Fangs: The Order

by Sapphic

Friend

Flint hummed in thought.

"So the monocle guy got beat up..." She rubbed her chin with a hoof and closed her eyes.

"Gotta say, I saw it coming." She murmured, letting out a sad sigh as she opened her eyes back up to face me.

"Well, did you at least learn anything? See anything worth mentioning?" She asked.

The first thing my mind snapped to was the encounter with what I assumed was Vinyl Scratch, the hooded figure in the alleyway that Miss Shakes had saved me from. The next thing that arose was just that, Shakes saving my life and just meeting her in general. Apart from that, there was not much I had to go off of.

I decided to go with the less risky option of meeting Shake, and maybe lean into the encounter if Flint and Stone took it well.

"Well, I did come across that mare you were mentioning when you first got here. The one with the bar?" I said, playing dumb. I figured maybe if I came across as distant to the issue she would be less critical with me if it was a sensitive issue.

Her face remained indifferent.

Stone, however, perked up at the idea.

"Really? How was that?" He asked, oddly sounding involved.

"She was...well, really nice." I figured that was the bare minimum I could give her for saving my life.

Stone smiled.

"I guessed so." That seemed to be the extent of his input, himself leaning back into the couch with a content look on his face.

"Anything else?" Flint said suddenly.

I guess there was nothing else to fall back onto, and she didn't look particularly mad, so I guess I could bring it up.

"I do think I struck lucky though," I began.

Flint raised a brow and leaned in.

"Go on." She said.

"Well, I do think I came across what you two sent me out to find." I said evasively.

"Vinyl Scratch?" She asked, her eyes widening in anticipation just before she let out a breathy, and almost nervous, chuckle.

I gave a slow nod, debating whether or not to tell her that I had no idea that it was Vinyl Scratch or not.

"Nice, I knew you were good for the job. I'm guessing you managed to find her and get out of there unscathed? I'd imagine if she had caught you we might not be talking to you right now." She said, happy at what she thought was my success.

"Well, not entirely." I said, growing sheepish.

"Oh?"

"Well, I did get caught."

"So...how are you..." Flint began to mumble in confusion.

"Ah! You must've actually managed to fight her..." She trailed off when she saw the look on my face.

"Shakes did."

She seemed surprised at that.

"So is she..." She asked herself in a whisper before abruptly getting up wordlessly and walking to the door.

"Flint-" Stone began, only to have the fiery maned mare interrupt him.

"I've gotta go meet someone." She said, her face looking a bit dark and her voice having an edge to it, as if she were about to go fight the mare who saved my life.

Even the way she shut - or slammed rather - suggested something was agitating her.

"Hm." Stone hummed after she had left.

"Wonder what's got her all worked up." He sighed.

"I think I've got a few ideas." I admitted, though Stone didn't push the issue at all.

"You know, we aught to have someone over sometime." He suggested.

"What we do that for?" I asked, the ideas flowing through my head.

Interrogation of suspects, gaining connection and influence throughout the area, getting more eyes in other places to expand our search. So many possibilities could come from gaining allies.

"Well, I was thinking lunch or so. I can try again for the market tomorrow, assuming more ponies land in an alleyway this time." He said nonchalantly.

'Well...I guess that's a reason too...' I thought, having completely forgotten that this was more of a vacation for Stone to this point. Even Flint had somewhat gotten involved with the mission at this point; Stone was more or less coasting.

"Well, that might be nice. Flint's kinda been scaring me lately." I commented.

"Ah, you haven't seen her serious much have you? She's usually lax, though when she gets going...well, she gets going." He chuckled warmly.

"So, I was thinking of inviting the mare from across the hall, what say you?" He continued.

"What about Rose?" I asked.

It'd been a while since I had talked - or even seen - Rose. In fact, I hadn't ever since I got sent to go with the generals on this mission. It'd be nice to see her again, and if Stone consented to it, then she pretty much had an excuse to get off of work.

"Fine by me, the more the merrier." Stone chuckled.

"Great! But what about Flint? Shouldn't she be apart of this whole decision thing?" I asked.

"Bah, I've as much power as she. It'd be nice to see her cook again." He said almost dreamily.

"Flint cooks?" I asked, amazed.

"Aye, don't know why people'd think that her hot hotheadedness would only have one use. She makes a mighty fine stove if you get her angry enough. Add a bit a' water to a bowl, some potatoes and carrots, and you've got yourself some fine stew." He chuckled, his mouth almost seeming to salivate at the meal he mentioned.

I wasn't quite sure how to think of the idea of intentionally provoking Flint so that she might throw fire at us in an attempt to use said fire to cook dinner.

"So Vinyl, if you don't mind me asking, what was it you were doing inside that building?" I asked, staring down and watching my left hoof go in front of the right as we walked down the sidewalk.

"Just saying hey to someone." She said simply.

"Oh? Someone you know?" I asked.

"Nah."

I raised a brow at that, but decided to not press further. She didn't sound like she was annoyed by my questioning, or in any sour mood frankly, but I decided testing to see if that was actually true would get me nowhere but potentially on her bad side. Assuming she had one. Despite all of our time spent together, she never seemed to get mad at me, even if I had clearly wronged her in some way or form. Her typical response to something like that was smiling to me and nodding, as if she understood why I was mad at her, and then letting me cool off on my own.

It was inspiring, yet also aggravating at times.

As much as I hated to admit it, I'd kind of like to see her get mad at someone who wrongs her. It occurred to me just the other day she had never once gotten mad at someone unless it involved someone else she held dear - such as me. I was beginning to think her self worth was non existent in her eyes, and whether or not said fact was good or not.

The rest of the walk home was silent, consisting of me shooting a few glances towards the ever-smiling mare and thinking back onto the whole situation with the stallion Vinyl had attacked.

I soon found us entering my apartment building, only to have the desk mare who normally greeted me with a solitary nod call out my name.

"Miss Melody?" She called.

Not used to the sound of my name coming from her, I found myself looking back at her attentively.

"Y-Yes?" I stumbled over my words, not used to meeting her dead looking eyes for any continued conversation.

"One 'Shakes' came in asking for you and..." Her eyes drifted over to Vinyl.

"...her, to come and meet her. She said you'd know where." She finished, punctuating the end of her message with raising her newspaper wall to us.

"Thank you." I replied, not really thinking to much of it and walking over to the elevator and calling it to our floor.

Upon stepping into the elevator and the door closing, Vinyl finally spoke up.

"What'cha think Shakes wants with?" She asked.

"I haven't a clue. Though I don't know why she wouldn't just stop by my home and meet us in person, seems like she's beginning to evade us." I 'joked' with Vinyl, who admittedly laughed a little.

An idea popped into my head.

"Oh! Maybe it's about that job she had offered you." I suggested happily.

"Maybe." Vinyl smiled hopefully, stepping out of the elevator door as it hit our floor. "We can check tomorrow. Those guys might still be after us." She said.

Odd, she sounded almost... cheerful?

"Oh, Vinyl?"

"Hm?"

"Could you tell me now who you met with?" I asked hopefully.

She looked at me with a blank face before breaking down into a small smile.

"You could say she was a local fan." She said vaguely.

I could only raise a brow to her as she got up and wordlessly trotted down the hall towards the bathroom.

Her eyes were piercing. They carried just about the same amount of emotion of another pony I knew; eyes that could, if you willed them, bring someone to tears - either tears of love and joy or fear. Though I was a bit used to eyes at this point in my life, and as weird as that sounds coming out, it was definitely true. It didn't matter how fiery her eyes were.

"So, I heard you saved a local hunter recently from a vampire?"

I smirked.

"So she was yours."

Her nostrils flared and she suddenly slammed her hoof down onto the bar table, her voice whipping up like a raging wild fire.

"Look, I don't care how passive you want to be with this issue. But at least tell me this: Was the one you saved her from Vinyl Scratch? This search is getting boring, and I'm debating whether or not to just go door to door and set things on fire until either someone rats her out or there's nothing left but ash." She threatened.

"I don't even know if that'd get her. Well, I have no idea what she would do if you did that..." I mumbled, giggling to myself as I envisioned Vinyl's head popping out of a sea of ash, blinking twice as if she didn't know what had happened.

The sound of burning got my attention, my eyes looking at her hoof and the now charring counter. Her hoof pressed deeper and harder into the counter, burning it straight to the char without a flame in sight. It was as if she completely skipped the actual burning of it, simply going right to the ash left after the burning.

"Please, answer me." She said, her voice practically biting at me.

I closed my eyes.

"I hope you plan on paying for that counter, it ain't cheap you know?"

Her eyes narrowed as the counter began to char even faster.

I sighed.

"Fine, tell you the truth I have no idea if it was her or not. I didn't even know someone was out there until they started tearing out the wall of the alley."

She seemed to ease up a little, the sound of the flickering embers from the counter slowing down.

"And how are you sure it wasn't her."

"You really don't get her, do you?" I asked.

She looked at me with a blank stare, getting a huff out of me.

"Fine, look. What happened back there wasn't...her...style. But her style is, for a lack of better words, no style at all. See, it doesn't make sense at all for her to do anything, but at the same time it isn't beyond her to do something like that."

She looked more confused than ever.

"I don't know. That's my answer." I sighed, rewording it once more.

She lifted her hoof from the counter, revealing the still simmering sight that was my bar counter.

"Fine. I won't bother you anymore." She said, her eyes looking at the floor as she turned and made for the door.

Though she stopped just as her hoof hit the door.

"I hope you make the right choice here, Shakes." She said solemnly.

Her words hit pretty deep for how random they were. The main reason being how they reminded me of a certain sister of mine and what she had told me not too long ago.

The door slamming shook me from some thought.

I rubbed my eyes, yawning a little as water began to swell at the edges of my eyes. The reason for the tears, even I was unsure on. Though one thing I was sure on was how comfortable the bar counter was beginning to look.

I found myself pressing my cheek onto the bar counter, the heat from where Flint had begun burning the wood serving as a rather nice neck warmer.

My eyes closed, thoughts swirling and trying to keep me awake, thought it was a one sided fight from the beginning.

Her eyes were calming. They carried an amount of emotion that no other pony could; eyes that could, if you willed them, bring someone to tears - either tears of love and joy or fear; though their wielder almost never wanted the latter to occur. Even though I was a bit used to eyes at this point in my life, this pair always seemed to always get me no matter how much I boasted to myself that I was over them. It didn't matter how dull her eyes were, they always softened me up a bit on the inside.

"Vinyl?" I murmured, my lips picking up the faintest feeling of drool on my mouth.

"Yeah?" She replied attentively.

"Uh...Hello?" I said, the grogginess of sleep preventing my body from processing fully the mare in front of me.

"Hello!" She replied cheerfully, closing her eyes briefly for the greeting before opening them back open and looking at me again. She looked almost expectant.

Well, either that or she was just staring at me for an uncomfortably long amount of time.

I was pretty sure I sat there and stared at her for around a minute or two, neither of us moving away or breaking eye contact. I personally was doing it to see how long she herself would do it, just how long it would take to make her feel the slightest bit awkward, though that time didn't come.

"Shakes? Vinyl?" A familiar voice called.

Both me and Vinyl turned to see Octavia staring at us both with a confused look on her face.

"Yeah." We said in unison.

"Um, not that I don't enjoy the sight of you two having a staring contest, but could we at least get the matter that we were assembled for out of the way first?" She asked.

It just now clicked to me that I had requested they come here. A bit awkward thinking about it in hindsight that the most I would do to waking up with Vinyl's face in front of my own would be to just look at her. Though it wouldn't be the first time.

"Yeah." I said, sitting up from my spot on the bar and gesturing for Octavia to come over.

She sat down just in front of the charred spot on the counter, trying her hardest to not question it.

The reason I had called them here was to be sure they were still okay. I knew Flint was starting her search already - her little apprentice or whatever already having gone out in search for Vinyl - so I knew it wouldn't be long until Flint herself would start raising hell to find her.

Or even worse, Stone.

"Well, I asked you guys over here to ask you guys a few questions." I said simply.

Octavia nodded and Vinyl span around on the bar stool happily.

"Well, I'm not sure about this myself, but have you two noticed anything...odd lately?" I asked them.

"Like?" Octavia asked.

"Like those guys trying to beat us up probably." Vinyl suggested, finally coming to a stop from her original spin.

"Which ones?" Octavia asked.

My eyes widened as I realized they had already been attacked multiple times.

"That's...that's all I need to know. It's clear you know whats going on. Well, I know you do Vinyl." I suggested.

Octavia raised a brow.

"What?" She asked simply.

"We're getting hunted." Vinyl replied, stuffing a hoof under her glasses and rubbing at her eyes, most likely from a lack of sleep.

"W-What?" Octavia stammered in surprise.

"Well you don't think those people who barged into are apartment and tied you up were business partners do you?" Vinyl suggested.

"I...I guess not. But are we really being hunted?" She asked, stiffening up as an idea popped into her head as she bent her head down and put a hoof close to her mouth.

"Is it The Order?" She said, whispering.

I chuckled.

"Yeah, you don't have to whisper about it here though."

"So why'd you call us again?" Vinyl asked.

"Well, I wanted to help you guys out." I said cheerfully.

"Help us out?" Octavia repeated slowly.

"Yeah, no doubt there looking for Vinyl - and any associated to her - by name. I know they don't know about you yet Octavia, and they definitely don't know Vinyl's looks yet." I repeated, hoping they wouldn't pick up the implications in that sentence.

"Uh-huh." Vinyl nodded.

"I...guess that makes sense." Octavia said.

"Great, so now onto my plan!" I said, reaching under the desk and pulling out two blank sheets of paper and a pencil.

I had thought of this genius plan last night during my conversation with Flint. They only knew Vinyl by name, so that was pretty much their only lead. And if my assumptions on people's logic was correct then no one that wasn't Vinyl Scratch would admit to the name.

So the answer, shockingly simple, would to just be to tell Vinyl to go by a different name.

I picked up the pencil and scribbled down Vinyl's full name on one sheet and Octavia's - with a little help with her on spelling - on the other.

"What are you-" Octavia began, but I held a hoof up to shush her.

I folded the papers right down the center, going through the small space between their first and last names before ripping the sheets in half and swapping two of them out.

The new 'pieces' of paper formed the names "Vinyl Melody" and "Octavia Scratch".

I tossed them a cocky look, knowing they'd be impressed with the genius of the plan.

"Wow Shakes..." Vinyl said in what sounded like awe.

"I know I know..." I said, waving them off.

"Is this seriously what you called us for?" Octavia dead panned, but I knew she was just jealous of how impressive my plan was.

"Yep, just go by these names and you two will be fine from most ponies."

"But we've already been attacked - what? Two? Three times already? How will changing our names now help us."

"Simple, just don't go out that much. The only ones that knew you guys found you by strokes of luck." I suggested.

"You can't be serious." Octavia deadpanned again.

"You'd be amazed at how dumb The Order is Tavi, take it from me." Vinyl said, backing me up.

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but came around to the idea eventually.

"If you two say so, I still think this is a foolish idea." She said.

"Trust me, you two will be fine." I tried assuring her.

They wouldn't.

"Are you sure Shakes' plan is a solid one Vinyl? I mean, it's about the smallest possible difference." I commented as we walked back into my apartment, the time only mid day at this point. We had managed to scrounge up enough bits to afford a meal at a restaurant Vinyl managed to persuade us a discount with.

"Heh, I'm not too worried about them." She said.

"Is that because you choose to, or actually don't?" I asked, knowing the distinct difference between the two.

"A little of both I guess." She replied simply.

I question popped to mind.

"What exactly is your involvement with-"

I was interrupted by the sound of a dainty knock at my door.

Sighing a little at the interruption, I trotted over to the door and opened it.

A hooded figure stood at my door way, a brown looking, tattered, cowl draped over most all of their body and head. The only that was visible was the lower half of their face, which was curled up in a calm, warm smile that almost forcefully disarmed me. I did notice their horn sticking through the top of the cowl.

"Hello? Can I help you?" I asked the figure, who giggled at my question.

"Does Vinyl Scratch happen to live here?" They asked, the sweetness in their voice almost intoxicating.

My eyes widened as I recalled the conversation with Shakes.

"Uh- I-" I began to stammer for an excuse.

They laughed warmly at my comment.

"Of course she is." They said, confirming their own suspicions but not daring to make a move forwards.

"Care to call her for me?" They asked.

I began to attempt and shut the door, but a familiar voice chimed in from behind me and I felt myself seize up.

"Who is it Tavi?" Vinyl asked, trotting up beside me and spotting the figure.

She leaned her had forwards as if to look more closely at her, even tipping up her glasses to reveal her squinting crimson eyes. It seemed to take her a second, though they eventually widened at the appearance. It was the first time I had seen a reaction like that from Vinyl, who typically met something with a mischievous smile or grin; this time she looked shocked, maybe scared even.

And if she was scared, I felt like it was almost necessary for me to be as well.

"Finally recognize me?" The figure asked Vinyl.

Vinyl stammered a little, odd for her.

"Mom?"