It had been a week since the party. If that's what you really want to call it. You'd been stuck in this wheelchair for a whole week now. You were fairly certain that whoever made this thing made it with hate. Pure, unwavering HATE. It was only slightly better than being confined to a hospital bed. At least you weren't stuck in one room.

Of course Anon's house was multiple stories. Which meant you needed help going up or down the damn stairs. Naturally. You can't seem to get away from relentlessly needing Anon's help, can you? Combine that with not seeing any of your friends for a whole week, and you get one cranky pegasus. Anon took it like a champ though. He'd put up with your fits or sour attitude regardless. He took care of you.

But today, all of that was about to change! Today you and Anon were heading to the hospital for a check-up. If everything was okay, you'd be allowed to walk again! It's not flying, but you won't have to put up with this stupid wheelchair anymore! Or have to rely on Anon for EVERY. LITTLE. THING. That's what was really eating away at you. You'd had your fair share of hospital visits before, but none had been so severe.

Last time you injured your wing, you were out and flying again in a week. That was one hell of a week though. You'd been stuck relying completely on Anon for nearly two weeks. He claimed he didn't mind, but you were pretty sure that was a lie. Even if he didn't mind, you did. Oh CELESTIA did you mind!

You were so... Weak. Helpless. Worthless. Of course, Anon would say otherwise each time you said something like that to him. 'You're injured is all.' What did he know about being forced to rely completely on some-- Oh. Yeah. Okay, so maybe he knew what it was like... But still! You really should stop thinking about crap like this... Everything will start to get better once you're back to your old self, just wait!

"So, you ready to go to the hospital Rainbow?"

"Huh? Whazzat?"

"Remember? The check-up?"

"Oh! Right! Yeah!"

"You okay?" How does he do that, dammit?

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just ready to get out of this stupid chair once and for all!"

"Then let's go." He started pushing you out the door and towards the hospital. Where your reckoning awaits. You hated having to go out in public like this. Where everypony could see you in your current condition. You always got looks. You could feel their eyes burning into you. And there wasn't SHIT you could do about it. Most ponies knew to keep their distance though. Not a one dared say something. They knew better than to mess with the Dash. Even if you were injured.

A few blocks later, and the hospital was in sight. So close to freedom. Not that there was anything wrong with being 'imprisoned' by Nonny... Rainbow, you dirty mare! You can't use estrus as an excuse for a while. Your next major cycle isn't for a while now... Then again, who's to say you need an excuse?

Dammit Rainbow, focus! This 'cabin fever' or whatever Nonny called it must really be getting to you. Before you were aware of what was going on, Anon was talking to Nurse Redheart. Wait, when did you get to the hospital? Holy shit you're scatter-brained today.

"Alright, if you'll follow me, we can begin the check-up right down the hall." It was like time just skipped for you. Next thing you knew, you were being lifted out of your wheelchair and placed on the edge of a hospital bed. "Alright, just a few tests and we should be good to go."

"Okay, I'm ready!" She tapped each of your joints with that weird little hammer thing, each time getting you to flinch. Kind of annoying. She hooked up a little machine with wires coming out of it to your chest and pushed a couple buttons. Wrapped something around one of your rear legs that squeezed real tight for a while. Then she just wrote down some stuff on a clipboard.

"So? Can I walk now?" She just kept looking over what she'd written down. "Ms. Redheart, can I walk or what?" She finally put the clipboard away and looked at you, before nodding to Anon. "Why won't you just say--OOF" Anon had pushed you off the bed. You landed on all fours, but it still scared you a little. Only a little. "What was that for?!"

"Looks like you can walk now, Dashie." You were going to give him a good punch to the shoulder, but he was right. You were walking. Or at least standing. You tentatively started turning around in a tight circle.

"I can walk. I CAN WALK AGAIN! YES!" Without thinking, you did the first thing that came to mind. You ran. Oh you ran. You heart pounded, your legs became a blur, and the stress of the world faded away. You were finally free again. The power in your legs felt soooo good. Time seemed to slow down as you made it out of the hospital and into town.

You ran. It felt so good to have the wind in your mane again. Your muscles burned with energy dying to get out. They'd been neglected for far too long. You probably ran laps around the square for a good five minutes before finally just running around town. You didn't pay attention to where you were running, you just wanted to run.

So you did just that. Eventually though, your muscles began to ache from the sudden burst of use. Looking around, you found that you were back at the square. Maybe now was a good time for a break. You found an unoccupied bench and plopped down on it. It was good to stretch again. You were exhausted, and it felt absolutely amazing. How long were you running? How far did you run?

Where was the nearest place to get a snack? You'd slept in too late for breakfast. Had Nonny let you sleep in any longer, you probably would've missed the check-up. You looked around the square for a stall that had something to eat. Oh! The apples' stall was here! You trotted over to it, hunger causing you to forget about your desire to sit down. For now.

"Oh hey there Rainbow Dash! What can I do for ya?"

"Hey Apple Bloom, I was just--" You didn't have any money on you. "...never mind."

"Wha? What's th' matter, Rainbow?"

"I... It can wait."

"Oh, well okay then... Ya want some apples?!" Right in the stomach, kid.

"I'd love some, but I don't have any bits on me..." Apple Bloom looked around for a second before ducking behind the stand. Once she re-appeared, she slid you a brown bag. "What's this for?"

"You didn't hear anything from me, understand?" She exaggerated winking at you before looking around nervously.

"Uhh... Thanks kid. You're alright."

"But you didn't hear it from me. Now go on before somepony catches me."

"Catches you?"

"Mah sister said that if I saw you without Anon I should go get her. I think she's a bit loopy in the head right now."

"She... She really asked you to do that?"

"Yeah, she doesn't seem to like Mr. Anon so much. I think he's a right gentlecolt mahself."

"I think so too, Apple Bloom. Hey, thanks for the--"

"SSSSHHHH, I told ya, I was never here. Understand?" You closed your mouth and nodded, returning her earlier wink. A brief trot over to your previous bench and you discovered the contents of the bag. A couple of apples, a small jar of zap apple jam, and... Okay, Apple Bloom was now easily one of your best friends.

The little filly had put a bottle of Apple Cider in the bag for you. She could get into a lot of trouble for giving you all this stuff. Especially the cider. Whelp, if the kid needed anything, you owed her. That was for sure. Better stash this stuff somewhere before anypony else sees it... Oh crap! In the midst of your little... episode, you'd left Anon back at the hospital! He was probably worried sick! You pick up the bag in your mouth and start running back to the hospital. More jogging really, but it counts.

You'd made it back to the hospital and found Redheart. No, she wasn't too happy about your little incident. But she did tell you that Anon already left. Dammit! Before she could suck you into another one of her lectures, you were already down the street. Where would he go? Where should you start to-- Duh. Just go to his house! He'll wind up there eventually.

This in mind, you did just that. A brilliant plan you had there, Dash. Right up until you tried to open the door. Yup, he'd locked it. Damn. Your stomach was growling again. Eventually you'd eat one of those delicious apples.

But first you needed to find a way into Anon's house. You walked around it, examining its exterior. Nothing you could really exploit; all the windows had been shut and the back door had been locked. You plopped down under a tree in the back yard and set your bag down. Hmm... There's got to be some way... You looked up at the tree.

”A-ha!"

About half way up the house there was an open window. Right next to the tree. Perfect! All you have to do is climb the tree and jump in the window! You picked the bag back up with your mouth and jumped from the ground to the nearest branch. This'll be easy! While you can't fly, you could still jump fairly high.

You hopped from branch to branch until you were close to the open window. You lined up the jump, waited for the wind to die down, bit down extra tight on the bag in your mouth, and ran forward. The leap looked much easier from the ground. Even though you still completed it, being unable to fly made you nervous halfway through the jump. You landed halfway through the window, and pulled yourself up.

"Yes! I've still got it baby!" The bag severely muffled what you said. Not that anyone else was around to hear it. After a small victory dance, you recalled what you were doing. You headed down to the kitchen, but only after a small run up and down the stairs. No more having to be carried! Unless you wanted to be carried.

You put away the various goodies in the kitchen, save for the apples. Come to think of it, why didn't you just head back here in the first place? Nonny had plenty of snacks around here. Oh well. The apples, being as delicious as they were, didn't last long. Hit the spot though. Well, now what?

Maybe a nap? Yeah, a nap sounds pretty good right around now. You made your way back up to the bedroom and promptly curled up on the bed. Sleep didn't need a second invitation.

You were startled awake by lightning and thunder raging outside. That's weird; it didn't look like a storm was scheduled today... Maybe it was a last minute sort of thing. You looked around and found Anon asleep beside you. Dang. How long did you sleep anyways? The rain pelted against the windows just loud enough for you to notice. You got off the bed and walked over to one of the windows to take a look.

Something didn't seem quite right... You'd managed some pretty nasty storms in your time as lead weather coordinator, but this was different... There were some foolish mistakes being made. If somepony wasn't careful, this storm was going to get real bad real fast. If you could fly, you'd head up there and warn them. But you couldn't, so you didn't. You sat down in front of the window, watching the storm become more and more unstable.

"Dashie? That you?" You turned to look at the bed.

"Oh, sorry Nonny. Didn't mean to wake you." He made his way to a sitting position and turned on the lamp.

"Did you have a good run?"

"He he... Yeah... Sorry about that..."

"Don't worry about it. I kinda figured you were getting anxious." He walked over and sat down next to you. "So, watcha lookin at?"

You turned your attention back to the storm outside. "The storm... There's something wrong..."

"Like what? Seems like a pretty normal storm to me."

"The winds are shifting too much, gusting a bit too hard; the storm clouds are moving waaaay too much; and you can almost feel the rain being held back."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying if somepony doesn't get their act together, this could wind up being one nasty storm." He stared at the storm with you, the two of you just listening to the rain. A couple minutes later, he got up. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going back to sleep. Nothing either of us can do about the storm, so no sense in losing sleep over it." He was right. You were still kind of tired.

"I think I'll join you." You hopped back up on the bed and snuggled up next to him under the covers. The light was turned out, and soon the two of you were fast asleep. You were right though. The storm quickly became much worse after you went to sleep. The fact that it was still going strong the next morning was evidence enough of that. Anon was up and about, muttering something about checking something in town.

"I really think you should wait until the storm dies down, Nonny."

"It can't wait, Dash. Will you be okay for a while by yourself?" You really didn't want him to go out in this weather, but you couldn't really stop him either.

"Yeah, I'll be okay."

"Alright, I'll be right back."

He shut the door behind himself before you managed to say, "Be careful..." While he was gone, you figured you'd better make something warm for him when he gets back. One apple pie later, and you were heating up some of the cider Apple Bloom had given you. You heard the door open and close. Nonny was back.

"Hey Nonny, I made something to warm you up." He sauntered into the kitchen, soaked to the bone.

"I think I'll change first."

"That's probably a good idea. Say, what did you have to check on anyways?"

"I thought I'd left something at the auditorium is all. Turns out I didn't."

"I hate when I do that." He nodded before heading upstairs to change into a dry pair of clothes. Not five minutes later though, a siren was going off. "Oh no."

"Rainbow? What's that sound?"

"Nonny, get down here, quick!" He ran down the stairs, pulling his pants up as he did.

"What? What is it? What's going on?"

"That siren means the weather team no longer has control of the storm!"

"Is that all? Jeeze, you make it sound like the end of the world."

"It could cause some serious damage, Anon! We have to get to shelter!"

"Calm down Rainbow. We have weather like this all the time back where I'm from."

"Please Anon? For me? I don't want you to get hurt in a storm like this. Please?" You put on your best pair of pleading eyes. It was working. You could tell.

"Alright fine, just stop with the eyes."

"Let’s get down to the basement then." You follow him down to the basement, and get as comfortable as you can. It’s cold, dark, and you can faintly hear the storm raging outside. But at least you had your Nonny. A couple of hours passed and the sirens finally stopped. "Finally. So can we go back upstairs now?" You listened closely to the sounds the storm was making for a minute, trying to catch any ominous sounds, but you found none.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Good. I hope whatever you made is still warm, cause I'm starving."

"If it isn't, we can just warm it up." You both headed upstairs to find that the storm had died down significantly.

"So what were you saying about--"

"Oh hush. I just don't want you getting hurt."

"Now what did you make that smells good? I was worried you'd forgotten how to--" A quick jab to his side reminded him just who he was talking to. You heated up the cider and apple pie you'd made earlier. Apples. Apples everywhere. Delicious apples. After the pie was devoured and the cider cups all but licked clean, the two of you relaxed at the table. "One day you'll have to teach me how to cook like that."

"I told you before Nonny, I just picked a few things up from Pinkie Pie."

"That's fine and all, but--" He was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Wonder who that is?"

"I dunno. I'll be right back." You hear the door open, and you're just barely able to hear a very familiar voice.

"Nonny?"

"Pinkie Pie? Come on in-- Hey Dashie! Pinkie's here!" You trotted out to the living room. Pinkie was soaked to the bone and had a worried look on her face.

"Pinkie, what's wrong?"

"Oh Rainbow! My Pinkie sense was going crazy during that storm! It was super scary, but there was something else! I couldn't put my hoof on it, so after the sirens stopped I went out to try and find what was going to happen!"

"And? What did you find?"

"Everything around town was fine! There were a few trees that had fallen over, but nopony was around to get hurt. I thought maybe my Pinkie Sense was wrong, but then I got a really super bad feeling! I couldn't let that go, so I searched some more. Finally, I made my way to the auditorium..." You were silent.

"...What about the auditorium, Pinkie? What happened?"

"It... It collapsed. There's nothing but rubble now." You sat down. Sure you were mad at Vinyl, but you wouldn't wish something like that on her.

"Do you know if Vinyl was okay?"

"I don't know, I didn't see her. I figured I should let you guys know as soon as I could..." Anon stood up.

"What are you doing, Anon?"

"You know what, Rainbow. Regardless of what she's done, she's still our friend. I'm not going to take any chances."

"But Anon! Look outside; the storm is still going on. I'm not sure if the weather team can keep control of it; they've already lost control once, who's to say it won't happen again?"

"Doesn't matter. Vinyl's out there and she might be hurt. I'd do the same thing for you." You ran over and tackled him to the couch.

"Like hell! You're not going out in that, I won't let you!" He looked you in the eyes.

"Rainbow, I'm going out to find her. I'll be fine; I've dealt with storms as bad as this back home."

"No! What if the sirens go off again while you're out? You could get hurt, or even worse, killed!" He picked you up off of his chest and set you down on the floor.

"I told you already Rainbow; I'm going to find Vinyl. That's going to happen, and you need to deal with it."

"...Fine. If you're going to do this, then I'm at least going to go with you."

"Ha! Don't even think about it. You're already injured; you'll be safer here with Pinkie."

"This isn't your decision, I'm coming with you."

"Like hell you are." He picked you up and looked you sternly in the eyes. "You're going to stay here with Pinkie. You want to help? Get some towels ready for when I come back with Vinyl." You growled. He was right. You would probably only get in the way, being injured already.

"That's what I thought. We can continue our little argument after I come back. Pinkie, make sure she doesn't come after me."

"...Okay, Nonny." He walked up stairs as she said that.

"Pinkie! I can't believe you'd let him go out alone!"

"But he's right Dashie! Besides, Vinyl needs help, I can feel it." You couldn't believe it. Pinkie was taking Anon's side! Just as you were about to voice your objections, Anon came back down stairs wearing what looked like a trash bag.

"...Nonny? Why are you wearing a trash bag?"

"Because I don't have a raincoat. I'll be back in a little while. Pinkie, make sure Rainbow doesn't leave."

"Hey!" Before you could try and reason with him, he was out the door into and into the storm. "Why would he do that Pinkie? Vinyl's probably fine."

"I dunno, Dashie; maybe he's just that kind of... human?"

"...Last time he pulled a stunt like this, he died."

"I think he'll be fine, Dashie. Let's just do what he said and get ready for when he comes back."

"...If he comes back..." You hated this. Once again, all you could do was wait. Even if you got past Pinkie, you'd likely wind up with Anon trying to find you while you were trying to find him. You wanted to break something. Right up until you realized that Pinkie was still soaked and shivering.

"Ohmygosh! I'll be right back Pinkie."

"Wha?" You searched around upstairs until you found some towels. After Pinkie was thoroughly wrapped up, you went to the kitchen to heat up something for Pinkie. You made her some tea. No need for her to find your cider. Nonny and you can share that later. Pinkie had scarfed the pie and downed the tea a bit faster than you were expecting.

"Thanks Dash, I needed that." Lack of a response from you did little to stop her from returning to her normal bouncy self. Which, of course, meant making two more pies, preparing a spot for Vinyl like Anon had asked, and even making sure the tub had a ready supply of hot water. Just in case. She was concerned, but she had an air about her.

"How can you be so energetic at a time like this?"

"There's no point in being a bad news bear about anything, now is there?"

"Of course there is! Anon is out there right now, trying to find Vinyl. Why does he care so much? Why wouldn't he listen to me and wait until the storm was over?"

"The sirens aren't going off and Vinyl might be hurt."

"I know that, but he wouldn't listen to me! I don't want him to get hurt, Pinkie..."

"Neither do I; but he doesn't want Vinyl to get hurt either. He knows we'll be alright, but he doesn't know about Vinyl." You sighed out of frustration. Why did she have to be right? "Besides, it's just like you said, he's already died once!"

"Gee, thanks for the inspiring words, Pinkie."

"No problem Dashie! Hey, you wanna help me make some pies? OH, or some cakes?!" You put your hoof to your face.

"Sure. Why not. I guess--" You and Pinkie both stopped dead. That chilling sound was resonating through the air again.

"Pinkie, get to the basement."

"But the pies!"

"NOW PINKIE!" You ran into the kitchen and made sure the timers were set so that the pies wouldn't burn. Pinkie might start crying if her creations burned. After you were both downstairs, you shut the door and sat down. "I knew it! I knew something like this would happen!"

"What are you worried about Dashie? Nonny said he'd been through worse back at wherever he's from, I'm sure he'll be fine!" The time that passed after that seemed to drag on forever. Howling winds of the storm mixed with the blasting sirens did little to calm your nerves. Pinkie however, was as care-free as could be.

That bubble gum mare was starting to get to you. She just wouldn't let you think to yourself. Five minutes. Five minutes! Was that too much to ask? You'd been trapped down in this stupid basement for an hour now. All the while driving yourself up a wall thinking up terrible fates that Anon might have succumbed to. Fuel for your anger towards Vinyl. It was her fault he was out there right now. If anything happened to him, you'd make sure she—

"Dashie! Did you hear that?!" Yup. Five minutes was a record you weren't going to break any time soon.

"Hear what, Pinkie?"

"There it is again! Somepony's at the door!" Without thinking, you ran up the stairs and nearly knocked the door to the basement off its hinges. As soon as you'd opened the front door, Anon came running inside. Pinkie was up shortly after you and started helping Anon with whatever he was doing. After you'd managed to get the door shut, you went over to help Anon. Sure enough, he'd brought back Vinyl. She was soaked to the bone, a lot like Pinkie was, and a little bruised up. Other than that she looked fine.

"Anon, can we at least move back down to the basement? The sirens are still--"

"No. We need to get her warm and dry her off; the basement is no place for that." He just wouldn't listen to reason, would he? "Pinkie, can you heat up something for her? We need to heat her up." After thoroughly cleaning Vinyl off and drying her; he wrapped her up super tight in a couple of towels. He had her cradled in his arms, her head laid back.

You didn't know how to feel now... He was right, she was hurt. But that still doesn't change the fact that he could've hurt himself in that storm! He was rubbing Vinyl through the towel burrito he'd put her in, when she started coughing.

"Here you go, Nonny."

"Thanks Pinkie." He set the cup of hot tea on the table beside him and continued rubbing Vinyl. After she finished her coughing fit, she opened her eyes.

"Nonny? What... what happened? Why can't I move? I feel cold..."

"You're freezing Vinyl. Here, drink this." After she drank down some of the tea, he held her up like she was sitting on his leg.

"You okay Scratch?"

"Pinkie? Izzat you?" She looked from her to Anon. "What happened? Am I dead? I'm so confused..."

"We'll get to what happened later. For now, we need to get you warmed up. You should rest." She nodded and closed her eyes.

"Definitely gonna be... a good... story..." She snuggled up to Anon's chest as best she could and continued to shiver slightly. That mildly bothered you, but you kept it to yourself. For now. He didn't stop rubbing Vinyl until she'd stopped shivering.

You'd tried to get him to eat something, but he wouldn't listen. At least you and Pinkie had gotten the now dirty trash bag off of him. After he was convinced that she wasn't shivering anymore, he went upstairs and put her in the guest bed. He was going for the master bed, but you'd managed to convince him otherwise.

Though you were glad Vinyl was going to be okay, you weren't about to let her sleep with you. She still had a lot of explaining to do. Even then, you weren't sure you'd forgive her so easily. She's still responsible for grounding you. You and Anon headed back downstairs in silence.

"So she's gonna be okay, right Nonny?"

"I think so Pinkie."

"Phew! I sure am glad to hear that!"

"Me too Pinkie... Hey, you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Yeah, whatcha hear Nonny?"

"Exactly. The sirens stopped." He was right. In all the excitement, none of you had noticed that the sirens had stopped once more.

"I think I'd better get back home before the sirens start up again."

"Stay safe Pinkie. And thanks for the help."

"No problem Nonny, I'll see you guys later!" Once the door was shut, there was silence. Anon had taken up a seat on the couch, and you'd done the same. If he wouldn't listen to reason, at least you could make sure he was warm. You snuggled up next to him.

"So you're not pissed at me anymore?"

"No, I'm still mad." He sighed. “But I'm glad you're safe." He ruffled your mane. "I still don't know how to feel about her..."

"...Neither do I, Dash. But she's our friend at the very least. She deserves to explain herself."

"...I guess."

"We'll worry about all that when the time comes. For now, let’s let her recover; probably wouldn't be a bad idea for us to get some sleep too."

"Only after you eat something." He sighed again.

"Fiiiine." Once the two of you had a decent meal, the two of you went to bed. The now softer sounds of the storm lulled the two of you to sleep. The next couple of days were going to be interesting, to say the least.

The smell of breakfast woke you from your deliciously peaceful slumber. Anon was fixing something that smelled absolutely amazing. This might just make up for him being so thick-headed last night. When you made your way down to the kitchen, you found the table loaded with mouth-watering breakfast foodstuffs. Pancakes, waffles, toast, oatmeal, hash browns, eggs... Even the smell of the bacon he was making was mixing pleasantly with the rest of the morning aromas.

"This smells amazing Anon!"

"Thanks Dashie. Hey, why don't you go check on Vinyl; see how she's doing after last night."

"Do I have to?"

"C'mon Dash."

"I really, really don't want to..."

"Are you saying you're... afraid?" Did he just... Yes. Yes he did.

"Absolutely not! It's just--"

"Then go check on her." He knew just how to get under your skin. He also knew how to rub in just the right places... He can have his small victory; you'll get him back later.

"I'll remember this." You wandered back upstairs to the guest bedroom to find Vinyl sleeping peacefully. This little pony... She helped you and Anon when you needed it... Hell, she did a lot more than just help. She provided you with a home, food, even a damn job...

Did all of that mean nothing now? Why had she been so willing to help? ...Why did she hurt you? So many questions started swimming around in your head, you didn't notice her sit up.

"Rainbow? You okay?"

"Wha? Yeah, sorry. I was just... thinking."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Anyways, breakfast is ready. You gonna come eat with us?" You were hoping for a negative answer.

"Yeah, lemme just run through the shower real quick." You nodded and headed back downstairs.

"That wasn't so bad now was it?"

"Oh hush."

"Point is that you've got to give her a chance to explain."

"She downed me. I can't fly because of her." He didn't say anything to that. "She'd better have a damn good explanation for doing what she did."

"I guess we'll find out later today," he said as he finished placing food on the table. The anger towards her hadn't really set in until last night. It was like bringing water to a boil: slow at first, and then it picks up speed. She was the sole reason you couldn't fly right now. Only her. There was nopony else involved. She was mad, sure, but... Why?

Such a simple question. Even if she did have a reasonable explanation for what she did... Like Anon said, we'll just have to wait and see. But you hated waiting. Anon knew what he was doing though, and you trusted him. He was your special someone after all.

"Something wrong Dash?"

"Wha?"

"You're zoning."

"...What?"

"Is everything okay?"

"I... No. I want an explanation for what she did."

"So do I Dashie, but we need to--"

"I know we need to wait, but I hate waiting. I've wanted answers since I woke up in the hospital bed."

"So have I. I hated being unable to help you while you were in that bed. All the while knowing that Vinyl, a friend, had put you there. It's incredibly frustrating to not know why she would do something like that. That being said, I think we owe her at least a chance to explain herself. I'm only asking you to listen to her, that's all." There wasn't anything you could think to say to that. It was a simple enough task. Just listen to what she has to say.

You were still going to have to wait, but it didn't seem so bad after Anon's little speech. A couple minutes later, the Vinyl had wandered downstairs and the three of you were eating breakfast. Other than a bad cold and a couple of bruises, she seemed fine. Of course, the meal was incredibly awkward and silent. The only words spoken by anyone were along the lines of 'pass the syrup' or something similar. Why didn't someone just get it out and in the open? What was with all this stupid waiting?

"Alright, I can't take it anymore." Both Anon and Vinyl looked up to see what you were talking about. Nonny shot you a look of disdain, but continued eating his eggs. Vinyl on the other hoof was petrified. She knew this was bound to crop up sooner or later. You didn't even have to say what it was that was bothering you. It had been bothering her too, you could tell.

"W-what's wrong, Rainbow?" Goody. She was going to play stupid too, huh?

"Don't you play dumb with me; you know exactly what I'm talking about!"

"Rainbow, let her eat something first."

"No, it's okay Nonny. I'm not too hungry anyways." Anon sighed. Why? Why did he sigh? You were tired of not knowing what the HELL she was thinking, and he was tired of it too. "Alright, fine. I'll clean up here, you two head to the living room where we can sit down and be civil about this."

"Why don't we just sit h--"

"Because this is my house, now march."

"Fine." You got down from your chair and led Vinyl to the living room. Not that she didn't know where it was having walked through it; she waited for you to take the lead. Given that her ears were down and she looked more than distressed about what was going to happen, it kinda made sense. She must have a pretty bad feeling about what was about to happen.

And why shouldn't she? Has she ever met a downed pegasus before? Other than Fluttershy, you couldn't think of too many pegasi that preferred the ground to the air. You took a seat on the couch, and Vinyl took a seat opposing you. She never looked up or tried to make eye contact. Why wouldn't she do anything?

Was she trying to ignore you? Ignore what happened? Your wings in a cast served as a pretty good reminder of what exactly had happened. Anon interrupted your thoughts when Anon finally made it to the living room and sat down on the couch.

"Okay, so. Let's be reasonable--"

"Why'd you do it, Vinyl?"

"...about this." Sorry Nonny, but no more waiting.

"I... I don't know, Rainbow."

"What do you mean you don't know? You looked me in the eyes when you cut me with your record! YOU KNEW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WERE DOING!"

"Rainbow, calm down. There's no need to sho--"

"DON'T YOU TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! I DESERVE AN ANSWER!"

"Rainbow." For whatever reason, his tone struck louder and clearer than anything you'd ever heard. It was not a tone you'd heard before, and it didn't sound good. "Give her a chance to answer, instead of screaming." Your heart was racing and your breathing was quick. You were pissed beyond reason. Alright then, fine. Eyes once again locked with hers, you waited for an answer. Eventually, she worked up the nerve to speak.

"I... I don't know why I did that to you, Rainbow... I don't remember anything after that pony broke the bottle... After the bottle broke, the last thing I remember was waking up in the hospital. Snowflake told me what happened. He said I lost control and started hurting the ponies really badly... Apparently I used a record to cut them. After I started... cutting the ponies, he told me that you flew down to stop me. He said you took a couple good cuts to the back before you knocked me out...

When I found out what'd happened, I asked if I could see you and he said no. I asked if I could see Nonny, and he said no. After Nurse Redheart made him leave so she could take a look at me, I asked if I could see either of you. She said I couldn't see you because you were still unconscious. She did say she would ask Anon if he would see me though. She reminded me that the only reason I wasn't being offered to you and Anon on a silver platter was because of the circumstances."

"What circumstances?"

"Since magic was involved, the case would have to be reviewed if you or Anon decided to press charges against me. I'm glad you didn't, by the way..."

"Before you ask Rainbow, I told Nurse Redheart that we didn't want to press charges when I checked you into the hospital." That explained a few things, but you still had questions. At least now you had SOME answers.

"Alright then, so you didn't know what you were doing. This has happened before, why didn't you just back out and let your guards handle it?"

"I was going to, but the ponies started getting pushy and violent too quickly. It all happened really quickly."

"On that same note Rainbow, why didn't you wait for the guards to come get Vinyl?"

"I couldn't just let her ruin her image like that, Nonny! She was hurting ponies beyond reason!"

"Even still, why did you let her get those hits in on you? You could've dodged them or just went up and knocked her out. Why'd you wait?"

"I... I didn't want to hurt her..."

"Do you want to hurt her now?"

"...No, I don't. Since when is this about me, anyways?!"

"You wanted answers from her; I think you should give some answers back. It's only fair."

"...Dammit, Nonny."

"I knew you'd agree. Now then, why did you let her cut you? I know you; you could've easily dodged that record."

"I... I don't know..."

"Well then. It would seem that neither of you know why you did what you did." He had a point. But she still downed you.

”That doesn't matter, she still crippled me. I can't fly because of her."

"I said I'm sorry Dash! I didn't know what I was doing!"

"Sorry won't fix my wings!"

"And it's all I can do! I can't go back in time and try to stop what happened from happening!" She was right, but that didn't change how you felt. She was still the sole reason you were downed. You spent time in the hospital because of her. You had to have magical surgery because of her. You were going to have to go through rehab. Because of her.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" She recoiled at your outburst, tears forming in her eyes.

"I-I... I know..."

"THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"

"I... I don't know..." You were seething with anger now. She downs you, and then has the audacity to show up here? HOW DARE SHE?! She seemed to read your mind, and ran out the door.

"Rainbow!"

"What?!"

"You stay put. I'm going to go get Vinyl. When I get back, you and I are going to have a discussion you won't enjoy." Before you could react, Anon was out the door chasing her down. Of course, the incompetent weather team didn't know what they were doing, so it was still storming out. Idiots.

And Anon! Running out into the storm after HER! She didn't deserve his friendship! He was YOUR special someone, not hers! This was the second time he had gone out into that storm for her. About a half hour later, Anon opened the door and Vinyl followed him inside. Anon got Vinyl upstairs and you heard the water running. He came back downstairs and sat down on the couch.

"So, you ready to be civil?"

"She downed me, and you're still going to let her stay here?!"

"Of course I am. I believe her when she said she didn't know what she was doing. She's still my friend, Dash. Is she still your friend?" You didn't answer him. Partially because you were still beyond pissed, but also because you didn't know for sure... So, you did the first thing that came to mind. You got up, and headed out the door to walk.

When Anon asked you where you were going, you simply told him "to find out." Before he could argue for you to stay, you were out the door and sprinting. You knew where you could go to think clearly. You just needed some fresh air is all. After walking around the rainy square for a while, you headed to the library.

Twilight was always good for help, especially on complicated stuff. A quick knock on the door, and spike let you in. After getting you to wipe your hooves, that is. He ran off to dredge up Twilight from whatever book she was lost in while you dried off a little. Why was it so cold in here?

"Oh hey Rainbow how-- why are you all wet?"

"Uhh, because it's raining outside?"

"Oh, right. Hold still for a second."

"What are you--" Before you could finish your sentence, her horn was glowing and you were enveloped by the strangest warm sensation.

"There we go! All dry. Now then, what can I do for you?"

"That was weird. Anyways, I need help with something... personal..."

"I hope I can help. It's been a while since the party..."

"Yeah... I'm sorry about that. I just couldn't stand everypony throwing around all that stuff about Nonny."

"It's okay Dash, I understand. Now, what's this 'personal thing' you need help with?"

"Well... You know about Vinyl?"

"Vinyl Scratch? The DJ? Other than she's a DJ, I can't say I know much about her."

"So you don't know anything about what's happened recently with her?"

"The only thing I heard was that she was somehow involved with your injury, but I didn't find anything out beyond that, why?"

"Oh boy... Have I seriously not told you about her at all?"

"No. Since you and Anon became a thing, you haven't really talked to anypony..."

"I... I guess I haven't, have I?"

"I've heard love can make ponies act weird."

"I'll say... Anyways, long story short, Vinyl likes Anon too."

"...so?"

"So she proposed this three way idea... Turns out she kinda likes me too..."

"Okay. So what's the problem?"

"You're... you're not freaked out by the three way idea?"

"No, why would I be?"

"I dunno, I just thought that... oh well, never mind."

"So was that the problem you were talking about?"

"What? Oh no no no, the problem I'm having is... I don't know if I like Vinyl anymore..."

"Well, is she still your friend?"

"...I don't know."

"What makes you say that?"

"...She was the one that put me in the hospital." Twilight stared at you blankly for a moment, processing what you'd just said.

"If she's your friend, why'd she put you in the hospital?!"

"She says it was an accident; that she didn't know what she was doing."

"How could she not know what she was doing? Was she drunk or something?!"

“No, she was... This probably won't make much sense, but... There was a drunken pony that started messing with her while she was on stage. Eventually, she wound up getting real mad and defensive. Her mane and tail looked like they caught on fire, and she started using a record to fight back. That's when I saw she was taking things too far, and I went down to stop her. She got a few good cuts on me before I knocked her out. Next thing I know, I'm in the hospital and Nonny is standing next to me worried sick."

"That sounds like a more extreme version of what happened to me when I was trying to figure Pinkie's Pinkie sense out."

"Yeah, but you didn't hurt anypony."

"Not to brag, but I'm also much more trained in magic than she is."

"Probably... Do you think she's telling the truth about losing control and not knowing what she was doing?"

"I think that's completely believable, Rainbow. There are documented reports of this kind of thing happening in the past."

"So, what causes it?"

"Usually it takes extreme emotions, and an extra buildup of unused magic. The best way to describe it would be the magical equivalent of adrenaline."

"...Do you think that she'll do it again?"

"It's all based on the circumstances. From what you told me, it seems to be a mixture of fear, the need to defend herself, and the adrenaline from being on stage that caused it." That still doesn't explain the other incident she told you about, but you weren't overly concerned with that anyways.

"So, you think she'd do it again?"

"...Given the right circumstances, I wouldn't doubt it."

"Is there anything somepony could do to get her to snap out of it? Besides bucking her in the head to knock her out..."

"Of course! It would take vocal cues, visual stimulus, or even familiar physical--"

"Speak in non-egghead, Twilight." She sighed.

"Talking to her, making her look at you, or even trying to calm her down by touching her would probably do the trick. It's a defensive reaction, so she needs something to make her lower her defenses."

"Then why didn't my talking to her do anything?"

"Like I said, it's all based on the circumstances. The adrenaline was probably mixing with the defensive feeling in a bad way. Had you laid a hoof on her or held her face, she probably would've snapped out of it."

"So... She really didn't know what she was doing?"

"No, probably not."

"That doesn't make things any easier..."

"That wasn't the problem?"

"Well, it was part of it."

"What's the rest?"

"...The storm that's been going on the past couple days? Pinkie had a bad feeling about the auditorium, so Anon went out to check."

"Sounds like something you would do if Pinkie had a bad feeling about the library or Rarity's boutique."

"I tried to get him to wait for the storm to pass, but he wouldn't listen! Even though he knows I was part of the weather team!"

"Do you listen to anypony if somepony you know is possibly in trouble?"

"Yeah!" She gave you a deadpan look. “Well... I try to!"

"Uh-huh."

"Anyways, he's done this twice now! He won't listen to me when I tell him I don't want Vinyl in the house!"

"...Why don't you want her in the house?"

"Because... Because I don't, okay?!"

"Are you worried she's gonna try and steal him from you or something?"

"No! I mean..."

"Rainbow, I think I should tell you what Anon was doing while you were stuck in the hospital."

"What do you mean?"

"While you were in the hospital, Anon was planning your surprise party. He was doing his best to make sure it would be perfect for you."

"He... He never told me about that..."

"That's the idea behind a surprise party, Rainbow. Everything he did while you were in the hospital was either about his house, or you."

"What about--"

"He never talked about anything else, I promise. Him cheating on you shouldn't even cross your mind. He's as loyal as you are."

"So... All that time he spent out of the hospital, he was..."

"Trying to make life easier for you or make you happy."

"I..."

"As far as Vinyl goes, if you still like her as a friend, then what's wrong with her staying with you and Anon?"

"...Nothing, I guess. I'm still mad at her for downing me."

"I can't say I'd blame you for being mad. I can't help you to stop being mad at her, that's something you've got to come to terms with on your own."

"...Would you forgive me if I hurt you like she hurt me?"

"If the circumstances were similar, of course! You're my friend Rainbow."

"...Great, now I feel really bad..."

"Why?"

"I... Kinda made her run out of the house crying..."

"...What?"

"I was really mad, okay?! The best answer she could come up with was 'I don't know.'"

"And do you feel better now that you've let off some steam?"

"...A little, I guess."

"Then maybe that's all you needed? To let off some steam?"

"I don't know... I still feel... angry with her."

"Why?"

"I just said I don't know!"

"I'd wager it has something to do with the whole three-way thing. Are you sure you're up for it?"

"...I think so."

"You need to know for certain. A relationship is like one of Zecora's potions: you've got to mix it properly and take good care of it. You should just talk with Anon and Vinyl about it; make sure you're okay with everything."

"You think that'll help?"

"I know it will."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Did talking about everything we just talked about help?"

"...Yeah, I think so."

"Then I'm sure talking about the three-way idea will help."

"What do you think about a three-way relationship?"

"I think it's a neat idea. I read once that the more individuals are involved in a relationship, the more complicated it becomes. It'd be like solving an equation!"

"...That's not quite what I had in mind."

"Either way, it's your relationship, do what you think is best."

"...Thanks Twilight."

"You're welcome! Anything else I can help you with?"

"Is there a new Daring Doo book out yet?"

"Well, no--"

"Then I think that about covers it."

"Are you sure you don't want to borrow some of my books on Relationships? They might be what you're looking for!"

"No, thanks anyway. I gotta go, I'll see you later Twilight!" Before she could respond you were out the door. If you weren't careful, she'd send you back with two saddlebags full of books. But talking with her did help quite a bit. You could forgive Vinyl. Eventually. She'd have to make it up to you though. Oooohhh was she going to make it up to you.

An outside opinion really helped in these kinds of situations. If you ever had trouble making up your mind or trying to figure something out, you could always count on your friends to help you. Why wouldn't they? There was a reason they were your friends, after all. Anon could've probably helped a lot too, but... You were still kinda pissed at him for not listening to you.

Sure, if your roles had been switched you probably wouldn't have listened to you, but your roles weren't switched. You knew what you were talking about, he didn't. Simple as that. Though, you were walking around in the middle of a rainstorm. Had it not been for Vinyl, you would've been back in Nonny's arms by now. Walking was fine and all, but you'd much rather be flying.

What you wouldn't give to feel the rain pelting your face as you flew through the storm right now. Come to think of it, your sides did feel kind of damp... Oh shit! You've been out in the rain for too long! The water had seeped through the bandages!

You'd better get back to Anon before something stupid happens, like getting an infection or something. There wasn't a whole lot you knew about medical things, but you knew that bandages were supposed to be kept dry. It was probably time to change them anyways. Doesn't mean you shouldn't hurry up and get home though. Should you tell Vinyl you've decided to forgive her though...? Maybe? Bah, you'll worry about that later. Right now, you should focus on getting back to her and Anon as fast as possible.

The rain was coming down at a steady pace, but it wasn't a downpour like it had been. Maybe the weather team was finally getting their shit together. Going fast always felt awesome to you. Going fast in the rain had its own special feeling though. You could slip, trip, or not see something. It was exciting. Though you couldn't break the sound barrier while restricted to the ground, it didn't mean you were slow.

Besides, the streets were pretty clear, considering the weather recently. You could afford to go pretty fast right now. The fast approaching turn triggered an idea. You sped up as fast as you could, then jumped and propelled yourself in the new direction off the side of a building. Aww man, that was AWESOME!

Too bad Anon wasn't here to see it. You'll just have to show him that later. Wonder how fast Anon can run... Or how fast he's ever gone. You loved him, and you didn't know too much about him... He would always ask about you and your history, but he never really talked about his own... Huh... It's funny, but you never really noticed that before... Wonder if he... Bah, questions for later.

Right now, speed. The one thing you wanted right now was to go fast. As fast as your body would allow. That was pretty fast, all things considered. The rain pelting you in the face, the cold wind whipping against you. It all felt sooo good. You might be a little chilly later, but it would be totally worth it. Your little adventure had given you the opportunity to stretch your legs, get some fresh air, and even gave you some answers.

Maybe being downed wasn't so bad after all... Flying was fun and you wouldn't give it up for anything... Well, except maybe Anon. If staying with Anon meant you couldn't fly anymore... Yeah, you could probably live with your decision. For now though, you knew you were going to fly again. Being stuck on the ground would've been unbearable, had it not been for Anon...

He made being downed not so bad. Had you not been forced down to the ground, you probably wouldn't have hit it off with Vinyl... Come to think of it... Fluttershy was right; Anon had caused you a lot of trouble. But you liked it. It was the kind of trouble you didn't mind. The kind of trouble that led to new and different experiences. Ha! Look at you, being all philosoff... Philly... Fuck it. Thinking about all these big ideas and all that. Whatever the word for that was.

If you think about it, Vinyl was kind of doing the same thing... Sure her trouble was a bit extreme, but... Wow. If you really think about it, she was kind of like Anon... She comes into your life, everything seems good for a while, then trouble comes along... So far, you hadn't any regrets about sticking with Anon. Why not give her a chance and stick with her too? Yeah. Could be fun. But by Celestia, you were going to make her make it up to you. There was no getting out of that.

So many ideas running around in your mind about how she was going to do just that... Some of the ideas were simple, like having her do the dishes or something. Others though... All those ideas running through your head... You ALMOST felt bed for Vinyl. Almost. She still crippled you, however temporary it may be.

Finally! Back at Anon's house. You'd always thought home would be wherever you wanted it to be, but now... Now it seemed to be wherever Anon was. It was where you could let your guard down. Relax. Be yourself. Not worry about fucking something up and being laughed at. Well, he would laugh if it was funny, but he wouldn't be a dick about it. A complete dick anyways. He would do what you would do if he fucked something up.

Wonder how long you were standing in front of the door thinking about all that. Not to mention in the rain. Good thing nopony was around to see it. When you went to open the door though, you found it was locked. Great. You knocked on it a few times and waited. And waited. And waited some fucking more. Dammit Anon, why'd you go and lock the door? You knocked again, harder this time.

”Anon?" A couple minutes pass, and still nothing. You knock on the door again, repeating your previous call. ”Anon! Hello?"

Why wasn't he answering? You looked around at the windows to see if the lights were on. They were, so obviously he was still home. What's the big deal Anon? Was he mad at you for going out? Maybe he was still pissed for you going off on Vinyl like that... Fuck.

He wouldn't do something like this though, would he? No. No, he wouldn't. You were sure of that. At least the overhang was keeping you dry. You can't exactly fly up and find an open window. Duh! The tree that you used last time! You walked around back and found the tree, only to have your hopes crushed. It was still standing and all, but the sturdy branch you used last time had been knocked down.

Probably when the damn weather team lost control of the storm the other day. None of this shit happened when you were in charge of the weather team. You kept them focused and on task. Better get back to the relative safety of the overhang. Looks like you get to play the waiting game, or yell until your throat hurt.

You weren't particularly fond of ponies that stayed up and made racket all hours of the night when you were trying to sleep, so waiting game it is. You sat down on the welcome mat; at least it wasn't as cold as the concrete. No matter what you did, that feeling of water squelching in your bandages made you feel absolutely gross.

Try to wait it out. Anon will know what to do. You shifted on the placemat, staring up at the door. Squelch. Nope. Can't take it anymore. You turned and started pulling at the bandages with your mouth. It wasn't necessarily easy, but you did manage to eventually shed the filthy things. Oooohhh, the air felt good against your feathers. Dare you try and flex them? Could make things worse.

Nope, fuck it. You slowly stretched your wings to their full span. Awwww, yeah. To think, Redheart was worried that you'd forget how to use your wings. Dumb nurse. You flexed your wings so that you could better inspect them. Oh CELESTIA they needed to be cleaned. You could wait until Anon finally answered the door...

You folded your wings back slowly. Even though you could move and flex them, they still felt really sore. Like you'd been flying for days straight or something. Nope. They almost felt sticky. Not gonna make it until Anon was out to help you.

You flexed your wings back to where you could get at your feathers. THE PREENING SHALL COMMENCE! It wasn't embarrassing to be caught preening or anything; you'd just rather nopony saw you doing it. It'd be like styling your hair in a park or something. Nothing really wrong with it, just something you'd rather not be hounded about.

You'd even go so far as to not preen in front of Anon. What would he think if-- Sure enough, Anon had just opened the door. And you had your head buried in your wing.

"...Rainbow?" You popped your head out of your wing.

"Uhhh... I can explain."

"Really? Why don't you come inside first?" You folded your wings back and trotted inside. "How long were you sitting out there?"

"I dunno."

"Well why didn't you knock or something?"

"I did! I even called out for you a couple times. I thought you were mad at me or something..."

"I was a little mad, yeah, but I wouldn't lock you out! Jeeze Rainbow... And you took your bandages off!"

"Yeah... They kinda got wet..." He gave you a deadpan look.

"I can't imagine why. Anyways, next time use the doorbell."

"You have a doorbell?"

"You're telling me you didn't notice the little button beside the door with a bell above it?" Nope, didn't catch that one. "You really need to slow down and look at your surroundings sometimes, Rainbow. Now, why'd you take your bandages off?"

"I already told you, they got wet and gross. I figured I'd get some sort of infection or something if I kept them on, so I took them off while I was waiting for you."

"...Fair enough. What were you doing to your wings?"

You knew he'd ask about that. "I was..." You looked down at the floor. You really didn't want to explain this to him. "...preening."

"Preening? You mean you were cleaning your wings?"

"...yeah. Listen, I'd rather you didn't tell any--"

"I gotta say Rainbow, that was pretty cute." Aaaannnd there's the burning sensation in your cheeks. Why'd he have to go and say something like that?

"Just don't tell anypony I... preen..."

"What's wrong with preening?"

"It's like... It's like putting your mane up or curling it or something."

“Like putting on makeup or something?"

"Yeah, like that."

"And you're worried about other ponies finding out you do that?"

"Well, yeah."

"Why?"

"Cause I have a reputation, Anon!"

"Alright, I won't tell anyone about your preening."

"Thanks..."

"I'll save it for ammo and use it if I have to though."

"...Darn it."

"We'd better make sure your wings are clean and that you didn't damage them. Head on up to the bathroom and I'll get some fresh bandages."

"Do I have to have new bandages?"

"Yes, doctors’ orders. You keep your wings bandaged until told otherwise. Now get up there."

"Fiiinnne." You made your way up to the master bathroom to wait on Anon. Strange, you hadn't seen Vinyl since you came back. Maybe she actually ran off? You were looking forward to making her your little bitch for a while... Manipulative? A little, but she deserved it. Maybe you could find a magic dampener and clamp that on her horn for a month.

See how she does without magic for a while. Yeah. If she went through what you went through, then you could forgive her more easily. She'd understand what she put you through.

"Alright, get in the tub." You jumped a little at hearing his voice; you'd been deep in thought again. A couple minutes later, you were in a tub full of wonderfully warm water, and Anon was cleaning your wings thoroughly. "So Rainbow, how come you don't get... stimulated... by having your wings cleaned?"

"I am kind of getting 'stimulated...'" He slowed down a little at that, then shook his head and resumed cleaning.

"...dirty mare."

"You know it."

"Seriously though."

"Do you get 'stimulated' when you clean yourself?"

"Well, no..."

"There you go."

"I'm guessing it's the same sort of thing while flying then?"

"Kind of."

"Have you ever had trouble flying beca--"

"No. Have you ever had that happen while walking or running?"

"...Fair enough."

"It's called self-control, Anon. Besides, it takes a certain... mood, I guess."

"Makes sense." He finished cleaning each of your wings and around the joints. It felt amazing, yeah, but you knew he wasn't trying to be sexual about it. Had it been estrus though... You might have had a bit more trouble focusing. After a thorough drying of your wings, Anon applied the new bandages.

"There we go, all done. So long as you don't go and stay out in the rain for hours at a time again, I think you'll be alright for another couple days."

"Yeah... Sorry about that. I just needed to clear my head."

"Well? Did it at least work?"

"Yeah, I think so. Speaking of, where's Vinyl?"

"She's in the guest bedroom. After you stormed off, I went to check on her. She was a little upset to say the least. Anyways, I calmed her down and got her to talk about what all had happened."

"So that's why you didn't hear me knocking..."

"Yeah."

"...I guess she's kinda pissed at me then, huh?"

"A little, but she understands why you said what you did. She was more worried about making you mad."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Huh..."

"So what all did you do while you were out in the rain?"

"I went and talked with Twilight, actually."

"You talked about the whole situation with Twilight?"

"Well yeah, she's my friend; why?"

"I figure she's pretty smart and all, but I wouldn't guess she has much experience in... intimate relationships."

"Yeah, you're right about that. But she does know a thing or two about friendship."

"I'll take your word for it. She's a talker."

"You have no idea. She actually studies friendship and reports what she finds out to Princess Celestia."

"What is it, her job or something?"

"Yeah, actually."

"You're kidding."

"No, it's what the princess sent her here to do."

"I thought she was just a librarian."

"That's what she does, but she's still Celestia's student."

"Fair enough I guess. Never thought of friendship as something that needed to be studied though..."

"I don't know about where you're from, but here, friendship is important to magic."

"All you had to do was say it involved magic. Magic and logic don't always mix well for me."

"Nah, just takes some getting used to is all."

"Anyhow, what all did you figure out?"

"I think that if Vinyl would wear a magic dampener until I'm done with rehab, she'd understand what she put me through."

"A magic dampener?"

"It's a little cone that you put on a unicorn's horn to prevent them from using magic."

"And you can just buy these things?"

"Well, yeah."

"Huh. I wouldn't think someone would be able to get ahold of something like that so easily."

"They use them at the hospital all the time. I'm pretty sure if you just asked they'd probably give one to you."

"I guess I'll be finding out soon enough. Come on then, let's go and talk with Vinyl about your idea." You followed him to the guest room wherein Vinyl was sitting on the bed, gazing out the window. "Hey Vinyl, what'cha doing?"

"Oh hey Nonny. I was just thinking."

"That's a change." She whipped her head around real fast when she heard your voice. The two of you locked eyes for a couple minutes. Hers were red like she'd been crying recently.

"So are either of you going to say something, or are you going to try and stare each other down?" She looked to Anon with concern in her eyes.

"I knew she wasn't ready to talk. Fine, I'll go an--"

"Oooohh no you don't. You two need to duke it out, talk, or whatever, but fucking do it. I'm sick of this I-don't-wanna-talk-but-I-do attitude you two are having with each other."

"No, she's obviously not willing to--"

"No you don't." Before you could question what exactly he was going to do, he'd stepped out of the room and shut the door. Fine, you'll just wait until he steps away from the door and op-- Yup, he locked the door. Does he not realize the doors can be unlocked from this side? You went to open the door and give him a good talking to, only to find out that handle had been flipped. The lock was on the outside.

"You sneaky little--"

"Yup. I'll be back in an hour or so to check up on you two. I'm not going to put up with two mares that are gonna be passive aggressive with each other."

"But--"

"Nope. You two get your shit together, and then we'll talk. Until then, you're stuck in the same room and you're going to have to deal with each other."

"Anon! You do this and I swear you won't touch me for a month!" Silence. "ANON!" More silence. You turned to Vinyl. "Of COURSE you had to go and get the whole house sound-proofed, didn't you?"

"...Seemed like a good idea at the time." You just glared at her. "If it makes any difference, I didn't know he was going to do this either."

"Yeah, sure you didn't. Just like you didn't know what you were doing when you cut me, right?"

"I really didn't know! I told you what happened, the last thing I remember was waking up in the hospital! Why won't you believe me?"

"Gee, I dunno, maybe cause YOU PUT ME IN THE HOSPITAL?!"

"I said I'm sorry! There's no way I can convince you of that though, is there?"

"No, probably not."

"Then why did you let me stay here if you hate me so much?!"

"I... I don't hate you."

"That's what I-- what?"

"...When I left, I went and talked to Twilight about what happened. She told me all about your little incident." Vinyl remained silent. "...So, I figure you really didn't know what you were doing. That doesn't change the fact that it was you that put me in that hospital."

"...No, it doesn't. I'm glad the damage isn't permanent though... I don't suppose there's anything I could do?" You thought for a bit. You'd put her through enough, and you were getting tired of being angry.

"Tell you what. You wear a magic dampener, all day every day until I can fly again, and I'll call it even."

"What?"

"You don't know what it's like to not be able to fly, you're not a pegasus. So, go without using magic until I can fly, and I think we can call it even."

"I can do that already though, I don't need a dampener..."

"I'm wearing bandages, you can wear a dampener."

"I... I guess... If it'll get you to stop being mad at me, I'll do it."

"Great, now all we have to do is convince Nonny we're not at each other's throats."

"...So you're not mad at me anymore?"

"...I'm still mad, but I understand why what happened happened." Vinyl let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad that's out of the way. I really missed you guys at the auditorium..."

"Speaking of, what happened to it?"

"I don't know what, exactly. I think it was a tornado."

"A tornado? That doesn't make any sense; the weather team should've been able to take care of that easily..."

"Oh they did, after it went through my auditorium. Luckily I was in the basement when it hit."

"They've just fallen apart recently..."

"They're missing their leader."

"There are other team leaders though."

"Then they're missing you."

"Ha! They can get along just fine without me; I only trained new members or helped out with bigger storms."

"Maybe the new members aren't getting trained like they used to..."

"Maybe." The two of you chatted about the weather team for a while. Just trying to pass the time, really. You'd buried the hatchet for now, and Vinyl was going to make it up to you. No magic until you can fly again. She was confident now, but this was going to drive her crazy. You'd already been through the withdrawal of being unable to fly. Ha... you'd gotten used to being unable to fly. Probably only because you knew you'd be flying again soon. How would she deal with being unable to use magic?

"So... What have you guys been up to?"

"Not a whole lot, really. Making this house a home, dealing with my friends..."

"Dealing with your friends?"

"Yeah... I don't really want to talk about it."

"Oh come on, you can trust me. I don't have any friends to tell anyways."

"You? No friends? Ha! You're the most popular DJ in Equestria!"

"That doesn't mean I have a huge amount of friends... Do you know what it's like to be popular?"

"Yes I do, as a matter of fact. You know I'm pretty well known around town."

"No no, I'm talking about thousands of fans popular. There's a difference between you and me. You're a national hero, I'm a DJ."

"Well yeah."

"I can meet nice fans and all that, but I never make really good friends with them like I did you or Anon."

"Why not?"

"More than likely, I'll never see them again. They might come to another concert, but I can only handle meeting so many ponies after a concert before I have to get some rest. The chances of me meeting a pony regularly after each concert are slim to none. It's not that there aren't nice ponies out there, it's that there are too many that all want to be my friends."

"Huh... I never thought having friends would be a problem."

"You wouldn't think so, but damn... If I do anything for fans, it's instantly put under a microscope by other fans or the press. I have to watch what I do whenever I deal with fans. It really sucks sometimes. You and Anon were different... Anon was just looking for some help, he didn't know me and he didn't judge me based on some story. You turned out to be one of the best friends I've ever had after you got used to being around me. And I had the hardest of times accepting that I hurt you like that..." You didn't know what to say to that.

"I kinda think it wasn't you, but then I remember staring you down. Your red eyes through the cracked goggles... I can't say it left a good impression." She looked down at the floor again.

"Yeah... I caught so much shit about my eyes growing up... Ponies just assume that red eyes mean something evil. You're lucky, your eyes are more pink than red. Mine are 'blood red...'"

"...And they suit you. Don't give in to what other ponies assume because of your eyes. If they're scared off by your eye color, they probably don't deserve to be your friend."

"...Thanks Rainbow." There was a bit of silence after that. Nothing awkward, just... silent.

"So... Twilight also told me how to stop you from going all rage mode or whatever."

"Oh? It doesn't involve kicking my face in, does it?"

"Ha, no. She said that you just need to hear familiar voices or sounds, see friendly faces, things like that. She said it should bring you back to reality."

"Well... That's good news, I guess."

"It's better than nothing, isn't it?"

"I was kinda hoping it was some sort of disorder or something that had a cure..."

"Twilight said it was caused by you not using magic enough and... extreme emotions. I think."

"Huh. So I have to... use magic more?"

"I guess."

"...Do you still want me to wear the--"

"Yes. If anything, that'll probably stop you from having another 'episode.'"

"I guess so..." A couple more minutes of silence.

"Alright, scoot over."

"What?"

"If Anon is going to leave us locked up in a bedroom, I'm gonna take a nap." You hopped up on the bed next to Vinyl, nudging her to one side.

"That... actually sounds like a good idea."

"Yeah yeah. Either way, scoot." She made room for you to occupy the opposite side of the bed, and laid down next to you. "Don't get any funny ideas. Just cause I'm in a forgiving mood, doesn't mean I'm up for--"

"I get it..." She sounded upset about it, but didn't pursue the thought any farther. Good. She knew who was in charge. What seemed like several hours later, you were startled back to the land of the waking by Anon.

"I see you two have apparently buried the hatchet." You groaned and sat up, shooting him a deadpan look as you did. "What?"

"You tricked me."

"Yeah? And?"

"...I'll remember that next time you're feeling 'frisky.'"

"Whatever. It worked didn't it?" You hopped off the bed and started making your way towards the stairs.

"More or less."

"Come on Vinyl, dinner's ready."

"Mmmmmfffppphhfmmm..."

"Argue all you want, it'll be waiting for you when you decide to get up." He followed you down the stairs to the kitchen. "Now what do you mean 'more or less?'"

"You remember that magic dampener idea I told you about?"

"Yeah?"

"Good. Cause it's happening." He let out a sigh before setting the table and passing out food.

"So you couldn't just forgive her, could you?"

"No! Not until she goes through what I'm going through. Then we can see eye to eye."

"Why are you pushing this so hard? Just to punish her for something she wasn't aware she did?"

”Because I feel like I can talk to her like a normal pony if she goes through with it."

"Well why can't you talk to her like a normal pony now?"

"No matter which way you look at it, she's still the pony that downed me. Weather she knew what she was doing or not, it was her."

"...I'm glad you're not involved in the legal system." A couple minutes later, a rather tired looking Vinyl was hopping up into her chair. "So, you two sleep well?"

"Mmmmmpppmmmmfffmm..." She was more interested in nibbling on the salad Anon had placed in front of her.

"Yeah, I'd say we had a good nap."

"Good. Now maybe I can relax not having to worry about you two not arguing constantly."

"We didn't argue constantly!"

"MMmmmffmmm, fffmmm."

"She makes a good point, Rainbow."

"You understood that?"

"You've never had to deal with children, have you Dash?"

"MMmmmppphh!"

"Anyways, she wasn't arguing. She was trying to get a word in edgewise, while you were trying to--"

"I get it." You munched away at your salad in silence. After the light dinner, the three of you headed back upstairs to get a good night's sleep. Not just a little nap. Of course, you made sure Vinyl slept in the guest bedroom. She's not even going to think about touching Nonny until you say so. Not that he was going to get any action for a while, thanks to his little stunt, but still.

Your dreams that night... Well, you didn't have any, actually. It was a little weird, but it was... Kind of relaxing, too. The next morning, you were up and fully relaxed, like you'd actually gotten a good night's sleep. Then you realized you hadn't slept like that since you left the hospital... A couple times had come close, but nothing quite like this. This whole situation with Vinyl must've been hanging over your head more than you realized. It felt good to finally sit down and talk with her about what had happened.