“Yah think we should wake her? Ah mean, she is kinda cute like that, but that can’t be good for her neck.”
“Yeah, probably- Hey, wait, she’s cute while sleeping? You told me everypony looks like a drugged slob when they sleep, and I was no exception.”
“Yer not. And not everypony does, just a certain few,” Applejack corrected her wife. “You just happen to be one of ‘em.”
“Real romantic, AJ. Hard to believe we’re actually married,” Dash quipped sarcastically. Stretching out a hoof, she poked the sleeping cellist in the flank, who just kicked her hoof away and turned over. When Dash turned to look at Applejack, the cowpony just replied with a confused shrug and a turn on a back hoof.
“Ah’m goin’ to bed -- let her sleep,” the tired farmer said, stifling a yawn. Without hesitating, Dash joined her as the two of them climbed the stairs to the second floor and the bed that beckoned them. On the first floor, a certain cellist’s eye flicked open as soon as she heard the creaking of bedsprings. She slowly raised herself off the hardwood floor and sharply twisted her neck to the left, sending several muscle-relaxing pops through her body. Octavia sighed quietly and looked out the window. The moon rose slowly over the peaceful land, shining like a beacon. Octavia felt it calling to her, urging her to press ahead.
“I will not let passivity get the better of me this time. Vinyl needs me, and I am going to find her,” she whispered to nopony in particular. The stars seemed to watch her silently, awaiting her next action. Octavia herself hadn’t even considered this, despite lying painfully on the floor for nearly half a day now.
“Well, who’s stoppin’ yah?”
Octavia whipped around so quickly that her neck popped once more. Standing just past the staircase was Applejack, watching her with her motherly emerald eyes. Octavia felt her pulse pick up and her cheeks grow hot.
“Applejack, oh, I- I just, umm,” Tavi began, which was quickly silenced by a raised hoof from her friend.
“Save it. Ah’m not here to try and convince you to stay. Ah’m here to do the opposite, actually,” the cowpony said with a smile. “Rainbow and Scratch are two peas in a pod alright. They’re more alike than they’d like to admit, and sometimes Ah wonder why they didn’t just end up with each other. But they ain’t always alike in good ways. When Dash gets hurt, she gets… Lost, destructive. Last time it happened, she damn near snapped her wing in half runnin’ away. Now, Vinyl ain’t got any wings, but she does got a heart that’s achin’. Yah may not see it, and Ah sure as heck doubt Dashie ever sees it, but when Scratch looks at yah, I see it.
“She loves you, Octavia. She may not know it herself, but she wants to marry yah. She just loves herself too much to let her guard down. If she gets hurt again, she knows it’d be the death of her. Ah know this because Ah’ve watched her before, watched when she’d look at yah. Ah know the feeling. Everythin’ just floats away and suddenly it’s only you and them. The world could fall apart around yah and yah’d still be standin’ there, lost in their magic. That’s how she looks at yah, and Ah’ll be damned if Ah’m gonna let a knucklehead like mah wife get in the way of that,” Applejack said calmly. Her eyes shined with tender feelings, and the soft smile that came to her lips was characteristic of a pony lost in the magic of better times.
Octavia nodded eagerly as her companion tossed a satchel to her.
“Everythin’ you’ll be needin’ should be in that bag, with a few extra bits to spare in case of emergency. Now get gone before Dash wakes up and spends the next hour lecturin’ us both about goin’ behind her back.”
Once again, the grey mare nodded resolutely before tossing the brown bag onto her back and stealthily walking to the door. Just as she was about to leave, she looked back at Applejack. The cowpony smiled silently at her and slowly nodded, eyes closed. In that moment, Octavia knew that she was doing the right thing in trying to make things right with her marefriend. Not even bothering to close the door, the cellist bolted into the poorly-lit street and toward the train station. The ever-present stars observed emotionlessly, and the luminous moon arced its path across the heavens.
“No. Way.”
“Yes way.”
“Hahah, you’ve got to be pulling my leg!”
“Not even a little bit. It’s all real.”
Tails rolled across the floor with peals of laughter, which inspired Vinyl Scratch to kick him in his brown leg roughly. Taking deep breaths, he finally managed to calm himself down long enough to form a sentence.
“Sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t have laughed at that, but I mean c’mon! You looked like a chunk of white cotton candy,” he attested, which sent him laughing uproariously again. Vinyl laughed lightly as well, only holding back because it comments like that that drove her to change her hair in the first place.
“Yeah, yeah, yuk it up, dude. So I was a bit of a fur-ball back then, at least I don’t look like a try-hard boy band wannabe,” she joked, which caused Tails to laugh even harder. After a few solid minutes of laughter, they both calmed themselves and sat back in their seats.
“So I showed you mine, now you show me yours,” Vinyl said cheekily, flicking her tail into the colt’s face. He smiled at her use of wordplay, but sighed sadly, closing his eyes briefly.
“Alright, a deal’s a deal. So what do you wanna know?”
“Why do you go by Tails? What’s your real name?”
He frowned so briefly that Vinyl wasn’t even sure she’d actually seen it. “Alrighty then. My parents named me Tree Chaser. They weren’t exactly the brightest bulbs in the house, but they were good people. A few years back, some guy heard about my name and said that they should have named me ‘Tail Chaser’. I liked the idea and his wit, so in the morning, I went and got my name changed. I’ve been Tails ever since,” he explained. The DJ nodded in understanding, chewing her bottom lip for a moment.
“What do you mean ‘in the morning’,” she asked.
“Well, I couldn’t just let a witty one like that go, could I? He swore over and over that he was straight, but no straight colt would ever do the things he did…” Tails said with a grin. He finished by looking out the window of the train and onto the dried, cracking, decayed remains of the Mohoové Desert.
As disturbed by his vulgarity as Vinyl was, she couldn’t help but admire him. He was a pony who saw what he wanted and took it, and Scratch absolutely loved those kinds of ponies. They were killer at parties.
“Tails, what are you in Las Pegasus for again?”
He smiled coyly. “Depends who you ask. Most likely, it’ll be for a concert, maybe a business proposition, or I might even be a scout of Equestria’s Next Top Model,” he said with a wink. Vinyl couldn’t help but laugh at her new friend’s honesty.
“Well, if you’re looking for a concert, I am doing a gig there. From what I’ve heard, drinks for the DJ and her groupies are free, so if you’re in the mood for some partying and mares with inhibited decision making skills, I think I might be able to add you to my VIP list,” she said casually. Tails seemed to perk up at the mere mention of drinks and possible targets.
“Oh, you can count me in for sure!”
“Excellent. Meet me at the Upper Eastside Gentlecolt’s Club at nine,” she told him as she gathered up her things. Tails’s eyes grew wide.
“Your gig is at a strip club?!” He threw his hooves around her neck as she made her way toward the door. “You’re the coolest friend ever!”
Vinyl Scratch smiled and patted him gently on the head. “I know,” she said with a grin. “I know.”
Zero hour. Mission’s a-go. This is it, Scratch. Get ready to blow some minds. Vinyl thought to herself as she stood in the darkness overlooking the large gentlecolt’s club. A few lights were lit, showing ponies milling about aimlessly, awaiting a show.
“You want a show, I’ll give you a show,” Vinyl said to herself under her breath. She pressed play on her computer, which started a slight hum. Ponies all around looked up to her platform just as the music changed to the sound of a gun cocking back.
“Drop it,” said a deep, automated voice from the speakers. The gun fired and the beat kicked off, starting a back and forth beat with slowly ascending tones. After a few moments, it stopped the beats and snares just as Vinyl picked herself up a microphone.
“You want Rage Valley? WELL THIS IS DEATH VALLEY, BITCH!” She shouted into the microphone as she slammed her hoof on a round button on her console. Due to the copious amounts of subwoofers provided and the fact that Vinyl had somehow managed to overclock the system’s bass levels, the resounding drop was enough to blast some hats off. Ponies started jumping as the lights all around flashed and spun, turning the whole scene into a giant, glitter-filled, scantily-clad mosh pit. During the more intense parts, the performers took it easy, and then matched every electronic beat of the song as the slower parts continued.
As the song began to come to an end, Scratch hit a button off to the side of her computer. Several ponies moved as a massive circular bowl rose out of the middle of the room. The music switched over right as everypony’s attention was on it.
“B-b-b-bon-bonfire!” A voice called from the speakers just as intense, multicolored flame burst to life in the metal pit that had been created. The magic fire twisted and writhed, bewitching the audience with its graceful flicks and amazing color changes. After a few seconds, the drop sounded forth and the partying resumed. Everypony jumped and stamped their hooves, which, combined with the booming subwoofers, literally shook the entire club. Vinyl smiled happily and hit play on a playlist so she could sneak away and take a drink.
She descended the stairs next to her platform, which led into a circular room, lit with lights of various blues and purples. The purple made her think of Tavi’s eyes, which nearly brought tears to her eyes. Reaching over, she swiped a triple shot of some liquor from some colt near her and downed it without hesitation. Mmm, vodka. The good kind.
“Hey, that was-“ The colt from whom she stole the drink began. When he spun around, he saw her and grinned. Vinyl was greeted with a crushing hug and the scent of cologne and various other perfumes.
“Can’t. Breathe,” she rasped. The colt released her and smiled at her. She immediately recognized his characteristic scars, tattoo, piercings… The whole package, really. Tails’s smile was just a bit too wide for normal and he seemed to be having trouble focusing his eyes.
“Sup, Tails. Say, how many drinks have you had?”
“Only a couple, but one of the bros out in the crowd has got some killer E, girl. You have to try it!” He insisted, nearly stumbling as he leaned toward her.
Vinyl laughed and righted him again. “I got a set to do, bud. I’ve got a few minutes, but I don’t want the crowd thinkin’ I abandoned them,” she told him. He smirked and hooved her a flask.
“Take this with you. Don’t want you gettin’ too bored up there, after all. Don’t worry, it’s only the Everfree stuff,” Tails said with a wink. Vinyl smiled back and raised the flask to him before taking a drink. It stung her system like a throat full of bees.
“Yup, 190 proof Everfree Dandelion Vodka. That shit’ll kick your ass for sure!” Tails said with a laugh. Scratch grimaced and then smiled before lightly hitting him on the side of the head. Her friend fell over onto his side and burst into laughter as he struggled to get back up.
“Stay frosty, Tails, I’ll be back in a few,” she said, turning away and trotting back up the steel stairs to the platform. Hitting play skillfully, the end of an intro transitioned into the current music. It quickly got quieter as the song got higher and higher pitched.
“December the first, twenty-eight o’ eight.”
“Doomsday,” boomed a new, extremely deep voice. The bass dropped again and everypony’s vigor was renewed.
Tonight is gonna be a good night…
“Ticket, madam.”
Octavia snapped out of her quiet stupor to look up at the ticket taker. For a moment, she furrowed her brow and frowned behind her bandana. She was wearing one of Vinyl’s baggy sweatshirts and her marefriend’s white bandana over most of her face. Nopony had been able to identify her as a mare or a stallion yet, but this elderly colt seemed to know right away. Hesitantly, she handed him her ticket.
He punched it with a smile and started toward the end of the cabin.
“Sir, if I may,” Octavia started, which caused the colt to turn and look at her with a kind smile. “How could you tell that I was a mare?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Miss, I’ve been working these rails for decades. I’ve seen everything: griffons, drakes, ponies, even the princesses once or twice. I didn’t doubt for a second that you were a mare,” he said with a smile. She nodded thoughtfully in response. “And, well, I fancy myself quite the connoisseur of the classical arts. Even without your cello or a look at your Cutie Mark and I’d recognize the esteemed Octavia Philharmonica without more than a second glance.”
Octavia’s eyes went wide and she was immediately thankful for the bandana covering her rapidly reddening face. The colt started off again before looking back.
“And I’ve seen a lot of things, but a colt with legs like those isn’t one of them,” he said with a wink before trotting off and out of sight. If her face wasn’t already red enough, it surely was now. Octavia quickly curled her hind legs against her chest and pulled Vinyl’s sweatshirt over herself. As she sat and stared out the window and the passing scenery, she could only imagine what kind of trouble her marefriend was causing for herself. However, as much as Octavia wanted to stay focused, the scent of Vinyl on the sweatshirt caused her mind to wander.
She imagined Vinyl holding her on their couch, watching television and getting drunk. She imagined all those times Vinyl and she had fallen asleep like that, just holding each other. She saw the look on Vinyl’s face that the unicorn only wore when she thought Octavia was asleep. Her crimson eyes softened and her wide grin shrank to a tender smile as she looked down at Octavia. As the cellist dreamt about all of this, she started to doze off in her seat. Before she knew it, the train was speeding ahead with one more sleeping passenger.