"Are you sure about this? When I asked about all the spells you knew, it was just to kill time. Isn't this a little... Excessive?" Vinyl looked up at the mare in question, who was browsing through a large stack of spell books, jotting down some more interesting spells on a scroll that was already nearly full.
"Nonsense, Scratchie!" Twilight looked up at her marefriend as she took a sip from her coffee. "We still have a few hours until Pinkie comes by. It's not like these are the most complicated spells. A full grown mare should have no problem learning them in a few minutes. "
"Are you sure Pinkie is the best for the job? I mean, it's only gonna be a few weeks in Canterlot. I could easily close down." Vinyl used her magic to envelop Twilight's scroll in a light blue aura, floating it towards her. "Twi, I'd hate to burst your bubble, but I don't think I could learn 'short-range teleportation' in a few hours."
"Oh, come on! That one's easy! As for Pinkie..." Twilight tapped her hoof to her chin, "I don't see anyone who could keep up with that lifestyle besides her. Even if I did, it's a little short to ask them to take over, we're leaving in a few days! It's not like she's going to DJ there, but she'll just make sure everything goes well every night. Pinkie said she'd take care of the music, she said something about a friend who could help out."
"Alright, alright, but I still don't want to do any of this magic stuff! I'll just look dumb in front of you." Vinyl stood up, walking up the stairs of what could easily be called her second home. The last few weeks, Vinyl was rarely in her house, and when she was, she found herself either with her marefriend, or longing for her company. "I'll be taking a nap if you need me."
When Vinyl reached the top of the stairs, she was astounded to find that Twilight was already laying in her bed, winking and beckoning Vinyl over. "See how handy it can be? How about this... Every time you do a little better," Twilight pulled her mouth up to Vinyl's ear, she had gotten quite good at being seductive in her few weeks since giving herself to Vinyl. "I do a little something for you."
The DJ before her turned a bright shade of crimson as she was locked in to a kiss. "This better be worth it." Vinyl said as she feigned boredom.
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"See? I told you!" Twilight applauded as Vinyl managed to teleport a small hair brush on the dresser a few feet forward. "All you needed was some motivation." Twilight gave her marefriend a peck on the cheek.
"Well... Yeah, I guess you were right, as always." Vinyl looked down, defeated. Though she looked a little disappointed, she couldn't hold a face like that for long, and soon burst in to a huge, prideful smile. "I never could do that when I was a filly! When I was younger I was always behind my class in magic!"
"Oh, well it doesn't seem like that's a problem now." With a flash of light, Twilight appeared on the bed on the other side of Vinyl in a suggestive pose, "Anyways... Here's your prize."
Vinyl's ears perked up at the sight of Twilight as she walked up to the mare in question. The DJ locked her lover in a hungry, passionate kiss. The bookworm elicited a slight moan of pleasure as her marefriend got on to the bed and embraced her.
Knock Knock Knock
Twilight pulled away from her lover and got out of the bed. "One second, Vinyl."
"For the love of Celestia!" Vinyl slumped back in to the bed, defeated. She played with her hooves while waiting impatiently for her lover.
Twilight barged in to the door only to be met with a kiss from Vinyl. Twilight pulled away, "Uh.. Vinyl, now really isn't a good -mph!"
"Shhh," Vinyl pulled away only for a second to catch her breath, "I waited, now it's my turn." Vinyl winked at Twilight as she melted in her marefriend's hooves.
"Vinyl, we really shouldn't..." Twilight forced herself to get up, "Save all that energy for tonight. I'll make sure you enjoy it." Twilight giggled and winked at Vinyl.
"Twilight! Where'd ya go?" Pinkie sat anxiously at the table in the Kitchen, sipping on the tea Twilight gave her. She hadn't seen much of Twilight or Vinyl lately, and as sickened as she was to lose Twilight, some part of Pinkie was happy for them.
"Sorry, Pinkie. Vinyl is... Really hard to wake up." The two mares walked down from the stairs leading to Twilight's bedroom.
"Oh, it's fine, Twilight." Pinkie looked back down at her tea and started nervously playing with her hooves. "Hi, Vinyl."
"Uuh, hi? What's gotcha down, 'Pinks? You'd normally be jumping off the wall to see a friend after being busy for so long!" It was strange, really. Vinyl could practically taste the awkwardness in the air. "What's wrong, Pinkie?"
Pinkie inwardly sighed to herself. 'Thank Celestia Twilight didn't tell Vinyl.' The party mare threw on her usual smile, "Oh, it's nothing. I'm just... Super DUPER happy to see you!" Pinkie perked up and embraced the two mares in a big hug. "There's so much we need to get to work on! And I can't believe you're going to meet the princess, and you need a going away party thrown, and omigosh a PARTY!"
Twilight suppressed a chuckle. She finally saw the Pinkie she hadn't seen in a long time.
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"Come on, Vinyl! We're gonna be late!" Twilight ran up the stairs and pushed the white mare out of the bed, now waking her up for the third time that morning. "I know you don't like to get up, but this is the only train to Canterlot that leaves in the morning! You know how I feel about being late!"
"Uuugh..." Vinyl rubbed her head as she got off the unforgiving wood floor. "We need some carpet up here, 'Twi."
Twilight ran in to the bathroom, running a brush through her hair. "Alright, I let you sleep in, and I packed all our stuff last night. We need to go!" Twilight picked up one of her newer visors and stuffed it in a bag. "Canterlot has the best night life... I'll finally be able to wear these!" Twilight squeed to herself as she beckoned Vinyl out the door. Ever since Vinyl gave her that first pair of 'specs, Twilight fell in love with them, and though they were nice to wear everyday, like Vinyl, they just didn't scream "party" as much as she wanted them to. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she spent at least half of her last month's allowance on new glasses, 'specs, and visors.
"I'm coming!" Vinyl screamed, shoving a small, wrapped package in to her suitcase before running outside, levitating a still-sleeping purple dragon on to her back.
"So, you ready to meet the Princess?" The lavender mare asked Vinyl as they trotted down to the train station. "She's been dying to meet my first marefriend."
"Yeah, not really." Vinyl looked down at the ground, "I mean, I've seen her once or twice before, like at the royal wedding, but she's just so... Intimidating."
"Nonsense! Princess Celestia is wonderful, and I know you'll just fall in love with her when you see her." Twilight calmed down a tone as the two mares arrived at the train station. "Heh, arrived with just a few minutes to spare."
The two mares boarded their train, and sat in the nearest booth for what seemed like hours before they could see the Ponyville train station fading away.
The train ride to Canterlot itself wasn't too long, lasting about three hours. Twilight fell asleep soon after the train started moving, but Vinyl couldn't sleep a wink, just as she didn't last night. 'What if she doesn't like me?' Vinyl imagined what sort of punishments the Monarch of Equestria could come up with.
Soon enough, the train shook Spike awake, leaving him dazed, and confused about his current surroundings. "Huh? How'd we get here?"
Vinyl just giggled at Spike. "Well, Squirt, between how heavy you sleep, and how quick Twilight and I got here, it doesn't surprise me you didn't wake up for it." The mare rested a hoof against the purple dragon's head. "So, you excited about seeing your family? It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Yeah.... I mean, they aren't really my family, but it will be nice to see them. The last time we saw them was at the wedding last year." Spike looked down at the floor. "They always ask how Twilight is in the letters, but never even a hello to me."
"Oh, Spike! You should know better!" Vinyl smiled down at the dragon before her. "As much as I hate to sound sentimental, they are your family, and they're the most important people in your life. I remember the last time I saw my brother... It's been a few years, but we still write each other almost every day. Just know they love you as much as they would anyone else." Vinyl still noticed Spike wasn't looking too happy. "Besides, I think you're a pretty cool dragon."
"Thanks, Scratch." Spike smiled up at Vinyl. The two never really saw each other as mutual friends anymore.But after Vinyl watched over Spike when Twilight was busy with the girls, or Vinyl spent the night almost every night, they saw each other as brother and sister more than anything. It was a safe bet that in the few weeks they had known each other, the two shared a bond that was nearly as strong as the one he shared with Twilight.
The two shared a few hushed jokes as the bookworm slept like a rock through the train ride, but eventually, it came to a stop. That, of course, didn't stop Twilight from continuing to sleep like a rock. Vinyl had to carry the mare out due to the fact that she put up a soundproof bubble when she was first awoken.
Eventually, the mare was able to get up, now sitting on Vinyl's back as she carried her through the streets of Canterlot. "You know," Started the mare, "This is a lot more fun than walking..."
"Oh, ha ha, Twi. Now can you get off my back? I'm getting tired of carrying you, and ponies are starting to look."
"I.... Right..." Twilight grinned sheepishly as she looked around and saw that, there were, in fact, ponies watching a full-grown mare ride on another mare's back. Twilight quickly dismounted her marefriend, blushing red as a tomato. A rare sight nowadays. "Anyways... First place we need to head to is the castle. The princess has my old room set up for us!" Twilight jumped up and down excitedly, "You should see it, Scratchie! There's so many books!"
"Hehehe... Scratchie..." Spike was going to enjoy that name.
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The walk to the castle was, sadly, long and uneventful, but the three friends managed to make it fun.
"So that's when I said, 'Wub you? I barely even know you!'" The mare laughed at her own joke, nearly as loud as Twilight did.
"We're here!" The purple bookworm pointed to the guarded gate of the Canterlot castle.
"Ah... This place... Can we just go in? There are guards... Everywhere..." Vinyl shuddered. It's like she was always being watched.
"Yup! That reminds me..." Twilight ran up to one of the guards outside, "I need to know where your captain is, guard! Also, if it isn't a problem, could I get someone to take these bags up to the library?"
The guard remained still. His eyes unmoving, not even glancing at the lavender mare before him.
"Did I mention that I'm Twilight Sparkle, the personal protege of the Princess, the Captain's sister, good friends with Luna, and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is my sister?" Twilight grinned at the guard, who immediately broke in to a sweat. She knew that the first rule of any guard, was to always fear, respect, and follow royalty, which she certainly was on some degree. Spike and Vinyl could be heard giggling in the background.
"R-Right this way, ma'am." The guard led them to what Twilight recognized as the guard barracks, which also served as the training grounds. "He's right through here, though I don't recommend you interrupt him at the moment. He's currently overseeing the training of the newest recruits."
Twilight, in one of the cockiest moods she'd been in in a while, ignored the armored stallion. Running through numerous sparring grounds, until she saw the pony she came to see. "SHINY!"
"Wha? The Captain turned around as the surrounding guards raised their weapons, only to be knocked over by what he immediately recognized as his sister. "Twily!" Shining Armor said, quickly getting back on to his hooves. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to visit everypony, including you, silly!" Twilight hugged her older brother, it was good to see him again. "I know you're busy, but we're having dinner with the Princesses tonight, and I was wondering if you could make it. I have so much to tell you!"
"I'd love to, Twily. You'll have to introduce me to your new friend as well. Shining looked over to a mare who shared the same mane colors as him. She was currently trying to hide behind Spike. "I swear I've seen her somewhere before."
"You have! She was the DJ at your wedding! Anyways, I'll see you later, BBBFF!" With that, Twilight ran off, along with Spike and Vinyl, who gladly followed.
"Hey, what's wrong, Vinyl?" Spike asked the mare beside him as they walked through the palace to the wing that held the library. "You seem a little shaken up."
"Oh, I'm fine, Spike. I'm just a little worried about meeting the Princess...es." Vinyl gulped at the last part of her sentence. "I didn't know we'd be eating with both of them."
"Relax! Luna and I go way back. I'd trust them both with my life if I had to." Twilight started. "Anyways, Celestia is busy with court, and Luna sleeps until about seven every night. That gives us a few hours to relax in the library."
Vinyl actually found the library to be quite nice. There was a whole section dedicated to music, and even a few instruments. What stuck out to her, however, was what she could only imagine was a large violin, and beside it, a framed picture of a younger Twilight and some other grey mare with a black mane, the one distinctive feature about her, however, was a pink bow-tie.
(A/N: It's good to be back. Also, as much as you guys said not to, I'm bringing her in. Not sure about a shippy-type-aspect or anything like that, yet, though. Be warned, if I do decide it, this story will be re-written and the whole Pinkie storyline will be deleted. Also, in case you guys haven't guessed, this isn't the last chapter.)
Wub woo guys!
System
P.S.: I'd like to thank C. Note for proof-reading this chapter!