The three of them gathered around the table as if they planned for a war. Naturally, tea had been provided for the ponies, and Octavia sipped lightly at hers as they finally settled in. “You know I’m always happy to have you over, Octavia, but I have to admit, I never expect to see you this late,” Fancy admitted with a good natured chuckle. “If it’s not too much, perhaps you’d be kind enough to explain why you’re here?” The stallion glanced between the two mares as he asked the question, letting either of the two answer.
The two shared a look, one that Octavia recognized as Vinyl pleading for her to take the lead. With a silent nod, she acquiesced. She did know Fancy better, after all. “The two of us went out tonight, like we often do. It was something of a date, you see. But, when the two of us came home, my house had been vandalized. My windows were broken, and a big, red X had been painted-”
“Wasn’t paint,” Vinyl mumbled, looking down at her own lap. “Blood, not paint.”
Octavia paused, blinking in confusion and giving herself a quick moment to regain her bearings before continuing. “Well, blood it was, then. Regardless, I think you can understand why we couldn’t stay there. Frankly, you were the first pony I thought of. I’ve always trusted you and I hope we can find solace in your house. Of course, I also perfectly understand if you’d prefer to keep trouble off your doorstep, I get that it’s something of a problem.”
Octavia glanced down once she’d finished her words, inclining her head in something close to subservience, the polite way to ask a favor of someone knighted. Out of the corner of her eye, Octavia could see Fancy wave his hoof, dismissing the gesture offhand. “You can stay here for as long as you need. Octavia, you are my friend and I care for you a great deal. And any friend of yours is a friend of mine. Both of you will always be welcome in my home,” Fancy assured her.
The words lit up Octavia’s spirits, letting her smile more readily and lifting her up enough to shoot a comforting glance Vinyl’s way. Fear and worry gripped her heart, but that didn’t mean she should treat her friends badly, right?
“I do, however, need to know what’s going on. I believe I heard you asking the same question, didn’t I, Octavia?” he asked, looking towards the gray mare again.
“Well, yes. We were just about to talk about that. I asked earlier, but Vinyl mentioned that it would not be safe to talk about outside. I think that Fancy’s kindness and my love deserve answers, don’t you, dear?” She asked.
Finally, the attention fell on Vinyl, and Octavia could see clear as day she hadn’t been looking forward to that. She even gulped, stereotypical as could be, almost movie-esque but absolutely there.
“I, um,” she began, apparently finding it difficult to get the right words. “My parents have some bad connections. You know, ponies like the mob, that sort of thing. They’ve never really been too involved until a couple years ago,” she began. The mare took a small pause, enough to swallow again and fidget again in her seat. She still looked down, but at least now she seemed a bit more comfortable
“When I turned thirteen, things started to get pretty bad. My dad isn’t like, a fuckin’ don or anything, but he had started to get pretty high up. Anyways, my parents wanted me to start getting involved in the family business, right? Like, what the fuck’s with that? I was thirteen, all I wanted to do was bang on my piano and stuff.” Vinyl sniffled and shook her head, tears already stinging at the edges of her eyes.
“The thing is, they didn’t really start slow. They called the first thing a test of loyalty or something like that. My mom tried to make it seem okay, like it would be real fast and then no more problems ever again, but I could tell by the way dad looked at me that it wouldn’t be like that. So, they wanted me to go with them to rob a bank. It was supposed to be sorta lowkey, you know, in and out real quick. But like, what bank robbery ever works out like that!?”
Vinyl had to take a few deep breaths before she could continue. “Anyways, we did it. We went to a bank, they held up the bankers with magic, all that sort of thing. I collected the money, stuffed it all into a couple bags and then we were ready to go. Easy peasy, right? But no, we got followed. We got tailed by some of Canterlot’s finest and-”
Vinyl buried her head in hooves, a sniffle going through her again. Octavia’s heart panged, and up she went. She softly moved over towards Vinyl, leaning against the side of the mare’s chair and looking to carefully rub her lover’s back. The unicorn tensed, then peeked from behind her curtain of hair to see who had touched her and smiled a wobbly smile, sitting back upright even as tears clearly stung at her eyes.
“If this is too difficult, perhaps we could come back to this?” Fancy proposed. The noble looked genuinely concerned, a trait that Octavia liked about him; he really did care.
But Vinyl shook her head, wiping her eyes one last time as she steeled herself. “I can take it,” she assured, even though her voice was hoarse. Octavia stayed by her side, continuing with her soft rubs and massaging, trying to keep Vinyl under control.
“The royal guard caught up to us. It was a bloodbath. All the fighting was just horrific, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. Eventually, I ran. I didn’t stay and help, I dropped the fucking bags and ran. As far and as fast as I could. When I finally got home…” Vinyl trailed off, swallowing hard to keep her tears down. “My parents called me a coward. They demanded that I do something to repay what we lost in the fight. They wanted to have me go on another job, and this one would be more dangerous! I couldn’t stay, I packed everything I could and ran. Ever since then, I’ve just lived on the streets.
“But they wouldn’t leave me alone! They kept sending people to harass me, to try and come back. And after years of saying no over and over again, they tried to kill me. I think, I think that’s what the two ponies you saw were, Octy. I think they’re employed by my parents, and I don’t think they just wanna kill me anymore. They want it to be bad,” she finished in a whisper, head hanging back down.
Silence reigned for a moment lost in time. Neither Fancy nor Octavia could process everything at once. Instead, the massaging continued on with a quiet peace. Octavia could only speak for herself, but she never expected something like this. Now that she knew, she could only feel heartbreak. It made sense, finally. It made sense that the investigators had looked so realistic, especially when they had mob money behind them. It had to be why Vinyl never stopped moving. And now here they were, hiding with a friend.
The stallion was the first of the three to speak. “Well, Vinyl, that is quite the story, but I am assured that you wouldn’t lie to me, much less Octavia. I am vaguely aware of the type of ponies you speak of, and appeasing them is not easy. However, I can also assure you that you will be safe in my house. I’ve employed a private security firm for quite a while, and I’ll simply increase my contract for now. You two are welcome to stay here for as long as necessary.”
It didn’t seem like Vinyl could talk, not since she’d started to cry again, burying her head in her hooves and letting the tears flow. That left Octavia to do the talking. “Thank you, Fancy, I fear we’re going to have to infringe on your generosity for quite a while. Perhaps it may be safe to return home when it’s light out, but only to fetch things. I… I have to admit, I never thought I would actually feel unsafe in my own home, but here I am,” she tried to joke, but only succeeded in earning a wince from herself.
Fancy sighed and gave a small nod. “I’ll have an escort prepared for you in the morning. Until then, I think it’s well past time the two of you got some rest. It’s been a long night. Shall I have two rooms prepared?” The stallion stopped to look between the two mares. “Or just one? I can imagine having each other would be something of a comfort during nights like these,” he offered, smile growing kind.
With her hoof still rubbing ever so gently at Vinyl’s head, Octavia knew the answer. “One, please. It’ll be enough for us. Besides, we’d hardly want to impose on your good will any more than we already are.”
The stallion stood from his spot, his gaze pitying. “I’ll have your room prepared. Just a few minutes, I’ll be right back.” With that, the two were alone once more.
Alone and with a crying mare, Octavia didn’t quite know what to do. She leaned in close, whispering into Vinyl’s ear. “It’s gonna be okay, I promise. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you, dear. You’re going to be safe and we’re going to get this all figured out, I promise. I still want you to stay with me, none of this matters.”
A peeking, ruby red eye looked back at her. “Really? Even with knowing who I am?” Octavia couldn’t see Vinyl’s face as she spoke, but those words were so filled with horror, hope, and sadness all at once, she nearly teared up as well.
Octavia nodded and nuzzled close, resting her head against Vinyl’s neck. “Always. I’m not going to leave you. I don’t care where you’re from or who your parents were. I really don’t care about any of that. The only thing I care about is you,” she cooed, planting a soft, wet kiss against the base of Vinyl’s ear.
Slowly, incredibly slowly at first, Vinyl started to come out of the shell she’d withdrawn into. She sat up, eyes red and hair draping down in strange, unkempt ways. She sniffled hard and wiped the back of her hoof against her eyes, rubbing them and trying to get herself under control again. “Okay,” she whispered.
It had been an ordeal. The night had left Octavia feeling more drained than she ever had felt. Even four hours of orchestra couldn’t compare to their mad dash across the city. “Can you stand up, dear? Fancy shouldn’t be long. We can go get cleaned up and get some sleep. Do you want a bath? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you ran one,” she proposed, nosing at Vinyl where she could, coaxing her out of her ball.
Vinyl nodded, nibbling at her lip for a second before nodding again. “That’d be nice. I’m really tired, Octy. But, I think a bath would be really nice. Could you, um, stay outside the door? I just don’t want you to be far.”
Octavia’s heart swelled. She could do that. She could actually help, and that might make all the difference in the world. “Of course,” she assured her, punctuating the words with another gentle nuzzle.
As if on cue, Fancy stepped back into the room, the clopping of his hooves against the ground announcing his arrival.. “You room is ready, ladies. Come on, let’s get you two settled.”
After the long, hectic night, a good night’s sleep would do wonders. The two fell asleep nearly the instant they touched the bed. With such a long day behind them, their rest would be dreamless and unbroken.
Tomorrow would be a new day.