The next day, Octavia and Vinyl Scratch brought Fiddlesticks to the Canterlot train station.
"Are you sure I can't persuade you to stay longer?" Octavia asked.
Fiddlesticks shrugged. "Sorry, Tavia. Ah wouldn't want to overstay mah welcome."
"But that's the thing. You wouldn't be," said Octavia. "At least stay until you find some work."
"Ah've got enough bits to last me awhile, Tavia. Ah think Ah'll be okay," said Fiddlesticks.
"Can you at least tell me an embarrassing story about Tavi before you go?" asked Vinyl. "I could always use the new material."
Fiddlesticks gave Vinyl an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Ah don't have any stories like that."
"What?" said Vinyl, raising an eyebrow. "But you're Tavi's sister. Aren't sisters supposed to annoy each other with embarrassing stories?"
"Maybe if Ah actually acted like her sister instead of hidin' from her," said Fiddlesticks with a sigh.
"Wait, you hid from her?" asked Vinyl.
"Vinyl, show some sensitivity," Octavia scolded. "This is a delicate subject for her."
"Nah, it's alright," said Fiddlesticks with a warm smile. "Ah can take mah lumps jus' fine. Ah've made mah share of mistakes, some of which can never be fixed. Ah jus' gotta live with 'em is all."
"Mistakes like hiding from your own sister?" said Vinyl, still feeling as though she was out of the loop. "Why would you do that, anyway? That's stupid. And not the good kind of stupid like a rock opera."
"Well, at first it was because Ah didn't want to be an exact copy of her," said Fiddlesticks. "But after Ah struck it out on mah own, Ah had another reason for hidin'. Ah didn't wanna hurt her."
"So, the whole you travel around is because..."
Fiddlesticks shot Vinyl a glare. "Jus' so y'know, Ah hate it when ponies get that idea," she said sternly. "Ah don't travel from place to place because Ah'm running from mah past. Ah travel because it's the lifestyle Ah choose to lead."
"Yeah, I don't think anypony 'chooses' to sleep next to a skunk's den," said Vinyl.
"Vinyl, I told you not to be rude to her!" Octavia admonished. "Honestly!"
"Hey, she's not staying with us anymore, is she?" said Vinyl smugly. "Ergo, I managed to keep my promise. So there." She concluded her gloating with a raspberry.
"She's got a point, Tavia," said Fiddlesticks with a snicker.
"That doesn't mean she has to act so childish about it," Octavia groaned. She then sighed and turned to Fiddlesticks. "Well, if you insist on leaving, there's something I have to say."
"What's that?"
Octavia looked Fiddlesticks straight in the eye. "I want you to know that whenever you find yourself in Canterlot again, my door is always open to you. And what's more, you don't have to repay me."
Fiddlesticks averted her eyes with her stetson. "That's awfully nice of ya, Tavia, but Ah couldn't..."
"Hear me out, Fiddle," Octavia interrupted. "This isn't a matter of me taking pity on you. You're comfortable with where you are in life, and that's fine. However..."
She paused, tears welling up in her eyes. "I don't want you to hide from me anymore."
Fiddlesticks nodded. "Ah see," she said somberly. She then walked over and gave Octavia a hug. "Well, don't you worry 'bout that. Ah'm through playin' hide-an-seek with ya. You're mah sister, and Ah love ya very much. And from now on, Ah'll try to show it more."
"Thank you," Octavia cooed, returning the hug. "And I promise not to fuss over you so much. As long as you're happy, I'm happy."
"Glad t'hear that," said Fiddlesticks.
"Sheesh, could this get any more sappy?" Vinyl grumbled.
"Hush, you," Octavia said with a giggle.
"And to answer yer question, Vinyl, it can," said Fiddlesticks, taking out her fiddle. "Before Ah go, Ah wanna play ya a little sumthin'. This is jus' improvised, so it might not come out that good."
She then started to play, and Octavia recognized it.
"Wait, isn't that the barn raising song you sang last night?" she asked.
Fiddlesticks grinned. "Jus' listen," she said, playing a slow, soothing melody. She then began to sing:
"Octavia, Octavia,
Ah love you,
It may not have seemed like it,
But trust me, Ah do.
An honorary Apple Ah may be,
But in mah mind, we're still family,
There are some things that Ah can't fix,
But Ah'll always be yer sister,
Fid-dle-sticks~."
Octavia grinned from ear to ear. "It's beautiful," she said, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Ah considered puttin' it to the tune of that 'Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star' piece y'all played at yer recital, but Ah reckoned that was goin' a bit too far," said Fiddlesticks with a chuckle. "Even Ah have mah sappiness limits."
"Thank Celestia for that," said Vinyl, rolling her eyes.
"Next train to Ponyville!" the conductor called out. "All aboard that's coming aboard!"
"That's me," said Fiddlesticks. "Y'all take care now, Tavia. Y'hear?"
"Of course," said Octavia. "You take care of yourself, too."
"Will do," said Fiddlesticks with a tip of her hat as she made her way to the train. "Oh, and Ah'll be sure to write."
"Wait, you don't have a return address," Octavia said quizzically. "How am I supposed to respond?"
"Ah'll tell ya where Ah'm headin' next so that y'all can send it there," Fiddlesticks said, getting on the train just as it was pulling out of the station. She then stuck her head out of the window and waved her hat at Octavia and Vinyl. "Adios, Sis! Ah'll be thinkin' about ya lots!"
"Goodbye, Fiddle! And best of luck!" Octavia called back.
"Yeah, don't be a stranger!" Vinyl chimed in.
Octavia gave Vinyl a sharp look. Vinyl shrugged as she and her roommate watched the train disappear over the horizon.
"So, did you two have fun last night?" asked Vinyl.
"Oh. Well, yes," said Octavia, casting her eyes downward. "I'm sorry about that, Vinyl."
"Aw, don't sweat it. You wanted some quality time with your sis. I get that," said Vinyl. "Just one question."
"Hmm?"
"While you were out partying with Fiddle, did any of that stuff about her being rowdy or you not knowing her past matter?"
Octavia paused to think. "Well, no. I, guess it didn't in the end."
Vinyl smirked. "I guess this is where I say 'I told you so.'"
Octavia couldn't help but giggle. "I suppose," she said. "Even so, getting to know her better did help, at least a little."
"Alright, fair enough," said Vinyl with a shrug. The two mares then started for home. All was silent for a time before Vinyl had another thought. "Hey, Octy?"
"What is it, Vinyl?"
"You think the next time Fiddle comes over, we can try out my threesome idea?"
Octavia gave Vinyl a bemused smirk. "Just for that, it's your turn to get dinner tonight."
"C'mon, Octy! That's three nights in a row!" Vinyl protested.
"Alright, tomorrow then. But it had better be special."
"Um, hello? I can't cook worth a damn? I don't understand how you keep forgetting that."
"I'm not asking you to cook, Vinyl. Just get something nice."
"So basically anything other than pickled dandelions."
"I think you can set the bar a bit higher than that, Vinyl."
"I'm just kidding, Tavi. I'll think of something extra special for tomorrow. Just one thing."
"What's that?"
"I'm, gonna need twenty bits..."
The End