Despite the sun being out, it was still a relatively cool day. Even though Vinyl had claimed otherwise earlier, there were a few clouds in the sky. They floated above lazily, several of them bearing colorful adornments—pegasi having settled upon them with their tails hanging over the edges. Every so often, a ball-like object would be tossed from one cloud to another as they passed by close together. Once in awhile, it’d be a pegasus hopping clouds, to the sound of laughter.

Down on the ground, it was much the same: ponies moving around and having fun. They trotted about happily, smiles on their faces. The marketplace was full, a sea of colorful bodies milling about as each one went about their day. Shop windows were thrown open, and a deluge of mouth-watering aromas were battling it out in the spring air. Foals played on the lip of the fountain, with a few of them already in and splashing about happily.

All the joyful noise, all the happy chattering, all the laughter…

...it was making my head throb.

“Well, you did it,” I grumbled. “You got me out of the library. Now what?” Leaning heavily on my cane, I limped through the square. The crowd parted before me and many ponies gave me an odd look as I passed, but most still offered smiles, a few gave nervous looks, and one or two even avoided me. I ignored all of them, peering down instead at my companions. Despite borrowing Primrose’s tinted shades, I was still forced to squint in the sunlight.

“Well, you’re out of the library,” Vinyl said with a shrug. “That was half of my plan right there.” Her voice was muffled by the black surgical mask she had about her muzzle. It was paired with a red-and-black plaid scarf about her shoulders and a pair of cyan headphones about her neck. The sun glinted off her own shades as she sauntered down the street beside me.

Behind us, Ebony trotted along as well, her floral bandana keeping her mane tucked behind her ears. A pair of saddlebags rested across her back, along with a few clinking bottles of colored liquids. She peered around at the various stalls, searching for something.

“Right,” I growled, “but what’s the rest of the plan?”

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out,” Vinyl replied. A moment later, her mask stretched as she let out a long yawn. Even from my distance, I could still hear her jaw pop. “By the Blood, it’s too early for me to be awake,” she grumbled under her breath.

“Then why are you?” I asked in annoyance. “And for that matter… why are you even down here? You live in Canterlot.”

“All in good time, brony. All in good time,” she hummed as she eyed a display of doughnuts. Her horn lit up and she grabbed a chocolate-coated one with pink sprinkles, leaving behind several bits on the counter. The stall owner waved before scooping up the coins.

Subtly lifting up her surgical mask, Vinyl took a bite, her fangs flashing in the sunlight before burying themselves into the pastry. As she chewed, the mask dropped back down over her mouth. “All these sugary treats and desserts in this town. I’m gonna be fat before winter.” Lifting the mask again, she took another bite. “Totally worth it though.”

I glared down at her. “If you dragged me all the way out here just to get a fucking doughnut, I’m dropkicking you into the fountain with the other foals.”

“I’d like to see you try,” she scoffed. “You have to use a cane to walk. You’d fall flat on your flank before you even got your leg up.” Chuckling to herself, she stuffed the last few bites of doughnut into her mouth before replacing her mask. “Dropkick me? Boy, I’d fling your sorry flank so far across the Everfree, we’d need a team of pegasi to get you back. You haven’t been active in weeks. I doubt you could punt an actual foal, let alone me.”

“Bitch, I’d like to see you try,” I growled. “You ponies like to boast about your magic, but who was it who took down Riddick again? Oh right. Me.”

Vinyl’s mask rippled, and it took me a moment to realize she was laughing. It was a husky, almost hiss-like chuckle. “Oh, of course you did. I’m sorry. I completely forgot. All hail the human that took down Discord… by getting himself buried in a pile of stone and ash. It certainly wasn’t the Elements of Harmony that brought him down. Oh no, it was all you.”

Glaring at her, I opened my mouth to retort, but our conversation was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. “Um, excuse me?” We both paused and glanced behind us. Ebony had stopped a few meters back and when we looked, she motioned towards a building we had just passed. “If the two of you don’t mind, I’m going to pop in here for a bit. You don’t need to wait for me, even though I’m sure you two wouldn’t even notice I’m missing. I’ll catch up with you later.”

I blinked before peering at the building. It took me a moment to realize that it was the Flower Sisters’ store, Wallflowers’ Floral Shop. Several hanging baskets of flowers and ivy hung from an awning, and both windows had flower boxes attached to them. A dozen or some fat bumblebees buzzed around the flowers, happily going about their tasks.

“What do you need in there?” I asked.

Ebony shrugged. “I figured I’d start a garden in the backyard of the library. Maybe set up a small greenhouse. I want to see what this store offers. If I can buy my seeds locally, it’ll save me some bits on getting them special ordered from Canterlot.”

“Oh.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “I see. A’ight. We’ll see you back at the library?”

“Works for me,” Ebony said before opening the door and slipping inside the store. The faint sound of a bell could be heard before the door closed behind her.

I stared at the storefront for a moment before glancing down at Vinyl. “Anyways, how much longer until we reach wherever it is you’re taking me? My leg’s beginning to cramp up.”

She lowered her shades slightly and studied me. After a moment, she sighed and replaced them again. “Not much farther. It’s just a few more blocks or so. Right on the outskirts of town.” She paused for a moment before asking. “Do you need to sit down for a minute and rest?”

“Uh, I… maybe?” I stammered, caught off guard by the offer. Putting my weight on the cane, I lifted my leg and gave the knee a few good bends. I winced as the joint popped, but that seemed to work some of the stiffness from it. “No, I think I can make it. So long as you don’t take the long way round.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Vinyl snickered.

Rolling my eyes, I poked her with the cane before we both continued on our way. The buildings slowly became further and further apart as Vinyl lead me along the path. Pretty soon, stores gave way to houses with picket fences and tiny gardens out front.

As I glanced around, my confusion grew.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Home,” Vinyl said simply.

“Home?” Before she had a chance to clarify, we rounded the bend of a hill. I slowed to a stop as the house at the end of the lane came into view.

It looked like someone had taken the halves of two houses and stuck them together. One side of the building had deep, earthen tones while the other side was colored with various shades of lavender. The window boxes were decorated like miniature piano keyboards. Out of the thatched roof, the chimney jutted out, designed to look like five organ pipes. A bush out front was trimmed to look like an eighth note.

I stared at the weird house before looking down at Vinyl, who was grinning at me from behind the mask. “Home?”

“Home,” she repeated before sauntering up the path to the door. Glancing over her shoulder, she indicated that I should follow. She waited until I reached the door before turning the handle and pushing it open.

As we entered, she called out. “Honey, I’m hooome!”

“Oh!” A clatter of hooves came from further inside, followed by the sound of something being dragged along the floor. The voice called out again. “You’re back already? That was rather quick. Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Eeyup,” Vinyl said as she removed her mask and tossed it onto a nearby end table. “I found him. It was rather easy, actually. Come say hi, Tavia.”

“Come say hi?” The dragging stopped. “Vinyl! Don’t tell me you brought guests over!”

“Er, yeah…” Vinyl paused. “It was kind of… spur of the moment? Why?”

“Vinyl! The place is a mess! There are boxes everywhere and everything is thrown about haphazardly! We’re still unpacking, for Celestia’s sake! We’re in no shape to entertain company at the moment!” True enough, as I looked around, I noticed a bunch of boxes stacked up all over the place. Several were opened, but most were still taped shut.

“Oops,” Vinyl said with a grin.

The sound of hoofsteps came and a moment later a familiar face poked itself around the corner further down the main hall. Her black mane was neatly brushed, and despite being home, she had a pink bow tie around her neck.

My eyes widened and for the first time all day a small smile touched my face. “Ah… the Cello Goddess.”

She blinked, her violet eyes widening as she placed a hoof to her lips. “Oh… oh my. Cello Goddess, you say?”

Falling onto her rump, Vinyl held her head in her hooves. “No. No, no, no. Do you have any idea what you’ve done now?”

“Oh, hush, Vinyl,” Octavia said, making her way around the boxes the dotted the hallway. “It’s good to see that somepony can at least appreciate my greatness for what it really is. ‘Octavia, the Cello Goddess’. It’d be so easy to get hired with that on my resumé.” Stopping in front of me, she gave me a warm smile. “It’s nice to see you again, good sir. And judging from what my ears are telling me, it would seem the rumors are indeed true and you are no longer mute. Since that is the case, let me properly introduce myself.” She held out a hoof. “I am Octavia Melody. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

I eyed her hoof for a moment before bending down and grasping it with my hand. “Maximillian Williams, at your service.”

“I’m afraid you’ve caught us at a rather… awkward time,” Octavia said as I released her hoof. “I’d offer to let you come in and have a drink, but most of our dishware still needs to be unpacked.”

“That’s fine,” I said. “I honestly didn’t even know you guys were down here. Did you have a second home down here or something?”

“Goodness, no,” Octavia sniffed. “We might be well off, but we’re not that well off.” Picking up a box, she shoved it into Vinyl’s chest. “Here, take this to the bathroom. And be careful. Several items in there are fragile.”

Vinyl gave her a bemused look. “Why do I have to take care of it?”

“Because you’re the one with the magic, dear,” Octavia said sweetly, “and I’m the one that has to push the heavy boxes around, and carpet isn’t as forgiving as you think. Now, chop-chop!” She swatted Vinyl’s flanks, sending the centuries-old vampire down the hallway with a yelp of protest.

Brushing her hooves off, she then turned back to me. “And to answer your unasked question, we both grew weary of Canterlot and decided a change of scenery was in order. Ponyville was close enough, and we figured the calm and quiet atmosphere would be perfect for two musicians.”

I snorted. “Calm and quiet. Yeah. Right.”

“Well, that’s only part of the reason,” Octavia said. “The other main reason is that my duet partner lives here as well.”

“Duet partner?” I gave her a confused look. “Who’s your duet partner?”

She gave me a pointed look with a small smirk.

It took me a moment. When it finally clicked what she was insinuating, I opened my mouth to protest, only to pause. Slowly, my mouth closed and I cocked my head to the side. A hand reached up and I stroked my beard before tilting my head the other way. Closing my blind eye, my good eye narrowed as I stared at her. “I don’t have a cello of my own right now.”

“I have several spares you can choose from,” Octavia countered. “You’re free to pick from them until you can get one of your own.”

“I’m going to be rusty.”

“Nothing a few good practice sessions can’t work out.”

“I might not be able to actually read your sheet music.”

“That didn’t stop you when we played together before.”

“I’m not exactly the best-looking partner. The nobility might object.”

“Nonsense. You’ve clearly already started cleaning yourself up, judging from your hair. And besides, the nobility can stuff it. We only play for whoever we want.”

“I don’t have any contacts.”

“I have all the contacts.”

Pursing my lips, I gave my beard one last tug before brightening up. “A’ight. You’ve convinced me. When do we start?”

“Splendid!” Octavia chirped, her tail flicking back and forth. “And it’ll probably be a couple of weeks before we can get started. We still need to unpack and get settled, and then start with the set-up and booking. That should give you enough time to order a cello of your own.”

“Alright. Just let me know when everything’s ready to go,” I said. “You know where I live, and I now know where you live. We can work out schedules later.”

“Aren’t you pretty much free all the time?” Octavia asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Hey!” I pointed a finger at her. “Just because I have no current obligations doesn’t mean I don’t like to have things planned out. I don’t like spontaneous stuff. If I plan on doing nothing all day, then I plan on doing nothing all day. I like to have some time to prepare myself for dealing with shit. Gotta mentally prepare myself for dealing with people.”

Octavia was silent for a moment before nodding. “Fair enough. Once we’re all unpacked and settled, I shall stop by the library to compare schedules. Until then, please try and avoid any more traumatic events that might cripple and or incapacitate you.”

“I’ll try. No promises though.”

“I guess that’s all I can expect,” Octavia sighed. She then smiled and held out a hoof. “Partners?”

“Partners,” I said, shaking her hoof again.

Just then, there came a commotion down the hall, followed by the sound of glass shattering. Silence filled the house for a long, awkward moment before a timid sounding voice called out. “Er, Tavia? How… how important were those pieces?”

“One of these days I’m going to drive a stake through her heart,” Octavia growled under her breath. “But it’s not this day. It’s not this day.”

Author's Note

*snort* Hey, there, Fimfiction. Welcome back to another episode of Your Family and You. Please remember to like, comment and subscribe! *snort snort*