//------------------------------// // Be Prepared // Story: The Tunes Are A-Changin' // by ShadeJak //------------------------------// "...And that's the gist of it," Vinyl explained, bringing the story of our meeting Princess Celestia to a close and floating a forkful of waffles into her mouth. "Wow, wish I could have met her," Amy mused. "But you really gotta leave so soon?" "Unfortunately, yes," I said. "Please understand, the longer we stay here, the more likely someone's going to come looking for us. The last thing we want is to put any of you in danger." "Okay, i got a question," Sarah began, speaking up for the first time since Vinyl had started telling what had happened. "How are you going to make it to Iowa in one piece? No offense, but you're ponies, now. Driving a car's gotta be a bit of a challenge." "Made it here just fine, didn't we?" Vinyl asked, folding her forelegs and smirking proudly. "Vic, Iowa's got just a teeny bit bigger of a distance from here then your place does," she replied. "You should let one of us take you." "No way, Sarah," Vinyl replied immediately. "Look, this may be a long trip but there's no way I'd be able to handle putting you or mom and dad in any danger!" her ears drooped and she looked down at her plate. "Sorry... just, it sounds like these guys are pretty serious trouble. I don't want them having a reason to hurt you, too. I've seen enough sci-fi movies to know the evil secret fed guys always kill or try to kill anyone who helps the alien or magic creature for "knowing too much" or whatever." "You're our son, no matter what you look like, Vic," Mrs. Spencer said, coming over and hugging Vinyl. "You can't just expect us to let you and Olivia to go out there alone." "If I may, Mrs. Spencer," I interrupted. "Vinyl... I mean, Vic loves you all very much. I... I love this family, too. It's everything mine never was and I couldn't be more thankful for Vic welcoming me into it. The last thing either of us want is these... mercenaries as Princess Celestia described them, harming you or Sarah or especially the girls to get to us, or because you chose to put yourselves in their way. I know you'd do anything for your son, I would, too..." I took a breath. "But the best we can do for you is keep you from getting any more involved in this." Without warning Vinyl leaned over and threw her foreleg around me. "Yeah, what she said!" she declared, her voice suddenly back to its usual cheerful tone I was used to. "Besides, there's no way we're gonna let a couple jerks like that get us! When all this is over, we'll make it back, no matter what!" I raised an eyebrow at her bold statement. I would have loved to share the enthusiasm but the fact we were essentially blind between here and Iowa with no idea what kind of experiences awaited us on a car trip that long was filling my more practical approach on the matter. "C'mon... Mom... Dad... Sarah... trust me on this, alright?" Vinyl asked, her ears drooping and I swear she was attempting puppy-dog eyes. Silence followed and Mr. Spencer sighed a little. "I really don't like this," he said. "But I'll trust you... if you call us every day, understand?" "Sure, no prob, dad!" Vinyl said with a big smile. "You know she's the world to me; I'd kill to keep her safe!" Hoof, meet my forehead. "I'll give you some money in case you need to buy anything," Mr. Spencer continued, and you may want to change cars if those policemen are still after you." "Oh, right..." Vinyl muttered, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "You realize that's going to get us in trouble for aiding and abetting?" Sarah asked. "They cause you any problems it'll be the last mistake they ever make!" Vinyl declared. "If you're serious about this, you two should probably get going when you're done with breakfast. And like your father said, Vic... call us," Mrs. Spencer said, hugging Vinyl again. "Every. Single. Day. We want to make sure you get there safely." "Have phone, will travel, Mom!" Vinyl said proudly, gesturing to the backpack she'd brought that contained our phones and laptop and whatever else she'd brought when we fled our apartment. "And maybe ziploc a few of the leftovers, 'kay? I so miss having breakfast here!" she added with a grin. "Ooh! Just remembered!" Alicia suddenly shouted excitedly, immediately leaving her chair and rushing upstairs, prompting everyone including myself to stare in confusion until she returned with something behind her back. "Honey, what is it you got?" Sarah asked. Alicia revealed a pair of black, mirrored sunglasses that looked rather familiar in her hands. "Try 'em on! They came with that Equestria Girls car toy I got!" she said, holding them out to Vinyl. Rolling her eyes and deciding to humor her niece, Vinyl floated them out of Alicia's hands and onto the bridge of her muzzle. Amazingly enough, they fit perfectly. "How do I look, babe?" Vinyl asked me with a grin. "Ridiculous as ever, Vinyl," I said, smiling and bopping her on the nose playfully. "You're just jealous because I can totally rock these!" she said, still grinning as she sat herself up and looked at her reflection on the small, decorative mirror mounted on the wall. "Makes you look even more like a complete ruffian," I remarked. "...But I wouldn't have you any other way." Amy and Alicia giggled excitedly and both immediately came over and hugged her. "I guess we call you Auntie Vinyl, now, huh?" Amy asked. "Aw, but that makes me sound old!" Vinyl protested indignantly as she put her forelegs around her nieces and returned the hug, getting a laugh from me. "You sure you'll be alright?" Alicia asked, a worried look in her eyes. "Don't sweat it, your Auntie Vinyl will be just fine!" Vinyl replied with a grin. It did scare me a little, honestly, facing the unknown that waited for us between here in New Jersey and there in Iowa where Princess Celestia waited for us, and it was evident Vinyl's family felt the same way. Vic, or Vinyl... regardless of name or form, had been the best and most wonderful thing in my life. Despite being loud, crude, and occasionally annoying with that noise passed for the modern-age music I'd never get but could still tolerate, she had remained a loving and devoted person in my life, stood up to my parents, and we'd made our relationship work for a good five years. After all we'd been through, I wouldn't have wanted anything to happen to her, either. ~ An hour had passed and breakfast leftovers were bagged and put in a small cooler along with several bottled drinks. Mr. Spencer had gone to the gas station just outside the neighborhood and gotten us some cash for our impending trip and the keys to their jeep. Needless to say, when we got back outside, the mood changed drastically. "Vic, what in the hell did you do to your car?!" Mr. Spencer asked, staring agape at the damages it had sustained. "A hasty Blues Brothers-style escape from some insane cops?" Vinyl asked with a sheepish grin. "Gotta admit, the thing's definitely built for endurance!" she added, looking over the dents caused by gunfire. "We'll keep it in the garage. Whatever issue's going on with the police, though, is going to need to be resolved sooner or later," her dad explained. "Sure thing! Just be sure to tell 'em that their officers are crazy gestapos who like their job a little too much and tried to murder your son and his girlfriend because they didn't want witnesses to their usual little fuck-ups!" she protested. "You forget I used to be on the force, Vic," Mr. Spencer replied dryly. "Oh yeeeeah..." Vinyl replied, ears down again before giving a shrug. "Well, lemme say, it's a real damn shame the ones still there didn't follow your examples!" "We'll see what we can come up with," Sarah explained, probably relieved Amy and Alicia were still inside and didn't hear Vinyl's choice words. "If they track us down while we're still here, you'll be in trouble regardless of past credibility," I said, feeling a little guilty about having to bring us to saying good-bye. "It's probably best we leave, now." "Good point," Vinyl said, and immediately Mrs. Spencer and the girls came outside and rejoined us. Funny, for all my parents' faults, they'd probably have the precinct shut down and every officer given life sentences with the lawyers they can afford if they knew what happened... I thought to myself. ...Of course they'd probably do the same to Vinyl for dating me... My thoughts were interrupted by the abrupt sound of the jeep engine starting up. Turning, I saw Vinyl already seated in the driver seat. "Hey babe! You comin?" she asked with a big grin. "...In a moment," I muttered when loud heavy metal music began blaring from the stereo system. Shaking my head at Vinyl's forever-tasteless choice in music, I walked over to where her family was and balanced myself on my hind legs to hug them as best I could. "Thank you so much, for everything," I said, feeling tears well up a little in my eyes. "You're welcome, Olivia," Mrs. Spencer said. "Just please look after our son, alright?" "I promise. I'll do my best to keep Vinyl out of trouble," I said as I managed a smile. "You stay safe, too." I added as I turned and climbed into the passenger seat of the jeep. With one final farewell wave, Vinyl and I pulled out of the driveway, and drove off and out of the neighborhood. "Shit! Hey, babe, can you get the address into the GPS?" Vinyl asked, turning down the music. "Yes, give me a moment," I said, taking the GPS up into my hooves and sighing. "Pass me a pen, then. These hooves are regrettably useless on a touchscreen." With a nod, Vinyl floated a pen to my face and I caught it in my teeth. After a few failed efforts I managed to get the address keyed in and moments later, it had a location ready for us. ...As well as the distance it'd take, which got a quick reaction from Vinyl. "Aw, damn! Sixteen hours?" she asked indignantly. "That's if there's no traffic or we don't make any stops, so it may be a few days before we're there. It's already rather late in the morning," I said. "Well, guess you know what this means..." Vinyl said, tipping up her new sunglasses with her hoof and grinning mischievously. "Oh, no. Don't you dare...!" My eyes widened as I knew what track in the CD player was going to be picked as Vinyl pressed a button with her hoof. I facehoofed hard as Vinyl sang along loudly, and our long cross-country journey began...