"Awwwwwwwwwww..." Pinkie Pie... or at least a two legged bipedal version of her pouts. "But you just got here! And you brought a friendsy toosy!"
"I know... I know," Twilight says with a gray sigh. "But I have many... uh... important princess things to do on the other side. My entire visit here was... well... 'impromptu' to say the least."
The two of us stand along with her friends... her other friends upon the fringes of the abandoned warehouse. A bunch of police vehicles have gathered, flickering with hypnotic red and blue lights. From a distance we watch as Adagio and her two sisters are handcuffed and packed away into the back of a van.
"Well, impromptu or not, you surely came here in the knick of time!" Applejack pumps her arms, smirking my way. "And great thinkin', Twilight, in gettin' yer Vinyl Scratch in on this."
"Yes, well..." Twilight turns to smirk in my direction. "The Vinyl from my home has some... uhhh... gifts that the Vinyl from Canterlot High sorta lacks. Eheheh..."
"Is that a fact?" Rainbow takes her motorcycle helmet off and shuffles towards me. "It's hard to imagine there being an even cooler Vinyl Scratch in any universe, much less Twilight's."
I shrug. Then, with a pair of pens, I gesture multiple words in quick sequence.
The teenage girls stare in a blank stupor.
"Uhm..." Fluttershy hugs her far arm. "Wh-what is she doing exactly?"
I let loose a magenta sigh—
"It's blank speech," a womany voice explains. "She pretty much just said 'To each their own. Your Vinyl probably has talents that I don't.'"
Both Twilight and I turn to look.
Sunset Shimmer glances back at us. "What?" She shrugs with her motorcycle helmet. "Did... did I lose a few things in translation?"
"Not at all!" Twilight remarks. "You know blank speech?"
"Erm... yeah." Sunset shrugs again. "I studied while I was Princess Celestia's pupil. Didn't you know it?"
"Erm... eheheh..." Twilight blushes.
A pale figure walks up to us. I turn in time to see the other Vinyl Scratch smiling at me. Suddenly, with swift motions, she gestures several dozen things with her hands and fingers. Her lips move in the process, smiling between every "phrase."
"And our Vinyl says that 'It was very nice of you to come save me... AND my vehicle,'" Rarity spontaneously translates. "The so-called Wub Wheels, I presume." She smiles at our gawking expressions. "What? I have to take two language courses to earn my scholarship and Latin is soooooo last millennium."
"This world never ceases to surprise me," Twilight says. "The immensity... the complexity to it."
"You could always come stay for a while, Twilight," Sunset says. "Y'know... when there isn't any horrible threat to harmony or friendship."
"Though I'm all for you fetching us to kick some major tail on motorcycles!" Rainbow Dash rasps, and she proceeds to perform several punches and high-kicks through the black cloud of her voice. "Hyaaa! Wa-taaa! Hoooooo..."
"It really would be nice for you to just stay and chat with us," Fluttershy says with a smile. "That way we can catch up."
"We can even find out about pony Vinyl Scratch!" Rarity exclaims, suppressing a giggle. "I bet she's got the softest, cuddliest white fur where she's from!"
Hey now...
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie scuffles up, grinning a crescent moon. "And if you stay just long enough, Twilight, maybe you and Flash can finally hook u—"
"Ah jeez! Look at that!" Twilight chuckles nervously, pointing at the horizon. "Sun's going down! I think it's time to go!"
"Huh..." Pinkie rubs her chin. "Funny. Last time I suggested that, you had to gallop away immediately too—"
"Life of a princess!" Twilight says, dragging me away from the parking lot. "Busy busy busy! Heheh! Isn't that right, Vinyl?"
I squint at her.
Seriously... what's the hurry?
Are these your friends or aren't they?
"I'll hold the fort here, Twilight," Sunset says, waving a hand. "You don't have to worry about the Dazzlings, either. I'll make sure they harm nobody anymore."
"That's really nice to know, Sunset," Twilight replies. "And you always know how to reach me."
"Heh. You're right. I do—"
Suddenly...
A ringing sound...
A bicycle bell?
Someone's pedaling up towards the warehouse, breaching the police line before any of the officers can catch her. I'm worried... until I notice that nobody is making a move to stop her.
And then...
She speaks.
"Let me through! Please! You shan't keep me away no longer!"
That... that purple. Dipping into rich indigo... so deep and desperate.
She skims by us, her mane billowing charcoal and pristine. Her blouse is as violet as the most beautiful laughter in the world. A cop or two rushes towards her, but I spot Rainbow and Sunset waving assuring hands, smiling as they let the teenager by.
"Vinyl?! Vine?!" She hops off the bike and huffs/puffs the rest of the way. "Are you okay, love?! Please tell me they got you out of that wretched place, safe and sound!"
"Uhhhhhh..." Twilight's sweating bullets now. "Okay, Vinyl. Time to go." She tugs and she tugs on me.
Wait...
I sandbag her, standing in place. Watching with lips pursed.
What's going on here—?
Twilight pulls on me harder. "No. Really. There's nothing here that pertains to you in this world—"
I don't listen to her. I look.
And I see...
...Octavia running up to Vinyl. And—without hesitation—she leaps into Vinyl's arms. The other me cradles the other her, and the two spin with happy sobs. Once the twirling is finished, they stare at one another... and their lips connect.
I blink.
They kiss for the full extent of twenty seconds. In the distance, Fluttershy and Rarity are cooing, which only makes this scene all that much more damnably rosy. The air fills with indigo weeping, framed in magenta sighs. When the gesture is over with, Octavia buries her head in Vinyl's neck, and Vinyl holds her close, stroking her hair and caressing the cellist's face.
"I was so worried, love... so dreadfully worried. Please... oh goddess, please... let us never lose sight of each other again..."
Vinyl takes her shades off. I see moist red eyes. She leans down, christening her lover's forehead with tears between each savoring kiss. There are smiles in between them... and warmth... and goosebumps.
I'm trembling at this point. A sour lump forms in my throat, bottling up the mother of all confused expressions. The numbness spreads through me... so that I'm helpless to Twilight's tugging limbs as she finally... finally pulls me out of eyeshot of the two girlfriends...
...and back to the rippling mirror between worlds.