Skyfall
Skyfall
Late in the night, the manor was silent and dark, with the exception of the moonlight shining through the drapes onto a sobbing ruby mare. Harmony found it hard to sleep with her mind replaying the events between her and her daughter again and again. Trying to escape her guilt, she curled into a ball on her chair hugging the only two things that reminded her of her little cellist; their picture and her bowtie. “Why did I make her choose? Why did I push her away?” She asked as another tear ran down her face. Closing her eyes, she started to reminisce about when she gave Octavia that pink bowtie. It was meant to be a gift for after her first concert, but Octavia was so nervous that Harmony put it on her before hoof telling her it was magical. That as long as she wore that bowtie, everypony would love her performance. The little gray filly preformed beautifully and they celebrated with a picture and some ice cream. The ruby mare tried to remember other times that she and her daughter were happy together but came up blank. She could only remember harping about her career, arguing about her love interests and... Octavia running away in tears. The more Harmony wallowed in regret, the more exhausted she became until fatigue finally took over. The ruby mare fell asleep in her chair grasping Octavia’s bowtie and picture.
A few hours later, Alto woke up as the first beams of light shined through the torn curtains caused by his brother-in-law and Vinyl. He yawned as he got out of bed slowly and stretched out his legs before heading down stairs. The conductor was careful to avoid the rest of the mess left throughout the manor by the dynamic duo. He was intent on finally getting to read his paper, a feat that has been seemingly impossible since Octavia and her friends showed up in Canterlot. A smile grew on the stallion's face as he retrieved his copy of Equestrian Daily and walked into the living room to finally read it. As he walked in, Alto set the paper down on a side table and opened the curtains. Upon turning around, he noticed that Harmony was sleeping in one of the chairs and the light was waking her up. The Conductor quietly walked back to his favorite chair to try and read his paper, but just as he was about to sit down, he heard his wife speak.
“A-Alto?” The ruby unicorn asked sleepily straitening herself up. “Alto we have to go talk to Octavia. I can’t leave things the way they are. I have to see her right now.” She placed the picture on the nearest side table and draped Octavia’s bowtie around her neck.
“I understand but-” He started before Harmony interrupted.
“No buts dear, you heard our daughter, she plans to leave and never see us again.” The ruby mare said, getting more frantic by the minute.
“Harmony, it’s very early and...” He started and stopped talking in case he was going to be interrupted again but when his wife didn’t say anything, he continued. “I think she-”
“What if she takes the early train? I know it opens at-.” Harmony started before getting cut off by her husband placing his hoof over her mouth.
“Shhh, you asked Trotterlot to convince her to see us one more time. That chap is very persuasive and Octavia trusts him, I am positive that our daughter is still there.” Alto said finally getting a full sentence in. He moved his hoof from her mouth to let he talk now.
“Y-you’re right dear, I’m sorry. It’s just that I can’t help but feel that the slightest mistake will ruin any chance of us seeing her again, like trotting on glass.” Harmony looked down her ears falling flat on her head.
“I know honey, I just think that storming over this early in the morning is not the best idea. Let’s give her some time to wake up and collect her thoughts, something you should be considering. Did you get any sleep at all last night?” Alto asked happy to finally get in full sentences in for the first time in a while.
“I got a not so good forty minutes but I can’t rest until we get our daughter back.” The ruby mare looked up in desperation.
“I understand your frustration Darling but forty minutes isn’t near enough sleep. Tell you what, why don’t you take a quick power nap and I’ll wake you up as soon as I’m done reading the paper.” The conductor said brushing a bit of his wife’s messy mane behind her ear.
“Yeah, I guess you're right...Wait...You're just making up an excuse to read your copy of Equestrian Daily aren’t you?” She asked a little annoyed.
“I-I’m just so behind on the news honey. I don’t even know what the weather is supposed to be after tonight's scheduled storm.” The Silver Stallion explained shooting his wife a sheepish smile.
“Alto, this is kind of important.” Harmony replied not amused by his ulterior motives when it was unclear if Octavia would take the first train out of Canterlot.
“...What about pancakes?” He asked a little nervously as his wife seemed to be in a mood.
“Well, I suppose there is time for pancakes.” She said thinking about it as she was hungry herself.
“And coffee?” He asked hopefully nodding his head.
“Alright, a quick cup of coffee. Then we go to the Hidden Gem and fix things with Octavia.” She replied and they walked into the kitchen to get themselves a little bit of breakfast.
Harmony finished her breakfast quickly and spent the rest of her time rushing her husband to do the same. There were more important things to do today and eating wasn’t one of them. Harmony paced around and contemplated tipping Alto’s coffee up with her hoof so he would be forced to finish it. Becoming slightly annoyed at his wife's behavior, he set his cup down and turned to face her “Harmony, really you need to...” He started.
“No I will not calm down. What if Trotterlot didn’t convince her to stay? What if they decide to take the first train out of here? We have to go now before it’s too late.” The ruby mare said pulling her husband along before he could finish his drink.
“Okay but be careful of the-” The stallion started before Harmony slammed the door open making it once again fall off his hinges and hitting the ground with a large bang. “Door.” He finished before getting pulled away again. From an outsider's perspective, it looked like Queen Chrysalis’s army came to their mansion and raided it.
Harmony lead the way to the Hidden Gem with her daughter’s bowtie still draped around her shoulders with the intent of returning it. The pair didn’t even seem to notice the door shaking on the ground as Monotone stepped out rubbing his head. “Ow...that hurt.” Commented the short stallion as he looked back at Alto being dragged along by his wife. He decided to follow them as he was sure that they would lead him straight to Octavia. He just needed to corner her by herself to convince her that she couldn’t do better than him.
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The table was quiet after Octavia explained the events of last night to her friends and how she decided to hear her mother out one last time. She wanted to believe that what her uncle said was true but she wasn’t sure if she could trust her. “Do you girls think I’m doing the right thing? By hearing her out I mean?” She asked looking for her friends' input.
Bon Bon smiled softly. “Octavia, it isn’t always easy for others to admit that they’re wrong. And from the sounds of things, your mother definitely has a hard time doing that. But if what your uncle said was true, then she really wants to fix things between you too.”
“Yeah, and isn’t this kind of what you wanted from the beginning? For you and your mother to be close again and accept you for who you are?” Lyra asked looking at the gray mare.
“W-well I suppose. But did it really have to come to this for her to see that? It’s not like this is the first chance I have given her.” Replied the cellist.
“True, but do you really want this to be the last? I just don’t want to see you beating yourself up over this later Octy. If you want, we can tag along for support.” Vinyl said hugging her marefriend.
Octavia hugged back and whispered into Vinyl’s ear “Thank you, but this is something I want to do alone.” she let go of the DJ and looked at her friends “I appreciate the offer girls but I want to make sure that this is not just another act from mother. Nothing against you mares but it will be much easier to determine that without distractions.” The cellist said sipping her tea.
“I understand Octavia, we’ll leave you alone.” Sunflower commented with a wink.
“Sunflower I can see you winking. I was being serious when I said don’t do anything, this is a family matter.” Replied the cellist. She looked over at the clock and realized it was about time to go. “Thanks again for the advice girls, I need to get ready.” She said touching her bare neck and sighing. Octavia wished she hadn’t tossed her bowtie, the gray mare felt naked without it so she left to go see if she had another one in her room.
“What was with that wink?” Lyra asked getting annoyed. “Hitting on my wife isn’t good enough, you have to hit on Octavia as well?"
“What no, flirting is exclusively reserved for Bon Bon. I was simply telling Octavia that we will be there to back her up.” Answered S.
“I don’t know S, she made it pretty clear that she didn’t want our help on this one.” Commented Vinyl.
“Which is exactly why we must go; we need to make sure her mother isn’t up to some sneaky business. The first rule of being a spy is don’t get caught, so we will help her from the shadows. She’ll never know we were there.” Said the yellow pegasus.
“I have no idea what ya said but I’m inspired. So what’s the plan?” The DJ asked causing S to smile.
“Well, I’ve got some new gadgets for us to use but first, Let's Sync our watches... or glasses in Vinyl’s case.” S answered standing on her hide legs holding up her right leg with the watch on it. The mares stood up and got ready to push their respective buttons. S placed her wing on the button and looked at the girls with a smile “Okay everypony, on the sound of my hoof clapping. Three, two, one” A loud smack was heard and everypony synced their watches... except for Bon Bon who yelped, after getting slapped on the flank.
“That’s it.” Lyra replied about to charge at the yellow pegasus but was stopped by the candy maker.
“Calm down Lyra that’s just how she is.” The candy maker said rubbing her flank. She then glared at S. “Do that again and I will break your leg.” She said a bit annoyed.
“Okay, okay spoil sport.” Sunflower pouted as she looked to Vinyl who was laughing quietly the whole time. “Okay, for real this time, on three. One, Two, Three.” She said and everypony hit the buttons they were told to and the times synchronized with a beep.
“Right, now let me go get the gadgets for this mission.” The yellow pegasus said leaving the cafeteria.
“What is wrong with that pony? I swear she is a crazy, stalking, pervert.” The green mare said crossing her forelegs in a huff.
“Relax Lyra, I know she can be a bit much at times, but she is harmless. Sunflower Shine has always been over the top on flirting but never did anything to harm another pony or that was illegal...Well except for that one time...” Bon Bon responded.
“Ah ha! I told you she was trouble!” Lyra exclaimed.
“Hold on now that wasn’t just her. Look, we done a lot of things we weren't proud of. Robbing Cakes, Plundering Sweets, double parking. But, no pony go hurt...okay maybe somepony got hurt but nopony we knew.” Bon Bon said putting a hoof on her wife’s hoof. “The point I’m trying to make is that Sunflower isn’t that bad when you get to know her... just a hoof full. S was one of the best agents of the old team so please bear with her.”
“Yeah, chill out Lyra. Besides, she’s super hilarious.” Vinyl said getting a glare from Lyra before she just sighed. “That’s it filly, fellin better?”
“No, I swear that pony is up to something. I just can’t place my hoof on it.” The mint green unicorn commented and tapping a hoof to her chin.
Sunflower Shine returned to the table with a metal briefcase. She smiled widely as she placed the case down and looked at the three mares. “I have the best tools for stealth and recon work in this case.” She opened the case up and turned it so the other ponies could see its contents.
“Wow...what’s this?” Vinyl asked picking up a weird gadget with a tri hook at the end.
“Careful.” S commented taking it from the DJ and giving it to Bon Bon. “That is a grappling hook, great for earth ponies to get out of sticky situations.”
“Neat, so what do I get?” Inquired the white unicorn getting excited and impatient.
“I have your gadget right here” Answered the yellow pegasus holding up another pair of purple shades.
“But I already have that.” Vinyl replied pointing a hoof to her face.
“This is a different version. It has a camera and a cloaking ability that will make you look like whatever pony you take a picture of.”
“Wait, so no lasers?” Questioned the white unicorn.
“No, it has one other ability but I think it’ll be safer for all of us if you don’t know about it. I’ll hold on to your old pair for now.” S said holding out a hoof.
“Fine, but remember that I called dibs on that pair.” Replied the DJ trading her shades.
“Noted.” The pegasus said putting that pair back into her brief case.
“Wait a second don’t we need to Sync our watches again? Vinyl has a new pair of shades.” Bon Bon interjected.
“Normally yes but these shades sync up with each other when they get close.” S said with a smiled turned her attention to her wings. “And for the last gadget, I have two candies; Z-sweets and T-treats.” She grabbed the identical looking red and blue candy drops in the brief case and held them out in front of Bon Bon and Vinyl. “The Blue one is a Z-sweet, this one will put any pony instantly to sleep making them forget about the last few minutes. The red one is a T-treat, this one will make any pony tell the truth for a period of time. So, what do you mares choose?”
The two looked at each other for a moment and both started to reach for the Red candy but the yellow pegasus dropped both of them into one of the three tins on the table. “Don’t worry, each of you will have both in your own tin, I just like seeing what each pony would grab first.”
“When did you put them in these tins?” Lyra asked not seeing when she took them out of the brief case.
“I did that while you mares were looking at the candies in my wings. Now this one is for you and these are for you two.” S answered pushing each of the tins in front of each pony at the table.
“Thanks S, these will help out great.” Bon Bon said putting her tools in her saddlebag.
“One question, why did we need to synchronize watches?” The mint green unicorn asked curiously.
“Duh, haven’t you seen any spy movie ever? They do it at the start of the mission to count down to the awesome success party at the end involving mares and booze.” Vinyl said looking towards S and Bon Bon for confirmation.
“N-no, it’s to make sure that we all have the same time on our watches. If I needed you somewhere at a certain time, I'll know that you’re going to be there at the exact time I specified. No earlier or later.” Sunflower explained and she looked at her watch.
“So, what do we do now? I mean it’s not like her parents would walk right into this hotel....” Lyra started to say before her mouth hung open a bit in shock. Bon Bon closed her mouth as she looked to where her wife was staring.
“They’re here.” The candy maker whispered and gestured her head towards the two out of place older ponies that walked into the lobby and stopped at the front desk for information.
“Looks like our mission starts now.” S said watching the pair walk to the elevator and hit the button to go up.
As the ruby unicorn waited for the elevator to arrive, she contemplated what she should say to her daughter. Alto on the other hoof was putting their lunch reservations in his saddlebag. He trusted that his brother-in-law convinced Octavia to hear them out so he got them in advance. Looking over to his wife he sighed when he saw her getting more and more worried by the second.
The silver stallion put a hoof over his wife’s shoulder. “Relax Harmony, we...”
“RELAX?! How can I relax Alto? Our daughter is about to be gone and it’s all my fault!” Harmony exclaimed causing a young stallion who was also riding the elevator to smile awkwardly and push the button to get to the next floor.
Alto noticed this and mouthed. ‘Sorry’ “Dear, you need to calm down. I’m sure she and Miss Scratch will be there.” He commented as he watched the young stallion rush away to avoid dealing the awkward situation.
“I-I just wanted to see her succeed. I can’t believe how blind I was being...what were we thinking?” She said softly leaning in on Alto for support as the elevator reached their destination. The door opened and the two broke their embrace walking towards the honeymoon suite. When they reached their daughter's room, Harmony raised her hoof to knock on it but froze in front of it.
Alto watched her for a moment before breaking the silence. “Aren’t you going to knock?” He watched as his wife hesitated and put her hoof down rubbing foreleg while looking away. The silver stallion sighed and knocked on the door.
“Coming.” Octavia called from deep inside the room. The cellist opened the door thinking it was somepony else. “Perfect timing Vinyl, have you seen another bowtie around her... Oh...it's you.” The grey mare commented, the expression changing on her face after seeing her parents.
“Yes, um...you see... I wanted too... return your bowtie. It’s yours after all.” Harmony spoke out nervously and held the bowtie towards Octavia in her magic. Her daughter took it and put it on as Alto leaned in and whispered something into Harmony’s ear. “A-and I would like to apologies for what happened yesterday. I should have never made you choose.” She said her ears holding back against her head.
“Well, you did and I chose Vinyl. But Uncle Trotterlot and my friends think that you can change so I am giving you one last chance. I will hear you out over lunch... and please don’t lie to me mother. No schemes, no secret agenda, and no Monotone...do I make myself clear?” Octavia said coldly only because she was still hurting.
“Yes Octavia, I’ll never force Monotone on you anymore. I already told that little creep the wedding was officially off last night when he stopped by the manor.” The ruby unicorn said looking down again before muttering. “I was wrong... and I am sorry for that...”
“It’s true, your mother dropped the front door on him.” Her father said smiling.
“Alto Tempo!” Harmony exclaimed in slight disbelief that he would tell her that.
“Is that true mother?” The onyx maned mare inquired looking at her mother with a raised eyebrow.
“Y-yes. Though not intentional I was just so angry that the slam the door and it fell on his head.” Her mother replied.
Octavia smirked for a moment before looking serious again. She didn’t want to drop her guard until she knew she could trust her mother again. “So where are we going to have our little discussion and lunch? The manor?” Octavia inquired.
“Well, the manor is...” Alto started only to be interrupted again by Harmony causing him to huff in annoyance and roll his eyes. ‘One day I’ll get to spoke in full sentences again.’ He thought to himself.
“Destroyed thanks to my brother and your companion. However, those things can be replaced, you can’t... So we got some tickets for the maiden voyage of the Skytanic, the largest dirigible built yet.” The ruby mare said smiling nervously hoping her daughter will agree with the arrangement.
Octavia had read stories about the Skytanic and wanted to go on it, she just preferred not to be stuck with her parents in the sky for hours if it turned out to be another trick. She forced a smile and looked at her parents. “I always wanted to go on the Skytanic ever since hearing about it. Though I was hoping to have Vinyl with me.”
“She is more than welcome to come along.” Harmony said quickly. “This is a family trip after all. Even if I do question your choice of um...mares.” She said forcing a smile trying to get more comfortable the fact that her daughter loves mares, and a DJ.
“No, I would rather take care of this myself... and if you insult my marefriend again I will leave. Now, shall we?” Responded the gray mare as she walked out of the hotel room making sure to lock the door behind her.
It wasn’t long before Vinyl spotted the family leaving the elevator and heading towards the exit. She pushed the button on the side of her glasses contacting her friends. “Yo, I got a visual on our target.” She said softly letting go of the button.
“Roger that.” Sunflower responded into her watch. She was stationed outside the hotel trying to find out where they were going.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were afraid of heights Alto? I would have never told you to get tickets for the Skytanic if I knew.” The ruby mare commented a little worried about her husband.
“I’ll be fine, I just need a drink...or fifteen.” Alto responded as they walked past Sunflower Shine who was hidden in the bushes.
Once they were out of ear shot S held up her watch. “We have a location. Let’s randevu.”
“Roger.” The rest of the group called out as they set out on their plan to keep an eye on Octavia to make sure that everything would be okay.
The four mares met up and slowly tailed Octavia and her parents, unaware that Monotone was also tailing them from across the street. When the ponies ran into a crowd, the mares seemed to lose their target while the tiny pony was able to sneak through and keep them in sight.
“Buck, we lost them.” Bon Bon said groaning a bit looking around, debating if she should use her grappling hook to get a higher vantage point.
“It’s okay Bonnie, I see where the Skytanic is docked.” Sunflower said in the air pointing a hoof towards the airship.
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Vinyl said taking off straight in the direction that S had pointed in towards a wooden fence.
“Vinyl, what are you doing?” Lyra asked a bit confused.
“What’s the matter? Never taken a shortcut before?” The DJ responded and she jumped over only to realize that there was no ground there and started to scream. Sunflower dashed after her and caught the white unicorn putting her back on the ground. She smiled sheepishly. “Haha, thanks S didn’t know there was a cliff on the other side.”
Lyra rolled her eyes and pulled Vinyl along the street. “Don’t do that again. Octavia would be devastated if you got hurt or worse.” Scolded the lyrist as they followed Sunflower on the roads this time.
“You’re no fun.” Vinyl mumbled under her breath and looked away from her friend as they continued following the yellow pegasus. It didn’t take long for them to reach the dock that held the Skytanic. It was a massive dirigible with many rich and famous ponies making their way on. Vinyl used her telescoping shades to look through the crowd. “Ah ha! I found Octy and her parents. They just picked up their tickets and...Wait... is that? It can’t be.” She almost growled out seeing Monotone getting a ticket in another line.
“What’s wrong?” Lyra asked looked around but not seeing anything.
“Minitone just got a ticket as well. We need to get on that ship.” The DJ said annoyed knowing she needed to tell Octy that it was a trick after all.
“Tickets for the Skytanic? Do you know how expensive those tickets are right? And considering it is the ship’s maiden voyage the cost is probably doubled.” Bon Bon reasoned as she watched all the ponies boarding.
“So how do we get on then?” The white unicorn huffed as she paced around trying to come up with a plan.
“We need some sort of distraction.” S said thinking out loud. Looking around she smiled and pointed to some ponies who were loading supplies for the Skytanic. It was like an open invitation with fewer guards and protocols. “There, all we have to do is blend in with the workers.”
“Oh, that might work” Lyra commented as she signaled the group to follow her but Sunflower shook her head. “What’s up?”
“We should go one at a time. It’ll look suspicious if four of us try trotting on together.” S suggested.
“Well yeah but who should go first?” The mint green unicorn asked looking around the group noticing everypony looking at her. “Why is everypony looking at me?”
“Thanks for volunteering Lyra.” S commented.
“I knew we could count on you.” Vinyl said smiling putting a hoof on her shoulder.
“Go get em dear.” Bon Bon added.
Lyra sighed and nodded. “Fine, I'll go first. It will give me a chance to test out my spy skills.” The green mare stated with a sigh and started to make what soundly like theme music as she snuck around the dock. The girls watched her confused.
“Is she making her own sneaking music?” The DJ asked the group. Sunflower facehoofed as Bon Bon nodded.
“She is.” The candy maker answered trying not to laugh as they watched Lyra pressing herself against a wall as two workers passed. The workers looked at the unicorn confused then at each other shrugging and walked away.
S watched and waited for the right moment before smiling. “Well it looks like it’s time us to get on the ship.” Bon Bon and Vinyl looked confused as the yellow pegasus flew over to a group of guards. “Hey, not that I am telling you ponies how to do your job or anything but, aren’t you guards supposed to be stopping things like this?” S said pointing a hoof over toward the mint green unicorn doing a horrible job sneaking aboard the Skytanic.
“What? Oh! Hey you! Stop right there!” The guard yelled seeing Lyra.
Lyra stopped seeing Sunflower Shine standing near the guard that yelled at her and the other guards in the area had their eyes on her. “Oh you mother bucker!” She yelled as she ran off. Both the guards and the workers were distracted by the mint green unicorn that nopony was paying attention to the loading dock.
S waved a hoof signaling the other two to walk onto the Skytanic. “But my wife...” Bon Bon started before being picked up in a gray aura.
“Come on Bon Bon, we’re not gonna to get another chance like this.” The DJ said feeling a bit guilty.
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As Lyra ran from the guards, she found herself in a dead end. She turned around to see the two guards standing there “Come on miss, we just have to hold ya until the ship departs.”
Trying to think of a way out, Lyra remembered that S gave her a tin with Z-sweets inside. “Wait.” The mint green unicorn said holding out a hoof and pulling out the tin with the candy inside. “Would you guys like a piece of candy first?” She asked making an awkward smile.
“The two guards looked at each other in confusion before looking back at the mint green unicorn “Are you trying to bribe us with sweets?” Asked one of the guards.
“...Nooo...” Replied Lyra trying to hold onto her cool. “I just thought you guys might want to try out these new flavors before taking me in.” Her horn lit up as she hovered two blue candies in front of the guard.
After a small awkward pause the two ponies smiled. “Sure, we’d love to try these out.” The two ponies ate the candy. “Thanks, that was good. Ok miss, let’s go.”
“... Aren't you ponies feeling sleepy?” The lyrist inquired expectedly.
“Umm, no more than usual.” Replied one of the guards.
“I’m actually feeling more awake. Sugar does that to me.” Answered the other guard.
“That can’t be right.” Lyra muttered looking inside the tin. “What the?” Inside of the tin, were some empty candy wrappers from Bon Bon’s shop and a small picture of S winking with her tongue out and Bon Bon’s flank in the background. “Oh, you son of a Bitch!”
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Once they were all inside Sunflower smiled. “Well, that worked out nicely.”
“Wait? Did you planned on using my wife as a distraction from the beginning?” The cream earth pony asked in shock.
“Yeah, pretty smart huh?” The yellow pegasus smiled posing triumphantly.
“Clever girl.” Vinyl responded smirking.
“We have to go back and get Lyra. She needs to be here.” Bon Bon whined standing up to move from their hiding spot.
“Wait, if you leave now, we’ll all be kicked off the ship and the mission will be over. Do you want to help Octavia or not?” S replied as she pulled Bon Bon back in. “She’ll be fine without you love. They’ll only detain her till the ship departs.”
“Please Bon Bon, I need to help Octy. Will you help?” The white unicorn asked.
The candy maker sighed and looked away. “Fine. Secret agent Sweetie Drops is on the case. Let’s get up there and scout the area first.” She said in a commanding tone as she led the way up a staircase with the other two close behind. The three mares reached the top floor and stood in front of the door looking into the Control Cabin.
There, they saw a white female unicorn with an electric blue mane wearing a white captain’s hat and uniform jacket speak into a mic. “Mares and gentlecolts this is your captain speaking. The Skytanic will be departing shortly. We of the White Horseshoe Line invite everypony a spot on the top deck to watch the maiden departure.”
The girls didn’t know what was stranger, the fact that the captain looked just like Vinyl or how much the two sounded alike. “Ok Vinyl, go ahead and use those glasses to copy her image...”
Vinyl looked at the captain and back at the candy maker. “Do you really think that’s necessary?”
“It’s more or less just to copy her cutie mark.” Answered Bon Bon.
“Ok, if you say so...which button was that again?” Vinyl asked reaching for a random button on the other side of her glasses.
“Wait Vinyl! Not that one!” Shouted S but she was too late.
“Glasses will self-destruct in 5-4-3"
“Oh Buck!” Exclaimed the DJ throwing her shades at the door and taking cover. The small explosion was enough to pop the door open. The three mares slowly popped their heads up assessing the damage.
“That was close” S commented using her wing to wipe a bead of sweat from her forehead.
“What the buck S?! Why didn’t you tell me these things could blow up?!” Vinyl shouted in anger.
“I thought we’d be safer if you didn’t know about that little feature.” The yellow pegasus said in her defense.
“Safer!? I had a bomb on my face S! How is that safe?” Asked the DJ, still upset at Sunflower Shine.
“Eh-hum, what do you ponies think you are doing?” Said a somewhat familiar sounding voice by the door. The three mares looked over and saw the captain of the ship standing there with an upset look on her face.
Before anypony could react, Bon Bon swiftly moved behind the captain giving her a hoof chop on the back of her neck knocking the mare out. Bon Bon caught the unicorn and set her down on the floor gently taking off her hat and jacket. “Here Vinyl, put these on.”
Vinyl caught the clothes and looked at the candy maker scared. “Holy buck Bon, did you kill her?”
“No, she is just knocked out.” Bon Bon answered waving S over to help her move the knocked-out mare. “We’re going to lay her in bed in the Captain’s Quarters for now, in the meantime, just act like the captain.”
“Can’t one of you fillies do it? I don’t know the first think about these ships. I always thought that they were just slower trains.”
“Yes Vinyl, I’m sure nopony would notice the difference if the captain suddenly changed color and species.” S said lifting up the knocked-out captain.
“...Okay, but who is going to fly this thing?” Vinyl asked seeing the other two ponies look at her. “You can’t be serious?”
“Come on Vinyl, it’s only got a few buttons and levers. It’s probably just like your turntable.” Bon Bon said with a sheepish smile.
“My turntable doesn’t fly Bon Bon!” Exclaimed the DJ.
“We’re sure you can figure it out. We got to go now bye.” S said closing the door before Vinyl could protest further.
The white unicorn turned around and looked over the controls. “Let's see here, we got a few buttons here and four levers here...why are there only four levers if there are six directions...”
As the DJ was trying to figure out the controls, the door swung open startling the unicorn. Vinyl quickly turned around hitting one the levers with her tail. “Captain, it’s time to depart.” Said a blue stallion wearing a crew men’s outfit.
The DJ turned around and noticed that they were slowly ascending. “Uhhh...” Mumbled Vinyl figuring out what lever she hit.
“Is everything alright Captain? Aren't you going to make an announcement?” Asked the blue stallion.
“R-right.” Vinyl grabbed the mic that the real captain used earlier. “Ummm, Mares and Gentlecolts, we have lift off?” Sounds of cheering and applause filled the ship as they continued to ascend into the sky.
“Good job Captain, now if you don’t need me, I’ll go and attend to the engine room.” The stallion said giving the captain a salute.
“Yeah, you go do that.” Vinyl said returning the Salute. After the crew pony left Vinyl looked back at the controls and found a button labeled ‘Auto-Pilot’. “Sweet” thought the DJ as she pushed it and watched as the four levers started moving on their own flying the ship in its predetermined route. Vinyl started to walk towards the door when it suddenly flung open.
Sunflower Shine bolted in and shut the door immediately holding herself against it. She was panting and looked to Vinyl with a smile. “On second thought, I think I will hang out here in the control cabin. I can keep an eye out on the controls and let you know what's going on behind the scenes” She said laughing nervously as there was banging on the metal door.
“Smack Bon Bon’s flank again?” The DJ asked.
“What? No. Don’t be silly.” S replied hearing another bang from the door. “It was just a love tap but that’s not important right now. I’ll stay here and you can scout with Bon Bon.” The yellow pegasus locked the door and traded spots with the DJ.
The white unicorn chuckled and moved to the door. “Okay S. I already put the ship in auto-pilot. If a blue stallion comes in here, just say you’re standing in for me until I get back.”
"Roger that.” Sunflower said giving Vinyl a salute.
The white unicorn returned the salute and thought to herself ‘I can get use to this’.
Vinyl opened the door and pulled Bon Bon away from the cabin. “Don’t worry Bon Bon, it’s just how she is right?” The DJ said jokingly using her own words against her.
“She’s really pushing her luck.” Replied the candy maker.
“Come on Bon Bon, we need to find that small freak before he meets up with Octavia.” Vinyl said letting go of her friend.
"Aye, Aye Captain.” Sighed the candy maker as she followed Vinyl into the Skytanic.
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Octavia looked up to the speaker becoming suspicious of the voice that came from it. “It can’t be... There’s no way Vinyl could be here.”
“Is everything alright Octavia?” Asked a ruby unicorn snapping the cellist out of her daze.
“Huh, yeah. I just thought I heard somepony familiar is all.” The gray mare answered and took a seat at the table. “So, where do you want to start?”
“Let me start off again by saying I’m sorry. And not just for how I acted last night, but how I’ve been treating you for a while now.” Said Harmony.
“Are you talking about how you scared away all my marefriends? Or how you kept insisting that my sexuality was just a phase? Oh, or are you talking about how you constantly call all my friends Country Bumpkins?” Octavia replied causing her mother to lower her ears and cringe.
“I...I just...” Started Harmony, trying to get her words out.
After a brief pause from his wife, Alto spoke up “Octavia, It’s true that w-”
“Hello everypony. My name is Ultra Violet and I will be your server today. Can I start you ponies off with something to drink?” Asked the purple pegasus interrupting the silver stallion.
“I’ll have a glass of water please.” Answered the cellist.
“Um, yes, I’ll have a glass of water with a slice of lemon.” Continued Harmony.
“I’ll have a Stable Adams.” Finished the Silver stallion earning a look from the other two at the table. “What?”
“It’s still morning Alto.” replied the Ruby unicorn in shock.
“I already told you I was getting a drink remember? Me and heights? Earth ponies don’t belong up here.” Responded the Silver stallion causing his wife to facehoof.
“On second thought, I’ll have a Stable Adams too.” Said the cellist holding back a chuckle at her mother.
“You too?... fine, I’ll change mine to a glass Riesling wine, sweet please.” Replied Harmony in defeat.
“Alright, I’ll be right back with your drinks” Ultra Violet said walking away.
“So, what were you going to say?” Asked Octavia getting back on track.
Alto looked around to make sure that his daughter was in fact talking to him. “Yes, What I was going to say was-”
“Was that I have been an awful mother since your Grandma Amelia passed?” Finished Harmony.
“Yes, but why mother? You became a different pony after that.” Inquired the gray mare.
“I don’t handle stress that well... and not even a week later when I left you in the care of my brother you almost... to many things seemed like they were out of my control, so I tried to focus on the one thing that was...my career.” Answered the ruby mare.
“And just how long were you planning on hiding behind that excuses?” Replied Octavia.
“Till I was ready to move on, but I didn’t realize until now that my career was keeping me away from the thing I needed most, my family.” Responded Harmony looking down trying to escape her shame.
“It wasn’t like I was hiding mother; I’ve been here the entire time.” The cellist commented a little harshly.
“I-I’m sorry Octavia... I was letting my fear and misunderstanding get the better of me...” The ruby mare confessed.
Another awkward silence fell on the table when Alto decided to say something “Listen Octavia, your mothe-”
“Here are your drinks.” Interrupted the purple pegasus placing them down in front of each pony. “Are you ready to order or should I come back later?”
“...We’ll stick with the drinks for now thanks.” Answered Octavia.
“Okay.” Replied Ultra Violet leaving the table again.
“You were saying Fathe...” the cellist stopped when she saw the silver stallion downing the drink while simultaneously waving the waitress back. “Wow, I didn’t realize he was this afraid of heights.”
“Me either.” Commented Harmony. The two mares looked at each other for a second before laughing.
“What are we doing?” Asked the cellist wiping a tear from her eye.
“Trying to make up.” Answered the ruby mare also catching her breath from laughing.
“Maybe my friends were right. Maybe we should start over.” Octavia said, slowly becoming convinced that she could trust her mother again.
“I would love that Octavi-” Started Harmony before she saw a familiar short gray stallion walking around the dining area. “It can’t be...”
“Can’t be what?” The cellist asked turning her head to see what her mother was looking at.
“I-It can’t be that time already. I think we should order something before it’s too late.” Quickly answered the ruby mare holding up the menus.
“Yes, I guess you're right.” Replied Octavia looking through the menu that her mother gave her.
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Vinyl and Bon Bon looked through their tenth room in search for Octavia and Monotone. All the different rooms in the Skytanic made it difficult to pin point where they could possibly be. If the ship’s layout wasn’t challenging enough, the fact that every other upper-class pony tried striking a conversation with the ‘Captain’ prolonged their efforts.
“Do you think she is in here?” Bon Bon asked opening another door and looking around.
“I hope so, I don’t know how much longer I can keep fooling everypony with this captain stuff.” Vinyl replied walking in.
“Fooling everypony? Your last answer was 42.” The cream Earth pony commented in a harsh whisper.
“What, I heard that it’s the answer to everything.” The DJ remarked defending her answer.
“The pony asked if the captain would fancy a chardonnay.” Bon Bon groaned facehoofing.
“Isn’t that the speed of the ship?” Asked the white unicorn.
“It’s a drink Vinyl.” Answered the candy maker.
“Well sorry I don’t understand posh-” Started the DJ before stopping and ducked under a table forcing Bon Bon to join her.
“What are you doing?” Questioned the cream-colored mare in annoyance.
“There she is.” Responded Vinyl pointing a hoof to where Octavia and her parents were eating lunch. “Now we just have to find... Him.” She said groaning as if there was a bad taste in her mouth having seen the mini monster. “Come on Bon Bon, we need to go and tell Octy that it’s a trap-” Started the DJ getting up only to be pulled back down into cover by the candy maker.
“Did you forget that we are sneaking around because Octavia didn’t want us to be here?” Bon Bon asked.
“...Oh yeah” Replied the white unicorn rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. “Wait...but how are we supposed to help Octy then?”
The cream mare thought for a moment before a plan popped into her head “We should split up. I’ll interrogate the small one while you find a way of hiding Octavia until we know it’s safe. If you use your Z-sweet on her, she won’t remember that you were here.” Answered Bon Bon.
“Great idea” Replied Vinyl reaching for her saddlebag only to realize she left it in the control cabin when she disguised herself as the captain. “Not so great...I forgot my bag... Can I have one of yours?”
Bon Bon sighed and opened her tin and stared at two identical-looking candies with different colors. “... Wait... was the Z-sweet the red one or the blue one?”
“I don’t know...I was kind of hoping you’d remember...” Replied the DJ as an awkward silence fell over the two of them. “Wait, you got your watch on, can’t you ask S?”
“Oh yeah.” Bon Bon said pushing the button on her watch. “Hey S? Do you read me?”
“Loud and clear hun, what's up?” Answered the yellow pegasus in a cheery voice.
The candy maker sighed hearing S call her ‘hun’ but decided to let it go. “Which color candy was the Z-sweet again?”
“Oh that? That’s easy. It was the... uhhh... red one.” Replied Sunflower.
“...You sure? That didn’t sound to convincing from my end.” Bon Bon questioned looking at Vinyl who also seemed unsure about that answer.
“Don’t worry about that Bonnie, you know how bad the reception can get on these sometimes.” S stated when she heard a knock on the door. “Up, gotta go, that blue stallion is back again. I convinced him that I was the co-captain." She said in a whisper before another knock came. “Coming! Good luck girls. S out.”
“...Well there you have it I guess.” Responded Bon Bon hoofing over Vinyl the red candy. “You ready for this?”
“Oh yeah, let’s do this.” Replied Vinyl as they hoof bumped and went their separate ways.
Bon Bon made her way through the crowd and sat down at a table near her target. While her skills were a little rusty, she was able to get close enough to hear the conversation between the Bartender and the tiny conductor.
“Bartender, I’ll have an Appletini...easy on the tini.” Monotone said dryly and emotionless as he looked up from the menu.
“Sorry little buddy, we don’t serve alcohol to colts here. Try coming back when you reach drinking age.” The bartender said shooing the small pony away with a hoof.
“I am of legal age.” The small gray pony put his ID on the counter for the bartender to see.
Upon looking over the ID and then back to the small pony before him. Taking several glances at the ID he slid it back to Monotone. “Easy on the tini?” The bartender questioned as everything checked out it was a real ID.
“Very easy.” The tiny conductor said grabbing his ID back from the bartender.
When the stallion turned around to start making the drink, Bon Bon saw her opportunity to snatch the little gray stallion away without anypony noticing. She pulled out the T-treat and right as Monotone yawned, she popped it into his mouth and dragged him into a vacant room next to the bar.
As Bon Bon looked the out door to see if anypony noticed her Monotone recognized his ponynapper. He tried to stand tall and think what he was going to say. “I have some questions for you and I’m not leaving until they are answered. Right I will say that.” He mumbled to himself.
The candy maker locked the door and turned around to face the tiny conductor. Before Monotone could say his line, the cream-colored mare pointed a hoof at him and said “I have some questions for you and you are not leaving here until they are answered.”
“Ah, okay.” The tiny conductor said standing a little less tall.
“Let’s start off with why are you here?” Bon Bon asked.
Monotone just stood looking at her not answering her question. Bon Bon thought he might not have heard her so she tried again. “Did Octavia’s mother tell you to come here?” Again, the tiny conductor just stood in place not responding to anything.
“Hello?” Bon Bon asked waving a hoof in front of his face “Is anypony in there?” The cream mare poked the conductor softly on the shoulder causing him to lean over and fall on his side with a loud thud. The candy maker winced and looked back at the pony who was now snoring on the floor.
“That can’t be good.” Replied the cream mare hitting the button on her watch “S? Are you there?”
“Bonnie! I knew you couldn’t stay mad at me. Let’s cuddle to make up.” Sunflower remarked.
“Now is not the time. What color was the T-Treat again?” Bon Bon asked a bit scared for her friend.
“Blue, I thought I told you guys that already?” Answered Sunflower before pausing a second “Wait a sec...opps. Sorry Bon, I got them mixed up Blue is the Z-sweet and Red is the T-treat... I should really make those look more different from now on.”
“B-blue Z?... But if I gave Monotone the Z-candy, then that means... S contact Vinyl and tell her not to give Octavia the candy.” Bon Bon said dragging monotone over to a closet.
“I’d love to hun but I can’t.” Replied S.
“What do you mean you can’t?” Inquire the candy maker shoving the tiny pony in the closet and shutting the door.
“Vinyl’s glasses blew up remember.” Answered the yellow pegasus.
“...Buck!” Bon Bon exclaimed to herself.
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Vinyl slowly made her way to Octavia’s table trying her best to avoid getting caught up in another conversation with the ponies on the ship. She found out earlier that if you keep walking like you have somewhere to be, the passengers will just greet her with hello captain or good afternoon captain. Great if you are just passing by, annoying if you trying to be stealthy.
“Good after noon Captain.” Spoke a green mare from one table.
“Beautiful sky today, isn’t it, Captain?” Asked a Turquois Stallion from another table.
‘Captain this, Captain that, can’t every pony buck off and leave the Captain alone? They are going to blow my cover...calm down Vinyl. Just smile and wave girl, smile and wave.’ Thought the DJ doing her best not to draw too much attention to herself.
All the noise that started coming from the dining room caught Octavia’s attention as she turned around to see what was going on. There she saw a white mare in a captain’s uniform though something seemed off. Octavia meet the captain of the Skytanic when they got aboard, she was shocked to see the striking resemblance between Edelle Smith and Vinyl Scratch.
The cellist thought back on that moment “If it wasn’t for her cutie mark, I would have reprimanded her for coming when I told her not to interfere... Perhaps I should greet the captain officially now that I know it isn’t-...Vinyl!?” As the DJ waved at another passenger, the gray mare couldn’t help but see a double note on the mare’s flank.
“Pardon me Mother, Father, I have to take care of an urgent matter.” Octavia said excusing herself before walking over towards the 'Captain’. “Vinyl what are you doing here?”
“Vinyl? Who’s Vinyl? I’m uhhh, Mare Incognito.” The white unicorn responded as she looked at her marefriend. “...How can I help you passenger?”
“Vinyl, as impressed as I am that you know the word incognito, I know it’s you.” The gray mare stated looking unamused.
“Awww... What gave it away?” Vinyl asked pouting as she thought her disguise was perfect.
Octavia pointed a hoof at Vinyl’s cutie mark. “Really?” She asked giving the ‘Captain’ a playful grin.
“Alright, ya got me. But hey, since you’re here, would you mind trying this?” The DJ asked popping red candy into Octavia’s mouth.
The gray mare chewed on the candy and swallowed it “Don’t think sweets are going to get you out of this, I’m very upset that you came here...what are you doing?” Octavia asked seeing Vinyl holding her forelegs out.
“Ummm, catching you...aren’t you feeling sleepy Octy?” Vinyl asked expecting her to fall over any second.
“No Vinyl, I’m feeling angry that you came here when I told you not to.” Octavia said and turned around to walk back to the table only to see her mother standing there. “M-mother?”
“I see Miss Scratch is here. Would you like join us for lunch?” Harmony asked with as sincere a smile as she could muster.
“...Don’t mind if I do.” The DJ replied as she walked towards the table.
Octavia stood there shocked until the ruby unicorn snapped her out of it. “Are you coming Octavia?” She asked giving her daughter a puzzled look.
“C-coming.” The cellist replied as she took a seat next to Vinyl. The gray mare leaned over in her seat and whispered “We’re still going to talk about this when we get ba-”
“So what were we talking about?” Interrupted the DJ trying to avoid Octavia’s glare while getting ready to catch her. Harmony began filling in Vinyl on their conversation while Alto flagged the waitress for another drink. Though the white unicorn was trying to keep up on the conversation, she couldn’t help but think why it was taking the candy so long. “Just how long does that pill take to work?... Is it defective?... No, that can’t be it. But if it didn’t put Octy to sleep then...” Suddenly, it dawned on the DJ. “Opps.”
“What do you mean opps?” The onyx maned mare asked looking at her marefriend.
“Nothing, I just need to test something.” Replied the DJ trying to think of a question that her marefriend wouldn’t normally answer in public. “How come your bowtie always ends up around my hide leg after we buck?” Vinyl asked causing Alto to spit take his beer and Harmony to drop her jaw.
“I put it on you because it’s a cute reminded that we bucked. Not that I would tell you something so inappropriate at lunch with my parents.” Octavia said getting shocked gasps from her parents and a cocky smile from the mare besides her. “...W-wait...did I just say that?” Octavia covered her mouth blushing.
“I guess she does take after you.” Alto remarked getting a swift hoof to the back of the head. “I deserved that.”
“Umm, Octavia, this isn’t proper table talk in public.” The ruby unicorn whispered to her daughter.
“I know, I just don’t understand why I said that.” The cellist said looking towards Vinyl who had a hoof over her mouth trying to hold back her laughter.
“H-hey Octy, what’d you break in our hotel room?” The DJ asked knowing full well that Octavia was going to get her back later for this.
“I-I broke the sex toy drawer in the bathroom.” Octavia said immediately covering her mouth.
“Miss Scratch, what did you do?” Harmony asked concerned for her daughter who was as red as she was now.
“Nothin, but while we are on the subject of telling the truth. Why did you invite Monotone here?” Vinyl inquired as she leaned on the table.
“I-I don’t know what you are talking about.” The older mare replied starting to sweat a bit.
“Mother, is that true? Is Monotone here?” Octavia asked looking for the truth.
“No, he isn’t Octavia. It’s just us and your marefriend here. Why don’t we continue to enjoy our lunch before it gets too cold?” Her mother said, not wanting to admit that the tiny conductor was here.
“You're not lying to me are you mother?” Inquired the cellist, starting to grow suspicious of her mother’s intentions.
Harmony looked back at her daughter and tried to put on her most convincing smile “N-no dear, I just want us all to enjoy this lunch togethe-” Harmony was cut short by a load crashing noise came from the room by the bar.
Everypony looked to see what was going on only to see a small gray stallion laying on the floor still sleeping. “Sorry little guy, didn’t realize you were sleeping in there” Apologized one of waiters who was going to retrieve more plates from the closet.
The cellist glared at her parents. “You were saying?”
“I swear I didn’t invite him Octavia. I have no idea why he’s here.” Harmony answered, trying her hardest not to lose her daughter.
“That doesn’t change the fact that you still lied to me. Y-you lied to me once again Mother, just when I was starting to trust you.” She stood up and looked at her parents with a mixture of anger and sadness. “I-I’m leaving...Good bye mother.” She said walking away with Vinyl in tow.
As the two left the dinner area, they heard sobs coming from behind them. Octavia sped up trying to get away from the noise, not stopping for anything until a white unicorn blocked her path. "Hey, talk to me filly. What’s up?”
Octavia looked at her marefriend “I-I really thought that I could trust her again Vinyl. We were all enjoying ourselves like we use to, before grandma died... I-I had hoped we all could be-” The cellist was cut off by the Skytanic suddenly shaking followed by a loud scrapping noise that could be heard throughout the ship.
The two mares looked at each other nervously “W-what was that Vinyl?” Octavia asked.
“I don’t know...but I get the feeling that we should go to the Control Cabin...like now.” Answered the DJ running towards the control cabin.
“W-wait for me” Replied Octavia making haste after her marefriend.
Vinyl slammed the door open and looked around seeing Bon Bon and S staring at the controls trying to figure out what to do. “What’s going on here?!” Asked the white unicorn trying to gauge the severity of the situation.
“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” S asked.
“Just tell me” Vinyl said looking over the controls to see if she could figure out what to do.
“Well, the good news is that we will be landing shortly. The bad news is that it will be a crash landing.” S answered with a nervous laugh.
“What? That can’t be possible, I heard the Skytanic was unsinkable.” Octavia commented looking around and seeing that the ship was slowly going down.
“Unsinkable huh? I think this gauge labeled altitude has something else to say about that.” Bon Bon said pointing a hoof at one of the needles.
“How did this happen S? It was in Auto-Pilot, right?” Vinyl asked trying to figure out if she should touch some buttons or leave them be.
“It was in auto the whole time. The ship started flying into some still clouds when all of a sudden, I heard the door open. At first I thought it was the captain but I jump in joy seeing that it was Bon Bon instead. I was about to give her a hug when that blue stallion shouted ICE CLOUD! Over the intercom but it was too late, and now the ship is taking in air.” S explained.
“What are we going to do?” Octavia inquired as she looked around seeing that nopony knew how to fly the ship.
“What is going on in here?!” The real captain asked walking back into the Control Cabin rubbing her head. “What the...?” She exclaimed seeing that the ship was heading for disaster and rushed to the controls. Edelle started to work on landing the Skytanic safely.
“I think now's a good time to bail out.” S whispered and pulled Bon Bon along with her out the door.
“FORWARD!” The DJ exclaimed quickly taking off the Captain’s uniform and grabbing Octavia in her magic.
“Vinyl! What are you doing? Put me down.” Insisted Octavia.
“Awww, and here I thought you liked this.” Joked the white unicorn still levitating her in a princess carry.
“I like this a lot but I’m not about to tell you that.” The gray mare said and covered her mouth. “What is going on?”
The four mares stood next an exit so when the ship landed, they would be able to sneak off without anypony noticing. In the ballroom next to them there was a four-string quartet playing a song for the passengers.
Octavia hugged Vinyl for comfort. “What’s the matter Octy?” The white unicorn asked softly.
“I just can’t believe that mother would lie to me when everything was going back to how it used to be.” Answered the gray mare.
“Don’t worry Octy, the Skytanic will be landing in the port soon. We can go home after this and give you some time to think.” Reassured the DJ.
Captain Smith spoke into the intercom for everypony to hear. “Mares and Gentlecolts this is your Captain speaking. We have hit an ice cloud and the Skytanic is taking in air. I request that everypony remain calm as we attempt to make a safe crash-landing back on the port.”
Once the announcement was over ponies everywhere were starting to panic and run around knowing that the ship was sinking. While it was a rather slow crash-landing the leader of the four-string quartet looked to his bandmates and nodded. “Right, that’s it then.” He readied his violin and started to play the song ‘Nearer My Celestia to Thee’ and slowly the other three started to join in.
“Is that really ness-” Bon Bon started to question but was cut off by Octavia.
“Shhh, let them have this Bon Bon. It’s a great sign of respect.” The cellist said listening to the music.
Once the song ended the leader of the quartet nodded to his band mares. “Gentlecolts it’s been a privilege playing with you tonight.”
Octavia and the girls just waited in silence as the ship descended back to port. As all the panic continued to wash over everypony, the only thought that plagued Octavia’s mind was why her mother would betray her like that.
The Skytanic finally struck the ground in what can only be described as the slowest crash-landing in history. Once the ship stopped moving Captain Smith sighed in relief and turned around to address the miscreants that sabotaged the dirigible's maiden voyage. “Okay you mares have a lot of explaining to do.” She said turning around. “...Where did they go?... In all my years-” She started but was cut off by a beep that came from the landing platform opening up to let all the passengers off.
Once they snuck off the ship a rather pissed off green unicorn walked up to the group. “What the buck S? You think that stunt was funny? I have half a mind to... What’s wrong with Octavia?” Lyra asked not noticing the deflating ship behind her.
“Shhh.” Bon Bon said pulling Lyra off to the side. The cream mare leaned in close to whisper in her wife’s ear “I’ll explain what happened on the way back.”
Sunflower poked her head in-between the two being muzzle to muzzle with them both. “Octavia just needs a little space right now.” S commented looking over to Vinyl and Octavia who were making their way out with the crowd.
“I still have some choice words for you.” The green unicorn said pushing Sunflower away from Bon Bon as the scheduled storm started to darken the sky overhead.
Octavia and Vinyl didn’t pay much attention to the storm clouds above them as they walked towards the hotel. That was until a large bolt of lightning shot through the sky and rain came pouring down soon after. The two rushed into the hotel before the winds picked up and dried off in their room.
Octavia set the towel down and looked out the window grumbling. “I forgot there was a scheduled rain today.”
“Same here. At least we’re inside now right Octy?” Vinyl chuckled a bit thinking about what to do now. “Sooo what now? Are we going to head back to Ponyville after the storm?”
“No, I want to do one last thing while here Vinyl. I want to put an end to this stupid game once and for all.” The cellist turned towards her marefriend. “Vinyl let’s get married tomorrow.”
“W-what?” The DJ asked shocked her Octy would say such a thing.
“I said let’s get married tomorrow. My uncle is here, so are our friend Vinyl. Now is the perfect time. Besides once I’m married, mother will have no choice to acknowledge my sexuality and stop trying to force me to marry that bucking tiny pony.” The gray mare stated in a rather bad mood.
“No Octy, you’re not acting like yourself.” The white unicorn said stepping back as memories of the last pony she loved leaving her just before getting married began flooding her mind.
“But I am acting like myself Vinyl, don’t you see? They pushed me to this. You don’t think I want to wait? You don’t think I want to enjoy dating? They’ve cut my life into pieces; this is my last resort. I don’t care if she thought she was doing this for my future. The fact is that she lied to me and she’ll continue to lie until she gets her way.” The lightning flashed as Octavia yelled in a mix of pain and frustration.
The white unicorn remembered that her marefriend was still under the influence of the T-treat and wanted to ask a question...though she was scared to hear the answer. “Octy...be honest with me... Is this because you love me or because you want to use me as a means to an end?” Vinyl asked hesitantly.
“Both Vinyl, I want to marry you for both reasons.” Answered the Cellist.
“O-Octy I...I can’t... I’m sorry...” Vinyl said turning around and running out of the room with tears in her eyes. She couldn’t go through with this.
"Vinyl?” Octavia asked softly after the DJ had left the room. She rushed to the hall but couldn’t see any sign of her so she took to the window. Outside, she could see her marefriend running out into the heavy rain. Lightning stuck the ground just in front of the hotel, and with the blinding light and the roar of the thunder, the white unicorn was no longer in view. The thunder had shaken the cellist to her core as she realized how badly she bucked up. “S-she left me... and it’s all my fault.” Octavia walked out of the room aimlessly until she ended up in the lobby of the hotel. She decided that anywhere was better than here and headed towards the door but not before running into Bon Bon.
“Hey Octavia... Why the long face?... Where is Vinyl?” Bon Bon asked as she walked up towards the gray mare.
“Long story short I pushed Vinyl into leaving me and now she’s gone. I’m going to get some Alicorn Ale and accept what I should have from the start.” The cellist said walking passed her friend out into the rain.
Bon Bon looked over to Lyra and Sunflower with a concerned look. “She said she was going to get Alicorn Ale.” The candy maker said looking out towards the street. “I think we should find Vinyl and talk to her.”
“No, it would be best to let them be for now. I am sure nothing we say will make any of this better.” Sunflower said calmly but was sad for them.
Octavia had made her way to into a bar. Depressed and soaking wet, the cellist ordered herself an Alicorn Ale which quickly turned into five as she tried to drown her sorrows. When she ran out of bits to pay, Octavia pushed herself to head towards the only place she knew she would be welcomed. Staggering to the front door, the gray mare raised a hoof and knocked on a damaged front door and waited. After a few moments, a teary ruby unicorn opened the door and gasped seeing her daughter standing out in the storm.
“O-Octavia y-you're here? Why?” Harmony asked confused yet happy that she was there.
“You were right Mother *hic*. I should have focused on my career...Not *hic* love.” Octavia said a bit drunk.
Her mother stood there confused for a second before realizing that her daughter was still standing out in the storm. “Come in you’ll catch a cold out there.” The gray mare stepped inside and Harmony closed the door carefully. “What happened?”
“Vinyl left me... you were*hic* right mother... I-I should just marry Monotone and *hic* boost my career... Love is nothing but *hic* trouble...” The cellist said as she walked in and passed her mother. “I-I’m going to take a bath... *hic*.” She said.
“Octavia, you are speaking out of hurt... Promise me you’ll think about it.” The older mare asked knowing that she wasn’t in the right state of mind. Silence filled the manor as Harmony thought about how to fix this. ‘This isn’t how today was supposed to go. I can’t let this happen... but what can I do?’
Suddenly, the door slammed open making way for the explorer stallion to walk right into the home. “Dear sister I have obtained the bits to help you fix your blemished manor.” Sir Trotterlot announced only to stop and looked at his sister who was deep in thought. He soon felt the weight of the air in the room. “Wow, who died Sister?”
Hearing her brother burst in would have normally made her groan in frustration as his hyper energy was too much at times but not in this moment. “It seems a lot happened today that I am not happy about Trotty. I lost my daughter again because of a lie, Miss Scratch broke up with Octavia, and worst of all, she wants to marry Monotone now. It’s purely out of heartache but I refuse to let her go through with that kind of mistake.” The ruby mare said turning to her brother.
Trotterlot stood shocked. “Octavia and Miss Scratch broke up? That can’t be.” He replied and looked at his sister not sure what to do.
“Trotty I need another favor of you.” Harmony stated as she moved closer pushing him towards the door.
“Another one? The first one was free because you’re my sister. This one is going to cost you a favor in return that I can collect at any time.” The explorer pony said as he looked back at his sister.
“Fine, whatever you want Brother, however you must find Miss Scratch and get her to come back and talk with Octavia.” Harmony stated with great concern.
“Now where have I heard that one before?” Asked the Explorer remembering a similar conversation with his sister yesterday.
“Please Trotty, I’ve already lost my daughter twice, I will not lose her to a short idiot that doesn’t think about anypony but himself.” The ruby unicorn said in a harsh tone. “I have to go check on my daughter and see if I can snap her out of this.” She stated turning towards the stairs.
“Fret not dear sister, I will find Miss Scratch and talk some sense into her of my name isn’t Sir Awesome Von Trotterlot!” He exclaimed with a smile causing his mustache to twinkle and he took off into the night and storm to find Vinyl Scratch.
“I hope you do brother... this family wouldn’t be complete without her.” Harmony reluctantly admitted as she made her way up to the bathroom to talk with Octavia.
Thank you all for making it this far with us. I know Rosa and I said we don't like cliffhangers but we had to have one. What will happen next? Chapter ten holds the answers and if anyone is still playing along with the hidden reference game what did you find?
-The Buck It Bros 
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great chapter! You may wanna go back through it again for a few missed Typos i spotted. Or i can go through it again later for em,
9778984
Thanks for letting us know we will take a look.
-Coco the Bearded
I spotted so many references in this chapter
This will take some time but I can’t help myself
Matrix pills: red opens your eyes (or tongue) to the truth and blue one makes you forget
Emperor‘s New Groove- Dialogue between Isma and Gronk
Disney Atlantis- Vinny (he said it similar)
Jurassic Park, obviously
I am not sure, I think that somewhere this number was the answer to the universe? Idk
Disney Atlantis again- Interaction between Kida and Milo
Hot Fuzz- Although they didn’t have a cliff on the other side
Also of course the name of the ship: Reference to the Titanic (sinks because of Ice), as well as Skyfall (get it?)
That is all I could find, great chapter
9779430
You did well I believe you got most if not all of them. Thank you for playing and I'm happy to see you were able to catch so many in this chapter. Thank you for reading and I hope to see what you might catch in the next chapter.
-Coco the Bearded
Sunshine, face it Bon Bon is married. You and her will never be a thing and your actions are starting to drive her away.
Nice RvB reference.
9779582
Nice catch on the RvB reference. I was wondering if someone might get that.
-Coco the Bearded
No. Nonononono... baaaaad idea.
9779822
Why is that a bad idea. Nothing bad could come of that....right?
This set up the best little section in any Vinyl and Octavia Fic I've read, I was in stitches great work! Now onto chapter 10.
9779430
I would have got none of these, I am quite surprised you missed the only one I found! The conductor was careful to avoid the rest of the mess left throughout the manor by the dynamic duo. Clear reference to Batman and Robin there.
Jeasus
9781357
What's wrong?
9779430
How do you find so many other references but miss Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?
Was it really necessary for for them to knock out the captain and take over the ship like that?
10581587
Was it? Maybe not. Was it funnier that way? We think so.
-Coco the Bearded
I know I'm a little late to the party here, but I'm surprised that no one mentioned this reference!:
Last Resort by Papa Roach?
10882200
That is correct. I am happy you noticed it. We have been a little bit behind but we will have a sequel to this story at some point.
-Coco the Breaded
Uh oh
Uh Oh
UH OH