Songbird slowly felt the sense come back into her head as she arose from deep slumber. First, she felt her eyes rematerialize, followed by some vague sense of a skull. Then came her ears, which gently swiveled in search of sound, then her signature bushy mane. Then, the vague sense of a head that had started to awaken began to hurt, just a tiny bit, from all the festivity of the night before. Songbird groaned and shifted her body, which, along with the rest of her senses, sharply emerged back into the real world. She smiled as she stretched, taking stock of her situation and feeling the residual happiness from one epic celebration creep in from the edges of her mind.
The concert at the Festival of Friendship had been, in her humble opinion, one of her best performances ever. Perhaps the joyous relief of being free from the Storm King's clutches had gotten everypony riled up, but she was able to move the crowd last night like she couldn't believe. Songbird had felt pretty excited herself, and remembered generously offering Princess Twilight a place of honor at the afterparty, but the alicorn declined; after all that she'd been through, she wanted some quiet time with her friends after the concert, and Songbird understood that.
Maybe it was just as well that the princess hadn't attended, since while Songbird couldn't currently remember what all had happened at the afterparty, she certainly knew it was un-princess-like.
The popstar was surprised she had any sense in her head at all after all the cider, wine, and other beverages that had flowed into her cup the night before. As she sat up on her haunches and tussled the mane that enveloped what sense she had, she quickly realized two things: one, she was completely naked, her signature pink bow and starched black shirt tossed carelessly on the floor, and two, she had been lying flat on her back on a hardwood table.
"Well," she thought "I've probably fallen asleep in weirder places... but none come to mind."
As she scooched forward towards the edge of said table, she couldn't help but notice an odd feeling in her lower half. A quick glance down, followed by one to her left soon yielded the answer. Laying there, half in bed and half out, was the stallion with whom she'd spent the night. Songbird smiled and perhaps blushed a little as she remembered what had previously gone down on this table. They were both rather tipsy at the time, but to his credit, she thought he was quite good. Then again, she figured, any time you break a dry spell of several months, you're going to feel impressed afterwards. Either way, she had gotten her rocks off, and he had gotten the greatest "fan experience" of his life. She made a mental note to swing by the pharmacy before she left Canterlot that day.
As she got back on her hooves and slowly got dressed, the singer shook her head in amusement. None of this sort of behavior would ever fly for Songbird Serenade, Equestria's hit pop sensation...
...but fortunately, last night--and this morning--she wasn't Songbird Serenade, Equestria's hit pop sensation. She was just Songbird, a mare from Las Pegasus who had gotten noticed at just the right time to turn her special talent into a multimillion-bit career.
She was glad that she had managed to eke out time for herself amid all the glitz and glamor. Being as popular as she was didn't leave much time for a personal life; everypony, especially the paparazzi, was always asking where she was, what she was doing, obsessing over minor details in her life, or trying to find compromising moments to capture as photographs (she had framed the magazine clipping from when a friend's baby threw up on her.) Back when she was just starting her career as a somewhat shy, barely grown filly, she'd grown her mane out to cover her eyes, both to give a sense of privacy and to avoid making eye contact, which she would admit she still wasn't very good at. As it turned out though, this "signature look" only increased her mystique, and as she got older, coming into her own and overcoming her nerves, she decided to embrace it.
Still, a more permanent solution would be required than simply putting drapes over the windows to her soul. As her personal wealth grew from a meteoric ascent to stardom, Songbird decided she would use it to her advantage. When she signed the contract under which she currently operated, Songbird had made sure to include one stipulation on her part: that she could organize any after-event festivities she wished outside of official capacity, and that she would cover their cost with her own money. Basically, since she was paying to throw the parties herself as an individual, they wouldn't be "official" Songbird Serenade events where she had to keep up her "official" Songbird Serenade image. And, since they were private events, she had the right to exclude the press. By this point in her career, she was such an asset to the record label that they pretty much had to endorse her request if they wanted to keep her, and so, Songbird had been allowed to fly free after her concerts ever since.
After cleaning herself up and getting dressed, the little Pegasus trotted out of her suite, leaving a thank-you note on the pillow for her sleeping fling. She chuckled internally as she noted that it wasn't the weirdest thing she'd ever autographed. Eventually, she made it into the large ballroom attached to her lodgings that had been rented to host the event. The bill for this place, along with all the money spent on food, drinks, and gifts, had been steep. In fact, Songbird had sunk nearly 25,000 bits into this one party--not much of a dent for a pony as successful as her, thank Celestia, but still nothing to sneeze at. And she wouldn't make any of it back until her next concert: while she invited some ponies to attend for free, she sold tickets to the rest, with all the proceeds going to charity. Still, this was exactly how Songbird wanted it, and she was happy to see that so many had enjoyed her "little" get-together...
As a matter of fact, she noted, several of them were still here, asleep in various places in the ballroom.
DJ Pon-3, who'd provided instrumentals for the concert and was invited to perform at the afterparty, was asleep on her mixing table, snoring loudly. Songbird chuckled, imagining that if the turntable had been large enough to hold her, the unicorn would have happily slept on it as it spun her around. Across the room, one pony had fallen asleep in an empty barrel of cider, with another leaning against it, dozing upright on her hooves. While she couldn't remember their names, Songbird had remembered being introduced to them.
That was another thing Songbird enjoyed about these parties--she got to actually meet and spend time with her fans. As she silently glided through the room on the wing, she spotted several she remembered talking or dancing or drinking with the previous night: the pony who'd come all the way from Saddle Arabia to be here (snoozing in a corner by herself,) the two newlywed mares who were in Canterlot on their honeymoon (currently snuggled up together underneath a buffet table, sleeping like angels,) the bombastic stallion who'd ascended a table and started dancing for others' amusement (splayed out asleep on said table, much like Songbird had been,) and the nervous little Pegasus who'd told Songbird that her music helped her get through dark times in her life (passed out on the chandelier.)
The popstar landed near the other end of the room, careful to avoid empty bottles and sleeping ponies. As she regarded a bespectacled mare whom she remembered kissing in a game of 'spin the bottle', a gentle noise indicated the opening of a door. Looking up, she saw her bodyguards enter, whom she had respectfully told to take the night off last night.
"Miss Serenade." One of them said in a hushed tone.
"Morning, boys." She whispered with a respectful nod.
"We trust all went well last night?"
"Quite well." Songbird replied, puffing up her wings and giving a little coo at the thought of all that had happened.
The second guard stepped forward and presented his charge with a coffee cup. "We took the liberty of procuring your usual order from a local cafe."
"Thank you, boys." The Pegasus chuckled as she took the drink with her wings. "I'll be ready before terribly long, so go ahead and get the trailer ready. But please do have somepony see to it that all these ponies leave here safely. And let them know how much I appreciated their company last night."
"It will be done, Miss." The other guard replied with a nod.
"Simply come and find us when you are ready to start your day."
Songbird nodded and smiled, and the two guards left the room.
She soon found herself sitting on the balcony, watching the sun climb higher and sipping her coffee. The breeze was gentle and cooling upon her skin, and she spread her wings a little as it rushed through her feathers and her mane.
Songbird smiled. She loved her life--the performing, the appearances, the parties, and especially her fans--but the quiet time after all that might just have been her favorite part of it all. The time she took to reflect, to look back, and to anticipate the next event.
As the sunshine caressed her face and the wind filled her wings, she truly felt as free as a bird.