Switching Up the Beats
Ch 4.
Vinyl sat in the small holding cell. Shivering out of nerves and the slight chill in the air. Across from her, a white pony sat hugging her hind legs with her front, muttering under her breath, and constantly twitching. To Vinyl's right was a purple pony who'd obviously had too much fun, and too much to drink. She lie snoozing, occasionally trying to use Vinyl's lap as a pillow. Vinyl had to politely and repeatedly move her aside. The most unnerving of all was the black gryphon, with a red band around her beak and claws cuffed behind her back, eying Octavia's body with a little more than casual interest. Vinyl was on the verge of tears, wishing she could undo this entire process.
Suddenly, the cell door came open, and the bright light of the lobby streamed into the dark little holding cell. Octavia came through the door, and looked directly at her mare. "Vinyl dear, it's time to go."
Vinyl leaped off the bench, throwing the poor drunken fool to the floor (it's alright, she didn't even notice,) and grabbed Octavia in a hug. "Let's get out of here." Vinyl said, as she walked out the door.
"I cleared everything up with the officer who arrested you, even though I had to repeat the entire bloody story at least eight times for him to understand."
Vinyl was taken to the front desk, where a gray pony retrieved a small box marked 'Vinyl Scratch?' The box contained her saddle bag, wallet, her ID and charge card which were both wrapped in 'evidence' bags, and a rather squished parcel tied with a blue ribbon. Vinyl took the last item on the line and passed it to Octavia. "Here's your chocolates Octi," she said looking a little down trodden, "they got a little smooshed when I got thrown into the police wagon."
Octavia pulled Vinyl close, "That's okay Vinyl, it's not your fault." She said as the two mares walked back towards their house.
When they got home, Octavia removed Vinyl's saddle bag, taking the mostly intact groceries to the kitchen. Vinyl flopped down on the couch, Octavia's long black hair trailing over her face. Soon her mare arrived with a wonderful smelling soup, and a couple bowls of salad. "After we're done with dinner, I've got something special to melt off the stress of the day." Octavia said, "a couple mugs of warm, delicious, Canterlot Brandy."
Vinyl sighed, "I'm sorry I got us into all of this." The normally peppy DJ said.
"Oh dear, I had to agree to it too, I'm equally guilty. Yet the one I'm really mad at is that purple-maned lunatic you call a friend."
"Still, it's been fun being you so far, seeing what it's like to be an earth pony. I even tried to mix a little yesterday, and I had to basically relearn to use my mixer all over again."
"I'm enjoying being a unicorn. Fixing dinner, for instance, is much easier with a horn."
The two snuggled a little closer, the soup and salad completely eaten. With a blue aura around her horn, Octavia called the mugs and brandy over to the couch. "That's impressive," Vinyl said, watching the drink pour into the mugs, "most of the time that takes months or years to get right."
Octavia giggled a bit, "I don't know, maybe it's just that we know each other so well, your bodies magic just wants to work with me."
The two mares clinked mugs together, taking a bracing sip of the warm drink. Vinyl laid her head back on Octavia's lap. "Man, my coat just seems to keep getting softer..." She said, as her eyes started to close. Octavia willed a blanket over to cover the softly snoring mare, before kissing her hoof, and placing it gently on the sleeping pony's brow. She started to nod off herself, until she heard a bizarre fluttering sound at the newly repaired window. As she opened her eyes again, she noticed a small piece of paper taped to the window. She opened the window and brought it in, careful not to disturb Vinyl. It read
"Dear pals of mine. Sorry I couldn't meet you guys today, as it appears you weren't home. I considered breaking in and waiting for you to show up, but thought the better of it. Instead I left you this note. If I'm not here before noon tomorrow, just head over to House of Enchanted Comics in Canterlot, that's the shop my friend owns, and I'll meet you there between noon to one at the cafe across the street. Much love and well wishes, Dramatic Entrance, P.S. Hope you're not too mad at me."
Octavia groaned quietly, looking down at the sleeping gray mare in her lap, and thinking about the day she'd had. "No, why would I be mad?" Octavia said sarcastically, as she settled back down on the couch. With a roll of her eyes, and a soft click, the lights went off and the TV came on. Before long, Octavia's eyes closed, and she fell asleep.