11 a.m.
Twilight never knew the last time she had such a headache, let alone a hangover this severe. Her head was 10 sizes too small for her brain, which felt more like a 5 ton lead brick. Just thinking made her head hurt even more as she tried to recollect what happened last night. Slowly but surely, as she tried to remember, she got up off the couch she realized she was laying on and went over to the bathroom, her stomach doing flips along the way.

After a session of emptying the contents of last nights party into the toilet, followed by a session of mouthwash that made the taste even worse, she wobbled back out to her bed. Looking around she noticed Coco sleeping on the sofa, but what caught her eye was the pony sitting at the table. It was the mare from last night ,Vinyl Scratch. The white unicorn was sitting, typing on a black laptop with several stickers on it. Her headphones sat on her head blasting music away, she mouthed the lyrics as she seemed to be dancing to the music. Twi walked closer to the pony who seemed to be lost in her own little world. Just then she looked up at her, not missing a beat to her music. The white unicorn then paused her music and took off her headphones.

"Morning sunshine." Vinyl said. "How's the head?"
"Ugh." Twi groaned. "I feel like my brain is gonna implode."
Vinyl chuckled. "Yeah I felt the same way when I first partied that hard. You...were friggin hammered last night."
"Bleah" Twi just responded.
Vinyl chuckled. "Don't worry about it. If you partied like I do the pain would eventually become...well less painful. Just have some soda and some fried food and you'll be fine."

Twilight thought about it as she moved a chair over to Vinyl's side of the table. The DJ didn't mind the extra company as she continued typing away. The purple unicorn looked on as the DJ did her handiwork. The computer was like nothing she had seen before, it was a black custom made laptop. But it was different. Along with it's usual screen, it had asecond screen that folded out to the left side. There was a second, smaller, keypad that stuck out of the computer on the left side. And on the right side there was a cupholder, holding Vinyls mug of coffee. Twilight was shocked that she would have a computer like this, though it did make a bit of sense, considering her job.

"So what's your big plan here?" Vinyl said as she typed away.
"I'm not sure." Twi said. "I'm just staying her a few days until I can find a suitable place to stay."
Vinyl looked at her curiously. "You didn't plan on an apartment yet?" Twi shook her head sheepishly.
"Well I can easily fix that." The DJ said.
"How so?"
"You can come live at the complex I live at." Vinyl said. "There's a couple of empty spots. The rent's cheap and the place is nice."
Twilight was taken aback by the sudden offer. "Oh. I...uh...well...thank you. I mean I don't want to impose."
"Eh. It's not a problem. My landlord has been trying to fill in the spots for the past few months. Besides I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to stay in a hotel the whole time you're here." Vinyl stated.

Twilight was about to respond when her stomach did a familiar feeling.
"Uh I'll think about it in a moment." Twilight said, then turned around and rushed back to the bathroom.
Vinyl snickered as she went back to her work.

30 minutes and a call to room service later

Twilight was munching on a greasy bacon burger with fries and onion rings while sipping on some grape juice. Coco was having waffles with eggs and bacon. Vinyl was having a spicy burger with bacon spicy fries and a milkshake. The three were sitting on the couch watching the news in silence. Finally Vinyl spoke up.

"So...did you make decision yet?" She asked.
Twi swallowed her recent bite and looked over to Vinyl. "It's a tempting offer. But..."

"You're unsure because you just met me?" Vinyl interjected.
"Yeah. Also I'd like to at least look at the place." Twilight said.
"It's a really cool place." Coco said. "I'm sure you're gonna love it."
"We can go there after were done. That is if you two aren't still hurling." Vinyl laughed as the two gave her the glare
"I think we can manage."

The three then continued gulping down their food and continued to watch the tv. Just then the 12 o'clock news came on. Vinyl turned up the volume slightly as the first repot came in.

Police in Chicacolt are looking for at least four suspects in daring morning robbery of a branch of the Bank of Equestria in the Everfree Park neighborhood near Breighmont Station. Witness say the thieves made off with 500,000 bits and a safe deposit box with unknown contents.

Coco and Twilight paid no mind to the report while Vinyl sat there and listened as a small smile appeared on her face.

3:20 p.m.
Not long after finishing their food the three grabbed their belongings and left the hotel. The sky was mostly clear with patches of clouds in the sky. There was a slight breeze bringing a bit of a wind chill but the sun felt warm. They walked down a block before entering an office building. They walked by the main desk towards an escalator. The sign hung over it read out many ads before switching to telling what was on the next floor. One of the words Twilight read was "Monorail". She was confused, she didn't see it yesterday. Though that was because she had her nose buried in her book while in the cab.

"I didn't know there was a monorail in the city now." She said to the girls.
"Oh. They actually just finished it just last month." Coco said. "It's all part of Mayor Horne's plans to bring the city into the future with APEX." Twilight had known about APEX and their plans to "bring the world of tomorrow into today". That was what they usually said in their ads. "We'll show you around, you'll get used to how transportation works here."

As they got off the escalator they made a right turn and were met with a small crowd standing near a glass tube. They joined the crowd just as the monorail pulled in. It was five silver cars, with a triangular front and back, with glass doors, and a long rectangular window on each side.*

They boarded and were soon traveling uptown, passing through the steel, glass, and brick canyons of the city. Twilight watched in awe as the train zoomed through Times Square. It was a sight to behold. Form the massive buildings to the lights and screens to the activity down below, Twilight watched in amazement. Then they entered another station on the north side of the square.

"Here's our stop ladies." Vinyl said. The doors opened and they got off the monorail and entered a massive atrium that stretched up to the roof, 48 stories above. They walked through the atrium, which was also a shopping mall, passing offices and shops along the way. Soon, they arrived at a set of elevators next to a book store. It didn't take much for Twilight to notice what the shop was before a large grin appeared on her face. As the others walked over to the elevators she inched towards the doorway. She glanced a bit inside, looking at all the titles she could find. Then she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Or rather someone.

In a nearby aisle there was a stallion stacking the shelves. He wasn't some one Twilight would think of seeing work at bookstore. He was a orange-yellow Pegasus with a blue eyes and blue mane that was nicely combed. From the white t-shirt, blue jeans, and green apron, Twilight could tell he was an employee. A second later she saw another pony, a mare, join him. She was a yellow coated unicorn with light blue eyes, and a red and yellow mane. Twilight watched as she walked over to the Pegasus and began saying something she couldn't hear. Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder. She jumped around to see Vinyl standing there, looking like she was a bout to laugh.

"You wanna go look at your apartment?" She asked. "Or do you wanna keep checking out the 'books'."
Twilight blushed furiously with embarrassment. She then picked her bag back up and walked to the elevator. As Vinyl started to follow her, she turned to see the unicorn waive at her, which she returned.

The trio got on the elevator and soon were taken up to the 21st floor, which was where the residential apartments started. The three approached the main desk just off the elevator where an older stallion with a grey coat, green eyes, and a black gel slicked mane sat.

"Ah Vinyl, Coco." He said in a soft voice, a hint of a Brayish accent could be heard. "Another late night?"
"You know it." She said as she hoofbumbed the desk clerk.
"Who's your new friend?"
"This is Twilight Sparkle. She's staying in town for a while and I figured that there's a room or two still open."
"Ah, I know the perfect one." The clerk said. He then looked through his desk drawer ad pulled out a white keycard. "Room 2113 in the east wing."
"Awesome you'll be right next door to me." Vinyl said.
The clerk handed the key over. "I'll let the manager know." He said. "And he'll be up shortly with the paperwork."
And with that the three grabbed their bags and made their way to the room, with Vinyl unaware someone was waiting for her in her own.

The trio arrived at the apartment, a corner unit overlooking the square and Twilight couldn't have been happier. The outside had a very good view of the city below. There was a large deck with a table, chairs, and a grill, that was built into the deck itself. The apartment itself was very spacious and up to date. The living room and the kitchen were both in the same space. The bathroom was recently updated and fitted with the newest modern styles. The bedroom was decently sized, with a king-sized bed, a closet, and a large window that was letting the late afternoon sun in. The place was more than perfect for her. Now all she needed was some furniture. Thankfully Vinyl knew of a couple of places to get some stuff cheap. While Coco helped Twilight get settled in Vinyl decided to head next door to her apartment.

As she approached her door she got a strange feeling going up her spine. As she put her hand on the doorknob she noticed it was unlocked. She immediately reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her pistol, a black Glock 19 with a silencer attached. She quietly and slowly turned the knob, unsure of what she would find behind the door. Then she started hearing it. Music.

The song was all to familiar to her.
'It couldn't be.' She thought.
She then pushed the door open, her weapon at arms length, ready to fire. The blinds to the balcony shut, leaving the room almost dark, save for some rays of sunlight coming through said blinds. Her eyes immediately caught sight of the 'intruder'. The darkened room hid much of his appearance but she could tell who it was. He stood about a few inches taller than her, he wore a white pullover hoodie over a blood red t-shirt, and a pair of blue jeans.

"You never seem to be too hard to find kiddo." The figure said. Vinyl then lowered her weapon, the feeling of danger now having passed.
"Wish I could say the same about you." She said. "Since you seem to disappear without a trace at any second." The figure just stood there. She could see a smirk on his face, parting the white coat surrounding his mouth. Vinyl moved over to the figure putting the gun on the entertainment center. She soon stood within an inch of him, their chests close to touching. Vinyl looked up into the face of the intruder, who was looking down at her, his smile growing wider. He pulled his hood off then threw his arms around her in a tight hug which Vinyl graciously returned.

"How are you doing sis?" Record said softly.
"Hangin in there?" She said. "How bout you?"
The two then let go as they went to sit on the couch. Record then opened the blinds letting in the mid afternoon sun.
"Same shit different day." He said. "How's uh, everything working?"
"Other than the light sensitivity I guess I'm still good. Nothing has broken or anything."
"Thank Faust." He said with a sigh of relief. He then looked around the room. "You got a pretty nice setup here."
"It ain't much." She said. "But it's home to me."
"More of a home than what we came from." He said.
"Don't even fucking remind me of that shit." Vinyl said. "I still get nightmares from those days."
Record then pulled her into a tighter hug. His mind ran wild with all the thoughts of their old home Canterlot. And them. Every time he though of those two he wanted nothing more than to go back there and strangle them both. But he couldn't do that, not yet at least. Right now he was just focused on his kid sister and keeping her safe. Finally the two broke the hug and sat on the couch.

"So what dove you and the crew here?" Record asked.
"Oh. Some dumb bullshit went wrong back in Chicacolt." Vinyl said.
"It couldn't have had anything to do with the blackout could it?" He replied.
"That was not us, Rec." She said minorly annoyed. "Our plan was to shut the building down and trigger a reboot. We only wanted to send a message to APEX." Play looked on and listened. "But somepony else had gotten into the system just as we did. And then...."

Vinyl remembered the horror of what happened next. The power in Chicacolt had gone down completely that night, bringing the entire city to a grinding halt. It took 39 hours for everything to turn back on. In the ensuing chaos 127 citizens died in various way due to the power loss. Vinyl rubbed her temples at the thought of that memory.

"Afterwards we got tipped that the bunker was about to be raided." She continued. "When the Royal Guards arrived, we blew the bunker and caught the first train we could to here. We've been trying to rebuild for the last month."
Record then put his hand on her shoulder. She stopped rubbing her head and looked back at him.

"Hey." He said reassuringly. "It'll be ok. We'll find a new place to set up, and afterwards we'll figure out who set you up."
Vinyl looked at him and smiled. "Does that mean you're staying this time?"
He then patted her on the back. "This time, definitely." Vinyl smiled widened just a bit more.

"Well...until we figure something out, you wanna help me next door?" She asked.
"Sure. With what?" He asked. The two then got up from the couch and headed to the door.
"One of Coco's friends just came to town and I thought I'd help her get set up here."
"Really?" He asked surprised. "Who's the new neighbor?"
"Twilight Sparkle?" She said. Record then stopped.
"Twilight Sparkle?" He asked surprised.
"Yeah. You know her?" Vinyl asked.
"Of course." He said. "She's considered a hero in the Crystal Empire. Her, her brother, her friends, and sister-in-law, are all talked about up there."

Vinyl was a bit confused. "So why can't I find anything about her down here?"
Record crossed his arms. "Probably because Her Royal Highness Queen Sunass has kept news about her quiet in Equestria."
Vinyl was a bit stunned at this revelation. She knew that Celestia had made some strange decisions in the past, but this was odd even for her. But before she could utter another word, her brother interrupted.

"We'll talk about it later." He said. "Right now let's go help them out." And with that they left the apartment, leaving their guns on the coffee table. They didn't need them. There were no enemies here, just friends and family.

Author's Note

Originally published 2/12/2019

This was actually supposed to be 2 chapters but I decided to combine them into one.

Also this is the song I pictured Vinyl listening to.

2/6/21 Just for clarification: Yes this is Vinyl's brother from the IDW comics. I know his fan name is Long Play but I decided to change his name to Record Scratch. Interestingly I wasn't the only one who came up with that. Dragonchaser123 who's picture is featured below named him that as well.

Record Scratch by DragonChaser123 on DeviantArt