Big Tavi Lil Tavi Cardboard Box

Chapters

Top Cat Meets D.J. Rap
If We Ever Get Out Of Here
Off One's Rocker
...We Can Make It Through The Night
Transition
So What's It Gonna Be?
Are You Mad?
Top Shotta
You're Still Learning How To Walk
Recovery Operations
Shining So Bright
Transition
Back Once Again
Euphorium
I Swear Down You Lot Have Lost Your Mind
Psychedelic Entities
With a Little Bit of Luck...

Top Cat Meets D.J. Rap

Author's Note

I will be writing each chapter of this fiction whilst listening to the music referenced. I will not make any direct references to the songs in the text, but will provide a list of songs which influenced each chapter, things Vinyl would most definitely approve of!
Tracklist:
Top Cat - Ruffest Gun Ark (DJ Rap remix)
Super Sharp Shooter - The Ganja Kru
The Prodigy - Charly
DJ Krust - Warhead
DJ Hazard - Machete VIP
Happy reading!

Top Cat Meets D.J. Rap

She is bloody insufferable. I mean really, I thought I was mad when I first agreed to put up with her inane noise, but now she chooses to inflict it upon me nonstop with this massive contraption? I've had it.

Octavia promptly trotted across the foyer and into the main room, all the while feeling the floor's fibrillation increasing in intensity as the ground shook relentlessly. Octavia silently pondered how it was that their walls still stood, that the earth around Ponyville wasn't fragmented and there weren't fire hydrants bursting outside. How Vinyl could subject herself to that level of noise and still function (albeit idly at times) was beyond her.

We should get noise complaints. Why do we not get noise complaints? I do not care if Vinyl's soundproofing spell was designed by Celestia herself, it should not function to this capacity. Upon looking up, clenching her jaw as she did to prevent her teeth from shattering from the sheer vibration, she spotted Vinyl, standing almost stock still, at the epicentre of a spiral of speakers, all poised in positions she claimed gave her maximum 'sound penetration'.

She stood, shades slightly lowered, in what appeared to be a meditative state. The tremulous floor shook all around, yet Vinyl remained inert, save the odd appreciative nod, or small twitch. A smile remained plastered to her face the whole time.

Great, now she's defying physics somehow. I thought that was Pinkie's job? I suppose the verdict is still out on Vinyl. Right. "Vinyl!" Nothing. "Vinyl, are your eardrums defunct?" Octavia remained unnoticed, to her chagrin. Okay, I am either to risk breaking my vocal cords or wait for a transition it seems, I wonder how long that will take? A couple of minutes perhaps? I'm sure I could manage that. Ten seconds passed.

"VINYL SCRATCH YOU WILL TURN THIS FLIPPING CACOPHONY OFF RIGHT NOW OR SO HELP ME LUNA I WILL START CUTTING LEADS. FIVE, FOUR, TH--"

"Hey, Tavi! Why are you counting? Are you trying to guesstimate when the drop is? I do that sometimes too, but I know all of these songs. If anything this is a bit of a throwback for me. Just a few songs from my foalhood--"

"HOW COULD YOU NOT HEAR ME? HOW CAN I HEAR YOU, YOU'RE NOT EVEN SHOUTING OVER IT? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS RIGHT N--"

"About 36 and a half hours of UK Drum and Bass, Jungle, Breakbeat, Ragga, Garage and Dubplate... like I said, just a few. Want in?" Vinyl flashed a small grin as she spoke.

"NO I DO NOT WANT IN! I WANT YOU TO TURN THIS-- HOLD ON, UK?"

"United Klubland: They're a big label out of Baltimare, wanted me to sign a contract with them, but they didn't include any cute drinks with umbrellas in the offer so I had to decline, I mean I have to support myself after all." Vinyl's grin glinted against the gleaming sun shining through the living room window.

"OH SO YOU COULD HEAR THAT COULD YOU? BUT WHENEVER I MENTION TURNING THE MUSIC OFF--" By this point Octavia had gone red with a mixture of anger and exasperation, her rear legs felt almost atrophic from the constant shaking and her vocal cords felt ready to burst under the strain her voice was taking.

"What was that? Sorry, Tavi, I can barely hear you! You should really speak up you know, it's hard to hear you when you're so quiet, and I don't want to miss anything of the important things you have to say." All the while Vinyl's smirk grew in size, until it was almost gargantuan, spreading across her entire face.

"YOU'RE DOING THIS ON PURPOSE! IN FACT, HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS?" She briefly stopped to cough and then resumed speaking. "YOU HAVEN'T RAISED YOUR VOICE ONCE YET SOMEHOW--"

"Uh, bass pony logic? I don't try and explain why I'm awesome, Tavi, I leave that to the fans. Maybe you know why?" Vinyl raised an eyebrow as she spoke, simultaneously lowering her glasses a tad.

All the while Octavia gesticulated as she replied with increased vigour. "THAT'S IT?! YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO HEAR ME THIS WHOLE TIME HAVEN'T YOU? WELL, VINYL?"

"Now, Tavi, don't be mad with me! I was just trying to have a little fun, you know?" Vinyl looked ready to break down in laughter, her rapidly stomping hoof the main indication, but it wasn't apparent in her tone. In fact, she made it sound as if she was completely unaffected by the whole situation.

"YOU INSUFFERABLE SIMPLETON! THIS IS BOLLOCKS! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF SOMEPONY MADE YOU TEAR YOUR OWN THROAT OUT JUST SO YOU COULD BE HEARD OVER YOUR OWN DAMNED LIVING ROOM?!"

"Alright, Tavi, alright! I get it. In fact I totally understand and furthermore I accept your apology, okay?"

"HAVE YOU LOST THE PLOT?"

"I'm pretty sure my plot's right here, Tavi!" She wagged her eyebrows suggestively as she continued, glasses still lowered. "Want to have a little look just in case though?"

"STOP IT, VINYL!"

"Okay, okay, your loss though. But seriously I'll stop now, I need to eat something anyway, it's been a while. Sorry for annoying you, Tavi, you can turn it off if you like."

Despite her previous frustration, aching body and throat, and embarrassment at Vinyl's behaviour, Octavia found herself almost smiling. It was this Vinyl, although seldom seen, that made putting up with her antics almost worth the lack of sleep and constant migraines that came with them. She pondered her time spent with Vinyl as she walked up to the lead speaker, still blasting out bass ridden tunes.

Octavia thought of the gifts she had received from Vinyl, and the fact that she always provided an electric blue tail hair for her cello's bow. She thought of how Vinyl never wanted for anything, and always listened. Even if Vinyl could be a little sarcastic, and in Octavia's eyes a complete wind up merchant, Octavia cared for her roommate, as Vinyl did for her also. Despite these positive thoughts, Octavia was in a mood with Vinyl (or was meant to be at least), and couldn't give up her valuable right to huffiness too easily.

She didn't smile, nor did she grace Vinyl's apology with an answer. Instead, she finished trotting over to the huge, imposing sound system with an air of supposed indignation, and without asking Vinyl, as asking would require speaking, started to push buttons and turn knobs at random, hoping to quell the booming wrath of the complex system.

Celestia, what even is this thing? I wish Vinyl would stop testing new equipment, none of it never comes with a manual, or has a simple 'off' switch. It was at this point that she turned the leftmost, largest knob directly right with more force than needed, causing Vinyl to run at her, screaming.

"NO! TAVI, TURN IT BACK!" she exclaimed, but it was too late.

Pots and plates smashed in the kitchen as fitted drawers were torn off the walls, appliances including the mostly ornamental washing machine were ripped out of their places in the walls, the sofas were capsized, pictures and artwork alike fell from the walls, Octavia clutched her favourite teacup in one hoof and her slightly bloodied right ear in another, as Vinyl desperately scrambled, horn alight, with both forehooves in the mix, trying to calm the overloading machine.

As the music finally died down, Octavia didn't dare observe the scene. She knew that aside from her teacup, which didn't seem all that important in retrospect, the house was going to be a complete and utter wreck. She had seen a few of her things smash to pieces in seconds and she was sure she would have heard the rest if she had not been effectively deafened.

She tried to collect her thoughts, attempting to sit still, but shaking slightly. Octavia was currently trying not to make too much of a moment out of something potentially devastating, so as to save her composure. Me and my bloody pride. she mused as she sat, sprawled haphazardly on the living room carpet. Then, Vinyl came into earshot.

"Hey, Tavi?" Octavia looked up and saw Vinyl stood near the speaker. Her glasses were slightly askew, her mane was no more scruffy than usual, and she wore an unreadable expression upon her face.

"Yes, Vinyl?" Octavia replied, trying to keep her shakiness at bay. The result was slightly strained, but might have registered as dignified with some luck.

Suddenly, the unidentifiable look on Vinyl's face melted into an even larger grin. "That. Was. Killer! Like seriously, I don't think I've ever really FELT the bass like that, you know?" Vinyl paused to glance from side to side. "Shame about the house though." In an instant she had perked back up. "But seriously! Who even knew the Bassenator could function at eleven!"

Octavia glanced at her, askance. "The 'Bassenator'?" Vinyl nodded vehemently. "Why does it even go that high? Why is the max volume not ten?"

"Oh, I commissioned it to go up to eleven." Octavia continued to look at her with scepticism.

"Why?"

"Because eleven is higher." Vinyl asserted.

"Yes, Vinyl, I'm aware of the increment between ten and eleven, but what I'm asking you is this: Why can't the people who make the speakers just make the sound output as high as it would be on eleven on number ten instead? Then a number eleven wouldn't be needed."

Vinyl looked at her incredulously. "Because eleven is higher, Tavi."

"Screw you, Vinyl."

"No, but seriously, Tavi, if the eleven options were spread over less settings that would just make fine tuning harder, wouldn't it? I need more delicate options for my work and like them in my leisure too, that make sense?"

Octavia grumbled. "I suppose it does, thank you for giving me a reasonable explanation, Vinyl, it's nice to hear you talk sense sometimes."

Vinyl looked at Octavia, sat in the wake of their battered house, beginning to relax, and smirked deviously. "Plus, eleven is one higher than ten, Tavi." Octavia's facehoof resounded throughout the house, filled with new space as it was. Vinyl came to sit next to Octavia, stifling her chuckles as she approached.

"You're paying for this."

If We Ever Get Out Of Here

Author's Note

Tracklist:
Ebony Dubsters - Ra (Original Sin Remix)
Nu Elementz - MDMA
Duppy man - Chase & Status
Pendulum - Plasticworld (feat. Fats & TC)
Adam F - The Original Junglesound (Jungle Classics)

If We Ever Get Out Of Here

As Vinyl swiftly trotted to the bank, she pondered the events of the day previous, carefully considering what had happened, and the ramifications of the Bassenator's mishap. She felt that the experience, once the sound system had been turned up to the max, had been extremely immersive, not only satisfying for her, but potentially beneficial also.

Vinyl was an audiophile, it came with her line of work. As such, she knew that further exposure to professional sound of that quality and intensity could help her to further understand the nuances of sound, which she could then impart to her own tracks. The discovery was a potential creative gold mine, one that she would have made prior to yesterday, if not for the fact that she was worried about antagonising her roommate, or worse, deafening her.

Vinyl had conditioned herself over the years to withstand gratuitous amounts of noise, with all the raves and club nights she had attended, and the constant headphone use. Either her body had acclimated to the stress of all the noise, or she had gone partially deaf, she never really thought about which it was.

On one hand, the experience was enlightening, the applications of such a discovery are staggering, plus it sounded freaking powerful. On the other, the house is trashed, and I'm going to have to pay for all of the repairs, as per Tavi's decree.

Vinyl concluded that she had won.

With her small, placid smile ever present, she kept up her trot, taking a scenic route so as to pass a little more time, but keeping her pace, as she did not like to move slowly. Vinyl's energy could wane almost randomly at times, which was partially due to her arbitrary sleeping pattern, and partially to the intensity of her work, which could depend on a plethora of things.

When touring or frequenting a venue she would barely sleep, sometimes restricting herself to 20 minute naps every 3 hours for days at a time, a process which required a lot of discipline, which her casual and carefree demeanor belied her possessing. When recording new music, fatigue would come and go, to the point that she had found herself sleeping in the studio on multiple occasions. As a result of the randomly occurring exertion, she had learnt to exercise moderation.

Vinyl would try not to slow down so much that she would lull herself into a withdrawn state and become lazy, with unordered thoughts, but also not to jump around like a lunatic all of the time, and allow herself to become drained twice as fast.

Hmm, I could call it pragmatic meditation. Or meditative pragmatism? Too wordy. Plus, then it sounds like I'm discussing philosophy, or does it? I'd rather not get into semantics right now, these things always turn into perpetual loops anyway, I never win against me. Think Vinyl, change the subject. Hmm, arguing makes me thing of Tavi, but I hardly need to think of Tavi more than I already do.

Jeez, she was really upset after yesterday, and I was selfish. I absolutely loathe the fact that it was my goading that pushed Tavi to freak out, my sound system that trashed the house, and then my genius idea to act all nonchalant about it when she was clearly trying to hide how upset she was. Honestly, I wasn't very upset about the house, I'm hardly materialistic and I don't need some generic kitchen unit and comfy chair set to be happy, those things are trivial and replaceable.

What upset me most was Tavi's reaction. I know Tavi, somewhat at least, and I know that she likes a semblance of order in her life, always has. I also know that she is more sensitive than she lets on, then again who isn't? I mean, it was only a couple of months ago I saw Rainbow Dash frantically zipping around, looking completely distraught, shouting after her pet, and she puts on such a fearless countenance usually. So it is with Tavi, except she wouldn't let it slip that easily. That's why this hurts me, she's probably aching on the inside, possibly blaming herself for the damage to our house. I can't have that, I need to absolve her of any blame, even if it makes life a little more difficult for me. Paying for this is no issue anyway, I spend money on a select few luxuries and I'm sure I won't miss it much when it's gone.

By this time, Vinyl had arrived at the bank, where she queued, and after standing in line for about ten minutes, was directed to a seat in a small waiting room. Ponyville's branch of Royal Neightionwide was significantly smaller than that in Canterlot, much to Vinyl's dislike. She did not like to be boxed in.

It was not claustrophobia, as such. Rather, it was the perverse silence that often filled the air in small empty places, a disquieting atmosphere that instantly made her feel uncomfortable and apprehensive. The bank's waiting room was such a place. With wall paneling separating her and the chairs surrounding her from the tellers around the corner, the small room was permeated by foreboding silence, mitigated by the occasional cough.

Vinyl jittered in her seat, slowly shaking her right hind leg against the floor as she sat to attention, making sure not to slump back or let herself be overly comfortable in any way. As far as she was concerned, as long as she was ready to leave at any time, she could not end up being trapped permanently. This is silly. I'm not going to die in here, except maybe of boredom. So why am I so unsettled here? You're always unsettled in these places.

She sighed a short breath and adjusted her headphones, dreading the upcoming transition. I'm being completely irrational, I'm fine and I know it. Would Tavi be so uncomfortable in a place like this? Hell no. She'd carry that perfect air of confidence as she always does, none of this would faze her, nor should it me. I really wanna leave. Upon being called over by an assistant, Vinyl shot up, then realising how eager she must have looked, toned down the briskness of her movement, putting on a calmer demeanor and trotting after the assistant without a word, even faced.

When she approached the teller; a middle aged earth pony with a sleek green coat and a greying mane, she knew this would go one of two ways. She was either the fast, courteous and efficient type, and they would be done in a matter of minutes, or she was a facetious, annoying little jobsworth, who enjoyed making life difficult for the customer. There was no in-between with bank ponies, in her experience.

As she approached, and the teller asked for her name in what Vinyl could only perceive as a disinterested tone, she internally sighed. Vinyl was quite famous, and Ponyville was a small town, could she not be recognised by face alone here? Nonetheless she complied. "Vinyl Scratch, and hello to you too." she forced a smile as she spoke, trying to make the experience slightly more pleasant.

The teller looked her up and down before responding. "And you bank here, yes?"

What kind of a question is that? No, I've just spent over 20 minutes queuing and waiting for the only bank in town, and I don't bank here, of course. Sense was made on this day. Lost in her aggravation she almost didn't notice the teller eyeing her with impatience, and barely realised that over 5 seconds had passed since she was asked. Vinyl forcibly undid the knit formed in her brow and responded, barely pacified by the notion that this would be over soon. "Yes, that I do. I've come to request a statement for the last month, as well as a withdrawal."

"Very well, account number and sort code?" Vinyl stopped to ponder her question, it always took her a second to remember, but she didn't like to carry around personal details if she could help it and preferred to memorise things. "Miss Scratch? I asked your account number and sort code."

"Sorry, just trying to remember." I'm not sorry. "Got it. Account number is 11584098."

"And the sort code?"

"98-02-24"

"Wonderful, and the requested amount for withdrawal?"

Vinyl had been thinking this number through earlier in the morning, but had not reached a definitive answer. However, she wasn't going to appear unsure in front of the rude mare if she could help it. "20,000 bits, please." Probably won't need that much.

The teller looked at her in slight frustration before smiling once again. "That is quite the large withdrawal, Miss Scratch. We will have to go through some identity checks and security questions, I'm sure you understand."

Vinyl tried not to make the annoyance too plain on her face, her tail slowly swishing side to side as she processed the information. Oh, so no security checks unless I'm drawing out a lot of money? She's probably jealous that I'm making enough to comfortably withdraw twenty grand.

"Well, I have no forms of identification on me, but I'm sure the bank have a copy of my signature and horn ley line sign?" Signatures were hard to forge, ley line signs were unique to a unicorn and impossible to replicate.

The teller replied with impertinence. "Well, it is unorthodox to appear without identification, I'm honestly not sure if anything can be done."

This is bullshit, I want to leave. Vinyl suppressed a slight growl in her next response. "Ley line signs are impossible to copy, surely you know that can prove my identity?"

The teller put on an apologetic sigh. "Unfortunately, I am not a unicorn, so I do not know these things. My manager is also an earth pony, so he would not be able to verify the truth of your words any better than I could. Perhaps this is a more common means of verification in Canterlot, but I wouldn't know."

"Surely you still serve unicorns here though?" Vinyl asked. "How do they get their verification approved?"

The teller grinned maliciously. "Well, most of them think to bring valid ID's with them. You know, I'd love to be a unicorn, just walk around with my horn stamp and act as if the rules don't apply to me, does it make you feel important? It doesn't matter, all that matters is we are not going to cater specifically to you because you are a unicorn and I am not, I'm afraid."

Officious little bitch. Vinyl could quell the pent up anger and frustration at the terrible service no longer. Coupled with her recent feelings of guilt, and further reinforced by her strong desire to leave, she effectively removed the filter between her brain and her mouth, and said exactly what she had wanted to from the start.

"Look, I'm in a bit of a bind here, okay? This isn't just a simple matter of 'Oh I'll just go get my license from home and come back', I don't have one anymore. Now if you don't let me answer the security questions and retrieve my money, I suppose I'll have to go to Canterlot to get it. And guess what? There are plenty more banks in Canterlot than there are in Ponyville! Ones that likely have a much friendlier and comprehensive service, and won't mess me around. Now, I've dealt with your offhand behaviour up until now, because I'm a decent pony, but I will not be condescended to, you understand? So you can either fix this little attitude problem you have and stop trying to exercise that slither of power over me, or not only will I complain, making sure to cite the racial discrimination act for your blatant bad attitude towards unicorns, but I will walk. I'm sure there are plenty of other banks around that would be glad to receive my custom, considering the amount of money I often make. Are we clear?"

Defeated wasn't the proper word to describe the look on the teller's face. Neither was shocked, or indignant, or even flabbergasted. The teller eyed Vinyl once more, looking her up and down, with a look Vinyl suspected she reserved for few customers: a look of respect, though plainly irritated. "Shall we proceed with your security questions miss?" Vinyl forced stoicism upon herself, despite two warring parts of her mind telling her not to, one enraged and the other proclaiming sweet victory.

She nodded, and was asked her first question, the name of her first pet. "Mandy." She lied. Vinyl had never owned a pet, but making up the answers to her security questions and memorising them accomplished two things. First, as long as she didn't lie about things that were verifiable, such as past addresses, the bank wouldn't know too much about her. Second, it would make her much harder to rob.

"Favourite author?"

"Blunt Pencil." She had never read any of his works. As it was for a few more questions, all with their own premeditated lies in response. Once this process was over, and she had signed the documents pertaining to her acquisition of a statement as well as her withdrawal, her signature was appraised, and her money was counted out.

She was given 2,500 bits in cash, and 17,500 in Equestrian bearer bonds, worth 500 bits each. These were legal tender in many large companies and often used to trade when physical bits were not practical due to their weight and the space they took up. The bearer bond represented the owner's entitlement to the specified amount of bits, when requested at a bank or building society. However they were easier to forge than bits, so were often accepted with skepticism or not atall by smaller companies, not wanting to lose out on coin due to fraudulent trading.

Vinyl walked out of the bank slightly weighed down by the bit bag that hung off her midriff, and briefly pondered what carrying all 20,000 bits would have been like. She dismissed the idea as she stepped outside, breathing her first breath of open air, freedom and tranquility in close to an hour, and her trademark smile instantly reappeared, happy as she was with having the ordeal over with. She set off, ready to tell Tavi that there was nothing to worry about, she would fix everything. But first, something fizzy. She set off down the road arguing a familiar argument with herself, smiling all the way. Dr. Pony or Colta-Cola?

Off One's Rocker

Author's Note

Tracklist:
Nirvana - Polly
Foo Fighters - Learn to Fly
Avenged Sevenfold - I Won't See You Tonight (Parts 1 & 2)
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Can't Stop
Led Zeppelin - Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
(I know, I'm not listening to dnb this time, shocker.)

Off One's Rocker

As Octavia swept away the last remnants of plaster, which had fallen from the ceiling during yesterday's escapades, she breathed a small sigh of relief. She had been cleaning for almost five hours, and was looking forward to a brief respite. She would have given up and had a break much sooner, but she could not stand living around that level of mess any longer.

Now, after the toils of her labour, the floor was visible once again, and any broken furniture, with the exception of the sofas, had been dragged outside to the front garden, ready to be taken to the tip. Octavia lamented the loss of their furnishings, knowing whatever they bought to replace them would be just that, a replacement, rather than the real, original items.

She had managed to order their remaining possessions, setting them out wherever there was space, and had began to take inventory of their losses, although she hadn't considered pricing yet, as it was not her concern. A large part of her couldn't help but feel guilt, as her actions were the direct cause of the small disaster. Vinyl instigated it. She harrumphed and skulked to the kitchen, digging around one of the loosely hanging drawers and finding a bottle of small pills, of which she took one. Dry swallowing had never been an issue for her, but after how much she had shouted yesterday, her throat was hoarse, and she thought it best to wash her pill down with water.

After she had sat, nursing her water for a few minutes, she decided it would be prudent to double check her room for signs of damage, although she was sure she hadn't seen any last night. She surveyed the scene and found nothing amiss, as she had thought, but panic instructed her to confirm it. Her eyes lingered on her cello briefly, and she considered picking it up, but thought better of it. She had been standing on her hind legs sweeping for hours, which took quite a toll on a pony, even one as used to it as Octavia. Thought of repeating that action made her hind legs quiver slightly.

Knowing that she couldn't practice and there was no more sweeping to be done, she headed back to the living room. Some ponies were content with having nothing to do, having time to sit comfortably and peruse their thoughts. This didn't appeal to Octavia, she was a mare of action, and could not abide sitting idly by waiting for things to happen, so she stood.

When she stood, she did so without hesitation, but also knew she had no reason in doing so. She had nowhere to be, nor did she have anything significant to do. Anything she put herself to now would just be mindless filler, in wait of Vinyl's return. Why can I not just relax? Why do you deserve to relax? Octavia paced back and forth, thinking about the house, which she had no reason to leave. She could eat, but knew she wasn't really hungry, she could resume sitting, but knew that would lead to more restlessness, she could clean, but knew she had already been through every room, except Vinyl's.

The thought gave her pause. As an unstated rule, neither mare went in the other's room very often, and never while they were gone. In truth, though they had lived together for over a year and a half, and generally got along quite well, they did not know each other especially well on a personal basis. At their current stage of relationship, one going into the other's room uninvited ran along the same lines of a violation of privacy, yet Octavia considered it anyway. Would she really mind? Her room is closer to the living room after all, and there's more chance it was damaged during the mishap. Plus, she's been out running errands, so she hasn't been able to tackle it herself, I would be doing her a favour, wouldn't I? Octavia considered these thoughts as she inched closer to Vinyl's room, feeling a slight guilt mixing in her stomach along with a small excitement to explore the domain of her curious roommate. You are trying to justify yourself. I am not, my reasons are perfectly valid! Keep telling yourself that Octavia.

Upon turning the knob and pushing the door open, an irritating task for earth ponies, she let out a soft, audiable gasp. I'm living with a vagrant. I must be. This place, it... it looks like a crack house! Well how I'd imagine a crack house looks at least. It's just so messy! Octavia couldn't tell whether the jumble of books, music sheets, blankets, empty bottles and miscellaneous items had been set that way by the shaking from yesterday, but she was shocked regardless. Her room had looked nothing like this, nothing had even fell down. To attribute all of this to Vinyl's speaker seemed more than a little generous in Octavia's eyes.

Octavia still wanted to clean, more out of a sense of duty to the house, and a benevolent desire to save her roommate from disorder, but was unsure where to start. The first thing she did was collect all of the bottles, another difficult task for earth ponies considering the cylindrical shape of the bottles, and put them in a large refuse sack, to be taken outside for collection. Next she started on the books. She picked up a book on pyrotechnics first, and then a guide to intermediate level violin playing, both with several pages dog eared. Next, she found what looked like a tattered journal, and set it with the other two books. Too personal, there is no way I am opening that. Grumbling, realising the answers to all of her questions regarding the quirky mare she lived with sat in that book, she redoubled her efforts, wanting to finish her task before she got too frustrated with how clueless she really was.

The next book she picked up perplexed her, and she thought she had misread the title at first:Extrinsic Elements of Metaphysics. According to the synopsis, it was written regarding the seldom considered principles of existence, including where alicorns came from, and how it was that an alicorn could be made. The book also mentioned both spiritual and scientific exploration, as well as ancient history across the Gaia. Octavia was confused. Slightly so by the concept as well as the jargon, but she felt that was not what really boggled her. After a few seconds it hit her. Why does Vinyl have this book? Is this really the sort of thing that Vinyl reads? I always envisioned her reading dramas, action books, even comics would seem more fitting to her character than this. What even is this? Am I to accept that Vinyl is an intellectual now? She does not speak like one nor does she carry herself like one, it's simply preposterous. Then again, does that matter? I suppose not everyone wears their thoughts and opinions openly, I most certainly do not. But still... After finding several more books pertaining to philosophy, language, ethics and even a couple on engineering, she decided to pick up a book at random and attempt to sift through it. Reading something new would take her mind off things, she reasoned. But, she also wanted to decipher just what it was that drew Vinyl, a hyperactive DJ, to such things.

Octavia sat on her sofa and opened a book titled: To Ancient Equestria and Back Again - A Guide to Etymology. Octavia began to read it page by page, although eventually her concentration waned and she started to consider why it was that she did not know these things about Vinyl. She is a very forthcoming mare, but only over silly, trivial things. When it comes to matter of consequence, I've come to expect either a badly timed joke from her, or a good listening ear. Honestly, sometimes I would prefer her opinions on things, and considering that she reads books like this for leisure, I'm sure there are more than a few interesting opinions floating around in that brain of hers. Octavia closed her eyes in thought as she reclined, book in hoof. I suppose it cannot be helped. We both live busy lifestyles, there simply isn't enough time in the day to sit around speaking of serious and personal things. I mean, I would be surprised if she actually manages to get much reading done at all, considering how swiftly her schedule can fill up at times. Octavia sat, eyes shut, contemplating the complexities of her roommate's character, and the annoyance her lack of understanding continued to bring her, until the door closed, and she heard steps in her direction, followed by Vinyl's upbeat voice.

"Sleeping on the job again Tavi? keep it up and I'm gonna dock your pay." She grinned as she spoke. "What you reading?" She inched closer as she spoke, and upon seeing the book's cover appeared to freeze up, looking slightly alarmed, ashamed, and disgruntled at once. Vinyl quickly hid her look, partially covered by her shades anyway, and was thankful that Octavia had only recently opened her eyes, and didn't seem to notice her obvious discomfort. She tried to keep that same discomfort out of her voice as she spoke again. "What are you doing with that dusty old thing Tavi? I use it as a paperweight, I've never once considered actually reading it." She laughed a fake laugh as she spoke and put on her most convincing look, again thankful for the sunglasses marring her eyes.

Octavia flashed an annoyed face, which she took no time attempting to cover up, straight at Vinyl before rebutting. "Please Vinyl, do not insult me. Your books all have marks from obvious use, none of them are dusty, and some even contain notes in your hoofwriting! Why would you lie about something like this?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Tavi."

"Vinyl!"

Vinyl looked down as she spoke her next words, unable to meet Octavia's eyes, piercing as they were, weapons of her frustration. "W-well, I've never really thought about it, I suppose I'm just not comfortable discussing what I read, people assume things I guess." Vinyl looked around nervously before continuing in a lower tone. "People see me and they think 'Bass Pony', and honestly that's all I want them to think. It's just easier that way. I know that shouldn't include you Tavi, but hey, I'm hardly an expert on you either, am I? See, you're already looking at me in a different way, what if I wanted to just be seen like that, nothing more or less? The Vinyl you see every day is every single bit me, I just have some hobbies, okay?"

Octavia persisted in questioning Vinyl, not feeling that the explanation was satisfactory. "Still Vinyl, seeing this today has made me realise I still know nearly nothing about you. We are meant to be friends, are we not? Then why don't you tell me anything?" Octavia's voice was firm as she spoke.

"Of course we're friends Tavi, how can you question that? We've got this perfect little yin yang thing going on! My white coat to your black mane!"

Octavia paused in her inquisitions to regard Vinyl. "I'm sorry, 'yin yang'?"

Vinyl took on a scholarly tone as she resumed speaking. "It's an ancient Eastern Equestrian philosophy from before Celestia's time, in this case characterised by a circular ubiquitous symbol, containing the yin, and the yang. The yin is a dark swirl, representing femininity, darkness, and the trough through which things travel, be those thoughts or actions. On the opposite side, in equal size, the yang represents passion, growth and strength. The yang is characterised by a light swirl. When these swirls coalesce, they form the yin-yang circle. However, each of the components, yin and yang, have a piece of the other embedded in them permanently. They need each other. They are opposites, but they balance each other out. Although they are commonly seen as contradictory, they are inseparable also. We share the same elements as our colours, or so I think, at least."

Octavia continued to stare at Vinyl, eyes wide and mouth ajar in utter disbelief. She had realised already, earlier that day, that Vinyl was more than she let on, but she had just given Octavia a full lecture. "Vinyl, what just happened to you? One minute you are your usual self and the next 'hello Professor Scratch'? You were like an utterly different mare. I mean, where did that all come from? Why have I never seen that?"

Vinyl, having realised what she had done, once again found an interest in the floor, and sheepishly answered. "Well, you've never asked me a question like that before. I'm sorry, Tavi." Her voice cracked a little as she continued. "I think I'm gonna go finish up my room, the bits are there if you want to start budgeting, we've got 20,000 to work with, let me know if we need more." She placed the bag down and left the room at a fast pace, eyes glued to the floor all the way.

Octavia sat, dumbfounded at first, then bothered once again. Silly bint. She shook her head slowly. No, this is my fault. Why did I have to scold her so harshly? I could have been nice about it. But when am I ever nice about anything? Shaken by her own conflicting thoughts, she grabbed the nearest cushion and leaned back, half squeezing, half hugging it with a pout on her face. All the while she laid there, she considered what Vinyl had meant by her comment on yin and yang, whether she was just noting their colours, and had explained the concept because she was asked, or whether she really thought that they were like their colour's representations also. Thinking more on the subject just caused her discontentment to grow, so she squeezed away her concerns, briefly wondering if the cushion minded atall.

...We Can Make It Through The Night

Author's Note

Tracklist:
Levela - Marmite Motorway
Hazard - Death Sport
DJ Hype - Ready Or Not Drum N Bass Remix
High Contrast - Return Of Forever
Looney - I Get Scared

...We Can Make It Through The Night

Octavia sat on her haunches in the corner of her bed, set against the wall. She was facing the door, her eyebrows knit in reflection, her composure regained after a significantly long period of self proclaimed weakness, during which she laid around in a langourous manner, bashing Vinyl for being difficult to interpret, and then blaming herself for not understanding her roommate's behaviour.

First, she had questioned her own empathetic ability, and wondered if she was simply too dissociated with the ponies around her, even the ones closest to her, to be of any use in matters of sensitivity and compassion. Next, Octavia considered how it could be construed that she was a rude, invasive pony, going through her roommate's possessions without any considerations as to her feelings, then, when she had found something that confused and vexed her, deciding to confront Vinyl about it rather than keep it to herself.

Part of her mind had argued that her reaction was a sign of strength and that she would not take nonsense in her own home, nor deal with pretenses, but the rest of her strongly argued that she should not have pried in the first place. Octavia was not used to this manner of internal conflict, raging in her mind as it was, and blamed it for the temporary break in her usually prim behaviour. Arguments warranted counterarguments and reasons presupposed blame; Octavia's mind was tumultuous and discordant.

By this point, Octavia had managed to calm herself somewhat, reminding her stilling form that she was usually assured in her thoughts and decisions and was not a mare of hesitation, and would not be now. It was time for her to order her thoughts and figure out just what she would do, she decided. Despite this revelation, Octavia was reluctant to begin. Still, her mind's voice persisted.

I should feel guilt. I am a fool for my behaviour. Vinyl may have acted in a different manner to that which is her nature whilst in my presence, or she may not have, I do not know that. There are many studious ponies that do not flaunt it, aren't there? What right have I, existing upon the same level as her, and exercising a similar level of emotional stagnancy, to judge Vinyl on her character? Does having more sides to her make the ones I have already seen irrelevant? Must I assume that because she is educated to the degree that she is, likely more so than myself, that she doesn't like that hyperactive raving music that she does?

That would be ridiculous. Even if her looks, image, and profession are all part of some facade, you can't fake a personality like Vinyl's, nor an appreciation for music such as the one she possesses. In all honesty, I couldn't ask for a better roommate, and finding out she has more dimensions to her just makes her all the better. I have been curious about Vinyl for a long time, knowing she has never had a manager, that her mixes do not pass through any other hooves during their editorial process, that she must have self-marketed all the way to the level of fame she has attained. How did it not occur to me sooner that she was mentally gifted?

In more ways than just musical production at least. I like to say that I am perceptive, but I appear to be mistaken. Vinyl made it clear earlier that she cares for me, I need to stop sulking and return this gesture in some way. I should let her know that I can understand her, that nothing is too confusing, that things can be dealt with no matter what--

At this point, Octavia had to stop her internal rambling, or as she affectionately referred to it, thought ordering. She did not stop because she wanted to, or because she had run out of things to say. She did not even stop because she had finally made sense of all that was happening in her head, and all that had happened earlier that evening. She stopped because she heard the door open, and she yearned to tell Vinyl, who was surely dealing with severe upset, that she wished to help. At once, she roused herself and stood, angling toward her bedroom door and pushing on the wood, as it was not fully shut.

With the door open, she trotted into the foyer to greet Vinyl, a small, sheepish smile upon her face. Vinyl did not regard her, or even steal a glance at her, instead trotting past at a relaxed pace, cigarette in her mouth. The sight gave Octavia pause.

She knew that Vinyl had smoked in the past, even while living with her, however, she was meant to have quit months ago. Then, she had spoken about having no need for the habit, and wanting a positive change in her life, and Octavia had been supportive. It was not Vinyl's picking up of the habit that shocked her though, it was her smoking in the house. When Vinyl and Octavia had began rooming together, it had been on the condition that Vinyl didn't smoke indoors, due to Octavia's preference of cleanliness and dislike of yellow, smoke stained walls and ceilings. She also didn't like the thought of her lungs being polluted by the second hand smoke currently circling the room in small, wraith-like wisps.

As she watched a translucent column of smoke rise to the ceiling, she realised that something else was amiss, something she had not initially considered. Vinyl had not acknowledged her upon her arrival. Not a look, not a greeting, or even a nod. Octavia could feel frustration mounting, due to Vinyl's blatantly deliberate ignorance, but tried to keep it bottled as she moved to address her directly. "Vinyl?" She asked, almost meekly. There was no response, save Vinyl stopping in her tracks, still not facing her. She tried again, more strength present in her tone this time. "Vinyl, you're smoking again."

"Well done." Vinyl couldn't have sounded more blunt.

Octavia only stood for a second, mouth open, as she imagined that Vinyl's eyes were boring into her with a strength with matched her tone. Despite this, she did not falter. "You know you're not supposed to smoke in the house Vinyl, I would greatly appreciate it if you could put that out."

Vinyl took a long, drawn out puff on the cigarette before lifting it in her aura and flicking it onto the carpet, stubbing it out with the tip of her right forehoof after it had landed. "Better?" She asked, sarcasm laced in her tone.

"No that is not better! Honestly Vinyl, what is wrong with you tonight?! I've thought and thought about the things you said earlier and I wanted to believe there was a feasible reason for your upset but this is petty. I know that I shouldn't have been in your room without your permission and I know that it was wrong to make assumptions about you based upon your choice in literature! I also realise that I could have been less pressing when asking you why you chose to hide these things, or even that I could have not asked at all, I know these things Vinyl, and I am sorry, but I wish you would stop this! You never ignore me, you are always polite and considerate of my feelings, and you never intentionally upset me in the way that you just have. Frankly this is nothing like you, Vinyl. You are acting completely out of character and I would hope that--"

"Hold on wait." Vinyl interjected, indignation rapidly developing from her previous, scornfully indifferent appearance. "You think I'm being, what was it, out of character? That's what you said, isn't it?" Vinyl waited a second before continuing. "Well come on, tell me, was that what you said?"

Octavia opened her mouth to respond. "Well yes Vinyl that's what you're doing. Anyone who knows you could see--"

Octavia's sentence was drowned out by Vinyl's laughter, long, out of place and almost maniacal in delivery. In a few seconds, Vinyl started to speak again. "So let me get this clear. You believe that I, a mare that you personally confessed, "never tells you anything" am being out of character? How would you know, if I don't tell you anything, eh Octavia? How would you know what's the real me, and what's an affectation, a pretense, which isn't really me? How the hell would anypony know? You really aren't as smart as you pretend to be Octavia, you sit around and conclude that I am something different to what you thought I was, and then you get all shocked when I act differently! Like shit, what did you expect? And before I go on a tangent let me put it to you that nobody knows what is and isn't in character for me. I mean, screw me, most ponies only see me when I'm out working, and I don't even talk then! I've had people come up to me and talk with really slow, exaggerated movements because they assume I'm freaking disabled or something! Like yeah, clearly cause I'm not talking every prick's ears off while I'm at work, I must be unable to speak or something. Ponies and their asinine assumptions never cease to shock me! Maybe I wanna get on with my work without interruption, that ever occur to anyone? Or maybe it's because there's no point in trying to speak when I'm behind a turntable which I haven't already enchanted, because who the hell is gonna hear me if I do? And don't even get me started on the shades, the amount of ponies that treat me as if I am blind is almost staggering. Do you see how frustrating all of this must be to me? And these are judgments I have to deal with from strangers. Now, all of that would be fine, totally fine, in fact it has been for a long time, because I could go to my home, a home which I share with you and allows me to live in a judgment free atmosphere. I'm with someone who won't try and ask me a million questions, someone who won't assume things about me, someone who won't think me something I'm not and will just accept me how I want to be accepted. But you had to ruin that, didn't you? You had to go and alter your perception of me, and now you think that everything I do is some kind of ploy? Like I'm just playing an act all of the time? I was happy Tavi... I've been happy for a long time, because I've felt safe and secure here. You know, I've heard that one a lot tonight, the whole 'out of character' spiel. Custom said it, and okay I've been going there for a while and I just randomly walked in all robot like and asked for smokes, excusable I suppose. But then Ditzy said it. Ditzy, who I've spoken to like what, ten times at best? She turns around and tells me that my behaviour isn't 'like me', whatever the hell that means. Like what, is this some magical reality where ponies never get upset?

All the while Octavia had stayed quiet, partially out of respect for a clearly distraught Vinyl, visualised by her shaking and her wildly varying intonation, and also because Vinyl's words stunned her. The mention of Ditzy made her speak up. "What did you say to Ditzy, Vinyl?"

"Told her to take a hike is what I did, she was getting on my last nerve."

Octavia took on a scolding tone, albeit gentle. "Vinyl, you know how sensitive poor Ditzy is, what was she even doing?"

"Doesn't matter what she was doing she was irritating me! That mare is always in the wrong place at the wrong time, getting in the way."

"Vinyl, what was she doing?"

Vinyl's gaze and tone lowered in force and she replied with hesitance, for the first time since returning home. "She was trying to help me."

"What do you mean, Vinyl? You hurt her feelings?" Octavia understood what she was implying but had difficulty imagining Vinyl being so mean to a vulnerable pony like Ditzy, no matter her mood at the time.

"I mean she came over and tried to cheer me up, and I ignored her at first. And then she said something, I can't even remember what it was really, I don't even think it was anything important, but something inside me kinda snapped... I pushed her away, I pushed all of my upset and anger onto her, like a freaking bully. I think she was crying when she left, and yet, all I could think of is how lonely I felt, not the poor mare I had just reduced to tears... I feel terrible. Ditzy didn't deserve it, none of you have deserved this tonight, and I don't deserve any of you..." Vinyl was visibly trembling, her forehooves locked to the ground and her gaze's focus impossible to determine past her shades.

Octavia had tried to remain composed throughout the entire exchange, but at this point her own emotions had began to seep through, and she felt the need to speak her thoughts aloud. "I am so sorry Vinyl... I am sorry for everything. I am sorry that I have driven you to this point, I am sorry that I could not have been more understanding, I am sorry that you did not feel you could confide in me. I feel like a terrible, terrible friend." Octavia, although profusely apologising, managed to say all of these things with a straight face and an unlaboured tone, something that made Vinyl chuckle slightly, despite her current sadness.

"It's me that should be sorry. Look at all I've done tonight, I've hurt everypony that's come near me, and for what? Who benefited from it? I should be apologising."

"You should not apologise for being yourself, even if the pony inside of you is hurt, it is not a common occurrence for you. You do not often hurt the feelings of others, and the occasional slip up is excusable, as long as you feel remorse, Vinyl."

"I feel terrible Tavi... I've just felt so... so angry! So incompetent. I feel as if I'm forced to act in a certain way. Over the years I've built a face so elaborate that my life may as well be modeled around it. And, I guess it technically is. Since I found this music, this amazing unbound thing, that gave the artist as well as the listener autonomy and freedom of expression, I knew that it was what I needed in my life. I needed an opportunity to do something fulfilling with my life, to show who I was, more to myself than anyone else. Believe it or not, music wasn't my first direction in life, nor my first interest, but it was the one that drove me forwards and brought me happiness. Over the years, I've become absorbed in my musical ventures, and in response music has absorbed me. It's given me an image, a fanbase, and with that many other things, some could be seen as great, some not so much... People's preconceptions have shaped me, shown me what is expected from a mare of my position, so I've played that position as best I can, so much that certain parts of me just don't show on the surface anymore. The side of me that cares about the serious issues and questions of the world, it feels almost like a guilty pleasure now that my life is facilitated by it's own propaganda. I wish I could be that mare again, as well as who I am now. I wish I didn't have to hide, I wish I didn't feel so boxed in..."

Octavia smiled warmly and placed a hoof upon Vinyl's wither and rubbed her gently, a gesture she had extended to her only a handful of times in the past. "I would have appreciated you however you were Vinyl. However you came across to me, I would have liked you as much as I do all the same. We always would have been close no matter what. It is like you told me, I am your yin, and you are my yang. We are here to protect and look after each other, and I will always have full intention of doing so. I will be strong for both of us, but I need you to support yourself too, Vinyl, please. You cannot go on like you have tonight."

Vinyl held back her bubbling emotions no longer, releasing a stream of tears and crying out audibly, something Octavia had only seen a couple of times in the past. Octavia came forward and embraced Vinyl. As awkward as she found the motion, along with the unfamiliar contact, she knew that Vinyl needed the comfort. She could not help but ponder whether or not she found the hug comforting herself, as she held Vinyl in her firm hooves, letting her softly cry into her coat, her shades slightly pushed up but eyes buried in Octavia's fur.

After an interval that neither pony attempted to measure, the crying slowed, and Vinyl pulled herself away from Octavia, donning her shades once again after wiping her eyes with a forehoof. Octavia hoped that her counsel had helped somewhat, and decided to test the waters. "I think that you should request an audience with Princess Twilight, Vinyl. Hear me out before you respond. Princess Twilight is the Princess of Friendship, and therefore would likely be able to suggest ways for you to get out of your shell and be the real you, unmitigated by societal expectations or your own barriers. Second, I am led to believe that she was once the town librarian, before she was titled princess, and would likely be suited to discuss books and literature with you, more than one such as I. Although, that is not to say that I will not discuss your books, or anything else with you. I will if you wish me to. In fact, I will always attempt to be of assistance. The third reason that I suggest Princess Twilight is that I suspect she has been through something similar to you; ponies acting differently around you for superficial reasons. She may know coping mechanisms, among other things. Will you consider it?"

Vinyl nodded sharply. "I'll do it, Tavi. I don't want to feel like this anymore, and I don't want to make anyone sad again... I'll do it, and I'll get better, I promise."

"Which reminds me, you will apologise to Ditzy, the first chance you get."

Vinyl nodded once again, ears flattened against her head.

Octavia sighed and looked Vinyl over, laying on the floor next to her. She looked a wreck. Her lips appeared to be dry, her shades were glossed over, likely due to tears, her fur was frazzled and messy, and there was a burn mark on one of her forehooves. Only her mane looked as it always did, brilliant and unbroken, a bastion of dazzling colour among a sea of tarnished fur, the last defence of her tattered image. "We're going to get through this, Vinyl, I assure you."

"No need to assure me, Tavi, I could get through anything with you by my side."

Octavia only smiled in content at the response, all the while looking out of the window at the calm night sky, devoid of clouds of rain. No wind was whistling by and slicing at those who were unfortunate enough to be caught in it, nor was there hail pelting down upon the hard ground. The world was calm, as it should be, as it was at that moment in the house of Octavia and Vinyl, as it would be for days to come. Octavia willed this thought to be true with steady conviction as she let the effects of fatigue take over, staying with Vinyl awhile and making sure that she was significantly calmer than earlier, before conceding to her tired mind's demands and retiring to her bed.

Transition

Vinyl really was an astounding pony, something which I never would have guessed before I had the strange pleasure of meeting her. While I, like most others who have met her, initially thought that she lived for parties and thrived on music, I discovered in time that I was only partially correct.

Sometimes, I still feel the need to broach this topic with her, although things have changed significantly since those times. The idea of what she experienced is still so alien to me, I find myself becoming curious. But, as I was saying, Vinyl was amazing in so many ways, she was extraordinarily talented, caring, intelligent and kind, and she still is now, although rest assured she is significantly less guarded. Honestly, I worried, back then. If she had stayed how she was, with all of those conflicting emotions swirling around in her head like that, well, let's just say that she could have snapped a lot harder than she did.

Of course, that isn't to say that she never felt low again, after that one conversation. Whether she would tell me at the time or not, Vinyl was a glutton for self punishment, and at times couldn't help but inflict it upon herself. There were a lot of times when nobody knew just what was going on with her, and that was how she liked it. I'm able to say all of this because the strikingly less secretive Vinyl Scratch of today has told me herself.

Now at this point, you're probably thinking "Well this is all well and good, but is the new furniture ever going to be ordered?" The answer to that, I am sorry to say, is not yet. Vinyl had things to work through right then, and the furniture, despite the initial urgency of replacing it, ended up on the back burner. Actually, thinking about it, the old furniture probably ended up somewhere similar.

But, I digress. At this moment, Vinyl was not thinking about whether periwinkle blue couches would compliment the interior decor, or whether the undamaged living room curtains should be swapped for a darker set, just to accommodate for the changes. Right now, Vinyl, seemingly the embodiment of calm and collected confidence, was stood wondering how the heck she was going to come forward to anypony with her problems, let alone a royal.

Vinyl considered what she would say, what she even could say, and how it would be received. She wondered whether she would be alone during her visit or if there would be others present. She wondered if anybody would take her seriously, or if she even took herself seriously, for that matter. She wondered if any of this would be of any help, and at one point considered blowing it all off and slipping back into indifference, but then concluded that she couldn't run away from herself, and resolved to push forwards with her task. Words can't describe how glad I am that she did.

The next part of the story details Vinyl's adjustment to life without unnecessary barriers.

So What's It Gonna Be?

Author's Note

Tracklist:
Avenged Sevenfold - Beast and the Harlot
Judas Priest - Leather Rebel
Megadeth - Holy Wars the Punishment Due
Rush - Spirit of the Radio
Black Sabbath - Symptom of the Universe

So What's It Gonna Be?

As Vinyl walked, soft psychedelic trance playing in her ears and a hard mint slowly disintegrating in her mouth, she thought back to why she was walking, and concluded that she would keep her pace, rather than stopping to drag things out a little more.

It's inevitable, I suppose. I've agreed to it after all. Either get help, or some advice at least, or stay how I was.

Vinyl's nerves were superficially calm, any pony that walked past her would remember the certain spring she had in her step, and the calm grin she wore upon her face, as she did almost always. However, on the inside, she was at odds.

What should I even say? Oh, hi Princess, I'm Vinyl Scratch. You may have heard my music being played by intoxicated ponies in raves and nightclubs. Thing is, I'm really a complete freaking brainiac with a load of issues and I don't know how to open up or balance myself, and as a result I'm driving the one friend I have away. Also, I might be depressed, and I don't know who the hell I am when I look in the mirror half the time. And that's not even the half of it. Hold on, what do I even look like? I'm meant to be addressing royalty here.

Vinyl paused to regard herself, but with the lack of a mirror, it was difficult. She instantly regretted her decision to bring her large, bulky headphones with her. Even though she could quite easily take them off and leave them to hang around her neck, headphones and purple shades were hardly fitting attire for a meeting with the Princess of Friendship. She briefly thought about the transmogrification charm keeping her mane spiked and aloft, but decided against removing it, knowing she would need to spend considerable time with a brush in order to straighten out her hair, which would be especially clumpy. She didn't have a brush with her.

As she approached the massive tree shaped castle, with it's wooden, unassuming door for an entrance, she assessed the size of the structure, and assumed there would be a desk or reception of some sort. She had never been inside the castle before, as she had never had reason to enter, but as she neared the double doors, she could feel a part of her wondering about the architecture, knowing it had been blinked into existence, and wondering what materials it was made from, what magic made it possible to erect such a structure. Unfortunately, all of this wonder was drowned out by her next assumption, one she made as she opened the door, which proved startlingly easy to push with hooves despite its stature, and began to step inside.

I'm entering a castle, to request an audience with a princess. Not only do I look like an utter mess, but I'm here for a walk-in appointment. Walk-ins mean anterooms, and you can bet they don't appreciate music blasting through the waiting pony's headphones here. So I'm stuck in a freaking waiting room for however long it takes for Princess Twilight to see me, in total silence, and I look like this. Ten bits says I'm institutionalised within the hour.

At this point, Vinyl reconsidered her position. She could, by all means, turn tail and leave. No one had spotted her since she had quietly stepped in, and it was unlikely anyone would notice if she stepped right back out, and forgot about this whole endeavour. She could go home, tell her roommate that all went well and she was on the road to recovery, and not have to deal with any of this.

And then what, have another silly breakdown because nothing will have changed? Come on, Vinyl, you're better than this. Sure it might be difficult, but are you really going to run away again? Go and do something about your problems instead of letting them eat away at you for once! You can do it, make yourself proud.

Vinyl's improvised motivational speech is what allowed her to keep moving, despite the worry still clawing at her mind. As she trotted on, she noticed a young unicorn mare sitting behind a desk, to the side of the room. The mare had a light pink coat and a purple mane with streaks of aqua blue running throughout. Vinyl had never met the mare before, but walked on toward her, hoping she could be of some assistance.

"Hello, my name's Vinyl Scratch. I'm hoping to request an audience with the Princess, do you know who I would go to in order to arrange that?"

The mare laughed heartily and in doing so flashed two rows of brilliantly white teeth, before responding.

"My, you're a formal one, aren't you, Miss Vinyl Scratch? Well look no further. I, Starlight Glimmer, magical mare extraordinaire, will aid you in this task. I've actually heard of you before, you know? I mean, of course I've heard of you, seeing as you're famous and all that buzz, but I mean that Twilight once suggested I make friends with you, although I don't think you could hear with those headphones on at the time. Funny, considering she clearly doesn't know you that well, or you wouldn't be requesting an audience with her. And she's meant to be the expert on these things."

Starlight finished her sentence with a slightly smug grin, which Vinyl supposed she could attribute to the fact she had just one upped the Princess in her own small way. Vinyl, internally, found this quite amusing, but didn't outwardly display it in fear of being reprimanded. Starlight Glimmer knows Princess Twilight, after all. It's her place to say such things.

"Well I'm glad you'll be able to help me, Starlight. And no, I'm not typically the formal type, I just assumed it would be protocol here."

Starlight laughed once again, in her musical, slightly derisive and playful manner.

"Protocol? This is the Castle of Friendship, not the Castle of Taxes and Legislation! You'll be just fine speaking as you always would, around me at least" She winked. "As for Twilight, I'm afraid she's booked up for the next three weeks, I can possibly slot you in for a meeting on April 26th?"

Vinyl looked away, slightly dejected but simultaneously relieved. Starlight grinned once again before continuing.

"Just kidding! What kind of princess can't make time for her subjects? You'll be able to see her today, I'm sure. Although, in all seriousness, she is currently undergoing a diplomatic etiquette lesson, pretty important stuff really."

Vinyl looked up, not particularly surprised that such things were part of the Princess's regimen. Twilight Sparkle was a relatively new princess, after all, and was likely not as versed on all of the nuances of diplomacy and the treatment of dignitaries as others who had been born into their station. Nonetheless, she wondered what an etiquette lesson for a princess might entail. Maybe something on public speaking? Or how to address particular races, and how their customs work. It could even be dinner manners! Vinyl imagined the princess at a dinner with a bunch of ambassadors, using the wrong soup spoon as everypony watched in horror, and stifled a giggle.

"What, you thought my joke was funny?" Starlight asked.

Vinyl blanched, realising her mistake. "Um, y-yeah, real funny, haha!" She could almost feel the pony in her head facehoofing at flagellant levels.

Starlight's grin was replaced with a more genuine one. "Oh, thanks. I think it was a bit off colour myself, I'm glad I could make you laugh though."

Vinyl nodded, glad she had got away with her treasonous mockery, before responding articulately.

"So, where should I wait for the princess to be done?"

Vinyl did not like the idea of waiting in a small, empty quiet room for an indeterminate amount of time, and hoped she could remain speaking to Starlight Glimmer. The mare appeared happy, if a little insecure and boisterous. She thought she could see herself in there, just a little.

"Well, you could wait here." Starlight mused.

This was an immense relief to Vinyl, who had already began psyching herself up for the prospect of sitting around doing nothing. Then, Starlight continued, and doubt formed in her belly.

"Or you could just go straight in. Personally, I'd recommend that. Twilight doesn't like people to walk on eggshells around her, especially if that behaviour is due to her status."

"But isn't it rude to barge in on somepony during a lesson on manners?"

"She should be just about finished anyway. If you go now you should be able to catch her before she goes off to do something else."

Vinyl cocked an eyebrow. "And you're sure about this?"

"Absolutely! And if not, you have full permission to blame me." Starlight grinned.

Vinyl grinned back. "I suppose if I have that I should just make myself at home, right?"

Starlight giggled vivaciously and threw her head back slightly. "That you should! Mi castle es su castle!"

"But it's not your castle." Vinyl deadpanned.

"Well I've got a room here. First that, then the world, huh?"

Starlight motioned to the space around her as she spoke, before taking a serious tone.

"I hope Twilight can help you. Now go, or you won't catch her!"

Vinyl moved urgently in the direction Starlight indicated. "I'm off there now, thanks a ton!"

Starlight only giggled in response, leaving Vinyl to wonder if she had played another prank on her since the first. She hoped not, as despite the mirth of her previous conversation, to treat the matter she was here for as a joke also would be undue levity, and she would not think favourably upon Starlight if she had indeed been pranked. She carried on walking down a winding corridor, hoping to find the throne room promptly, so she would have less time to worry about what was going to happen next.

I hope this isn't a joke. I really don't need Princess Twilight getting angry at me right now. I just want to get in, say my piece and get this over with. Although, I suppose if she gets mad, I can always say that Starlight said it was okay to go straight in. I mean she did, after all, and I'm not getting in trouble for her amusement if I can help it. I'd like to think she isn't tricking me though, but that giggle of hers was the same as when she told me Twilight wasn't free, and her intonation didn't vary once. She's clearly a good liar. If she has played me I'm gonna be pretty damn pissed.

Knowing she would just get wound up if she stopped to think on the matter any longer, she continued for the door, opening it and walking in on a scene which could only be described as quite odd. Vinyl had seen some strange things before, particularly in gothic raves, but those things often had an air of depravity or wickedness about them. This scene, however, was just weird. Vinyl had absolutely no clue what was going on.

Princess Twilight was stood in the centre of the room, the thrones and table adjacent. Opposite her was Rainbow Dash. Vinyl knew both of the mares by name and title only, having barely conversed with either before, and never having spoken at length. The thing that seemed odd though, was how close they were standing to one another, and more so, the rhythmic pattern of soft wing beats emanating from the pair as they spoke, not taking their eyes from one another.

At points they stopped speaking, only for Rainbow to say certain words and phrases, eyes still trained on Twilight, looking as if she was attempting to evoke a reaction. Twilight stayed still as she listened, but occasionally her wings fluttered and twitched, as if she was irritated. After this, they resumed speaking, back and forth.

Vinyl took in the scene as she stood by the door, wondering whether she should make her presence known or let the two friends finish their strange, flapping, twitching conversation first.

This was clearly the joke. Starlight told me there were etiquette lessons going on when there weren't. Either that or they finished early, or she got her times mixed up. Still, I don't want to interrupt a private conversation, especially one like this. Why are they flapping in sync anyways? Is that an intimacy thing? Are they an item, maybe? If so, I've never heard about it. Maybe it's a secret? They haven't noticed I'm here. Oh shit, if I go now they'll hear the door close! Then Princess Twilight will know that I know, and she'll definitely hate me. Rainbow Dash could probably catch me in less than a minute anyways, there's no point in running, I'll just act oblivious and hope for the best.

After mustering an imitation of courage, Vinyl meekly spoke up. "Um, Princess? Princess Sparkle?"

Are You Mad?

Author's Note

Tracklist:
Wiley - Wearing My Rolex
DJ Fresh - Gold Dust
Tinie Tempah - Pass Out
JME - Calm
Big Narstie - Giant

Are You Mad?

Twilight turned slightly upon hearing Vinyl, before exclaiming in shock, jumping backwards, flapping spastically and launching herself a few feet to the right as Rainbow tried to keep a lid on her steadily growing laughter. Vinyl stood, dumbfounded, as Twilight recovered from her embarrassing position on the floor. She then turned to glare at Rainbow.

Rainbow held her hooves up in front of front of her, suddenly floating, as if preparing to evade Twilight, as she quickly spoke.

"Whoa, hold on, Twilight! Before you say anything, I've gotta tell ya, that was really damn funny. And I'm talking like 'I'm gonna laugh myself a hernia' funny! You freaked the hell out!"

Twilight responded, red faced and flustered, with annoyance in her tone. "Well thanks, Rainbow, glad I amuse you so much."

Rainbow laughed nervously. "But seriously, Twilight, you are getting better. I'd say you'll have it more or less down within a couple of weeks." Clearly eager to change the subject, Rainbow's eyes surveyed the room before landing on Vinyl, who still didn't know what to make of things. "Hey, Pon-3! What's up?" Rainbow glided over with haste and before Vinyl knew it, she was beside her, a wide grin on her face.

Vinyl didn't know what to say. The situation had not gone anywhere near how she had expected it would so far. She decided the conclusion was that Ponyville was a strange place, and it was best to just roll with it, and not think too much. So, instead of pondering what the heck had just happened, at her brain's behest, she turned to face Rainbow, regarding her with a smile of equal size, and spoke.

"Hey, dude! You know, I've seen you in the air a few times, doing what you do, and I've gotta say you've got some killer moves! I, personally, would call myself a fan. You own that sky! I'll be surprised if you don't make wonderbolts history one day."

It's not a lie, I know she'll make wonderbolts history, I've seen her in action. Honestly, I do think she's a respectable mare, but she's freaking scary too. Like seriously, she could probably smack me all over the place if she lost her temper.

Rainbow's grin only widened and she put on a boastful tone. "Well, what you've probably seen is just my standard flying. I can see how somepony could confuse that with an aerial trick though, I'm a pretty good flyer, after all." Her unrehearsed speech was cut short by more daggers being glared her way by Twilight, forcing her to adopt a more bashful tone, a strange thing to hear from such a confident mare, in Vinyl's opinion. "But thanks, Pon-3, it's nice to know that I'm brightening somepony's day when I'm showing off. Honestly, I'm a bit of a fan myself, you've made some awesome tracks." Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck as she spoke, voice cracking slightly.

Well, that provoked a fast change. Rainbow must be pretty used to being scolded by Twilight, considering how quickly she changed her behaviour. With that in mind, I'd rather not get on the wrong side of an all-powerful Alicorn either.

"You often do. And please, just 'Vinyl' is fine. Thanks for the compliment too, it's nice to know somepony is enjoying my music."

Rainbow smiled sheepishly. "you're probably wondering what we were doing aren't you? Twilight, mind if I tell her?"

Great, now I get to hear about the scandalous relationship, as if my reason for being here isn't already awkward enough.

Twilight nodded, begrudgingly, and Rainbow continued. "Right now, I'm teaching Twilight all about wing control."

Vinyl paused. "I'm sorry, what?"

Twilight looked ready to die of embarrassment as Rainbow spoke once again.

"You know, wing control! Well, I guess you don't. You see, basically, when a pegasus is young, their wings are extremely sensitive, and quick to stiffen, become locked in place or flap uncontrollably when their owner feels a strong emotion. Of course, when you're a foal, all emotions are pretty strong, which is why you often don't see young pegasi flying. All pegasus children have to learn about wing control, so they won't accidentally freeze up when they're flying cause they're too annoyed or excited."

Vinyl nodded, amusement painted across her face. "And Twilight must need this because--"

"Because my wings are still relatively new, I wasn't born with them after all." Twilight interrupted. "What Rainbow was doing was attempting to teach me how to maintain control of my wings, whilst emulating various emotional triggers, designed to make me want to react. The theory is that with practice, I should be able to stave off the urge to flap away, or tighten up, and won't be at risk of doing it during conversation. As Rainbow is the most in control of her wings out of all the pegasi I know in the area, I decided it would be best to ask her to be my instructor on wing etiquette."

This is pretty hilarious. The idea of Rainbow Dash being an instructor of etiquette is just too damn funny. How the hell am I meant to not laugh at that? She's even more casual in her mannerisms than me for crying out loud, and that's saying something!

Vinyl struggled to form a coherent response, worried she might burst into laughter if she spoke on the subject too long, eventually settling for a simple statement.

"I see, that's very interesting, I never realised there was so much to it."

"Yeah, I was pretty surprised too." Twilight laughed nervously as she spoke, before straightening herself out and standing in a pose befitting a member of the highest echelon there was. "Now, may I ask why you are here, Vinyl Scratch?"

She spoke with a serious tone in her voice that was not present earlier. Vinyl could tell that it was the voice she used to address her subjects, rather than her friends. Not an uncaring voice, but a dutiful one, with which she could mask her emotions and fears and talk with power and influence on a subject. Twilight Sparkle and the Princess Twilight were two very different ponies, it could be argued.

Vinyl pushed her strength into her voice as she responded, figuring that the best way to receive results was to be direct. She had quickly forgotten the jovial nature of their discussion up until this point. "I've come to seek your counsel regarding friendship. That is, I wish to retain the friendship I already have, and learn to like myself also, for who I am. I have not been a happy pony recently, Princess Sparkle, and I'm worried that'll be a permanent problem if I don't do something to fix things. This isn't my first time feeling this way, but it is the first in a long time. I only hope that you can help me."

Twilight regarded Rainbow. "Would you like her to leave?

Vinyl shook her head. "I have no issue with her being here."

"If she stays, you have my utmost confidence that she will keep anything you say here confidential. She is, after all, the living embodiment of the Element of Loyalty."

"As I've said, I have no problem with it, feel free to listen in, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow nodded. "Thanks, Vinyl."

At this point, Vinyl began to recount her experiences over the last couple of days, from the tension of the house being thrown into turmoil to the issue with the bank teller, all the way to Octavia's discovery, her brooding, standoffish reaction, and her verbal attack on Ditzy Doo, which both Rainbow and Twilight winced at, when it was mentioned. She also explained certain other things, such as her extreme dislike of silence, and feeling boxed in. She explained that she is very close to her roommate, mainly because she feels relaxed and secure around her, and not because they have spent a lot of time bonding. In fact, Vinyl said that most often they only interact for a couple hours a day, favouring time spent alone pursuing their own goals.

She briefly touched upon her rant, mentioning that she disliked people's preconceptions and assumptions regarding her, and that she was scared to show her real, unfiltered self, favouring the persona she had constructed over the last few years. She mentioned that she had only been a DJ and producer for a few years, and when Rainbow pressed the issue, skirted around the question of what it was she had done before that. She did, however, say that she was more miserable and unfulfilled then, before she found her current profession, then she ever could be now.

She ended her explanation by again iterating just how trapped she felt, and how often her mind was in a state of conflict. She told the two mares that she felt like she didn't even know who she was at times, and didn't know what to do with her life. She said that she had considered running away and starting again someplace else, that she wasn't sure where to go from here. She remarked that it was only because of her roommate's strength, faith and conviction that she was able to seek help, rather than succumbing to cowardice, once again. She told Twilight, and Rainbow, that she wanted to find the real Vinyl, and be happy in herself. When she had finished speaking, she risked a small smile, hoping that she hadn't driven away the pair with what she considered as nonsensical babbling.

While Twilight returned her expression, Rainbow spoke aloud. "Jeez, sounds like you're really screwed up, Vinyl. I'm sorry to hear that, really."

Vinyl flinched at the comment, before looking away in shame, not having the energy to argue with Rainbow's summary, which was entirely correct in her mind.

"Crap! I'm sorry, Vinyl! I was just kidding! I didn't mean that... I'm just not very good at these things, and--" She chuckled awkwardly. "--I never really know what to say to cheer somepony up, so I always try to make light of things. It was rude of me to make a joke, I'm so sorry."

Throughout the explanation, Twilight had not said much, nor had her face, with all of it's regal countenance, given anything away. When she spoke, it was not with the authoritative tone she had used earlier, but the same soft tone she had regarded Rainbow with.

"I would very much like to help you, Vinyl. Everypony deserves to be happy, especially somepony like you, who makes others smile so often. I think I understand what you're going through, somewhat at least. You're trying to be something you've never really been, and you're only realising now that maybe it's okay to just be yourself. When I was sent to Ponyville, I didn't think I could be a different pony to who I was at the time, nor did I think I would need to be. When I became an Alicorn, and when I was granted this castle, It was the other way round. I thought I would have to become somepony different in order to be an effective ruler, and again, I was wrong. It's always okay to be who you are, if you're confident, happy, and optimistic, and have the help of those who care about you, you can do anything! I would be glad to show you the truth of these words, step by step, if you would let me?"

Vinyl was surprised by how humble and honest Princess Twilight was, she had not expected such warm and friendly treatment, especially directly after her explanation. She couldn't help but let the relief show on her face, as she released a large portion of her pent up worry with a breath, and faced Twilight, shades slightly lowered, before replying. "I would love that, Princess. I'm not entirely sure what you showing me will entail, but I'm willing to try. Thank you. And thank you both for listening, without judgment." She eyed Rainbow. "Well, without much at least."

"H-Hey, I was kidding, Vinyl, I mean it." Rainbow replied, scuffing her right forehoof across the floor.

Vinyl let out a small laugh. "I know you were. Well, I do now at least. Just teasing you, silly."

Rainbow's face lit up. "Hey! I'm not freakin' silly! Take that back!"

Vinyl stared ahead in mock pensiveness before responding. "No, I suppose you're not, just real easy to wind up." She smirked playfully.

Rainbow grinned and nudged her shoulder. "Well played, I'll get you back for that, Pon-Cubed."

Vinyl laughed briefly at the remark before realising she was giving away her edge. I've never been called that before, it has a ring to it. "Wow, I didn't know you could do maths, Dashie. Talented and smart! You'll go far kid."

Rainbow glowered at Vinyl. "Stop patronising me! Ugh, no wonder you need friendship lessons, you're as bad as Twilight over here."

Twilight adopted an unconvincing tone, clearly meant to portray hurt. "Rainbow! How could you say that! I'm the Princess of Friendship!"

"Yeah and I'm the freakin' queen!" She shot back.

Vinyl erupted in laughter, silencing the two bickering mares at once. She put a hoof to her glasses, closing her eyes and lifting them to wipe a tear away, then putting them back into place. "Celestia, if I had known that you Elements of Harmony were such characters I would have introduced myself sooner! It's a shame we had to meet like this."

Twilight smiled once again, nodding as Vinyl spoke. "It's better than not having met at all! You know, Vinyl, you may be on your way to making a couple of new friends already."

"If you're lucky, that is! The Rainbow Dash only hangs with the best, after all." She winked at Vinyl as she finished her proclamation.

"Clearly not, or you and me would have been inseparable for years now." Vinyl sharply riposted.

"You're good." Rainbow admitted, impressed with Vinyl's banter.

"The best." Vinyl concluded.

"Bet I can still blow your mind though!" Rainbow started.

"we'll see."

"Okay, so." Rainbow approached Vinyl and studied her intently.

Vinyl felt uncomfortable under the sudden scrutiny, and started to wonder what Dash had meant by her last statement. There's no way she was propositioning me... Is there? Just as Vinyl was about to say something, Rainbow held a hoof up and gave the results of her analysis.

"Hmm, so I can say for sure you didn't eat this morning. You last showered yesterday evening, I think. You have most of your weight on your left hoof, so I'm going to assume your right one's hurt somehow? And you've eaten a breath mint recently, within the last half an hour I'd say, probably to hide the smell of this morning's cigarette, am I right?"

Vinyl was scared, visibly so. "How the hell do you know all that? Have you been following me or something?"

Rainbow rapidly shook her head and then struck a slight pose. "Basic pegasus intuition baby! Honed to perfection by yours truly."

Vinyl didn't feel relieved in the slightest. "I'm not buying it, explain."

Rainbow straightened up and looked at Vinyl squarely, noticing she looked perturbed by her sudden guesswork. "Okay, so basically, pegasi have heightened natural instincts and intuition from birth, that's chronological, something to do with the race's genealogy. Some pegasi have it more than others, you're looking at a bit of a special case."

"I know that much, but that still doesn't explain how you could determine all that by giving me a once over, special how?"

"I got a very strong version of the ability at birth. It's likely something to do with me being a descendant of Commander Hurricane's most trusted scout, Major Krieg. He was renowned for being able to determine enemy numbers and positions from miles away, and anticipate their battle tactics from there. It's said that he could even count raindrops as they fell, but I ain't that good. This is just what I've read anyways, but I know that he's my ancestor, and the ability runs strong in my family. As such, I've got an extremely heightened sense of smell, sight, and hearing, something I've honed with time in the air throughout my life. It's to the point now that if I really concentrate, I can tell how many grains there are in a piece of wheat, or I can do a 360 of sweet apple acres and count the apples in the trees in no time. It's actually kinda hard to turn off, honestly. So yeah, working out you had mint on your breath wasn't exactly hard work. Sorry if I freaked ya out."

Vinyl only stared, perplexed. She thought it had been an elaborate joke, up until this point, when she realised that Rainbow's explanation actually made perfect sense. "That's actually amazing. I'm really impressed, I can't lie. You must have a really analytical mind then, are you adept at calculations?"

Rainbow thought for a moment. "Maths and stuff? Yeah, it kind of comes naturally with the perception. I can add things up pretty quickly, but I don't know anything about advanced math. Only special equations I can do are geological and geographical ones, which I learnt in flight school. Everything you learn there is compulsory, and they drill it into you, so it's hard to forget. A lot of thought goes into weather work, as well as flight dynamics, after all."

"I find flight dynamics very interesting. The main variables which affect flight for pegasi are air speed versus altitude, propulsion and subsequent air resistance, gravity constants depending on the area and the individual pegasus anatomy, correct, Rainbow?"

"Almost! You forgot wing beats per minute depending upon weight. Have you flown in an aircraft before, Vinyl?"

"Better than that!" Vinyl laughed. "I've fashioned my own wings, a couple of times. It's a difficult spell to keep up though, if you want them flexible, sturdy, and easy to use."

"I've seen something like that before. Magical wings, I mean. Remember, Twilight?" Rainbow growled.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Rainbow, that was almost two years ago, let it go will you? Anyway, where did you learn so much about flight, Vinyl? I mean, I expect it from Rainbow considering her profession but unicorns typically aren't that knowledgeable on the subject."

Vinyl looked away. Despite her attempts to be more upfront and remove her barriers, she was finding it difficult. "Ah, well, you know... You pick little things up here and there. I've just got a good memory, that's all."

Despite the glint of curiosity in Twilight's eye, this seemed to sate her, to Vinyl's relief. Unfortunately, she saw that same look enter Rainbow's eye shortly after, as if she had just realised the validity of what Twilight had said, and wanted answers herself. Twilight must have noticed it also, as she spoke up briskly.

"So, Vinyl! I really think it's time I gave you my first task! I mean, what's life without a mission, huh? Okay, first thing's first, you need to go apologise to Ditzy. Like really, you do. That mare is very sensitive, but also very understanding, and will really appreciate a genuine apology, don't you think Rainbow?"

Rainbow studied the ground as she quietly responded. "yeah, I could tell you that from experience."

"So it's settled, you'll go apologise to Ditzy, and then you'll let me know how it went. I'd prefer it if you came back and visited me in person, but if you're pushed for time, a short letter will do. Now, I'll let you get to it! Once that's out of the way I'll be happy to guide you forwards, but you can't go into this with an unfinished matter pending, okay, Vinyl?"

Vinyl nodded. "It's funny, Tavi said the same thing."

Twilight cocked her head. "I'm sorry, 'Tavi'?"

Vinyl realised what she had said. "I'm sorry. My roommate, Octavia Melody."

"Ah, the cellist! I've heard some of her pieces, she's wonderful if I may say so."

Vinyl nodded once more. "That she is."

Rainbow yawned, stretching her limbs and flapping once, hard. "Well, I don't know anything about cellists, but I do know I'm heading in the direction of Ditzy's place, want me to tag along Vinyl?"

Before Vinyl could answer, Twilight piped up. "Actually, I'd like Vinyl to go alone, it will give her some time to mentally prepare for what she's going to say to Ditzy."

"Oh, sure thing, Twi. I'll be faster on my own anyways. I'll let you go on ahead Vinyl, whenever you're ready. You and me should hang out again at some point soon though, you're a pretty cool mare. Well, compared to the average at least."

"Which reminds me! Vinyl, you're free to go, don't let us keep you."

Vinyl eyed them both before smiling broadly. "You weren't, trust me. I actually had fun, this isn't how I expected this to go at all. Thank you both. Anyways, you're probably right, I should get going if I wanna catch Ditzy before she's gotta pick up her daughter from school. I'd rather not do this in front of her, in case she gets upset." Vinyl's tone switched mid sentence from a happy, energetic one, to one of guilt and she quickly attempted to perk up. "Well, time to Dash! No pun intended." Another day, another facehoof. "See ya!"

After Vinyl had left, Rainbow turned to Twilight. "So, why couldn't I go with her? It wouldn't have made that much of a difference."

"Because, Rainbow, there's something about her. I think that mare is a little more than meets the eye, and I can see it surfacing, whatever it is, but it's slow. I don't wanna scare that part of her that so desperately needs to be understood back into hiding before it's even woken up properly! And your brash manner isn't exactly the best way to ease ponies into things, sorry Rainbow.

"Eh, it's cool. I'll get to hang out with her again though right?"

"I don't see why not." Twilight eyed rainbow suspiciously. "Why do you care anyways? This is unlike you, Rainbow Dash."

"I just think she's cool, okay?" Rainbow defended.

"Cooler than the Rainbow Dash?" Twilight smirked.

"Of course not! Look-- I'm-- Stop freaking laughing!"

By this point Twilight was practically in tears, and composed herself only because she was worried she may have struck a nerve. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry, Rainbow. Shall we get back to lessons?"

"Sure." Rainbow said grumpily. "Um, let me think."

Twilight nodded and they both began flapping their wings in the same slow, rhythmic pattern to earlier.

"So, you've just walked in on Shining Armour boning the hell out of Cadance, aka, your old foalsitter."

Twilight's wings kept in check as she responded. "Gross, but I could probably handle it. I'd just close my eyes and walk back out, the less I see, the less it bothers me, it's gonna happen after all."

Rainbow kept speaking, undeterred. "Spike just ripped out the indent pages of every single book in your library."

Twilight ground her teeth together, but her wings kept rhythm.

"And is currently setting them all on fire."

Twilight's eye twitched, but her wings didn't falter.

Rainbow grinned a little, then continued. "Celestia just sent you a letter. Inside, it says just how bad of a student you are, in detail, and how much you've let her down."

Twilight's right wing twitched at the base, but she distracted herself by trying to respond. "Well, that wouldn't happen, Celestia has always been proud of me as her student and--"

"Furthermore" Rainbow announced. "She regrets to inform you that she has found a young, great and powerful unicorn with promising talent to potentially serve as your replacement."

"That's not funny, Rainbow, Celestia would never do that."

"I'm very sorry, my faithful student" Rainbow pretended to read aloud. "But you pale in comparison to the Great and Powerful Trixie. Why, did you know she once banished an ursa major? Where is that on your list of feats? In fact, I do believe she recently rescued you from queen Chrysalis, I suppose you were helpless without her. You know what? I may just have to grant her Alicorn status too! Then I'll build her a castle, right next to yours. And I think I'll make Starlight Glimmer one too cause I'm just that generous, and then I'll--"

Twilight's wings spanned out of control as she shouted fiercely. "Where is she?! I'll fucking slap the bitch! I'm supposed to be the protege! Me! What makes her think she could throw me away like that for Trixie, of all ponies?! And another thing--" At this point Twilight was cut off by her connection with a nearby wall, owing to the vigorous seizure her wings had just undergone.

Rainbow's laughter could be heard for miles.

Top Shotta

Author's Note

Tracklist:
Mountain - Mississippi Queen
Rise Against - Prayer Of The Refuge
Led Zeppelin - Communication Breakdown
Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen
Muse - Sunburn

Top Shotta

Octavia's room was not her haven. She did not see it as a place to relax and unwind, but rather as a work area. The aesthetics, private space and comfortable bed were just added bonuses. This was not to say that Octavia did not like her room, nor that she disliked having her own space. Rather, she liked to spend the time she had when she was in there doing something that took its toll on her, lest she become too used to seeing it as a place of pampering and elect to never leave.

I am quite sure that it would be lovely to sit in comfort all day, every day, with a good book and a strong tea or a ruby ale, but if I am ever to make any progress in life, I must never find out.

Octavia had just finished reviewing the most recent composition she had been sent, and was ready to put it into practice, but lacked the motivation. The piece she had been looking over was to be played at The Gilded Light, a moderately sized opera house in Canterlot, in two weeks time. Unfortunately, she did not feel that the piece was anything extraordinary, and was hardly fond of it. This made it difficult to even play the melody repeatedly, let alone memorise it. What she wanted more than anything was to cast down her instrument and walk straight out of the door, making a bee line for the spa. The way she saw it, it may be a bad idea to relax inside your own home, but as an excursion, it could be passed off as part of one's itinerary, a necessity, a part of routine.

I really should go somewhere. I have not left this house in days, and I am beginning to grow restless. What am I really accomplishing by looking over these sheets without a period of rest anyway? Sometimes the best way to move forwards is to stand still. Who thought of that? It most certainly is not. The best way to move forwards, is simply to move forwards, as I will now.

Octavia felt that her life was filled with the chaos she compulsively attempted to purge from it on a daily basis. Here she was, standing upon the precipice of boredom, ready to fall, if only to see what might catch her. She decided to fall with gusto.

Smiling a small, contented smile, she trotted out of the house, mane brushed and bow-tie straightened, not even bothering to feel guilty about her unfinished obligation.

I can finish that any time in the next two weeks, but I am only going to feel like this until I do something about it. How do I feel, anyway? Am I unsettled? I do not feel it. If anything I feel as if I am relieved. Likely because I'm away from that substandard piece, if only for a little while.

Octavia passed row upon row of suburban houses, all of which were just as colourful as the rest of Ponyville. The different tones and shades managed to entwine, bringing an upbeat and almost comical element to the town that lay sprawled around her, two qualities that the music she had been learning definitely lacked, though the attempt was obvious.

See, this scenery purveys those feelings because they are inherent. Those attributes feel almost intrinsic to this town. The piece, on the other hoof, feels as if it has been forced and coerced into taking on that effect. It does not feel natural, hence it is not captivating. I could never be enthralled by something that tries to be charming, because all of the really charming things in life never do.

In the midst of her thoughts, Octavia realised that she had not thought of Vinyl all day, and wondered just what it was that she was doing. She knew that she had elected to go and see Princess Twilight today, as was Octavia's desire, but had not considered the matter since then. As she continued walking, she softly chewed the side of her cheek and glanced into the distance, suddenly in deeper thought.

I hope that she is okay. Facing royalty is completely nerve wracking. I am curious as to how Princess Twilight will be able to help Vinyl, though. I hope that nothing drastic needs to happen. I couldn't bare to think that I was responsible for sending her to be hypnotised, or anything to that effect. Princess Twilight would not do something like that though, would she? She will have me to deal with if she has.

Octavia harrumphed as she continued, knowing that her thought was irrational and she was now winding herself up. She seemed to have a habit of doing so when Vinyl Scratch, her illustrious roommate, was up for discussion. She dismissed this thought as she did the others, yearning to go back to her quiet contemplation of Ponyville's architecture, in contrast with her dull, unappreciated sheet music, but finding that she could not without a struggle.

You had to do it Octavia. You just had to go and push the Vinyl button. I am going to need two spa sessions at this rate.

As Octavia neared the day spa, she started to consider just what she might request. She had not been in about two weeks, favouring showering in her own bathroom for convenience's sake, and monetary reasons, and knew she was overdue to buy some more of the specialised and slightly overpriced shampoo Aloe and Lotus sold, the same shampoo that kept her coat especially silky at all times.

An image should be important to any mare, especially one that is a performer. However, I feel that I am not entirely myself if I do not look absolutely radiant. Is that conceit, on some level? I suppose it must be. It matters not. Not all of us are content to just wake up in the morning and throw some gel in our manes. Humph. Vinyl always looks so well groomed though, I wonder if she ever attends the spa? I will have to ask at some point today. Dammit, Octavia, you're doing it again. Ugh, why must that mare always feel the need to be involved in everything? Even my thoughts. Bloody annoying, is what it is. 'Hello, I'm Vinyl Scratch, the definition of avant-garde. You will talk about me.'

Octavia laughed aloud at her private, mental mockery, feeling she had made some valid and grand point, and her musical joviality echoed throughout the spa's reception. Aloe perked up at this sound, seldom heard from a mare such as Octavia unless she was with good company, and smiled on instinct. Aloe very much liked Octavia, she was polite, her expectations were coherent, and she was a good tipper, provided her and her sister did a good job, which they always did. She wasn't however, one for random bouts of laughter, nor any significant period of conversation. Thus, she was mildly shocked when Octavia approached, and, instead of rattling off a small list of what she needed done, as she always did, decided to settle for a simple greeting. Aloe responded almost instantly.

"Ah, hello, Miss Melody. Is everything okay for you today?"

Octavia's smile remained painted on her lips until she spoke, and returned after she had finished.

"Simply splendid, dear, yourself? I know that week days can be dreadfully slow here at times. I hope you're not becoming bored, sat behind that desk all day long."

Octavia's eyes emphasised her apparent sympathy. Aloe still didn't know what to make of the fact that Octavia was making small talk, it felt alien to say the least. Usually the only places she actually opened up enough to be part of a decent conversation were during a mud bath or at times a back massage, although she ordered massages rarely. Aloe realised that in the last several seconds she hadn't replied to Octavia's comment, and jolted up to reply to her customer.

"Yes, yes, everything here is very good for us today, Miss Melody. We have not had any problem, but the wait can be very boring for new ponies to come, you know? Now, do you know what you will be having today, please? There is no rush, but if you are wanting the sauna I will have to be telling Lotus to heat up more of the water, you see?"

"Actually, I think I have come to a decision, Aloe dear."

"And may I ask what your decision is, please?"

Octavia grinned outwardly. "I would like everything. A full treatment, if you please. I do not mind waiting if that is necessary."

Lotus was again, shocked, but this time more visibly.

"A full treatment? Miss Melody, if you do not mind me saying so, you have always been very, what is the word... particular, about your treatments when you have visited the spa. Why the sudden changing of heart, if I may wonder?"

Octavia could not subdue the brightness on her face as she continued. "Now is not a time for deliberation, nor is it a time for particularity. I am happy, and I wish for my body to reflect that. I also wish to relax. Do you think me selfish for these things, Aloe?"

"Of course not, Miss Melody. A hard working mare like you always deserves to relax. In fact, allow me give a half price charge to you, for your lovely visits. You are deserving it this time, I think."

"Nonsense! I will pay full price, you and your sister deserve every bit coming your way."

"I will not have an argument with you. I have said half price and we will not accept any more bits than this, you see?"

"Fine. Thank you very much Aloe. I apologise for being so stubborn."

"It is no problem, Miss Melody. Anyway, where would you like to be going first?"

"Surprise me." Octavia turned at this point and sat, making to face Aloe once again so as not to be rude.

"Surprise you? I am surprised. I like how you are being today, I am glad you are more happy Miss Melody. I will go and speak to Lotus now, please read any of the magazines that are on the table while you are waiting for me to come back. I will be fast."

Despite her imperfect syntax, Octavia admired Aloe's ability to always maintain a professional tone whilst serving her. She sat, absentmindedly perusing a two day old fashion and lifestyle magazine, and found herself thinking of Lotus's words.

Lotus was right, this is not like me. No routine, no holding back, just full indulgence! I have the feeling it will be a wonderful treat too. I did enjoy deciding on the spot like that, with no thought in advance too! How delightfully chaotic it was. Hold on, who do I sound like?

Somewhere in Canterlot, in a small wagon, an invisible Discord was repeatedly blowing out a certain showpony's lit candle, until his ears perked up.

Dismissing the light disturbance she was sure she had just felt in the air as a draft, Octavia let her smile return not consciously realising that the session hadn't even started yet, but the anticipation of doing something differently to usual was enough to take her mind off of her roommate. When Aloe returned, telling her that the sauna was ready, where they would start, to sweat out any impurities and relax the skin, Octavia moved with vigor, chatting with Lotus all of the way down.

You're Still Learning How To Walk

Author's Note

Tracklist:
Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
Outkast - Mrs Jackson
The Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotise
Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg - Still Dre
N.W.A - Fuck Tha Police

You're Still Learning How To Walk

Vinyl moved with purpose, her target in sight and her plan of action shaky at best. She had been walking directly towards Ditzy's house for about twenty minutes, during which time she had considered which method of apology would come across as more meaningful and authentic, which gestures she could make in order to make Ditzy feel better, and what explanation she could give for her horrible behaviour.

There must be a reason Princess Twilight made this my first friendship lesson, despite knowing I was going to do it anyway. There must be something she wants me to learn from the experience, but I'm not sure what. I already feel guilty about what I did.

But maybe that's it. I've been considering how to fix the problem I initially created by being distant to Ditzy, in a systematic way. Rather than thinking of this as a task, should I just let my guard down and see how I handle it? I don't need a plan, do I? It's a simple apology after all. No, it's more than that. It's a chance for me to show Ditzy who I am, no bullshit. She deserves that at least.

Approaching Ditzy's home, which was surprisingly large considering her profession, just as Vinyl and Octavia's home was small considering theirs, Vinyl did not consider what she would do next, as she had previously. She knew that the next logical step, no matter what, was to knock on the door and await an answer, yet she hesitated, at least for a moment.

She won't want to see me. I'm almost sure about that. I wouldn't want to see me after how I behaved. But what else am I to do? Let Ditzy continue to be sad, and go back to Princess Twilight with news of failure in my first, simplest task?

Another thought occurred to her then which only served to add to her determination.

I can't give up on Tavi's idea so quickly either. She feels so strongly about this that there's no room for hesitation, I just need to get on with it. For Ditzy, for Tavi, and for myself.

With this, Vinyl went to knock, stopping just short of her hoof making contact with the wood at the behest of a sudden, harmonious sound. The sound emanated from inside the house, and made Vinyl's ears, devoid of headphone interference, stand up.

Vinyl knew a good sound when she heard it. She could recognise a specific note instantly, could see where a pony's voice was lax, and where they excelled, and knew the best methods to capitalise on each specific vocal style. With a significant period of editing and mixing, Vinyl could take a terrible singer and make them sound passable, as she had needed to a few times when working with pop idols.

Vinyl could also take an above average singer and enhance their voice further, without the need for intense auto-tuning, or anything else that would change the integral style of the singer. Of course, there were other things that could help vocalists of this level, such as lessons and practice, but there often was not time for this as things moved very quickly in the industry, and shortcuts were often taken, to Vinyl's distaste.

She couldn't, however, do much for a singer that was already amazing. Those ponies were extremely rare, the equivalent to gold dust in the music industry, and were best to be left as is, so as not to tarnish the delicate culmination of whatever those strange factors were that made them so adept.

Vinyl considered what she was hearing. About a 7. Maybe a 7.5 at a push. She's got potential though. I really like that voice on her, it's exactly the opposite of what I'd expect from a mare like her.

Vinyl continued to listen to the mailmare's rendition of whatever was playing on the radio, unable to pick out individual words, but able to hear the notes being hit, some very well, almost skillfully, but some quite poorly. Many average singers were capable of vocalising in this way, and that in itself was nothing special. However, Ditzy's singing voice was rare. She did not have the jaunty, joyful tone Vinyl would have expected, but rather something soulful and jazzy, something that could definitely evoke feeling. The emotions she detected in the music, coupled by her decent range and stunning resonance, were enough to tell Vinyl just what she needed to do.

She knocked thrice, feeling bad for disrupting Ditzy, who had no reason to be anticipating her arrival, then feeling worse when she heard a yelp, a banging sound, and a curse leaving Ditzy's mouth. She stood, anxiously anticipating Ditzy's response to her face. About 30 seconds passed, and as Vinyl raised her hoof to knock once more, the door opened, revealing Ditzy, mane frazzled and a sour look on her face.

Upon realising that it was Vinyl standing at her door, attempting to smile in her direction, Ditzy instantly teared up. She had not been prepared to see Vinyl again any time soon, and had still not gotten over how useless, silly and unwanted she had felt after their last encounter. She immediately wished she could simply ask Vinyl to leave, but knew that she didn't have it in her. In this situation, Ditzy would usually run away, as she had many times from those who had relentlessly mocked her in the past, and on occasion still did now.

But, this was not a usual situation. Vinyl was there, on her doorstep, and there was nowhere for her to go. All she could do was close the door and hope that Vinyl would choose to leave of her own accord. Even that she struggled to do, regarding Vinyl with one glistening eye as she made for the door handle to close it on her.

"Wait! Ditzy please. We really need to talk."

Ditzy begrudgingly stopped her action, but remained silent.

"I promise I won't say anything mean to you. Not one thing, I promise. Please just let me say a couple of things, and I'll be out of your hair, for good if you want."

Ditzy stood, quivering slightly, and nodded her head as a sign of recognition, not attempting to speak out of fear that her words would come out choked.

"I've come here to apologise Ditzy, for all of the terrible things I said and the way I disregarded you, it was really horrible of me, and I know that."

Ditzy sniffled once, then was silent for a second. Once she had recovered, she put on a hard face and motioned her hoof to the side.

"Come in, Vinyl. There's no use doing this on the doorstep."

"Thank you, Ditzy."

Vinyl trotted into Ditzy's home, taking in the well decorated, colourful interior, adorned with multiple ornaments and pristine furniture. She found it hard to believe that Ditzy was able to maintain this level of order and cleanliness with a young filly in the house.

Vinyl faced Ditzy, who was currently cleaning up the shards of a small vase.

"Jeez, did you do that when I knocked? I'm so sorry Ditzy, was it expensive? I'll replace it, I don't mind, not one bit."

Ditzy laughed. "Good, because I don't want one bit from you, or any for that matter. It was a small trinket, nothing to worry about. I just want to hear what you have to say, Vinyl, worry about that please."

Vinyl stammered in response, feeling pangs of guilt worming their way back into her mind. Focus, Vinyl. Stop acting like a schoolfilly that's just been sent to the principal, you have a job to do.

Despite her mental pep talk, Vinyl felt it necessary to psyche herself up a little more, and proceeded to comment on the mundane.

"Your house, it's--"

"Clean? Ordered? Well maintained?" Ditzy offered.

Vinyl blushed. "Well what I meant to say was--"

Ditzy laughed once again. "Be honest, Vinyl. You assumed that because of my eyes, I must be such a clumsy mare that I cannot maintain a home. And yes, I know that I dropped something when you knocked, but that's because you startled me, just an unfortunate coincidence that helps to feed people's bias. In actuality, I can see quite well, I wouldn't fly otherwise. I'm just a little distractible."

Vinyl's blush only deepened as she thought for an answer. "Well, maybe I did assume a little, honestly. It is a very nice home though!"

"Well thank you, Vinyl. I was actually going to invite you here last night."

Vinyl instantly averted her eyes, one part of her glad that the conversation had been forced, but the other still not feeling ready.

"Okay, Ditzy, listen... I'm really, really sorry. I mean, I know that saying sorry doesn't make up for what I did, but I am. I could barely sleep last night, I just felt so guilty. I even tried calling out to you, after you left, but I think that was just because I felt lonely, which kinda makes things even worse."

"Thing is, I've been in a bad way recently... I don't really know what's wrong with me, just that it's affecting the way I think at times, and the way I treat ponies too, since last night. I don't want you to think that's who I am. I know we've only spoken a couple of times in the past, but I've always thought you were a nice friendly mare, with a kind spirit and a strong heart."

"The way you faced the negative and pejorative treatment you received in Ponyville was almost inspiring. Honestly, I felt so sorry for you, once upon a time, knowing you had to deal with ponies like that daily. But you didn't need my pity, or anyone else's! You didn't let it get to you then, and you still don't now. Even a minute ago, when you saw me at your door, you didn't run, or tell me to go away, like so many ponies would. You stood your ground, no matter how difficult that must have been for you, and I respect that so much."

"You're the last mare to deserve the treatment I gave you, especially when all you were doing is trying to help. Considering that you've had your own problems before, you likely would have been the ideal pony to cheer me up, but I couldn't see that past my own pigheadedness. I just wish I could explain to you how I've been feeling recently, and how bad I've felt since attacking you. I'm getting help now, I've been speaking to Princess Twilight and--"

Ditzy held up a hoof, silencing Vinyl, who had began biting her lip between sentences, looking increasingly upset with each word. "Vinyl, stop. Please, stop. Thank you, for everything that you've said. I think I understand enough already. I don't need to know exactly what's going on with you, and I never wanted to pry, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, Vinyl. Even then, when I saw you at my door, only part of me was angry at you. The rest was angry at me, for not being able to help you. I was worried about you, Vinyl, but now that you've told me you're getting help, I can relax a little. Please, don't worry yourself over me. I knew that wasn't all you, yesterday, and the fact you came to apologise so quickly means a lot. I'd like to put it behind us, wouldn't you?"

By this point Vinyl was speaking faster, wild emotion entering her voice as she spoke. "I should have appreciated it, I should have been more thankful for your help. I should have thanked you! I feel so stupid. So, so stupid--"

Ditzy quickly took on a stern tone, speaking over Vinyl's rapid but pessimistic monologue.

"Vinyl! Stop that right now. You are not stupid, you are just a little mixed up right now."

She placed a hoof upon Vinyl's shoulder as she spoke. "You don't need to apologise any more. What's done is done, and I feel much better, but I need to know you're okay too. Now, take a deep breath, and tell me you're okay, and then we'll have a nice coffee, deal?"

Vinyl did as Ditzy instructed, slowing her breathing, not worrying how silly she looked, stood trying to get a hold of her fleeting breath in the house of the pony she had wronged.

Why am I the one reacting like this? She's the one that's been wronged, yet I'm acting like the victim. She's right, I do need to stop this, or nothing will ever be able to move forward between us. She doesn't hold a grudge against me, so why should I?

Finally, she took a deep breath, smirk upon her face, feeling able to slip back into her better state of mind without much effort, as if it were a worn pair of shoes that no longer needed to be unlaced. She felt the grin upon her lips, and was sure it must have met her eyes, as she had certainly not forced it, and regarded Ditzy. "Deal. But I wanna Colta-Cola."

Ditzy giggled for a few seconds, noticing the clear sign of improvement in Vinyl's mood, before speaking.

"Sorry, Vinyl, no Colta-Cola here! We don't get it in that much, Dinky's not a fan and I only drink carbonated drinks on occasion."

Vinyl pouted. "You're kidding right? Your cutie mark is literally bubbles, how can you not like fizzy drinks?!"

"Well, I never said I dislike them, did I Vinyl?"

"Guess not." Vinyl mumbled, before perking her voice up a little, not wanting to sound ungrateful. "Sure, I'll take a coffee, thanks, Ditzy."

"Sure you don't want a Dr. Pony, Vinyl?" Vinyl thought Ditzy might have winked at her then, but due to the fact that only one of her eyes was in Vinyl's peripherals, she couldn't tell. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but laugh. She had been playing with her the whole time.

"Aw, hell yeah! Good one, Ditzy. I'd love a Dr. Pony." Vinyl bounced up to Ditzy to offer her a hoofbump, but the mare was already off fetching their drinks.

"Am I alright to smoke outside, Ditzy?" Vinyl called.

"Yeah, just please don't throw your butts in the garden. We can drink these on the patio if you'd like?"

"Sounds good to me!"

Moments later, Ditzy appeared, drinks lined up along the bridge of her wings, offering one for Vinyl to take in her telekinetic field. Vinyl could easily levitate and manipulate two items at once, and had no trouble alternating between bringing the cigarette and glass in her aura to her lips one at a time. A lesser magician might become mixed up, and accidentally burn their lips with the wrong end of a cigarette, or find themselves trying to inhale the side of a glass and spilling their drink. Vinyl had none of these issues. She made a conscious effort to practice all of the spells in her repertoire, so they would not falter easily if she ever had to rely upon them, which she didn't like to.

Vinyl much preferred the tangible, even knowing how magic could change and influence one's life so. She tried not to use magic if she felt that she did not need it, reasoning that earth ponies and pegasi were much more dexterous than unicorns for a reason, and that unicorns all too often relied upon their horns as crutches. Unfortunately, in this case, she could not hold two things at once with her hooves, stood as she was, and conceded to fall back onto her magic.

Ditzy spoke at this point, snapping her out of her thought. "Dinky can hold two things at once now. Nowhere near as well as you do, but she can. I'm very proud."

Vinyl was slightly taken aback by this, not many children Dinky's age were able to display that level of control. She imagined the filly with a couple of toys in her grasp and smiled. "Is that due to her lessons with Princess Twilight? If so that's pretty damn rad! Some might say a filly performing magic like that at Dinky's age is a prodigy! You're right to be proud."

Ditzy's eyes brightened. "A prodigy? Really? I knew she was doing well from my correspondence with Princess Twilight but I've never heard her be referred to as a prodigy! I do really have a clever, talented girl."

"That you do! She must get some of that latent ability from her parents, though, a unicorn's basic magical skill is often innate, after all."

Ditzy looked thoughtful. "Well, my side of the family are mainly pegasi, there aren't really any unicorns of note to attribute her skill to. There is an interesting pegasus in the family," She scowled. "but I'm not going to discuss her. As for her father, he was an earth pony, but I couldn't tell you really anything about his family, unfortunately. He didn't mention them much, and never in any detail."

"Well that's not a problem, all of the races have magic inherently it just manifests in different ways for non-unicorns. Most people assume that an earth pony's magic is limited to their strength and increased healing abilities, and that a pegasus is limited to heightened senses and cloud manipulation, but in reality, magic can manifest itself in so many ways, there must be something special about you, and her father."

Vinyl cringed a little after she had finished speaking, worried that her mention of Dinky's father might only serve to upset Ditzy again, and was relieved when she looked more curious than melancholic, having tilted her head a tad sideways.

"What kind of talent could I really have, Vinyl?" Ditzy mused. "I'm a mailmare, what kind of basis for talent is that? I really don't know what I can do that's so special."

"Well you can sing pretty well, that's one thing!" Vinyl said before taking a hefty swig of Dr. Pony.

Ditzy's grey face decolourised further. "You heard me singing earlier?"

In Ditzy's head, the compliment didn't register, she was apprehensive about discussing her singing. Ditzy was worried that Vinyl would think she was terrible, or worse, find it funny, which would miff her the most.

Vinyl beamed, looking Ditzy square in the left eye, and swallowed her drink before responding.

"I actually thought you sounded really great. Your voice could be a great asset to you if you honed it, maybe that's your special talent? All I know is that it could be of great use to you in future."

Ditzy was pleasantly surprised by the comment, which she stopped to listen to this time, instead of dismissing it, like the last one. She had never let anyone hear her sing, save her ex-husband, and was surprised to hear such words from Vinyl, someone who made it their business to know what sounded good.

"Thank you, Vinyl, thank you very much. You really think so?" Ditzy nearly squeaked.

"Think so?" Vinyl emphatically shook her head. "Girl, I know so! If I had a bit for every time I was right about one of these things, hell, I'd probably just straight up buy Ponyville."

Ditzy laughed, slightly overwhelmed by the flattery. "That's lovely to hear, Vinyl. But just what can I do with it? I have a job, and a daughter, I can't put all that to one side to pursue a music career! I might not even get anywhere! Besides, it's common knowledge that many musicians have to spend a lot of time building a network before they can establish a real living out of music." Ditzy slowly shook her head, looking glum. Guess it's not for me, Vinyl."

Vinyl's face become serious. "You're wrong, Ditzy. There's a lot you can do with it, without putting your life on hold like that. I could help, if you wanted. If you let me take some audio recordings of you, I can play around with those a little and see if I can send them off conditionally to any other producers, maybe even labels. If there's a substantial interest, we'll get your sounds copyrighted, and I'll see if I can't put them in a track or two. We'll work out a percentage split on any music I make using your vocals, to get you started, and then we could possibly sell your sound to other producers for a fee, if the interest is there. All of that, I could do with just the samples."

"Best thing is, if it's all successful, you might even start getting attention from record labels! You could end up recording your own songs one day, who knows? I'd get you in touch with an excellent manager with decent rates, or I could just manage you for free! I mean, I get first access to whatever you make, so I win either way! Also, if you wanted anonymity in the first stages, totally doable! We give you a stage name, and the information is all kept between you, me, and your bank. I'm not saying you have to take me up on this, or anything, but I honestly think it would be fulfilling for you. Think it over, would you, Ditzy?"

Ditzy found it very difficult to take in all of this information at once. The concept that she, Ditzy Doo, a mailmare living in the small town of Ponyville, could work with famous and influential people such as Vinyl Scratch, make money, and gain recognition doing it, was a lot for her to take.

"And... And you're sure I could have what it takes?"

"You bet your flank I do, bubble butt."

Ditzy blushed, before realising that she literally had bubbles on her hind quarters, and that she wasn't being complimented on her posterior. Ditzy sighed.

"Are you sure you're not just doing all this because you feel guilty? Because if that's the case, Vinyl, really you don't need to. I understand that you're sorry but there's no need to go to these lengths."

The strength of Vinyl's tone didn't waver. "I would never do something like this just because. That would be extremely mean, getting your hopes up whilst knowing you don't have potential. No, I'm willing to stake on you by sending your samples off to labels with my personal recommendation and seal of approval. That seal carries a lot of weight, because of how long I've been meticulously picking the musician with the most interesting sound. Maybe that musician isn't perfect, maybe they could be refined, but they're pretty damn interesting. That's you, Ditzy."

Ditzy couldn't hide the simultaneous arrival of shock and glee upon her face, nor did she want to. "So, we can really try this? You really want to?"

Vinyl grinned, teeth flashing. "Of course! We can take it as slowly as you want too. Tell you what, I should be making my way soon, you've got a school run to do, and I've got a letter to write. But please, take the time to stop at my house, when you have a chance. If I'm not there, Tavi will tell you where to reach me. I hope I'll be seeing a lot of you!"

Vinyl wasn't prepared for the sudden, crushing embrace, but revelled in it, glad she could produce such an effect with her words alone. She squeezed back as Ditzy spoke. "Thank you so much, Vinyl! I still find it hard to believe that you're taking such a chance on me, I never even expected you to turn up today, let alone do all this! You've astounded me, and what's more you've made my week. Just wait till I tell Dinky! Momma's gonna be a singer!"

Vinyl slowly pulled away, her comforted body screaming treason as she did. "She'll be very proud, I know it. Thank you for being so patient with me today, Ditzy, I'll see you soon, give Dinky my best and take care!"

"You too Vinyl, and thank you again!"

As Vinyl left she felt immeasurably good. The feeling was like an ubiquitous entity that threatened to engulf her entire being, and then submergence her in a pool of happiness. She caught herself skipping once or twice, prancing around without a care or a thought for who saw her.

In the distance, Ditzy Doo had tears in her eyes for the second time that day, for a totally different reason.

Recovery Operations

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

I did it! I apologised to Ditzy. Neat, huh? It was really satisfying too, I guess all I had to do was say sorry and mean it, but she listened! Not only that, but she was grateful! I think I've taken a small step in the right direction, even if that step is just correcting a mistake I never should have made in the first place. I'd like to delve further into the subject of friendship and self appreciation soon, so if we could arrange another session I would be very grateful. I'm not sure exactly what to detail regarding my apology, but I can be more specific when I see you! I'll just try to cover the basics here.

So, first off, I went to knock at the door, and then I heard Ditzy singing. It was decent singing too! So then I was like 'Well, this is pretty good, I should take her on board if I can'. By on board, I meant I wanted to consider her for use in music, and I've already offered her a place collaborating with me! Anyways, I knocked and she opened, and she looked like she was gonna cry but I said things would be okay and she opened up. Once I was inside, I tried to explain things, then I got all upset because of what a colossal bitch I had been and--

Vinyl scowled, putting a hoof at each end of the parchment and grinding them together unceremoniously, crushing the third piece of paper that afternoon. She had wanted to be as productive as possible and write Princess Twilight a letter, and still see her the next day, like she had asked. She knew Princess Twilight had said that either a letter or an appearance the next day would be fine, and that she would prefer to speak face to face, but Vinyl worried that if she did not get her thoughts down properly on paper, she wouldn't be able to effectively convey them in person.

Her first letter had been too upbeat and chatty, even by Vinyl's standards. To send a message like that to the Princess when there was still a limited amount of familiarity between them would be rude and improper. Vinyl knew this, so she had binned the letter right after she had referred to Princess Twilight as 'girl'.

Her second letter was much more formal, and included a detailed description of her reconciliation with Ditzy, with particular attention paid to points of interest. It had also contained realistic proposals as to which areas she felt she would need to focus on over the coming sessions. This written masterpiece was all but ruined by a postscript that had no place being there, in a friendship report, or in any other letter for that matter.

PS. How's Rainbow doing?

It was a simple question, which could have been construed in many ways. For example, Princess Twilight could have seen this and assumed that Vinyl was simply asking after her friend, out of courtesy. She could also have assumed that Vinyl was not taking the report seriously, and that she was only interested in Rainbow Dash, which was not the case. Or, even worse, the Princess could have assumed that Vinyl had some sort of romantic interest in Rainbow, which was certainly not the case.

Why did I ask, anyways? It seems a bit of a silly question. I saw Rainbow a few hours ago, and I'm literally seeing the Princess tomorrow. If I had wanted to ask her, I could have done so then! What a waste of a good letter. And then there's the latest one. Did I really swear in it? In a letter to the princess? What was I thinking? I need to stop writing everything in this stream of consciousness kind of style or I'm never going to get anywhere.

Maybe I should just give up on writing this letter and wait to see Princess Twilight. Part of this experience may be about teaching myself not to always go above and beyond what's expected of me, I don't need to, I suppose. Still, if I had managed to get a letter sent off, I wouldn't have to give my report orally tomorrow. Maybe it won't be how I'm expecting it, maybe I won't be expected to give a complex account of everything that happened, and then critically analyse it. Maybe it'll just be a calm discussion, but an involved one concurrently. I mean, this isn't academia, is it? I know that I'm being educated, but not in an art, or a science, or even a vocation. This feels more along the lines of therapeutic, but I suppose it'll apply to everything I do in future, however this shapes me.

I wonder how devoted the Princess is to this. I mean, does she just want to help me get back on my feet, and then let me get on with things? If that is the case I'll still be grateful for the time she's spent on me, but I'd hope to return the favour, somehow. What do you give a princess though? She most likely already has everything she needs in life.

Vinyl sat, pondering where one might shop for a princess. She imagined telling a poor shop assistant just who the gift she needed help with was for, and them clamming up in pure shock. A grin adorned her face.

One day, I will have to make this up to her. She deserves that much, just for how selfless she is being. Rainbow listened too, so I should at least throw her a bone. Maybe I could send her a few of my exclusives, she said she likes my music after all. Jeez, when's the last time I even went near my decks? I should really start working on something new soon, all of the change that's happening in my life is sure to warrant some creativity, and I should definitely use that innovation to my advantage. What could I make, anyway? I wanna start something before I have to start work with Ditzy, vocalists constrict sounds, no matter their skill. I think I need something I can turn off to; I need a simple track which I can just enjoy for it's sound. No emotion, no complexity, just an invigorating beat to help me face the world.

Vinyl's mind became a dissonant mixture of synths, snares, kick drums, hi hats and effects, all with varying levels of distortion, as she attempted to concoct a beat in her mind, with no basis to go on. This was how she envisioned the concepts for many of her works, sometimes tapping out a rhythm and improvising with whatever items she could find in the vicinity, if she felt the need. Once she had the foundations solidly embedded in her mind, she could transfer her idea to a mixing desk to create, and then finalise it.

Vinyl had wanted to be productive, and found that she was doing so, much to her satisfaction. As she thought on her project, a soft, polychromatic light show emanated from her horn, and for the third time that day, she felt her mind crying out in self-affirmation. At that moment, she was content.

Shining So Bright

Vinyl was preparing a large pan of spaghetti alla puttanesca. She had visited Custom Fit before returning home to write her letter, where she apologised for her actions. She had then bought more cigarettes, to Custom's annoyance, which he tried his absolute hardest not to show. She had also bought spaghetti, garlic, sea salt and basil, all for the purpose of making her dish.

Vinyl had the recipe memorised. She had been cooking puttanesca for years, it was one of her favourite meals. The contents were simple, and the dish easy to make, yet the flavours were complex. There were often arguments between chefs of note over whether to use parmesan or mozzarella cheese as a garnish, some insisting that one cheese destroyed the cultural authenticity of the dish and others asserting that the other took away from the taste. Vinyl had never decided which side was correct, so she often had both cheeses at once.

At this moment, the spaghetti had been salted and was boiling in a pot, and the pan (which had been oiled) contained garlic, medium strength chilies, green olives, cherry tomatoes, and salted water from the spaghetti pot. The dish was not exactly how Vinyl would have it if she was planning to eat alone. She added the chilies for Octavia's benefit, which she preferred mild or non existent in a pasta, and added basil despite believing that parsley better complimented the sauce. Still, the dish would be tasty, mild changes to her preference or not.

I'm looking forward to eating something. I've not had more than a breath mint all day. I'm looking forward to seeing Tavi too, I wanna tell her about my day. Also, I'm curious about hers. She always leaves a note when she goes out, but this time, no note. Unless I'm not looking hard enough. I wonder if everything is okay with her? I hope she isn't worrying about me, there's nothing to worry about after all, I feel great. Well, whatever she's been doing, chances are she's been gone a while, as I've been back for a couple of hours. She'll likely appreciate the meal.

Vinyl and Octavia did not eat together often, due to their conflicting schedules and sleeping patterns, as well as the other obligations which made up their busy lifestyles. In fact, they didn't do much together at all. This, however, had not been the case around six months ago, when work for both of the mares was slow, and they had a lot more time to spend together. It was during this time that Vinyl had learnt Octavia's culinary preferences, which she was often happy to adhere to. Vinyl had also learnt that she was the better cook of the pair, reinforced by the fact that Octavia had always seemed to grow slightly excited when it was Vinyl's turn to cook.

Well, excited by Tavi's standards. Personified in this case by a roughly five degree upward curvature around the mare's lips.

Vinyl laughed at her little quip and proceeded to drain the spaghetti, before removing the lid from the other pot and adding capers, as well as the inferior basil plant. Vinyl was glad that she was able to get her timings to work in conjunction, and would not have to wait any longer for any one pot than the other. Doing so would make certain parts of the food colder than others, and Vinyl believed that an inconsistency in temperature was the easiest way to ruin a meal. Proud of her efforts, she took both pots off of the heat and proceeded to dry two recently washed plates, cloth in hoof, before laying them out and grabbing a ladle in her mouth with which to serve up the golden pasta. Vinyl's stomach growled in impatience, her mouth teased by a metal substance which she couldn't exactly eat.

I really should use magic for this bit. I mean, I hardly ever drop the food, but when I do it's such a waste. Still, there's the five second rule, right? Or is it the three second rule? Hmm, I'm not really sure it applies to saucy foods. Like what am I gonna do? Slurp it off the floor? Guess that's not an option. I really should use magic for this bit.

As Vinyl spooned the last third of the dish onto the plates, impressed by the presentation she had managed to display, and the lack of mess, the door shut behind her, hard, and she dropped the ladle, its contents landing between the two pristine platefuls of food and splattering violently, painting the worktop, both plates, the floor, and Vinyl's muzzle.

Vinyl's first instinct was to shout, but she had no time for that. Octavia had just returned, and she had to salvage their dinner before she saw Vinyl's slip up. As she frantically scrubbed at the worktop, cloth in her magic's grasp, she used her front right hoof, along with another cloth, to wipe at the floor. Vinyl had managed to clean up a majority of the mess, and was facing the plates on the table, opposite to the entrance to the adjoined living room, seasoning her plate with cracked pepper, when Octavia trotted up behind her.

"Hello, love, what are you doing? Is that spaghetti I see? Oh, Vinyl, you should not have gone to the trouble! You have been having a hard time lately, you should have let me take care of the cooking and relaxed a little--"

Octavia stopped speaking as Vinyl turned to face her, her praise almost instantly replaced by raucous laughter, which she attempted to stem as Vinyl realised what had caused her outburst and furiously wiped at her mane, scowl ever present on her face.

"You know white stains, Vinyl. You may have to be put in the wash." Octavia teased.

"Uh, our washing machine's broken, Tavi? We're literally living out of cardboard boxes here. Vinyl growled, glaring at Octavia, before doing a double take, astonished. "Hold on, was that a joke? Seriously, Tavi, you make like three of those a year, I'm surprised. Plus, you were really upbeat just now. What happened? Did DJ Pon-3 finally respond to your fan mail?" It was a sharp response, as always, but lacking in punchiness due to Vinyl's shock.

Octavia chose to ignore her last comment. "Yes, Vinyl, it was a joke." Octavia adopted a mock haughty tone. "And I believe it was executed rather well, do you not?"

Vinyl's shock gave way to a short, raspy giggle, which she quickly caught. "Tavi, stop. You sound like even more of a snob than usual. Anyway, what's all this about? Have you been attacking the red wine again?"

Octavia gasped in the most fake, dramatic manner known to equine. "I resent that! How could you accuse me of such a thing, Vinyl? You know I have not so much as touched wine in days! Besides, I prefer my ales."

"Okay, so you've proven you know Tavi's taste in booze, keep going." Vinyl cocked an ear as she waited for the impostor to slip up on some vital piece of information, as they were bound to. She had heard of changeling spies before, but never thought she would encounter one.

What if she was a changeling spy? I suppose it would make sense. I mean, I have literally just started meetings with the Princess. But how would they mobilise that fast? Unless Tavi's been a changeling from the start? I guess that would explain why she spends so much time in her room, she must get tired of her second skin. Vinyl eyed Octavia, who still hadn't responded, considering all the little details she knew about her.

Nah, it can't be. Changelings feed on love and affection, Tavi's the most asocial mare I know. Then again I'm a close runner up. At least I have social skills though. Well arguably. I know how to deal with fans at least.

"I was at the spa today, Vinyl." Octavia stated, tone merry and upbeat, but all affectation gone.

Vinyl laughed aloud. "So that's it! You're always pretty relaxed after a spa visit, or so I've noticed. I haven't seen you planning for one lately though? I didn't know you were due for another visit yet anyway. What'd you get, then?"

Octavia smirked, brushing her mane to the side. "Oh, just a little bit of everything. My, it was rejuvenating. I have felt absolutely fabulous since! You'll have to smell this new lotion I bought, if you like it I could go to the spa and order another, also--"

"Wait wait wait." Vinyl interrupted, shaking her head as she spoke. "You mean to say you got the whole shabang? When have you ever done that? I thought you were very systematic about these things. In fact, I know you're very systematic about these things. What's with you?"

Octavia bit her lip slightly before responding, she had thought Vinyl might notice that something was amiss. "Oh come now, Vinyl, it is not that big of a deal." Octavia sighed before continuing, holding a hoof up so Vinyl didn't try to cut in. "I will be honest. Your little transgression yesterday showed me something. You had been keeping yourself chained up, under lock and key, afraid to really be yourself."

"In the end, you started to feel terrible, and then, at my insistence, you started to get help. And now, look at the change in you! Do you think the Vinyl Scratch of yesterday would be up making us dinner, and cracking jokes? And that is just one day! I have realised that it would be selfish and hypocritical to expect you to make changes in your life when I am not exactly perfect myself, so I am attempting to loosen up, ever so slightly. Today, I went to the spa on a whim, and even had a general discussion with both Aloe and Lotus!"

"By the way," She paused here to wink at Vinyl, who was still processing Octavia's words. "I found out about your little hooficure sessions. Maybe we shall go together in future. But, I digress. The point is, the whole process was both invigorating and liberating! I have felt free all day long. So that, along with my pleasure to see you, and eat this sure to be lovely meal you have cooked us, is 'what's with me'."

"Whoa, you used a contraction." Vinyl blurted. Blushing slightly, she reiterated. "I mean, you didn't have to Tavi... You really don't have to change how you act at all, I like you just the way you are, always have! I guess if it makes you happy though... Wait, does this mean I have to deal with jokes from you often now?!"

Octavia chuckled at the look of worry growing on Vinyl's face. "First of all, I was quoting you. Second, I use contractions sometimes, just not often. For example, when I am preparing for a performance, it is often a lot faster and easier to speak with contractions and colloquialisms. Third, I doubt I will make jokes that often. You really should clean your face though."

Vinyl pouted. "I wanna eat first. No use cooking it if it goes cold before I get to dig in, is there?"

Octavia nodded in concurrence. "No, that would be a waste. I mean, what would be the point in purchasing the ingredients, spending a length of time preparing the food, cooking it, and serving it up, if it were not to be thoroughly enjoyed when eaten? It is important to enjoy every moment of a good meal. Primarily, it is what makes the build up worth the wait. Imagine reading a food review where the critic spoke at length about the recipe, the creative process, and the serving of the food, but then said nothing whatsoever about the actual consumption? No indication as to whether or not it was enjoyed, just the knowledge that it probably was. That would be quite the redundant piece of information, don't you agree?"

Octavia was once again interrupted, this time by Vinyl's attempt at a fake snore.

"You're right, this is awfully loquacious of me. And honestly, after all this build up, I'm curious to see how this meal will taste, aren't you?"

Vinyl beamed. "Of course! Tell me what you think once you've had a bite?"

"You really know how to put a mare on the spot, don't you, Vinyl?"

Vinyl leaned up against her chair and brushed her chest off before sitting at the kitchen table, her plate levitated over along with Octavia's. "I know a great many things, Tavi, except for one, that is."

"And what is that, Vinyl?" Octavia remarked, an ounce of sarcasm present.

Vinyl waited for Octavia to take a bite, her expression indistinguishable.

"What do you think of the food? I'm dying to know now, honestly."

Transition

Vinyl would find out just how her meal tasted, don't worry. At this point, things like that were important to her. With Vinyl's sudden elation, feeling as if she was taking the first positive steps in her life in a long time, she was easily appeased. The stress and worry from the day before felt almost as if it was a distant memory at that moment, or so she has said. Unfortunately, this was only her first step into recovery.

At this moment in time, as Vinyl scoffed profiteroles and engaged in small talk, she didn't think about her recent outburst. Neither did she think of her unresolved issues, or what the rest of her friendship lessons might entail. In fact, she didn't think about much at all.

This was Vinyl's favoured state of mind, likely because it was so rare. She found it very difficult to dissociate with her surroundings and exercise tranquility, so when the feeling came over her, she welcomed it. For once, her head was merciful, her mind clear, quiet and free, and she was able to truly breathe. When she finished eating, she did not immediately leave for her room, opting to stay and clean up. Such menial tasks were also a chance for her to relax.

Unfortunately, her placidity couldn't last forever, it never did. I've mentioned before that Vinyl is a very intelligent pony, but intelligence often belies sense. While Vinyl may have been good at controlling her life, to a degree, she knew that some things were out of her control. She could not keep her mind quiet, nor could she stop her strength from ebbing away as fatigue set in. She could, however, convince herself that she didn't need her headphones tonight, and would be able to sleep without them. She was wrong.

Begrudgingly comforted by the sound of her playlist, Vinyl would consider many things that night, her mind not the calm, ebbing sea it had been earlier. She would think to the future, considering what was to come next for her. She would think of the ponies that she kept determined for, and of the rewards her hard work brought. I sometimes wonder if she knew at that moment whether she was pushing forward for her own health, or just to make everypony else happy.

As Vinyl drew closer to an exhaustion imposed slumber, the intensity of her thoughts was mitigated. She thought of the ponies she had met recently: The alicorn princess that was to become her mentor, the boastful and cheeky unicorn with the brilliant smile, the strong and caring mother with the equally strong voice, the captivating pegasus with a penchant to playfully mock her. Vinyl thought of all of these ponies, one in particular slightly more than the others, though only her subconscious realised it then.

The next part of the story details Vinyl's adjustment to new friendships, and a significantly more pony filled life. She would learn more of herself as she went, her opinions, preferences, and feelings for others alike.

Suffice to say that she would remain almost completely clueless in regards to romance.

Back Once Again

Drying my hooves must be one of the most irritating things I do each day. Vinyl's bathroom rug moved from side to side, crinkling as she trotted in place, frowning all the while, slowly stripping the moisture from her hooves. I really should get that rug permanently affixed, I'm so tired of straightening it out.

When Vinyl's hooves were suitably dry, to the point that she would not slip whilst walking across her tiled bathroom floor at least, she grabbed the edge of the rug in her teeth and proceeded to put it back in its proper place. I don't know why I bother. It'll just get messed up again tomorrow, and it's not like anypony else comes in here. Do I have some sort of standard to maintain for myself? I let my room get in a mess, but I constantly straighten out this rug. Seems a little obsessive.

When Vinyl had finished, she put her shades on, which, like the rug, may as well have been permanently affixed. She then checked herself over in the mirror, and reapplied the charm to her mane, which dried and stiffened at her spell's application. Vinyl proceeded to swipe around the sides of her ears with a towel, before equipping her headphones, nearly as ever-present as her shades. As Vinyl turned them on, half volume, she simultaneously flipped the off switch on her bathroom speakers, which were until then playing a smooth, jazzy melody. Been a while since I've listened to music like that, suppose hearing Ditzy yesterday prompted me to revisit some classics? Could be so, or maybe things are just a little different right now.

As Vinyl walked into her bedroom, she considered the day's plans, rhythmically tapping her hoof as she stood in the centre of her room, a powerful sax solo working in concurrence with her thoughts. I know I need to see Twilight. I mean, I never actually sent her a letter, so that's a necessity. I wonder if I'll bump into Starlight again? Does she actually work the desk there? Is she a secretary? I would have asked, but she's on first name terms with the Princess, so I'd rather not offend her. Well, I wouldn't mind seeing her again, she seemed like a nice pony. She definitely seemed happy, at least. Maybe that's Princess Twilight's influence? Or maybe she was always like that. It would be silly to assume that everyone associated with the princess is a social leper, I'm likely the only one.

Laughing vocally at her self-deprecation in an attempt to stay positive, she sat and began to leaf through a book at random, something to occupy her hooves as she continued to think the coming day over. Will I see Ditzy today? Depends if she comes over I guess, I did say 'whenever' after all. Long distance communication would be so convenient right now, I swear. I mean, I don't even know when Princess Twilight is receiving audiences, I don't exactly want to turn up really early. What is the time anyway?

Vinyl opened her bedroom door and trotted down the hallway, into the front room, where she eyed the small clock, both hands pointing straight up. Heh, both up, like the crowd's hooves whenever I tour. Vinyl blinked. Huh, was that conceit? I guess I'm entitled to a little by now. Vinyl blinked once again, eyes still trained on the little clock. It's noon. Why did I think it was so early? Another blink, a look out the window, a double take. Shit, it's noon! I really should go and see Princess Twilight, she'll probably think I've given up otherwise. I knew I should have sent her a freaking letter. Forehooves trembling in slight panic, Vinyl began to fix breakfast before exclaiming "Screw breakfast!" and dashing her bowl into the sink with a well aimed shove.

She left the house, annoyed that she could not say goodbye to Octavia, who was likely in her own room, and took off toward the castle at a reasonably hurried pace. Screw breakfast? Really, Vinyl? A little dramatic, wasn't it? Was it even breakfast? I mean, it's past twelve, so surely that suggests it's time for lunch? If so, what the hell is brunch? Vinyl stopped in her tracks. Note to self: Find out what brunch is. Relieved that she had taken care of an important concern, Vinyl took off at the same pace.

Once again, Vinyl wondered about the castle's architecture as she approached, but did not stop to admire it as she would have liked to. She concluded that she would ask Princess Twilight more about the castle during their meeting, if it appeared to be going well. Vinyl was curious as to what her next meeting would entail, but knew also that she would not find out until she was there. I wonder if Rainbow Dash will be there? I doubt it. Unless those two have been practicing wing etiquette every day, in which case I feel sorry for Rainbow. But seriously, what would she get out of it? Princess Twilight is the Princess of Friendship, it's kind of her duty to help with these things, although she's not exactly paid for it or anything. At least, I don't think she is? Heh, I could imagine Princess Celestia paying her a wage, with income tax and everything.

Vinyl caught her building chuckle and allowed it to vibrate in her chest as she made for the double doors. But what would Rainbow get out of it? Etiquette teacher? Maybe. Maybe in some strange capacity she could be referred to as that. Therapist? I don't think so, it really doesn't strike me as her bag. Besides, it's not her role, and she doesn't have any obligation to stick around and listen to my crap, I wonder why she bothered last time? Maybe she was just bored, or didn't wanna go too far. Or maybe she's just nosy. Then again, maybe I'm being a little cynical. I just can't seem to figure it out--

"Hey! Vinyl Scratch, wasn't it?"

A pristine smile and a cheerful wave should have served to interrupt Vinyl's train of thought, but all it did was give her a concrete outlet for her queries. "Hey, Starlight. What do you know about Rainbow Dash?" Vinyl blurted. "Um, I mean..." Shit, did I really just say that? Floor, swallow me now and I'll owe you, big time.

"Well you remember my name, that's one thing." Starlight continued smiling her crystalline smile, unperturbed. "Hmm, Rainbow Dash?" Starlight considered Vinyl's question for a moment, rather than looking up and acknowledging the look of horror growing on Vinyl's face, before responding, a smirk present. "Well, I know she's a very important and renowned teacher of decorum." Starlight's mocking and playful laugh enveloped the hall behind her desk, where she sat once again.

Vinyl managed to stop forming plans to escape when she heard Starlight's response.Wait a second. Can I actually style this out? Vinyl tried her hoof at a convincing laugh, she thought she could have mustered better. "Yeah, you had me there, Starlight. I was expecting something totally different to what I saw." Thinking back to the situation, Vinyl realised that it had actually been quite funny, and felt genuine laughter begin to take over. "Seriously, good one!"

If Starlight was at all curious as to where the question had come from, it was not obvious. "Heh, glad you got a laugh out of it. Sorry I wasn't here when you got out yesterday, I got a little busy. I take it you're back to see Twilight again?"

Vinyl nodded, relieved by the change in subject.

"Don't worry, no diplomacy lessons to interrupt today! In fact, I believe Twilight cleared her afternoon schedule, knowing you were coming today." Starlight stated, smile unwavering.

Vinyl tilted her head in confusion. "I'm sorry, why would she clear her entire afternoon schedule? She isn't expecting to tutor me all day, is she? Besides, surely the duties of a princess outweigh the importance of a meeting with someone like me."

Starlight responded with yet another laugh. "You really don't know Princess Twilight, do you? To her, you and me are just as important as any dignitary or noble. She asked you to come back to her today, but neglected to suggest a time to you. As such, she figured it would only be fair to leave her schedule open for you, rather than summon you. She prefers not to do that, thinks it comes across as intimidating."

Vinyl considered the Princess's benevolence, leaving her whole day free just for her to be able to come knocking at any given moment.

"Plus," Starlight continued. "it gives her a chance relax. She's probably up there tearing through some obscure book older than my grandmother, or scolding Spike for something. Those are her two favourite leisure activities, as far as I can tell."

Vinyl laughed, albeit quietly, knowing that she still did not have the privilege to speak freely about the Princess, as Starlight often did. "You sure know a lot about her, huh?"

"I'd hope so," Starlight chuckled softly. "considering that she's my mentor and all."

Vinyl wasn't entirely shocked by this, but she couldn't hide her intrigue. "Really? That's so cool! So you're, like, Princess Twilight's student? That's pretty nifty, has your magic grown significantly since she started teaching you? You must be a really strong unicorn, what did you even do to land a tutelage like that?"

Starlight shifted uncomfortably and let out a sheepish chuckle before responding. "Yeah, um, I suppose my magic is growing. It's not really like that though. As for what I did to get here, it's a little complex to say the least. I made mistakes, Vinyl, but I'm getting over it, being here helps a lot, I feel at home here, and I find it easy to be myself, you know?"

Vinyl smiled, pretty sure they were still primarily discussing magic. "Well, yeah, but as long as you move past those mistakes, that's the important part, right? I mean, if you're here to learn, then I wouldn't worry about a little mistake or two. Everyone makes them after all, and not everyone makes the right choice straight away either. What matters is that you can always try to rectify your errors, if you really need to."

"I suppose, Vinyl. Honestly, I've done things with my life which I'm not entirely proud of, things which felt fulfilling at the time but looking back were a complete waste of life. I'm happy to be away from where I was. I'm happy to have this new life, to be able to move forward, and be open."

Maybe we're a little more similar than I thought. Vinyl mused. "Well you seem to be doing a good job of it. What's Princess Twilight's personal student doing at a desk though?"

Starlight sighed quietly. "As much as I'd love to say I came from a regal family and waltzed up to Twilight with bits coming out of my ears, I barely had a scrap to my name when she took me in and gave me a place to live, as well as my lessons. Now, the kingdom treasury more than allows Twilight to employ a full staff, including replacements when current staff go on leave. That's just it though, the usual receptionist is on maternity leave, and I offered to fill in. I don't like feeling like some sort of freeloader, after all. I must say, riveting work. I can see why ponies go and have children to get away from it for a while."

Starlight paused to join Vinyl in a spell of laughter. "Anyway, I'm keeping you. She'll likely be in her throne room, or the study, which I'll direct you to if she's not in the first room. I mean Celestia forbid I have an excuse to stand for a few minutes."

Starlight sure does complain a lot. It's pretty funny actually, she's good company. Also, she interests me a lot. Maybe I should stick around and talk to her a while longer after I'm done with Twilight? Luna knows I could use the socialisation right now. Twilight might not like it though, I don't want to distract her important magic student. Vinyl snorted. Distract her from what? Desk watching? I doubt it would hurt. I'll ask just to be sure though.

"Um, Vinyl?" Starlight waved a limp hoof in front of her face, prompting a small gasp and a jump from Vinyl, who had been standing immobile for about ten seconds. "Zoned out, did you?" Starlight asked.

Vinyl forced a smile, embarrassed by Starlight's noticing of her obvious daydreaming, realising that the conversation was meant to have ended then and there, and that normal ponies think whilst walking away, rather than before saying goodbye to the ponies they are talking to. "Sorry, yeah, I must have. These meetings are still a lot to take in, that's all. Anyway, you're right, I should go find Princess Twilight. It was good talking though! I'll see you soon, Starlight."

Starlight smiled a kind smile. "Hey, don't worry about it, Vinyl, we all daydream a little sometimes, don't we? I'm sure you will, try to enjoy your time with Twilight as best you can."

Vinyl nodded, smiled once again, and turned to leave. That was actually really nice. Vinyl began to walk at a slow but upbeat pace, headphones around her neck, tail swishing slightly, and head bopping. She continued this way until Starlight called out for her, encouraging her to turn halfway round to face Starlight.

Starlight's previously warm smile grew into a mischievous and mocking grin. "Hey, Vinyl! At least this time you didn't come out of your daydream babbling about Rainbow Dash, huh?"

Vinyl froze. Hey, floor? I'm serious this time. Freaking do it already.

Euphorium

Vinyl slowly padded down the corridor, preparing herself for her next encounter with Princess Twilight, lightly smiling all the while. She had put the conversation with Starlight out of her mind, for the most part at least, and was now wondering whether Twilight had been waiting for her long, and what she might want to do today. These thoughts gave way to more serious considerations, and Vinyl discovered that her smile was as malleable as any metal is.

Sometimes I don't feel as if I'm going to the princess for advice, or her royal counsel. It feels like I'm actually being counselled by a head doctor. Plus, she's already got a member of her royal council involved in her royal counsel. It's not like her, or any of her friends for that matter, are certified shrinks with certificates on their walls and letters after their names. Well, the princess might have that kind of education, I'm not actually sure about that.

Vinyl bore her teeth as she kept her sauntering pace, approaching the door to the library. I shouldn't have so many reservations. Princess Twilight cares for her subjects, she has made that clear. I shouldn't even be wary of her, really.

As Vinyl opened the leftmost double door, a large purple spell hit directly where she would have been standing, had she opened the right one.

"Fuck!" Vinyl squealed as she jumped back, almost landing in the corridor behind her. Her voice was uncharacteristically high pitched compared to it's usual rough, but sophisticated tone. A sheepish looking princess poked her head out, first in alarm, then in embarrassment.

"Vinyl! I'm so, so sorry! See, I didn't know you were coming right now, and I was getting carried away with some tests and-- Oh Celestia, are you hurt?" Twilight clambered forwards as she spoke, her horn still apparently charged, as she approached her alarmed and off balance visitor.

Twilight's steadily rising panic reminded Vinyl of a hyperventilating pony, and Vinyl, perturbed as she was, sought to alleviate the princess's worries. She wasn't entirely sure why either. "No, Princess Twilight, I'm just fine. Please don't be worried, I didn't get hit or anything. I just didn't expect it, that's all. What were you even doing? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

Twilight stopped in her jolting movement and made an overt attempt to calm herself, to some success. Once she had loudly completed a few breath cycles, a hoof pressed to her chest on the inhale, and then pushed out in front of her on the exhale, she spoke, with a stronger voice and much more clarity. Vinyl walked back through the door, mouth clad with a forgiving smile, which looked quite similar to her usual one, but softer if possible.

"You really wanna know? I'd probably bore you to tears." Twilight smirked a little as she said this, which made Vinyl wonder just how many ponies she had reduced to crying wrecks with her lectures up until now. She concluded to test Twilight's claim.

"Go for it, I've already chewed your ear off once, about time you get a turn, right?" Vinyl blushed at her wording. "Uh, I mean, please proceed, Princess Twilight, I'd be happy to listen to you." Although she was satisfied with her save, Vinyl still found herself averting her eyes momentarily. Why am I looking away? She can't even tell where I'm looking. Unless... Can she? No, that's irrational, unless she's attached a concrete transparency spell to herself. It would be difficult to tell too. There's so much ambient magic in the area around the castle, it's hardly impossible for her to have hundreds of spells active that I'm unaware of, nor improbable.

If Twilight had noticed Vinyl's misdemeanour, she didn't acknowledge it. In fact, when Vinyl had permitted her to speak about her activities (the first time), any semblance of worry seemed to disappear from her face and tone alike, and she burst jubilantly into an impromptu lecture.

"So, when you walked in, what you would have seen is a ray of my magic hitting the door beside you, yes?" Twilight waited for Vinyl's nod before continuing. "Well what that was, is a spell that I'm currently in the process of developing, in the interest of necessity, and magi-technological advancement."

This piqued Vinyl's interest. She knew that the princess was notoriously studious, and that she had been the curator of the Golden Oak Library before its destruction, but what she didn't know is that the princess created spells in her spare time. Vinyl considered the mental aptitude and discipline needed to make a viable and applicable spell, and found herself gaining more respect for her princess by the moment, but Twilight was still talking:

"You see, as it stands, a unicorn is able to levitate an object with their horn, that's common knowledge. And, it's even been taken further. Automatons have been created, and instilled with directives, protocols, and even faux-personalities, in some cases, to work under ponies. And also, with the discovery and conversion of the correct fuels, we have developed machines which are able to continuously run on fuel, or even whilst connected to a power source which expels fuel, such as the automobile."

Should I tell her that I know all this already? I figure that she might be trying to get me grounded in her idea, but part of me feels like she's just assuming I don't know very much about modern technology.

"What I propose is taking it a step further. Let's throw out the rule book, while it's still being written, and start work on self-governing, fully automatic machinery that can be controlled from anywhere in Equestria by it's owner, through appropriate amplification. With the right medium, magical signals could be bounced around the country and used to activate user specific contraptions, issue precise commands, and even shut off devices. With the right application, objects which once required magical dexterity could be optimised so they can be used by all types of pony. It would be revolutionary!"

As Twilight spoke, as passionate as she was about her idea, Vinyl couldn't help but feel the awed expression growing across her own face, shocked and intrigued by the princess's imaginings. Granted, she thought her vision had issues, a good few, in fact, but the concept alone was staggering, the product of a brilliant mind, Vinyl reasoned. Leave it to the Princess of Friendship to think of a way for every race of pony to live in equality.

"And" Twilight continued. "I believe it can be done! This experiment with my door was my first dive into this new brand of manipulation, it wasn't telekinesis, or rather, the extension of my conscious desire to move the object, manifested in telekinesis, but something else entirely. What I am attempting to do here is imbue the door with the correct quantity of magical energy, so that it can be linked to my consciousness, in a sense. That way, I'll be able to will the door to open and close through a physical trigger, and that means of activation will allow the door to be moved without the activation of any magic. Suffice to say that once this spell is perfected, any pony could be linked to their door, earth ponies and pegasi too. And it won't stop there! We'll be able to control the objects around us without ever having to rely on our horns to do so, which will be beneficial for unicorns, because they won't have to expend any energy casting spells!"

The cogs in Vinyl's brain were beginning to turn, she could see more and more of the potential uses for this new innovation with each passing moment, and chose to give voice to one of her thoughts. "And with the proper development, entire factories could be ran automatically, allowing many ponies to leave their menial and labourious jobs and pursue something more enlightening. Not to mention the likely increase in efficiency. Intercommunication could be exponentially increased, home security could be bolstered, the superiority gap between unicorns and other races would lower significantly, and unicorns would cease to be the sole race employed in high end jobs that typically only cater to magic users..."

Then, another thought, and Vinyl's expression became sombre as she shared it. "But then, what about the ponies who are no longer needed, once machines are able to do our simple tasks for us? If it really would be as you say, only a fraction of factory employees would be needed in order to maintain and operate these enchanted machines and objects, and what happens to the ones that don't make the cut? Are thousands of ponies meant to lose their jobs in the industrial sector, all in the name of progress? And besides, if unicorns were to lose their niche abilities, wouldn't that make them the most inferior race? Rather than equality, we would be the weakest, unable to fly, and our magic would be of limited use. And yes, I suppose unicorns would be needed to enchant these items, and to maintain them, but what's to stop earth ponies or pegasi becoming versed in magical theory, and then proceeding to manage us? We could be pushed to the bottom of the barrel, useful only as manufacturers of the instruments that better everypony but us. Even though I believe in working to the betterment of other ponies lives, I think this is a difficult idea, and that it would have to be carefully handled and observed to stop it from spiraling into complete socioeconomic upheaval."

Twilight had stopped bouncing around at some point during Vinyl's argument, and it occurred to Vinyl that she might have upset her greatly. You freaking idiot. She doesn't want your help, she never asked for it, she just wanted to tell you about her idea, and it was a great one too. Yet you had to be all cynical about it, didn't you? Now look what you've done. It was at this point that Twilight began to smile a completely different smile, one Vinyl had yet to see until then.

"You... followed all that?" Twilight asked, perplexed, despite the large grin she sported. When Vinyl slowly nodded, still unsure of Twilight's emotional state, and scared to anger her, Twilight jumped up in glee, and Vinyl took a step back, slightly frightened.

Here lies Vinyl Scratch, provoker of royals, recipient of wrath. Vinyl mused, half serious. Twilight's explosive movement when she admitted her understanding must have been the last straw, a confirmation to the princess's mind that Vinyl's speech was more than nonsensical rambling, and that she actually saw problems with the princess's idea. Vinyl braced herself for death or dismissal.

But still the smile wasn't gone from Twilight's face, yet her voice had found an oddly joyous lilt. "That's wonderful!" Twilight exclaimed. "And the fact that you were able to make such a strong case for and against my plan, is astounding! Did you ever study mechanics or engineering, Vinyl?"

"Never, Princess Twilight." Vinyl weakly replied. She's not mad? I honestly thought she would be pissed at me. I know if someone went and poked a big hole in my idea, I'd be a little irked. Why is she so happy all of a sudden, then?

"I mean, I know that you read more than you let on, you told me so yourself when you last saw me, but I never would have guessed that you were so gifted! Honestly, half of the ponies I know wouldn't have been able to make who or what out of my idea but you took it and ran it through your head instantly, despite the fact that it was a new concept that you had never heard before! You've got some serious brainpower, Vinyl!" Twilight beamed, her sudden increase in energy striking and blatant.

Aw jeez, you're gonna make me blush. Vinyl shuffled her feet slightly, intensely gazing at a suddenly interesting table. "Th-Thanks, Princess Twilight," she stammered. "I'm really not all too used to discussing my perspective with other ponies, well, not about anything serious anyway." Vinyl willed her feet to be still and continued. "When I started speaking against what you said, I thought you were gonna hate me, or something. It was kind of you to share your idea with me and then I went and did that, I thought you'd be pretty mad with me, and--"

"Vinyl, why would I ever be mad with you for that? Healthy debate is the cornerstone of any scientific development! It's not like you just moseyed on in, told me my idea was terrible, and never explained why, you engaged with me, and gave me a coherent reason as to why there could be issues, and also outlined potential benefits!" Twilight sighed, her wings fluttering slightly. "Honestly, while I haven't been an alicorn for very long, it can occasionally be difficult to put myself back in the shoes of a unicorn, incapable of flight and the like. I forget that many a unicorn's trade and livelihood depends upon their ability to create magic, and that without that skill, unicorns would have a difficult time on the social ladder."

Vinyl noticed Twilight's small wing twitch, associating it with their last encounter, and deducing that Twilight must be trying to repress an urge to flap away out of upset. "You're still every bit unicorn to me, Princess Twilight, wings or none. In fact, you're more than just a bit unicorn, how many unicorns have you met that actually create spells in their spare time? Learn spells, maybe, but create? You're incredible in that regard, definitely." Vinyl moved a little closer to Twilight, out of instinct, more than anything, and Twilight looked square at her, a hint of her previous elation still in her eyes.

"This is still wonderful." Twilight said. Noticing Vinyl's bewildered expression, she continued. "I'm glad to have another friend I can discuss these things with, and bounce ideas off, when I feel like it. I love all of my friends, after all, but some of them just aren't built for conversations about magi-technology, you know?"

"Y-Yeah, I know what you're saying." Did she say 'friend'? Honestly, I've not considered actually discussing anything academic with another pony in a long time, but I've got a lot of interests that you might share. I mean, I like music, of course, but there's more to me than that. I'm interested in ancient Equestrian history, theocentricism in regards to the alicorn and the creator... Uh, linguistics and word origins, politics, law, social sciences, and all sorts, really. I mean, I also like drum and bass, questionably written stories, sexy cocktails, eating good food and dancing, so I'm just like any pony else, but--"

Twilight put a shaking hoof to Vinyl's mouth, effectively silencing her mid speech. Needless to say, she looked very excited. "Enough. We're going through the library, right now, and I'm gonna pick out some books for you! There's so many you would enjoy! I mean, you've probably already read some of them, but ohmygosh, maybe you could recommend some for me too?" Twilight looked about as hopeful as a foal on hearth's warming eve, and Vinyl, exasperated as she was, couldn't help but nod in agreement.

This is pretty neat... It's nice to feel appreciated, too, but this isn't why I came here. I don't think it is at least. Hold on. Scared to burst Twilight's bubble, but determined to not get too sidetracked, Vinyl asked: "Princess, what are we meant to be doing here, today?"

And suddenly, Twilight was a serene educator once more. "We're going to be exploring some of the barriers you've been experiencing in your interactions with other ponies, what causes them, how to prevent them, and which barricades are totally acceptable to have. We're also going to look at how you exercise these same blocks when it comes to interacting with yourself."

"Interacting with myself? You mean like when I think and stuff?"

"Precisely that," Twilight nodded. "But first, have you eaten yet? You can't think on an empty stomach after all."

"I actually haven't. I remember going to make myself some breakfast, but I never ate it in the end." Vinyl caught a chuckle, remembering her earlier exclamation of 'screw breakfast'.

Twilight smiled once again, she really was happy today. "Oh, that's great! We can do brunch!"

Vinyl's nerves became taut. "Okay, seriously, I've been meaning to ask this. What exactly is brunch?"

Twilight laughed, slightly condescending in tone, though she wouldn't have admitted it then. "Well, that's easy! Brunch is..." Twilight cocked her head. "Well, it's breakfast, but it's not! Like, it's also lunch, so if you want to have breakfast and lunch together, you have brunch, right? Simple!" She announced, satisfied.

Vinyl wasn't convinced. "So, how can it be breakfast and lunch together, if you only eat breakfast things, or you only eat lunch things when you have it? That doesn't make any sense. Unless you eat your breakfast and lunch together, which let's face it, no one does, it doesn't make any sense. It's just a silly portmanteau, and it would make much more sense to say 'I'm having breakfast things at lunch time' or 'I'm having lunch things for breakfast.' Wait, would the latter even count as brunch? What are the rules? Is there a time scale?"

Twilight looked worried, and her tone was dubious when she responded. "I'm sure there's an explanation somewhere... There's probably a book on it! I'll research it and find out, and then it'll make total sense! There's no way we're all walking around using a word that doesn't really mean anything, that would be ridiculous..." In the next few seconds, it seemed to dawn upon Twilight that that was exactly the case. "...Huh, what is brunch?"

I knew I was onto something. Now that I've convinced Twilight, maybe I can convince her to outlaw the silly word. Hold on, can princesses ban words? Well, they get a pair of wings slapped on their sides and gain unquestionable supreme power, and from that point on they rule with impunity, so why not? I'm sure Twilight could ban brunch if she really wanted to. Vinyl thought asking the princess to do so would be too much hassle, but wouldn't object to her doing it off her own back.

While she's at it, she can ban words like 'lit' and 'fleek', or at least sterilise the people that say them. Okay, no, that's a little harsh, but she can keep those people the hell away from me, as a minimum.

I Swear Down You Lot Have Lost Your Mind

Author's Note

At long last, an update. I've put something a bit different in this one, hope it is appreciated! Hope to get back on track with this story soon.

I Swear Down You Lot Have Lost Your Mind

Vinyl and Twilight were currently eating their meal, a reasonably well cooked vegetable and cheese omelette on Twilight's part. Over lunch, Vinyl was silently preparing herself for her work with Twilight, knowing they would likely begin exploring every crevice and recess of her psyche eventually, even if it began with small steps. The idea of another going through her most private thoughts, learning of her views, and most importantly, the past that had allowed Vinyl to form them, was slightly terrifying.

Definitely not my past, I don't want to think about it. Maybe I should have gone to a friggin' shrink after all. At least a shrink wouldn't be in a position to share my business with the entirety of Ponyville. Vinyl's ears twitched and she stifled a growl with another forkful of omelette. I sound like a cynic, but it could happen. Twilight most likely values confidentiality, but what if she finds something I say difficult to deal with? What if it's outside her area of expertise? She would try to compensate somehow, and I'm sure she'd defer to reading first, but if that didn't work, what then?

Vinyl's face hardened as her brain made the next logical conclusion, unintentionally antagonising Twilight in her mind. She would go seek advice from her friends next, I'm sure. And yeah, she'd be good intentioned doing so, but then that's five more ponies that all know my business. All one of them has to do is blab, and that shit starts getting around town. That Rarity too... I swear, if Ponyville had a literal rumour mill she would be its owner. Also, if she writes to Celestia about me? Hmm, no, I shouldn't have to worry about that. Words shared between friends is one thing, but official documents? She wouldn't do that. It's a good thing too, Celestia's not an idiot, she'd realise pretty fast.

As Vinyl attempted to withdraw from her newfound malaise, she caught Twilight picking at the remnants of her omelette, stealing glances at her occasionally, with a sheepish look on her. Vinyl realised that she had hardly looked friendly throughout breakfast, and hoped she hadn't offended the princess, nor made her feel awkward. As she placed down the knife and fork she had been using next to her last slither of omelette, she cleared her throat, an indirect signal for Twilight to knock off her foalish behaviour. Thankfully, it seemed to work, as Twilight spoke, albeit quietly, and with an awkward smile on her face.

"So, I hope you enjoyed your food? Sorry it wasn't anything more interesting, I don't often cook complex food." She pensively tapped one hoof against the other as she spoke.

Vinyl smiled a pleasant smile. "It was lovely, princess, please don't worry on my behalf. As for complex food? Me either. Way I see it, we need the right level of sustenance to carry on with the day, and tasting nice is a bonus, but if you've got things to do which are pretty important and time demanding, you should be cooking quick and easy meals."

"That's what I think too." Twilight agreed. "I don't want to waste an hour prepping some fantastic meal, even if the turnout would be great, because whatever I can cook in five minutes is just fine! Plus, a couple of my friends are pretty great chefs, so good food isn't often in short supply around here."

Vinyl craned her head forward, appearing slightly excited by this news. "Oh really? Do tell, princess?"

"Well you probably already know this, but Applejack can make literally every apple related dish you can think of, perfectly, and gosh do they taste good. She can make apple fritters, strudel, pie, baked apples... she can make them caramelised, deep fat fried, you name it! It's all organic too, and they taste so good!" If Twilight had been paying much attention to Vinyl's face, she would have seen that the mare was practically salivating at the mention of all those apple products.

"She's pretty good with your usual, non-apple related dishes too, but that's definitely her specialty. Then there's Pinkie. Now, with Applejack it's in her blood, all of the apples are terrific chefs in their own right, but Pinkie's family are rock farmers. Never been able to get my head around where she gets her aptitude for baking, but that's probably on the bottom of my list of questions regarding Pinkie, if I'm honest. Regardless, she makes a killer batch of cupcakes, no doubt about that." Vinyl's ears perked up at the mention of Pinkie, and she smiled a little.

"Don't know about Applejack, but that Pinkie is an oddity. First time I met her in Sugarcube Corner, I couldn't tell if she was trying to make conversation, scare me off, up-sell me, welcome me, or flirt with me. Ended up having a card game with her. You know five card pickup?" Twilight nodded at her poker reference. "Never seen a mare with more luck. It was uncanny too! She had a straight flush and two four of a kinds in twenty minutes! I've never seen that before. Naturally, I started to wonder if I was being conned, so I decided to check by casting an auditing spell on the deck of cards. No abnormalities. However she was doing this, it must have been sheer luck. At least, that's what I thought until she played her next flush."

"Why? What was wrong with it? A flush is five cards of the same suit, right? Not that astounding if you ask me."

Vinyl grinned, the memory still evoking a confused laughter. "That's the thing, they were all aces!"

"Whoa, that is lucky, what were your wildcards?" Twilight appeared slightly more interested now, her statistical brain had been woken up.

"That's the thing!" Vinyl exclaimed. "We didn't have any! At the end of the hand I was boasting about having my groove back, I had a queens and jacks full house and I had just laid it down, and she was all like 'no one beats me that easy, Scratchie, join the club!', and she threw her hand down. Honestly, I shit you not, she lays down five aces, all clubs too. Naturally, I accused her of cheating, so she handed me the cards to look over. Somehow, the deck had quintupled in size but retained its original density. Therefore, there were five cards of each suit, and Pinkie pronounced her move legal. The bit I can't get my head around is, well, all of it. I counted the cards before we played and I can assure you there were fifty-two, we didn't even use jokers."

Twilight's lip curved upwards in a smile, and she let out a short breathy laugh. "Honestly, that's just Pinkie Pie. Trust me, when you've been around her for long enough, you start to question your own sanity, and even the reality of your own world." She leant forwards and began to speak in a hushed tone. "Get this: Apparently, she's able to sense when things are about to fall on people. She has an eidetic memory as far as I can tell, and I've seen her play ten instruments at once. That's not even the half of it either." Twilight looked left and right, confirming they were alone. "Here, I'll show you. Look at that mirror."

Vinyl followed her instruction despite her confusion, turning to face the oval mirror stood on the wall opposite the table. "What's this all about, anyways? I figured she was just a con artist." Vinyl was sceptical about this whole thing, but was a little excited to possibly see something new. She believed that wonder was one of the most important things a pony could have in life, even if it came from unorthodox places. Especially if it comes from strange places.

"Nonono, trust me, there's more to that mare. Just watch." After a couple of seconds, Twilight put on an unconvincing tone, signifying dilemma and distress. "Oh no!" She acted, terribly. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to keep my promise!" They waited, and nothing happened. The mirror didn't move, not one bit. Vinyl had expected something. She didn't know what she had expected exactly, whether it would be magical, astounding, or even remotely interesting, but she had expected something. She turned to Twilight, doing her best to mask her disappointment, slight as it was.

"Was that all that was meant to OHSHIT--"

Vinyl began batting herself in the face, knocking herself out of her chair and onto the floor in the process, where she lay sprawled and stunned. Twilight rushed out of her seat and ran towards her, alarmed. Then, a noise began emitting, seemingly from Vinyl. It sounded like static, and was more than a little disturbing. Twilight stopped in her tracks, appearing to be transfixed by the sound, afraid of what might happen next. Then, there was a hiss, and Vinyl stirred slightly.

A couple of booms, and then a voice, appearing to come out of a dynamic microphone. "Hello, is this thing on? Oh, hey, Scratchie! Nice eyelashes! Hold on, wait, is this the front camera? Let me fix that!" Suddenly, the right lens of Vinyl's shades flashed, and a small Pinkie Pie, surrounded by nothing but purple on either side, came into focus. Vinyl, needless to say, was very confused, and focused on slowing her heart, which felt as if it could begin to palpitate at any moment. "Hey, Vinyl, could you turn your head a little? I need to get my bearings. You know, I probably could have just visited through that mirror, but that would have been too obvious, so I thought I'd come say hi to you in plain sight! Well, purple sight, but still!"

As Vinyl sat up, rubbing her temple, sore from the fall, she replied in a shaky breath. "Pinkie? How? My glasses are meant to be impervious to magical interference, I ensured that myself. How are you in them? You scared the living hell out of me... Come to think of it, how the hell did you get here, or even know to come here? What's going on?" The shock in Vinyl's tone had given way to newfound dread, the shock had morphed into worry, this all seemed a little ominous, and more than a little strange.

Pinkie turned her head, which somehow enabled Vinyl to see her in her right eye once again, as she had just before the fall. She appeared to be wearing a dapper black and white suit with a bow-tie and holding a drop down mic, like a ring announcer might, although she was dressed more like a casino dealer. The pink, impossible pony smiled, a wide and toothy grin.

"Silly Scratchie, this isn't magic! I'm not a unicorn, so how could I make magic? I think you're getting me confused with Blinky Eye. Optometrist, unicorn, always staring! Although, I suppose that is his job, to make sure that you can stare too! Anyways, it doesn't take an eye doctor to see that I don't have a horn, of any kind!"

She started swiping at the empty space above her head to prove her point. "Actually, that's a lie! I have tons of horns! Drinking horns for punch, calling horns for battle, and a really, really big minotaur horn to keep them all in! No unicorn horn though, sorry! You know, someone once called me a kleptomaniac, and I took him, literally. Get it?" A burst of confetti punctuated her joke. Well, Vinyl hoped that it was a joke.

"Anyways, I'm getting off topic... We were talking about eye doctors! Ever had someone blow air into your eye, Scratchie? How about your ear? That really tickles, and not in a funny way or even in a 'I'm gonna pee myself' way, but in a 'oh my gosh that feels pretty unpleasant' way! Try it sometime!" Pinkie's bombastic energy hadn't diminished by a fraction in her time speaking, it was like she didn't need to breathe. Vinyl, through all her shock and confusion, thought she could make an excellent emcee.

Vinyl was really unsure what to say in response, none of this made any sense. She nodded, in the hopes that this would abate Pinkie, before realising that she wouldn't be able to see that, being on her head and all. So, in another attempt to deal with this weirdness, she decided to push forward with her presumed reason for Pinkie's visit, before she could derail the conversation further. Honestly, she was shaken, in a little pain, and more than a little annoyed by the pink pony populating her purple peripherals. Vinyl imagined Pinkie repeating that phrase without a pop shield and shuddered slightly. "Pinkie, did you maybe come here because of something Twilight said?" Yeah, I just disregarded everything you said prior to now, please don't pick up on it.

With that, Pinkie gasped, a sound that was extremely static and raspy in the microphone, but luckily, not as bad as the repeated use of 'p' sounds would have been. When she had sucked all of her breath back in, she replied, with a mixture of her common enthusiasm and a stern visage that seemed the antithesis of her usual excitement. How she could manage to combine those two things was beyond Vinyl's understanding, but she did, and turned to face Twilight, who she found in an instant, sat by Vinyl, chortling unashamedly. This fueled Pinkie's indignation further.

"Oh?! So you think breaking a promise is funny, Twilight? Maybe in your eyes everypony can just go around breaking promises but that just won't cut it here! Remember, I know everypony in Equestria, so it really wouldn't do to be a promise breaker now, would it? Because I would have to tell everypony to be wary of making a promise with you if you couldn't keep a pinkie promise! well... unless you made me pinkie promise not to tell anyone or do anything, then I wouldn't say anything, but I would still be pretty mad!"

Twilight halted her laughter as much as she could manage, and put a hoof up, trying to alleviate Pinkie's worries. "Nonono Pinkie, relax. I was just trying to show Vinyl here exactly why you shouldn't break a pinkie promise, I'm not actually planning on doing so. I mean really, do you really think that as the Princess of Friendship, I would--"

"And that's another thing! You're the Princess of friendship! If anyone should know better, it's you!" Vinyl wondered if Pinkie had selective hearing, or if she was purposely winding up Twilight for summoning her in the first place. She concluded that it didn't matter, it was pretty funny watching her be chastised.

"I mean really Twilight, do I need to remind you what friendship stands for again? I've already told you 143 times! It's like they never learn," Pinkie sighed.

Suddenly, Twilight appeared to be alarmed. "No! No no Pinkie, not this again, please! I already know what friendship stands for, I mean it! Listen--"

Twilight was cut off by a old school hip hop beat, one that was surprisingly to Vinyl's tastes, though she didn't recognise it. All of a sudden, Pinkie's microphone had found another use.

"Now I'm about to drop a term that you've never heard, with many connotations which can all be inferred, there's use in it for doctors lawyers and asocial nerds, it's really all quite simple so the lines can't be blurred, the first steps might be difficult but don't be deterred, if you don't get it the first couple times then go for the third, it's a neat-o little concept but it's really absurd, oh my lil' alicorn assistant won't you tell me the word?" Pinkie eyed Twilight expectantly.

"...Friendship." Twilight groaned.

"That's the one! You see friendship is a funny thing to wrap round your head, sometimes it seems much easier to be a recluse instead, the social demands can sometimes weigh you down like they're lead, but you'll never meet another pony hid away in your bed, so you've gotta listen very closely to what the Pinkmeister says, and your days of social luxury will be right ahead, you can tell me that it's daunting and it fills you with dread, but you'll be a-okay if you follow these simple steps."

By now, Twilight's groan had dissipated, she seemed to have resigned herself to her fate. Vinyl, however, was in awe.

"F stands for friendship, so easy to remember, you've gotta put your friends first and then they'll stay with you forever, but don't neglect yourself cause that's a pitiful endeavour, no one wants to be around the guy who can't hold his life together."

"R stands for reliable, that means try to be around, it's no good going AWOL when your friends are feeling down, you've gotta make sure you're there to help them 180 that frown, just follow this advice you'll be the greatest friend in town."

"I stands for inseparable, because that's what your friends are, doesn't matter if they're with you or if they're really far, if you miss 'em pick a happy thought you won't really be apart, that way you know your closest are always right there in your heart."

"E stands for equality, this one's quite important, if your friend does nice things for you then you'd better do that for them, your friends are worth as much as you never less or more than, if you ever think you're better I'd suggest you don't inform them.

"N stands for necessity, you're really gonna need 'em, don't forget your friends want you around them for a reason, if they need help with their goals then you'd best help them achieve 'em, cause friends will always treat you with the respect that they're receiving."

"D stands for dichotomy, diversity or difference, without individuality this song wouldn't have been written, you know your friends have other interests so be polite and listen, surprise them by showing interest go and use your intuition."

"S stands for strength, determination and resolve, you've gotta have the courage to help your friends get their issues solved, so use your problem solving skills and make sure that you're bold, if you follow my advice then you'll be besties till you're old."

"H stands for hospitality, and this one's quite a treat, at basic levels you might just be holding out your buddy's seat, but would you put them up if they were thrown out on the street, if you do you'll be the most welcoming pony they'll ever meet."

"The second I is ideal, and no it isn't perfect, but making friends with the ideal pony's really worth it, not everypony will be that way so you might spend some time searching, but make sure not to settle for a friendship that isn't working."

"The final letter is P, and that stands for promises, make sure to keep all of the secrets that you've been honoured with, if someone breaks your trust don't take the excuse they're offering, promise breakers are friends that you shouldn't really bother with."

"Now that concludes our educational session today, if you need a quick reminder you just gotta rewind and replay, use these guidelines to tackle anything that gets in your way, with some devotion it's pretty likely you'll be a princess someday."

And with that, Pinkie winked, and the mic reeled up, as the music faded away. Twilight was essentially holding her ears. Vinyl was astounded, and a little sad that it had ended. I need to get her in a collaboration at some point... Ten instruments, too! That's what Twilight told me, and if she can do that, well... I'm starting to think there's nothing Pinkie Pie can't do. Maybe she created the princesses.

As if in answer to her thought, Pinkie piped up. "See, Twilight, that's 144 times now!"

"And I still hate it. Honestly, Pinkie, I don't know why you insisted on singing it so many times around me! It's hardly a short song either!" Twilight was a few decibels off shouting, this had clearly got to her a bit.

"Wellllll, what do you think would have happened if I hadn't? You never would have learnt the ten steps of friendship, and how would you have become a princess? And if you hadn't become a princess, or even ascended to alicornhood, and where would we be now? Face it, Twilight! If it wasn't for my teensy weensy bit of very occasional singing, you wouldn't have those wings right now!"

"Can I use them to fly away from you?" Twilight murmured under her breath.

"Nope! Dashie tried that a few times, never worked for longer than I let her think it had. You're stuck with me, Twilight! Do you know why? Cause I'm your friend!"

Vinyl took a backseat, letting the princess and her friend bicker with moderate amusement. Jeez, if I had a bit for every time I heard the word friend today, I could probably buy this castle. Well, actually, no, I'd have about 30 bits. Not too shabby though.

When it became apparent that the pair's arguing wasn't going to resolve itself any time soon, Vinyl excused herself (after requesting Pinkie get in the mirror, words she thought she would never utter) and headed for the garden, promising to be back soon. Once there, she lit a long, thin cigarette, allowing the smoke to trail up in a soft, thick cloud. Is smoking on castle grounds forbidden? The princess conducts scientific experiments and creates spells here, surely a cigarette is fine. Plus, Pinkie does, well, whatever she does to travel here. I'm sure I'm fine.

As Vinyl smoked, watching the vapourous trails waft from the end of her lit cigarette, as well as her muzzle with each exhale, she considered Pinkie's song again. However, she didn't think primarily of the musical benefit. She didn't even think about the strange and ridiculous notion that that song had somehow assisted Princess Twilight in becoming the ruler she is now. In fact, Vinyl's main thought was centred on the lessons the silly song might actually teach. She decided to request a copy of the lyrics from Pinkie in future, for analysis. It was childish and asinine, she knew, referring to a song for a lesson in how to behave around others and herself, but she thought there really might be some use in it.

Did Pinkie sing that song again for Twilight's benefit, or mine?

Psychedelic Entities

When Vinyl reentered, Pinkie had taken her leave. She had apparently left a cake in progress over at sugarcube corner to come and scold Twilight, and decided to leave another pony in charge as a last minute consideration. Surely everything Pinkie does is 'last minute'? She was literally here in seconds, however the hell that works.

When Vinyl voiced this thought, Twilight laughed again, a sound Vinyl had come to appreciate. Her soft giggle was the total opposite of her mature mannerisms, and it betrayed her youth. "You know, I've tried doing tests on Pinkie before," Twilight started, "But at first, the results were inconclusive, not a single anomaly! Of course, this didn't sate me one bit, but the next eleven times I tried were all disasters! I've had two machines explode directly after coming into contact with her. My advice? Keep her away from anything with a power outlet."

If only someone had given Tavi that advice. Vinyl mused, considering the state of her house, and the fact that there has yet to be any attempt at repairs so far. Well, if someone had in fact given Tavi that advice, then our house would be fine, yeah, but what about her? She'd still be living with half a Vinyl. I suppose I'm grateful that it all happened. A small smile betrayed Vinyl's happy conclusion.

"What is it, Vinyl?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking, the reason your tests didn't work. You tried a dozen times, right?"

"Well, yeah." Twilight affirmed.

"Wasn't a baker's dozen though, was it?"

Twilight's eyes widened and she briefly glanced into the distance, eyebrows knit. "You know," she slowly said, "usually I'd say that wouldn't make an ounce of difference, but this is Pinkie Pie we're talking about... You might just be onto something!" She beamed.

Vinyl grimaced slightly, her ears folding back as she spoke. "You do realise that was meant to be a joke, right, princess?"

"Yes, Vinyl, of course I do. Because Pinkie's a baker and blahblahblah but think about it! In our world, something like that wouldn't matter in the slightest when it comes to the conduction of scientific analysis, but with Pinkie, who sense typically doesn't apply to?"

"Well, I'm glad you got something out of my joke at least." Vinyl stated, rather plainly, she realised upon execution. did that sound too sour? I hope not.

"I'd stick with the music," Twilight winked, "But good attempt!" Twilight floated a breath mint into her mouth as she finished speaking, before glancing at Vinyl and telekinetically shaking the box of mints in proposition.

Vinyl sheepishly glanced at the floor, although she knew Twilight couldn't see that. "Let me guess, I stink of smoke?"

"Huh?" Twilight jumped, alarmed, "What do you mean?"

Vinyl felt her embarrassment beginning to make its sanguine mark on her cheeks, not understanding why she had to explain her already clear actions to Twilight.

"Well because I went out for a cigarette and I'm probably not supposed to smoke on the castle premises and I didn't ask and--"

"Oh, no! I could care less about that. Honestly, I'm pretty sure I've got an ashtray laying around here somewhere."

Both mares seemed simultaneously relieved at this admission. "You smoke, Twilight?"

"Not me, Applejack. Way she tells it, she saw Big Mac doing it a lot when she was younger, and grew up interested in the habit until eventually starting herself. They both keep it a secret from their younger sister Apple Bloom though, although I'm pretty sure Big Mac's trying to quit. But no, Applejack's probably like a three a day smoker, and I really don't mind, as long as it's outside."

Vinyl put a hoof to her chin, processing the new information, taking care to remember names she hadn't heard before, but she still couldn't help wondering something. "If that's the case, why the breath mint? It's a bit of a random offer, don't you think?"

"You do realise we just ate a whole omelette each, right? I don't really want the smell of egg on my breath, do you?"

"Oh, yeah, I suppose we did!" Vinyl realised, a little surprised by Twilight's reminder. "Somehow, it feels like it's been ages, you know? Like a month, give or take."

"Why would you think that? It was only half an hour ago," reiterated Twilight, reinforcing the familiar concept of time for Vinyl's benefit once more.

"Yeah yeah, I know, I think my perspective is just a little off right now, I'm not sure really." Vinyl pawed at the floor in frustration, feeling that she might be forgetting something. After a few seconds of consideration, nothing came, and she decided to remember to remind herself to attempt to discern her awry thought. Something she did realise, however, was that her and Twilight's conversation was beginning to die down.

The silence was pervasive and all encompassing. It grew like a malevolent being, consuming everything around it and stripping the voice and colour from Vinyl's surroundings. The vibrant aspects of Vinyl's world, accentuated by their soft undertones and coupled with coruscating schemes of colour and sound, a polychromatic iridescent assault on the senses, her world breathed around her, its many sensations fluctuating rhythmically in time with her lungs, as if the sights she saw and the sounds she heard were conceptualised specifically for her enjoyment, until they stopped.

The silence stripped the cadences of the final sounds uttered, and with it went the colour, which gave the world its soul. Vinyl watched as Twilight teetered between speaking and remaining quiet, even as unbeknownst to her, the purple that Vinyl once believed had been wonderfully accented by her shades was drained from her visage, leaving only a desolate grey, devoid of any joy, interest, or wonderment. Had she always looked that way? Behind the veneer of this world's allure, with all of its precious sounds and colours, did everything look this dull and derelict? Vinyl looked around at her empty and barren surroundings, all as monotoned and watery as the supposed embodiment of purity that stood before her.

But it was all corrupted. By what, she had no clue, for nothing remained. Nothing, not a sound, not a sight, not a feeling. Only her, a smear of brilliant white set to contrast the featureless art she found herself undoubtedly tied to? Or worse, the painter's reprieve, allowing her to see this world in another light, only to take that from her later? She looked again to find that all had faded completely, not even purple remained, and her senses were beginning to dull.

She couldn't feel her hooves. The once rhythmic pumping of her heart reminded her of the irregular tapping of a typewriter, and she considered what might happen to her life should that sentence ever end. Then she lost the ability to think, taken as it was by the silence. That evil took everything, it was demented and malignant, and it had an appetite for finality. Until finality was invalidated. With the push of a single, unrecognisable syllable, a veritable explosion smashed through the window of anguish, and Vinyl could see again.

Vinyl could see the world for what it really is, a beautiful, stunning wonderland, complete with every warm feeling imaginable, and home to music that could elicit a thousand smiles, tears, or cries of encore. She knew that the shadow was a trickster, attempting to take her world from her, take her love, take her ecstasy, take them away. Vinyl knew all of this, and knew she couldn't acquiesce to this devil, lest she betray her heart. She would take delight in her views of Equestria and the lands beyond, every nook, cranny, peak and nadir, she wanted to see it all, and marvel at the place she had been given to call home. But first, she would behold Princess Twilight once more, the two shades of purple complimenting one another just as well as they always have, but holding new significance now, for she hadn't seen her princess in so long. As she stared up at the princess, she couldn't help but wonder why she was looking up at her.

Twilight was moving around with extreme haste, a detail which Vinyl couldn't help but notice, as groggy as she felt. Between jolting leaps from one place to another, she thought she might have heard her name once or twice, and even noticed Twilight at the door once, speaking with another pony. As Vinyl attempted to regain her spacial awareness, as well as her ability to differentiate between sounds, which seemed to be coming along slowly, she realised that she must have been laying on the floor, as her hooves were splayed out on a rug in front of her. Her mind still coated in bliss, she grabbed the rug and rolled into it, feeling her fur brush against it and squeezing it tight as if it was a soft blanket. This appeared to worry Twilight more, who came over and tapped Vinyl's face with her hoof, although she barely felt it. When Vinyl heard the word 'awake' she realised how rude she was being, taking a nap on Twilight's rug, and extended a hoof, inviting her to join her. When she appeared to refuse, Vinyl realised that Twilight wanted her to be awake, and stood up.

How she was stood with her face still planted firmly on the carpet, she was unsure, but this didn't bother her too much, so she began to walk over to Twilight, who was looking increasingly alarmed. It was at this point that she was enveloped in a magical aura, one that she was quite sure wasn't hers because she didn't like to be picked up. Naturally, she began to cry. When she was sure that she had been crying for a good ten minutes she decided to let up, although she was still quite petulant. This was until she realised that she could once again hear and that her mind felt much clearer.

"--Should be better now? Vinyl, can you understand me? Vinyl Scratch, it's me, Twilight, your new tutor, remember?"

Vinyl's head hurt, a lot. She also had no clue what had just happened. Last she remembered, her and Twilight were speaking about breath mints. Now, she was suspended in the air, her eyes stung, and her chest burnt. She spoke, slowly and deliberately. "Twilight? What the heck is going on right now?"

"Uh, Vinyl? I don't really know how to explain this but," Twilight began.

"What the hell was in that breath mint?!" Vinyl yelled, cutting Twilight off.

"Sweet Celestia," Twilight groaned, "Nothing! Why would there be anything in the breath mint for crying out loud!" After a moment, Twilight's annoyance seemed to be replaced with a look of relief. "I don't really know how to explain this, Vinyl. I've never seen anything like it before. We were stood talking just a little while ago and then--"

Suddenly, it clicked. "I passed out, didn't I?"

Twilight solemnly nodded. "Yeah, at least, I think so. You didn't just fall unconscious. You were babbling at me, grabbing at your mane, you ripped your shades off and threw them on the floor, then you closed your eyes and started shouting that you couldn't see..." Vinyl could sense Twilight's embarrassment at retelling this story but motioned for her to press on, she wanted to know. "You pulled yourself onto the floor and then grabbed me... You told me that it was all gone, whatever that means, and started to cry... and then, nothing, for a really long time, probably a few minutes, you just laid there, totally still. That's when I started to really worry. At first I thought you were having a panic attack, but this seemed almost psychoactive. I cast a minor rejuvenation spell to stabilise you but honestly I didn't want to do any more than that because I know very little about magical healing, I might have done you irreparable damage if I tried more. I fetched Starlight earlier, who has teleported away to get Rainbow Dash... I thought she was gonna have to fly you to the hospital. Honestly, she still might need to."

Vinyl floated quietly through Twilight's explanation, reassuring herself that nothing had happened that she didn't expect, until she heard the word hospital, at which point she panicked. Habitually she would have cranked her head to the left before speaking, but her suspension stopped her from being able to move much. "Out of interest, why am I floating up here?"

"Oh, that." Twilight stated, although it was the most normal thing which had happened that afternoon, which it might have been. "When you first woke up you seemed to be in a euphoric state, almost as if you were very drunk, and had regressed to pretty basic, childlike behaviour. You started throwing a paddy when I didn't join you for a cuddle on the rug, so I picked you up to ensure you didn't hit your head on something, or anything like that."

Vinyl's blush lit up the room. "Uh, you're serious, aren't you?" Twilight nodded, although apparently she wasn't nearly as embarrassed. "Well, uh, I'll try not to do that again." Vinyl nervously chuckled. Then, her tone darkened. "This isn't new for me, but the happy bit afterwards is. I was hoping I wouldn't have to bother you with it, I thought I had got better at controlling my fainting spells, but they seem to be resurfacing. I'll be okay though, just need to take more care in future not to overexert myself."

"Any idea what causes them?" Twilight asked, concerned.

"Lack of sound, mainly. I know, ironic for a DJ, right? But then, it's only ever caused me to faint before when I've been absolutely exhausted, usually it just puts me on edge, so I've got no clue why this just happened now. This is why I'm saying, I thought I had this under control. By paying attention to my sleeping habits and not expending too much energy in one day, I haven't fainted in almost a year... So why it's chosen to come back now, I don't know."

"Hold on, I've read about something like this before. Let me think." Twilight began to pace as her eyes narrowed, apparently trying to recall whatever she had previously read. "Yeah, I'm sure I've read about this, it's a type of phobia that has something to do with there being no sound in the room, although the name escapes me. It's known to induce anxiety, but fainting spells? I'm not so sure that's on the symptom list." Twilight frowned as she said this.

"Sedatephobia," Vinyl recalled without effort. "I've never been diagnosed, but it's the thing that matches my symptoms closest. Honestly, I've had it for a big portion of my life, since I was a teenager. In all of my research regarding the topic, I've never seen any mention of a serious medical procedure known to cure it, apparently the closest you can get to a cure is essentially sedatives, so I never pursued medical help. Instead, I found a way to cope. Or, I thought I did, at least."

As Vinyl spoke, Twilight quickly pulled over a pad and quill, making a few haphazard notes. When she had finished, she didn't look relieved in the slightest. "I'm going to put you down now, Vinyl, as this is getting a little taxing, and you made it pretty clear earlier that you're not a fan of being picked up. Don't try to move though, if you can help it."

"Doubt I'd get very far," Vinyl deadpanned as Twilight lowered her onto a large cushion and the purple aura enveloping Vinyl vanished.

"Which is exactly why I've decided me and Rainbow are taking you to the hospital. I don't know how much they can do to help you, but it doesn't hurt to be sure, does it?"

Vinyl trembled slightly, but maintained her shred of composure. "I'm not really a big fan of hospitals, Princess Twilight. I'm sure I'd be okay just going home and sleeping it off, wouldn't that be okay?" Honestly, I don't care if I'm pleading a little. How can she ask me to go to hospital after what I just told her? I can't deal with that lack of noise, no life or energy. Ponies literally go there to die.

Twilight, who clearly hadn't considered things from Vinyl's point of view, pressed on. "Vinyl, I'm worried about you. I can't just let you go home straight away when this could just happen again! You need to be monitored for a little while, and the hospital is the best place for that."

Vinyl's worry was currently giving way to dread. "But, Twilight, about the whole noise thing--"

"You've got your headphones, right?" Twilight interjected, looking over at the far table where she thought they had been left.

"Can't use them in the hospital," Vinyl replied. "The magic I use to charge and operate my pair directly interferes with medical equipment. They're a pretty new prototype, and one of the kinks the manufacturers haven't managed to get out yet is the occasional conception of electromagnetic pulses during use. Not so detrimental to small electronics, big trouble for hospital computers and life support systems."

Twilight squinted at her in disbelief. "Wow. Well, erm, have you got any normal headphones?"

"I should have five or six pairs knocking about in my room, but I can't exactly go and get them if you're taking me to hospital, can I?"

"Could I send someone to grab a pair?" Twilight asked.

"Who would you send? I've had a bad experience lately with ponies going through my room, as you know."

Vinyl didn't like overtly mentioning Octavia's transgression, she was for the most part over it. Still, in truth she would like to have her privacy respected to some degree.

"Well, I could send Rainbow? Or, I could go there myself, if you'd prefer."

No, you can't look through my room Twilight. I don't know what your play is, but you can't. Yeah, Rainbow might be just as curious about me as Twilight is, but Rainbow won't infer as much from whatever she finds in there. I'd rather she did it than my therapist-slash-ruler,
if I get any choice in the matter.

Putting on her best attempt at a genuine grin, she mustered, "Let's not bother Tavi with an unexpected royal visit, she might faint. Feel free to send Rainbow, it's no problem."

Twilight giggled at this, prompting Vinyl to laugh through a fresh yawn, and then nodded in agreement.

As if responding to her name, Rainbow burst through the double doors, Starlight in tow. "Twilight?! Starlight said it was urgent, something happened to Vinyl, right?" Rainbow zipped around the room at breakneck speeds, nearly crashing a handful of times, knocking a line of books off a shelf with her tail as she moved. "Where is she? I'll go get her, don't worry, hold on!" And off she zipped, out as fast as she entered.

"Where did she just go?" Vinyl slowly enquired, unsure, lowered shades and a highly raised eyebrow punctuating her question.

"To search the whole castle, I'd assume," Starlight smirked. "She gets like this when she's worried, I've noticed. You alright though, Vinyl?" she continued, concern evident. "Twilight wouldn't let me see you earlier, I figured you must have been pretty bad..."

Vinyl shuffled her forehooves, fidgeting nervously as she attempted a carefree smile. "Come on, Starlight. Do I look like I was that bad? Have some faith in me girl! I'm totally fine, trust--"

A multifaceted burst of kaleidoscopic energy obscured Vinyl's vision, as blurry as it still was, and she felt her lungs contract in shock. She spent a second wondering whether earlier events were about to repeat themselves, and debating whether or not she actually had the resilience to deal with this twice in one day, until she noticed the pair of cyan hooves compressing her sides, and everything clicked.

Another pony was holding her, or hugging her, or something. It was uncomfortable and confusing, but also a relief. After what could have been half a second or fifteen, Vinyl decided to put a face to her assailant. Blue hooves, creates prismatic explosions, didn't see them enter the room... Do I really need to guess? Hello, Rainbow. Vinyl sighed, ignoring the pegasus's uncomfortable grip on her midriff, favouring a few more moments of blissful grogginess, an unfamiliar drum beat bouncing in the back of her mind.

The bouncing tune she couldn't really place was eventually complimented by vocal samples, she chose to listen to them. They said things like "Hey, Twilight, why didn't you tell me she was in here?" The crescendo dipped into a renewed drop, baseline increasing in intensity, kickdrum becoming more frequent and "You took off too fast! It was faster to just let you look everywhere else. Is she alright?" and transcendence, the feeling of floating on a soft cloud, made entirely of increasingly obscure vocal samples such as "Yeah I've got her, heart's a little slow, but she seems alright. I'm taking her now, okay?" alarm as the snare sounded from a place in her mind she didn't recognise, was she safe, was she going to make it home tonight? "I thought we were taking her together? Wouldn't you prefer the help? I can help you carry her, it's no problem." the beat morphed to accommodate the change in tone, becoming darker and more disconcerting, before being resurrected with another simple phrase "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to her, she's safe with me."

Then, her mind decided to give this impromptu mix some visuals. They came to her in small sections, sometimes being mixed in with the vocals, it was all quite uplifting. She saw a grand castle that should have been familiar to her, a sun beginning to set, though she had rarely seen it this clearly, the individual hues coalescing and spreading throughout the sky. The rhythmic beat of strong and muscular wings, the implementation of fresh raspy vocals, saying things like "You're gonna be fine, Vinyl. Don't worry, I've got faith in you girl." and then later "We're nearly there, Vinyl, don't worry, just a little longer." It was at this point that she realised she was Vinyl, and the things surrounding her were not visual effects.

Her first instinct would be to scream, finding herself fastened to a flying pony at this height, but her slow waking process had allowed her to acclimatise to some degree, so she settled for a simple "What the hell, Rainbow?"

Rainbow jolted in midair at being addressed, something which prompted a 'whoa shit' from Vinyl. She appeared to try to turn to face her, and then realised it was impossible with how she was fastened. "Oh, hey, Vinyl, you're awake, huh?"

"Well yeah! what the hell are you doing?"

"Uhh... Taking you to the hospital, remember?"

She did remember. It hadn't been long ago, now that she considered it, that she had been waiting to be picked up. Then, Rainbow had arrived, left again, and returned, and then:

"So, Rainbow, why were you trying to cuddle me earlier?" asked Vinyl. She was unsure why she had chosen now to ask this, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

Rainbow didn't seem prepared for this question. between stutters, Vinyl managed to get a few words out of her. "Wh-What? Uhh... Why would I try to hug you? I-I mean, I checked your heart for a sec when I found you, and I put you on my back for Twilight to fasten, but that's it. Umm... Not that I'm saying I wasn't worried about you, but I thought you'd be cool, so no biggie right?"

"Really? Kind of sounds like you weren't that worried about me if it was 'no biggie'."

"Uhh... I-I mean, of course I was, Vinyl, I just thought you'd be okay, you know?" Rainbow's tone turned accusatory. "Anyways, where do you get off going and worrying Twilight like that! I swear to Luna she looked like she was gonna collapse at one point!" Her usual joviality returned. "Guess that would have been bad, huh? If one of you passed out and then the other, I'd have to choose who to take first! I'd probably just flip a bit though."

"Hey, Rainbow, have I ever told you just how tactless you are?"

"Yeah well you should be grateful!" Rainbow shouted. "I didn't have to come and take you to hospital, did I?"

"I never said it wasn't a compliment." Vinyl smirked, head still murky.

"How does that even work?" Rainbow asked in a petulant tone.

"Well, tactful people often beat around the truth, I don't really have any time for ponies like that. I like that you say what you think, rather than trying to cover it up."

Rainbow seemed to giggle for a second, then started to speak in a relaxed stream of syllables, slowly closing in on the hospital. "Well, if that's the case, you'd love Applejack, she's about as blunt as you can get, I mean--" At this point, she stopped herself, and when she resumed, her voice was a lot more hesitant and scratchy than it had been previously. "Uh, I mean, actually, you probably wouldn't love Applejack, some ponies can be a little too blunt, you know? She's always biting my tail too." Rainbow grumbled.

Somehow, Rainbow had given her a lot to consider in a pretty short space of time. Or, maybe she was just out of it. Regardless, her thoughts would have to wait until they had got to her room and she had settled for the night.

She played it so much cooler last time we spoke... Did my fainting spell really worry everypony that much?

Vinyl gave Rainbow a light squeeze, hoping to reassure her. "Don't worry, Rainbow, I'm fine, okay? Remember I've flown before, this really isn't a big deal to me. And, with the fainting, it's really nothing new, I'll have it back under control soon."

Rainbow fidgeted under the squeeze, not acknowledging it in the slightest. "You know, when I said we should hang out again soon, I didn't have this in mind." she chuckled.

"Really? Who would have guessed? So, what did you have in mind?" Vinyl pressed.

"Uhh, no clue really! Probably just talking or something, I never really thought about it."

Vinyl felt a smirk forming. "Really? I thought the Rainbow Dash was a mare of action! But I guess if standing around doing nothing is more your speed then I'm happy to oblige you, grandma."

"Hey! The Rainbow Dash is about to drop you on your flank!"

They both started to giggle in succession. Vinyl instantly felt more relaxed than she had for hours, and sighed when she realised they were about to land. The time for jokes and playful insults was running short, but it was all she wanted right now, before being resigned to her fate, the worst backing track one could experience, with arrhythmic beeping accompanied by arrhythmic hearts.

With a Little Bit of Luck...

Author's Note

Tracklist:
Rhyme Asylum - Broken Window
Dizzie Rascal - Sittin' Here
P Money - Intro (Live + Direct)
Skepta - Track 9 (Blacklisted)
Kano - Deep Blues (feat. Damon Albarn)

In answer to any upcoming controversy: If this was driving toward a random unhappy ending I would have added a sad tag, this story isn't near over.

With a Little Bit of Luck...

You absolute dick. Vinyl stood in her room staring at her small literature collection, considering an impromptu bonfire, before quickly dismissing the idea. You're so stupid Vinyl. Couldn't keep it contained could you? No wonder Tavi's confused, she's never seen me act anything like that! I didn't want her to either. She eyed herself in the mirror and snarled at her reflection. Vinyl often looked carefree, energetic, and happy-go-lucky. Now, she had a haggard look on her face which she couldn't shake if she tried.

Imbecile. People I don't know can deal with my superficial bullshit all they like, but Tavi? I shouldn't act around her, I shouldn't have to. Do I really feel like I have to? Am I that scared of being myself? She ran a hoof through her mane, feeling the transmogrification enchantment she had perfected over the years holding true, as it always did.

She had originally developed it in an attempt to save money on wax and spray, when she could barely afford to eat but needed to retain her image, but over time it was modified to reflect light and resist fire, for the purpose of not losing her hair whilst dealing with pyrotechnics, and to further enhance her light shows by giving her mane a polychromatic, shimmering effect.

At this moment, however, she wanted to dispel her mane, throw away her glasses, and be somepony else, if only for her own indulgent relief. Again, she dismissed the rash thought. Stop it. You've put too much into your image to ruin it, so don't even think about it. What would you be without that mane and those glasses. Who would even recognise you? You'd probably look like a fan or an impersonation act, and have to start from scratch.

She didn't even have the capacity to laugh at her unintentional pun, favouring cursing herself in her mind over any prolonged rational thought. You had to do it didn't you? Couldn't help yourself. As soon as someone I wanna impress mentions something I know about, the veneer vanishes, and all of a sudden I'm going full freaking Twilight mode. I'm so conceited. Self absorbed too. Here I am, feeling sorry for myself, practicing my best masochistic internal monologue, and Tavi is likely out there just as confused, not to mention disappointed.

Vinyl paced back and forth as she lashed herself repeatedly with statements, barbed and malicious, intended to remind her just how idiotic she really was. She proceeded to bash herself until she felt numb to the melancholy seeping from her conscious thoughts, until she was tired of complaining, and instead settled for empty pessimism. Screw this, I'm going for a walk. With that, Vinyl trotted to her bedside table, picked up her hastily dumped headphones from half an hour previous, and left her room.

As she trotted across the hall and the living room came into view, she didn't sigh with relief that Octavia wasn't there, at this moment she didn't have the energy to care. She carried on going, across the foyer and out of the door, almost forgetting to shut it in her absentminded condition. She told herself she was walking to clear her head but knew it wasn't the truth. Really she was trying to get away from herself, and her roommate as an extension. She should have felt guilty for leaving unannounced and not dealing with her problems, but her empathy had been sapped away by her earlier thoughts, and she no longer cared what she did, nor what effect it would have on others.

As Vinyl trudged along, dragging her lead laden mind with her, she began to dissociate with her surroundings. Vinyl was no longer paying any attention to where she was going or what she was doing, she drifted without grace, gravitating toward the closest grocery store, a small establishment ran by a middle aged stallion named Custom Fit. He had told Vinyl, during one of her many visits to the grocers, that he had once worked as an apprentice to one of Hoofington's premier tailors, but found the work stuffy and constricting, and as such had developed an interest in real estate.

His was one of many buildings he owned, but he still ran a till, as one quality retained from his time as a tailor was a friendly demeanour and a desire to please customers. As Vinyl entered, he smiled a genuine smile and inclined his head slightly, as he usually did when Vinyl entered, as if anticipating an interesting statement or anecdote. When Vinyl remained silent, he initially didn't know whether things were going well for her, but decided to chance it regardless. "Nice evening eh, Miss Scratch? The air's very crisp tonight. So what will it be? Let me guess, Octavia's run out of teabags? Or is it digestives this time?"

Through all this Vinyl didn't react, only meandered closer to the counter, moving back and forth as she trotted, before stopping, as if in consideration. Then, she spoke. "Twenty velvet cut please, Fit."

She spoke in a monotone, no hint of emotion present, which shocked Custom Fit, for two reasons. "I thought you had quit Vinyl?"

"So did I." she grunted.

Custom flinched slightly. He was used to disgruntled customers being short with him, but had never come to expect it from Vinyl. He was trepidatious when choosing his next words, not wanting to anger the typically serene mare further, but not wanting to enable her all the same. "Are you sure you want these, Miss Scratch? Seems to me like you'd be opening a can of worms. It's not like you to be so rash if I may say so." He smiled warmly and with sincerity, hoping his words would hit their mark.

Vinyl glowered at him before retorting. "Look, I'm not trying to be rude or anything, Fit, but if I had wanted advice, I would have gone to a therapist or something. I came here because I wanted a smoke, and I still do. If you're really that worried about how much I've considered my actions, I'll think more before buying the next pack, sound good?"

Custom sighed and went to open his mouth once again "Miss scratch--"

"Are you going to serve me or not, Fit? I can go somewhere else if this is weighing too heavily on your conscience."

Custom sighed before turning around and digging out a small pack of cigarettes, which he then placed upon the counter. "Need a light too?" He asked with forced indifference.

Vinyl gestured toward her horn with her hoof and shook her head.

"I see, that'll be 8 bits then please."

Vinyl picked up the pack in her magic and with practised precision sliced the cellophane wrapping down the middle before opening the box and removing one cigarette, which remained in suspension a foot in front of her as she put the box in the larger part of her mane, the best place for storage when she had no other option. "Write it down and I'll get it to you tomorrow, Custom. Sorry about this."

Custom resumed speaking as Vinyl turned to leave. "Don't you worry about it girl, we all go through tough times after all. Just look after yourself, you hear? This ain't like you one bit." Vinyl barely caught his last words as she left, levitating the cigarette to her mouth, then lighting it with the same incendiary magic she would often use to operate her pyrotechnics. Her first cigarette in almost three months went straight to her head, and after only two or three puffs she had regretted buying them, feeling slightly sick from the once familiar taste again spreading through her mouth and permeating her lungs. Doesn't sound so appealing when I think about it like that. Ah well. By the fifth or sixth puff, she couldn't put it down, and by two minutes later muscle memory had kicked in and she couldn't remember ever being without a cigarette in her aura.

Vinyl carried on walking as she smoked, levitating the butt of her cigarette over to a bin after thoroughly extinguishing it against the ground, as she usually had in the past. She found herself without direction, wandering without considering her whereabouts. Three cigarettes later, she was sat in the local park, on a bench overlooking the fountain. She lit yet another cigarette, feeling abnormal without the habitual toxic inhalation she had already grown accustomed to, and closed her eyes. If one were to observe, they might think she was contemplating something, or relaxing, but in truth Vinyl barely knew where she was, such was her emotional exhaustion, heavier than any physical fatigue. Eventually, however, she was forced to return to her setting, amidst the trees and the running water, the few birds that still flew and the grey pegasus flying towards her.

Ditzy Doo paused in her flight remaining hovering directly above Vinyl and to the side, almost level with the bench, as if she was ready to fold her wings and plop a few feet down into the seat at any time. Vinyl had to crank her neck slightly to see her fully. "Hey there Vinyl! Fancy seeing you here, you doing much?"

Vinyl sighed in spite of herself. Yeah, fancy seeing me here. Not like I live in the area or anything. Oh, yes Ditzy, I'm doing so much right now, how could you tell?

Ditzy focused on Vinyl, her eyes aligning for a moment as she thought before one teetered slightly away. "You're upset, aren't you?"

Vinyl looked back at her, eyes narrowed, but still didn't speak. Gee, Ditzy, what gave that away? No, I usually sit and chain smoke on benches in the middle of the evening, just thought it would be a fun thing to do.

Ditzy moved ever so slightly closer and made to sit down beside Vinyl. "You know, I don't have to pick up Dinky for a couple more hours, she's with Princess Twilight every other Wednesday, practicing her magic."

Vinyl lit a cigarette.

Ditzy looked around, her eyes exagerating the motion slightly, and leaned in to address Vinyl. "I could keep you company if you like?"

"Do I look like I need company?"

Ditzy didn't speak for a second, hoping Vinyl would continue, but she didn't, favouring her latest cigarette over Ditzy's face at her response. "Well I just thought that maybe--"

"I don't need company. Not from you, not from anyone."

Ditzy looked away, not sure what to say in response to Vinyl's sudden assertion.

"I mean seriously Ditzy, do we really even know eachother? We never spend any time together and now you wanna take time out of your evening to sit around and cheer me up, and what, out of some magnanimous sense of goodwill, like I'm some sort of charity case? Like I need help?" Vinyl lowered her shades lightly, as if to accentuate her gaze, which Ditzy could only imagine as piercing at this point.

"I'm sorry Vinyl, I just thought--"

"Then don't think. It doesn't seem to be your strong suit. If I'm sat here, on my own, away from other ponies, after some peace and quiet, that isn't some silent cry for help! I'm not that freaking dramatic. I don't want to be saved, I don't want to hang out and what I definitely don't want is nosy pegasi dive bombing me and trying to force me into amateur counselling sessions! I want to be left the hell alone, can't you understand that?"

Ditzy blinked the rapidly forming tears out of her eyes as she took to the sky, eyes averted from Vinyl the whole time. "Y-Yeah Vinyl, I can understand that just fine. Believe it or not, I know what it feels like when people won't just leave you alone, so I'll go now, goodnight..."

As Ditzy flew higher into the air, it dawned upon Vinyl just who she had been speaking to. Ditzy had been the subject of ridicule across the entire town once upon a time, and it was only through great personal strength that she had managed not to openly bear grudges against any of the townsfolk who had previously referred to her as 'Derpy' and made fun of her for years. Vinyl and Octavia had originally been part of the vast minority of people to refer to her by her name and only that, as they had met her at their door, delivering post, instead of being told about her by another when they had moved to Ponyville, which is how most of the nicknames and rumours had been propagated initially.

"Ditzy, wait. I didn't mean any of that."

Ditzy ascended further, seeming not to hear or even not to care what Vinyl had to say anymore, she had already done her damage.

"Ditzy, seriously, come back, I'm sorry." Still, her words went unheard. "I'm really sorry Ditzy, I'm hurting right now, I didn't mean any of that. I'd actually love the company, really."

Ditzy began to fly away in a sombre manner, not pausing to turn and listen to Vinyl's pleas, or even considering what hurtful things she might be saying to her now.

"Please?" Vinyl cracked, knowing it was too late. Ditzy was already too far. Vinyl flicked her cigarette away as she sat watching Ditzy's receding form, wondering how much better she could have felt by now if she had been less guarded and hostile. I brought that upon myself. She was right to leave. What's wrong with me? Why did I talk to her that way? She's a lovely mare, she only wanted to help me, but I drove her off. As vinyl sat and wondered what had went wrong for the umpteenth time that night, her anger and malice gave way for a fresh bout of misery, and once again she was thankful for her shades, which would hide her wet and bloodshot eyes when she got home.