“Ow.”
“I can’t believe you!”
“Ow.”
“Getting into an argument with our hosts!”
“Ow.”
“Honestly Long Play, what is the matter with you?!” Vinyl Record gave her son’s ear one last twist.
“Ow!” Long Play pulled away, rubbing at a bright red ear. “It’s not my fault! She was being an as--OW!”
Vinyl Record had twisted his ear again. “Don’t use that kind of language around Vinyl!”
“Yeah!” agreed the filly. “I’m young and impressable!”
Record patted her daughter’s head. “That’s right, you tell him.” She threw a glare at Long Play. Vinyl Scratch smiled happily.
“So much for loving us equally,” mumbled the colt. Vinyl Record held up a hoof threateningly. Long Play flinched against his will.
“Tomorrow,” began the elder mare, “I want you to go back there and apologize to Melodia for dinner. And to Harmonia as well if she’s still there.”
“Why do I have to apologize?! It’s as much her fault as mine!”
“Because I said so.”
Long Play narrowed his eyes. “I hate when you say that.”
“Too bad.”
“Yeah, too bad!” Vinyl Scratch stuck out her tongue.
Long Play’s scowl shifted towards his sister. “Maybe I should just go back to Canterlot.”
“Not until you apologize,” said Vinyl Record resolutely. “Besides, speaking to Harmonia will do you good. You two certainly hit it off.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Vinyl Record smiled. “Nothing, dear. Now go to sleep, it’s getting a bit late.”
Long Play rolled his eyes. “And you wonder why I never visit.”
“Mommy?” asked Vinyl. “If LP and Harmonia get married, can I still marry Tavi?”
A few beats of silence.
“We’re not getting married!” shouted Long Play.
“That's right, dear. They’re not even dating yet,” added Vinyl Record. “But no, I don’t think you could marry her if they get married first.”
“We’re not getting married!”
The filly pointed a hoof at Long Play. “I’m going to marry Tavi before you marry Harmonia!”
“WE’RE NOT--” Long Play placed a hoof on his cheek. “Whatever. This is why I left for Canterlot in the first place.” He began his march to his old room. “I’ll be leaving tomorrow.” The door shut firmly behind him.
Vinyl Scratch watched him walk away. “Mommy, I think he’s angry.”
“He always has been a bit touchy about these things.” A pause. “Why don’t you head off and brush your teeth? It’s almost bedtime.”
"Kay!"
***
“Harmonia, when is Vinyl coming back?”
“I’m not sure,” said Harmonia with a soft smile. “Sometime soon, most likely.”
Octavia drew the blankets up to her chin. “How soon?”
“I don’t know.”
“Tomorrow?”
Harmonia’s smile widened slightly. “You’re infatuated with her, aren’t you?”
Octavia’s face scrunched slightly. “Infatuated means like?”
“That’s right.”
Octavia smiled brightly at having known such a long word. “Yes! I infatuate her.” She pronounced ‘infatuate’ uncertainly, pausing slightly after every syllable.
Harmonia giggled. She quickly walked towards the closet, taking down a rather thick blanket and throwing it over her sister, covering the filly completely. Octavia laughed as she fought her way to the surface.
“Manehattan nights are cold,” said Harmonia factually. “Make sure that you stay under your blankets.”
Octavia nodded, snuggling a bit deeper into her blankets.
Harmonia reached back into the closet, pulling out a slightly thinner blanket for herself. She spread it out along the floor.
“Are you going to sleep down there?” asked Octavia.
The elder mare nodded. “It would be a bit too cramped with both of us in that bed. And Nana doesn’t have another room.”
Octavia scooted to the side, struggling to lift up a corner of the heavy blankets.
“What are you doing?” asked Harmonia.
“Manehattan nights are cold!” Octavia pointed a hoof at her sister. “You need to stay warm.”
“I’ll be fine, the floor is surprisingly comfortable and, apparently, rather good for posture.”
Octavia pouted, stamping on the now empty side of the bed with a tiny hoof. “No. That looks cold. I don’t want you to get sick.”
Harmonia climbed back to her hooves with a smile. “You’re stubborn.”
“You’re cold.”
The sisters shared a bed. It was, as Harmonia predicted, rather cramped. But not uncomfortable. And it was certainly warm.
“Harmonia?”
“Yes?”
“Why were you mean to Vinyl’s big brother?”
Harmonia stiffened slightly. “It’s late, dear. Try to get to sleep.”
“Is it because you infatuate him?”
“I don’t infatuate him! And that’s not how you use the word ‘infatuate’. You become infatuated with somepony.”
“Oh.” Octavia paused. “Is it because you’re infatuated with him?”
“I’m not infatuated with anything!”
“But Vinyl said that you were falling in love!”
Harmonia stayed silent.
“Harmonia?”
“You fillies say a lot of things.”
Octavia paused again. “Nana said that you were falling in love too.”
“Nana also says a lot of things. She’s going senile in her old age.”
“What’s ‘senile’?”
A few beats of silence. Harmonia sighed. “Something not nice that nopony should say about Nana.”
“Why did you say it?”
“Because one little filly keeps bothering me about my relationships.”
“So you do have a relationship with him!” squeaked Octavia happily.
“Go to sleep, Octavia!”
There was a pounding on the wall. Gramma Phone’s warm, worn voice floated into the room. “Both of you get to sleep! And I’m not senile!”
“I’m sorry, Nana!” Harmonia called back. “We’ll head to sleep right now!” She lowered her voice. “Won’t we, Octavia?”
The filly nodded.
***
Manehattan nights are cold. Long Play breathed out, watching his breath spiral up and out of sight. The ends of his scarf, a two-toned wooly affair the same shade as his mane, glowed red, pulling and tightening slightly against the chill. Maybe I should go in and get my hat. He stayed where he was, puffing out a few more clouds of his breath and watching them until they swirled out of existence.
It must be about ten, he thought. How can ponies sleep this early? Long Play paused, images of ponies of all shapes and sizes that would be streaming into the Stable right around that time. Regulars, newbies, probably a few legal-age birthdays that would end up outrageously drunk and either obnoxious or passed out. Or maybe both, one right after the other.
Long Play sighed. I miss Canterlot already. He set off down the street, no real destination in mind, his hooves remembering his old streets far better than his mind did. Long Play could have walked that path while blind. Down a block, turn right, head straight ahead for three blocks to get to Manehattan Park. The old hangout. There was a shop around there, where the more headstrong and slightly older colts would try to buy some hard cider or a pack of cigarettes. Long Play chuckled.
Celestia, we were stupid. Long Play grinned. But who wasn’t, right? Except for Harmonia, maybe. I have a hard time seeing her as a foal. He shrugged, trying to push his mind from that train of thought. Whatever. That’s her problem… Whatever that problem actually is. An image of Harmonia swam into Long Play’s mind. She had smiled a few times. Laughed once or twice too. She was kind of cute when she smiled.
Long Play felt his mind clamp down on that train of thought. Think of something else! Now! Oooo, look! Trees! Fascinating.
His hooves had carried him straight ahead for three blocks, right onto the edge of Manehattan Park. Come on, thought Long Play, there’s more important things than Harmonia Philharmonica. Like… Whether that store is still open or not! Yeah, that’s it. I’ll just check to see if it’s still there and not a SunBucks yet.
Long Play nodded resolutely, turning sharply into the park, making a beeline to where he remembered the shop was.
“Is it that hard for you idiots to understand? I don’t want to go with you!”
Long Play’s ears perked up, his head automatically snapping towards the voice. Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me.
Harmonia Philharmonica stood a ways away, right along the path to the old store. She was practically surrounded by three stallions, each of them sneering unpleasantly.
“‘Idiots’ she says,” said one of the stallions, a bright red pegasus, turning to grin at his companions. “That hurts ya know, that really hurts.”
“Yeah!” agreed a tan earth pony, his voice slightly thick. “Really, really hurts.”
“Ya mind walkin’ us to the hospital, Miss?” asked the first, turning towards Harmonia. “On account of you hurtin’ us so bad.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you!” Harmonia spoke resolutely, trying to hide the shaking in her back legs.
It didn’t work. “Hey!” This was the last stallion, a teal blue pegasus. “Look at her, she’s shaking! You’re scaring her, Red!”
“Awwww,” said Red understandingly. “No need to be scared, Miss. I’ll comfort you.” His sneer deepened slightly. They walked a few steps towards Harmonia.
Harmonia took a deep breath, her shaking starting to spread. She would scream, somepony had to hear if she screamed. But the noise wouldn’t co--
“There you are!” Long Play trotted forward calmly, shouldering through two of the stallions. “I’ve been looking all over for you! Come on, the reservations are only good for another half hour.”
“I--You,” stuttered Harmonia.
“Hey, hey!” said Red. “You’re this lady’s friend? We’re trying to be her friends too, so why don’t you step aside and let us get acquainted?”
Long Play smiled comfortingly, never turning away from Harmonia. “Come on, let’s go.” He nudged her slightly, trying to get her to walk away.
“Hey, you listenin’ to us?” asked the tan earth pony. He shoved Long Play’s shoulder roughly. “Hey!”
Long Play turned smoothly, blinking as though he had only just noticed the colts. “Evening. Can I help you?”
“Yeah, you can disappear,” said the earth pony threateningly. The teal pegasus was looking at Long Play strangely.
“Oh yeah, that’d be good,” said Long Play thoughtfully. “I’d quite like to disappear; it sounds like a lot of fun.” He wrapped a protective hoof over Harmonia, drawing her to his side, putting himself between her and the stallions. “Problem is, I’ve promised this young lady that I’d go on a date with her. I can’t really be going back on my promises.”
Red raised an eyebrow. “That’s real chivalrous of ya. Now get the buck out of here.”
“Yeah, it’s a bit of an outdated idea,” said Long Play with a shrug, “but I’m a bit of an old-fashioned guy. A lot of people around here used to follow that whole ‘keeping your promises’ thing. I miss those days.”
The other pegasus’s face lit with realization. He floated up, hovering slightly as he whispered something into Red’s ear.
“This guy?” asked Red in disbelief.
The other pegasus nodded.
Red looked at Long Play, squinting slightly, trying to match the two-tone red mane, light blue eyes, the earring in his right ear. “You,” he began, “what’s your name?”
Long Play shrugged again. “You know, it kinda depends on who you ask. But you’re Red, right? At least, that what you’re going by. Yeah, I’ve heard about you, hanging around the Park with your little group, bothering a bunch of ponies. There’ve been a lot of complaints about you three.”
“Red,” said the other pegasus nervously. “Red, we gotta go.”
Red set his jaw, still squinting at Long Play. “Alright. Let’s go.” He turned sharply, quickly flanked by his two companions. They began to walk away.
Red flared his wings, flapping them once and twisting, his left hoof cocked back, swinging forward. A light red aura sprouted around his hoof, yanking it upward and keeping it there, making Red seem like an eager, questioning student.
“Lot a complaints, Red.” Long Play’s voice had gone colder, losing a bit of the carelessness from before. “Don’t let me see you again.” The aura dissipated, dropping Red unceremoniously onto the ground. The pegasus rubbed at his hoof, nodded once, then quickly trotted out of sight.
Long Play turned, smiling at Harmonia. “Well, let’s get going.”
“What are you doing here?” asked Harmonia.
The colt nudged her slightly, speaking in a low voice. “Walk for now. They might still be listening.” They walked onwards, Long Play keeping a one-sided conversation the entire time. They quickly left Manehattan Park, stopping in front of an old store, a bright neon light that read “Closed” shining in the window.
Long Play smiled slightly. “It’s still here.”
"What are you doing here?!" repeated Harmonia fiercely, knocking Long Play's hoof away.
Long Play scowled. "I was just talking a walk. Trying to work a bit of the nostalgia off. Sorry for trying to help you."
"I didn't need it."
"No, you just don't want my help," replied Long Play coldly. "There's a difference."
Harmonia stayed silent, turning away slightly.
Long Play let out a clouded sigh. "And you?"
"Pardon?"
"What are you going out here?"
Harmonia looked down, reddening slightly. She mumbled unintelligibly.
Long Play arched an eyebrow. "What was that?"
"I... like parks," she repeated, still firmly facing the ground.
"You like parks?"
Harmonia nodded.
"So... You came out to the middle of Manehattan, in the dark, to see the park?"
Harmonia nodded, her face burning red.
Long Play let out a chuckle, a spark of a laugh that quickly lit into a fire. "You--you!" Long Play broke off, laughing too hard to finish his statements.
Harmonia's head snapped upwards, cheeks burning and eyes slightly watery. "Stop that! It's not funny!"
Long Play's hung down, his body shaking with laughter. "I-I can't! I can't!"
Harmonia's hoof lashed out, lightly striking Long Play's side. Long Play felt a quick bite of pain, twitching away from the blow. His laughter subsided slightly, turning into a few occasional bubbles of chuckling. He wiped a bit of drool from the side of his mouth, turning towards Harmonia with a grin.
The mare glared back at him, her mouth beginning to open, a scolding right on the tip of her tongue. She sneezed a dainty squeak of a sneeze. Long Play's grin thinned out slightly. His eyes quickly scanned over Harmonia. No sweater or jacket or scarf.
Long Play's magic flared, wrapping around his scarf and unwrapping it from his neck. It floated over to Harmonia and began to tie itself around her neck.
Harmonia started, trying to get away from the scarf. "What are you doing?"
Long Play's snout scrunched in focus. "Manehattan nights are cold."
"I don't need--"
"Hold still, this is hard." Long Play's tongue poked out slightly as he tried to magically tie the scarf.
Harmonia stayed still.
The scarf made one last knot, firmly in place and keeping out the chill. Long Play nodded in satisfaction. "There. Perfect."
Harmonia lifted one of the scarf's ends, stretching it slightly. It went well past the other end. "This is very sloppy."
Long Play rolled his eyes. "Well sore--"
"But it's warm." Harmonia looked up, locking eyes with Long Play. She smiled, her cheeks slightly flushed in the cold. "Thank you, Long Play."
The colt stared for a moment, then looked away, self-consciously scratching at his own cheek. "Yeah. No problem. We should be getting home. I'll walk you." A pause. "Just to make sure that you get home okay!" He added hurriedly.
Harmonia turned away, glancing back towards the ground. "If... If it isn't too much trouble."
The walk passed in silence, both of them caught in their own thoughts, stealing the occasional glance at one another, their eyes meeting, before they both quickly looked away. Before long, they stood in front of their homes, lingering slightly on the sidewalk.
"Well, bye."
"Goodnight."
They all but ran into their homes.