. Better for them to offer that to you, than for you to make it awkward by bringing it up. Enough dirty thoughts for one day. Maybe? What else was there to think about...? Oh. That’s right. The little pink pony and her father. They'd intentionally hurt your friends, in one form or another. Now you had something to think about.

Now, you weren't one to hold a grudge or get really mad at somepony. It had to be something serious. For you to hate a pony? Most that knew you would doubt that you were capable of hate, but that Filthy Rich. He'd messed with the wrong pony. Rainbow Dash.

She wouldn't do anything, partially because she just wanted to be left alone, and partially because she couldn't really. You'd think being an Element of Harmony would have benefits, like being a national hero. Well, it's only been a day. The story was probably just get—

"Excuse me, Ms. Scratch?" You looked up to see who was addressing you. It was one of your guards.

"Yes? What's up?"

"There's a little filly here, says she's trying to find Rainbow Dash. I told her Rainbow wasn't here, and now she wants to talk to you."

"Huh. What's her name?"

"Scootaloo." Never heard of her. Maybe she's a friend of Anon or Rainbow? She's just a filly, what's the worst that could happen?

”Alright, let her in." He nodded, and went to retrieve the filly. Not to say you were bad with fillies or colts, you'd just never really dealt with many of them. The occasional one would you did meet was usually terrified of you if you weren't wearing your goggles. Probably the eyes. Oh shit. Better put the goggles on before Scootaloo—

"Ms. Vinyl?" Too late. You turned to look at the source of the voice, and found a little orange pegasus.

"So you're Scootaloo?" She looked deep into your eyes for a second, before responding.

"Uhh, yeah! I was just uhh... I was trying to find out if you... ummm..." This was getting old fast. She was obviously terrified by your eyes. Not that you could really blame her. A red iris was usually associated with some sort of evil. The Discord incident didn't help much.

"I can put the goggles on, if it'll make you feel better."

"Oh! No no, it's fine..." You let out a sigh. She was going to play tough girl on you.

"All right then, what can I do for you?" She shook her head, presumably to clear her thoughts, before responding.

"I was trying to find out what happened to Rainbow Dash. I figured you'd know best, since the rumor is she's staying with you." Damn. She had some sources.

"I... don't think it's my place to tell you about that... You'd have to ask Rainbow herself."

"Awww, come on! Please? I heard a filly at school had something to do with it, and I want to be sure." You froze.

"Are you by chance referring to a little pink filly?" Her eyes grew wide.

"So it's true. Diamond Tiara DID have something to do with it!" You did it now. Last thing you want to do is to spill some information about Rainbow and Anon that they didn't want out there.

"Now wait a minute--"

"I won't tell anypony! I promise!" No, you don't buy that for a minute.

"Just hold on a second; why are you so interested in the first place?"

"Uhhhh..... no reason..."

"You're a bad liar."

"Uhh, well you see... I'm just worried about Rainbow is all..."

"Then why don't you talk to her before you go assuming things?"

"Me? Talk to Rainbow? Ha! You're funny."

"No, I'm serious. She'll find out later today anyway, when she comes back."

"WHAT?! OH PLEASE NO! I'LL DO ANYTHING, JUST PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T TELL RAINBOW!"

"Geeze, you her sister or something?"

"I wish. No, I'm just her biggest fan!" Great. You're dealing with a 'biggest fan' filly. This could go sour real quick.

"Listen, I don't think you should take matters into your own hooves. Rainbow is an Element of Harmony; I'd wager the press will do a fine job of sticking up for her."

"Hehe, yeah... I hope so."

"Trust me on this, okay?" She was about to answer, when her stomach growled. You were feeling a little hungry too, so why not? "You want something to eat?"

"No no, it’s fine, I've bothered you enough already."

"Aw, come on. You're not bothering me, I wasn't doing anything anyway."

"Well... If you're sure..."

"Tell ya what, I'll fix one of Rainbow's lunches." From then on, she was dangerously close to becoming an appendage. It was a simple snack, a tomato sandwich. Apparently, knowing that Rainbow ate something similar made it the most incredible sandwich on the planet to this filly. A little obsessive, but what can you do. After the two of you finished your snack, you decided to send her on her way.

"So, are you parents coming to pick you up?"

"Uhh... no..."

"...Do they even know you're here?"

"Not... exactly..."

"Come on, I'd better take you to them. You're probably worrying them sick."

"That's not very likely..."

"Don't say that!"

"But... it's true... you see, I'm an orphan..."

"I... I'm sorry... I--"

"No, it's okay. You didn't know." Before you could respond, you heard hoof steps. You and Scootaloo turned to find the source of the sound. Scootaloo was the first to spot her. "Rainbow Dash!"

She darted over to Rainbow, and sat like an overjoyed puppy in front of her.

"Oh, hey there squirt..."

"Rainbow? Everything ok?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Everything’s fine!" You gave her your nice-try look. "Heh... Listen, if it's all right with you, I'm gonna go lay down for a bit..."

"Yeah, sure Rainbow. Lemme know if you need anything, okay?" She nodded, albeit the gesture didn't seem whole-hearted. After making her way past Scootaloo, Rainbow solemnly made her way up the stairs. ”That’s odd."

"I hope she's ok."

"Me too." Wonder what got into her? "Hey Scootaloo, I don't want to sound mean, but I--"

"Yeah, you're right. I don't think Rainbow is in the mood to chat anyways."

”Sorry..."

"It's okay. I've gotta go meet up with my friends anyway." You still felt like shit for the whole orphan thing, but you really didn't know what to do.

"Alright. I'll see you around, Scootaloo."

"Bye Ms. Scratch." With that, she ran off towards the main entrance. Being an orphan yourself didn't help lessen the shit feeling you had. You'd learned to live with not knowing your parents; that poor filly was still learning to cope with it. Probably why she adored Rainbow so much. Can't say you blame her, really. Rainbow would be a pretty cool sister.

You should probably check up on Rainbow anyway. Not a chance in hell her poker face fooled you. You wandered up to her room, and knocked on the door. Immediately after the first knock, the door gently swung open. You poked your head inside, looking for Rainbow.

"Rainbow? You in here?" No answer. You walk in, because hey, it's technically -your- suite. After investigating most of the lower level, you make your way to the upper level. First stop, the bedroom. Again, you knock on the door, and again, it gently swings open after the first knock. You poke your head in and find Rainbow curled up on the bed. "Rainbow?" She pops her head up, and looks over to you.

"Oh! Vinyl! I didn't hear you come in." You push the door the rest of the way open, and wander inside.

"Yeah, I knocked, but when you didn't answer..."

"Oh... Sorry, just didn't feel like talking..."

"What's going on, Rainbow? And don't say 'nothing,' because you've got a lousy poker face." She looked down at the bed and sighed.

"I... I went to Cloudsdale to tell them about my... situation... and..." You waited for her to finish, but instead, she started sniffling. You hopped up on the bed, and placed a hoof on Rainbow's back.

"And what, Rainbow? You can tell me." She looked over at you, her eyes moist.

"I lost my job..."

"What?"

"I... I lost my job..."

"What happened?"

"Well... Turns out, they'd already found out what'd happened, and...." She'd started crying openly now. You really weren't the pony that should be doing this for her. It should be Anon. Whatever, he'll owe you one. You picked up Rainbow, and hugged her.

"Ssshhh, it's ok Rainbow. Let it all out." She held on to you tightly, sobbing quietly over your shoulder. Yeah, Anon's gonna owe you big time for this. A couple minutes later, Rainbow had finished crying. You let her out of your hug, and sat down across from her on the bed. "So, tell Vinyl what happened."

"They didn't tell me anything other than they'd gotten a letter from somepony, detailing what had happened. When I confirmed all of it, I was told I'd been let go." Something didn't quite add up. That reaction to what had happened seemed a bit extreme. You'd have to investigate that.

"Well, I don't suppose you'd want to work for me, would you?" She seemed taken back by your offer.

"Sure, but I don't know anything about--"

"Don't worry; I've got plenty of positions. Let’s see... how about... Chief Lighting Technician? You seem like you'd be good with colors." She giggled at that, and nodded her head.

"Sure."

"Alright then, it's settled. We'll figure your schedule out tomorrow. For now, I think a hot bath is what you need."

"That... that sounds really good, actually..."

"You can't hide under your tough pony exterior from me, Rainbow. Go on, I'm going to go put the subwoofer I was fiddling with back together." She nodded, and you headed for the door. Before you left, she called out to you.

"Hey Vinyl?" You turned to look at her; she was standing in the bedroom doorway.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." You smiled and headed out the door, closing it behind you. You usually weren't one for the mushy stuff. Tending to keep to yourself did that. But you felt good after that little chat with Rainbow. Dammit if they aren't already rubbing off on you. Anon owed you, big time.

After you made it back to your disaster of a subwoofer, you used your magic to quickly re-assemble it. You'd known there wasn't anything wrong with it; you'd just wanted something to do. Once you'd finished placing it back in its proper place and testing it, you sat down on stage and started playing some music. Best way to relax. It almost seemed like the beats caressed you. You could feel the bass pounding on your eardrums.

It wasn't too often you'd do this in the main auditorium. In your private music room? Sure. But it just wasn't the same. Something about the stage, and the atmosphere it had when there was music playing. It was so... Relaxing. When you were here, there was nothing else.

Nothing to bother you, nothing to distract you. Just the music. When Anon came and tapped you on the shoulder, it was obvious how little attention you were paying to anything but the music. Once you stopped the music, you turned to chat with Anon.

"Hey Nonny!"

"Hey Vinyl. Have you seen Rainbow? I told her to meet me at the square, and she never showed."

"Yeah, actually. She's in your room. Listen, Anon... She's had a rough day. She needs you."

"Really? What happened?" Oh no; you're not going to get in the middle of their relationship.

"She'll tell you. Now go, she really needs you right now." Before he could ask what you meant, you were pushing him towards the stairs. He was in for one hell of a night. Rainbow was damn emotional. At least, she was around you and Anon. She'd put on her tough pony act around anypony else. Makes sense. If you bottle up your emotions like that, you're bound to let it all out eventually. After you managed to get Anon to the fourth floor, you opened the door and called out to Rainbow.

”Hey Rainbow, got a surprise for ya!" With that, you pushed Anon into the room and shut the door behind him. Finally. While he comforts her, maybe you can do a little research. You head down to your security office, to find Snowflake. Working out. Typical.

"Hey, Snowflake?" He snapped to attention.

"Yes Ms. Scratch!"

"Calm down. I need your help with something." He relaxed his stance, ever so slightly.

"What can I do for you, Ms. Scratch?" You walked into the office, shutting the door behind you.

"I'm trying to find a letter. It was sent to the weather team over in Cloudsdale, and it apparently put one of my employees in a pretty negative view."

"Sure thing Ms. Scratch. What's the guard's name?" he asked, walking over to his desk.

"She isn't a guard, and her name is Rainbow Dash." Not even a flinch. That's why you liked him; he was a no-funny-business kind of pony. You told him to do something, and he wouldn't drown you with needless questions.

"Alright Ms. Scratch, I can have that for you in a couple of hours."

"Awesome! Oh, and keep this under wraps, she's a little sensitive about the whole ordeal."

"Of course, Ms. Scratch." He started writing down some notes, and you headed back to your room. A bonus to having Rainbow work for you now, is that you could pull her records from previous jobs. Since the letter had enough impact to get Rainbow fired, you figure the Cloudsdale weather team would keep a copy of it. For their records, of course. Sometimes you surprised yourself with your deviousness.

Then, another thought struck you. Scootaloo. Maybe you could apologize to her with this somehow... She seemed overly interested in helping Rainbow in any way she could. Hmmm.... You'd have to think further on how she could help without getting her in trouble... For now, your thoughts turned to food. It was time for dinner, after all.

Wonder if Anon likes pizza? Why did you even ask yourself that question? What pony doesn't like pizza!? It needed to be just a little special though... For Anon, it'd need meat... For you and Rainbow... maybe a veggie pizza... Or two. You can never have too much pizza. You made your way to Ponyville, a couple of guards trailing slightly behind you.

You'd been alone for so long... How would having real friends affect you? It was a little scary. Eh. Onward and into the abyss! Time to get back on track; you have a goal: pizza. It'd take a special pizza place to serve a pizza with meat on it though. Maybe Pinke Pie could help you? Worth a shot. You made your way over to Sugarcube corner to try and find Pinkie. If there were ever a master at hide and seek, it was her. Your guards waited for you outside, as per usual.

"Hey there Mr. Cake!"

"Why hello there Ms. Scratch! A pleasure to see you! What can I do for you today?"

"Well, I'm trying to find Pinkie Pie, I need her help."

"Oh of course!" He headed to the second floor of the shop, and shortly thereafter, returned with Pinkie.

"Hi Vinyl!"

"Hey Pinkie! Listen, I need your help finding something."

"Sure thing! Well, as long as it's ok with Mr. Cake."

"Go ahead Pinkie, I think we'll be alright for a while without you for a little while." She squee'd, and sat down at a table, motioning for you to join her.

"So, what are you lookin for?"

"I'm trying to find a pizza place."

"Oh that’s easy Scratch! You--"

”That will put meat on their pizzas."

"Oh! Well, lemme think for a minute..." She put her hoof to her chin in thought. A couple of seconds later, she piped up. "I know just the place! C'mon, I'll show ya!"

”Awesome!" You follow her out, meeting up with your guards, and almost manage to leave without incident. Almost. The moment your eyes met his, you growled. Normally, you weren't so aggressive, but this asshole had hurt your friends. Your guards, reacting to your growl, took up defensive positions beside you.

"What's the matter, Vinyl? It's just Mr. Rich."

"I'm going to have to side with her, what's gotten into you, Ms. Scratch?"

"What's gotten into me? You hurt my friends!"

"What are you talking about, Vinyl?"

"Yes indeed, what ARE you talking about? Last time I heard, you don't have many friends to begin with."

"Rainbow Dash! You took EVERYTHING from her! You put her out of her own home!"

"It's not like she didn't deserve it! She threatened my child! I dare you to say you'd react otherwise if she'd threatened your child!"

"Your little 'princess' started it by publishing lies about her; and THEN, she had the gall to provoke her in the park!"

"It doesn't matter at any rate, what's done is done."

"We'll see about that, you sick--" Before you could finish your sentence, you noticed Pinkie. She wasn't exactly pink at the moment.

"YOU HURT DASHIE!?!" She was charging at Filthy now. You were half tempted to let her get to him, but you knew there'd be hell to pay if she did. After tackling her to the ground, your guards made sure to assist you in restraining Pinkie. While you and your guards were holding Pinkie back, Filthy walked over to you.

"I suggest you keep that crazy mare locked up, before she does something stupid. As for you, Ms. Scratch" he said, looking at you now. "I'd avoid Ms. Dash at all costs, if I were you. I'm just getting started."

"You HORSE!"

Then, you felt it. It was quick, it stung, but it had happened. He'd hit you. Your guards instantly froze in place. Pinkie noticed, and stopped struggling against them. She'd never seen you mad; your guards have.

"You big meanie! Leave Vinyl alone!"

Filthy, realizing his mistake, turned whiter than your coat. Your horn lit up, adrenaline starting to flow through you. The next couple of minutes were a blur to you. All’s you knew for sure was that your rage towards Filthy had finally found an outlet. He'd taken everything from Rainbow, insulted her, and now he'd insulted Pinkie. When you finally came back to your senses, the first thing you noticed was your guards restraining you.

Filthy was curled up in a ball, bruises and some nasty cuts covering a good portion of his body. Pinkie was enjoying herself a little too much, cleaning out some of those cuts and applying first aid. You finally noticed that you were still using magic on something. Somehow, you'd managed to produce a metallic red record. And it was spinning very quickly. You let your magic grip on it go, and it clattered to the ground.

After convincing your guards that you were okay, you picked yourself up and gave yourself an once-over. Were those... burns? They didn't look too bad; more like you'd singed your fur on something. Huh. Other than that, you were fine. You walked over to Filthy's feeble form, which cringed when he saw you approaching.

"I'd suggest you stay away from me and my friends in the future, Mr. Rich. C'mon Pinkie, let's go." Pinkie finished applying a bandage to Filthy, and started hopping happily down the street. You followed her, not worrying about Filthy. He'd struck you first, AND you had witnesses. He knew you weren't easy to go up against in court, so he'd probably stop giving you and your friends trouble.

"Pinkie, I'd like you to tell me what exactly I did later."

"Sure thing Vinyl! I'm just glad you're my friend, cause you're scary when you're mad!" You make a mental note to get the full story from her later. Right now, it's pizza time. Eventually, your little entourage made it to a fancy looking shop near the edge of town. Go figure, all the places that serve meat are on the edge of town. You and Pinkie walk inside and head to the counter. You were a little surprised to find a Gryphon at the counter. Made sense though, seeing how Gryphons eat meat.

”So, I hear you guys put meat on pizzas?"

"That’s right, what's it to ya?"

"I'd like to order some pizzas! What all meats do you have?" The Gryphon looked at you funny for a minute, before pulling out a menu from behind the counter.

"That there is our menu. Not that it's any of my business, but why do you want a meat pizza?"

"Oh it's not for me; it's for a friend of mine." The Gryphon shrugs and you look over the menu. "Pinkie, I'm not really an expert on meat. I don't suppose you know what tastes good, do you?"

"No, I don't." The Gryphon piped up.

"If I may offer a suggestion?"

"Oh yes! Please!"

"The pepperoni is one of our top selling meat pizzas. I'd suggest that one."

"Alright then, I'm ready to order!"

"Okay, what can I get for ya?"

"I need one large pepperoni pizza, a large veggie pizza, and a large extra cheesy pizza! Oooh and some cheese sticks!"

"Alrighty then, it'll be about ten minutes. Your total is... fifteen bits."

"What?! You can't be--"

"It's okay Pinkie. Can you go get my bits from one of the guards?"

"Sure!" A moment later, she's bounding back with a guard instead of just your bits.

"Pinkie, I only needed the bits."

"Well he said that he wouldn't give them to anypony except you or one of your employees, so I brought him to you!" You sighed, and used your magic to get some bits out of his saddle bag. As you placed the bits on the counter, Pinkie returned the guard to his upright position outside. You take a seat to wait on the pizzas, and Pinkie occupies the seat across from you.

”So. Now that we have some time to kill, you wanna tell me what I did back there?"

"Sure!" You turned to give her your full attention. It wasn't often you forgot you did something. "So, after Filthy hit you, your horn started to light up. Filthy tried to say something, but then you charged at him and slammed him into a wall! After that, you were hitting and kicking him a lot, but your guards stopped you. Once they managed to pull you away from Filthy, your eyes started glowing red, and your mane and tail caught on fire! It was super scary! But I remember Twilight doing that once. Can all unicorns do that? It's really cool! Could you teach me how to do--"

"Pinkie! What happened next?"

"Oh, right! When you caught on fire, you started to wrestle with your guards, but they managed to keep you held down. Then, you made a really scary growl and the red record appeared like out of nowhere! It was really cool! Then, you used your magic to spin the record really super-duper fast, and started hitting Filthy with it! It looked like it was hurting him a lot, but I couldn't stop the record!"

"After that, I had to buck you to try and knock you out. Sorry about that, but you were hurting Filthy a lot, and it was starting to really worry me! I wasn't able to knock you out though. You were so mad and using so much magic, I just bounced right off of you! So, I figured I'd better start trying to fix up Filthy a little, if you were going to keep hurting him. Once I started cleaning some of the cuts, he screamed really loudly, and you stopped hitting him with the record."

"Wow. I didn't know I had that in me."

"Neither did I! It was really cool though! Except for the part where you hurt Filthy too much. He deserved it, but you were going a bit over the edge there I think."

"Well, I'm glad you were there Pinkie. Sorry if I hurt you; I didn't mean to."

"You didn't hurt me silly filly! I think I should head back to Sugarcube Corner now, the cakes could probably use some help."

"Yeah, I got ya. Thanks for helping me Pinkie!"

"See ya later Vinyl!" Not a minute after she left, the Gryphon had your pizzas ready. At least now you had an explanation for the singed parts of your body. Using your magic, you carried the pizzas out of the shop, and headed for the auditorium. Perfect timing too, the sun was starting to set.

After a long walk, some sort of chaotic fight you didn't remember, and carrying three really big pizzas (not to mention the cheese sticks) with your magic; you might say you were a little tired. Once you made it to the fourth floor with the food, you knocked on the door to Anon and Rainbow's room. A few seconds later, you were greeted by Anon.

"Oh hey Vinyl! Come on in!" You wandered into the living room, and placed the pizzas and cheese sticks on the table.

"What’s up Nonny? I brought pizza!"

"Vinyl, you didn't have to do that."

"Aww, come on man, you're not gonna turn down pizza are you? I even got a special pizza, just for you..." You gave him your best puppy eyed look.

"I thought you weren't into the whole mushy stuff." You giggled as he made his way over to the pizzas. He opened the boxes up, examining them. He gasped when he got to the third box. "Vinyl... Is that..."

"You like it? It's called 'pepperoni.'" He just stared, open mouthed at it. "You... you don't like it, do you?" He calmly shut both his mouth and the box, before walking over to you and practically squeezing the air out of you. "GAAH! R-Rainbow! H-Help!"

Rainbow wandered down to see what all the fuss was about. When she noticed you in your ever so oxygen-depriving hug, she giggled. "Umm, Nonny? I think she needs to breath." She was having trouble suppressing her giggles now. Anon finally released you, allowing you to fill your lungs with that sweet substance called oxygen. "Whoa, Vinyl, what happened to you?"

Rainbow was looking at the scorch marks when she asked that. Now Anon was investigating them too. "Seriously Vinyl, what'd you do?"

"It's... It's a long story."

"Well do you need some help treating those? It doesn't look like there's any permanent damage..." Anon said, as he started poking around a few of the scorch marks.

"Nah, I'll be fine. I'm gonna go clean up." With that, you headed to the bathroom and took a quick shower, rinsing off the ash. No burn marks, just ash. You'll probably be sore tomorrow. Oh well. For now, pizza! You made your way back to Rainbow and Anon, who were in the kitchen getting drinks. Promptly forgetting to dry yourself off, you slipped as soon as you stepped on the tiled floor.

You landed with your ass in the air, and quite the detailed view of the floor. Rainbow had burst out laughing, as you attempted to get back to your hooves. Anon walked over, and helped you up.

"You're still wet, silly."

“Oh... Right." And so you used your magic to dry yourself, leaving your mane fluffed out and poofy. Rainbow had just calmed down from her laughing fit, but promptly started back up when she saw you. "Oh you think it's funny, do ya?"

"Vinyl--"

Before Anon could do anything, you had turned on the sink and started directing the water towards Rainbow with your magic. When she'd been thoroughly soaked, you finally turned off the water and started laughing. She looked so funny with her annoyed expression and wet hair.

"Oh, it's on!"

"Now wait a minute Rainbow--" Poor Nonny, trying his hardest to stop the impending disaster of a wet pony scuffle. You and Rainbow wrestled your way into the living room, before you were both picked up by Anon.

"Girls, GIRLS! You're both pretty! Can we just calm down and eat the damn pizza?" You and Rainbow stopped playfully swinging at each other, and looked at Anon. Both of you, at the same time, leaned in and pecked him on the cheeks. He sighed as you both started giggling, and set the two of you down. "Fine. You two play, I'm gonna get me some pizza."

"Pizza? When did we get pizza?"

"Did you seriously not see it? I left it on the table in the living room."

"Oh. No, I don't guess I did. Thanks Vinyl!" She promptly got up, and trotted excitedly towards the living room. You followed Rainbow, while Anon headed for the kitchen. A few seconds later, he was in the living room with the two of you, and he had gotten some drinks. "Thanks Nonny!"

"Yeah, thanks Nonny!" He sighed, and collected his pizza box. The three of you ate your delicious pizzas, trading stories of your days. Well, you didn't share about your encounter with Filthy. Didn't want to worry them. Besides, they'd find out soon enough.

A while later, the pizzas had been completely devoured, and you were all feeling tired. You headed back to your room, while they prepared for bed. After arriving in your own bedroom, you had the nagging feeling that something was missing... Then, it hit you. You were lonely.

You hopped into your bed anyway, and attempted to sleep. You tossed and turned for what seemed like hours, before finally giving up. Insomnia? But why? You felt... empty. You hadn't felt that way in a while. You hopped out of bed, draping one of your favorite blankets across your back. Why were you doing what you were doing? It was almost like instinct.

You made your way to Anon and Rainbow's room, and snuck in. The lights were off, and everything was quiet. Quietly making your way up the stairs, you stealthily made your way into their bedroom. Finding Anon's side of the bed, you poked his shoulder. He turned, and groggily opened his eyes.

"Vinyl?" he muttered. "What are you--"

"Can I sleep with you guys?" He blinked for a second, taking in what you just asked him.

"Uhh, yeah, sure." He scooted over a little, making room for you. You hopped up on the bed, curled up next to him, and rested your head on the pillow.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." With that, he pulled the covers back up, and returned to his previous position. You didn't feel empty anymore. No, you felt... warm. Not long after you closed your eyes, sleep overtook you.

Morning came early, but you didn't wake up to the suns heat. Instead, you opened your eyes to rather dark surroundings. Looking around, you realized you'd repositioned yourself in your sleep. Apparently, you'd gracefully maneuvered yourself on top of one of Anon's legs. The covers moved, and Anon and Rainbow were peering down at you from the head of the bed.

"What?" Rainbow giggled, and Anon shook his head, returning the covers to their previous position. You really didn't want to get out of bed, but you knew you should. Got some serious thinking ahead of you today. Like why the fuck you slept with Anon and Rainbow. Decisions and hardcore thinking can wait. It's time for food. Probably lunchtime anyways.

You crawled your way up and out from under the covers. Yup, definitely more cozy under the covers. After collecting your blanket and draping it upon yourself, you make your way off the bed. You could feel the question trying to burn its way out of Anon, but before he could ask it, you cut him off.

"No, I don't want to talk about it. I'm going to go get something to eat." As you shut the door to the bedroom behind you, you could hear the whispering starting. Once out of their suite, you headed to yours. Time for a familiar mess and a place to think about just what the fuck you did. After food.

Judging from the Sun's position in the sky, it was actually early morning. The fuck? You never woke up before noon! The hell is wrong with you today? Morning.... That means... Breakfast. You hadn't had breakfast in so long; you'd almost forgotten what it consisted of. For such an occasion, today it shall consist of toast.

Simple to make. Filling. Breakfast of champions. That, and you really didn't feel like making a huge meal anyhow. After your short but filling breakfast, you headed to the place where all of life's decisions were made: the shower. After you'd gotten the hot water running and acclimated yourself to the wonderful box of thinking, the thoughts began their assault.

Why had you done that? What possessed you to go and sleep with Anon and Rainbow? It didn't make any sense what-so-ever! You'd never needed to do anything like that before to sleep, so why now? There's never been anypony else in your auditorium to sleep with either though... Were you really that lonely?

You didn't think so... But then again, aside from Princess Luna, you'd never had anypony else sleep at your auditorium... Luna was a special case though, being royalty and all. You made sure to keep out of her way, and keep her happy when she was here. So why did you just get up and go sleep with them? What made last night so different from every other god damn night?

You'd consider Anon and Rainbow friends, sure; but sleeping with them? When you had your own room? The fuck? Oh shit. You needed to talk to Rainbow. ASAP. She probably thought you were trying to make a move on Anon! Oh shit shit shiiiiiit.

Whoa there, just calm the fuck down. No need to panic. If Rainbow thought you were making a move on Anon, she'd probably have done something, right? Then again, you were the owner of the auditorium they were staying in... Damn! There's no easy way out of this, is there? Fuck everything. She probably thought you were using your position as not only her boss, but her god damned landlord to get to Anon! You would never do that, but did she know that? Shit.

Not that you weren't interested in Anon... But you'd never just go and fuck up what they had! Whelp, looks like you've gotten yourself a project for the day already: Convince Rainbow you're not trying to steal Anon. You sighed, letting the hot water run over your body. This day is just trying to turn to shit as fast as possible, isn't it?

You were in the process of washing the soap off of yourself, when another thought struck you. You needed to get to a calendar. After drying yourself off, you quickly made your way over to the nearest calendar. There, staring you right in the face was the calendar you'd hung up in your little kitchen. It almost made your heart stop.

The little notes on the calendar just gazed back up at you, almost mocking your memory. Two weeks. God fucking dammit. Anon had managed to miss out on the second concert of the big four... Two weeks. In two weeks, the third concert would be held in your Lunar Celebration. And then, exactly one week after that, would be the big nasty. Easily one of the biggest and most popular concerts you hosted each year. Luna's concert.

You'd almost forgotten. Okay, calm down. Two weeks was plenty of time, right? All you have to do, is make sure Anon still knows what he's doing; train a new Chief Lighting Tech, who may or may not think you're after her special somepony; and get everything in order for one of your biggest concerts of the year. Yeah. Shit day.

Might as well get right to business. No sense wondering around with what-if questions distracting you. First things first, make sure Anon still knows his shit. Easy enough task. Then... Rainbow. You'd found Anon in his suite, munching away at something he called a Bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. After explaining to him what you were so stressed about, he finished up his meal and followed you to the main stage. A couple minutes later, and all your doubts about Anon losing his touch were put to rest.

"You really should relax more Vinyl."

"Ha! Easy for you to say. I've got two MAJOR concerts to put together, and train Rainbow for her new job..."

"I doubt you'll have trouble with the concerts at all. As far as Rainbow, she's a quick study. I don't think you'll have any problems training her either."

"I'm not so worried about her training..." Anon gave you a confused look.

"So what are you worried about?" You knew that question was going to pop up sooner or later. No sense in avoiding it.

"I'm worried that I gave Rainbow the wrong impression last night..."

"About what?"

”I... I think she may think that I'm after you..." Anon was silent for a minute before responding.

"...are you?"

"What?"

"Are you after me?"

"No! Of course not!" The fuck? Why are you insulting him?! "Not to say I'm not... interested in you Nonny, but I wouldn't even CONSIDER butting in on what you and Rainbow--"Anon put his hand up to silence you. Oh shit, had you pissed him off?

"Vinyl, why are you so worried about that? We're your friends. I think I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't do something like that, and I'm fairly certain Rainbow knows I wouldn't cheat on her." You sighed the great sigh of relief.

"Thanks Anon."

"Listen, just tell her what you told me, and you'll be fine, Okay? You've got nothing to worry about."

"It's just that--"

"Ah ah! That right there! Stop it."

”But--"

"No buts! Go talk to Rainbow before you hurt yourself. Last thing I need is you freaking out about nothing, now go." You sighed. No point in arguing with him. He'd made is point. Damn you needed to chill the fuck out. Anon was probably right anyways.

That's what you kept telling yourself as you walked towards their suite. You knocked on the door and waited for an answer. And waited. And waited a little more. Nope, fuck it. You open the door, and walk inside. Same room as last night. As if you should expect something different.

"Rainbow? You in here?" After shutting the door, you looked around in an attempt to find evidence of her presence. “Raaaaiiiiinnnboooowww" Dammit Rainbow, where are you? Well, surely she'd show up sooner or later. Might as well wait on the couch. It'll give you some time to think about what to say to—

"Hey Vinyl! What's up?"

"Rainbow, I wanted to talk to you about earlier..."

"What do you mean?" she asked as she walked down the stairs to the living room.

"When I slept with you and Anon..."

"Oh... Yeah, I was kinda wondering what was up with that."

"I... To be honest, I don't really know why I did that Rainbow. I really wanted to make sure you knew that I'm not after Anon. I wouldn't--"

"I know you wouldn't do anything like that Vinyl. You're my friend!" Seems your fear and anxiety was all for nothing. "But... You're not going to try and tell me you're not interested in him, are you?"

"What? No! I mean, yes. I mean--"

"Whoa, easy there Scratch. One step at a time." You sighed.

"I... Yeah, I'm interested in him, what can I say. But I would never even think to try and come between you two! What you have is special."

"You can be interested all you want, just remember that he's mine." Not near as violent as you were expecting.

"I would never do anything to come between you two, Rainbow... I like him, sure, but you guys are my friends. I know my boundaries."

"Good to know. Have you... Have you talked to Anon about this?"

"I... Yeah... After I'd finished making sure he could still be my sound boss." Rainbow was silent. Her expression wasn't the easiest to decipher. You finally settled on the idea that she was in deep thought. Probably re-evaluating your friendship...

"Listen, Vinyl... I believe you when you say you won't do anything to come between me and Anon. Let's just put this behind us and move on, Okay?"

"I... Right... Okay."

"Okay, so. I think you said something yesterday about my schedule?"

"Right! We've got a lot of work to do!" And so begins the training of your new Chief Lighting Tech. Rainbow had little to no experience in that particular field. If another pony were to look at your hiring habits, they might begin to question your sanity.

First you hire an alien, who has no background in the music industry, to be your sound boss. Then you hire a chief lighting tech that has no experience in that field. The things you do for your friends. Was worth it so far though. You'd become closer friends with Anon than you ever thought possible. Maybe the same would come of Rainbow's work here? You could hope. Maybe.... Nah, stupid idea.

Besides, you need to get to know Rainbow a lot better than you do now before you go proposing that kind of stuff. For now, it's time to focus on the task at hoof. Training Rainbow. You led her to the lighting stage, well above the main stage. A suitable place for a pegasus, it seemed.

A couple hours later, and you realized Anon was right. Rainbow picked up on the technical side of things pretty damn fast. Give her a beat, and she could make a party with those lights. She was no professional, but she had talent. Over the next couple of weeks, you could fine tune that talent.

When Anon wasn't working with you, he'd be over at Sweet Apple Acres, taking care of his second job. He'd made sure to let them know what was going on, and that he'd be vastly unavailable in the coming weeks. He had actually talked about quitting there... Well, that's his decision. Focus, Vinyl. Concerts.

Time seemed to fly by. You'd spent the first week making sure Rainbow was trained and ready for the concerts. You weren't too worried about Anon; he seemed to have his shit together. Rainbow though... She got nervous. Real nervous.

She'd try to hide it, but she never did too good of a job at it. The thing that bothered you was that you didn't know if it was her responsibility making her nervous, or you... Why would you make her nervous? She was your friend after all. You hoped that she'd put the whole liking Anon incident behind her, like you'd been trying to do. There wasn't much you could do to quell her nervousness it seemed though... Now your worries switched from the concerts, to hoping she didn't choke up during a concert...

It was the weekend now. So much training with Rainbow had been done. She'd made significant progress. You'd almost believe she was a professional. Until you tried to get her to work the lighting while Anon was down on the main stage. She got distracted so easily.

You made your way out of your room, having eaten breakfast and cleaned yourself up. Generally getting yourself ready for the day ahead. Rainbow's performance when Anon was around was starting to concern you. Apparently though, she only faltered when you and Anon were on the stage.

If you weren't around, she didn't have a problem. It was almost like she didn't trust you... You'll have to solve that problem. And soon. You've only got a week until the concert. That would've been your main focus for the day, if it weren't for one of your guards bringing you the newspaper. He was on his way in, when the headline caught his eye. He figured you should see it.

Yeah, that was a bit of a day brightener. You left the paper in your room. No need for Anon or Rainbow to find out yet. It made you feel good, but it also mentioned your... 'chat' that you'd had with Filthy. The article made it very clear that you were assaulted first, and acted out of self-defense. It also made the effort to detail as much as possible about your defense.

Apparently, Filthy had attempted to go to trial again, and was going to try and sue you. When he was asked for witnesses, he could only think to name Pinkie Pie, who told the entire story in great detail. Needless to say, when the court found out he had struck first, he only narrowly avoided being put in prison himself. It made you feel good knowing that he basically fell flat on his face trying to get to your friends.

You wanted to tell Rainbow and Anon; but you also didn't want them to find out just what you'd done... Pinkie was a good friend, but damn. That little bit was DETAILED. With your morning starting out on a good note... Morning... Ever since last week, you'd been waking up early... In time for breakfast even... Weird. You made your way down to the main stage, to find Rainbow and Anon talking.

”Whoa, what are you guys doin here? We don't have any training to do today..." Rainbow and Anon stopped chatting, when they noticed you. Dash was giving Anon a look that said something like 'you gonna say something or am I gonna have to?'

"Guys? What's going on?" Rainbow nudged Anon in the leg.

"Fine! Sheesh!" Anon was a little hesitant, but powered on and spoke up. "Vinyl, do you think... Do you think that I could perform my duties up in the Lighting Room with Rainbow?"

"I don't see why not."

"AWESOME!"

"So long as you two don't distract each other during a concert."

"Don't worry; I'll keep her on task."

"Alright then, it's settled. Is that what all this was about?" Anon put his hand behind his head, and Rainbow looked off into the seating.

"Uhhh.... yeah." Anon wasn't very good at lying. But you decided to play dumb. Should they decide to tell you what's up, it'll happen on their own terms. Moving along with your morning, you headed over to the security office to talk about the coming concerts with Snowflake. He always looked at these concerts like a challenge.

A brief chat later, and all was taken care of. He'd arranged for extra security, as per usual. Things were going fine. Just like last year. He'd also arranged for one of his old buddies to come help out. You'd met him before, but he was still an impressive sight. Iron Will. The name suited him. You told him to do something, and shit got done. Combine him with Snowflake? You've got yourself the best security force in Equestria.

Maybe fate had dealt all of its nasty surprises to Rainbow and Anon? It felt a little selfish, but you were kind of hoping that was the case. These concerts were a huge deal. In the two rehearsals prior to the actual concert, Rainbow didn't foul up at all. Seems putting Anon up there with her was just what she needed. Maybe, just maybe, the universe was going to hand you a break. As soon as you stepped outside, that thought went right out the damn window.

Your guards were fending off a hoard of press. Damn. As soon as they saw you exit the auditorium, they doubled their efforts to get to you. Immediately, you made your way back inside. It's always something, isn't it? You headed back up to your suite. Time to chill. You can take your walk after the reporters tire themselves out. You'd been productive enough for today anyways. You were just dozing off, when there was a knock at your door. Dammit.

"It's open." You made your way to the living room to see who it was, to find none other than Rainbow. "Oh, hey Dash. What's up?" She was silent for a moment, before addressing you.

"Vinyl... I just read the paper..." Shit. Play dumb, play dumb!

"Oh yeah? Anything good in it?"

"You... You might say that... The main article was about you..." Here it comes.

"Listen, Rainbow--"

"Why didn't you tell me? Or Anon?"

”I--"

"Were you afraid or something? That's kind of important Vinyl!"

"I didn’t think it was that big of a deal..."

"It's a huge deal! You got into a fight with Filthy Rich!"

"He started it."

"That's no excuse!"

"You don't have much room to talk after YOUR little incident with him!"

"That... That was different."

"How's it different? Somepony insulted your friends, so you retaliated! I did the same thing, Rainbow."

"But... You didn't tell us."

"You didn't tell me, I had to find out through Anon!" You sighed, aggravated with the whole situation. "...Have you told Anon yet?"

"...No..."

"Then I'd like to be there when you do tell him." Rainbow got a confused look on her face.

"You mean, you're not going to try and stop me from telling him?"

"Why would I do that? I don't have anything to hide Rainbow; I just didn't want to bring it up so soon."

"Oh..."

"I'm not gonna lie to you Rainbow, what you just said, it hurt."

"I... I'm sorry... I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions..." You sighed again. Dammit. Dammit, dammit, dammit.

"You should know me better than that, Rainbow."

"You're right... I... I should go..." She started to make for the door, but you used your magic to lock it.

"Oh no you don't, we're settling this right here, right now."

"Settling what?"

"Whatever the fuck it is that's been bothering you. Don't tell me there isn't something, you're a terrible liar."

"I... I..."

"Is it my having feelings towards Anon? Does it really bother you that much?"

"Well... A little..."

"Is there anything I can do to assure you that I won't do anything? I can't just throw a switch and stop liking him, Dash."

"I know... I just get so... So jealous..."

"Jealous? Of what?"

"Whenever Anon talks about work, or when I ask him how his day was, it's always about you..." There. Right there. That. That's called a moment of clarity.

"Rainbow, he works for me. I mean, he works DIRECTLY for me! I'm his boss; of course he's going to talk about me." She still seemed uneasy. "Do you have any idea what he talks to me about?"

"...No."

"You."

"Wh--What?"

"He talks about you. He worries about you when you're stressed, he worries that he doesn't live up to your standards. He talks about how lucky he is to have you." Rainbow was silent, and you could swear you saw the slightest hint of moisture trying to escape her eyes. Of all the problems you had... You'd never expected a mare to be this... Well, this damn sensitive.

"Listen, Rainbow; I like Anon. I'm not gonna lie, I kinda like you too. You two aren't family, or friends." The dams were close to bursting. "You're closer than that. You're both special to me, but I'm not going to butt into what the two of you have. I've told you that before."

"I... I..."

"Listen. You go get some rest, clear your mind, relax a little, okay? You're going to stress yourself out if you keep this up. I like you too much to let you do that to yourself." The dams weren't going to break. Disaster averted. You could feel the turmoil from here. She had a lot to think about.

"I... I think I'm gonna take you up on that... A nap sounds good right about now..." She went to pick up the paper, but you snatched it away with your magic.

"Oh no you don't. When you tell Anon about this article, I want to be there. Deal?"

"...Deal" she answered. Albeit a tad hesitantly. After you unlocked the door and let her leave, you went back to your bedroom. Time for that damn nap. A couple hours later, you were being woken up by somepony... No, that was a hand. Opening your eyes, you found Anon standing next to your bed.

"...Nonny?"

"You coming to eat or what?"

"Mmmm... What time is it?"

"Dinner time. Now, you coming to eat or not?" You sighed.

"Yeah. I guess so."

"Alright, I'll fix you something. Anything you're really in the mood for?"

"Surprise me." He nodded before heading out. Damn he treated you good. He cared for his friends. A lot. Maybe... Maybe you could be more than friends. Not just with him either... If Rainbow could learn to share, then... Why not? Could be fun. At the very least, it'd get you to stop wondering about it... You'd never been in a relationship with two ponies before...

Hell, you haven't been in too many relationships, now that you think about it... Isn't that just like you? Go for the exotic stuff. Alien for an Audio Tech. Element of Harmony for a Lighting Tech. And now? Now you wanted to get into a relationship. With the both of them. It's like you purposely pick the difficult things in life. But, at least you had an interesting life. Eventually though... Eventually, somepony is probably going to want to get married to Anon...

Were there laws against a stallion having more than one mare? You'll need to look into that later. Right after you stop getting so far ahead of yourself. You still don't know how either of them feel about the idea. Bringing it up might make things really awkward... It could put a strain on the friendship you have now... Dammit.

Now you're REALLY interested in that idea. Food first though. After you arrived at their suite, the three of you sat down for dinner. Dinner was mostly uneventful. Rainbow stayed unusually quite throughout.

"So... Nonny..."

"Yeah Vinyl?"

"I... There’s... There’s something I wanted to talk to you guys about..."

"Go ahead, I'm all ears."

"I... Kinda sorta got into a little tussle with Filthy Rich the other day... And there may or may not be an article about it in today's paper..." Anon stopped eating.

"You did... what?"

"Well, you see, Filthy hit me so I kind of... retaliated..." Anon was silent for what seemed like an eternity. During that wretched silence, neither you nor Rainbow spoke. Finally, anon spoke.

"...continue." The tension released, you proceeded to recount the events of that day. After your little speech, you rejoined Rainbow in what was effectively time-out. Anon was silent again, his head now in his hands. "So... Anything else you care to tell me?" You thought for a minute. You could use the opportunity to talk about a three-way relationship... Yeah, that probably wouldn't go over too well right now.

"Uuuhh, no... Sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Nonny..." He sighed, and looked at you through his fingers. After staring deep into your eyes for a minute, he sat up, and rubbed his own eyes.

"Okay... What's done is done. But from now on, will you please tell me if you do something like that again? I'd rather find out from you than some newspaper."

"Hehe... Yeah, sorry about that Nonny..." He sighed again.

"I've got two amazing mares sitting down and eating dinner with me. One of them is my special somepony, and the other is by far one of the best friends I could ask for. Now, I'm not going to lie and tell you I'm not at least a little bit upset." You looked down at your plate. You should've told him sooner. There was no good reason for you not to have done so. "Don't go and do that. I can't stand it when you do that." You looked up at him.

"Do what?"

"That shame look you do. Fuck. I can't... Dammit all Vinyl." And your day had started out so nice too... Fuck it, you're on a roll. Might as well put all your chips on the table.

"I... I've also been thinking about something..."

"It doesn't involve Filthy Rich, does it?"

"No. It's actually about you and Rainbow..." Rainbow perked up at the mention of her name. Anon studied you closely.

"Alright, spit it out." Deep breaths. Take it nice and slow now.

"I... Okay, first off, I haven't talked to Rainbow about this at all."

"Noted."

"Right..." Why was he so intimidating? You'd never really been scared of another pony before. Save for angry Luna. That shit's terrifying.

”Well... How do you guys feel about... A... A three way?"

Anon was silent. He looked over to Rainbow for some sort of evidence that you were joking. When Rainbow looked at him with the same surprised look that he had, he realized you were serious.

"A three way? You mean, like sex or something?"

“I-- uhh, well... I mean on a more... permanent... basis." Anon remained silent for a while. Rainbow looked at you; presumably looking for a sign that your little charade was over. Sorry Dashie, but you're dead serious. You looked between Anon and Rainbow. Anon was silent, his expression unyielding. Poor Dashie's wings were starting to extend. Anon's voice ripped you right back to the matter you'd so blatantly thrown on the table.

"So. Who's this other pony you're trying to set me and Rainbow up with?" Well, he hasn't shot the idea down yet. You looked down; not really wanting to give him the answer. Unfortunately, you had a pretty bad poker face. "...You?" You looked up at him. Dammit all, you felt like crying. You nodded. He looked long and hard into your eyes.

"...You're serious about this, aren't you?" You nodded again. He looked over to Rainbow, whose mouth was now open. "Rainbow? What do you think?" Rainbow looked at you long and hard, before looking to Anon.

"I... I don't know Anon..." Damn. You'd really thought she would've been up for it.

"I... I think I should go..." Before you could get out of your seat, you heard Anon's voice.

"Stay." His voice was quiet. But dammit if it didn't terrify you. He had this presence right now.

"What do -you- think, Nonny?"

"I... I think it's an interesting idea. A serious relationship with two amazing mares? My only concern is you, Dashie."

"Me?"

"You. You gave up everything to stay with me. I won't make a decision like this without you." Rainbow looked down at her plate, then at you.

"I... I think I could learn to share. I think it'd be kinda cool." Anon was quiet for a minute.

"Alright then. We'll try this out." Holy shit. You can't believe it. They just agreed to have a three-way relationship.

"Vinyl? You okay?" Rainbow's voice brought you back to the land of the living.

"What? Oh yeah! You kidding? I'm great!"

"You just seemed... well, a little shocked is all."

"You bet I am. I never thought you guys would go for it. I thought you'd laugh me out of here."

"Vinyl, we're your friends. The least we'd have done was listen."

"Even still... It's just a little mind blowing... To think, now I technically have BOTH a marefriend and a special stallion..."

"I'm still not a stallion."

"You got a penis, don't ya? Close enough for me." His head dropped.

"Well, it was a special moment."

"Love you too, Nonny."

"I never knew either of you were bi-curious. Learn something new every day, huh?"

"Yup! I've got quite a few tricks to teach our little Dashie." Rainbow's wings were fully extended now.

"Looks like you two have quite the adventurous nights ahead of you. At any rate, it's late. I think we should head to bed."

"Alright, I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Whoa whoa whoa, just where do you think you're going, Vinyl?" Rainbow was getting good at catching you off guard.

"Uuhh, my room?"

"You're with us now. You'd better get used to the idea of sleeping with us." Your turn to drop your jaw. Damn. Rainbow was aggressive. This... This is turning out to be a not so bad night. Makes sense if you think about it. She takes a while to make a decision, but once she does, she sticks to it.

About a half hour later, the three of you were getting into bed. Anon was first, with Rainbow and yourself taking up positions on either side of him. The lights were out, and sleep came quickly to the three of you. That night was one of the best nights you'd ever had, sleep wise. You'd never slept better than that. It was amazing. You woke up on your own, feeling completely rejuvenated. That warm feeling wasn't just because you were snuggled up next to Anon.

No, there was another warm feeling. You felt... Complete. Like you finally had found something. Sex... Now THAT was something you were looking forward too. Shouldn't rush anything though. Just let it happen. Don't want to step all over Rainbow's territory. She'd only recently gotten some action from Anon. You kinda felt like you were rushing things a little, seeing as they had JUST taken their relationship to the next level. But they were both open to the idea, and you'd already put it out there. No backing out now. If you want this to work, you've got to put some damn effort into it.

You made your way to the kitchen. Having woken up before Rainbow or Anon, you'd decided to make breakfast for them! Holy shit. You woke up, BEFORE Anon AND Rainbow? Damn. They were affecting you already. Oh well. To breakfast! After preparing some toast, you started work on pancakes. Mmmm, pancakes. Oooh, and maybe some hash browns! And, just for Nonny... Some bacon. Not consuming meat meant you didn't really know how to prepare it.

You'd seen him do it a couple of times, but had never attempted preparing bacon on your own. Throw it in the skillet. Timing. Bacon. Simple enough, right? That's what you kept telling yourself after the first two packages of bacon. Something about cooking meat, or just bacon itself hating you.

"Hey, Vinyl? What's going on?" You quickly turned around to find the source of the voice, tightening your magic grip on the skillet. Just in case.

"Oh! Hey Rainbow, I didn't hear you come down."

"Yeah, just woke up. Is something burning?"

”Uhhh..." She trotted over to the stove. "What is that?" You turned to face the skillet. In your lack of attention and care, these poor strips had been condemned to an excessively crispy demise.

"Well, it WAS going to be bacon..." You said, shaking the skillet over a bucket of your previous failures.

"You want me to do it? I've made bacon for Anon before."

"That would be amazing." She walked over and began her work on making bacon.

"You want anything in particular for breakfast? I've got some toast, pancakes and hash browns."

"That sounds good, actually." Well shit. Now what do you do? Drinks! You make your way to the refrigerator and start snooping for juice.

"Morning girls." While rubbing your head and after a brief check for damage to the fridge, you removed your head from the cold environment to find Anon.

"Morning Nonny!"

"Morning Anon!"

"Is... Is something burning?"

"Uuuhhhh...."

"Not anymore!"

"Alrighty then. What are you two cooking up?"

"Vinyl made some pancakes, toast, and some hash browns."

"I was making some bacon, but..."

"Well, I had to help her out with that..." Anon eyed your bucket of smoldering terror.

"I can see that." You chuckle sheepishly.

"Yeah..."

"I appreciate that you tried, Vinyl."

"Mmmhhh mmphh mmmmnnmfffpph."

"Rainbow, I can't understand you with a skillet in your mouth." She set the skillet down.

"She was doing good, she just needs some practice is all."

"Uh huh. Let's stop talking about breakfast and start eating it. I'm hungry." After a filling breakfast, and disposing of some bacon that was a bit too crispy, you were ready to start the day! By that you meant take a shower, and ponder what to do. Wait a minute. What day is it? You dry yourself off from the shower, and find a calendar. Shit.

”THE CONCERT IS TOMORROW???" You really should pay attention more. Why were you panicking anyway? You'd trained Rainbow thoroughly; Anon still knew what to do; the schedule had been planned out and tickets sold already. The rest of your day was spent with you running around, pointlessly double and triple checking things you'd taken care of. Rainbow tried to calm you down a couple times, but it didn't really work.

Anon would've tried to calm you down, but you never really gave him a chance. Good thing he didn't know about unicorn horns. If he'd grabbed your horn... Yeah, he would've had your full and undivided attention.

Lunch had flown by in a dizzying blur. You vaugely recall eating a sandwich of some sort, while going over the security rosters. SOMETHING was bothering you about the roster, but you didn't recall what. Like there was something missing. Too busy to stop and worry about that now though. You'd just have to trust in Snowflake's abilities. He'd never let you down before, why would he now?

FOCUS! ON WHAT? Well, what was left? It was late in the afternoon now. You were racking your brain, trying to figure out if there was anything you'd forgotten. The anticipation of the coming concert was killing you. Not noticing what was going on around you, Anon had picked you up.

"Hey! What gives?!"

"It's time for dinner, and I finally caught you."

"But Nonny! I've got stuff to do!"

"Stuff that's been done already!"

"But--"

"Dinner. Now."

He collected you in his arms, and carried you to the living room. The table had already been set, and Rainbow was laying out some delicious looking meals. Anon shut the door before plopping you down in your chair. After smelling the food Rainbow had prepared, your body promptly reminded you of what you'd been doing all day. By alerting you to how hungry you really were.

“Well.... Maybe a little break."

"Good. Now let’s eat." After consuming dinner, your body reacted to the drop in adrenaline that was being supplied. You were suddenly extremely drowsy, and your whole body was starting to ache. Sleep assaulted you swiftly.

Sadly, you hadn't made it to the actual bed. The couch was closer and it was comfortable. After waking up, you immediately remembered what was going on today. The concert. You felt it happening. The adrenaline was being administered to your body. You'd just woken up. The actual concert would really get you pumped. Damn, you were gonna be sore tomorrow.

Anon and Rainbow were already up and preparing for the day ahead. They had been trying to let you get your sleep in. Nice thought, but wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Not until after the concert. Breakfast was over and done with so fast, you weren't quite sure you'd actually eaten. Anon and Rainbow were still eating by the time you'd finished breakfast, cleaned yourself up, and started triple checking everything you could. You were on fire today. But it didn't feel like it.

By lunch time, you'd finished everything there was to do. Anon was saying something to you, but you weren't paying attention. You were still trying to find something concert-related to do. Seeing as these were Lunar Related concerts, they were held rather late at night. So, you had some time to kill. And it was driving you mad.

"Vinyl, just slow down for a second! You've already finished everyth--"

"No! There's got to be something! There's always something!" Rainbow had good intentions, but you didn't want to hear it. Pre-Concert jitters and all that. You'd be fine once the concert started, but until then... Snowflake approaching you with a concerned look did nothing to help your nerves.

"Snowflake, I know that look."

"Ms. Scratch... I'm sorry, but I've got some bad news." Yup. Knew it.

“Well spit it out already." His expression was... unsettling. Was he... No. The more you looked at him, the more it started to set in. You'd only seen that expression once before. He was nervous. This wasn't going to be good.

"Iron Will won't be able to make it tonight." Not so bad.

"Okay, what's the big deal then? We'll just re-do the security shifts."

"He's been contracted by..."

"By... who? Does it really matter?" He seemed to get his confidence back, and straightened his stance.

"By Filthy Rich, ma'am." Okay, you could see why he'd want to tell you that. Deep breaths.

"Okay? So what? We'll be fine without him. Sucks that he could be bought like that, but so long as he gets paid well, more power to him." Filthy was just flaunting his power was all. Trying to show he could get to you. So long as he didn't fuck with the concert or your friends, you didn't care what he did or how he spent his money. "Just re-do the security schedules to make up for his absence, and we'll be alright."

"Yes ma'am."

After he marched away, Rainbow piped up, "Vinyl? You okay?"

"So long as he stays away from you guys and my auditorium, I'll be fine." That didn't get rid of her concerned look. "Rainbow, I'll be fine. Promise."

"Why don't you just go lie down for a bit? For me?" You really didn't want to, but if it got her off your back... You sighed.

"Alright, fine. Just stop with those eyes." After she escorted you back to the bed, she convinced Anon to massage you to sleep. Dammit. You've been double teamed. A couple hours before the concert, you'd woken up. It was time. Anon and Rainbow were preparing for their duties, checking their respective equipment. You'd gone through the songs you were going to play, making sure nothing was wrong. All was right and ready.

You checked the clock. One hour. As the auditorium filled with ponies eager for your concert, your body filled with adrenaline. You could feel your heart racing. Trying to escape the confines of your body. You checked the clock again. Nope, still an hour. Fuck. Forty-five anxiety-filled minutes later, Rainbow took her cue and dimmed the lights. Not off, like they would be when the concert started, but dimmed. A few last minute checks with Snowflake and Anon, and you'd finally hit your peak.

The adrenaline in your body had reached that level where it was no longer exciting you beyond reason. It was calming you. Clearing your mind. Opening you to a whole new wave of emotions and further preparing your body. You looked out onto the stage. Everyone was in place. The crowd was growing restless. Just the way you liked it. Then, the lights shut off completely. You quietly made your way on stage, and started your concert.

Rainbow had gotten the opening light show perfect. The crowd was going wild. The beat was flowing for you tonight. This was gonna be a good concert.

You thought.

Halfway through your performance, you'd noticed a group of ponies in the crowd being... obnoxious. Well, more obnoxious than the rest of your crowd. Over the years, you'd gotten down some discrete signals you could give to security if you thought something was up. This group was striking that nerve. They were going to be trouble. You carried on regardless. No need to let a few rowdy ponies ruin the show for everypony else, right?

Those were your thoughts, until they started making for the stage. Okay, party crashers. You stopped the music, and signaled to security. An emergency buzzer sounded, silencing anypony who was talking. The floodlights came on immediately, illuminating the foreboding ponies. You spotted your security in the crowd, making their way towards the offenders. The ponies were climbing up onto the stage now.

"Alright boys, that's enough. I think you should leave."

"I don think so, prrrrety lady." Great. Some dumb ponies had snuck into your concert drunk. One of them still had the damn bottle on him. You were content to just wait for security, until the one with the bottle started swinging at you. Again, you could dodge him and wait for securi-- There was a crash, and a sharp screech had echoed across the speakers.

Oh, it's on motherfucker. Just like the occasion before, the last thing you remember was smelling the tiniest bit of smoke. Just like last time, you didn't recall what'd happened. Not like last time, you woke up in the hospital. After a brief recollection of what'd happened, you looked around. Your heart stopped. There, on the bed across from you, was Rainbow Dash.