It has been two weeks since the dinner party. We had dispersed not long after my performance ended. Princess Celestia had finished dealing with the hoodlums and came to gather Twilight for the rest of the afternoon. Shining Armor and Cadence left not too long after saying they had some business to take care of. I left not too long after they did, I had something on my mind that I had to figure out. The songs I play usually have a melancholic feel to them. This song though, it felt joyful. Was I really starting to recover from the incident all those years ago? Both Octavia ( I had taken to calling her Tavi after Pinkie called her that at the party) and Vinyl were close friends, and Luna was both a great psychiatrist and a friend. I guess that they had helped me along more than I had thought. I made up my mind. A few days after the up coming concert I would take them out to dinner to thank them for being my friends.

The concert is tonight, so I have a few days to prepare for the coming dinner. It's going to be at a restaurant neither of them could say no to. It's an Equestrian restaurant that had adopted Italian themed food. It's certainly high quality food, but is well known for its VIP rooms. I had taken the liberty of reserving one and had already invited them out. They both accepted eagerly. Vinyl had started seeing another guy. Specifically, she started dating Neon Lights; a stage producer well known for his fantastic light shows. He has a bright yellow mane and tail, navy blue coat and deep blue eyes. He's a unicorn that knows what he's doing with lights. They went into business together not long after Vinyl got through her rehab. I had my doubts at first, but now I know I can trust him.

I grab the instruments I have to bring for my performance tonight: my Gibson electric guitar and the Stradivarius violin I recently acquired when my brother's will was finally followed. This brother of mine is the one who saved me from being a drug addict, and he loved to play the violin. He had even taught me how to play it in the first place. He bought it with some of the money he inherited from grandpa after he passed away. My brother, though, wanted to be a police officer. He accomplished his goal, and died a few weeks ago in a violent shoot out. Thanks to his actions many lives were saved; thus, even when our family protested, when his fiancé stated she wanted his will followed, the courts ruled in her favor. So I now own one of the greatest violins ever made.

I go to the orchestra hall and make my way through the back. I had tuned my violin and my guitar at home. I walk in and immediately walk up to the piano to find out how badly tuned it might be right then and there. It must have been awkward for the audience that had started to gather when I quite clearly said, "Why do I have to tune the piano every time I go to play one?" Seriously, it had already gone old, now its going ancient. I spend the rest of the set up time tuning the piano. As I finish, the other musicians start taking their places. Tavi gives me a comforting smile. When High Note tries to pat her on the shoulder, she dodges and gives him a pat on the face. I find it odd that Vinyl and I can do that just fine but others get a slap. We all quickly take our seats and, as Maestro makes his appearance, the crowd begins to applaud. He waits a moment and then signals them to remain silent. He raises his baton, and... the music begins as it falls.

As the last few notes are played, the audience begins to applaud. Maestro once again signals for silence. He raises his baton again, and we prepare to play our second set. We begin to play a new song taken from a popular movie franchise on Earth, a song of journies taken in a forgotten land.

After the song ends, Maestro turns around and the entire orchestra stands, and bow to the thunderous applause. I can even see some familiar faces: Princess Luna is here with Twilight and Rarity. Lyra is off to the right with Bonbon and Vinyl. Suddenly Maestro speaks up. "Now, to commemorate the addition of our newest member to our proud orchestra, a little welcoming present: a violin duel!" He turns and points to the right side of the stage. I pick up my violin, turned around and nearly faint. I was dueling Charlie Daniels!

'Well fuck.' I mutter.

Charlie and I shake hands, then we pick up our instruments and begin our duel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLH7uPTytmA

As we play the secondary curtain, behind which our orchestra sits, pulls away to reveal Charlie's band and Frequency's band. They start to play an all too familiar tune and I'm invited to play along.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6RUg-NkjY4

As we finish up the little show, Octavia brings out my guitar, fully hooked up and ready to go. After packing up my violin, she takes it off stage as I pick up my guitar and prepare to play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlaicBjFfVc

As we finish playing, the crowd does something no classical crowd back on Earth would do: they cheer, loudly. The stunt is a success. I am now a Canterlot success story. As I leave the stage I receive perhaps the greatest back stage cheer I have ever had. Princess Luna, Vinyl, Lyra, the whole group has shown up to give me congratulations. After an hour of mingling and chatting with fans of the orchestra, I quietly slip out and start walking home. I hear a few hoofsteps behind me. I turn around to see Octavia following me. "Well, if you were going to leave it would have been nice to give me a heads up." She says with an irritated tone.

"Sorry Tavi, was just not too keen on the idea of being followed by some fans, I don't do to well with this much praise. Doesn't help with what Frequency told me either."

She sighed."As usual I forgive you. I understand that you don't need their praise. Like myself you just enjoy playing music and having others enjoy it as well."

"Right as usual Tavi." We walk and talk all the way back to my apartment. We went back to the conversation I had with Frequency after the concert. Apparently he and his group were going to move to Manehatten. They have a job offer there that pays more than what they were offered here. He even offered me a chance to join them. I refused, saying that I had too much tied up here to really be able to go. He promised to keep in touch, but I don't know for how long that will be possible. We're friends, but not the strong kind that stay in touch after a time. We'll probably drift apart and that will be the end of that, since he's leaving tonight. It had been the only reason I had stayed as long as I did. Soon though, we reach my little home and Octavia offers to join me for a time; but I really need some sleep. I confirm our plans for the day after tomorrow, and she says she'll be there along with Vinyl.

The next day flies by. I simply fall dead asleep after such a rigorous performance. I return the remainder of my Vicodin prescription to the pharmacy and pick up my music to practice for next month's sessions. The way the orchestra works is to learn some songs, play them for a few performances while learning other songs, then start swapping off. I have my next musical pieces. Looks like we get to play the Legend of Zelda theme as an opener, followed by some rather famous Earth classical music. Neat.

I wake up the next day excited. Something just seems perfect about today, since I was taking Tavi and Vinyl out for lunch to thank them for being my friends. I pull open my curtains to greet the day. The lovely... rainy day. It's absolutely pouring rain. Normally I love the rain, and so does Octavia, but Vinyl absolutely hates it. I can only hope they'll be able to make it. I get out of bed, get dressed in my semi-formal wear, grab my umbrella, and head off to my next destination; the flower shop. I know Octavia likes roses and cherry blossoms so I had a special bouquet ordered for her. Vinyl is less picky but definitely prefers Chrysanthemums over other flowers, so I made a special order for her.

Sadly, Vinyl's bouquet isn't ready yet. Apparently, the flowers that had been sent were cut too early and refused to bloom. Meanwhile Octavia's flowers had bloomed right on schedule. They had bloomed well and tasted great. I take Octavia's bouquet, pay, and say I'll be back later in the week to pick up Vinyl's. It seems that fate really hates Vinyl today. As I approach the restaurant I notice Tavi waiting patiently for me to arrive, but no sign of Vinyl. "What happened to Vinyl ?" I ask.

"Well I went to visit her, but she won't be making it today. She's going through her heat right now." That makes sense, she has some really bad heats. Last time her heat was so bad she nearly got in trouble for molesting a royal guard. Then she notices the bouquet I have. "Is that for me or her?

"You. I meant to have one for you and Vinyl, but her's was not ready. I remember you like roses and Cherry Blossoms so I made sure to have some put into a bouquet for you."

"Thank you, you are just as kind as I figured you were." A small smile and a slight blush grace her cheeks.

"You're welcome. Now let's go on inside and enjoy ourselves shall we?" I say with a little smile of my own. Something feels different, though. I can't place it but something feels very different.

"Let's" She takes my hand and pulls me through. With the reservation we quickly get seated in the VIP room. I had prepaid for a bottle of fine wine which was placed in a bucket of ice in the room. We uncork it and pour each other a glass, giving a cheers to friendship. We order our food and soon enough we're talking just like normal people. Except she's rubbing her leg on mine. I mentioned it, but that didn't phase her in the least. A few minutes in and I start thinking about why this is happening. Why am I paying this much attention to her and why was she reciprocated it? Something stirs in my mind at this point. I have to ask a single question.

"So judging from what you said earlier I take it that my reputation had preceded me when we first met?"

Her expression changes for a brief moment before returning to the way it has been for most of our time here. "Why yes, Vinyl had told me much about you and I had the pleasure of being the one to discover your musical talent for the orchestra."

At this, I open and close my mouth a few times like a fish. Then the entirety of our time spent together becomes crystal clear. Instead of expressing it in words, I let actions speak for me and I facepalm. Octavia, at first, seems confused before a look of understanding appears on her face. "Finally put it together then?"

"Yeah, I am an extremely oblivious bastard. Until now I had not put it together, so before we go any further, I want to apologize for all the pain I undoubtedly put you through."

"Apology accepted on one condition."

"Which is?"

"You ask me the question you obviously want to ask right here and now."

I quickly fling myself up, like a deer caught in the headlights and look at Tavi, searching for any sign that she's joking. She wasn't. "Well, um I , that is, Tavi..."

"Yes?"

"Will you be my marefriend?" She simply smiles, grabs me by the collar and kisses me, hard. We kiss for a long time, it feels like an eternity before our lips part.

"That was a little difficult to understand, mind repeating your answer please?" I say with a little smile while breathing quite hard.

She merely smiles and replies "gladly", before resuming our kiss. This is the best rainy day ever.

A week later Vinyl is finally out of heat season. She's finally able to join us for my little dinner to thank her for being a great friend. Only I have an extra surprise. Octavia and I are sitting in the VIP booth waiting for Vinyl to join us. We had decided exactly how to let Vinyl know that we were dating. I originally wanted revenge for her trying to set me up with Tavi when she knew I wasn't looking for a relationship. Then again, I am now in a relationship with that mare so I decide that I would let it slide. She finally arrives with her usual flair. "Sup mare and bro. How are my two favorite friends doing?"

" I don't know Vinyl I--"

"You got something on your face Tavi."

"Hmm, where?"

"Right, here." I say this as I lean forward and kiss her right on the lips. I had never heard such a shocked gasp from Vinyl before.

"Damn it I missed you two getting together!" she shouts while running over and grabbing us both in a massive hug. She's crying tears of joy as she wrench our lips apart to fit her between us. We don't mind. We had done a LOT of kissing to make up for lost time. I think she didn't know how to kiss, we made sure to remedy that. I didn't know just how amazing Octavia really is. It wouldn't surprise me if she ended up becoming the head of the orchestra. She is simply that amazing, and I want this to last. Then Vinyl says the only thing that could possibly sour my mood. "Also your sister left a message, apparently she wants to, and I quote 'meet up with you tomorrow around noon Sammy'."

"Thank you Vinyl, I was getting a little to happy there wasn't I?" I grunt. "She will only cause me grief. I will still meet with her, but I will not enjoy it."

"What's wrong Sam, how bad could this be? Maybe she wants to reconcile with you?" says Octavia. This gets a genuine laugh out of me. I laugh about as hard as I can. There was no way they could understand why I find that funny, but oh boy it's funny to me.

"And just what is so funny?" Octavia asks, sounding a little upset at my display. I hold up a single finger to tell her 'one moment please'. She seems to understand. As soon as my laughter dies down I took a breath and answer her.

"She set me up with my previous girlfriend, she was the first member of my family to disown me, brought up charges against me stating that I was drugging her and blaming everything on her along with several other attempts to destroy me, including ruining my reputation by slandering me through every form of media she could. If this was the same girl I knew back when I was twelve I would believe that, but she absolutely hates me. Her reconciling is about as likely as Cadence dumping Shining Armor to marry Discord and Nightmare Moon."

"Well you didn't have to laugh..." Octavia says, looking a little downcast.

"I'm sorry Tavi, that was indeed rude of me; please grant me your forgiveness from your ever benevolent heart."

"You don't have to get all theatrical on me Sam, let's just enjoy dinner with Vinyl."

"Yeah, you won't have to meet her until about noon tomorrow at the castle anyway Sammy." Vinyl chimes in.

Facing her with anger in my eyes I say as calmly as possible, "Please never call me by that name again."

Vinyl gulps, having never really seen me this angry since the 'Blade incident'. "Sure thing Sam."

"Thank you Vinyl," I say as I finally calm down, "and I am sorry for getting so angry, she is the reason I lost everything back on Earth."

"But, I thought that was your ex?" Octavia asks.

"Not only did my sister set me up with my ex, Mariana, she also spread the lie that got me disowned and destroyed every job opportunity I had after leaving because the government is less trustworthy than a fifteen year old girl."

"I see. Well then let's not talk about it any longer, this is supposed to be a happy occasion." Octavia says looking quite a bit concerned.

"Thanks Tavi."

The next day I wake up at my usual time. I go through the everyday morning rituals and I prepare myself for what may be the worst moment I'll go through since I moved to Equestria: seeing my sister again. I slowly walk over to the castle; I am in no rush, I have a lot of extra time. When I finally get to the castle, it's just coming to eleven thirty-five. I take a deep breath and approach the castle gate. After entering, I am greeted by the princesses; they all seem so... exhausted. "Your little sister is certainly a, pleasure, to be around. I would prefer my prison on the moon to dealing with her." Princess Luna says.

"Sister, I do not think it appropriate to insult his sister in front of him." Princess Celestia says.

"I do not have the kind of relationship that Twilight and Shining Armor have your majesty. It would be a lot closer to Shining Armor and Chrysalis instead. In short, I take no offense at all." My words seem to leave Princess Celestia rather curious. She probably won't have to wait too long to hear why and how much I don't like her.

"Now then Captain Armor, please escort him to the place where his family is waiting." Princess Celestia commands.

"Right away your highness."

As we arrive at the door leading to where my sister is, Shining Armor gives me a heads up. "She is with your parents in here."

"If my 'parents' are also behind there, I must warn you now: I will most likely get very angry, and if I do, feel free to try and stop me. This is probably going to be bad." He looks perplexed by this, but he opens the door and prepares to stand at attention just outside of the door.

As I enter there is no doubt, this is my family. My sister, father and step-mother. I'll probably end up hurting someone. I look to my sister Claudette and see the wear and tear of heavy drug usage. I can't smell anything out of place and her arms appear fine, so for now at least she seems to be clean. This day just keeps getting better.

"Well look who decided to show up, my letter said eleven thirty, not noon dumb ass." 'Another lie right out the gate, this bodes well.' I think as the shrill voice of my sister permeates the room. The door closes and time begins to pass all too slowly.

"So, what do I owe this particularly lovely visit?"

"Simple, I am here to stop you from getting what you don't deserve. You've probably lied your way into every female you run across around here. Far as I can tell this is a paradise for a pervert like you that likes to use and toss away women at will."

"Wow, you really should learn that when you talk about yourself you use the word 'I' not 'you' Claudette."

"Look who thinks he is so witty, brandishing your lies to and fro. I bet they don't even know about that girl whose life you ruined by falsely proclaiming she drugged you. You even kept her from coming here to escape you and had her put back in jail long after her heavy sentence was done. I am here to right your wrongs and save this land from you."

"And here we go, always with your self righteous speeches; your damnations of me when you know the truth: I was the victim, not her, I am finally getting free of the chains she bound me with, the scars are finally healing and you come here to salt the wounds and reforge the chains. When will you just leave me alone. I don't know what your problem with me has been, but you already took everything from me once. I ask you to please, leave now, and never interfere in my life again."

"That is just what you would like huh? I bet you wormed your way straight into that so called 'princess's' bed haven't you. I saw your taint in her eyes, I feel sorry for that lovable princess, she couldn't be older than fifteen and yet she gets to feel your claws burrowing into her. Do you have no shame?"

"You really hate learning don't you? The princesses are, with the exception of Mi Amore Cadenza, over 1,000 years old, and she is happily married to Captain Shining Armor."

"A likely story, at least make them believable. We all know this is just some sick fantasy world you created to satisfy your sick carnal desires. I bet there are teenaged girls walking about pregnant in this world with you to blame, too far gone to realize you were using them."

"I am not playing this game Claudette. You can make up whatever stories you want but in the end all you care about is my sadness. Since coming here all I have done is to try and forget what you and that harpy did to me. Tell me, what did I do to you that was so bad that you would go to such lengths to destroy me?"

"Well there was the time you got me pregnant."

"Yes, I got you pregnant with Jones's kid. You are wonderfully blaming everything on me."

"Well you did kill that bully who made your elementary school days an absolute hell."

"Yes, let's ignore the fact that he is alive and well. He even apologized to me a few months back. Why don't you just leave me alone?" I say with a small amount of irritation in my voice.

"Why won't you just admit you are wrong."

"Because I refuse to lie."

"You lie constantly. Just like when you promised to take me to the amusement park."

"What are you talking about? That was dad, and he decided to get stoned instead because your friend convinced him it was a better idea. At least get your facts straight before you try and destroy my life."

"Hah, that is a lie. I remember the promise." She said as she left her seat and walked up to me. Placing her finger into my chest she continued. "I had recently been to Dana's house. When I came home you promised to take me as soon as I walked through the front door. From that day forth I knew you were a lying, cheating bastard. I decided to be nice and set you up with Mariana after that." That remark cracks the dam behind which lies everything I want to say to Claudette. Surely, I heard that wrong.

"You're telling me, you were at 'drug queen' Dana's house, where she loved to use mind altering substances on her house guests. The ones that you know cause memory distortions and brain damage."

"Um... yeah?"

Then she seems to finally get just what the fuck is going on. She backs up in shock as I grow more and more furious. I can see our father's eyes widening. Apparently he also got the full message. His wife is too stoned to care. A few moments later, the dam broke

"You fucking bitch!" I scream. I was done with the act, to hell with being civil. "You did all of this because of drugs, your own stupidity and a fucking amusement park? What the fuck is wrong with you? You ruined my life, destroyed everything I loved and held dear. I lost everything that ever mattered. I lost my job, my reputation, my friends, my family. I couldn't even go to my big brother's wedding. In the end, just to survive I had to go to an entirely different world. You took everything from me. Does it make you happy? To see me broiling in rage, barely keeping myself in check? I just got my life back, and I couldn't even thank the one that saved me because of you. Are you happy?"

"Well at least I am not fucking a damn horse!" With that remark I hit her, and I don't go for a weak blow either. I go all out and hit her in the face. She coughs up quite a bit of blood as she tries to get up.

"If you ever talk about my marefriend again, I will find you and make you wish I would leave you with a bloody nose. Now I am going to leave, I never want to see any of you ever again. If I see even a trace of you, I will beat you down and drag your sorry asses back to Earth. I hope I made myself clear. Because this conversation is over!" I storm out in a rush; I need some air. Opening the door I don't even bother to apologize to the crowd of ponies that had gathered to listen in, I have bigger things to be upset about. For hours I just wander around town. Going nowhere in particular. I just walk. Luna's night is now hanging over the city as a couple of pegasi guard stand before me; the princesses have requested my presence. 'Well, looks like you get your wish Claudette, after all of this, I certainly won't be happy for much longer. The time for my dreams, is over. You win.'