A Scratched Record

Chapters

Did it Hurt When you Fell From Heaven?
Come Here Often?
Can I Buy You a Drink?
You’ve Been Running Through my Mind all Day
What Would it Take For You to Tell Me You Wub Me?
This Must be a Dream, Because There’s No Way You’re Real

Did it Hurt When you Fell From Heaven?

The night club doors swung open, releasing a solid wall of music and cheering. “See ya later guys, Dj Pon3 is out!” a happy and extremely drunk Vinyl Scratch called into the crowd of ponies as she meandered her way out of the club backwards. After nearly falling over twice from her attempt at a classy exit, she turned and cantered into the open night and began her trot home even as the crowd roared her name from inside.

Vinyl had finished her gig hours ago. She could have been home long before Celestia’s sun ever even touched the horizon, but when a fan offered her a few free drinks and somepony put on one of The Living Tombstone's newest tracks, Vinyl couldn’t help but agree to stick around for “another hour or so”.

Octy would have my head if she knew I was out so late drinking… the inebriated DJ thought to herself with a small frown. The frown perked up into a sly grin with her next thought, It’s a good thing Octy doesn’t come home until tomorrow evening… or is that today… The unicorn frowned again, unable to recall what time she had actually left the club. She eventually shrugged off the thought and returned to her happy smile as she teetered this way and that down the streets of Manehatten to her shared apartment. The streets were basically empty at whatever hour it may have been, but whether the mare with the electric blue streaks in her mane had noticed or even cared was anypony’s guess.

On a whim, Vinyl turned down a street two blocks early on the way home. Her brain had just thought of a neat new “shortcut” that she was sure would get her home much faster than the straight line she was on originally. No sooner had she turned, did she see a blurred streak cut through the sky overhead and crash noisily into an alley a few buildings down. A cat screeched and hissed as it ran from the disturbance, followed by a stray rolling trash can lid.

“Hey… whazzat…?” Her new shortcut forgotten and replaced with drunken curiosity, the DJ began making her way to the new object of her attention. She nearly fell over three times in an attempt at a gallop and regulated herself back to trotting when her last stumble nearly ended in her finding out what a newspaper stand tasted like.

Having finally reached the mouth of the alley, Vinyl slowly cantered in to see what the ruckus had been when she saw a familiar shift of ethereal and synthetic night shift on the ground, shrouded by a dumpster and some miscellaneous trash. The sight slightly sobered the unicorn as she shouted her next thoughts. “Princess Luna!?”

Vinyl was by her princess’ side in moments and using her magic to push away the debris and dumpster that was shrouding one of her country’s rulers. It only took her a moment to realize her mistake when she had a full view what laid before her. “Princess Luna’s… mane?” Laying on the ground was indeed a mass of what appeared to be the same mane Princess Luna wore upon her head the last time Vinyl had seen her in Canterlot. The idea that this same Luna was now somewhere in Manehatten bald elicited a rumbling chuckle until the mane began to move on its own accord.

Vinyl let out a drunken squeak and fell back onto her haunches as she watched the creature before her begin to stand up. The DJ pony stared in astonishment at the sight before her. Now coming to stand on two pony like legs, was a being whose body seemed to emulate Luna’s starry night sky. Huh, that’s kinda pretty... It stood no taller than Vinyl did on all four hooves. But rather than its front limbs ending in hooves themselves, they ended somewhat like tentacles hanging by it’s sides. Or, at least, one of them did at this moment, as the other was wrapped around it’s shoulder. It had no mane or tail, but for all it’s worth didn’t seem to be missing them in the slightest. It’s head was hung slightly low as it slouched slightly, the two most brilliant looking stars on its body stood out on its head. Vinyl stared into them for a few moments before she recognized that they were actually staring back; they were it's eyes. The final observation Vinyl made of the being in front of her was that it was hurt…bad.

“Please… help me…” The starry being spoke these words in a soft female tone full of pain before stumbling forward and collapsing. It didn’t seem quite dead yet, but it was definitely close.

Vinyl approached the creature with her caution abandoned and her drunken state overwriting every red flag her brain sent that the creature could be dangerous. “Hey! C’mon now, are you okay!?” Vinyl didn’t know anything about the situation besides the thought: Help her, help her now! She leaned down to the being and nudged her side with her own muzzle. The action resulted in the creature shuddering and turning its head to the now much closer unicorn before speaking.

“I think… I’m dying…”, the female voice wheezed. It shuddered as it spoke and didn’t appear capable of standing again; the fact that she managed it before was a miracle in itself from the condition she was in.

Vinyl struggled a moment to get her horn to light despite her fuzzy state. The mare lifted her trademark shades from her eyes and onto her horn once the strange entity was bathed in the blue light, now able to make out some of her worse injuries. The arm it was cradling had a nasty gash along the shoulder and was leaking a white liquid as brightly colored as the stars on its body. Smaller scars could be found all over its back and legs. Vinyl felt guilty that she couldn’t tell if the sight was ghastly or beautiful.

“You might have something there…” was all Vinyl could say in return. Drunk as she was, she couldn’t stand there and do nothing. She came to a stern conclusion, punctuated by a smart nod of her head. “If there is anything I can do to help, you gotta let me know.”

For a while, the being only breathed. It seemed to be considering its options before it started its eventual reply. “There is… but I don’t… want to impo-”

Vinyl cut her off with a frustrated snort. “Impose!? You’re bleeding out in an alley and you’re worried I might be too busy to help? Lady, you insult me!” she finished her her statement strong but held a grin on her face.

The creature didn’t appear to catch on to Vinyl’s sarcasm and continued as if she had really said something wrong. “Oh my, I’m so-” in her sudden bout of guilt, the creature attempted to pull herself up only to scream in pain and fall back to the ground.

“Whoa! Calm down, it’s fine!” Vinyl was sobering up quickly now that the stress from the situation was catching up with her. “Geeze lady, it was sarcasm. Now I don’t care what you need, I’ll help however I can.” Vinyl’s idea of help only extended as far as carrying her to the nearest hospital or getting some guards. She even entertained the idea of taking her back home with her, should she be in any trouble with the law. What did happen was a far cry from anything she had imagined.

Starry eyes peered up at her once again before she spoke. “If you are certain… please lend me your hoof.” Her voice was almost a whisper when she spoke.The wheezing was much less apparent but not in a good way. All the lights on her body were dimming quickly and her end was racing to meet her.

“Yeah, sure.” Vinyl reached down with her hoof with the idea that she was going to help her up. One of it’s arms wrapped itself around her hoof with a cool feeling. She attempted to pull the creature up but was startled to find her hoof was held sternly in place as the beings appendage wrapped more and more around her hoof and spread up her leg, coating her in the same starry body as she was attempting to save.

“What are you-?” Vinyl choked out through her shock and confusion. Her eyes were wide and unbelieving at what her naive show of empathy now awarded her.

“Please, brace yourself…” The words were startling not only because they were decidedly much less pain filled, but because they were not coming from the being itself. No, despite the words being a perfect match for the creature before her, they were coming from inside her own head.

If Vinyl’s mouth had not yet been covered at this point, she would have screamed. Instead, she did the next best thing for a mare in her situation. Vinyl passed out.

A white unicorn mare was quietly snoring in her bed at roughly three in the afternoon. Her dark blue mane with electric blue streaks was disheveled from a ghastly case of bed head. The smile on her face screamed to all the world that she was content with life and all it’s blessings as she laid limp in her slumber of satisfaction.

“Vinyl…” A voice called out to the comatose DJ, seemingly from nowhere and everywhere at once.

“Mmm, blerg…” was the only response the voice was awarded with. The unicorn rolled over and snuggled her head deeper into her pillow. In moments she was completely gone once more.

“Vinyl… It’s time to wake up now, Vinyl…” The voice was now slightly more assertive, but still very much soft in it’s tone.

The mare was now stirring out of her sleep. “Do I have to… it’s Sunday and I don’t have a gig today Octy…” Vinyl’s muzzle was in a curt frown while her eyes were shut tight and refused to open. When did Octy get home…? The thought came to her as she laid there. When did Octy’s voice get that sexy? This thought got Vinyl’s mind chugging along as she opened her eyes and sat up in bed for the first time that day. “You’re not Octy…” was all she said as she peered around the empty room, lit by the afternoon sun from her window.

Vinyl was still looking around the two mare bedroom when the voice picked up again. “Ah, you don’t remember what happened last night do you? Please, go over to the dresser mirror and I’ll explain everything.” The voice finished in a supportive tone with a hint of enthusiasm.

The mare with the double eighth note cutie mark hesitated before slowly removing her covers and sliding out of bed. Her hooves met the floor in a quartet of clopping sounds and she began inching her way to the mirror. She wasn’t scared however; she was more curious than anything. Where have I heard that voice before? the thought scratched at the back of her mind as she came to stand before her own reflection. It was no surprise that that had been all that waited to greet her at the mirror. “Alright, whoever you are, this isn’t funny. Why don’t you come out and we can talk about what you’re doing in my home.” Vinyl’s expression was, overall, more irritated than angry as she addressed the mirror for lack of a better target.

The voice responded with a light chuckle before it spoke. “As you wish, my savior. Please, keep your attention on your reflection and close one eye.” the request was strange but endearing.

“...This is gonna be one of those mornings, huh?” was all Vinyl could say on the matter before shutting her left eye and watching her reflection follow suit. I swear to Celestia, if Lyra put Bon Bon up to this I’m gonna-

The mare’s thought was cut short when the voice returned once more from no discernable direction. “I assure you this has nothing to do with this ‘Bon Bon’, but you may now open your eye.”

The statement startled Vinyl as the realization of the response hit her. “How did you… I didn’t say that out loud did I?” she opened her eye and stared into it’s new reflection. Her head now stared back at her with one red eye, and one eye made of the night’s sky. A single huge star at it’s center where her pupil might have been.

Instead of from wherever it had been before, the voice now came from vinyls own mouth, but in a voice that was not her own. “Hello, Vinyl Scratch, please allow me to finally thank you for saving my life,” she saw her reflection say before half of her mouth formed a grin just under the starlit eye.

The DJ was less than prepared to be thanked by herself and only screamed in horror in response. She backpedaled and fell over when she lost her balance. Lying on the floor, she began taking long ragged breaths that bordered on hyperventilation. All she wanted to do was lay there and hope whatever just happened would go away. She was not so lucky.

“Please... miss Vinyl, calm yourself... so I might... explain.” the voice still came from her mouth as opposed from where Vinyl was now certain had been her own mind. It also seemed to be having a difficult time getting the words out between her heavy breathing.

Her breath beginning to slow, Vinyl tried to calm her nerves. She almost felt as if she was being assisted from some outside force. Reluctantly, the DJ picked herself up off the floor and returned to the mirror where one of her eyes still stared back at her like the night sky. Half of her face wore an empathetically worried look while the other only seemed frightened. “What.. the buck!?”

The side of her face no longer under her control cringed as it began it’s reply. “My… apologies, Miss Scratch. Allow me to introduce myself…” the expression lightened slightly before beginning a formal introduction. “My name is Xila, and I am a being known as a Celestian.” The expression turned into a smile as it continued on. “And last night, you saved my life.”

Vinyl raised one hoof to her reflection before she addressed her new acquaintance, her side of her face was now displaying a look of mild bewilderment. “Hold up. One: you are not Princess Celestia. And B: What do you mean ‘saved your life’?”

“I said ‘Celestian’, not Celestia. I am a being that lives in the sky. Far, far above your clouds and among your stars.” Xila replied quite matter-of-factly, her side of the face had it’s eye closed as it displayed no small amount of pride for herself. “And you saved my life after I came crashing out of the sky from entering your world’s atmosphere. You stated, and I quote, ‘I don’t care what you need, I’ll help however I can.’” Xila made the mistake of using Vinyl’s own voice for the quote and earned another shriek for her efforts.

“Gah! Don’t ever do that again!” Vinyl held one hoof over her heart while she spoke. Her guest’s quote did start to unfurl her memories of the previous night, all the way up to the point she had passed out. “Hang on a second, just what the hay did you do to me last night? I remember lending you a hoof and then… Did you try to smother me!?” Vinyl’s half was a look of horror at the thought the creature may have attempted to kill her.

“Oh! No, no-no-no! You misunderstand Miss Scratch. All I was doing was entering your body, I never intended to-” Xila was cut off when a hoof planted itself upon their shared muzzle. It stayed there until she gave up on speaking, and only pulled away to allow Vinyl a turn to use their mouth.

“Okay, for starters, just call me Vinyl.” Vinyl spoke while rubbing her temples with her hooves. Her eye was closed in thought while the other was watching the reflection with quiet respect. “Second, why in Equestria would you need to… ‘enter my body’!? I said I would help, but how the hay does that mean ‘Come on in, there’s enough room in here for the both of us.’? The mare now pointed an accusing hoof at her reflection.

Xila’s eye stared back at Vinyl’s for a few moments before closing. When it opened again, it had returned to the same red irised orm it had always been and Vinyl could feel her face once again totally under her control. ”I am sorry mi-... Vinyl. It appears I have overstepped my bounds in accepting assistance from somepony in such an… odd state…” It appeared Xila had returned to speaking to Vinyl through the use of her thoughts.

Vinyl sighed. “The word you’re looking for is 'drunk'.” Vinyl responded “Ah geez, look… Zeela?”

”That pronunciation is accurate if not somewhat simple.” Xila confirmed honestly.

“Right… just gonna call you Zee.” Vinyl spoke into the open air now, the mirror forgotten and a deadpan expression on her face. “Look, glad I could help and all but I really can’t have you squatting in my noodle, so can you get out of me before things get any weirder?”

Xila was silent for a bit too long before finally speaking up from the back of the unicorns mind. “I’m afraid that could be a problem.”

The DJ groaned. “And what could that be?” she asked with a roll of her eyes.

“Well…” the Celestian began hesitantly. “If I attempt to leave your body before I am fully healed… it could kill us both- Ow! I admit that our situation is less than pleasant but is it necessary to strike us both!?” Xila’s tone was indignant at the end and with good reason.

Having heard the line “kill us both”, Vinyl facehoofed…hard. Hard enough she was now rubbing the spot on her head with a painful wince on her face. “You can feel that too, huh? Sorry…it’s a habit...” The white mare trailed off for a moment while she organized her thoughts. “How long…?”

Unbeknownst to Vinyl, The Celestian had been listening to both the mare’s words and her thoughts. “If we are to both come out of this unscathed and I healed properly, it will take approximately two weeks- Yeowch! Vinyl please!”

The offending party was now rubbing another spot on her head where her second facehoof in as many minutes had just landed it’s blow. “Gah! Geez that smarts! How the hay are we supposed to spend two weeks like…” Vinyl reared up on her hind hooves and faced the mirror once more. She used her front hooves to gesture herself entirely before finishing her statement. “This!?” Her sudden outcry finished, the unicorn slumped down onto the floor with her front hooves now covering her eyes.

If Xila was still sharing Vinyl’s face right now, her half would be cringing from both the pain and the sudden outburst. Eager to begin mending bridges, the Celestian attempted to lighten their situation. “Oh, please cheer up! It’s not all bad. Our current relationship does come with a few… perks?”

Her hooves removed but her body still slumped on the floor, Vinyl began to probe the new tenant in her head for details. “...Go on.”

”Well, for starters, My anatomy has already begun cleaning the years of damage to your liver from alcohol abuse, as well as purging any impurities from your system entirely.” Xila sounded smug even for being a voice inside the unicorns head.

“Huh…” was all Vinyl had to say at first. I did get really hammered last night, maybe she’s the reason I don’t have a hangover from Tartarus?” she thought almost cheerfully, a smile beginning to show on her face.

”I’m unsure what a ‘hangover’ is, but if it is a kind of ailment or injury, than yes, I healed it for you.” Xila was all but ecstatic in her projected thoughts that she may have been of some help already.

A frown now dominated the DJ’s mouth, destroying the smile yet to fully bloom. “You can read my thoughts can’t you?” Her voice was exasperated, but she appeared to be coming to terms with the lunacy of her situation.

”...Yes, is that a problem?” Xila was unsure in her tone and afraid she may have crossed some kind of line.

Vinyl nearly facehoofed a third time but caught herself an inch from her head when she could hear Xila whimper. Instead, she settled on rubbing the spot directly below her horn. “...No, I guess that comes with the territory.” she rolled her eyes before continuing. “I’m gonna take a wild guess and say you can read my memories too.” Her face was in deadpan despite the sarcasm in her voice.

Xila’s voice chimed in almost annoyingly chipper despite their reality. ”How very astute, Vinyl! Yes, I can, but I do not plan on invading your privacy more than I have to...” Xila trailed off for a moment while she recalled a bit of information. ”Admittedly… I was forced to recall some of your memories last night after you passed out. I needed to find out where you lived, and I did not wish for us to spend any more time in the refuse of that alley than we needed to. I do hope you can forgive me for this, as well as walking you home.” The apology ended in sincerity.

Still rubbing her forehead, Vinyl mouthed the last words “walked you home” to herself before taking a deep breath and responding in kind. “It’s fine… that’s a lie. I’m gonna guess you can tell if I’m lying for now and be straight with you.” another deep breath and the DJ began the rest of her statement seriously. “This whole thing really sucks. I’ll admit I don’t regret my decision to help you if I really did save your life, but I didn’t sign up for this with the best of understandings. In the future, If I’m hammered can you wait to ask me any favors?” She was frowning at the end but it turned into a smile as she finished in thought. And as a ground rule, let’s talk to each other like this if we have to at all in public. Thanks for respecting my privacy, and I can forgive you for last night… provided you didn’t do anything with anypony that I wouldn’t do. The last thought had her in a full on wry grin while she brought up a couple memories for her private enjoyment, temporarily forgetting her headmate.

Xila, who couldn’t help but notice one of the more… interesting memories began her response with concern. “I was unaware one could even do that with a vinyl record… Perhaps it’s for the best that we spend this time together? You needn’t worry yourself about getting drunk as long as we share your body. It should not be a problem.” her last remark was smug to say the least.

The unicorn’s eyes narrowed at this and responded with her voice soaked in suspicion. “Just what do you mean by that?”

Xila picked up on the sudden hostile thoughts expounding from her host’s mind and mentally gulped before she advanced with caution. ”W-well... you see…”

Octavia glanced at the clock in the entryway of her and Vinyl’s apartment while she trotted through the door. Nine p.m., It’s not too late. I do hope Vinyl has behaved herself in my absence… Despite the grimness of her though, Octavia’s smile was wide and genuine at the thought of being able to see her marefriend after a long week away in Canterlot for her latest recital. She began stacking her things by the door before venturing to the kitchen. The cellist was dying for some form of refreshment after the long walk from the station, and she was only slightly disappointed that Vinyl was not there to greet her. I’m sure she was up late into the early morning hours drinking… perhaps I shall cut her some slack this time? “Vinyl, I’m home-... Vinyl!?”

Upon entering the room, Octavias jaw fell limp as it hung agape at the sight in front of her. Sitting at their dining room table with her head down in her hooves, sat one Vinyl Scratch. She appeared to be weeping to herself with a mountain of empty glasses of various different kinds of alcohol sat in front of her. The drinks ranged from everything to Octavia’s favorite wines, to Vinyls whisky, and even the forbidden bottle of Gargle Blaster; the most potent drink either of them had ever tried. She stood there dumbly for a moment, unable to fathom how her lover was not yet dead of alcohol poisoning. Ultimately, her feelings got the better of her while she reached out to her partner in an attempt to find out what may have caused her to come to such distress.

“Vinyl…? Is everything alright?” Octavia had one hoof on Vinyl’s shoulder as she spoke. Her voice soft and tentative.

The unicorn looked up from her self pity and responded once she had solid eye contact, despite her tears. “Oh, Octy! It’s so horrible!”

“By Celestia’s mane, Vinyl. Whatever could have caused you to come to this?” Octavia gestured to the mountain of empty beverages adorning their table.

“It’s tragic! An atrocity! I may never be happy again!” The tears appeared genuine and her face was sincerely downtrodden.

The grey earth pony cringed to see her partner in her current state. “Good heavens Vinyl! Please tell me what happened!”

The DJ sobbed for several more moments. “Oh, Octy!” she wailed as she wrapped her hooves around her lover’s shoulders. “I… I can’t get drunk!”

Author's Note

So... Hi? If you're reading this, that means you sat through the first chapter of my first fiction... ever. I would like to start by saying: Thanks for reading! It means a lot to me that anyone might have enjoyed my story. This is only the first chapter of what I hope will be a hilarious tale for all to enjoy. I would like to ask a favor of anyone who stuck around this long... let me know what you think? Feed back is a big deal for me right now, and if i screwed up I want to know. If it's awesome I would love to hear that too! :twilightblush: So, please, noone be a stranger in the comments okay? Thanks again!

Come Here Often?

“Oh, horse apples…” Vinyl could see the exasperated look and the unsettling twitch of one of her marefriend’s eyes and knew exactly what was coming. She quickly levitated her sunglasses off of her forehead and onto the table before turning to face the table herself. Brace yourself Zee…

”Why would I need to- OW! Are all of you ponies this violent!?” Xila was incredulous in her complaint. The new mare in the room found herself justified to deliver a swift and painful strike to the back of Vinyl’s head with one hoof.

Rather than pay Xila any mind, the DJ now laid her head on the table and nursed the new lump on the back of her head. “Geez, Octy. I missed you too… Ouch, that smarts…”

“Well excuse me, Vinyl, if I did not find this particular welcome home amusing!” the earth pony quipped in agitation. “You had me thinking that somepony died!”

Vinyl could feel Xila’s unease at both Octavia’s outburst and the mention of death; no doubt reminding her of her accident the prior night. Calm down, Zee. Octy is just like this. She’s way nicer once you get to know her. Vinyl stopped nursing her sore head long enough to look the grey mare in the eyes. “Sorry, Octy. No, I’m fine but I really can’t get drunk! I mean- Look at this!” Vinyl took the large green bottle of Gargle Blaster in her magic and waved it in front of the cellist’s face. “This was only half an hour ago, and I was desperate! At this point, I've got blood in my alcohol stream, and I'm not even buzzed!"

”But Vinyl, you do know her and she just-” Xila’s protest was cut short when Octavia continued the argument between the two mares, oblivious that there could even be a third party in the room.

“I’ll admit that does not make any sense, but did you have to drink all of the alcohol in the apartment?” Octavia looked over the bottles and her eyes went wide when she recognized a few of them. “Is that my Marelot?!” she exclaimed while taking an empty bottle of expensive looking wine in her hooves.

“Yeah, I kinda went through all the tequila and whisky without even, uhm… so I…” she trailed off and returned to a position with her head lying in her hooves. Oh, I’m so bucked… Vinyl abandoned her defence once she recognized the hole she had only been digging. Resigning herself to her punishment, the mare tensed up and prepared for the inevitable verbal assault.

To everypony’s surprise, Octavia remained silent. She fell to her haunches and opened her mouth several times, but nothing ever came out. Finding some direction to take, she spoke. “Vinyl, just what happened while I was gone?”

”Well that was quite forward of her. From what I could tell, she was supposed to strike us again or, at the very least, begin yelling more. I can’t really blame her after you insisted on drinking all of that disgusting and painful liquid. The wine was nice, but apparently it wasn’t even yours. Perhaps you should just tell her about-” Xila’s incessant chatter was cut off when Viny had had enough.

“For the love of Celestia, Shut Up!” Her nerves on edge, Vinyl forgot that only she could hear Xila and found herself shouting.

“I beg your pardon!?” Octavia was indignant and fuming. “All I asked was what happened to cause you to act so… I can’t even put what this is into words!”

“Oh! No, Octy I wasn’t talking to you! I was telling… uh…” Vinyl trailed off when she couldn’t make up a good excuse, or a sane one at least.

“To whom? You and I are the only two ponies here Vinyl… or are we?” Octavia cocked one eyebrow and gave her partner scrutinizing look.

Vinyl for her part was making a habit of rubbing the spot below her horn. “No, Octy. You and I are definitely the only two ponies here… but-”

Xila chose to chime in at this point. ”Perhaps this would go much smoother if I introduced myself?” With that, Vinyl’s left eye twitched closed.

“Sweet Celestia, no!” Vinyl shouted before shoving her sunglasses back over her eyes and even going so far as to cover her left eye with one hoof. What do you think you’re doing, Zee!?

“Vinyl, are you alright?” Octavia looked concerned as she watched her marefriend go into a frantic panic. “What’s happening, what’s wrong?”

The unicorn was on her hooves now and shuffling them uncomfortably. Think Scratch, think! “I-I need to… uhm…” The whole situation was getting way too out of hoof for the panicking DJ. “I really gotta pee!” She was out of the room and slamming the bathroom door before Octavia could blink.

Octavia was left in stunned silence. She stared at the bathroom door and then to the table. Sighing, she ventured to the kitchen to scrounge a few waste bags for the glass bottles cluttering their table. This isnt over Vinyl, you better have a really good explanation for all of this when you get out of there…

Inside the bathroom, Xila was back to bombarding the Dj with her own opinions. ”What was that for, Vinyl? If you two are as close as you think you are then being honest with her is our best option. We should-”

Enough! Vinyls thought was just short of a roar. She was angry, and she was going to be heard. Turning to the mirror above the sink, she took off her glasses and focused on the reflection of her starry eye. This is my body, Zee! So we are going to be doing things by my rules. Rule number one: You will never use my body without permission! That stunt you tried to pull back there was going way too far.

”My apologies, Vinyl, but I was only attempting to-” Xila’s defence was cut off by her host as she completed her thought.

Help!? Octy was already wound up pretty bad. If I suddenly had two different eyes and started talking in strange voices, how do you think she would’a taken it!? The mare was livid as she started imagining some of the worst case scenarios.

The Celestian’s side of Vinyls face displayed a pain filled wince. ”Has she really done that to you with her cello before?” The thought sounded in shock.

Honestly? No. I doubt Octy would ever do something that drastic, but I can tell you she wouldn’t take that well. Vinyl sighed while her half of her expression curled into a frown. Look, Zee. I hate to be a jerk here, but you gotta let me be the one to handle this stuff. I already can’t drink anymore, and I guess I can deal with that for two weeks… Vinyl’s eye blinked a couple times and she choked out a small sob that gave her thoughts pause. But things are gonna be awkward enough now that Octy is home! I can barely even think about kissing her, let alone having sex, knowing I’m not the only one up here anymore.

”Kissing…?” Xila’s half of the face as staring blankly for a moment while the last few of Vinyl’s words sank in. “Sex!?” One of the mare’s hooves flew up and clamped down on her mouth. ”Ow! Vinyl, please not so rough. I’m sorry, but are you actually telling me that you and that angry mare are… lovers?” In her shock, Xila released her hold on the unicorn’s face.

Vinyl cocked one eyebrow and turned away from the mirror when she could see her own red eye again. Yes Zee, we’re fillyfoolers. Octy and I are in love. But like I said, I can’t stand the idea of doing anything with you riding co-pilot. the DJ considered the Celestian’s sudden outburst a moment ago and continued critically. Zee… You don’t have a problem with that do you? Vinyls eyes narrowed in accusation.

”Dear Luna, no! I was just… surprised?” Xila seemed as though she were attempting to bury herself beneath Vinyl’s consciousness in an attempt to avoid her hosts hot glare.

Vinyl’s thoughts were mostly quiet while she considered Xila’s reaction. She wasn’t sure she believed her, but she didn’t need another distraction at the moment and decided to put her scrutiny on hold. All right, I’ll buy that for now. Looks like we got off topic though. I think my point was is that this is all pretty hard to deal with. I’m still happy I could help and all, but could you at least try not to make my life any harder than it has to be? First it’s my booze, now its my love life. What else is this arrangement gonna cost me? Are you gonna tell me I can’t do my job anymore cause my ears are too sensitive? Vinyl let out a pensive snort. Or maybe I can’t use magic anymore?

Xila was feeling Vinyl’s growing resentment and was struggling to find a point of redemption. ”No Vinyl, my presence should have no affect on your career. And as for your magic, I’ll have you know that there’s another perk to our current agreement.”

Vinyl’s ears perked up despite their method for conversation. Perk? What do you mean?

Xila’s thoughts became smug, or at least Vinyl considered them that way. Why yes, a perk. Much like your health and physiology, my presence should have an enhancing effect on your magical capabilities.”

“For real!?” Vinyl nearly shouted in excitement. She caught herself, and began reeling in her newfound hope. You’re not off the hook yet… she did her best to play off her new mood as she eagerly thought of ways to test Xila’s claims.

Let’s see, my limit before was about seven before I got a headache. How many can I do now? Vinyl began taking random objects in her magic and levitating them from around the room. In no time at all, she had a total of sixteen objects in her magical grip and she wasn’t showing any signs of stress. Cabinet doors swung open as she took on even more items. She was holding at least forty things in her grasp before she was satisfied; all of them ranging from toiletries to random decorations. It wasn’t long before she became completely sidetracked from her anger. This. Is. Awesome! ...Oh my gosh, can I-?

Xila had been quiet up to this point. She took private pleasure in her host’s antics and was content to just watch her explore her new limitations. Her reverie faltered when Vinyl suddenly dropped everything in her grasp and began concentrating a worrying amount of magic into her horn. An image of Vinyls livingroom was displayed within her mind and Xila started to panic when she realized what was happening. ”Vinyl stop! Thats too much…!” The warning came too late as the Celestian and her host vanished in a blinding flash of magic.

For the last few minutes, Octavia has been standing outside the bathroom with one ear held close to the door. She long since abandoned her cleaning after she heard the voice of a strange mare scream “Sex!?” from inside the bathroom with Vinyl. Even worse, she later heard Vinyl shout back “For real!?” in almost too hopeful a tone. She was extremely suspicious of the whole affair and prayed what she was hearing was anything else but.

So now she stood there, listening and waiting for any sign that her fears could be justified or any more words that could result in a damning conclusion. She was anything but prepared for the mini thunder crack and blinding flash of light that erupted from the room behind her.

Octavia squealed and spun on her hooves to stare at a dazed and bewildered Vinyl Scratch standing at the epicenter of the magical explosion. The carpet was scorched and smoldering in a circle spreading out from where the unicorn now stood. “Vinyl, what in Equestria!? …Did you just teleport!?” The reality of what had just happened sank in for the cellist. Her marefriend had once complained that her magic wasn’t strong enough to perform such an advanced spell, but the contrary just threatened to destroy her living room. The earth pony could only stare at the chaos that was once her pristine living room.

“Oh… Hey there Octy…” Vinyls words were spread out and slurred from the draining and disorienting after affects of her first ever successful teleport. She wobbled from one hoof to another while her eyes lolled in their sockets. “Whatcha doin’?” she asked with a giggle.

Shaking free of her initial shock, the cellist started with the first of her growing number of problems. “Who was that I heard in the bathroom, Vinyl?” Octavia turned back to the door and opened it. She stared into the room that appeared to have been struck by a small hurricane. “And what happened in here? Did you do this?” She turned back to stare at her marefriend who now appeared to have snapped out of her stupor.

“Yeah… that was me.” Vinyl began feeling as though she were suddenly standing on eggshells. “Both of them… technically.” Crap, I think she heard you Xila! Vinyl took a moment to consider her options before groaning in resignation. Darn it Zee, I don’t think we have a choice. I gotta tell Octy the truth… Can I trust you to follow my lead, Zee?

Xila was still disoriented from the sudden change of venues but was otherwise coherent. ”I’m sorry…? she trailed off while catching up with Vinyl’s most recent thoughts. "Oh, yes. Didn’t I say it was the easiest course of action to begin with? Very well, I will ‘follow your lead’.” Despite her obvious jab, she seemed cooperative enough.

Great... Vinyl took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts before beginning a conversation she thought was crazy even for her standards. “Okay, Octy. You win. I have something really important we gotta talk about.” Vinyl turned around and trotted to a half scorched couch. She had barely reached the couch and sat down when she found herself on the receiving end of Octavia’s most piercing glare. “Octy?”

“Who is she…” The cellist ground out the words between her teeth..

Vinyl blinked a few times while making an unwitting attempt of understanding her marefriend’s train of thought. “...Wha-?”

“The other mare!” Octavia blinking back tears as glare devolved to a longing stare. “She was the other voice in the bathroom with you, wasn’t she!? Did she teach you that spell?”

The gears in her head started to mesh and Vinyl caught on to her marefriend’s accusation. She facehoofed. Ignoring the outcry of disapproval in her head, Vinyl addressed her paranoid lover. “What the hay, Octy! No, there is no other mare! And I already told you the other voice was me… sorta. Look if you’ll calm down and take a seat, I’ll try to explain.”

Octavia continued her stare more scrutinizingly at her lover. After a long pause, she took a seat next to Vinyl and looked back at her when she was comfortable. “I’m listening, but so help me Vinyl-”

“Trust me Octy, you’re the only mare that would ever put up with me.” she chuckled, a knowing grin saying all she would ever need to.

“...Alright, Vinyl. Let’s hear it.” The cellist returned her own less confident smile. Celestia help you if this isn’t a good reason.

Another deep breath and Vinyl began. “So, last night may have had a few drinks after my gig at the nightclub…” The unicorn stopped for a moment when she noticed the look she was getting from Octavia. “Okay, a lot of drinks… I was hammered…” She glanced back at the other mare and continued when the earth pony motioned her to continue with a disappointed look and wave of her hoof. “I was on my way home when I found… a very hurt somepony. She was pretty badly banged up and bleeding. So I… kinda decided we’d take her in for a while while she got better.”

Octavia looked at Vinyl relieved but still unhappy. “Honestly,Vinyl”, she sighed. “I’ve known you were capable of some odd things when you’re drunk, but I can’t say taking in an injured mare is by any means the worst.” The cellist smiled. “Okay, where is she then?”

Vinyl bit her lip, now was the time for honesty but she couldn’t bring herself to just spill the whole story at once. “She’s... resting.” The DJ replied hesitantly.

Octavia hadn’t taken the hesitation as anything more than it’s face value. “Oh, do you have any idea how long she will be staying with us?”

Holding her head in her hooves, Vinyl muttered her response. “About two weeks…”

The cellist gasped in horror. “By Celestia, just how bad is she!?” Octavia contemplated the situation before she spoke again. “Show me where she is, I want to see the poor dear.”

The unicorn’s head slumped down slightly. “I was afraid you'd say that.” She sighed before placing one hoof on Octavia’s shoulder and the other over her left eye. Thats your cue, Zee. “Octy, I need you to promise you won’t freak out, and that you will listen to everything we have to say.”

Nodding, the cellist watched as her marefriend began to remove her hoof. “Wait… we?” Her jaw almost hit the floor when Vinyl opened her left eye again. Instead of it’s usual mesmerizing crimson, a stunning array of stars shone back at her. Her mouth was agape as she stared dumbly into the largest star in her marefriend’s socket. “That is…”

“Octy, this is Xila.” Vinyl pointed one hoof to her left eye. “She calls herself Celestia but-”

“I’ve told you, I‘m a Celestian!” a second voice quipped coming from the unicorns mouth.

“Yeah, yeah.” the DJ mocked with half of her mouth in a chiding grin. “Anyhoof, Zee here is stuck in my head while her body heals up. Before you ask, no, I didn’t know that this was gonna happen when I agreed to help her. But I sorta saved her life so I’m okay-”

A grey hoof found itself on the unicorns muzzle, cutting her off mid sentence. Both of the unicorn’s eyes were staring at the hoof’s owner as she spoke. “I take it back, this is by far the craziest thing you have ever done.” Despite her calm tone, the grey mare collapsed and fainted the second her statement was finished.

“Awe geez , Zee. Now look what you did!” Vinyl shouted holding her head in one hoof.

“Me!? How is this possibly my doing?” Xila’s voice came from Vinyl’s mouth exasperated as she struggled to see her fault in the grey mare collapsing.

“I’m pretty sure I told you not to use my mouth while I was talking to Octy. That’s gotta be what set her off.” Vinyl sounded sure of herself as she made to lift her limp marefriend back onto the couch.

“No, Vinyl. The thought never actually crossed your mind. And even if it had, you need not have chided me with such a silly remark, as I now understand you had done it on purpose!” Xila punctuated her words with a light stomp of one of Vinyl’s unoccupied hooves.

“Hmm…” the DJ considered the Celestian’s words for a moment. “Nah, this is totally your bad.”

“...” Xila learned something important in that moment. She learned the cardinal desire known as the facehoof. And despite the new splitting headache and swearing from Vinyl, she had no regrets.

Author's Note

YAY! Chapter two, and it's on time! For your reading enjoyment. ^^ As always let me know what you think, now I gottaget on chapter three so I'll see you all again soon!

Can I Buy You a Drink?

“Hey, Octy, you wanna wake up yet?” Vinyl poked the unconcious cellist for the upteenth time in the last ten minutes. Between her passed out marefriend and the now ‘sleeping’ Celestian in her head, she was close to her wit’s end.

After a regrettable hoof to the face, Vinyl’s new head mate had curtly announced that she was exhausted and presented no further notice before simply… passing out. The DJ was stunned at first, but she was understanding after remembering the condition she had found Xila in the night before. However, all her emotions eventually gave way to annoyance as she found out a horrible truth about her new tenant; Xila snores.

At first, Vinyl believed it was just some elaborate prank. That maybe Xila had been hiding her sense of humor up until then. But the truth was much more terrifying. Who the hay snores in their head!? Vinyl wanted to scream, get her attention, facehoof. But she couldn't bring herself to wake Zee up. You’re losing your touch, Scratch, she thought to herself dourly.

Now all the mare wanted was somepony to talk to; if not to ease her boredom, than to save her sanity. The only mare I can talk to is passed out like a filly after a horror flick… Vinyl held rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she took in the sounds of both Octavia’s and Xila’s slumbering. The two of them snoring together might be a little cute… if it wasn’t so annoying,

Time for the big guns… Vinyl allowed a wicked sneer to creep across her muzzle as she made her way to the kitchen. The second she crossed the threshold, she put her newly enhanced magic to work. The refrigerator’s freezer was opened and a dozen ice cubes floated out of it, a wash rag was willed in from the connected laundry room, and she went about searching for a large bowl before filling it with cool tap water. When she was done, she had an ice cold soaking rag ready for it’s intended victim. The irony was not lost on Vinyl that Octavia's name was stitched into the cloth.

Vinyl made her way back into the living room with the bowl and ice rag floating at her side. “Hey Octy, I would wake up now if I were you.” she sing songed to the still incapacitated mare. A few seconds without any response other than a snort and a few kicks of a hind leg, the DJ put her evil scheme into action. She placed the bowl down on the coffee table a few feet away before flicking the soaking rag onto her lover’s slumbering head.

Octavia squealed and reared up from her spot on the couch before tumbling off the side. Her new relationship with their carpet was punctuated by Vinyl’s howling laughter. “What’s going on!?” the cellist yelled in confusion, her eyes covered by the rag and still too groggy to connect the details of what just happened together. She paused once she realised the reason she couldn’t see was because there was something on her face.

When Octavia was free of the obscuring cloth, the first sight that greeted her was her foalish marefriend rolling across the floor in jubilant laughter. “Yes, very funny Vinyl.” Her recognition of the DJ’s antics granted her no head as the mare continued her laughter from the floor. The cellist eyed the bowl sitting on the table long enough to garner it’s contents before pushing the whole thing off the table and onto the unicorn. “Woops”, Octavia called out flatly with an equally flat expression as the ice water was dumped all over her partner.

Vinyl was instantly soaked and shivering. She curled up into a ball before shooting her lover a glare of mock anger. “Touche”, she said. Her glare gave way to a grin as she stood up and began using her magic to evaporate the water in her coat and on the carpet.

Octavia began rubbing her temples between her hooves while she furrowed her brow in thought. “Vinyl, please tell me I was dreaming about… Zeelah?” She cocked one eyebrow while she studied her marefriend’s features for any sign that her memories had been the result of a fever dream.

“Sorry, Octy,” Vinyl frowned at the ground as she spoke, “but Zee is real. And I’m stuck with her for the next couple of weeks.”

The cellist picked up that there was something her lover still wasn’t telling her. “Vinyl, can’t we find another pony to take care of her?” she pleaded softly. Octavia cantered over to her favorite mare and began pulling her into a warm embrace before forcing the DJ to meet her gaze.

Vinyl chuckled nervously for a moment. “Hehe… about that. I asked that too.” She broke eye contact and returned to looking at the floor. She squee’d slightly when Octavia’s embrace tightened and her head was yanked back to place by the cellists hoof.

“What. Happened.” Octavia stated the words between gritted teeth. It wasn’t a question per say, more like an inquisitive demand.

Vinyl swallowed loudly. She knew that whatever happened next wouldn’t be good. “I… uhh… she said-”

“Spit it out!” Octavia shouted, shaking the DJ slightly. She paused and took a breath before speaking again more gently.“Vinyl, I can not begin to help us if I don’t know what’s going on.” She presented a worried smile despite her effort toward a reassuring one.

The white mare held her breath before shouting what she knew as quickly as possible. “Zeesayswecoulddieifsheisn’thealthyenough!”

Octavia blinked several times while she worked on understanding the panicked message. “You could both… die?” She dropped her lover and fell to her rump. Now it was her turn to stare at the ground. “Vinyl… what have you…” She curled down against the floor and started mumbling to herself unintelligibly.

Vinyl was growing more concerned by the second as Octavia continuously ignored her calls. “Octy. Hey, Octy. Tavi!” She flinched back in anticipation after her last call, but was only half surprised when she didn’t receive so much as a verbal outlash. She hates when I call her that! The DJ reached out with a hoof and jumped back when her touch caused head jerk in her direction. “Octy! You’re freaking me out!”

“I’m freaking… That settles it, I need a drink.” With that, the cellist made her way to their liquor cabinet.

Three… Two… One… Vinyl counted down in her head as she waited for her lover to discover the completely barren cupboard. She heard the doors clatter open, but no outcry of shock or anger. Not that I’m complaining, but if she’s this reserved, I know I’m in trouble!

There was the sound of wood screeching against wood as Vinyl guessed some furniture was being displaced. It was followed briefly by a few clicks and squeaks she didn’t recognize, however. After the noises stopped, Octavia returned with a very large bottle of scotch and two glasses.

“Where did you-” Vinyl’s jaw dropped at the size of the bottle. She surely couldn’t have missed it earlier.

“Booze safe”, the cellist replied nonchalantly. She sat down in front of the coffee table and began pouring two drinks. “I had it installed the last time you decided to throw a party here with an open bar. And, no, I’m not telling you where it is or showing you the combination.”

Vinyl put her forehoof down that she had raised before asking a question. “But Octy-” The DJ cringed slightly when her lover stomped one hoof and pushed a glass of scotch to her on the table. “Octy, theres no point…”

“Oh, silly me, I forgot.” Octavia took her glass between her hooves and downed it all in one swig. She then turned to Vinyl’s glass and took a much more controlled drink. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she stared at her dejected-looking marefriend.

Vinyl felt a pang of jealousy as she watched her lovers cheeks begin to flush from the alcohol's liberating effects. “Come on, Octy, this isn’t fair!” She dropped her head to the table without breaking sight of her lover as she downed the second glass of scotch.

“Now you listen to me, Vinyl -hiccup- excuse me, I have had a long day and I need a drink. Surely you can understand?” She put on a cheeky grin as her lover groaned in admission.

“You have no idea…” Vinyl watched the cellist as she drank glass after glass for the next twenty minutes or so. After her lover's last drink left her face down on the table, Vinyl corked the bottle and returned it to the cabinet.

“Hey…! S’not finished…” the earth pony whined. Her cheeks were red and her speech was slurred as she struggled to pull herself up from the table.

“Yeah, Octy, you are. Gotta stop you before you hurt yourself.” Whoa, whoa, whoa… Did I just say that? Vinyl blinked several times at the sudden show of responsibility. Her attention returned to her marefriend when the mare toppled over from across the table. “Geez, that should be me…” she muttered in remorse.

“What was that?” The floor laiden mare asked incredulously. “...Can I have a hoof?” Her snarkiness dissolved into a pitiful request for help.

“Geeze Octy, is this what I put you through?” Vinyl was used to being the one on the floor at this point. But rather than feel shame for her past transgressions, she mostly just felt the pain of loss. “This really sucks…”

“You -hic- ‘ave no idea!” Octavia was now leaning up using the bottom of the couch for support. “Every time we -hic- go out, you have to drink until you can -hic- walk straight!” Octavia managed to gain a seating position where she wobbled slightly from side to side but didn’t quite fall over. “And you always manage to embarrass us somehow. We are banned from… from…” The cellist paused for a moment and held up her hooves. She looked from her left hoof, to her right. and then at her rear hooves on the ground. “Vinyl… -hic- let me borrow your hooves, I don’t have enough to count out the number of places you’ve had us thrown out of.” She paused and grinned slightly at the unicorn sitting next to her. “I think I’m a little drunk.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes and snorted a laugh. “Just a little.” She smiled for a moment, temporarily forgetting her own desires.

The two mares shared a look that spoke volumes of why they had ever agreed to stay in the same home. Octavia managed to lean over and kiss Vinyl on her cheek. The blush that shone through the DJ’s coat suggested she too may have been drinking.

“Octy, Celestia knows I would give anything to do… that with you after you’ve been gone all week… But-” Vinyl trailed off after getting a look at her marefriend’s now tomato red face.

“Oh dear, I forgot myself, please tell me I didn’t just kiss you both!” she covered her eyes with one fetlock in a vain attempt to hide her shame.

“Actually, Zee is asleep. Has been since you passed out.” Vinyl began playing with her hooves as she spoke. “Octy… she snores. A lot. It’s driving me bonkers!”

At this, Octavia snorted slightly with a hoof over her muzzle. But with one hoof too few for balance, she toppled over to one side and devolved into a fit of giggles. “Snores!? In your head?” She was laughing uncontrollably by now. “How does somepony snore in their head!?”

Vinyl took to holding her head in her hooves while sitting back on her haunches. “I don’t know! Like hay if any of this makes any sense to me!”

Octavia’s laughter slowed to giggles while Vinyl moped. When the room became silent, Vinyl peeked out to find her marefriend had fallen asleep with a goofy grin on her face. She couldn’t help but smile herself as she made her way over to her cellist. And that’s why she’s never beaten me at a drinking contest…

“Guess I’m not the only pony who’s had a long day,” she mumbled as she began lifting Octavia with her magic.

The trip back to their room was almost shockingly easy. It was only when Vinyl recalled her recent venture into newer spells that she remembered why lifting the earth pony took so little effort. Thanks, Zee. At least I can do this for her. Vinyl tucked in the other mare before climbing in to bed herself.

Vinyl began to shut her eyes as she adjusted to the darkness of the room. The idle snoring of her head mate had subsided somewhat, and she was hoping to drift off at last. But, the longer she laid there, the more she shifted uncomfortably under her sheets.

The DJ’s eyes shot open and she crossed her legs. Holy hayfries! She ripped the covers from herself and darted out of the bedroom. Once out she made a beeline for the living room and then to the closed door of the bathroom. The door swung open in her magic and she forced the clutter in the room away from the opening. She slammed the door while chanting a list of liquors, wines, rums and beers.

In her head however, she repeated only two words over and over again. Gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee-!

*Sniff Sniff*

Oh, wow! Are those Octy’s pancakes!? Vinyl was stirring from her deep slumber. Her waking mind was immediately noticed by the other being in her mind.

“Ah, It seems you’re finally getting up. Good morning, Vinyl!” A chipper sounding Xila greeted the waking DJ.

Oh, hay Zee! Morning to… you too- It dawned on Vinyl that she hadn’t only heard Xila in her mind, but through her ears as well.

“Splendid, I was afraid she was going to miss breakfast at this rate!” Octavia chuckled from somewhere in front of Vinyl.

Miss breakfast? Vinyl noticed the strong presence of syrup on her tongue. Her consciousness sprang from her usual groggy state of mind and whipped itself to the surface of her mind. There was a slight tugging sensation as Xila’s mind was pulled out of the driver’s seat.

Now in full control again, Vinyl could see the fork full of heavenly goodness levitating before her muzzle, and the half eaten pancakes sitting in front of her. “What the hay is going on!?” She reached up to the table with her front hooves in an attempt to stand up, but was rewarded with a flapjack to the face when her hoof came down on the rim of her plate.

Vinyl went rigid as her syrupy breakfast slowly slid down the front of her muzzle and coated her entire face in the sticky sauce.

Octavia was chuckling from behind her hoof as she came into sight from behind Vinyl’s new facial wear.

”Oh, dear. And it tasted so good too…” Xila pouted from the back seat of Vinyl’s consciousness.

“I’ll get to you in a second…” Vinyl growled, her breakfast now being scraped off of her face with her magic and back on to the plate. “Octy, you have some ‘splainin’ to do.”

The cellist decided it was good a time as any to release the floodgates of her laughter. She chuckled and snorted for a good two minutes before she calmed herself down enough to talk. “Oh Vinyl, don’t be upset. I convinced Xila it was okay for her get you up today.”

“Why shouldn’t I be upset? I told her not to use my body without permission!” Vinyl felt Xila flinch at her exclamation and decided to calm her tone before continuing. “ Why did you tell her to do it?”

“Well,” Octavia idly scratched a hoof at the ground as she spoke. “I woke up this morning and you seemed to be awake as well. But when I leaned over to kiss you-”

“Kiss!? Octy, what about-” Vinyl stood up and her eyes were wide.

“Yes, well it was too late I’m afraid. I only remembered your… condition when I saw Xila’s eyes staring back at me.” Octavia looked away guiltily as the implications sank in. She decided it was better to move on rather than give her lover a chance to die of shock. “But, It was meant for you, Vinyl! And Xila understands that. We spent at least ten minutes apologizing… To make up for it, she agreed to help me make you breakfast!” The cellist smiled sheepishly.

“And also decided to eat it…” Vinyl looked down at her crumbling pancakes and licked the side of her muzzle where syrup was running down.

“No, no! We made more! Xila just wanted to try some is all,” Octavia assured her.

”Yes, Vinyl, Octy assured me you could eat well over eight of them, so she told me that just two wouldn’t hurt.” Xila seemed a bit frantic as she attempted to convince the DJ that she had no intention of stealing the mares breakfast.

Vinyl sighed. “Alright, you’re off the hook Zee… Did you just call her Octy?” Vinyls head tilted slightly to the side in confusion.

”Did I?” Xila seemed bewildered for a moment. ”I-I’m sorry Vinyl, is that a bad thing?”

“Hmm,” Vinyl hummed quietly as she thought. “It’s just… Only I call her Octy. I guess it’s alright…”

“Ahem!” Octavia cleared her throat loudly from Vinyl’s side. She had a fresh plate of pancakes on her back and a wet towel in her mouth. She put the plate down in front of Vinyl before scrubbing her face with the towel, wiping away the sticky mess. “I hope you don’t mind but I stepped away while you were having your little conversation.”

Vinyl was scowling when the towel pulled away from her clean face. “Well that sucks, I love having arguments with myself in front of my marefriend,” she said flatly.

Octavia chuckled as she wadded up the towel and trotted away. “Oh hush, you. Enjoy your breakfast ok? Don’t you have a ‘gig’ tonight?”

Vinyl nearly choked on her mouth full of fluffy delight as the words came down on her. Oh sweet Celestia, I forgot!

The DJ chugged half of her orange juice to wash down the breakfast lodged in her throat. She gasped in relief when she could breathe again. Hey, Zee?

Xila was slightly distressed from the experience of choking. She hesitated in her response. ”Ye-yes, Vinyl?”

Vinyl exhaled slightly as she decided how to approach the problem at hoof. She always preferred to DJ alone, and wasn’t keen on the idea of somepony riding shotgun throughout her performance. Unless that someone was a grey earth pony with a black mane and had a treble clef for a cutie mark. What kind of music do you like?

Author's Note

Howdy, guys! First, Thanks for all the support so far. 100 likes on my first story and it's not even half done! Seriously awesome! So lets have some good news and bad news shall we? Bad news first: A Scratched Record might be delayed for one week. I know, I know. I'm still really new to be putting delays on this shiz. But between getting a new laptop to work with, joining the military, and dealing with my entire family being sick... yeah lots of fun here. XD But now the good news that sorta plays into the bad. I have quite a few other projects on the back burner that are gonna take up a lot of my time. Anyone here heard of a writer called Merlos The Mad? If you have than you should get a kick out of this. I've been working on a few collab projects with the guy. One of which was posted on halloween but didnt get nearly the love it should have. Its spooky and hilarious exactly where it should be and was a ton of fun to work on. the story is called Once Upon a Fright and you can check that out here. More stuff like it to come. and it hints to a possible series to appear on my channel at a later date! ;D Merlos has been a huge help to me. He encouraged me to start my own stories, and he gave me a chance at writing along side him. Both he and my editor are the ones teaching me how to improve my writing. While A Scratched Record is my own solo project, I still owe a lot to them for why it came out the way it has. Right now it's only a couple of one shots but their still funny as hell so please, follow me and him if you havent so you can check out what's in store! Thanks for all the love guys, and I look forward to writing tons more.

-Ludicrous Lycan

You’ve Been Running Through my Mind all Day

Luna’s brow furrowed in frustration as she stared into her night’s sky. What has happened to you my young one?

Luna was sitting on her balcony just like the night before. She had taken to doing this ever since noticing that a section of stars had begun lazily drifting apart. At first, she only assumed it was a mistake and quickly corrected it for her charge as a favor, but she grew more and more concerned upon discovering that no steps were being taken to maintain those stars at all.

What’s worse were the sensations she had felt the other evening. She had been dream walking when they first began, but she now had no doubt in her mind of their authenticity. One of her children had been hurt. Luna had felt all of it, dulled as it may have been.

So now she sat there, focused on the sky, constantly making small alterations every hour to keep the sky in sync, and in a constant state of grief and worry. Had she been in total control, it would have been much easier, but alas she had taken steps centuries ago that she might be able to enjoy her night as much as any other pony.

Luna’s complete focus and worry kept her from noticing her sister slip in the room and come up behind her.

“Sister, are you alright?” Celestia asked her softly from only a stride behind her.

Even the soft tone was enough to startle the alicorn princess. Luna jerked, along with her magic that was in the middle of making an idle adjustment. A few stars leapt through the sky, nearly colliding with a constellation. She was able to avoid a nasty collision in the sky as well as right the accident, but only just.

“Oh, my apologies, I thought you heard me come in.” Celestia pardoned.

“No no, it’s fine! I was simply too engrossed in my thoughts. It is at no fault of your own.” Luna dismissed.

“Something obviously burdens you, dear sister. Please do not feel you must hide anything from me.” Celestia pressed.

Luna sighed. She had hoped to tell Tia about her helpers on her own terms, but not so soon, and not under duress. “Tia, I have a confession to make.” she began.

“One of your helpers has gone missing haven’t they?” Celestia asked coolly.

Luna blinked several times in surprise before narrowing her gaze scrutinizingly. “How long have you known about them?”

“In all honesty, since their conception those thousand years ago. I was watching when you made the very first one… him.” Celestia turned her gaze to the floor in solemn silence at recalling the the birth of a creature she had hoped to forget.

Nodding gravely, Luna thought it best to continue. “You know I named them after you… I call them my Celestians, keepers of the night’s sky.”

Celestia’s expression brightened, but didn’t pull her gaze from the ground.

A dour expression now overtook Luna’s own expression, but she continued on still. “I fear one of the youngest of my Celestians has disappeared. I fear she flew too close to our worlds atmosphere, I fear… oh my poor Xila…” Her head drooped in despair until Celestia’s wing was felt draping across her back.

“Come now, surely if she had passed you would have felt it.” Celestia consoled her sister.

“That’s just it. I can’t feel her. I could feel her pain, her anguish when she fell. But it just… stopped. As if something has dulled the connection between us.” Luna shook her head in frustration. “I do not believe her dead… just gone. I last felt her somewhere in the direction of Manehatten, but whether she is still there I can not be certain.”

“I suppose you have not sent out any guards or departed yourself because you were worried I would discover that there were more of them than the one that stole you away from me?” Celestia's eyes burned of a dulled hatred with an overlaying understanding.

Speaking seemed pointless. Her sisters words were true enough, and rhetorical at best.

“You should go. I have watched over our kingdom a thousand years, surely a few more days is simple enough.” Celestia smiled brightly to which Luna returned in earnest.

“You would do this for me, knowing for who I do this for myself?” Luna clamped a hoof to her mouth too late to stop herself.

Celestia chuckled. “I am not so foalish as to condemn an entire species for the act of one of it’s more vile members.”

“You’re right, I should have known better of you.” Luna began bouncing on her hooves, some of her anxiety already lifting. “I shall depart first thing tomorrow. Oh, thank you Tia!” She rushed into an embrace before turning into a gallop to her room.

“Ah, there she is… My dear little Lulu, home again.” Celestia’s smile was as bright and true as the day Luna first returned. She turned her attention to the sky and nearly erupted into a fit of laughter.

A single section of the starry sky seemed to have been unwittingly subjected to the Night Princess’ newly renewed mood. Instead of it’s usual alignment, it was now roughly shaped into the form of a smiling filly.

“I do believe that is a new one!” Celestia chuckled. The solar princess turned away and exited the balcony.

“Well that was... different.” Vinyl muttered to herself as she trotted down the streets of Manehatten, and away from the nightclub she had just finished her latest gig at.

Earlier that day, Vinyl and Xila had discussed a few things about music. Mostly that Xila was supremely ignorant about it. She claimed to have heard music before, but only a few really old classical symphony number, and a lullaby or two. Aside from that, it was all pretty new to her.

Vinyl had thought it would be a treat for her to show her a genre of music like hers for the first time ever, and was proud to find out she really enjoyed it. That is, until Xila started humming along. And by humming, that meant that she played the exact same song back to Vinyl in her head with a delay of about two seconds. The constant bombardment of her own music played back to her in delay had caused her to slip up a few times, much to her shame.

”I Said I was sorry, Vinyl! I could not help it, you really are a brilliant musician. I’ve never heard music like that before.” Xila seemed both apologetic and exhilarated at the same time.

“Yeah yeah, I heard you the first time Zee. But did you have to echo back every note in my head?” Vinyl questioned exasperatedly.

”I could not help myself. This was the first time experiencing something so… overwhelming!” Xila defended herself.

Rounding a street corner, Vinyl decided the night was still far too young to simply go home. She had refused the usual offerings for booze and music and left the club before she could be berated by the thumping wubs she loved so much in an out of sync stereo. “Let's get something to eat, I’m starving.”

Xila chuckled from a corner of the DJ’s mind. ”I assure you you’re fine, but food does sound pleasant about now,” she chirped.

“Figure of speech, Zee…” Vinyl’s mind wandered to something Xila had mentioned earlier that day. “Hey, I know you said you’ve heard music before, but how do you know next to nothing about it?”

”Well, the only music I have heard was sung to me by my mother,” Xila answered.

Vinyl let out a low whistle. “Kinda sheltered, huh? So what’s your mom like?” Vinyl noticed the odd looks she was receiving and realized she must have been speaking aloud the entire time. Ah geez…

Xila’s chuckle increased to a low laughter. ”I was wondering when you might notice.”

A grin crossed her muzzle as she continued down the street to a cafe she liked to frequent. That’s cold, Zee. I’m totally gonna get even for not giving me a heads up.

”Hehe, of that I have no doubt. As for my mother, you may know her as Princess Luna.” A familiar tone of pride poured out of the Celestian’s words.

Not expecting to discover the connection of royalty from the being riding shotgun in her skull, Vinyl stumbled and nearly fell over at the news. “Luna’s your mom!?”

The street grew silent as everypony within earshot of Vinyl's outburst stopped in their activities and stared at her. Vinyl chuckled sheepishly at the surrounding ponies before going into a full gallop around the next street corner and entering the cafe she had been looking for.

”She created me is a more accurate way of putting it, but to many of us, she is indeed our mother.” Xila seemed all too happy to share her heritage.

Could be worse, Scratch… You could have Prince Blue Blood in your head… Vinyl consoled herself humorously. So what do you do? Do you just fly around in the sky all day?

That and converse with other Celestians yes. But at night, I help maintain the stars in the sky. All Celestian’s do.” Xila said.

Vinyl took a window seat near the front of the restaurant. For some reason she felt the urge to stare up at the sky while she ate. Really? I thought Princess Luna took care of the sky on her own.

”She very well can, but for the last thousand years, we have assisted in… oh no…” Xila’s thoughts echoed in dread when Vinyl’s gaze fell onto an odd constellation she couldn’t remember seeing before.

Hey that’s new… Vinyl tilted her head to the side and let out a small laugh. It looks like a filly!

”Oh…! That has to be Zekrom’s doing I know it! When I get up there I’m going to give him a piece of my mind!” Vinyl could almost swear her head was heating up from how badly the irate Celestian was fuming.

Chill, Zee. I’m sure Luna will fix it soon enough… As if Luna had heard this herself, the stars began righting themselves. Vinyl stared in fascination as the stars shifted and danced across the sky. Oddly enough, they did not return to normal right away, and what she saw floored her even more.

The stars shaped themselves into a few simple words before returning to their normal orientation: “Worry not, my dearest Xila.”

The sudden overwhelming joy filling Vinyl’s head caused a few tears to come out where Xila was obviously happy enough to exert herself, had she been able. ”She is coming for me!” she bellowed as loudly as her thoughts could allow.

Wow, guess you weren’t pulling my leg! This calls for a celebration. Vinyl waved down the closest waiter she could find. “Hey, Mac! I’m gonna need two slices of Chocolate Cheesecake, and the biggest sundae you got!” The waiter smiled and nodded before trotting off to the kitchen.

Xila was so preoccupied flinging thoughts of hope around Vinyl’s consciousness that she barely noticed Vinyl’s own thought at all.

Guess this conversation is over, good talk. Vinyl allowed her thoughts to wander until she was stricken with the realization that royalty was about to come looking for Xila, and by extension herself. I should let Octy know we’re gonna be expecting guests.

The food arrived a few minutes later and the rest of the time at the cafe was spent showing Xila a few of Vinyl’s favorite foods. All the while, Xila repeatedly requested that Vinyl continue looking out into the sky. Even though there were no new messages, the sight of the stars did nothing but stir the enthusiasm of the evening.

The trip home after the nauseating amount of food Vinyl consumed was hardly worth mention. Neither of the two had said much of anything, all their celebration spent on the mountain of deserts and junk food. Octavia was on the couch reading when they stepped through the door. The damage to the living room was greatly reduced, thanks to the cellists persistence, but was not completely gone. Vinyl was sure that if she looked in the bathroom, she would find it spic and span.

“Looks like somepony kept busy today…” Vinyl remarked with a grin.

Octavia lazily glanced over her book, but didn’t move from the couch. “Yes, and that pony is exhausted. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get scorch marks out of a carpet?”

Vinyl hopped up onto the couch next to Octavia. “I didn’t think it was possible.” She chuckled, impressed with just how stubborn her marefriend could be. Even stains don't stand a chance against her persistence. “Hey, Octy, what do you think of us entertaining somepony pretty soon?”

Octavia said nothing at first. She continued to read until she found a stopping point. The page bookmarked, the book was closed and set aside so she could give Vinyl her full attention. “Are you sure that’s a good idea right now? Won’t Xila be a problem… No offence dear.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes. “None taken.” She clamped a hoof over her mouth. Zee, come on, we talked about this!

Sorry… Xila offered weakly.

The hoof lowered, Vinyl began once more. “I don’t think she will be, in fact, she’s the reason we’re expecting some pony.”

This peaked Octavia’s interest. “Oh really? Does that mean that whoever this pony will know about her?”

“Yep!” Vinyl chirped.

“So who is it? Some astrologist pony, or maybe a unicorn scholar from Canterlot?” Octavia guessed, a hoof to her chin.

“Right place, wrong pony. It’s Princess Luna, maybe even a guard or two!” Vinyl presented a wide smile and pushed her glasses up onto her horn. The smile faltered fell flat when she noticed the twitch in her marefriend’s eye.

Octavia seemed at a loss for breath as her mouth flopped open and closed uselessly.

“Not again!” Vinyl glanced over the coffee table and grabbed an empty glass of water that was sitting on it. A flick of her magic propelled the liquid across the cellist's face, snapping her out of her daze.

“Again, Vinyl!?” Freed from her episode, Octavia's thoughts spiked into a light rage. Vinyl didn't even have time to set her glasses down this time before the smack to the back of her head sent them soaring across the room.

Author's Note

Surprise, I got a a chapter out anyway! Yep, I got sick too and still managed something at least... It isn't nearly as long as I would have liked, and I gave my editor Thanksgiving break to himself so this was all done solo in it's entirety, but at least I'm progressing the story right? ...Right? If you see a mistake it's totally my bad, but let me know if you find any would you? But wait there's more! I have a new fiction I'm working on! It's called 'A Gilda'd Opportunity' staring good/bad/angry/cursed old Gilda and you can find it right about... here! So give it a shot if your hankering for something more of my writing. A new story and some good old fashioned plot... take that how you will.

What Would it Take For You to Tell Me You Wub Me?

The morning streets of Manehattan were bustling with the day-to-day lives of the ponies that lived there. Rows of stores had open signs hanging proudly from their windows, and the ponies that weren’t window shopping all seemed to move with a purpose that drove them from admiring the liveliness that enveloped their home. Everypony but Vinyl, who was dragging her hooves while she fought to keep her frustration from billowing out in public.

Are you really just gonna ignore me? Vinyl asked for the third time since leaving Octy at the apartment.

She paused in her mental pestering in the hope that Xila might actually answer her this time. It was no surprise that a full minute went by with nothing to show for her silence.

“Auuugh!” Vinyl groaned aloud, throwing her head back in aggravation. C’mon, Zee! I’m trying to help you out here. Just open your-

“I havent seen you that frustrated since the day you met Octavia,” a voice piped up that sufficiently derailed Vinyl’s thoughts.

“Gah!” Vinyl jumped in surprise before scowling at her new company. “Oh, nice of you to scare the hay outa me, Neon…”

The pale blue unicorn stallion was wearing his usual black long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a white tie hanging from his neck. A pair of oversized black sunglasses were sitting balanced on his horn, allowing Vinyl a complete view of the deadpan look she was receiving from her old friend, Neon Lights.

“What?” Vinyl asked innocently enough.

“I’ve been trying to get your attention for the last block and a half, Scratch…” Neon stopped in his trot and just continued to stare at her.

Vinyl stopped as well and turned to face him directly. She got a good look at her surroundings and blushed at the realization that she passed her destination quite some time ago. “Err, really? Sorry, dude, guess I’m kinda distracted today…”

“Ya think?” Neon asked snarkily, but his face broke into a more subdued look of concern. “But seriously, what’s on your mind?”

Vinyl sighed. I can’t tell him everything… But, maybe just the little bits wouldn’t hurt? “It’s about… a friend of mine.”

Neon cocked an eyebrow and glanced down the street in the direction they were walking in just moments ago. “Uh-huh… Let’s talk and trot. I have a gig I’m do for in about an hour. We can talk about your friend on the way.” Neon smiled before trotting at a leisurely pace out ahead of Vinyl. “So what’s their name?”

Following only a stride behind, Vinyl considered using Xila’s real name. No point calling her that now. “Her name's Zee,” she offered.

Neon chuckled. “You gave her a nickname, huh? Guess she’s close.”

“Pfft, was it that obvious?” Vinyl stifled a laugh. “Yeah, you could say that. Anyway, she’s going through something kinda rough. I want to help her, but she’s basically closed herself off from me.” Her smile faltered and her pace slowed noticeably. “She was acting really freaked out about something just this morning.”

There was a light jab on Vinyl’s shoulder that made her look up.

“Hey, places to be remember?” Neon gave her a grin and turned back to trotting. “So what are you gonna do about it?”

Vinyl picked up her pace again as her mood perked up just a hair. “Well, I’m not sure-”

“Whoa whoa whoa, wait just a second!” Neon stopped dead and whirled on Vinyl. “Vinyl Scratch isn’t sure? Where’s that overconfident attitude you wear like a flipping medal!?”

Vinyl avoided running face first into Neon, but only just. “I- I, err… Huh?” She was at a loss form Neon’s sudden outburst.

Neon pulled his shades over his eyes, but that did little to hide his scowl. “Dang Scratch, you’re slipping. When was the last time you were this messed up about something?”

There was a dragged out silence between the two DJ’s while Vinyl’s mouth flapped open and closed uselessly. Vinyl’s gaze dropped to the floor and she followed after Neon once his pace picked up again. He’s right, I’ve never let anything get to me this badly before.

“That wasn’t rhetorical you know,” Neon called back over his shoulder. “You usually just let stuff like this slide, but I can think of one other time when something got you this worked up before.”

“Oh yeah, you’re talking about the day I met Octy, aren’t you?” Vinyl realized.

“Bingo.” Neon gave her a grin that could give her best a run for it’s money.

“And then…” Vinyl paused to chug her latest beer before adding it to the growing pile at the end of the booth’s table. “She called dubstep noise! How snubby can you get?”

“No foolin’?” Neon remarked before taking a sip of only his second beer. “So what did you say back?” He leaned forward, expecting to hear something akin to the punch line of a joke from Vinyl’s most recent encounter with the Canterlot elite.

“I-I…” Vinyl smacked her head onto the table and uttered a groan. “I walked out…”

Neon frowned and put his glasses down on the table, giving Vinyl a surprised look. “That’s it? No witty one line? No trash talk about classical music?”

“Nope,” Vinyl sighed out bluntly.

Neon made a show of looking around the bar and the other tables before returning his gaze to the unicorn mare sitting across from him. “Hey, sorry to bug you miss, but I think I’m in the wrong booth. I’m looking for a friend of mine. She has a white coat, a blue mane, dumb purple shades- Ow watch it!” He was cut off when the same purple shades came close to pegging him in one eye.

“Har-de-har. I know that isn’t like me. Why do you think I’m out drinking with you?!” Vinyl spat out in annoyance.

“And here I thought you just wanted to get a drink with your old pal,” Neon chided. He placed Vinyls shades back on the table in front of her before continuing. “First, you wimp out on putting some snobby show pony in their place, and now you're chucking your favorite shades like trash. She’s really gotten to you hasn’t she?”

Vinyl bit her lip and started pushing her glasses back and forth between her hooves on the table. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen her around, but it was the first time I tried talking to her… I don’t know. I was so hung up on making a good impression, I just…”

“Vinyl,” Neon started with a tone of caution. “Are you a-”

Vinyl shoved her hoof in his mouth before he could finish his question. “Don’t you dare say it,” she warned him before pulling her hoof out and settling back into her seat.

“Bleh!” Neon began scraping his tongue with one hoof and gaging in exaggeration. “Geez, Scratch. You ever wash those things?” He took a large swig of his beer and gave her an incredulous look. “Well are you?”

Vinyl stopped playing with her glasses and laid the side of her head down on the table. “I don’t know… maybe?” she offered eventually.

“Wow, my best friend is a fillyfooler…” Neon muttered just loud enough for Vinyl to hear. “Well, that explains a lot.”

There was a loud thud from Vinyl’s hooves as she slammed them down on the table, her face had jerked to attention only inches from Neon’s own. She was giving him the angriest look she could muster, but he seemed largely unfazed by her show of aggression. “What the heck is that supposed to mean?” she asked eventually when her glare didn’t seem to elicit any more of a reaction than a calm sip of beer.

“For starters, how many times have I asked you out?” Neon asked without missing a beat.

Her anger faltering, Vinyl slumped back into her seat. “Like, a dozen times. What does that have to do with-”

“And every time, what do you tell me?” Neon asked pointedly.

“I just like being your friend. But what does that-” Vinyl shot off quickly but was still too slow to get her question out before she was cut off again.

“Sounds like a pretty lame excuse if you ask me…” Neon went to take another swig of his drink, but frowned when he found it to be empty. He slid it over with the rest of the pile and sighed. “How else could you resist all this,” he gestured a hoof around himself before continuing, “if you weren’t into mares.”

At first, Vinyl felt like she wanted to jump across the table and beat the stuffing out of him. Instead, she snorted out a giggle. She fought to keep a straight face for only a moment before devolving into a fit of laughter. “Yeah!” she choked out between laughs. “That has to be it!”

Neon wasn’t sharing in her jubilation. “It wasn’t that funny…” He waved down a server and ordered another round for them both. “So, is she hot?”

“What!?” Vinyl’s laughter turned into a coughing fit from the sudden change of topic.

“I’m just asking.” Neon shrugged innocently. “Figured at the very least, you being into mares gives us something new to talk about.”

Vinyl gave him a sideways look for almost a full minute. She stopped her gaze long enough to accept her new beer from the bartender. After chugging the entire thing straight away and sending it clanging against the pile of it’s discarded brethren, she spoke up, “Unbelievably.”

Neon grinned at her. “Details, Scratch, details.”

“You are way too cool with this…” Vinyl muttered to herself before shrugging defeatedly. “Earth pony, black mane, grey coat, a pink treble clef for a cutie mark, and that flank…”

“Whoa, you’re checking out Octavia Philharmonica?” Neon asked dumbfoundedly.

“You know her?” Vinyl asked equally as shocked.

“Not personally. She’s some big shot rising star in the classical music world,” Neon admitted. “Do you even read those music magazines I subscribed you to?”

“Sometimes…” Vinyl deflected lamely. “...Think I have a shot?”

“Nope,” Neon said bluntly, taking a sip from his new bottle.

There was another loud thud on the table. However, instead of hooves, it was Vinyl’s face that came slamming down upon it. “I knew it…” she mumbled into the wood surface.

“So what?” Neon chuckled, catching Vinyl off guard.

“Wow dude, nice to see you can laugh at it,” Vinyl’s spat.

“I’m not laughing at that. Since when have you ever let anypony tell you what you can’t do?” Neon was still laughing somewhat.

Vinyl’s head perked up enough for her to make eye contact with him. “Never,” she said after some thought.

“So, what are you gonna do about it?” Neon prompted her.

For the first time since they had gotten to the bar, Vinyl smiled genuinely. “I’m gonna go for it.” She slapped on her shades and hopped out of the booth before trotting out of the bar completely.

“That’s the Scratch I know and love!” Neon called out to her as she trotted out the door. He took a long drink of his beer before something dawned on him and he nearly spit out his drink. “Wait a sec… Darn it, Vinyl! You said you were buying!” He turned to look for the mare, but she was already long gone.

“That’s forty bits,” the bartender said from beside the table. “I’m assuming you’re done for the night?”

Neon groaned as he pulled out a sack of bits from his shirt pocket. He counted out forty-three bits and grimaced at the thought of going nearly broke. “Could I maybe start a tab?” he asked hopefully.

“That depends, was your friend that just left Vinyl Scratch?” he asked.

“Yep, you’ve heard of her haven’t you? You know, I’m pretty famous too. The name’s Neon Lights. We’re best friends you know,” Neon finished with a grin.

“Oh really? Would you say you two have a lot in common?” the bartender asked with a curious look.

“Definitely.” Neon noded, sure of himself.

“In that case, no way,” the bartender said with a deadpan look.

“What?! Why?” Neon’s ego deflated like a punctured balloon.

“She owes me a hundred and two bits already. I don’t need somepony else racking up a debt they don’t intend to pay off,” he said matter-of-factly. “Now do you wanna pay, or to I have to call the police?”

With a heavy groan, Neon pulled out three bits from his bag before hoofing the rest of it over to the bar tender.

The bartender took the bag in one hoof and jingled it next to his ear thoughtfully. “What? No tip?” he asked with a scowl.

Neon looked at his last three bits longingly. He grimaced before placing them down on the table and shoving them over to the stallion with a hoof. “It’s all I got left…” he huffed sadly.

The stallion’s mood seemed to pull a one eighty as his mood and face flipped to a more chipper demeanor. “Thanks pal, you have a good night. And come back again!” the bartender added the three bits to the sack before trotting off to another table.

Yet again, a loud thud resounded from the table. This time it was Neon’s face that threatened to snap the poor furniture in half. He sat up and rubbed his now sore muzzle.

Neon took what was left of his drink and chugged it. “She’s got no chance in Tartarus with that mare…” he muttered to himself with a scowl. “No chance at all…”

“So let me get this straight…” a very confused Octavia asked. “You want me to sit through an hour of you blasting that noise you call music. Am I understanding you correctly?”

“It’s not noise but yes. If you can listen to my mixes for an hour and still don’t like it, I’ll leave you alone. But If you like it, even a little, you have to admit that what I make is real music!”

Two days had passed since Vinyl and Neon had met up at the bar. Vinyl was still apprehensive about her interest in the grey mare, but she decided that action was necessary if she ever wanted to look herself in the mirror again. So she concocted a plan to get Octavia alone, as half-baked as it may have been.

Octavia smirked at Vinyl, but didn’t laugh. “Alright, fine. When and where?”

Vinyl blinked at the grey mare in front of her. “Really, just like that? You're not even gonna try to refuse?”

Octavia only shrugged. “Call me curious. I’m willing to admit it if I’m wrong. So let me ask again: When and where?”

“M-my place, tonight… eight-ish?” Vinyl was still off put by how submissive the mare was suddenly acting.

“Great, write down your address and I’ll see you then,” Octavia said with smile and nod.

A wave of determination swept over Vinyl, and she scratched out her address quickly on a discarded piece of sheet music before hoofing it over. “Here, don’t be late,” she said with a bit more attitude then she had intended.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Octavia remarked before collecting her things and preparing to leave. She turned back to look at Vinyl once her cello was secured on her back. “I saw you, you know. In the front row. You could have just come to find me after my performance was scheduled to end… What made you want to sit through the whole thing?”

“Oh… Uhh, I… It was just a spur of the moment thing…” Vinyl kicked her hooves against the polished wood floor of the symphony hall.

“I see… You know, and I do not mean to offend you, but I half expected you to attempt to ruin my performance somehow. You honestly didn’t seem the type of pony that might enjoy my genre of music,” Octavia admitted honestly.

Vinyl looked down at the floor in an attempt to hide her blush. White fur and red cheeks… fantastic… “Can’t say the thought didn’t cross my mind,” she lied.

Octavia chuckled softly. “Well perhaps I misjudged you. I will see you soon, Vinyl.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Vinyl muttered back even as Octavia trotted away.

The second Vinyl was sure Octavia was out of earshot, she made a mad gallop out of the hall with the biggest grin her face had ever seen. Her good mood and excited hollering carried her all the way back to her apartment. Which is where her mood ended. “Ah, horse apples…”

Her home was a total mess, like always, and normally this wouldn’t bother her. But normally, nopony ever came over other than Neon, let alone a pony like Octavia.

Vinyl took a deep breath and looked at a wall-mounted clock above her tattered couch. It’s a quarter to three, that gives me a little more than five hours… She gave her living room a scrutinizing look and nodded to herself in determination. “You got this, Scratch!”

The next few hours whizzed by for Vinyl as she focused on the sole task of getting just one room of her apartment into a presentable condition. Furniture was shoved aside, walls were wiped down, the carpet was vacumed, and alien stains were discovered and battled against with all of Vinyl’s prejudice.

“Finally!” Vinyl cried in relief, collapsing onto the floor of her now spotless living room. She ventured a look at the clock and jumped back to her hooves. “Seven forty!?” She darted from the living room and down the hall to her bathroom.

“And I’m a freaking mess!” Vinyl groaned. She was covered horn to hoof in dirt, dust and miscellaneous stains she had no words for. Maybe my last landlord had a point when he kicked me out… “Pfft. No way. That guy was just a jerk…” Snickering to herself, she turned on the hot water of her shower and attempted to make quick work of washing her coat, mane, and tail.

Vinyl was still damp when she left her bathroom. Worry about the time crunch she was in kept her from enjoying any of it, or so she thought. “I took a twenty minute shower? Are you bucking me?!” She almost galloped in her rush to retrieve her home turntables and other equipment from her deck room at the back of her home.

When everything was finally in place and ready to go, the time read eight eighteen.

She’s late… Vinyl sat behind her turntables and stared at the front door from where her equipment sat in her livingroom. The apartment was completely silent save the clocks ticking and her own breathing.

Tick Tick Tick

Two minutes went by and Vinyl was growing impatient. What’s taking her so long? she wondered idly.

Tick Tick Tick

Vinyl watched the long hand of the clock circle around the the clock’s face completely. Eight twenty three… A thought struck her and she face hooved. Darn it, Scratch! She totally punked you! There’s no way somepony like her would come all the way out here for somepony like-

Thunk Thunk Thunk

The sudden knock on the door banished Vinyls thoughts and she made to leap over the front end of her turntables. Her back right hoof didn’t clear it entirely and she face planted against the floor in her panic. One of the smaller subwoofers that had been balance on the table fell on to her head. She scrambled madly to put the device back in order.

Thunk Thunk Thunk

“Hold on, I’ll be right there!” Vinyl called towards the door. Once present, she put on her most confident smile and opened it to find… Neon’s flank.

He was talking to somepony just out of view of Vinyls doorway.

“Dude, point that thing somewhere else!” Vinyl growled.

“There you are!” Neon smiled after turning to see her. “Hey, so that trip to the bar left me completely broke… Could I bum some bits off you since you said you would-”

“How much…” Vinyl sighed, resisting the urge to slam the door in his face out of anxiety. Only for you Neon, so help me if you were anypony else…

“Forty was the bar tab, so… Forty?” Neon asked hopefully.

“Forty bits? I only had like… four beers!” Vinyl’s jaw dropped.

“Looked like twelve to me, Scratch,” Neon chided her.

Vinyl grumbled to herself angrily while she fished out a bag of bits from a table drawer in the entryway. “Stupid alcohol, why do you have to be so good and expensive at the same time…” she mumbled.

“You say something?” Neon asked just out of sight.

“Nah, just looking for some… bits.” Vinyl dropped the bag of bits she had just taken in her magic and they spilled onto the floor.

“I was just musing about how quaint this side of town is.” Octavia commented to Neon from Vinyl’s doorway.

“Octavia!” Vinyl nearly shouted in surprise.

“Hello Vinyl, am I still on time?” Octavia smiled coily.

A quick glance back at the clock in her living room told Vinyl it was almost half past eight. “I thought I said eight.”

“No,” Octavia corrected, “you said eight-ish. That leaves a considerable amount of consideration for both parties involved. Admittedly, I would have been here sooner, but I ran into this fellow along the way.” She glanced over to Neon who was scooping up the discarded bits from the ground.

“Hey wait, didn’t you have a gig last night?” Vinyl remembered.

“Yep! Thanks for the scratch, Scratch!” Neon practically sang as he trotted away with the bag full of bits.

Vinyl facehoofed. Of course he was just getting back at me for ditching him at the bar…
She turned her attention to Octavia who was still waiting patiently. “You wanna come in?”

“That would be nice, thank you.” Octavia bowed her head while trotting past Vinyl.

“Okay, what’s the deal with you?” Vinyl asked cautiously.

“Whatever do you mean?” Octavia asked back, looking around Vinyl’s livingroom. “I assume I may sit anywhere?” She gestured to the couch and armchair.

“...Yeah just pick a seat.” Vinyl said hesitantly. “You aren’t nearly as snubby as the first time I talked to you.” She stuck her hoof in her mouth too late to stop the comment.

“Snubby?” Octavia cocked an eyebrow from where she sat on Vinyl’s couch.

“Uhh… I’m gonna shut up now…” Vinyl grumbled.

Octavia just smiled at her while she got into position behind the turntables.

Vinyl took a deep breath. There was a long pause while she fiddled with some switches. Octavia noticed her stealing glances at her, but still only smiled encouragement.

Octavia looked up at the clock behind her. “You can start when you're ready, I’ll stop you when the hour is over.”

Vinyl noded again, and felt a wave of relief when the music started to play. The music enveloped her and the world melted away. Most of it had anyway. The only thing that still remained besides Vinyl and her music, was Octavia. Try as she might, the cellist and her smile refused to fade away.

The song played on, and never once to Octavia look away or show any sign of disinterest. The song ended before long. And Vinyl started another. Then another, and so on.

After so many songs in the line of her private concert, Vinyl stopped playing long enough to look at the clock. “Whoa, what the hay? I thought you were going to tell me when time was up?”

Octavia looked up at the clock. “Has it been three hours already?”

“Okay, for real, what’s going on?” Vinyl turned off her equipment and approached her guest.

“I’m only being a polite guest, Vinyl,” Octavia responded.

“I… “ Vinyl sighed. “Well, what do you think?

“I’m no expert, but I’m fairly certain at least half of that wasn’t dubstep,” Octavia pointed out.

Vinyl cracked a smile. “I said you would have to admit what I make is more than just noise.”

“Touche. Yes, I admit that, at times, it was quite pleasant,” Octavia conceded.

“Well… good.” Vinyl frowned, her victory feeling more hollow than she had hoped. Now what? …Aw crud, I didn’t think this far ahead! What do I say? Think fast, Scratch!

“Would you like to come over for a private concert of my own some time? I know you already like it, but I feel it’s only fair.” Octavia played with her hooves as she spoke.

“Wha- Oh, hey yeah!” Vinyl piped up excitedly. “Err, I mean that sounds-”

Octavia gave Vinyl a kiss on the cheek that silenced her. “How about the same time tomorrow, my place?”

“Yeah… that sounds great…” Vinyl responded in a daze.

“Until tomorrow then.” Octavia turned away and in only a few short moment’s she was gone.

Does this mean…? Vinyl snapped to attention. “For the love of… Hey Octavia!” She made a run for the door hollering after the cellist as she went. “Where do you live!?”

Guess I was pretty mixed up back then…

“We’re here,” Neon spoke up.

The first thing Vinyl noticed about the place they had just arrived at was that it was a club. The second thing she realized was it was the same club she had performed at the night she had met Xila. Funny how that works… she mused.

“So?” Neon asked expectantly.

“So, what?” Vinyl returned.

Neon lifted his shades and rolled his eyes. “What are you gonna do about your friend?”

Vinyl cracked a confident smile. “I’m not gonna give up, that’s for sure.”

“That’s what I thought.” Neon noded. “Catch you later, Scratch.”

With that, Vinyl left. She trotted down the street of Manehattan as if she were headed home. But, rather than taking the normally straight path, she took a right at a seemingly random street corner. Continuing down, she hung another right and entered an open alleyway.

Vinyl looked around the alley and nodded in satisfaction when she was sure she was in the right place. “Zee,” Vinyl began aloud, “we need to talk.”

Author's Note

Well, shoot, this one is a few days late too! Guess my schedule is now bound to the weekend. That's fine I guess, Saturdays are for ponies after all! This new chapter is just short of beating my first one in length. That makes me pretty happy if I do say so myself. I have a brand new editor at the wheel this time! You might recognize him from from the comments of chapter four when he offered me a hand at fixing up that mess of a chapter I called plot devolpment. His name is DemonBrightSpirit, and you can see his account right over...here! Seriously, I asked if he wouldn't mind editing some of my chapters and he just said yes... I have to remind myself sometimes just how cool a lot of the people in the Brony community can be, otherwise I would go nuts over just how awesome people have treated me since I got into writing. First Hoopy tells me I should give writting a shot, then Merlos basically agrees to teach me what he can, and then there's my friends on Skype. It's all nuts and unrealistically wonderful. And I haven't even mentioned my readers! I digress, thanks to everyone who's stuck with me this far, and thanks to everyone who's encouraged me to keep going. Looking at you Tyler! Catch you all in the next chapter, later!

-Ludicrous Lycan

This Must be a Dream, Because There’s No Way You’re Real

Vinyl was too busy learning what scorched carpet tasted like to notice when Xila went to rub the sore spot on the back of her head with their hoof. At the same time, she sat up and looked at Octavia, smirking on the couch.

“Glad to see you thought that was funny.” Vinyl returned the smirk before rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling. “But you know you didn’t just hit me, right? You okay up there, Zee?” She asked aloud, then grinned wide at the guilty look on Octavia’s face.

”I’ve been better. And wow, Octy has a real mean back hoof!” Xila reported thoughtfully. “Deserving or not, how do you put up with her?”

Vinyl closed her eyes and relaxed on the floor, the day finally catching up with her. Have you seen her flank? she jested back. Really though. It ain’t that bad, you should have seen some of the stuff I get away with. There was this one time I spiked the punch at one of her recitals’ after parties.

Octavia cocked an eyebrow at her marefriend, who had begun giggling on the floor. She wasn’t entirely sure, but she thought she could hear two sets of voices.

Xila was watching the snippets of memory flit through Vinyl’s thoughts. “I take that back, how does she put up with you?”

Good question, I guess I’m just lucky. Vinyl opened her eyes just as Octavia was cantering passed her. “Hey, Octy, where you going?”

“Bed,” Octavia called back flatly. “I’m tired and have a lot of work to do tomorrow If we are going to be hosting royalty.”

Vinyl rolled onto her stomach and watched her go. “Oh, okay. I’ll join you in just a minute,” she called after her marefriend. Her gaze kept drifting to a specific point and she was pretty sure she wasn’t having any dirty thoughts at that moment.

...Xila? Vinyl’s gaze noticeably broke from where it had been following just before Octavia rounded the corner to their bedroom in the hall.

”Oh, err… Yes, Vinyl?” Xila responded.

Were you just staring at my marefriends flank? Vinyl deadpanned.

The silence of Vinyl’s mind didn’t go unnoticed.

Vinyl was patient for all of ten seconds before addressing the question again. Xila, were you-

”You asked me if I had seen it, remember?” Xilas question was distant as she seemed to be contemplating something else entirely.

Vinyl stood up onto her hooves and began slowly making her way back to the bedroom. That was a joke! I didn’t want you staring at Octy’s-

”But the way Octy’s cutie mark bounces when she walks is just… Oh, dear Luna what is happening to me?” Xila’s thoughts trailed off and died on a tone of idle horror.

Vinyl picked up on the strong wave of panic building up in her head and moved to quell it. Look, I’ll just assume you’re tired and forget about it if you calm down! Think about Princess Luna coming or something other than why I like to stare at Octy’s flank, okay?

Coming to stand next to where her shades had fallen to the ground, Vinyl took a moment to levitate them onto the coffee table back in the living room before stepping into the hallway.

”But I was thinking of why I… Nevermind, you’re right. I must have picked up on your feelings of the matter. Sleep sounds nice, thank you Vinyl.” Xila’s thoughts settled and dissipated after that.

Vinyl could pick up on the occasional image of Princess Luna, or what Xila would do to a certain Celestian that cared for the sky two constellations to the right of hers, but was obviously rapidly descending into sleep even before Vinyl climbed into bed beside her lover.

Lying in bed, Vinyl might have followed close behind the Celestian’s example if not for the gentle touch on her back and the soft words that followed them.

“Vinyl, are you still awake?” Octavia asked quietly.

“Yeah, Octy, I’m still up… Something wrong?” Vinyl answered back just as quietly while turning in bed to meet Octavia’s eyes.

Octavia hesitated for a moment. “Is she still awake?”

Vinyl took a minute to listen to her own thoughts. She couldn’t feel Xila’s thoughts, but felt something was missing that meant she was truly asleep. “I'm not sure, maybe-” A low rumbling echoed in Vinyl mind and her face deadpanned when she recalled what it was she had forgotten about the now snoring Celestian. “Out like a light…” she drawled.

The two mares sat in relative silence for a few minutes. Vinyls ears twitched every time a phantom snore echoed at the back of her mind, and Octavia mulled over her thoughts. Octavia was the first to break the silence when she decided she couldn't hold back her concerns any longer.

“I think we both know there is. About there being something wrong that is... a few things actually.” Octavia said dryly. “This type of thing doesn’t happen to normal ponies like us… Why didn’t this happen in Ponyville, or Canterlot? At least then it would be the Elements of Harmony’s problem. And now, Princess Luna is coming to our home.” Octavia’s hoof reached out and her fetlock curled around Vinyl’s. “What is happening to us?”

“For starters, what makes you think I’m… we’re like normal ponies?” Vinyl returned the squeeze from her marefriend stronger than she had been given. “Things are getting weird, I know. And I have a couple worries myself, but none of them have anything to do with Princess Luna. I have no doubt that you and I will be fine.”

Octavia didn’t seem totally convinced. “But something is still bothering you…”

“Yeah…” Vinyl bit her lip, unsure of how to go about what she was bothering her. “It’s Zee…”

“Vinyl, I did tell you it was my idea that she get up and help with breakfast. Please don’t hold that against her.” Octavia pleaded.

“What? No!” Vinyl corrected her. “To be honest, I’m getting used to the whole sharing thing as long as it isn’t permanent. But Zee is acting weird lately.”

Octavia sat up in bed. “How so?” She asked worriedly.

“Zee is… Well I can’t say I really knew much about her before we met the other night, but the more I speak with her, the more she’s starting to remind me of… me.” Vinyl confessed.

Octavia slumped onto her back. “Vinyl, I don’t understand.”

“It’s little things but it’s definitely there!” Vinyl found herself having to check her volume, worried that she might wake up the only one sleeping at the time. When she could make out Xila’s snoring again she continued. “For starters, she’s been calling you Octy. And then earlier she was…”

When Vinyl didn’t continue her train of thought for more than a minute, Octavia spoke up. “She was…?”

“Doing something only I would do…” Vinyl decided that telling Octavia about Xila’s new found interest could wait for a less awkward time, if at all. “My point is, I think I’m rubbing off on her and I don’t know if that’s a bad thing.”

“Yes, because having two Vinyl Scratch’s could be just what Equestria needs.” Octavia deadpanned.

“Ouch, You got me right here, Octy.” Vinyl placed a hoof above her heart, a look of mock pain on her face visible even in the darkness of the bedroom.

“Shush, you!” Octavia gave her lover a playful jab in the stomach that resulted in a satisfying “Oof”.

Vinyl rubbed her stomach Idly while staring up at the ceiling. “I hope she’s okay. I just wanted to help. What if it turns out I’m hurting her?” She trailed off with the thought left to linger.

Octavia wormed her way in bed to Vinyl’s chest and wrapped her front legs around her lover’s barrel. Vinyl wasted no time in wrapping one leg around her head in return.

“This is way more complicated than that time I got Pinkie drunk, huh?” Vinyl asked.

Octavia shuddered but didn’t release her embrace. “Unfortunately, yes,” she confirmed almost grimly. “And I thought nothing could get more complicated than Pinkie after that much liquor…”

“Hehe, yeah…” Vinyl chuckled, her breathing beginning to slow and her mind drifting to sleep.

For the first time since Vinyl had met Xila, she was able to relax completely into the comfort of her marefriend. For just a few minutes, they were the only two mares on earth that mattered. She fell asleep with a look of pure content.

“Yeah…” Octavia buried her muzzle into Vinyl’s fur and followed after her peacefully.

”Well, I suppose this rules out sneaking off to read…” Xila thought privately to herself after she was certain both mares were asleep.

Xila had woken up shortly after Vinyl’s first outburst. When she had discovered that the two mares had been talking about her, she had feigned sleep in order to listen in to most of the conversation.

”I wonder if she’s right.” Xila mulled over the conversation in contemplation. ”I think I would like to meet this Pinkie Pie…” she concluded with a mental shrug. ”I’m fine! I should tell them there’s nothing wrong with me in the morning… unless they would be upset I listened in on their private conversation…” She concluded that keeping her eavesdropping to herself was the wiser decision.

A wave of guilt passed over Xila as she considered a means of alleviating her boredom until she could fall back to sleep. ”I promised myself that I wouldn’t do it again after last time, but…”

Xila’s consciousness reached out to Vinyl’s sleeping one. There was only a little resistance as she began probing around it, Vinyl’s subconscious mind apparently becoming familiar with the Celestian’s presence. After only a few moments, a wave of memories, emotions, and even music began leaking back to her.

One song in particular caught Xila’s attention and she rooted it to herself so she could listen to it while she let the waves of emotion and desires flow freely around her. ”Wow, Octavia asked her out first…” She chuckled at the memory of the Vinyl’s first date with the grey earth pony.

Before long, over an hour passed by while Xila immersed herself in almost all things Vinyl. Her mind grew tired and she decided to stem the flow from the DJ’s mind.

Xila drifted off quickly, her mind racing from the euphoria that she felt from delving into Vinyl’s personality. ”That was the last time… I swear.” Her thoughts grew dark as she fell fast asleep.

The crowd roared its applause while Xila bowed and gave them her final goodnight. She had just finished a gig at Club Canterlot, and was feeling the full blast of the applause for her performance. She turned and walked off to the ramp that lead back stage.

A subtle wave of doubt flitted through Xila’s mind and forced her to stop her advance. What am I doing here again…? The thought seemed to dull and fade as something drew her to the ramp, but she resisted and tried to hold onto it. And why is everything purple? The second thought derailed her worries and both of them faded to the point which Xila couldn’t remember having thought them. She looked left and right, unsure why she wasn’t already off the stage, then shrugged and made her way down the ramp.

At the bottom, a grey mare waited for Xila. The mare greeted her, but her face and words were blurred out and indiscernible. She shook her head and focused harder, trying to block out the cheering that still shook the club’s walls.

“Sorry, what was that?” she shouted over the crowd.

The mare’s face cleared up and she could make out what she said. “I said that was a wonderful performance, *****!” The mare was Octavia and she seemed to be congratulating her, but the last thing she said was still too difficult to understand.

“What was that last bit, Octy?” Xila asked as the made their way through the back stage and then performer’s lounge.

“I just said your name, dear… I’m sorry,” Octavia chuckled. “But I think you have something in your mane.”

“What are you talking about?” Xila cocked her head and glanced at a nearby wall mirror. “Celestians don’t have ma-.” She stopped cold at the sight of her reflection. A white unicorn mare with a two tone blue mane and purple tinted shades was looking back at her.

“Is something wrong, Vinyl?” Octavia asked with a heavy note of concern.

That’s what she couldn’t hear. That name. The crowd was chanting Vinyl’s name, and Octavia had addressed her by it. It wasn’t so odd, she thought, but something about that felt inherently wrong. She had a flash of memory and felt a wave of relief.

“Oh, no, sorry Octy. This isn’t Vinyl right now. It’s Xila!” she chirped.

“Oh, honey, you haven’t used that name in years!” Octavia smiled at her even as Xila’s own smile washed away.

“Wh-what? Years? But I’m a Celestian… I should be tending to the stars!” Her mind reeled at the thoughts racing through her. “And what about Vinyl!? Theres no way I would… Why can’t I feel Vinyl’s presence?”

Octavia’s chuckle sent a shiver down Xila’s equine spine. “Oh, sweetie, you forgot already?” Octavia leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek before moving her muzzle just next to Xila’s ear. “You killed her.”

Something inside Xila shattered alongside the world around her. All that was left standing in the black void that was once a performer’s lounge was Xila and a now openly weeping Octavia. She felt sick and found staying on her hooves to be a losing battle.

Octavia’s sudden outcry shook Xila further even still. “You took her away from me! You took away my Vinyl!” Tears flowed from her eyes like open faucets even as she leapt at the disoriented Celestian, pinning her to the ground and shaking her violently.

“You aren’t my Vinyl, you will never be my Vinyl!” Octavia screamed as she shook her again and again.

Xila started to feel her fur dampen as the tears from Octavia’s eyes rained down on her. She felt powerless and broken as her mind fractured with every new shake and accompanying scream of Vinyl’s name.

“Vinyl. Vinyl? Vinyl!?”

Xila awoke from sleep with a violent start, adrenaline ripping its way through Vinyl’s body.

Vinyl hacked and coughed as she struggled to breath. Her fur was matted with sweat and Xila could see Octavia standing over them on the bed, shaking them both with a look of overbearing worry in her eyes.

“It’s-” Vinyl coughed a few more times despite her breathing beginning to calm and settle. “It’s okay, I’m okay… Are you okay, Zee?”

”I- I think so.” Xila had to fight to keep the images from her nightmare playing over again in her thoughts. ”What happened?”

“Thats what I want to know.” Vinyl relaxed back into the bed and looked up into Octavia’s confused stare. “She asked what happened, Octy.”

Octavia blinked back at her at first, but noded understanding before long. She hopped off the bed looked back at Vinyl from the floor. “Are you sure you're fine? Can I get you anything?”

“Some water would be cool.” Vinyl offered.

Octavia nodded again before trotting out of the room with purpose.

“So what the hay was all that?” Vinyl asked aloud.

”Wha- what do you mean?” Panic jolted through Xila’s mind in worry of what Vinyl could be thinking.

“You’ve been screaming back there for a while. And then I couldn’t breath! Did you have a nightmare or something?” Vinyl’s concern did wonders to ease Xila’s nerves.

”I had a… nightmare.” Xila confided.

Octavia returned with a tall glass of water that Vinyl gulped down gratefully. Xila remained quiet while the two mares bickered about Vinyl’s well being, taking comfort in the normalcy of the exchange.

”No! That’s wrong, this isn’t normal… not for me…” Xila shuddered and vainly attempted to withdraw herself; the result was Vinyl curling up into a ball on the bed.

“Whoa, Zee! What’s the matter?!” Vinyl shouted in alarm from her sudden lack of muscle control.

Xila immediately relaxed her grip and allowed Vinyl full motor control once more. She grimaced internally when the DJ’s first instinct was to jump out of the bed as if she could escape Xila’s grasp. ”I’m sorry! I don’t know what’s come over me!”

“Chill, Zee, I’m not mad. You’re acting really freaked out though. Do you want to talk about it?” Vinyl looked over at Octavia who seemed to be following along well enough and gave a reassuring nod.

”Thanks, but… I just need some time.” Xila closed off her thoughts and became silent.

“Huh…” Vinyl grunted thoughtfully.

“What is it?” Octavia stepped towards Vinyl and gave her a curious look.

“I think she just muted herself.” Vinyl sat back on her flank and stared at the floor. “She’s still there, but I can’t hear anything from her. You think she heard me last night?”

Octavia bit rubbed her chin with her fetlock. “Maybe. She seems really scared about something. Is it because of Luna’s visit?”

“No way, she was basically doing back flips last night when we saw that message in the sky!” Vinyl argued.

“Message in the sky?” Octavia tilted her head in confusion.

“Oh right. We were eating at that cafe on Prancer Street when we saw this weird constellation of stars. And then it turned into a message for Xila from Princess Luna herself!” Vinyl chirped.

“I see, and that’s how you know that Luna is coming? Did it mention when she would be arriving, by chance?” Octavia asked hopefully.

“Nope! All it said was that Zee shouldn’t worry. But she seems pretty sure that we’ll be seeing her soon enough.” Vinyl admitted.

Octavia facehoofed. “That’s hardly enough to go on, Vinyl…”

Vinyl shrugged and got up to leave the room.

“Now what are you doing?” Octavia sighed.

“I’m gonna go out for breakfast. The fresh air from the walk might help Zee, I know I need it.” Vinyl said as she trotted out of the bedroom.

“So you’re leaving me to do all the cleaning alone?” Octavia’s eyes narrowed at the back of Vinyl’s head.

Vinyl stopped and turned back at her. “Don’t worry I’ll help when I get back! It could be days before the princess get’s here, right?”

“...I suppose, just don’t think you’re getting out of doing any cleaning, you!” Octavia smiled despite the reprimand.

Vinyl chuckled and smiled back. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” she said with an eye roll.

After a stop in the living room for her shades, and a quick visit to the bathroom to fix her mane and tail, Vinyl left the apartment. She looked down the wide streets of Manehatten and let out a sigh. Zee, I hope you’re paying attention, ‘cause I still want to talk to you about what happened.

When Vinyl’s thoughts were met with silence she groaned and started trotting down the street. This is going to be a long day...

Author's Note

Vinyl has NO idea... Yup so this was a few days late! Sorry everyone. I have a brand new chapter of A Gilda'd Opportunity that I've finished and should be up later today if it isn't up already. Big Thanks to Merlos the Mad for the editing job this time around! He saved my bacon with these dang-nabit finals scattering my editors like spooked cats. Hope you all enjoyed!