While a rainbow streaked through the sky overhead, a rather unique looking unicorn sat looking up in confusion; even though her eyes were hidden by the violet lens of her sunglasses.
Vinyl Scratch shook her head, tossing her blue mane about and rubbing around her horn as she felt something of a headache coming on from sitting in the sun for so long. One of her few friends had equated her to the vampires in old ponytales: pale with red eyes and about as comfortable during the day as they were. Somewhere along the line, about the time she’d actually started her DJ career, her sleep schedule had changed so that she was rarely up before six in the afternoon; the sun rising was usually her cue to call it a day and sleep away until either the late afternoon or the sunset.
Which begged the question: What was she doing out in Ponyville Park in the middle of the day?
It wasn’t really that tough an answer. She was meeting with a mare very dear to her heart- more-so than the mare herself knew really. There were only a hoofful of ponies she would drag herself into the daylight world for, and Octavia was one of them. Even through the tinted lenses, she found herself just staring at the grey Earth Pony; and- for whatever reason- musing that she looked far older than she was. Maybe it was the partially grey mane, maybe it was the air of maturity she projected, maybe it was just the fact that she acted it: but Octavia just looked about 30 years her senior instead of 3.
That was, until you looked into her eyes.
The mare’s violet eyes held a sparkle of youth and energy that you simply couldn’t fake. They weren’t tired, like the eyes of someone who had lived and seen it all, they were the eyes of a young mare who was still ready to learn and be surprised. A pony could get lost staring into those eyes- just as she was right now- and the lack of sleep didn’t help her focus one bit.
“Vinyl!” The musician snapped, bringing her out of her daydream abruptly. “Are you even listening to me?!”
The unicorn blinked a few times as she shook her head. “Sorry, Octy; spaced out there for a bit.” It wasn’t far from the truth anyway, and much less embarrassing. “Not used to being up and about now.”
The cellist rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Vinyl, you need to sleep more.”
“I sleep just fine,” she snapped back, glaring from behind her sunglasses. “I would be asleep right now if you hadn’t insisted I meet you at this insane hour.”
Octavia scoffed. “Two o’clock in the afternoon is hardly an unreasonable time. Maybe if you kept decent hours, you’d actually be awake during the day.”
“What kinda raves happen in the day?”
“Ugh! You’re utterly impossible!” Octavia looked about ready to just give up and walk away from the whole thing, only for Vinyl to suddenly touch one of her own hooves against the musician’s.
“Look, I’m sorry okay?” The DJ had decided to use one of her rare apologies for the day, seeing as how it was getting pretty clear Octavia wasn’t having all that good a day herself. “I’m not really a day person, and... you’re kinda right, I haven’t been sleeping all that good lately.”
The Earth Pony looked at her friend in confusion. “What’s wrong?”
“Not sure.” Vinyl admitted with a shrug. “I mean; I’ve gone to bed about four or five in the morning and woken up about ten feeling even more tired than I was when I went to bed.” Her hooves rubbed at the side her her head, sighing in her frustration. “It’s been on and off for about a week; starting to get on my nerves.”
Octavia bit her lower lip in mild concern. “Well... maybe you should go see a doctor or someth-”
“I did see a doctor.” She was interrupted by the exasperated unicorn. “Two, actually. One accused me of taking something I shouldn’t be... I’m not allowed within five hundred pony-lengths of him now.”
Another sigh from Octavia. “And... the other?”
“Couldn’t give me anything outside of some sleeping pills; he said there wasn’t anything physically wrong with me, but he also said I should talk to a shrink.” Vinyl scoffed. “Can you imagine it? Me, on one of those couches while he asks me to talk about my childhood.”
“You’re crazy enough that you could do with a visit or ten.” The musician muttered.
“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Octy.”
“Well; something is obviously wrong.” She shot back. “It’s even more abnormal than everything else about you.”
Vinyl held in a retort of her own; as much as she would have liked to disagree- that just being the kind of pony she was- actually arguing with Octavia over a point she partially agreed with was just pointless to her. Plus, there was the simple fact that she was right: Something was wrong.
And not just in the ‘I’m not sleeping well’ way; she’d dealt with Insomnia before, she knew what it felt like to just be tired from a lack of sleep. But this, this was something else entirely; and it made her more than a little uneasy. She honestly couldn’t think this was a stress related or psychological thing; she hadn’t been stressed until this entire thing had started, and the biggest dilemma she’d dealt with for a while now was what to have for her next meal. Despite what most ponies said about her, Vinyl did have a method to her madness and this wasn’t a part of it. It honestly scared her more than she was willing to admit.
Doing her best to chase such thoughts from her mind, she turned the conversation back toward it’s original purpose. “So... what did you drag me away from my bed to tell me anyway?”
Octavia, suddenly unable to even meet her friend’s gaze through the sunglasses, fidgeted slightly in her seat. “Shouldn’t you be a bit more concerned with what’s happening with your sleep? I mean; it can’t be-”
“I do enough thinking about myself as is,” Vinyl waved off her friend’s worries with something of a joke. “Just tell me.”
The Earth Pony continued to fidget and, right then and there, Vinyl knew she wasn’t going to like what her friend had to say. “I was offered a chance to play in Aerie.”
Behind her sunglasses, Vinyl blinked in shock. “That griffon country?” A nod from her friend. “Isn’t that a bit dangerous? I mean... they’re griffons after all....”
Octavia’s jaw dropped in shock at what her friend just said. “Vinyl, I’m surprised; you, of all ponies!”
“Come on, you saw how much trouble that one caused a few months ago,” the unicorn defended. “And you know how griffons are after all.”
“I know how some ponies say they are,” Octavia snapped back, glaring at her friend. “I also know how some ponies say that you’re a sociopath who likes to burn down buildings.”
“That was an ACCIDENT!” Vinyl was suddenly standing on her front hooves on the table and shouting so loud that everypony in the vicinity had turned their heads toward her. The unicorn heedlessly stood there, panting angrily as she glared at her rather calm friend. Several moments passed before she sat back down and the rest of the crowd went back to whatever that had been doing previously.
“See how it feels?” Octavia asked, the only one who seemed to be taking what had happened in stride. “Getting labeled for something you had no control over?”
Vinyl only grumbled, her head hung low. “But, did you have to mention that incident?”
Octavia only shrugged. “It’s about the only thing that you seem to be the slightest bit self-conscious about, you have to expect it to come up from time to time. Though- for the record- I’m sorry I had to bring it up; but you get the point, right?”
“Yeah, yeah.” The unicorn grumbled. “Still; watch yourself for me, would ya? I really don’t want you to get hurt.”
Octavia chuckled, reaching out a hoof to ruffle Vinyl’s already chaotic mane. “Yeah, I know. And I appreciate it, you crazy pony.” The grey mare sighed, dropping her hooves down to the ground as she looked around awkwardly. “Well... that’s pretty much what I wanted to tell you.”
“I take it you’re leaving now; since you decided to meet me in a park than a cafe or something.” She winced slightly at Vinyl’s blunt summation of the situation, but nodded anyway. “Well, then I guess I’ll see you when you get back.” And- with that- the unicorn DJ stood back up and set her hooves toward her home.
Octavia sighed, watching her friend go as her conscience started to throb in the back of her head. As one of the few ponies who could understand Vinyl’s moods and mannerisms, she could tell the crazy mare wasn’t taking this as well as her current attitude suggested. Plus, it just seemed like a bad thing to leave her alone when there was clearly something wrong with her; but the practical portion of her reminded her of her duty to her ensemble. The chance they had been given was too good to pass up and simply didn’t come along very often in life. As much as she wanted to stay and make sure that her best friend was okay, she still had other responsibilities.
With a sigh, the cellist set her hooves to the road that would take her back to Canterlot. Princess Celestia had been kind enough to lend the four of them a flying chariot to make the journey much faster than they would have normally, but it meant that they had to all be in the city tomorrow morning to use it.
So wrapped up was Octavia in her own thoughts, she failed to think twice about the golden yellow pegasus that brushed against her as she left town. Nor did she notice several other ponies on the path suddenly questioning where some valuables had disappeared to.