One-time crush, remember? Not love.
“Canterlot… Baltimare… Fillydelphia… Manehattan… The Crystal Empire… Cloudsdale… Vanhoover… Las Pegasus…”
Vinyl could hardly distinguish one show from another. All the images were blurry; ponies everywhere looked the same; every hotel room she’d visited before had the same, dull white walls, cracks on the ceiling and an uncomfortable bed. The only difference was that the room she’d lived in during her stay in the Crystal Empire was built of dull white, cracked crystals. It was probably some kind of law of the Universe.
She couldn’t even tell one town in Equestria from another. Everywhere there were fans, psychofans, a small but loud group of haters and a larger one consisting of shady ponies, usually friends and relatives of her technicians. They knew everyone in town. Somehow they always managed to find a way to the backstage, smuggling the whole barrels of alcohol and containers of drugs to the afterparties.
Vinyl hated them. Of course, she had acquired a bad reputation when she was younger. She wasn’t Sapphire Shores who, previous to her career as a singer, was an aerobics trainer and was known from her disapproval for any kind of addictive substances. Vinyl never denied that she liked to drink and have one-night stands with random ponies, regardless of their gender; she’d only recently quit smoking and used to experiment with psychedelics until she’d experienced a particularly bad trip.
During the afterparties, however, she was often offered hard drugs. Almost all members of her technical crew were addicts, so many locals assumed that she was also one of them. When she was younger, she usually laughed at them before politely explaining that they were wrong. Recently, however, it started to anger her; in Baltimare (or maybe it was Manehattan?) she’d lost it and had almost beaten a dealer. Since Manehattan (or maybe Fillydelphia? She didn’t know for sure), she started to sneak out of the club just after the show. Then she'd usually walk to the hotel and lock herself in a room with a bottle of wine, container of ice cream, and occasionally some nice dubstep fan.
To be honest, during that tour the last possibility didn’t happen as often as it used to. Maybe it was because the ponies coming to her shows were still getting younger and younger. Or maybe because she just wanted to be alone. Maybe it was that article she’d read in Canterlot or Cloudsdale, about a stallion who’d murdered a mare he’d met in a club. Or maybe because the only book she found on a train to the Crystal Empire was an atlas of STDs, complete with pictures.
Vinyl tossed and turned on her bed. She opened her eyes and stared at the cracks forming an interesting pattern on the ceiling. She knew what it was about. It wasn’t an article, the age of the fans, not even the most disturbing close-up photos of diseased areas. It was all about her.
A year before, she was travelling somewhere. She didn’t exactly remember the name of the town. She only remembered that it was a boring ride, at least till she met that grey, silent mare. They talked about some stuff, played some poker. They shared a kiss and Vinyl spent the night in her firm embrace. Then they arrived to the station and Maud disappeared forever.
Vinyl, however, didn’t want to give up. She remembered that after she came back to Ponyville, she went to the Sugarcube Corner to ask Pinkie Pie about her sister.
“Maud? Of course, she’s my sister! She’s, like, the bestest sister ever! You know, she’s good and caring, and she taught me how to make candies! Do you want a cupcake? What I was… ah, yes, Maud! She–”
Vinyl quickly became more interested in the cupcakes appearing in front of her. Pinkie continued to talk for nearly half of an hour, and soon Vinyl knew everything not only about Maud, but also about her two other sisters and parents. However, only one information was important for her.
Maud was currently in Zebrica, collecting some rare rocks for her doctorate.
Vinyl ate way too many cupcakes that day. She also drank way too much wine at that night. In the morning, however, she decided to move on. That day on the train, they both agreed that it was just a one-time crush. Just a kiss and nothing more. Then why it was so hard to forget?
She tried to settle down. A week after her talk with Pinkie, she met her old friend, Neon Lights. They went for a date, then for some more of them. Maud’s image slowly faded in Vinyl’s memory. For the first time in months, she actually felt happy.
To be honest, they were far from an ideal couple, or at least from how most of the ponies pictured one. They both could hardly be called monogamous. Yet, the open relationship worked for them. It was nice to have somepony to cuddle, to wake up next to in the morning, or to go to the pub and spend the night drinking.
Too bad, they both had to go on tour. Neon Lights went to Neighsia, while she was travelling all around Equestria. She could call him, of course; if she recalled correctly, 4 AM in Equestria meant that it was 7 PM in where he was at that time. But she felt that the talk alone wouldn’t help her. She just wanted somepony to be near her, to cuddle her while she was falling asleep.
She levitated an almost-empty bottle of wine and drank the remains of it. The bottle slipped from her magic grasp and landed on the carpet. She thought she shouldn’t drink so much wine – it used to help her fall asleep, but now it was only waking up her inner demons. Of which one was a pretty mare called Maud Pie.
She got out of bed and scratched her back. Then she trotted to the window, opened it, and for a few minutes inhaled the cold air. She was staggering slightly, a side effect of downing a whole bottle of wine. The fresh air, however, helped her to clear her mind. She still felt that she couldn’t fall asleep even if she wanted, but she suddenly stopped caring. All she wanted now was to put her saddlebags on, go for an early walk, watch the sunrise and maybe eat something unhealthy.
Walking down the stairs, Vinyl tried to recall the name of the town she was in. It definitely wasn’t Cloudsdale, it also didn’t look like Manehattan. It could be Vanhoover, but if she recalled correctly, she was there before Las Pegasus. Not that she remembered Las Pegasus; she only recently found a photo of herself in a newspaper, drunk out of her mind in a casino. She didn’t remember why she’d gotten so wasted. Maybe it was because of the paparazzis, who kept pestering her. All she could recall was that she’d woken up on the next day on a train to…
“Trottingham!” she exclaimed suddenly. Yeah, that architecture was hard to confuse with anything else.
“Shut yer gob, slag!” somepony in the house on the other side of the street shouted. “It’s bloody 4 AM!”
Yes, she was definitely in Trottingham.
She trotted down the street, lost in her thoughts. She was thinking about Neon Lights, Maud, all those ponies she’d met during her tours… She thought about her parents and brother – she also haven’t seen them for ages, even though she was in Canterlot recently, at the beginning of her tour.
She inhaled deeply. After she’d quit smoking, she suddenly discovered how pleasant the fresh air was. Food regained its taste. It was when her relationship with Neon Lights started to bloom. Those were good times.
Now she was wandering aimlessly through the dark and empty town, thinking of ponies who weren’t there with her. She knew so many of them – family, friends, her manager, musicians she occasionally collaborated with – yet she was all alone. She levitated headphones out of her saddlebags and put them on.
“So, am I gonna listen to sad songs like a 7th grader?” she said to herself. It didn’t seem cool at all. She shook her head. After a quick search, she decided to choose her ‘jogging’ playlist, consisting mostly of upbeat rock songs, good for kicking flanks or dancing all night long.
She bobbed her head to the rhythm of the song. That was much better. Her heartbeat quickened, she started to walk faster. The alcohol was buzzing in her veins pleasantly. She took a turn and went down to the river bank. She didn’t know Trottingham well, but she knew that there was a pier there, with some benches she could sit on, waiting for the sun to rise. At night, they were usually occupied by the youth having its swing, but even the wildest party animals had to go home and it was a good chance that she’d be alone there.
She almost laughed at that thought. Since the beginning of the tour she felt lonely and homesick, yet she was carefully avoiding contact with other ponies. Her technicians didn’t count – they were mostly a bunch of obnoxious junkies, who probably didn’t even notice her leaving every afterparty since the beginning of the tour. Vinyl remembered the times when she was like them – she was never a junkie, of course, but ‘obnoxious’ was the least offensive term one could use to describe her.
In fact, she regretted many things about her youth. Her behaviour and a few rather controversial interviews established her position in the show business. The vice of it was that most of the ponies were considering her an annoying little brat she used to be. She had a hard time convincing anypony to take her seriously.
Just as she thought, the pier was empty. She sat on the bench, shivering slightly in the light breeze blowing from the river. She closed her eyes, listening to the water flowing below her. The bench wasn’t very comfortable, but she didn’t mind. She could smell a pleasant scent in the air – it was a bakery nearby, which would soon be open. Vinyl heard her stomach groan.
Some birds started to chirp when the first rays of sunlight reflected in the grey surface of the river. Vinyl opened her eyes and put on her sunglasses. If somepony appeared there, she’d be easily recognized. That was why she was rarely wearing them outside the shows. She was much more anonymous without them.
They see the glasses and they immediately know that DJ Pon3 is with them, she thought. Yet, almost nopony looks beneath them to see Vinyl Scratch, an average pony in her late twenties, who apparently has nothing better to do than sit here and think about her miserable life.
Other ponies’ lives were much better. If she had a normal life, she’d stay in Ponyville, go to work from 8 AM to 4 PM, and then she’d get back home to play with her foals and go to sleep next to her husband.
And I’d never meet Maud…
Of course you’d do. She’s Pinkie Pie’s sister, she’d come and visit her sooner or later.
But I’d be a serious mare with a family… The kind that doesn’t hit on random mares they meet on a train. Somepony who doesn’t hopelessly fall in love in every pony they meet.
Oh, come on, we had this conversation before. You even discussed that with her. One-time crush, remember? Not love.
“One-time crush that lasts a year? No shit…”
“Talking to yourself isn’t usually considered as a sign of being sane,” somepony behind her said in a monotone voice.
Vinyl froze. She realised that she said at least a part of her conversation with herself aloud. Then she thought that it wasn’t even 5 AM, so nopony heard her anyway. Then, however, she remembered the voice behind her. It was familiar. It was…
No way. It’s not her. I was thinking about her and I just imagined her voice. If I turn around, nopony will be there. I’m only hearing things…
“Are you okay, Vinyl?” There was some additional, barely noticeable note in her voice. Maybe that was how she expressed care.
Vinyl slowly turned around.
“That’s impossible…” she muttered.
Maud didn’t change much during the year since they’d met. She was even wearing the same dress, unless she had more of them. Vinyl suddenly thought about her own stash of spare sunglasses.
“I hardly think so.”
“H– how did you get here?” Vinyl looked at Maud, confused.
“I got on a train.”
“Come on… You know what I mean… You… you were in Zebrica…”
“Well, I came back.”
Vinyl suddenly remembered how hard talking with Maud was. However, for her it didn’t matter. Despite the cold morning, she suddenly felt warm.
“How are you, Vinyl?”
“Well, umm… I’m now on tour, I’m slightly tipsy and… umm… I just thought I’d go and watch the sun… I… well, lots of things changed since the last year. Life goes on… I have a coltfriend now…”
“A coltfriend?” Maud asked. Vinyl couldn’t guess if it was more of a “A coltfriend? Good for you!” or “A coltriend? How could you do that to me?”. Knowing Maud, it could be neither of them.
“Yeah… his name is Neon Lights. He’s a musician too. He’s now on tour in Neighsia… I… I miss him so much…”
“That explains why you’re sitting here.”
“Yeah, I guess so… You know, normally I’d hang out with my technicians and some fans, but...” She told Maud about everything that’d been bugging her recently. About the loneliness and the feeling of being burned out; about the ponies around her and how she felt about them; About her long-distance relationship. By the end of the story, they were sitting together on the bench, Vinyl’s head on Maud’s shoulder.
“Well, enough of that sad stuff,” Vinyl said. “How’s Boulder? Haven’t seen him in a while.”
“Still a rock,” Maud replied. “I can show him to you if you want.”
“Yeah… Hi Boulder!” Vinyl smiled and waved her hoof at the pebble. “Dunno how about you Maud, but I’m a bit hungry. I think there’s a bakery nearby. Do you want to have a breakfast with me?”
“Sure,” Maud replied.
They trotted to the bakery which happened to be also a cosy little cake shop and a café. Vinyl thanked Celestia for that – the effects of insomnia and wine started to get to her and she needed coffee. She didn’t want to miss any second of her meeting with Maud.
After eating a couple of cinnamon rolls Vinyl felt much better. Her stomach stopped to grumble. Getting rid of the butterflies in it was, however, a totally different thing. At least a large cup of coffee woke her up. Maud was looking at her with her usual, indifferent expression, but Vinyl could tell that deep inside she was also enjoying seeing her.
“So, how did you end up in Trottingham?” Vinyl asked, still chewing the cinnamon roll. “And don’t tell me you got on a train…”
“I was nearby, collecting some samples of limestone. Then I was told that DJ Pon3 will play a show in Trottingham. I think I just wanted to see how you’re doing. Sometimes I get sentimental.”
“Umm… thanks…” Vinyl blushed. “You came to my show? I haven’t seen you…”
“Not really. It’s hard to get the tickets. So I went for an early walk and then I met you.”
“Yeah, kids already bought all of them… But don’t worry, I still have some for the rest of the tour… The next show is in Appleloosa, I think… Of course if you want…”
“I don’t know. I’m quite busy recently.”
Vinyl’s ears drooped. So, after meeting Maud this morning, she’d lose her again?
“Appleloosa...” Maud repeated, seemingly lost in her thoughts. “Hmm, I think there are some interesting rock formations there… Maybe I’ll have to change my plans.”
Some could say that it was just an offhand remark, but for Vinyl Maud’s voice sounded better than any music, even her own. She would never say anypony, especially that strange mare, would change her plans just for her. Even Neon Lights didn’t go for a tour around Equestria with her, choosing to go to Neighsia instead.
“If you want, we can go there together… That is, if you don’t mind all those ponies who travel with me…”
“Your description of them didn’t sound appealing,” Maud replied.
“Yeah… I guess they didn’t even realize that I’d disappeared from the hotel.” Vinyl grinned. “When we were in Las Pegasus… Or maybe it was Vanhoover… They thought I’d locked myself in the room and they destroyed the door. When I got back from town, they were still looking for me there…”
Maud exhaled the air a little louder, what, as Vinyl thought, was her equivalent of a laughter. She took a sip of her coffee. Maybe it was for the temperature of the beverage, but Vinyl could swear that she blushed a little.
“I guess this is quite interesting,” she said. “Travelling and shows…”
“Well, you know how it is…” Vinyl sighed. “When you travel across Equestria for the first time, it’s exciting. But when you have to do that for a living…”
“That’s what I felt in Zebrica. It was fun at first,” Her voice faltered slightly on the word ‘fun’, “But by the end of the trip, I mostly missed my sisters.”
“See? Even rocks can get boring. For example I never know what town I’m currently in. Can you imagine? I was in almost every city in Equestria and I never went sightseeing…”
Maud finished her coffee and looked into Vinyl’s eyes. When Vinyl looked back into the blue eyes of her, she couldn’t help but smile. And then, to her surprise, Maud smiled too.
“Do you want to do some sightseeing before we leave Trottingham?” she asked. “I heard there are some interesting buildings here… And they should open the Museum of Natural History soon…”
Vinyl suddenly remembered the last words Maud said to her before they’d parted in that memorable morning a year ago. More exactly it was one word, but it fit the situation so perfectly, that she spoke it without a shade of hesitation.
“Sure.”
Author's Note
That's kinda how I feel like recently.
