Faded Note Blues

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Chapter 1

“I can’t believe this,” Vinyl muttered under her breath, stomping down the cobbled street.

How was she meant to know that the music was too loud? She was just the DJ. It wasn’t like she had a choice in the matter. When her employer told her to crank it up, that’s what she did. How was she meant to know that it counted as disturbing the peace? How was she meant to know that the chief of police had just gotten home from the hospital with her new foal? How was she meant to know that her home was right next door to the party?

The second the cops had burst in there, they’d hauled her off without even glancing sideways at the other ponies at the party. The ass that had hired her had even held the door open for them when she was dragged out. Must have thought that it would give him the right to skip out on her payment.

Well it didn’t matter; he got his in the end. Vinyl would relish that smug look on his face draining away to revulsion for the rest of her life.

But that didn’t change the fact that she had gotten enough community service hours to make a full time job of it. At least her position as a semi celebrity and a lucky opening had landed her a spot as a babysitter to seniors. It sucked, but compared to all the other options she’d had it was heaven.

Though the summer wind ruffled her coat and mane, she didn’t care. Just why would she, anyway? She had enough product in her mane to keep it just the way she liked it, mussed and untamed. No stupid breeze was going to change that, no matter how hard it tried.

As she walked, her head throbbed in time with the click of her hooves on the ground. Maybe she shouldn’t have gone out partying the night before and gotten wasted, but with the day that she was in for, she deserved to treat herself.

The early morning sun was doing its best to pierce her bloodshot eyes, but at least her trademark shades performed their intended function for once.

“Heh, Vinyl one, nature zero.” The mare chuckled under her breath, earning her a raised eyebrow from the middle-aged stallion that had just passed her.

Shooting him a glare, Vinyl continued on her journey, only pausing for a moment to down a couple of aspirins and as much water as she could stomach.

Shoving the bottles back into her bag, Vinyl became aware of her surroundings for the first time. She could smell freshly cut grass in the air and hear a pair of foals laughing somewhere off in the distance.

Against her better judgment, she decided then to take a break for a few minutes. She was rarely ever out, or even awake, this early in the morning, so the sights and smells around her were something of a novelty.

Dumping her saddlebags on the ground, she flopped down along with them, leaning her back up against the white picket fence whose style dominated the street. The grass was soft and inviting, not like that razor-sharp crap that they used in the pokey garden at her apartment complex.

Her regimen of anti-hangover techniques felt like they were already working, the throbbing of her temples not so painful and her stomach not doing backflips constantly. Again she delicately sniffed at the air, savoring the scent given off by the perfectly trimmed red roses that grew behind her.

It was powerful–intoxicating, even; and Vinyl knew intoxicating. She breathed in deeply, her eyes closing as she tried to heighten her sense of smell. Sometimes she forgot that there were other smells in the world other than cigarette smoke, sweat and alcohol.

“Maybe this won’t be so bad,” Vinyl quietly admitted to herself. In fact, a part of her even wanted to doze off in the sun, though she forced that desire down.

She had worked hard on her persona, and knowing how her luck had been lately, one of her fans would stumble across the sight of her drooling all over herself in her sleep. She shuddered at the thought. At least her arrest, uncomfortable and humiliating as it may have been, helped to boost her “party hard” image. However, there was no coming back from showing off her vulnerable side for everyone to see.

Diving forward, she tackled Octavia to the ground, not even caring about the leaves caught in her mane or the green streaks that littered her coat. They rolled together in a heap down the grassy hill, laughing together all the way. Then suddenly, they stopped, though the world stillspun around her. Even the other mare’s pretty face spun in her vision, and Vinyl couldn’t help but laugh. She was still laughing when her friend began to lean in closer, a strange look on her face, her eyes half lidded. That laughter died when their lips suddenly met, and all Vinyl could do was draw her in closer, her forelegs wrapping around her back. They stayed like that for a time, their tongues playing with each other in between short moans.

After a time she felt Octavia draw herself away, and though Vinyl’s hooves tensed for a minute, not letting her go, the earth pony managed it anyway.

“Vinyl, I… apologize,” Octavia said, a blush playing over her cheeks that matched her bowtie. “I… I don’t know what came over me. The dizziness, I just couldn’t stop myself and you were looking up at me and—”

“Ssshhh Tavi, it’s cool,” Vinyl whispered back, pushing the tip of her hoof against her friend’s lips. “You don’t need to explain anything. I’ve wanted to kiss you for months now, but I shouldn’t be surprised you were the one who actually did something about it.”

“Well yes, I rather did—” The mare’s words were interrupted by an eep as Vinyl suddenly flipped her over, leaving the DJ on top, straddling her stomach.

“We can talk about it all later Tavi,” Vinyl said, leaning in close enough to feel the other mare’s breath tickle the fur on her nose. “But right now we’re going to not worry about that. Let’s justget lost in the moment.”

That said, Octavia angled her chin upwards, and kissed her again.

Desperately, Vinyl shook her head, trying to banish that memory. But it stayed lodged in there, playing over and over again, and as she fought harder to ignore it, the images only became clearer. That day had been one of the happiest in her life, when Octavia had agreed to be her marefriend. But by then, it left the taste of ashes in her mouth.

She could feel her mood souring, and the songbirds mocked her, their cheerful calls piercing into her skull.

With a muffled curse, Vinyl pulled herself to her feet. She just hoped the old bat was somewhere nearby. Quickly, she ran herself down with her magic, brushing off the few pieces of grass that clung to her coat.

Once again she carried on down the street, her eyes running over the numbered letterboxes.

As she continued on, she began to count down the numbers. Her previous optimistic outlook was long gone. Things were made worse as her mind began to wander, subjecting her to all the humiliation she would be forced through.

By the time she reached her destination, eighteen Good Spring Road, she was in an even worse mood than when she had started. Her vague, grumbling complaints were interspersed with the occasional curse. Nothing was sacred to her; one minute she was complaining about the police, and the next, she was cursing the sun for being too hot.

Glancing up at the house, Vinyl felt a perverted satisfaction that her pessimism had been justified. As she expected, it seemed that the one old geezer she had been stuck with was the only one who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, look after their own place.

The house was hard edges in a street of soft curves; even though the poor state of the garden was enough to stick out on a street like Good Spring. Every other house appeared to belong to ponies who spent a disportionate amount of time gardening. However, it went far beyond that. While all of the other houses were painted a pleasing shade of white, coupled with warm highlights, and decorated with lovingly crafted wooden trim, number eighteen seemed to be designed specifically to fly in the faces of all others around it. It was painted a muted grey, which made her feel like she was looking at it on a rainy day.

Giving another sigh of frustration, Vinyl went to pull open the gate, though stopped herself at the last moment. Just from the condition of it, the black iron marred by large swathes of muddy red rust, Vinyl decided to instead use her magic to pull it open. The tortured groan it let out as she did so, the hinges so stiff it required more force than she’d initially thought, more than justified her choice. The last thing her style needed was rust stains all over her coat.

As Vinyl strode down the path, she registered a faint hint of surprise that it wasn’t overgrown like she had originally assumed when she had seen the house from a distance. In fact, while the plant life was given free rein everywhere else in the garden, the path was off limits; the overgrowth ending abruptly where the stepping stones began. She could even see a few severed stems from plants that had crawled onto the pathway and had been quickly struck down.

It did look sort of nice; the flowers made a riot of bright colours as they bobbed in the breeze, reminding Vinyl of ponies dancing in the club.

Unable to delay things any longer, Vinyl squared her withers and marched her way over to the door. There was a knocker attached to it, fashioned into a generic horseshoe shape.Vinyl decided to ignore the knocker, instead banging her hoof against the door until it throbbed.

Finally, the door cracked open and an elderly mare, an earth pony, whom Vinyl could only assume was Faded Note, the pony who she had been enlisted to help, shuffled out.

She was old, that being the best estimate of her age Vinyl could give. Her grey, almost white, mane was done up in a tight but short ponytail that managed to just reach her withers while her coat was a deep azure, though it appeared to have faded so that the colour looked muted. Her eyes were a watery blue that, coupled with the way in which her wrinkles lined her face, made it look like she was seconds away from bursting into tears.

“Yes?” the mare asked coldly, giving Vinyl a glare which the DJ was happy to return in kind, pushing down her glasses to make sure she got the full force of it.

“Yeah, uhh...” Vinyl hesitated. For a second, a weaker side of her was tempted to make a half hearted excuse and leave, but she took a deep breath and forced it down. Vinyl Scratch did not skimp out on a promise.

“Hello, I’m here from the Heart to Heart Charity,” Vinyl droned, rolling her eyes as she spoke. “I’m here at the request of your granddaughter, Angel Flight, to come and see you each week and provide you with some company.”

Vinyl wanted to gag as she said it, but she hadn’t had much choice. The manager had been so insistent on it she had threatened to throw Vinyl out if she didn’t recite it. Celestia knew why. Some bull about failing memories or trustworthiness or something equally wrong. Still, the choice between her pride or picking up rubbish off the side of the road was easy enough to make.

It seemed impossible, but the mare’s expression grew even chillier as her eyes narrowed, though they become distant, focusing on an area over Vinyl’s shoulder. “That insolent brat,” she spat.

The venom in the old mare’s voice might have upset another pony, but all it prompted Vinyl to do was raise an eyebrow and utter a flat “What’s that you say, granny?”

Faded Note stiffened, her eyes slowly coming back to rest on Vinyl.

“That’s ‘pardon’ missy,” she growled, dangerously. “I won’t abide poor manners, even from cocky no-goods like yourself.” She paused, before adding. “And I’m nopony’s granny”

“What did you call me?” Vinyl shot back, taking a step forward so that she was almost touching snouts with the other mare. She was in a bad mood to begin with, and the last thing she needed was shit from some washed-up old maid. She’d worked hard for what she’d gotten in life, and nopony got to claim otherwise.

Faded Note did not hesitate to meet the DJ’s challenge, leaning forward as her lips curled into a sneer. “You heard me missy. I know your type: all party and no presence. You’re more focused on having a good time than doing anything worthwhile.”

Vinyl frowned. She had no idea what the crazy old mare was on about, but she had been insulted enough times to pick up when it was happening.

“Hey, back off, lady,” Vinyl said, thrusting a light jab into Faded’s chest, just hard enough to let her know that she was serious.

However, Vinyl, used to confrontations with ponies of her own age, completely misjudged her own strength. The older mare stumbled backwards, her balance wobbling precariously.

With a gasp and a curse, Vinyl reached up her forelegs to rest on Faded Note’s shoulders. At the same time, she manifested her blue magical aura under the older mare’s barrel, helping Faded keep her balance.

“Jeez, I’m sorry,” Vinyl said, the uncomfortable feeling of ice water in her stomach coming to her as she grasped the extent of what she had almost done.

Though Faded’s balance wavered for a few more seconds, it quickly reasserted itself. If anything, the mare looked even more annoyed than she had before, though she pried Vinyl’s hooves off her with surprising gentleness.

“It’s fine, missy.” She relented after another round of glaring, the DJ too concerned to meet her challenge again. “Much my fault as…” She trailed off for a second, before she spoke again, her voice having regained some of its harder edge. “Just don’t do that again.”

“No, no, never,” Vinyl replied, shaking her head furiously. The frantic pace of her heart was returning to normal, though her legs still shook and her tail twitched from the adrenaline.

Faded Note gave a deep sigh, which seemed to expel the fight out of her, leaving her looking smaller than she was before.

“Don’t worry, I won’t complain or anything,” she said, her voice morose. “I shouldn’t have provoked you like that. It’s just the mare that lives next to me. She seems to have made it her personal project to ‘improve’ my life.”

“Oh.” Vinyl replied, smiling cautiously, all the while trying to figure out just where the other mare was going. “Well, that’s nice of her... I guess.”

“It’s not,” Faded Note snapped, before pinching the bridge of her nose and giving an exasperated sigh. “She sees too much of herself in me. She thinks that if she can save me she can somehow save herself.” The older mare snorted scornfully. “Doesn’t change that it’s pointless. I have no desire to be saved and Angel Flight has no need to be.”

Without warning Faded spun around and disappeared inside the house, giving a flick of her tail before Vinyl lost sight of her. In that moment, Vinyl had gotten her first clear look at the other mare’s cutie mark. It was a bluebird—or she was pretty sure it was one. Octavia had been the birdwatcher—its wings outstretched as if in midflight. It was an unusual mark, in that its exact meaning wasn’t obvious. Her gut reaction was that Faded was an animal lover, but it wouldn’t have been the first time she’d misinterpreted a mark.

Vinyl stood there, debating what to do. She craned her neck to check out as much of the room as possible without crossing the threshold. She desperately hoped that she wouldn’t see the mare. If she wasn’t invited inside, then it was pretty clear that her company wasn’t wanted. At least, that was how she was going to take it. Ergo, if that happened then she was sure she could convince her supervisor to reassign her to somepony else. Hopefully it would be some drooling invalid who would be content to let her do whatever she wanted as long as they got her ‘company’.

Glancing over the top of her glasses, all that she could see through the doorway was an art deco cabinet. The design itself was vaguely familiar to her, though she couldn’t put her hoof on it.

Vinyl was still not convinced that Faded wasn’t just off in some corner, waiting for her to leave so she could complain to the charity out of spite. Pivoting her body side to side, she tried to fill in the few blind spots that were created by the door and frame. Even then little more of the room was shown, just an extra half of a cushion and one or two extra books on a shelf.

Even though things didn’t feel right to Vinyl, she decided then that she had tried everything in her power. She began turn around, holding her breath in the hope it would make her stealthier. The music beginning to throb through her head again.

“Well, aren’t you coming?” Faded Note asked from somewhere inside.

Gritting her teeth, Vinyl stamped her right foreleg against the ground hard enough to leave her hoof throbbing again. Cursing under her breath the DJ wheeled around, glaring at the door.

Things weren’t made much better when Faded Note’s voice carried out from the house. “You better hurry, missy. I don’t have all day, and I’m running low on the milk of pony kindness.”

“Damn it,” Vinyl muttered, pushing the door open wider. “I was almost there.”

Chapter 2

Once inside, Vinyl shut the door behind her with a click, already recognizing that Faded would only complain more if she left it open.

The interior didn’t look to be any different than what she had anticipated. It was the standard senior citizen affair, with plenty of wing-backed chairs clustered around a fireplace. To complement the image, there were also a few bookcases located at strategic places in the room where it afforded them maximum visibility and ease of access.

Faded Note was absent from the living room as well, though Vinyl could hear her nearby. The DJ considered venturing further into the house, but dismissed the idea with a shrug. If she picked the wrong choice, she’d be scolded by the grumpy old mare, but waiting where she was seemed like the best odds for keeping her out of trouble.

Though she tried to stay still and wait for the older mare, Vinyl could only manage it for a few seconds before her hooves began to dance on the floor, trying to expel her excess energy.

With a chuckle, she swore that she’d lay off the Red Buffalo. She knew she was lying to herself, but it was the thought that counted.

She began to circle around the room, trying to at least find something that was interesting.

As she passed one of the bookcases, she noted that they contained a wide selection, ranging from history through to music theory. Thankfully, there weren’t any of those sappy romance novels like she had expected. The ones with silly titles and paperback covers that always had two ponies locked in a tight embrace, with enough hearts surrounding them to make Mi Amore Cadenza nauseous.

Finally, she saw something that looked mildly worthy of her attention. It was that cabinet she had noticed before. With a tiny thrill of excitement, she finally recognized it, not as a cabinet, but a record player. It was an ancient model that was desperately out of date, one that utilized purely mechanical vacuum tubes rather than the much more practical magitech magic channelers. That was when the things used to be so large and heavy that they could only ever exist as a piece of furniture, and so they took on that role, at least for a time.

She noticed that a picture frame sat on top of it, though it was downturned. Its back was covered in a thick film of dust, while everything else in the room was spotlessly clean. Her interest piqued, Vinyl wreathed the picture in her magic, compressing it much closer than normal to try and disrupt as little of the dust as she could.

Just then, she heard the click of her hooves against the wooden floor. Releasing the picture with a sigh, Vinyl turned to the archway that the noise was originating from.

She realized then that it wasn’t just hoofsteps she could hear, but humming as well. It was a strange tune, slow and somehow morose, not like any other humming she had heard before. Wasn’t humming meant for jingles and peppy little songs that made you feel good?

Faded reappeared in the entranceway, a tray clasped in her mouth. Shuffling her way over to Vinyl, she deposited it down onto the coffee table, its contents clinking as she did so. Peering down at it revealed that all that it contained were two cups of tea and their old fashioned saucers.

Gathering up one of the cups, Faded settled herself down onto a wingback chair a hoof’s reach from the old record player. She took a quick sip of her tea, the brief grimace on her face, coupled with the sheer amount of steam wafting off of it, making her opinions on its temperature rather obvious.

Returning her cup to its saucer perched precariously on the arm of her chair, she fixed Vinyl with a waspish look. “Well, get your cup and sit down, missy. We might as well get this started.” She motioned for Vinyl to take the seat perpendicular to hers.

With a shrug, Vinyl levitated her own cup of tea closer, plopping herself down on the seat. Splitting her magic she briefly bore her bags aloft, before unceremoniously dumping them down next to the wingback.

Vinyl gave a skeptical look at the tea before her, noticing the little rose designs that were printed into the delicate cup. Tea was certainly not her thing. It was too dull to replace alcohol and didn’t energize her enough to replace coffee. But she’d work with what she was given and she was sure that if she loaded it with enough sugar and milk she would at least not die from boredom.

‘Yo,” Vinyl began, before pausing. Just what was she going to call the mare? Faded Note, Faded, Fades? Sure, normally she went as informal as possible, less stuffy that way. But then, playing it safe meant less worry for her. “Ma’am, got any sugar? I can’t stand this stuff without it.”

A tiny note of disgust escaped the older mare’s throat. “Well, that’s too bad, missy. You’re going to have to live without it.” She turned away, shaking her head incredulously. “Sugar. Won’t do you any good anyway. Destroys the drink’s flavor and shortens your life as a bonus.”

Vinyl frowned. It probably wasn’t healthy, but what was the point of life if you didn’t enjoy yourself? Might as well curl up right away and wait for death. She still kept her trap shut.

Despite Vinyl’s efforts to keep her thoughts to herself, Faded was sharper than she had thought, or her eyes were, at the least.

“Ah, I see that you don’t agree,” she said, a smile on her face. It was goading, almost, like she wanted to push Vinyl.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Vinyl hissed out through gritted teeth.

At the skeptical look Faded Note was giving her, Vinyl took a swig of her tea. As the drink hit her tongue she fought back the desire to grimace. She didn’t know what was worse; the fact that it was scalding hot, or that it was so bitter she doubted putting sugar in it would have made a difference.

But, Vinyl refused to give the older mare the satisfaction of one-upping her, so she forced herself to swallow. “Mmmm, very nice, Fades. Reminds me how…”

She stared down at the cup before her, a delicate little thing that made her worry it would snap in half if she used too much magic on it. The milk she had added swirled around in the center, making a spiral that reminded her of something, though she couldn’t figure out what it was. Looking up, she wished she was wearing her shades for the hundredth time that night. At least then it would let her hide the redness of her eyes, not all of it a result of her irises.

Octavia sat across from her, but didn’t look much better. It was all Vinyl could do not to reach across the table and hold her, to take away all her hurting. But she couldn’t, even though it stung to admit that. There was something between them now, even though she couldn’t even really describe what it was. Besides, it was her fault that she hurt in the first place.

Recovering quickly from the flash of memory, Vinyl put on an easy smile. “How a… friend of mine used to make it.”

Faded Note quirked an eyebrow, giving Vinyl a searching look as she took another, carefully measured, sip of tea. “Really now, this ‘friend’ of yours must have hurt you an awful lot. I didn’t take you as the stuttering kind.”

The DJ stiffened, though she tried to maintain her air of detachment by sinking a little further into her seat. “Pffft. Nah, nothing like that. Just went our separate ways is all. No harm, no foul.”

Faded leaned forward in her seat, closer towards Vinyl, the old wingback creaking as she did so. She regarded the DJ with a frown, her eyes running up and down her form in a manner that made Vinyl shiver. Then, as suddenly it started, it was over, and Faded leaned back again with a sigh.

“I thought I recognized you from somewhere,” she said, pointing an accusing hoof at Vinyl. “You’re that DJ that’s always slinking around here, playing that music of yours.”

Her tone wasn’t hostile, as it had been earlier, though it still carried a note of disapproval.The glower Faded gave would have made any bouncer proud.

“The one and only,” Vinyl replied with a grin, slipping into her public persona out of instinct. “So what, you a fan?”

The DJ knew that was a mistake even before it left her mouth. She just couldn’t help it.

“Hardly,” Faded replied with a snort. “My neighbor’s boy is though. Always belting that damned noise out when everypony else is trying to sleep. Typical of your generation. Only thinking of yourselves.”

Vinyl bristled at that statement, though she wasn’t in a position to argue. She did only think of herself, she was just brave enough to admit that. It was just how things were meant to be. But to call her music ‘noise’, that went too far.

“And just what gives you the right to say that, huh?” Vinyl shot back, her glare was muted thanks to her shades. “Somepony like you who’s probably never even listened to good music doesn’t get to criticize me.”

Faded let out a sharp bark of laughter. “Good music. Your argument applies to yourself there missy. You don’t have the right to call those bells and whistles you use music. You sully the medium by forcing it to including such a genre.”

There was a loud creak, and it took Vinyl’s brain several seconds to realize it was caused by her gripping the arms of her chair too tightly. Even then she didn’t let go, too scared that if she didn’t let her anger out it would lead to a similar confrontation as before. She’d take the sore hooves.

“My music,” Vinyl shot back through gritted teeth. “Makes ponies feel alive and invincible. It makes them ready to take on the world and gives them the swagger to do it. What do you listen to huh? Oh, let me guess, the Horse Shoe Sisters. Probably for the best, anything more than their peppiness and you’d die of shock!”

As if slapped Faded reared back in her chair, an outrage winnie escaping from her. In that moment she looked much younger, her rage reawakening her youth. “How dare you say such a thing. I listen to the blues, the music of true emotion. Not that synthetic c-c-c.” Her voice spluttered a little, her throat expanding and her face growing red as she tried to force it out. “Crap that you peddle. You’re no better than a snake oil salesman. Making ponies blind to the fact that there’s any suffering in the world until they’re facing it head on.”

“And what would you even know about music in the first place,” Vinyl replied, feeling more settled now she was in familiar territory. “Just listened to a bunch of music that went on about how sad they were?” When she spoke again her voice was high and mocking. “Boohoo, I’m sad. I’m lonely. I’m a loser.” She puffed up her chest. “I create, what do you do?”

“I sung it,” Faded snapped back. The end of her sentence was punctuated by a gasp, hooves flying up to her mouth.

“You… sung… it?” Vinyl repeated, cocking her head. She must’ve heard that wrong. She just couldn’t imagine the grumpy old mare singing anything, let alone a genre like the blues. It was a stupid genre, but to sing it one needed a certain amount of vulnerability. Thanks to the two arguments she’d already had with the mare, Vinyl would’ve guessed she lacked that particular quality.

If Vinyl was confused, Faded Note was doing little better. She didn’t respond to the question, instead just staring off at the old record player. As Vinyl looked closer she noticed with a frown that the older mare’s eyes were glistening.

As the silence stretched on, Faded reached out a hoof; it coming to rest against the record player, just barely skirting the edge of the dusty photograph. She made no move to lift it up. Her whole body had grown stiff, the veins clearly outlined on her wrinkled neck, while her foreleg shook with pent up tension.

In that moment Vinyl felt like she should say something, do something. But try as she might, nothing came to mind. She cursed under her breath at that. Back before she’d met Tavi, she would never have thought about that, just done something, anything, to end the uncomfortable silence.

Faded let out a deep sigh, the tension running out of her body, leaving her sitting limply in her chair. When she turned to face Vinyl, her head rolling rather disturbingly to do so, her eyes still glistening, while a few distinctive tear tracks through her fur could be seen.

“Guess you must be curious then,” she said, her voice hoarse and weary.

There was a brief creaking as Vinyl adjusted her posture, sinking down further into the chair, trying to get as far away as possible from the crying mare. “Err… I don’t mind,” she replied, her restless hoof drumming against the floor. Every one of her instincts told her to get out of there.

“Look, missy, I’ll level with you,” Faded said after a deep sigh. “I see something in you, I guess it must be all that hurting inside. Celestia knows I’ve had a fair share of it myself. Didn’t want it to turn out this way.” She gave a half-hearted shrug. “I was hoping that you’d spit out what was eating you some time or another, but I guess you already got enough out of me that I can’t stay aloof in all this.” She leaned forward with a speed that belied someone of her age, her eyes suddenly deadly serious, while her hoof came to rest on top of Vinyls. “But I want to help you, so we’ll do a trade, my story for yours. What do you say?”

Inside, Vinyl was dying to know just what was going on. She hated being left in the dark. But to come into the light would require her to reveal something that she wasn’t even sure was there. How was she meant to know she was hurting? She honestly felt fine. So what if she thought about her every once and a while, wasn’t that normal?

But even then, she knew she was going to agree. A tiny voice inside her whispered that Faded might be right. That Vinyl did need help. She just couldn’t concentrate with Faded’s hoof on her own, it’s weight making her squirm in her seat. Faded took the hint that time, removing it to instead pick up her tea cup. Even then the older mare’s eyes still watched Vinyl over the rim.

“I’ll take that look on your face as a yes, missy,” Faded spoke, tittering softly. “You’ve got enough emotions running across it that I know you need to hear my story, just as much as I need to hear yours.”

Vinyl let out a choked squeak, before clearing her throat rapidly, hoping the heat of her face hadn’t translated to a blush. “Yeah. Yeah, sounds cool,” she replied with a sniff, hooking one of her back legs over the arm of the chair.

“Well, guess that’s it then,” Faded replied, running her hoof around the rim of her cup, staring down at the murky waters of her tea.

Chapter 3

“I guess it must have started…” Faded broke off, staring up at the ceiling and letting out a dry chuckle. “Celestia, listen to me. All it took was an argument and suddenly I can’t think straight to save my life.” She waved a hoof in Vinyl’s direction. The gesture itself was accusing, though it was done with so little force it was barely a facsimile. “You must have a real talent for flustering ponies, missy.”

For a second Vinyl’s grin was fierce, the admission rather complementary. However, it soon soured. “Look, can you just call me Vinyl?” she asked. “None of this ‘missy’ stuff?” She put on a smirk, before giving a hollow chuckle. “I went to highschool with a Missy and I don’t want anything to do with that name. Once she took this…”

At the withering glare she received from Faded she fell silent, though she tried to preserve her dignity by dismissing it with a shrug. “Right, doesn’t matter.”

Faded just gave a nod of appreciation; the expression, when combined with her still moist eyes, was uncharacteristically tender.

In fact, it was almost too tender for Vinyl to believe it was genuine. If the old battle-axe was faking it she’d have to try a lot harder to get the DJ feeling guilty. She had meant what she said and she had no intention of apologizing for it. But even then, it was better to keep her mouth shut. All that would do was prove that Faded had gotten a reaction out of her. Besides, in the off chance it was genuine, she wasn’t about to go and burn bridges before they were even finished being built.

Faded gestured over towards the cupboard portion of her record player, nudging the door open with the tip of her rear hoof. “Vinyl, could you levitate up a record for me? It should be on left. It’s called Goodnight Goldie.”

“Look Fadessseed,” Vinyl began, managing to catch herself at the last second, before flashing a sheepish grin. “I don’t really know where this is going but is it really time to be listening to music? I get that you sung the stuff, but no way you sung that number. You don’t strike me as the fillyfooling type.” She gave a sardonic chuckle. “And I know my fillyfoolers, comes with the gig.”

Despite her protests the DJ was already up and over at the cabinet. Call her crazy but she just had to see what Faded had in her collection. She went to arts school, she knew the classics, even from genres that didn’t have any right to be called classic.

Bending her forelegs, she began to rapidly flick through the available records with her magic, starting from the right. For a second, it looked like Faded was going to argue, though she settled back down again with a sigh, while Vinyl just flicked her tail dismissively. The subtle push that was required by her levitation spell came easy, honed through countless hours of combing her own collection for good samples. To start off, she began slower than she was used to, making her grind her teeth a little. The last thing she needed was to look incompetent.

But she couldn’t help it, unlike the covers that she was used to—the titles done up in a large and distinctive fonts—most of Faded’s records were just in dull brown paper sleeves, the only marking for those being the iconic logo of the dog and phonograph, His Master’s Voice. On top of that, they were heavier than vinyl, meaning that they were…

“Happy birthday Tavi,” she enthused, flicking a flat, gift wrapped square towards the table where her marefriend sat. It landed softly, spinning a few times on the smooth surface, before coming to a stop just in front of Octavia’s awaiting hooves.”

“Booyah, who’s the mare? I’m the mare!” Vinyl pumped her hoof in triumph, before trotting through the entranceway to the dining room and around to the other side of the room where Octavia sat.

“Very impressive Vinyl,” Octavia replied dryly, raising her right eyebrow into that perfect little arch that the DJ always found oddly appealing. “You must have missed your calling in life. Perhaps that should be a discus on your flank.”

Vinyl chuckled, before giving Octavia a nuzzle, resting her chin on the crook of her neck. “You say that now Octy, but wait until you open it. You’ll be changing your tune then.”

“Oh now really Vinyl, do you think me simple?” Octavia asked, the harsh words softened by the fact that she gave Vinyl a quick kiss on the cheek. “It’s clearly a record. What it is this time? Some other band you’ve got an unhealthy obsession of getting me ‘into to’?”

Despite her skepticism it didn’t stop her from tearing into the paper, giggling like a foal.

It was over just as quickly as it had begun, though perhaps a second or two was added thanks to the triple layer of wrapping.

“Oh, Vinyl,” Octavia replied, staring down at the gift with wide eyes. “I-Is that?”

“Yep,” Vinyl replied with a smug little smirk. “That, is an original recording of Beethooven, the first time he performed when Celestia was there.”

“Oh, Vinyl, this is too much. This must be over fifty years old. Whereever did you…”

Her sentence came to a sudden stuttering halt just as she picked up the plain brown sleeve. As she lifted it up the disk sagged, bending in such a way that it was obvious it was not fully intact. That notion was confirmed a moment later as Tavi turned the sleeve upside down, sending several black shards clattering to the tabletop.

“Shit,” Vinyl swore, levitating up several of the pieces and trying to fit them back together. “That son of a bitch merchant sold me a bum copy. I asked him fifty times if…”

“Vinyl,” Octavia cut in, her hoof shaking before she rested it on the table. “Tell me, am I correct when I say that this record was indeed heavier than normal?”

“Yeah,” the DJ replied, eying her marefriend up and down, wondering when the angry Tavi would come out to play.

“And it only contained a single track?” He words were measured, her accent giving nothing of her true emotions away.

“...Yeah.”

“And you just threw it on the table a moment ago.”

“You were there.”

In response Octavia pinched the bridge of her nose, expelling a violent snort from her nostrils. “Oh Vinyl, this was a shellac record. They’re not like vinyl ones. If you’re too rough they’ll break in an instant.” She glanced down at the remains of her present. “As this so aptly demonstrates.”’

“Aww Jeez,” Vinyl said, putting her hoof on her marefriend’s withers, her ears pressed against her head. “I really screwed up.”

“Oh, it’s alright Vinyl, you didn’t know,” Octavia replied, her voice cracking a little under the strain of holding back her emotions. “But, I really did want that record.” Her left hoof twitched.

“Yeah, and I’ll find it for you, I promise,” Vinyl said, leaning forward and giving her marefriend a nuzzle. “Now how about we have some cake? It’s ice cream, just like you wanted. That’ll take your mind off things.”

“Yes, that does sound nice,” Octavia replied, still staring down at the broken pieces, though her lips did twitch slightly. Most ponies wouldn’t have noticed, but Vinyl could tell she was struggling to stay stoic. “And it will give me a few moments to compose myself. You’ll forgive me for saying this but I am just a little… miffed right now.”

“Yeah, yeah. Well I know your cake will turn your frown upside down. It’s even got a race car on it since the store only had kid ones.” Not able to hold it back any longer the DJ burst into laughter.

“Vinyl!”

They were shellac.

The hairs on the back of Vinyl’s neck tingled as she felt eyes boring into her, she realizing just how much faith Faded had put in her. With newfound reverence Vinyl slowed her browsing down, though she still found herself grinding her teeth in frustration. Her horn began to ache, begging her to forgo her careful speed and move again with reckless abandon.

She was even starting to consider it to, until finally she flicked over to just what she was looking for. Seizing it with more force than was absolutely necessary she pulled it out of its sleeve and dropped it onto the turntable, all in one fluid motion.

“Seventy Eight,” Faded said, her voice clipped and stilted.

Vinyl snorted of annoyance. Of course she knew what speed the damned thing needed. It was her job to know. But she swallowed it down and drowned out the rest with a dry chuckle.

“Celestia, haven’t done that sort of RPM for a while. Sure the old girl can take it?” She delivered a loving pat to the top of the record player, before turning to face her host.

Faded was sitting in her chair, though her posture was so rigid it looked like it hurt. The arms of the chair creaked, Faded’s hooves holding them so tightly that the DJ could clearly make out the whiteness of her hooves even with her sunglasses on.

She was terrified.

“Jeez, you okay?” Vinyl asked, taking a few careful steps closer, pausing once she was a few feet away. “Ya know you don’t need to do this right? It’s not a big deal.”

“Play it,” Faded gasped out.

“No, really it’s cool,” Vinyl repeated, shifting her hooves awkwardly. She could see the sweat running down the other mare’s face.

She fought down a faint pang of fear. Was Faded about to have a stroke or something? Sure she was curious, but that could wait. The last thing she needed was for her host to keel over dead. “We can do it--.”

“Play… it…,” Faded repeated, she spitting the words out. Her eyes finally focused on Vinyl, and the DJ recognized something there. They were hard, but with a fire blazing beneath the surface. They sort of eyes she saw on somepony when they were itching for a fight, when they’d made up their mind and you had two choices; give in or start brawling. Either way you’d lose.

“Sure, sure,” Vinyl conceded. “It’s your call.”

She flipped the switch on the record play, the motor beginning to turn the record with a soft hum. She stood there for a few moments, listening, checking to make sure that everything sounded normal. Perhaps the delay wasn’t appreciated by her host but habits—especially ones that saved her flank in the past—were hard to break. Satisfied that nothing was going to go horribly wrong she collapsed back into her chair, before levitating the needle to the edge of the record.

She didn’t know where she should look. Instinct told her that it was at Faded, but she just didn’t know. She didn’t want to see her crying and stuff. Besides, it sort of felt like she was intruding on something. Like when someone interrupted her during her mixing sessions.

Eventually, she just settled on staring straight ahead, keeping a careful eye on the player. It looked sturdy, but that was the case with anything before it decided to up and break on her.

The needle circled the record a few times, playing crackling white noise, before it finally reached the actual portion that contained the song.

Goldie goodnight, Goldie goodnight

Good night Goldie, good night Goldie

I’ll see you in my dreams

It was a simple little thing, nothing special. Just another of those dime a dozen songs from years ago, the type that showed up in movies and stuff.

Last Saturday night I got married

Me and my wife settled down

Now me and my wife are parted

I’m gonna take another stroll downtown

For one verse another voice came in, a mare, her voice sweet but unpracticed. A good auto tuning would have fixed that up, Vinyl decided.But what would be the point? There wasn’t much demand in the business for verses sung from the perspective of a begging wife.

Stop your rambling, stop your gambling

Stop staying out late at night

Come home to your wife and family

Stay there by the fireside bright

“That’s me,” Faded croaked, though Vinyl kept her eyes fixed forward. Just from the huskiness of the older mare’s voice it was clear to her she didn’t want to be looking.

Vinyl really didn’t get the fuss about it. The main singer was decent at least, his voice throaty and low, which added a strange sort of sadness to the lyrics. But that didn’t change the fact that it just wasn’t right. Who wanted to listen to songs about being driven mad by another mare when your wife was right there? It just didn’t make sense.

Sometimes I live in the country

Sometimes I live in town

And sometimes I take a great notion

To jump in the river and drown

The sitting around was beginning to grow unbearable for Vinyl, made even worse by the sniffling emanating right next to her ear. She wanted to get out of the house, away from it all. Go someplace where she could dance and party and laugh and not have to think, to wonder.

I love Goldie, Celestia knows that I do

And I’m gonna love her ‘till the seas run dry

But if Goldie turns her back on me

I’ll take morphine and die

With that the song just ended with a whimper, the accompanying guitar plucking out a few mournful notes before joining the silent singer.

Vinyl couldn’t help but be impressed by conviction of that line. Say what you want about the stallion; that he was a wimp for one thing, but that line was honest. Every word was pure truth, or he sung it so perfectly it might as well have been.

Her mind coming up blank for what she could possibly do to delay the inevitable, Vinyl turned to look at Faded.

The mare was a mess. Her eyes looked red and puffy, while one of her hooves were pressed tightly to her lips. A few muffled sob still escaped from Faded’s impromptu gag.

“Hey, you alright?” Vinyl asked, craning closer to the other mare, her foreleg resting on the arm of Faded’s chair. She got no response, though Faded’s arm gripped Vinyl’s hoof tightly, begging her not to let go. Though Vinyl winced, she didn’t dare to move or breathe a breath. She had forgotten how strong earth ponies could be.

With a sigh, Vinyl levitated a tissue out from the box that sat on the other side of the room, holding it in front of the other mare until she took it, dabbing it at her eyes.

The two stayed like that for what felt like an eternity for Vinyl. However Faded’s sniffles and sobs gradually receded, until she breathed a deep sigh.

“Ah, I’m… sorry about that Vinyl,” Faded began, giving her a fragile smile. “I try to keep that all bottled up, but that song, it just breaks down all the walls.”

“Yeah, no probs,” Vinyl said after a long silence, trying to shift herself further away. She grimaced. Her hoof felt like to was throbbing and she was pretty sure that if her coat wasn’t naturally white her hoof would be from lack of blood.

Faded let go of Vinyl’s hoof, though the old mare’s touch lingered for a second. The pressure gone Vinyl snatched it back, using it to fluff up her mane.

“The stallion singing, that was my husband.”

Vinyl glanced over.

“Huh, so what; divorce or something?” She winced, already regretting what she had said. She just couldn’t help herself, the words had left her mouth before she had even thought about them.

“Never got that far,” Faded replied, slumping wearily back into her chair. If the brash comment bothered her she didn’t let on.

The silence stretched out again. The familiar sound that a needle made when at the end of a record very loud in the quiet room. Trying to pad for time until Faded started up again Vinyl levitated the player’s arm into its cradle, before shutting it off with a satisfying click of the dial.

That made things even worse. At least before she had something to concentrate on, now she had nothing. She just couldn’t take it any more.

“So, what did happen then?”

“Hmm…” Faded hummed, broken out of her day dream, glancing over at Vinyl again. “Oh, right… sorry Vinyl. It’s how the song said it was. He met another mare, Goldie, and loved her till the seas ran dry.”

“So, he took morphine and died then?” Vinyl asked, her tone caught between joking and serious.

“Well, that too. He took morphine, then jumped…” Faded’s lip wobbled, though she recovered. “Then jumped in a river and drowned.”

“Uh… wow,” she managed, forcing the words up and over the lump that had inexplicably lodged itself in her throat. “That’s… yeah.”

With a sense of relief, she grabbed up her dinky little cup of tea. Like a mare trapped in a desert she gulped down the bitter liquid, refusing to acknowledge that it was lukewarm at best.

Chapter 4

“I’m sorry, Vinyl,” Faded said softly, taking a few sips from her own tea, though Vinyl got the distinct impression the cup had long since been empty. “I’ve made you awfully uncomfortable. But I fully intend to keep going. I hope you don’t mind.” By the way she spoke, the resonance of her voice, it was clear that she’d keep going no matter what Vinyl thought. Her words were polite, yet empty.

As a matter of fact, Vinyl did mind. She minded a great deal. Somehow, she had managed to avoid any negativity for months, only for Faded to bring out so much of it she almost felt like she was back with Tavi. Back when things ended.

Not being able to bear sitting there for one more second Vinyl launched herself to her hooves. She didn’t even know what she was doing, she just needed to move. She found that her subconscious—or perhaps her more primal instincts—wanted her to get out of there as she found herself moving to the exit. The door was like salvation to her and she could almost feel the beat of the base returning to her the closer it grew. It thundered through her, making her blood pump and infusing new life into her tired limbs.

She was there, she was so close. But then, her steps faltered, the feeling of wrongness just tingling away in her gut. Groaning in exasperation she threw her forelegs up onto the record player, her head nestling in between them. Perhaps, if she shut her eyes rested her head just right, it would remind her of happier times. The beat was fading, leaving nothing but the melancholic silence and not even the promise of a sweet memory could coax it back.

Vinyl could hear the smirk overtaking the older mare’s face. Ice crept down her spine, as Faded’s eyes ran over her and sought out her secrets.

“And I can see you want me to continue,” Faded remarked. “Pony’s ears don’t swivel backwards like yours are unless they’re trying to hear what’s behind them.”

Vinyl frowned into the crook of her foreleg, squirming her muzzle further into it. Even then, she knew Faded was right. As soon as her attention had been called to it, Vinyl had noticed her ears pointing towards Faded. Try as she might, she just couldn’t bring herself to turn them away again. She did manage to make them flick once or twice, but that was it.

“What’s her name?” Faded asked, making Vinyl glance over her shoulder at Faded.

“Whose name?” Vinyl replied, trying to play it cool. There was no way the older mare could see the sweat that began to prick up uncomfortably beneath her coat.

“What’s her name?” Faded repeated, her tone of voice leaving no doubt who she was speaking about.

Sighing, Vinyl shook her head in defeat. “Tavi.” She caught herself. It wasn’t right to call her that anymore. “Octavia Philharmonica.”

“I recognize that name,” Faded replied, her voice carrying a hint of surprise. “She’s a member of the Royal Canterlot Orchestra, isn’t she? I’ve read interviews of her in the paper. You must have expensive tastes.”

Though she tried to hold herself back, Vinyl couldn’t help but bristle. “It wasn’t like that,” Vinyl snapped, glaring over at Faded. “It… It…”

She trailed off. When she spoke again, she spoke softly, or softly for Vinyl Scratch. “She was kind and caring. She never judged me for my music, even though she didn’t understand it. And sometimes, when I stopped smiling, she just liked to hold me close and…” She stopped, suddenly realizing what she was saying, blushing faintly. “And we rocked each other’s worlds,” she finished.

“Ah, Vinyl, you were doing so well there for a second,” Faded said, clucking her tongue. “Almost did enough to make a jaded mare swoon.” She gave a fierce grin. “But you just couldn’t hold the DJ back, could you?”

Vinyl shrugged, pushing up her glasses, before promptly dumping her head back into her arms.

“Why don’t you just sit yourself back down Vinyl?” Faded asked soothingly. Vinyl could hear the sound of her patting the empty seat, the faint noise obscenely loud in the hanging silence.

“Imma fine here,” she mumbled into her arm, shaking her head. Her hangover was beginning to resurface, or at least she assumed it was. With the way her day had been so far, she wouldn’t be surprised if it had nothing to do with her activities of the previous night.

“I didn’t catch that there,” Faded replied, her chair creaking as she leaned back into it. “But I didn’t need to hear it to know what you’re saying. You suit yourself. I’ll tell you the story, or at least the parts you need to know.” She paused. “Or the ones I need to say. I don’t care where you are when I do. You can stick you head in the fireplace for all I care. As long as you can hear.”

*****

"Oh, come now sweetie, don't be like that," Faded chided, giving her husband a playful smack. "Just because it's cloudy when it rains doesn't mean the suns not shining up above it all. Same should be with you. Why do you have to carry that pain around with you like a sack of bricks? All it does is weigh you down" She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, nuzzling in close so she felt the heat radiating off of him.

*****

“Bull!” Vinyl exclaimed, pushing herself off the player to wheel around and face Faded. “Look, I can take the songs and the philosophizing and all that shit, but I refuse to believe that you flirted with somepony.”

“Just how old do you think I am?” Faded asked, her eyebrow arching perfectly in a manner that was disturbingly familiar. Vinyl wasn’t really sure if the older mare’s tone was one of amusement or indignation. She suspected that Faded didn’t know herself.

All the DJ managed as an answer was a shrug. “Dunno. Old?”

“That’s a fine guess Vinyl,” Faded said, rolling her eyes. “I suppose you think that I was there with Celestia when she descended from the heavens with a choir serenading her. Perhaps I was one of the cherubs that sung?”

The two stared each other down for a moment, before Vinyl felt something bubble up inside her. She chuckled. It was nothing special, just a light chuckle that she used to manage all the time. Celestia, the joke wasn’t even that funny; she wasn’t even sure if she could call it a joke.

Faded glared for a moment, before she couldn’t hold it back any longer. She giggled like a school filly, her two front hooves even covering her mouth like one.

Such a ridiculous noise coming from the dour mare was even more hilarious to Vinyl than the joke itself. Her chuckles quickly deepened, becoming a belly laugh.

It just went back and forth between the two, one only making the other laugh louder and harder. Eventually, the mares were gasping for breath, Faded rocking back and forth in her chair, while Vinyl rolled around on the floor, tears streaming down her eyes.

Their laughter soon began to grow quieter, interspersed by desperate attempts for the two mares to regain their breath.

“I… I needed that,” Vinyl wheezed, sitting herself upwards, scrubbing her damp cheeks.

Faded gave a muted nod in response, she clutching her sore side. “Agreed. I can’t remember the last time I laughed like that. Certainly not over something so unfunny.”

“You said it, not me,” Vinyl replied, pulling herself to her feet, only managing a few unsteady steps before collapsing into the awaiting chair.

“I did, didn’t I,” Faded said, disbelief in her voice. Without warning she reached her way over to Vinyl, the DJ too tired to bother flinching away. “Better be careful with these things,” the older mare admonished, straightening up her visitor’s glasses. It was a small miracle that they hadn’t been launched off of Vinyl’s face after being subjected to the sheer speed of her rolling.

“Yeah, thanks,” Vinyl said, watching Faded like a predator out of the corner of her eye.

“You know, I used to tell this silly little joke where-”

“Tell me the story,” Vinyl interrupted.

She didn’t know what she was even saying, the words had just slipped out. It was just, she owed Faded that much. Sure, she was talking absolute rubbish about her and Octavia, but that didn’t mean that the story didn’t have some sort of meaning. Humoring was the name of her game now. Faded was hurting, more than anypony she had ever met before, which was kind of remarkable when she thought about it. Her husband must have died years, decades ago. How could anyone live with such pain for so long and still be able to laugh at the end. It defied belief, that someone could torture themselves for so long. Why couldn’t ponies just be like her? Just get up each day and live it as if it was their first and last.

The look of confusion she received had her ready to repeat herself, but Faded answered a split second later. “If you insist, Vinyl. You won’t get any arguments from me.”

Faded turned away and muttered something under her breath, though the only word of it Vinyl managed to catch was, “why?”

Before Vinyl could explore that option any further Faded had already started talking again.

*****

The young couple trotted down the street, a sharp gust of wind making them both shiver.

"Oh, come now, sweetie, don't be like that," Faded chided, giving her husband a playful smack. "Just because it's cloudy when it rains doesn't mean the suns not shining up above it all. Same should be with you. Why do you have to carry that pain around with you like a sack of bricks? All it does is weigh you down. You do this with every song you write, and every time you end up miserable." She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, nuzzling in close so she felt the heat radiating off of him.

“’Suppose,” Silver grunted, slipping out of her embrace, his absence noticeable in the biting November air. With his longer stride, he was soon a few steps ahead of her, the distance only growing wider as he picked up the pace.

“But that don’t mean that Ah can’t wallow in it while the music’s bein’ made,” he called back, though the grin he gave her made her heart flutter some. “But once it’s all done then that sun is bound to shine.”

“Some folks can lose the blues in their hearts,” Faded sung back, hurrying to catch up. When she made it, she cocked her head, before saying, “But then who’re you thinking of to make another shower start?”

“Goldie,” Silver Lining replied, his voice deadly serious.

“Ah, your mysterious Goldie,” she said, smiling at some foals who ran past giggling. “Well don’t you worry, today we’ll get your song recorded and then she’ll be in the thoughts of every lonely, broken heart in Equestria.”

“If Ah could be so lucky,” Silver mumbled to himself, Faded’s sensitive ears straining to pick it up. Against her better judgment, she decided not to push her husband. He always got like that when they were recording, and she didn’t want to mess up the emotions needed for his performance.

Last Saturday night I got married

Me and my wife settled down

Now me and my wife are parted

I’m gonna take me a stroll uptown

As Silver sung he stepped in time to the imaginary beats that synced up with the lyrics, moving either his left or right legs simultaneously, while he glanced up at the sky. The result prompted a few of the fouls playing to stop and stare at the odd stallion, one brave enough to point and laugh.

When the giggling emanating from Faded got too loud for her to pass it off as another pedestrian he stopped. “Listen sweetie, bein’ on the ground is getting’ too much. Mind if Ah take a little fly?”

He gave his wings a stretch, flapping them a few times to warm up the muscles, the silver sheen of his primaries flashing despite the grey sky.

“No, you go on ahead Silver, I’ll get there eventually,” Faded stuttered, cocking her head at the unusual behavior. Silver hated to leave her to go flying. “Just promise me you’ll fly above the clouds for a bit.”

“Try my best.”

With a tensing of his muscles Silver launched himself into the air, he rising with each flap of his powerful wings. He glanced behind his shoulder at his wife, his ascent halted. He appeared to deliberate for a moment, before quickly heading back to the ground.

With a click of his hooves, he landed again onto the sidewalk, hurrying back over to her. Once there, he pulled her into a tight hug and planted a warm kiss on her cheek.

“I love you, ya know that. Right?” he asked, his tone of voice something Faded couldn’t place, his grip on her tightening.

“Of course I do Silver.” She gave him a few reassuring pats. “I’m your wife, why wouldn’t I?”

With that she gently pushed him away from her. “Now you go on and take your fly. This song really must be eating you up more than I thought, if it’s got you acting like this.”

He gave her a pleading look, though he started to turn away.

“Now don’t worry about it Silver, I’ll get to the studio eventually.” She laughed, though it sounded hollow. “Just not before you.”

Taking a moment Silver gave her one last glance, before taking off again, his grey form soon camouflaged by the mass of clouds overhead.

*****

“You really didn’t know something was up, did you?” Vinyl asked.

Faded shook her head.

“And did he go to see…”

A nod, followed by a shrug. “I never found out for certain, though I honestly believe he did. He showed up at the studio almost an hour later than me. The technician there was furious since he was promised we’d be done early. Had to miss his kid’s birthday party instead. I almost thought they’d come to blows.”

“Uh… wow, seriously?” Vinyl said, the edge of her mouth quirking upwards, brashness entering her voice. “Your husband almost beat up some guy? All because he broke a promise he made? That’s some crazy shit right there.”

Vinyl leaned back into her chair, blowing out a breath. She’d was no stranger to a good brawl, but she knew when to back down. The only time she even contemplated the need to knock some sense into somepony was when they were being an idiot. She’d never done it for something so blatantly her fault. If that happened she’d be more blue than white and be missing a couple of teeth for her trouble.

“But you were a blues singer for crying out loud!” Vinyl added with a snort. “How the hay didn’t you recognize something was up? Sounds pretty textbook to me.”

“I was young and dumb and silly,” Faded replied with a sigh. “Why would I think something like that would come along and ruin my marital bliss? Sure I sung the blues, which I admit does tend to deal with that sort of thing, but I never really understood it. Besides, that song was hardly Silver’s first work about heartbreak and suicide. It was just his first to garner record company attention.”

“Really, you admit the blues deals with heartbreak?” Vinyl said, sarcasm dripping from her words. “I’m no expert but it’s kind of the MO.”

Faded waved off the interruption, though a ghost of a smile flickered over her face “I just took the words Silver gave me and tried to copy the kinds of voices I heard on the radio.” The sniff she gave sent a spike of worry through Vinyl, though the impish grin she wore buried it. “Nor did he almost beat up some guy. Silver was many things, a weakling being quite a firm part of that.”

The smirk on Vinyl’s face blossomed into a full grin. For a while she had feared the mood of the room would become just as stifling as before. But with Faded on the case it, wasn’t so much of a worry.

“Oh, really now, is that so?”

“Quite so. He didn’t even fly really. He was more like some big silver leaf, going wherever the wind took him.”

“Heh, I can imagine it now. Tavi was never like that. Dunno if it was earth pony strength or that iron rod she kept stored up her ass but that mare wouldn’t budge for anything.”

A jolt ran through Vinyl, making her stiffen. Faded looked on without any reaction.

“So, where was I then?” Faded asked after a pause, her expression level. “Forgive me if I just drifted off, it happens with age.”

“Not likely, Fades,” Vinyl replied, rolling her neck, trying to get rid of the knot that was forming there. “You’re a worse liar than Tavi was.” She grunted, frowning faintly. “You know I really hate that.”

“Hate what dear?” Faded said, regarding her with interest. Vinyl could practically feel what she was thinking.

That wasn’t even counting the fact that she had just been called ‘dear’. But that was a whole other issue and she needed to pick her battles at the moment.

“How it’s always was, never is anymore.” She groaned, rubbing at her eyes with her hoof, her glasses riding up and bumping against her horn.

The raised eyebrow she was getting from Faded wasn’t even necessary; the words didn’t make sense to her either. When she spoke again her words were slow and clumsy.

“It’s… I mean how I say it. The words I mean. They’re always past tense now when I talk about her. Makes me feel like she’s dead.”

A click of the tongue was all the answer she got, she summoning up the bravery to withdraw her hooves from her eyes. The look she got wasn’t one that she expected.

“Well she’s not!” Faded said, thumping her hoof against the chair. It was disturbing how familiar that glare already was for Vinyl. “And how dare you say something like that to me. How-”

“Whoa, whoa, chill out there Fades, I didn’t mean it like that,” Vinyl replied, reining in her more typical, and considerably less subtle, response. “I just…” The understanding of what she had just said set in. “Wow... that must have come off pretty bad.”

“Celestia damn you Vinyl!” Faded spat. She let out a snort, her posture slackening. “You couldn’t even let me have that one did you? Before it was all fight with you, now you get to apologizing before I can even get to tanning your hide.”

“Well I gotta do what I gotta do.” Vinyl grinned, before it slipped into a frown. “I meant it, too. That wasn’t cool.”

“Eh, it’s my problem, not yours,” Faded said, shrugging. She gave Vinyl a look, her ears pressed against her head. “It’s just… your Tavi is out there and waiting for you to come back. If I were you, I’d be galloping off to find her and beg her to let us sort things out. My Silver’s dead and long gone, but your mare isn’t.”

Vinyl’s ears mirrored Faded’s and though she tried to say something, nothing she thought of seemed right. All she could manage was a few strangling sounds.

“Want me to continue telling mine?” Faded asked.

“…yes.”

Chapter 5

*****

The cork popped off of the champagne bottle, the sudden release of pressure sending the bubbling liquid running down the neck of the bottle.

“Damn it!” Faded cursed, fumbling with the nearby flutes to try and preserve every drop of the precious liquid. Finding little success, she began to run her tongue along the glass.

“Hehe, nice one there Lofty,” Technical Feats, the unicorn musical engineer, said.

*****

“Lofty?” Vinyl asked, raising an eyebrow. “How do you get Lofty from Faded?”

Jolted out of her story telling all Faded could do was splutter, before giving up and looking away.

Vinyl didn’t need to be a detective to catch the way the other mare’s lip wobbled. Nor did she need to be emotionally sensitive to know the emotions behind it were very bad for business. Besides, she needed to return the favor.

“You know what? Never mind. Pretend I didn’t even ask.”

Clearing her throat with a precise noise Faded continued as if all she had done was pause for breath, though she couldn’t bring herself to look Vinyl’s way until she was lost in the past again.

*****

Levitating the bottle out of Faded’s grip, Technical began to pour out the white wine into the glasses. He had always had an eye for details and, to Faded’s eye at least, he gave the exact same amount to each glass. Sure that meant that because of the number of ponies waiting for a taste that amount was barely a mouthful. At least, that held true for everyone’s glass but Faded’s, who got hers last and so received the generous amount left in the bottle.

Faded accepted it without complaint, raising it up for the awaiting toast, smiling brightly back at the ponies who smiled her way.

“And the very most to our dear, sweet Faded,” Tech said, offering her a wink. “So that maybe now she can stop bugging us over how much she wants to taste Prench white wine.”

The jab earned a round of chuckles from the room, Faded not even that worried about it. If it got her a little more of the bubbly nectar, she’d take a couple more with a wink and a giggle.

“Well, I guess there’s nothing more to it then,” a gruff old mare, Savvy Dealer said. She was one of the producers who’d financed the single, and was always in the background, urging recording along and searching for places to cut down on costs. Faded had hardly recognized her when Savvy had walking in the door. It was the first time ever she had been without her starched blouse and well-worn assistant. “Here’s to a job well done, ponies.” Her eyes took on a familiar gleam. “And to the spot on the Billboard that will have everyone in Equestria wanting more from the new hot husband and wife act.”

“Hear, hear to that,” Technical called out, his booming voice drowning out the others. “And here’s to Goldie, and to the writer who conjured her up.” He gestured his glass over at Silver, before drowning its contents with a motion that belied the amount of liquor it contained.

Glancing up from his own little corner of the room, Silver offered a wan smile. “Much ‘preciated.”

He hauled himself to his hooves, weaving his slender frame in-between the assembled ponies, most eyeing him curiously.

“Here,” he said, dumping his measure of champagne into Faded’s glass. “Yours, more than mine.”

Before she could react, he swooped in and deposited a kiss on her cheek, his glass clattering to the floor as it tumbled from his grip.

“But Ah gotta be gone for a bit. Paths to walk.”

Faded could feel the rest of the eyes in the room bore into her, especially Savvy’s, and in that moment she realized just how dire things were. Whatever was happening with Silver, something was wrong. But the eyes of the room were on her, waiting to judge her if she said one little thing out of line.

“Okay, sweetie. You go and do your thing, I’ll see you at home later,” she eventually decided on, hoping her smile didn’t look too thin or her words too shaky.

If Silver even heard her, he made no sign of it. After stating his intentions, he whipped around so fast his tail caught the edge of her snout, the coarse hair scraping her nostrils, making them itch.

“He gets like that sometimes,” Faded addressed the room, the lie slipping easily from her lips. “The creative mood takes him and he’s just got to be alone to write it down.”

The murmur of agreement that spread around the room soothed her fears. She didn’t hear Silver leave.

*****

“So, what happened?” Vinyl asked, sitting at the edge of her seat.

“What I said,” Faded replied, her hooves tapping out a slow beat that escaped Vinyl. “I got home that night, and all I found was a note. It confessed to me that Goldie was real, and that he was running off to pursue her.” She stared off into space, tapping her chin. “How did it go again? Faded, I love you, but Goldie is real and my heart belongs to her and to the music. Signed, Silver.”

Vinyl’s eyes widened.

“Vinyl, I love you,” Octavia said. The words were earnest, though the DJ noted Tavi’s eyes never left the buckle on her luggage she was trying to tighten. “And I know you love me.” Her voice was strained. “But it’s just not working Vinyl,and neither of us are happy.”

All the while Vinyl just stood there, on the cold tiles of the kitchen, wishing she was brave enough to cross the threshold and move into the living room with Tavi.

“It’s better that we end things now,Vinyl. We both know it.”

No answer but the ticking of the clock.

Octavia sighed, abandoning her bags and gingerly stepping over to Vinyl.

“I’m… sorry Vinyl, I truly am,” she said with a shake of her head. “But our hearts belong to the music.”

She leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on her ex-marefriend’s cheek. Then she was gone.

Vinyl hadn’t even said goodbye.

“That’s cold blooded,” Vinyl cut in, her words dripping with venom, her horn pulsing as her magic mimicked her emotions. She was so angry she could barely speak, yet she couldn’t even say why. “To… to… just, leave. To up and bail, and not even have the guts to tell it to your face.”

The pretty little porcelain cup sprung up into the air, it spinning so fast it appeared circular, Vinyl’s magic gripping it so tight her horn ached. Then, all at once, the strength of the cup was exhausted, it collapsing in on itself until it was nothing but a fine white powder.

“Vinyl, calm down!” Faded cried out, she launching herself across the gap in-between the two. With a steady hoof she gripped Vinyl’s arm, while Faded’s other hoof bumped gently against Vinyl’s horn, dissipating her magic. “Stop it.”

“Why?” Vinyl hissed out, her captured arm writhing like a snake, trying to pull free.

Summoning all of her strength Faded hung on for dear life, her other hoof soon joining the other. Gradually, the DJ’s shaking subsided, though her breaths still came in gasps. With one final pull she retrieved her arm, though Faded’s grip had already relaxed.

“Look at me,” Faded ordered, and Vinyl complied. The older mare’s eyes were wet with tears. “It was my fault anyway. All those ponies in that room… I was too scared about what they thought to do anything. Something was so obviously wrong but I just let him walk out of my life.” She dragged her hoof over her cheek, the fur there left mussed and spiky from the moisture.

Lost for words, Vinyl just put her foreleg on top of Faded’s, giving it a few awkward pats in her best emulation of how her mother comforted her when she was a foal.

“You know, I’ve never told this to anyone,” Faded said softly, her withered hoof giving Vinyl’s a gentle squeeze. “But I think a part of me let him go; let him walk out that door and into that cold river.”

The way Faded said it, a dull droning monotone, made Vinyl shiver. She hadn’t know Faded for long but to hear her without any emotions, it just wasn’t right.

“After all, isn’t that the dream of any good blue’s singer, to live a life filled with tragedy and loss? That's the thing about the blues," Faded Note said, her eyes fixed firmly on the downturned photo frame. "You give it your heart and soul and in return you make something beautiful. You take all that pain inside of you and help it to make others strong." She reached out for it, though all she did was knock her hoof against the side of the record player.

With a faint hum, Vinyl’s magic encircled the frame and brought it over to the pair, Faded plucking it out of the air. She looked down, all the while keeping hold of the DJ’s hoof.

It drove Vinyl mad that Faded held the frame at an angle, just enough to keep her from seeing the picture. Though she stretched her back until it popped loudly, it did nothing to help.

Glancing up, Faded just smirked. “Well well, I can see that somepony just can’t behave herself.” She held the picture out to Vinyl, shaking it a little. When she spoke again her voice was pensive. “But you can take a look Vinyl, I don’t mind.”

Eagerly the DJ snatched it up in her magic, glancing over the top of her glasses to get a better look.

It was black and white, and featured a mare and stallion that she guessed were Silver and Faded. The couple were wrapped up in each other’s embrace, snuggled up in the crook of a tree, napping. Silver’s wing wrapped around his then wife, while she snuggled in close to his side, a tiny smile on her face. The grass looked cool and inviting, and Vinyl noticed that a pile of music paper sat off to one side, weighed down by a rock. They looked happy, the kind of couple that showed up in dorky romcoms that had no place in the real world.

Somehow, that was the worst thing it could have been.

“You know, all that stuff you said about you and Silver, it was a fucking lie.” Vinyl didn’t yell, though she wanted to, and she was shaking with the effort to keep it in. Instead it came out cold and clear. “I might have neglected Tavi, put her second to the beat, but she was always enough mare for me. The dick Silver, all he wanted was another mare because he couldn’t fucking realize what he had. I let mine get away, he wasn’t even man enough to try to fix things.”

Unable to keep looking at the picture, Vinyl shoved it face down against the arm of her chair, one of the corners digging into her side.

“You’re… too kind Vinyl,” Faded said, her eyes focused down at the picture. With a sigh she picked it up and ran a hoof over it to get rid of any spots of dust. She gave it one last look, before hauling herself to her hooves with a grunt. “But a few curse words won’t change the truth.”

When she reached the record player she placed the picture down at the spot it had come from, making sure to line it up perfectly with the dusty outline. That done, she pulled a record out from the cupboard, exchanging it with Goldie Goodnight with quick motions.

She paused as the needle hovered above the spinning record. “This one’s my song, the one I wrote when I found out Silver was gone, before Goldie had found her conscience and told him no. A week after it hit number one, he was dead.”

The needle landed and Vinyl listened, but the words just didn’t make sense to her.

The earnest voice filling the room broke the dam and words started to spill out of her. “I let her get away. I let her get away.” The words were heavy, but she knew that they were true. A feeling welled up in her belly, choking her, squeezing her tight like she was in a crowded room. Her breath sped up and as she spoke again, it came out between each panicked gasp, “Every night it was the same. I had a gig, she wanted a dinner date. I wanted to chill, she had some fancy rubbish to go to. We tried, Celestia did we try. But it just kept happening and happening, and then the next thing I knew we were talking, and then Tavi was just gone.”

“Oh Vinyl,” Faded said, making the DJ start. She had forgotten anypony else was even there, only to find the old mare standing right in front of her.

A song played in the background, the voice bearing only a passing resemblance to the girl from Goldie Goodnight. This time it was sung with such heartbreak, Vinyl would have sworn that the singer was going to burst into tears at any moment. A piano was also part of the piece, but it was only background noise to that haunting voice.

Now won’t you listen dearie, while I say,

How can you tell me that you’re going away?

Don’t say that we must part.

Don’t break my aching heart.

Vinyl found herself being pulled into a tight hug, the unexpected contact making her body tense. Her vision swam and she was breathing so fast, she’d started hyperventilating. Though she squirmed and tried to get away, Faded held on tight.

“Sshh, sshh. It’s okay Vinyl, just let it out.” Faded whispered, stroking Vinyl’s mane. Her hoof came back sticky from all the gel in it, but she never stopped brushing. “There’s still time and there’s still hope. Just let it out.”

She didn’t cry, she refused to cry, but her struggling receded as she relaxed into Faded’s embrace. Gradually, her breathing came under control and the world stopped spinning. Not sure what else to do Vinyl encircled her forelegs around Faded and hugged back.

You know I've loved you truly, many years,

I’ve loved you night and day,

How can you leave me? Can't you see my tears?

Listen while I say.

If she closed her eyes and tried real hard then maybe, just maybe, she could trick herself into believing it was Tavi who she was holding on to. She burrowed into the crook of Tavi’s neck and held on tight, her marefriend doing the same. A few stray tears pattered against her coat, but she didn’t complain. A deep sigh escaped her body and she sagged against Tavi.

Just then she breathed in and the scent of the other pony shattered her illusion. Tavi always smelt like fancy perfume, undercut by a hint of her cello varnish. Faded smelt like all old people, or at least she guessed that’s what old people smelt like.

After you’ve gone, and left me crying

After you’ve gone, there’s no denying

You’ll feel blue, you’ll feel sad

You’ll miss the dearest pal that you’ve ever had

At the cusp of the hug growing uncomfortable, Faded pulled herself away. As she spoke she stuttered, her cheeks flushed from embarrassment. “I’m sorry about that Vinyl. I got a little carried away.”

“Nah, it’s cool, really,” Vinyl replied, her voice thick. She looked down, before mumbling, “but thanks.”

The older mare nodded, the corners of her mouth turning up a fraction. “I meant what I said too. You must love her a lot.”

Vinyl nodded, her eyes fixed down at her lap. “Uh, yeah. I really do.”

It felt freeing to say that, to admit it after trying to deny it for so long. She wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but she’d settle for dedicating it to the beat when her next creative mood took her. Or, better yet, trade it all in if it only meant Tavi could come back right that second. That was kind of a downer, now that she thought of it, any lingering triumph she felt soon lost.

And there’ll come a time, now don’t forget it

There’ll come a time when you’ll regret it

Some day, when you grow lonely

Your heart will break like mine, and you’ll want me only

“And will you promise me that you’ll try, with all your heart and soul, to get her back.”

Vinyl nodded, shooting Faded a wan smile. At some point, her glasses had been knocked off and gotten wedged down the side of her seat’s cushion. She left them there. They were plenty safe.

After you’ve gone, after you’ve gone away

Faded coughed into her hoof, giving a guilty look that didn’t make the DJ feel any better.

“Oh you… you wanna finish, don’t cha,” Vinyl said. For a moment she almost demanded the older mare stop, but she bit her tongue. “Then go ahead, I won’t argue.”

“You just sit there and calm down Vinyl,” Faded said, easing back into her chair. “No need to comment, no need to think. Just listen, that’s all you need to do now. The worst part is over with.”

Chapter 6

*****

Faded wandered into the recording booth, glancing over at the piano player sitting at his stool in one corner.

She did manage to give a smile to Technical Feats, but it felt empty and false.

The stallion, sitting behind the sound proof pane of glass, licked his lips nervously, before reaching over to press one of the many buttons that littered his console.

“Hello there, Lofty,” he said, his voice coming out tinny through the conical speaker perched in one corner of the roof. “You all rested and ready?”

He tried to affect a lighthearted tone, but Faded could tell he didn’t really mean it. His voice was too strained and his smile too wide for anypony to be fooled by it.

“Morning, Tech,” she replied, arching her back as she plopped down onto the lumpy pillow they provided her, beginning to fiddle around with the hanging microphone.

“Oh, and… congratulations, I guess, on After You’ve Gone,” he continued, he looking away from her, his ears pressed down against his head. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but it was a great song. It deserves the top spot on the Billboard.”

Faded didn’t respond, already occupied by her vocal warm ups. At least in the music, her pain became something better, something that didn’t hurt so much.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tech sigh, though he had already released the button to the communication system.

As she readied herself, the other few members filled in, the trumpet player and a saxophonist, though all Faded gave them was a tiny incline of her head. They too joined in her warm up, the little group of musicians striking up a mess of notes that had no place being together at the same time.

“Okay guys.” Tech’s voice filtered into the booth. “Time to make some music.”

Startled out of her brief reverie—though the clock read it having been half an hour since she had arrived—Faded looked back over at the booth. Savvy Dealer was in there now too, animatedly talking with Tech. She might not have been able to hear them but she was no fool, she noting how they kept gesturing over at her.

Just then the pair looked over at her properly, they freezing as they noticed her looking. At least Tech had the decency to blush, but Savvy didn’t blink.

She just prodded Tech in the side and said something to him, it being simple enough for Faded to catch onto the command.

Get her started.

“Now we all know what we need to do here today,” Tech said, again leaning on the speaker button. “Faded, do you have your lyrics?”

“Don’t need them dearie,” she said, tapping the spot over her heart. “Got it all right here. The pain helps to make me remember.”

“Err… alright,” Tech replied. Savvy just rolled her eyes. “Carry on then.”

It was studio policy to have the lyrics of the song in easy view of the singer if they hadn’t written it. A musician had their sheets, why wouldn’t a singer do the same? But to Faded, she had studied and practiced that song so much she could repeat it in her sleep, and probably cry at the same time thanks to the emotions it conjured up.

She wasn’t even sure she had done the right thing, taking on a piece not written by her. The blues flowed through her now and the living room—she couldn’t bear to use Silver’s music room—was littered with scraps of half-finished lyrics. She’d barely slept or eaten for two weeks, but she had created. After You’ve Gone had been the first, but more would come.

The writer had begged, pleaded with her to sing his song and she had relented. At least somepony should’ve gotten their dream to come true from the whole mess.

Glancing over her shoulder at the musicians, all of whom looked uncomfortable, Faded gave them a nod. Each one briefly shuffled their papers, before the pianist began.

Staring ahead at the blank wall, Faded counted down the bars. It was a surprisingly long musical intro, all of the instruments getting a decent showing before her voice came in.

But they inched towards her, their crescendo building and just as their swell reached its peak, she opened her mouth. She knew just the right note, just the right pitch. She needed a high note and if she did it just right then perhaps it could heal somepony who hurt like her.

A sob came out.

Faded didn’t even know how it happened, but she was bawling her eyes out, sobbing into the microphone as she rocked back and forth on the cushion.

Without warning, she was grabbed by her shoulders.

“Lofty? Speak to me,” the voice said, it strained with worry. They were gentle holding her, but they weren’t right. Only Silver got to hold her and he was all she wanted. He cheated on her, but Celestia she still loved him. It only made it hurt more.

“Get off me,” she gasped, swatting the reaching hooves away from her. Her hoof collided with a firm thwack, drawing a gasp of pain out of her assailant, who only then did Faded realize was Technical.

“Take it easy High,” he said, still reaching out to her despite the dribble of blood that ran down his hoof. “Just take it easy.”

The hoof touched her again, and that proved to break the camel’s back. Lashing out with all of her earth pony strength Faded’s hoof connected with Tech’s gut, the air busting out of his mouth.

Though the stallion tried to stay upright, all he could manage was a pitiful wheeze, before doubling over, clutching at his stomach.

Finally freed from his unwanted touch, Faded leapt to her hooves and bolted for the door, assailants bearing down at her, though their faces remained blurred by her tears. The rest of the musicians had scampered out of her way, clutching their precious instruments to their chests when possible.

Faded didn’t even know what happened but the next thing she remembered was staring down at the river that passed through the city, watching the cool blue waters bubble away happily. For a time she considered jumping in there, to end all the heartbreak and pain, but every time she took a step closer to the edge, she took one back a moment later. That battle, between self preservation and her sorrow lasted for hours, but just as night fell she pulled herself away.

Never again did she visit that river, the emotions it conjured up were too strong for her to bear. Not two days after her own encounter with the river, it claimed another victim, her own husband, who dived in and never resurfaced.

*****

“That was the last time I ever sang,” Faded said, her mouth set in a hard line. “I’d given my all to the blues by that point and it left me broken and alone.” She let out a low chuckle. “You know, it’s funny really. When I was a filly, I was obsessed with blues singers. I told everypony at school that when I grew up, I was going to be heartbroken.”

Vinyl chuckled nervously. “For real? What kind of kid says that?”

“This kind of kid Vinyl,” Faded shot back, tapping a hoof against her chest. “Besides, we all got strange ideas like that when we were young.”

“I guess so,” Vinyl said uncertainly, before grinning widely. “I wanted to be an aeronaut.”

“Of course you did,” Faded deadpanned. “Truly as original as I have come to expect from you Ms. Scratch. I suppose you also considered becoming a sky pirate at some stage too.”

“Well I might have,” the DJ replied, scratching her cheek, still smiling. “What of it?”

“Nothing, I suppose,” Faded said. “Seems you turned out more well-rounded than me.”

“Aw, you’re not that bad,” Vinyl said, not one hundred percent certain she should’ve been happy at the compliment or worried at the turn Faded’s mood was taken. “You got a bad lot. You took it rather well if you ask me.”

Though Faded laughed, it was bitter. “You don’t know the half of it Vinyl. You know that Faded isn’t even my real name.”

“Really?” Vinyl gasped, hoping her acting was holding up. That whole Lofty business had made it pretty clear to her something stunk with that.

“Oh lordy Celestia, pray tell, you don’t say,” Vinyl said, her voice high and breathy, while she fanned herself with a hoof.

“Well at least you didn’t say you wanted to be an actress,” Faded groused, shaking her head in disbelief. “Why in Equestria did you put on that stupid accent?” She held up a hoof. “You know, I don’t want to know.”

“So what’s your real name?” Vinyl asked, deciding to just rip that band aid off. She’d held herself back for ages by that point and she had to at least be a little forward. She wasn’t made of stone.

All the response she got was Faded humming the tune to the song as she had before. It was only then that Vinyl realized that it had always been the same one, After You’ve Gone.

“Lofty!” she shouted, too drained to bother being polite anymore. “What’s your name?”

To the old mare’s credit she didn’t flinch, just turned to regard Vinyl with cool stoicism. “How about you try that again?”

In response Vinyl rolled her eyes out of habit, forgetting they weren’t hidden like usual.

Faded said nothing.

“Oh, fine,” she huffed, her voice switching to a sugary sweet tone. “Ms. Faded Note, could you please, please, please tell me your real name?” To cap off the image she fluttered her eyelashes a few times.

It was Faded’s turn to roll her eyes, but she spoke sincerely. “It was High Note.”

“High Note,” Vinyl echoed, rolling the words around in her mouth to sample them. “And why did you change it?”

“It just… didn’t suit me anymore,” Faded said, shrugging. “Back before Silver, I sung without thinking. Just did it to fill up empty rooms or to make some friends smile. But after he was gone, I just didn’t do it anymore.” She nodded, as if to confirm the assertion with herself. “Faded Note suits me much better now. It’s what I am.”

“Look, High Note, can I ask you something?” Vinyl said, pointedly using her friend’s real name. It was strange to admit that High Note was a friend, but she supposed there was nothing else to call her. “How do you keep living like this? All the misery in it?”

“I suppose now I’ve got to get used to being called that again,” High muttered, she just managing to stop her lips from up turning into a smile. When she spoke again it was to Vinyl. “And I’m not sure, really. Guess I just put one hoof in front of the other and kept my head up.” She glanced down at her hooves. “And in a way, I enjoy it; reveling in my misery. It’s a comfort to me, and if it’s not there, the world just doesn’t make much sense.”

“You’re a real weirdo,” Vinyl replied, shaking her head. “I just can’t wrap my head around it. You liked it? You honest to Celestia liked hanging around inside this house for most of your life, moping about a husband that’s been dead longer than he was alive?”

Faded recoiled if struck, her eyes wide enough to show their whites. Despite her reaction, her words came out husky and low. “What choice do I have Vinyl? I have adapted. I’ve tried everything in my power to rid myself of my depression, but every time I seem to do away with it, it comes back, like a weed. I went to so many psychologists that I would’ve used up all my royalties if I’d kept going. I have volunteered in everything, from animal rescue to child care. Devoted most of my life to charity work. It gives me peace for a time, but it is not a cure.”

“You really believe that, I can hear it in your voice,” Vinyl said, looking at her friend with wide eyes.

When she got down to it she didn’t want to believe it, but she had no choice. The way High Note thrust out her chin made it clear just how serious the older mare was. To the DJ it was unfathomable, to live one’s whole life in such total misery, to give oneself so completely to one’s art that you destroyed yourself in the process.

Vinyl was not good at helping strangers, she’d know that for a long time. But there was something else she prided herself on, she was a damn good friend.

“But if that’s really the case,” Vinyl continued, forcing a wide smile, showing off her teeth. “Then I guess I’ll have to settle for being your next volunteer project.”

To prove her point, the DJ decided to do something drastic; though as she glanced at the record player, she felt a catch form in her throat.

“I guess… your music isn’t all bad,” Vinyl said, forcing the words out. “It meant something to you, and… if it helped me try and win Octavia back, it’s alright by me.”

High was silent, though she reached over to pat Vinyl’s hoof. “She’ll be lucky to have you,” she said, her eyes shimmering suspiciously.

“...Well?” Vinyl eventually said, giving the older mare a pointed look, while she struggle to keep a straight face. “Got something to say to me?”

“What’s that?” Faded replied, eyeing her up and down.

“You know,” Vinyl replied, nudging her a few times. “I say something nice, then you say something nice.”

Faded sighed, shaking her head. “Okay Vinyl, you win.” She took a deep breath. “You’re not a cocky no-good, and your music is perfectly fine. Not my cup of tea, but I can’t deny it means something to some ponies.”

“Not the best response in the world,” Vinyl said, leaning back with a smirk on her face. “But I’ll take it.”

“Haha,” High said dryly, before yawning. “Now if you’ll forgive me for being rude Vinyl, get out of my house. I’m an old mare, and frankly after today, I could sleep for an age.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going, I’m going,” Vinyl said, standing up and stretching out both of her back legs, before jamming her glasses back into place. “But seriously Lofty… thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” High replied, shooing her over to the door. “Now go on and get out of here. You’re young, and you’ve spent enough time hanging out with a washed up old mare like me.”

Vinyl nodded, heading over to the front door, but just as she pulled it open, she hesitated and looked back. “Same time next week?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” High replied, smiling. “And good luck with Octavia, I just hope you’ll let me meet her one day,” She smiled bitterly. “Or that if you ever need any advice, or Celestia forbid, a shoulder to cry on, you’ll come to me.”

The DJ winced, feeling a stab of uncertainty. She knew that the hard part hadn’t started yet, that she’d need to make sacrifices and go through some serious emotional stuff to ever stand a chance of getting Octavia back. But, Octavia was worth it all.

“Now don’t be so blue there Lofty,” she said, giving her a wink over the edge of her glasses. “After all, once it’s all done, the sun’s bound to shine.”

“Some folks can lose the blues in their hearts,” High sang back, a smile on her face. Her voice was dry and papery, rusted from disuse, but the DJ could still hear the same sad, beautiful voice under it all.

“I’ll make you proud, Lofty,” Vinyl said, giving a firm nod, before stepping out the door.

“I know you will,” the old blues singer replied.