First Meeting

by Terrasora


Dinner in Manehattan

“Mommy, mommy, I made a new friend!” Vinyl rushed forward, her hooves slipping slightly on the hardwood floor. She jumped up, hugging her mother, a white unicorn with a short, blue mane, sea-green eyes and a microphone cutie mark.

“You did? How exciting!”

“Yeah! Her name’s Tavi and she’s kinda shy, but she’s really nice and pretty! She’s living next door.”

“Ah, that must be Melodia’s granddaughter. It’s nice that you’ve already met. Where’s your brother?”

Those were Gramma’s kids?” Long Play trotted into the room, no longer burdened with his luggage. “Little, sweet Gramma Phone?”

Vinyl looked at him angrily. “Tavi was little!”

“The other one wasn’t.”

“Long Play!”

“She wasn’t! Harmonia was actually a bit of an a--” He met Vinyl’s eyes. “--annoying pony. A bit of an annoying pony.”

“I liked her!” protested the filly.

“You barely even talked to her.”

“So?”

“Now kids, play nice. And you, Long Play, you better not bring anything like that up tonight at dinner. Gramma has invited us over to meet her granddaughters.”

Vinyl let out a cheer. Long Play’s eyes went wide. “And you agreed to this?!”

Momma Scratch glared at him. “Yes, I agreed to it. And because I agreed to it, you agreed to it. You have two hours to get ready.”

“Can’t,” mumbled Long Play, “I have to get back to Canterlot. There’s probably a train leaving in the next few hours that I could catch.”

“Do you have the ticket?” asked Momma Scratch.

A pause. “I have enough bits to buy the ticket.”

“Not good enough.” The elder mare turned away, Vinyl now balanced on her back. “You have to come to dinner tonight.”

Vinyl stuck out her tongue as she and her mother turned a corner and into a different room.

Long Play glanced upwards helplessly.

“Really?”

***

“Really, dear? That’s nice.”

Octavia looked up brightly. “Yeah! Her name’s Vinyl and she’s a nice pony, but she’s really really loud. I couldn’t get her to stop talking.”

Gramma smiled understandingly. “Yes, I’ve met Vinyl,” she said in her worn, warm voice. A pause. “We’re talking about Scratch, right?”

Octavia tilted her head in confusion.

“Both the mother and the daughter have the same first name. Vinyl Scratch and Vinyl Record.” Gramma smiled, quickly ruffling her granddaughter’s mane. “Scratch has ruined my flowers more than once.”

“Vinyl did that?” asked Octavia with a gasp.

“Not on purpose, dear… I think. Well, certainly not with malicious intent.” Gramma looked up, turning slightly to where Harmonia sat scowling at her book. “There’s another one in that family, isn’t there, Harmonia? A colt around your age, I think. Did you meet him?”

“Yes, Nana. He was on the train here.”

“How nice!” A pause. “You didn’t beat him up, did you?”

Harmonia put her book down “Of course not! Why would I do such a thing?!”

“I wouldn’t put it past you, Harmonia, dear.” Gramma smiled happily. “Don’t worry, it’s not a bad trait to have! You’re a very strong mare. And what did you think of Long Play?”

“Was that Vinyl’s brother?” asked Octavia.

“Yes, dear.”

The filly smiled. “He’s nice! He took us to see the train driver!”

“I was there too,” mumbled Harmonia.

“But you were reading the entire time!”

“Not the entire time!” A rather nice shade of pink grew in Harmonia’s cheeks.

Gramma smiled serenely. “Long Play’s a nice colt. He helped replace the flowers that Scratch kept knocking over… You did say that you didn’t beat him, right?”

“I didn’t beat him!”

“She was mean to him,” squeaked Octavia. Harmonia threw her a withering look.

Gramma clicked her tongue disappointedly. “He’s a nice colt,” she repeated with a sigh. “Anywho, they’ll be here in an hour or so. We should set the table.”

***

“Melodia!”

“Hello Record dear, how are you doing?” Melodia Philharmonica hugged the mare, kissing the air next to her cheeks.

“Wonderfully, thank you for asking.” Vinyl Record stepped inside the house proper, closely followed by her children.

“Gramma!” Vinyl Scratch rocketed into the room, jumping up and hugging the elder mare. “Gramma, is Tavi here?”

“Yes, Scratch, she’s in the dining room.”

The filly quickly wriggled out of Gramma’s hooves, slipping slightly as she ran into the dining room. “Tavi!” Squees and giggles floated back to the ponies at the front door.

“She’s been like that since she got back from the station,” said Vinyl Record with a smile. She reached out, thumping Long Play solidly on the back. “This one’s had the opposite reaction.”

“Hello, Long Play!” She stepped forward, embracing the colt. “I heard that you had a run in with my granddaughters earlier today.”

“Yes, Gramma. It was… nice.”

“Did you meet Harmonia?”

“Yes.”

Melodia cocked an eyebrow. “Then I sincerely doubt that it was ‘nice’. She’s terrible at good impressions.”

“I noticed.”

“Long Play!” interjected Record in protest.

“Hey, Gramma said it first!”

A crashing sound resounded through the house, quickly followed by a hushed “Uh-oh.”

“Long Play,” began Melodia with a slight sigh, “would you be so kind as to clean up the mess?” She sniffed slightly. “My poor rhododendrons, they never stood a chance.”

Long Play offered a sad smile, before trotting away into the living room. A blue vase lay shattered in a nearby corner, colorful flowers laying sadly on the floor. Two fillies sat on a nearby couch, strangely quiet.

“Vinyl, you’re lucky Gramma doesn’t make us pay for these things.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, I guess that the flowers just jumped off of the desk. Just like th--Wait, what did you say?”

“I’m sorry.” Vinyl kept her eye fixed firmly to the floor. “I was runnin’ around and I didn’t watch where I was going, so the flowers fell. It’s my fault.”

Long Play furrowed his brow. His gaze shifted slightly, focusing on the other filly. Octavia was pointedly avoiding eye contact, her mane slightly obscuring her face. It was, however, not able to cover the burning pink that had grown on her cheeks.

“You did it, huh?” asked the colt.

Vinyl nodded.

“First time you apologized for it.”

“I’m really sorry.”

Long Play shrugged, scratching at the back of his head. “I don’t know, Gramma may be so angry that she won’t let you come back. I mean, this is the fourth time you’ve done this.”

Octavia glanced up sharply, looking between Long Play and his sister.

Vinyl nodded resolutely.

“It wasn’t her!” said Octavia. “I did it!”

“Tavi!”

“I’m sorry, Long Play. Can Vinyl come back?” Octavia looked up sadly, a slight tremble in her lower lip.

“Well, now that we know that it wasn’t her, she probably could.” Long Play’s horn glowed a soft red and the mess in the corner floated upwards. “Just be careful, yeah?”

Octavia nodded violently. Vinyl nodded as well, a pout quickly growing on her face.

Long Play turned away, directing the dirt and glass towards a nearby trash can and right in front of Harmonia Philharmonica who had just walked into the room, holding a broom and dustpan in her hoof.

The colt tried for a polite smile. “Evening, Harmonia.”

“Good evening.” Harmonia watched as the broken vase dropped into its new home. She bit back a sigh. “Make sure that you place the flowers in another vase.” Harmonia turned around, heading back from whence she came.

Long Play rolled his eyes. “Aye, aye, captain. Nice to see you too. Celestia damned as--” He glanced at the fillies, who were both staring intently at him “--annoying pony.” Long Play’s poked his head into the kitchen, his aura flaring again and a vase, nearly identical to the one now in the trash, floated out of a cupboard.

Seriously, what is her problem? Long Play wandered back into the living room, absentmindedly placing the rhododendrons into the new vase. Did I do something wrong? Pissed her off? If she has a problem, I’d really appreciate if she’d just tell me what it was.

“Thank you Long Play, you’re such a dear.”

The colt started at Gramma Phone’s voice. “It-It was nothing Gramma. Glad to help.”

The elder mare smiled proudly, turning to include the fillies in her next statement. “Record and I set up dinner, if you all would care to join us.”

***

“Record, I can honestly say that I cannot remember one bit of that.”

“Melodia, it wasn’t even too long ago! In fact, it’s only been some two weeks; I remember because that was the day that--”

“Tavi, wanna hear a joke?”

Octavia nodded expectantly.

“Knock knock.”

Long Play closed his eyes, resisting the urge to bury his face in his hooves. The dinner, a veritable banquet of food that only a mother could cook, had left him feeling sluggish. And it doesn’t help that she’s right there.

Harmonia Philharmonica sat immediately across from him, poking at her peas with a fork.

She eats her peas one by one, thought Long Play. What kind of a monster is she?

“Interrupting cow w--”

“MOOOOOOO!”

Octavia made a high-pitched squeak, seizing up and nearly falling out of her seat. Vinyl was laughing hysterically, a few snorts thrown in there that only redoubled her laughter.

“Vinyl, that’s not funny!” protested Octavia. “That scared me!”

“Maybe you’re just a ‘fraidy cat!”

Octavia turned slightly pink. “I am not!”

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

“‘Fraidy cat!”

Long Play massaged the sides of his head. I hate foals. So much. I don’t know how much more of this I can take before I snap.

“Who wants dessert?” asked Gramma Phone.

Definitely until after dessert, though.

“I do!” said the fillies in tandem.

Gramma walked into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a cheesecake, covered in strawberries and lined with chocolate syrup, that would put most any bakery to shame. The elder mare passed out a slice to each pony at the table.

“None for me, thank you Nana,” said Harmonia.

“Nonsense dear. Take the piece.”

“I’m already rather full,” she insisted. “And, in any case, I have some reports to work on.” Harmonia made to get up from the table.

“Harmonia, dear,” said Gramma with a deceptively sweet smile, “sit your flank back down and eat the slice. Must we go through this for every dinner?”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

“Of course, dear.” Gramma Phone turned towards Long Play. “I swear, she’s a very nice pony. But she is rather socially inept. Not to mention that she has the largest sweet tooth I’ve ever seen.”

“Nana! Why are you telling him that?” Harmonia endeavoured to be as impassive as possible.

Long Play cut a chunk out of his cheesecake, throwing a dirty glare at Harmonia. “Really Gramma? I hadn’t heard about it.”

“Oh yes, she does this anytime I bring out anything that’s even remotely unhealthy. She always ends up eating it, though. Comes back for seconds too!” Gramma Phone laughed lightly.

Harmonia scowled down at her plate, delicately cutting into her dessert before bringing it up to her mouth. “I still don’t know why you’re bringing this up now,” she muttered.

“Well, we can’t have Long Play thinking that this is how you are all the time.”

Harmonia threw a glare at the colt. “Is that what he thinks?”

Long Play held up his hooves helplessly. “Why am I in trouble?! I haven’t even said anything!”

Harmonia let out a slight huff, stabbing at her slice of cheesecake savagely.

“Now, Harmonia,” said Gramma sweetly, “that’s no way to treat a guest. Have you already forgotten your manners?” Everyone at the table felt a chill go up there spine at the elder mare’s sweet tone.

Harmonia looked up reluctantly, fixing a look on Long Play that she would forever regret her next actions. “I’m sorry.”

The colt shrugged but didn’t say anything, opting instead to work on his dessert.

“Long Play,” warned Vinyl Record.

He let a long stream of air out of his nostrils. “‘S alright.” They went back to eating, the scrape of forks on plates nearly deafening in the silence.

“Are they falling in love?” asked Vinyl.

Long Play and Harmonia’s level of synchronization would put most Olympic-level synchronized divers to shame. They dropped their forks, not even allowing it to clatter to their plates before turning to the filly. Their faces were mirrored in confusion, then surprise, then anger.

“With him?!” shouted Harmonia.

“With her?!” shouted Long Play

“No!” they shouted together.

A beat of silence

Harmonia and Long Play turned towards one another. “What’s that suppose to mean?” they asked each other. Neither answered, wordlessly agreeing to lapse into simmering silence.

“Well,” said Gramma with a smile, “isn’t it nice to have a get together?”