An avalanche of storage crystals rained down on the table as Vinyl carefully poured out the contents of her sack in front of Steeplechase. The stallion balked at the sheer number of them clinking in a rain of gemstones. As they bounced around, he quickly shot a wing out to catch some of the errant rollers from falling off the table.
“You’ve brought quite a haul for me today, haven’t you?” Steeplechase said as he looked over them. “And unmarked with little documentation to boot.”
“Oh, right. There was just so much, you know?” Seeing the number she’d collected since their last meeting, she smiled sheepishly. “I can just take them back and figure it out.”
“Not to worry, Vinyl. It just means I get to listen to them more closely and piece the timeline together. If it becomes a problem, I’m sure Professor Chrysanthemum can help sort them with her magic. More to the point though, I guess with the showcases behind us, you’ve had more time to really crunch the crystals.”
“Y-yeah!” That was a far better excuse than the one she’d come up with.
“I can’t blame you there. It must be like trying to put a good book down.”
Either she was getting better at lying, or he was far too enamored with the haul this week. Her bits were definitely on the latter. “Yeah, most of these are actually from the Suede Shoes side.”
“Really? I thought you were focusing on finding that Sunny character.”
“Something else piqued my interest recently,” she admitted as evenly as possible. Vinyl knew it was going to keep the conversation going, but she wouldn’t have to lie as long as he didn’t dig too deeply.
“Oh, do tell!” the stallion pressed with a glint in his eye. Vinyl did a mental hoof-pump at the vaguery. It’d give her enough wiggle room to explain without explaining.
“Well, after the concert went so well, I really wanted to look more into Suede’s swing.” That was true. “I was really wondering if I could learn something more about Summers from his perspective.” Also true.
“Oh ho ho! Something tells me you just reached a certain part of Summers’ side of the collection and wanted to hear about it from the other half.”
“Yep!” Which was true as long as he didn’t ask for her motivations.
A fang-filled, knowing smile crossed the nocturne’s lips. “So, all of this here would essentially be speeding through the boring bits of his career to get to the good stuff.”
“Not at all. I learned a lot listening to his time under the Suave Oasis label.” Which wasn’t the point at all, but Steeple didn’t need to know that. “I’ve never studied big band swing, so hearing it explored during development has really helped me learn more about the fundamentals. He preserved a lot less than Summers did though. That’s been a bit disappointing.”
“Look on the bright side: all the better to reach the saucy bits quicker, eh?”
Vinyl allowed herself to blush and looked away. She’d rather have him think she was developing a taste for trashy romance novels than researching relationships for herself. Her previous flings had taught her nothing useful.
“I knew it!” Steeplechase leaned over the table, hoping to pick her brain for juicy, decades-old gossip. “Please tell me you’ve got some lovely little details we’re missing in our records!”
Vinyl’s mind reeled back from the stallion’s invasion of her personal space. The closer he was, the more likely he’d see through her dodges. “I don’t think so. Sorry. I haven’t gotten into the relationship stuff yet. Most of that right there is his early career before Summers started hers. I was just saving everything notable, which was probably already known. The only thing that might be newsworthy is how bigoted his producers were.”
The reveal deflated his enthusiasm immediately. Steeplechase slumped back in his seat and sighed. “It is well known enough to be an issue among musical historians. He did sing the original version of ‘Everypony Wants to be in Canterlot’ for the Sway album after all. Some of the more, let’s say problematic portions of his discography, have been overlooked considering who he wound up marrying.”
“I don’t know what to think. There’s a few slurs thrown around on the recording sessions, but he’s never the one to say them. He does laugh along though.”
“Don’t worry. While it’s hard to know what really went through his head during that time, if he ever harbored any unsavory views of non-unicorns, he disavowed it rather publicly when he famously rebelled against the archaic Canterlot Musical Society with his fiancé. Hopefully your archiving work will help shed some clarifying light on that. Everypony is worthy of forgiveness if they work towards healing.”
“Yeah…”
“Chin up, Vinyl. Whatever the truth is, I’m sure it will end happily. Racism isn’t an innate quality, it’s something that must be fostered. I know first-hoof that Fancy Pants doesn’t have a prejudicial bone in his body, so Suede had certainly changed his tune by his adulthood.”
Vinyl felt the twist in her heart at the mention of Fancy. He was the last pony she wanted to talk about out of the blue. She might stumble in her words and he started asking questions. She was glad Fleur had been occupied recently. Talking to her sister about this was… No. Just, no. Every single last no in the world.
Luckily, after giving her dilemma some thought, she’d remembered there actually was somepony she could ask for advice on what to do. They were somepony who would share her full experience completely without asking questions and wouldn’t tell a soul: Sauna Summers. It was already Vinyl’s job to research the Queen of Disco. If Fancy was to be believed, then Summers’ advice from the collection would be invaluable. She rarely skimped on the details, just as long as Sunny didn’t cut the recording. It’d be harder to find, but perhaps even Suede would have a moment to learn something from. Hopefully with both sides of their story, she'd be able to piece it all together and figure out something.
A pony cleared her throat, dragging Vinyl out of her musings. “If you two are done, I believe somepony has asked me on a date.”
“It’s not a date, Tavi.” Vinyl muttered back.
“Oh, let me have my fun, Vinyl. You’ve never asked me out to lunch before. I want to savor this moment.”
“What is this? Are you cheating on me? In broad daylight? Oh, how could you?” Steeplechase cried in despair as he choked on crocodile tears.
“Oh yes, my love,” Octavia passionately whispered in reply before her crestfallen eyes drifted to the glistening table filled with audible treasures. “This is revenge for all of the late nights I’ve seen you cuddling up with these crystals instead of me.”
“But darling,” Steeplechase swore in a desperate plea, “you know these are just a passing fling. My eyes, they belong to you, and only you!”
“It is not your eyes that I know have drifted from me, but your ears! Instead of listening to the music of my soul, their attention is only drawn to these… these sparkling floozies!”
Vinyl watched the melodrama she was caught between unfold as they began garnering the attention of several confused onlookers. “Have you two been spending too much time in the Theatre department again?”
“Guilty as charged,” Octavia admitted with a slightly embarrassed giggle after noticing their small audience. “It’s so hard not to. The Teen Troupe chose A Wing and a Whisper, and—tell absolutely nopony I said this—their overacting is the pinnacle of young performers having absolutely no idea what they’re doing. I thought Fleur would’ve told you all about it since she’s helping out.”
“She’s been spending some time at home. I haven’t seen her much outside of the audio lab.”
“Oh.” Octavia’s mirth dropped as she leaned over to Vinyl. “Is she okay?”
“She said she’s having trouble sleeping and wanted to go home for a bit. Plus, sis wanted to spend some time with…” Vinyl’s voice fell away as she tried to finish the sentence.
Deep down, she knew she wanted to say it. Vinyl could almost hear somepony begging her to. But, she knew that was too much for her.
“...her mom,” Vinyl finished lamely.
Oh, come on! Ugh!
Viny’s ear twitched at the squeaky annoyance of a filly. That wasn’t how she mentally berated herself for failure. Where was her—
“Oh. So I’m a fallback friend?” Octavia pouted.
Vinyl snapped back to attention as her heart dropped. “N-no! I really want to spend time with you.”
“It’s okay, Vinyl. I’m just pulling your leg. I didn’t mean it.” Tavi patted Vinyl’s hoof to reassure her. “I’m just so glad you’re getting out more. Looks like you might need it considering…” The mare let the silence sing for her as she focused her attention on the mound of storage crystals.
Vinyl cleared her throat. “Oh, yeah. I had a lot of time to go through the collection with Fleur off my back for a bit.”
“Clearly.” Octavia lifted one of the storage crystals in her hoof. “How many are there?”
“At least fifty by the looks of it.” The batty stallion could barely contain himself as he hugged the treasure trove of knowledge. He was practically drooling with anticipation at digging into them all like a bushel of peaches. “She really got after the archiving this week, but I can’t blame her. She’s reached the romance saga between Suede and Summers. Wouldn’t you want to hear both sides of their story at the same time?”
“Well, I know I would,” she admitted before turning her disbelieving curiosity toward her mentee.
Octavia’s curled eyebrow forced Vinyl to match with a sheepish grin. Even if the mare knew something was off, she'd have no way of even guessing Vinyl’s motives.
“Well dear, we better leave you to your work.” Octavia and Steeplechase shared a quick kiss. “I’ll see you at home.”
“But Fruit Cup, I was thinking with all of these crystals that I might stay—”
“I will see you at home,” Octavia stated as a fact for her husband. “Dinner is at seven. I will be making pasta and a fruit salad, and you will not bring a single one of these with you. Got it?”
“Yes ma’am!”
“Wonderful.” Octavia rewarded the obedient stallion with another kiss. “Come on Vinyl. Let’s get going. Where did you say we were eating again?”
“I should’ve known the first place you’d take me out to would be peculiar.” Octavia said while observing the large, intimidating stone slab doors of the Labyrinthiyum open before them. Risking a look down, she peered into the cavernous maw towards the double doors below. “And you said this isn’t a club, correct?”
“Nope. Just because it’s a few blocks from the Drive doesn’t mean every shady staircase leads to a club. They might have club sandwiches though.”
“I’ve heard Fancy Pants make mention of this Minoan restaurant before, but I didn’t realize the extent of its authenticity.”
“I know, right? Who’d think to build a minotaur maze under Canterlot?” Vinyl said as she stepped into the shade and propped her sunglasses on her horn. “Remember that big minotaur that came to the Showcases? This is her place.”
“She was rather large from the pictures I saw in the paper,” Octavia said timidly as she watched Vinyl take her first steps onto the descending cobblestones.
“Trust me, I met her for a second after the Showcases and she’s more timid than Fluffs. It was like talking to a giant mouse.”
“Oh, I see.” Octavia smiled knowingly. “You’re trying to get another conscript for the Friend Ship, aren’t you?”
Vinyl turned her gaze up. That ship had slipped her mind. “Something like that, yeah.”
“No wonder you’ve been nervous all morning. You’re trying to make a new friend by yourself!” Tavi quickly caught up to Vinyl, completely forgetting her initial hesitancy in the heat of the moment.
“Fine. You got me,” Vinyl admitted while looking away, hoping her nerves would mask the half-truth. “I wanted to do this without Fleur, but I’m scared I’ll mess up if I try on my own. I figured somepony normal would help.”
“Well, I’m not sure what ‘normal’ is to you, but I’ll be right here for you.”
“Yeah. Plus, I still owe you for Alotta Latte, and the owner here said the first meal was on her.”
“In that case, we definitely shouldn’t keep our hostess waiting. I’m starving!”
Vinyl breathed a sigh of relief as her friend patted her on the withers. Tavi had bought her sidelong excuses without forcing her to lie directly. It was going to be risky moving forward, but all she had to do was keep Octavia asking the wrong questions while giving her the right answers. The only problem was finding out what the right answers were supposed to be in the first place.
During her latest sessions, Summers had mentioned Suede wasn’t all that bad despite his public hostility towards her. Suede’s performer friends at the clubs always spoke highly of him, which in turn had “sparked” Summers’ interest. That sounded like what Vinyl was carrying now; a burning curiosity. If she could get some answers, maybe even figure out whatever Summers had, she’d be one step closer to knowing what to do with hers. Inviting Octavia to the Labyrinthiyum to meet the minotaur was meeting two of Fancy's friends in one go. She just wished she could remember the minotaur’s name.
Reaching the bottom of the staircase, they pushed open the imposing double doors to enter the welcoming, yet foreboding, cross between a diner and a dungeon. Decorative vines covered the darkened walls, dotted with cute flowers sprouting in a rainbow of colors. The imposing stonework was paneled with soft, polished wood to catch the light and brighten the maze around them. They could hear conversations from happy customers already enjoying their meals, but couldn’t see them past the winding path of partitions. The scent of warm bread and freshly cut vegetables wafted around the corner in a tantalizing medley of aromas. While Vinyl’s goal was to find answers, it didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy whatever was cooking while she was doing it.
“Looks like we’re supposed to choose where we sit,” Tavi said as she read a chalkboard sign next to the door, “and today’s special is a ‘deli-sliced mushroom and spinach guy-ro?’ Whatever that is.”
“Smells good if that’s what I’m smelling,” Vinyl noted after taking another delicious whiff of the air.
“I agree wholeheartedly.” Octavia hummed in thought as she looked over the floor plan, or rather maze woven around their seating options. “It looks like all the tables are taken, so it’s between booths or seats at the bar.”
“Let’s do a booth. I’m always sitting on barstools at Cantrips.” More importantly, booths had a bit more privacy.
“I guess I’ll sign us in at table eight then.” Tavi wrote an “8-2” on the guest ledger. In response, the table glowed blue on the map as a light shot down across the unicursal maze. Turning towards the path, they noticed the lapis lazuli tiles on the floor lighting their way. “Oh, fancier than I expected.”
Vinyl cleared her throat as she followed after Tavi to their table. “She said she runs the place by herself. Automated enchantments would help for sure.”
“I suppose the restaurant isn’t that big if you ignore the overhead space. Must be a nightmare when it’s busy though. Perhaps you two can bond over needlessly complicating things, Miss One-mare-show.”
“I just want to be sure everything goes right.”
“I know, Vinyl. But next time you decide to do something involving swing, just ask. I’ll happily provide my cello or double-bass.”
“We’ll see.”
At the end of the blue line was their empty booth. Vinyl could see why most ponies were sitting at the tables considering the seating’s massive scale. It was designed to accommodate creatures of most sizes and shapes along with plenty of legroom underneath the table. Said table sat on two central legs supported by a hinge with a crank. Unlocking the mechanism, Vinyl spun it with her magic, causing the table to lower closer to the booth seats.
“Sorry, sorry! I forgot to reset it after last night!” a deep, yet airy voice apologized. Turning towards the sound of thumping feet, they witnessed their hostess rushing over, balancing a large tray of food. “Let me fix it for you real quick.”
“My word,” Octavia whispered as she backed away from the approaching fluffy beast.
The minotaur placed the food on the table and ducked down to work the underside’s mechanisms. Even hunkered down on her knees, the minotaur was just as tall as them. She balanced on her elbows and spun cranks, unlatched locks, and folded jacks to scale the booth down to a more comfortable, pony size. It was still big, but at least they wouldn’t look like two foals pretending to play grownups.
“There we go. I’ll be right with you to take your—” Their hostess paused when she finally noticed who had shown up for lunch. “You’re DJ Pon-3!”
“Uhh, just Vinyl is fine,” the nervous DJ said with a strained smile seeing the starstruck minotaur.
“You actually came!” the minotaur squealed with delight as several other curious ponies looked their way. “Please, please! Have a seat. Let me get these orders out and I’ll be right with you, Vinyl and…” she trailed seeing the other pony staring at her in astonishment.
“Octavia Melody. It is lovely to meet you, Miss…”
“Huh? Oh! Right, I’m Athena. Athena Cypriel! It’s so nice to…” Athena trailed off again as the wheels started turning in her head. Her smile somehow widened even further with recognition. “Oh-my-gosh! I know you! You were the organizer of the Performer Showcases!”
Tavi smiled politely, not used to being on the receiving end of fan reactions. “I certainly helped out with the event, but my part wasn’t so—”
“It was so amazing! Thank you so much for putting it together. There’s so much I want to talk to you two about…” Athena caught her excitement, realizing she was making her much smaller guests uncomfortable with her bouncing. She slowly turned to see every customer was looking at her. Her face flushed red immediately, recalling she was in the middle of the lunch rush. She shot up to her feet, going rigid from embarrassment as she robotically grabbed the tray of food. She cleared her throat trying to remember how to talk again until realizing she was standing at her full height. With a gasp, she bent down slightly to try to appear less threatening. “Umm, sorry. I’ll be right back with the menus.”
Octavia and Vinyl stared blankly as the mortified minotaur turned and stiffly walked away, depositing several plates of food onto a couple tables before retreating to the kitchen.
“I’d never heard of stage managers getting fans,” Octavia muttered, but smiled in relief as she saw their properly scaled booth. “But she seems nice. Shall we take our seats?”
Vinyl nodded absently as she sat down. She recalled Athena being excitable at the Showcases, but she was not prepared for the massive minotaur's fangirling. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be too distracted by what little starpower DJ Pon-3 had to talk about Fancy Pants.
She rapped her hooves on the table to the beat in her head. There had to be a strategy to this, a game plan, or something. What could she talk about that would circle around to Fancy Pants? Fleur would know how to ask without anypony finding out. What would Fleur do?
“Okay, so Lady Faire distracts the guards by starting a heated political debate in the gallery room so the rest of the party can sneak out the back to corner the Saddle Arabian wazir. I add my diplomacy skill bonus and roll a charisma check!”
“Not helping, Fleur,” Vinyl complained under her breath.
“Here you go!” Athena said as she came back with a pair of menus and water glasses, only to stop when she noticed how far apart they were across the table. “Oh, right. Could you lean back in your seats?”
Both ponies did as they were asked as Athena set the glasses aside. She pulled two heavy latches on the side of the table and folded the leaves on top of each other, effectively cutting it in half. She then reached out to both booth seats’ backs and lurched them closer together until a loud clunk locked them in place. Finally, she pulled a tablecloth from a cubby hole under the table and gently laid it across to hide the hinges.
“There! Much better,” Athena said with a satisfied sigh as she dusted her hands off like a powerlifter. She lightly pinched the pony-sized waters and set them on the table with care. “Now, can I get you started on anything?”
Vinyl and Tavi had both gotten so lost watching the behemoth’s feats of strength coupled with motherly tenderness that they’d forgotten to look at the appetizers. Athena’s smile strained from nervousness, reminding them they were supposed to be eating. In unison, they popped open their menus to browse.
“I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” Octavia noted as she looked over the offerings. “What would you recommend, Miss Cypriel? I’ve never had Minoan.”
“Oh! Well, you could start off with the Minoan Mezze Maze. It has a little taste of everything I make here. I wouldn’t mind explaining the flavor combinations after sampling a few things on the platter; if you’re okay with me doing that, that is.”
“I think we’d both enjoy a guide if you’re not too busy with the rest of your customers.”
Athena’s face flashed with joy before her professionalism pulled it back. “No, it’s fine. They’ve already ordered. I just need to watch the floor if they buzz in with something else.”
Vinyl tilted her head. “Buzz in?”
“Yeah, see that button on the wall there?” Athena pointed across the table from her. “It might be a little high.”
Vinyl turned attention to the partition wall at her side and looked around until she saw a blue button above the center of the table.
“Just push it in like so—” Athena said as she leaned over the table and pressed it. A bell sounded and the minotaur stepped back to show the floor underneath her as the lapis lazuli tiles lit up and curved towards the kitchen. “—and that’ll let me know you need something!”
Vinyl whistled, impressed by the sheer amount of magic running through every aspect of the place. “You sure have a lot of enchanted items around here.”
“Yep!” Athena pushed the button again, dispelling the light trail. “It’s just me here, so I needed all the help I could get. Luckily, Fancy Pants knew some artificers that could help me get started. They even worked out these modular booths so I could sit all sorts of guests down!”
Fancy Pants! Okay, the topic was broached. Now Vinyl just needed to continue it as naturally as possible. What could she say to start asking questions about him?
“I’ll need to bring my husband here sometime,” Octavia said as she looked around the restaurant. “He loves seeing magical items at work.”
Vinyl growled to herself. That dorky bat-brain was going to insert himself without being here and derail her train of thought before it even pulled out of the station.
“Your husband?” Athena asked, somewhat bewildered.
“Yes, he’s a nocturne named Steeplechase.”
“Oh! Okay. Sorry! For a second I thought you two were…” Athena’s face flushed red again.
Octavia quirked her brow. “We were what?”
“Nothing! I’ll be right back with your appetizer!” she stammered as she ran for the safety of the kitchen.
“Wait! We didn’t—and she’s gone. Oh well. Rather nervous for such a large creature. Us together? Can you imagine if…” Octavia regarded Vinyl and giggled. “Now I see the misunderstanding.”
“What?” Vinyl asked.
“You look almost as nervous as Steeple was when he proposed to me.” Octavia giggled to herself. “While I’m flattered, you know it’d just break his fruity little heart if I left him for you.”
Vinyl grumbled to herself. Of course, she was already showing her nerves. Without her sunglasses to hide behind, she couldn’t fool anyone for long. But the last thing she needed was to cower behind a mask. It’d be okay just as long as they kept asking the wrong questions.
“Oh, Vinyl, it’s just a joke. You’ve been so high-strung today, I was hoping a little levity might wind you down. Unfortunately, Steeplechase is much better at that than I am.”
“Maybe I should’ve invited him to lunch then instead.”
“Here’s the thing about that idea: at least I know when to stop. Steeple would just take it and run until he was offering you his hoof in marriage as the punchline.”
“I guess you’re right. He’s so different when you’re around.”
“Because he likes to push my buttons, even if he gets in trouble for it later.”
“Sounds irritating.”
“Oh, it can be outright infuriating at times, but truly, I adore him for it.”
Vinyl narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out if Octavia was the one trying to lie to her for once. “You mean you actually like him messing with you all the time?”
“That’s not exactly what I meant. I like the way he makes me when he’s around, even if it’s embarrassing. You’re lucky you only met me after we were already together. I was an upwardly mobile stick in the mud.”
“You still are."
“Yes, but now I’ve graduated from just a stick to a pony who can enjoy mud, at least as long as I have him to play around in it with me,” Octavia clarified, her face brightening at the thought of her husband. “I would’ve never acted out a soap opera in a library before I met him. He taught me that it was still okay to loosen up and have fun.”
“If this is what you think ‘loosen up’ is, I don’t want to think of what a tightwad Tavi would be like.”
“Let me tell you, she was the worst. That Octavia always kept to herself and tried to be the most proper pony she could be. And you know what? It was absolutely dreadful. I think it would be overstating things to say the cliché ‘he completes me,’ but I know Steeplechase helps me be a better version of myself.”
Vinyl could get behind that. She’d gone through many iterations of herself before striking what she thought was gold with the DJ. It felt right. Her talents were being used to the best of their abilities, she was making her way in Canterlot, but thinking back, it was so difficult to stand alone. After that monolithic façade of strength crumbled into dust, she didn’t even know what a complete Vinyl Scratch looked like anymore.
“Well, what do you do for him then?” Vinyl probed.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, it sounds like Steeplechase was already good enough to be on his own. Is he just helping you?”
“Oh heavens no. I’m sure he’d be fine, as would I, but we’re both better off together. He can sometimes get so focused on a task that he neglects himself. One of the reasons he’s so thin is that he can go on research binges and forget to eat. Luckily, he’s got me now to drag him away from his books so we can enjoy each other’s company. Steeple can’t resist my charms, or my strength.”
Vinyl flopped her head down on the table. She didn’t know what she could bring to anypony, let alone somepony like Fancy Pants. He’d told her she was smart and a hard worker, but outside of music, magic, and plenty of emotional baggage, she didn’t know how he’d help her. All she’d wind up doing is siphoning off him more than she already was. What could she offer to a pony who already had everything?
“You don’t need to pressure yourself so much. I told you before that friendship isn’t a transaction. All you need to do is talk to her. That’s how you meet others.” Octavia leaned in and glanced around to make sure nopony was watching before whispering into Vinyl’s ear. “Not a lot of ponies know this, but you’re very likable.”
“That’s news to me,” Vinyl grumbled.
“You are. I know you’re frustrated by it, but I find your blunt honesty to be so refreshing, especially here in Canterlot. You hold fast to your principles and refuse to budge on them. I never have to second-guess anything around you. You’ll always break something down if it doesn’t sound right to you.”
Vinyl picked herself back up to look her friend in the eyes. “Even when I don’t want to?”
“You might think you don’t want to, but trust me, you’re so much better for it. White lies are still lies, you know. If you get too comfortable telling them, you’ll still find yourself in a tangled mess before too long. You might even forget they were lies in the first place. I’m glad to have somepony like you with so much integrity that I can’t even fool myself when you’re around.”
Integrity was a word she hadn’t heard outside of stories and her crystal research’s structural kind. She’d already shattered so many times, she didn’t know how there was enough Vinyl left to have anything resembling that. It felt more like a flaw in her design that held her back than a quality characteristic. She always thought if she was better at lying, everything would be so much easier. Lies seemed so much more comfortable to those that could live with them.
“Order up!” Athena announced as she rounded the corner carrying a massive tray. “The Minoan Mezze Maze platter for all your grazing pleasure.”
Instead of pulling a plate from the top, their hostess laid the whole thing down, taking up over half the table. Thin breadsticks had been cut in halves and arranged in a meandering pathway that led through various vegetables, salads, nuts, and spreads. Vinyl and Octavia marveled at the sheer amount of food that was present for a single appetizer. They’d somehow ordered a house party buffet to split between two ponies.
After the initial shock subsided, Octavia cleared her throat. “Is everything here mazed-themed?”
“This is the only one. It’s easy to have the breadsticks do the work, so I figured why not have fun with it? Here, let me show you.” Athena pointed to one of the breadsticks at the edges leading in. “First, you get lost in the flavor here.”The minotaur began to move her finger along the path. “Then, you wander around inside trying to mix things together,” she explained as she moved through the maze, circling over various selections of food along the way. “And finally, you make your way out the other end once you’ve found something you like,” she finished as her finger followed the line out the exit. “Ta-da! The Minoan Mezze Maze!”
Octavia and Vinyl both shared a look as the happy minotaur bubbled with excitement. They silently agreed that no matter what they did, no matter how hard they tried, they’d never be able to do anything cuter than what they had just witnessed.
“So, we just mix and match stuff at random?” Vinyl asked as she scanned up and down the mountain of food in front of them.
Athena nodded. “That’s part of the fun! But, I can show you some of my favorites if you’d like.”
“Please do,” Octavia said as she tried to take in the grocery run’s worth of food sitting on the table. “This is a bit overwhelming.”
“Oh! Sorry.” The minotaur tucked her dress apron under herself as she gently lowered herself to the floor, sitting on her legs. She immediately pointed to a bowl filled with white, lumpy sauce with a green garnish on the top. “So, I like to go with the tzatziki first. It’s yogurt with cucumber, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and a few other flavors. Just dip anything into it or take a spoonful by itself.”
Selecting a carrot stick, Vinyl took a little off the edge. She’d never considered yogurt could be used for anything outside of breakfast or dessert. It dripped more like a chunky, white salsa with a little greenery thrown in for good measure. As she was contemplating her food, she couldn’t help but notice Athena’s attention flicking between Vinyl and the carrot stick.
“Everything okay?” Vinyl asked.
“Oh! Yeah. Well, it’s just that if you don’t like tzatziki, it kind of knocks out most of the menu.” Athena shrank down as she apprehensively pushed her index fingers together. “It’s a staple of Minoan cuisine.”
Octavia grabbed a breadstick for herself and dolloped a spoonful on the flat side before taking her first bite. She chewed for a bit, waiting for the flavor to hit her before her eyes widened in pleasurable surprise. “It’s quite an interesting flavor. Mellow, with a little zesty kick.”
“You like it?” Athena asked.
“It’s light and lovely,” she assured the nerve-wracked minotaur. “Don’t keep our hostess in suspense, Vinyl.”
Following suit, Vinyl went all in, tossing the carrot stick into the air and catching it in her mouth with a full bite. Immediately, she could taste the carrot’s earthiness enveloped by the tzatziki’s mild tang. It wasn’t particularly powerful, but the full medley of the experience felt pleasantly flavorful.
“This is great!” Vinyl said, allowing the minotaur to sigh in relief. She quickly plucked a grape off one of the bunches and dipped it to see how it’d match. “What do you use it in?”
“It can go in almost anything. Gyros, pizza, vegetable skewers…”
“What’s a hero?”
“It’s the thing you probably read as ‘gee-ro’ or ‘guy-ro’ out front. Also, it’s today’s special! Diced trumpet royale or portobello mushrooms with a lightly spiced tzatziki sauce, mixed with grilled tomatoes and onions, all wrapped in spinach and pita bread.”
Octavia hummed in contentment as she sampled a tzatziki-dipped celery stalk. “If we have any room left after this ‘appetizer,’ then I think I know what I’d like to try next.”
“Of course! I’d be more than happy to send you home with some too. I haven’t met a pony yet who hasn’t liked my gyros.”
Vinyl took a piece of toasted pita bread and started stacking several vegetables at random before pouring tzatziki on top of all of it. “I can’t imagine anypony hating something like this unless they just don’t like yogurt.”
“That’s what Fancy said when he tried my cooking for the first time. I used to sell gyros from a food cart, but I barely had any business.”
Fancy Pants! Finally, the conversation was back on track. Vinyl swallowed to get herself a second to think, but went with her gut. “Really? But this is so good!”
“O-oh! Right, the thing is, I refused to use…” Athena paused before bitterly murmuring, “certain ingredients.” She sighed and crossed her arms. “When I was back in Minossus, I found things to emulate the flavors everyone liked, but most minotaurs outright refused to eat ‘prideless’ meals.”
“Prideless?” Vinyl asked.
“If I were to hazard a guess, griffons and minotaurs can eat more than plants,” Octavia said in a low whisper to avoid other customers overhearing them. “And, no offense Athena, but minotaurs aren’t known for having the patience for fishing.”
“Oh.”
“They hunted things like quarray eels and ophiotaurus, but at the end of the day, the most popular ingredients were farm-raised chicken or cockatrice!” the minotaur complained while pulling at her horns. “And my parents said I made it taste close enough. Everyone else just hated it because it was different!” She sighed and slumped her shoulders. “Sorry. It’s still a sore spot for me.”
Seeing her frustration, Octavia offered a carrot stick to Athena. “Of course. There’s no accounting for taste. Food is better with friends, right?”
“Thanks.” Athena took a bite for herself and smiled from the flavor. “I tried to show the others we could try a different way where we didn’t have to eat other creatures, but…” Athena drifted as she looked down at her half-eaten breadstick. Vinyl knew the feeling very well from getting ready in the morning.
“It felt useless? Like no matter what you did, you couldn’t change anything?”
Athena nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t want to hurt anything for a meal, but no one wanted my ‘fake food’ when there was the real deal across the street.” She sighed and finished her food with another bite. “I was just about to throw in the towel when Fancy Pants wandered up to my cart. I had no idea who he was, but the word ‘vegan’ caught his eye and he wanted to try a gyro. He took one bite and asked me why I didn’t have a line running around the corner. We got to talking and he offered to help me move my business to Equestria on the spot.”
Octavia chuckled. “That sounds just like him. Quite the lucky break, huh?”
“Yeah, but I told him no.”
“What?” Vinyl nearly dropped her food out of her magic. She thought she was the only one stupid enough to turn Fancy’s bits down. “But why? Wasn’t your stall going under?”
“It was, but somepony just showing up out of the blue and offering to fix all of your problems? It was just too good to be true. Things like that don’t just happen.”
Vinyl laughed nervously. “Can’t blame you there.”
“After that, he didn’t ask again, but he did show up every day after that to have lunch. When I asked him about what he was up to, he said eating the best food in town with no wait was a no-brainer. I might’ve turned him down, but he still wanted to support my business for as long as he was in the capitol.”
Vinyl tapped her hooves on the table. While this wasn’t exactly how it had played out for her, this story was hitting a little too close to home with her. “What changed?”
“I asked my parents about it the day before he was going to go back to Equestria what I should do. I was so worried. It’d be such a big change. Then, my father asked me what I had to worry about. If he was lying, I could snap Fancy like a breadstick.” Athena giggled innocently before noticing her guests’ stunned silence. “B-but I never would! It’s just a minotaur thing to say, I swear! It was really sweet of him, honest!”
Seeing that her guests weren’t buying it, Athena coughed into her fist and brushed her killer strength aside. “Anyway, while we were just trying to scrounge up enough to afford me moving to Equestria, Fancy mailed me a train ticket to Canterlot with a bag of spending bits to help me get started. It was already more than I had saved up, so I just packed up and left.
“I wanted to set up in Manehattan, but there were some logistical issues,” Athena growled, before shaking off whatever was bothering her. “When I got to Canterlot, I stayed a couple nights at his estate while he finalized a land purchase. After that, he showed me what he bought before he clarified he’d bought the land under the street. He hired engineers, geomancers, and artificers to make all of this just the way I always wanted. He paid for everything without even batting an eye.”
“Fancy never mentioned that he owns the Labyrinthiyum,” Octavia said.
“He doesn’t. I do.”
Vinyl blinked. “But you just said he paid for everything.”
“I know, but everything is under my name. He just paid for it.” Athena paused for a second. “Wait, no. He still owns the land, but that was because I couldn’t. I wasn’t an Equestrian at the time, so I could own everything but the land itself. Once I got my citizenship, I asked him to sell it to me, but he told me to wait until I had a bit more saved up to afford the taxes on it without risking my business.”
“Wait, so you pay rent to him?”
Athena shook her head.
“If he doesn’t own the restaurant and he doesn’t collect anything from you, what did he get out of the deal?”
“I didn’t know for the longest time. He always talked about this place in different ways for everyone he brought in, but he didn’t need to do all of this for me. It didn’t make any sense.”
The more she heard of the Labyrithiyum’s story, the more uncomfortable it became to listen to. “Did you ever ask him about it?”
“I wanted to, but I thought if I asked him, it’d break the spell. I’d find out some dark, sinister reason and be trapped forever. When I finally worked up the courage to ask him directly, do you know what Fancy said?”
The two ponies shared a glance before shrugging or shaking their heads.
“He just wanted me to feel at home.”
Vinyl blinked. Was that all? That’s what he wanted? She’d heard that excuse before, but it sounded so stupid to her at the time.
“So, what exactly do you want from me?” Vinyl asked. Even if she’d come to regret it, the uncertainty was too much to bear.
Fancy shook his head. “Your question presumes that I want something from you in the first place. I want for you to be happy and enjoy your time living and working here. I would say you have nothing to be about, but you have no reason to believe what I say. So instead, just know that I’d prefer you behave in whatever manner you see fit around me. I do hope it isn’t fear-driven, but if it is, I don’t mind doing my best to honestly earn your trust.”
Why? Why was that the answer? And why did she already know it?
Athena’s smile quivered as she sniffed and she wiped her glistening eyes with her wrist. Vinyl knew that overwhelming relief. It was a terrifying kindness only afforded by the Kingmaker who could throw bits around like they were nothing. And he’d said it was nothing while she was…
“And she is priceless.”
It didn’t make any sense. She’d never be able to completely change somepony’s life. While she could only spin records like a glorified gramophone, Fancy Pants could wipe reality away.
“I don’t know why Fancy Pants bothered with someone like me, but he did, and I’m so grateful for it. I have more friends than I ever thought I would and, even though it’s been a bit slow-going, the five years I’ve been here have been the best of my life. I owe him so much.”
“But how are you supposed to pay him back then? You can’t make it even! You never can!”
“That’s not the right way to think about it.” Athena laid her hand on Vinyl’s hoof. “Something like that? You can’t pay that back with money. But that’s fine. Instead, I work every day to make sure everyone who comes here feels my gratitude in every dish I cook.”
“But, he could just come back and tell you one day to pay up, right? He holds that power over you. He could just walk in here and demand anything he wanted! Doesn’t that scare you?”
“Fancy isn’t like that. He told me that he has more money than he knows what to do with, so when he finds something to do with it, he just does it.” Athena’s grip tightened as she looked Vinyl in the eyes. “But sometimes? I really wish I could repay him. I know I can’t, and it’s frustrating. He changed my life, but even if I could give him every last bit back, it’d be meaningless to him.”
But that wasn’t possible. If money was meaningless to him, why didn’t he just always do what he wanted? He wanted a vineyard to make wine, but it wasn’t optimal use of the space. If not for money, what was he optimizing for? Her heart clenched tight. She didn’t understand, but she wanted to so badly.
“Vinyl, please. Just listen to me. I don’t know what kind of debt you think you owe him, but you don’t need to be scared of it. I know it’s weird to say as someone who’s trying to make a living running a restaurant, but money isn’t everything. It’s just a tool that helps you do what you want. There are other things you can do. I provided food for his meat-eating friends. You just need to do what you feel is right, okay?”
The spark burned in her heart. It made sense. She knew it made sense, but she’d tried that before and it never worked. There were so many things she could do to try to express it, but she had no idea what the right one was. She just wanted a solid answer, but she didn’t know how to ask.
“Well, it seems you didn’t have to worry about messing a single thing up, Vinyl.” Octavia said, reminding the other two she was still there. “I think you two have a pretty solid friendship going, right Athena?”
Athena’s face sank as she realized what she was doing and quickly let go of Vinyl’s hooves. “Sorry! I’m supposed to be showing you the food and got caught up in the moment. I didn’t mean to get weird.”
“Don’t worry about it, Athena. I’ve got another friend who’s far touchier than you,” Vinyl assured with a pat of the minotaur’s steely forearm since there was no way she was reaching her shoulder.
“Oh good. I know I can get a little touchy-feely and since I’m so big you probably—wait did you just say another friend?” Athena shrank back in shock.
Vinyl couldn’t help but laugh at how mousy the minotaur could be. “If you’re up for it. Fancy wanted us to be friends. I think I’d like that too.”
“Count me in as well. Vinyl’s a good judge of character, and any friend of hers is a friend of mine.”
Athena beamed a smile and clapped her hands together as she bounced up and down. Vinyl and Tavi shared another quick glance and endearing smile, silently wondering how the brawny behemoth of a minotaur could be so adorable.
“Okay, well let’s keep going on this maze tour, shall we?” Athena suggested to her new friends as she dipped a breadstick into another bowl. “This next one is called baba ganoush!”
“Thank you so much for coming in, you two!” Athena said as she walked Vinyl and Octavia to the door.
Vinyl stumbled to her wobbly legs. She’d eaten way too much. Thankfully, they were the last table to have been seated before the lunch rush died, so Athena had helped them knock out a good portion of the Mezze Maze, but then she brought the gyros out. They were the size of foals, and Athena had managed to eat two of them with ease while she and Tavi were almost completely full after the appetizer alone.
“We should be the ones to thank you, Athena,” Octavia said, suppressing a burp from the sheer amount of food she’d eaten before surrendering to the portions. “I think this might be my new favorite restaurant in Canterlot.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but I will have to be mindful of the portions next time.” Octavia shifted her weight, bouncing the leftovers weighing her down. “I’ve never had four saddlebags worth of takeout before.”
Athena flicked her ear as she blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry. I really wanted to thank you both for everything, so I made everything me-sized.”
“I guess my evening pasta plans have changed. Are you sure you don’t want to take any of this, Vinyl?”
Vinyl shook her head. “Fancy’s got plenty of food already. Plus, Dapper doesn’t like having leftovers in the fridge. I can’t even keep a slice of pizza without him trying to toss it out.”
“Well, I need to get back home before these frost wards wear off. Want to come with me, Vinyl?”
She shook her head. “I should really get back to the audio lab. I’m already a couple hours late.”
“Okay, well then I’ll walk you to the school to give Father some of this as a peace offering. Hopefully Mother hasn’t already started on their dinner.”
“You just don’t want to carry a bunch of leftovers, do you Tavi?”
“If you’re feeling anything like me right now, you just want to find a bed and collapse for a day until it all goes straight to your flank.” Octavia turned to the minotaur who was guiltily biting her lip from stuffing her new friends. “Don’t worry, Athena. Letting loose once won’t kill me. If I keep eating like this though, I’ll simply need to get an impressive physique like yours to burn it off.”
Athena chuckled as she drummed her fingers together.
“Shall we, Vinyl?”
“Oh wait!” Athena called out as they stepped through the door. “Vinyl? Before you go, can you come here for a second?”
“I’ll be waiting upstairs, Vinyl. I’ll need the extra time to drag myself up the stairs while fending off the food coma.” Octavia grabbed two of the takeout saddlebags and placed them on the floor. “But I am not carrying all of this up by myself.”
“Okay, Tavi. I’ll be right behind you,” Vinyl said as she draped the takeout over her back. It was like carrying two sacks of groceries home with the sheer amount inside. “So, what’s up, Athena?”
“I know we just met, but…” the minotaur tried to swallow her nerves, but her trepidation still played out on her lips. “Would it be okay if I give you a hug?”
“Uhh, sure? I guess.”
Athena waved her hands. “No, you don’t have to if you don’t want to! It’s okay.”
“Really, it’s fine. Just not too long, okay? I’m not a touchy pony.”
“Thank you.”
Athena took a deep breath and got on her knees again. She extended her arms out and waited. For a moment, Vinyl was confused. Usually Fleur just glomped onto her, but Athena was letting her change her mind if she wanted. Vinyl already said it was okay, so it was okay. She approached carefully and let the minotaur wrap her massive arms around her.
Athena gently lifted the saddlebags off Vinyl’s back as she pulled the little pony into a hug. She pushed Vinyl up, letting the DJ’s head rest on her shoulder. Vinyl would never be able to wrap her legs around the minotaur, so she adjusted herself to hug Athena’s neck. It was still as taut as the rest of her, but Athena’s white fur was so soft. She was just a big, fluffy, muscle-bound blanket.
“I’m sorry,” Athena whispered. “I probably need this more than you do.”
Vinyl nodded, but was unsure why Athena needed a hug from her in the first place. Athena’s grip tightened slightly, but not uncomfortably so. She wished Fleur had this level of restraint. After a few more moments, Athena breathed out and let Vinyl back down.
“I’m so glad you came today. Even if you didn’t want to be my friend, I’d just be glad to know you’re doing better.”
Vinyl tilted her head. “Okay?”
“I know it sounds strange, but I’ve been wanting to give you a hug for a while. Fancy told me what happened to you after that big snowfall event, and I just…” Athena took a breath to calm herself down, “it broke my heart.”
“What? But, why? We’d never even met!”
“No, but I knew you were hurting. I just couldn’t do anything to help until now. At the Showcases, I nearly chased you down when you dropped your sunglasses. I didn’t know what was wrong, but I just wanted to hold you and tell you that everything was going to be okay. Still, I know I’m scary, so I would’ve just made it worse.” Athena smiled softly with a tinge of apprehension. “B-but now that we’re friends, I can try to help, right?”
“Yeah, but you can’t just say that. You don’t even know what’s wrong. How could you even say that?”
“I don’t know. I just thought that, maybe if I said it enough, it would come true. That’s what I want to believe anyway.”
Vinyl’s ear twitched. There was something so comforting about that notion. A nagging desire pulled at her, something she didn’t want to remember. She clamped her heart down to stop it and steeled her gaze.
“Athena, you can’t just—”
No!
Vinyl froze as she felt the spark surge against her. It knew Vinyl was cold, and it wanted—no, it demanded to be warm. It was small, frail, and whiny, but refused to be ignored. It flared with all of the weaknesses she didn’t want to show and overflowed with everything she really wanted. She knew why.
Someone was right there. Just in front of her within her reach. All she needed to do was extend her hoof, but she just couldn’t do it. For all the promise of warmth, there was the threat of it leaving again. Vinyl nearly screwed up everything with her sister, and they’d been friends for years. She barely knew Athena. Her head listed from her unsteady desires, sinking her gaze to her hooves as the fear bore down on her back. But then, that’s when she saw her.
That filly. That stupid little filly that wouldn’t shut up. She was pulling at Vinyl’s legs with all of her feeble strength. She wanted Vinyl to move. She wanted Vinyl to connect. She wanted Vinyl to get out of the static. As she struggled uselessly trying to get the stubborn mare to budge, her eyes cracked open to see Vinyl could finally see her. She stopped reared up onto her hind legs, pressing her forehooves against Vinyl’s chest.
Stop it, please! I don’t want to be alone anymore! the filly begged as she pounded as hard as she could on Vinyl’s chest, flashing the spark with each desperate blow. Vinyl acquiesced to the filly’s desires as she swallowed her defenses.
“Can you, maybe say it now?” Vinyl quickly asked.
“Of course, I’d be happy to!” Athena gave Vinyl a big thumbs up and winked. “Don’t worry, Vinyl! Everything is going to be o-kay!”
“No! Not like that!” Vinyl barked back, causing Athena to recoil in shock. Catching her temper, she took a steadying pause and tried again. “Could you maybe say it like you said it before?”
Athena nodded as she softened. “Don’t worry, Vinyl. Everything is going to be okay.”
Vinyl stomped her hoof. It still wasn’t enough. She was still so cold, and it hurt. It was getting hard to see through the water clouding her vision. She just wanted to be warm. “Could you hold me? Please?”
The minotaur gasped and punched through the ice to pull Vinyl out and into her deep and caring embrace. Vinyl could feel Athena’s hand gently cradling the back of her head as Athena’s fingers cupped around her ears to block everything but her tender support. “Shh… it’s okay, Vinyl. It’s going to be okay. I promise.”
“But I’m scared,” Vinyl admitted. She hated what she was doing, but it felt so warm. She gripped Athena’s apron like a life preserver and clung on tight. “I’m just going to mess everything up again. It’s going to be all my fault!”
“You won’t mess anything up, Vinyl. Just do what you feel is right, and I’m sure it will work out.”
“What if it’s wrong though?”
Athena pulled back and wiped the tears from Vinyl’s eyes. “I don’t think it’s wrong.”
“How can you even say that?”
“What’s wrong with liking somepony? I think it’s beautiful.”
Vinyl’s breath hitched. “H-how did you…”
Athena covered her mouth with her free hand. “Oh, Hades. I’m sorry! I didn’t realize you were keeping it a secret. Don’t worry. Barkeepers have to be confidential if they want their favorite customers to keep coming back. I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”
“I can’t believe I’m already screwing up this badly!” Vinyl pushed her on her temples and growled at herself. “What am I supposed to do? I don’t know what to do with these feelings? What if he finds out before I even know?”
“No! It’s okay, I promise! If it’s any consolation, I don’t think Octavia noticed,” Athena said with a weak shrug. “I’m just really good at keying into the emotions of others. Your heart was practically singing when we were talking about him today.”
Vinyl’s heart sank even further. “You mean it’s that obvious?”
Athena balked briefly, but wiped it away with a nervous chuckle. “I mean, no! I have no idea who you were talking about?” Athena’s smile strained from the obvious lie.
I was wrong! Bail-bail-bail! Vinyl could hear the filly scamper away and crawl back behind the mirror to hide. For once, Vinyl wished she could join her.
“And I thought I was bad at lying,” Vinyl huffed with a forlorn chuckle.
“Well, the only other pony we talked about was Fancy Pants, and you really glowed when I mentioned him, so I just kept talking about him and…” Athena trailed and put Vinyl back down on the floor and bowed to apologize. “I’m so sorry.”
At least she’d be able to come right out and say it then. “Well, if you’re the expert, what should I do about it?”
Athena flicked her ear in thought. “Oh, I wouldn’t know. I’ve only read novels. My eating habits are kind of a turn-off to most of the dates I suffered through, and the only other minotaur I know in Equestria is Iron Will. He’s… a bit much.”
“Ever thought of dating a pony?”
Athena looked away with a lonely frown. “We’re completely different species. I wouldn’t be able to do anything for him.”
“Woah, woah, woah!” Vinyl swatted at the air, trying to cleanse it of the conclusions Athena was leaping to. “Who said anything about that? What about just having fun?”
“No. Dates aren’t fun for me. I’m always too nervous about them.”
“What’s the point of dating if you’re not having fun?”
“My parents always wanted grandchildren. I never really asked anyone out, so they’d find a mate they liked and set me up. I rarely got through dinner with any of them.”
“That sounds awful.”
“It was! I hate interviews,” Athena whined as she pulled at her horns.
“Well, there’s your problem. Maybe minotaurs do things differently, but you’re in Equestria now. You can do whatever you want!”
“Like what?” Athena asked innocently.
“Like, what if you don’t even want to date a guy? What about a girl?”
“Oh. Well I…” Athena trailed as she thought about it. “I don’t know. I was trying to get stable for so long, I guess I never thought about it.”
Vinyl laughed morosely. “Looks like we both have more in common than we thought. We both have no idea what we want.”
“Well, you do, right?”
“Wha—No? That’s why I was asking you in the first place!”
“So, why don’t you just do what you want to do and have fun? It’s Equestria, right?” Athena said as she shrugged her shoulders.
“It’s not that easy for me.”
“Well…” Athena got off the floor and brushed her work apron and dress off as she stood to her full, monstrous height. “What makes you think it’ll be easier for me?” Athena joked as she looked down at the little pony.
“You have a point.”
“Don’t worry, Vinyl. Everything will be okay!” Athena cheered before angling a thumbs-up down at her friend. “I’ll be rooting for you!”
“Thanks, Athena. I’ll be doing the same for you. After all, somepony…”
A really special somepony?
“…somepony important to me said something that’s really helped me a lot recently,” she finished diplomatically.
Fine. I guess that’s close enough…
Athena tilted her head. “Oh? What’s that?”
Can you at least say it the way I want to?
Vinyl nodded, letting her heart take the reins.
“You deserve as many friends as you want to make, Athena!”