A Twinyl fic.... With maybe a bit of a one-sided TwiPie. Why not?
Twilight Sparkle has been in a rut, and when she finds herself dragged in to a new night club by her friend named Vinyl Scratch, she finds herself being more social than ever with her new best friend.... But is there more than friendship between the two? What of Pinkie and her new, more often visits? This is my first fic, so tips will be appreciated. I'm hoping that this story can somewhat weather all the criticism I'm sure I'll get. Feel free to tell me what I can improve on, and anything else you guys need!
Twinyl with one sided Twipie (could change)
Image is from *Don-Ko on deviantart, check him out! (Thanks Photo Journal, for finding it for me!)
It was just another normal Summer day in Ponyville. Market ponies were selling their goods, the self proclaimed 'greatest flyer in Equestria' flew by every once in a while, the only difference is that the Ponyville construction crew wasn't polluting the air with the noise of power tools. Maybe they finished whatever project they were working on? Everything was calm, warm and nice in the day. Everypony was outside having fun or working hard somewhere, except for a certain lavender Unicorn.
A purple aura surrounded a book as Twilight Sparkle pulled it off its wooden shelf. "Oh, Spike, here it is!" The Unicorn said with a slight squeal. The book the Unicorn was holding, A Traveler's Guide to the Everfree Forest, was whipped open to the front page as Twilight began to read silently to herself.
"Geeze, Twilight, this must be the third time you've read that book, why don't you get something new?" Asked Spike with an angry tone. "I mean, is it really that hard to find something else? What is with you lately, anyway? It seems like all you've been doing lately is reading. What ever happened to having fun with friends?" The baby dragon walked closer to Twilight, and without a second to spare, he just started to cower, realizing what he had just done. Not only was Twilight his friend, but she was also like a mother to him. He was so afraid of getting her mad, he never even got more than a lecture, and he was quite ready to keep it that way.
Twilight chuckled at the purple dragon cowering behind a table. He didn't really think she was going to be angry at him for that, was he? Spike did, of course, have a point, though. He wasn't the only one to notice it, either. For the past couple of days, Pinkie Pie has been coming to check on her, but she never could manage to get the bookworm so much as out the front door. In all truth, Twilight herself didn't know why she was so unwilling to go outside lately.
"I'm not sure, Spike, but I guess I could get out a little more, now that I've practically read every single book in the library." With that, Twilight put the book up, and opened the front door, only to see a Pink Mare with a mane of Cotton Candy about to knock. "Oh, hey, Pinkie! Come on in!" Twilight giggled at the surprised look on Pinkie's face. This was perfect, maybe Pinkie would have a good idea on a fun place to go tonight.
"OHMIGOSH, TWILIGHT! There's a new pony coming to town and I want you to meet her but if you were busy I guess you don't have to come but you really should, I mean she's even opening up a night club and stuff! It's going to be like an all night party every night! Can you believe it?" Pinkie said, gasping for air after the mouthful of words that just flew out of her mouth. "Anyway, do ya wanna go tonight? Huh? Do ya?" Pinkie said, trying her best to give a sad begging face.
Twilight never was the type of mare to go party all night, but if a bunch of ponies like it, then it could be fun, couldn't it? "Sure, Pinkie, I'll go meet your new friend. It's going to be nice to meet this... who is she, anyway?"
Pinkie was beaming at this point. "She's only the next BIG up and coming DJ! You met her at your brother's wedding! Her name is Vinyl Scratch!"
Vinyl Scratch woke to a knock at the door. She got out of the couch she was sleeping on and the blanket covering her electric blue mane and white coat flew off, revealing her black musical note cutie mark. "You've got to be kidding me... It's only noon." Vinyl mumbled to herself as she made her way to the door. "Whatever this is, this better be damn important!" Vinyl said with a sneer, only for it to turn into a smile when she saw the pink party pony everyone knew, and behind her a new face, a unicorn. She had a light lavender coat and darker purple hair, with a pink streak through it. Her cutie mark resembled something that looked like 6 stars, one of them big and purple, and the other small white stars surrounded it. This must be that Twilight pony Pinkie's been talking about.
"Vinyl! This is Twilight Sparkle, but you can call her Twilight, or Twi, or Twily, or any other name you could think of! Twinkle...bookworm... smarty Mcsmartpants.... " Pinkie went on listing names long after Vinyl and Twilight tuned her out. Sure, Pinkie was fun, and in the right mood, Vinyl could almost match her craziness, but not now.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Vinyl Scratch!" Twilight said, holding out a hoof. "Is something the matter?" Twilight asked Vinyl, who was just gawking at Twilight.
"Wait! I know you!" Vinyl said, "You're that mare who sang at the royal wedding! Oh my gosh, I loved your singing! Are you for hire? I would love someone to sing at my club while I take breaks! I can see us now-"
"Actually," Twilight interrupted, "I don't really sing... It was just for my brother's wedding. I don't think I could do that again, especially at a night club." Twilight looked at the somewhat awestruck unicorn, was she really that good at singing? Maybe it was the fact that her sister-in-law was royalty? "I'm sorry." Twilight suddenly found the floorboards very interesting to watch. Maybe this mare she was looking at wasn't as wild as she thought a DJ would be.
"Oh... Well, that's okay! I don't plan on taking many breaks tonight! It is the grand opening of my new club, after all! I'm sure you'll have a blast there! If you like Pinkie's parties, then you'll love mine!" Pinkie only gave a slight nod. She just came back from listing all of Twilight's nicknames, but was trying to think of more.
A new night club? Pinkie did mention something about that, but did Twilight really want to go? What's the worst that could happen, though? Ponyville didn't have that big of a night life, or so Twilight thought. "Well, I honestly haven't even been to a club or anything like that. Is that what all those construction ponies were building?"
"Yup! Soon enough, Club P0N-3 is gonna be the main attraction of Ponyville! I'm tellin' ya, Twilight, this is where I stop doing parties and start really performing!" Vinyl said with quite a bit of enthusiasm.
"Well, if I'm going to be up all night, I better get some rest before hand! It was nice to meet you, Vinyl Scratch, I guess I can stop by here and you can show me to your club later?" Twilight really wasn't all that tired, and it wasn't the first time she'd stayed up all night, but this would be different. Twilight didn't know what to expect.
Vinyl seemed a little surprised at Twilight's abrupt exit, but it didn't seem to phase her for too long. "Yeah, I better get some sleep, too. Do ya mind, Pinks?" Vinyl turned her head to the pink party pony, who recently came back down to earth to rejoin the conversation.
"Nope! I have some baking to do! The Cakes are really backed up on this order so I need to run Sugarcube Corner!" Pinkie said as she made her way out the door before even Twilight could. "Bye Vinyl! See ya later Twilight!"
Twilight made her way out of the door when she saw Vinyl getting back to sleep. It seemed like she was going to be in for quite a long night.
Twilight lay restless in bed, how could she sleep at a time like this? You'd think there would at least be some sort of guide to nightlife, but all she could find was some reference book to the music played there. Techno, dubtrot, even some harder rock was usually played, which wasn't so bad. Twilight hadn't honestly listened to much more than techno ever since Pinkie played it at one of her parties, though.
Twilight sighed as she rose from her bed. The blankets were crumpled messes of their former selves, due to all of Twilight's nervous tossing and turning. "I'm going now, Spike!" Twilight yelled with a nervous pitch in her voice, "I already might be late, and don't you dare try to stay up later than your bed time! I'll have Fluttershy come check on you!"
"Geeze, fine Twi'. I'm already tired, I guess I'll see you in the morning." Spike said, rubbing his eyes. Twilight making so much noise all day only left him the small time she was gone to take a nap. When Spike fell asleep, he felt he could sleep through a hurricane, but it was always such a hassle to get there. Twilight left the library in a rush, she didn't even tell him where she was going, just that she'd be gone all night. "Whatever, beats her keeping me up all night." With that, the green and purple dragon went to bed.
Twilight rushed through the now barren streets of Ponyville. Past the earlier bustling market, past the Ponyville town hall, and straight down the street from Sugarcube Corner. The moon was almost completely visible now, and the sun was finally receding below the mountains. Twilight was going to be late.
Finally, her goal was in sight. Her new friend's house lay only a few yards away, then a few feet, then a few inches, then all Twilight could think of was the sudden pain in her head and the suffocating feeling around her horn. Beyond the door, Twilight could only hear a burst of laughter fill the air.
Vinyl Scratch looked out the window, trying and failing to hold back a fit of laughter. "Well, that's one way to knock! You okay, Twilight?"
"Yeah, my head just hurts a li- quit laughing! It's not funny!" Twilight yelled at the White unicorn pony, who quickly turned away, obviously trying not to laugh in front of the poor mare.
"Well, anyway, you can come on in! I wasn't expecting you for a little longer, though." You could hear a tinge of joy in Vinyl's voice as she spoke. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad spending time with her, it would be nice to get to know her.
"Sure, just let me get out of here," Twilight tried to pull herself out of the door, but to no avail, "Uhhh, Vinyl?" Twilight grinned sheepishly at the unicorn watching her. "I'm stuck."
Another burst of laughter could be heard from Vinyl as she disappeared behind her window, and Twilight soon felt something pushing her horn out of the door. Soon enough, with enough wiggling, pushing, and pulling, the efforts of Vinyl and Twilight came to fruition. It was only then that Twilight fell over laughing.
During the sudden fit of laughter, Twilight suddenly found herself being dragged inside by Vinyl. They eventually both calmed down enough to have a steady conversation.
"Uhhh, well thanks for helping me out of that. I would've been in a bit of a jam without you." Twilight looked back at the door, only to just then notice the horn-sized hole she left in it. "Sorry about the door.... I can pay for it!" Twilight started to worry in the back of her head. 'Great first impression, Twilight. You ruin the pony's house before you even really get to know her!'
Vinyl only chuckled at Twilight's nervous expression. "No need to worry, Twilight. I mean, where's the fun in NOT breaking things?" She started walking in to her kitchen, "I mean, you can't have a good party without making a big mess, can you?"
"I suppose not, but I think you and I have different definitions of the word 'party,'" Twilight giggled, "Being from Canterlot, I was raised with formal parties, none of the fun stuff like Pinkie's. I'm still getting used to them."
Vinyl groaned from across the room. "You aren't one of those snooty, uptight ponies, are ya?" Vinyl looked at Twilight accusingly, but soon enough her glare turned back in to a smile. "Naah, I can tell. You've got some fun in you somewhere!" She grinned at the lavender pony across from her. She poured a dark brown liquid in a mug and levitated it over to Twilight, "Coffee? You might need some for tonight."
"Thanks," Twilight took the coffee, sitting down with Vinyl at a nearby Table. "So," Twilight began, "I haven't seen you around Ponyville before, are you new here?"
"Well, yes and no. I've been here before for gigs and stuff, but I've never lived here. It just seemed like such a small, boring town." Vinyl said to Twilight, focusing intently on her coffee mug. "I don't know, it just seemed like such a change from Manehatten, but it's a nice change of pace."
"Oh, well then, what made you decide to move? Do you have any family back at Manehatten? I mean, it's so far away!" Twilight took a large gulp from her coffee, trying to hide her disgust at the black coffee. She was used to it being so much sweeter.
"Well, not really. I never knew my dad very well. He left after a spat with my mom, I never heard from him again. My mom.... Isn't with us anymore. She was sick for quite some time, and after a while, she just... Well, died." Vinyl wiped a slowly-forming tear from her eye. "I do have a brother there, though. We're really close, he's like my best friend! We promised to visit each other all the time!" Vinyl paused for a moment. "Actually, I don't know how I ended up wanting to come to a quiet little town like this. One day, I just had the vision of building a town up with my music. I figured I could go to the only place I could think of, Ponyville. It wasn't too far away, and it was steadily growing, and the property here was cheap."
Twilight was amazed. Vinyl had gone through so much, yet she still aspired to follow her dreams. She had lost her mother, her father, and even moved away from her big brother. Twilight knew how that last one felt, and she was sure the first two were even tougher. On top of all that, Vinyl came here for the sake of building up a whole town? "Wow," Twilight muttered, and looked at the now saddened pony sitting across from her.
"Something wrong?" Vinyl asked.
"No, it's just, that's amazing Vinyl. The fact that you faced so much sadness in your life, but you still manage to chase your dreams. I've never met a pony so bold." Twilight could have sworn she saw Vinyl blush for a moment at her compliment, but quickly dismissed it. "I'd be proud to call myself your friend, Vinyl. Sorry if I brought up bad memories."
Vinyl looked up at Twilight and smiled. "No, Twilight, thank you. I'm glad I found someone who I could share this with. I can tell, you and I are gonna be the best of friends." Vinyl turned to the clock, noticing that it must of taken longer than she had thought to free Twilight from that door. "We better get going. Did you talk to Pinkie at all? She said she would be going with us." Vinyl said, as she levitated a nearby pair of glasses, with lenses just a little brighter than her magenta eyes, closer to her. Vinyl put the glasses above her eyes and looked back at Twilight. "Trademark 'specs."
Twilight looked puzzled at Vinyl for a minute, then quickly dismissed that expression. "Nah, I figured Pinkie would pop in for a little or so, but I honestly expected her to just drop by, not tell us. I'm sure we'll see her there."
"Yeah," Vinyl said, "Something about 'making sure her Twilight will be okay.' It's easy to tell she cares a bunch about you. You must be a great friend." Vinyl took their coffee mugs and placed them next to the sink, and beckoned Twilight to follow her out the door.
"Wow, I had no idea I meant that much to her. I'm glad to have Pinkie as a friend." Vinyl was right, though, Pinkie did seem to pop up a lot more often, and it wasn't such a bad thing, either. Pinkie and Twilight were turning out to be even closer than her and Rainbow Dash were when they went on that pranking spree.
"Tonight's the night!" Pinkie told herself as she was walking to her new friend's club. "Tonight's the night I tell Twilight how I really feel about her!" Pinkie was certain that when she fell for Twilight, she would get her one day, and that one day was today.
Pinkie could already taste victory in the air as she headed to Vinyl's new club. What a night, she would get to see her new friend again, maybe make some new ones, AND see Twilight. Tonight would easily go down as Pinkie's 'Besterest day ever,' (seeing as the day she got her cutie mark was already the 'bestest day ever.')
Pinkie started down the barren streets of Ponyville, and it didn't take long for her to see two unicorns a short distance in front of her. 'There she is.' Pinkie told herself, taking even what she thought was a serious tone. 'My future bride-to-be.' Pinkie trotted up behind Twilight, who, unlike Vinyl, hadn't noticed her. "BOO!" Pinkie yelled, which sent Twilight in to the air and Vinyl in to a fit of laughs.
"Not. Funny." Twilight said, glaring at the two giggling mares in front of her.
"So funny!" Vinyl exclaimed faster than even Pinkie, who was about to say the same thing.
"Oh, whatever, let's just go. I told you Pinkie would pop up eventually." Twilight quickly turned her angry glare to a smile. "Hey, Pinkie! I was wondering when you'd show up!" Twilight only giggled when Pinkie gave a sheepish grin.
"Am I that predictable now? Geeze, Twi', it took you long enough to catch on! It's only been what, two years? Three?" Pinkie skipped up next to Twilight and Vinyl, who was still trying to get a hold of her laughter as they walked along.
"Hmmm, not sure, anymore. I'd say somewhere around three years, now. Anyways, if you're finished, Vinyl, you were telling me about what this whole 'dubtrot' thing is about?" Twilight turned her head from the pink pony and turned to Vinyl.
"Oh, yeah! Well, you see, dubtrot is basically music made with only DJ software! You set up a computer, put on some sounds, and boom! You're done. I don't see why so many ponies say it's hard to make." Vinyl started to babble about different types of techno and dance music until they got to their destination.
Twilight was pretending to listen intently to Vinyl. She got to something called 'progressive house' before she started to tune the unimportant stuff out. It wasn't that there was something wrong with Vinyl, but everypony started to ramble. Pinkie with sweets, Rarity with different types of clothing and gems, Applejack with apples and all things apple related, and, of course, Rainbow Dash with the Wonderbolts. When it came to the Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash was even more annoying than Twilight was with books.
Eventually, the trio of ponies reached a large building, about the same height as the library, and maybe six or seven times bigger. There was already a line outside of the building that looked like half of Ponyville was in. There was a big neon side outside that read "CLUB P0N-3" in bright blue letters, much like the lighter part of Vinyl's hair.
"Whadya think? Good? Awesome? Or even better?" Vinyl looked at the building with pride. "It took me days to get the sign's design right, and then it took a couple of weeks for them to construct it, and then all the decorating...I'm just glad it turned out how it did!" Vinyl only got a shocked look from Twilight, and the normal smile from Pinkie pie. "Yeah, I know, it's a little small, but I'm going to expand when business picks up!"
"Small? Are you kidding me? This is huge!" Twilight could only gawk at the magnificent structure in front of them. The way one building could make Twilight feel like she was back in a big city like Canterlot, Twilight would never know. "How did you even afford all of this, Vinyl?"
"Well, it's actually pretty small for a night club, but it's a good starting point. I'm proud of what it is for now. As for payment, well, you don't think that playing huge gigs, like the reception for a royal wedding would leave me broke, did you?" Vinyl grinned at Twilight and Pinkie, who were stepping in line. "What're you doing in line?" Vinyl said, pulling her 'trademark 'specs' over her eyes, "We don't need to wait in line! Not when you're with the performer! Lets go!"
Pinkie and her friends walked in to the club together. Why was she so nervous? She couldn't even talk right the whole time here, for Celestia's sake! Even Twilight was starting to notice her being out of character! "Pull your act together, Pinkie!" the party-loving pony mumbled to herself.
The building was even more glamorous on the inside than it was on the out. As they entered the club, Vinyl, Pinkie, and Twilight were all met with a bar to their left, and quite a kind stallion setting up. The bar itself took up a good fourth of the whole room. 'How big does one bar need to be?' Twilight thought to herself. Besides the bar, there was a huge stage with an uncountable amount of lights, some hanging from the ceiling, some on the ground accompanying a set of turntables with so many buttons, only a pony like Vinyl could know what they all do. There was also a dance floor, but it seemed like it was just a dance floor. The rest of the building was taken up by lights, and a few tables near the bar. The walls were adorned with darker colors and countless decorations. 'Why so many lights?' Twilight noticed how big of an experience she was sure to have tonight.
"You guys go look around, get comfy, the fun itself starts in a good 10 minutes, I'll see you guys during my breaks, it's just gonna be me playing tonight." Vinyl told her two companions, leaving them as she walked up to the stage.
As soon as Vinyl left, Pinkie's fear finally completely set in. She felt like she was going to be sick with just the thought of Twilight rejecting her. What if Twilight didn't like her back? What if Twilight hated her forever after this? 'What are you, Pinkie Pie, chicken! No, you're not... Unless you count that Nightmare Night, but anyways, you can do this! It's just Twilight, she isn't that scary. When Twilight's having fun, pounce! I can do this!' Pinkie thought to herself. 'Geeze, it sure is hard to be serious. How do other ponies do it?'
Twilight was at the bar, ordering a light drink when the lights started to dim, and ponies started to flood the room. Soon enough, Vinyl winked at Twilight as music started booming through the speakers. Ponies were already going crazy on the dance floor, dancing as hard as they could. It actually looked a little... Well, fun! Twilight never imagined herself to have fun at something like this! Maybe she could find Pinkie and have a bit of fun on the dance floor! She could never imagine going out there on her own, though.
Twilight wandered along the dance floor until she found her friend. The pink party pony was dancing like a total maniac along with every other pony in the house, at least, those who weren't at the bars. Twilight ran up and waved to Pinkie, who quickly grinned even bigger when she saw her friend. "Hey! Twilight! Are you having fun?"
"This is definitely a... new experience, but I wouldn't say I'm not having fun! It isn't as bad as I thought it would be! The music's even different from what I imagined!" Twilight came up to Pinkie and started dancing alongside her, but something was wrong. Was Pinkie nervous? What could she be nervous about? "Hey, Pinkie," Twilight yelled through the music, but she could barely even hear herself. "Is everything okay?" She yelled even louder.
Pinkie's grin faded then, "Well, I..." Pinkie managed to mumble over the music. 'C'mon, Pie, you can do it! Tell her! Tell her!' She yelled to herself, she just couldn't do it. "It's nothing, Twilight! I'm having a blast! Just hoping the Cakes got that order done!"
Twilight merely shrugged and continued dancing. She even ended up cutting loose a little and buying a drink, then two, then three, then everything was a blur. Time seemed to zip past her. She remembered talking to Vinyl a bit, then Pinkie leaving, she still seemed depressed. After that, she could only remember a couple friendly stallions talking with her, and then the shocked look on Vinyl's face when she saw that Twilight waited almost all night for her to finish. Then, everything went black.
(A/N: OMG LIGHT CLIFFHANGER. I hope you guys enjoyed this. I was up for the better part of the night writing this, and I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I did making it. I guess it's sort of cheating, but with this Author's note, I broke my goal of 3,000 words! Thanks a bunch for reading guys, I'll give you a chapter three in the next few days, but hopefully the average of 3-4k words every chapter can make up for that short first chapter. Also, thanks to AzureKaRyu for convincing me to write this thing. You guys are awesome!)
P.S.: I'm looking for a proofreader, message me if you're interested!
Twilight awoke the next morning in a daze. "Oh, my head is killing me! What happened last night, anyway?" The memories of last night soon flooded her head. She remembered getting her horn stuck in Vinyl's door, and Pinkie scaring her on the way to the club, but what she didn't remember was her once purple bed being a bright white. Wait... This wasn't Twilight's house.... Where was she?
Twilight could barely think straight due to the splitting headache. "Maybe I shouldn't drink so much next time." Twilight tried to giggle at herself as she made her way out from under her covers. She didn't know where she was, how she got there, or even what time it was, but she did know she was hungry. She was hungry, and something downstairs smelled amazing.
The bookworm ventured out of the somewhat large room she was in. This house did look pretty familiar, but where was it? The sun was just fully rising, so she couldn't have been here for long. Twilight made her way down a hallway to a room she immediately recognized. The hole in the front door, the white mare in the kitchen, it all made sense now. Twilight was at Vinyl Scratch's house. How did she get there? What happened last night? She did drink a lot... Maybe she... No! 'I'm not going to think something like that happened between Vinyl and I, she's too good of a friend.' Twilight reassured herself.
Vinyl must have noticed Twilight come down the stairs, because she had two cups of coffee ready, just like last time. "Morning!" Vinyl said in an upbeat voice. "I expected you to sleep for longer! It's only been a good 4 hours since we got here!" Vinyl suppressed a chuckle the best she could. "You were really wasted, too!" Was all Vinyl could mutter before she fell under a fit of laughs once again.
"Good morning to you, too." Twilight said to Vinyl with a glare. "So, uuh, how did I get here, exactly?" Twilight blushed. "I can't really remember any of last night."
"That's easy," Vinyl said, "I took you here! You were waaaay too drunk to get home! I didn't even see you drink that much! I figured you could just crash at my place, since it's so close to the club and all." Vinyl finally calmed down after her laughing fit was over. She only looked back up to see Twilight, blushing furiously, for some reason. "Okay, you were a little drunk, but that's nothing to be embarrassed about! You're a fun drunk!"
"It's not that, Vinyl, it's just... Umm... How do I put this... Nothing happened between us, did it?" Twilight was blushing furiously, and Vinyl could even feel her face heat up when she heard that.
"N-no! It's nothing like that! I just let you crash here for the night! You were tired and I didn't want you to get hurt or anything on the way home!" Vinyl started to giggle again, she couldn't take anything seriously around Twilight, could she?
Twilight had a relieved look on her face. "Good, if I ever go to your club again, remind me not to drink so much! I don't even think I can make it home now, my head is killing me!" Twilight raised a hoof to her head to rub it.
"Oh, did you not plan on going again?" Vinyl could feel her happy expression turn to a frown, "I had a bunch of fun with you last night. I was honestly really stressed before you showed up." Vinyl, once again, found herself acting 'sappy', just like last night. "Anyway, you gotta come again! You were a blast! You were even out-partying Pinkie Pie herself! I didn't even know that was possible!"
"Neither did I, but then again, I've never been drunk before, either. I don't know if you noticed it, but I don't drink often." Twilight smiled back to Vinyl. Vinyl was right, she did have fun, she'd make a point of it to go to her friend's club every once in a while, if not more often. "Don't worry, Vinyl, I'll go again! Just not every night. I'm not sure how much of this 'party lifestyle' I can take." Twilight suddenly realized just how tired she was. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go back to sleep."
Pinkie Pie was disgusted with herself. Why couldn't she pull it off? All she needed to say were three simple words, is it that hard? Why couldn't she do it? The normally hyperactive, fun loving pony everypony in Ponyville knew wasn't there today. There was only a sulking shell of a pony.
"Dang it, Pinkie, why do you have to be such a wimp?" Pinkie cried to herself. She needed to have fun again. She needed to see a friend. Not Twilight, as close as they were, Pinkie didn't think she could see Twilight without bursting in to tears again. She needed someone she could tell. Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were all too close to Twilight, she needed someone new. She needed to talk to a fun person like her, and she knew just who to go to. 'I wonder if Vinyl's up... I'm sure she'd know how to cheer me up!' With that, Pinkie plastered a grin on to her face as always. Things were going to be alright. She would get her Twilight soon enough.
Pinkie was feeling better now. Not 100%, but maybe around 60-70% better, and that's all she needed. Vinyl would know what to do, she was a clever pony. The once-again happy party pony trotted out the door and in to Ponyville. It was still kind of early, but this couldn't wait! Pinkie didn't like being sad. It wasn't a fun feeling. "Hey, Ditzy!" Pinkie waved to a nearby grey coated pony with a blonde mane. "How ya doin', Cranky?" Pinkie didn't know why, but she felt happier whenever she talked to people, but it wasn't helping much right now. 'Gotta get to Vinyl!' Pinkie silently told herself.
Eventually, Pinkie found her way to Vinyl's house. It was a nice house, but the hole in the door was new. It's a nice touch, or it was to Pinkie, at least. Before Pinkie could even think about what she was going to say, she found herself knocking on the door. "Vinyl! Open up! I have to talk to you! It's super-duper important!" Pinkie could do nothing to hold herself back. She knew she was going to tell Vinyl. If she wasn't going to tell Twilight, she would have to tell someone.
The door opened, but only to a disgruntled Vinyl Scratch. "Heya, Vinyl! How ya doin?" Pinkie was already feeling better.
"Shhh!" Vinyl whispered, putting a hoof over her mouth. "Twilight's sleeping!" Vinyl stepped outside and closed the door lightly, hoping not to wake the sleeping mare inside. "Sorry, Pinkie. What did ya need that was so important?"
"Did you say," Pinkie gulped, "Twilight?"
"Well, yeah, but it's not what you think!" Vinyl started to blush again, "You see, Twilight sorta got drunk last night and I brought her home! Wait! No! Not like that either! See, I didn't want her to get hurt or anything on the way home so I let her crash here the night but nothing happened!" The bad part about having a white coat was that people could easily tell when you were blushing. Vinyl could even feel herself lighting up bright red. Something was wrong, though. Why wasn't Pinkie laughing at her? Where was her normal grin? Vinyl was staring at Pinkie Pie, but that wasn't the party loving pony she knew. That pony smiled all the time. This pony, this pony looked appalled, dumbfounded at Vinyl. "Uh, Pinkie? Are you okay?"
Twilight? Here? 'I can't do this! Not with her here!' Pinkie thought to herself, 'But I can't just leave! Then she'll know something's up between me and Twilight!' Pinkie was dumbfounded. Of all times, of any day, why did that blasted mare have to be here? The one time she didn't want to see Twilight?
"What? Oh, sorry, just thinking. It's not important." Pinkie was mentally flailing. What could she say to get out of this?
"If you say so, Pinks." Muttered Vinyl, who soon picked up her normal, energetic tone, "Well, when Twilight got up I was going to ask her if she wanted to take me and show me around town! I still haven't seen much of it... Do you want to come along?"
"Well, I would love to," Pinkie lied, "But I have a ton of work to do for the Cakes! Sorry, Scratchy! I have to go anyway, I'll catch ya later!" Pinkie felt terrible about not being completely honest with her new friend. Sure, she did have SOME work to do, but it wasn't anything she couldn't get out of. It was time for her to leave, anyway. Best that she left before a certain lavender mare woke up.
Vinyl only looked confused at the smiling pink pony walking away, "She's more crazy than I thought." Vinyl said, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof before stepping back inside.
Pinkie barely made it back home without thinking of Twilight. Why was she so hard to get? It wasn't fair. Maybe if Pinkie said something last night... Maybe if she had just a bit more courage. Pinkie didn't even know why she had feelings for Twilight, but she did. No matter what Pinkie did, they always came back even stronger than before. It was all too soon that those feelings of regret and longing came back to Pinkie, and the pony that everyone loved vanished, only to be replaced with one filled with despair.
Twilight awoke what felt like days later. This time, she remembered where she was, and how she got there, though. Her headache wasn't nearly as bad now, and Twilight felt like she could take on a normal day, as long as a spirit of chaos, angry goddess, or anything else sinister waited until tomorrow to attack, she would be perfectly fine.
The bookworm made her way down the stairs of Vinyl's house. There wasn't much to look at in the house, though. Twilight figured the lack of decoration was the result of Vinyl just recently moving in. Maybe she could even help her new friend decorate! "Morning!" Twilight said to the White unicorn at the bottom of the stairs.
"There you are, Sparkle! I was starting to worry!" Vinyl let out a giggle as she continued, "It's already two in the afternoon!" The white mare giggled at her friend's state of panic. 'She's cute when she's worried' Vinyl thought to herself.
Twilight Sparkle was much, much less amused than Vinyl. "Ohmygosh! I'm so in trouble! I bet Spike is worried sick about me! I have to send a report to the princess by sunset, I left my baby dragon at home, I failed the princess, nice job, Twilight."
"Wait... baby dragon? Princess? I'm pretty sure you said something about a Princess in there, Twilight." Vinyl was awestruck. She knew her friend Twilight was related to higher-ups, but did she really know the goddess of the sun on a personal level? "Are you sure you got enough sleep?"
"That's the problem! I got TOO much sleep! I own a baby dragon and I know the princess and yada yada yada, I'll tell ya later, Vinyl! I gotta go!" Twilight was about to rush out the door when she heard a loud rumble come from her stomach. Twilight's face soon turned red as she realized how hungry she was. "Er... Maybe I could tell you now, over some lunch?" Twilight giggled nervously.
Vinyl couldn't help but giggle as she always did around Twilight. "Sure, I have some hayfries, and I can make some daisy sandwiches, or maybe some apples? I can make us a salad, too!"
"Well, I would say a salad, but I have to get home so how about just a sandwich?" In all truth, the report probably could have waited, but Twilight remembered what happened last time she was late. Just to be on the safe side she would send it tonight. She shuddered at the thought of magical kindergarten.
"Sure, I'll whip 'em right up, but you start talking about this dragon and the princess!" Vinyl could tell she surprised Twilight when she was surrounded by a light blue aura. She was soon levitated over to the same table where the two shared coffee together the previous night. "I take it your baby dragon is Spike? I'm guessing you know the princess through your sister-in-law or something like that, right?"
"Well, yes to Spike, but I'm actually sorta the Princess' personal protégé." Twilight blushed at the last remark. She never did like bragging about her relationship with Princess Celestia, even if it was to her somewhat inquisitive friends.
Vinyl was almost used to being surprised by Twilight by now, but that still didn't knock the shocked expression off of her face. "Wait... So if you're the Princess' protégé, shouldn't you be in Canterlot, learning, or something like that?"
"Well, you see... I've been Princess Celestia's student for almost all my life. It's actually how I got Spike. See, the entrance exam to Princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns was hatching a dragon's egg. I sort of over-did it and lost control of my magic. It took Celestia to calm me down. That was the best day ever! I met the Princess, got Spike, and even got my cutie mark that day! I didn't really ever make friends when I was in Canterlot, though. I studied harder than anypony else, and I thought that enough at the time. It obviously wasn't, and Celestia sent me down to Ponyville to study friendship!" Twilight started feeling a bit more encouraged the more Vinyl listened as she brought over Twilight's sandwich, "Not that I regret any of it. I mean, if I didn't study so much, I wouldn't be sent down here to meet everypony I care so much for now."
"Oh," Vinyl took her first bite out of her sandwich when she noticed Twilight was almost done with hers already, "That reminds me," Vinyl continued, "Do you think you could show me around town? I was thinking today, but seeing as your busy, how about tomorrow?"
"Sure!" Twilight said as she finished her sandwich and got up. "I'll come by and see you tomorrow morning. Say, noon?" Twilight was already almost out the door when she continued, "Oh, and I'll bring you the bits to replace that door! Bye, Vinyl! Have a good day!" With that, Twilight was off.
(A/N: Okay, guys! That wraps up chapter three! Sorry about it being a little shorter than intended, I don't know how some authors do it! I can barely get mine near 3,000, yet there are some who can get out chapters well over 10k! Well, thanks a bunch guys, and thanks, once again, to AzureKaRyu, who convinced me to write this thing, and to Photo Journal for proofreading! You guys are awesome!)
Another P.S.: You guys can check out AzureKaRyu's story that I'm proofreading here, you guys rock!
Vinyl Scratch poured herself a cup of coffee for the umpteenth time that morning as she prepared to step outside. "Oh! Almost forgot!" Vinyl stepped back inside for a moment, only to trot happily out the door with her "'specs" on, and a colorful bag levitating next to her.
Today, Twilight promised to show her around town, and even if it was a few hours early, there would be no harm starting a little early, would there? Vinyl wanted to see Twilight again, even if she did have no idea where she was going, she was sure the locals could point her in the right direction.
Ponyville was a somewhat busy town, even in the morning, and things were just starting to pick up. There were ponies walking down the streets on the side, some, Vinyl even recognized from club P0N-3. Vinyl immediately walked up to the closest friendly looking pony she could find. It was an orange earth pony, with three red apples for a cutie mark, and a long blonde mane in a ponytail. She was wearing a cowpony hat, and pulling a giant cart of apples as if it were nothing, she was obviously a farmpony. She was also with a younger, yellow filly, who had a red mane with a bow in it.
"Excuse me," Vinyl started, "Would you happen to know where Twilight Sparkle lives? I hear she's the town librarian, she's purple, kind of a bookworm?" The stranger only giggled at the white unicorn in front of her.
"Heh, most people ah know use words like 'egghead'. Yeah, ah can point ya in Twi's general direction. Ah'm Applejack, pleased ta meet ya, stranger!" The orange pony said, holding out a hoof.
"And ah'm Applebloom!" The younger pony said with a grin on her face.
"Well, it's nice to meet both of you, I'm Vinyl Scratch. Uh, do you guys know Twilight?" Vinyl said, shaking Applejack's hoof back, realizing that she wasn't the most... Gentle... of ponies, Vinyl could only try to stand still as the orange earth pony shook her hoof with a strength that could easily be considered strong for a larger stallion.
"Twilight? Shoot, yeah. We go waaay back! That's a story for another day, though, Vinyl. Me and Applebloom here need to get these apples to the market. Apples don't sell themselves, y'know! Anyway, Twilight lives down that road," Applejack said, as she pointed to a street to the left of her. "Jus' take a right at Sugarcube Corner, and go straight until you see the big, hollowed out tree! Ya can't miss it!"
'These ponies are definitely... Interesting' Vinyl thought to herself. "Well, uh, thanks, it was nice meeting you!"
"No problem, Vinyl!" Applejack said at the white mare, already walking away from her. "If ya get th' chance, you and Twilight should stop by Sweet Apple Acres!"
After what felt like hours of endless walking, Vinyl finally found her destination, Twilight's house. "Well, here we go!" Vinyl said to herself, as she walked up to the front door. "Heh, I hope she likes my present." The unicorn giggled to herself.
The door was soon answered, but not by the pony Vinyl expected, not by a pony at all. It was a baby dragon. "The library isn't open today, sorry." The dragon said to Vinyl as he rubbed his eyes.
"Huh? - Oh! No, I'm looking for Twilight, Applejack must have told me where she works on accident. I take it you're Spike?" Vinyl looked at the baby dragon, as viscous as most dragons were, he was pretty darn adorable. Vinyl secretly giggled to herself.
"Yeah, that's me!" He obviously liked attention. "Twilight's number one assistant! I'm sure she's told you all about me! Yeah, she lives here. Come on in." Spike stepped aside so the mare in front of him could step inside, "Nice glasses, by the way."
"'Specs," Vinyl corrected, "and I'm Vinyl Scratch." Vinyl said as she placed the bag she was carrying on the table next to her. It was a pretty nice house, a lot of books, but that would be obvious if Twilight lived in a library. "So is Twilight around?"
Spike rolled his eyes, "So you're that mare Twilights been going on about. Yeah, she's upstairs, doing whatever. I'll go get her." The purple and green dragon in front of her took his time walking up the stairs.
Vinyl was glad Spike went upstairs, though. She couldn't tell, but she was pretty sure she was blushing, even if she didn't know why. Twilight? Talk about her? Vinyl quickly looked back at the bag and giggled as she waited for Twilight to come down.
She eventually did, but it took some effort for Vinyl not to fall asleep on the floor as she waited. Books were boring, they made her tired, but seeing her friend come down those stairs woke her right back up. Twilight's mane was still a little messy from her bed, but it really didn't look too bad, or at least that's what Vinyl thought. It's what you'd expect someone's mane to look like if they were at a party, or a nightclub.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Vinyl. We didn't have plans for a couple hours!" Twilight said, surprised at her friend's visit. "Any particular reason you came here early?"
"Do I need one?" Vinyl started, "I just woke up a little early today, and figured we could have breakfast together or something. I can go if you're in the middle of something."
"What? No! I mean, no, you can stay! I was just a little surprised you were here early, that's all. I was actually about to sit down for some of Spike's famous pancakes. Do you mind making a couple more, Spike?"
"Fine, but you owe me a ruby, and not a small one like last time." The obviously disgruntled dragon walked in to the kitchen.
"So, uuh..." Vinyl really did need to work on her social skills a bit. "How did you sleep?"
"Pretty good, I stayed up a little late reading last night though, I probably could have slept in a little today, but I guess it's a good thing I didn't!" Twilight giggled as she rubbed her eyes, "Some coffee sounds good, though. Do you want a cup?"
"Sure! Go get the coffee, then I have something to give you!" Vinyl said as she lifted up a bag next to her with her mouth. She was obviously excited.
Twilight hated to be a braggart, or selfish, or rude, but she absolutely loved getting presents. She's used to acting calm when she gets one from her normal friends, but she was interested to see what a pony like Vinyl would get her, and why. "I'll be right back!" Twilight said as she ran in to the kitchen, only to come out a moment later, holding two mugs of coffee in a magical grip. She gave one of the cups to Vinyl, and Vinyl levitated the bag over to Twilight.
"You could call it a thank you," Vinyl started, "for coming to the opening of my club, and waiting all night for me to finish." Vinyl couldn't help but be a little upset at Pinkie for leaving her without saying goodbye, but it wasn't too big of a deal. She must of just been tired.
Twilight opened the bag in a rush, wanting to see what surprise was inside. She searched inside the bag with her magic until she found something solid to pull out. What she pulled out, was a pair of glasses, no, a pair of 'specs, that looked just like Vinyl's. The only difference was that the color of the lenses were a deep violet, somewhat reminiscent of Twilight's eyes. "Vinyl," Twilight started, with a huge grin on her face, "I love them!"
Those three words allowed an audible sigh out of Vinyl. She never was good at giving out gifts, but she was glad that her new friend liked them. "I'm glad you do. With those things on, you look like the kind of pony that would show up at my club!" Vinyl snickered at the thought of Twilight being 'just another pony' at her club.
Twilight wasn't sure whether she was just complimented, or insulted. "Um, thanks, Vinyl! I'm wearing them today, anyway." Twilight said behind a smile as she levitated her "'specs," as Vinyl would call them, on to her head, allowing them to hang right above her horn.
Vinyl giggled as she noticed how Twilight's mane actually looked good ruffled, she pulled off the wild look nicely.
"Anyway," Twilight started, "I'm pretty sure Spikes almost done with our pancakes. Do you want the tour of Ponyville afterwards? I want to show you a few neat places and meet some of my friends, there's Rarity at the Carousel Boutique, Fluttershy and her cottage, Applejack at -"
"Oh, I already met her! She's actually the one who told me how to get here!" Vinyl interrupted Twilight as she named off her friends and landmarks in Ponyville.
"Well, we still need to go to Sweet Apple Acres! Granny Smith makes the best apple pies! She can bake even better than Pinkie Pie, sometimes!" Twilight felt a twinge of emotion come up for a short second. What happened to the pink party pony? She didn't come around daily now, she hadn't even talked to Twilight since that night at the club... Did Twilight do something wrong? Was Pinkie upset at her? "We also need to go to Sugarcube Corner! I hear Pinkies been working on a new recipe, and I haven't seen her in a while!"
"Sounds like one heck of a day, Sparkle. I guess it's a good thing I came here early!" Vinyl started, but soon stopped herself as best she could. It took a lot to contain herself from drooling at the smell that was coming from the kitchen. "So, how're those pancakes coming along, Spike?"
"Well, I've got a couple ready for you, they're pretty hot, though. Remember not to eat too much if you're going to Sweet Apple Acres for dinner, you'll regret it!"
As much as Vinyl tried to contain herself, she couldn't. She easily ate more than Twilight and Spike, who decided to ditch the girls after devouring four or so pancakes, combined. Part of her was still hungry, but she knew she should save at least some room if that Granny Smith was the baker she was cracked up to be.
"Hey, Twilight," Vinyl paused for a moment, "you do a good job pulling off that hairstyle." It took Twilight a minute to realize what Vinyl was talking about, but when she did, it was easy to see she was embarrassed for letting that bedmane go unnoticed for so long. "Those 'specs of yours all tie it together nicely."
"Oh, thanks Vinyl!" Twilight, for whatever reason, couldn't stop blushing at Vinyl's comment. "I didn't even get a chance to straighten out my mane this morning. This is just what it looks like if I let it dry naturally once I finish bathing every morning." Twilight finished, "and I really like your mane, too."
Vinyl smiled at Twilight's compliment, and with food in their stomachs, the two were ready to start the day. "So, where are we going first?" Vinyl said as she beckoned Twilight out the library door.
"Well, I was thinking about going to meet Fluttershy first, then we could go to Sugarcube corner for lunch. I'm sure that'll be the time when Rainbow Dash wakes up, and she usually makes her morning rounds then. With some luck, I'm sure we can find her. Then, it'll be off to Rarity's boutique, and then we can wrap the day up by going to Sweet Apple Acres for dinner!" Twilight pulled out a small checklist, as she did every morning. "That's all I have on my list, at least."
"A checklist? Twilight Sparkle, you sure are strange." Vinyl said as she gave the pony next to her a bit of a nudge. "Anyway, who's this Fluttershy person?"
"Fluttershy is a pretty timid pony who lives on the edge of the Everfree forest. She lives with tons of animals, you could call her Ponyville's vet." Twilight realized how shy the yellow pegasus actually was as she walked to her house. Was this a very good idea? Vinyl was outgoing, loud, and somewhat a troublemaker, but Fluttershy was... Well... Shy.
The two stopped as they came up to a small hut against a looming forest. 'That must be the Everfree,' Vinyl thought to herself. The forest was dark, even on a bright day like this, a sense of darkness overcame Vinyl when she looked at the Everfree. Just the thought of being stuck in there gave Vinyl shivers.
Twilight walked up to the hut and glanced over at Vinyl, noticing her dismay towards the Everfree forest. "You get used to it after a while. I have a friend that lives in the Everfree, maybe I'll take you to meet her today, too."
"How can a pony live in a place like that? That's insane!" Vinyl was aghast as to how somepony could live in such a place like the Everfree forest.
"Well, she isn't a pony, she's a Zebra, and the Everfree is actually pretty nice once you get past all the scary monsters that live there!" Twilight giggled to herself as she knocked on Fluttershy's door. "Fluttershy! It's me, Twilight! Open up!" It didn't take long after the mention of Twilight's name for hoofsteps to be heard behind the door.
The door cracked open just enough to let a yellow pegasus through the door. She had a cutie mark of three pink butterflies and a long, pink mane. "Oh... Um. Hello, Twilight." The yellow pony had a smile on, then she saw Vinyl. After seeing the DJ, Fluttershy immediately backed away a step or so, "Oh, hi... I'm Fluttershy."
"Fluttershy, this is Vinyl Scratch, there's no need to be afraid of her, I thought we were over this when you took Iron Will's lessons!" Twilight glanced over at Vinyl for a moment, "Don't worry, Fluttershy isn't a very... Social.. pony. She's really nice once you get to know her!"
Fluttershy only squeaked, obviously not comfortable being around this new pony. "Oh... I'm sorry, would you like to come in?" Fluttershy did her best to stop shaking as she beckoned the two mares next to her through the door.
Vinyl felt a little bad causing this pony dismay, but was it really that bad? "Oh, I don't want to impose... If you want me to go I can." Vinyl looked down at the ground shyly. In all truth, Vinyl wasn't too big of a fan of meeting new ponies either.
"Oh, n-no that's alright. I just hope you don't mind the mess." Fluttershy let the two ponies in her hut as she led them to her dining room. "I mean, if you're a friend of Twilight's, you must be nice. Twilight has a way of making friends with good ponies." Fluttershy walked over to a hissing kettle. "I was just about to have some tea, would you like some?"
Twilight nodded at Fluttershy's offer, "It's been at least a week or two since I've seen you, Fluttershy. How's everything going for you?" Twilight only then realized how much she missed her friends, and how nice it was going to be to see all of them again.
"Oh, everything's been wonderful, Twilight. I found a bat the other day with a broken wing. The poor thing didn't even know where he was going." Fluttershy pointed over to a small, black creature in a bird cage. It had a wing wrapped in a bandage and it was sleeping upside-down. "The poor thing is going to be here for a while."
Fluttershy came back with two mugs filled with tea. She handed one to Twilight and took a sip out of her own. "I'm sorry Vinyl, would you like some tea?"
"Hm? Oh, no, that's fine. I don't drink much besides water and coffee. Anyway, Fluttershy, what's it like taking care of all these animals? I've never seen anyone let wild animals live with them." Vinyl was a little curious to how such a shy pony wasn't afraid of wild animals like bats. Vinyl's favorite animals were bats, and they even scared her sometimes.
"Well, I just always had a natural talent when it came to animals. I don't see them as scary, they're just like us ponies." Fluttershy said as she pet a nearby bunny, who quickly scampered off after. "Everything can be friendly, all it takes is a bit of kindness."
As silly as it sounded, Vinyl found Fluttershy's words to be almost prophetic. For such a shy pony, she certainly did know how to treat others, and that immediately earned Vinyl's respect. "So, Fluttershy, what's it like to live on the edge of the Everfree forest? I can't imagine how scary it must be sometimes. You must be pretty brave."
"Well, most people are afraid of the Everfree because of all the animals in it, but they're really nice once you get to know them. Sure, I was a little scared when I first came here, but that quickly changed." Fluttershy showed a smile at Vinyl's compliment. "I wouldn't call myself 'brave', though."
Twilight smiled at Fluttershy as she opened up to Vinyl. It was nice to watch her make friends with her new companion. She didn't contribute much to the conversation, but she was happy to just watch Fluttershy open up to Vinyl.
The three mares' conversation carried on in to the late afternoon, and Twilight and Vinyl were starting to regret holding back on eating breakfast. "Well," Twilight started, "Vinyl and I are going to go grab some lunch. Would you like to come, Fluttershy?"
"Oh, Twilight, I would love to, but I have errands to run. I need to go feed all the animals their lunch, and I need to clean my house." The yellow pegasus seemed a little disappointed at not being able to go, but it was quickly dismissed by Vinyl and Twilight. "It was nice meeting you, Vinyl, and I'd like to see more of you sometime."
"That sounds fun!" Vinyl continued, "I'm glad to have made a friend like you, Fluttershy!"
"Me too, Vinyl! It was nice seeing you too, Twilight." The lavender unicorn smiled at the yellow pegasus. She definitely changed since Twilight first met her. She was no longer the shy pony that hid from anyone, or, not so much at least.
"Well, we need to do this again sometime, Fluttershy." Twilight said, trying to ignore the growling in her stomach, "but Vinyl and I are going to go find something to eat. Have a good day!" With that, Fluttershy nodded and went inside, and the two unicorns headed to Sugarcube Corner.
It was late in the afternoon when Pinkie Pie woke up. She still wasn't feeling very happy about not talking to Twilight, but she found that smiling and going on with her normal day made the hurt fade. Hopefully she would get a chance to see Twilight alone soon.
The lunch rush for Sugarcube Corner was about to start, and it was surprising how many ponies would come in and order just breakfast pastries or sweets for lunch. Pinkie may have been a little depressed, but she had work to do. The pink party pony stepped out of bed, and with little effort she managed to get her cotton candy mane just as she wanted it.
"Morning Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" Pinkie hollered out as she walked down the stairs. She was then met by two young foals, Pound Cake, and Pumpkin Cake. "And good morning to you, babies!" Pinkie Pie said with her trademark grin. The two children only giggled at Pinkie as she walked in to the front room, which already had a few ponies in it. "Heh... I guess I slept in a little, huh?"
"Oh, Pinkie, if you're that tired I'm sure we could give you the day off!" Said a somewhat plump blue earth pony.
"What? No, it's fine, I guess I just had a late night last night. Besides, the lunch rush is about to start, anyway!" Pinkie wanted to work today. She wanted to get back to being normal Pinkie. Being sad wasn't fun.
"Well, alright Pinkie, just don't work yourself too hard." Said Mrs. Cake. She was a good boss. She treated Pinkie almost as if she were part of the family, and Pinkie was grateful for it.
Pinkie did a salute with a somewhat feigned responsibility before getting straight to work. It wasn't too hard of a job, taking orders, baking treats, and then serving them with a smile on her face. Pinkie liked her job, it was fun! Almost as fun as throwing parties!
It was just another work day, it was fun, but not much happened besides taking orders, and serving food.
Then, she came in.
There she was, the mare that took Pinkie's breath away. The mare that Pinkie wanted to see more than anyone all the time, Twilight Sparkle had just walked in to Sugarcube Corner. It took Pinkie a moment to come back to the world moving around her, and for Pinkie to notice that Twilight was with Vinyl Scratch, again.
Pinkie wanted to do nothing more than run over and talk to Twilight, but she sadly had work to do. Minutes flew by like hours when she saw Twilight waiting in line. It looks like the lunch rush was almost over, and the business was starting to calm down as the hoards of ponies nearly drained out of the store. After a while, the lavender mare and her companion were finally ordering.
"Hey Twilight!" Pinkie said, trying to hide her nervousness. "What're you and Vinyl up to?"
"Oh, hey Pinkie. I'm just showing Vinyl around town, and I figured we'd come and say hello!" Twilight was happy to see that Pinkie was back to normal... Or as normal as Pinkie could get. Vinyl had told her that Pinkie was acting strange when she stopped by the other day, but it seemed like she was back to being Pinkie.
"Oh, that's nice!" Pinkie blushed, trying to fight off the surge of emotion that flooded through her. "I...uh.. I like your new look! Those glasses look really pretty on you!" Pinkie couldn't help but notice how the clean-cut librarian had somewhat of a messy look today. She looked good.
"Oh, thanks, Pinkie!" Twilight blushed, "Vinyl gave them to me!"
"Hello to you, too, Pinkie!" Vinyl rolled her eyes sarcastically. "I was hoping you'd at least be able to say 'hi' without me having to point it out!" Twilight giggled as Vinyl gave Pinkie a hard time.
Pinkie felt like she was going to explode from anger at the mention of Vinyl's name. Why did she get to spend time with Twilight? Why did Pinkie ever even think it was a good idea to introduce the two? It wasn't fair. Pinkie had been the one trying to get Twilight out of her rut. She deserved the attention. 'Wait... Am I... Jealous of Vinyl?' Pinkie thought to herself.
Pinkie swallowed her anger the best she could, "Oh, sorry! Hiya, Vinyl!" Pinkie was back to being happy. So what if they were spending time together. Pinkie was always welcome to join, wasn't she? "Can I get you guys something to eat?" Pinkie asked. There had to be some reason they waited in line, after all.
"Actually, yeah! I'm pretty starved. I'll take a... Blueberry muffin!" Twilight smiled as she fiddled with the glasses. They certainly were nice. Vinyl must have payed quite a few bits for these. She hadn't seen these on the shelves anywhere. They must have been custom-made.
"Make that two!" Vinyl said, stopping Twilight from pulling out a sack of bits and slamming a few on the counter. "I have no idea what to get here, and I like blueberries. You made me breakfast, Twilight, so I owe you one!"
Twilight sighed. She didn't like when other ponies payed for her. "If you say so, Vinyl."
"Two blueberry muffins coming right up!" Pinkie said as she bolted in to the kitchen with a speed that would even impress Rainbow Dash.
As quickly as Pinkie left, she reentered the room. This time, though, she was carrying two somewhat large muffins. "Here you guys go! Hope you enjoy them!" The pink pony said as she handed her friends the muffins, "So, where are you guys going after this?"
"Well," Twilight started, "We were hoping to find Rainbow Dash while she was doing her morning cloud duties. After that, we were going to head to Rarity's boutique, and then finish off the day with dinner at AJ's!" Twilight pulled out a checklist. "Oh, and that reminds me, I need to check these off." Twilight checked 'Go to Fluttershy's hut' and 'Get lunch at Sugarcube Corner' off the list, then rolled the list back up and put it in her saddlebag. "Anyways, do you want to tag along with us, Pinkie?"
This was it. This was her chance to talk to Twilight. Maybe she could pull her aside when Vinyl was talking to one of her friends. "Sure! I don't think I can be gone for long though, just let me clear it up with the cakes and we can get on out of here!" It didn't take long for Pinkie to talk with Mr. and Mrs. Cake, then, they were off to find their Rainbow-maned friend.
The day was now in full swing in Ponyville, and the sun shone brightly on the trio of ponies walking down the street. Pinkie was, as usual, managing to greet everypony they passed by name.
It was a lot easier than Twilight predicted to spot Rainbow Dash clearing up the clouds. They saw a multicolored bolt streak through the sky, and stop on a nearby cloud. It was, in fact, the only cloud left in the sky.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight yelled as loud as she could, trying to get the attention of the Pony high above them.
No answer
"Rainbow!"
Again, no answer.
"So anyways, I'm thinking of giving these tickets to the Wonderbolts away..."
A Rainbow colored streak ran down the sky and landed right on top of Twilight. "Wonderbolts? Where? Did you say you had tickets to go see them, Twilight? And you're giving them away?"
Vinyl and Pinkie fell over laughing at Rainbow Dash, who quickly started to blush. "There aren't any tickets... Are there?"
"Sorry, Rainbow, but I had to get your attention somehow." Twilight snickered at the embarrassed mare in front of her. I wanted you to meet my new friend, Vinyl Scratch!" The unicorn gestured to the white mare beside her, who was still in a laughing fit with Pinkie.
"Well," Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof, "It's nice to meet you, but you look familiar, are you sure you haven't introduced us before, Twilight?"
"Nope! She hasn't! But I've seen you around my club almost every night!" Vinyl said, giggling. "She's really funny to watch when she gets drunk." Vinyl deadpanned.
At this point, Rainbow's whole face was completely red. "Hey! I wasn't drunk! Okay, maybe there was that one time at the club but... Wait... Your club? That new place down the street? That's awesome!"
"Yup! That's me!" Vinyl started, adjusting her glasses, "Vinyl Scratch, proud owner of Club P0N-3. Nice to meet you!" Vinyl had a smile on her face as she lifted up her hoof to Rainbow. "You're quite the party animal. I think you and I are gonna have some good times."
"Oh, yeah, nice to meet you, too." Rainbow shook hooves with Vinyl, soon after picking her normal cocky attitude back up. "I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria, and future Wonderbolt. How'd an egghead like Twilight end up hanging out with you?"
"Rainbow!" Twilight hissed with a fake anger, "That's not nice!" The lavender mare couldn't help but chuckle at the two as they hit it off. Pinkie was being pretty silent, though. Maybe it wasn't her Pinkie was mad at, but why would she be mad at Vinyl? 'That would explain the glares she's been giving Vinyl though...' Twilight thought to herself.
"I introduced them!" Pinkie said, hopping in on the conversation. "You guys also met before then! Remember when you did that sonic rainboom at the royal wedding, Dashie? Well Vinyl here was the DJ!" Pinkie tried her best to hide her anger towards her friend. She knew Vinyl didn't deserve it, so why couldn't she help but be mad at her?
"Oh, so that was you? Well, pleasure to meet ya, Rainbow Dash!" It took Vinyl a moment to realize that the mare that was in front of her was now talking to Twilight.
"So, Twi', what's with the new look? I wouldn't expect you to look, well, cool." Rainbow looked inquisitively at the librarian. "You look like you could be going to a club, and what's with the matching glasses?"
"I said the same thing!" Vinyl started, "Those glasses were my gift to her, actually." Vinyl blushed a bit. "It was sort of my way of saying 'thank you' for her going with me to the opening night of my club... Then staying with me all night. Pretty funny how much people open up when they've had a drink or two." Vinyl winked at Twilight, "Right, Twi'?"
"Oh.. Yeah." Twilight really hoped that Rainbow didn't hear about that, she knew she would never hear the end of it. "But hey, at least I'm a fun drunk!" Vinyl and Rainbow Dash fell over laughing.
'Wow, Twilight sure is having a lot more fun nowadays...' Pinkie thought to herself. 'Maybe that night at the club was just what she needed!' With that, Pinkie felt satisfied with herself. 'Top that, Vinyl.'
After a somewhat long conversation full of laughter, jokes, and stories, the four ponies finally calmed down. It was getting somewhat later on in the day, and sadly, Pinkie did have a job to do tonight. She did have to do some work today.
"I guess I better head back to work. You have a fun time in town, Vinyl! You too, Twilight!" It didn't take long for the pink mare to trot off as she had a huge grin on her face. This grin, however, wasn't fake. There was no competition between her and Vinyl. Pinkie would get Twilight one day. Where was the need to act now?
"I think I'm gonna go take a nap somewhere. I sorta had a late night last night." Rainbow said, trying her best to avoid eye contact with Vinyl.
"Sure you did, Rainbow. I bet you were out partying like always." Twilight chuckled out and looked at Vinyl, who gave a confirming nod.
"Err... Yeah, I was." Rainbow started, "One more thing before I go though... Are you guys... Uh... Y'know, together?" She never was good at asking ponies this kind of stuff, but the two definitely acted like it.
Vinyl looked over at Twilight, who had fallen over laughing. She certainly was in a good mood today. "W-what? No! We aren't together!" Vinyl could feel her face getting hotter. "What gave you that idea in the first place?"
"Easy, Vinyl." Twilight started, "I'm sure Rainbow Dash was just joking around, right, Rainbow?" Twilight didn't know why, but everything seemed funny around Vinyl, especially when she was embarrassed. That alone was enough to send Twilight in to a fit of laughter.
"Y-yeah, I was just messin' around!" Rainbow said as she tried to stifle a giggle towards the blushing white unicorn in front of her. "I didn't mean to offend you like that, Vinyl. Well, anyways, I gotta bolt. I think my cloud is calling my name right now. See you guys later!" Rainbow didn't even wait for the other two to say goodbye before she left.
"I hope she didn't offend you or anything like that, Vinyl. Rainbow just likes to mess with ponies. It's all in good fun, though." Twilight really hoped that Rainbow's comment didn't embarrass Vinyl too much. Rainbow couldn't have been serious, could she? "Oh, right!" Twilight pulled out the checklist once again, and crossed 'Introduce Vinyl to RD' off the list.
"It's no problem, I just wish I didn't take it so seriously back then. I guess I just need to learn to take a joke." Vinyl couldn't help but smile as the two walked to Rarity's boutique. 'Why did I take that so seriously? Maybe there is something between Twilight and I... Nah. I'm sure it's nothing.' Vinyl pondered over her reaction for quite some time, until they reached a large house. It wasn't very far from Sugarcube Corner, but Vinyl was surprised she couldn't see it from there.
"Rarity!" Twilight knocked on the locked door of the Boutique, "You in there?" There was no response to Twilight's calls so the two figured that she wasn't home.
"Awe, that's a shame. I wanted to know what Rarity thought of my new manestyle." Twilight was a little disgruntled, but that was no reason to be upset. "Oh well, off to Sweet Apple Acres! Is there anywhere else you want to go see before we go? It's only four, so we have a good two hours before the Apples start eating. "
"Nah, I've had enough excitement for one day. You sure we can just stop by, though?" Vinyl knew ponies in the town were friendly, but they didn't always make extra dinner just in case somepony drops by, do they?
"Yeah, we'll get there early enough so that they know to make extra dinner, but the Apple family is always so hospitable."
Celestia's sun was starting to lower, but it was still high in the sky. Maybe Twilight could still get to introduce Rarity and Vinyl, it would just have to wait until after dinner. The clock read 4:23 as the two unicorns trotted up to Sweet Apple Acres.
"This place is huge! We must have taken the better part of 10 minutes just walking through the orchard!" Vinyl was amazed at the orchard. It in itself was almost as big as Ponyville. There were countless trees, with countless different species of apples. Vinyl couldn't name them, of course, but she could tell which ones were her favorite. Vinyl walked up to a nearby granny smith tree and looked at Twilight, "Do you think they'll mind if I take an apple? I'm starved after all that walking."
Twilight only nodded as the DJ unicorn picked two green apples from the tree and levitated one over to Twilight. "Don't even try to say you can go a few more hours without eating. We've practically starved ourselves all day!"
It was true, Twilight was hungry, and the Apples never mind if one or two of their fruits were picked by passerby's. "Alright, just try to contain yourself." Twilight said as she walked up to a door and knocked, "The Apples all eat enough to put the rest of us to shame. I can guarantee you that they'll all eat at least two apple pies like it's normal."
The door was answered by a large red stallion with a golden mane and a sprig of wheat hanging out of his mouth. He was much larger than many other ponies around, and his cutie mark was of half a green apple. "Twilight? What're y'all doin' here? Ah think AJ's out workin' the field still, and she won't be back 'till supper time."
"Oh, hello, Big Mac! That's no problem, but, my friend Vinyl is new to Ponyville and I was wondering if you'd mind setting a couple extra plates tonight. I'd hate to impose, but I really want Vinyl to get a taste of the best apple treats in Equestria."
"Ah don't think that'll be a problem. Why don't y'all swing by here in about two hours? We'll be eatin' late here, seein' as AJ's still in the fields." The large red stallion was about to close the door before Twilight attempted to intervene.
"Oh, are you sure you don't need any help?"
"Eeyup."
"We'd be happy to help you out as a payment for our dinner!"
"Nope. Y'all got a guest, Twilight. Go show her the rest of town while ya can."
Twilight backed away, defeated. "If you say so, Big Mac, I guess we'll see you a little later!"
"Eeyup." Big Mac definitely wasn't a stallion for words. That became apparent to Vinyl after he nearly slammed the door in front of them. He didn't seem bothered, he just didn't seem like he wanted to talk.
"Well," Vinyl started, "What now? Is there anything else we can do? Wait... What're you planning?" Twilight had a playful grin on her face. That type of grin either meant something funny was about to happen, or she was planning something Vinyl probably won't like... 'Well, if Twilights there, I know it won't be that bad. Wait... Why am I thinking like this all of a sudden?'
"I want you to meet my friend Zecora!" Twilight let out a little giggle.
"Oh, okay, where's she live?"
"The Everfree forest!"
Twilight cracked up at Vinyl's expression. She was nearly frozen. A dark place like that? Vinyl remembered her saying something about that, but she didn't know Twilight was being serious. "Who would live in the Everfree forest?" Vinyl could only notice one other thing at that moment. 'She's got a cute giggle.'
"I'm not sure, but she's been living there for years. Longer than I've been here." Twilight already got up, and wasted no time leading Vinyl along a path that could be seen entering the Everfree forest a few yards away.
"Well, what's she like?" No sane pony could live in the Everfree forest. Vinyl already heard bad stories about it back in Manehatten, and seeing it didn't relinquish any fears she had.
"Well, for one... She's a zebra. Also, don't think it too strange when everything she says rhymes. I'm not sure if she does it on purpose, or if that's just how she speaks, though. I never really asked her about where she's from or anything, but she isn't from Ponyville, that's for sure."
"Oh, okay, so we have a rhyming zebra that lives in the middle of a dark forest that is filled with monsters. That's nice. That's just so fun." Vinyl couldn't help but be a little worried. She knew she and her friend could probably handle anything that is thrown at them, but the forest was still dark and scary. It had to at least have some bad reputation for all those ill rumors to be spread.
"It's really not that scary. Sure, there are things that could hurt us in there, but if you don't bother them, they won't bother you. The only annoying thing is the parasprites. DO NOT feed those things, or take one to town because it's cute. The last time that happened, the whole town almost got destroyed."
After walking for what seemed like miles to Vinyl, the two unicorns reached the edge of the Everfree forest. Vinyl let out an audible gulp as they took their first step in. The sun was blocked out almost completely due to the seemingly endless ceiling of leaves, leaving the two unicorns to light their own path with magic.
Soon after, the two companions reached their destination. A hollowed out tree turned in to a house, just like Twilight's library, but on a much smaller scale. What was different, however, was the decoration. Colorful masks adorned with feathers were sprawled across the ground. There were bottles filled with a mysterious substance hanging down from the hut. Vinyl cautiously approached the door as Twilight happily walked along. "I know it's weird looking here," Twilight started as she knocked on the door, "but she is from somewhere else in the world. I'm sure this is normal there."
(A/N: Okay, guys, this scene took forever to write because of those rhymes, so forgive me if some of these suck.)
The door soon opened to reveal a zebra, with many neck rings and five bracelets on one hoof. She also had two very large earrings and what Vinyl could guess was a cutie-mark, which was only a spiral surrounded by smaller triangles.
"Ah, Twilight Sparkle, what a nice surprise!" The zebra said through a large, friendly grin. "Who have you brought, before my eyes?" The zebra's attention was now on Vinyl as she smiled at the her voice. It reminded her of nursery rhymes for some reason.
"I'm Vinyl Scratch, Twilight's new friend." The white unicorn started, holding out a hoof, "Nice to meet you."
"I'm Zecora, and I'm pleased to meet you." The herbalist said, "Would you like to come in, have a cup of tea or two?" The zebra finished as she beckoned them in to the hut. The inside of the house was filled with plants, bottles, and cauldrons filled with strange liquids. The two unicorns took a seat as Zecora poured them both a cup of tea, which Vinyl tried to decline. "Vinyl Scratch, I assure you. Though many have tried, no one can resist my brew."
Vinyl shrugged as she took the tea from Zecora. "Thank you," Vinyl said, taking a sip of tea, "It actually is pretty good!" The DJ unicorn was surprised with herself when she said it. She never liked tea, but this was almost as good as a regular cup of coffee.
"So Zecora, it really has been too long, what have you been up to lately?" The lavender mare asked as she sipped from her tea. 'I really need to thank Vinyl for convincing me to see all my friends again, whether it was intentional or not.' The unicorn thought to herself.
"I have been working on a new remedy," Zecora took a large gulp from her cup, "for a new illness that's developed lately."
"Oh, a new illness? That doesn't sound very good. What does it do to a pony?" Twilight was always fascinated by the way Zecora could surpass modern medicine with just a few herbs. She really did enjoy learning from her.
"The illness of which we speak is one that turns a pony weak." Zecora smiled as if she were just talking about the weather, "Though there isn't need for fear, a few weeks of bedrest and the illness will clear."
"So, wait," Vinyl started, "If it goes away on its own, then why make a cure for it?"
Zecora giggled as she replied to Vinyl, "Would you rather be in bed, vomiting? Or would you rather you be able to do something?"
"I guess you have a point there." Vinyl took a nonchalant sip of her tea that was already almost gone. "You were right about that tea, Zecora, it was really good."
"I thank you for such words of flattery, but it was my mother who taught this brew to me."
The three ponies talked on for what seemed like hours, until Twilight realized the time. It was already six, so the two friends may have been missing dinner right now. "Oh, shoot! Vinyl, we need to go get to Sweet Apple Acres! Dinner could start at any minute!"
"Hm? Oh, right! Alright, it was very nice to meet you, Zecora! I hope I can see you again soon!" Vinyl said before running out the door.
"Oh, the pleasure was all mine, but don't be a stranger! Stop by sometime!" Zecora said before her two friends left, running out the door.
The two friends raced back to Sweet Apple Acres. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, and what little light did shine down through the cover of trees was gone for the day. This time, however, Vinyl ignored the small fear of the forest she did have, and focused on the task at hoof. Sure, it wasn't a life or death situation, but Vinyl was excited to meet some new friends, and she was pretty hungry to top it off.
It didn't take long for the two to get out of the Everfree forest, and when the farm was in view, Twilight stopped Vinyl. "What're you doing? We need to get over there!"
"I know! Just sit still! I know how to get us there faster!" Twilight said as she concentrated on the world around her. Her horn began to glow the light purple that was normal, and soon, everything went up in a flash.
Vinyl couldn't believe her eyes when she felt it okay to open them. The barn that was just a speck in the distance was now right in front of them. "How..." Vinyl was dumbfounded. 'Did Twilight just teleport us here?'
"Teleportation!" Twilight giggled, "I figured we'd get here faster."
Was it really that small of a feat to go such a distance for her? 'Wow, she sure is amazing...' Was all Vinyl could think of now, and soon, the comment her new friend Rainbow Dash came back. Could she want something more than friendship with the lavender mare?
"Twilight, that's amazing!" Was all Vinyl could say before she was interrupted by someone answering the door.
"There y'all are! We were just about to start without ya!" Said an orange mare, the same mare, that Vinyl saw in town this morning. "Heya, Vinyl! Good ta see ya again!"
The orange earth-pony ushered the two unicorns inside, only for them to be greeted by three more faces. One of which, Vinyl didn't recognize. It was an old mare, with a green coat and a grey mane. She had what Vinyl guessed was an apple pie for her cutie mark.
"There y'all are!" The old mare said, "I'm starvin', let's eat already!"
"Granny!" Applejack hissed, "That's not polite! The least y'could do is introduce yerself!" Applejack sighed as she walked over to the table. "Well, anyway, this's Granny Smith. Y'all already met Big Mac and Applebloom. Help yerself to th' food." All the ponies in the room started to grab something to eat from a table next to the one everypony was sitting at.
Vinyl had never seen Ponies eat so much in all her life. They didn't eat slices of pies, they ate whole pies. There were fritters, cobblers, caramel apples, and even apple pies. Vinyl found it strange to eat such sweets for dinner, but she didn't complain.
"Are y'all okay, young'n?" The elderly mare said to Vinyl, "Ya barely touched yer dinner!"
Now, Vinyl was shocked. She had almost ate a whole apple pie, but when she looked around, she noticed everyone, even Twilight and the young filly across from her had ate at least twice as much as her. "Sorry, I guess I just don't eat much."
In all truth, though, Vinyl probably could have ate more if she tried, but she was too busy thinking about the lavender mare that sat next to her. 'What is it about her?' Vinyl thought to herself. Was there really something more between them? Vinyl decided to dismiss these thoughts for now, only to look up from her meal and notice that the red stallion that sat on the other side of the table had already managed to polish off three apple pies, and was working on a few fritters. That, however, barely compared to what Applejack had already ate. 'Geeze, being a farmpony must be hard work.'
"So, 'Twi," Applejack said while she was chewing a bite of caramel apple, "what's with yer new gittup? Not like ya look bad or anythin' like that, it actually might be an improvement, no offense."
"Well, thanks... I think.. But it was Vinyl who convinced me to wear my mane like this today. She even got me these cool glasses!" The lavender mare blushed a little at the last part.
"Well, they look mighty good on ya, Twi'." Applejack smiled at her friend before turning to Vinyl, "So, Vinyl, how're ya likin' Ponyville? Where did ya come from, anyway?"
"Well," Vinyl started, "I came here from Manehatten. Ponyville's really nice, but it's a big change from what Manehatten was." Vinyl stopped for a moment, "I mean, I don't have much family up there, except for my brother, but right now, I'm liking Ponyville!"
"Well that's good ta hear! I'm sure soon enough, you'll be another familiar face 'round these parts!" Applejack smiled towards the DJ, "So, what made ya come to little ol' Ponyville from a big city like Manehatten?"
Vinyl blushed at this comment. She knew she came here for silly reasons, but she didn't regret it. "Well, as silly as it seems, I came here for one reason and one reason only, to build up Ponyville's night life!" Vinyl raised one hoof in the air, as if it helped her get her picture across better, "Imagine, a Ponyville that isn't only a great place to live in during the day, but also at night!"
"Ah don' follow, Vinyl. So what are you doin' here, exactly?"
"I'm running the new night club in town!" Vinyl said proudly, "You're looking at Equestria's best DJ!"
Applejack giggled at that, "Now y'sound just like Rainbow Dash. Ah never was a fan of all that fancy-smancy techno stuff, but ah really hope y'do good in runnin' that place! Ah've heard it's done pretty well.
"Yeah, I'd swear all of Ponyville went there every night, but it just puts in perspective how many people could live in a tiny town like this."
"Well, it's been a heck of a fun time, guys, but we need ta get ta bed!" Applejack said, trying to stifle a yawn. "A farmpony's job is never done."
"Hah, go to bed early, get up early... I'm basically the exact opposite." Vinyl chuckled as she started to head out the door. "Well, it was awesome to meet all of you guys! I hope I can see you in town every once and a while! Oh, and Applejack, you should stop by club P0N-3 sometime!"
"Thank you for dinner!" Twilight added, "Have a good night!"
"Well that was fun. Those are certainly some... Interesting... friends you have there." Vinyl still couldn't help but think of what her Rainbow-maned friend said to them earlier. 'Just ignore it, Vinyl.' The DJ told herself.
"Well, yeah... But they sure are fun to be around!" Twilight and Vinyl both giggled as they walked down the darkened streets of Ponyville.
"Hey Twilight, how long did it take you to learn to teleport like that? That sure was something!"
Twilight smiled through a blush as it appeared on her cheeks, "Well, not long... Maybe a few weeks to learn the spell completely, but I'm still mastering it, and I learned it when I was just a filly! I could teach you it, if you want!"
"Uuuh, I think I'll have to pass. As much as I would love to, I'm not the best at magic. I can't do much more than a few basic spells and some levitation!" Vinyl laughed at herself for a moment. "Maybe you could show me how to do some visual stuff for my shows sometime, though. I've been looking for a couple spells... Just something to add that spice to my performances, y'know?"
"I'd be happy to help you, Vinyl. Just not now, when I get home, I'm going to straight to bed! I can feel myself getting more and more tired."
It didn't take long for the two companions to get to the library after that, but it felt like ages of time to think for Vinyl. 'She really is a nice mare, and pretty cute, too.'
"Well, today was fun Vinyl, I hope you had as much fun as I did! I guess I'll see you tomorrow!" Twilight smiled as she walked up to her door.
"Yeah, I did. Hey, Twilight.."
'Don't do it, Vinyl.'
Twilight looked at her friend for a moment, "Yeah, Vinyl?"
'Don't do it!'
The white mare started to blush for a moment, "I just wanted to say thanks, and..."
'Oh, screw it.'
A small kiss. A small kiss was all it was. All Vinyl could remember as she ran away from a dumbfounded Twilight was that it was just a small kiss. She remembered the way Twilight's mane smelled. It smelled... Good. Almost like one of Pinkie's fresh-baked cupcakes. She remembered the way Twilight gasped when it happened. It was just a small kiss, right?
(A/N: OH GOD THAT'S A LONG CHAPTER! I don't know how some authors do it. Thanks for reading this, guys. Hopefully you guys don't hate Zecora's scene too much. I just want to say now that I doubt I'll make my other chapters this long, but I will be shooting for 5,000 words each time. So, did I do something you guys liked? Something I did wrong? Tell me in the comments!)
Twilight was breathless at her doorstep. 'Did Vinyl just... Kiss me?' Was the only thing the lavender mare could think to herself as she made her way in to the hallowed out tree she called home. Twilight saw Spike talking to her, but for some strange reason she just couldn't hear him. It didn't seem all that important, so Twilight just decided to ignore the purple and green dragon and go to bed.
"My first kiss..." Was all the bookworm could mutter to herself. She should be furious with Vinyl for stealing her first kiss. But why wasn't she?
"My first kiss," Twilight mumbled as she drifted to sleep.
Twilight awoke hours later, she wasn't sure when, but the sun was in the middle of the sky about Ponyville. It was a nice day. Now, Twilight could actually think to herself, but all she could ponder over as she made her morning routines was why Vinyl would kiss her. Did Vinyl like her like that? Did Twilight even like mares like that? All the lavender mare knew was that she had to talk to someone.
"Who do you go to for a thing like this? Am I over reacting? Was it just a friendly kiss goodnight?" The mare asked herself as she paced back and forth in her room. "I can't tell Spike... But who can I tell? Rarity would over glamorize it, Fluttershy would make things too awkward to talk about, and I know Rainbow Dash can't keep a secret." That kept either Pinkie or Applejack in question. 'Well, AJ probably doesn't have much experience with stuff like this, and Pinkie is my best friend... I guess it's time to pay her a visit!'
Twilight, again, payed no mind to the dragon talking to her as he offered her breakfast. Instead, she grabbed her 'specs, and ran out the door. "Sorry, Spike, but I've got some business to attend to!"
The day in Ponyville was nice, much like it has been this Summer. There were birds chirping, the grass was green, and at the turn of every corner was a smiling pony to greet Twilight. Sure, a lot of weird things have happened, but if there's one thing Vinyl had taught her in their few days of friendship, it was that she needed to relax.
It didn't take long for Twilight to reach Sugarcube corner, where, as always, ponies were lining up for the lunch rush. 'Some lunch does sound good,' the lavender mare thought to herself. 'A personal talk can wait, right now, I'm starving.'
The line in front of Twilight moved rather quickly considering the amount ponies in it. After a while, it was Twilight's turn to order, "One chocolate chip muffin, please!" Said the mare, not even paying attention to who she was ordering to.
"Coming right up!" Twilight changed her attention to the pony in front of her. It wasn't the pink mare she was expecting, it was a tall, skinny, orange stallion with three pieces of cake for a cutie mark. It was Mr. Cake. "Oh, you're Pinkie's friend, right?"
"Uh, yeah," Twilight began, "Isn't she supposed to be working today?"
"Well, she normally is, but some energetic blue-maned pony came here and talked to Pinkie for a little, and she's been in her room ever since. Maybe you could go talk to her?" Mr. Cake was barely paying attention to the conversation as he put a fresh-baked muffin in a brown paper bag.
"Um.. Sure!" Twilight said as she pulled out a few bits from her saddlebag, but was stopped by Mr. Cake.
"Nope, for Pinkie's friend, on the house. Nice glasses, by the way!"
"Oh, thank you!" Twilight giggled at the compliment. Mr. Cake was a pretty nice guy, but it wasn't surprising seeing as he was around his wife all the time.
Twilight walked up to the stairs in the back room of the bakery, pulling out the muffin with a grin and taking a bite. She had already almost ate all of the delicious baked good when she reached Pinkies room. She tried to open up the door, but it was locked. "Pinkie?" Twilight knocked on the door, "Are you in there?"
"G-go away, Twilight! I can't talk right now!" Something was going on behind the door, but what?
'Is Pinkie... Crying?' Now, Twilight was worried. Did she get in a fight with Vinyl? "Pinkie, is there something you want to talk abo-"
"Just... Just GO AWAY!" the now obviously distraught pony yelled behind the door.
"O-okay, Pinkie, but if you want to talk, you know where to find me..." With that, the librarian walked away. 'What now?' Twilight wanted nothing more to go to Vinyl's and talk with her about Pinkie... but she was... nervous? 'Why am I scared to go see her?'
It was just then it hit Twilight. That kiss didn't just scare her, it confused her more than anything. 'Does Vinyl... Like me? Do I like her back?' Scared or not, Twilight already felt her hooves moving towards Vinyl Scratches house. She was going to get to the bottom of this, whether Vinyl wanted her to or not.
It was late afternoon when Vinyl woke up, and she already felt like an idiot. "What the hell did I do last night?" Vinyl asked herself as she slapped herself with her hoof. "Did I seriously kiss her and run off? Real smooth, Scratch, real smooth."
Even though she didn't want to, Vinyl knew she couldn't just hide in her bed all day. She would poor herself a cup of coffee, wake up, and go talk to Twilight. "This isn't the first time you've liked someone, Vinyl, and it's only a matter of time until you sweep her off her hooves for you... If she hasn't done that to you by then."
Vinyl let out a long, drawn out sigh as she took a sip of coffee.
The white-coated DJ was about to step outside when there was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" Vinyl yelled so that it was audible to whoever was behind the door.
Another knock. "Who is it?" Vinyl said again, this time louder.
Once again, no reply, just a knock.
Vinyl sighed as she moved from her table to see who was knocking. Instead of repairing the door like she was supposed to, she used the hole to see who was at her door. It was sort of nice. Whenever she didn't need it she could just plug it up with a cork.
Twilight. Twilight Sparkle, the mare who just last night Vinyl kissed and ran off giggling like a schoolfilly was at her door, and Vinyl was never more afraid in her life. 'What do I do?'
'I gotta think fast... Do I answer it? Act like nothing happened? What if she wants to talk about it last night? Oh Celestia, Vinyl, why do you have to be so stupid?' The DJ caught herself nearly cowering at the thought of talking to Twilight. 'Do I even like her like that? Why did I kiss her?'
Another knock. Whatever Twilight wanted, it seemed urgent. Most ponies would have given up after the first try.
'What are you Vinyl, chicken? Can't handle a single mare? Answer. The. Door!' Was the only thing Vinyl kept telling herself, and it took her body a moment to listen.
The door creaked open to reveal a somewhat distraught Twilight Sparkle. "Vinyl," She started, "what happened between you an Pinkie?"
Was Twilight even mad at Vinyl? Did she even remember last night? It was then that Vinyl noticed that the lavender mare before her was wearing a pair of glasses... No... 'Specs... The very same pair Vinyl had got for her. "Y-You're not mad at me?"
"Vinyl, I don't know what I am at you," A blush became apparent on Twilight's face, "but that's for another time. Why was Pinkie crying in her room after you visited her? Did you two get in some sort of fight?"
Vinyl was surprised to say the least. Pinkie? Crying? "What? N-no! I sort of went over there, and..." Vinyl clicked her hooves together nervously, "Told her we kissed..." The floor was suddenly a lot more interesting to Vinyl. She couldn't even bare to see the look that was on Twilight's face. Why wasn't Twilight mad at her? Why would Pinkie be upset at her?
What came next surprised both Twilight and Vinyl. Twilight giggled. "Well, we sort of did. Or, you kissed me, at least. It wasn't just some sort of good night kiss, was it?"
"I... I don't know, Twilight!" Vinyl could feel herself blush and her ears droop, "I'm sorry.." The white unicorn mumbled to herself as she tapped the floor with her hooves.
The lavender mare before her walked up, but did she have a smile on her face? 'Why would this make her happy?'
Then, another kiss. This time, on the cheek of a blushing white pony. "I don't know what it was either, but I didn't hate it." Twilight said through a smile on her face.
"Twilight..." Vinyl felt herself tear up.
"None of that! I don't know what's going to happen to us, but I don't want to lose you over something as silly as this." Twilight had no idea what she was saying. She had never had a relationship, but how did she say this?
"Vinyl, you were my first kiss, now will you be my first," Twilight gulped, "Marefrie- mph!" Vinyl's lips met Twilight's mid sentence. 'I guess I got my answer.'
It was over. Pinkie was too late. She may have had one chance at getting Twilight, but no, instead, Pinkie screamed at the mare she loved. If only she said something to Vinyl. Maybe she could have changed what happened.
(A/N: I don't know how I'm going to put flashbacks, so lets just go with a bunch of these ---> `````)
The day was bright and early when Vinyl Scratch came to Sugarcube corner. Pinkie, herself, was just getting ready to start the day. "Hiya, Vinyl! What's wrong?" The pink party pony said, immediately noticing how worried the mare before her looked.
"Pinks, I sorta... Did something, and I'm not sure whether I'm proud of it or not. It involves Twilight, but I'm not sure what to do about it! If I do something, it might ruin our friendship, but if I don't, she might hate me forever anyway!" Vinyl was panicked, and Pinkie hated when her friends weren't smiling.
"T-Twilight? What happened?"
"It's nothing, Pinkie, but what do I do? I didn't know who else to come to for help!" Vinyl was almost tearing up. Was it that bad?
"Well, you gotta go talk to her! Twilight is one of my bestest friends, and there's nothing she couldn't forgive!" Pinkie put on a fake smile. In all honesty, anything that had to do with Twilight drove her to longing to see the bookworm more.
"I.. I guess you're right Pinkie. I need to go apologize to Twilight, but I'm gonna at least get some sleep first. I just got back from my job." Vinyl was already walking to the door. To this day, Pinkie didn't understand how anypony could be so active but get such a little amount of sleep.
"Okay, Vinyl. What did happen, though?" If it involved Twilight, Pinkie had to know.
Vinyl immediately turned red. "Oh.. I sorta... Um... I kissed Twilight! Gottagobye!" The white mare ran out the building, leaving a shocked, heartbroken Pinkie.
"How could I have been so stupid?" Pinkie cried to herself.
(A/N: Okay, guys, I know you're probably pissed at me for this short chapter. I'M SORRY. I had to write this thing on an Ipod touch, and I promise I'll get back to the standard 3-4k next chapter. I had some problems with my power so I sort of lost the first save, then just decided to re-write the chapter. Thanks a bunch for the birthday wishes, and I also wanted to talk really quick about my updates. I'm not going to set myself a deadline of every other day. I'll be moving soon and I have too much shit to do, but I will update at least once every week, with chapters a minimum of 3k words long. I'm already getting started on chapter 6, but for now, I'm going to go enjoy the last hour of my birthday.)
The day was almost over when a happy Pinkie awoke to a knock at the door. That wasn't right... Was it? 'I never sleep in this late.' Another knock on the door. 'I guess I can see who it is.'
"Pinkie, open up!" The knocking became more hurried. Was that... Twilight? What was wrong with her? The door opened to reveal two distraught unicorns, why were Twilight and Vinyl here? Why were they upset?
Then it happened.
Reality came crashing down on to Pinkie Pie. "T-Twilight? Vinyl? What... What are you guys doing here?"
Immediately, Twilight's gaze softened to a worried look. "Pinkie, what's going on? Ever since you introduced me to Vinyl you've been... Distant..."
"Yeah, Pinks'," The white unicorn added in, "I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry..." The unicorn trailed off as a stream of tears fell from her eyes. Vinyl was obviously upset, even Pinkie, as sad as she had been lately, felt bad for the white DJ. 'I just... I really hope you don't hate me for whatever I did, I've lost enough friends. I don't want to lose you either."
"What? No! Vinyl... You have it all wrong." The pink pony was aghast. Was she really acting that strangely? "I've been going through... Some things..." Pinkie remembered her feelings for Twilight fully now. 'Maybe I was too late.' Pinkie felt a tear escape her eyes.
Twilight sat down beside the crying earth pony, lifting a hoof on to Pinkie's back. Pinkie could feel her pulse pick up. "Pinkie, what's wrong? We just want to help..."
"I can't tell you, Twilight!" Tears were streaming down Pinkie's face, more than even Vinyl by now, who just sat and watched silently. "I just... I'm too scared!" That was it. Scared. 'I'm... I'm not jealous.... I'm not angry... I'm scared...' "I'm just scared..."
Pinkie heard a chuckle from across the room. "Scared?... You're SCARED?" Vinyl stood there, crying, and inextinguishable anger in her eyes. "You treat me like dirt... You avoid Twilight... You mope in your room because you're SCARED?"
"Vinyl, I-" The lavender unicorn tried to intervene
"No, Twilight... I don't want you to see me like this." Vinyl's rage died down. "I'm going home." She walked out the door as it shut with a slam.
"Vinyl!" Twilight ran out the door, giving one last look at Pinkie Pie, but what was that look on her face? Anger? Sorrow? Pinkie couldn't tell. She was blinded by her own tears.
'Home.' That's where Vinyl needed to go. 'Home.' The white unicorn told herself as she sprinted down the streets of Ponyville. She felt tears going down her cheeks, but she didn't care. Vinyl didn't even know what she felt. 'Am I angry? No.. Am I sad? No... Then why am I crying?'
"Vinyl! Wait!" Vinyl heard Twilight's voice, but she couldn't stop herself.
'Home, I just want to go home.' With that, the whole world around Vinyl melted, she ignored her marefriend, she ignored the ponies she ran in to. She only stopped to open up her door and then slam it quickly. Vinyl looked out her window, no sign of Twilight or Pinkie.
'I'm sorry, guys.' Vinyl lied on the floor. "I'm sorry." Were the only words Vinyl could mutter before breaking down in to a fit of sobs.
Twilight stood in the middle of the street, staring at the white pony who walked away from her. "I guess it's hopeless right now, I'll come back after she's cooled off." Twilight let out an audible sigh as she walked back to the library. "I hope Pinkies alright... I better check on her, too." Twilight was too tired to feel very sad or worried right now, though. She had been staying up a lot lately. It would be good to get a bit of rest.
Twilight approached the library she called home, and was greeted by a small purple dragon as she entered. "Hey Twi'," Spike started, "You hungry? I just ate but I could make you somet- Twilight, are you alright? Have you been... Crying?"
"What? No! I mean, it's nothing, Spike, I'm actually really tired, and I have to open up the library for the week tomorrow. I think I'll skip dinner tonight." Spike was obviously worried, it was so nice of him to put up with her lately.
Twilight approached the small dragon and gave him a quick nuzzle, "Thanks, Spike. You're always there for me."
"Well, I am your number one assistant." Spike chuckled. "Twilight, you go to sleep. I'll clean up the library for tomorrow, if you need anything, just call."
"Thanks, Spike, but don't work yourself too hard. You are just a baby dragon after all!" Twilight gave Spike a goodnight kiss on the forehead, and with that, went off to bed.
It was the middle of the night when a knock at the door awoke Twilight. The more Twilight tried to ignore it, the louder it got. 'Whoever's out there better have something important to say.' It was raining outside. "Looks like bad weather tomorrow."
Twilight stumbled down the wooden steps as the knocking continued. 'What's so important it couldn't wait until tomorrow?' She approached the door as a violet aura covered the doorknob. The door swung open to reveal Pinkie Pie... But not the normal happy Pinkie Pie. Her mane was deflated, she had tears in her eyes, and she was soaked... This was the Pinkie Pie from earlier today.
"Twilight..." The pink earth pony stuttered out, "We... We need to talk."
Twilight was surprised to say the least. "Pinkie, come in. What's gotten in to you lately?" Twilight stepped in to her kitchen, only to come back out with two glasses of water.
"I, Twilight..." Did Pinkie really know what she was doing? 'Don't do it, Pinkie, don't do it..."
The lavender pony came up to Pinkie and gave her a friendly nuzzle. "It's okay," She started, "You know I'll always be here for you, Pinkie."
"Twilight," Pinkie fought back the tears. "I LOVE YOU!"
(A/N: FUCKING FINALLY! Sorry to interrupt your story, but I'm sure the rest of you are thinking the same thing.)
Pinkie didn't open her eyes. She still felt the warmth of the unicorn next to her, she stopped moving, the glasses she was holding fell to the floor with a large shatter. "I- Pinkie..."
Pinkie sat there on the hard, wood floor, biting her upper lip. She didn't fight back the tears anymore. She knew what was coming next. "Twilight... "
"I'm sorry, Pinkie. There's somepony else."
"T-Twilight, please..." Pinkie couldn't move. She never felt more betrayed.
"Maybe, maybe if you were sooner, maybe I did feel those feelings for you once... But Pinkie, I just... I just can't say I love you anymore."
"Twilight... Who?" Pinkie couldn't control her words. 'Just please, please Celestia, don't let it be-'
"V-Vinyl." Twilight looked at the ground.
It was her. Her of all ponies. Twilight fell for Vinyl. "I just... I just don't understand..." Twilight held Pinkie as she cried through the night.
Those tears would be forever. Pinkie could never fix what happened to her. She did realize, though, that having a friend like Twilight was almost as good.
Just then, Pinkie could have sworn she felt her mane return to its cotton candy like state.
A white unicorn pony arose to the sound of a distant chime in the other room. "Time for work already? Ugh" The pony stood up off the floor, already noticing something was wrong. 'Why am I here?' Vinyl looked over at where she was sitting, noticing a small amount of water on the floor, then on her cheeks. 'Oh, right.'
'Why did I overreact like that?' Vinyl only sighed and shrugged off the thought, saving it for later. "I can think about that later," The DJ said out loud, "who knows? Maybe Twilight will even be there!" Vinyl giggled at that thought. It wasn't too outlandish to see Twilight up at a club anymore. "That would be so awesome!"
'This is normal, right?' Vinyl asked herself over and over again on the way to the night club. 'I mean, I've never wanted to see one of my marefriends before, it's usually them wanting to see me! Here I am, though, hoping my marefriend will come and see mee DJ. Is she even that interested in my music?' The more Vinyl thought about her relationship with Twilight, the more Vinyl seemed to want to see her. 'Oh well, I can only hope for the best.'
It was only a few hours after sundown when Vinyl came to her destination. "10:30, only a half hour 'till opening!" Vinyl looked through the line of ponies out front of the club, there were plenty of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns, but none of them stood out. None of them, besides a rainbow-maned pony sitting impatiently at the front of the line.
Vinyl recognized that pony, that pony was Twilight's friend, Rainbow Dash. Also the pony who brought up a relationship with Twilight in the first place.
"Hey!" Vinyl walked to the front of the line. "I know you!" Vinyl tapped Rainbow Dash on the back, only to send her back from what seemed like a daydream to Vinyl.
"Oh, hey Vinyl. What's up?" The Rainbow-maned pegasus only gave off a small, sheepish grin at the fact that she wasn't paying attention.
"I was actually just about to step inside and make sure everything was ready for tonight. I have to say I'm a little surprised to see a pony like you come here alone!"
"Oh, I'm not alone." Rainbow Dash looked around for a moment, only to grab a shaking yellow pegasus from behind her. "Trying to hide? Huh?" Rainbow changed her attention to Vinyl. "She needed to get out more, and she didn't fight back too much!" Rainbow giggled to herself.
"H-hello, Vinyl." The obviously nervous mare said as she looked at her surroundings. "Dash, there are so many more people here..."
"Oh, relax, Fluttershy! This is going to be fun! Besides, I'll be here! If you need to step outside for a bit, or even the whole night, just let me know." Rainbow ruffled Fluttershy's mane with her hoof, "I don't think you'll want to go, though. It's not nearly as bad as you think it is!"
Vinyl laughed at the yellow pegasus before her. She was, Vinyl admitted, pretty adorable. "Hey, have you guys seen Twilight? I was hoping she would come again."
"Well," Fluttershy started, "We did see Pinkie on the way here. She said she was going to Twilight's, but I didn't hear anything about her coming to a club tonight. Maybe I could go grab her, Rainbow, I'm sure you'd have a lot more fun with her here!" Fluttershy tried to fly away, but to no avail. She turned around to see Rainbow Dash chuckling and holding her tail.
"Oh, come on!" Vinyl started, "It's fun! You should really give it a chance, Flutters. Hey, I need to go inside now, but if you guys see Twilight, tell her I need to talk to her, okay?" Vinyl walked away from the two mares, only to hear the laughs of Rainbow Dash.
Twilight sighed in relief as she watched the pink party pony walk out the door. "That's one crazy pony I've dealt with, now to deal with Vinyl." Twilight checked the clock. '11:30, the club didn't open too long ago. Maybe I'll stop by for the night and talk with Vinyl afterwards... but first...'
Twilight ran upstairs to her bedroom. She levitated a pair of violet glasses off of her dresser and over her eyes. She then looked at her straightened hair, 'how boring.' Twilight ruffled her mane in to a slightly messy look, but not too disorganized. Twilight giggled when she remembered what her marefriend once said to her.
'With those things on, you look like the kind of pony that would show up at my club!'
Twilight giggled to herself as she walked out the door. As stressful as things were right now, there was always time to have fun.
It was a short walk to club P0N-3, but it was boring nonetheless. Nopony was outside, it was just dark. What fun was there in quiet? Twilight didn't want quiet. Sure, it was nice sometimes, but right now, all Twilight wanted was loud music, her new marefriend, and a dance floor.
It didn't take Twilight long to get inside, but it did seem like Vinyl was right about the club needing to be bigger. 'The last couple of times I came here,' Twilight thought to herself, 'there weren't nearly as many ponies. It's going to be annoying to even get a drink at this rate!'
Music was blaring, lights were flashing, and for some strange reason, Twilight found herself more relaxed than ever. There were a few friendly faces here and there, but Twilight didn't care about that, not now. The first thing the lavender pony did was find her marefriend up on the stage.
Twilight ran to the front of the dance floor to get a better look at her marefriend on the stage. Twilight could barely even think to herself through her music, but what she did know what that Vinyl looked beautiful up on her pedestal. 'She sure is something,' Twilight started, 'and I somehow managed to get her.'
Tonight was the same as any night at the club to Vinyl Scratch. She played the same club, saw the same ponies, but wait, who was that she saw off in the middle of the dance floor. 'Is that?... It is!'
There she was, Twilight Sparkle. Her mane was ruffled like it was the other day. She even had her 'specs Vinyl got for her. 'Oh my gosh! She really did like them!' Vinyl could feel herself blush, and even let out a slight squeak. 'It's time to take a break,' thought Vinyl, 'I have a certain lavender pony to attend to.'
The minutes dragged on and Twilight had grown tired of waiting for her marefriend, and what better way to pass time at a club then to dance?
There were ponies of all kinds on the dance floor. Many drunk, many scared to even get out and dance, but those were all things Twilight didn't care about. She only wanted to have fun dancing, and that's just what she did. It didn't take long for the flashing lights to feel normal now, Vinyl's blaring music in the background, and Twilight, acting like a madpony, dancing with nopony and everypony.
Twilight had no idea how long it was before the music coming from all directions turned in to a voice. 'Wait, I know that voice. That's Vinyl! She must be on her break!' Twilight cheered silently to herself. Twilight didn't really listen to what Vinyl had to say, so much as how beautiful her voice was. Something about a living tombstone playing. 'I must have heard wrong.'
The white pony stepped off the stage and trot on to the bar. She didn't even take a seat. She just walked behind the bar, got a drink, and walked away. Twilight, who was watching from the distance, fell over laughing, along with a few other admirers and ponies seated at the bar.
It didn't take long after that for Vinyl to start walking over to Twilight. 'Oh Celestia,' Twilight thought, 'It feels like my heart is going to jump out of my chest.'
Vinyl's legs were shaky, she had an obvious blush, and barely managed to pull words together in time. "My my, what do we have here? Twilight Sparkle? Having fun? At a club? Not drunk?" Vinyl giggled and bit her bottom lip before taking a swig from her drink.
Time froze for the lavender mare. The lights stopped flashing, the dancing ponies around her disappeared. The only thing Twilight saw, the only thing Twilight cared about, was that white mare in front of her. She made everything more radiant. The lights at the club shined a bit brighter all of a sudden. "You know what, Vinyl Scratch? This is crazy. You're crazy." Twilight said, feigning a slight anger.
Now, Vinyl was nervous. "What? Twilight, I-"
Vinyl was interrupted by a nuzzle from Twilight, "Say nothing, Vinyl. I like crazy." Twilight tried to sigh, but the sound was washed away by the music in the background. "Vinyl, there's something about you. Something about you that makes me... Well, different. If you told me a few weeks ago that I would be going to a club in the middle of the night, dancing like a madpony, I would call you crazy, but look at me now."
"Twilight, thank you. In all honesty," Vinyl took a deep breath, "I was scared. Scared of moving here. Scared of meeting somepony new, hoping everything would end in heartache. I don't like getting all mushy, but, thank you." Vinyl landed a kiss on Twilight's cheek and tried to trot away, but she felt something tug on her tail. It was Twilight, holding her with both hooves in a blush that could compete with even a startled Fluttershy.
Twilight pulled Vinyl back in to a gentle kiss, soon turning in to a larger one. "Vinyl," Twilight started, letting the up-beat music flow back in to her ears. "Can I have this dance?"
(A/N: Wow! I barely made this! It's 11:56 when I finished this! Okay, so moving sort of sucks. I really did try to get this out fast, but between this, the side project Photo Journal, Lunar Justice and I are tossing around, AND moving, I'm really finding it tough to find time to write. Alright, sorry for the long ass wait guys, hopefully I can finish this up in the next few chapters, write some side stories or one-shots, then write the sequel to this!)
Time all but slowed down for Vinyl Scratch. Sure, she wasn't dancing in the most romantic way, but what else could she do at a club? There was something... Different about Twilight tonight, and Vinyl loved every single thing about it. She danced for what seemed like forever, but the clock only showed twenty minutes had passed. Twenty minutes... "Oh Horseapples!"
Vinyl gave her marefriend a quick kiss before running off. "I'll see you later, Twi'!" Vinyl could have sworn she heard a small cheer every time she kissed Twilight, but she was used to crowds watching her. Vinyl let out an audible sigh. After seeing Twilight, Vinyl was just tempted to leave early, but she knew she had fans waiting on her. "Back to work, then."
The night dragged on as Vinyl watched her marefriend enjoy herself on the dance floor. As the hours dragged on, more and more ponies left the dance floor, until the only ponies left in the club itself were Twilight, Vinyl, and a few less-than-sober stallions, and a zebra who was beyond hammered. 'Is that a zebra? Wait.... Is that zebra dancing with a stop sign?' The tired DJ thought to herself, but she quickly dismissed it. Around that time, Vinyl decided it was time to wrap up for the night. Sure, it was an hour or two early, but it seemed like everypony had somewhere to be.
The music soon ended, and Twilight, to Vinyl's surprise, ran up to Vinyl, embracing her in a kiss. It wasn't a long kiss, but it sure was passionate. Vinyl looked at the lavender mare before her, the deep violet mane, the sweat dripping off her coat, the way her frazzled hair was in her face. Even after a night of non-stop dancing, Twilight still managed to have a look of beauty and serenity. 'She's perfect.'
The bookworm hugged the white unicorn in front of her, "Vinyl! That was amazing! I mean... Wow! I never knew how much fun this was! The music was amazing, the dancing was fun, and.. and.."
"And you're sober this time!" Vinyl teased. "I'm glad you had a great time, Twi', but I'm exhausted, let's go get some sleep, yeah?"
"Alright, but shouldn't we make sure these two leave okay?" Twilight pointed her hoof towards a white pegasus, who could have easily been mistaken for Vinyl's brother due to his two-toned blue mane,dragging an unconscious zebra out of the club. "I didn't even know there were other zebras around Ponyville..."
Vinyl chuckled at her marefriend. Those two had been showing up almost every night since the club opened. The zebra and the stallion were quite popular. "Eh, they're fine. Like that almost every night. Not sure why, but that pegasus over there still doesn't have a cutie mark. He gets so much attention over it. His name's Photo, or Snapshot, or something like that. The stop sign is new though."
The two mares made their way out of the club as janitor ponies worked hard to clean up the mess the crazy lot of ponies last night made. The companions made their way through the sleeping town, saying hello to the occasional passing pony, and soon got to a familiar house. Vinyl's horn lit up as she pulled a key out from under a nearby rock and unlocked the door. " Aaah," Vinyl was immediately relaxed when she stepped through the door. "Home sweet home! Come on in, Twi'. I'll crash on the couch tonight."
The lavender mare looked at Vinyl as she jumped on to the nearby couch, "Oh no you don't! There's plenty of room for the both of us in your bed!" Twilight watched as a purple aura surrounded Vinyl, who was soon lifted in to the air. "Now you're coming with me."
"Wh- What do you think you're doing?" Vinyl said as she struggled to get free of her marefriend's grasp as she was dragged up the stairs. "I don't like being picked up!" The DJ watched her captor giggle as she opened the door to Vinyl's room. "I'm so going to get you back for this." Vinyl crossed her hooves and feigned dismay as she was neatly set on the bed, and soon tackled by Twilight, who was blushing deeply.
Vinyl looked at the mare before her, she almost felt a tear in her eye as she remembered how she treated her marefriend earlier that day. "Twilight, I'm sorry. I shouldn't of over reacted like I did earlier..."
"It's okay, Vinyl. You don't need to explain yourself. Y'know, Vinyl, the night IS still young." Twilight winked at Vinyl, "And I don't think I'm tired enough to go to sleep." The unicorn giggled as she kissed the still surprised mare, and turned off the lights.
"Urgh! Every night!" A mare complained, after being woken up for the umpteenth time that night. "Every night with this dreadful sound!" She stepped out of her posh bed and turned on the lights as she made her way to an open window, quickly shutting it with more than necessary force. "Do those uncouth ponies ever sleep?"
The mare turned back to bed, her purple mane still perfectly styled after tossing and turning all night. "If they think they'll get away with robbing my of my beauty sleep every night, they have another thing coming." The mare slid back under the covers, careful not to ruffle the sheets, and fell back asleep.
"So," Vinyl levitated a piece of apple pie to her mouth and took a bite. "what are the plans for today?"
The mare across the table from Vinyl pulled out a checklist, "First, we have breakfast...Check. Then we go meet Rarity... Then we get some lunch... Then I need to get back to studying for a while. That means I'll be busy for the next couple days." Twilight and Vinyl shared a frown. "Don't worry, I'll still try to sneak off to your club every once and a while!"
"Alright.. I guess." Vinyl cheered up as she levitated her and Twilight's dishes to the sink. "I'll get those later. So who's this Rarity pony? Would I have seen her around the club?"
Twilight laughed at Vinyl's question. "Rarity? Go to a night club? Good luck with that! She'll barely go to Pinkie's parties!" Twilight sat up and started out the door. "Come on, I'll tell you about her on the way."
The two mares trotted down the streets of Ponyville. "Rarity," Twilight started, "Is sort of the opposite of you. She's... Well... In a word, snooty. I mean, don't get me wrong! She's a really nice pony, but she can be a little... Uptight."
"So she works at the boutique by the club, right?"
"Well, she lives there to. Oh, and just try not to get caught up as a living mannequin. When I first met her she spent hours finding the right 'look' for me."
Soon after, the two mares arrived at a large building. The boutique it self looked like it was straight out of a child's storybook. It had two large oval windows with yellow curtains on the other side of the glass, and a large white and purple checkered roof, followed by a large yellow tip with a flag on it. Twilight knocked a few times, only to hear a familiar voice on the other side of the purple door.
"The boutique is closed today! Please come back tomorrow!" Said a demanding, yet somehow regal voice.
"Rarity, it's Twilight! I want you to meet somepony!" Twilight shouted at the door, and she soon heard hoofsteps coming towards the door. It swung open to reveal a unicorn with quite the uniquely styled mane. Vinyl thought she looked like something out of a magazine.
"Oh, hello darling! It's been ages since you stepped out of that tree of yours just to stop and say hello!" Said the posh unicorn as she hugged her long-time friend. "Twilight, please come in! Oh, and you! Miss..."
"Oh, I'm Vinyl Scratch... Nice to meet you." Vinyl said as she shook Rarity's hoof.
"The pleasure's all mine, dear! Any friend of Twilight is a friend of mine! I simply love your mane! You must let me style it!" Vinyl looked at Twilight who was desperately shaking her head 'no' behind Rarity.
"I'll, uhh... have to take you up on that offer some other time. Thanks, though." The three mares made their way inside. They crossed countless fabrics along the floor, mannequins askew here and there, but the boutique was still quite clean.
"Please forgive the mess, darling. I've just been so exhausted I haven't had time to clean up!"
"Exhausted? Do you have a big order to fill or something, Rarity?" Twilight started to notice how tired the mare actually did look. It wasn't exhaustion, as she would say, or even too little sleep, but she definitely wasn't getting her 12 hours of beauty sleep.
"No, darling, it's that party club, or whatever it's called, down the street! It's-" Rarity's tirade was interrupted by a more than proud Vinyl Scratch.
"It's awesome, right? You can thank me for that. Thanks to me, that old dusty building, whatever it was, turned in to the most kickin' club in all of Equestria!"
"What? Surely you don't go to that dreaded place!" Rarity said, shocked. "Here I thought you were such a nice pony."
"You have a problem with my club? It's really not so bad. I mean, I'm sure we can work something ou-"
"Leave this place! You have done quite enough to me with your precious 'club'!" It was easy to see that Rarity was angry, possibly more so than Twilight had ever seen. "Twilight, come back when you aren't with this miscreant!"
"Rarity," Twilight started, "Don't you think you're over reacting a little?"
"Over reacting? I've been losing countless hours of sleep ever since that monstrosity was built!" Twilight and Vinyl both felt a wave of magic wash over them as they were pushed towards the door. "I won't be happy until my petition to get that horrible place turned down is passed!" The door slammed behind the two surprised mares.
"So, uh... Is she always like this?" Vinyl said, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof. Vinyl looked over to see Twilight with the expression of utter terror on her face. "Twi'? You okay?"
"Yeah, it's just... She's never treated anypony like that... I'm sorry.." Twilight looked at the ground for a moment, she felt a tear come on, but she felt the feeling vanish faster than it appeared when Vinyl nuzzled her.
"It's okay, Twilight. I get that a lot. It comes with the job. I promise I'm not mad, and who knows? Once Rarity cools down, I'm sure we can work something out. Maybe I can even make a regular club goer out of her!"
Twilight giggled at her marefriend. "Thanks, Vinyl. I can always count on you. It's only been a few days, but I feel like I've known you forever." A list appeared in front of Twilight and Vinyl, along with a quill. Twilight used the quill to check off, 'Go visit Rarity.' "Next we have... Lunch! I know this really good place right down the road! After that I have so much stuff to catch up on..."
"Yeah," Vinyl sighed, "and I should probably get unpacked... Those boxes have been sitting there forever. Alright, so what's this place called?"
"Oh, it's actually a food stand I found a few weeks ago, but it makes really good sweets! It's even better than the Apples' pie! Oh," Twilight's face went straight, "and never let me figure out you told Applejack I said that. She'll get so competitive with that stand she'd probably end up running it out of business."
The thought of Applejack mad at somepony made Vinyl giggle. "She isn't that bad, I'm sure! So... A stand that sells pies?"
"It isn't too uncommon around here, actually. Ponies bake what they can in the morning, then come sell them in the day." The two ponies approached the marketplace as Twilight explained. "See?"
Vinyl could see ponies selling things of all sorts. There was a section for Vegetables, some ponies were setting up stands for music, and there were even a few stands just selling what looked like random odds and ends they found at their house. "Do ponies really make a living like this?"
"Well, not all of them. Sometimes ponies can rent out a stand for the day, or bring their own and set up. I did it once for a book sale... I was surprised when it didn't go so well... Anyways, today seems a little bit more busy than usual."
The two mares walked through the Ponyville marketplace, a few ponies recognized Twilight as the crazy pony she was at the club. A lot more recognized Vinyl Scratch, though. Which could be expected, seeing as she's the DJ of a club that's spiraling in to popularity. A few even asked Twilight where she got her 'cool glasses'. She seemed to be avoiding the questions, though. 'Why can't she just say that I gave them to her? Is she afraid to say it?' Vinyl shrugged off the thought. She could talk to her about it later.
After a long walk, some compliments on her music, and few complaints on it, Vinyl finally figured out why this stand was worth the hassled walk. "This," Vinyl took another bite of her cherry pie, "Is the best thing I ever tasted! I thought I'd be burned out on pie after breakfast, but I feel like I could eat one of these for every meal!"
The two mares carried on their conversation as they trotted down the roadside of Ponyville, until they reached the large hallowed out tree that Twilight calls home. "So," Vinyl started, "I guess this is goodbye for a few days, huh?" As Vinyl muttered those words, she realized how much of a pain it would be without seeing Twilight all the time. She had been at her side for the better part of a week.
"Well, I guess you don't have to leave just yet.. I could stay up a little later tonight. C'mon in! I'm sure you're at least a little thirsty from eating a whole pie. I'll make us some tea!" Twilight opened the door to the library, just as she left it. "I bet Spike hasn't even gotten out of bed yet." The lavender mare ran upstairs, only to soon reappear with a purple and green blob behind her. "Spike! Wake up, It's already past noon!"
"Wha? The baby dragon woke up to find himself on the ground. "What's the deal, Twi'?" Spike got up, looking slightly disgruntled.
"The deal is that you almost slept through the whole day! It's not good for you, Spike. Go wash up and I'll make you something to eat." Twilight attempted to put on a stern face, but she couldn't help but smile and hug the dragon. "You are just a baby dragon, after all."
"Yeah, yeah. Make me some waffles, will ya?" Defeated, Spike walked back up the stairs to do his morning routine.
The little display itself wasn't out of the usual for Twilight, but she always liked the look on her number one assistant's face. "Never could replace him..."
"Y'know, Twilight..." Vinyl started, giggling at the way she treated Spike, "You'd make a good mom."
"Me? W-what? No way." Twilight's quickly recovered from from Vinyl's comment. "But that does remind me, next month I'm going to Canterlot to visit my parents and Princess Celestia. Do you want to come? I'm sure they'd all like to meet you."
The two mares walked in to the kitchen and Twilight pulled out a tea kettle and a waffle iron, along with a container filled with batter from the refrigerator. "I don't know, Twi, I don't know what would be harder. Meeting the Princess, or meeting my Marefriend's parents. I'll have to close down the club for a few days... I-"
"Pleaaaase?" Twilight did her best to put on a sad face, which always worked wonders when Rarity did it. "I'll be so lonely if you don't come..."
Vinyl let out an audible sigh. "Fine, I'll go. I'll just need to make sure everypony knows I'm closing the club for a little. Hey, I've been wondering... Where did you get a baby dragon from?" Vinyl found herself wondering what a dragon was doing in a library last time.
"Oh, I get that a lot." Twilight hummed to herself as she picked up the whistling tea kettle, and set the last waffle on a plate, now making a stack of at least six. "That's actually how I got to know Celestia. When I was just a filly, my parents tried to enroll me in Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. The entrance exam was to hatch a dragon's egg." Twilight continued with her story as she and her marefriend sat down at the table, sipping her tea.
"And that's how I ended up being accepted in to the academy, got my cutie mark, and met Celestia. Spikes been my assistant ever since." Twilight levitated her and Vinyl's now empty cups to the sink.
"Well, I guess I better go. I don't want to keep you from studying. Thanks for the lunch, Twi'!" Vinyl headed out the door, but soon found herself being dragged back towards Twilight.
"Oh no you don't! You can't leave, not without this." Twilight pulled Vinyl's lips up against hers.
The two mares just sat there, their lips interlocked, Vinyl's tongue struggling for dominance against Twilight's. "Umm..." The two mares jumped back to see Spike standing a few feet away from them.
"I...uuuh... I better go! See ya, Twi'!" As if to intentionally make the situation worse, Vinyl kissed Twilight on the cheek before dashing out the door. Leaving a confused dragon, and a blushing mare.
(A/N: It's here! It's here! So A LOT of shit happened, recently, making it so I couldn't write. About time I got back to it, huh? I wan't to thank you guys for being so patient, and I think I'm going to end this story either next chapter or the one after that. On a side note: Many of you know Photo Journal, Lunar Justice, and I are working on a compilation project, which will be started soon, but I'd like to welcome the infamous Dark0592 to the project! I can't wait to work with these people, so keep an eye out for the story on his page!)
P.S.: Forgive the mistakes, it's been a long night. If you see any feel free to leave a comment or pm me!
"Are you sure about this? When I asked about all the spells you knew, it was just to kill time. Isn't this a little... Excessive?" Vinyl looked up at the mare in question, who was browsing through a large stack of spell books, jotting down some more interesting spells on a scroll that was already nearly full.
"Nonsense, Scratchie!" Twilight looked up at her marefriend as she took a sip from her coffee. "We still have a few hours until Pinkie comes by. It's not like these are the most complicated spells. A full grown mare should have no problem learning them in a few minutes. "
"Are you sure Pinkie is the best for the job? I mean, it's only gonna be a few weeks in Canterlot. I could easily close down." Vinyl used her magic to envelop Twilight's scroll in a light blue aura, floating it towards her. "Twi, I'd hate to burst your bubble, but I don't think I could learn 'short-range teleportation' in a few hours."
"Oh, come on! That one's easy! As for Pinkie..." Twilight tapped her hoof to her chin, "I don't see anyone who could keep up with that lifestyle besides her. Even if I did, it's a little short to ask them to take over, we're leaving in a few days! It's not like she's going to DJ there, but she'll just make sure everything goes well every night. Pinkie said she'd take care of the music, she said something about a friend who could help out."
"Alright, alright, but I still don't want to do any of this magic stuff! I'll just look dumb in front of you." Vinyl stood up, walking up the stairs of what could easily be called her second home. The last few weeks, Vinyl was rarely in her house, and when she was, she found herself either with her marefriend, or longing for her company. "I'll be taking a nap if you need me."
When Vinyl reached the top of the stairs, she was astounded to find that Twilight was already laying in her bed, winking and beckoning Vinyl over. "See how handy it can be? How about this... Every time you do a little better," Twilight pulled her mouth up to Vinyl's ear, she had gotten quite good at being seductive in her few weeks since giving herself to Vinyl. "I do a little something for you."
The DJ before her turned a bright shade of crimson as she was locked in to a kiss. "This better be worth it." Vinyl said as she feigned boredom.
"See? I told you!" Twilight applauded as Vinyl managed to teleport a small hair brush on the dresser a few feet forward. "All you needed was some motivation." Twilight gave her marefriend a peck on the cheek.
"Well... Yeah, I guess you were right, as always." Vinyl looked down, defeated. Though she looked a little disappointed, she couldn't hold a face like that for long, and soon burst in to a huge, prideful smile. "I never could do that when I was a filly! When I was younger I was always behind my class in magic!"
"Oh, well it doesn't seem like that's a problem now." With a flash of light, Twilight appeared on the bed on the other side of Vinyl in a suggestive pose, "Anyways... Here's your prize."
Vinyl's ears perked up at the sight of Twilight as she walked up to the mare in question. The DJ locked her lover in a hungry, passionate kiss. The bookworm elicited a slight moan of pleasure as her marefriend got on to the bed and embraced her.
Knock Knock Knock
Twilight pulled away from her lover and got out of the bed. "One second, Vinyl."
"For the love of Celestia!" Vinyl slumped back in to the bed, defeated. She played with her hooves while waiting impatiently for her lover.
Twilight barged in to the door only to be met with a kiss from Vinyl. Twilight pulled away, "Uh.. Vinyl, now really isn't a good -mph!"
"Shhh," Vinyl pulled away only for a second to catch her breath, "I waited, now it's my turn." Vinyl winked at Twilight as she melted in her marefriend's hooves.
"Vinyl, we really shouldn't..." Twilight forced herself to get up, "Save all that energy for tonight. I'll make sure you enjoy it." Twilight giggled and winked at Vinyl.
"Twilight! Where'd ya go?" Pinkie sat anxiously at the table in the Kitchen, sipping on the tea Twilight gave her. She hadn't seen much of Twilight or Vinyl lately, and as sickened as she was to lose Twilight, some part of Pinkie was happy for them.
"Sorry, Pinkie. Vinyl is... Really hard to wake up." The two mares walked down from the stairs leading to Twilight's bedroom.
"Oh, it's fine, Twilight." Pinkie looked back down at her tea and started nervously playing with her hooves. "Hi, Vinyl."
"Uuh, hi? What's gotcha down, 'Pinks? You'd normally be jumping off the wall to see a friend after being busy for so long!" It was strange, really. Vinyl could practically taste the awkwardness in the air. "What's wrong, Pinkie?"
Pinkie inwardly sighed to herself. 'Thank Celestia Twilight didn't tell Vinyl.' The party mare threw on her usual smile, "Oh, it's nothing. I'm just... Super DUPER happy to see you!" Pinkie perked up and embraced the two mares in a big hug. "There's so much we need to get to work on! And I can't believe you're going to meet the princess, and you need a going away party thrown, and omigosh a PARTY!"
Twilight suppressed a chuckle. She finally saw the Pinkie she hadn't seen in a long time.
"Come on, Vinyl! We're gonna be late!" Twilight ran up the stairs and pushed the white mare out of the bed, now waking her up for the third time that morning. "I know you don't like to get up, but this is the only train to Canterlot that leaves in the morning! You know how I feel about being late!"
"Uuugh..." Vinyl rubbed her head as she got off the unforgiving wood floor. "We need some carpet up here, 'Twi."
Twilight ran in to the bathroom, running a brush through her hair. "Alright, I let you sleep in, and I packed all our stuff last night. We need to go!" Twilight picked up one of her newer visors and stuffed it in a bag. "Canterlot has the best night life... I'll finally be able to wear these!" Twilight squeed to herself as she beckoned Vinyl out the door. Ever since Vinyl gave her that first pair of 'specs, Twilight fell in love with them, and though they were nice to wear everyday, like Vinyl, they just didn't scream "party" as much as she wanted them to. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she spent at least half of her last month's allowance on new glasses, 'specs, and visors.
"I'm coming!" Vinyl screamed, shoving a small, wrapped package in to her suitcase before running outside, levitating a still-sleeping purple dragon on to her back.
"So, you ready to meet the Princess?" The lavender mare asked Vinyl as they trotted down to the train station. "She's been dying to meet my first marefriend."
"Yeah, not really." Vinyl looked down at the ground, "I mean, I've seen her once or twice before, like at the royal wedding, but she's just so... Intimidating."
"Nonsense! Princess Celestia is wonderful, and I know you'll just fall in love with her when you see her." Twilight calmed down a tone as the two mares arrived at the train station. "Heh, arrived with just a few minutes to spare."
The two mares boarded their train, and sat in the nearest booth for what seemed like hours before they could see the Ponyville train station fading away.
The train ride to Canterlot itself wasn't too long, lasting about three hours. Twilight fell asleep soon after the train started moving, but Vinyl couldn't sleep a wink, just as she didn't last night. 'What if she doesn't like me?' Vinyl imagined what sort of punishments the Monarch of Equestria could come up with.
Soon enough, the train shook Spike awake, leaving him dazed, and confused about his current surroundings. "Huh? How'd we get here?"
Vinyl just giggled at Spike. "Well, Squirt, between how heavy you sleep, and how quick Twilight and I got here, it doesn't surprise me you didn't wake up for it." The mare rested a hoof against the purple dragon's head. "So, you excited about seeing your family? It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Yeah.... I mean, they aren't really my family, but it will be nice to see them. The last time we saw them was at the wedding last year." Spike looked down at the floor. "They always ask how Twilight is in the letters, but never even a hello to me."
"Oh, Spike! You should know better!" Vinyl smiled down at the dragon before her. "As much as I hate to sound sentimental, they are your family, and they're the most important people in your life. I remember the last time I saw my brother... It's been a few years, but we still write each other almost every day. Just know they love you as much as they would anyone else." Vinyl still noticed Spike wasn't looking too happy. "Besides, I think you're a pretty cool dragon."
"Thanks, Scratch." Spike smiled up at Vinyl. The two never really saw each other as mutual friends anymore.But after Vinyl watched over Spike when Twilight was busy with the girls, or Vinyl spent the night almost every night, they saw each other as brother and sister more than anything. It was a safe bet that in the few weeks they had known each other, the two shared a bond that was nearly as strong as the one he shared with Twilight.
The two shared a few hushed jokes as the bookworm slept like a rock through the train ride, but eventually, it came to a stop. That, of course, didn't stop Twilight from continuing to sleep like a rock. Vinyl had to carry the mare out due to the fact that she put up a soundproof bubble when she was first awoken.
Eventually, the mare was able to get up, now sitting on Vinyl's back as she carried her through the streets of Canterlot. "You know," Started the mare, "This is a lot more fun than walking..."
"Oh, ha ha, Twi. Now can you get off my back? I'm getting tired of carrying you, and ponies are starting to look."
"I.... Right..." Twilight grinned sheepishly as she looked around and saw that, there were, in fact, ponies watching a full-grown mare ride on another mare's back. Twilight quickly dismounted her marefriend, blushing red as a tomato. A rare sight nowadays. "Anyways... First place we need to head to is the castle. The princess has my old room set up for us!" Twilight jumped up and down excitedly, "You should see it, Scratchie! There's so many books!"
"Hehehe... Scratchie..." Spike was going to enjoy that name.
The walk to the castle was, sadly, long and uneventful, but the three friends managed to make it fun.
"So that's when I said, 'Wub you? I barely even know you!'" The mare laughed at her own joke, nearly as loud as Twilight did.
"We're here!" The purple bookworm pointed to the guarded gate of the Canterlot castle.
"Ah... This place... Can we just go in? There are guards... Everywhere..." Vinyl shuddered. It's like she was always being watched.
"Yup! That reminds me..." Twilight ran up to one of the guards outside, "I need to know where your captain is, guard! Also, if it isn't a problem, could I get someone to take these bags up to the library?"
The guard remained still. His eyes unmoving, not even glancing at the lavender mare before him.
"Did I mention that I'm Twilight Sparkle, the personal protege of the Princess, the Captain's sister, good friends with Luna, and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is my sister?" Twilight grinned at the guard, who immediately broke in to a sweat. She knew that the first rule of any guard, was to always fear, respect, and follow royalty, which she certainly was on some degree. Spike and Vinyl could be heard giggling in the background.
"R-Right this way, ma'am." The guard led them to what Twilight recognized as the guard barracks, which also served as the training grounds. "He's right through here, though I don't recommend you interrupt him at the moment. He's currently overseeing the training of the newest recruits."
Twilight, in one of the cockiest moods she'd been in in a while, ignored the armored stallion. Running through numerous sparring grounds, until she saw the pony she came to see. "SHINY!"
"Wha? The Captain turned around as the surrounding guards raised their weapons, only to be knocked over by what he immediately recognized as his sister. "Twily!" Shining Armor said, quickly getting back on to his hooves. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to visit everypony, including you, silly!" Twilight hugged her older brother, it was good to see him again. "I know you're busy, but we're having dinner with the Princesses tonight, and I was wondering if you could make it. I have so much to tell you!"
"I'd love to, Twily. You'll have to introduce me to your new friend as well. Shining looked over to a mare who shared the same mane colors as him. She was currently trying to hide behind Spike. "I swear I've seen her somewhere before."
"You have! She was the DJ at your wedding! Anyways, I'll see you later, BBBFF!" With that, Twilight ran off, along with Spike and Vinyl, who gladly followed.
"Hey, what's wrong, Vinyl?" Spike asked the mare beside him as they walked through the palace to the wing that held the library. "You seem a little shaken up."
"Oh, I'm fine, Spike. I'm just a little worried about meeting the Princess...es." Vinyl gulped at the last part of her sentence. "I didn't know we'd be eating with both of them."
"Relax! Luna and I go way back. I'd trust them both with my life if I had to." Twilight started. "Anyways, Celestia is busy with court, and Luna sleeps until about seven every night. That gives us a few hours to relax in the library."
Vinyl actually found the library to be quite nice. There was a whole section dedicated to music, and even a few instruments. What stuck out to her, however, was what she could only imagine was a large violin, and beside it, a framed picture of a younger Twilight and some other grey mare with a black mane, the one distinctive feature about her, however, was a pink bow-tie.
(A/N: It's good to be back. Also, as much as you guys said not to, I'm bringing her in. Not sure about a shippy-type-aspect or anything like that, yet, though. Be warned, if I do decide it, this story will be re-written and the whole Pinkie storyline will be deleted. Also, in case you guys haven't guessed, this isn't the last chapter.)
Wub woo guys!
System
P.S.: I'd like to thank C. Note for proof-reading this chapter!
YES, I KNOW THIS WAS A SHORT LITTLE THING. I HAD TO STOP MY INBOX FROM BEING SPAMMED.
I had to write it before I went to work, now that I have more time I can explain that I really just wasn't feeling it for writing, and I'm not sure if this will be the last fanfiction I ever write, but I feel like I need to finish this, for both myself and the loyal readers.
I'm taking a break on the 21st, so I'll try to get a chapter out around this weekend, but I don't plan on burning myself out like I did with the first few chapters. Love ya guys!
