Chapter 2
Vinyl Scratch was freezing, but, that could be expected, as it was the middle of the night in early December. She stood on the balcony of the Ponyville public library, her goggles and a scarf wrapped up around her neck, looking up at the night sky. Full moon tonight, stars shining bright, and Vinyl Scratch could finally see them again. She heard the flutter of wings and let out a smile. “How’s it going Princess Luna?”
Luna landed softly on the balcony, giving the unicorn mare an odd look. “Aren’t you cold?” she asked.
“Freezing!” Vinyl said with a grin. “That’s okay though, cause what I’m looking at? It’s totally worth it.”
Princess Luna sat down beside her, raising an eyebrow in surprise at her. “Forgive me, I never took you to be the stargazing type.”
“That makes two of us!” Vinyl said with a grin. Her eyes shining brightly in the pale moon light, she turned her head back towards the sky, and gave it another smile. “You know? It’s such a simple thing, looking up at the night sky. Never really realise how much you miss it until you can’t look anymore. There are many things we take for granted... never knowing how much they mean to us until they’re long gone...”
“I didn’t have you pegged for the philosophical type either,” Princess Luna said with a smirk.
Vinyl Scratch grinned brightly at the princess of the night, taking a seat next to her. “I’m full of surprises, I regularly had discussions on life, the universe, and everything with my breakfast. Wasn’t exactly the brightest individual to speak with... but what can be expected from oatmeal?”
The two mares sat quietly for a time, watching the stars as they blinked and twinkled. Vinyl turned her head towards the younger princess and gave her a small smile. “So, what’s your reason for coming out here this evening?”
Princess Luna gave her a shrug. “Who said there had to be a reason?”
Vinyl Scratch deadpanned her.
“I wanted to make sure that you were okay... considering everything that happened at the Bridge over the St. Germain,” Luna admitted.
“You know about all that?” Vinyl said, raising an eyebrow in surprise. No one knew what Whirlwind had done there outside of her and Twilight’s friends. They had decided it would be best to keep it quiet for now, the last thing that they wanted was a panic, and under the right conditions, Ponyville was a powder keg for such.
“I have many informants,” Princess Luna said cryptically, making it clear that she would offer no further explanations.
“How long have you been having me followed?” Vinyl asked.
“I’m not having you followed, Vinyl. You’re my friend... for some reason,” Princess Luna said, rolling her eyes and adding a small smirk. “I don’t spy on my friends. I was having the bridge watched. The master archive is too important to not pay attention to it.”
“But... Legion destroyed it!” Vinyl said.
“Vinyl... please, you can’t destroy the master archive,” Princess Luna said simply. “It’s far too big, all Legion destroyed was an access point to it. There are others.”
“Where?” Vinyl asked.
“The only other one that I know of is located under the Cossack city of Fetlevostok,” Luna said. “There are others, but as to their locations, I haven’t the faintest idea.”
Vinyl nodded her head in understanding. She respected Princess Luna far more than any of her other siblings that she had met, probably for the simple reason that all five of them had tried to kill her and her friends in the past. Luna was different; she truly had her subject’s best interests at heart. Vinyl Scratch considered herself lucky to have her as a friend and ally.
“Hey, you’re never going to guess who is staying the night here!” Vinyl said enthusiastically.
“I’m not good at guessing games... why don’t you just tell me?” Luna said, rolling her eyes in mock annoyance.
“Pips Domino!” Vinyl said with a grin.
Princess Luna’s eyes snapped to attention, had her head turned any faster she might have suffered from whiplash. “You are joking, clearly, you are joking!”
“Well... while I do love a good joke, this time, I’m totally serious!” Vinyl said.
Princess Luna’s mouth dropped wide open; she too was a Pips Domino fan. Where she not concerned with waking the sleeping individuals of Ponyville, she would have let out a squeal in excitement. Instead she mimicked the quiet cheering that one would expect from Fluttershy.
“Would... would you introduce us!?” Princess Luna gasped in excitement.
“No! Back off! He’s mine!” Vinyl said, adopting a serious look about her face. She couldn’t contain herself and broke down giggling in ten seconds flat. “Of course I would! Pips would love to know that he’s still got fans!”
Luna cocked her head in confusion, prompting Vinyl to explain, she figured that Princess Luna probably didn’t pay as close attention to the pop music scene as she did world events.
“Pips is getting up there in years, so is the majority of his fan base,” Vinyl said with a shrug. “His popularity’s been slowly supplanted by younger talent like Sapphire Shores. It happens. The height of Pips Domino popularity was thirty years ago. In showbiz? The only road is downhill.”
Vinyl Scratch understood this significantly. Even now, her own fame and popularity in the music scene was dwindling, of course, the difference being, Vinyl Scratch couldn’t care less. Fame had ruined her as a person. Money had turned her into a monster. As far as she was concerned, she had enough money stashed away from shows, and selling off her excess property, and royalties from the few albums she had produced. She could live comfortably for the rest of her life. Music had been her special talent. Yes, but what happened when your special talent ruins you?
Princess Luna could tell that Vinyl Scratch had again lost herself in thought. The unicorn mare was far too hard on herself. She placed a hoof on her shoulder and gave her a polite smile.
“I’ll come back in the morning and you can introduce me to Pips Domino!” Luna said with a smile. “You, on the other hoof look like you could use a break from the cold and some sleep.”
Vinyl Scratch nodded, and rose from her seat on the balcony and trotted back towards the door.
“Vinyl Scratch?” Princess Luna asked.
“Yessssss?” Vinyl said, elongating the syllable and turning her head back around slowly, as if she were some noir drama character.
“What happened at the St. Germain wasn’t your fault, don’t beat yourself up over it,” Princess Luna said.
“I don’t, it could have happened to anypony right?” Vinyl said, giving the princess a small smile. “Goodnight Luna.”
Vinyl Scratch opened the door and quietly trotted back inside, trying not to wake Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.
Vinyl Scratch was a liar.
...
Twilight Sparkle rubbed her eyes sleepily as she ate her breakfast, consisting of a bowl of oatmeal and a mug of coffee. As one could probably expect of the lavender unicorn, she was caffeine dependant.
Vinyl Scratch poked her head inside the kitchen, grinning brightly at her housemate and trotted over to her. “Good morning Sunshine! Sleep well?” She asked as she made herself a bowl of oatmeal.
Twilight said nothing, and lifted another spoonful of it into her mouth.
“I for one, slept great, that sofa of yours? I don’t know where you got it, but it’s really comfortable!” Vinyl said.
“It was already here when I got here...” Twilight mumbled, lifting the cup of coffee to her muzzle and taking a sip.
Rainbow Dash trotted in to the kitchen next, yawning loudly and pouring herself a cup of coffee from the pot. “Vinyl Scratch? How is it even possible that you’re a morning pony?”
“A month on a ship to South Island, and a month back!” Vinyl said with a grin, being louder than she needed to be. “Does wonders for you! I love waking up early!”
“Vinyl Scratch?” Twilight said with annoyance in her voice. “Believe me when I say that I mean this lovingly. ‘Shut up and eat your oatmeal.’”
Vinyl only grinned at them. She was so glad to have her friends back. The more Vinyl thought about it, yeah, she had wished that Legion hadn’t been created, but with Twilight and Rainbow Dash at her side, she knew they had a fighting chance.
“You know, speaking of South Island, you’ll never guess who I ran into there?” Vinyl said, she had originally decided to keep quiet about her trip to South Island, since nothing that she would talk about would have had any meaning to Twilight and Rainbow without their old world memories, Now that they had them...
“Benjamin Willoughby! And he remembered me!” Vinyl said.
Twilight set her spoon back into the bowl. “How?”
“Well...” Vinyl said. “It all goes back to that artefact that was sent to you...”