//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Romance on The Centre Stage // Story: Centre Stage Romance // by Erina Tail Yellow //------------------------------// The dining room of the sparkle residence was the least modest part of the house. Whereas the rest house gave off an air of simple and humble; the dining room with its majestic purple accents and brilliant red paint. In the center of the room stood a rich dark oak dining table with matching chairs around the table and some off to the side. Above the table was an ornate chandelier whose candles were lit and casted a warm glow around the room. To say the room had class was definitely an understatement.  On the dining table were four sets of porcelain white plates with a golden trim and four sets of silver cutlery that had an imprint of a rose as it snaked towards the hilt of each piece. On the table, as well, were four elegant crystal wine glasses that were half filled with red wine.  Twilight and Vinyl sat along one side of the table while Twilight Velvet and Night Light sat opposite their daughter. Velvet used her magic to distribute plates to each of the ponies sitting at the small dining table. An uncomfortable silence descended upon the table. Twilight made an effort to break the silence. “So, Mom. you clearly put forth a lot of effort.” Velvet looked up. “Well it’s not every day you have a Princess of Equestria as your guest.” Twilight blushed. “Oh, come on,you don’t need to use my title. You’re family. This is like a vacation for me anyway.” “I suppose but it does make me feel important to use your proper title.” Velvet shifted in her seat feeling a mix of proud and awkward around her, now crowned princess, daughter. Meanwhile, Vinyl was trying to figure out what food had been set in front of her. She had decided, for the moment, she would ignore the wine. “Twilight, what is all this?” She whispered. The lavender alicorn turned to her marefriend. “Why don’t you ask?” “I just did.” Vinyl replied flatly. “Not me.” Twilight pointed to her mother. Vinyl sighed. “Ms. Velvet.” She tried to politely grab her attention. “Um, What did you make?” “Well, if I must explain myself, there is roasted cauliflower, cider braised kohlrabi, and rosemary roasted radishes.”  Vinyl wasn’t even sure what most of that was. The DJ nodded when Velvet finished listing off the available food. Vinyl begrudgingly took small portions of the dishes to sample. “You guys have a really nice house.” She said. Night Light responded. “Why thank you. My lovely wife, here, worked side by side with the interior decorators on this room and her office.” Vinyl let the thought sink in. She could just imagine how extravagant the office was. “Sounds nice.” She commented, unsure of what to add to the conversation. “Speaking of which. Mom, how is writing going?” Twilight asked. Velvet grumbled. “Could be better.” Night Light winced and motioned for his daughter to stop talking but she didn’t notice. Twilight continued along, unperturbed. “Oh no. What’s wrong?” “I just haven’t been able to put anything to paper for two moons now! And I am at my wits end.” The magic utensil she’d been sustaining disappeared and she dropped her food. Vinyl spoke up. “I totally agree. Artistic inspiration is a fleeting beauty.” Velvet screwed up her muzzle. “And you’d know about artistic inspiration how?” “I’m a musician.” The DJ replied seriously. “A DJ to be exact.” Velvet laughed. “So, you’re not a musician then?” Vinyl snorted angrily. “Mom!” Twilight shouted. “What?!” Velvet raised her voice defensively. “Why did you say that?”  “I was trying to decide whether she was a musician or a-”  Velvet grimaced. “disc jockey.” “What is that supposed to mean?!” Vinyl asked indignantly. Night Light tapped his wife’s shoulder. “Dear, that was a little harsh.” Twilight had moved to hold her marefriend back with her magic. Vinyl struggled wildly against the lavender aura. “Let me go. I wanna give her a piece of my mind.” Twilight sighed and ,with a great deal of effort, pulled Vinyl back into her seat. “Even if she hasn’t chosen to give a great first impression you can be the bigger pony.” Vinyl grumbled as she relaxed. “I guess you’re right.” Twilight nuzzled against her marefriend and then turned to her mother. “ Mom, what are you doing?!” What her husband had said eventually registered in Velvet’s mind and she calmed visibly. “Sorry. I must have gotten a little carried away.” “Oh. Ya’ think?” Vinyl commented quietly. Twilight softly papped the back of vinyl’s head and went back to the conversation. “Mom, Vinyl really is an artist and maybe she knows a thing or two about artistic block.” Velvet grumbled. “Maybe. Anyway what’s new with you? After all, we haven’t seen you since little Flurry was born.” Twilight frowned as she remembered the hallway and the seemingly inevitable conversation she’d have with her mother. “Nothing too extreme. Just your typical Princess of Friendship business. The past, I’d say, two moons have been as exciting as it gets.” Vinyl had gotten mildly bored while Twilight engaged in small talk and began looking around the room. It felt more over the top than her marefriend’s castle. After glancing around the room she began to assess the different foods offered to her. After trying each she had just enough data to form an opinion. “Hey, Ms.V. This stuff’s pretty good.” Vinyl said through a mouthful of roasted radishes. Velvet just gave the DJ a half smile and turned back to her daughter. “So would you mind giving us a proper introduction to your ‘friend’?” Twilight blushed. “Yeah,right. Introductions really should have been done at the door, huh?” She paused for a response but received none. Night Light gave her an encouraging look. Twilight took a deep breath and continued. “Mom, Dad, this is Vinyl Scratch.” Velvet sat still with an ingenuine grin on her face. “She seems interesting.”  Night Light looked at her warily. ‘Honey, what are you on about?” Velvet turned to him. “Nothing, dear. What would make you think something’s wrong?” Night Light exchanged a look of concern with his daughter. Vinyl shot her marefriend a worried look. The room around them seemed to cool down considerably.  “Mom, are you completely sure you’re okay?” Twilight asked calmly. Velvet let out a sigh. “Let me confirm something. This is Vinyl Scratch.” She spat the name out with nearly tangible disgust. “She’s your marefriend, no? Night Light turned to his wife with a look of utter confusion on his face. “What?” “Oh don’t look so surprised. If you know, I can know.” Velvet explained. Night Light made a mental note to carefully inspect the speaking tubes in his observatory the next time he held company with a princess. “How?” Twilight asked again. Velvet looked at her daughter. “Telling you I heard it from the press would be the easy way out. However, I’m feeling generous today.” She said flippantly. Twilight and Vinyl sat stock still. “I saw you in the street about two moons ago. That was shameless.” Velvet scoffed. “That harlot seems to have pulled you in quite well.” Vinyl half expected Velvet to start pacing the room as if she were a villain from an old spy movie. She growled. “What the hell?! I’ve never even met you before!” Memories fueling her anger. ”There’s only one pony that can call me that!”she whispered. Twilight draped a wing over Vinyl’s back. “It’ll be fine.” She whispered. “Mother, why are you being like this?” “Why? Why her?” Velvet asked. Twilight cocked her head to the side. “I’m not really sure I understand the question.” “No ‘nice stallion to settle down with’?” Velvet pressed. Twilight shook her head. “Mom, I was thirteen. I had my nose in books all the time. The closest I got to ‘romance’ if you can call it that, was a slight crush on a fictional character.” Velvet snorted. “Oh, please. You would’ve been better off with a fictional character!” Vinyl had taken enough. “What’s that supposed to mean? You think I’m not meant for her?!” She gestured wildly at twilight. “Just who in the hell do you think you are?” Twilight nuzzled against her marefriend in an attempt to calm her down.  Velvet gagged before she began speaking again. She regained her composure and spoke clearly. “I am her mother. And if the two of you think you have my blessing… I’m sorry but it’s a no from me.” Twilight’s jaw fell open. “If you’re gonna be like this I don’t even think we need your blessing.” Velvet stamped a hoof angrily on the table as she leaned closer to her daughter. “Then, why did you come back at all?!”  Twilight leaned in to be face to face with her mother. “I don’t remember but I’m beginning to think coming back was a mistake.” There was a moment of silence after Twilight’s sentence finished. She felt sheer rage as she looked into her mother’s eyes.  Vinyl and Night Light looked on in confusion and awe as they tried to think of what to do. Neither of them were able to make a move before Velvet raised a hoof and struck her daughter’s face. The only sound that could be heard was a solid smack. Twilight calmly got out of her chair and walked out of the room. Vinyl began to chase but looked to Night Light first. He had already begun comforting his wife when he noticed Vinyl. Night Light nodded solemnly as he began to say something. Vinyl didn’t even hear what he said as she bolted out of the dining room and made her way to the front door. She nearly ripped the door of it’s hinges with her magic as she burst outside. It was raining heavily. Vinyl looked around wildly trying to catch any glimpse of her marefriend. Just as she was about to give up she heard a crash in the distance. “I bet I know who that is.” Vinyl thought as she trotted towards the noise. As Vinyl soon found out, the noise had come from a small park they had passed on their way to Twilight’s parent’s home. The sound was from a metal structure, presumably a slide, being torn out of the ground and crunched into a small ball. Twilight sat in the spot the slide had once been. She was crying softly and her ears were pinned down to the top of her head. She was stamping at the ground absently when Vinyl walked over to her. “You know you have to replace that, right?” Vinyl asked. Twilight nodded slowly as she laid down. Vinyl laid down as well. “Are we just gonna head home now?” “I don’t know.” Twilight choked out. “Okay.” Vinyl responded. The world around them went silent, save for the sound of the rain hitting metal playground equipment. Twilight eventually stopped crying and snuggled against Vinyl. She let out a sigh of relief. “I wish we could just stay like this.” Twilight whispered. “You know we can’t do that.” Vinyl answered. “But I wish we could.” Twilight repeated. “Everything seems so calm when it’s just you and me.” “Not everything can be perfect all the time.” Vinyl sighed wistfully. “I would know.” “I’m sorry things ended up that way.” Twilight said. “Why?” Vinyl asked simply. Twilight adjusted her position so she could look at Vinyl directly. “Because… because that’s a bad way for things to end.” Vinyl chuckled. “Without that unfortunate event I would never have met you.” Twilight smiled. “I’m really worth losing your first?” “Without a doubt. I wouldn’t give anything to change how things ended up.” Vinyl said proudly. “But, enough of you feeling sorry for me. What do you want to do now?” Twilight scrunched her muzzle up in thought. She began parsing out potential solutions to the issues currently at hoof. “Sure, we could go back to my parent’s house and attempt some reconciliation. But what would that really get me in the end? A compromise? Another red mark on my face? I’m certainly not looking to begin collecting. No, going back isn’t going to do me any good.” She lightly brushed a hoof against her cheek. “Maybe, just maybe, Vinyl could go in. I’m sure she’d be happy to ‘show them what for’.” Twilight quickly shook her head. “I don’t think I could pardon her for any potentially criminal offenses that may occur. No less if I encouraged them. Also, it's not really okay to force somepony else to fight my battles, especially when it comes to family.” She hastily ran a hoof through her mane. Vinyl leaned in and attempted to pull Twilight’s hoof from her hair but it remained firmly placed against the side of her head “Twi, fuck them. You don’t need them. I’m right here.” Her marefriends’ words fell on nearly deaf ears as Twilight continued to speak to herself. “What if? What if they don’t matter? All of this obsession over parental approval isn’t worth fighting for.” Her voice cracked as she worked on finding a point. Twilight’s horn began to let off loose sparks as she kept talking. “Why argue with mom? Why worry about keeping them involved in my life if they clearly don’t like how I’m living it?” The rain began to slow around them as she continued. “It was so pointless? I had what I wanted! I just wanted to share that with them!” The rain stopped, as if frozen in time. Each individual droplet refusing to move even an inch closer to the ground. “Twilight, take a breath, come back to me love.” Vinyl’s tone was pleading as she sat and began to take a deep breath in an attempt to get her marefriend to copy her actions. However, Twilight did not breathe in and the rain did not resume falling to the ground. Twilight fell silent for only a moment before turning to Vinyl. The lavender alicorn quickly grabbed her lover’s forehooves and raised her sunglasses with magic to stare directly into her piercing red eyes. “Vinyl, marry me!” Twilight said grinning widely. “I don’t need them. Or anyone. Or anything. I just need you!” Vinyl frowned, she leaned in and hugged Twilight tightly. She pulled back back and kissed Twilight gently on the cheek and then on her lips. The rain around them resumed, no longer filled with a light magenta tone as Twilight and Vinyl stood and began walking back to the train station side by side.