I Love You More

Chapters

One of These Days
Dance!
She's An Alarm Clock
The Longest Road
Bloom
Hung Up
I Will Possess Your Heart
Marooned

One of These Days

Tonight is the night!

Vinyl Scratch was tired and sweaty from working until 3 AM, but that wasn't unusual. And she didn't mind. She was a DJ, and a very famous one at that. She was in demand and she loved her fans and her job and she poured all of herself into her work, pulling out all the stops, packing in the ponies from the club's opening in the evening until they forced the doors closed in the early morning hours. Vinyl's blockbuster shows usually lasted until 3 AM, plus all the time afterward she spent chatting with the club owner or hardcore fans. Vinyl loved her fans and they loved her and sometimes she'd go out for pre-dawn breakfast pancakes at a diner with some of the cooler ones after an especially awesome show. Breakfast pancakes smothered in syrup are the best food to watch the sun rise with other cool ponies.

But not after this set, not tonight. No chatter, no fans. No pre-dawn pancakes this night. When Vinyl had wrapped up her last set at three, Vinyl hadn't stopped to say a single word to anypony, not to her manager, not to the club owner, and not to all her waiting, smiling fans. She just packed up all her stuff into her travel box, waved a good-bye hoof at the lot of them, jumped off the stage, and flew out the door, out of the club, onto the street. Tired as she was, Vinyl ran the entire way back to her apartment, galloping along the early-morning-black streets of Canterlot. She couldn't wait to get home to her apartment. Today had been the big day, after all, and Vinyl couldn't wait to get back and see her marefriend. Her marefriend! Who was waiting for her!

"Bitty? Hey, Bitty!" Vinyl called out as she unlocked her apartment door. Vinyl hustled inside, levitating behind her the box containing her laptop and the rest of her DJing gear. Vinyl closed and locked the door behind her with a happy grin and looked around eagerly for her partner.

Vinyl and her marefriend were finally taking the next step in their relationship: moving in together! Over this past week, Vinyl had cleaned up her apartment, making it ready for the big move-in. Vinyl had personally scrubbed and swept the entire place, from the black tile floors, the eggshell-white walls, washing the tall apartment windows, vacuuming through the plush carpet, and got down on her knees getting gunk and grime out of every corner. Vinyl wanted the scene to be perfect. Vinyl's marefriend was sometimes particular about things.

The move had been scheduled so that Vinyl would be at work when the movers came. By the time Vinyl was done with her show and got back (now!) her marefriend would be all settled in. She had promised Vinyl that she would wait up all night for Vinyl and now Vinyl couldn't wait to see her.

Vinyl looked around her apartment with a satisfied smile. The place was swept and clean, the counters tidied, everything in the sink washed and sorted, trash taken out, everything made ready for her marefriend's arrival, the perfect scene, only one thing missing from this perfect picture. Vinyl put down her box of DJing equipment and called into the apartment. "Hey, babe, I'm back! Sorry it took me so long! I wanted to get out a little early but you know how it is."

Vinyl crossed into the kitchen area and to the refrigerator and opened the fridge door to get a bottle of water. Vinyl had cleared half of the refrigerator, pushed her food to one half of the glass shelves, dividing the fridge in exactly half. Vinyl's marefriend was very particular about her food and stuff and Vinyl was happen to accommodate, giving her half of the fridge space. Vinyl lifted out a bottle of water, popped the cap off, and took a cold drink. She closed the fridge door and wiped her forehead with the back of her hoof, pushing back her sweaty blue spikes. "Baby, you wouldn't believe this gig, it was so wild, it was like whoa! Ya know?" Vinyl took off her shades and tossed them onto the kitchen island, skidding them across the polished surface.

Vinyl looked around at the kitchen cupboards. Earlier that day, Vinyl had moved her own plates and dishes to half of her cupboards, making room for her marefriend's stuff. Vinyl's marefriend was really particular about her dishes and stuff. But the half of the cupboards Vinyl had cleared were still empty. Her marefriend hadn't put her stuff in the cupboards yet. It must all still be in her moving boxes.

"Bitty! Hey! Hey, Bitty, you asleep?"

Vinyl walked to the bedroom. The bed was still neatly made, just like Vinyl had left it this morning.

Vinyl looked around the bedroom. Vinyl had cleaned out her messy closet and cleared half into free space and emptied half of her dresser drawers, making room for her marefriend. Vinyl's marefriend was really particular about her clothes and stuff. But the closet door and drawers which Vinyl had left open- the better for her marefriend to put her stuff in- were all still standing open, and the half of the closet and drawers which Vinyl had cleared were all still empty.

Vinyl stared, non-comprehendingly. "Bitty? Where are you?" She turned to the hall.

The bathroom which Vinyl had scrubbed was still spotless. Vinyl had pushed all her toiletries to one side of the sink, making room for her marefriend's stuff. She was really particular about her toothbrush and stuff. But the cleared space next to Vinyl's stuff was still empty.

"...Bitty?" Vinyl started to get a sick feeling.

Vinyl went from room to room of her apartment, looking for her marefriend... or any evidence she had moved in or had even ever been there at all.

She wasn't here. Her marefriend wasn't here. There wasn't a single box of her stuff. Not a trace.

Vinyl felt nauseous and light-headed. What had happened? What had gone wrong? ...What had Vinyl done wrong?

Vinyl got out her phone and started to dial. But she noticed that she had a text. Vinyl opened it. She read it. And then she slumped to the floor and started to sob.

* *

"Bitter Blossom broke up with you in a text?"

"Yeah."

"The night you two were supposed to move in together?"

"Yeah."

"Knowing that you were going to be too busy to read it when she sent it?"

"Yeah."

"And told you she was cheating on you with whatsherface?"

Vinyl said nothing.

Neon heaved a sigh. "That's some serious phoenix juice."

It was late evening outside, a week later.

Vinyl Scratch and Neon Lights were sitting together alone in a big corner booth at their second-favorite club. Some decently danceable whistles and bass screeched and thumped pleasantly from the speakers over dance floor on the other side of the club. Red, green, and blue laser lights strobed and clickered and flashed through the murky air. Both Vinyl and Neon had drinks. Both were wearing sunglasses indoors.

Neon Lights was a fellow musician like Vinyl. Like Vinyl, he was a unicorn, but with a blue coat, black mane, unlike her white and blue. His mane was up in spikes like hers. His dark glasses were pushed up his snout like hers. He liked to wear button-up shirts with loose ties as part of his look because they made him seem cool and relaxed. He was wearing a black shirt and white skinny tie tonight.

Neon Lights played the same kind of EDM as Vinyl. He wasn't as well-known as Vinyl but he was going to get there someday soon. He was good and he had talent and Vinyl believed in him. He was a good guy. He listened to her. And he was pretty much the only pony who could keep up with Vinyl when she talked about the technicals of their music and Vinyl really liked that. They connected on the same level. Neon was Vinyl's BSGF: Best Straight Guy Friend.

Neon levitated up his drink and took a sip. "And you waited a week to tell me all this why?" He had to talk loud to be heard over the music.

Vinyl slumped in the booth, her own drink mostly gone. "Because."

"Because...?"

"Because I knew you'd do this?"

"Do what? Demand you come out with me and drink and make you tell me all about it so you'd feel better?"

"...Yes."

Neon tipped his head, clearly rolling his eyes behind his shades. "You're a real silly pony, V!"

Vinyl slumped forward until her unicorn horn thunked against the booth table. Her shades slid forward along her snout to click against the table's surface. She said nothing.

Neon gestured with his drink. "You better watch it. You'll give yourself hornitis if you keep doing that."

"Hornitis is a myth," mumbled Vinyl.

"No, it's totally not. I know this one guy whose friend got his horn caught in a door when another guy slammed it and-"

"Shut up. That's an urban legend."

"-totally splintered down to the base and there was blood everywhere." He took a drink. "True story."

"You can't break your horn. Like, ever. Everypony knows that."

"Ey, I'm just saying watch the horn, V."

She brought her hooves around to cover her face and sighed deeply into the table. "My horn isn't my problem, my problem is why do I keep dating mares who cheat and hurt me."

Neon took a drink. "Because... you keep dating mares who cheat and hurt you."

Vinyl was silent for a few moments before peeking out from behind her hooves. "What does that mean." She spoke in a dull monotone.

"What do you mean 'what does that mean?' It means don't date blueberry mares who hurt you."

Vinyl groaned and threw herself back against the booth seat. "I knew I was moving too fast. I shouldn't have asked her to move in with me."

The music in the club changed. A heavy kick came through the speakers. Vinyl sighed and preemptively rolled her eyes, knowing what Neon was about to say.

Neon tipped his glass towards the ceiling. "Hey, filly, they're playing your song. Literally!"

"You say that every time."

"Aww, you have it so hard that your bestest friend cracks a little joke every time he hears one of the millions of ponies play your multi-platinum record!"

"It only went platinum once."

"Yeah, and I only hit it with Celestia once." He took a drink. "I mean, if it would have happened twice that would have meant something, but just once? Total non-event. Barely even worth mentioning."

"I don't think the goddess-queen of ponykind dallies with mortals much."

"She can dally me any time."

"I bet she's into mares."

Neon put his drink down with a concerned look. "What? Why?"

"Because of you." Vinyl thrust an accusing hoof at him. "Ten thousand years ago she said 'in my alicornerific wisdom, I one day foresee the birth of a young colt named Neon Lights. Because he is so disgusting and stupid and annoying I will preemptively swear off the lesser gender. For all eternity.'"

Neon raised his glass and look a slow drink. He swallowed and put his glass down again. "I am not disgusting."

"You are."

"No, I just thought of at least ten dirty things I could have said in reply to that but I didn't."

She smirked at him. "That's why you are. Because you thought of them."

He smirked back. "Not because I have boy-parts?"

Vinyl smiled crookedly. "Those, too."

"Okay, whatever." Neon drained his drink, put it down on the table, and pushed his black sunglasses up his snout, and heaved a big sigh and leaned back in the booth. He and Vinyl were silent together for a minute, listening to her song coming from above the dance floor.

Then Neon cleared his throat. "Okay. V. Here's the truth: Bitter Blossom was a total blueberry. Alright? You shouldn't have dated her. But you did anyway. Everypony told you she was a blueberry. You knew she was a blueberry and you dated her anyway. You knew she was going to break your heart."

Vinyl's head slumped forward in despair with a thunk and a click.

Neon reached out slid her drink back from her head. "Hornitis."

"Shut up."

He leaned forward. "You knew she was a blueberry and you dated her anyway and that's your fault."

Vinyl groaned and covered her face up again. "Because I'm totally easy."

"You're not-" Neon huffed an angry sigh and pressed his hoof to his forehead. "You're not easy, V, you're just, like, a really passionate pony. Alright? You like to get drunk and go out with your friends, dance, party, party some more, make music, do shows, and whatever else the salamanders you feel like doing. You like to feel stuff. You're a romantic. You love easily. You love love. You love being in love. You're like that. Your heart has no gates. Or, like, there's no metaphorical lock on the metaphorical gates or whatever. Ponies get inside and they salamanders phoenix juice up."

Vinyl sat up and dramatically pressed a hoof to her chest. "Yes, behind this tough outside beats a sensitive soul!"

"A sensitive heart?"

"Yeah, that's what I said." She smiled for a bit but then the moment passed. She sighed and deflated again. She slumped, staring blankly at the table.

Neon watched her carefully but said nothing.

After a minute, she looked up and propped her forehead up on a hoof. "You know, I think I'm done."

"...Yeah?"

"I think she was the last one, dude. I'm, I dunno, tired. Tired of all this relationship nonsense drama, tired of all the politics and who's with who, who was with who, who wants to be with who, who's cheating on who and then being the one who's being cheated, fitting myself into the whole applesauce equation for however long I can keep it all balanced before it all falls apart under me. Again. All this politics: done. Me: done."

Neon nodded.

Vinyl raised her head. "I don't need a partner, right?"

Neon held his drink in front of his lips. "No, you're strong."

"I can stand on my own four hooves. You don't need a partner to live a happy life, right?"

"Definitely! You go, filly."

The two of them exchanged a look before Vinyl buried her head under her hooves with a groan and Neon leaned back and laughed.

"V, the sun's got as much chance of falling from the sky as you got not falling for the next mare you see."

"I'm such a scut."

"HEY! You're not a scut."

"Yes, I am. I'm a huge scut and I'm totally easy and I got to stop doing this. Stop dating."

"Hey." He reached out with a hoof and tapped the table to get her attention. "You got passion, V, and that's a good thing. You love like your ex never could and that makes you better than her, alright?"

They were both quiet for a minute.

"But... I need to not date ponies."

Neon rolled his eyes again. "No, Missie Melodrama, don't need to not date ponies, you need to date good ponies."

"And where are the good ponies." She raised her head.

"We're all straight and male! Hohoho!"

Vinyl slumped forward again and let out a loud groan. "Bwaaaaaahh, I haaate you!"

Neon grinned playfully. "Nah, you love me."

Vinyl looked up with a matching grin. "Yeah, I lo-"

Neon suddenly sat up, his grin instantly evaporating, craning his neck to look out across the club. "Aw, candysnaps." His voice went hard.

"Huh? What is it? More fans?" Vinyl raised her head, looking where Neon was looking.

"No, it's that one crazy mare again. She came by the club like ten times before." Neon pointed.

"Who?" Vinyl looked.

Across the murky club, between the tables and the chattering and the dancing ponies, prowled a tall, dark mare with a long, raven-black mane. She was impeccably groomed and her mane was beautifully and expensively styled. She moved with fluid, graceful steps, with poise and confidence, and always kept her nose at a just-so angle, head held at the angle of unspoken nobility and silent command. All of the party ponies around her took an unconscious step back from her presence, creating a ring around her. As the dark mare turned, Vinyl caught a flash of pink silk at her throat.

Vinyl stared at her, watching her move across the floor. Wow, she's so pretty.

Neon's hoof mashed onto the top of Vinyl's head, pushing her down. "Get low!"

"Ow, quit it!"

Neon lifted his chin up at the dark mare. "Look at her. She's like a shark. Her searching head is like a fin breaking above the waves of the crowd."

Vinyl struggled, trying to get another look at the mare. "Oh, wow, so do you write crickets lyrics to go with your crickets music now, too?"

"Quiet, she's looking this way!" Neon grabbed Vinyl by the mane and shoved her down and under the booth table.

"Ow, what the hay?"

"Shh!"

"Aw, nasty, get your swinger-thinger out of my face! Argh, it's filthy under here! Let me out!"

"No, shut up, she's coming this way. Pretend you're a wad of gum."

Vinyl crouched under the booth table and looked away while Neon spread himself on the seat into a posture that projected offensive casualness to observers.

The dark mare's scanning eyes had locked onto Neon and she walked across the club in a perfectly straight line, walking directly up to the booth. Vinyl admired the mare's polished hooves from her position under the table.

Neon smirked at the dark mare's approach. "Ey, how's tricks, crazy?"

"Where is she?" The mare's accent was posh and sophisticated and just-barely foreign but her voice was ice-cold towards Neon.

Neon levitated his glass to his lips with a smirk. "Where's who?" He tried to take a drink from the empty glass, frowned at it, and quickly replaced it on the table.

The mare pointed at the second, half-finished drink on the table. "That is a Canterlot Cobbler, Vinyl's favorite drink when she is out to clubs. I've seen her order it several times." Her voice was low and smoky and smooth like an old-time torch singer.

Neon shrugged with extreme nonchalance. "Yeah, sure, she was here. I admit it. But now she's gone. What do you want from me."

"Did she go to the lavatory? To her apartment? To another club? Which? When? With whom? Tell me."

"I think if she wants you to know where she was she woulda told you."

The dark mare was silent for a moment. "I know that you know."

"Yeah? And now I know that you know that I know that I know nothing. So unless you're going to get out the hoof-screws, we're done here. Toodle or jog on or whatever you do from wherever you came from." He flicked his hoof at her dismissively.

Silence. The only sound was from overhead music and the noise of the club-goers.

The mare reared up and slapped a hoof onto the table with a bang!

Neon jumped in his seat. Vinyl's head nearly hit the underside of the table.

The dark mare's voice was tight with emotion. "You're wrong. You're wrong! You have no right to come between us! Vinyl and I belong together! It's only a mistake that we're apart right now! Once I find her again, I won't lose her."

"What, are you going to tie her up and put a tracker in her back molars?" Neon sneered at her. "The filly is free, crazy. Leave her alone."

The dark mare leaned forward. Her voice had gone flat and emotionless. "You don't get it, do you. We're supposed to be together. Vinyl and I are two parts of a pair. It's not your place to interfere."

Silence from above. Vinyl kept a hoof pressed over her mouth but her eyes went wide. Who is this mare?

The dark mare's low voice was barely audible as she hissed to Neon. "Don't think to get between us."

The mare returned to four hooves and Neon unstuck himself from the back of the booth. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

The dark mare turned with a swish of her long, black tail and left. Vinyl noticed that she had an elegantly curvaceous music symbol on her flank.

"Nice bow tie," called Neon after her.

Vinyl popped her head up from under the table. "I think it's kind of cute."

Neon gave Vinyl a warning look. "Don't."

"Don't what?" said Vinyl innocently as she climbed back up onto the booth seat.

"Don't 'don't what' me! Stay away from her! That mare is loco in the coco on the crazy train to Badnewsville, with stops in Abandon-All-Hope Town and Bipolar-Psycho Central. She's toys in the attic, V! Over the rainbow! Big. Red. Flashing. Lights! Danger, danger!

"High voltage."

Neon threw up his hooves. "She threatened me! She said she was going to chop me into little pieces!"

"No, she didn't."

"Okay, yeah, she said it with her eyes, though! I could see it: the word MURDER was written in blood across the back of the insides of 'em."

"You're exaggerating."

He shivered. "Just... just no, V! Weren't you swearing off mares like two seconds ago? And what do you got in common with a stuffed-shirt aristo like her anyway?" Neon looked down at his empty glass and puffed out a breath. "I need another drink. Let's get the salamanders out of here. There's a way out the back you can't get to from the street so let's go to another club." He slid his way out of the booth.

Vinyl followed. "She seemed nice."

Neon floated over Vinyl's Canterlot Cobbler and finished what was left of it. "Yeah, from the knees down, maybe. All's I'm sayin' is that if in the next few days I disappear or you find me splashed in the gutter at the bottom of a building, don't believe the note: I didn't jump, I was pushed." He replaced her empty glass on the table. "Now let's get out of here."

Dance!

Two days later, Vinyl stared down at her phone.

Sudden gig out of town be gone fore one week stay safe

Vinyl sighed and groaned. "Neon, how can you stand me up like this?"

Vinyl was several streets over at their fourth-favorite club, the latest "safe" one, sitting in a booth, waiting for her Best Straight Guy Friend to show. Or at least she had been. Now he wasn't going to show. He had a gig. The text said so.

Vinyl had gotten to the club early, eager to spend more time with her friend. But he hadn't shown. And it hurt. And so instead of going back home and staring at the wall, Vinyl had decided going out alone wasn't just for losers, which was something Vinyl was definitely not. Going out alone was also for angsty and emotionally-damaged but brave, love-lorn loners on the rebound. Which Vinyl had just decided that she was. Yup.

Vinyl sat alone in the booth with her empty drink, reading and rereading the text from Neon she had received now almost an hour ago. It was a little strange of him to just get up and go without any warning, but Neon Lights wasn't like Vinyl, he wasn't an established artist yet, and he had to take work where he could find it. DJ-PON3 had made so much money that Vinyl never would have to work again for the rest of her life if she didn't want to and lived modestly. And Neon was going to get there someday, too. He just needed to make a name for himself was all. Vinyl considered herself something of a mentor to him as well as a friend.

She sighed and aimlessly flicked up through their text history. There was a nasty text from yesterday about that dark mare, Neon saying he had told her off. Neon sure hated that mare, that was no secret. But Vinyl couldn't really see why. Neon kind of started the whole fight with his rudeness, right? And hadn't Neon said the best thing about Vinyl was her passion? And Vinyl had a lot of passionate fans, usually looking for a selfie and a chat. And there was nothing wrong with being a fan, right? Eh, thought Vinyl.

She put her phone away and gave the club a disdainful once-over. This was Vinyl and Neon's fourth-favorite club because the music here tended to be lame and conservative and crowd-please-y. But the bass thumping through the smoky air and the flashing lasers still made the place home. And even though the music was lame, a bunch of ponies were on the dance floor, burning it up, making it bounce, kicking their hooves up, really enjoying themselves. And isn't that what's most important here? The fans? Eh, thought Vinyl.

Nothing was quite the same since her ex. It was harder to care.

Vinyl got up out of the booth and wound her way to the opposite side of the club, passing between noisy tables of clubbing ponies, and across the floor to the bar. It was half-full of sitting ponies and Vinyl hopped up and took a seat on one of the stools on the end, closest to the dance floor and the music.

A green-eyed pegasus barmare cutie with a lot of eye makeup, a string of piercings in her ears, and dyed pink feather-tips leaned over the bar with a mischievous grin.

"Ey, what'll it be, baby?"

"I don't know, a beer."

"I don't know a beer coming up!" She smiled engagingly with a little wink and turned away.

Vinyl rolled her eyes behind her shades. Everypony's a joker these days.

Vinyl drummed her hooves absently on the bar, waiting. And then it happened. Horrible music started coming out of the speakers overhead. Terrible music! Vinyl swiveled on her stool in disgust to confirm she actually was hearing what she thought she was hearing.

Yes, it was true. The club's DJ was playing a remix of "Canned Heat." Canned Heat! And ponies were dancing to it. This is a vicious crime against dance and against music. There should be a law that no DJ ever be forced to play that song ever again.

There was a crash and a short scream from the other end of the bar.

Vinyl put her chin in her hoof and regarded the dancing ponies with tired eyes. None of them seemed to be dancing ironically. They were really, actually, genuinely enjoying themselves. Eh. Vinyl mused to herself, sighing at the happy ponies. Am I becoming a music snob? Am I getting too concerned with appearances? Have I forgotten what fun is like? ...Is Canned Heat really that annoying of a song?

Vinyl's attention was drawn back to the bar by the arrival of her drink. But it was not a beer. It was a Canterlot Cobbler.

Vinyl looked up and gave a little gasp. Behind the bar was not the pegasus who had taken her order, it was the dark mare, one one from two nights ago, the one who had argued with Neon, and her eyes! The eyes of this mare! They were a piercing lavender, the color of wet flowers, like the kind you'd find under the steamy glass of a sweltering orchid hothouse. She was smiling a little at Vinyl, poised just so. Up close she was even more elegant and beautiful than before, with that long, black, glossy mane and that cute little pink silk bow tie. She had a small, secret smile on her face.

Vinyl was frozen.

The mare blinked long lashes at Vinyl and edged the orange drink closer to Vinyl with her hoof, those entrancing, magnetic eyes never leaving Vinyl's.

There almost an inner glow to those eyes and Vinyl had an impossible sense that those shining eyes could somehow see right through her sunglasses.

Vinyl levitated up the drink. "Hey, thanks," she said, playing it cool. Vinyl hefted the drink and took a sip. Her eyebrow jumped. It was good!

Nearby ponies had gone a little quiet and Vinyl looked up along the bar. More than a few of the ponies were staring at the two of them.

Vinyl looked back at the dark mare behind the bar. She was still smiling a small, secret smile. Her eyes had never left Vinyl.

Be cool, superstar. Vinyl cleared her throat. "Ey, filly, howyadoin'? Didn't know you worked here."

The mare's smile grew fractionally wider. "Ah, I guess you could say I'm helping out at the moment." She giggled. Sophistication was written all over her posh tone. Sophistication and that slight accent which was just a little bit exotic, making every word she said get your attention and hold it. Listen to it and let it roll around inside your head.

Vinyl took another sip of her drink. It was really good! "This is really good!"

The dark mare beamed and Vinyl thought tears were going to come into those orchid-colored eyes. "Ah! It makes me so happy to hear that! I studied a little mixology so I could be sure to make you the perfect drink if a situation like this ever arose."

"That's some pretty nice service." Vinyl took another sip, sneaking another glance to the side.

Ponies were still staring at them.

Vinyl glanced back at the mare and gestured with her head to the other ponies. "Are... you gonna to serve them? And where's that other bartender?"

The dark mare behind the bar was still looking at Vinyl, smiling her secret little smile. Vinyl wasn't sure if she'd even blinked once in two minutes.

"Oh, no," she laughed lightly. "I'm here to service only you. And she, well, I suppose you could say she's on a break!" The dark mare giggled.

"HEY! You there!"

Vinyl turned to see two burly stallions in tight black SECURITY shirts charge up.

"I'll see you later," whispered the mare behind the bar.

Vinyl turned to look at her but she had already vaulted the bar and dashed off into the dancing crowd. The security ponies followed her, vanishing into the crowd.

Vinyl spun on the barstool, leaning back against the bar with one elbow, sipping her floating drink, watching the crowd still dancing to the Canned Heat remix. When the song's chorus hit the word 'DANCE!' all the ponies on the floor reared and threw up their hooves. At that moment, from deep inside the crowd, there was the sound of a meaty impact and a stallion wearing a tight black SECURITY shirt went flying up out of the crowd through the air to crash through an unoccupied table against the far wall.

Vinyl turned slightly as four more security ponies charged past her, barreling into the crowd. After a few moments and several screams nearly drowned out by the music, a trio of unicorns in SECURITY shirts carefully walked backwards out of the crowd, their horns glowing. Levitating between the three of them was the dark mare from behind the bar. She was struggling and screaming obscenities.

"YOU NAPPY PEG-HEAD CANNERS! GET YOUR FILTHY STUBS OFF ME OR I SHALL BREAK THEM OFF AND GELD YOU BLOODY WITH THE JAGGED END OF oh hallo there, Vinyl!" As the mare floated past Vinyl, she stopped struggling and screaming and swearing and smiled pleasantly.

The security ponies slowly backed past Vinyl and the dark mare floated with them. Vinyl sat on her stool, sipping her drink, casually watching the process.

"Nothing to worry about, Vinyl, just a bit of misunderstanding with the staff here! It seems they don't think I'm WAIT I'M NOT DONE TALKING TO-" The mare flailed her limbs, trying to swim through the air back to Vinyl.

The security ponies reached the door to the club and they forcibly launched the dark mare out onto the streets.

Vinyl sipped her drink. She swallowed. "Huh," she concluded. That was weird.

* *

Two hours later, Vinyl had had enough of the crickets DJ (Vinyl had decided Canned Heat was an objectively bad song) and enough of their crickets drinks and decided to leave. Apparently their main bartender slipped and fell earlier and they had to call in a replacement and nopony knew how to make a Canterlot Cobbler as well as Vinyl's first.

Vinyl wasn't too clear on the details of the matter. Vinyl was wrapped in that warm, wonderful blanket of alcohol which makes all problems go away.

On uneven hooves, Vinyl opened the front door to the club, trying to get outside and leave. But her hoof slipped off the door and it closed too soon... but not before Vinyl caught sight of that dark mare outside on the sidewalk across the street. The mare was standing there, out in the night, apparently waiting.

Waiting for whom? It was a difficult question. Vinyl tried to wrap her blanket-y mind around it.

A big security stallion at the door noticed Vinyl loitering. "Can I help you, miss? You need me to call a carriage or you okay to walk?"

"No, there's, um," Vinyl collected her thoughts. "Hey, you know, the bar? Over there?" Vinyl pointed at the long piece of wood with stools in front of it and a bartender and lot of alcohol behind it.

The security pony stared at Vinyl. "Yeah," he deadpanned.

"Before, a little while ago, there was a mare behind it, a mare with a pink bow tie."

The security pony touched his face and Vinyl noticed he had the good start of a black eye. "What about her?"

"She's, you know. Outside. On the street? Now."

The security pony's eyes went wide and he stepped to the door and opened it a crack and peeked outside. "Well, well. Little Miss Judo Princess can't take a hint." The security pony looked down at Vinyl. "Wait here."

Vinyl, with nothing better to do, did so.

After a minute, the security pony returned and he and Vinyl huddled by the door, looking out of a crack at the mare on the street.

Soon, a black and white-painted carriage pulled around the corner, drawn by a pair of uniformed unicorn ponies, one of them red and one blue.

Vinyl, watching the arrival of the police, glanced back to where the dark mare was standing.

She was gone.

Vinyl searched the road and saw the mare's black tail disappear around the end of the block as she leapt nimbly over a watermelon which had fallen from a nearby vendor's stand.

The security pony next to Vinyl exploded out of the door and called to the police, forcefully gesturing up the street to where the mare had run. The two police ponies quickly unhitched themselves, leapt into the black and white-painted carriage, and lit up their colored magic to spin the carriage's wheels beneath them. Their horns flashed as the magically propelled carriage rocketed forward in pursuit of the mare, careening down the street, crashing through the watermelon stand at the corner before making a wide turn and disappearing from sight.

Vinyl was pretty sure the police ponies were making weeeoooh weeeoooh siren noises with their mouths.

The security pony was facehoofing. "Where's the Royal Guard when you need them."

Vinyl drunkenly patted him on the foreleg. "Hey. It's cool, bro."

He looked down at Vinyl. "You'll probably be safe now. You're that one DJ, right?" He gestured with his head out towards the street. "You should watch out for crazy ponies like her, you know? Obsessed fans."

"I dunno if she's a fan," mumbled Vinyl.

"But still." He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Vinyl extended her hoof. "You're a good stallion, sir."

He rolled his eyes again and bumped her hoof. "Have a pleasant evening, miss."

She's An Alarm Clock

Vinyl lived on one of the upper floors of an apartment complex on the outskirts of Canterlot. That meant she had a comfortable amount of money but wasn't an up-mountain snooty-snooty who walked with her nose up all the time and wore a top hat and monocle even when sitting on the toilet. Vinyl's apartment complex was clean, quiet, and had an elevator with mirrored walls so you knew the place was pretty fancy. But not too fancy. It was fancy enough that each room had magic sound bafflers so Vinyl could unplug her headphones if she wanted to and turn up her speakers pretty loud before somepony complained. Which was nice.

Canterlot was the arts capital of Equestria but ponies usually said that in regards to sculptures and paintings and orchestra music and other "fine" arts. A lot of rich ponies here liked to use their money to buy a good, charitable reputation by becoming the patron of an artist or two, giving their client enough money to do their artistic thing, thereby allowing the rich patron pony to claim credit for the art their client made. But a noble didn't get a "good" reputation by sponsoring anything that had been invented in like the last 300 years so that meant Canterlot's mainstream art was stuck in history. Which was lame.

Vinyl didn't have a noble patron, a fact which she was kind of proud of. She had an agent, sure, a promoter, but she signed on with him, and she could quit whenever she wanted to. Vinyl, or, more accurately, DJ-PON3, was supported by her fans, and that meant she could produce and play whatever art she candysnaps-well pleased. Vinyl enjoyed her independence. She was that kind of pony. And part of that being that kind of pony and having that kind of independence meant she got to sleep in really late. Which was great.

So it was that the next morning Vinyl awoke to a sudden, skull-rattling torrent of bass.

One night a while ago one of her electronics geek friends had playfully rigged a clock to a series of speakers around Vinyl's bed so that it played a random track from a playlist at a pre-set time. This morning's track was from one of her first releases, back when she was a new artist, and the track was still one of her favorites. The track was this "morning's" track in the loose sense that "morning" was the time she woke up- a healthy 1 PM. The music rumbled and thundered out of the speakers. It was impossible to sleep with it on.

Vinyl groaned and wrapped a pillow around her ears. "Mute," she said out into the air.

The music kept playing.

She raised a hoof and mimed pressing an "off" button.

The music kept playing.

She raised her hooves and gave them a sharp double-clop.

The music kept playing.

Vinyl growled. "Silence! Music off! Sound off!" Nothing. "MUTE, I say!" Nothing. "Mute, please?" Nothing. "...Celestia says mute??"

The music kept playing.

Vinyl sat up in bed and rubbed her sleep-clouded eyes. "I forgot I wasn't living in the future yet," she said to nopony in particular. She dragged herself out from under the covers and tripped across the room to the sound system's knob and turned it down to a less wake-the-dead volume.

She pressed a hoof to her forehead. Ugh, I drank too much. Vinyl's head ached and was thick and swampy and there was not a lot of room inside for thought. Or memories.

She patted at her bare face. My glasses. She looked around her ruined bedroom, opening cluttered closets and drawers, lifting crumpled clothing (more clothes underneath,) looking behind crooked nightstands (dusty extension cords,) under the bed (socks and empty cans,) and beneath a pile of sleeves without records in them (records without sleeves beneath.) Vinyl sifted through the mound of blankets and pillows on the bed amongst which she nested.

There they are. Vinyl pulled her shades out with a hoof. But they were bent. This was no good. Her glasses were still warm to the touch from being crushed under her fat flank all night. Vinyl sighed.

Vinyl lifted her glasses in her magic and focused. The magical aura around Vinyl's unicorn horn darkened as she channeled magic into the glasses. The metal and plastic popped as they unbent and smoothed themselves back into shape. After a few moments her glasses were like new and she unsteadily floated them over into her nose. She was a little out of breath as she pushed the glasses back up her snout. Her headache was definitely worse now. Vinyl wasn't used to channeling so much brute magic like that and especially not while mildly hungover so it took a bit out of her. Vinyl fought the urge to just turn around and flop back onto bed. Must keep waking up.

Her mouth felt like a sewer so she went and brushed her teeth. This made her feel a little better.

She looked into the mirror.

Vinyl was a unicorn but that didn't mean she was the picture of grace and beauty. Vinyl was a bit petite and she would allow herself to be called pretty, especially if she decided to actually put on makeup. But that was work and why bother putting on eyeliner every night when you're just going to wear sunglasses all the time? And why wear clothes when you're just going to be behind the DJ booth? It was easier to not. Vinyl had even got her naturally-streaked mane cut deliberately so that it fell in an awesomely spiky way when she did nothing at all to it. Especially including rolling out of bed after a night of drinking.

Vinyl liked easy living, living chill, not worrying about unimportant stuff like clothes and hair and stuff. It gave her time to concentrate on more important stuff, like her music. Vinyl had a mostly sedentary life and didn't starve herself and also basically had an alcoholic drink next to her own personal nutrition plate. Vinyl had a jiggle in her backside and a little chubby pony belly but that was okay because plenty of mares liked that- bellyrubs, you know. Mares liked her and Vinyl herself appreciated a good, solid flank.

And besides these assets, Vinyl had charisma. Ponies just liked her. She had charisma and a fantastic smile. Which was good because Vinyl enjoyed her life, enjoyed her work, and honestly had a lot of occasions to smile because she loved her job, fit in well to her little culture here on the outskirts of Canterlot and, well, she lived in Equestria. Good things happened here!

But of course, even in Equestria, alcohol was nopony's friend the morning after. Her eyes were red and bloodshot and it didn't help that Vinyl basically surfed on the edge of sleep deprivation every day with her DJ hours and sitting up late at her computer making music. So what she really needed now was to get over her hangover.

Water.

Vinyl went into the kitchen and opened her fridge and her stomach turned at the sight of solid food. Very definitely drank too much. Nothing looked appealing, not even the usually tasty and delicious vanilla pudding cups to which she had dedicated an entire crisper drawer.

She took a bottle of cold water out and sipped it, tossing the plastic cap out onto the kitchen island where it rattled among the heaping mound of empty bottles, cans, unwashed dishes, plates, utensils, and takeout boxes before settling in some unseen crevice within the pile of garbage.

This wasn't Vinyl's first hangover-rodeo so she thought of her go-to cure of a banana smoothie. She looked around the kitchen vaguely before realizing she had no bananas. And hadn't for a while now. Ugh.

Must go out shopping. And maybe pick up a coffee? Yes.

Vinyl rubbed a hoof through her mane and got ready to present herself to the world and went through her mental checklist of things she needed to do in order to complete her public image before she stepped outside her front door.

Item 1: Put on sunglasses. Check.

Alright, I'm good to go.

She took a long drink of water and then put the bottle on the edge of the kitchen island, pushing junk out of the way to make room. Vinyl stuck her head back into her bedroom, found and lifted up her phone from the floor, then turned and crossed to her apartment door and opened it. She floated the phone in front of her face and checked it for messages as she stepped outside, turned, and locked her apartment door.

Nothing more from Neon. That was a bit more unusual of him- just sending one short message last night and then nothing else for hours. Eh, he was probably just busy. But they were besties, right? She and Neon? They made time for each other. Whatever could have happened to him so that he couldn't send another message?

"Oh, hallo there, Vinyl."

The voice was low and warm and posh and sent a little shiver up Vinyl's spine. Vinyl jumped, making a very cute but uncool squeak, nearly dropping her phone. She whirled.

It was that dark mare from... sometime before, staring at Vinyl with entrancing lavender eyes, those rich, velvety-orchid eyes. The mare's soft black mane was perfectly brushed and her cute, crisp little pink silk tie was neatly fastened around her elegant throat. She smiled a small, secret smile.

Vinyl lost time, not knowing how long, before she realized that the mare had a large bag of groceries held in her foreleg. The bag slipped a bit and the mare struggled with it. "Bother!"

Vinyl jumped forward. "Whoa, hey, lemme help you with those!"

The dark mare smiled. "Ah, thank you! How fortuitous this is! You, leaving your apartment the very moment I need a helping hoof!" She tried to steady the bag but it slipped from her foreleg and started to fall.

Vinyl reached out with her magic and caught the bag before it fell, carefully keeping it upright. "Gotcha! Yeah, it's a nice coincidence, huh?"

"Indeed. Thank you, this is so very kind of you!"

"Nah, it's nothin'. Here." Vinyl floated the grocery bag over to the dark mare.

"Oh, would you mind holding it a moment? I've got to open the latch here." The dark mare turned to the apartment door across the hall from Vinyl's. She produced a key and fitted it into the lock (not easy for an earth pony) and opened the door a crack. Then she turned back to Vinyl and extended a foreleg, ready to accept the bag of groceries.

Vinyl helpfully floated the bag back to her and the mare reached out to take it but she didn't get good enough of a grip on it when Vinyl released her magical hold.

The bag fell and groceries went everywhere.

"Crickets!!"

"Oh bother again!"

"Aw, gosh, sorry. I'm sorry-"

"-no, it's alright-"

"-let me help-"

"-no, I've got-"

"-least I can do-"

Vinyl, not quite trusting her magic anymore, crouched across from the mare and used her hooves. They quickly picked up groceries one by one, putting them back into the bag. Vinyl picked up a package of sweet baby carrots, a baguette, a carton of orange juice, and then all that remained was an apple and she extended her hoof and reached out for it at exactly the same time the mare did and their hooves nearly touched.

They both retracted their hooves, waiting for the other to take the apple.

Then, seeing the other wasn't going to take it immediately, both again extended their hooves to take it at the same time, nearly touching hooves again.

They both froze a moment, before glancing at each other and laughing in embarrassment. Vinyl stood back up and let the mare take the apple and put it into the grocery bag.

Vinyl glanced away and frowned to herself, feeling a small flush of embarrassment in her cheeks. Oh my gosh, I can't believe we just did that! It's like something out of a romance movie. So lame! But a second part of Vinyl squealed and thought Ohmygosh, I can't believe we just did that! It's like something out of a romance movie! So cute!

Vinyl frowned harder and pushed her glasses up her snout. Shut up, second part of me! That's not cool! You're Vinyl Scratch, the infamous DJ-PON3! So act like it!

The second part of Vinyl said awww, hung her head in shame, and trudged off to her mental compartment in disappointment.

When Vinyl looked up after her little reverie, the dark mare was widely backing out of the apartment across from Vinyl's and locking it.

Vinyl's first thought was 'can-dy-SNAPS! Filly's got a luscious flank...' but her second thought was 'hey, doesn't Blue live in that apartment?'

"I didn't know Blue moved."

The dark mare turned, removing her wide, muscular, and oh-so-attractive behind from Vinyl's view with a slow sway and swish.

Vinyl had the vague recollection that somepony had just said something.

Vinyl looked up, away from the direction that hypnotic flank had gone, and blinked. "I'm sorry, did you just say something?"

The mare had a tiny smirk on her face. "I said that yes, Miss Sky is no in residence at this location."

Vinyl grinned. "Aww, good for Bluey! Finally sold one of her screenplays, did she?"

The mare smiled. "I'm sure it's something like that." She really did have an enchanting smile.

After a moment, Vinyl shook her head to clear it. Don't let this totally hot mare get to you, V! Quick, do something cool! "Uhh, hey! You know, dontcha think we should get all neighborly and know each other? You wanna get a coffee sometime?" Vinyl threw in a semi-suggestive grin to show that she didn't really care, you know, but she did care if you want to you know-you know, you know, right? Nice work, but don't say 'uhh,' it makes you sound indecisive.

The mare's eyelashes fluttered as if she had never considered the possibility of going out for coffee with anypony ever before. She looked into Vinyl's eyes and said, "yes."

Vinyl internally leaped up with a raised hoof. Yes! Alright! Great! But calm down! Externally she gave a confident, lopsided grin. "Sweet, how 'bout we met at-"

"Moosebuck Coffee! Let us meet there. It is my favorite coffee shop."

Vinyl closed her mouth for a moment. "Wow, that's... so weird! That's exactly where I was about to say!" And it's my favorite, too.

The mare beamed. "Oh, how delightful! It's like we already know each other, isn't it? What say we meet tomorrow at 1 PM."

"Yeah, and that's exactly when I'm free." And not too early to wake up.

"Wonderful!"

"Yeah!"

They smiled at each other from across the hall, only a length away.

After a moment, Vinyl blinked. You're acting like an idiot again! Do something to stop looking clueless! "Oh, haha, sorry, you were, um, going into your apartment, weren't you. ..Right?" That didn't help!

"Yes, I suppose I was." She smiled a small, secret smile at Vinyl.

"Well," Vinyl started to back down the hallway, towards the end with the elevator. "I guess I'll see you then I guess. Filly."

"Yes."

Vinyl turned and pressed the call button on the mirrored elevator and the polished doors opened with a cheerful little ding!

Vinyl got onto the elevator car and turned back. The mare had unlocked her apartment door and was half inside.

"Hey!" called out Vinyl.

The mare turned and looked out of her room. "Yes?"

"I actually just realized I don't even know your name."

The dark mare put a hoof to her mouth in surprise and tittered. "Oh! How inexcusably rude of me!" She smiled at Vinyl, those orchid-colored eyes twinkling. "My name is Octavia."

The light in the overhead of the elevator car buzzed and flickered off for a moment.

Vinyl glanced up at it. When she looked back down, the hallway was empty and dark mare's- Octavia's- apartment door was closing.

The elevator doors made a cheerful little ding! and closed in front of Vinyl. She could see her own reflection in the polished doors, grinning like an idiot.

The elevator made a soft hum as Vinyl descended.

The Longest Road

The next day, Vinyl trotted down the street towards Moosebuck Coffee and her appointed meeting with Octavia. The warm yellow summer sun was out and Vinyl smiled to herself.

Octavia. Octavia. Octavia. Vinyl rolled the name around inside her head, savoring the unspoken feeling of it on her mental tongue. 'Octavia.' It sounds... complicated. A complicated name for a sophisticated filly who has good taste in mares (me) and with a lustrious flank capable of inducing hypnosis in even the most worldly of DJs. And I've got a date with her! Wait no it's not a date it's just coffee and not a date no definitely no so let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Just... two neighbors, enjoying a cuppa-cuppa together. Only that and nothing more.

But still. This Octavia filly? She was just about Vinyl's perfect mare.

Well, Vinyl had several perfect mares: the skinny punk-indie club filly in black with half her mane back and piercings and rebellious, aggressive eyes full of frustrations she needed to work out who would grab Vinyl off the dance floor, kick open the back door of the club, shove her up against the wall of the alley and then-

And the cute little grocery clerk who would tell Vinyl that they had some more of what Vinyl was looking for in the back if she wanted to get some, and she would link her tail with Vinyl's and push through the swinging doors into the stock room and then turn fierce and grab Vinyl and sit her up on a cardboard box and then-

And the tall, stern, high-powered executive with her mane up in a severe bun who would send a fancy carriage for Vinyl and whisk her up to a penthouse apartment and try to bluster Vinyl and tell Vinyl she ought to sit down and be a good little filly and put on the saddle but Vinyl would grin in a predatory way and turn the tables and push her down onto an expensive couch and peel her out of her business jacket and then-

And the rough and tumble outdoorsy one who would take her hiking into the foresty mountains and on shaky legs they would bathe in a cold mountain stream to wash the sweat from their bodies and then, hundreds of miles from civilization and dripping wet, they would find a bed of soft pine branches and then-

Octavia was the glamorous one who would take her out to a classy restaurant and order wine with a perfect accent and then, eyes smoldering at Vinyl from over the single candle at their little table, lecture her on art and literary theory and global socioeconomics until Vinyl was all flustered and Octavia was out of breath and they would both leap up and dash to the restroom just as their food arrived and slam the door shut and ram the bolt shut and Vinyl would push Octavia against the counter and then-

Vinyl paused on the sidewalk to press the back of her hoof to her forehead and blow out a long sigh. No. No, just stop. Reality was never like a fantasy, unlike all those narrow little red romance novels which Vinyl definitely did not buy and if she did it was as a joke. Vinyl was just going to have accept whoever this Octavia filly really was, flaws and all, and not expect her to act like Vinyl's personal perfect fantasy mare. No dates. No fancy restaurants. No passion in the restroom. That will never happen, Vinyl told herself.

* *

Vinyl pushed open the big glass door to Moosebuck coffee. The place was made of bright sunny windows and rustic-looking wood and had little polished tables with red-and-black plaid cushions for ponies to sit on, like it was some big north woods cabin. Ponies sat alone or in pairs, chattering with each other and/or snacking on tasty cookies or deliciously flaky pastries. Almost everypony had coffee. They had good coffee here. No surprise Octavia liked this place, too!

Octavia. Where is she? Vinyl scanned the shop until she saw the mare herself raising a hoof to Vinyl, ears perked up and bright eyes smiling, happy just to see Vinyl. Octavia had scored a table right in the center of the floor which was one of the good tables you always wanted because it was easily accessible from two sides. The tables near the walls were a little cramped and it was sometimes hard to get in and out of them. It was a relief to see Octavia had somehow managed to get one of the nice tables. Vinyl pulled up a plaid cushion.

Octavia had a small plate of cookies in the center of the table. But not just any cookies: cinnamon oatmeal cookies. Vinyl's mouth instantly started watering.

"Oh, sweetness. Cookies, oatmeal ones! I love these!"

"Oh, do you? How strange, they're my favorite, too!" Octavia smiled in delight.

"Can I...?"

Octavia pushed the plate over towards Vinyl and Vinyl floated one up and, with no manners or preamble whatsoever, just jammed it right into her mouth. Om! The sweet and heavily cinnamony flavor rolled over her tongue into her throat up into the back of her brain and Vinyl groaned in wanton pleasure. "Mmm... sooo goood!" Vinyl swallowed and immediately reached to the plate for another cookie before realizing herself and glancing at Octavia.

Octavia had a little smile on her face, watching Vinyl eat, and gestured with her hoof as if to say 'no, go ahead.'

Vinyl needed no further encouragement and stuck a second cookie in her mouth, savoring the still-warm sugary sweet softness of its oaty center. This was bliss, this was heaven. A cookie in your mouth and the only thing that would make it better would be-

There was a clink and Vinyl opened her eyes to see a barista departing. A barista who had left a cold glass of milk on the table. Vinyl's eyes went wide and round.

"This was going to be for me, Vinyl, but I can see you need it far more than I." Octavia slid the glass of milk over towards Vinyl with a dark hoof.

Tears of gratitude bubbled in Vinyl's eyes as she took a swallow of milk. The contrast of cold milk with the residual cookie-warmth in her throat was profoundly satisfying, as well as the faint feeling of the two hot and cold mixing down in her stomach.

This is already the best coffee-meet ever, thought Vinyl. "This is already the best coffee-meet ever."

Octavia's little smile grew and she tapped her hooves together in pleasure. "I'm so glad to hear that!"

Vinyl bit into a third cookie, savoring it and sighing in contentment.

"I wonder if it means something," pondered Octavia, "that we share such interest in treats."

Vinyl shrugged. She spoke around a cookie. "Oatmeal cookies are objectively the best cookies. It just means you're a reasonable pony to recognize their awesomeness."

Octavia nodded in agreement. She reached a hoof down to the plate and took a cookie and slowly brushed it against her lips. She gently took the edge of it into her mouth, lips working against the body of the cookie as she slowly but firmly used her tongue to tease the edge off of the soft, warm cookie.

Vinyl watched her carefully.

Octavia chewed slowly and pointed a hoof at Vinyl's lower abdomen.

Vinyl quickly looked down. Octavia was actually gesturing at the milk on the table. Vinyl slid the glass over to her.

Octavia swallowed her mouthful of cookie. "Thank you."

Vinyl picked up a fourth cookie, glancing between it and Octavia. Am I being a glutton? Am I enjoying these cookies too much? She considered for a fraction of a second before dismissing the idea. Enjoying cookies too much? Impossible.

Vinyl glanced at Octavia and her eyebrow twitched. Had Octavia just rotated the glass of milk so she was drinking from the same spot Vinyl had? That would be a little weird. But Vinyl couldn't get a clear view of the glass. Anyway, what did it matter. Cookies were good. She bit deeper into her fourth oatmeal cookie. Mmmm! Cookies!

After a minute or two, all the cookies were gone. Then Vinyl remembered her manners. Was she being rude? She reached for her money, fishing a bit or two out of her little pouch. "Should I...?"

Octavia held out a forestalling hoof. "No, no. Please. It's my pleasure."

Vinyl stopped and put her hooves back on the table. It's only a bit or two, nothing to worry about. She sighed in relaxation, delicious, delicious cookies swimming in her stomach.

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment.

"So..." Vinyl made a sigh of total contentment and flipped a lazy hoof. "What do you do?"

Octavia raised an eyebrow, not understanding for a moment. "Oh! My employment. Yes. My apologies. My name is Octavia Melody-Philharmonica."

Vinyl nodded, grinning. "Yeah, and I'm Vinyl Scratch, also known as DJ PON-3."

"Yes, I hadn't heard of you."

Oh, was I supposed to have heard of her? "So...?"

"I'm a musician in the Royal Canterlot Symphony," she explained.

"Ah. That's... good, right?"

"Yes, as far as symphonies go it's really rather good. Certainly the best in Equestria. I'm rather well-known in certain circles."

Vinyl puffed up her chest. "Yep, you probably heard of DJ PON-3 before, you know, somewhere before. That's me, by the way." She thrust a hoof at her own chin and grinned.

Octavia smiled politely. "I'm terribly sorry to say I really hadn't heard of you."

Vinyl's grin turned brittle and she deflated. She quickly shrugged it off. "Eh, that's fine. Not everypony's hooked into the latest and greatest." Not heard of DJ PON-3? Impossible! Where's this mare from? The moon? Nopony hasn't heard of the DJ!

Octavia was getting up off of her cushion. She looked down at Vinyl. "Now you stay right there and don't move at all. I'm going to get us some coffees, alright?" She grinned down at Vinyl.

"Sure."

Octavia leaned in, nose nearly within nuzzling range of Vinyl. Vinyl's eyebrows went up in surprise. Wow, she's close!

Octavia smiled sweetly. "Don't. Move."

"S-sure thing."

She turned with a bright smile and trotted towards the shop counter.

Vinyl watched Octavia go, staring openly and shamelessly. Sweet celery stalks! That flank...!

Vinyl marveled at it, watching Octavia rear up at the counter and put her hooves up on the counter's surface to point something out to a barista.

Yes, oh yesss, those are some seriously well-developed muscles in her hindquarters! Did she say she was a musician? What does that mean? Does it mean she's on her back legs all day? Standing? Geeze, that must be a work-out. I mean, an outrageous flank like this is beyond normal earth pony shapeliness. Those are the kind of legs that'll break your neck if you're not careful.

Octavia returned, carefully balancing on her head a small cardboard holder with two coffees in it. She lowered her head to the table, sliding the cardboard holder onto the table.

She looked through her lashes up at Vinyl and spoke in a low tone.

"You take it sweet, don't you."

'I take it however you give it to me' almost fell out of Vinyl's mouth. "Um," was what she actually said. "Yes. Please. Thank you."

Octavia returned to her red-and-black cushion with one of the coffees.

Vinyl took the remaining coffee and let it sit on the table in front of her. Vinyl idly turned the coffee around and around in front of her, touching the too-hot sides of it with the tips of her hooves, waiting for it to cool. Did her cheeks have color in them? Was she blushing inappropriately? Must not let Octavia know my lewd inner thoughts. Don't screw this up, V. A classy mare like this is probably more than a little prudish. Can't let her know I want to-

"I like it how you like it, Vinyl- hot and sweet. And I don't like to wait."

Okay, that could mean anything. Vinyl glanced up at Octavia.

Octavia ran the tip of her hoof around the rim of her coffee cup. Her orchid-colored eyes were smoldering, staring straight at Vinyl, somehow making eye contact directly through Vinyl's lenses.

Vinyl gulped hard.

Octavia's eyes cleared and she smiled innocently. "I mean my coffee, of course!"

Vinyl let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "Shyeah. Of course." She laughed nervously. Was I imagining things or what? Am I blushing? Crickets, I'm sure I'm blushing now. Curse this pale coat, it hides nothing! Keep it cool, V.

"So," began Octavia, "Ms. DJ PON-3. What precisely does a DJ PON-3 do?"

"Well, I, uh," Vinyl's brain rattled as it shifted several mental gears over, "Um, I compose music, though probably not like you'd think of it. I also play music live."

"Oh, really? How do you do it?"

"I don't use like a quill or paper and dot out a series of notes. I compose on a computer. It's, like, really complex and you need a lot of expensive software to get started."

Octavia tipped her head to the side. "Wow, that sounds hard."

Vinyl nodded and sighed. "Yeah, it can be. But I'm pretty good at it. I got all the best hardware in my music room, top of the line programs and stuff. I typically got a little arrangement with equipment manufacturers going where I get to demo out their hardware before it even gets to market."

Octavia's eyes twinkled. "Mmm. Tell me about your work."

Vinyl grinned and kicked back on her seat. "How much time you got?"

Octavia touched the rim of her coffee cup, eyes sparkling at Vinyl. "I'm all yours," she said. And smiled.

Vinyl looked off into the air and tapped her chin with the tip of her hoof. "Alright, so where to begin? I guess it all started at a concert where I saw my first keytar and sat so close to the stage I went deaf for three days..."

* * *

Their coffees were long gone and Vinyl was still talking. Octavia had propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hooves. Octavia nodded periodically and pursed her lips ever so often, tipping her head slightly from side to side as if in thought. Occasionally she would stop Vinyl and repeat back something Vinyl had said using different words in a questioning tone. Vinyl would smile and nod rapidly and explain further to her. Octavia would nod slightly and look up at the ceiling, apparently lost in deep understanding.

Vinyl loved talking about her work. Vinyl's work wasn't actually really work, it was her passion. There was absolutely nothing better than stepping onto that live stage in the club, kicking in the bass, and just plain making everypony jump and lose themselves, have the crowd in her hoof, making them dance, and their energy feeding back into her and making her spin. It was a symbiotic thing, where you shared power, the power that connected every pony to everyone else, that made them all work as one. That's what Vinyl did on the floor, up in the DJ booth. She worked magic. That was what real magic was, in the club, on the dancefloor, she and a packed house of dancing ponies, every single pony there moving together to a single pulsing beat.

But Vinyl also knew plenty of ponies didn't like her kind of music, her "noise," wouldn't even give it a try, and most of them were over-brushed, upper-class snooty-snoots. On first glance, Vinyl would have thought that this Octavia mare was one of those wound-up aristocrats who had forgotten what it was like to actually feel an emotion beyond smug superiority, but that was very much not the case.

Octavia was rapt, paying close attention to Vinyl what Vinyl was saying. Vinyl wasn't quite sure whether Octavia was interested in what Vinyl was saying... or in Vinyl herself.

Maybe "rapt" wasn't the right word. Vinyl didn't know. Octavia was hanging on every single thing Vinyl said and did, eating her up with her eyes, drinking in every flex and press of Vinyl's lips, every bob of her tousseled, bed-head mane, every hoof gesture she made to punctuate a point or to push back up her sliding glasses. She smiled every time Vinyl smiled, and laughed whenever Vinyl laughed. Octavia had even forgotten to drink her coffee before Vinyl pointed it out.

They were from two completely different worlds. Octavia very clearly did not have the slightest clue about DJing or electronic music or really anything Vinyl did... but that didn't seem to matter to her. There was something that drew her, something that bridged the gap between them, something wonderful, something that made Octavia not care a single bit about their differences. And that was... nice. Being the object of such interest from such a beautiful mare who had no other reason to care except Vinyl herself?

It was... flattering.

Octavia was hot. Like, really hot, but not just hot. She was elegant. Her poise, controlled grace in every little motion she made. Her easy, beautiful smile caught and held Vinyl's eye and her laughter... it was a pleasure just to hear it. Vinyl wanted to keep hearing it. Vinyl really wanted to keep make her smiling and laughing so she kept talking, peppering in quips and sarcastic remarks, trying to zero in on Octavia's sense of humor. That little pink bow tie was insanely cute, Vinyl didn't even know how it was possible for a mare to wear a tie so well. And every time Octavia would lean forward, Vinyl would catch the slightest scent of fresh lilacs.

Octavia was never awkward. All of her movements were smooth and deliberate, like she was in complete command of herself and her body. Vinyl wondered if she was a dancer or something, like she had training or conditioning or something in sports or whatever. Maybe that was common for her type? Was it weird for well-bred, sophisticated mares to be so fit, so strong, so powerful? Did nobles still sword fight... or whatever they fought with? Was dueling still a thing?

She was captivating. That's the word. Just the way Octavia brushed back her mane when it slipped down over those amazing eyes, unconsciously pushing it back over her ear. Those eyes. There was something about them. Something Vinyl couldn't explain.

Vinyl wore her sunglasses but whenever Octavia looked at her with those eyes, when her gaze flicked up from something the table to Vinyl, Vinyl felt like her face was bare, exposed, vulnerable, like Octavia could see right through her. It made her breath catch. And she wasn't sure how she felt about that. Vinyl liked to keep others at a bit of a distance... she tended to get attached otherwise. But distance was nothing to Octavia, not when she looked at Vinyl with those mysterious eyes. It felt impossible to keep anything from Octavia.

There was something about Octavia, something strange and fascinating and enticing. Like she had a secret. Something beneath the beauty and the grace, something inside her heart, something she'd only share with someone she'd love and trust.

Vinyl kind of wanted to find out what that secret was.

At some point Vinyl had stopped talking and just gazed at Octavia, entranced. And Octavia returned the gaze, a secret little smile on her face.

Vinyl started smiling, too.

They held each other's gaze for a long few moments before unpleasant memories crept into Vinyl. Memories of Vinyl's ex. Her. And the empty apartment. And then the moment was broken.

"Um," began Vinyl.

"Let's go out!" blurted Octavia.

Vinyl's eyes went wide. "Uh, w-what?" A heavy blush heated her cheeks.

Octavia looked down at the table, cleared her throat, pressed her hooves together and composed herself. "What I mean to say is... Vinyl Scratch, would you please give me the pleasure of your company at dinner tomorrow evening? I'd... appreciate it. Awfully." She looked up with those magnetic eyes and Vinyl's heart leapt in her chest.

Yes! Yes! Yes! I'd love to! Gosh you're so hot and I want to know all about you but wait yeah first let's go out but wait am I moving too fast? But she is the one doing the moving here! But if I go along with it I could still be making it go too fast, again! And I don't want what happened before to happen here! But this feels different than before, so could it end up different? Argh! But Neon doesn't like Octavia and told me not to but things are different for guys especially straight guys but what about all that he said about my heart and being too open...! I'm blushing aren't I? Crickets, I AM!! Oh gosh she knows what I'm thinking!!

"Um," said Vinyl, articulately.

"You don't have to answer right away," said Octavia, looking down at the table. Then she looked up through her lashes and fixed Vinyl on those shining, orchid-colored eyes. "But I think we both know what you're going to say." And she smiled.

OH MY GOSH YES! No, wait, NO! Play it cool, V, PLAY IT COOL!

Vinyl readjusted her shades and tried not to let her hoof shake. "Whoa, baby, uh, don't you think we're...?"

Octavia stood, sliding her cushion back. She firmly placed a hoof on the table, looked down, and gazed into Vinyl.

"The Garden on West and Mane at seven tomorrow. I know you'll be there."

Without a single word or backwards glance, she turned and swished away.

Vinyl, open-mouthed and stunned, watched her turn, watched her cross the shop, watched her open the glass door, then watched her through the door until she was out of sight.

Then Vinyl fell back into her seat and started fanning herself.

That lustrious flank.

Bloom

Up or down? Up? Down?

Vinyl had the back of her mane cinched in her magical aura. It was just after six the next day and Vinyl was doing what she hadn't done for another mare in a long time: standing in front of a mirror and fussing with her mane. It was the evening of Vinyl's definitely-a-date-this-time with Octavia about which Vinyl was very happy about also nervous. Mostly nervous right now.

Vinyl pulled her mane into a low, stubby ponytail at the back of her head, hanging so it brushed against her neck. Dumb. No. She relaxed her aura and shifted her grasp, pulling her mane into a high tail near the crown of her head. Her spiked hair splayed in all directions. This makes my head look like a pineapple. Ughh.

Vinyl's unicorn horn hummed as she used her magic. She tried pulling her mane in pigtails (too short,) pushing it up (too long,) smoothing it back behind her ears (just fell forward again,) or brushing it to one side (nuh-uh,) and then to the other side (nope.) She tried it with glasses on and then glasses off. After almost a half-hour of fussing, Vinyl had to admit to reality: her manecut was just too short to be styled into anything that looked even halfway decent! At least on such short notice. Short and spiky hair was great for... the short and spiky hair look, but Vinyl didn't have anywhere near enough time to go to a salon! Why didn't I think of this earlier?!

Vinyl was sure there was something amazing she could to do herself with a few swipes of styling gel which would transform her into just the right I'm-still-the-mare-you-wanted-to-ask-out-but-oops-did-I-just-accidentally-hint-I-have-hidden-depths-and-wouldn't-you-like-to-find-out look. Because that was something you could say with a hairstyle. And it was something she wanted to say tonight. But really the only trick Vinyl could do with this mane was casually/glamorously flip it back out of her eyes and Vinyl's date did that trick well enough for the both of them. Vinyl drifted for a moment. Octavia's black mane, pushing it back over her ear... wait, no daydreaming! Focus!

Vinyl gave up on styling her mane- she didn't want to risk saying anything else with a few wrong swipes of gel. I guess she gets the DJ PON-3, sighed Vinyl. She released her grip on her mane and it fell forward into its well-known spiky state. But that doesn't mean I can't change it up. Let's do no glasses tonight. Okay, let's see if I remember how to do this...

Vinyl opened her cosmetics drawer and started rooting around. She wouldn't have been surprised if there was dust all over this stuff. She found her mascara and floated out the little bottle. Her eye twitched as she noticed the cap was loose. No no no... She pulled out the brush and thick black clumps came out. Ruined! Argh! When was the last time I used this?! Okay, okay. When it comes to makeup, less is more, right? No mascara. It's fine. Calm down.

Vinyl got out her eyeliner brush, regarding the stabworthy angle of its black tip. She saw it in her mind: her horn and magical aura shaking with nervousness, the sharp point of the brush sinking deep into her red, oozing sclera. The image of it repeated over and over, stabbing herself in the eye over and over, the vision of it making her more and more nervous (consequently making her magic shake more and more,) until she dropped the brush back into the drawer in defeat and slammed it shut.

Vinyl stared defiantly into the mirror at her reflection. This right here is what she asked out, this is what she's going to get. I didn't need makeup to get all those other mares... all of the ones who were wrong ...oh my gosh was not wearing makeup my mistake all along?! Was that why I could never find a good mare and why I got cheated on no wait that would be silly. Oh gosh, I sure hope Octavia still likes me without makeup.

Vinyl gazed into her mirrored reflection's eyes, giving herself a hard stare. Okay, breathe. Be calm. Be cool. you're a not a dumb filly anymore you're a grownup and a musical superstar sensation and it doesn't matter. If she's going to lo- to like you, she's going to like you for you and that's all that matters.

Vinyl turned and clicked off the lights in her bathroom.

She went into her bedroom and sat her rear down on the edge of the bed, floated her phone up, and checked for messages. She had sent one to Neon over an hour ago and she had got no response yet. it was now going on three days since her so-called bestie Neon had contacted her. No calls, no texts, no nothing. Which was irritating. It was irritating because Vinyl was going to start worrying about her friend soon, and that was never fun. Neon, as a male and non-hot-mare, was supposed to be the neutral, no-drama zone in her life.

Vinyl turned her phone upright, flipped through her Frequently Contacted list, and dialed Neon.

Ring...

"Ey, it's Neon, leave a message-"

Ugh! Vinyl terminated the call with a groan. Neon, you mule, answer me! Don't shut me out, bro, she mentally pleaded. Vinyl sighed and put her phone away.

Why in the world is Neon not responding to me? Is something going on? No, worry about one thing at a time. Vinyl shook her head in frustration. Then she put these questions aside and her thoughts turned back towards this evening.

It's going to be seven soon. It's time. Time to go meet Octavia! Vinyl stood there alone in her darkened bedroom, stomped all four of her hooves, and squared her shoulders, huffing out a big, shivering breath, hyping herself up. She reached out to the dresser with her magical aura and scooped up her big, purple sunglasses. She looked straight ahead as she lowered them down over her eyes. This is happening. It's a date, just a date. Be cool, be yourself. Relax. Put it all out of your head. Everything's going to be fine.

Vinyl exited her apartment and locked the door behind her. The hall was quiet and empty. She felt better already, actually taking the physical steps out of her door, committing herself. She used her unicorn magic to reach out and hit the elevator call button before she even got near it and got into the elevator car. With a gentle hum the car soon opened and with a cheerful ding! she was in the lobby. Vinyl pushed out of the front doors of the apartment complex into the warm dimness of the late summer evening.

She pointed herself in the direction of up-mountain. Far, far away, the Royal Castle grew out of the point of Mount Canter, silhouetted against the milky sunset clouds. And somewhere between there and here were West and Mane Streets. Vinyl started walking.

Walking cleared Vinyl's head, walking and fresh mountain air. You got a lot of those living in Canterlot. It was warm and humid out. In the fading light, Vinyl felt weightless, like she was floating, like her hooves were barely touching the stone and she would just drift away.

Vinyl turned the tangled mess of it all over in her head.

Vinyl was really looking forward to this dinner for reasons, several of them. Not including that cute pink bow tie and Octavia's massive, molten hotness. Those long lashes veiling bedroom eyes, Octavia laying back on white sheets, black mane pooled across the pillow, a seductive smile on her face, beckoning me to ugh stop fantasizing already!

Octavia's flank... I mean her hips... I mean her cutie mark... a curvaceous treble clef, music... Her talents. And also her mystery.

This Octavia mare. She was definitely musically-inclined, and was apparently pretty successful in her little upper-class world, but didn't care at all about Vinyl's very-real and profitable success in Vinyl's own musical field. Octavia was into Vinyl, just like a whole lot of other mares who were DJ PON-3's fans. And also like ambitious Canterlot ponies with some power and money were interested in getting more power and money. But Vinyl didn't have the sense that Octavia was a star-struck EDM fan, and she didn't seem like a climber either, trying to latch onto DJ PON-3's success. Sometimes it seemed to Vinyl that these days either of those were the only kind of ponies she ever met in Canterlot, fans and climbers. And that got real boring real fast. And lonely.

Octavia had seemed interested in Vinyl (very interested!) for Vinyl's own sake. Octavia wasn't interested in getting close to a name, an image, an icon. Octavia didn't want DJ PON-3, she wanted Vinyl Scratch.

This was a little more strange because usually upper-class ponies who didn't know who DJ PON-3 was took their not knowing who she was as a sign that they ought not to know who she was. If Vinyl was important, they would have heard about her already. And since most nobles didn't know her, they took this as enough of a reason to treat her with contempt. It was a cultural thing, Vinyl guessed. But Octavia seemed to be an exception. A paradox.

Octavia was definitely upper-class with that perfect mane and that elegant way she moved her body and that cute pink tie and that brain-meltingly hot accent which said she probably had an expensive education from someplace far enough away that they spoke different. But despite being upper-class, she didn't hate Vinyl for being a DJ. And this was kind of intriguing to Vinyl. What did Octavia really want?

Vinyl didn't know.

She sighed, musing to herself.

Vinyl had a confession to make: she liked attention. And Vinyl sometimes wondered if that made her a bad pony, that she liked being famous, that she liked being wanted by so any fans. Vinyl really liked feeling wanted. It made her feel important, like she mattered, being famous. But Vinyl also liked being infamous, having a bad reputation, because it meant she was still getting attention. Being beloved by one group of awesome ponies and reviled by another of boring, over-privileged ones was pretty great. It made you a figure, it made DJ PON-3 a figure. Wasn't there that one quote like "the only thing in life worse than being talked about is being not talked about?"

DJ PON-3 was talked about. And DJ PON-3 had a lot of money because of being talked about. Vinyl was really good at what she did, yeah, she had great musical talent. But she wasn't, you know, a genius at music if you were really honest about it. Vinyl put her heart and soul into her work, yes, but she knew plenty of other music ponies who also put their heart and soul into their own work and yet weren't a tenth as successful as Vinyl. Vinyl knew that DJ PON-3's success was mostly because she was so popular. And Vinyl loved that, both being so successful and also being so in the public eye. She had made it to the top. You superstar, you.

But being popular wasn't everything. Vinyl Scratch wasn't all DJ PON-3, and there was plenty that Vinyl Scratch felt that DJ PON-3 didn't or couldn't express or show. Vinyl didn't want to give up DJ PON-3, but she also wanted a relationship, a relationship with somepony who was partners with Vinyl Scratch, not with DJ PON-3. It was really hard to find somepony who didn't already know her name- rather, know DJ PON-3's name- but who also wasn't a fan or an airhead. No offense to the pegasi she had dated.

Octavia seemed to fit this bill. Maybe there was something there, something real. Octavia didn't know who DJ PON-3 was at all and yet was really into Vinyl Scratch. And she certainly didn't seem like she needed to be looking for money. Plus she seemed really interesting. Even though she was a noble and they probably didn't share a lot of daily culture, maybe they could find common ground somewhere else. That was kind of the point of dating, right? To learn about another pony? And see if you connect?

Vinyl really wanted to date Octavia, to learn all about her. And maybe it was meant to be? Vinyl didn't really believe in fate, but she believed in soulmates (don't tell anypony because that's not cool.) So maybe even if they didn't share culture they were supposed to be together anyway? Didn't way back when she had first met her (not really, Vinyl was under a table,) didn't Octavia say something about the two of them being a pair or something? That's what Vinyl Scratch really wanted in her secret heart. Vinyl wanted to be part of a pair. Is that how Octavia thought? Lovers should be pairs?

Vinyl liked her life and liked to party and she'd never give that up, not completely. But Vinyl also wanted a real partner, a somepony who she could devote herself completely. One to live with and be with. One she could really count on, one she could love completely, trust completely. Somepony she could say "forever" to. And there weren't a lot of mares who thought that way (at least in Vinyl's rocky past.) Vinyl wanted to be part of a pair and make a life together, and that meant she needed to find another mare who also wanted to be part of a pair and who also wanted to make a life together.

Vinyl's previous marefriend was very much not that. Vinyl had thought she was that, but maybe Vinyl had just hoped. Vinyl imagined that her ex had loved her and was faithful to her, but that turned out to not be the case. It had been what Vinyl wanted. Vinyl had a tendency to see things how they could be rather than how they actually were. It made her an idealist, probably. It sometimes took a lot to get through to Vinyl. You know, like a text from your marefriend saying "I AM CHEATING ON YOU."

But all that was in the past. Vinyl was making a new start. Those were all weaknesses Vinyl was now on guard for. It would be different this time. I see clearly now! Won't get fooled again.

This date was a new start. Maybe. Octavia was a new start. A chance to take. Maybe Octavia was the forever mare. Vinyl didn't really understand it all but she really wanted to find out.

Plus, you know, THAT FLANK. If nothing else, Vinyl could get another solid look before moving on again.

Vinyl continued walking up-mountain, thinking about Octavia.

* *

Vinyl had never been to this part of Canterlot before, this high up the mountain.

It was different. Very different.

This part of the city was halfway up, sandwiched between the true up-mountain area of both Castle Canterlot and the nobles' mansions (which tried to be as close to the castle as possible,) and the down-mountain capital outskirts where Vinyl lived and worked. The clubs and real nightlife were out on the fringe, a whole community of their own. That's where Vinyl stayed and made her home, away from dry, stodgy ponies. Vinyl never realized going even halfway up the mountain would be like entering a different world. And dry and stodgy were not the words for it. It was nothing like she expected.

At some point Vinyl had crossed an invisible line and left the outskirts and entered a whole new world. The concrete sidewalks had turned to well-fitted brick and the sound of her hoofsteps changed from a dull noise to a crisp clicking sound. Vinyl trotted along and turned her head in wonder this way and that trying to take in the whole scene in the dimming light. The summer sky was a fading cream and everything was tinted in the deep blue cast of late evening. A pony in a dark green uniform was going down the street from lamppost to lamppost with a little stepladder, waking up the sleepy fireflies within each lamp to light up the streets.

The streets were broad and made of bright, flat stones which genius architects had centuries ago fitted together like a mountain-sized puzzle, glowing in the fading light. The sidewalk was lined with dark, manicured trees which shone in the firefly lanterns. Painted columns and gleaming public statuary stood on street corners and formed the centerpieces of fancy roundabout intersections. The walls lining the Canterlot streets were covered with colorful murals and the warm summer evening air was filled with the scents of a dozen kinds of flowers. The rich ponies coming and going along the beautiful streets were well-dressed in evening clothes and all seemed to have their noses raised as they went about their business. Vinyl walked among them as a visiting stranger.

The sidewalks were lined with bright storefronts selling everything from tea services and luxury carriages to exotic candy and horn wax, including dozens of trendy, upscale fashion boutiques. Vinyl couldn't imagine wanting a single thing from any one of these shops: this was a completely different world than the fringes of the city. Was this the world Octavia lived in? Was it something she was "offering" to Vinyl, showing it off by asking her on a date located in this part of the city, making Vinyl walk these streets to get to her destination? That if Vinyl was with Octavia, this is what she'd get?

It was definitely a wondrous place. What pony didn't like the scent of flowers and wide open spaces? All the art was actually kind of pretty, too. Too bad the place was filled with aristocratic ponies who would probably kick Vinyl off of the side of the mountain if they could. Well, except for one. Octavia.

* * *

The Garden was a restaurant built into a terrace surrounding a sunken court. The court was a huge wall-to-wall garden, a rolling field of manicured flowers right in middle of this mountain city. Short and long grasses grew here and there, a rock garden, and flowers, flowers, flowers! Tall flowers in burgundy, short black-blue ones, and night-blooms with ghost-white petals. Little Neighponese lanterns were set out among the flowers, lighting up particularly spectacular parts of the garden field. Vinyl saw the sparkle of a little brook flowing through the field, tumbling down over a set of slick, white marble steps onto a shallow bed of smooth stones. Wild fireflies glowed in the fading evening light. It was like an Elysian field had brought down onto Mount Canter.

All around the garden was a stone terrace overhung by shadowy trees. The terrace was lined with a low, black iron fence, and a long string of electric lights was artistically tangled along the length of the fence's railing. Couples' tables were set along the terrace, each set with a small candle flickering inside a red glass shield.

It was perfect.

Vinyl just stood there on the street, spellbound in the sight of it all. It was an unbelievably romantic spot, something right out of a book. Between the beautiful flower garden, the fading evening light, the sparkle of the lights, and the intimacy of the small tables, it was a perfect stage for romance.

Vinyl had never, ever been to a space like this before, someplace that felt so... mystic. So tranquil. So different. And yet she was only a little walk from the outskirts. It was disorienting, the strangeness of being so close yet so far from home, the otherworldliness of the fading light, being in this fancy part of the city, added to the romantic mystique of it all. Vinyl was giddy with anticipation at meeting Octavia again, and the beauty of the setting put her at dizzy ease. This is the start of something new, Vinyl felt it deep inside.

Vinyl approached the entrance to The Garden. The door was open and a trellis hung above the entrance and some sort of climbing flower wove its long stems among the wooden slats. Strings of sparkling lights were also threaded into the trellis so the entire thing gently glowed in the darkness. There was no sign marking the name of the restaurant but a young pink and white earth pony mare was waiting by the door and smiled at Vinyl's approach.

Vinyl gave the mare her name and the mare smiled and said that Vinyl was expected. The young mare lead Vinyl into the restaurant, explaining in a dignified manner that she herself would be their server that evening.

Well-dressed ponies sat at lamp-lit tables, chatting, smiling, or just holding hooves across the table. Young mare led Vinyl past them all, to the rearmost part of the restaurant, near the kitchen. There was no rear wall to the restaurant, only a grand stone arch with a wide grate of metal woven with climbing flowers, forming a floor to ceiling window of green. Couples tables were set up to within a single length of the open air, forming what Vinyl could only call a box seat looking high out over the garden.

Octavia was in a little black dress.

Octavia sat at one of the candle-lit couples tables, looking out into the shadowy garden below. She was in a little black dress. Her mane was up in an elegant bun, pinned with combs that sparkled. The back of her long neck was exposed, leading down to the shoulders of the black dress she wore. She had a thin pink silk ribbon tied around her throat. She was breathtaking.

Her polished hooves were folded neatly before her and her posture was relaxed and patient. The flowers above her rustled in a warm breeze and the restaurant lights glittered in her shining mane and combs.

Vinyl had no idea that this was such fancy dinner. She came here just wearing her glasses. For a moment, she felt under-dressed. Vinyl Scratch. Felt under-dressed. That had literally never happened to her before, that she felt out of place because of clothing. It was a bizarre feeling. Was that what it was like up here? In Octavia's world, up-mountain? That it was a make-or-break world with clothes?

Vinyl suddenly felt as if she were in very deep water, as if there was hidden mystery all around her, that she now couldn't be sure of anything anymore. The rules were all different.

But Octavia was right there. Candle-lit Octavia in a little black dress. That was what Vinyl wanted. That was what Vinyl was sure of. Vinyl felt as if her life had a single direction, forward, and her destination was right in front of her, in the chair across from Octavia. With Octavia, everything would be new. And all the things she had ever worried about with all those other ponies, all of Vinyl's many failed partners, all the infidelity, betrayal, and all those little things that made a mismatched relationship crumble, all of that simply would vanish into memory.

Beautiful Octavia was a new start.

Vinyl took off her glasses. It seemed appropriate. I want to see Octavia with new eyes.

Vinyl put her hoof forward, stepping towards the table.

Hung Up

Octavia's head turned at the faintest sound of Vinyl's approach. The combs in her mane sparkled in the candle-light and her bright, liquid eyes shone with happiness when she saw Vinyl. She stood as Vinyl approached.

"Vinyl, love!"

"Hey. Hi." Vinyl smiled, embarrassed. She didn't really know what to do at a fancy dinner at all. The table had chairs, not cushions, like all fancy places. Octavia had been sitting in a chair so Vinyl figured pulling out her own chair and sitting down on it seemed like a good start. So she did.

Octavia stayed standing as Vinyl seated herself, watching every move that she made. Vinyl got herself settled. The small wrought-iron couples table table had a violet tablecloth on it, in the center of which was a little orange flame in the red glass shield. Vinyl carefully placed her folded glasses on the table and looked up into Octavia's eyes.

Octavia still hadn't sat back down. She kept standing, watching Vinyl with shining eyes and that little secret smile on her face.

Vinyl blushed. "Heh, I know I'm pretty irresistible but maybe you think you're overdoing it?" Octavia didn't stop. Vinyl's heart raced and she blushed harder and looked away. "H-hey, don't stare so much or you'll wear me out." Her hooves were shaking.

Octavia seemed to drift back to reality, fluttering her lashes as she did so. "Oh! Vinyl, darling, you just looked so entrancing I couldn't take my eyes from you and I'm afraid I quite lost myself." She carefully sat back down, gracefully smoothing her dress as she did so.

I'm not wearing anything to dress up and how could I be so dumb or inconsiderate or whatever I am but you... "You look" hot like burning magma "very nice tonight."

Octavia blushed deeply, visible even through her dark coat. She looked down at the table. "Th-thank you, Vinyl. I tried to make myself look pretty for you tonight."

So sweet... "Yeah, I guess it's kind of a big deal, dating a DJ." Vinyl couldn't believe she had just said that.

"Oh, it's not that you're a DJ, it's-" She paused. "It's... well..." Octavia trailed off again, still blushing. She looked down. Then she bit her lip and sneaked a quick glance up at Vinyl, making Vinyl's heart flip inside her chest. Oh my stars and moon and sun she is so hot when she does that lip-bite thing...

They stared at each other for a moment, neither of them knowing quite what to say, until they both laughed.

Vinyl felt... good being around Octavia, just looking at her, being looked at by her. Vinyl's hooves were shaking so hard she had to press them together to keep it from being embarrassingly obvious and Vinyl struggled to keep herself together. I really, really, really like this filly... but I can't go too fast. I don't wanna screw this up. I CAN'T!

"So, do you wanna, you know-" Vinyl half-turned, gesturing in the general direction of where she expected servers would come from.

"Oh, that's okay, Vinyl. I've already ordered. Octavia sat up straight and raised a hoof.

Vinyl blinked and a half dozen waiters materialized from nowhere and moved around the table in a silent fury of action. When they withdrew and Vinyl blinked again, both Vinyl and Octavia had a plate, set of silverware, and a glass of red wine. A small basket of bread was on the table, crowded next to a plate of spaghetti. She did this for me. "You worked this out with the staff beforehoof I see..."

"I wanted to make sure this date was perfect."

She did this all for me, all of it. "Well, thanks. I... really appreciate it." Stay cool, stay- Vinyl noticed something. The end of a piece of spaghetti dangled off of the plate on her side. She didn't... Vinyl leaned over to see on Octavia's side. A corresponding loose end of spaghetti hung there, too. Oh... Vinyl looked up and Octavia fluttered her lashes innocently. Oh my gosh that is so cute! Vinyl couldn't keep a grin from her face.

There was a pause. Vinyl fell into her thoughts. This is just too special. Nopony's ever done all this sort of thing for me. Nopony. Never. It's just... do the princesses get treated like this all the time? Is this what it's like to be so completely beloved?

Octavia broke a piece of bread off and popped it into her mouth. Vinyl glanced up. Octavia was watching her. And when Octavia saw that Vinyl was watching her back, she broke into a smile around the piece of bread she was chewing. Octavia swallowed carefully and tried to hide her smile behind her hoof.

Vinyl was kind of hungry so she turned her attention to this dinner. This is a date and it's so great just being with her but we're supposed to actually eat, too, right? Okay, so Octavia ate a piece of bread just now. Does that mean I'm supposed to eat bread first? There are only three things on this table... is there an order to food? Agh, I'm gonna screw up just eating somehow anyway, I don't know the manners you're supposed to use here. Whatever. Vinyl used her magic to lift a fork and spoon and spun a spoonful of spaghetti onto her plate. It looked good.

"One of the reasons I like this restaurant is that you can see Castle Canterlot from the windows, especially from this table." Octavia pointed through the archway window next to them.

Out the stone arch and through an opening in the winding flowers, Castle Canterlot was clearly visible against the late evening sky. As Vinyl and Octavia watched, twilight ended and night officially fell and the moon rose from the horizon to turn the spires of Castle Canterlot into a black silhouette across its pale surface. The stars unrolled themselves like a blanket around the moon, carpeting the night sky in twinkling light.

"I never get tired to watching night fall, do you? It gives me a shiver and a chill. The dark."

Most of Vinyl's work took place at night so about half the time she was too busy sleeping or preparing to watch the transition. "It's real special, I guess."

Octavia popped another piece of bread into her mouth, she chewed meditatively. "Did you know that Canterlot Canterlot wasn't always the capital of Equestria?"

Vinyl shook her head. "No."

"Canterlot used only to be a research location, an academic's retreat. They say Mount Canter is particularly magical because of large crystal deposits beneath its surface. Have you noticed anything with your unicorn magic?"

"Not really, no. I guess I've been out on tour but never felt different from not being on mountain."

Octavia nodded. "Nor have I. I think the magical different only only present at high levels of magic use..." She trailed off for a moment, lost in gazing at Vinyl, before continuing.

"Ah, some ponies think that the Castle of the Two Sisters near Ponyville was the original capital of Equestria but that was just one of the imperial retreats, one of the Sisters' vacation palaces long ago, before it was overrun." Octavia carefully took up her glass of wine.

"Wow, you sure know a lot." She's so smart!

Octavia smiled into her sip of wine. "Not at all, really. Just a bit of common history."

"No, really, I didn't know any of that. Ponyville is that town where Princess Luna came back from, right?"

"The Return actually took place right in the Castle of the Two Sisters itself."

"Oh."

"It's mostly a forgotten site, due to the Everfree Forest surrounding it, making archaeological expeditions difficult, despite it being so close to Canterlot. You can even see the wild trees of the forest from the highest points on the mountain."

"What's the Everfree Forest?"

Octavia's brow twitched up. "Oh, it's a, um, forest which is, well, essentially under a 'curse.' It's perpetually dark and has an ambient magic-dampening field. The magic of Celestia's sun's light and of the wind and of the earth are all absorbed into a large, underground root network or pushed outwards into the immediate environs. Things that consume the foliage within the forest grow... strange, inheriting the curse. There are many rare species of animals and plants which live only there or in places like it, but it's the only such area in Equestria proper. There are other such sites in different parts of the world if I am not mistaken. It's an alchemical treasurehouse, or so I'm told."

Vinyl had put down her fork and was just gazing at Octavia. I wonder what else she knows?

"It's not all that well-known because the crown has never approved any one of the Royal Society's grant applications for study in that area, not in the entire history of the Society. Princess Celestia has never explicitly forbidden study or travel into the Everfree, but she has never encouraged it. And for Her, that is enough. The Princess rules as much through inaction as well as action. Video et taceo, as I believe she once put it. And so it is as a result of this that the area has been largely forgotten."

Octavia paused to take a sip of her wine. Vinyl had long since stopped actually hearing Octavia and just listened to the sound of her words, watching her lips move. Octavia noticed Vinyl's stare and she smiled into her wine again, quickly setting her glass down to raise a hoof and hide her sudden giggles. "What is it?"

Vinyl said nothing. You're so beautiful. "You're just" perfect "so great."

Octavia's eyes nervously darted down to the table. "It took me so much time to work up the nerve to ask you out, Vinyl! I'm usually much more... shy. Less bold about... expressing my feelings." She glanced up at Vinyl with an uncertain smile.

"I can't imagine it." Vinyl searched Octavia's face from her glossy black hair to her dark lashes and her lips and nose and pink, silk ribbon around her soft throat. So cute!

Octavia started to blush. "Vinyl, if you keep staring at me, I'll..."

"You'll what?" That had come out in a bit more of a throaty voice than Vinyl had intended. Vinyl's cheeks were red.

Octavia sucked in a breath and bit her lip, staring at Vinyl. Her eyes smoldered and her tone was breathless. "Vinyl, I... I wanted to make tonight just the way you want it. I... I don't want to rush things for you, my love."

Vinyl's heart was pounding. Octavia's closeness across the small table was like a magnet, drawing Vinyl in.

"What if... I want things to do a little faster?"

In the flickering candlelight, Octavia's orchid-colored eyes almost seemed to glow for a moment. "I know you've been hurt before..." her voice was barely a whisper. Her hoof edged across the table.

"But I'm here..." murmured Vinyl. Her hoof moved a inch forward. Her heart was racing and a heavy blush was in her cheeks.

"I simply couldn't stand it if I ever-" Octavia's eyes were liquid pools in the gentle night.

Vinyl's hoof shook as it edged closer to Octavia's. Her voice shook and she smiled "You'll never-"

Octavia's voice was thick with emotion. "I promise-" She raised her hoof towards Vinyl's.

"I think that-"

"We're falling-"

"In-"

"Your salad."

The pink mare from the front desk appeared, her hoof with a bowl of greens descended between Vinyl and Octavia, breaking their line of sight, snapping Vinyl back to reality.

Octavia's dreamy expression de-existed in a microsecond and her blazing eyes snapped up to the young mare.

"Just what the hell do you think you are doing," hissed Octavia, her hooves falling to slam onto the table with a BANG.

The server's eyes widened in shock and she took a step back. "I... gave you your salad?"

Octavia slapped the table. "Don't give me that! Don't you dare! You saw us! You saw that we were having a moment and you deliberately ruined it!"

The server stuttered and looked in embarrassed stupefaction at Vinyl and at nearby diners who had turned to look at Octavia. "I... I just gave you your salad. You ordered it, s-so I served it. If I did anything wrong, I'm sorry-"

Octavia rose from the table and bared her teeth, her whole body quaking with fury. "You nasty little raise-tail filly scut!" She growled viciously. "You're jealous! You're jealous of us and I won't have it! You stay away from Vinyl! She and I, we-"

"Whoa there." Vinyl half-rose from her seat and laid a gentle hoof on Octavia's foreleg. "I'm sure she didn't mean anything."

Octavia's mouth snapped shut and she immediately fell back into her seat.

The server mare looked between the two of them with fear and shame before retreating across the restaurant and through the kitchen doors.

Vinyl turned back to Octavia. "We're going to have to leave such a big tip... for... her..." Vinyl trailed off as she got a look at Octavia.

Octavia's whole body was shaking.

"Hey?" Vinyl reached across the table towards her. "Hey. Hey, what's wrong? Talk to me."

Octavia quivered in her seat before tossing back her head, an uneven grin on her face.

Octavia's face was flushed dark red. "I... I..." She clapped her hooves to her cheeks as if to absorb the heat of her blush and looked down at Vinyl with wild eyes. "I just realized that was the first time we ever actually touched!" Her tone was breathless and she looked at Vinyl with glassy, half-focused eyes. Her chest rose and fell heavily.

"Okay..." Weird. A little. "Was it really such a big thing? I would have liked to, I mean, I felt-"

Octavia squirmed in her seat, practically panting for breath. "It was so hard keeping control of myself around you, walking near you, sitting so close to you, Vinyl, for so long." Her eyes rolled up in her head and she swayed back and forth in her seat.

"Oh... kay...?"

"But now... now!" Octavia suddenly stood, knocking her chair back. Her forehooves pressed the edges of the table hard enough to shake. Her voice went husky. "I... I don't know if I can control myself any longer." She was looking at Vinyl with heavy, glinting eyes.

"Octavia, I-"

At the sound of hearing Vinyl say her name for the very first time, Octavia shuddered, closing her eyes in pleasure, jaw clenched, pressing the edges of the metal table hard enough to make the iron squeak as it bent.

Vinyl's head and heart were racing. I should... I need to- She scooted back her chair. "I'm just going to go to-"

"Ahhh, Vinyl...!" Octavia groaned. Her rear legs were shaking violently.

A couple at the table next to them whispered, "is she dining off-menu?"

"I'll be riiight back." Vinyl stood up.

Octavia's eyes shot open. "NO! You can't leave me!"

Vinyl took a half-step back.

Octavia picked up and flung the table aside like it was made of cardboard. It smashed into the wall and ponies screamed. The bowl of salad fell and broke into long, jagged triangles and scattered everywhere.

A shout: "somepony call the Guard!"

Deep panic rose inside her and Vinyl's eyes darted wildly. I got to get out of here.

"Vinyl, Vinyl," cooed Octavia. She had reared onto her back hooves and was looking down with shining eyes, a black strand of hair fallen from her bun dangling. "Don't you know we're supposed to be together? Don't you know? Don't you understand?" She giggled in a high-pitched tone.

Then she lowered her head and looked out from under her brows. Her voice went hard as steel. "I won't let anything get between us again."

Vinyl turned and ran.

"VINYYYLLLL!" Octavia shrieked after her.

I Will Possess Your Heart

Vinyl darted across the restaurant, weaving among tables. The kitchen doors were ahead and she burst through them into the bright kitchen lights, knocking over a waiter in a high-pitched squawk and sending a half-dozen plates flying to crash onto the floor. Vinyl dodged among metal preparation tables. Chefs were sharpening knives, tossing green salads in the air, igniting giant flambes in huge saute pans. Vinyl ran between cookers and fridges and sinks, leaping over crates of supplies. A dishwashing pony had just enough time to make a surprised face as Vinyl leapt over her back and then charged towards the kitchen's rear door.

Vinyl hit the rear door with a full-gallop flying kick and it flew wide on its hinges and banged against the exterior wall. There was a slope down and big piles of groundskeepers' supplies were here and there and Vinyl could go left or right or-

There was a huge metallic crash back in the kitchen behind Vinyl, as if a huge fridge had toppled over and a series of terrified screams came from inside.

"VINYL! VINYL!!" It was Octavia's voice coming from the kitchen!

Vinyl didn't go left or right: she ran straight ahead, jumping the low iron railing to land inside the restaurant's namesake garden.

Moonlight sparkled off the decorative stream of water as Vinyl splashed through it, kicking up crystalline drops into the air. She galloped across the grassy field, tearing past a Neighponese paper lantern, running so fast she practically flew, looking for a way out of the courtyard- she had to get away, she had to get out of here, she was trapped if she didn't get away! Then she spotted a narrow door in the stone wall ahead and she charged forward, trampling through flowers.

"VINYL! WAIT! PLEASE! WAIT!" Octavia's voice was loud and clear- she was out of the kitchen and in the court behind her! Vinyl had to run, had to get away, it was wrong, it had all gone wrong...! Tears prickled in her eyes.

Vinyl used her unicorn magic to open the narrow door before she got there and then slipped into the passage behind it and darted up a tiny stone staircase inside. The stairs led to a small, hidden door which swung open, revealing the street on the opposite side of the Garden.

"VINYL! PLEASE! WAIT!" Octavia's voice rang from behind and below in the courtyard. Vinyl didn't stop.

Then Vinyl heard a grunt and a scrabble against stone just behind her. Vinyl spared a moment to look back and gasped in horror.

Octavia had leapt directly up out of the garden, bypassing the stairs altogether, and was pawing with her hooves on the stone terrace, trying to find purchase and climb up after Vinyl. Her shining combs had been lost and Octavia's mane had come completely undone and hung wildly around her neck and shoulders. Her orchid-colored eyes reflected the moonlight.

"Vinyl! Please...!" she choked out, scrabbling, trying to climb up over the edge.

Vinyl turned and ran across the street.

Ahead was an alleyway and Vinyl charged into it, splashing through puddles and leaping over black plastic garbage bags. Fear drove her, gave her speed. The alleyway ended in a T-junction: Vinyl could go left or right. She dodged right.

More alley, behind and between the buildings of Canterlot. The brickwork closed in around her, closer and closer. The alley was narrow now, and a chainlink fence was ahead. Vinyl didn't slow and hit the fence at a bound, desperately scrambling up and onto the top and then falling over it onto the stones on the opposite side. She had to get away from Octavia, had to get away! Another intersection, left or right again. She went left.

"Vinyyyyl..." Octavia's screams echoed through the alleys, chasing after her.

Could Octavia still be after her? Hadn't Vinyl lost her in the twists and turns?

"Vinyyyl!"

The screams were getting louder. How could she still be following?! Vinyl ran faster.

The alley turned again and broadened into a long space. One side was blank concrete wall and the other side were the back doors to a strip of shops. If Vinyl could get into one of those shops, she could cross through it, out into the street, and escape.

"Vinyyyl! Please! Forgive me!"

Octavia's voice was getting closer!

Vinyl ran down the concrete alley. None of the back doors were open so she pounded on each one of them as she passed. "C'mon, somepony open up!"

"VINYL! VINYL!"

A door opened. A acne-spotted unicorn teenager was levitating a bag of garbage.

He had just enough time for his voice to crack in a cry before Vinyl blew past him into a poorly-lit storeroom full of stacked metal shelves and cardboard boxes. Vinyl wove among them and burst out of a pair of employee doors into a glassware shop- cups, glasses, plates, sculptures, figurines, windows- Vinyl barely hesitated for a moment before darting among the delicate shelves towards the front door.

Vinyl heard a acne-spotted voice scream from behind her and a crash of boxes and metallic thunder of falling shelves. How could Octavia be so fast?!

"Vinyl, please! Forgive me! FORGIVE ME!"

Octavia's voice was almost in Vinyl's ear!

Vinyl used her unicorn magic to yank open the shop's front door- big and heavy and wooden- as she ran towards it.

There was a tremendous shattering noise from behind Vinyl as Octavia plowed directly through cases of glass plates and mirrors.

"DON'T LEAVE ME!"

Vinyl slipped through the doorway and pulled the door shut behind her. The heavy wooden door practically fell off its hinges as a tremendous impact hit it from inside.

Vinyl didn't wait. She was on the lamp-lit street now and looked wildly in both directions. Ponies were coming and going calmly. Carriages were parked against the tree-lined sidewalk and more carriages rattled up and down the street.

Where? Where? Where do I go?!

Vinyl was gasping for breath and her eyes darted frantically.

Then she saw it: on the opposite side of the road, two stallions pulling a movers' cart, a big, open wagon half-full of furniture. Vinyl took off towards it like a shot.

Vinyl crossed the sidewalk, dodged between parked carriages, and wove her way among the moving nighttime traffic like a ping pong ball. She darted around the far side of the movers' wagon.

Vinyl leapt, trying to jump up into the wagon as it rolled down the road. Fear gave her strength and she managed to get a hold on the edge of the open cart and she kicked desperately with her back hooves, trying to climb inside. The wagon rocked back and forth, big wheels rumbling beneath her, swaying on its axles as the stallions pulling the cart trotted down the street. Vinyl heaved with her forelegs and managed to get her chest up onto the edge of the wagon and she paddled the air with her back legs, wiggling the rest of her body up and over into the back.

Vinyl fell face-first into the cart, wedging her face between a dresser and an upright piano with a clank! She tried to pull back but her unicorn horn had gotten itself stuck beneath the piano.

Vinyl braced all four of her legs and yanked back, straining her neck, until her horn came loose with a SPANG against the strings of the piano. Vinyl crouched low in the wagon.

Had she been heard? Did somepony hear the noise of the piano?

The two stallions pulling the wagon kept pulling, though, and Vinyl only dared to stick her head up out of the wagon when they were about to round a corner.

Looking back, Vinyl saw Octavia standing on the sidewalk outside of the glassware shop, black dress hanging in tatters, screaming up into the night sky in sorrow.

Then the wagon rounded the corner and Vinyl could see no more.

Marooned

It all went wrong it all went wrong how did it all go wrong why why why did it all go wrong? Vinyl's head ached and her eyes ached with the pulse of unshed tears. She muttered to herself as she walked blindly down the sidewalk, legs and chest hurt from her run.

It's me of course its me. I'm such a fool, I'm stupid so stupid stupid STUPID! What was I thinking? Such a wonderful, beautiful mare could never be interested in me... no, she never was wonderful, was she? Just the latest wrong mare in the long long line of your romantic failures, just another of your failures. She couldn't have been good. Not with me, I'm a magnet for freaks. I only attract wrong ones, I must be a freak myself. There's something wrong with me. Hot tears ran down Vinyl's face. Why can't I just find some nice, normal... I'm broken, I'm wrong, I'm bad inside and unlovable. I'm not good, why could any of them be good. She's not right, she's all wrong. Neon might have been right, no he was definitely right... Neon said...

A chill ran across her body and her skin prickled.

Neon said... oh my gosh, NEON!

Vinyl's teary eyes went wide and unseeing as the lock turned in her head. Her mane rose to stand on end and she stopped dead in the street, terrifying pieces slipping into place. Realization extended its claws. Her head spun and she felt dizzy and her whole body shook.

Neon was rude to her, insulted her. Neon was afraid of... her.

Neon said she threatened him.

Neon was afraid for his li- Vinyl shook her head in denial. No. No, the idea was too terrible to even think of.

Nothing could have happened to him! It couldn't be! Impossible!

And yet. Yet. Vinyl felt cold. Yet it was possible.

Octavia threw that table like it was nothing! She was violent. She was... unbalanced. Just what is she capable of?

If she were that violent with me, me who she's in lo- who she thinks she's in love with, how violent would she be with Neon? Neon, who hated her? Neon, who stood in her way? Neon, who kept me from her?

And if she'd do... something to Neon, what could she do to me?

Her heart pounded in her aching chest as she tried to straighten out her thoughts. She rocked back and forth on her hooves What can I do? What can I do? Don't just stand there, do something!

She blinked as the obvious occurred: I can call him! Call him and hear his voice. Then I'll know it's all right.

Vinyl got out her phone and dialed Neon.

Ring...

"Ey, it's Neon, leave a message-" With a cry of frustration, Vinyl jammed her hoof onto the phone, terminating the call. What now? She pressed her hooves to her forehead and tried to think. A message, I can send a message. She turned her phone sideways and fired off an urgent text with many exclamation points.

She stood there on the sidewalk, staring down at her phone, waiting for it to beep or ring or anything with a reply from Neon. She stared at it, heart pounding, hooves shaking.

Nothing.

She raised her head to look and search the night ponies out on the streets, examining them to see if Neon was somehow among them, standing right next to her this whole time with an irritating smile or stepping out of the shadows with an "I pranked you good, didn't I" look on his face.

But he wasn't there. He wasn't anywhere. Of course he wasn't. Why would she think he would be here? She was being silly.

Maybe... maybe she was being silly about the whole thing.

Maybe.

Octavia was unbalanced, maybe even obsessed, that was obvious. And violent, at least towards objects. But would she... do something to somepony? Something drastic? She would never push Neon off a building like he said, would she? But if Neon had been joking, it was a very specific joke. Did he have some reason to say that in particular?

Vinyl stared at her phone blindly. Why hadn't Neon sent any more messages? Was something wrong? Was he... no. Maybe? Maybe not.

An old memory flashed in Vinyl's head. Once before, about a year ago, Neon had run off with some dumb, too-skinny rich mare who had a credit card with no limit and Vinyl didn't hear from him for a week. And sometimes he wouldn't contact her when he just got in a bad mood or a creative streak or, or, or ahhh!

Vinyl shook her head violently in frustration. There were a million good reasons why he might not return her texts. it didn't mean he was

chopped into little pieces

A terrifying red image burst into her head and she shook with fear. No! No! Neon was fine! He was out there, having fun, being the stupid, disgusting, annoying colt that he was, doing stupid, disgusting, annoying colt things! He was alive and laughing and wasting his life chatting up some bubble-headed filly somewhere, not lying still on a dirty concrete floor in a cold pool of dark

Vinyl sat down hard on the sidewalk and clutched at her head. Bad thoughts! Think of unicorns, rainbows, happy smiling flowers! Pretty ponies with pretty pony wings fluttering around in the sunlight!

The pretty ponies fluttered happily for a moment before a dark hoof crushed the pretty ponies out of the sky into the earth and the shadow of Octavia's smiling face filled Vinyl's mental landscape, growing closer and closer...

Vinyl moaned and stared up with a stricken look. If Octavia could do something like... that to Neon, Octavia could do the same to Vinyl! No, Octavia wouldn't do that! Would she? Would she? No! Maybe? Vinyl's mind whirled.

"Excuse me, are you okay there?"

Vinyl looked up. A random mare had stopped in the street and was looking at Vinyl with mild concern.

Vinyl, broken from her dark reverie, replied "y-yeah, I'm just worried about my friend is all."

"Ah. You're sure you're alright then?"

Vinyl stood and composed herself. "Yeah. Yeah, sure. I'm good. Thanks."

The random mare nodded and walked off.

Vinyl felt a little better. What was she even thinking about? She was being silly! This is Equestria! Bad things don't happen here! Things like... that. There was no reason to think that Neon was... there was no reason to jump to conclusions.

The ghost-silver moon was high in the sky. A thought occurred to Vinyl. Wait, what even time is it?

Many gears shifted in Vinyl's head as she realized holy sweets, I actually got work tonight! I'm playing a late gig! Special guest-star, even!

Professionalism stepped in and shouldered away all other concerns. Vinyl's head cleared. Suddenly all those bad thoughts about what may or may not have happened seemed far away and very silly indeed.

Forget all that. Forget all everything. I'm DJ-PON3. She's too awesome to have problems like this. I'm too awesome for this. I'm cool, I'm the best! I'm DJ PON-3 and I got a gig and I need my salamandering equipment!

Vinyl was all business at once and she started cantering with a purpose, heading back down-mountain. I'll run back to my apartment and get my stuff and rush to the gig. Octavia... she couldn't be back at the apartments so quickly anyway.

Would she show up at the gig tonight? Vinyl's brows furrowed. If she does, I'll just have her thrown out on the spot. I'm DJ PON-3 and salamanders yeah, I'll have her salamandering thrown out!

Worry disappeared from Vinyl's mind as she stepped to the edge of the sidewalk to hail a fast taxi carriage to hurry her back to her apartment.

There's no real reason to be worried, she decided. I'm sure Neon is just fine.

The apartment building's mirrored elevator gave a cheerful little ding! as it opened onto Vinyl's floor.

The floor Vinyl shared with Octavia.

Vinyl cautiously peered out of the elevator, coincidentally crowding to the side so she wasn't obviously visible to anypony waiting, anypony watching. Vinyl looked down the long hallway. Nopony was in sight. There was nothing to be worried about, of course, but it never hurt to be careful. In general. Because there was no specific reason to be cautious. Because Vinyl was not worried. Yes.

The carpeted hallway was one, long straight shot from the elevator to the last room on the floor of the building. Doors lined the walls on both sides of the hall. It was quiet, very quiet. But that was nothing to be worried about, of course. It was getting pretty late for most ponies so it made sense for it to be quiet, but just the same, Vinyl trotted quickly and quietly down the hall. Her door was on the right side of the hallway.

Opposite Octavia's door.

The door that used to be Blue Sky's!

Fear again rose inside Vinyl but she tamped it down. Nothing to be worried about, everything's fine. Blue Sky's dreams came true and that screenplay of hers finally sold and she moved to the coast to make a movie, that's all that happened. She's not divided into segments wrapped in newspapers dripping buried under the floorboards OH MY GOSH WHAT AM I THINKING!

Vinyl shivered involuntarily as she put her key into her apartment door's lock. The door opened and she slipped inside and closed the door behind her, locking it. For the sake of general safety, of course. Not because she was afraid. It was a good practice to lock doors even when you didn't expect anything.

Everything was quiet so Vinyl tip-hoofed into her music room and picked up the box of records and her customized gear she took to every gig.

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Eeeeeee!" Vinyl shrieked and lost her magical grip on the box which fell with a heavy thump and crash. She clapped her hooves over her mouth and froze, eyes bugged out. She held her breath and was utterly silent.

...

Knock knock!

She knows I'm in here!! What do I do what do I do what... Wait, how do I know it's Octavia? No, it's not her. Don't jump to conclusions. It's probably... the landlord! Yes! That it. It's the landlord. There's nothing to worry about. Octavia isn't going to push her way in and slip a rope around me and tie me d- No! Bad thoughts! BAD THOUGHTS! Vinyl shuddered. It's definitely the landlord at the door. Don't worry, just go answer it.

"C-coming!" Vinyl walked to the door and looked out the peephole. Wow, it actually was the landlord!

Vinyl opened the door.

"Hi there, little miss."

"H-heya, Mr. Garret."

Dusty Garret was a thick stallion with a wide smile and a musty-colored coat. He had the outline of an A-frame house for a cutie mark. "Sorry ta bother ya so late but I know you keep odd hours and I got a few questions."

"O-oh?"

"The new tenant there, across the hall from you? The one with the bow tie and the eyes?"

That is an accurate description. "W-what about her?" Vinyl tried to steady her voice.

"I've been getting some noise complaints about her. You hear any weird noises coming from inside that room, anything disturbing you?"

"Uh, no. No noise."

"How 'bout a strange smell?"

Vinyl's eyes went wide. "N-no, why? Has somepony smelled something? Like" fresh blood or rotting flesh or "decay...?" It slipped out.

Mr. Garret's bushy eyebrow went up. "Would that describe something you smell? Would you be willing to put that in writing?"

"Oh! No! No. I was just asking? Why, has somepony smelled something like that from the apartment?"

The landlord shrugged. "Maybe. Couldn't say, don't want to bias you. So you're not going to make a complaint against her, huh. Alright. You know I like ta run the best building I can, nice and clean, and if there's a bad tenant, I want them out. Bad apples and the barrel and all. That new pony there's only been here a little while and I already got complaints."

Has she been... unstable towards anypony else? She seemed nice until... what happened at the end of dinner. Is she like that with everypony but me? Could nopony have noticed anything wrong? Am I blowing this out of proportion? "I don't know what to say."

The landlord sighed. "I 'spect I'll have to evict her but I'll give her 'til the end of the month ta clean up her act. Ah well! That's all I wanted to talk ta ya about. Have a good night now, Miss Scratch, ya hear?"

"Yeah. Good night, Mr. Garret."

Vinyl stepped back inside her apartment and closed the door and locked it. She sat down on the floor against the door and looked at her hooves. They were shaking. I'm falling apart here! Keep it together, Vinyl!

BEEEEP!

Vinyl sucked in a frayed breath and jumped in sudden terror, painfully clunking the back of her head against the door, as her phone's calendar alarm went off. She pulled out her phone and swiped away the alarm set for her gig. Now I'm scared of my own phone? If it's not one thing, it's another. Forget it, get on your hooves! Gotta get going or you're late.

Vinyl lifted the box with her stuff, unlocked the door, and peered out into the hall. Nopony. She quickly stepped outside, turned, locked the door, and scampered to the elevator. She jumped inside and his the button for the lobby. I'll get a fast carriage and hit the gig and when Octavia shows up there, I'll have her thrown out. No! I'll call the Royal Guard on her! You can't come after DJ PON-3 and get away with it!

She gave a confident DJ PON-3 grin to her reflection as the mirrored elevator doors closed with a cheerful ding!

* *

Vinyl played an amazing set that night. She was the special guest star so she came in at the end and everypony was already wild to see their beloved superstar. And Vinyl delivered, putting her all into it. Her ponies jumped, they shouted, they got down, made it bounce, raised their hooves in a manner that indicated indifference, and requested no water to extinguish any fires. Vinyl talked to security and convinced them to station one of their biggest stallions- one with a big, steel sledgehammer for a cutie mark- just off-stage, ready to pounce on any earth ponies mares who tried to charge the DJ booth.

But nopony came.

Nopony tried to charge the booth, nopony prowled within the jumping crowd of dancers, and nopony hid in the shadows and laserlight to watch Vinyl. Was that a reason to worry? Or perhaps she, Octavia, had given up? Vinyl didn't know. And, for those few hours she, Vinyl let go. She DJed, Vinyl was free to simply play.

All her cares melted away, washed and worn clean by the wubbly waves rolling forth from her brain, though her horn, out her speakers, and directly into her ponies' legs. Everything was back to the way things were supposed to be: her stage, her audience, and their praise and adultation. She felt good again, like everything was back to normal. Ponies were wild to see DJ PON-3, and it really made her feel better, bolstered her and she felt stronger now, strong enough to face the challenges with which life was now facing her. Vinyl rocked the place until long after she was scheduled to leave, and not a single fan left before she did. It was magnificent.

She spent time chatting with the club owner before fatigue started creeping in. It was only then, when the club owner asked where her signature DJ PON-3 glasses were that Vinyl realized she wasn't actually wearing them! But Vinyl had grown strong, and learned how to get along, and she just shrugged and said that she had lost them earlier that night, no big deal. She was still DJ PON-3 without the glasses, right? They all vigorously agreed with her. She grinned an insouciant DJ PON-3 grin.

Vinyl waved good-bye, took a few more grinning selfies with her most hardcore fans, then hit the road, levitating her travel box behind her, feeling good. Tired, but good.

Vinyl was, at all other times, a rather chill pony. She liked things easy, she liked things simple. It kept her able to focus on her music and personal life, the two things most important to her. Being stalked and having chase scenes were definitely not on her list of "Things I am Used to Doing," and the stress of the last few days and putting in another blockbuster performance left her drained. Drained in body but fearless in mind. DJ PON-3, superstar triumphant!

It was five in the morning when Vinyl got back to the apartments. She was tired and sweaty and just wanted a shower and a lay down. She wanted to collapse and let it all go.

The mirrored elevator gave a cheerful little ding! as it opened onto her floor. Vinyl only gave the hall a quick look before stepping off the elevator.

But she spotted something.

Laying against the base of her door was a white envelope.

Vinyl stopped in her tracks on wobbly hooves, box of gear levitating next to her. She looked up the empty hall and perked up her ears. It was dead silent. But that was normal for this extremely early time of day, few other residents here kept hours like she did. Totally normal.

Vinyl slowly approached her door and looked down at the envelope.

The envelope was actually a single sheet of cream paper folded in a clever way to form an envelope. Vinyl lifted it and gasped in surprise. Underneath the envelope were her shades! Vinyl stared at them in disbelief. She gave me back my glasses! Vinyl grinned, holding the glasses up in her magical aura and took a close look at the envelope.

On closer examination, the paper itself was some kind of rich stock, not cheap paper like you'd put in a printer, but something expensive and fancy that probably cost a whole bit a sheet. Vinyl held the envelope and glasses at her side while she unlocked her apartment door. She hustled inside and locked the door behind her. Vinyl set down her box of gear and looked at the cream sheet of paper.

She undid the sheet. On it was a letter written in black ink with beautiful hoofwriting:

Dear Vinyl,

My behavior today was reprehensible and completely unacceptable. I want to apologize and mend things between us; the very last thing I want is for a misunderstanding to harm our relationship. To this end, I propose a meeting tomorrow afternoon.

There is a small cafe across the street from Moosebuck Coffee. As you know, the intersection there is well-traveled and the cafe has outdoor tables. I believe it satisfies the requirements for a "neutral location" if you should feel the need to meet at such. I shall be there at 3 PM tomorrow. I sincerely hope I will see you then.

I promise I will behave.

Love,

Octavia

Vinyl frowned, her headache returning. She looked away from the letter, her attention turning back to her glasses. Some part of Vinyl somehow still couldn't believe Octavia had given them back. She remembered them. Octavia must have returned to the restaurant, dug through the debris, and got away from the police investigating the scene. And then she gave them back! She didn't keep them like some creepy pony and wear them around her apartment pretending to be me wait don't think weird thoughts. She gave them back to me. That's what's important. But what does it mean? And this letter... she sounds sincerely sorry. Maybe she's not so bad? I don't know. But she called flipping a table a 'misunderstanding?' No.

Vinyl tossed the letter aside and shook her head, too tired to deal with it. She went into the bathroom and ran the shower, getting it nice and hot and relaxing.

In the shower, Vinyl mentally turned over what she had read.

'Misunderstanding?' Is that what Octavia thought it all was? Yeah, that mare misunderstood alright. She misunderstood that there was anything between the two of them.

Part of Vinyl, an angry part, said aw HAY no to the idea of a meeting. But another part of her, perhaps a kinder part, wanted to set things straight with Octavia, to give Octavia one chance to explain herself and show a shred of reasonability. Maybe they could come to some sort of resolution and part as... well, not friends, certainly. Momentary acquaintances who would try to avoid each other forever and try not to think they had ever met in the first place?

And maybe Vinyl could even get some facts out of Octavia in the process. The alternative was- worst case- to wait around until Octavia did something, something bad enough to have her arrested or jailed or whatever... and Vinyl didn't really want to wait until Octavia did something bad enough to be thrown into jail! Octavia sure didn't seem like the kind of problem which was going to go away on its own, after all. You had to be active and solve this kind of problem. I have to do something.

Vinyl turned off the water, dried herself off in a big, fluffy towel, and wrapped her short wet mane up in a quick spell. She went and sat on the edge of her bed and worried.

Neon, Neon... where are you?

Vinyl still didn't know what was up with her friend. If she met with Octavia, maybe she could learn if Octavia knew anything about Neon. Or just confirm she had nothing to do with it? Maybe he had really just been out partying and coming home at this early morning hour, like Vinyl was? He could be awake. Vinyl was tired to her bones but, hey, why not?

Vinyl got out her phone, flipped through her list, and dialed Neon.

Ring...

Rin-

The call connected.

Vinyl held the phone away from her ear, gaping at it, barely believing it had actually happened, before pressing it back against her head and shouting into it, letting him have it.

"NEON! Where the FEATHERING HAY have you been? I've been worried like... why the HAY haven't you replied to my texts? I thought we were besties and now I really need your help! I'm in..." Vinyl trailed off.

She paused. He wasn't saying anything.

"...Neon, are you there?"

Silence.

Vinyl's voice got small. "...Neon?"

Vinyl pressed the phone to her ear hard, trying to hear anything coming through. She listened, waiting. Seconds ticked by like hours.

Vinyl's phone beeped into her ear as the call disconnected.

Vinyl held the phone away from her face, shocked. What the hay is wrong with him? Why would he do that to me?! Aren't we friends...? Or was it something else? Something... no! No! It was just him being... rude... and... ugh.

Vinyl suddenly had a massive headache and unexpected tears prickled in her eyes.

All this business with the letter, her glasses, the meeting and going or not, Neon being a mule... It was all too much. Just... too much. Vinyl's body ached all over and she couldn't focus. Her eyelids drooped and her head started to bob. She pressed a hoof to her forehead, too tired to even groan.

Still wrapped in the fluffy, semi-damp towel, Vinyl reached out with her magic and flipped the lights out.

She fell back against the bed and didn't notice sleep when it came for her.