“So, yer ready for tomorrow, Vinyl?” Mac asked calmly on the eve of his sisters’ departure, right before supper.
“To quote you, Big Brother, Eeeyuuup!” Vinyl replied with a nod as she was setting the table. “My compositions are done and secured in a folder inside my backpack, and I finished AJ’s and my luggage before coming downstairs.”
“Applejack couldn’t pack her stuff on her own?” AppleBloom asked with a confused frown, lifting her eyes from her history report she was busy writing.
“She did pack all her stuff on her own,” Vinyl said casually. “I just added some of the clothes I bought for her in Manehatten,” she explained.
“Why would you do that?” AppleBloom asked with curiosity.
“Because if I don’t force the circumstances a bit, I know she’ll never wear any of them,” Vinyl replied with shrug.
“Eeeeyuuup!” Mac agreed with a knowing nod. “I remember y’all’s prom night, she wanted to wear her worn out jeans and her work shirt,” he added with a chuckle.
“Tell me about it,” Vinyl chuckled in remembrance. “Luckily, Cloud and I managed to put her in that black evening dress. She turned many heads around at the prom thanks to it,”
“Ah bet she did!” Granny Smith shouted in approval from the kitchen. “Good thin’ Ah had sent Macintosh watchin’ over y’all to be sure no one would do anythin’ stupid to her.”
“What do you mean ‘stupid’?” AppleBloom asked with puzzlement.
“I think everyone valued their physical integrity, Granny,” Vinyl remarked. “What had happened with Cloudy two years before was still pretty fresh in their minds,”
“What stupidities was Granny talkin’ about?” AppleBloom insisted.
“Eeeyuuup, Ah didn’t have to move a finger that night,” Mac nodded, ignoring AppleBloom’s question. “She only danced with her usual group of friends.”
“Can someone tell me what Granny was talkin’ about?” AppleBloom nearly shouted impatiently.
“When you’re eighteen years old!” Vinyl, Mac and Granny all replied in unison. “At least!” the three added firmly.
“Hmm? Where’s AJ by the way?” Vinyl asked when she realized her blonde sister was missing while AppleBloom was pouting sourly.
“She said she wanted to work out a bit before dinner,” Mac replied casually.
“Could ya go tell her that it’ll be ready in thirty minutes, Vinyl?” Granny Smith asked.
“Sure thing!” Vinyl assured before heading out of the house.
“Ah’ll come with ya!” AppleBloom rushed after Vinyl, only to be held back by the collar by Mac.
“Get back to yer history report!” Mac demanded with a soft smile, pointing at his little sister’s unfinished assignment.
“Awww!” the little red-haired sighed.
Vinyl let out a quiet chuckle at AppleBloom’s misery, then she stepped outside the farmhouse. She made way to the barn on the edge of the southern orchard of the farm. It was the barn Vinyl and Applejack had converted into a lounge to hang out with their friends during their high school years.
Well, it used to be like that. Applejack had slowly re-converted it into a state of the art gym during Vinyl’s absences. As she remembered how much a subscription to a good gym had costed her in Manehatten, Vinyl didn’t mind her sister’s idea about the barn’s new function.
When she opened the gym’s door, Vinyl was a little bit startled by a loud bang before seeing a sandbag fly across the room, crashing heavily against the barn’s wall. She blinked while Applejack went to pick the bag up, muttering some insanities about it that would have caused their grandmother to wash her cursing tongue with two soap bars, at least.
“Something on your mind, Sis?” Vinyl asked worriedly as she walked next to Applejack who had hooked the bag back to its original spot.
“.......No,” Applejack replied with a scrunched nose and her emerald green eyes darting up and down before she started to punch the sandbag violently.
“I’d appreciate you don’t try to lie to me, AJ,” Vinyl said softly under the loud bangs of her sister’s punches.
“And, how do ya know Ah’m lyin’?” Applejack asked with a slightly offended tone, not interrupting her pounding on the bag.
“I’ve always known you were a bad liar, AJ,” Vinyl remarked. “And, even if I didn’t, the way you’re trying to kill that sandbag is more than enough of a sign that something’s bothering you.”
Applejack’s reply was to throw a stronger punch on the sandbag, once again unhooking it and sending it flying across the room. Applejack kept her punching stance for a few seconds before she relaxed her shoulders and faced Vinyl.
“It’s a bit annoying that ya know me inside out, Vinyl,” Applejack commented in a calm voice.
“It’s the job of the little sister to annoy to her older sister, ain’t it?” Vinyl asked with a small, quiet laugh, soon joined by Applejack. “So, what’s up?”
“Ah… Ah’m just nervous about this whole Canterlot trip tomorrow, Ah reckon,” Applejack admitted slowly, rubbing her arm in a slightly nervous gesture. “Ah know it’s probably an important event for ya, but Ah’m afraid Ah’ll do somethin’ that will ashame ya,” she confessed with a worried tone.
“What could you possibly do to make me ashamed of you?” Vinyl asked in a soft, caring tone as she placed a reassuring hand on her sister’s shoulder. “That never happened once during the sixteen years you’ve been in my life, and I know it will never happen!” she assured firmly. “Not in this life!”
“Vi’, don’t sugarcoat me, please,” Applejack said with an unhappy chuckle. “You and Ah both know how Ah ain’t suited to accompany ya!”
“Beg pardon?” Vinyl blinked with a shocked expression.
“Ah don’ belong in a Canterlot fancy party!” Applejack said quietly. “Ah’ll make ya look bad, Ah know Ah’ll be a burden for ya….”
“Enough!” Vinyl nearly shouted firmly, startling Applejack a bit. “AJ, you’re not a burden for me to carry around! If anything, you’re the rock that kept me on my feet during all those years,” she said softly. “You convinced me to take this scholarship, that I shouldn’t listen to what the naysayers said about me repaying you and the others by abandoning you for a good life in Manehatten!”
Applejack was about to say something when Vinyl put her hands on her cheeks. The two sisters’ eyes locked on each other. When the bright red met the green, Applejack didn’t say anything. Applejack could only see in Vinyl’s eyes the trust the blue haired woman had in her.
“It’s only thanks to you I came this far, AJ,” Vinyl continued softly, leaning her forehead against Applejack’s. “Like you said, it’s a very important moment for me, probably the most important gig of my life, and I don’t want to spend it with anyone other than you, big sis.”
They stayed with their eyes closed and their forehead pressed on each other’s for a few minutes, until Applejack pulled back, and lifted Vinyl’s chin to face hers. Vinyl couldn’t not see her sister’s relaxed smile.
“One day, yer gonna lose that silver tongue of yers.” Applejack chuckled. “Ah’ll sure as sugar miss it whenever Ah feel down!”
“Well, if you stop feeling down, you’ll never need it again.” Vinyl shortly chuckled too. “You’re good?” she asked with worry.
“Still a bit nervous, but not as much as before,” Applejack admitted. “Can’t understand how ya ain’t nervous! Ah mean, from what Ah understood, yer gonna have to work with that Philharmonica gal ya’ve been fan since Cloudy gave ya her first record,”
Vinyl blinked at her sister’s remark. She will have to work with Octavia Philharmonica, one of her favorite musicians, a real genius in the field of music, a member of the biggest cultural authority in country: The Council of Harmony.
“I think I just lost my appetite now,” Vinyl whispered in a fearful gulp.
“Ow.” Applejack sheepishly scratched the back of her head. “Sorry.”
“Well, now we’re both nervous,” Vinyl said with a sigh, her eyes slowly turning to the boxing ring in the room. “Luckily, we’re equipped for that! You’re a bit tired of sandbags, aren’t you?” she asked with a knowing grin as she climbed on the ring.
“A bit,” Applejack admitted while slowly joining her sister on the ring. “Ya sure yer up for that? Ah don’t want ya to get hurt,” she said worriedly as Vinyl levitated two pairs of gloves for each of them.
“I’m maybe not burly like Big Mac and you, sugar,” Vinyl stated calmly as finished putting her white boxing gloves on. “But, I always could take hits without much of a problem.”
“Well, ya probably didn’t get as much practice as ya’d like in Man….”
Applejack was interrupted by Vinyl’s white glove heading straight for her face. She quickly parried the gloved fist by grabbing it in her hand, stopping it a few inches from her visage. Applejack blinked in surprise, she remembered Vinyl was faster than Macintosh whenever they had trained together, but not as fast as now.
“You better not assume that I grew softer in University, big sis,” Vinyl said with a small smirk as she pulled her fist back. “Or, you’ll end up losing your ‘undefeated’ status.”
Applejack slowly grinned before starting to put her orange gloves on. “We’ll see ‘bout that in a few seconds, Sugarcube!”
“Ya sure ya don’t want me to hold yer bag, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked in a caring tone while the two of them were walking to the Royal Palace in Canterlot, her eyes fixed on the bruise on Vinyl’s right forearm.
“For the last time, yes I’m sure!” Vinyl replied in annoyance. “It’s just a small bruise. It’s not like you broke my arm yesterday, so stop worrying about it! And don’t even think about apologizing again, ok?”
“Alright,” Applejack said with a defeated sigh. She glanced at the huge, spiraled, white towers of the Immortal Sisters Castle ahead of them. “That place is a mighty huge!” she let out a long, impressed whistle.
“Yeah, much bigger than the main building in Manehatten University,” Vinyl commented in an awed tone.
“Ya have any idea where we’re supposed to go?” Applejack asked as a squad of the Castle Guard stopped its patrol when they saw the two sisters coming their way.
“We’ll just ask the guards,” Vinyl replied when they stopped in front of the golden armored men and women. “Hello, sir,” she said politely to the squad commander. “Perhaps you could help us?”
“It depends on what you’re asking, Miss,” he replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
“I’m the musician hired for the reception,” Vinyl explained before rummaging in her backpack. “Here’s my official invitation,” she added as she extended a parchment roll tied close by a light blue ribbon.
“Hmmm,” the Guard officer let out as he read the invitation. “Well, that’s an authentic one!” he said calmly. “Just need to do a small inspection of your belongings and…”
“Beg pardon?” Applejack asked with a small frown.
“It’s a standard procedure, Miss,” the officer explained softly as two of his guards walked to Vinyl and Applejack. “We must check everything that comes into the Castle.”
“Come on, AJ, be nice. They’re just doing their job,” Vinyl said calmly. “It’s not like we have anything to hide in our bags,”
“Fine,” Applejack muttered sourly.
The two guards opened the two travel bags to quickly inspect what was inside of them. During their short inspection, a large white carriage with a yellow, four branches star on top of blue other one as coat of arms passed next to the whole scene, heading unbothered to the Castle.
“Now, why in thunderation aren’t you searching that carriage as well?” Applejack asked with a sour pout.
“AJ,” Vinyl warned calmly.
“What? If it’s standard procedure, why are we the only ones who’re having our luggages searched through?”
“Well, Prince Blueblood and you two don’t really have the same level of importance,” the guard who was searching through Applejack’s bag, commented in an annoyed whisper, thinking Vinyl and Applejack hadn’t heard him.
“Come again, pal?” Applejack asked him angrily while Vinyl frowned at him. “The same level of what?”
“Misses, please calm down.” the officer demanded uneasily. “He meant that the Prince’s status forbids us to search his carriage without an explicit order from our Captain.”
“Not really,” the offending guard commented slyly.
“You better put your mad dog on a leash before he gets bitten!” Vinyl angrily advised the patrol’s commanding officer.
“Is that a threat?” a woman guard asked slowly, taking a threatening step toward Vinyl.
“Not really, but take another step toward ma sis, and Ah’ll be glad to give ya one!” Applejack growled while cracking her knuckles.
The situation between the two Apple sisters and the two rude guards was about to escalate when a cheerful song started being played near them. All heads snapped in direction of the music’s source, seeing a bright pink cart with whistles and trumpets coming out of it with waving flags and a young girl with cotton-candy hair.
“Welcome, welcome, welcome!” the girl sang cheerfully as she bounced toward the two Apples. “A fine welcome to you!”
Everyone stared blankly at the singing girl, not knowing how to react to what she was doing.
“Welcome, welcome, welcome!” the pink-haired put a party on top of Vinyl’s head, and Applejack’s stetson. “I say how do you do?” she ended her lyrics by blowing a trumpet in their direction.
“Welcome, welcome, welcome!” she tapped on a march drum while circling around the two puzzled farm girls. “I say hip hip hurray!”
“Welcome, welcome, welcome!” She slid on her knees until she stopped a few feet between the cart and the two Apples. “Welcome to Canterlot todaaaaaay!” she held a long note with her arms wide open.
She smiled widely at the staring crowd in front of her.
“Wait for it!” she warned happily before a mass of confetti and streamers was propelled out of one of her cart’s horns with a loud, sharp whistle.
The pink-haired blinked when she found in front of her the two offending guards covered head to toes by confetti and streamers, the woman floating in a light blue aura, and the man was held few feet above the ground by his chestplate.
“Woooooo! You’re good!” she commented with an approving nod. “No one ever thought of the substitution to dodge it before!”
“Glad to be the first then,” Applejack said as she let got of the collar of the guard’s chest plate, making him fall on his backside loudly.
“Very catchy song by the way,” Vinyl commented as her magic let the woman guard fall on the ground with a high-pitched shriek.
“Why you!” the two humiliated guards growled in unison.
“THAT’S ENOUGH, BOTH OF YOU!” the officer yelled angrily at the two, instantly silencing them. “You can go, Misses,” he said more calmly to the two Apples. “I apologize for my mens’ behavior!” When they slowly nodded, he turned to the pink-haired girl. “My lady, could I ask you to not report the Captain about that incident? With the wedding coming up, he has enough to deal with.”
“No problemo, mister the patrol officer!” the pink-haired saluted happily. “I’m just gonna accompany the two Apples to the wedding planning committee!”
Vinyl and Applejack blinked in surprise. “How do you know our name?”
“Lucky guess?” the girl supposed with a shrug. “Anyway, follow me!” she said excitedly before bouncing to the Castle gates.
“Huh… Ok,” a puzzled Vinyl let out before grabbing her bag and going after the girl, her sister on her heels.
Applejack looked back at the guards after Vinyl passed the gates. The one she had used as a shield from the confetti was casting her a dark glare. Applejack responded in kind by giving him the finger long enough for him to notice before Vinyl called her to go.
When Applejack passed the gates as well, the commanding officer glanced around to see nobody was watching while the two offending guards stood up. When he was certain the coast was clear, he punched the man in the face and slapped the woman with the back of his armored gauntlet.
“That’s what you two call keeping a low profile?!” he growled in a much deeper voice, his eyes slightly shining in a dark green hue.
“We’re sorry, Captain,” the pair replied in a fearful whisper.
“I hope you are!” the Captain muttered, his voice slowly returning to the shriller tone he had used with the two Apples. “Otherwise, I’ll have to take disciplinary actions!” He exhaled loudly to calm himself. “Let’s get back to her patrol, and mask those wounds!” he ordered before his guards and him went back to their normal route, the two wounded guards’ face briefly shining in a green light before their faces appeared good as new.
“Thanks by the way,” Vinyl said as the pink haired girl was leading her and Applejack to the planning committee.
“What for?” she asked with curiosity.
“For guiding us through this Castle, we sure would have gotten lost at some point,” Vinyl explained casually. “And for that welcome song! That sure saved us from a heap of trouble with the guards,” she added sheepishly.
“Don’t worry about the guards!” she waved off with a small giggle. “They’ve been too much under pressure with the big day coming up. Everyone involved in the wedding is so nervous,” she scratched her chin. “Except me! I’m sooooo excited!” she added with a big smile.
“Well, that’s nice and all,” Applejack commented. “But, maybe ya could tell us who ya are?”
“I didn’t?” she asked with a shocked gasp. The two Apples shook their head. “No, you must be joking! Introducing myself is the first thing I do in every fanfiction I’m written in!” she assured with a nod, earning confused, raised eyebrows in response.
“Huh… I didn’t understand what you just said, but you didn’t introduce yourself!” Vinyl said cautiously.
“Hold on to that thought,” she said as she pulled a clipboard from her poofy hair, much to the two Apples’ shock. “Let’s see…. The situation between the two Apple sisters and the two rude guards was about to escalate when…….”Welcome, Welcome, welcome!....”Wait for it..”.” she read out loud before placing a hand on her cheek while gasping loudly. “You’re right! I completely forgot to introduce myself!” she said in an embarrassed, quiet voice. “Well, better late than never!” she put her clipboard back in her hair. “HI! My name’s Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie said cheerfully, extending her hand to Vinyl.
“Pinkie Pie… As for the Pinkamena Diane Pie from the Council of Harmony?” Vinyl asked with wide eyes. Pinkie simply nodded. “Wow! Pleased to meet you!” Vinyl shook her hand vigorously. “Name’s Vinyl Apple, and here’s my sister, Jacquelyn,” she added, nodding at Applejack.
“Pleased to meet ya as well,” Applejack said politely as she shook Pinkie’s hand as well.
“Now that we got that out of the way, how about we go meet Twilight?” Pinkie asked before leading the two Apples further inside the castle.
“Twilight Sparkle is the wedding planning committee?” Vinyl asked with a surprised tone.
“Hum-Hum!” Pinkie nodded. “It’s her big brother’s big day after all. No way she’d not get involved somehow.”
“Ah can understand that,” Applejack commented casually.
“Pinkie! Where have you been?” a woman’s voice asked in a slightly angry tone. “You’ve missed lunch!”
A dark skinned woman with long, deep purple hair with pink and light purple highlights in it walked in the trio’s direction.
“NOOOOOOOOO!” Pinkie shouted in despair, falling on her knees.
The newcomer rolled her eyes at Pinkie’s reaction. “There are leftovers for you in the kitchens,” she said softly.
“Oh!” Pinkie let out in a much more calm voice. “You could have said that earlier! Here are Vinyl Apple, the musician who passed the auditions, and her sister, Jacquelyn. See you!” she said quickly before dashing at top speed to where the dark skinned woman came from.
“Is she always like that?” Vinyl asked slowly while Applejack blinked in confusion.
“You have no idea,” the dark skinned woman said with a small sigh. “Anyway, my name’s Twilight Sparkle.” she introduced herself politely. “We were waiting for you, Miss Apple,” she added to Vinyl with a small smile. “
“You were?”
“Indeed,” Twilight answered. “Well, I said we, but it was mostly Octavia who’s waiting for you,” she added casually.
Vinyl froze when Twilight said that. “The famous Octavia Philharmonica was waiting for me?” she asked in disbelief. “Why?"
Twilight nodded. “Ever since she read the report on your auditions, she had been very eager to work with you,” she explained. “She’s in the one in charge of the music.”
“.She’s the one in charge of the.....eager to work with me?” Vinyl brought her hand to her temple as she started to feel dizzy. “Oh, dear Epona…” she said in a labored breath.
“Put yer head between yer knees, sugar,” Applejack advised softly as she gently grabbed her sister before she fell on the ground.
“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked with worry while Vinyl did as her sister told her, trying to catch her breath.
“It’s nothing serious,” Applejack assured while resting a reassuring hand on Vinyl’s shoulder . “She’s just havin’ a severe fangirl attack,” she added with a chuckle.
“Oh,” Twilight let out with a short giggle. “I get what you mean. It happened a lot back when Rainbow wasn’t used to talking to the Wonderbolts,” she added softly.
“Just…. Just wait until I can focus again, AJ!” Vinyl attempted to growl, but her frantic breathing made her sound anything but threatening. “You’re so gonna get it!”
“Keep telling yerself that, lil’ sis,” Applejack whispered in a caring tone, unfazed by her sister’s threat. “That’ll help ya recover from the stress!”
“I’m so close to hating you, right now!” Vinyl growled in between labored breaths.
“Love ya too, Sugar!”
