Drag Me Down

by Fable


The Teaparty

Vinyl could summarize her experience hanging out with Twilight and Fluttershy as… awkward. Vinyl was never one to be a third wheel. So… this was just a mess, if she had to be honest. The three of them were currently sitting around Fluttershy's garden, maybe two weeks after the whole supermarket thing, drinking tea while the pegasus and other unicorn discussed some creature that they had seen walking around the Everfree Forest.

Fluttershy had attempted to get Vinyl to join the conversation a few times, but after a few "That's cool" and "Yeahs" she gave up. Honestly, Vinyl didn't blame her- the white unicorn was awful at a lot of things. And conversations were one of them. Another one of them, actually, was being a third wheel.

The worst part of this is, they didn't act like a couple. Vinyl had always made some sort of effort to be affection with her partners, even if she was feeling like complete shit and didn't want to be touched. Which was sixty percent of the time. But these two? They were super conservative, or something. They sat close, but not too close.

Fluttershy smiled at Twilight, but it wasn't like a knowing smile. A smile that screamed she was in love. Honestly, their whole lack of PDA made Vinyl extremely uncomfortable. Did they think she would judge them? Maybe they were just amused with keeping Vinyl out of their little group. She bit her lip, watching them as they talked. How could she get them more comfortable??

"So! I went to Sugarcube Corner the other day-" Twilight began.

Vinyl perked up, quickly interrupting and slamming her hooves on the table. "Ah! I use to go there all the time with my ex-marefriend!"

The two ponies looked at her, surprised she had spoken up. Then they looked at each other. Vinyl could feel her face grow hot. Fluttershy gave a quick smile, and Vinyl saw that it was almost triumphant. Perfect! All she needed them to say was "Haha, it's a great couple spot!" or something.

"Ah! That's so nice, Vinyl! I'm sorry to hear about your marefriend though. Is everything ok now?" She asked, with a tilt of her head.

Vinyl felt annoyance in her throat and she almost voiced her complaints. That's not what she wanted her to say! She leaned back, suddenly aware of them looking at her. Uh… Shit. The last time she had gone was with Rose, hadn't it? Her thoughts suddenly drift back to the last argument they had. She hadn't seen Rose since then, hadn't even tried to contact her.

"Uh… it was sort of recent. So, not really." Vinyl could almost sense the disappointment coming off of the yellow pegasus. She cleared her throat and nervously pressed her luck: "Uhh, but what about you two?" Their eyes widened in surprise and Vinyl wanted to plung the cake cutter resting on the strawberry shortcake into her heart. Oh buck. Why did she have to try and get them to admit it?!

Now they probably hated her and-- "What about us?" Fluttershy asked, confusion written all over her face. Vinyl noticed Twilight's eyes narrow, but she couldn't tell if the unicorn was angry or not.

"How… uh… how long have you been dating?" Vinyl eventually croaked out, using her magic to quickly grab a glass of water and gulp it down. The silence was so awkward. It was probably only a second or two long, but Vinyl felt like it stretched into eternity. Twilight turned her attention to Fluttershy, as if waiting for her answer. Horsefeathers! She can never face these two again. She was silently cursing Cloud Chaser for giving her the idea that they were a couple.

"Oh!" Fluttershy cheerily replied, seeming unfazed by the silence. "We're just friends!"

Vinyl's heart shattered to a million pieces. Her stomach dropped. How. Embarrassing. 'Well, this friendship was nice while it lasted.' Her brain supplied.

Twilight gave a nod, turning her attention to Vinyl. Her smile wasn't as wide as Fluttershy's. It almost seemed forced. "Just friends."

"Ah!" Vinyl quickly replied, "I'm so sorry for assuming! I just, uh… just thought that maybe… because you two hang out together.. And the market!" Vinyl couldn't stop her words from flying out of her mouth. Fluttershy looked amused.

"It's ok! Everypony sorta thinks that at first, but some reason. But Twi and I are just friends! Though, I am hoping to find that special somepony soon!" Fluttershy gave a soft laugh, giving a small tug to a loose strand in her mane. Twilight's look felt like daggers in Vinyl's chest. Or was that Vinyl's imagination?

The moment that Fluttershy turned to look at Twilight, the purple unicorn had her normal look on her face. "Same here!" Twilight giggled, smiling brightly at Fluttershy.

Ohhhhhhhh.

It was pretty obvious that Twilight liked Fluttershy, and Fluttershy was as blind as a mole. For the first time in a while, Vinyl felt giddy. She just had. the best idea. It would get her to be better friends with Twilight too. She should try to secretly… pair them up! Vinyl wanted to pat herself on the back. It was a boost of confidence she hadn't had in a long time.

She couldn't believe it though! How could anypony be so blind? The signs were all there! She ends up giving her own nod of approval. "Well, my thing with Rose ended already. I'm not sure if I'm ready for another pony (she wasn't), but you never know!"

"Good for you, Vinyl! Don't let some old relationship drag you down." Fluttershy praised, their eyes meeting.

"What were we talking about before this?" Twilight asked, and Vinyl looked away to meet Twilight's gaze instead. The unicorn easily used her magic to pour herself another glass of iced lemonade.

"Sugarcube Corner!" Vinyl answered, "You were gonna tell your story about Sugarcube Corner?"

"Oh that's right!" Twilight gave a small hmm. "So okay, I was there the other day and I was buying a doughnut or two for you, Fluttershy."

"That's nice of you!" Fluttershy chimed in.

"Oh, it was nothing. But guess who I saw there?"

"Who?" Vinyl inquired, and Twilight broke into a smile.

"Sapphire Shores!"

"No way!" Vinyl gasped, and Fluttershy turned her gaze to look at Twilight's general direction. Vinyl bucking loved Sapphire Shores. Sapphire was part of the reason Vinyl had (miserably) tried to get into music. She would have killed to see her idol in pony. Even if she wasn't such a huge musician anymore (her DJing stuff was buried somewhere in her parent's basement- if they kept it), she was still a huge fan of the star.

"What was she like?" Fluttershy asked.

"She was really nice! A bit of a diva, but that was expected…" Twilight continued on with her story. Okay. Focus, Vinyl. You can't tune in now, you have a job to do. First, if she was gonna be Twilight's wingmare, she had to know what Fluttershy liked.
Picnics, animals, nature, uh.. Vinyl gave a frown.

Wait. Maybe she hadn't known Fluttershy as well as she thought? Not that they were best friends or anything, but shouldn't Vinyl know more about the pegasus's life? Vinyl felt like they had only reached the surface of their friendship.

She mentally arranged to ask Fluttershy to hang out, like for coffee or something. Just so she could get to know the mare more. But what about Twilight? She literally knew squat about the unicorn. Other than uh… the fact that she liked Fluttershy. And Vinyl vaguely remembered the purple maned pony bringing up that she was a librarian?

Ok. So she had a game plan.
She could visit Twilight at the library, and take Fluttershy for some coffee. It was perfect! She would learn their interests and- 'What's the point? Who are you to get into their affairs? You're nobody. Worthless. And you don't need to waste their time--' Vinyl mentally shut that thought down. No way. She was holding onto this high, these happy emotions, while she could.

Twilight finished her story up. It was only then that the trio realized that it was nearly sunset. Twilight offered to go take the dishes back to Fluttershy's sink. With one mighty spell, she took all of the dishes and trotted off. That was some mare. Fluttershy needs to open her eyes and see what she's missing. Vinyl could barely lift a cup or two without wanting to pass out.

"Hey… Fluttershy?" Vinyl asked as they watched the unicorn walk into the cottage.

"Yes?"

Vinyl met her teal eyes once more. "Want to go grab some coffee with me tomorrow? Maybe at eleven, Sugarcube?"

Vinyl could have sworn she saw the pegasus's eyes shine at the suggestion. "I- I'd like that," Fluttershy stuttered. Vinyl found it odd, but maybe it was getting too cold for her? Whatever. She didn't need to bring it up. She hid her excitement, but allowed herself to lazily smile.

"Perfect."