The sun hung low in the skies over Ponyville, having just risen from its rotational nap. Its rays shined over the snow and ice wreathed town, making it sparkle like a thousand glittering diamonds. It was a spectacle that few bore witness to. And even less appreciated.
The sun hurts.
Those were the words metaphorically vomited up from the depths of Vinyl’s brain. Those pitiful words were all her mind could muster after the events of the previous night. And for once in her life, the blame did not rest solely on her late partying or the copious amounts of questionable liquids and solids she had ingested during said partying.
Her gorge rose at the very thought of eating, her stomach roiling in threat of forcing her to do some literal vomiting.
Vinyl blinked crusty eyes and tried to focus through the early morning pain. She was sitting in a chair, a table in front of her. On the table, sitting upon a very neat little square of cloth, was an empty white plate, an equally empty glass cup, and a set of properly arranged silverware.
Vinyl blinked again. The subtle crackle and pop of cooking bacon reached her ears, accompanied by soft humming. The smell of the frying meat wafted over to her. Normally the scent would have set her mouth watering. All it did at that moment was make her feel sicker.
It was rather difficult to look forward to food when you knew what it went through.
Swallowing back bile, Vinyl shifted her bleary eyes across the table. There sat Octavia. Her mane was washed and brushed, shining silkily in the morning sun. Her coat was clean and fresh, her eyes focused and sharp. Her collar and bow tie were in their proper places, as prim and proper as the rest of her. Looking at her, you would never think she had spent the night sitting in a scalie’s gut.
“Vinyl,” Octavia said softly, a look of concern on her face. “Are you feeling okay?”
Vinyl grunted in response.
“You know,” said a tickling voice from behind her. “You might feel better if you had something to eat.”
Vinyl gagged loudly, fore hooves covering her mouth. Across from her, Octavia flinched back. Her reaction was almost funny, in a nauseating kind of way.
“Vinyl, you really ought to see a doctor.” Octavia said, getting out of her chair. “Here, I can take you.”
Vinyl tried shaking her head, but Octavia was having none of it. She pulled Vinyl from her seat, leaning the Unicorn on her shoulder and walking her out of the kitchen.
“She’s not sick, is she?” the owner of the tickling voice asked. “She was inside me, you know.”
Vinyl lurched forward, chewing on whatever she had shoved down her throat the night before. Octavia flinched away, nearly causing Vinyl to fall over.
Somehow, Vinyl managed to stay on her hooves and stumble to the first floor bathroom. The toilet seat was up, which suited Vinyl just fine. She spat her mouthful of half-digested club food into the water and waited for the rest of it to follow.
Whether that was all her stomach held or Celestia had decided to smile upon her, Vinyl didn’t know, but nothing more came up. Vinyl closed her mouth and, in a flash of morbid curiosity, looked into the bowl. Funny, she didn’t remember eating carrots. Sighing, Vinyl closed the toilet lid and flushed, staggering over to the sink to wash out her mouth.
“Vinyl?” Octavia said timidly, poking her head around the doorframe. “Are you okay?”
Vinyl shot her a look that clearly said ‘What the fuck do you think?’
Octavia sighed and came fully into view, shifting her fore hooves nervously.
“I… I’m sorry about all this. I know Val can come on a little… strong.”
Vinyl paused in her unscrewing of the mouthwash bottle to raise an eyebrow.
“Oh, r-right,” Octavia blushed and rubbed the back of her head, staring at the floor. “You have no idea who that is.”
Vinyl rolled her eyes and began guzzling.
“I met her a few weeks ago.” Octavia explained as Vinyl swished the minty liquid around her mouth. “O-online, that is.”
Vinyl spat into that sink and raised both her eyebrows. Octavia, talking to strangers? On the internet?
“In was in a chat room. A, um, special chat room,” The blush on Octavia’s cheeks deepened.
Vinyl couldn’t help but grin a little. Pervert.
“We were messaging back and forth for a while. And when she said she was going to be in town for business, I invited her over.” Octavia swallowed and looked up at Vinyl. “I was going to tell you, but you left before I had the chance and, well, I kind of thought you would be out all night.”
Vinyl shrugged, wiping her lips on the little towel beside the sink. And for a moment, Octavia’s blush faded.
“Vinyl, those towels aren’t for-”
Vinyl loudly cleared her throat.
Octavia stopped and shuffled her hooves. “W-well… I was going to do laundry later anyway. The state of my sheets.”
Vinyl shuddered and moved past Octavia and into the living room. She plopped herself down on the couch, folding her hooves on the armrest and laying her head on them. Octavia followed her, but didn’t sit, instead standing in the middle of the room.
“Vinyl-” Octavia began, before being cut off by a shout from the kitchen.
“Is she okay?” the scalie, Val, presumably, called out.
Octavia glanced over her shoulder and then back to Vinyl, a frown on her lips. “Are you okay?”
Vinyl shrugged.
Octavia rolled her eyes. “She’s fine,” she called back.
“Ah, that’s good,” Val replied, followed by “Breakfast is done.”
Octavia looked to Vinyl with a questioning eyebrow raised. Vinyl didn’t reply, but she could practically feel herself turn green.
“I think she’ll pass,” Octavia answered, turning around and heading back to the kitchen. Vinyl watched her go, wondering if the sensual sway in Octavia’s hips was for her or the scalie.
She grimaced and squeezed her eyes shut as another wave of pain washed over her. The pain passed and Vinyl slowly opened her eyes again. Honestly, it probably was a good idea to eat something, settle her stomach and partway follow the instructions on the side of the pill bottle. However, if she did drag herself off the couch and stumble back into the kitchen, she’d have to face the scalie.
It wasn’t that Vinyl had any sort of prejudice against scalies. Some of her best friends were scalies. But all Vinyl could think about when she saw her was a giant maw, filled with teeth, followed by a hot, squeezing throat, and a wet darkness born from her nightmares.
“Hey,” said a soft voice, pulling Vinyl from her unpleasant daydream. Vinyl looked to the source of the voice, seeing the sca- Val standing there. Or coiled there. Or whatever.
Seeing her now, in the daylight and a frilly striped apron, she definitely seemed less intimidating. Although, if Vinyl had to guess, she was probably naked under that apron.
“Um…” Val began, folding her hands and fidgeting. “I just wanted to… apologize for last night. I kinda thought that you were, you know… into it.”
Vinyl raised an eyebrow.
Val chuckled nervously, tugging at the neck of the apron. “I know I should have asked, but, well, Octavia mentioned she had a roommate. When we were on the chat.”
Vinyl nodded.
“And during one of our, ah, sessions-”
An image of Octavia flashed through Vinyl mind: collar undone, bowtie hanging from it, sitting in front of her computer with one hoof on the keyboard and another- Vinyl shook her head, trying to refocus on what Val was saying.
“-and that was one of her… fantasies. So when I saw you at the door, I thought you were in on the whole thing.” Val swallowed. “Guess I should have checked, just to be safe. Sorry.”
Vinyl blinked a few times, digesting what Val had said. And then trying to shake away the though of being digested herself. Eventually, her mind settled.
“It okay, I shouldn’t have been spying on you two in the first place.” Vinyl said, her voice hoarse from the morning’s events.
Val seemed surprised. “Oh… uh, it’s okay.”
Vinyl just nodded and looked past Val and into the kitchen, seeing Octavia sitting there enjoying her breakfast. She looked back to Val, feeling decidedly less uneasy in her presence.
“I think I’ll take that food now, if that’s alright.”
“Oh, of course,” Val replied, turning around and slithering back into the kitchen. Vinyl couldn’t help but look. Yep, bare as a babe. Vinyl could see why Octavia liked her.
Vinyl got back in her seat, happy to see her plate hadn’t been moved. Val served a hearty helping of eggs and bacon onto the plate before taking the remainder to her own seat at the table. Octavia smiled as Vinyl grabbed the carton of orange juice and began filling her glass.
“I’m glad you decided to join us, Vinyl.” the cellist said softly, daintily eating her eggs.
“Glad to be here,” Vinyl replied, staring in on her own eggs. Her brain insisted of bringing up images of the night before, but Vinyl soldiered on. She watched Octavia carefully, waiting for just the right moment.
Octavia had just taken a swig of her own orange juice when Vinyl chose to strike.
“So, Val tells me you fantasize about eating me,”
Octavia’s eyes bulged and she lurched forward, spraying her mouthful an impressive distance. Val started thumping her chest, trying to force down whatever she was choking on.
Vinyl knew that once they both calmed down, she’d catch hell for this. But for the moment, she merely sat there, a big smile on her lips, and Octavia’s juice dripping off her face.