"Thank you for your business Vinyl, come back soon," the baker said over the counter.
Vinyl smiled back at the baker as she levitated a box of baked goods above her head. "I will Doughy, have a good day." She turned and walked out of the bakery. As she stepped through the door way, she was greeted by a beautiful sunny day, shining down on the busy streets of Canterlot. She looked around at the passing ponies, when a pony sitting at a table outside a near by cafe caught her eye. Is that... "Applejack?" The mare in question turned her head upon hearing her name, and Vinyl walked over to her. "It's Applejack, right?"
Applejack was having a meal with her sister Applebloom, and she stood to meet the approaching mare. "Yeah, you're Fiddlesticks's friend aren't ya'?"
"Yeah, Vinyl Scratch." She looked down at the young filly. "And that'd make you Applebloom."
"That's right, it's nice t-"
"Applebloom," the elder sister interrupted, "why don't ya' go inside and play with that pinball machine?" Applejack took out a few bits and gave them to her sister. "Ah saw you looking at it earlier."
"Alright! It's nice to meet you Miss Scratch!" The little filly took the bits and ran inside the cafe.
The DJ waved a hoof good bye and smiled at the excited foal as she ran off. "Fiddlesticks told me she was a sweet filly."
"Don'tchya mean 'Octavia'?"
Vinyl's face slumped at the tone of Applejack's voice. "Not really, Fiddlesticks is the one who always talks about her family."
"Don't tell me you buy into that horse apples."
Vinyl sighed, and took a seat across from Applejack, setting her box of baked goods on the table. "I know it all sounds crazy Applejack, and believe me it is frustrating to deal with, but...I've been with Fiddlesticks since she created Octavia. Tartarus, the whole thing was my idea."
"Oh it was?" Applejack gave Vinyl a look that could hardly be described as 'friendly'.
"Well yeah, without my magic it wouldn't of really been possible. I didn't mean for it to go this far but...you should have seen how excited she was the first time Applejack." Vinyl looked down and stared into infinity, remembering the experience fondly.
Applejack's expression softened. "What do you mean?"
"It was a local talent show when we were just fillies, she wanted to enter as a cellist, but when she went to sign up she was laughed at her. They said that a country pony like her couldn't play something that sophisticated. That night she was crying on my shoulder, and I was trying to figure out how to cheer her up. That's when I remembered a spell I heard about in school that could let a unicorn change how a pony looks. When I told Fiddlesticks my idea she was so excited that... she just kept..." the DJ's grin grew, apparently unable to put the joy of her friend into words. "She ended up winning the talent show. At first I thought it would be the end of it. But then came another talent show, and another, and then auditions for orchestras. It was such a slow process that by the time I realized how much she was really changing...I didn't know what to say to stop her."
The two sat in silence for a minute until Applejack spoke up. "She...she wasn't too upset after ah left was she?"
"The last I saw her she was asleep on the couch, with tears in her eyes." Vinyl patted the box on the table. "I came out to pick these up for her, I thought they'd cheer her up."
Applejack looked at the box and sniffed the scent radiating from it. "...Apple fritters."
"She would prefer Apple family apple fritters, but I'm hoping these will do."
"Applejack," the two mares turned to see Applebloom walking back to the table. "I ran out of bits, can I have a few more?"
"No Applebloom, ya' need to finish your meal. We have a train to catch in a couple hours."
Vinyl stood up and took the box of fritters back in her aura. "Well I'll leave you two alone, it was nice to meet you both." Vinyl began to walk off, but stopped after a few steps, and turned back to face them. "You know...Octavia has a recital day after tomorrow. If you two can stay in Canterlot a few more days, she would love if you could show up."
Applebloom just looked between her sister and Vinyl, not completely sure what was going on, but Applejack met Vinyl's eyes. "We...ah'll think about it Vinyl, thank you."
With that, Vinyl continued on her way home. She wanted to get the fritters back to her friend while they were still fresh.