Vinyl had arranged an early morning flight back to Canterlot. Mostly because Octavia had insisted, “I have important business to attend to in the city on Monday.” The grey mare could be heard remarking.
Her white unicorn friend would reply thus, “How can I say no to that adorable face?”
If this mysterious visitor would have eavesdropped a little longer, they would have witnessed a small fight break out, as the earth pony tried with all her might to murder the unicorn in whatever inventive, brutal method occurred to her. They would have noticed the unicorn giggling madly as the earth pony tried, defending herself easily by glancing blows away with small bursts of magic.
Further investigation into the two ponies would have revealed a third, an orange earth pony wearing a Stetson. It would seem she played 'sheriff' to the pair, clapping both of them round the back of the head with her strong hooves. “Now you,” She pointed a hoof at the unicorn, “Mosey on back t' yer own room, some of us hafta be up at cock crow.”
The unicorn would try and fail to restrain her laughter, “Night, ma'am” She would say in a crude, southern accent, tipping her imaginary hat at the door.
Sheriff earth pony would roll her eyes and insist the other earth pony get some rest as well. The grey mare would nod respectfully and make her preparations for sleep.
==
Octavia felt oddly emotional as she bade Applejack goodbye for what could be the final time. The farm pony was, to put it simply, a very nice pony. Honest and friendly, Applejack was just someone you could get along with. She gave Octavia and Vinyl a hug each before getting back to work, humming a jaunty tune as she did.
“So...” Octavia began, looking at the box she was carrying on her back, “Will we be visiting our new rainbow friend?”
The unicorn took a few seconds to answer, apparently weighing it over in her mind, “We probably should at least tell her we're on our way back, it shouldn't take her as long to get to Canterlot so she can have a bit longer in bed if she wants.” Vinyl sighed, it wasn't obvious to anyone else, but she closed her eyes, they had begun to hurt again. “Could you do me a small favour, Octavia?”
“Hey, that almost rhymes.” The usually serious earth pony cracked a smile, but it was the one time that Vinyl didn't return it, “What's the favour then?” The unicorn didn't look much in the mood for jokes at the moment.
“I'm feelin' kinda drained, would you mind leading us to Rainbow's place so I can give my horn a rest?”
Octavia frowned, “Do you feel ill? Sorry, I mean, of course I'll lead the way but if you don't feel well I think you should tell me.”
Vinyl forced a smile, “Just a bit achy and lethargic, nothing a bit of rest can't cure.” Octavia didn't need to know about the headaches just yet, maybe in time. The white unicorn sighed happily as she dispelled her sensory enchantment.
“Just follow the sound of my hooves, okay. It shouldn't take long to get into town and then we'll get you home and back to bed.” Octavia smiled helpfully, but the gesture fell on deaf ears... so to speak.
“Octavia you naughty mare, aren't you even going to ask me on a date first?” It was a feeble attempt at changing the subject but the more Octavia thought she was okay, the longer she could keep her headaches a secret. It wasn't much at the moment, but she could feel them coming, 'Always pushing yourself too far, eh Vinyl?'
Luckily, Octavia decided to run with the sarcasm, “Was that a 'we are secretly dating' joke? How original.”
“You know me Tavi, I'm a committed kind of pony.”
Octavia barely contained a chuckle, “And here's me thinking that you were the love 'em and leave 'em type.”
“Hey, sometimes relationships don't work and the sooner you realise it, the better for the both of you. Besides, I hardly think you qualify to give out relationship advice.”
“I have a thousand pieces of advice about how not to initiate a relationship if that helps. For example, never stand outside your Cello instructors house and play the most romantic song you know, especially if his wife is home... and people are watching.” Octavia was glad that Vinyl couldn't see how embarrassed she looked.
“You fell for your Cello instructor? That's kinda sad. Anyway, I thought you played Double Bass?”
“A mare can't be multi-talented?”
“Pfft, transferable skills. Call me when you learn how to play the saxophone.”
“Fine, I'll just not talk.” Octavia held her head high in defiance. It was then that Octavia fully began to comprehend just how much of communication is non-verbal, it was a shame that she and Vinyl couldn't have that non-verbal link. The earth pony almost hugged her friend right there and then, stroking her mane and telling her that everything would be alright. As it was, she just seemed lost.
“But if you stop talking, I won't be able to follow your incessant whining.”
Scratch that, she's still the same old Vinyl.
Rainbow Dash was waiting for them when they arrived at her home, something that Octavia (and Vinyl once the earth pony told her) found rather odd.
“You're up early,” Octavia said in greeting, “We got up especially.”
Rainbow laughed rather unnervingly, “I didn't sleep! I've been waiting for you all night, drunk my weight in coffee. You guys sleep slowly.”
Now that Octavia was closer, she could see the dark rings under the pegasus' eyes and how jittery she seemed. Apparently deciding that standing still was too boring, Rainbow flew a few laps around her cloud house and landed again.
Vinyl took this opportunity to give the pegasus the run down on their plans. “Now Dash, we're on our way back to Canterlot, our sky-cab is scheduled to arrive soon and we thought that we should come over and tell you so you can meet us at the depot in Canterlot. You could probably get there faster by yourself, so you can stay here for a while if you want.”
“Are you kidding?” Rainbow looked scandalised, but perked up just as quick, “I'm coming with you guys, I don't wanna miss my opportunity with the Wonderbolts, I mean singing with you guys.” Rainbow's forced smile wasn't very convincing.
“Fine, just remember that there isn't room for you inside the chariot.”
“I'll need all that flying time to warm up anyway.” The pegasus looked between the other two quickly, as if expecting one of them to respond just as quickly as she did.
Octavia decided to speak up, “Okay then, now that we have all of that sorted out, we should be on our way to the landing point.”
“Yes, good idea Tavi. Just follow her Dash, she knows where she's going.” Vinyl turned towards Octavia and motioned for her to start moving.
They were quite the odd sight, the three of them. First of all you had the grey earth pony with a fairly large box on her back and an exasperated look on her face, then you had the white unicorn with her head down and generally looking sorry for herself, finally there was the cyan pegasus, zipping around the other two like a housefly that's had too much sugar.
They stopped in a large stretch of open flatland just outside of Ponyville where they had originally landed. Octavia and Vinyl sat down patiently, Octavia with her eyes towards the skies and Vinyl just laying her head on her front legs.
“This is taking too long.” Rainbow Dash had been still for perhaps five seconds before saying this.
Octavia sighed, “We got here early just in case, the chariot isn't scheduled for another ten minutes at least.”
“Ten minutes!? That's like... hours!”
“Just sit your feathery behind down,” Vinyl said, her tone was serious, “Be quiet until the sky-cab arrives or I'll make you go home.”
The pegasus did as she was told surprisingly. Vinyl did seem in one of those moods where you just don't want to mess with them, perhaps it was her threat that did it, Rainbow Dash seemed intent on being good at this so she could set up a meeting with the Wonderbolts. Octavia could understand it in a way, using one thing as a stepping stone to another thing, but where would that leave them? If Rainbow Dash got what she wanted and the Wonderbolts accepted her as a member of their flight team, would she have enough time to continue working with her and Vinyl or would she have to focus squarely on her flight training.
Just being around the pegasus told Octavia one thing about her, if it came down to a choice, she wouldn't pick being a vocalist over being a Wonderbolt. Which was quite sad actually, but Octavia had to trust Vinyl's judgement when it came to this. The unicorn had said it herself after all, Rainbow Dash was what she was looking for in a vocalist and from what Octavia could tell, she had been looking for a while. Vinyl doesn't seem like the type to just give something like that up.
When Octavia snapped out of her musings, she saw that the chariot was pulling in to land, she nudged Vinyl and told her the ride was here. Rainbow looked towards the unicorn as if asking permission to move. Vinyl couldn't see this of course, but Octavia took the hint and told her to follow close, Vinyl didn't correct her, so Rainbow nodded and stretched her wings ready for the trip.
“Let's just get this sorted shall we.” Vinyl sounded annoyed.
Octavia couldn't help but feel like she had to do something, 'Maybe when we get her back home, I should be able to find something to help her there.'
==
Vinyl unlocked her door with a quick burst of magic, even that simple act sent a shooting pain through her head, she fought to mask it before Octavia or Rainbow Dash could notice, they didn't need to worry about her.
The door swung open, “Make yourself at home, kitchen is to your left, bathroom is through the door to the right, couch is right ahead.”
The unicorn stood at the door and watched as her two new friends rushed in, Octavia had predictably headed straight for her Double Bass and was checking if it was alright. Dash was taking an aerial tour of the living room, poking her head into every cupboard and seeing what was through every door. Vinyl took her time closing and locking the front door manually, it was better than causing herself pain.
Vinyl crashed on the couch opposite Octavia, they were almost in the same position when she proposed the entire Ponyville vacation in the first place.
“Look Vinyl, you really need to get some rest, we can sort everything else out tomorrow. You can't rightly focus on work when you're as obviously strained as you are.”
Perhaps Octavia had noticed after all, “Thanks for the concern, but we need to deal with Jitterbug first, she needs the rest more than I do.”
Octavia looked up at Rainbow Dash, she was currently trying to open one of the windows near the top of the back wall, “I suppose, but what can we do? She's so pepped up she isn't going to go to sleep any time soon.”
“If she won't sleep naturally, then make her sleep unnaturally. There are some sleeping pills in my medicine cabinet, you know where that is, just grind two up in a protein shake and tell her it's to help for her Wonderbolts audition.” There was a small pause where Vinyl could imagine Octavia staring at her with that, 'did you really just say that' glare she has, “And don't worry, she won't remember much when she wakes up. Do this and I promise I'll let you fuss over me.”
Vinyl heard the sound of Octavia grumbling and getting up, “Okay, I suppose it's best to perform music when everypony has a clear head.”
“That's the spirit, drug our new friend and put her in my bed.” She may feel like crap, but Vinyl still knows when to crack a joke.
Octavia rolled her eyes and wandered into the bathroom, finding that it was sparkling clean, 'Vinyl must have a maid.' It actually smelled lemon fresh rather than... she didn't even want to think about it. The medicine cabinet was in its place above the sink and the sleeping pills didn't take long to find, they were in a fairly large bottle with a sleeping pony on it, 'apparently Vinyl needs a lot of these. Better take the bottle, Vinyl might want some.'
Pills in hoof, Octavia made her way to the kitchen and began rooting through the cupboards to find what she needed. After a minute or two of searching, she found a mortar and pestle, a large glass, a small packet of powdered protein shake mix, a lot of milk and a spoon.
She ground the pills into a fine powder using the mortar and pestle but left it alone for the time being. She poured the milk into the glass and made sure to read the instructions of the back of the powdered protein shake mix before adding it in. She carefully stirred the mixture, making sure not to spill any of it, once she felt that everything had dissolved, she added the ground up sleeping pills, added them to the mixture and stirred it once again. Admiring her concoction, Octavia smiled and turned to Vinyl, “I've done it!” she shouted, “Where's Rainbow?”
The unicorn merely pointed towards her left, at the door Octavia knew held Vinyl's bedroom. The earth pony took special care in picking up the drink, walking slowly towards the door which burst open unceremoniously as she neared it. Rainbow Dash had obviously finished her tour of the apartment and was looking for something else to do.
“Rainbow Dash, I have a drink for you.” Octavia called, balancing the drink so she didn't spill any of it.
The pegasus looked down, “Great, I was really thirsty after all that flying.” She zipped down and took the drink off of Octavia, downing almost three quarters of it in one gulp. “That tasted... really erm...” her eyes began to droop.
Octavia mock gasped, “You look tired Rainbow, perhaps you should have a rest, it's been so long since you slept after all.” She trotted up and offered her shoulder to the pegasus.
“Yeah... sleep would be good.” She yawned and her legs buckled slightly.
Together, they walked back through the door beside the kitchen area, coming onto a corridor similar to the one on the other side of the apartment, there were a few doors leading off of this one, Octavia took a chance with the first. She found a large room, walls almost blocked out by posters and pictures, it was messy and had a plush carpet leading up to a massive bed, 'This is definitely Vinyl's room.'
The two ponies made it to the bed, Octavia holding the covers back whilst Rainbow collapsed into it, snoring soundly, “Sweet dreams.”
The earth pony allowed herself a small smile before backing out of the room, she was glad to see that Vinyl hadn't moved. “So...” she began, before the unicorn interrupted.
“Yeah, yeah... fuss away.”
Octavia took a seat opposite her, “You've been acting funny since we left Applejack's. What's the matter and tell me the truth this time.”
“Are you saying I lied?”
“No, I'm saying you just withheld a few important details. I'm your friend, I deserve to know what's going on if it's something bad.” Octavia looked at the unicorn pleadingly, even if she couldn't see it.
Vinyl sighed, “I have a really bad headache.”
“But that isn't all is it?” Octavia got up and took a seat on the edge of the couch where Vinyl was lay, she put a hoof on Vinyl's forehead, the unicorn jumped slightly at her touch, but didn't complain.
“You're burning up.”
“I've just been pushing my magic a bit too much the past weekend, it happens, I just need to rest for a bit.”
Octavia frowned, 'how can someone be so blasé about their own health?' “Surely there's something that can help speed the process along, recharge your batteries so to speak. If it's happened before, surely you know of something.”
Vinyl shivered, “Well there is one... no, I shouldn't even mention it.”
“Vinyl, please. Anything you need, I'll get it for you.”
“I'm not sure it's appropriate,” she shifted uncomfortably, “I don't even know why I brought it up.”
“Vinyl.” Octavia glared at the unicorn so intensely that she was sure Vinyl could feel it despite her disability, “Anything.”
A sharp release of breath, “If you really want to know,” a deep intake of breath. “There are certain chemicals in a pony's brain, in earth ponies and pegasi they serve only to produce the feeling you know as happiness or pleasure, in unicorns it can stimulate the rush of magic, making them feel recharged.”
“So, I just have to make you happy?”
Vinyl winced, “It's not quite that simple, you can't just put on my favourite song and give me a nice meal, it needs to be an intense rush of pleasurable excitement, enough to force the magic to recharge. The chemical is a natural secretion so it does it by itself over time.”
Octavia looked confused, “So how do I go about 'exciting' you... oh.” The answer dropped into her head and with it, a fierce blush.
“Yeah...” Vinyl rolled over, facing the back of the couch, “That's why I didn't mention it.”
The earth pony wasn't about to let a little embarrassment stop her, “Why can't you just... you know, help yourself?”
There was a brief silence from Vinyl, “With this headache? I don't think I could get myself in the mood. It's always easier with somepony else though.”
Octavia backed away slightly, “Well... that's, er... good to know. Rainbow Dash left some of the protein shake, you could have that to help you sleep.”
Vinyl sat up slowly, purposefully turning away from Octavia, she staggered over to the kitchen and found the glass, draining it completely. “Yeah, I'll just go climb in bed, I'll be better in the morning, come by then.”
“Oh, I think Rainbow Dash is already asleep in your bed.”
The unicorn smiled weakly, “It's a big bed, I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Lock the door on your way out, okay?” She had disappeared the door before Octavia even had a chance to say anything.
Staring awkwardly around the now empty living room, she got up to leave, but stopped herself when she saw her Double Bass and the box from Ponyville. 'I'll be back tomorrow, I'm sure Vinyl will keep them safe for me.' Octavia didn't have much of a choice, she walked over to the front door and set the lock before slipping out, her thoughts centred around the unicorn that had looked so vulnerable just moments before.
'And you left because you felt a little awkward. What kind of friend are you?'
“I have business to deal with.”
'You keep telling yourself that.'
* * *
Okay, not the most terribly exciting chapter ever to exist, but this story is Slice of Life for a reason. Life isn't always exciting.
There were some important things set up in this chapter though if you care to read between the lines and make a few assumptions.
Sorry about taking a while to upload this, I've had my time divided by a lot of projects (some new, but mostly revising Adored, which should be finished soon. I only have the last quarter to go)