Vinyl Scratch poured herself a cup of coffee for the umpteenth time that morning as she prepared to step outside. "Oh! Almost forgot!" Vinyl stepped back inside for a moment, only to trot happily out the door with her "'specs" on, and a colorful bag levitating next to her.
Today, Twilight promised to show her around town, and even if it was a few hours early, there would be no harm starting a little early, would there? Vinyl wanted to see Twilight again, even if she did have no idea where she was going, she was sure the locals could point her in the right direction.
Ponyville was a somewhat busy town, even in the morning, and things were just starting to pick up. There were ponies walking down the streets on the side, some, Vinyl even recognized from club P0N-3. Vinyl immediately walked up to the closest friendly looking pony she could find. It was an orange earth pony, with three red apples for a cutie mark, and a long blonde mane in a ponytail. She was wearing a cowpony hat, and pulling a giant cart of apples as if it were nothing, she was obviously a farmpony. She was also with a younger, yellow filly, who had a red mane with a bow in it.
"Excuse me," Vinyl started, "Would you happen to know where Twilight Sparkle lives? I hear she's the town librarian, she's purple, kind of a bookworm?" The stranger only giggled at the white unicorn in front of her.
"Heh, most people ah know use words like 'egghead'. Yeah, ah can point ya in Twi's general direction. Ah'm Applejack, pleased ta meet ya, stranger!" The orange pony said, holding out a hoof.
"And ah'm Applebloom!" The younger pony said with a grin on her face.
"Well, it's nice to meet both of you, I'm Vinyl Scratch. Uh, do you guys know Twilight?" Vinyl said, shaking Applejack's hoof back, realizing that she wasn't the most... Gentle... of ponies, Vinyl could only try to stand still as the orange earth pony shook her hoof with a strength that could easily be considered strong for a larger stallion.
"Twilight? Shoot, yeah. We go waaay back! That's a story for another day, though, Vinyl. Me and Applebloom here need to get these apples to the market. Apples don't sell themselves, y'know! Anyway, Twilight lives down that road," Applejack said, as she pointed to a street to the left of her. "Jus' take a right at Sugarcube Corner, and go straight until you see the big, hollowed out tree! Ya can't miss it!"
'These ponies are definitely... Interesting' Vinyl thought to herself. "Well, uh, thanks, it was nice meeting you!"
"No problem, Vinyl!" Applejack said at the white mare, already walking away from her. "If ya get th' chance, you and Twilight should stop by Sweet Apple Acres!"
After what felt like hours of endless walking, Vinyl finally found her destination, Twilight's house. "Well, here we go!" Vinyl said to herself, as she walked up to the front door. "Heh, I hope she likes my present." The unicorn giggled to herself.
The door was soon answered, but not by the pony Vinyl expected, not by a pony at all. It was a baby dragon. "The library isn't open today, sorry." The dragon said to Vinyl as he rubbed his eyes.
"Huh? - Oh! No, I'm looking for Twilight, Applejack must have told me where she works on accident. I take it you're Spike?" Vinyl looked at the baby dragon, as viscous as most dragons were, he was pretty darn adorable. Vinyl secretly giggled to herself.
"Yeah, that's me!" He obviously liked attention. "Twilight's number one assistant! I'm sure she's told you all about me! Yeah, she lives here. Come on in." Spike stepped aside so the mare in front of him could step inside, "Nice glasses, by the way."
"'Specs," Vinyl corrected, "and I'm Vinyl Scratch." Vinyl said as she placed the bag she was carrying on the table next to her. It was a pretty nice house, a lot of books, but that would be obvious if Twilight lived in a library. "So is Twilight around?"
Spike rolled his eyes, "So you're that mare Twilights been going on about. Yeah, she's upstairs, doing whatever. I'll go get her." The purple and green dragon in front of her took his time walking up the stairs.
Vinyl was glad Spike went upstairs, though. She couldn't tell, but she was pretty sure she was blushing, even if she didn't know why. Twilight? Talk about her? Vinyl quickly looked back at the bag and giggled as she waited for Twilight to come down.
She eventually did, but it took some effort for Vinyl not to fall asleep on the floor as she waited. Books were boring, they made her tired, but seeing her friend come down those stairs woke her right back up. Twilight's mane was still a little messy from her bed, but it really didn't look too bad, or at least that's what Vinyl thought. It's what you'd expect someone's mane to look like if they were at a party, or a nightclub.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Vinyl. We didn't have plans for a couple hours!" Twilight said, surprised at her friend's visit. "Any particular reason you came here early?"
"Do I need one?" Vinyl started, "I just woke up a little early today, and figured we could have breakfast together or something. I can go if you're in the middle of something."
"What? No! I mean, no, you can stay! I was just a little surprised you were here early, that's all. I was actually about to sit down for some of Spike's famous pancakes. Do you mind making a couple more, Spike?"
"Fine, but you owe me a ruby, and not a small one like last time." The obviously disgruntled dragon walked in to the kitchen.
"So, uuh..." Vinyl really did need to work on her social skills a bit. "How did you sleep?"
"Pretty good, I stayed up a little late reading last night though, I probably could have slept in a little today, but I guess it's a good thing I didn't!" Twilight giggled as she rubbed her eyes, "Some coffee sounds good, though. Do you want a cup?"
"Sure! Go get the coffee, then I have something to give you!" Vinyl said as she lifted up a bag next to her with her mouth. She was obviously excited.
Twilight hated to be a braggart, or selfish, or rude, but she absolutely loved getting presents. She's used to acting calm when she gets one from her normal friends, but she was interested to see what a pony like Vinyl would get her, and why. "I'll be right back!" Twilight said as she ran in to the kitchen, only to come out a moment later, holding two mugs of coffee in a magical grip. She gave one of the cups to Vinyl, and Vinyl levitated the bag over to Twilight.
"You could call it a thank you," Vinyl started, "for coming to the opening of my club, and waiting all night for me to finish." Vinyl couldn't help but be a little upset at Pinkie for leaving her without saying goodbye, but it wasn't too big of a deal. She must of just been tired.
Twilight opened the bag in a rush, wanting to see what surprise was inside. She searched inside the bag with her magic until she found something solid to pull out. What she pulled out, was a pair of glasses, no, a pair of 'specs, that looked just like Vinyl's. The only difference was that the color of the lenses were a deep violet, somewhat reminiscent of Twilight's eyes. "Vinyl," Twilight started, with a huge grin on her face, "I love them!"
Those three words allowed an audible sigh out of Vinyl. She never was good at giving out gifts, but she was glad that her new friend liked them. "I'm glad you do. With those things on, you look like the kind of pony that would show up at my club!" Vinyl snickered at the thought of Twilight being 'just another pony' at her club.
Twilight wasn't sure whether she was just complimented, or insulted. "Um, thanks, Vinyl! I'm wearing them today, anyway." Twilight said behind a smile as she levitated her "'specs," as Vinyl would call them, on to her head, allowing them to hang right above her horn.
Vinyl giggled as she noticed how Twilight's mane actually looked good ruffled, she pulled off the wild look nicely.
"Anyway," Twilight started, "I'm pretty sure Spikes almost done with our pancakes. Do you want the tour of Ponyville afterwards? I want to show you a few neat places and meet some of my friends, there's Rarity at the Carousel Boutique, Fluttershy and her cottage, Applejack at -"
"Oh, I already met her! She's actually the one who told me how to get here!" Vinyl interrupted Twilight as she named off her friends and landmarks in Ponyville.
"Well, we still need to go to Sweet Apple Acres! Granny Smith makes the best apple pies! She can bake even better than Pinkie Pie, sometimes!" Twilight felt a twinge of emotion come up for a short second. What happened to the pink party pony? She didn't come around daily now, she hadn't even talked to Twilight since that night at the club... Did Twilight do something wrong? Was Pinkie upset at her? "We also need to go to Sugarcube Corner! I hear Pinkies been working on a new recipe, and I haven't seen her in a while!"
"Sounds like one heck of a day, Sparkle. I guess it's a good thing I came here early!" Vinyl started, but soon stopped herself as best she could. It took a lot to contain herself from drooling at the smell that was coming from the kitchen. "So, how're those pancakes coming along, Spike?"
"Well, I've got a couple ready for you, they're pretty hot, though. Remember not to eat too much if you're going to Sweet Apple Acres for dinner, you'll regret it!"
As much as Vinyl tried to contain herself, she couldn't. She easily ate more than Twilight and Spike, who decided to ditch the girls after devouring four or so pancakes, combined. Part of her was still hungry, but she knew she should save at least some room if that Granny Smith was the baker she was cracked up to be.
"Hey, Twilight," Vinyl paused for a moment, "you do a good job pulling off that hairstyle." It took Twilight a minute to realize what Vinyl was talking about, but when she did, it was easy to see she was embarrassed for letting that bedmane go unnoticed for so long. "Those 'specs of yours all tie it together nicely."
"Oh, thanks Vinyl!" Twilight, for whatever reason, couldn't stop blushing at Vinyl's comment. "I didn't even get a chance to straighten out my mane this morning. This is just what it looks like if I let it dry naturally once I finish bathing every morning." Twilight finished, "and I really like your mane, too."
Vinyl smiled at Twilight's compliment, and with food in their stomachs, the two were ready to start the day. "So, where are we going first?" Vinyl said as she beckoned Twilight out the library door.
"Well, I was thinking about going to meet Fluttershy first, then we could go to Sugarcube corner for lunch. I'm sure that'll be the time when Rainbow Dash wakes up, and she usually makes her morning rounds then. With some luck, I'm sure we can find her. Then, it'll be off to Rarity's boutique, and then we can wrap the day up by going to Sweet Apple Acres for dinner!" Twilight pulled out a small checklist, as she did every morning. "That's all I have on my list, at least."
"A checklist? Twilight Sparkle, you sure are strange." Vinyl said as she gave the pony next to her a bit of a nudge. "Anyway, who's this Fluttershy person?"
"Fluttershy is a pretty timid pony who lives on the edge of the Everfree forest. She lives with tons of animals, you could call her Ponyville's vet." Twilight realized how shy the yellow pegasus actually was as she walked to her house. Was this a very good idea? Vinyl was outgoing, loud, and somewhat a troublemaker, but Fluttershy was... Well... Shy.
The two stopped as they came up to a small hut against a looming forest. 'That must be the Everfree,' Vinyl thought to herself. The forest was dark, even on a bright day like this, a sense of darkness overcame Vinyl when she looked at the Everfree. Just the thought of being stuck in there gave Vinyl shivers.
Twilight walked up to the hut and glanced over at Vinyl, noticing her dismay towards the Everfree forest. "You get used to it after a while. I have a friend that lives in the Everfree, maybe I'll take you to meet her today, too."
"How can a pony live in a place like that? That's insane!" Vinyl was aghast as to how somepony could live in such a place like the Everfree forest.
"Well, she isn't a pony, she's a Zebra, and the Everfree is actually pretty nice once you get past all the scary monsters that live there!" Twilight giggled to herself as she knocked on Fluttershy's door. "Fluttershy! It's me, Twilight! Open up!" It didn't take long after the mention of Twilight's name for hoofsteps to be heard behind the door.
The door cracked open just enough to let a yellow pegasus through the door. She had a cutie mark of three pink butterflies and a long, pink mane. "Oh... Um. Hello, Twilight." The yellow pony had a smile on, then she saw Vinyl. After seeing the DJ, Fluttershy immediately backed away a step or so, "Oh, hi... I'm Fluttershy."
"Fluttershy, this is Vinyl Scratch, there's no need to be afraid of her, I thought we were over this when you took Iron Will's lessons!" Twilight glanced over at Vinyl for a moment, "Don't worry, Fluttershy isn't a very... Social.. pony. She's really nice once you get to know her!"
Fluttershy only squeaked, obviously not comfortable being around this new pony. "Oh... I'm sorry, would you like to come in?" Fluttershy did her best to stop shaking as she beckoned the two mares next to her through the door.
Vinyl felt a little bad causing this pony dismay, but was it really that bad? "Oh, I don't want to impose... If you want me to go I can." Vinyl looked down at the ground shyly. In all truth, Vinyl wasn't too big of a fan of meeting new ponies either.
"Oh, n-no that's alright. I just hope you don't mind the mess." Fluttershy let the two ponies in her hut as she led them to her dining room. "I mean, if you're a friend of Twilight's, you must be nice. Twilight has a way of making friends with good ponies." Fluttershy walked over to a hissing kettle. "I was just about to have some tea, would you like some?"
Twilight nodded at Fluttershy's offer, "It's been at least a week or two since I've seen you, Fluttershy. How's everything going for you?" Twilight only then realized how much she missed her friends, and how nice it was going to be to see all of them again.
"Oh, everything's been wonderful, Twilight. I found a bat the other day with a broken wing. The poor thing didn't even know where he was going." Fluttershy pointed over to a small, black creature in a bird cage. It had a wing wrapped in a bandage and it was sleeping upside-down. "The poor thing is going to be here for a while."
Fluttershy came back with two mugs filled with tea. She handed one to Twilight and took a sip out of her own. "I'm sorry Vinyl, would you like some tea?"
"Hm? Oh, no, that's fine. I don't drink much besides water and coffee. Anyway, Fluttershy, what's it like taking care of all these animals? I've never seen anyone let wild animals live with them." Vinyl was a little curious to how such a shy pony wasn't afraid of wild animals like bats. Vinyl's favorite animals were bats, and they even scared her sometimes.
"Well, I just always had a natural talent when it came to animals. I don't see them as scary, they're just like us ponies." Fluttershy said as she pet a nearby bunny, who quickly scampered off after. "Everything can be friendly, all it takes is a bit of kindness."
As silly as it sounded, Vinyl found Fluttershy's words to be almost prophetic. For such a shy pony, she certainly did know how to treat others, and that immediately earned Vinyl's respect. "So, Fluttershy, what's it like to live on the edge of the Everfree forest? I can't imagine how scary it must be sometimes. You must be pretty brave."
"Well, most people are afraid of the Everfree because of all the animals in it, but they're really nice once you get to know them. Sure, I was a little scared when I first came here, but that quickly changed." Fluttershy showed a smile at Vinyl's compliment. "I wouldn't call myself 'brave', though."
Twilight smiled at Fluttershy as she opened up to Vinyl. It was nice to watch her make friends with her new companion. She didn't contribute much to the conversation, but she was happy to just watch Fluttershy open up to Vinyl.
The three mares' conversation carried on in to the late afternoon, and Twilight and Vinyl were starting to regret holding back on eating breakfast. "Well," Twilight started, "Vinyl and I are going to go grab some lunch. Would you like to come, Fluttershy?"
"Oh, Twilight, I would love to, but I have errands to run. I need to go feed all the animals their lunch, and I need to clean my house." The yellow pegasus seemed a little disappointed at not being able to go, but it was quickly dismissed by Vinyl and Twilight. "It was nice meeting you, Vinyl, and I'd like to see more of you sometime."
"That sounds fun!" Vinyl continued, "I'm glad to have made a friend like you, Fluttershy!"
"Me too, Vinyl! It was nice seeing you too, Twilight." The lavender unicorn smiled at the yellow pegasus. She definitely changed since Twilight first met her. She was no longer the shy pony that hid from anyone, or, not so much at least.
"Well, we need to do this again sometime, Fluttershy." Twilight said, trying to ignore the growling in her stomach, "but Vinyl and I are going to go find something to eat. Have a good day!" With that, Fluttershy nodded and went inside, and the two unicorns headed to Sugarcube Corner.
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It was late in the afternoon when Pinkie Pie woke up. She still wasn't feeling very happy about not talking to Twilight, but she found that smiling and going on with her normal day made the hurt fade. Hopefully she would get a chance to see Twilight alone soon.
The lunch rush for Sugarcube Corner was about to start, and it was surprising how many ponies would come in and order just breakfast pastries or sweets for lunch. Pinkie may have been a little depressed, but she had work to do. The pink party pony stepped out of bed, and with little effort she managed to get her cotton candy mane just as she wanted it.
"Morning Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" Pinkie hollered out as she walked down the stairs. She was then met by two young foals, Pound Cake, and Pumpkin Cake. "And good morning to you, babies!" Pinkie Pie said with her trademark grin. The two children only giggled at Pinkie as she walked in to the front room, which already had a few ponies in it. "Heh... I guess I slept in a little, huh?"
"Oh, Pinkie, if you're that tired I'm sure we could give you the day off!" Said a somewhat plump blue earth pony.
"What? No, it's fine, I guess I just had a late night last night. Besides, the lunch rush is about to start, anyway!" Pinkie wanted to work today. She wanted to get back to being normal Pinkie. Being sad wasn't fun.
"Well, alright Pinkie, just don't work yourself too hard." Said Mrs. Cake. She was a good boss. She treated Pinkie almost as if she were part of the family, and Pinkie was grateful for it.
Pinkie did a salute with a somewhat feigned responsibility before getting straight to work. It wasn't too hard of a job, taking orders, baking treats, and then serving them with a smile on her face. Pinkie liked her job, it was fun! Almost as fun as throwing parties!
It was just another work day, it was fun, but not much happened besides taking orders, and serving food.
Then, she came in.
There she was, the mare that took Pinkie's breath away. The mare that Pinkie wanted to see more than anyone all the time, Twilight Sparkle had just walked in to Sugarcube Corner. It took Pinkie a moment to come back to the world moving around her, and for Pinkie to notice that Twilight was with Vinyl Scratch, again.
Pinkie wanted to do nothing more than run over and talk to Twilight, but she sadly had work to do. Minutes flew by like hours when she saw Twilight waiting in line. It looks like the lunch rush was almost over, and the business was starting to calm down as the hoards of ponies nearly drained out of the store. After a while, the lavender mare and her companion were finally ordering.
"Hey Twilight!" Pinkie said, trying to hide her nervousness. "What're you and Vinyl up to?"
"Oh, hey Pinkie. I'm just showing Vinyl around town, and I figured we'd come and say hello!" Twilight was happy to see that Pinkie was back to normal... Or as normal as Pinkie could get. Vinyl had told her that Pinkie was acting strange when she stopped by the other day, but it seemed like she was back to being Pinkie.
"Oh, that's nice!" Pinkie blushed, trying to fight off the surge of emotion that flooded through her. "I...uh.. I like your new look! Those glasses look really pretty on you!" Pinkie couldn't help but notice how the clean-cut librarian had somewhat of a messy look today. She looked good.
"Oh, thanks, Pinkie!" Twilight blushed, "Vinyl gave them to me!"
"Hello to you, too, Pinkie!" Vinyl rolled her eyes sarcastically. "I was hoping you'd at least be able to say 'hi' without me having to point it out!" Twilight giggled as Vinyl gave Pinkie a hard time.
Pinkie felt like she was going to explode from anger at the mention of Vinyl's name. Why did she get to spend time with Twilight? Why did Pinkie ever even think it was a good idea to introduce the two? It wasn't fair. Pinkie had been the one trying to get Twilight out of her rut. She deserved the attention. 'Wait... Am I... Jealous of Vinyl?' Pinkie thought to herself.
Pinkie swallowed her anger the best she could, "Oh, sorry! Hiya, Vinyl!" Pinkie was back to being happy. So what if they were spending time together. Pinkie was always welcome to join, wasn't she? "Can I get you guys something to eat?" Pinkie asked. There had to be some reason they waited in line, after all.
"Actually, yeah! I'm pretty starved. I'll take a... Blueberry muffin!" Twilight smiled as she fiddled with the glasses. They certainly were nice. Vinyl must have payed quite a few bits for these. She hadn't seen these on the shelves anywhere. They must have been custom-made.
"Make that two!" Vinyl said, stopping Twilight from pulling out a sack of bits and slamming a few on the counter. "I have no idea what to get here, and I like blueberries. You made me breakfast, Twilight, so I owe you one!"
Twilight sighed. She didn't like when other ponies payed for her. "If you say so, Vinyl."
"Two blueberry muffins coming right up!" Pinkie said as she bolted in to the kitchen with a speed that would even impress Rainbow Dash.
As quickly as Pinkie left, she reentered the room. This time, though, she was carrying two somewhat large muffins. "Here you guys go! Hope you enjoy them!" The pink pony said as she handed her friends the muffins, "So, where are you guys going after this?"
"Well," Twilight started, "We were hoping to find Rainbow Dash while she was doing her morning cloud duties. After that, we were going to head to Rarity's boutique, and then finish off the day with dinner at AJ's!" Twilight pulled out a checklist. "Oh, and that reminds me, I need to check these off." Twilight checked 'Go to Fluttershy's hut' and 'Get lunch at Sugarcube Corner' off the list, then rolled the list back up and put it in her saddlebag. "Anyways, do you want to tag along with us, Pinkie?"
This was it. This was her chance to talk to Twilight. Maybe she could pull her aside when Vinyl was talking to one of her friends. "Sure! I don't think I can be gone for long though, just let me clear it up with the cakes and we can get on out of here!" It didn't take long for Pinkie to talk with Mr. and Mrs. Cake, then, they were off to find their Rainbow-maned friend.
The day was now in full swing in Ponyville, and the sun shone brightly on the trio of ponies walking down the street. Pinkie was, as usual, managing to greet everypony they passed by name.
It was a lot easier than Twilight predicted to spot Rainbow Dash clearing up the clouds. They saw a multicolored bolt streak through the sky, and stop on a nearby cloud. It was, in fact, the only cloud left in the sky.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight yelled as loud as she could, trying to get the attention of the Pony high above them.
No answer
"Rainbow!"
Again, no answer.
"So anyways, I'm thinking of giving these tickets to the Wonderbolts away..."
A Rainbow colored streak ran down the sky and landed right on top of Twilight. "Wonderbolts? Where? Did you say you had tickets to go see them, Twilight? And you're giving them away?"
Vinyl and Pinkie fell over laughing at Rainbow Dash, who quickly started to blush. "There aren't any tickets... Are there?"
"Sorry, Rainbow, but I had to get your attention somehow." Twilight snickered at the embarrassed mare in front of her. I wanted you to meet my new friend, Vinyl Scratch!" The unicorn gestured to the white mare beside her, who was still in a laughing fit with Pinkie.
"Well," Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof, "It's nice to meet you, but you look familiar, are you sure you haven't introduced us before, Twilight?"
"Nope! She hasn't! But I've seen you around my club almost every night!" Vinyl said, giggling. "She's really funny to watch when she gets drunk." Vinyl deadpanned.
At this point, Rainbow's whole face was completely red. "Hey! I wasn't drunk! Okay, maybe there was that one time at the club but... Wait... Your club? That new place down the street? That's awesome!"
"Yup! That's me!" Vinyl started, adjusting her glasses, "Vinyl Scratch, proud owner of Club P0N-3. Nice to meet you!" Vinyl had a smile on her face as she lifted up her hoof to Rainbow. "You're quite the party animal. I think you and I are gonna have some good times."
"Oh, yeah, nice to meet you, too." Rainbow shook hooves with Vinyl, soon after picking her normal cocky attitude back up. "I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria, and future Wonderbolt. How'd an egghead like Twilight end up hanging out with you?"
"Rainbow!" Twilight hissed with a fake anger, "That's not nice!" The lavender mare couldn't help but chuckle at the two as they hit it off. Pinkie was being pretty silent, though. Maybe it wasn't her Pinkie was mad at, but why would she be mad at Vinyl? 'That would explain the glares she's been giving Vinyl though...' Twilight thought to herself.
"I introduced them!" Pinkie said, hopping in on the conversation. "You guys also met before then! Remember when you did that sonic rainboom at the royal wedding, Dashie? Well Vinyl here was the DJ!" Pinkie tried her best to hide her anger towards her friend. She knew Vinyl didn't deserve it, so why couldn't she help but be mad at her?
"Oh, so that was you? Well, pleasure to meet ya, Rainbow Dash!" It took Vinyl a moment to realize that the mare that was in front of her was now talking to Twilight.
"So, Twi', what's with the new look? I wouldn't expect you to look, well, cool." Rainbow looked inquisitively at the librarian. "You look like you could be going to a club, and what's with the matching glasses?"
"I said the same thing!" Vinyl started, "Those glasses were my gift to her, actually." Vinyl blushed a bit. "It was sort of my way of saying 'thank you' for her going with me to the opening night of my club... Then staying with me all night. Pretty funny how much people open up when they've had a drink or two." Vinyl winked at Twilight, "Right, Twi'?"
"Oh.. Yeah." Twilight really hoped that Rainbow didn't hear about that, she knew she would never hear the end of it. "But hey, at least I'm a fun drunk!" Vinyl and Rainbow Dash fell over laughing.
'Wow, Twilight sure is having a lot more fun nowadays...' Pinkie thought to herself. 'Maybe that night at the club was just what she needed!' With that, Pinkie felt satisfied with herself. 'Top that, Vinyl.'
After a somewhat long conversation full of laughter, jokes, and stories, the four ponies finally calmed down. It was getting somewhat later on in the day, and sadly, Pinkie did have a job to do tonight. She did have to do some work today.
"I guess I better head back to work. You have a fun time in town, Vinyl! You too, Twilight!" It didn't take long for the pink mare to trot off as she had a huge grin on her face. This grin, however, wasn't fake. There was no competition between her and Vinyl. Pinkie would get Twilight one day. Where was the need to act now?
"I think I'm gonna go take a nap somewhere. I sorta had a late night last night." Rainbow said, trying her best to avoid eye contact with Vinyl.
"Sure you did, Rainbow. I bet you were out partying like always." Twilight chuckled out and looked at Vinyl, who gave a confirming nod.
"Err... Yeah, I was." Rainbow started, "One more thing before I go though... Are you guys... Uh... Y'know, together?" She never was good at asking ponies this kind of stuff, but the two definitely acted like it.
Vinyl looked over at Twilight, who had fallen over laughing. She certainly was in a good mood today. "W-what? No! We aren't together!" Vinyl could feel her face getting hotter. "What gave you that idea in the first place?"
"Easy, Vinyl." Twilight started, "I'm sure Rainbow Dash was just joking around, right, Rainbow?" Twilight didn't know why, but everything seemed funny around Vinyl, especially when she was embarrassed. That alone was enough to send Twilight in to a fit of laughter.
"Y-yeah, I was just messin' around!" Rainbow said as she tried to stifle a giggle towards the blushing white unicorn in front of her. "I didn't mean to offend you like that, Vinyl. Well, anyways, I gotta bolt. I think my cloud is calling my name right now. See you guys later!" Rainbow didn't even wait for the other two to say goodbye before she left.
"I hope she didn't offend you or anything like that, Vinyl. Rainbow just likes to mess with ponies. It's all in good fun, though." Twilight really hoped that Rainbow's comment didn't embarrass Vinyl too much. Rainbow couldn't have been serious, could she? "Oh, right!" Twilight pulled out the checklist once again, and crossed 'Introduce Vinyl to RD' off the list.
"It's no problem, I just wish I didn't take it so seriously back then. I guess I just need to learn to take a joke." Vinyl couldn't help but smile as the two walked to Rarity's boutique. 'Why did I take that so seriously? Maybe there is something between Twilight and I... Nah. I'm sure it's nothing.' Vinyl pondered over her reaction for quite some time, until they reached a large house. It wasn't very far from Sugarcube Corner, but Vinyl was surprised she couldn't see it from there.
"Rarity!" Twilight knocked on the locked door of the Boutique, "You in there?" There was no response to Twilight's calls so the two figured that she wasn't home.
"Awe, that's a shame. I wanted to know what Rarity thought of my new manestyle." Twilight was a little disgruntled, but that was no reason to be upset. "Oh well, off to Sweet Apple Acres! Is there anywhere else you want to go see before we go? It's only four, so we have a good two hours before the Apples start eating. "
"Nah, I've had enough excitement for one day. You sure we can just stop by, though?" Vinyl knew ponies in the town were friendly, but they didn't always make extra dinner just in case somepony drops by, do they?
"Yeah, we'll get there early enough so that they know to make extra dinner, but the Apple family is always so hospitable."
Celestia's sun was starting to lower, but it was still high in the sky. Maybe Twilight could still get to introduce Rarity and Vinyl, it would just have to wait until after dinner. The clock read 4:23 as the two unicorns trotted up to Sweet Apple Acres.
"This place is huge! We must have taken the better part of 10 minutes just walking through the orchard!" Vinyl was amazed at the orchard. It in itself was almost as big as Ponyville. There were countless trees, with countless different species of apples. Vinyl couldn't name them, of course, but she could tell which ones were her favorite. Vinyl walked up to a nearby granny smith tree and looked at Twilight, "Do you think they'll mind if I take an apple? I'm starved after all that walking."
Twilight only nodded as the DJ unicorn picked two green apples from the tree and levitated one over to Twilight. "Don't even try to say you can go a few more hours without eating. We've practically starved ourselves all day!"
It was true, Twilight was hungry, and the Apples never mind if one or two of their fruits were picked by passerby's. "Alright, just try to contain yourself." Twilight said as she walked up to a door and knocked, "The Apples all eat enough to put the rest of us to shame. I can guarantee you that they'll all eat at least two apple pies like it's normal."
The door was answered by a large red stallion with a golden mane and a sprig of wheat hanging out of his mouth. He was much larger than many other ponies around, and his cutie mark was of half a green apple. "Twilight? What're y'all doin' here? Ah think AJ's out workin' the field still, and she won't be back 'till supper time."
"Oh, hello, Big Mac! That's no problem, but, my friend Vinyl is new to Ponyville and I was wondering if you'd mind setting a couple extra plates tonight. I'd hate to impose, but I really want Vinyl to get a taste of the best apple treats in Equestria."
"Ah don't think that'll be a problem. Why don't y'all swing by here in about two hours? We'll be eatin' late here, seein' as AJ's still in the fields." The large red stallion was about to close the door before Twilight attempted to intervene.
"Oh, are you sure you don't need any help?"
"Eeyup."
"We'd be happy to help you out as a payment for our dinner!"
"Nope. Y'all got a guest, Twilight. Go show her the rest of town while ya can."
Twilight backed away, defeated. "If you say so, Big Mac, I guess we'll see you a little later!"
"Eeyup." Big Mac definitely wasn't a stallion for words. That became apparent to Vinyl after he nearly slammed the door in front of them. He didn't seem bothered, he just didn't seem like he wanted to talk.
"Well," Vinyl started, "What now? Is there anything else we can do? Wait... What're you planning?" Twilight had a playful grin on her face. That type of grin either meant something funny was about to happen, or she was planning something Vinyl probably won't like... 'Well, if Twilights there, I know it won't be that bad. Wait... Why am I thinking like this all of a sudden?'
"I want you to meet my friend Zecora!" Twilight let out a little giggle.
"Oh, okay, where's she live?"
"The Everfree forest!"
Twilight cracked up at Vinyl's expression. She was nearly frozen. A dark place like that? Vinyl remembered her saying something about that, but she didn't know Twilight was being serious. "Who would live in the Everfree forest?" Vinyl could only notice one other thing at that moment. 'She's got a cute giggle.'
"I'm not sure, but she's been living there for years. Longer than I've been here." Twilight already got up, and wasted no time leading Vinyl along a path that could be seen entering the Everfree forest a few yards away.
"Well, what's she like?" No sane pony could live in the Everfree forest. Vinyl already heard bad stories about it back in Manehatten, and seeing it didn't relinquish any fears she had.
"Well, for one... She's a zebra. Also, don't think it too strange when everything she says rhymes. I'm not sure if she does it on purpose, or if that's just how she speaks, though. I never really asked her about where she's from or anything, but she isn't from Ponyville, that's for sure."
"Oh, okay, so we have a rhyming zebra that lives in the middle of a dark forest that is filled with monsters. That's nice. That's just so fun." Vinyl couldn't help but be a little worried. She knew she and her friend could probably handle anything that is thrown at them, but the forest was still dark and scary. It had to at least have some bad reputation for all those ill rumors to be spread.
"It's really not that scary. Sure, there are things that could hurt us in there, but if you don't bother them, they won't bother you. The only annoying thing is the parasprites. DO NOT feed those things, or take one to town because it's cute. The last time that happened, the whole town almost got destroyed."
After walking for what seemed like miles to Vinyl, the two unicorns reached the edge of the Everfree forest. Vinyl let out an audible gulp as they took their first step in. The sun was blocked out almost completely due to the seemingly endless ceiling of leaves, leaving the two unicorns to light their own path with magic.
Soon after, the two companions reached their destination. A hollowed out tree turned in to a house, just like Twilight's library, but on a much smaller scale. What was different, however, was the decoration. Colorful masks adorned with feathers were sprawled across the ground. There were bottles filled with a mysterious substance hanging down from the hut. Vinyl cautiously approached the door as Twilight happily walked along. "I know it's weird looking here," Twilight started as she knocked on the door, "but she is from somewhere else in the world. I'm sure this is normal there."
(A/N: Okay, guys, this scene took forever to write because of those rhymes, so forgive me if some of these suck.)
The door soon opened to reveal a zebra, with many neck rings and five bracelets on one hoof. She also had two very large earrings and what Vinyl could guess was a cutie-mark, which was only a spiral surrounded by smaller triangles.
"Ah, Twilight Sparkle, what a nice surprise!" The zebra said through a large, friendly grin. "Who have you brought, before my eyes?" The zebra's attention was now on Vinyl as she smiled at the her voice. It reminded her of nursery rhymes for some reason.
"I'm Vinyl Scratch, Twilight's new friend." The white unicorn started, holding out a hoof, "Nice to meet you."
"I'm Zecora, and I'm pleased to meet you." The herbalist said, "Would you like to come in, have a cup of tea or two?" The zebra finished as she beckoned them in to the hut. The inside of the house was filled with plants, bottles, and cauldrons filled with strange liquids. The two unicorns took a seat as Zecora poured them both a cup of tea, which Vinyl tried to decline. "Vinyl Scratch, I assure you. Though many have tried, no one can resist my brew."
Vinyl shrugged as she took the tea from Zecora. "Thank you," Vinyl said, taking a sip of tea, "It actually is pretty good!" The DJ unicorn was surprised with herself when she said it. She never liked tea, but this was almost as good as a regular cup of coffee.
"So Zecora, it really has been too long, what have you been up to lately?" The lavender mare asked as she sipped from her tea. 'I really need to thank Vinyl for convincing me to see all my friends again, whether it was intentional or not.' The unicorn thought to herself.
"I have been working on a new remedy," Zecora took a large gulp from her cup, "for a new illness that's developed lately."
"Oh, a new illness? That doesn't sound very good. What does it do to a pony?" Twilight was always fascinated by the way Zecora could surpass modern medicine with just a few herbs. She really did enjoy learning from her.
"The illness of which we speak is one that turns a pony weak." Zecora smiled as if she were just talking about the weather, "Though there isn't need for fear, a few weeks of bedrest and the illness will clear."
"So, wait," Vinyl started, "If it goes away on its own, then why make a cure for it?"
Zecora giggled as she replied to Vinyl, "Would you rather be in bed, vomiting? Or would you rather you be able to do something?"
"I guess you have a point there." Vinyl took a nonchalant sip of her tea that was already almost gone. "You were right about that tea, Zecora, it was really good."
"I thank you for such words of flattery, but it was my mother who taught this brew to me."
The three ponies talked on for what seemed like hours, until Twilight realized the time. It was already six, so the two friends may have been missing dinner right now. "Oh, shoot! Vinyl, we need to go get to Sweet Apple Acres! Dinner could start at any minute!"
"Hm? Oh, right! Alright, it was very nice to meet you, Zecora! I hope I can see you again soon!" Vinyl said before running out the door.
"Oh, the pleasure was all mine, but don't be a stranger! Stop by sometime!" Zecora said before her two friends left, running out the door.
The two friends raced back to Sweet Apple Acres. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, and what little light did shine down through the cover of trees was gone for the day. This time, however, Vinyl ignored the small fear of the forest she did have, and focused on the task at hoof. Sure, it wasn't a life or death situation, but Vinyl was excited to meet some new friends, and she was pretty hungry to top it off.
It didn't take long for the two to get out of the Everfree forest, and when the farm was in view, Twilight stopped Vinyl. "What're you doing? We need to get over there!"
"I know! Just sit still! I know how to get us there faster!" Twilight said as she concentrated on the world around her. Her horn began to glow the light purple that was normal, and soon, everything went up in a flash.
Vinyl couldn't believe her eyes when she felt it okay to open them. The barn that was just a speck in the distance was now right in front of them. "How..." Vinyl was dumbfounded. 'Did Twilight just teleport us here?'
"Teleportation!" Twilight giggled, "I figured we'd get here faster."
Was it really that small of a feat to go such a distance for her? 'Wow, she sure is amazing...' Was all Vinyl could think of now, and soon, the comment her new friend Rainbow Dash came back. Could she want something more than friendship with the lavender mare?
"Twilight, that's amazing!" Was all Vinyl could say before she was interrupted by someone answering the door.
"There y'all are! We were just about to start without ya!" Said an orange mare, the same mare, that Vinyl saw in town this morning. "Heya, Vinyl! Good ta see ya again!"
The orange earth-pony ushered the two unicorns inside, only for them to be greeted by three more faces. One of which, Vinyl didn't recognize. It was an old mare, with a green coat and a grey mane. She had what Vinyl guessed was an apple pie for her cutie mark.
"There y'all are!" The old mare said, "I'm starvin', let's eat already!"
"Granny!" Applejack hissed, "That's not polite! The least y'could do is introduce yerself!" Applejack sighed as she walked over to the table. "Well, anyway, this's Granny Smith. Y'all already met Big Mac and Applebloom. Help yerself to th' food." All the ponies in the room started to grab something to eat from a table next to the one everypony was sitting at.
Vinyl had never seen Ponies eat so much in all her life. They didn't eat slices of pies, they ate whole pies. There were fritters, cobblers, caramel apples, and even apple pies. Vinyl found it strange to eat such sweets for dinner, but she didn't complain.
"Are y'all okay, young'n?" The elderly mare said to Vinyl, "Ya barely touched yer dinner!"
Now, Vinyl was shocked. She had almost ate a whole apple pie, but when she looked around, she noticed everyone, even Twilight and the young filly across from her had ate at least twice as much as her. "Sorry, I guess I just don't eat much."
In all truth, though, Vinyl probably could have ate more if she tried, but she was too busy thinking about the lavender mare that sat next to her. 'What is it about her?' Vinyl thought to herself. Was there really something more between them? Vinyl decided to dismiss these thoughts for now, only to look up from her meal and notice that the red stallion that sat on the other side of the table had already managed to polish off three apple pies, and was working on a few fritters. That, however, barely compared to what Applejack had already ate. 'Geeze, being a farmpony must be hard work.'
"So, 'Twi," Applejack said while she was chewing a bite of caramel apple, "what's with yer new gittup? Not like ya look bad or anythin' like that, it actually might be an improvement, no offense."
"Well, thanks... I think.. But it was Vinyl who convinced me to wear my mane like this today. She even got me these cool glasses!" The lavender mare blushed a little at the last part.
"'Specs!" Vinyl corrected.
"Err... Right, 'specs." Twilight corrected herself.
"Well, they look mighty good on ya, Twi'." Applejack smiled at her friend before turning to Vinyl, "So, Vinyl, how're ya likin' Ponyville? Where did ya come from, anyway?"
"Well," Vinyl started, "I came here from Manehatten. Ponyville's really nice, but it's a big change from what Manehatten was." Vinyl stopped for a moment, "I mean, I don't have much family up there, except for my brother, but right now, I'm liking Ponyville!"
"Well that's good ta hear! I'm sure soon enough, you'll be another familiar face 'round these parts!" Applejack smiled towards the DJ, "So, what made ya come to little ol' Ponyville from a big city like Manehatten?"
Vinyl blushed at this comment. She knew she came here for silly reasons, but she didn't regret it. "Well, as silly as it seems, I came here for one reason and one reason only, to build up Ponyville's night life!" Vinyl raised one hoof in the air, as if it helped her get her picture across better, "Imagine, a Ponyville that isn't only a great place to live in during the day, but also at night!"
"Ah don' follow, Vinyl. So what are you doin' here, exactly?"
"I'm running the new night club in town!" Vinyl said proudly, "You're looking at Equestria's best DJ!"
Applejack giggled at that, "Now y'sound just like Rainbow Dash. Ah never was a fan of all that fancy-smancy techno stuff, but ah really hope y'do good in runnin' that place! Ah've heard it's done pretty well.
"Yeah, I'd swear all of Ponyville went there every night, but it just puts in perspective how many people could live in a tiny town like this."
"Well, it's been a heck of a fun time, guys, but we need ta get ta bed!" Applejack said, trying to stifle a yawn. "A farmpony's job is never done."
"Hah, go to bed early, get up early... I'm basically the exact opposite." Vinyl chuckled as she started to head out the door. "Well, it was awesome to meet all of you guys! I hope I can see you in town every once and a while! Oh, and Applejack, you should stop by club P0N-3 sometime!"
"Thank you for dinner!" Twilight added, "Have a good night!"
"Well that was fun. Those are certainly some... Interesting... friends you have there." Vinyl still couldn't help but think of what her Rainbow-maned friend said to them earlier. 'Just ignore it, Vinyl.' The DJ told herself.
"Well, yeah... But they sure are fun to be around!" Twilight and Vinyl both giggled as they walked down the darkened streets of Ponyville.
"Hey Twilight, how long did it take you to learn to teleport like that? That sure was something!"
Twilight smiled through a blush as it appeared on her cheeks, "Well, not long... Maybe a few weeks to learn the spell completely, but I'm still mastering it, and I learned it when I was just a filly! I could teach you it, if you want!"
"Uuuh, I think I'll have to pass. As much as I would love to, I'm not the best at magic. I can't do much more than a few basic spells and some levitation!" Vinyl laughed at herself for a moment. "Maybe you could show me how to do some visual stuff for my shows sometime, though. I've been looking for a couple spells... Just something to add that spice to my performances, y'know?"
"I'd be happy to help you, Vinyl. Just not now, when I get home, I'm going to straight to bed! I can feel myself getting more and more tired."
It didn't take long for the two companions to get to the library after that, but it felt like ages of time to think for Vinyl. 'She really is a nice mare, and pretty cute, too.'
"Well, today was fun Vinyl, I hope you had as much fun as I did! I guess I'll see you tomorrow!" Twilight smiled as she walked up to her door.
"Yeah, I did. Hey, Twilight.."
'Don't do it, Vinyl.'
Twilight looked at her friend for a moment, "Yeah, Vinyl?"
'Don't do it!'
The white mare started to blush for a moment, "I just wanted to say thanks, and..."
'Oh, screw it.'
A small kiss. A small kiss was all it was. All Vinyl could remember as she ran away from a dumbfounded Twilight was that it was just a small kiss. She remembered the way Twilight's mane smelled. It smelled... Good. Almost like one of Pinkie's fresh-baked cupcakes. She remembered the way Twilight gasped when it happened. It was just a small kiss, right?
(A/N: OH GOD THAT'S A LONG CHAPTER! I don't know how some authors do it. Thanks for reading this, guys. Hopefully you guys don't hate Zecora's scene too much. I just want to say now that I doubt I'll make my other chapters this long, but I will be shooting for 5,000 words each time. So, did I do something you guys liked? Something I did wrong? Tell me in the comments!)