Vinyl, Octavia, Pinkie, and Garble were sitting in the living room, Garble’s hands still tied behind his back. Octavia had deigned him acceptable to associate with company, apparently. Pinkie was beaming at Vinyl.
“So, who’s the lucky pony?” she asked.
Vinyl smirked. “It’s not a pony. It’s a changeling.” Pinkie’s jaw dropped.
“A changeling!? Why would you go out with a changeling!?”
Vinyl shrugged. “It was ugly-cute, but for some reason, we fell in love after that kiss.”
“You kissed a changeling!?” Vinyl nodded. Octavia glared at Vinyl.
“You kissed the changeling?” Octavia asked.
“What? It’s not like it’s a big deal.” Vinyl shook her head.
“I agree,” Garble said. Octavia glared at Garble.
“GARBLE! What did I tell you about speaking when not spoken to?”
Garble hung his head low. “Not to, mistress. Sorry, mistress.”
Vinyl stuck out her tongue. “I mean, I did bang it a couple months ago.” Pinkie’s eyes were as wide as saucers while a disturbing grin appeared on Garble’s face.
“You BANGED a CHANGELING!?” Pinkie exclaimed.
Octavia snorted. “At least you didn’t have to walk into the aftermath.” A knock was heard from the door. Everybody present looked around in confusion. Eventually, Pinkie rose up and answered the door, to reveal a changeling looking very grave. Pinkie looked back to the group.
“Hey Vinyl, is this the changeling you banged?” Octavia and Vinyl looked at each other in confusion.
The changeling snorted. “You mean that the Alpha rutted the unicorn?”
Pinkie glared at the changeling. “Don’t put it like that, that makes it sound crude!”
The changeling raised an eyebrow. “Then how should I put it?”
“Made love,” Pinkie said with a grin.
“Well, that certainly explains a lot.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” the changeling started, “it appears that the Alpha accidentally killed one of our own when the poor soul tried to suck out the unfiltered love from it. As a result, it never wants to see you again, Vinyl.”
Vinyl’s eyes widened in shock. “Really!? But it paid for dinner and everything!”
The changeling shook its head. “What can I say? The Alpha finds you disgusting.” The changeling then slammed the door, leaving Vinyl to tear up. Somber music started playing. Octavia’s eyes widened in horror as Vinyl stood up.
“No! Not another musical—” Octavia started before being cut off by Vinyl’s singing.
Everything was amazing, now I feel like a goof
I had the whole of Equus in the frog of my hoof
Now I feel so alone
My mind had been blown and thrown
Everything I had just went ‘poof’
But maybe it’s just as they say
The stain won’t go away
Of being in love with a changeling
Maybe it’s meant to be
As plain as I can see
I mean, what did he really bring?
Vinyl Scratch then cried, Octavia moving in to hug her, with Pinkie joining in too. Octavia rubbed Vinyl’s withers gently.
“Don’t worry, Vinyl, I know how we can forget all about that nasty changeling.” Octavia kissed Vinyl, Vinyl kissing back vigorously. Their kissing continued for a full minute, which was making Pinkie very uncomfortable.
“Um...if it’s ok with you girls, I’m just gonna step over here…” Pinkie said while backing away. Octavia and Vinyl took the chance to lower themselves to the floor, deeply entrenched in each other. Pinkie took a seat next to Garble. “Do they always do this in front of company?”
Garble shook his head. “Only around those they’re comfortable with. Now could you please untie me?”
Pinkie nodded. “Okie Dokie Lokie!” and bit off the ropes binding Garble. Garble rubbed his wrists, then ran into Octavia’s room, emerging holding a camera. “What’s the camera for—” Pinkie started until Garble started taking pictures of the mares embraced on the floor.
“Taking memoirs for posterity, mare. Taking memoirs for posterity.” Pinkie retched at that.
“You know, I remember you didn’t like us ‘namby-pamby’ ponies not so long ago.”
“College does strange things to a dragon.” Pinkie shrugged, taking the answer in stride.
----
Garble slept in Octavia’s room, while Pinkie slept in Vinyl’s room, the two mares whom the rooms belonged to sleeping on the floor.
Octavia woke up with a start, surprised to find that Vinyl was not next to her. “Vinyl?” No answer. “Vinyl?” Still no answer. She rose to her hooves and went to the bathroom. The knob was locked. She started shaking the knob vigorously, the door still holding. Frustrated, she faced away from the door. “If you don’t open that door, I’m bucking it off of its hinges!” Still no answer. Octavia sighed, then planted a powerful buck to the door, ripping it off of its hinges, causing it to fly by a very surprised, tearing Vinyl. Octavia looked back and saw to her horror that there was a knife planted in the door. Octavia glared at Vinyl, then stomped over to her, grabbing her by the neck.
“What was that knife for?” Octavia said, her features screwing up into a mask of rage.
“Uh, cooking?” Vinyl offered half-heartedly, tears in her eyes. Octavia glanced to Vinyl’s forearms, noticing the gashes across them. Octavia snorted brusquely, then slapped Vinyl across the face.
“What the hay were you THINKING! I thought we nipped this in the bud years ago!”
“I didn’t mean to—” SLAP!
“What the hay does that mean, 'you didn’t mean to?' You mean to tell me you just tripped in such a manner to form perfect X’s across your hocks!?” Pinkie and Garble had emerged from their rooms by now, watching the scene from Octavia’s room.
“Drama bomb,” Pinkie whispered to Garble. Octavia glared at Pinkie.
“A little privacy, please?” Octavia asked. Pinkie and Garble both shrank behind the threshold. Octavia turned her gaze to Vinyl.
“This is over that dirty bugger, isn’t it?”
Vinyl sniffed. “Don’t call it that, that’s specist—”
Octavia snorted. “I’ll be as specist as I damn well want when a bugger causes my Vinyl to hurt herself!” Octavia then kissed Vinyl on the forehead and let her down gently. “Now where does that bugger live?”
Vinyl wiped a tear from her eye. “I don’t know.” A throat was cleared, causing them to turn towards Pinkie.
“I may know.”
Octavia glared at Pinkie. “Where does it live?”
“Across from Donut Joe’s.”
Octavia raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”
Pinkie blushed as she hid what appeared to be about twenty-some-odd sheets of rolled up paper behind her. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Octavia snorted yet again. “Pinkie Pie, you are so random! Well, then, you heard the mare! Everybody to where she said!” Octavia then grabbed Vinyl’s scruff in her mouth, dragging her out the door, Pinkie and Garble following.
----
Nineteen-sixty-nine was sitting in the living room of its flat reading the Canterlot Post when it heard a furious knocking at its door. Confused, it set down the newspaper and answered it, being greeted by two angry mares, a crying mare, and what appeared to be a very disgruntled dragon.
“Are you the Alpha?” The mare in front, who he recognized as Octavia, asked.
“It’s name is Nineteen-sixty-nine!” Vinyl said between tears.
Nineteen-sixty-nine stared bemusedly at Octavia. “Yes, I suppose I’m the Alpha—”
“That’s all I needed to hear,” Octavia said before she decked it, knocking the changeling to the floor.
It rubbed the side of its muzzle, wincing in pain. “What the chitinous carapace was that about!?”
Octavia laughed derisively, then leapt on the changeling, punching it repeatedly. “You find—” SMACK! “—my Vinyl—” POP! “—disgusting—” BAMF! “—and never—” SOCK! “—want to—” PUNCH! “—see her again!?” Nineteen-sixty-nine lifted Octavia off of it with its magic and placed her on the couch, wiping the cyan blood dripping from its muzzle.
“When did I say that?”
Octavia glared at Nineteen-sixty-nine. “You sent one of your lackeys to do it for you!” Nineteen-sixty-nine stared at Octavia perplexedly.
“When did I…” It then smacked its head. “Oh! Nineteen-eighty-seven must have went over after getting the police and lied to you!”
Octavia raised an eyebrow, while Vinyl rushed in to hug the changeling. “I knew you wouldn’t say anything as mean as that!”
“Hold on a second,” Octavia said, “why would a fellow changeling do such a horrid thing?”
Nineteen-sixty-nine chuckled. “He’s a Beta. A real prick. I’ve been meaning to find a reason to kick it out, and now it appears I’ve finally found it.”
Octavia glared at the changeling. “You’re not getting off that easy. She was so destroyed after she found out the news that I found her cutting herself over it this morning!”
The changeling looked around and asked, “Is that a bad thing?” Pinkie and Garble nodded, while Octavia facehooved.
“A pony does it when they have uncontrollable feelings of depression that they feel they can’t handle, which can happen after being rejected.”
“Well, that explains a lot.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, did the Beta tell you about my dose of unfiltered love?” Octavia nodded. Nineteen-sixty-nine chuckled. “Well, that confirms that hypothesis.”
“What hypothesisissis?” Pinkie asked.
“Well, if the dose of unfiltered love had any effect on Vinyl. It appears to have created a feedback loop, soaking my entire system in oxytocin, while simultaneously injecting a massive dose of oxytocin into Vinyl’s brain.”
“Is that even possible?” Garble asked.
Nineteen-sixty-nine gently pushed Vinyl off of it and stood up, brushing itself off. “Well, there’s a lot we don’t know about changeling-pony relations, but unfiltered love is a dangerous animal. I suppose Nineteen-eighty-seven told you about the changeling I inadvertently fricasseed?” Everybody nodded. “So I suppose what kills a changeling would cause extreme reactions to a pony.”
Vinyl nodded. “Yeah! It’s like that really annoying thing that I do where I hold the mic up to the speaker and it creates a really annoying sound like this!” Vinyl’s horn then charged up, creating the sound that she just described causing everypony and dragon present to cover their ears, upon which Vinyl stopped making the incredibly annoying noise.
Octavia shook her head. “So, Alpha, do you even really love Vinyl?”
Nineteen-sixty-nine shook its head. “There’s no way of really saying, but I do enjoy spending time with her, even if her taste in movies is terrible.” Octavia giggled at that.
“I suppose you’re alright then.” Vinyl then rushed in to kiss the changeling. “NO!” Octavia yelled, upon which Vinyl paused, bewildered.
Nineteen-sixty-nine lifted up its newspaper and kissed it. “Why don’t we try it like this?” Vinyl stared at the paper confusedly, then grasped the paper as a flash of realization hit her and kissed the newspaper in return. Octavia giggled at the rather touching scene in front of her.
“Well, I suppose all’s well that ends well.” Pinkie and Garble were hugging each other happily at the threshold.
“I love happy endings.” Pinkie said with a tear in her eye.
“Can I see the deep-fried changeling?” Garble asked, upon which Pinkie pulled away from Garble and everypony and ling started retching. Garble looked around in confusion. “What? It’s for a science lab!”