//------------------------------// // Meet the Destructive Device // Story: No Longer an Enigma // by enigmaMystere //------------------------------// Vinyl and Enigma arrived in a field outside of the city walls but making sure to stay within the translucent purple shell surrounding the city. The red stallion frowned, glancing around in confusion. “...Vinyl, there’s nopony here...” She nodded, carefully pointing the speaker at a boulder. “I know, bro.” He scratched his head, looking at the blue-maned unicorn. “...but...what’s the point of testing out a speaker if there’s no one else around to hear it?” She glanced at him briefly, shaking her head in exasperation. “So no one gets hurt if it malfunctions.” The disk jockey tapped her chin, humming to herself. “Say, bro, do you mind looking at that boulder, real quick?” He glanced over at the rock, an eyebrow quirked. “...yeah, it’s a boulder...a small one, but still a boulder...” Vinyl facehoofed, groaning softly. “I meant up close, bro.” Enigma thought for a bit, wondering why she wanted him to do that. Finally, he just shrugged, deciding it was probably best that he didn’t question his boss. He trotted up to the huge stone, staring at it. ...what am I even looking for? The disk jockey watched him, smirking slightly. “...this is sure to get this loser off my back...nopony has the right to keep me from drinking!” She stood up, leaning across the top of the speaker, depressing the big red button with a hoof. “Oops.” The front of the device slowly opened, a hissing sound filling the air. She turned away, snickering to herself, waiting to hear the other pony’s cry of shock. “...I suppose I didn’t fix it. My bad.” Vinyl blinked in confusion. “...wait, what?” She turned back, seeing the red stallion staring down at the speaker, which, at that moment, sounded like a broken record. D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D- The unicorn groaned, holding her head in her hooves. “...I can’t bucking believe this...” She flinched as a hoof gently laid on her shoulder. Warily, she looked up, directly into the maroon eyes of the pegasus. He smiled softly at her, trying his best to make her feel better. “Don’t worry, Vinyl, I’m sure we can fix it, together.” The disk jockey kept staring at him for a few seconds before breaking it off. She opened the side compartment, frowning once more. “Let’s do this quickly. I can’t stand this noise much longer.” Enigma nodded, quietly sitting next to her. They stayed like that for a while, examining every inch of the wiring, trying to figure out exactly what was wrong. He started to extend a hoof but hesitated, slowly pulling it back. Vinyl raised an eyebrow, poking him in the side. “If you have an idea, then share it.” He audibly gulped, pointing a shaky hoof at a single wire. “...it’s not connected, there...” She leaned closer, frowning deeper. “...so it is...” Her horn lit up, pushing the wire securely against the contact point. She nodded, pulling her head out of the device. “I can’t see any-” D-D-D-DROP THE BASS! The speaker blasted a white light out of the front, twin tendrils of blue twisting about the beam. It shot directly at the boulder, blasting it to pieces and hitting the magenta shell behind it, creating ripples like one would see in a lake. They both stared in shock at this, slowly turning to look at each other. She was beaming in excitement, but he was scowling at her. They both shouted at the other at the same time. “We You tried did to kill me! it!” Vinyl blinked, the gears in her head visibly turning as she tried to comprehend what the pegasus had just said. She pouted, turning her head away. “I didn’t think the bass cannon would be that powerful...” The red pony just stared at her, jaw dropping in shock. “You call it a bass cannon! What did you think it would do? Shoot rainbows that turn the target into plush toys!?” She gave him a blank look, an eyebrow quirked. “Why won’t you just be glad it wasn’t working before?” The feminine stallion sighed, trying to calm himself down. “...I suppose you’re right...it was lucky I didn’t fix it completely in the first place...” He turned to Vinyl, frowning slightly. “...so...what should I do, now?” “That’s your problem, dude. You have the rest of the day off...at least, until tonight.” She trotted away, pulling her bass cannon behind her and calling back at him over her shoulder. “I hear the Art Museum has a new piece. That sounds like something you’d be interested in!” Enigma watched her leave, rubbing his hoof against his chin contemplatively. “...that does sound nice...and rather calming, hopefully...then again, I do need to get food for myself and Broadway...”