The Things Tavi Says

by shortskirtsandexplosions

Arranging Things

Author's Note:

Beau sips... glugs at his bottle of cider... then slaps the container onto the table top.

He exhales, stifles a belch, and smiles at me. "Okay. I just gotta ask." His eyes narrow. "Where in Goddess' name did ya get ahold of them samples, girl?" He raises an eyebrow. "And how in Tartarus did ya build up the nerve to so much as listen to them again?!"

I smile coyly, sitting across from him in the table. I twirl around my bottle of Dr. Pony. Behind us, the lengths of the Havaneigh Club lay empty. A few lone workers mill about, sweeping up the dance floor between the stage and where the two of us sit.

"I always figured that... y'know..." The zebra shrugs. "You were dead set on destroying every existing copy of that thang." He fights another urge to belch, pointing my way. "Mrmmff... but now you're makin' mixes out of them? I mean... dayum... they blow my mohawk clean off! But it's just so... so..."

I roll my eyes while circling a hoof in the air beside my ear.

"Exactly!" He chuckles. "You never fail to surprise me, V. Is this... is this an entire set?"

I nod.

"An album?"

I nod even more fervently.

"How and where...?" His striped brow furrows. "You weren't in Ponyville the last time I wrote."

I look apologetic.

"Hey. It's in the past." He waves a hoof. "Say..." He squints. "Were you working with Simon Neighs? I saw the dude in passing and he seemed really nervous at the sight of me. Figured he knew somethin' I didn't."

I shake my head. Then—on a napkin between us—I write a name and pivot it about for him to read.

Beau's eyes light up. "Capricorn?! Hah! So you two made up!"

I smile, winking.

"Well, that's alright!" He leans back, forelimbs folded as he chuckles. "Seems like yer shapin' up in more ways than one, girl! I... I almost wonder how I was ever worried."

I exhale. A magenta cloud spreads between us as I brush a hoof back, toying with my long locks.

"Gotta say. I dig the new look." He smirks, swirling the cider in his bottle. "It is a new look, isn't it?"

I shrug. With a soft smile, I draw on the napkin between us again.

His eyes dart down, then back up. "Well, what are you waiting for? I'm sure your old publishers in Manehattan will lose their collective manure over this." He points. "I ain't kiddin', V. That track you played? That was starlight in a bottle. If you have a dozen or so similar tracks just like that, you're gonna take Equestria by storm. I mean... I..." He chuckles. "I just haven't felt this jazzed in ages!" His hooves gesture. "DJ-P0N3 is back! She's back and the music world's gonna tremble!"

I shake my head.

"No...?"

I write seven characters on the napkin between us. I underline the last one, then circle the entire word for emphasis.

He blinks. "Huh..." He smirks slowly. "Yeah... aww yeah..." He nods, teeth showing. "I like it! Pretty darn poetic, if you ask me." A gulp. "Not to mention marketable. It'll be a statement, that's for sure."

I nod.

"So... are ya gonna take it on tour before publishing? Hype it up?"

I lean back in my seat. After a few breaths, I tap my chin, then write on the last available space across the napkin. I swivel it towards him.

"... ... ..." He looks at me. In a soft tone, he murmurs, "Have... have you even seen her since...?"

I'm already shaking my head.

He gulps. "It's... eheh..." Beau clears his throat. "I'm totally on board, of course! You can count on me, girl. But... but do you honestly think it's gonna draw her out of hiding?"

I swallow a lump down my throat, then nod towards him.

"Like how?" He blinks... and then he smirks devilishly. "You've got a plan, don't ya, V?"

There's a sparkle in my eye. I'm sure of it.

Of course I have a plan.

I stare down at the scribbled lines on the napkin.

But first...

...I have to make a final comeback.

Comments

[arancaytar]

"Capricorn?! Hah! So you two made up!"

I smile, winking.

If I were him, I'd definitely draw some hasty conclusions from that wink.

I write seven characters on the napkin between us. I underline the last one, then circle the entire word for emphasis.

Seven characters (not seven letters), the last of which is important... is she changing the "3" in DJ-P0N3 to something else?

[lyricaldownygazebo]

starlight in a bottle

i like that and it just gave me an idea for a OC! TY
And amazing as always btw

[La Barata]

Awwwwwww yee.

Shit's shaping up.

[Doctor Fluffy]

6801035 Octaves?

[Nyxian]

HHNNNNNNNNNNNG. Damn you and your cliffhangers.

[fourths]

I don't know a lot of these songs you pick, but a band I'm in actually covered this one.

[Lightning Bearer]

Back to Ponyville?

[MidnightReflection]

We're so close to a resolution you can almost smell it.

[DJPurple3]

6801035 Potatoe.

[Vadrigar1994]

Wait, was it revealed before that Beau is a Zebra? Did I miss that, or was it intentionally not stated what species he is?

[Noble Cause]

Oh man... we just have to hope...

[The Organism]

6801035 Foozogz?

lol referencing the music artist

[RainythePegasus_Archive]

6801328 he is a zebra

[Xx_StarlightShadow_xX]

Oh gods. The next chapter is a make or break for my feels

[pahnazd]

And it's slowly coming together. Those two together can achieve anything, even getting Tavi back

[Seraphimus]

6801227 Yes

[Nyperold]

A final comeback? More like a... VINYL comeback.

[KalAllBea]

I want to say thank you for writing this. I've been hit with the hardest challenge of my life, I was finally going somewhere and I met a woman who I fell madly in love with. Like any good thing in life, there was trouble. My pride and delusions lead to what could have been a great life and a great family into a shameful wreck. And it struck me how similar Vinyl is to myself in this situation, thinking the noble thing to do was the best thing for her and Octavia, and it only led to devastation. And how she has to find herself in her past to make herself right, not her relationship with Octavia. Much like I am trying to do. And it struck me that the only kind of person who can write that is someone who has at least seen it if not lived it. And I'm sorry that the world can be so cruel. But thank you, from the bottom of my heart for writing it. Even if it ends differently than my life's path, I still appreciate. There has never been a truer story to my life before and I thank you for writing it.

[Shortsighted Fan]

6801035
Octavia
DJ-SINGS

I got nothing.

[TwelveFoot]

6801328 I know stripes were mentioned. I think it actually said zebra.

[TwelveFoot]

6801035 6801029 Based on the surrounding dialog it's a name change of some sort. I was trying to make Cyan-p0n3 or something fit, but I think Arancaytar is on to something. She's changing the 3 in her stage name. Then it occurred to me why, its because she's no longer 3 ponies, for so long she had 3 separate sections of her life Cyan, Vinyl, and Pon3. Now she's blended them into 1. So my bets on DJ-Pon1 with a 1/i instead of a 3/e.

"DJ-P0N3 is back! She's back and the music world's gonna tremble!"
I shake my head.
"No...?"
I write seven characters on the napkin between us. I underline the last one, then circle the entire word for emphasis.

He blinks. "Huh..." He smirks slowly. "Yeah... aww yeah..." He nods, teeth showing. "I like it! Pretty darn poetic, if you ask me." A gulp. "Not to mention marketable. It'll be a statement, that's for sure."

[arancaytar]

6802237

I was thinking of "V", but this idea fits much better.

[Dustchu]

Hmm... I am quite curious as to the name change... hmm... :| I got nothing, hehe.

BNice chapter~