I remember a day, many years ago, when I was still young. My grandma, Vinyl, showed me a letter written to her from Grandma Tavi. We were getting ready for a party where Grandma Tavi was supposed to play her cello. I was going to go with them. Grandma Tavi asked me to see if Grandma Vinyl was ready to go. I went into the sitting room to find Grandma Vinyl on the sofa, holding a piece of yellowed, dry paper and staring at it fondly.
She looked up, and saw me. Patting the seat next to her, she said, “C’mon, Short Stack. Come sit with your Grandma and let me tell you a story.”
It took a bit of struggling, but I finally managed to climb up next to her.
“Y’know, when I first met Grandma Tavi, her daddy didn’t like me. He said that I was a slacker. That I would never amount to anything or be good enough for his little filly. I suppose I could understand how he felt. Back then, I didn’t have three bits to my name and I constantly went from job to job and town to town.
“All of that stopped when I met Tavi. I know they say love at first sight doesn’t exist, but, with us, it sure felt like it. I was working as a barista in her favorite coffee shop and she would come in precisely at half past eight for her morning java: Double-Caff Soy latte. She was always a pretty good tipper. She’d then go to a corner and sit alone, going through her textbooks.
“I don’t know what first made me ask her on a date. Maybe it was the way that she looked so down, like she really needed somepony to cheer her up. I took my break a bit early, went over to her, and introduced myself. She was very shy and didn’t say much, but I got her to open up by showing her some of that old Vinyl Scratch charm. She had come from an affluent landowning family and that her father wanted her to study business, but, she confessed, she didn’t want to study business. She wanted to play the cello.
“I convinced her, after a while, to go out with me. It was something small, just a little dinner. I didn’t want to drag her out of her comfort zone too quickly.
“After about a year of quiet meetings, she decided it was time for me to meet her family. Her family’s opinion meant a great deal to her. I dressed up well, made myself look as presentable as I could, and went to her house.
“Did I say ‘house’? I meant ‘Mansion’ as the Melodys were loaded.”
Grandma Vinyl took a deep breath before continuing.
“That night went bad quickly. All throughout dinner, Tavi’s mom kept this massive, false grin on her face as Tavi’s dad glared daggers at Tavi, while I pretended to not notice. It seemed that the family didn’t care for having one of the ‘lower classes’ at their table, eating their food from their good china. I don’t know what they were expecting, but I certainly wasn’t it.
“Of course, they tried to make small talk, if only for the sake of politeness. I told them about where I was from, where I went to school, what sort of work I did, and what my parents did. But, with each answer, they only became more and more concerned.
“The night ended sooner than I would have liked, but, at the same time, not soon enough. The atmosphere in that house was oppressive. That means it felt very heavy and thick, Short Stack. Anyway, Grandma Tavi walked with me to the road then returned to the house. The poor thing. Her parents couldn’t even wait until I was out of earshot before starting to shout at her.
“She didn’t come to the coffee shop that day, or for the rest of the week. I started to worry about her and thought about going to seeing if she was okay, but I decided to wait. I didn’t know if going back would get her into even more trouble, but I wasn’t willing to find out. I thought, if I waited a bit longer, she would turn up.
“After about two weeks, she did. She came into the coffee shop a bit later than usual and, the moment she spotted me, this look of determination crossed over her face. She sat down at her usual table and stared at me, waiting impatiently.
“I left the counter and went to her. By the look in her eyes, I should have known something was up. She told me her parents didn’t know that she was here and that she had to get back to the house before they noticed. My worst fears had been confirmed and they had forbidden her from seeing me.
“But she confessed that she was tired of living under her father’s iron hoof. She had wanted to leave for a while, but never had the confidence to do it. Finally, after I had showed up and told her stories of where I had been, she decided that the time had come for her to leave. She was going to quit business school and run away to be a cellist.
“I tried to convince her to stay with her parents and that most of my stories were lies, that it was ridiculously difficult for a pony to survive out there, but she didn’t buy it. Her mind was made up. I couldn’t let her go out there alone. It was anypony’s guess as to what would happen to a naive, attractive filly like her. I told her to meet me at an old oak tree near her home and we would go.
“After my shift, I went straight to the tree, but I didn’t see her anywhere. There was this note that she had left:
“Dearest Vinyl,
If you get there before I do, don’t give up on me. I’ll meet you when my chores are through. I don’t know how long I’ll be, but I will not let you down. Darling, wait and see. Between now and then, until I see you again, I’ll be loving you.
Love, Me.”
There was a polite cough from the other room and we looked up to see Grandma Tavi standing in the doorway. “Are we ready?”
“Yeah.” Grandma Vinyl replied, replacing the letter in her coat pocket and pushing herself up from her seat. “Short Stack, why don’t you carry Grandma Tavi’s cello?”
Grandma Tavi’s prized cello, a priceless instrument that she had owned since she was a filly, sat against the wall. I went to grab it, but she waved me away.
“I can carry it, Vinyl.” She replied, giving me a reassuring smile.
With a look of concern, Grandma Vinyl crossed the room and spoke to Grandma Tavi. “The doctor said you should strain yourself. Your heart could-”
Grandma Tavi let out a laugh. “I’m sure he meant that I shouldn’t do any fieldwork, but I can certainly handle my cello.”
“Octavia-”
“Both you and he worry too much.” She hefted the massive instrument onto her shoulder. “Let’s be on our way.”
As we left the house, I kept between my Grandmas. “Grandma Vinyl told me about how you two met.” I informed Grandma Tavi.
“Did she now?”
“Yeah. She said your daddy didn’t like her very much.”
Her ears fell back a bit. “Yes, Papa didn’t like anypony he thought was inferior. I doubt he would ever have approved of Vinyl, no matter what social position she held, but he was a stubborn old stallion.”
“Did you ever go back?”
“Oh, of course we did. He warmed up to the situation in due time, once he figured out that I could be just as stubborn as he. I think, ultimately, he just wanted me to be happy.”
“Were you happy?”
She flashed me a smile. “Always was and always am.”
The party was at a large and beautiful house just up the road from where my Grandmas lived. Grandma Vinyl stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned to me. “Alright, Short Stack, I really want you to carry Grandma Tavi’s cello.”
“But Grandma Tavi said she can get it.”
“Grandma Tavi says a lot of things, but that doesn’t mean you should listen to her. Tell her you’ll be very upset if you don’t get to carry the cello up the stairs and promise that you’ll be so very careful while you do it. Be sure to make that face you make when you want a cookie before supper.”
I did as I was told, insisting that I carry the cello while making my cookie-face. Grandma Tavi, however, was a wise and stubborn old mare. She simply chuckled and leaned down. “Vinyl put you up to this, didn’t she? Tell the truth now.”
I frowned. How was she able to see through that? “Yes, Grandma Tavi.”
She looked over to Grandma Vinyl, “I’ve a mind to make you sleep on the sofa for trying to manipulate this little dear against me.”
Grandma Vinyl let out an exasperated groan. “I’m worried about your heart.”
“I’m not. I know you have it and it’s in good hooves.”
She started up the stairs, pausing every few steps for breath. The more steps she climbed, the more trouble she seemed to have.
Grandma Vinyl stayed right beside her. “Tavi, I really wish you would let me or Short Stack take that thing.”
“It’s ‘Short Stack and I’, Vinyl. You’d think after fifty years with me, you’d learn proper Equestrian Grammar. Besides, what kind of cellists don’t carry their own instruments? Piss-poor cellists, that’s what kind.”
“No, the kind that are elderly and have a congenital heart condition. Now, let me carry that damn thing for you.”
“Watch your language and stop badgering me about it. If it makes you feel better, you or he can carry it back to the house.”
“I’d feel better if I can carry it now.”
Nearly to the top step, she paused again and pressed a hoof to her chest.
“Tavi?”
Suddenly, her legs buckled and she tumbled back down the stairs. Grandma Vinyl followed her as fast as her old legs could carry her, shouting for me to go and find help. I ran into the house, screaming that my Grandma had fallen and needed help. A small group of ponies followed me outside as the hostess called for an ambulance.
Grandma Vinyl sat at the bottom of the stairs, holding Grandma Tavi in her hooves and crying. She begged Grandma Tavi to not leave her, told her that she needed her too much, that they had been together too long for her to leave now.
Finally, Grandma Tavi lay very still. Everything was so quiet. Even Grandma Vinyl had stopped crying. She simply stared at Grandma Tavi, running a fetlock through her mane.
“If you get there before I do,” she whispered, tears running from her eyes, “don’t give up on me. I’ll meet you when my chores are through. I don’t know how long I’ll be. But I’m not going to let you down. Darling, wait and see. Between now and then, until I see you again, I’ll be loving you…
“...Love, Me.”
Author's Note
Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, guys.
Though I'm not one to celebrate the holiday, I thought I would put together something nice for you all to look at. It was actually supposed to be one part of a collection of several short stories around several characters, but fate would not cooperate and I ended up working too much to complete the story. Ah, well, maybe I'll upload the rest for next year.
