In a Cello Mood

Dear Diary,

This is insane! Why did they take Vinyl in for questioning? And they won’t even let me into the police station, much less let me talk to her. I am so furious but I just cannot do anything! Is this why Mom used to be a rebel? I can understand now. When you are not trying to break the system, the system is breaking you.

But here is the rub: no matter how hard you try, the system will always be breaking you. It is a horseshoe stomping on an equine muzzle forever.

Oh, screw all that philosophy! I just want to see Vinyl sound and safe!

They’ve had her there for what, like, an hour? An hour and a half? Two hours?

Of course Mom and Jeffrey wouldn’t want me to be here, in the cold, but how can it be otherwise? Vinyl is my marefriend, and as soon as they had scheduled the questioning for today, I knew at once there was something fishy here. Usually they question you straightaway. But not now.

I also have a feeling Mom and Jeffrey didn’t go too far from here and are waiting for me in the bushes.

...No, that would be silly. Right?

...Right?

***

“That would actually be pretty funny.”

Octavia yelped and shut her diary close, falling off the steps to the police station. Landing precisely into a pile of snow. Immediately, she glared at Lyra, who was standing above her, grinning, and Bon-Bon, who was giggling as she covered her mouth with a hoof. “Har har har.” Octavia sighed and got up, brushing the snow off her coat. “What would be pretty funny?”

“Jeffrey hiding in a bush,” Lyra explained, “because Jeffrey is actually- oh wait.” She facehooved and ceased talking. At Octavia’s quizzical expression, she elaborated, “It’s too soon for you to know that. The readers either.”

“What readers?” Octavia blinked.

“Roll with it,” Bon-Bon whispered audibly. “It’s Lyra we’re talking about here, all right?”

“So what are you guys doing here?” Octavia questioned. “Cause- Oh right.” She squinted her eyes at Lyra. “You know, Lyra, sometimes I think that-”

Lyra grinned. “Three, two, one…”

“Hey, Tavi?”

“Vinyl!” Octavia yelped, galloping towards her marefriend, disregarding the policepony escorting her out of the building. “Vinyl, please tell me you’re all right!” Or else-! The little pony in Octavia’s head had taken out a shotgun.

“I’m fine!” the white pony grinned, almost making Octavia collapse on the ground from relief. “They just talked to me a lot, and gave me tea and biscuits!”

“Vinyl, I was so worried!” The grey mare threw herself at her marefriend, embracing her and kissing her all over the muzzle. “What did they talk to you about?” she wondered, casting a glare at the policepony-escort, who’d just shrugged and was walking away into the police station again.

“Oh, you know.” Vinyl smirked and waved her hoof in the air - but her expression remained worried, as if she hadn’t managed to hide behind the light-hearted facade she’d built all those years ago. “Can’t Lyra just tell you that and you and I go have some kinky time? Oh, even better!” The DJ smiled and hugged Octavia back sensually. “How about Lyra tells us that while we have some kinky time?”

Octavia was too relieved to even slap her silly marefriend. Still, there was an issue to address. “Vinyl, love. What did they talk to you about?”

Vinyl’s smile faded as she looked away from Lyra and Bon-Bon and Octavia and into the snowy present of Equestria. “My dad. They talked to me about my dad. The way he treated me. I told them what I could. They promised they would jail him for that too and can we really not talk about that right now?”

Octavia opened her mouth, but Lyra chimed in immediately: “Right! How about we go drinking-” Catching Octavia’s glare, she quickly amended, “coffee? How about we go drink some coffee right now?”

“I can roll with that.” Vinyl smiled in Octavia’s embrace.

“Just wear some scarves, dears!” came Eleanore’s voice from behind the bushes.

Octavia didn’t even facehoof.

***

Aren’t you just thankful for certain things, Diary?

Like when you were expecting something bad and it turned out all right? I wonder if this is the reason why we can’t truly feel happy. We have to expect the worst because, if we are aimed at the positivity, the fall down to reality is sometimes way too painful.

The climb up, it turns out, is much, much easier. I wonder what Lyra and Bon-Bon are doing. They are probably doing what Vinyl and I were doing some five minutes ago. And will be doing in half an hour, when Vinyl has caught up her breath.

...I wonder what Beauty and Dan are doing too. And I really, really hope it isn’t something sexual.

A very relieved Octavia, November 26th

***

Dan put away the newspaper in irritation. The news wasn’t getting any better with each passing day. If anything, the world was getting more crooked, more sly, more ambitious. And it was killing him on the inside that he was part of that world. That he had spent his life helping the world become that way.

He looked at Beauty, who was lounging on the couch, humming some tune under her nose. The tune changed as she scribbled some notes on a piece of paper, replacing the old ones. This was good. This, here, was stability. Stability in change.

The mare caught his gaze and smiled radiantly at him. “What’s the matter, Dan? Thinking about how to name our firstborn?”

It was a good thing the lawyer wasn’t drinking his tea at the moment. Because he would have easily spat it out. “W-what?” He looked at the blue mare in deep fear. “You’re pregnant?”

“What?” Beauty Brass laughed, shaking her head in dismissal. “No, I was just messing around with you. Do you think a B or a B-flat would be good here?”

“I have no idea about either,” Dan confessed, getting up from the table and approaching the couch. “And don’t give me the ‘but you work at RUMMS’ look.”

“I won’t,” Bea promised and slid away, patting the space next to her. “I’ll give you one of my ‘let’s cuddle in this winter cold’ looks.”

Dan lay down next to his lover and closed his eyes in bliss and relaxation. Somewhere in Equestria, there was a wild snowstorm brewing on. Somewhere in Equestria, there were cries of injustice and unrest. Somewhere in Equestria, ponies died at the frontline.

But here, there was only love.