//------------------------------// // Is... // Story: Time Enough For Wub // by CoffeeMinion //------------------------------// It wasn’t long before Vinyl’s stomach asserted its need for food in no uncertain terms. The better part of an hour was lost to Nova fussing in the kitchen, either preparing food from Vinyl’s dubious reserves, or cleaning up after another of the succession of items she craved. For her part, when she wasn’t devouring his latest creation, she was sitting heavily upon the stool, sprawling her forelegs across the bar, and staring off into nothing. “I drank the bottle,” Vinyl said, dropping the statement like a beat into the silence. “I noticed,” Nova said, scrubbing at a plate in the sink. She raised her head and tried to fix her gaze on him. “You don’t get it. With the bottle gone, it’s over. Now I can’t go back. Not even if I wanted to.” She snorted. “Like I’d want to.” Nova looked at her. “You seem to say things like that quite a lot. If I didn’t know better, which I don’t, I’d say you were trying to convince yourself of it, more than me.” “Why should I go back? I’ve got… y’know, the job of my dreams, this sweet apartment…” A laugh broke out in her midsection, but it faltered, and she started coughing. “Random old dudes crashing in my pad...” “I know you keep saying that, but I’m not that old,” Nova said, first smiling, then frowning. “At least, I’m pretty sure I’m not.” “Hey, whatever, bro. You seem all right. Last dude I had over was the kind of jerk who wouldn’t even stay for breakfast.” Nova’s frown deepened. “I hope you're being careful with the company you keep. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for your hospitality; but rushing in carelessly can lead to regrets. Not everypony is who they seem to be.” “Pssh, now you even sound like Octy: boringness personified.” She waved a hoof at him. “Go on, tell me something interesting about yourself. Anything you can remember. Doesn’t matter what.” He set a plate down in the sink, then washed and dried his forehooves, visibly stalling for time. “I think I came here to look for somepony. I think… I’m mad at them. I mean, I don’t just feel mad sitting here, of course, but I think they did something worth being mad about.” Vinyl grinned. “So you’re some kinda private investigator, eh? Maybe you got too close to someone you were tailing, and they jumped you.” He shook his head. “That doesn’t sound right. Not that I can pick out the wrong bits, of course. Just… whoever it is, they’re powerful. Dangerous, even. And I have to stop them.” Silence fell upon the conversation. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking away from her. “Whatever I’m mixed up in, it doesn’t have to be your problem. I can just go.” “No way, bro. You opened the bottle. This is bigger than both of us now.” Nova chuckled. “You can be a bit impulsive, you know.” “I don’t see you complaining.” “I suppose not. No, I’m very, very lucky that you found me, and that you’ve taken me even a little bit seriously.” He gave her a warm smile. “And that you didn’t try to kill me when I opened your bottle.” “Octy’s bottle,” Vinyl said automatically. “Of course.” The wine wore off sometime in the early morning hours. Vinyl slumped even harder in her seat, cradling her head and groaning. “That can happen when you overdo it, you know,” Nova said. Vinyl gave him an obscene gesture with her forelegs. “Thanks for the advice, Dad.” She felt pressure on the sides of her head, then watched as Nova used his forehooves to bring her head up to his eye level. She studied his eyes and blushed a bit from the close distance. They were nice eyes, she decided; maybe she could go as high as a seven just for those. He tilted his head back and forth, seeming to examine her. “Now I don’t remember much, but I do think I was pretty good with magic, and I think I know something to help with this, if you trust me.” “Lay it on me,” she said, grinning. Nova rolled his eyes, but smiled. He lit his horn, but the glow soon became much brighter than she expected. Sparks of power surged and danced around it. Vinyl felt a pang of uncertainty. “Uh, bro… what are you—?” He leaned his head forward, and an arc of white light jumped between their horns. Vinyl jerked back, going rigid. A sensation like cold fire danced across her brain. She overbalanced on her seat, but Nova’s grip on her head kept her from falling. The feeling ended all at once, and she slumped forward again, panting. She looked up at him, prepared to tell him off, but paused as she realized how clear her head was again. Instead she smiled and cuffed him with a forehoof. “Dude, that was awesome! You gotta teach me how to do that!” Nova laughed and set his forehooves down. “Well, don’t get too impressed; I’m pretty sure the effects of that spell are temporary. The real cure for too much wine is a mix of getting some food—which you’ve done—and some water, followed by a lot of coffee. You don’t have any of that, do you? I couldn’t find any.” Vinyl stuck her tongue out. “I used to make it myself, but it never came out how I like it. I figure, why bother trying when I can just buy it at the place a few streets over, and they’re open all night anyway, and it always tastes good?” “It probably won’t make me sound less old if I guess it costs a lot more to go buy it each time than to make it yourself, will it?” “Not even a chance,” she said, laughing. They set out for the coffee shop amid the morning’s early street-lit hours. Vinyl led them on a well-known route, which let her focus on watching Nova’s reaction to the city around them. He stared upward with wide eyes and a muzzle that was scrunched tight. “First time in the city, pops?” He blinked, shaking his head. “I’ve seen cities before, but not such sprawling works of brick and glass. It feels almost… unnatural, compared to what I’ve known.“ She laughed. “Heh, some private investigator. You must be from some dinky little place like Ponyville.” Nova stopped. “What did you say?” Vinyl stopped as well, and turned to face him. “I said you must be from some nowhere town if you—” “No. No, the name you said.” She furrowed her brow. “What, do you mean Ponyville?” An unreadable look crossed his face. “That name sounds familiar.” “Well, yeah, how couldn’t it? Everything these last few years with Nightmare Moon, and Princess Twilight, and the Elements, and bugbears… I tell ya, Octy said that I was crazy to leave, but I think she’s the crazy one, staying.” Nova blinked. His breathing deepened. His stance widened, and he looked down at the ground, eventually holding a hoof up to his head. “What’d I say?” Vinyl asked. “It’s all right,” Nova said, wincing. “I just... “ He met Vinyl’s eyes, and his hard expression softened. “Don’t we still need to get you some coffee?” She pointed a hoof at him. “Don’t do that.” “What?” “That.” She frowned. “Not telling me. Just looking at me like I’m some doofus who can’t handle whatever it is. Because I can!” “I’m sorry.” He raised a hoof toward her shoulder, but stopped and set it back down. “There’s still so much I don’t remember, but I’m quite sure it’s a lead.” He frowned. “Please, let’s get some coffee. I need to clear my head.” “All right, if you say so. There it is.” A warm, thick scent of roasting coffee overtook them as they pushed through the heavy wood and glass door of the coffee shop. A dull mechanical roaring sound from the backroom accompanied it. Vinyl led Nova past rows of empty tables that shone in the electric light. They stopped at the checkout counter at the back of the shop, and then she lit her horn and pulled out her wallet. “Drinks are on me, bro. What’re you having?” He looked up at the chalkboard hanging above the counter. After a few moments of reading, he frowned. “What does any of this mean?” Vinyl rolled her eyes, then pantomimed with her forehooves. “Typical old guy. ‘Hurr, what are all these fancy frou-frou drinks? I just want to have my coffee!’” Nova chuckled at her. “Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m as adventurous as the next fellow. Possibly moreso. I’ve just never heard of a coffee shop serving ‘turtles,’ and what on earth is a ‘vanilla mocha?’” “Oh, that’s me!” a voice called from nearby. A door at the side of the room opened and a white unicorn mare with a brown mane and green eyes stepped out from the backroom. “Sorry I didn’t hear you come in; I have the roasters going.” “No worries,” Vinyl said. “Nilly, hook us up with your specialty.” A few minutes later, they each levitated their steaming cream-colored beverages to a nearby table and sat opposite each other. Nova leaned over and gave his a sniff. “So this is the vanilla one?” Vinyl grinned. “Go on, it isn’t gonna bite you.” He took an experimental sip, smacked his lips together twice, then smiled. “Well, I’ll be. That’s pretty good, for being mostly milk.” She shook her head. “You really aren’t from around here, are you?” “It seems not. As I think about it, I suspect I’m rather more inclined to travel than to stay in any one place for long.” “Well that’s cool, at least. Me and Octy never could see eye-to-eye on that. She has to tour with her orchestra sometimes, but she always hated doing it.” “Ah,” he said, smiling. “I take it you enjoy the road?” Vinyl took a quick pull from her mocha. “I’ve… never made it that far with my music. I dunno. Manehattan was a step, I guess, but I’m kinda still getting… ‘established.’” He reached a hoof toward hers, but then paused, and set it back down on the table. “It’s all right. Sometimes it takes time to reach our goals.” “Ugh, you sound so much like her.” Vinyl lit her horn, raised her headphones from her neck, and floated them over to him. “Here, put this on. I’ll play ya some of my stuff. Maybe we’ll see if you at least have better taste than she did.” Nova frowned as he studied the headphones. But a few moments later he lit his horn and put them on. “All right, what do I—” She flicked them on with her magic, and he startled. Vinyl grinned and bobbed her head instinctively, reliving in her mind the experience of listening to the track she’d put on for him. It started out with rapid-fire chugs on a guitar before a heavy, funky beat kicked in. Nova looked at her with furrowed brows. “Is it supposed to be this loud?” he shouted. Vinyl nodded. Nova started to bob his head a little. “This is interesting,” he said, looking into her eyes. “It’s so… chaotic. Powerful. Almost… destructive.” Vinyl laughed. “I like stuff that amplifies my feeling, even when I’m on the down and out. Just feel it to the full, you know?” Nova froze. He stared at seemingly nothing. He started sweating, and his nostrils flared. Vinyl felt a pang of disappointment as she watched his eyes grow harder. “So, uh… I guess it’s not your thing, huh?” Nova’s mouth worked without making a sound. He brought his gaze back toward her, but the look on his face wasn’t one of dissatisfaction. His mouth and eyes were wide, and his pupils had shrunk considerably. Vinyl lit her horn and turned the headphones off. He slowly raised a hoof, removed them, and gave them back to her. “I think… your music… helped me to remember something.” “Okay, cool…?” He shook his head. “I need to go.” Vinyl’s jaw fell. “Wait, you… what?” He looked away. “I saw… something unthinkable. The end of everything. And I need to go somewhere, and… I think it best if you don’t follow me.” “No.” She stamped a hoof and frowned at him. “No, no, you don’t just get to drop into my life, and open Octy’s bottle, and then run out, and leave me wondering what it was all about.” Nova pressed his eyes shut. “It’s not how you deserve to be repaid for your kindness. Especially if I've opened up old wounds.” He looked over at the window, and the lamplit streets beyond. “The life you have here is amazing, though. You don’t deserve to have that jeopardized.” “What in the actual buck are you talking about?!” “I need to get to Ponyville.” Vinyl blinked. “Why Ponyville?” “I wish I knew exactly. But just now, the piece I saw… I think the only way to stop what’s going to happen is if I get there.” “Okay, so when you get there, what are you going to do?” Nova’s shoulders sagged. “I don’t know.” Vinyl poked him with a hoof. “And how come you don’t think I’d want to go?” “I can’t know what I’m going to find there. And besides, from everything you’ve said about this ‘Octy,’ I assumed…” “You don’t know anything. The bottle’s gone now. It’s not gonna sit there staring at me when I get home too late, or if I forget to clean stuff up, or…” She waved her hoof, wracking her brain for another example. “I dunno. It’s really over now! Like, really for real.” Nova raised his hoof toward her again, but hesitated. “I’m so sorry…” She grimaced. “Would you just touch me if you’re going to?!” He drew back for a moment, but then composed himself and placed his hoof on hers. “All right, then, Vinyl. I’m sorry.” “Yeah, me too,” she said, savoring the warmth of his hoof for a moment before rising up and hugging him over the table.