My Little Investigations: The Silent Dirge

by Metool Bard

Somber Suspicions

Usually in the morning, Vinyl is always up before I am. It's something I've grown to accept, but it still boggles my mind how a pony who parties well into the night can wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed the next morning. Seriously, I don't know many ponies who have half the stamina Vinyl does (again, I don't wish to be taken out of context here). Even so, I figured this morning would be different due to Vinyl's condition. After all, she had quite a ghastly experience last night, and that sort of thing doesn't just go away.

"Octy~."

I squirmed a bit as I felt Vinyl nudge me with her hoof. I hesitate to say that I stand corrected about what I previously. She was up before me, yes, but she has never woken me up like this before. It felt a lot more, subdued than normal. She clearly was not herself. And this might sound surprising coming from me, but I didn't like that. It meant something was dreadfully wrong.

"Mmm. Vinyl?" I murmured, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Good morning, Octy," said Vinyl softly.

I could hear the concern in her voice. She clearly didn't forget about last night. I sighed inwardly. This was not going to be easy.

"Good morning," I mumbled. "How are you feeling?"

"Loads better, actually," said Vinyl. "My headache's gone, and my ears don't hurt anymore. You?"

"Hard to say," I said, taking a deep breath. I might as well get it over with. Celestia, give me strength. "Um, Vinyl? About last night..."

"Yeah, what about it?" said Vinyl. "After you read that letter I threw out, you started acting all anxious. What did it say, anyway?"

I let out a great sigh. "It was a death threat, Vinyl. The same threat as the one I got yesterday before we went to the festival."

Vinyl stared at me in disbelief, her mouth agape. "You're serious."

I nodded. All was silent for a time as Vinyl took a moment to process this. I wasn't sure how she'd react. She usually laughs in the face of danger, but you can't laugh at your own near-death experience, can you? Especially when someone tried to kill you for doing what you love.

"Well, damn," said Vinyl, sounding like she was still in shock. "That's, pretty heavy, Octy."

"I know," I said. "I-I can't believe it, either."

"No, I believe it," said Vinyl. "After all, I'm the one who almost bought the farm. But that doesn't mean it makes sense."

I turned to Vinyl, and saw that her brow was furrowed. "What do you mean?" I inquired.

"Neon," said Vinyl darkly. "If some dock-hole screwed with our equipment last night attempting to take me out, he should've caught it before we went on."

I could see Vinyl's body become tense all over as she began rubbing the bridge of her nose with her hoof. That didn't bode well. Vinyl doesn't usually get angry, but when she does, it is not a pretty sight. Trust me, I've seen it firsthoof.

"Vinyl, calm down," I said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "Maybe he overlooked something."

"That can't be, Tavi," said Vinyl with a shake of her head. "I know Neon. He doesn't buck up this royally. But at the same time, he considers me to be one of his best friends. He wouldn't do something like that to me on purpose."

"Well, we can worry about that later," I said. "First, we need to get you a doctor."

Vinyl gave me a look. "Tavi, I told you already. I'm fine," she said sternly.

"Vinyl, you almost had your eardrums blown out. You're not 'fine,'" I said.

"Hey, 'almost' only counts in horseshoes," said Vinyl. "Besides, I need to give Neon a piece of my mind."

"Vinyl, you promised."

"That was before I found out someone had it in for me."

"But Vinyl..."

"Tavi, look," said Vinyl, placing a firm hoof on my shoulder and staring me straight in the eye. "I know you're worried about me, but you of all ponies should know that I don't go down that easy. I'm not trying to put on a brave face here; I really feel better. Also, there's no way in Tartarus I'm leaving you alone with all this heavy stuff weighing on your mind. You get what I'm saying?"

I, most certainly did. Vinyl and I may disagree on many things, but when she's right, she's right. Also, I could tell she wasn't lying about this. I sighed.

"Alright," I relented. "But if you start feeling poorly for whatever reason, I want you to tell me, okay?"

"Deal," said Vinyl with a warm smile. "Now, how about we get some grub? I'm starving."

Actually, breakfast didn't sound like such a bad idea. If I was going to try and solve this quandary, I couldn't do it on an empty stomach.

"Well, maybe we should wait a bit," I said. "It's only seven o'clock. I don't think the hotel serves breakfast until nine."

"What? That's a dumb rule," said Vinyl.

I raised an eyebrow. "Look, just because you get up at the crack of dawn doesn't mean everypony else does."

"I know that all too well, Octy," said Vinyl. "But it doesn't diminish the dumbness of the rule."

"Well, there's no use complaining about it," I said with a sigh.

Vinyl blinked. "Huh? Then what's the concierge there for?"

I gave Vinyl a look. "Please tell me you didn't just say that."

"I could, but then I'd be lying," said Vinyl with a playful grin.

I had to smile as well. It seemed like Vinyl was slowly getting back to her old self.

"Well, let's just ask him if he can recommend a good café for us or something," I said. "After all, we're in Manehattan. There's bound to be something."

"Spoken like a true Manehattanite," said Vinyl with a laugh.

I laughed too. Even in the darkest of times, Vinyl can always find a way to put a smile on my face. I think you can see now why I put up with her.

After getting ourselves freshened up, we ventured out into the hallway. We were just about to head for the elevators when I heard somepony call out to us.

"Hey there! If it isn't the mare of the hour!"

I recognized that harmonious voice anywhere. Honestly, you'd have to be living under a rock not to. We turned around and sure enough, we were greeted by none other than Sapphire Shores; the Pony of Pop herself. I was actually surprised to see her so chipper after what had happened last night.

"The, mare of the hour?" I asked.

"Well of course!" said Sapphire jovially. "Everypony here's been talking nonstop about Vinyl's simply sensational performance last night."

Vinyl flashed a complacent grin. "Yeah, it was pretty awesome, wasn't it?"

"In every sense of the word, girl!" said Sapphire. "Especially that first piece. It got me right here."

She tapped her chest as she said that. As you are already no doubt aware, I shared her sentiments.

"Well, I'm glad you liked it," said Vinyl. "Neon was a bit skeptical about that first one, but I sure proved him wrong."

"I'd certainly say so," said Sapphire with a chuckle. She then let out a sigh. "It's just a shame your set had to end the way it did. Are you alright?"

"Sure. Never better," said Vinyl. "You know the old saying, Sapphie. You can't keep a good pony down."

This is usually where I chime in with some sarcastic remark, but to be honest, it would've been in poor taste. Besides, I wasn't really in the mood for witty banter.

"Um, Ms. Shores? I was wondering..."

Sapphire interrupted me with a laugh. "I keep telling you, Tavi-doll. There's no need to be so formal. Call me Sapphire~."

"Right. I keep forgetting," I said. Anypony who knows Sapphire Shores personally knows that she has a very casual attitude for such a famous pony. In some respects, she's just like Vinyl. Although, you know, not nearly as crazy. "Anyway, as I was saying. Vinyl and I left pretty soon after the accident. Did anything happen at the festival that we should know about?"

Sapphire placed a hoof to her muzzle. "Not that I can think of, Tavi-doll. After we recovered from that accident, we all just packed up and left. I'm sure they're checking the equipment to make sure this kinda thing doesn't happen again, and seeing that Vinyl came out on top, I doubt Slick Licks would want to postpone."

"Meh, I'd tell him to keep going, anyway," said Vinyl with a shrug. "I'd sooner pick up the accordion than let this awesome festival be cancelled on my account."

"Yeah, I hear that," said Sapphire. "Still, I'd probably track down Slick and let him know you're still kicking. Neon's probably worried about you, too."

Vinyl's smile vanished. "I'll be sure to make a note of that," she said. "Speaking of Neon, you didn't happen to get a chance to talk to him, did you?"

"I haven't spoken to him since I got here," said Sapphire with a shrug. "Why?"

"He told me everything checked out before we went on," said Vinyl. "There shouldn't have been any problems."

Sapphire knitted her brow. "Hmm. That does sound odd. What did he say about it?"

"Actually, when I went backstage to collect Vinyl, he wasn't there," I said. "Do you remember seeing him leave the stage at any point?"

"I didn't," said Sapphire. "But I was sitting next to Pan, and he told me that he saw Neon leave just before the accident happened. You should probably ask him about it."

"Will do," said Vinyl. "Thanks anyway, Sapphie."

"Not a problem," said Sapphire. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm meeting Ragtime for breakfast, and I don't want to keep him waiting. Toodles~."

With that, she went on over to the elevators.

"Well, this just got a whole lot weirder," mused Vinyl. "Neon left the stage before the feedback kicked in, but why would he do that if he didn't find anything wrong to begin with?"

That was indeed curious. However, it was too early to jump to conclusions. I happen to know that Neon Lights and Vinyl are good friends. It was highly unlikely that he was behind all this. Especially if he got the same death threat Vinyl and I received.

That's when I remembered something. I had neglected to tell Vinyl about Mare-Do-Well or anything else. Well, there was no real point in hiding it, was there?

"Vinyl, there's more I have to tell you about last night," I said.

"You mean how you were talking to yourself in the bathroom?" said Vinyl. "Yeah, what was up with that, Octy?"

"I, wasn't talking to myself," I said as our elevator arrived. "I'll tell you everything over breakfast, but let's just say for now that this is a lot bigger than just the two of us..."