Hearts Beat

by mushroompone

Smooth

I'll spare you the details of our first few dates for now.

Not because they weren't wonderful. Just because they were natural, easy, and so much like my everyday activities that they hardly stand out to me. I wasn't nervously getting ready for them. I wasn't worried I would do or say something stupid.

Vinyl spent plenty of time with all of my friends, as well. We had a few normal game nights, a few loosely-structured hangouts, and even one book discussion after the new Daring Do came out.

Maybe one day I'll get around to telling you about those times. I sure wouldn't mind revisiting them.

In short, things were smooth.

The transition from friends to dates was… smooth.

The integration of Vinyl into my life was surprisingly smooth.

The way she talked to my friends was smooth (with a little coaxing from me).

The whole thing was like gently sliding down into a bubble bath, the warmth of the water embracing me gently, the popping of the bubbles just the occasional tickling surprises of any new relationship. It was comforting. I wanted to be up to my chin in it, breathing in the lovely scent of the soaps, thinking of nothing but how happy I was to be here.

Unfortunately, the bubbles could often obscure the mysterious things lurking under the surface. Smooth times don't make for a very good story, do they?

Vinyl and I had a habit of spending nights together, side by side in my study room, usually leaning back against one another. I would read, occasionally tapping Vinyl on the shoulder to read her an especially good passage. Vinyl would strap on a set of enormous headphones and listen to one of the library's records, occasionally playing a few bars for me.

Tonight was one such night. I was reading a history of magical transportation devices, and Vinyl was listening to some mysteriously unlabeled chamber choir music.

"This shit's weird, Twi," she commented, taking her headphones off and lifting the needle from the record. "It doesn't rhyme, it doesn't have a melody… totally changes how you think about music."

"Uh-huh…" I murmured.

Vinyl looked over her shoulder at me with a knowing smile. She hooked her foreleg around mine and held it there, waiting patiently.

One thing I really loved-- I mean, really liked about Vinyl: she never made those jokes about how I was too focused to hear her. No 'Vinyl to Twilight, come in Twilight, over'. No knocking on my forehead with one hoof like I'd closed a door on her. She just waited quietly for me to snap back to reality.

At last, her words managed to burrow through the cloud which had gathered about my mind. "Huh? Did you say something?"

Vinyl chuckled to herself. "I said I like the chamber choir stuff. It's cool."

"Really? I always thought that stuff was kinda…"

"Weird?"

"Very weird."

Vinyl smiled. She tightened her grip a little on my leg, tugging it closer to her. "I like weird."

I clucked my tongue. "Cheeseball."

Vinyl twisted around to nuzzle at my neck. "Ooh, and last I checked, you liked cheese."

I giggled and pushed her face away. "Quit it! That tickles!"

Vinyl chuckled mischievously, but relented. "Hey, you know who else likes weird cheese?" She realized her mistake almost immediately. "Er, you know who likes-- uh, cheesy-ness, and, uh--"

"Us?" I suggested.

Vinyl nodded. "Thank you. You know who would like us?"

"Who?" I asked, turning the page of my book.

"My friends!" Vinyl said. "Lyra, BonBon, and Ditzy. They haven't met you yet."

"Oh!" I closed my book and set it down in my lap. "I guess I haven't."

"Yeah, so I was wondering--"

"Ooh! Ooh! We should all get together and have a sleepover!"

Vinyl cocked her head. "I feel like that would be a weird thing to do with a couple."

"Oh, pft," I waved my hoof. "I do it with my friends all the time, and Rainbow Dash and Applejack are dating."

Vinyl sort of squires at me. "I feel like that's a fundamentally different situation."

I laughed a little. "In what way?"

Vinyl sighed. "Well, for starters, you were all friends before they started dating."

I shrugged. "I guess that's true, but--"

"Also, we're just a few ponies who like to hang out," Vinyl said. "Not six very special ponies bonded by the magic of friendship and harmony. I feel like that stuff tends to raise the bar for what's considered awkward with you guys."

I chuckled sheepishly. "Okay, maybe you're right."

Vinyl chuckled and gave me a nudge with her elbow. I'd come to realize that this was what she did when she thought I was doing something especially cute. Or, at least, that was my theory.

"What about an escape room?" I suggested. "My friends and I did one once! It was so--"

Vinyl put her hoof over my mouth. "I'm just gonna stop you there. My friends aren't really into… structure?"

I must have given her a weird look.

"Like… structured activities. Just like planned things."

"That's…" I narrowed my eyes and looked up at the ceiling, as if it would help me understand. "Er, interesting."

"I'm not explaining it super good," Vinyl said. "Sorry. Bad with words. They'd probably be down for something, like, casual. Loosey-goosey, y'know?"

"Such as?" I asked.

"Mm… such as a night out?" Vinyl suggested. "Maybe at eight o'clock tonight? At the club in Ponyville?"

"Tsk, you planned this without me!" I whirled in my seat to face Vinyl.

With her support removed, Vinyl fell backwards, laying in the nest of bean bags and staring up at me. "I just knew you'd say yes!"

"How could you possibly know that?" I demanded with a stomp of my hoof. It made a delicate crunching sound in the bean bag.

"'Cause you're the princess of friendship," Vinyl explained. "And I said 'friend', like, a hundred times."

"No fair!"

"Hacked!" Vinyl exclaimed. She rolled into her side and hoisted herself up onto her hooves. "I don't wanna say you're easy, Two, but--"

"It's my royal duty!" I shot back, lunging at her.

She let herself be tackled back down into the bean bags, laughing all the while. "You said doody! The princess said doody!"

I tried to maintain a serious look, but it was hard to do through the laughter. "Are you five?!"

Vinyl grinned, looking up at me as I straddled her in the bean bags. "I'm young at heart!"

I sighed, flipped my mane dramatically, and sat down beside Vinyl. "Fine. I'll go."

"Really?" Vinyl propped herself up on one foreleg.

"On one condition!"

"Name it."

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I closed it, thought a moment, opened it again-- nothing.

Vinyl threw her head back and let out one sharp, short laugh. "You don't have one!"

"I do, too!" I insisted. "Just… let me think of it."

"Oh, you dope," Vinyl said. She prodded me in the ribs a little.

She thought I was cute.

---

Remember how I said I didn't fret over dates with Vinyl?

Well. This was one worth fretting over.

It's not that I hadn't met any of Vinyl's friends. I'm fact, I had encountered all of them at one time or another. It was a small town, after all.

But we hadn't been introduced. They didn't know me personally, and certainly not as Vinyl's marefriend.

In fact, the longer I spent toiling away in front of a mirror, the more I wondered just how much Vinyl had told them about me. Did they know how long we'd been dating? When it had started? How much… overlap there had been with Octavia?

"Twilight, you're the only one making a big deal out of this," Spike said. He was laying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, probably praying silently to be freed from the prison of talking me through my panic. "It's been almost two months. Isn't that enough time?"

I sighed. A short, harsh, stressful sigh. "It doesn't matter how long it's been now."

Spike sighed, too. His was long and low. He didn't say anything else.

"Should I wear my glowstick?" I asked. "I kept it in the freezer."

"No offense, Twilight, but you look sadder with the glowstick on," Spike said. "You need more than one glowstick."

I turned to look at Spike. "I don't have more than one. I only have the one in my freezer."

"Well, who gave you the one in your freezer?"

"Rainbow Dash."

"Do you think she could give you some more?"

I snorted. "Yeah, right, Spike. I haven't used up the one I have yet!"

Spike sat up. I thought I caught a glimpse of an eye roll as he did. "Just stop worrying so much. They're not gonna care what you look like."

"Stop worrying so much?" I laughed sarcastically. "That's great, Spike. I'll put it on my tombstone. That way, when ponies come to visit me, they won't be worried about my being dead anymore!"

Spike held his claws up in a defensive position, though it was pretty half-hearted. "I think maybe you should be less focused on how you look and more on how you act tonight."

"First impressions matter, Spike!" I said authoritatively. "How I dress for this event tells Vinyl's friends how I prepare for our dates, which says a lot about our relationship."

"But… you never dress up for your dates with Vinyl," Spike said.

"Exactly!" I agreed.

Spike sighed again. He laid back down on the bed. "Great point, Twi," he muttered.

I was about to scold him for being sarcastic, but Vinyl's usual rhythmic knock at my door interrupted my thoughts.

"Oh! That's her!" I said, as if it weren't obvious.

"How do you know it's her?" Spike asked.

"She did her special knock!" I said.

Spiked sighed wearily. For as caught up in his infatuation with Rarity as he was, that little dragon didn't seem to have any appreciation for the romantic lives of others. But, then, I guess that's a lot to expect of a boy his age.

I rubbed the spikes on his head affectionately, as I always do, and headed for the door.

Vinyl's rhythmic knocking continued to echo through the castle, never outright aggressive but definitely urgent. Or perhaps merely impatient.

I cantered to the door and cracked it open, interrupting Vinyl's symphony. "Hi!"

Vinyl sort of stumbled, but caught my eye and smiled. "Hey! Ready to go?"

"Yup!" I stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind me.

There was still something sort of mechanical about the way I kissed Vinyl on the cheek, as if we were both braving for the rush of butterflies it would bring. Two months may sound like a while, but not long enough to become totally cool with PDA, I guess.

Vinyl blushed and started down the castle steps. "Did you bring your, uh.. I mean, my, uh--"

"Ear plugs?" I suggested, holding out the set. "Of course!"

Vinyl nodded. "I would've brought a spare set, but I figured you'd remember."

I beamed at her.

We were fairly quiet as we walked through Ponyville. There was something about the way that Vinyl walked which made me nervous. I know that probably sounds paranoid, but I liked to think that I could read ponies pretty well.

Vinyl would typically keep a speedier pace so as not to fall behind my long strides, but she seemed to be walking slowly today. She was typically very talkative on her way to a musical event, always trying to fill me in on what I might hear, but tonight she wasn't saying a thing.

"Vinyl?" I asked.

"Hm?"

"Are you alright?"

"Me?" Vinyl put a hoof on her chest, surprised that I'd noticed. "Oh, y'know. Just… nervous, I guess."

"Nervous?"

Vinyl swallowed. "Well… yeah. I want them to like you. My friends, I mean. And not that you're not totally likeable!"

I giggled a little.

"Just… well, they knew Octavia."

"Oh." Suddenly I felt like a dolt for not seeing it sooner. "Right."

"We all used to be friends, y'know? We all went to school together, and…" Vinyl kicked at a pebble in the street. "They're nice ponies. But I dunno how well they'll show it, exactly."

"Oh, Vinyl, I'm sure they'll be receptive."

Vinyl kept staring down at the ground.

"Vinyl?"

"They all read that article," Vinyl blurted. She looked up at me. " A while ago… they read it. And now you're gonna be here and-- but I'm sure they'll like you. They have to. You're so likeable!"

I stopped walking.

Vinyl stopped, too.

"Did you tell them the article wasn't true?" I asked.

My heart was thudding against my ribs.

"Well, I… not at the time," Vinyl said slowly. "Well I kinda did. It's hard to remember, exactly."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" I asked, a high pleading tone sneaking into my voice.

"I didn't want you to worry!" Vinyl exclaimed.

"I think this may have been worth worrying about!"

A silence fell between us.

"I'm sorry, Twilight," Vinyl said softly. "I thought I was making the right choice."

I sighed. "It's fine. I'm sure it'll all be fine."

"Look, I'm on your side, okay?" Vinyl said.

"I don't want there to be sides!" I argued. "There should just be one side! The friendship side!"

"Okay, then I'm on that side!"

"We can't go into this thinking about sides, Vinyl!" I said. "If we're thinking in terms of sides, then there will be sides, and there can't be sides!"

"Okay!" Vinyl held up one hoof. "Got it. Sorry."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay. Good."

"I just meant I'm with you, y'know?" Vinyl said, hooking her leg around mine. "I'm not gonna let them be jerks or anything. I don't think they'd be jerks, but if they are I won't let them."

I set my jaw, bit relented and nodded. "Okay."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," she said.

"I know,” I said. “It’s alright.”

We stood still a moment longer. The early-spring air was cool.

The club loomed before us, looking more like a prison than ever. The heavy bassline pumped from inside, steady and slow as a heartbeat.

“I’m probably worried about nothing,” Vinyl said. “Right?”

“I sure hope so.”

Another silence. If we stood still enough, we could hear the voices of other ponies shouting and laughing inside.

“Should we go?” Vinyl asked.

Breathe, Twilight. In, hold, out. “Let’s do this.”

We marched up to the door of the club, entering with our heads held high, trying to look happy. Happy and not at all stressed. Happy, not hardly able to breathe.

Not being squeezed around the chest by an invisible force, eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets, beads of sweat rolling down my temples, shaking on uncertain hooves.

Not that.

Happy!

The music was absolutely oppressive tonight. I’m sure it was meant to sound energetic and upbeat, but the way they forced it through the speakers and down onto the crowd made it feel like I was being dogpiled by several very drunk stallions. The whole room seemed to be rattling, about to burst from the effort of making sounds so low and so loud.

I closed my eyes.

It’s music, I thought.

Hear the music. It’s in there somewhere.

“Hey, there they are!” Vinyl tapped me on the shoulder and pointed at a small group of ponies by the bar.

I put a smile on my face and followed Vinyl to the bar.

“Everypony, this is Twilight!” Vinyl announced.

One of her friends, a unicorn, scoffed. “Yeah, dipshit. We know what the princess looks like,” she said with a playful smirk.

The earth pony next to her jabbed her in the ribs. “Lyra! Be polite!”

The third pony, a pegasus, seemed to be starstruck.

Vinyl rolled her eyes. “Twilight, this is Lyra Heartstrings, BonBon Sweetiedrops, and Ditzy Doo,” she said, gesturing to each of her friends in turn.

I smiled as warmly as I could. No stress. Just happy. “Hi, everypony!”

A chorus of hellos arose from the group, if a little unenthusiastic.

“Can we buy you a drink, Twilight?” BonBon asked sweetly.

“Oh! Uh…” My eyes flicked down to look at Vinyl, looking for guidance. She clearly had none. “Not tonight! I’m not a big drinker, really.”

“Really?” Lyra said. “Damn. If I were a princess, I’d be drinking ‘round the clock. Sounds stressful as all hell.”

“Uh… It is. But I’ve found other ways to manage my stress,” I said. “Breathing exercises. Meditation. That kinda thing.”

“Oh, I see,” Lyra nodded. Her eyes were glued to mine, nothing but narrow glints of golden light. “So you’re one of those hippie, free-love ponies?”

“Dude, all she said was ‘breathing exercises’,” Vinyl said. She took a step forward to come between me and her friends. “Lay off, would ya?”

“Vinyl, it’s okay,” I said, putting a hoof on her shoulder.

She looked up at me, just to be sure. I gave her a look which hopefully said ‘I got this’. She set her jaw and huffed lightly, but stepped back to my side.

“Can we get you a non-alcoholic drink?” BonBon offered, laughing a little.

I looked down at Vinyl. She shrugged.

“Sure!” I said. “Club soda with lime?”

BonBon nodded, then turned to flag down the bartender. She seemed genuinely happy to see me; a real smile, warmth in her eyes. It made me feel a little better about the night out.

“Ditz, you alright?” Vinyl said, nudging her pegasus friend.

Ditzy shook her head clear. “Sorry! Just… what’s it like being a princess?”

Lyra rolled her eyes. “Ditzy, you sound like a filly.”

“No, it’s okay!” I said to Lyra. I turned my gaze back to Ditzy. “It’s pretty cool, but I’m glad that I got to come out with you guys tonight. Sometimes it’s just nice to be normal.”

Ditzy smiled brightly. “Cool,” she said, with a little nervous giggle.

BonBon turned back to face us. “Why don’t you girls find a seat for us? We’ll catch up once we get our drinks.”

Vinyl looked up at me, communicating a shrug only through her eyebrows. “Sounds good!”

“Yup!” I agreed.

We scurried off.

“It’s going really well, I think!” I said in a harsh whisper. “Do you?”

“It’s-- It’s going okay,” Vinyl agreed half-heartedly.

“Uh-oh.”

Vinyl looked at me, wearing a strange mix of sheepish smile and pained grimace. “I dunno. Lyra is being pretty hostile.”

I scoffed. “I kinda got the feeling that that’s just how she is.”

Vinyl shrugged. “It is and it isn’t. I dunno.” She flopped down onto a nearby couch. “You didn’t feel like she was trying to find something wrong with you?”

I sat down next to Vinyl, considerably less relaxed than she was. “No! Is that what you thought she was doing?”

“Well, I dunno, it just seemed like--”

“Oh, Celestia, that’s exactly what she was doing,” I said, putting a hoof over my mouth. “The not drinking, and then meditation--”

“It’s insane. She can’t hate you for that stuff.”

“But what if she does?”

“She can’t,” Vinyl said. “You can’t hate somepony over stuff like that.”

“But--”

“Hey, girls!” BonBon called, trotting our way.

Vinyl and I stopped our discussion and sat bolt upright, watching the parade of ponies approach our safety corner. Lyra was toting a tray filled with drinks in her magic, and Ditzy was all but galloping towards us.

The pegasus leapt into the air and landed beside me, looking up at me with stars in her eyes.

I looked down at her and gave the most genuine smile I could muster, which I fear was rather poor.

BonBon and Lyra passed out drinks to everypony, including one for Vinyl which she certainly had not ordered.

“Club soda with lime for Twilight?” BonBon asked, holding out a low glass for me to take.

“Thank you,” I said, taking the glass from her with my magic.

Lyra flopped down next to Vinyl. “Sorry Octavia couldn’t come. She went back to Great Bittain for a while.”

VInyl choked on her drink. “Oh! Th-that’s cool. No worries.”

“Oh,” Lyra put a hoof over her mouth, looking at me snidely. “Sorry, guess that would’ve been pretty awkward, huh? I just figured you guys were gonna stay friends.”

Vinyl sipped at her drink, staring straight ahead. “Uh… well, we--”

“Of course they are!” I said, putting a hoof on Vinyl’s back. “I’m the princess of friendship, after all! They’re definitely, definitely staying friends! I’ll see to that!” I laughed, trying to sound giddy, but I think it just came out sounding maniacal.

Lyra looked at me as if I’d told her there was a third royal sister. “Uh… cool.” She sipped her own drink, looking off into space.

That shut her up.

“Twilight, have you been to one of Vinyl’s shows yet?” BonBon asked, clearly wanting to disperse the awkwardness.

“Ah, no!” Vinyl put her hooves over her ears. “Come on, Bonnie, that’s so embarrassing!”

“Tsk, it is not!” BonBon nudged Vinyl.

I laughed. “Vinyl hasn’t invited me to one of her shows yet, actually.”

“Oh, they’re so awesome!” Ditzy said. “Nothing like this. Vinyl’s music is way better.”

Vinyl was blushing. “Come on, guys…”

“Vinyl’s music?” I repeated. I looked at Vinyl. “You play your own music when you DJ?”

Vinyl shrugged. “Maybe sometimes.”

“She didn’t tell you?” BonBon laughed. “Vinyl, I can’t believe you!”

“I can’t believe you!” Vinyl retorted. She was laughing, too.

“Vinyl, how have you never played me your music before?” I asked. “I didn’t even know you wrote music.”

For a moment, it was like everything in the club was sucked away, leaving just me and Vinyl alone together. How was it we could do that with such ease? Make everything else disappear, creating that moment just for the two of us?

“Oh, you wouldn’t like it…”

“Hey,” I said. “Of course I will. You made it.”

“Aw!” Ditzy leaned against me, breaking us out of our bubble. “You guys are just the cutest!”

Vinyl shielded her face with one hoof. “Ditz, we’ve only been here five minutes.”

“Yeah, but I know cute when I see it,” Ditzy said with a shrug. “You guys are cute, cute, cute!”

BonBon seemed to be smiling in agreement.

Vinyl and I shared a look. The meaning was hard to describe; equal parts embarrassment, pride, and affection.

“So, how busy does princess-ing keep you?” Lyra asked, leaning out from behind Vinyl’s head. “Must be pretty busy, right? Not a lot of time for other stuff?”

I sighed inwardly. “Um. Kinda busy, I guess.”

“Oh, right. You’re a chill princess. I can see that,” Lyra said, leaning back into the couch. “Not like Celestia, bustin’ her ass all day.”

My eyebrows knit together. Is that what she thought of me? That I was lazy?

No, Twilight. Don’t jump to conclusions.

Vinyl turned to look at Lyra. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Lyra shrugged. “What, dude? It’s a compliment. We couldn’t go out for drinks with Celestia, y’know? She’d be way too busy, like, tending to her kingdom and stuff.”

“What makes you think Twilight didn’t clear her schedule for this?” Vinyl pressed. “She’s got loads of stuff to do. She’s making time for you. Don’t be a dick.”

“I’m not being a dick!” Lyra argued.

“You so are!” Vinyl shot back.

I looked back at BonBon and Ditzy. They seemed disappointed, but not entirely surprised.

I grabbed Vinyl’s shoulder and pulled her back.

“Hey!” she complained.

“I got this,” I murmured to her.

Lyra turned her gaze to me, looking not so much angry as just… bored and tired of me.

“Lyra,” I said. “If you’re angry with me, I’d rather you just talk to me about it.”

Lyra rolled her eyes. “Oh, of course you would.”

“Dude!” Vinyl scolded.

“I can’t make you less angry unless you talk to me, Lyra,” I said. “You don’t work out problems with passive-aggression.”

“Maybe you don’t,” Lyra said, smirking.

“Lyra!” Vinyl shouted. “Can you just be cool? That’s my marefriend you’re talking to.”

“Oh, so she got an upgrade from ‘mistress’?” Lyra sneered.

I think I choked out a word, but it may have been a mere syllable. I was completely frozen, my drink rattling in the weakening grip of my magic. It was exactly like my nightmares, the ones where I wake up covered in sweat and convinced everypony hates me.

“What did you just say?” Vinyl asked darkly.

“Do you have any idea what you did to Octavia?” Lyra asked. She was surprisingly cool, cool as a cucumber. “Any idea what it felt like to hear that you’d started sleeping with Twilight Sparkle, of all ponies?”

“Octavia dumped me!” Vinyl argued.

“Yeah, right…” Lyra muttered. “She was my best friend, Vinyl! Longer than any of you. And you just want to invite me out to meet your new marefriend? Are you serious?”

“Lyra, come on…” BonBon murmured.

“No, you come on!” Lyra argued. “You guys don’t think this is weird?”

“Of course it’s weird!” Vinyl shouted back. “I know that! No one’s saying it’s not weird!”

We were all silent for a moment.

“I just…” Vinyl sighed, her voice fragile. “I thought you guys would pull together and be happy for me.”

“BonBon and Ditzy are happy for you. Isn’t that enough?” Lyra asked, staring down into her drink. She sat forward suddenly, leaning around Vinyl and myself to look at her other friends. “Why exactly are you guys so cool with this, anyway?”

Ditzy looked up at me. “I like Twilight. She’s done loads of nice stuff around town, why shouldn’t we like her?”

Lyra scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Lyra…” BonBon’s voice was low. “Maybe you and I should go talk, huh?”

“No,” I said, getting to my hooves.

Everypony’s eyes were on me in an instant.

“Twilight…” Vinyl reached for me. “I--”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I think you all deserve some time to talk about this. I’d hate to come between friends.” I gave Vinyl a little smile.

Vinyl smiled back.

I turned to go, trotting towards the door. I tried to let the music take me away, envelope me in its oppressiveness and just make me forget about the ache in my chest, and the bubbling in my gut. But somehow the noise only made it all feel worse.

With my hoof on the door, I suddenly felt a tug on my shoulder. “Twi, wait.”

I turned to look at Vinyl.

“I don’t want you to--”

“Vinyl, it’s really okay!” I said. “I promise.”

“I just--” Vinyl made another broken sound, something between a sigh and a sob. “Is it so much to ask that you and my friends get along? Y’know?”

“This is hard for them,” I said. “You have to give them some time to warm up to me, okay? Friendship can’t be forced.”

“Seems like BonBon and Ditzy were plenty warm,” Vinyl muttered.

“Well, then talk to Lyra,” I said.

Vinyl stomped her hoof lightly. “I don’t wanna have to choose between my friends and my marefriend.”

“It’s a balancing act,” I said. “We’ll figure it out. But it won’t happen in one night.”

“It did with your friends, though!” Vinyl complained. “Ugh, why can’t this just be easy?”

“It will be,” I said, cupping Vinyl’s face in my hoof. “But we have to work at it. Okay?”

VInyl sighed, pressing her face into my hoof and closing her eyes. For a moment, she looked blissfully happy. “Okay.”

“I’ll see you soon?”

“Are you okay, though?” Vinyl asked. “I mean, Lyra’s been saying some pretty nasty--”

“I’m fine,” I said. “I am. Just go talk with your friends.”

Vinyl nodded. “Alright. I’m sorry, Twi.”

“Make it up to me by repairing that friendship, okay?” I gave Vinyl a quick peck on the forehead.

Her tail flicked happily. “Alright. See you soon.”

We parted ways.

It was sort of funny, the way we always ended up separating and coming together again at this club. I didn’t even like it here, for goodness’ sake.

In fact, I hated it.

I hated it a lot. So much that it made my throat burn. It made me want to cry or scream or hit something. How could I hate it so much?

Just had to get home.

Just had to get away from the club. That’s what made me feel bad, right? The loud music? The smells?

Go on, Twilight. Gallop on home.

My hooves beat against the dirt roads of Ponyville, the sensation the only thing keeping me from bursting into tears. Just look straight ahead, Twilight. Just make it home. Just get under your covers and cry there, where it’s quiet and it doesn’t smell.

“Oh! Twilight!”

No!

I skidded to a halt as quickly as I could. “Fluttershy?”

She was standing by the side of the road, wearing a pair of full saddlebags and looking up at a bird in a nearby tree. Late-night vegetable run, I guessed. WIth an avian distraction.

“How are you?” Fluttershy asked. She looked sleepy-happy in that way she usually does. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in a while.”

I couldn’t even answer. The tears were pushing against the inside of my throat.

“Oh… Twilight, what happened?” Fluttershy rushed to my side. “What’s wrong?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but could only start crying. Not big tears.

“Oh, let’s get you home,” Flutterhy said, wrapping one leg around my shoulders and beginning to guide me towards the castle. “I’ll make you some tea, alright? Your castle’s just around the corner.”

I sniffled lightly. “Thanks.”

“Of course,” Fluttershy said. Her voice was deep with concern.

We walked quietly and slowly back to the castle, Fluttershy gently wiping away tears with her wing. Just having her by my side made me feel a little better, as friends often do.

How could she say those things about me?

How could Vinyl be friends with a pony like that?

Fluttershy pushed open the door to the castle and led me inside. She walked me into the kitchen and sat me down at one of the stools around my kitchen island. Just one seat away from where I’d been when Vinyl and I had gotten together in the first place.

“There we go.” Fluttershy gave me a comforting pat on the shoulder. “Now, what happened?”

I sniffled. “Oh… it’s stupid.”

“I’m sure it’s not,” Fluttershy said. She was already puttering about the kitchen, looking for comforting things to serve with my tea.

I sighed. “What if… what if Vinyl and I can’t ever be together? What if it’s just not meant to be?”

Fluttershy placed the tea kettle on the stovetop. “What makes you think that?”

I began to trace little patterns along the marble top of the island. “Her friends hate me. Because of everything that happened with Octavia. And, no matter what I do, I can’t undo that!”

“Oh,” Fluttershy said. “I see.”

“It’s not my fault that Vinyl and Octavia weren’t right for each other,” I said. “Is it?”

“Of course it isn’t!” Fluttershy sat down beside me.

“I keep replaying it all in my head, trying to figure out a better way to do things. But I just can’t think of one,” I said. “And I can’t think of a way to fix it. I don’t even know if it counts as a friendship problem.”

Fluttershy sighed. “Why haven’t Vinyl’s friends talked to Octavia about it?”

“She’s in Great Bittain,” I said. “She’s staying with her parents for a while.”

“I see,” Fluttershy said. “Do you want my advice, or do you just want to talk?”

I perked up. “Do you have advice?”

Fluttershy smiled. “Sometimes it’s hard to be nice to your friend when they’ve done something you don’t agree with. I remember when I let Applejack petsit for me, and one of my poor kitties got sick off of something Applejack fed her under the table… I was so angry!” I wanted to believe her, but her voice was so gentle that I nearly laughed. “But Applejack wasn’t trying to upset me. She helped me nurse little Darla back to health, and even paid for her vet bills.”

“Uh-huh.”

“If Vinyl’s friends are angry with her for a bad decision, it’s because they’re not communicating about it,” Fluttershy explained.

I sighed. “I dunno, Fluttershy. The thing with Applejack was an accident, but this was on purpose. I guess.”

“If they’re really her friends, then they’ll figure out how to get past it,” Fluttershy said. “And I think they need to do that away from you. At least for now.”

“But I’m the princess of friendship! I’m supposed to help!” I exclaimed.

Fluttershy shrugged. “The map didn’t call you to help. It didn’t call any of us.”

I sat up and looked into the main room, as if I would see something there which might prove Fluttershy wrong. The room was still, the cutie map hidden from view as usual.

“I… guess that’s true,” I said.

“This isn’t your problem to fix, Twilight,” Fluttershy said. “They can’t all be. Some things are just between friends.”

“But…” I sighed. “But that sucks!”

Fluttershy chuckled. “That’s why we have chocolate!”

Author's Note:

Woof, that was a tough one.
You can't fix everything, Twilight... it'll take at least one more try for her to learn that one, though. But that is a chapter for another day! Enjoy this evening update

Comments

[SuperSaiyanBlueNathanTH]

Damn lyra what's your deal?

[Knight N Gale]

I think Lyra should get a lesson in manners and tough love courtesy of special agent Sweetie Drops

[Thought Prism]

I get what you were going for here, but I think you could have picked more fitting characters to use than Lyra and Bonbon, neither of whom really come off as themselves. I probably would have went with Sunny Flare and Lemon Zest in their place.

[Starlight Nova]

I'm challenging myself to do a chapter of AT LEAST 2k words a day for 30 days.

I'm confused by this. Don't most of your other story chapters have at least 2K words?

[mushroompone]

10206030
You think? I was basing their characterization on their appearance in "slice of life". Do they have other appearances that are more fan-accepted?

[ObamnaSoda]

10206030
How do you say that the characters don’t feel like themselves when those two are basically blank canvases? They were in one episode for like a minute or two

[Venerable Ro]

Fluttershy chuckled. “That’s why we have chocolate!”

It is.

[Midknight Defender]

10206159

I can kinda get where they're coming from. At least as far as the OOC comment goes; nothing wrong with having them be Vinyl's friends.

The thing about Lyra that makes this a little odd to me is that in addition to being close enough to Twilight's family to be a bridesmaid at Cadence's wedding, she's canonically an old friend of Twilight, according to the episode "Amending Fences."

From https://mlp.fandom.com/wiki/Lyra_Heartstrings: (which has a good list of even her background appearances on the show!)

She appears as a filly in a flashback and in a photograph with Twilight Sparkle, Lemon Hearts, Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Moon Dancer.

She's also usually portrayed as rather chill and "laissez faire" in other fanfics, so while it's not wrong to do it differently, it will tweak readers' perceptions a bit. If you wanted to do that intentionally, then well struck. But if there wasn't a good plot reason for it, then it's just unnecessary cognitive dissonance for your readers.

From where I sit, if anypony was going to be uptight about this situation before getting the facts about how Vinyl's and Octavia's relationship was going before Vinyl met Twilight and about who dumped who, I'd probably have picked Bon Bon out of this particular crowd.

After all, Special Agent Sweetie Drops is far more likely to expect ponies to follow proper procedures and do things "the right way" rather than just doing what feels right in the moment.

She may even be a bit flankhurt about one of the princesses not being the perfect, perfectly respectable authority figure she wants them to be, given her career of monster hunting and life-risking for them. Especially after the Smarty Pants incident...

Note: made a few edits to this after posting it. If you see this, it's the final, most-refreshed version.

[Lore Horse]

Yippee, conflict. Poor Twilight.

[Thought Prism]

10206313
You basically summed up my thoughts exactly. As background characters, they have few canon personality traits, but they're the most popular background ponies in the fandom, and these portrayals of Lyra and Bonbon just don't mesh, especially placed next to a perfectly fine Ditzy Doo. Really, though, thinking about it, the sum time I've spent readying MLP fanfics is far, far greater than the time I spent watching the actual show, so the fault may lie there, haha.

[mushroompone]

10206313
10206354
Wow! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, guys!
I gotta be honest with you on two points: 1, I barely read fanfic. I read University Days about a year ago, and that's pretty much my only encounter with fanon Lyra. I remember her being preeeetty difficult in that one, but I could be wrong! Plus idk where the fandom stands on that fic anymore anyway. 2, this fic is definitely not one I'm putting research into. I watch a few clips on youtube to get Twilight's voice in my head and basically got for it. I honestly had no clue that Lyra appeared in any of those background shots until you pointed it out haha. I also discovered the Lyra and BonBon have their own chapter book, which is fascinating
I usually put a little more time into checking the wikis for info, but this fic is all about being able to cross the finish line! I may return to it someday and add some drabble-y chapters in the middle (since the chapters I'm posting are attempting to hit major plot points and not present much filler), and I may even spruce up some of the chapters to be a little less formulaic, but for now it are what it are. I'm glad it's sparking some discussion! I'm definitely interested in the fandom's response to this very educational for me

[JustFalcon]

I love this story so so much. The characterization of all the characters is great and on point, and Twilight's reactions to a romantic relationship are hilarious.

[Midknight Defender]

10206416
Like I said, it's not wrong so much as different than usual. There's a fic out there where Lyra's a total badflank martial arts grandmaster, and another where she's a lazy, lackadaisical deadbeat who might bring a few bits home busking but otherwise mooches off of Bon Bon. She can be different.

So now you know you're being different. No requirement to change it. But do keep it in mind. Maybe it'll spark an interesting subplot idea, give you a reason after the fact to be so?

[bahatumay]

Fluttershy chuckled. “That’s why we have chocolate!”

Fluttershy dispensing some important wisdom here.

[Professor Donger]

10207142
Fluttershy is the pony of wisdom

[Silent Whisper]

“I see,” Fluttershy said. “Do you want my advice, or do you just want to talk?”

Honestly, this is such an important concept. Sometimes people wanna get it off their chest and giving advice or input will make it worse, but sometimes they want feedback.

[Amos Anon]

Spike held his claws up in a defensive position, though it was pretty half-hearted. "I think maybe you should be less focused on how you look and more on how you act tonight."

Spike is such a bro. He thinks like me.

[Amos Anon]

Vinyl and I stopped our discussion and sat bolt upright, watching the parade of ponies approach our safety corner. Lyra was toting a tray filled with drinks in her magic, and Ditzy was all but galloping towards us.

Heh. Safety Corner. I'm stealing that term for the next time I go to a big event.

[Amos Anon]

Fluttershy chuckled. “That’s why we have chocolate!”

Pfft.