//------------------------------// // Vinyl, Chapter 9: The Masks We Wear // Story: Never Miss A Beat // by TaleweaverTheUnicorn //------------------------------// Vinyl lost herself staring at the crystalline chandelier overhead. The manifold crystals dangling from strings refracted the light into ten thousand brilliant spots that danced in her vision. Whoa dude, check out the colors. “. . . To which I responded, Oh, darling, surely you can relate, with your own hooves in such a state. . .” Her date droned on, a look of vicious satisfaction on her face as she recounted past victories. Vinyl sighed and placed bits on the table, catching the eye of the waitress, who nodded.  Vinyl excused herself to the bathroom. Her date hardly seemed to notice. . . . “Have you ever considered dying your coat? You’d look great in pink, I think.” “Uh, nah, I'm pretty happy with it.” Vinyl said, defensively. “You know I’m a renowned stylist. If you’re to be my wife, you will have to dress and groom appropriately-” The sharp unicorn sniffed slightly. “Yeah, and if I show up to my work looking stiff with a pink coat, I lose all my fans.”  Vinyl shot back. “We’d have to agree to keep out of each other’s business, shouldn’t be too hard.” “Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!” “. . . Yeah who are we kidding, this isn’t gonna work.” . . .  “. . .which would have been fine, except there were a bunch of zebras there. You know how they can be-” “Check please.” Vinyl sighed. . . . Vinyl huddled deeper into her jacket. Pegasus Seasonal changes be darned, spring always came late to Canterlot. The snow was retreating, but the cold was absolutely giving them the rude hoof gesture. Vinyl was basically an expert meteorologist at this point, given how much she was standing in the cold waiting on her dates, or standing in the cold waiting on taxis, or getting impatient and just walking back to a hotel in the cold. . . This was a miserable combination of the first and second. Astral finally had a free night after, like, two weeks, so she and Vinyl were going to go eat gross cheap food. After days of trendy restaurants, nothing sounded more appealing than that. Well, except for maybe the hotel afterwards, heh. Real shame about Astral being some weird noble but not noble thing where she couldn’t marry. She’d be pretty darn perfect as a wife, honestly. Vinyl was a little smitten, she had to admit. Unusual for her. “Vinyl!” A melodious, refined voice. Vinyl turned that direction, a big grin on her face. Her magic seized a little package from her jacket pocket. “Ah, there you are. Got you a lit-” Vinyl’s magic faltered, and the box fell from her grip. The hoof-bracelet within managed to escape its imprisonment and made an immediate break for a nearby sewer drain, rolling between the grate before Vinyl’s magic could catch up. “Oh for Celestia’s sake!” “I am so sorry!” Octavia said. She sounded it. Her brilliant purple eyes were full of sorrow as they held Vinyl’s own in a long gaze. “I-I am sorry. Again. You are not wearing your glasses, and I-” “Yeah, I was on a date, whatever.” Vinyl ignited her horn, sending little globs of light down the grate, hunting for the gleam of gold. Luckily, the thing hadn’t gone too far, wedged as it was on a stick. She managed to wrap a tendril of blue magic around it and pull it slowly free. “Do you need something? Sorta on my way to another one.” “Um, well.” Octavia frowned, her eyes wavering. “You have very thoroughly scrambled my train of thought. As has my own foolishness. Here, let me clean-” “Got magic. Don’t need your help.” Vinyl said, shortly. She avoided looking at the mare, the better to confront the pitiful beast that whined with loneliness in her chest. “You might want to find your train and then get on it. Stellar will be here soon and I don’t need you throwing a fit today.” “You are due an apology for that behavior as well. It was- I was jealous.” Octavia said, speaking quickly. Her voice was raw with emotion. “I cannot apologize enough, in fact. My behavior was most unbecoming and I would dearly love to make amends with you. That is why I’m here.” “Let's see how long that keeps up.” Vinyl said. She was wise to this tactic. Everypony was really keen on apologizing until they had to actually keep up with what they promised to do or not to do. “Any particular reason you’re picking now as opposed to any other point in the past two months?” “Well, yes. I was not going to bother you, but I fear you might be in danger, and that forced my hooves.” Octavia produced a small compact full of some kind of green goop. “You should keep this.” “Danger? What are you talking about?” Vinyl raised an eyebrow, still avoiding looking at Octavia. “And what the heck is that crap?” “It is a zebra-made salve. It will force changelings to reveal their true form.” Octavia spoke quickly, as if rushing to beat Vinyl to the punch. Lucky for her, Vinyl was too stunned to say much of anything. “We- I was concerned about you. I fear that Astral-” “Oh for Celestia’s sake! You’ve got to be kidding!” Vinyl snapped. “Some apology this is!” “That is not the- I do not care if you have a relationship with her!” Octavia said, her eyes screaming that she was lying. “I am trying to protect you!” “Uh huh, right.” “Your mother said-” “Oh, mother said! There’s a word you can trust!’ Vinyl laughed bitterly. This was too rich. “Of course she put you up to this. Are you dumb or are you straight up cruel?” “There is no Lady Astral Brilliance!” Octavia spoke over her. Her voice was low, but intense. “She checked, and I checked again after, just to be sure. There is no such pony, either in the peerage or in Celestia’s cabinet. I’m sorry, Vinyl, but it’s true. I can show you the list if you wish.” “That-” Vinyl took a deep breath, and seemingly inhaled all of the unspoken doubts she’d had about the pony herself. She choked on them, hacking and coughing. Octavia hovered, obviously concerned but unwilling to put a hoof on her. Good. “That’d be just my luck. I found the one pony in Equestria that’s chill, and she’s a fake.” “I really am sorry. I hope it turns out that we are wrong.” Octavia said, sincerely. Vinyl finally looked at her. She was as lovely as she remembered, a little like she hadn’t slept, but- No. Stop. Never again. “But not too sorry, right?” Vinyl quipped. “No. I am quite serious. I do not wish any more hurt upon you, Vinyl.” Octavia nervously brushed a hoof over her mane, smoothing out a couple rogue hairs.  “Well, whatever.” Vinyl sighed, the What-has-my-life-become type. She wasn’t ready to forgive Octavia. Not for words alone. But she’d accept the olive branch, as it was. At least for now. “What’ve you been up to?” “Working. The Garden Party must go on. You are missed.” Octavia’s voice was still strained. “And . . . I am working on something. For you. A proper apology.” “Uh, what?”  “It is not yet complete, but I hope you will. . . entertain it, when it is.”  “Suuuure?” Vinyl said, backing away a couple steps. “Why are you making it sound so creepy?” “No! That’s not-” Octavia clapped a hoof to her forehead hard enough that a bruise immediately started forming. “My apologies, I just mean- It’s a process. I want to be sure you know I mean it, and not- I wouldn’t have bothered you if I was not worried- I will leave now. Goodbye!” Vinyl watched her run away, fighting with all her might not to smile. It was convincing. More convincing that Trade had ever been. She could almost believe it. Almost. She seemed genuinely sorry. And very flustered. She was curious about this apology, as long as it didn’t turn out to be something crazy. Maybe it was best to receive it in a public place, just in case Octy had gone totally crazy. No following her into any dark alleys or eating any pastries she might offer. “Everything all right, Vi?” A pair of gentle hooves settled over her back, along with a comforting weight. “Tell me that’s you, Astral. I can’t take any more crazy today.” Vinyl smiled, effortless this time. “It’s me. You’ll have to tell me about it. Perhaps over some hayburgers?” “Oh sweet sunlight, that sounds great.” Vinyl sagged. “If I have to eat one more exotic salad, I think I’ll straight up implode. Those things suck more energy out of you than they give, I swear.” “Well, some of them actually do. It’s for weight loss.” Astral fell into step besides Vinyl. “Err, how many did you eat?” “. . . Too many. I guess that explains why I feel like I just popped about three vials of Bubble.” Vinyl laughed. “Maybe we should get three burgers.” Astral laughed, and the two of them lapsed into comfortable silence, their bodies just barely touching as they strode down the street. Astral’s height, as always, was weirdly comforting to Vinyl. She reached into her jacket again for the gift, but her magic found something else, first. The compact, full of goop.  Am I really gonna do that? Vinyl wondered. I’m no fan of changelings. Still get the occasional nightmare, even. But if she is one, she’s doing a heck of a job being sweet. Or maybe that’s just mind magic? Gah! “Something wrong?” Astral bumped her, nearly knocking her over. She was almost as strong as an earth pony, sheesh.  “Ah, well, nah. I got you something, though!” Vinyl brought out the leg band with a small burst of blue sparkles for flare, making the gold dance and gleam in the setting sun. “Just a little something, because I appreciate you~” “Aw, Vinyl, you shouldn’t have.” She took it, but a slight hint of reluctance, almost disgust, crossed her muzzle.  “What, gold not your color?” Vinyl teased. “Oh, no, I feel guilty accepting any gifts at all, to be honest.” Astral sighed, but slipped it on over her hoof. “I’m sorry. It is lovely though.” “Ah, is it a work thing?” Vinyl asked, her ears pricking up despite herself. “What did you say you did again? Not-quite-a-noble?” “Law, Vinyl.”  “Right. Sorry, head like a sieve.” Vinyl laughed, even as her heart sank. She’d said bureaucrat last time, right? How do you get caught in a lie about your own job? That’s like infiltration one oh one. She hadn’t even really been trying. “For the record, Vinyl, the only gift I want from you is your company.” Astral beamed at her, nuzzling her briefly. “No physical objects required.” “Ah, well. Maybe you can accept just one more then. You’re always complaining about your headaches, so. . . A salve that should help.” Vinyl grinned as best she could. She pulled out the little compact, scooping up just a little with a magical hoof. “Just dab a little around the horn. Works like a charm. Or maybe it is a charm, heh.” “Oh! That’s actually very thoughtful. Thank you.” Astral smiled, but backed away. “I’m actually just fine right now, but I’ll definitely use it later.” “Oh come on, you were complaining earlier on the phone. Just let me get a little-” “No really, I’m fine- It’s gone now, no big-”  Vinyl jabbed the magic hoof at her, and she ducked, retreating. Vinyl advanced. Her face had lost all humor, and a trickle of sweat ran down her nose. Vinyl’s heart sank. How would she even know what this was if it wasn’t true? Bucking horseapples. With a feint and a twist of the horn, she managed to get a glob smack in the middle of Astrals face. Immediately, Astrals appearance began to fuzz. The fur around the spot began to run, like paint splashed with acetone.  Purple ran away and faded to pure prismic white. The horn grew, extending like a telescope. The legs stretched yet taller. A pair of glorious wings burst first from the fuzz. With a final shudder, Astral was no more, only the pink eyes remaining the same. In her place, stood Princess Celestia. Several ponies sharing the road with them gasped. They only had a brief moment to be amazed, for just seconds later, both white ponies vanished in a pop of magic.  Unfortunately, Vinyl reappeared. They were alone. Somewhere. A room. Fancy, maybe. Vinyl’s eyes gazed over it sightlessly. Her eyes wouldn’t focus on anything else besides the pony she thought she knew. “You have questions, I’m sure.” Celestia said, her voice tactful, and a little sad. “Y. . .” Vinyl hesitated for a solid ten seconds. “Yeah, I’d say so.” “I am happy to answer them.” She settled on a small couch. She left a little space, but called no attention to it.  “I mean. Why, I guess?” Vinyl asked. Her voice was remarkably calm. Maybe she was in shock. She eyed the spot, but elected to stand. “It is tricky enough to make a connection with another pony as a civilian. As you are well aware.” She folded her perfect gold-shoed hooves. “Perhaps you can even understand being judged by position first and personal qualities last.” “Uh. Yeah. Tell me about it.”  “Alas, a roguishly charming mane cut and a pair of dark glasses is not quite enough to disguise myself.” Celestia smiled, a little mischievously. “As for keeping it up so long, I had no such plans to. I had visited your show merely for a night off. Our connection afterwards was a pleasant surprise, as was you arriving for the Garden Party. I had no intention of turning our dalliances into a regular occurrence, but. . . these things sneak up on all of us.” “Guess so, huh?” Vinyl scrubbed a hoof hard through the back of her mane, making bits of it stick out in all directions.. “At least now I get why you can’t exactly marry me. Heh.” “Indeed.” Celestia chuckled, not unkindly. “So, how would you like to proceed, my little pony? I will, of course, understand if you wish to terminate our meetups.” “That seems kinda. . . mean.” Vinyl said, awkwardly. “I am no stranger to rejection, Vinyl.” She smiled that smile again. It made Vinyl’s heart swell slightly. “As you yourself said, I am rather terrible at flirting. I will not hold it against you in the slightest, particularly given the circumstances.” “Well, I don’t really want to do that either. I’m not even mad, I’m just-” Vinyl considered “Freaking tired, really. It’s just one more thing that’s not what I expected it to be. My hooves are getting brush burns from all the rugs that keep getting pulled from under me.” “That is entirely fair.” “So. . . I probably just need some time, I think.” Vinyl sighed, taking off her glasses to look at the Princess plain. “I feel like I probably should be mad, but. . . I like you. Or, I liked Astral, I guess. And you’re still her, mostly, if I get the vibe, so. . . Yeah. Probably. In a week or so. Which, given your busy schedule, which actually makes more sense now. . . by the next time we meet up anyway.” “More than fair. I look forward to it.” Celestia beamed. “Ahem, do you have somewhere you’d like me to teleport you back to?” “Uh, just the burger place, I guess. I’m still freaking starving.” Vinyl groaned. “Or just to the hotel. I’ll get delivery or something and brace for more potential bride lunches before my show tomorrow.” “Truly, the life of a noble.” Celestia’s horn sparkled gold, and Vinyl felt gentle tendrils wrap her in a warm, magical embrace. “You have Astral’s number, if and when you feel like a rendezvous.”  “Sure thing. One favor?” Vinyl grinned broadly as she began to vanish. “Lose the Astral look next time we’re alone. I think I like this one even better.” The last thing she saw was a spark of red on the Princess’ cheeks.