Electro Swing

Chapters

Chapter 2: Nopony's Looking for Trouble
Chapter 3: Take It All Away
Chapter 5: Moonshine
Chapter 6: Wrong or Right
Chapter 7: Move for Me
Chapter 8: Tout Suite Remède
Chapter 9: Moondance
Chapter 11: Leave Them in the Gutter
Chapter 12: Remembering Yesteryear
Chapter 13: Winter Melody
Chapter 14: It's Hard When Things Get Messy
Chapter 15: Je Suis Très Inquiet
Chapter 16: Beneath a Dreamy Sea
Chapter 17: Make Me Sway
Chapter 18: Lonely Hide-and-Seek
Chapter 19: Visions of a Kingmaker
Chapter 20: Troubles Over Hot Chocolaty
Chapter 21: Friends Like These
Chapter 22: No Strings Attached
Chapter 24: Making Friends
Chapter 25: Les Cadeaux du Coeur
Chapter 26: Don't Leave the Party Dying
Chapter 27: The World Through Different Eyes
Chapter 28: Heaven Knows
Chapter 29: Getting Ready for a Solid Groove
Chapter 30: L'exposition
Chapter 31: Contrepoint Rigoureux
Chapter 32: Récapitulation
Chapter 33: Home
Chapter 34: The Spark of Desire
Chapter 35: Living Like Magic
Chapter 36: A Smooth Operator
Chapter 37: Not Alone
Chapter 38: Rhythm of Change
Chapter 39: An Old Familiar Feeling
Chapter 40: A New Unordinary Feeling
Chapter 41: When in Minossos
Chapter 43: The Ones on My Mind
Chapter 44: A Little Tenderness
Chapter 45: Good Morning My Sunshine
Chapter 46: What I'm Feeling Now
Chapter 47: The Cacophony of Life
Chapter 48: Lost in Memories
Chapter 49: The Silent Princess
Chapter 50: The Bird Who Cannot Fly
Chapter 51: A Glimpse of Paradise
Chapter 52: The Quiet Storm
Chapter 53: Butterflies
Primer: On the Sound of Magic — Unabridged
Chapter 54: After the Lights Go Out
Chapter 55: Unforgivable
Chapter 56: Glitterati
Chapter 57: The Last Dance
Chapter 58: Never Say Never
Chapter 60: One Last Encore
Chapter 23: Back Here for Trouble Again
Chapter 42: When the Heart Comes Calling
Chapter 59: Electro Swing
Chapter 1: The Needle Drop
Chapter 4: Time for Tea
Chapter 10: Wonderful Moonlight

Chapter 2: Nopony's Looking for Trouble

Beep! Beep! Be-WHUMP!

Another day, another dent in the alarm clock.

Vinyl Scratch pulled her foreleg back from the offending nightstand, cursing her infernal timepiece. Even though the event had ended early last night, she’d barely gotten any sleep.

Usually, pulling her equipment to and from venues sapped enough energy to fall asleep the moment she fell onto her cot, but after everything last night, stress had wrapped around her like a bad coltfriend. She tossed and turned all night with barely a moment's peace. Old, bitter memories masqueraded as dreams, shaking her awake every time.

Smacking her lips, she futilely tried to chase away the taste of her morning breath. Anytime she forgot to brush her teeth before bed, she swore something would crawl on her tongue and die. Her heavy eyes refused to open after her bouts of sleeplessness. Instead of fighting it, Vinyl stumbled blindly out of bed, nearly slipping on the sleeve of a discarded wool sweater as she got to her hooves.

She felt for patches of cold floorboards to guide her steps among the scattered piles of laundry and loose electronics to the kitchen. The blind trek might’ve been more impressive if the kitchen wasn’t also the bedroom, the living room, and whatever other room she needed it to be in her single slice of Canterlot. At least she had her own tiny bathroom so she wasn’t locked in a staring contest with her toilet every mealtime.

Her leg thunked against a familiar, plastic door. With the promise of potential energy at hoof, her eyes were coaxed into narrowly opening to see what she could raid from the fridge. All that remained from previous visits was a carton of less-than-freshly squeezed orange juice and a dwindling bottle of Mountain Mist soda.

“Oh, right. I was supposed to go to the store yesterday,” Vinyl grumbled to herself. At least it would cover all the essential vitamins and caffeine she needed to start her day.

Vinyl used the fullest extent of her culinary prowess to pour the remaining soda into the carton and shake it into a half-flat brew. Rummaging through her pantry, or rather the overhead cabinet closest to the mini fridge, she dug around looking for anything that didn’t need boiling water and three minutes. The best pairing would be the box of Fruity Bites cereal, but everypony knew the best part of eating neon-colored cardboard in a bowl was drinking the multicolored milk at the end.

“Didn’t I buy apples this week?” she asked herself.

While she had, the real question was if she had eaten them already. She’d have to bribe her brain with caffeine before it was willing to remember the answer. But, she was unwilling to drink her concoction by itself. She blearily scanned the room for her red delicious quarry until her eyes drifted over her pride and joy, the Aquarius MXT-300 Series StarWhirler, or rather, the Aqu—gaping hole—irler. While the damage was distressing, the more pressing issues were the two slices of cake sitting atop the turntable from the night before.

Despite taking a spin on the turntable and a bumpy trek home, they had largely maintained their isosceles shape. The only damage they suffered was a slight bend at the tips which bent inwards like a pair of delectable devil horns. Her urge to vaporize them as a stand-in for Upper Crust was countered by her hunger. “Cake” was only a “pan” prefix away from a morning staple anyway, so it counted in her book.

With an unbalanced breakfast finally assembled, she pulled her folding tray over to her sofa to dig in. The furniture's aging springs creaked and whined in protest, refusing to properly function like a couch. It took some shifting before she found a comfortable spot to start eating. When she was finally ready, Vinyl greedily took her first swig of her morning brew.

There was a school event not too long ago where somepony had snuck some party salts for their fruit punch. After Vinyl had downed her fourth or fifth glass, she had the brilliant idea to lick an ionized power sapphire to see if it tasted as good as it looked. Its electrifying sourness was shockingly similar to the current double-dose of citric acid burning all the way down her throat. On the bright side, the corrosive flavor was waking her up faster than the caffeine.

Checking the clock, Vinyl was slightly ahead of schedule to make it to the lab on time. She rewarded herself for punctual behavior with her first bite of cake. Even with her taste buds savaged by citrus, the slightly stale, yet heavenly cream still swam through her mouth, wrapping her tongue in sweet blankets of bliss. It almost made up for all the trouble Fleur had caused over the dessert last night.

Vinyl opted to finish her cake before chugging the rest of her fuel for the day. She’d probably need it if any of the fallout found its way back to the School for Gifted Unicorns. The faculty were fine with all sorts of accidents happening on school grounds. Off-campus incidents, on the other hoof, were another story.

“Your actions reflect upon all of us, Miss Scratch” as well as “Please bear that in mind next time you blah blah blah” could be found alongside other disciplinary lectures on a collection of greatest hits by authority figures. They came from such illustrious institutions as Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, the Equestrian Society of Performing Arts, the Canterlot Royal Guard, and many more. Free shipping to detention or jail was always available if she acted out.

Trouble was a constant state of being for the DJ, be it a party getting too wild, rubbing an aristocrat the wrong way, or a wild party upsetting an aristocrat. Part of her wished she could just sneak off to the underground nightclub scene full-time, but that would be admitting defeat. She needed the school for her plans, and losing was not an option. Not when she still had something to prove.

Vinyl licked the last bit of frosting off the plate before tossing it into the kitchen sink’s soapy water to deal with later. There were still a few more morning rituals to perform before starting her day, and dwelling on her creeping anxiety was not one of them.

Vinyl Scratch might’ve been a major screw up, but DJ Pon-3 was no quitter.

Vinyl buried her muzzle into her scarf, bracing it against the cold morning air. With musical precision, she locked her door with a click, turn, slide to the rhythm of the music blasting through her headphones. After a quick test of the unmoving door, she turned up the beats, muting the outside world as she pulled her coat tighter.

All around her, the streets of Canterlot were already bustling with morning activity. Ponies made their way to work, school, or whatever else dragged them out of bed in the morning. If their faces were any indication, the school fillies and colts were far more interested in the snow than their education. They kept stopping to lob freshly packed snowballs at one another while their parents fought to keep them in line.

One particularly precocious colt across the street from her tried to sneak a snowball while nopony was looking, but the powdery white projectile forming behind his back wasn’t exactly subtle. His father whipped around and dispelled both the snowball and any playful notions behind it immediately. Vinyl knew the type from how he was dressed. They probably had too much wealth and prestige to risk enjoying such common pleasures. The slightest hint of simple fun was an affront to the sanctity of their status.

Still, Vinyl was a responsible mare who knew right from wrong. Without a second thought, she whipped up an oversized snowball and pelted the killjoy’s withers while nopony was looking. It exploded right on target, covering the back of his head while slipping a cold, slushy payload down the collar of his coat.

The stallion reared back from the freezing touch and looked fervently for the little hooligan responsible for the heinous act. He paid no mind to Vinyl’s calm pace away. Her shades and scarf did plenty to hide her snickering. To top it off, the stallion’s ire refocused on his chills, allowing his son to join his friends in the foalish fun. Vinyl silently thanked the stars such ponies were idiots. Heaven forbid anypony do anything remotely enjoyable to the slight inconvenience of their parents’ schedules.

Vinyl quickly maxed out her headphones to derail that bitter train of thought before it could travel any further. She didn’t want to ruin her day before it even started.

Five blocks, three streets, and a couple of bridges later, Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns came into view. The pristine institution catered to ponies of all ages, producing many of the finest unicorns the world had ever known. Vinyl wouldn’t necessarily count herself among the particularly gifted, but she felt she made up for it with unyielding tenacity.

Chatting up a trio of young fillies near the main entrance was Fleur de Lis. To the casual observer, the tall beauty shone as a pinnacle of Equestrian perfection. The lady carried herself with perfect royal form and refined dignity, an up-and-coming gem of the elite world. She turned heads and set trends anywhere she went when she wanted.

And Fleur herself couldn’t care less about any of that.

Those who could remember the swan during her ugly duckling days knew her better as Schlurr De’Lish, a paradoxically plump and lanky nerd with speech-impeding braces. Sure, the insulting name was made by bullies to tear her down, but by the time Vinyl had met her, she’d hardened into a diamond and didn’t give a flying feather about what they had to say. If somepony called her fat, she bragged about eating sweets at her mom’s bakery every day. If they poked fun at her braces, she’d spray spit-filled “tongue twishtersh” into their faces. And if they tried to tear her down for her obsession with Ogres and Oubliettes, she’d show off her fleurs-de-lis cutie mark, the same classy mark as her favorite original character, Lady Faire.

It turned out she’d have the last laugh. Her features became more refined over the years. Her pudge morphed into shapely curves, her braces gave way to a pristine smile, and everypony either forgot or repressed the origins of the real-life lady. Fleur could’ve turned over a new chapter in her life after blossoming into a natural beauty, but she was still the same Schlurr De’Lish underneath it all.

So, it was no surprise to Vinyl seeing Fleur de Lis wearing an oversized, gray sweater with a poorly crocheted winter cap. The drab ensemble looked exceedingly comfortable to Vinyl, but it was also the sort of wardrobe malfunction that would give any fashion pony a mild stroke. Fleur had joined several small fillies in the snow to make snow alicorns on the freshly powdered campus lawn. With hers fully formed, she quickly grew bored of waiting for the others to finish and started rolling around on her back and barking. The giggling fillies around the dog and pony show ate the act up while passersby tried to ignore the strange mare’s antics.

Vinyl couldn’t help but snicker to herself. “Never change, Schlurr, never change.”

When the DJ drew closer across the snow-covered grounds, the puppy sensed a new presence and perked up with her ears at full alert. Fleur flopped onto her belly and surveyed the area while sniffing the air. When her eyes caught the glint of Vinyl’s shades, a mischievous smirk crossed the larger unicorn’s face.

“AROOO!” Fleur howled at the morning sun, stopping Vinyl in her tracks. Fleur scampered to her hooves and charged full tilt towards her best friend. Her beautifully brushed tail wagged back and forth as her loose tongue lolled in the wind.

“W-wait! Fleur!”

Vinyl scrambled to stop the quickly approaching pony-dog with her magic, but Fleur shot a quick counterspell. Fleur dove headlong and crashed into Vinyl with the strength of a hoofball linebacker. The two tumbled over and under across the ground, sending the DJ’s signature shades and headphones flying. As they came to a stop and Vinyl’s head smacked against the snow, she began to think maybe a little change wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Vinyl shook the dizziness away, only to find herself pinned under Fleur’s heavier frame. She didn’t know how a pony with a model’s body could weigh so much. A smattering of loud slurps snapped her back to reality. The stunt apparently hadn’t been enough for Fleur seeing as how she was lapping up the snow off of Vinyl’s scarf.

“Fleur! What in Tartarus are you doing?”

Fleur answered with a happy bark and friendly lick to Vinyl’s face.

“I should’ve seen that coming,” Vinyl grumbled to herself. She shuffled and squirmed trying to free herself, but the mutt wasn’t budging an inch. “Would you get off of me already?”

“She’s a puppy. Ya gotta say ‘heel,’” one of the fillies remarked between giggle fits.

“Yeah, she’s a, how you say, a method actor!” another one wearing Vinyl’s shades added in her best Lady Faire impression.

“What's a method actor?” the last of the trio asked. The others looked at each other and replied with a bewildered shrug.

Vinyl’s face soured at the oversized puppy pinning her to the ground. The evil glint in back of Fleur’s eyes demanded she play along, for the sake of the fillies, of course. The defeated DJ fell back into the snow and sighed. “Fine. Heel, Fleur.”

“Ah ah ah, pas assez bon, Vinyle,” Fleur admonished with saccharine sweetness. “A canine responds to authority. Try once more, but with…” she paused for a dramatic finish. “The magicks!”

“Bite me.”

A twinkle of excitement followed by a sinister grin crossed Fleur’s face. Vinyl quickly realized her ill-worded “yes, and” prompt for the voice actress to follow. Fleur welcomed the opportunity by clicking her teeth together, testing their chompers’ tensile strength.

“Heel-heel-heel-heel! For-the-love-of-Celestia, HEEL!”

Fleur flipped off her prone friend, shook the loose snow from her sweater, and ran Primrose’s Proper Priming spell to restore her own mane and tail before declaring to their audience, “End scene!”

The fillies stomped their hooves in delight, cheering the performance to the horror of several onlookers. Meanwhile, Vinyl grumbled a few swears under her breath as she righted herself from the cold ground. Fleur retrieved Vinyl’s accessories from her new filly friends and promised they could have some more fun later. Finally acting her age, she sent the fillies inside to get to their magic kindergarten classes.

“Sorry about that, Vy.” Fleur passed Vinyl’s gear back to her as a tepid peace offering.

Vinyl snatched them back, slipping the headphones around her neck and sliding her amethyst lenses back on for her signature look. “No you’re not.”

“When you’re right, you’re right.”

A jolt of pink recast cleansing magic shot up Vinyl’s body, ridding Fleur’s slobbery mess from her face. The spell ended by wrapping around Vinyl’s unkempt mane and tail, straightening, detangling, and unknotting themselves until they bounced into a shorter version of Fleur’s stylish flowing waves. Vinyl blew an errant bang from her face and glared at her friend.

“Whoops! That was an actual accident. Here, let me just fix that.” A quick ruffling of hooves through her mane and Vinyl was looking more like her rough, sporty self. “There. Deglamorized and ready for some research!”

The school belltower sounded, signaling the ten minute warning before classes would begin. The remaining elementary schoolers stampeded through the doors in a mad rush to their rooms while the older students took their time filing into the doors. Fleur removed her sweater upon entering and assumed her proper role of the head-turning mare and fell in behind Vinyl’s trot inside.

Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns encompassed all levels of study, from magic kindergarten all the way to advanced arcane studies. It wasn’t uncommon for impressionable fillies and colts to sneak around to see the advanced magic from the older students and researchers. They’d watch Royal Guard trainees duke it out on the training grounds or take a peek at their favorite school of magic being performed by masterful mages. As for Vinyl and Fleur, they were among the number of research students diving deeper into their spellcraft than the average student.

From the moment they stepped through the doors, they were met by a mix of curious looks, glares, and whispers. It wouldn’t have been odd given what had just happened in the yard, but there was an underlying hostility that was hard to miss. It was worse than the time they’d rigged a microphone with a speech jamming sigil at a school assembly and gotten their whole grade level in trouble. While the unintentional victim had laughed the prank off, the Headmistress Pennywhistle was less than amused. Still, it was hilarious, if a little terrifying, hearing Princess Celestia babbling unintelligibly to kick off Spell Safety Week.

“Hey,” Vinyl whispered, trying to get her friend’s attention. “You didn’t pull that dog stunt on anypony else, did you?”

“No. Why do you ask?”

At first, Vinyl thought Fleur was pulling her leg, but shooting a glance out of the corner of her eye, she realized why. Every eye was locked on her. For once, Fleur was the invisible one out of their duo. At the club, there was sound equipment, fencing, and security phones to keep the unruly crowds away. But here, Vinyl felt exposed. Completely vulnerable. She pulled her scarf over her mouth, hoping to hide her nerves as she quickened her pace.

DJ Pon-3 may be used to basking in the spotlight, but Vinyl Scratch didn’t like the attention one bit.

With all the scrutiny Vinyl was being bombarded with, they couldn’t have arrived at the Magical Acoustics Research Department quickly enough. Vinyl’s quickened pace had devolved into a mad dash by the time they’d reached the top floor of the school. Fleur called out for Vinyl to slow down as she darted through the department’s inner hallway to reach the audio lab. She barely squeezed through the door before Vinyl slammed it behind them and locked it. A wave of relief washed over her as she slid down the side of the soundproofed walls.

The lab’s stale air was divine when compared to the choking atmosphere outside. The entire department previously served as the school of illusion’s third lab, but Dr. Arpeggio Melody, their professor and head researcher, renovated the space for his auditory illusory studies. His pride and joy was the multipurpose audio laboratory and recording studio. It was also Vinyl’s favorite place in the whole school, her home away from home, and now her sanctuary for the day.

“Vy!” Fleur shouted between labored breaths. “What the hay was that all about?” She shot a spell through the window looking in from the lab’s control room, flipping on the ‘Live’ sign. There was a thrum of magic as sound wards in the walls activated, giving them a little added privacy.

“I don’t know, you tell me!” Vinyl shot back, her scratchy voice cracking more than usual.

“I’m not the one trying to break Wonderbolt land records here!”

“Seriously? Did you not notice everypony staring daggers at me from the moment we set hoof in the school?” Vinyl removed her shades to wipe her brow with her trembling foreleg.

“Now, I wouldn’t say daggers, but I did see a couple of sporks in the bunch: the unholy matrimony of cheap utensils.” Fleur began clicking on the room’s lights and equipment. “Maybe some of my endearing charm is finally starting to rub off on you.”

“I mean it, Fleur! It was like I’d just danced in the endzone after bucking a basket of kittens.”

The colorful imagery earned a snicker and a passing hug from Fleur on her way out of the recording studio. A few moments later, she reappeared in the control room to bring the rest of the lab to life. She reached over to a microphone on the console, toggling it with a familiar buzz of static.

“My money’s on their parents getting bent out of shape about last night.” Fleur said through the speakers. “You know how Canterlotians just love to find a reason to complain.”

Vinyl grunted at the notion, but recollected herself to assist Fleur in their routine checkup. She threw herself into triple testing the sound equipment in a vain hope of routine chasing the anxiety away.

“Check. One, two, check,” Vinyl sounded off. She waited for a response, but nothing came back. “Everything sound good on your end?” She glanced back towards the control room, but she wasn’t at the console.

Stepping closer to the window she could see Fleur was standing at the coffee station. Vinyl knocked on the window, but apparently her friend was too engrossed with her beverage prep to notice. Vinyl didn’t have the patience to sit still with her nerves flying all over the place, so she quickly trotted to the room to check the rest of it herself.

“You could at least finish the list before making your latte.” Vinyl’s half-jokingly complained, but Fleur ignored her goading. “Fleur?”

“Hey, umm, Vy?” Fleur called warily, “You might want to have a look at this.”

Vinyl shrugged as she hovered the paper over to her. She’d nearly taken her seat to look at it, but a bright yellow sticky note stopped her in her tracks. On it was a hastily scrawled note.

In a meeting about THIS! - Arpeggio

An arrow on the edge pointed to a headline: From Riches to Rags! Deafening Screech Causes Chaos During Winter Rollout. Under it was a picture of none other than Upper Crust in her wine-drenched dress among several other angry socialites with messes from the previous evening. Vinyl couldn’t help but snicker with a cheshire grin. Going beyond the headline though, the rest of the article quickly wiped the smirk off of Vinyl’s face.

What was supposed to be a warm welcome of winter at the Festival of Flakes held in the Royal Sister’s Castle Courtyard turned to catastrophe after the party was brought to a quick close last night.

A local delinquent Vinyl Scratch, known better as DJ Pon-3, abused her stage presence by blasting festival attendees with a deafening screech from her sound system in the middle of the Festival of Flakes. What has been termed the “Vinyl Screech” could be heard throughout the castle district and surrounding area, causing headaches, disorientation, and disruption of royal proceedings.

“It was quite the amazing sound...” Princess Luna said in an interview during her Night Court. When we asked if the court was interrupted, she said they were able to maintain control, but “could only imagine how the nocturne among the guard were faring,” in reference to their heightened sense of hearing. There were reports of affected nocturne hearing the screech as far as Grand Canterhorn Station on the outskirts of the city. The princess refused further comment.

Those at the festival were subjected to a “near ear-shattering shrieking sound,” according to attendees. The pressure was enough to disrupt magic spells and there were reports of broken glass and other damages.

“You can see the destruction for yourself!” Upper Crust, CEO of Horst Holdings who had been celebrating a recent acquisition, said while showing off her now ruined Imperial Crystalline dress. “That little anarchist took one of the premiere parties of the year and utterly annihilated it. And for what? To put herself in the spotlight? To make a mockery of a beloved annual tradition? Ruin a wonderful evening for the best and brightest of Canterlot? Well, we weren’t looking before, but we certainly are now. I promise you, there will be consequences.”

DJ Pon-3 performs regularly at the Cantrips night club on Dressage Drive and was reportedly commissioned as a last minute musical substitution for the event. Her last major public performance was during the Royal Wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor, despite her reported anti-establishment leanings. We spoke to two of her previous contractors who attended the party, Photo Finish and Hoity Toity, for more details.

“Ah yes, Frau Scratch is strictly business[…] She comes, she plays, she goes!” Photo Finish said when asked about their working relationship. When we asked for more detail about her aggressive tendencies she referred to her as “a firebrand: spontaneous and unpredictable.”

“I can’t think of a single time the DJ has accepted an offer from me outside of playing for one of my fashion shows,” Hoity Toity said. After speaking to him at length, he admitted he may be “reassessing their working relationship.”

After the “Vinyl Screech,” the DJ quickly finished her performance and fled the scene with her equipment. Upper Crust and other concerned citizens are now looking into preventing such future disturbances from occurring again at a high profile event.

“We’ve already begun looking into what legal responses, if any, can be taken against [DJ Pon-3],” Upper Crust said. “We will not stand for this. If nothing else, we will do everything in our power to make sure she is never given a stage to vandalize again.”

Fancy Pants had abandoned his breakfast tea halfway through the article and now the Canterhorn Courier itself, flopping the paper down in frustration. He expected some backlash from the whole debacle last night, but the accident must’ve really struck a nerve with somepony connected to the paper. The article made the Vinyl Screech sound even worse than the recent changeling’s invasion. The Festival of Flakes hadn’t even been the worst offender in recent memory. That dubious honor was held by the last Grand Galloping Gala. The castle’s ballroom was still a month away from being fully repaired last he checked.

“Miss Fluffer Duster, a moment, if you would,” Fancy Pants called from behind his newspaper.

“Y-yes sir. Right away,” a timid voice called from the second floor.

Fancy glanced to the floor above as the pegasus finished dusting the tops of the bookshelves. The maid carefully descended to the spot beneath her before quietly making her way towards the spiral staircase connecting the floors of his enormous study.

“Miss Duster, you have my permission to glide down if you wish.”

She nearly tripped over her hooves at the improper suggestion. She peered over the banister nervously attempting to determine if this was a test of some sort from her new employer. Fancy set his paper next to his tea and stood to his hooves, giving the shivering gray pony his full attention.

“Miss Duster, you are free to use your natural abilities as you see fit as long as you are careful. You most certainly wouldn’t see me restricting my magic in Cloudsdale or Las Pegasus.”

“Yes sir. Very good, sir.”

Fluffer Duster surveyed the area below as the battle between proper Canterlot etiquette and expedience waged in her furtive glances. After one last check, she leapt over the bannister and fluttered down, landing gently next to Fancy Pants. She cast a few cautionary glances around the room, worried that somepony might’ve seen her breach of Canterlot decorum.

“Not to worry, Miss Duster. My mother flew freely through these halls before you were even born. Besides, I’ve never seen the point of that old rule. Born more out of tribalist wing envy than caution if you ask me.” Fancy gave her a knowing wink, bringing a small smile to her face. “Besides, the way I see it, if you knock anything over, you’re just giving yourself more work to do. I believe that alone is enough incentive to be more than careful when inside.”

Fluffer Duster’s smile fell away and she nodded fervently in agreement. Her eyes wandered around the various trappings and treasures decorating the room, each one likely worth more than what she made in a month.

“An urgent matter has come up that requires my immediate attention and I will need to reassess my morning.” Fancy Pants reached into his coat, producing his well-worn pocket planner. He flipped through the pages to the day’s schedule and scanned the time slots, wondering if he could squeeze something between his appointments.

“Right,” the maid said as she straightened up. “I was going to inform you when you finished your tea, but a letter came this morning from Monsieur Gustave le Grande. It said he will be unable to attend brunch this morning.”

“How unfortunately fortuitous,” Fancy thought aloud as he amended his schedule. He scribbled a few notes to calculate how much time it had allotted him and paused. “Did he happen to say why?”

“I believe it was something about a parasprite swarm near one of his new restaurants in Baltimare. He said he may be unavailable for the rest of the month.”

“The rest of the month? Are you sure?” Fancy Pants asked with growing concern. “Did he say anything about the twenty-third?”

“He was quite clear about it in the letter. Also, parasprites can be quite devastating, you know. We had an infestation in Cirriucuse when we floated too close to the Everfree Forest. It took us weeks to repair the skyloft gardens.”

All the warmth was sapped out of the room when Fancy Pants sighed deeply and began jotting down several notes. He flipped back and forth between pages as the sound of quickly turning pages chilled the air. She opened her mouth to say something, but the deepening furrow of his brow sealed her lips.

It was quite amazing how quickly this winter was becoming one of discontent. The season was off to a terrible start right out the gate, but there was no point in cursing a bit of rotten luck. Fancy tucked his troubles back into his coat, only to see they’d spilled over onto the poor maid next to him. Her legs were locked in place, her wings were folded securely at her side, and her eyes were focused forward on nothing in particular; all the sure signs of a terrified messenger fearing the bad news she’d delivered.

“That will be all Miss Duster,” he said, making the mare jump slightly. “Thank you for your patience, and I apologize for losing my temper.”

She curtsied and excused herself posthaste, using her newfound flying permissions to quickly dart back up to her cleaning duties. She nearly knocked over a vase, but caught it mid-spiral, setting it right with a nervous squeak before diving back into her work.

Fancy Pants shook his head and pulled his pocket watch out, hoping he had enough time to salvage his schedule before afternoon tea. “Now then, which fire to put out first?”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 3: Take It All Away

“Are you sure I can’t get you anything, Sir Fancy Pants? Coffee? Tea?” the nervous student aide called from beyond the multitude of various packets being shuffled like cards in front of him. “You can have my cucumber sandwich if you’d like.”

“I appreciate the offer—” Fancy lightly nudged the offerings aside to steal a glance at the young mare’s nametag. “—Miss Starflitter, but that won’t be necessary. I’m perfectly fine, I assure you.” He slapped on the most pacifying smile he could muster, but it did little to settle the poor filly’s nerves.

“Well, I am sure Headmistress Pennywhistle will be back soon," Starflitter repeated for the umpteenth time. At this point, it was sounding more like a prayer than a promise. She clip-clopped her hooves on the office’s front desk while trying desperately to not look directly at Fancy.

“Don’t worry, Miss Flitter. My visit was unexpected, so I expected to wait a little longer than usual.”

“Y-yes sir, Sir Fancy Pants, Sir. She should be here any minute now.” Starflitter forced an awkward laugh at Fancy’s attempt at humor while casting another glance at the clock. “Any minute now.”

Fancy had grown accustomed to his mere presence intimidating other ponies, but it did little to stem his frustration with his name striking fear into the hearts of strangers. How Princess Celestia had dealt with it since time immemorial was beyond him. At least he’d built a rapport with the regular office, Under Scribble, but she’d gone with Headmistress Pennywhistle for the morning’s emergency meeting. He imagined they were all discussing the same thing weighing upon his mind. Instead of joining their discussion, he was stuck here trying his best to not give Starflitter a panic attack.

Sneaking a glance at his pocket watch, it was ten minutes past the time Fancy had allotted himself for a meeting that hadn’t even started. The rest of the items on his agenda were far less pressing, save the other fire that started earlier this morning. He reluctantly scratched “Meet Fleur about de Lune” off his itinerary. With that done and his other options exhausted, his eyes began wandering around the room once again to take in the tale told in pictures.

Once upon a time, Princess Celestia had led her School for Gifted Unicorns herself, a fact reflected by the familiar royal castle's choice of purple walls and pristine marble flooring. After its daily administration had become too much to juggle alongside her other duties, she relegated its daily function to personally appointed headmasters and headmistresses. Their portraits lined the walls, ranging from the hundred-years-old oil paintings to the more recent photographs.

Fancy’s eyes bounced from one picture to the next, each one framed in the exact same way. A former head of the school stood as tall and proud as they could next to their immortal leader while Princess Celestia draped her left wing across their backs. There were slight differences in artistic style and photographic quality over the generations, but the alicorn remained a ubiquitous, unchanging presence. It was amazing, if not a little unnerving, seeing that Elysian smile shining with eternal serenity.

His attention turned back to Under Scribble’s desk, where the student Starflitter was doing her best to look busy with what little there was at the desk. Under Scribble kept her clutter to a minimum which left the poor aid with very little to do outside of fiddling with her sparkling silver mane. There were a few personal photos of her husband and son, the largest being the three of them together during the little one’s magic kindergarten graduation ceremony.

The familial warmth on display gave Fancy a twinge of nostalgia from a better time long ago. His mother covered the walls of their home with sprawling collages of memories. She was never one for albums you could shut away.

Not wanting to take that trip down memory lane, he tore his eyes away from the photos, accidentally meeting Starflitters gaze. The student froze on the spot, locking herself in a silent staring contest with him. Not wanting to apply any more pressure to the situation, he decided a little tried and true diplomacy was in order. He wondered what he could do to break the ice. His cutie mark burned as his canceled appointment came to mind.

“Ms. Starflitter, are you by chance friends with Fleur?”

“Fleur? Like Fleur de Lis?” Starflitter asked quickly while brushing her mane out of her face. “I mean, of course you know her. I’ve seen you pictured together at those important parties and things and stuff. Silly Star.” She smacked the sides of her head with her hooves.

Fancy cleared his throat, pushing past the mare’s self-deprecation. “So, are you friends?”

“Oh?” Starflitter perked back to attention. “Oh! Oh no, no, no. I’d never—I mean she’d never be friends with me.”

“I wouldn’t rule that out. She’s far more approachable than you might think, barring a few of her eccentricities.”

She shook her head. “N-no, what I meant is we’ve never really met ever. I didn't have a class with her. I just turned fifteen."

“Oh, my apologies. It’s sometimes difficult to tell who Fleur’s contemporaries are. Happy belated big fifteen by the way,” he added while lightly clopping his hooves together.

Starflitted scratched the back of her head while nodding a quick thank you for reaching marehood.“I-I don’t know what ‘contemporaries’ means, but I’m still a student.”

“I know, she is as well.”

“What? Isn’t Fleur de Lis a magic kindergarten teacher?”

An image of Fleur trying to lead a classroom of students before becoming the biggest kid in class flashed through Fancy’s head. He couldn’t help but laugh. “I think the insurance premiums would be a little too high for that.”

"But this morning..." Starflitter trailed off into confused mumbles which was not an uncommon occurrence when Fleur came up in conversation.

"In fairness, I did mention eccentric," he reminded her, bringing her back from the edge of the Fleur-y abyss. "Fleur is a research student here, and not much older than you. She was in the same graduating class as her DJ friend. I believe they’re doing research here together.”

“DJ?” The young mare’s eyes sparkled with recognition. “You mean DJ Pon-3! But wait. Isn’t Vinyl Scratch like twenty-one or something?”

“If so, then that would make her about a year older than Fleur.”

The aid’s jaw hit the desk. “Fleur de Lis is twenty years old?”

“And one-quarter,” Fancy added sing-songingly, happy to see the mare’s walls starting to come down.

“B-but how? Her legs are like… va-voosh! And she’s so vhmm-hmm-hmm!” The student waved her hooves around in long and curvy patterns to whatever the sounds were, but Fancy could guess their meaning.

“I suppose you do have a point, but I have proof.” Fancy fished out his coat wallet and flipped to one of the few pictures he kept in the card sleeves. She leaned up from her desk, curiosity winning out over her previous nervousness to see what he had. “Be warned, this is not one of my finer moments, but Fleur insisted on capturing it for the sake of posterity.”

Starflitter took the picture in her magic as her cheeks filled with a barely stifled snicker. The ever-elegant Fleur de Lis flashed with poise and beauty next to a disgruntled Fancy Pants covered horn to hoof in frosting. Next to them was Princess Celestia, caught somewhere between laughing at Fancy’s expense and mourning the loss of the cake.

“Fleur had just gotten her acceptance letter from the school’s research program and I wanted to do something special to celebrate. It happened to coincide with her eighteenth birthday and my scheduled tea time with the princess, so we figured we’d surprise her,” Fancy said, pointing at the still-lit numbers 1 and 8 candles on top of his head. His hoof then shifted over to the horrified maid in the background covering her mouth with a hoof. “Unfortunately, the poor mare here tripped over herself at the big surprise and I wound up wearing the cake. Fleur quickly found a camera before the maid got back with a towel and preserved this moment for posterity.”

Mission Accomplished. Fancy smiled at the young mare’s giggles and he slipped the photo back into his coat wallet. Nothing was better at putting others at ease than The Cakening. While he hadn’t enjoyed it much in the moment, the picture was perfect to help others take him off of their pedestals. With his mission accomplished he turned away to retake his seat.

“Wow! I had no idea you were Fleur’s dad.”

Fancy was glad he was turned away so she didn’t see him wince. “Not exactly. I suppose you could say I’m more of a caretaker or guardian of sorts,” he corrected. “Though I can see why ponies make that mistake. I’ve simply been rather close to her family for years.”

Even though she didn’t see it, Starflitter could still feel the unease seeping through his words. The gears were already turning in the other unicorn’s head, a commonly unfortunate double-edge to the photo. Fleur had never grown out of her penchant for skinship, going from adorable as a filly to teetering on the edge of social acceptability for a mare her age. It almost always led down a particularly uncomfortable line of questioning.

“So what are her parents like?”

“Her mother is a fairly renowned pastry chef from Prance, Éclair de Lune. She runs her own bakery bistro here in Canterlot. Have you ever been to Pâte de Lune?” he asked, trying desperately to change the subject.

“Maybe with some friends once. I dunno. I usually go to The Gifted Grinds across the street for the student discount.” Fancy Pants nodded along, respecting her choice of store.

“A fine establishment, that one. Nothing like a little coffee to help reach enlightenment. Still, if you haven’t, you should treat yourself to a Prench pastry from the little slice of Pance right here in Canterlot. They have the best crêpes in Equestria.”

“I love crêpes!”

“All the more reason to go then.” Fancy Pants beamed a smile. He always loved to drum up potential business for the Éclair. He could talk about Prance or the lovely mare all day. Sensing he had stayed quiet for a little too long, he was about to shift gears when she interrupted with another question.

“So, what about her dad?”

“Yes. Her father…” Fancy grabbed for his monocle and polishing cloth. He breathed a few times on the lens, steaming it up and wiping it again and again to ensure it was good and clear. As the silence dragged on, the mare’s ears pinned back as her face fell.

“Umm… Sir Fancy Pants?” she asked again as fear crept back into her eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Miss Starflitter, but I’ve suddenly found myself quite parched. Would you mind getting me some tea? Jasmine if you have it.”

The mare’s smile strained as she dutifully stood up to brew the beverage. “R-right away, Sir!”

“Please take as much time as you need,” he added as warmly as he could while silently hoping she’d take even longer.

Ten more minutes and a passable cup of jasmine later, his wait was finally interrupted by a click of the office door. He stood up to greet the Headmistress, only to be met with an unexpected friendly face.

“Oh, Fancy! Fancy meeting you here.” Despite using the same tired pun every time they met, the stallion’s cheesy, self-satisfied, fang-filled grin never failed to infect Fancy with a genuine smile of his own.

“Ah, Steeplechase. I am surprised to see you up and about so early.” Fancy offered a hoofshake to the bookish nocturne, which Steeplechase accepted briefly before pulling it back to yawn. “What brings you to the school today?”

“I imagine it’s the same thing that brought you here, Fancy.”

“Yes, but hopefully we can get it all sorted out. Last night was nothing more than an accident.”

“Last night?” Steeplechase cocked his head. “I’m just trying to get a grip on whatever got everypony going full gallop this morning. Tavi’s too tired from getting back a couple of hours ago, so they sent me instead of Woody.”

“Well, I think you’ll find out shortly,” Fancy whispered as the door to the office began to open.

Headmistress Pennywhistle quickly cantered in, her nose buried in various papers and letters floating around her head. The usually calm and collected leader was sweating in her blazer, completely unaware of her guests. She still had the wherewithal to kick a hind leg out to catch the door for her administration assistant, Under Scribble, lagging behind her. The older office pony wordlessly took her seat, her eyes locked onto Fancy Pants while the Headmistress continued their conversation.

“—and I just can’t deal with any more of these complaints! If anypony besides Mister Steeplechase shows up, tell them that we are considering our next action carefully and send them away. We need to get this situation sorted out as quickly as possible.”

“Actually, Penny, he’s already here,” Scribble remarked with a little smirk. “And he’s brought a friend.”

“Oh! I’m sorr—Fancy Pants!” The bookish unicorn nearly jumped out of her fur at the sight of the unexpected visitor. She barely kept a magical grip on her reading material. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?”

“It’s always a pleasure, Miss Pennywhistle,” he replied cordially. “And before you ask, I’m here to help diffuse the situation rather than complicate it further.”

“Thank Celestia.” The headmistress let out a small sigh of relief as she adjusted her thick rimmed glasses. “You have no idea how glad I am to hear that, though I’m not sure what can be done at this point. And thank you for coming, Mister Steeplechase.”

Steeplechase offered a polite bow. “It’s nice to see you again too, Headmistress. I’m going to take a guess and say it’s not going to stay that way for long if you’re just as frazzled as Woody.”
“Yes. You’d better come with me before anypony else shows up.” Pennywhistle quickly escorted the pair of stallions to her office and shut the door behind them.

Despite the tension lingering in the air, the headmistress’s office was as welcoming as Fancy remembered with pictures of her family and school events scattered alongside knick-knacks and mementos. The easy-going flow was broken by the numerous professional credentials and magic degrees dominating the wall behind her chair. As for her lovely mahogany desk, he could barely see the top of it from under the disorganized mass of scattered papers and letters. He recognized many of the formal letterheads and noble pony signatures at a glance.

“Let me start by assuring you I hold nothing against Miss Scratch,” Fancy said.

“You’d be the first I’ve seen this morning,” the exhausted mare remarked. “I’ve spoken to more movers and shakers of this city than I can wave a wand at.”

For a moment, Steeplechase mouthed a silent question to himself until he put two and two together before he sank his face into his hooves. “Okay. What did she do this time?”

“For a renowned purveyor of the written word, I’d hoped you’d have made it a habit to read the newspaper.” Fancy Pants passed the day’s Canterhorn Courier. It took all of two seconds for Steeplechase to balk at the headline before diving into it himself.

“‘The Vinyl Screech?’” Steeplechase pointed to the phrase on the paper. “And here I thought I needed to grease the stacks in the library again. Was it the nightmare of a noise I heard last night?”

“Yes,” Pennywhistle said as she shuffled a stack of letters. “I hadn’t even gotten to the campus before I was being accosted by nearly every big donor to our school screaming their heads off about it.”

“Last night was an unfortunate accident caused by Fleur de Lis, but for one reason or another, the buck was passed solely onto Miss Scratch,” Fancy Pants clarified.

“Regardless of whose fault it was, the fact of the matter is that this office has been inundated with letters complaining about Miss Scratch.” Pennywhistle whipped several of the letters on her desk up into the air, swirling them in a maelstrom of papers before they landed in a neat pile in front of her. “Disorderly conduct, destruction of property, disturbance of the peace…”

“What actions were you planning on taking against her?” Fancy Pants asked, cutting directly to the matter at hoof.

The Headmistress sighed as she laid her hooves on the mass of letters. “Officially speaking for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorn, our general stance on external matters like this is to not take one. We aren’t here to act like we’re a student’s parent, especially not when they’re an adult. For more serious matters, the Royal Guard is usually involved long before we are, so we defer to their discretion.”

“Well there you go, right?” Steeplechase waved the issues off with a hoof. “This is all bark and no bite. Just let this blow over like eating a bad fruitcake.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Look at these names: Lofty Heights, Sand Dollar, Moneypenny, Coltair, Upper Crust, Bucksaplenty. Frankly, I was honestly surprised to see you weren’t among them, Fancy Pants.”

Fancy Pants said nothing, only silently urging the headmistress to continue.

“The issue here is that many of these ponies are donors. Very important and very high profile donors. Donors with a lot of power that are critical to our school’s continued operation.”

Steeplechase whistled at the list impressed. “They sure did get organized fast.”

Fancy Pants picked up a few letters to skim. “If it’s Miss Upper Crust leading the charge, then it’s unfortunately no surprise. The mare is driven when she gets a goal in mind, and it seems she wants nothing more than to use the power of the nobility to punish Miss Scratch for the accident last night.”

Steeplechase nodded. Putting the paper down, he perused the letters himself as he flipped through each letter. “I get that, but it hasn’t even been half a day since the festival, right? Isn’t this, I don’t know, a bit much way too quickly?”

“Do you recall the last Grand Galloping Gala with Lady Velvet’s daughter and her friends from Ponyville?”

“My face sure does.” Steeplechase rubbed his chin where Octavia had made her opinion of that night abundantly clear.

“It had barely been an hour after that animals stampede through the ballroom, and Prince Blueblood was already leading an entourage to ban Princess Celestia’s protégé from the city. She had to cancel afternoon court the next day after hearing the same complaint all morning. I hadn’t seen her highness that angry in years.”

Steeplechase grimaced. “Yeesh. And they thought keeping her highness’ star student away would help anything?”

“Likely not, but I believe the outrage itself was the point. If all of my years in these circles have taught me anything, my friend, it is that nobles with an excess of power and time will find a way to spend it, wisely or otherwise.”

“And as far as power is concerned, we can’t throw our weight around just because the school is named after her,” the headmaster interjected. “The princess’s personal financing covers the everyday costs of running the school itself, but the donors cover things like financial aid programs and scholarships. If we lose our backers, there are many promising candidates outside of Canterlot that won’t be able to afford studying here.”

“If it’s nothing too sensitive, why is Miss Scratch attending CSGU in the first place?” Fancy asked. “ESPA Membership is far less expensive and they can still award certain credentials. Perhaps she could simply transfer her studies over there?”

“While I’m certain they’d be interested considering they’re part of the reason she is able to be one of our research students, such a change would be impossible. Miss Scratch is delving into incredibly sensitive crystalline harmonics under the guidance of Arpeggio Melody that should not be performed outside of a controlled lab,” Pennywhistle answered. “Specifically, she is seeking acoustic information storage methods for efficient repackaging and instant recollection from magical instruments.”

Fancy Pants hummed sagely while nodding in reply.

“In laymare’s terms, she wants to be able to cram a bunch more sound into her crystals to use for her music, and my father-in-law’s helping her out,” Steeplechase clarified with a knowing wink.

“I see.” Fancy frowned at his snarky simplification, but was thankful for it since the headmaster lost him at the word harmonic. “And why couldn’t she do that under your guidance?”

“Magical experimental stuff is Arpeggio’s bread and butter and he barely understands what Vinyl is doing half the time.” The nocturne flashed a fang-filled grin. “And the same goes for her, which makes it a lot of fun. I’d be both completely lost and nothing that could help her when things go bad. And trust me, when things go bad, they go real bad. Magical insurance bad.”

The costly euphemism was not lost on Fancy Pants. There was a reason every wall of the school was lined with protection wards. From foals experiencing uncontrollable magical surges to volatile spellcrafting experiments, the school was a powder keg of unstable magical power. The entire city block might’ve been blown off the face of Equestria five times over by now.

“So she can’t go to the ESPA to continue her work, but the other donors are threatening to pull funding if something isn’t done about Miss Scratch.” Fancy tapped his chin while trying to square the circle in his head, but he was drawing a blank.

Steeplechase frowned. “I hope you're not going to try expelling her just because they’ve got you by the bits.”

“No.” The Headmistress clicked her hooves together apprehensively while digging for her words. The time she was taking to answer didn’t evoke much confidence from the stallions sitting on the other side of the desk. Finally her ears pinned back as she averted her gaze. “Not exactly…”

The morning’s cake wasn’t sitting well in Vinyl’s stomach, though any breakfast would be doing backflips with her nerves completely shot. The skin crawled under her fur. Her legs were little more than numb, brittle stilts. The world around her was distant, muddled, and cold to the touch. Her dissociation was the glue keeping Vinyl together. She wasn’t there, which meant she didn’t have to acknowledge the argument unraveling behind her.

“What do you mean they’re pulling her funding?” Fleur yelled.

“I said they were considering it, but there’s not much else to consider in this situation,” Arpeggio replied.

While the professor maintained his hallmark stoicism, Fleur was taking the news about as well as a box of firecrackers near a pyromancer. She looked ready to charge the next noble like a raging minotaur.

“But it wasn’t even her fault!” Fleur cried as she stamped the ground in frustration. Not wanting to buck their professor in the face, she settled on unleashing her anger on an extra piece of foam board into the wall.

Arpeggio’s eyes narrowed as he straightened his bowtie. While he could certainly understand her anger and sympathize, he was still their teacher. Fleur’s flaring temper fizzled slightly under his stern, commanding presence. Years of working with the difficult ponies—his daughter included—had taught him how to somewhat tame a wild mare’s temper—his wife excluded.

“Be that as it may, it is this institution's decision. Vinyl will be cut and barred from receiving any further financial aid from the school.”

“Which means what for somepony living off of financial aid? If she has to choose between going to school and eating, how is that any different from getting expelled?” Fleur’s muzzle scrunched in absolute disgust, almost folding in on itself with irritation. She threw in a bitter nicker for good measure.

“Language, Miss de Lis!” He leveled a stern glare on her student, but the fury burning behind her eyes refused to waver. “I’m not endorsing their decision, but understand that it was either this or risk losing their backing entirely. Vinyl should still have the ESPA’s funding. I am sure Octavia will see to that.”

“I can’t believe a bunch of musicians have more backbone than frikin’ battlemages! Just because a few prissy, pissy nobles couldn’t take a little noise, you’re throwing Vinyl under a chariot for my mistake!”

Seeking refuge from the chaos behind her, Vinyl picked her tuning fork up by hoof and carefully tapped the side of the crystal she was working with. When the world was too much, she always found solace in her work. She focused on the thrum, letting the pitch take her far away from the stress. It reverberated with just the right note for the experiment, bright and peaceful.

A shill shriek ripped Vinyl back into reality. Fleur had descended into a steam of intelligible curses to the heavens. “You know what? Why don’t I just buck every single one of their fat heads into next Tuesday? At least then they’d have something real to be upset about!”

“I would’ve hoped that even in your anger, you’d have enough presence of mind to realize that even the mention of violence would only exacerbate the situation. Not that I’d expect you to follow through with it, but even a verbal threat only helps their case.”

Why couldn’t they just stop arguing already? Rich ponies already had it out for her, and last night just gave them a good excuse. The last thing Vinyl wanted was for the only ponies that actually cared about her to be bickering over a lost cause. She wished more than anything that she could drown out their arguments completely with her trusty headphones, but tuning crystals for her sensitive spellweaving required one’s full attention and mental clarity.

Vinyl just needed to focus. Focus was good. Focus, focus, focus. It was just her and the crystal. She could do this. No reason to look back. Behind her was far out of her hooves. No helping what had happened. She was DJ Pon-3. DJ Pon-3 just needed to work harder now. Maybe cut some more corners, skip a few more meals, pick up a few more gigs at Cantrips. If it got desperate, it’d be painful, but she could pawn her equipment. The StarWhirler had to be worth—nothing with the hole in the front.

The DJ buried her head in her hooves. She could repair it. She’d patched up damage like it before. The trouble was scrounging up the money to afford fixing it in the first place! Even if she did sell it as-is, superficial damage was still damage, no matter how well it still worked. It’d probably sell for little more than parts. It wouldn’t be enough, not by a mile.

Vinyl could feel her head splitting from the stress. She rubbed her temples, trying to get it under control. She needed to focus. She was DJ Pon-3. DJ Pon-3 was strong. She was confident. She could pull herself forward by her reins. She wasn’t going to ask for hoof-outs. She could make it on her own.

“You all just buckled the moment somepony threatened to take their precious bits away. What kind of message does that send?” Fleur plastered a stupid, dimwitted grin across her face with a mockingly high filly voice, “‘Remember kids, bullies always win!’ or ‘You can do anything if you put your mind to it. But if not, hey, selling out always works, right?’”

Vinyl’s ears began to ring.

“May I remind you that there are many talented students that lack your good fortune, Miss de Lis. They also depend on those donations to study here just as much as Vinyl,” he rebutted pragmatically. The calmness of his voice was only betrayed by the fire in his eyes. “If the situation becomes untenable, you must do what is required for the sake of the whole.”

They rang louder and louder.

“Oh no. Don’t give me those ‘needs of the many’ horseapples!” Fleur spat in reply. “I played Stellar Comms in that half-baked, sci-fi audio drama!”

And louder still.

“Then what would you have me do, Miss de Lis? Pick favorites among the students?”

Vinyl couldn’t even hear herself think anymore.

“You pick all of them, especially your favorites. You fight for your friends until you can’t fight anymore, and then you keep on going after that! Do you know why? Because you love them!”

Trust me. She’s not worth it.

“Would you shut up already!” Vinyl’s voice cracked with shattered fury. “Just stop fighting! Who gives a flying feather about any of it, anyway? They never did about me!”

The ringing pierced her skull at a deafening decibel. Vinyl nearly toppled over from the pressure, catching herself on the table before she fell all the way down.

“Why… everypony in this town does... has always have it out for me? I don’t have to… need their dirty two-bits... ” Vinyl sputtered trying to form words and thoughts. She still had so much more to say. So much say. So anger. Much say.

“Miss Scratch! Get away from there, now!” the muffled shadow of a voice yelled from a mile away.

Two Fleurs screamed something in unison, but Vinyl couldn’t hear them. The pair charged at her, melding in and out of their bodies as they ran through the tunneling void. The world began to swirl back into alignment as Vinyl felt her back press into a plush wall and a pair of forelegs tightly wrapped around her.

And then, Vinyl blinked.

“I’m sorry Vinyl! I promise, It’s going to be okay. I didn’t…” Fleur’s words failed her as she just pulled her confused friend closer.

Vinyl found herself gasping for air as her muscles ached from a marathon she hadn’t run. The deafening ring was gone, replaced with the familiar chiming of a destabilized attunement crystal. Looking towards her work station, the professor was hastily casting an arsenal of purges and purifying spells while a sinister black and purple miasma oozed into a small pool running from the bottom of her pristine crystal. She silently stared at what she’d done as Arpeggio fixed her mess.

“Miss Scratch!” The two friends went rigid from the force of Arpeggio’s voice. He coughed and wheezed trying to catch his breath after his flurry of spells. “What is the first principle of Cacophony’s Primer?”

“T-that sound and magic are intrinsically linked,” Vinyl recited from memory.

“And that the two flow and meet together to make music from what?”

“The soul.”

“Meaning that you never. Ever. Work with sound magic with unstable emotions!” His drilling caught up with him and he burst into a coughing fit.

“But I wasn’t even casting anything. I was just checking its tuning.”

“Using a highly sensitive magical implement!” he corrected, producing the tuning fork she had been working with, or rather what was left of it.

The once enchanted silver was little more now tarnished black stick of warped and dripping metal. He flicked what remained of the fork with his hoof, causing it to warble in a deep, unnatural, tone. The shaking grew stronger and more distorted until it couldn’t withstand the disharmony any longer and shattered into a thousand wet, smokey pieces. The solid liquid drifted upwards as it burned into nothingness.

Vinyl groaned, tilting her head back until she smacked it against the wall.

“You’re lucky that it wasn’t an actual cacophony rune! You could’ve been hurt, or worse, caused a dissonance cascade! If we hadn’t been here, you might’ve—”

“Professor, please,” Fleur begged as she clung to her friend. “Please…”

Arpeggio’s tirade died on his lips. He sighed, shedding all the tension pent up in his body. “You might’ve been more sound of mind without our bickering.” The stallion dusted off his tweed button up and fixed his bowtie once more. “The important thing is that you’re unharmed, Miss Scratch. But with all of our emotions riding high, we probably should call it a day.”

Fleur nodded for the both of them. Vinyl was too busy looking up at the ceiling.

“There are two weeks left in the fall semester. Your grant was already processed to pay for school access during the holiday season, so you still have time,” Arpeggio remarked as he exited the lab. “I’ll keep my ears to the ground for any changes, but those ponies were adamant. They wouldn’t even let me consider bringing you on as a teaching assistant. I’ve done all I can, and for what it’s worth, I am sorry it wasn’t enough.”

The click of the lab door cut the last threads holding Vinyl together and she collapsed. Fleur quickly pulled her friend closer before she fell all the way, holding her tight as she gently lowered them both to the floor.

“Don’t worry, I gotcha, Vinyl,” Fleur reassured. She pushed Vinyl’s shades on her face, letting them maintain the last shred of dignity the DJ was still clinging to. “It’s going to be okay. Right now, it’s just us and the soundproofing.”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 5: Moonshine

Tables sucked as pillows. Vinyl had come to the conclusion fifteen minutes into her impromptu test, but she wasn’t keen on finding a more comfortable spot. She wasn’t sure how long it had been since laying her head there. The power gems in her headphones were completely drained, so she couldn’t use her position in her playlist as a measurement of time.

Her forlorn posture would probably make more sense to onlookers if it was at a bar accompanied by something hard like whiskey or rum. She wasn’t the most experienced drinker, but she could really go for something to numb the day. However, instead of wallowing in misery in a dive bar, the DJ was resting her head on a chic, wrought iron table at Fleur de Lis’ family bakery bistro with an orange marmalade parfait. She hadn’t ordered it, but it was there.

Despite her discomfort, she was too busy watching her untouched treat sweat condensation as its contents melted to mush. It was only slightly more interesting than watching paint dry. At times, the slowly melting gelato would lose enough viscosity to jostle other ingredients around randomly. A long waffle cone crisp had already fallen onto the table, just shy of her mane.

Another movement caught her eye. A pony’s shadow sprouted from below the table and crawled up the earthen tiled walls. If she hadn’t recognized the outline of a beret atop its head, she might’ve grunted aggressively to ward them off. Instead, she grunted more cordially. Both grunts sounded the same to the untrained ear, but one would’ve been punctuated by an airborne parfait.

“Ah la vache,” the friendly shadow complained in Prench. “This is the longest anypony resist my food, Vinyle. I am not sure if I feel impressed or insulted.”

A pastel peach hoof gently reached past her head, removed the ruined dessert, and wiped the tabletop clean. As the shadow retreated back, Vinyl wasn’t sure how to feel either. Her favorite parfait had been completely wasted on her.

Before she had a chance to miss it, the shadow returned to carefully set a fresh parfait in its place. Vinyl watched and waited to be left alone again. Fifteen seconds passed, then Forty-five. A full minute. A minute thirty. Finally, at two agonizing minutes in, she heard the shifting of hooves. At first she thought it was leaving, but it was just taking a seat.

Vinyl flopped her head over to face the mare that wouldn’t leave her alone, Éclair de Lune. The petite, middle-aged mare sat on her croissant moon cutie-marked haunches, her intricately braided pink mane poking out from under her red pastry beret. Vinyl saw the last moments of a deeply worried face melt away as the two mare’s eyes met.

“Ah, Fleur! She finally wakes!” Éclair shouted over her shoulder.

“C’est awesome!” Fleur called back from the kitchen.

Éclair placed a hoof on the DJ’s shoulder and smiled kindly. “Welcome back to Pâte de Lune, fillasse.”

Vinyl’s eyes wandered around the deserted Prench bakery bistro. She traced the warm browns of the wall reminiscent of bread, coffee, and wood with her eyes, not seeing a single pony seated at any of the low round tables. It existed in stark contrast to the busy main street traffic milling outside the storefront windows. Seeing the soft oranges of the later afternoon sun filtering in from the windows, she wondered when it had gotten so late in the day. Having spurned De Lune’s hospitality for long enough, the DJ righted herself from the table.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that, Miss de Lune.”

Éclair hushed the younger mare. “Shh. No apologies. Just enjoy.”

Taking the dessert spoon in her magic, the DJ carefully scooped up a few tiny jelly cubes of marmalade along with the gelato. She scraped the tower of whipped cream and shaved chocolate flakes to complete the perfect first bite. Finally, Vinyl flipped the spoon over in her mouth and gently slid it over her tongue, spreading the sweet contents around for maximum sweetness exposure. She wasn’t a changeling, but she swore she could taste the emotions dripping from every succulent drop.

This was how oranges were supposed to taste, rather than the concentrated burn juice from this morning. The crisp tang balanced by the vanilla and chocolate might’ve brought a tear to her eye if she wasn’t already completely spent emotionally. Even after everything that had happened, the screech, the hate, the looks, the grants, the crystal drain, Vinyl hadn’t cried. She might’ve felt like it, but DJ Pon-3 didn’t cry. She hadn’t before and she wasn’t about to start now. Vinyl took another greedy spoonful for strength.

Éclair said nothing as Vinyl dug into her treat. The kindly mare simply watched Vinyl eat with a soft smile. Satisfied with the DJ’s progress, she kissed Vinyl’s cheek before heading back towards the kitchen. Though she knew the Prenchmare meant well, the faire la bise was still a culture shock too far for her. It had taken long enough to acclimate to Fleur’s constant clinging.

Speaking of said monkey mare, Fleur emerged from the kitchen sweaty and covered with splotches of various baking goods. After another brief, stern talking-to from Éclair, the little family shared a hug. It’d be hard to tell which was the elder if not for the smaller mare’s subtle age lines. While Fleur reflected much of Éclair’s appearance, she must’ve gotten her greater size from her late father. Éclair was even smaller than Vinyl, so she nearly vanished into the embrace every time.

Releasing their hug, they walked past each other and swapped places in the store. Éclair headed to the back to continue working while Fleur pulled a stool from a nearby table to join Vinyl. She collapsed onto her seat and leaned against the wall. Sweat poured down from the base of her horn and mixed with the loose ingredients matting her fur.

“I swear to the sun, those crates are multiplying like rabbits back there.” Fleur removed her beret by hoof and began fanning her horn in an attempt to cool down.

The poor mare had been run ragged since they’d walked through the back door. While Vinyl wanted to go back home after such a rough day, Fleur refused to let her go home alone and dragged her to de Lune. To their surprise, Éclair was already waiting for them to bombard Fleur with questions. While her spoken Equish was still a little spotty after two decades of living in the capitol, she was perfectly capable of reading the newspaper.

Vinyl tried to explain it as gently as she could, but the motherly mare was having none of it. Éclair led her to a table, set a parfait down, and then dragged Fleur by her ear into the kitchen. While she couldn’t understand the language, their volume was enough for Vinyl to know Fleur was in deep trouble. The few dine-in customers still there quietly sneaked away to the outside seating area to avoid argument. Fortunately, Fleur caved almost immediately, quickly falling from screaming, to deflecting, before finally becoming too quiet to get a word in edgewise over Éclair.

“She’s making me triple check and organize our inventory, box by box, for the next three months for the whole cake thing last night,” Fleur remarked as she wiped splotches of flour off with her magic. “I didn’t even know the ‘not as long as you’re living under my roof’ card was still in play.”

“Did she figure out your favorite cake?” Vinyl asked between bites, bringing a small smile to her friend.

“No, and I’m taking that secret to my grave.” Fleur sighed to herself, releasing the tension in her shoulders. “Maman really flipped out when she read the paper today, you know. Probably would’ve closed up early to drag you back here herself if I didn’t.”

Vinyl took a bite. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

Fleur chuckled to herself. “You’re gonna need to figure out a better lie than that.”

Vinyl took another bite. “I’m fine.”

Fleur softened as she leaned closer to her best friend. “She’s really worried about you. We both are.”

As if on cue, Éclair’s head poked out from the doorway to the kitchen to check on their table before disappearing back into the back to prepare for the dinner crowd.

“She loves you. We both do.”

Vinyl said nothing, instead taking the entire waffle cone slice and chomping down on it. The crunch in her mouth was better than hearing herself think. She knew Fleur and Éclair meant it, but Vinyl couldn’t help but hate that word: love.

Ponies used it so flippantly. She’d heard it so many times. “I love this song” or “That dress is so lovely on you.” It had such a low bar of entry that ponies could spout it with no feeling, straight-faced. It was a meaningless cliché thrown around out of expectation and obligation. How an entire race of changelings sustained themselves on such a hollow word was a complete mystery to her.

What was even worse is she was guilty of the same thing. She told ponies she’d loved them before, but she wasn’t sure if she ever meant it. Vinyl wasn’t even sure if she knew what it felt like. There were so many attempts, falling in and out of fling after fling with stallions and mares alike. There was a slight thrilling feeling of romance she’d get. Kisses and cuddles were nice. Still, nothing really clicked for long.

Passion was something Vinyl could understand. It was a driving force behind a cutie mark, a reason to get out of bed in the morning, or to crawl into one for the night with somepony else. The hang up was when love entered the mix. Every relationship became vapid at best. The pressure would build and build until something gave, and Vinyl would be single again. She wished she felt worse about the break-ups. That would be more normal. She never felt normal about love.

The worst was hearing parents use it constantly, especially moms. They always tied it in somehow, adding it like some sort of somatic spell component. As if everything would somehow be okay with just a little love. They always tossed it in, peppering over every statement no matter what. Almost like a reminder for themselves. There was nothing worse.

Have a good day at magic school, dear! Mommy loves you.

Oh! Your cutie mark is in music. Don’t worry, dear. Even if it wasn’t what we were expecting. Mommy still loves you.

Your piano playing is remarkable, dear, but you don’t have to take it so seriously. Just enough to attract a stallion with a more… stable talent. Mommy loves you too much to see you on the streets.

Maman, did you put something weird in her parfait?

Now is not a time for joking, Fleur! Vinyle! Are you okay?

A peachy hoof waved in front of her face, snapping her back to reality. Fleur and Éclair were both next to her, looking at her with growing concern. When had she gotten there? The parfait was still solid, so she hadn’t zoned out for long. She tried to answer, only to nearly drop the spoon out of her mouth.

“Ah, she returns to us once more,” Éclair remarked with relief.

“Are you sure that crystal didn’t do something to your head, Vinyl?” Fleur put the back of her fetlock against Vinyl’s forehead to check her temperature.

Vinyl was so sick of whatever this feeling was eating at her. She needed to get away, to do something to take her mind out of this. Luckily, the sun was setting, meaning she had a good excuse to excuse herself from the awkward situation.

“Sorry, but duty calls.” Vinyl stood up and chugged the rest of the parfait.

“What!?” the mother-daughter duo shouted in unison.

Shaking off the brainfreeze, Vinyl slammed her shades over her eyes. “Almost forgot. I’m playing a set tonight at Cantrips.”

“Oh, no you don’t!” Fleur cantered in front of her friend, blocking her with her larger frame. “I can’t leave mom alone for the dinner rush.”

“And that means what exactly?”

“You just beat a parfait at a staring contest and almost ate a spoon. As far as I’m concerned, you're in no shape to be doing anything tonight. For peat’s sake, you don’t even have your sound system!”

“I can just use Honey Dew’s gear. I always keep compatible backups at the club,” Vinyl swore while trying to get around her friend.

“I must insist!” Éclair said while cutting off Vinyl from escape. “Ma chère. Please. We worry so much for you out of lo—”

“I know!” Vinyl quickly bit back harder than she meant, but it was the last thing she wanted to hear right now “I know, but just… don’t, okay? I told you I’m fine!”

“No you’re not! You’re super on-edge right now, Vy!”

“And whose fault is that, huh?” Vinyl fired back, but immediately regretted seeing the hurt on both mare’s faces. She grumbled to herself as she wiped the anger out of her eyes. “Look. If the professor’s right, I’m gonna need the money, right? Right?”

“But Vinyl—”

“But nothing! I’ve still got a contract, and with all the stuff going on right now, the last thing I need to do is flake on them!”

Éclair opened her mouth to speak.

“Please.”

Éclair slowly closed her mouth and sighed. “Okay, Vinyle. I will not stop you.”

“Fine, you stubborn mule!” Fleur threw her legs around Vinyl and pulled her into a tight hug. “But you’re spending the night here, kay? You come straight back after you’re done with your set! Then we’ll eat chocolate gelato until we pass out.” Éclair smiled and nodded her head in agreement with her daughter up until the mention of digging into their frozen reserves.

“Don’t ruin the moment mom,” she whispered through gritted teeth. “I just counted and we’re overstocked on chocolate and running low on mint chocolate, so it’s fine.” The secrecy was completely ineffective, since Vinyl’s ear was pressed against Fleur’s chest.

Vinyl was still frustrated, but couldn’t help but snicker to herself. Even when she was at her lowest, Fleur and Éclair always managed to make her smile.

One of the many pleasures that living in Canterlot provided was walking its brilliant streets. With the Winter Rollout cleared away, tonight would be the first cloudless evening of the season. The sun was slowly retreating, yielding to the early moonlit sky. Many star-loving ponies were taking full advantage of the rare spectacle of both spheres moving through the sky at once.

Something about the cold always made the stars shine brighter. Fancy didn’t know the reason, but he enjoyed the pristine view all the same. Despite her namesake, Luna appeared far more interested in the ponies trotting the streets than her night sky, and the ones who caught her replied in kind. It wasn’t every day a princess leisurely walked down the street. Most kept a respectful distance from the two while any anypony that didn’t quickly changed their minds upon seeing the pair of lunar guards following behind.

“It has been months since returning to the world, but it is still like a dream,” Luna whispered, amazed by it all.

Fancy followed Luna’s gaze, trying to find what she was referring to and failing miserably. “I’m not sure I see what you’re seeing. Surely you had magefire lamps a thousand years ago.”

“Sir Fancy Pants? With all due respect, I set the moon and light the stars throughout the heavens. It will take more than a modern streetlight to impress me.” Luna pointed her hoof further down the street. “It is them.”

Following her hoof, Fancy spotted a trio of ponies further down the street. Two mares, an earth pony and pegasus, along with a unicorn stallion, were bundled up in trendy winter styles, strolling down the opposite sidewalk. It appeared that they had their sights set on a classy coffee bar.

“They walk the night, talking and laughing without a care in the world. A thousand years ago, they would be locked in their dwellings, too afraid to risk even a glance outside their windows after dusk. But now? Look at them, living in complete harmony with each other and the night,” she marveled at the normalcy of it all with a wide smile that shone brighter than the moon.

The stallion of the trio noticed the royal entourage with the princess beaming at them. He shoulder bumped the others to attention and all three locked eyes with Luna in surprise at the unexpected royal attention. Luna’s happiness waned, realizing she was still pointing at them. She drew her hoof back, hiding it behind her other leg in embarrassment.

After a few awkward moments, all three offered a quick bow. The pegasus was the first to break and continue onward at a healthy clip, glancing sidelong at the princess with a quiver of dread in her gait. Her fear was not lost on Luna. Fancy was used to ponies treating powerful ponies like the princess differently, but there was something more to her hasty retreat. Nopony should’ve been running away from Luna. Princess Celestia had seen personally to that.

The full details of events surrounding the Summer Sun Celebration were still a closely guarded state secret. Most knew that a band of heroic ponies found the Element of Harmony and saved Celestia’s long-lost sister from the clutches of a Nightmare Moon. Fancy was one of the few who had heard the real story of that darkness being purged from Luna, and only because Celestia had confided in him during one of their tea times.

A surprised yelp brought Fancy back to the present as the unicorn caught the fleeing pegasus by her tail with magic and slowly pulled her back. The other two were sharing conspiratorial snickers, while Luna silently stood by and watched the scene play out. While her face remained stoic, there was a strange sadness pervading it. A forlorn melancholy pulled at the corners of her mouth. At least until it was replaced by a profound confusion.

“C’mon, She’s right there!” the earth pony urged.

The pegasus’ eyes darted between her friends and Luna. “You don’t think I know that?”

“She probably sees a hundred ponies a day, what are the odds she’s gonna remember you?” the unicorn added, grossly overestimating the reclusive princess’ popularity.

“That’s not helpful!” the pegasus cried. “And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but frikin’ Fancy Pants is right next to her!”

“Just go for it, Lavender.”

With that, the fittingly named lavender pegasus was shoved under a nearby lamp with her friends spurring her on. She had Luna and Fancy’s rapt attention, whether she wanted it or not. The poor young mare was shaking in her wool boots under the makeshift spotlight. She gave one last pleading glance towards her friends, who simply motioned for her to get on with whatever it was. Finally she took a deep breath.

Luna opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by a swift flourish of the pegasus’ wings. Lavender twirled in a deep sweep while flaring her wings open to show their full span. She dipped low, catching loose snow on her wingtips and launching it in a swirling updraft. The flakes glistened like gemstones as she drifted up to meet them. With a flutter of her wings and brilliant eyes, she gently spun herself to the ground, letting the force blow her bobbed black and gray mane back, as she struck a sultry, sensual pose. Fancy swore her friend had cast a glittering aura in the lamplight overhead for dramatic effect.

After the show, Fancy didn’t know what to say. As for Luna, she’d frozen in place in utter confusion trying to figure out what in the name of her sister had just happened.

The magic of the moment passed into awkwardness with nopony saying a word. Lavender’s face flushed brighter and brighter until she couldn’t stand it and soared straight into the bar. Her friends offered one final bow before chasing her contrail, laughing the entire way. Luna watched them until they disappeared into the establishment. Then, she slowly turned back to Fancy, her wordless exasperation demanding an explanation.

“If I were to hazard a guess, I believe the young Lavender was flirting with you.” He sealed his lip with a simple smile. It was all he could hope to do to stop himself from bursting out laughing at Luna’s expense.

The princess pointed to herself, to Fancy, to the coffee bar, and back to herself, as if breaking apart the encounter moment by moment for further analysis. “Did… did we somehow misstep and falsely profess a desire for courtship? Is it not clear that you, Sir Fancy Pants, are our chaperone this evening?”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Luna,” Fancy assured, trying to put the princess’ antiquated perspective at ease. Luna’s face soured more; be it from embarrassment or something else, Fancy couldn’t quite tell. “To be fair, I might’ve thought the same in their horseshoes after being graced by that brilliant smile of yours.”

Luna acknowledged Fancy’s compliment with a sudden intake of air, but gave no real answer. She silently ushered Fancy forward as a commanding frown washed over her. Its stillness bore a similar stillness that Celestia’s serene smiles. Rather than press the issue, Fancy decided to go back to admiring the winter scenery and enjoying the lovely night until the princess was ready to reemerge from her shell.

While the rest of the walk was quiet, it wasn’t a strained affair. The journey had given Luna enough time to calm down and let her stern front slip away. The embarrassment had quickly become a distant memory as they encountered more and more ponies out and about in the evening, her evening. Passing bows were given, with a braver few even exchanging a greeting. The bravest of all though were a couple of foals who tossed a snowball at her. Luna enjoyed the latter the most, sparing a few minutes to join in the fun before they wrapped up their playtime in the yard. The last thing their parents had expected was to see the Princess of the Moon herself asking if they had a spare scarf for the snowmare they built together.

Fancy checked his pocket watch, surprised that an hour and a half had passed like no time at all. He looked around the streets of one of the many commercial areas of the middle district, looking for the tell-tale sign of their unique dinner destination. Finally, he spotted it amid a row of storefronts. Jutting slightly out from the Canterlotian marbled walls was an enormous, stone slab. Fortunately for Fancy, they were already open. While the enchanted railing prevented it from ripping the walls off, it didn’t make it any lighter.

“‘Labyrinthiyum?’” Luna read aloud from the sign above the stonework.

“The stress is on the, ‘yum.’ Admittedly, not the cleverest of names, but this humble establishment serves the best, authentic Minoan cuisine you’ll find in Canterlot. This place is actually a personal favorite of mine.”

Luna maintained her quizzical gaze as she joined Fancy at the open doors. “You are aware minotaurs eat meat, correct?”

“As do griffons, dragons, and a great many other creatures I’ve had the pleasure of meeting over the years. I can assure you that nothing of the sort is served here.”

“Then how can it be authentic?” she asked warily.

“I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise,” Fancy said with a wink. He offered a hoof to the princess and smiled. “Just trust me, Luna.”

She stepped forward to peer further inside. Almost immediately beyond the entrance was a cobblestone stairway descending into the ground. The path was lit by dim torchlights mounted on polished stone walls, an aesthetic which mirrored the winding halls of Minossos. Luna tilted her head to see the staircase ended several feet below the street level at a doorway on the left. She took a step back and turned back to give Fancy Pants one last concerned look.

“Would you prefer to go to Restaurant Row for something a bit more familiar?”

“Neigh. We deferred the evening’s choice to you, and while we are both appreciative and surprised by this deviation from the norm—” Luna winced and quickly turned to obscure herself behind her mane— “it is more that the last minotaur we met was at the end of our blade.”

Unless the princess’ nightly business was far more intense than the royals let on, Fancy chalked that probably unfortunate encounter up to Luna’s ancient and forgotten history. “Miss Athena is far more interested in serving food.”

“Athena? Quite a powerful name for someone you claim to be harmless.”

“I never said she was harmless. Athena is a minotaur after all. But, I think it’s best I let you see for yourself. Shall we?”

After a moment, she nodded and gave her hoof in kind. “Very well.”

Fancy took point down the staircase, the lunar guard following closely with curious looks of their own. The staircase ended in a short hallway with ceilings high enough to fit a full-grown alicorn comfortably. Decorative vines covered the walls along with several Minoan pots with silk ficus trees dotting the welcome area. The cobblestones under their hooves yielded to a colorful mosaic floor as they walked into the restaurant proper.

Despite what the imposing entrance made first-timers believe, the Labyrinthiyum was a small establishment. Just four booths and five tables spanned the dining area with six stools offering bar seating with a low lying partition separating the counter and the kitchen. The mosaic floor appeared to be made from various polished stones, but a thick line of crushed lapis lazuli weaved a pathway past the wall of booths and between the tables in a winding, unicursal maze ending in the center of the dining area.

“Why don’t you find a place to sit while I locate our hostess for the evening?” Fancy excused himself, leaving the princess looking with conflicted interest between the booths and the bar. The lunar guards made themselves comfortable next to the faux-ficuses at the entryway.

Fancy trotted over to the entrance of the kitchen and politely knocked on the half door. “Hello? Miss Athena? Are you back there?”

“J-just a minute!” a robust, yet airy voice called from the kitchen corner. Several trudging thumps later, Athena cautiously poked her head out from the storage cellar, but then brightened when she saw the familiar stallion. “Fancy Pants!” The powerful minotaur ducked through the door and charged on her soft, rabbit-like feet towards her friend, her floppy ears bouncing all the way.

To say Athena was massive would be an understatement. She was far and away the largest minotaur Fancy had ever seen, a rarity made even rarer considering most goat-minotaurs were half her size. Even as she hunched over to greet him, she stood a head taller than Princess Celestia. Her rippling muscles were barely hidden by her pristine white fur, which spoke to her absolute devotion to cleanliness. Her long, silvery hair was tied tightly in a thick braid that ran down her back that sat in a hair net, ensuring no single errant follicle brushed against the food. A pair of polished horns adorned with two golden rings jutted from her head, adding to her sky-scraping height. Ivy-green and brown uniform with an apron bearing her restaurant's logo: two marble columns lining the sides of a stone slab, depicting the imposing doorway with the tagline, ‘Labyrinthiyum: Get Lost in the Flavor.’

“Good evening, Miss Athena. I hope you will pardon the intrusion.” Fancy Pants bowed as the large minotaur approached with her massive arms open wide. Knowing what was coming next, he braced for impact.

“Oh, it is so good to see you again!” Athena lifted the large stallion effortlessly, wrapping him in a bone-crushing hug. He winced as his back popped in several places he’d forgotten he had. She pulled back, or rather held him in front of her as she puffed out her cheeks. “It feels like ages since you were last here. For a pony, you’re certainly not being very friendly.”

Fancy Pants chuckled weakly to himself. “I apologize, Miss Athena. I should make more time to visit. But, if you would be so kind as to put me down first?” He looked down and wiggled his hind legs towards the floor a couple feet below, reminding Athena that she was treating him more like a pet than a pony again.

Athena’s pout deflated as she realized what she was doing. She promptly placed Fancy Pants on the floor, meekly looking away as she rubbed her forearm as if she was trying to erase the muscles underneath. “Okay, excitement’s over.”

A more genuine laugh escaped the stallion. Under all of that bulk was a meek little bunny trying her best to hide. “There’s no need for that. It is good to see you again.” He shifted his shoulders subtly, popping his back into alignment with a quiet grunt of relief. “I have a new friend I want to introduce to the Labyrithiyum.”

“A new friend?” The knowing hostess crossed her arms. “You know, your definition of friend is never good for my blood pressure,” she complained with a huff. After a moment she sighed in defeat. “Okay, who is it? Griffonstone dignitary? Saddle Arabian sword swallowers?”

She quietly trudged over to the saloon door separating the kitchen from the seating area and looked out. Seeing nothing, leaned further out and poked her head around to the bar, nearly brushing an aethereal, starlit mane with her muzzle. Pulling away, she balked seeing the Princess of the Night sitting on a bar stool.

“We bid good evening to thee, fair...” Luna paused her greeting, running her eyes up and down Athena’s remarkably maintained fur, “...fluffy minotaur?” She pulled back her ethereal mane to reveal her full, immortal self.

Athena’s voice rose higher and higher into a tiny, frail cry. barely audible to pony ears as she slowly retreated backwards behind the kitchen doors

Fancy tilted his head in concern. “Miss Athen-AH!”

Athena tucked Fancy Pants under her arm like a hoofball and made a beeline for the storage cellar, leaving the very confused princess behind. Once they were safely inside, she slammed the door behind them and plopped Fancy on the ground.

“Athena!” Fancy shouted as he shakily put his monocle back on. “What in blazes are you doing?”

Athena jumped and did her best to hide behind a wine cask. She frantically pulled at her horns as she tried to make herself as small as possible. “You promised! You promised you’d never bring a princess!”

“‘The princess,’ I believe, was the wording, as in Princess Celestia. Before Princess Mi Amore Cadenza ascended or Princess Luna returned.”

“I thought you'd apply that to any princess!” she whined. “You said you were done with all this ambassador stuff!”

“That chapter of my life remains closed, I assure you. And I could’ve taken her anywhere, but I wholeheartedly believe this is the best place in all of Canterlot for her tonight.”

Athena’s pale blue eyes glistened with the temerity of a fragile puppy, but Fancy stood his ground. Her cute, sensitive exterior was only undermined by the fact he had seen her pile drive a very drunk and enraged Griffon soldier making a mess of her bar. Fancy knew she didn’t like surprise guests, but this was far more temerity than she’d ever shown. Finally, he relented and sighed, shaking his head. Nothing could be easy today.

“I do apologize for unintentionally breaking my promise, but I honestly never expected you to be so adamantly against it. I thought you were only frightened by Princess Celestia for whatever reason.”

“Of course I’d be scared!” Athena fidgeted with her fingers, trying to exercise the nerves out of her system “You know I serve meat dishes here, Fancy.”

“Meat substitute, Athena.” Fancy’s patience was wearing thin with the chef.

“Same difference!” she snapped back. “You could’ve at least brought her for the pony luncheon menu. If she’s here now, she might see the… other one.”

“If the selection was going to be a problem for ponies, I wouldn’t have helped you open a restaurant here in Canterlot in the first place.”

“I know, but this is totally different! She’s a princess and, I dunno…” the minotaur’s voice trailed into a pitiable whimper. “What if she thinks I’m grilling ponies like some kind of monster?”

Fancy Pant’s brow furrowed. “If you’re worried about that, the most offensive thing you’ve done to a princess so far is running away the moment you saw her.”

Athena flinched and curled even tighter at that cutting rebuke. However, Fancy wasn’t done. He trotted closer to the huddled minotaur and narrowed his gaze to meet her eye-to-eye on his level.

“Moreover, you’ve also greatly offended this pony, right here, by insinuating a good friend of mine is a monster!” He accented his point with a bitter stamp of his hoof.

Athena covered her mouth with both of her hands. “B-but I never called the princess a monster!”

Fancy kept pointing at her and it took another moment before the chosen direction of his ire dawned on her. “Now, I believe you owe somepony, and someone, in this establishment an apology.”

Athena bit her lip and her eyes fell away in shame. “Sorry, Fancy Pants. And thanks.” She smiled softly and righted herself from the ground, brushing her pants off. “I hope the princess is not too mad.”

“I don’t imagine she will be at all. If anything, you might find you have more in common with Princess Luna than you think.”

Athena tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll find out once you get to know her. On that note, let’s not keep her highness waiting.”

Fancy trotted out of the backroom with his friend in tow. Athena did her best, but she was still pulling at her arm, trying to fight her desire to run away. Stepping through the doors, Luna snapped back to attention from leaning over the bar, plastering an unreadable frown across her face. Her eyes pierced through Fancy Pants, exuding an indomitable, almost callous aura built over centuries of stalwart rule. While the aloofness was a little disconcerting, Celestia’s smiles were far more difficult to decipher. A frown always pressured and deflected with an assumed strength from the silence, but a smile could disarm while never revealing its true intentions.

“Sir Fancy Pants, we have considered your previous offer, and perhaps we should dine elsewhere this night,” Luna declared to the two. “It would appear the memory of Ragnar the Obvious still lives among the Minoans.”

“Who?” Athena asked quietly.

Fancy stepped between them. “Luna, please. I think there has been a misunderstanding.”

“Do not try to obfuscate a truth to which we witnessed with our eyes!” Fancy Pants and Athena winced at the princess’ accusatory volume that was teetering on yelling. Luna slammed a powerful hoof on the bar. “We do not wish to further frighten the cute, fluffy one!”

“C-cute?” Athena nearly froze at the unexpected compliment, but shook it off seeing Luna turn away. “Wait! I’m not… well I wasn’t really scared of you, your highness.”

“We know very well whom you fear,” Luna muttered from under her crestfallen mane.

“Oh no, you heard that?” Athena gasped, covering her mouth with her hand in shock.

Princess Luna bit her lip. “It is clear as day.”

“Luna…” Fancy started to say, but he wasn’t sure if there was anything that wouldn’t further upset the princess.

“I’m sorry that I’m scared of princesses!” Athena cried while pulling at her horns.

Luna’s ear flicked and her head popped up. “Did you say princesses?”

Athena threw herself at the mercy of the lunar diarch, bending down on her knees pleading. Her sudden movement caused the guards by the door to rush to Luna’s side. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I like living in Equestria! Please, give me another chance! I don’t want to go back to Minossos!”

“You.” Luna thrust her leg out, stopping their charge while silently ordering them to lower their wing-blades. “Are you not frightened by Nightmare Moon?”

“Isn’t that the pony from those stories that steals candy on Nightmare Night?”

Luna caught herself before she divulged anything more and simply nodded.

“No. She’d probably…” Her words died as she looked over her shoulder to Fancy Pants, who simply nodded reassuringly. With a sigh, she grabbed her arm and looked away from the princess. “She’d probably be one of my best customers if she actually eats kids.”

Fancy Pants mentally smacked his forehead at Athena’s poor word choice. Before Luna could ask, he took a menu from the bar and flipped through it. Not seeing his quarry, he sighed and returned it to the holder while grabbing the other from the kitchen. He scanned the selections, passing by gyros and salads until he ran into the “Authentic Style” offerings.

“I will say it again: I firmly believe there has been a misunderstanding.” Fancy hovered the menu in front of Luna which she took with her hooves.

Athena stood back up, nervously wringing her hands as the princess looked over the selection of various meat analogue dishes. Each was specially prepared, making use of carefully curated fungi and legumes in the shape of patties and steaks for the more carnivorous visitors to Canterlot. Fancy had never dared to try actual meat, but according to the various carnivores he brought to the Labyrithyum, it was as close as anyone could get in Equestria.

Luna quickly closed the menu and stood up from her seat, but curiously kept the page bookmarked with her magic. She took a trot around the restaurant, peering around partitions as if she was searching for something. Fancy looked back to Athena, who appeared to be on the verge of an anxiety attack as the princess sat back down at the bar. Luna gave one last look to her guards and nodded towards them. They saluted and exited the restaurant. A few moments later, the loud thud of a slab sliding closed boomed from the top of the stairs.

With their privacy assured, the princess cleared her throat. Her eyes darted between the menu and Fancy Pants, brimming with conflict as she wrestled with something in her mind. Finally, she took a calming breath through her nose and opened the menu back to the authentic offerings.

“We… I think I am ready to order.”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 6: Wrong or Right

There was a primal fear that rested within the hearts of ponies around carnivorous creatures. It was easy enough to live in harmony with them, but sharing the same table was a learned resilience. Fancy Pants had long since developed the tolerance to seeing slabs of muscle, bone, and sinew, like any Equestrian diplomat worth their salt would need to. After all, one of the best ways to get to know another was to share a meal. It was just a matter of consistent exposure. Claws for ripping, talos for tearing, and of course...

“One full-sized dakos salad for you, Fancy Pants.” Athena placed the plate in front of Fancy next to his glass of wine. “And, umm… the Minoan porter steak-styled nut roast with a side salad for Princess Luna.”

“Thank you, Miss Athena,” Luna replied with slight discomfort as the sizzling meal was placed in front of her. Though her face may have been focused on the meal before her, her eyes were trained upon Fancy Pants.

The restaurant fell silent, save the juices bubbling on the hot cast iron plate. A pop of magic sounded, a small, U-shaped container appearing next to the princess. She clicked it open, revealing something more often seen on Nightmare Night: two molded sets of sharp upper and lower row teeth. With practiced movement, the princess turned her head away from everyone as she opened her mouth. A second and flash of magic later, the princess turned back to her meal. She sighed and looked down with shame for a brief moment before looking up at the minotaur.

“Would you happen to have Gruff Griff steak sauce?” Luna asked with an embarrassing grin.

… fangs for feasting.

Princess Luna had fangs. Not a small pair of nocturne fruit cuspids, not silly vampony costume teeth, but genuine fangs. He’d seen mouths full of sharp teeth while sharing dinner with different creatures the world over. They’d almost look natural if they weren’t inside of a pony’s mouth.

“It is a side-effect,” Luna whispered and lowered her head in shame. “Just one of many for giving into darkness.”

“My apologies, your highness. I didn't mean to...”

“It’s Luna!” She corrected sharply. “Please. Call me Luna. Please…”

“O-of course, Luna. It was just unexpected.”

Fancy mentally kicked himself for his tactlessness. He’d dined in the halls of Griffonstone where they ate live insects and barely cooked meats. Luna was just a pony with different needs. If he could hold a conversation with Grisham Blackfeather while he slurped centipedes, a princess with pointy teeth should be no problem.

“They’re omnivorous,” Luna admitted with a wistful smile that showed the full extent of her canines and incisors. The teeth further back became more familiar molars, though they were still sharper than normal. “As chance would have it, their bite is akin to that of a minotaur. Part of me wondered if you knew about my diet given your chosen venue.”

Fanch shook his head. “No. I had no clue that you ate meat.”

“I fully abstained from eating such things, but… I still have cravings.”

So many questions popped into Fancy’s mind about Nightmare Moon, and none of them were appropriate for polite conversation. Everypony had something in their past that they’d rather not talk about. The last thing Luna needed was to be asked questions about the darkest time in her life. It no longer mattered. He instead took another bite of his salad to recollect his thoughts.

“Some sins are not so easily wiped away,” she answered simply to sate his unspoken curiosity.

Luckily, Athena returned with a glass bottle of brownish-red sauce. Luna thanked her and began dousing her definitely-not-meat nut roast in it. She took her knife and carved a large, fleshy hunk off the side and bit down. Athena watched with equal parts anticipation and distress seeing the princess slowly chew the closest thing she had to actual meat on the menu. After savoring its flavor, Luna swallowed and sighed with apprehensive content.

“Your reputation was not overstated, Miss Athena. This is the most authentic Minoan cuisine I’ve had since coming to Canterlot. Not even the castle chefs can match this delicious flavor,” she said while she cut into the roast again to take another bite. “Not that I’d dare ask them to do so.”

“Well then, I guess I was worrying over nothing, huh?” Athena said bashfully while scratching the back of her head. “For a second there, I thought you were ordering it to test it for… well, you know.”

“Fear not, Fair Athena. I taste no pony in this,” Luna stated matter-of-factly.

“Oh! Well that’s good to…” Athena’s words died on her lips as her mind caught up to what the mare’s confidence really meant. Regardless if Luna was a joke or not, the assurance had backfired spectacularly. She quickly walked away to the sink and began washing anything in arm’s length.

Luna bit her lip, nearly drawing blood. “It appears it is impossible for us to not frighten the fluffy one.”

Fancy resisted the urge to slam his head on the table. Princess Celestia’s suggestion to “take the night off” was proving to be anything but relaxing. Despite the setbacks, he was determined to see his duty fulfilled. Fancy felt in his core that the Labyrithiyum was the right restaurant for their dinner. He wasn’t about to let the out-of-time princess’ social awkwardness by the death of the evening.

“Now, now. No need for such negativity, Luna.” He chomped down loudly on a piece of toasted bread, showing that he hadn’t lost his appetite. “She’s always been more jumpy around dinnertime due to the carnivorous clientele.”

Luna picked at the edges of her roast with her fork.

“The Labyrinthiyum is more of a brunch spot for ponies,” Fancy remarked between bites. “It’s rarely busy around this time, but she still opens back up for dinner to serve some of the less Equestrian creatures around Canterlot. I know the Griffon Express couriers are thankful for it, even though they can be a little belligerent at times.”

Luna nodded in agreement with another savory bite of her roast.

"Despite being quite a sensitive soul herself, not many ponies are interested in making friends with Athena. She doesn’t quite fit the brusque mold of Minossos either, so she’s a bit of an outcast in either place.”

The princess' ears drooped a little and she stopped chewing.

“I’m sure she’d love to make more friends, but I’m sure you know that ponies can be more than a little skittish around those who are different from them.”

Luna nodded in understanding and began chewing again, albeit a bit more slowly.

“You know, despite her complaining about the company I bring, she has always been willing to tend the bar for guests after hours. She’ll even keep it open all night if enough creatures show up. She’s an incredibly generous hostess once you get to know her.”

"Such tireless work must be exhausting for a day-dweller,” Luna whispered knowingly. She glanced up and watched Athena scrub her cookware with her back turned to them. Her eyes drifted higher, taking in the restaurant around them. “Despite its high ceilings, this establishment is not particularly large.

Fancy nodded. “You could sit maybe thirty ponies in here. Maybe a few more if you packed them tightly. A rather easy maze to navigate.”

“And she works here alone, correct?”

“Unless something has changed, yes. You’d be surprised by how well Athena can manage the kitchen and the dining area on her own. It probably helps that she can carry a buffet’s worth of food by herself.”

“And you said that most nights are this empty?”

“There are a few exceptions, but this looks about right for most evenings that I’ve visited.”

Luna sucked in her lips as she speared a cherry tomato with her fork. She brought the lone vegetable to her mouth and bit down. Her mouth barely moved as she chewed slowly and methodically with a vacant stare. Eventually she stopped chewing altogether, not even swallowing what was in her mouth. She just sat, staring and thinking.

Finally, Luna forced herself to swallow. “Do you happen to know how many patrons would be required for her to remain open later at night?”

Fancy hummed and tapped his chin in thought. “Let’s see. If my math is correct…” He held up his hoof to count. “I believe only one, if they’re a friend.”

A ghost of a smile tugged on Luna’s lips. “You have spent far too much time around my sister, Sir Fancy Pants.”

Fancy returned with a smirk of his own. “You know, I find the ‘Sir’ to be a bit excessive these days. Just Fancy, or Fancy Pants would do, if it pleases you, Luna.”

“Of course, Fancy.” The remnants of her shell fell away as a sweet, fang-filled smile brighter than the moon crossed her face. “Nothing would please me more.”

“Wonderful. And, if you don’t mind me saying, your joy shines as brilliantly as ever, without or without the canines. I would never have thought they were fake.”

Luna snapped her mouth shut with a subtle blush, backing away from Fancy. “That is because they are and they aren’t, in a manner of speaking. Magically manipulating any part of your body can cause permanent deformities if you forget their original shape. And since using purely magical teeth is akin to chewing with a mouth filled with aethereal blades, I made these retainers. They allow me to easily polymorph my teeth simply by activating their enchantment sigil with my tongue without worrying about reshaping them myself."

Fancy nodded, not expecting to hear a spellcraft explanation after hazarding a compliment. Still, if the princess was worried about what he thought about her needs, she wasn’t showing it. With that proverbial elephant addressed and put to bed, another push was in order.

“What will you be eating this evening, Athena?”

The minotaur tensed up for a moment before turning to her customers. “Umm… I have a few extra sandwiches from no-shows at a lunch party earlier that I was gonna snack on. Why?”

“Would you care to join us?” Fancy asked with a warm smile. “I don’t think the guards will be allowing anypony else in while the princess is eating, and we would love for you to join us. There’s so much for us to catch up on.”

Athena shot a glance between Luna and Fancy, weighing her nerves against the request. “When you put it like that, how can I say no?”

The minotaur ran to the back, giving Luna a second to shoot a disapproving frown at Fancy for trapping the poor cook. A few moments later, their hostess returned carrying a large variety platter of triangular sandwiches with assorted fillings. She returned to her station behind the bar and set her meal tray off to the side. Getting more comfortable, she leaned on the other side, resting an arm against the prep area while grabbing a crispy haybacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich to munch on. Fancy raised an eyebrow, motioning towards a perfectly capable barstool next to him.

“What? Just because I’m eating too doesn’t mean I’m not gonna stop serving you two.” She reached over to the wine bottle between the two ponies and topped their glasses for them.

“Thank you, Miss Athena,” Luna said gratefully.

Athena chuckled. “Of course, your highness. I’ve already been rude enough to you for one night. Sorry about that.”

The princess sucked in her lips, unsure of what to say.

“How has the Labyrithiyum been doing, by the way?” Fancy asked quickly before another silence could set in.

“Come to think of it, I’ve actually been really busy lately,” Athena remarked with some surprise in her voice. “I almost considered hiring help since I’m a few ponies shy of a proper lunch rush now, but it’s probably just a temporary thing. The world’s been going crazy recently. Everypony’s got post-wedding jitters.”

Athena pulled a flier from under the bar and placed it between her guests. It was covered top to bottom with disaster preparedness information from the Canterlot Royal Guard. There were emergency situation procedures, disaster preparedness, and other helpful tips to survive disaster ranging from landslides to foreign invasions. Athena pointed to a map towards the bottom with markers placed all around the city. Fancy recognized the section of the city the tip of her finger was resting on as the Labyrinthiyum.

“While I was hoping they’d be coming for the food, I guess there’s a little reassurance that comes with eating somewhere that seconds as a shelter-in-place.”

Fancy looked over the flier once more and pondered the restaurant for a moment. He couldn’t argue that the sudden influx might be temporary, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a good opportunity for Athena to put her best foot forward. “While you might be right, it doesn’t mean you can’t use this as a good launching point. I think you should consider hiring somepony to help you out.”

Athena hummed to herself in thought as she flicked her ear with a finger. “I don’t know, Fancy. It’s not that I don’t trust your judgment—Hades knows it’d be a mistake not to—but the uptick is nothing that I can’t handle on my own. And please don’t tell me it’s because you think crises are going to keep happening. I like my life when it’s not being put at risk by weird dragon-chicken-whatever things or shapeshifters.”

Fancy wasn’t sure how to answer. Something was nagging him, but he couldn’t quite pin the details down. He closed his eyes and pondered the question: Should Athena hire some staff for the restaurant? No. That wasn’t the right question.

How would hiring somepony improve the restaurant? Closer…

What would change about the restaurant if Athena hired somepony?

A vision of the Labyrinthiyum at lunchtime thrust itself into Fancy’s mind. Ponies and griffons alike were enjoying their meals together as a pony waitress took the order of a nearby table. Meanwhile, Athena was finishing placing several orders for another table. Instead of walking away as she usually did to get started on the orders, she bent down to visit with her guests; talking, listening, and laughing with them.

Fancy’s eyes shot open and he turned to the curious minotaur. “You’re correct. The Labyrinthyum’s workload is just fine with you working as you are now. However, hiring a few additional hooves would allow you to socialize more with your guests, maybe even allowing you to make friends with your regulars.”

Athena drummed her fingers on the countertop. “But wouldn’t it be better to just have the ponies work the floor while I make the food?”

“Don’t look at it in terms of increasing productivity, rather focus on the opportunity for some public relations. You are such a joy, Athena. You should share it as much as you can.”

Athena blinked in disbelief at the suggestion. “You really think that about me?”

“You’ve always been an exceptional listener, Athena. I’m sure you’ll be able to speak to the hearts of anypony or anyone who comes through your doors.”

Athena glowed as she melted in glee from the compliment. She couldn’t help but grin from ear to floppy ear with an endearing, bashful smile. “I’ll think about it.”

Her infectious joy brought a smile to Fancy’s face. “If you need a little financial assistance, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m sure I could spare a few bits as an investment in helping you grow. I’m quite certain you’re worth it.”

“I couldn’t! You’ve already done so much for me,” Athena admitted with a hearty laugh. “But thank you so much. You really know how to make everyone happy, Mister Kingmaker.”

Another elephant down. Now he just needed to somehow serve as a bridge for Luna and Athena to connect. They were both lonely creatures who locked themselves away from the rest of Canterlot. If they could still feel out of place together, perhaps they’d both come out of their shells. Fancy turned back to the princess to bring her into the conversation, but lost his words seeing her eyes locked onto his flank.

“Fascinating,” Luna mused aloud as she leaned closer to his cutie mark.

Fancy blushed slightly from the rapt attention applied his rear end had garnered, but his friend’s firm gaze was far too analytical to mean anything untoward. Apparently, Athena’s interest had been piqued by the princess’ study of Fancy’s posterior.

“I see why my sister keeps you close,” Luna said with sly confidence. “You have a very powerful gift, Fancy Pants.”

“Why, thank you, Luna.” Fancy straightened up and held his nose high. “I’ve always had a knack for good judgment and an eye for success. It’s why I’m called the ‘Kingmaker of Canterlot,’” he bragged before winking his fake pride away.

“I see. So it is a talent for fortuitous prognostication or perhaps even limited foresight?” She mused aloud. “Either way, you would have been known as a ‘fateweaver’ a thousand years ago.”

The unknown term gave Fancy Pants some pause.

“Sounds kinda serious,” Athena added with a hint of worry.

"It can be. Visions of the future can become quite maddening if they are intense and recurring,” Luna warned as she shot a spell in the air. The sparkes rose and expanded into a cloud showing a light green void. “Because they often draw power from the Dreamscape, I have often worked closely with ponies of such caliber to hone their abilities lest they be consumed by them.”

The cloud grew in size as a pony appeared inside along with Luna. While Fancy had never met the unicorn, he recognized the well-worn cape and cowl from the annual Hearth’s Warming Eve pageants.

“Clover the Clever was one such gifted pony whose foresight helped bring about the unification of the three tribes. Be it simply a matter of seeing different perspectives or truly glimpsing potential futures, such talent tends to be the hoof that guides the quill of history rather than writing its pages.”

“Are you saying Fancy can see the future?” Athena pressed on the sides of her face with her hands as she balked at imagery. “For Styx sake! What is with you ponies and your crazy cutie mark magic? Why’d you never tell me?”

Fancy Pants didn’t answer. He didn’t have one. He’d always thought he was just good at imaging potential scenarios. The last thing he expected was to hear he was looking into the future.

“Fancy Pants? Did you not know?” Luna asked worriedly.

The question snapped him back to reality. “Oh! Well, no. I…”

Fancy paused again as he tried to gather his thoughts, but was distracted by the familiar humming of magic. He looked to see what Luna was casting, but her horn wasn’t lit. He looked up to his own horn to see that it was him, but he didn’t know what he was casting. He refocused his magic only to realize he was wiping his monocle with his polishing cloth just to his side.

“Sorry. Lost my head for a second there.” Fancy cleared his throat and donned his eyepiece again. “What I meant to say was that I’ve never believed in something like destiny. I thought I was simply optimizing outcomes. To say I was seeing the future… it’s honestly a little jarring.”

“There is no destiny until it is written into our past,” Luna assured him. “Each choice helps shape what our futures will be, though not every decision is of consequence. Some may change the course of our world, while others determine what you will have for breakfast.”

Fancy nodded along, but a needling unease still weighed upon him. He’d always thought he was choosing the best of the options presented, not reading the future.

“Take heart, Fancy Pants. You are not so important that fate rests at your hooves. Soothsayers are rarely the heroes of stories.”

“I suppose you’re right about that one. Thank you, Luna.” Fancy’s eyes drifted back down to Luna’s plate. “I don’t need to be a fortune teller to say you should probably finish your roast before it gets cold.”

“Oh heavens! Apologies, noble chef. We nearly forgot we were eating!” The princess returned to her neglected steak and dug into it with gusto.

“I don’t know about noble—I mean, I could always heat that up for you again if you want me to, Princess Luna,” Athena offered, but Luna shook her head as she swallowed another mouthful.

“Yes, but I think I would prefer your company, Miss Athena,” Luna replied before taking another savory bite. She didn’t bother to finish her current mouthful before adding, “And please, call me Luna.”

Athena snickered at the lack of table manners ill-befitting of a princess. “Alright, but do the same for me. Athena’s not even my last name.”

“Of course. We’re… all friends here. Right?” Luna said with hopeful trepidation.

The minotaur righted herself and confidently stood to her full height. The way she kept rising higher and higher jolted the alicorn from hunching over her plate. Athena punched her fist into her other palm and grinned widely.

“Not until you’ve had a sweet slice of Athena Cypriel’s Traditional galaktoboureko!”

The clock struck nine as the trio continued to enjoy each other’s company. After christening their new friendship over a piece of Minoan custard pie, Athena opened the bar properly. Wine flowed like water as the ponies sampled several selections for Athena’s homeland. The minotaur had taken a couple glasses herself at the princess’ insistence. She wanted this night to be enjoyable for all.

Fancy was starting to feel a mild buzz from his sixth glass while Luna had loosened up considerably after imbibing far more. He attributed it more to the spirit of friendship sprouting between the two rather than the spirits they were liberally drinking. Princess Celestia made quick work of dense desserts at tea time without gaining a pound, so it was safe to assume alicorns held their liquor better as well.

Either way, the two were bonding, and Fancy couldn’t be more satisfied with the results. Luna still struggled every-so-often with modern vernacular, dipping into royal we’s and antiquated speech when she was nervous, but it made her earnest attempts all the more endearing. Meanwhile, Athena opened up about herself far more than he’d ever seen besides himself. The two were enjoying each other’s company so much that Fancy decided to sit back and let them take the reins in their conversation.

“So that’s when I decided, with a little help from Fancy, that I’d try to open up a restaurant here in Canterlot,” Athena said, wrapping up her restaurant's origins. “I just can’t stand the thought of killing something else for food.”

“And I, for one, am glad you decided to move,” Luna added. A wry smile crept across her face as she rose a hoof to her chin in thought. “Still, are we not slaying thousands of plants and fungi for our daily consumption?”

Athena laughed at first but then stopped as she pondered more deeply, shuddering at the thought. Luna immediately recognized she must’ve made another error with her joke and scrambled to her hooves to rectify it.

“T’was merely a jest! The land gives her bounty readily so we may spread her seeds in kind!” she sputtered quickly, waving her hooves trying to calm Athena down. A snicker from the minotaur broke any illusion of misunderstanding. “Oh, you are terrible!” Luna jabbed a hoof at Athena’s arm.

Both laughed together in harmony as Fancy Pants simply smiled from behind his sip of wine. Athena’s laughter broke into a yawn she couldn’t quite cover up. Luna gave a knowing, rueful smile.

“It is getting late, Athena. Would you like to go to sleep?” the princess asked.

“I’d be lying if the thought hadn’t crossed my mind. I did kinda wake up early to prep for that lunch party, but I’ll be fine,” she assured her guests while stretching her powerful arms to get the blood flowing again.

Luna’s mouth remained closed, but her lips bulged slightly as she ran her tongue along the front of her teeth from one side to the other. A pop of magic sounded and she politely turned away to extract her polymorph retainer from her mouth and place them in their container.

“It would be derelict of my sworn duty if I kept you awake for my benefit,” Luna said with a peaceful grin of normal pony teeth. “I am most grateful for the time we have spent together this evening. Though, I had expected something far different from what my sister had described ‘the nightlife’ to be, but it has been most enjoyable, indeed.”

Athena tilted her head in confusion. “Nightlife? You call a quiet lonely bar in tucked in the corner of the city ‘the nightlife?’”

“Is this not?”

“Well, it is ‘a nightlife’ of sorts,” Fancy Pants answered, finally deeming it time to reenter the ladies’ conversation.

“I guess?” Athena asked with doubt of Fancy’s definition. “What did Princess Celestia say it’d be like?”

“She spoke of a swirling sea of ponies sparkling among innumerable lights like the bands of the galaxy,” Luna said excitedly.

“Oh, like the Grand Galloping Gala,” Fancy Pants said with a nod.

“And there are shows that pulse like colorful quasars and loud music that, as the youths put it, ‘dropped bases.’ Admittedly, I didn’t quite understand the last one.”

Athena couldn’t help but laugh at the cute naïvety of Luna’s storybook description. “You’re looking for a night on The Drive then, Princess.”

“The Drive?”

“Dressage Drive,” Fancy clarified with a modicum of surprise. “When Celestia asked me to accompany you, I was not expecting she had that place in mind.”

“Why not? From what I’ve learned, Dressage is quite a respected, if not a little subdued, form of ballroom dancing. If I am honest, I am not partial to it. The movements are so stifling and the dress is so constricting.” Luna ruffled her wings at the phantom corsets mares were expected to wear.

“That would’ve been the case a hundred and fifty years ago, but as more ponies moved into Canterlot, the nobility wanted a clearer distinction between them and common ponies.”

Luna huffed at the familiar needless entitlement, but waited to hear more.

“So they moved to the upper levels and established the Theater District which is a short trot away from the castle gates. The other ponies moved in and began building their own places that are a bit more down to earth. These days, the Drive is a popular street lined with an array of nighttime establishments. It can get so loud that there is an active noise dampening field generated by the magelamps lining the streets.”

“What are we waiting for? This place sounds fun!”

Fancy hesitated, trying to find the right words. “It’s not a place I would call princess-friendly.”

“Meaning?” Luna asked flatly.

“One goes to the Drive to escape into the night and, for lack of a better word, get away from authority,” Fancy answered, clarifying his meaning by tapping a hoof on his forehead where the princess’ tiara rested on hers.

“You are suggesting that we—that I would not be welcome at one of these nightclubs as a Princess of the Night?” Luna guessed as her features fell.

“To be fair, I would be out of place as well at most of the Drive’s establishments as well. It has been a long time since I went there at night.”

“I see.” Luna frown sank in further disappointment.

Fancy hated being the killjoy. Perhaps he could organize a party at the castle for Luna that would fulfill her visions of nighttime Canterlot. Sure, the nobles might object, but the Royal Wedding had been a more laid back occasion with such festivities. He just needed to find—

“If that is the case, then all the more reason to show we are proficient in all nighttime activities to show we are the Princess of the Nightlife as well!”

His train of thought derailed violently and careened into the mountainside in his mind. “I beg your pardon?”

“Thank you so much, my new friend. I will be sure to return to partake in wonderful food and conversation, Athena Cypriel,” Luna said as she grabbed the nearly empty wine bottle and her wine glass with magic.

“Come by anytime, Luna.” Athena smiled and began cleaning up the bar. “When I’m open, that is,” she amended, remembering Luna’s nocturnal schedule.

“I will be sure to send word so I do not catch you unawares.” Luna then whistled for her guards and emptied the remainder of the wine bottle into her glass. She downed the wine quickly as the familiar sound of a large stone slab opening reverberated from the staircase.

“Please see to it that Miss Cypriel is properly compensated for the lovely food and drink this evening,” Luna ordered as she placed a bag of bits at the same time her sentries arrived. “The night is young and we must be off to partake in its wonders!”

At once, Princess Luna whisked Fancy away in a flash of magic from his chair at the bar. He nearly collapsed as they reappeared on the street outside of the restaurant, not expecting to be standing. Luna caught him before he fell and righted him straight on his hooves.

“Now, Fancy. Please lead us to this Drive so the evening’s fun may be doubled!”

On second thought, maybe Princess Celestia didn’t drink.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 7: Move for Me

“Sir Fancy Pants?”

“Yes, Luna?”

“We wish to retract our previous statement of being unimpressed.”

True to his word, and against his better judgment, Fancy Pants had escorted the Princess of the Night to Dressage Drive. Before them was an easily missed, lone, covered street in the Lower Quarter of Canterlot. Proper Canterlot ponies considered it a noisy eyesore marring the otherwise pristine capital city, so they did everything in their power to keep it out of sight. If not for the profit it generated, they might have torn it down to build something more befitting to their view of the capital city.

So, of course, the princess immediately broke into a full gallop to explore.

Though the stars were out, none were visible under the cover of the canvas canopies stretching between the buildings from end to end. The lack of the moonlight didn’t make the street any darker. Every building was covered from top to bottom in a clash of lights in every color, shape, and size. Strings of fairy lights criss-crossed above amid a sea of Marquees and glowing signs calling out their businesses, while searchlights of all colors shot columns of light onto the canvased ceiling. It was almost an insult to the classic Canterlot magefire lamps bordering the streets which added their unnecessary spark—but very necessary noise suppression spells—to the kaleidoscope of colors.

Fancy might’ve struggled to find Luna in the crowds if not for the confused gathering of ponies staring gobsmacked at the sight of an alicorn princess flittering and fluttering about enough to put a moth to shame. If Luna had beamed like the moon before, she was now shining like the sun in excitement. From her reaction, Fancy wondered why Princess Celestia hadn’t shown the sight to her sister personally before now.

“Fancy Pants!” Luna called from above. She nearly bowled him over upon impact as she dove into a full embrace, much to his surprise. He could feel her shaking, but he wasn’t sure from what. He reached his own foreleg up and hugged back. A soft click and another few seconds later, Luna broke their embrace.

“They made our night! My night!” Luna exclaimed. Her eyes were misty, threatening to break at any moment.

“Who did?” Fancy asked, genuinely confused by her phrasing.

“I don’t know, but they did! Here in Equestria! It sparkles like the heavens. It’s all so beautiful!” she laughed with misty eyes, barely containing her joy.

“Oh! Well, of course they do. No pony fears—Oof!” Luna jabbed Fancy in the side before he could finish his thought.

“Why did you not bring us here sooner?” Luna roared, trying to infuse a little anger to keep her feelings in check so she didn’t sob like a filly in public.

Fancy only laughed in response, rubbing his side. He didn’t want to answer honestly since the crowd their profiles were drawing was evidence enough. Luckily, a few lunar guards had caught up and were keeping the public at bay around them.

“Come, Fancy Pants. We must unveil the meaning of these aforementioned ‘falling bases!’”

Before Fancy could collect himself, the princess was already pulling him along for the ride. Luna was on a mission, and she wouldn’t waste a single second of the night to explore what the Drive had to offer. They passed by cocktail bars, hotels, and other colorful establishments. Fancy got lost in the streaking lights as he quickly cantered alongside the princess.

“Look! One of the establishments has its own guard. Perhaps he is defending the base!” Luna called excitedly. Fancy barely had time to see what she meant as the princess took him along for a closer look.

Shaking his head to regain his bearings, the pair had stopped at a set of large double doors with an imposing, tuxedo-wearing earth pony who met the princess at eye level. His robust lower jaw slacked at the sight of the royalty and celebrity, and he lowered his sunglasses to get a better look.

“Good evening, my good stallion,” Fancy said to the star-struck security pony. Fancy turned his gaze to a line of clubbers staring in shock.

“We wish to know what it is you are keeping watch over,” Luna stated, oblivious to the crowd they were drawing. “I do not recognize your station.”

“A nightclub, I would imagine,” Fancy answered for the guard pony. “And he is a bouncer for it; a private security guard.”

“Night club, you say? Then I desire passage to seek what lies beyond the other side of this door.”

Finally finding his words, the bouncer reapplied his stern grimace. “Hooves, please.”

Without question, Luna raised her hoof to the bouncer. He reached inside the lining of his coat and produced a thin cylinder. Removing the cap, he stamped a dark green mark on the princess’ fetlock just above her silver shoe.

“Dunno what I was expecting,” the bouncer groused in disbelief.

Fancy offered his leg as well for stamped approval. The bouncer just shook his head as he placed an identical mark on Fancy. Fancy sniffed it curiously.

“Is this dispelling Salve?” Fancy asked.

“Be pretty ballsy to impersonate you two. Couldn’t decide if it’s a smart or dumb move. Figured I’d check anyway.”

“I commend your diligence, sir bouncer. You are a service to your post.” Luna caught sight of the line of ponies staring at them to the side of the guard. “Shall we join the others to wait in line?”

“Not necessary, your highness,” the bouncer stated, punctuating his adherence to protocol with a powerful buck to the wall behind him. The doorframe flashed, dropping whatever spell was on it, and began releasing a muted rhythmic pulse. He then pushed the doors open, allowing more of the soundscape to permeate into the streets.

“Enjoy your time at Cantrips.”

Those brave enough to fall under the enchanting, subtle spells of Cantrips were welcomed by a medley of sights, smells, sounds, and humid sweat drifting down the entry corridor. After turning the first corner, clubbers would find themselves on the top tier of a sprawling, three-story space. The floors flowed around the exterior walls with plenty of room for ponies to drink and dance while having a perfect view of the entire club though tall safety rails.

Each level was aglow with passionate pinks, deep purples, and glossy blacks which painted everything in a magically romantic light. furnished with dance spaces, bars, tables, and chairs for guests to party well into the night. Four corner staircases connected the third and second floor, while three more staircases descended directly into the first on each side with one exception.

The side opposite the entryway stood the main stage of Cantrips, where the magic really happened. Just beyond the sprawling dance floor, a wall of electronics, lights, and arcane mana pools glowing with magic could create any kind of special effect a performer could desire. Rainbow beams, glowing fog, phoenix fire, all were possible to spark new life into the performance. In the middle was the soundstage for the DJ to weave their musical magecraft, and DJ Pon-3 was spinning up a magical storm of sound.

She was either on her fourth or fifth wind of the night. Vinyl had lost count. It didn’t matter since sitting behind the turntables always brought her back from the verge of collapse. This was what she needed, not just for shoring up her jeopardized finances, but also for her state of mind. After all, the rush that came with each drop of the bass was what excited her most about trace music in the first place.

Tonight, she lacked the familiarity of her own rig, but Honey Doo’s system pumped out her beats just as well as her own. Not only did she play her favorite tracks, but she threw in a personal touch with her vivacious live mixing. She and Honey had been alternating all night, playing extended sets to fill in for the no-show, Doctor Gloamgrass, better known as DJ Spindoctor. The pediatrician had probably gotten caught up at the clinic again, and she was perfectly fine with it. Nothing really mattered when she was lost in the music, and tonight, DJ Pon-3 was determined to stay lost for as long as possible.

The current track was winding down, giving her plenty of time to consider what the next song should be. Vinyl looked up from the mixer to check the pulse of the dance floor and gauge what she should throw at them next. The mass of pastel was still bouncing with the beat, fully engrossed in the soundscape. Scanning across the edges, she saw smiles and sweat dripping from everypony anticipating the next drop. Who was she to deny them their pleasure?

The DJ considered popping in one of her memory shards to test the waters of one of her experimental songs when her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the night sky. She was no stranger to elaborate glow sticks and outfits, but a frickin nebula parting the dance floor was a new one for her. She stood on her hind legs to get a better look and joined several other onlookers at the sight of Princess Luna dancing like there was no tomorrow.

The DJ’s blood ran cold as a wave of panic shook her from her staring. That article from this morning said something about a night court. Was she here about that? Maybe she was making a personal arrest. But then why was she dancing? There were far too many unknowns for her addled mind to process. With her wind taken out of her sails, she waved down the club manager, signaling her need for a break. He nodded in reply and kicked on his own microphone.

“Alright everypony, give it up for DJ Pon-3!” The club roared with applause as Vinyl descended backstage. She quickly passed Honey Doo and her sleek, golden honeycomb overcoat. “Let’s keep this party going by welcoming back to the stage Ponyville’s own queen of clubs, DJ Bumblebeat!”

The audience replied with excited screams for more music. Vinyl swore she heard a loud somepony yell “Salutations, beekeeper Deejay!” at the top of their lungs. Vinyl needed a drink.

She crept around the perimeter of the club, keeping an eye trained on the princess from behind her sunglasses. If Princess Luna had an ulterior motive for being here, she was hiding it well. The alicorn danced to the beat with powerful steps, flowing with ancient grace that somehow matched the mood. Many of the other patrons weren’t sure what to make of the princess’ presence either, but they kept dancing all the same. Some even did their best to join in with the primal fun.

The Drive was supposed to be her sanctuary away from her troubles outside. Normally, a VIP’s sudden appearance would be no big deal, but the looming specter of the Vinyl Screech spiked Vinyl’s nerves into the stratosphere. She needed something to calm her down, so she took a stool at the bar and slammed a hoof down.

“Diamond Dusty Dog on the rocks, and don’t skimp on the salt!” Vinyl demanded.

“That’s quite a strong drink to have before a performance, Miss Scratch.”

“I’ll be the judge of that, Moxy,” Vinyl growled back as she whipped around in her stool to glare at the bartender. Moxy Mint raised an eyebrow in response. If that wasn’t moxy, then who…

“You are right, Miss Scratch. I apologize. It wasn’t my place to say.” Vinyl turned her head to the source of the posh Canterlotian accent seated next to her. “Just make sure you have somepony to help you home. I haven’t seen horn or hoof of Fleur, so I assume she’s not with you tonight?”

Vinyl tried and failed to string a coherent question, but sputtered in vain at the sight of her barmate for the evening, Fancy Pants.

“Who? Princess Luna. What? Dancing the night away. When? Starting about fifteen minutes ago. Where? Over there. Why? For fun, I suppose, but you’d have to ask her. How? Princess Celestia.”

“What the hay are you doing here?” Vinyl asked with disbelief.

“Oh! You meant me. I’m chaperoning the princess, though admittedly, I’m sidelining myself as I’m not sure how to dance to this music.” He looked over his shoulder to the dance floor with more ponies joining Luna’s ancient dancing. “I’m sure her highness knows either, but she seems to be making it work.”

The DJ wasn’t sure what to do. No noble worth their pedigree was supposed to put one hoof onto the Drive, but here was arguably the most important noble in Canterlot sitting in her shelter. She couldn’t help but wonder what she’d do to get the universe so angry at her.

Fancy Pants grimaced seeing that she was less than pleased. “I’m sorry, Miss Scratch. I’m probably the last pony you want to see right now.”

“No, but you’re in the top three,” Vinyl corrected bitterly.

“Right.” Fancy turned his attention to the pony behind the bar. “Moxy, was it? I’ll get her drink.”

Vinyl glowered over the rim of shades.

Fancy’s smile strained under the mare’s pressuring gaze. “As much as I’d like to grant you privacy, this is the only open seat to keep an eye on the princess from. If you’re going to have to suffer an old stallion like me invading your space, the least I can do is buy your drink.”

A quick look around confirmed there was not a seat in the house for her to escape to either. There were chairs and tables backstage, but salted drinks weren’t allowed out of the bar areas due to their potential side effects. She considered ordering something else, but Moxy was already almost done preparing it. At least he’d be close by if the rich colt tried anything funny.

“Sure I can’t start something for you, Sir Fancy Pants?” Moxy asked as he put a slice of lime on the rim of the tall party drink.

“Just lead this pony to water and we’ll be golden, my good stallion.”

The teal unicorn shrugged and levitated Vinyl’s drink over and topped off Fancy’s water glass. Vinyl couldn’t help but notice Fancy’s concern as his eyes ran down the length of her drink. She grumbled as she took it in her hoof and drank deeply with a lick of party salts for good measure. She hoped the drink would work its burning magic quickly and dull her just enough to take the edge off of the day.

“For what it’s worth, I am on your side,” Fancy assured.

It would also help if the stallion next to her wasn’t so set on making small talk. “Could we not talk about this? Or anything?” Vinyl asked flatly.

“I’m sorry. I just wanted you to know that what happened wasn’t your fault.”

“You don’t think I know that already? Of course it wasn’t my fault! Fleur stuck that stupid plate right in the way of the spell and now…” Vinyl’s anger trembled off. She didn’t want to blame her best friend. It was a bunch of stupid ponies freaking out over nothing that had it coming anyway.

“And now I am trying to help fix it,” Fancy said reassuringly.

“Coulda fooled me.” The DJ took another quick swig and salty lick of the diamond dust. The dry hit was nearly immediate, but it didn’t feel as good as usual. She felt her stomach flip.

“I’m afraid this scandal has become a bit…” Fancy paused to consider more diplomatic words so as to not upset his present company further. “More stubborn than usual.”

“And here I thought you were supposed to be, like, their ringleader or something. King Posh Pony or whatever.”

A small snicker escaped Fancy’s nose. “Not exactly the way I would put it. While I do hold some sway within the elite circles of Canterlot, sometimes the zeitgeist grabs a hold and won’t let go.”

“Great, so the stars have aligned to screw me.”

“Princess Luna has overlooked the interruption of Night Court. If the princess’ current presence here wasn’t an indication, she is not exactly busy these days.”

“Great. So I’m not royally screwed, just totally,” she sighed leaning over the bar, able to relax a bit more knowing that the night princess wasn’t after her. “So, what, you’re trying to clean up the mess to help Fleur?”

Fancy mulled over the question for a second. Never a good sign when looking for an honest answer. “Not exactly. But that is part of the problem considering the buck was passed to you.”

“She must’ve put you up to this.”

"She did not, but she did tell me what happened with Upper Crust during your piano performance."

Vinyl smacked her head on the table and groaned loudly. She appreciated Fleur’s honesty, but she was trying desperately to forget that part of the night. The DJ dove once more in her bitter elixir, savoring the familiar burn until it punched her in the gut. The salt had more fire than usual. Vinyl could already feel the effects of her drink.

“Are you okay, Miss Scratch? Perhaps you would like some water?"

She hacked a few more dry coughs before finding her breath again. “No, got plenty to drink right here,” she answered, tipping her glass around with a slight giggle at her own joke. Another coughing fit refocused her attention. Vinyl knew she couldn’t let her guard down around somepony like Fancy Pants. "So what’s your angle?”

"In relation to what, may I ask?"

"C’mon. Ponies that wear a monocle aren't allowed to play dumb. What's your angle for helping the ‘charity case?’" Vinyl spat the last words with enough acid to melt iron.

“There is none.”

“Horseapples!” Vinyl blurted, almost tipping her beverage over. “Everypony in this town has an angle.”

The stallion sighed and looked the DJ in the eyes, or at least her shades. “Any angle that I had would likely involve throwing you under the proverbial chariot, Miss Scratch.”

“Aha! So you're looking for an angle.”

“Not at all.” The stallion frowned, aghast at the assumption. “Why are you so set on me having an angle of some sort?”

“Because I’ve lived in Canterlot all my life. Selfishness is practically a virtue here.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, Miss Scratch.” He turned to give Vinyl his full attention. There was a flicker of frustration and sadness burned in the back of his eyes. “I know that charity can be a bit rarer than philanthropy, but is it so hard to believe that I simply want to help you?”

“From you? Yeah. Nopony gets to the top with their hooves clean.”

Fancy recoiled slightly. “I can’t argue that.”

Vinyl grumbled. Her undesired guest’s reaction didn’t feel as good to her as she wanted. “So, what is it then? Feeling sorry for me? Trying to be a hero?”

“Washing my hooves of you would be wrong,” he answered simply.

“And how do you know that?”

“Because you did nothing wrong.” He knocked back the remainder of his water as if it was a shot glass. “If I must have a self-serving angle, then it is to alleviate the guilt I feel for a simple mistake at one of my events costing you so dearly. Despite Fleur hiring you, you were working for me that evening. I am not keen on forgoing my duties to you.”

“Why bother at all? You don’t even know me!” She roared back.

“You’re right. I don’t know you. But Fleur does. That’s all the reason I need.”

This felt so wrong. She should’ve just walked away and abandoned the drink. Vinyl wanted a sign, a tell, or something to give her a preconceived notion of the wealthy jerk. Even the most charming of nobles were surrounded by an irritating aura that made you feel inferior for breathing the same air around them. Fleur couldn’t be right about him. Somepony with the audacity to be called the “Kingmaker of Canterlot” wasn't supposed to be so genuine.

Fancy sighed and turned back in his seat as Moxy poured some more water. “I’m sorry. You already said you didn’t want to talk about it, but I forced the issue. My sincerest apologies for making you uncomfortable for my sake.”

Vinyl hated this so much. Fancy wasn’t supposed to be like this. He was too rich to be bothered by somepony like her. So, why did it sound like he actually cared? She almost wished that he’d try something so she had a good reason to smash her glass over his stupid face.

If he was running back to his drink, then so would she. Vinyl knocked back the remaining liquor and salt in a single blazing gulp. She forced the fireball down, which exploded into salty shrapnel in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to throw up. Diamond dust never hit so hard before in her life.

“By the way,” Fancy started.

Why couldn’t he just shut up…

“I’ve never heard ‘A Stroll Through the Secret Garden’ played quite like that before. You have amazing talent.”

“Heh. Course you’d know the name,” she mumbled groggily.

“Indeed. It’s one of my personal favorites,” Fancy said enthusiastically. “I’ve always appreciated the arrangement’s deceptively simplistic melody swelling into layers of emotions around its theme.”

“At least you have good tastes,” she joked, hoping the barb would calm her down. Her muscles tensed up to let her know she was failing. “Loved it as a kid. One of the first songs I learned to play.”

“I honestly had no idea you played the piano. I’ve only seen you behind a record player.”

“Turntable. And yeah. I don’t play the piano.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s a little late to make a claim like that,” Fancy joked. “You played wonderfully last night.”

Vinyl felt her stomach turn. From the alcohol or from thinking about the piano, she wasn’t sure. She felt the warmth of the liquor snake through her legs, but it held no comfort. “Heh, yeah. I could ‘prolly play it with both hooves tied behind my back. No matter how hard I wanna forget it.”

Fancy’s eyes widened in shock. “Forget it? But it sounded like you’ve devoted so much time to your craft. Why would you want to forget such a wonderful talent?”

“It hurts. It did a number on me. I hope it hurt real bad, too.” Vinyl laughed sharply. She went for another sip of her drink, only to feel nothing in her glass. A pitiful whimper escaped her mouth.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand.”

Vinyl laid her head down. The coolness of the bar felt really good. She didn’t even care that she was getting her fur wet. The warm feeling was in her hooves now and the feeling slowly wormed its way out of her appendages as her entire body numbed.

“Miss Scratch?”

She blinked slowly, remembering she was talking to a rich jerk. “Why am I talking to you, again?”

Before anypony could answer her question, the numbness rebounded and surged with pain. It was like a cactus had exploded, driving needles all around her stomach. she curled up from the intensity, knocking her shades off as she doubled over, as her stomach rumbled loud enough for Moxy to hear over the music. Maybe Fancy had done something when she wasn’t looking after all.

“Was that you, Vinyl?” Moxy asked. Her stomach answered for her with another distressing groan and shock of pain. “Oh, for the love of… When was the last time you ate?”

Or maybe it was the fact her day’s diet consisted of caffeine, cake, and parfait. In hindsight, she probably should've eaten something instead of letting her anxiety ruin her appetite for the entire day. The unfiltered pain came in waves on her stomach lining, and the salt was only making it worse.

“Hehehe, wouldn’chu like ta know?” she asked dryly as another powerful buck hit her system. She would’ve fallen out of her chair if not for Fancy catching her.

“Yes, actually!”

“Does liquid dinner count?” she asked blearily.

“Last I checked, salted vodka and crystal rum are not essential food groups,” Moxy shot back.

“Ish cake? Had that for breakfass,” she slurred in reply as the world started to lose focus around her. “Kinda a harsh day. Didn’ feel like food. Hoped my regular’d help.”

The bartender slammed his hooves on the counter in alarm. “Are you saying you just drank the hardest drink I have with party salts on an empty stomach?”

“Relash. Had a parfey too. Ish’ma fav’rit.” Vinyl giggled briefly, but then bit back a scream of pain. It was a strange feeling to be both drunk and in agony. A strange battle took place in her brain between drifting into a drunken stupor and being shaken awake by the throbbing pain. The vertigo would send what little she had in her stomach flying if it kept going like this.

“Please, Miss Scratch. Drink this.” Fancy hovered a fresh glass of water in front of her face while he held her up. “Slowly now.”

The splash of crisp and cool liquid on her tongue reminded her body just how thirsty she was. If not for Fancy controlling the flow, she’d knock back the whole glass in one large gulp. She tried reaching out with her magic, but she couldn’t focus enough to even light a spark in her mind. She was helpless, right where a rich creep would want a pony that they could take advantage of in such a situation. Vinyl looked to the stallion helping her drink. She hated what she saw.

Fancy Pants tender gaze was filled with nothing but care and concern. She’d buck him in his stupid face if she still had any semblance of coordination, but the double whammy of liquor and saltlicks had done its duty. Without anything holding the alcohol back, she could feel the control draining from her hooves. It was so humiliating.

“It’ll be okay, Miss Scratch,” he reassured as he motioned for Moxy to refill the water glass. “Just calm down and focus on drinking.”

“Wha?” She asked with confusion between raspy, choked sobs. Her eyes locked forward as she heard her own voice. Was she crying? Why was she crying?

The DJ continued to drink, though her stuttering breath was making it difficult. Her creeping desire to succumb to liquor-induced sleepiness wasn’t helping her emotional stability either. Tears were already streaming down her face, she didn’t want to pass out on top of it. But today was just so damn tiring. She’d give anything for the day to just be over already.

“There. Another glass down. Still with us, Miss Scratch?”

The pressure was too much for her to bear when under the influence of a drink, a saltlick, a sleepless night, and one of the worst days of her life. She felt her mask fracture along her tear streaks.

“Why’re you beings sho’nicsh to me?” Vinyl slovenly asked, trying to keep her voice as even as possible between quick breaths.

“Should I be anything else?” Fancy asked with a warm smile.

“I’m dumb‘ndrunk, an’ a screw up, an’ I’m worthless-hess-hess!”

“I won’t argue the first three given your beverage of choice this evening, but as to your worth; after seeing you shine your talents so brilliantly on stage, I don’t think anypony in their right mind could call you worthless.”

Fleur was right. She shouldn’t have gone to work tonight.

Mercifully, DJ Bumblebeat’s bass dropped on the ear’s of the crowd so nopony could hear Vinyl shatter. Fancy let her fall forward so she could muffle her sobbing into her folded forelegs. Her breakdown wasn’t a rapid percussive weep, but rather a string of shrill screams that trailed into each other, punctuated by sharp breaths. Her heart spun around in a torrent of anger and despair. She was so sick of it. She was just so sick of it all.

She hated today.
She hated yesterday.
She hated feeling like a failure.
She hated feeling exposed.
She hated alcohol.
She hated party salts.
She hated the piano.
She hated memories.
She hated her parents.
She hated needing money to live.
She hated the newsponies.
She hated Canterlot.
She hated the nobles.
She hated Fancy Pants.

But most of all...

Vinyl hated herself.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 8: Tout Suite Remède

Vinyl groaned. The world was spinning and swirling more than her stomach was. She tried to listen for the sound of Bumblebeat’s bass, but all she could hear were the chirps of birdsong.

Wait. Night clubs didn’t have birds.

The DJ forced her eyes open against their will. Speckles of blue, orange, and white dots filled her vision. It was morning and she definitely wasn’t at Cantrips anymore.

Her first clue should’ve been the fact that she was lying down on a plush bed rather than face down on a hard bar table, but her throbbing pain from the worst hangover in history was sapping any attention she could muster. Not even the morning after her Sweet fifteenth had this level of crashing. She licked her dry lips, still tasting a trace of salinity from her evening.

“Never salting again…” Vinyl grumbled to herself.

The speckles around her started coalescing together into something more tangible. It was far too bright for it to be her apartment, so she must’ve made it back to Fleur’s at some point.

“Oh! You’re awake, Miss Scratch,” a mysterious mare’s voice greeted.

Or not.

Vinyl focused in a vain attempt to regain her bearings. There was a light gray blur approaching her that eventually formed into the vague shape of an unknown pegasus in a maid’s uniform. A surge of adrenaline bucked her in the face upon seeing the servant.

“Why am I here?” Vinyl nearly choked on the gravel in her voice as she shot up straight in bed. The sudden jolt gave her a new bout of vertigo as the world swirled around her. .

“Please calm down, Miss Scratch! You’re safe here,” the pegasus implored as she pushed Vinyl back down in bed. She held the DJ’s head up with a hoof and grabbed a nearby glass filled with purple liquid with the other. “Drink this. It should help with your symptoms.”

Vinyl grimaced in horror. Whatever was in the glass, it absolutely reeked. She’d smelled fresher air wafting from a Manehatten sewer grate. She took the glass in hoof and knocked it back like a jelly shot. It wasn’t any more pleasant going down, but at least it made the room stop swirling with morning colors. Looking around the room, she was relieved that she didn’t recognize the wall accents or any decorations around the room. She still didn’t know where she was, but “here” was infinitely preferable to several “theres'' she could have ended up waking in around Canterlot.

“To answer your question, Sir Fancy Pants and Princess Luna brought you here to recover. I’m not sure why they decided the Suede Shoes Mansion would be better than a hospital, but it’s not my place to question their reasoning.”

Suede Shoes. She recognized that name from somewhere, but couldn’t recall exactly where she’d heard it. Assuming the princesses wouldn’t own a mansion in Canterlot under a pseudonym, she figured this must be Fancy Pant’s home.

“Please remain in bed while the tonic takes effect. Princess Luna said that once your headache subsides, you will want to get up immediately,” the maid said calmly.

“Umm… did she say why exactly?” Vinyl asked with growing concern.

“No. She only told me that ‘you will know when.’”

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the room. Both mares were drawn to the purple-stained mystery glass. Vinyl didn’t like how the tendrilling remains were streaking along the inside leading to where Vinyl had chugged it down. It didn’t feel that gelatinous when she drank it, but the eldritch horror remnant mass told a different story.

“I will let everypony know you’re awake. By your leave, Miss Scratch.”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, sure. Whatever,” Vinyl replied. The maid curtseyed and took the glass with her to wash.

Vinyl settled back under the covers. She had no way of knowing when Luna’s remedy would kick in, so she settled for making herself comfortable until whatever was supposed to happen happened. Judging by the sunlight pouring through the window, it was probably sometime around ten or eleven in the morning. At this rate, Vinyl wasn’t going to get anything done today.

The walls slowly became clearer, revealing the full extent of the room’s bland grandeur. There was a nightstand with an expensive lamp and vase, a small bookshelf with a few unassuming books, some artwork smattered about, and a grand wardrobe near a door to either a closet or a bathroom. It was all so impersonal that it might as well have been a high-class hotel room.

Suddenly, another door in the room flew open with a thrust of magic. If not for the doorstop, the knob would’ve punched a hole through the wall. On the other side stood Fleur de Lis, scowling through teeth gritted so hard that they’d cut through diamonds with ease. The angry unicorn turned up her nose and gingerly trotted through the door, hovering a carton of chocolate gelato behind her. She dragged over a chair from the work desk Vinyl had failed to notice and plopped herself down in it.

With a flourish of magic, Fleur produced a spoon while tearing the lid off the carton and diving into her slightly melted treat with gusto. She opened her eyes into a narrow glare and stared daggers into her bedridden friend. Nothing was said between the two friends, leaving only the sound of Fleur’s messy devouring to fill the room.

“Okay. What?” Vinyl finally asked.

“You know what,” Fleur spat back and took a massive spoonful to her mouth. She didn’t even bother finishing her current spoonful before continuing. “See this?”

“Yeah?”

“This was supposed to be your carton.” She swallowed and took another big bite of gelato.

“I guess not anymore,” Vinyl sighed, not wanting to deal with a furious Fleur right after waking up.

“Sans déc,” Fleur chomped. “I waited for hours, worried!” She slurped. “And come to find out—” She licked and smacked—“you got dragged here by Pantsy and a princess!”

Vinyl winced, not because of Fleur being upset, but mostly her purposely sloppy eating. Not once did Fleur speak without her mouth filled with a disgusting amount of gelato. She wondered how fast Fleur would succumb to brain freeze.

“You’re really.” A slop. “Missing out, y’know?” A gobsmack. “This all coulda been yours.” A slurry. “But now you have to watch me stress eat it.”

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry, alright? Just stop making all those noises!”

“Fine,” she said after swallowing her bite. Fleur set the partially eaten carton on the floor and thrust her forelegs at her friend, pulling the DJ into a tight hug. “I’m just so glad you’re alright.”

Vinyl felt her stomach jump from the sudden movement, but not as badly as it had before. She slowly wrapped her forelegs around her friend. Even though Fleur had been hamming it up, Vinyl could feel a slight tremble in her friend's embrace.

“I’m sorry, Fleur.”

“You better be! I went to Cantrips at one in the morning looking for your drunk flank! One! And then I come to find out that Princess Luna teleported you out with Fancy Pants to heaven-knows-where! Luckily, I decided to check here first rather than storming the castle.” Fleur crossed her legs in a huff and blew some errant mane from her face. Whatever patience she might’ve had today had long since been spent. “So. How much did you drink?”

Vinyl paused and looked away. She wasn’t sure if she should lie and apologize for her budding alcoholism, or tell the truth and suffer further embarrassment.

“I had a Diamond Dusty Dog.”

“How many?”

“Just one.”

“Well that’s a load of horseapples if I’ve ever heard one!” Fleur leaned forward with her best Éclair glare. “I’ve seen you do three of those and play a full hour afterwards.”

The DJ chuckled nervously. “Well, do you remember what we had for lunch yesterday?”

“That’s easy. We had…” Fleur paused, and tried to recall. A moment later, Vinyl could see the gears turning in her friend’s head. “Oh, Vy. Please tell me that you at least had your usual order of ‘Spice n’ Cheesy Fries’ before going on last night.”

Vinyl shook her head. The hayfries were probably still sitting untouched in the backrooms of Cantrips.

Fleur groaned and buried her head in her hooves. A few moments later, she then pulled her head back up, dragging her hooves down her face with a dramatic sigh. “No wonder those two were so worried.”

“Who?” Vinyl asked.

“Who else? Princess Luna and Pantsy! Or did you miss the whole teleporting thing? The papers are already having enough of a field day with those two on a Drive Date last night. Throwing you into the mix would’ve put the tabloids in an absolute frenzy.”

Vinyl moaned as she fell back onto the bed in frustration. If she didn’t already have a headache, the mounting stress would’ve sparked one. “Do I even want to know what happened?”

“Want everything I know or just the abridged version?”

“I’m stuck here until my headache goes away, so might as well hear what happened.”

"Full version it is!" Fleur proclaimed. "So, here's what Fancy told me…"

Fancy’s mind was racing in circles like a Wonderbolt trainee. The crying mare next to him had finally calmed down, but only because she had passed out at the bar. Knowing she’d be easily recognized, he removed his coat jacket and draped it over her sleeping form, giving the young mare some much needed privacy.

After all, Vinyl Scratch really shouldn’t have been there in the first place considering how rough of a time she was already having. It was really dumb and stupid of her since she was already late to eat gelato with her best friend in the—

Fleur…

Right. Sorry.

So Fancy gave her some much needed privacy. Either way, the situation was threatening to spiral out of control. Princess Luna just so happened to have chosen to go to the nightclub where the current focal point of the gentry’s ire was working. Further context be damned if they found out “Sir Fancy Pants” had spoken a word to her at the bar. The scandalous speculation would practically write itself.

Knowing what further rumors could do to the DJ, Fancy wanted to vacate the area before any further damage could be done to her. However, he couldn’t just leave the poor thing face down at a bar. Fortunately, her outburst had gone mostly unnoticed or unheeded by the nearby clubbers. She was just some drunk mare at the bar crying her eyes out in front of the ever-patient Moxy again. He picked up the DJ’s shades off the floor and gently put them in the same internal pocket he used for storing his polishing cloth.

It wasn’t a moment too soon, as his escort for the evening returned from the dancefloor with unexpected company.

“I have returned, Fancy Pants,” Princess Luna announced with pride. Fancy turned to see Luna with her wing draped over a familiar purple and beet red face along with two other ponies. “And look! I found the lavender one and her companions from earlier!”

“H-hello, Sir,” Lavender squeaked.

“I knew that was Fancy Pants! Are you here on a date with Princess Luna?” the cocoa brown unicorn stallion asked in excitement.

Is any of this important? How do you know all of this anyway?

You said we had time. Should I speed it up?

So Fancy was like, “Oh no! They’re totally jumping to the conclusion I didn’t want.”

And then Luna said, “Verily, check it out! We hath collected our own groupies now and it’s très awesome!” Lavender was so embarrassed.

And then you were just sleeping being all like, “I’m all unconscious or whatever.”

Fleur? I’m going to start punching you now. I don’t know when I will be able to stop.

Okay, okay, Vy! Lighten up. Geez.

And there it was on cue; the speculation. Still, Fancy would rather explain a misconstrued outing than explain why he was sitting by a tear-streaked DJ the day after a botched performance at one of his events. Fancy forced a smile, hoping that they would focus on the celebrities in front of them rather than ask about the jacket hiding the performer next to him.

“You seem to have me at a disadvantage. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well mister…”

“Oh, right. My name is Tan Cappuccino. These two here are Lavender Breeze and Harvest Valley.”

“They are our ‘groupies’ now!” Luna bubbled with excitement, making Fancy wonder where she had picked up the new term. “Lavender makes a wonderful dance partner.” The princess tightened her wing-grip on the pegasus, who somehow glowed even redder as her eyes darted between Luna and Fancy.

Fancy laughed to himself. “I can see that. I’m sorry I couldn’t join you. I’m afraid the evening has finally caught up to me.”

“Of course, Fancy. I wouldn’t dream of exhausting my most wonderful chaperone. Shall we depart for the evening?”

Fancy was about to say yes, but then considered the unconscious mare next to him. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving Vinyl here alone, but he didn’t want to risk anypony seeing her carried out by the Luna Guard. Considering the time they’d spent, the guards and bouncers were probably keeping a swarm of paparazzi at bay outside.

“Hey, is she okay?” Harvest asked, looking towards the cloaked performer, drawing everypony’s attention to Vinyl.

Fancy drew a deep and calming breath through his nose. “She’ll be fine. My friend here just needed a moment to themselves. A drink isn’t agreeing with them.”

“Oof, yeah. I know that feeling.” Tan winced and scratched the back of his head. “Let’s just say I am not going to try to win somepony over with a drinking contest again.”

“Tried to warn you, Tan.” Valley snickered and rolled her eyes. “Just ‘cause my cousin’s a cherry farmer don’t mean he’s a lightweight. A bushel’s still a bushel, no matter what you put in there.”

Fancy smiled, somewhat from the story, but mostly from avoiding the group’s curiosity. On the other hoof, Luna’s gaze hadn’t moved from Vinyl’s back. She was smiling, but it was clearly forced.

“Listen, my little groupies. I would like to speak to my companion privately. Why don’t you return to the dance floor?”

“O-okay.” Lavender nodded and the princess released her wing. The other two were immediately on the dumbstruck pegasus, chatting up a storm as the three friends made their way back to continue their party.

“What is the matter with this one?” Luna flanked the DJ on the other side and scanned her with magic.

“Just a little mishap with her drink of choice. We’re watching her closely, but we don’t want to make a scene.”

Luna snuck a glance under the jacket to see the shock of neon blue hair. “Is this the performer from before?”

“Yes. The DJ has been having a rather tough go of it recently, to put it mildly.”

Luna’s eyes softened as she placed a hoof gently on the young mare’s cheek. Her breath was shallow and quick. “She is suffering from a nightmare.”

Luna tilted her head and began channeling a spell into her horn. A drop of pure aetherial magic formed at the tip and dropped onto Vinyl’s head. It “splashed” with the chime of a bell, sending several tiny spirals of magic outward that then coalesced into themselves and flowed into the fallen mare’s forehead. At once, Vinyl’s breathing relaxed.

“We promised our sister we would not perform our duties on our night off, so this is the best we can do,” Luna apologized and covered the DJ’s face with Fancy’s jacket. “Find peaceful sleep within a dreamless sea.” The princess’ magic shifted from the jacket down to the mare herself. “She is also malnourished and suffering from alcohol consumption. Just what struggles are you facing in the waking world to lead you to this escape, little one?”

Fancy would've found the display more touching if he wasn't knowingly withholding said information from the princess. He was not about to let Luna know the DJ was half the reason she was taking a break tonight from her royal duties.

“The performer is an acquaintance of mine. She needs to be looked after, but I’d rather be more discreet in her departure.”

Luna nodded in understanding. “Do you know where she lives?”

“No, and those who I could leave her with might be asleep already.”

“If it is care she needs, shall we teleport her to a hospital?”

“No. That would still generate too much unwanted attention. The same would probably be for the castle infirmary if somepony caught wind of it.”

“I know the curse that notoriety can bring.” Luna nodded. “What do you propose we do?”

Fancy pondered for a moment, closed his eyes, and tried to conceive of the best option. At once, he placed some bits on the counter for Vinyl’s drink and stood up from his stool.

“I might have an idea.”

“So then the princess had one of her guards tell your boss you were done for the evening. After that, they teleported to his place and plopped you into this guest room. The papers this morning ran a picture of Pantsy being dragged through the Drive behind Princess Luna and were none-the-wiser.” Fleur wrapped up with the last bit of gelato and showed Vinyl the bottom of the carton. “The end!”

Vinyl rubbed her hooves together uncomfortably. As Fleur was recounting what Fancy had told her, more and more of the evening started coming into focus: their conversation, her anger, her breakdown. She had hoped the alcohol would have wiped the memories, but apparently Luna’s hangover remedy also repaired her memory. At least her headache was going away.

A deep rumbling gurgle growled from under the covers, catching both Vinyl and Fleur by surprise. Vinyl’s eyes shot open in panic as the princess’ vague warning quickly made complete sense. Vinyl shot out of bed and ran for the closest door in the room.

“Bathroom’s through a door on the left,” Fleur sing-songed as Vinyl scrambled through the closet door.

“More tea, Sir?” an older unicorn butler offered to his master.

“Yes. Thank you, Mister Dapper,” Fancy replied with a slight dry cough.

With a precision developed over decades of service, Dapper Dandy poured the perfect amount of green tea with lemon into Fancy’s cup without opening his eyes. The faded blue stallion had been working for the family before Fancy had been born, and he showed no desire to stop despite his advancing age. Though Fancy lacked the older stallion’s thick eyebrows and the fullness of his mustache and goatee, he couldn’t deny Dandy’s influence on his preferred facial fur styling.

With a grateful nod, Fancy took a drink from his cup as he looked over the front page of the Canterlot Courier that Fleur had brought in. As he had predicted the previous night, somepony had caught him with Luna in the middle of the Drive on camera. To complicate things even more, it just so happened to be during a rather deep embrace. Suffice it to say, the elite buzz had shifted overnight from Vinyl Scratch to a celebrity romance. The headline couldn’t help but make him think of how Princess Celestia always liked to deal with things indirectly. Though he was a great predictor of potential outcomes, he never could hold a candle to the elder princess when it came to playing such games of chess.

Still, the lion’s share of the damage had already been done to Vinyl Scratch by now. Fortunately for the DJ, the Society was not playing as nicely with the nobles as Celestia’s school had and refused their demands. That meant that they would need to pursue other avenues, which was unfortunate for Fancy Pants. As a result, letters were still piling up at his door asking for his intervention. He opened another one, only bothering to read the sender before channeling magic over to his nearby desk.

“The Summer-Suede Endowment for Musicology and Innovation in the Arts is not interested in reviewing or revoking any recipients’ funding at this time,” Fancy dictated aloud flatly to his enchanted pen as it wrote another standardized reply. “Any further concerns should be directed towards the Equestrian Society of Performing Arts and its financial department. Thank you for your time.”

He produced another envelope and sealed the letter inside with magic before reading off another name and address. After placing it atop a larger stack to be sent later, he took another soothing sip of green tea for his weary throat.

“Might I suggest taking a break, Sir?” Dapper asked.

“I suppose resting the voice a few moments couldn’t hurt,” Fancy mused as he set the paper down.

“Actually sir, I believe there is another reason.”

Fancy Pants looked over to his older help with a curious brow. “And that would be?”

His answer came from doors of his study bursting open to reveal both Fleur de Lis and an ill Vinyl Scratch. The DJ lacked her striking sunglasses, letting Fancy see the full gamut of her sickness play upon her face as she stumbled in. Without anything to hide behind, the mare was shockingly easy to read. Her expressiveness was a veritable open book of emotions.

Seeing the same signals, Dapper subtly leaned over to Fancy. “Correct me if I am wrong, sir, but I was under the assumption that her highness’ ghastly concoction was meant to alieve the mare of her symptoms.”

“‘The memories of the night will never yield its lessons to the cleansing morning light’ was how the princess worded it. I’m not sure it said anything about being a perfect cleanser.”

“Good morning, Pantsy and Dandy!” Fleur cantered up to the butler and gave a big hug to Dandy, who returned the gesture in kind.

“Thank you, but I do believe it is almost noon now, Miss Fleur. Shall I fetch lunch?”

Fleur hummed loudly and looked back to Vinyl trudging into the study behind her. The poor mare stumbled to the couch near the fireplace and fell forward onto it, letting the legs that missed the cushions hang over the side. Seeing everypony looking at her, the forlorn DJ groaned in exhaustion.

“Is that a yes or no?” Fleur asked.

Vinyl glared at her friend, but then sighed after giving it some thought. “I feel disgusting, bloated, and somehow violated, but I could eat.”

“Very well.” Dapper rose to attention to address the guests of the estate. “I shall call you to the dining hall when it’s ready.”

“Thank you, Mister Dapper. Be sure to get something to help Miss Scratch’s stomach.” Fancy replied and quickly put the letters out of sight of his guests.

“I believe I have some ginger ale that could help. By your leave, Sir.” The older stallion bowed and strode with purpose out the doors. Despite his creaky knees, he always refused to let his proper gait slip in front of the mansion’s company.

“I was going to ask how you’re feeling, Miss Scratch, but I believe you’ve already made that abundantly clear.” Fancy stood up and stretched mildly to get the feeling back in his legs.

“Yeah. Sorry about, well, everything last night, uhh...” Vinyl trailed awkwardly as she assumed a more proper seated position. “I’m supposed to call you Sir Fancy Pants, right?”

Fancy smiled with a pleasant surprise tugging at his cheeks. “It’s quite alright Miss Scratch, though feel free to drop the ‘Sir.’”

“Or call him Pantsy like I do,” Fleur added with playful fun.

Fancy leveled a flat glare at the sassy mare. “Fancy or Fancy Pants will do just fine, Miss Scratch.”

“Alright. And it’s just Vinyl. Not exactly reeking of ‘refinement’ over here.”

Fancy chuckled softly at the air quotes she’d added with her hoof. “Now, now, I wouldn’t go so far to say that. Refinement is not restricted to a gentrified definition. From what I’ve heard you, young lady, are quite the diligent student.”

“Uh huh. And I wonder who would’ve spun that tale for you.” Vinyl’s gaze shot over to Fleur de Lis, who either was unaware or simply didn’t care about the heated attention.

“That would be the three Melodies: Arpeggio, Octavia, and Steeplechase. I spoke with Octavia this morning over some much-needed coffee. The poor mare has been playing catch-up with this whole situation ever since getting snowed-in by that accidental blizzard in Manehattan.”

Vinyl frowned and looked away.

“Whatever it is you’re doing at the school, the ESPA has your back. Now you just need to find some way to fill any other financial shortfalls you might have to keep you afloat.”

“Yeah! Like, I dunno, and I'm just spitballing here, but maybe some fabulously wealthy pony could offer to pay your rent?” Fleur less-than-subtly winked and physically nudged the nearest unnamed candidate.

“No!” Vinyl backed back as she shot up off the couch. The sharpness caused both Fancy and Fleur to flinch.

“C’mon, Vy. I was just joking. Besides, Pantsy isn’t like the other snobs around here.”

Fancy almost nodded in agreement. Almost.

“I don’t owe anypony in this town anything, and I plan on keeping it that way,” Vinyl swore with conviction.

“While I respect the respect you’re showing for another pony’s bits, there’s no shame in asking somepony for help,” Fancy assured, trying to ease the mare’s embarrassment. “It’d be perfectly reasonable to do so, especially given the circumstances.”

“Of course you’d think that.” Vinyl pointed an accusatory hoof at the stallion. “You’re the one holding the bits!”

Fancy took a patient breath. He thought he was starting to get on the DJ’s good side, but the strangest things kept setting the firebrand off. Still, he wouldn’t take this particular offense lying down. Not when he was proud of the ponies he’d helped in the past.

“Vinyl, I will have you know that I am not in the practice of making predatory investments. Though there are winners and losers, I have never purposely immiserated anyone.”

“Investments, huh?” Vinyl scoffed and smiled through an anger roiling underneath. “So when’s the last time you made something yourself instead of paying another pony to do it for you?”

“Outside of a pot of tea? Probably never if we are to use your definition.”

“Aww, so you never had to work a day in your life?”

“I work every day to manage my inheritance from my parents. I will never claim it to be harder than manual labor or more creative ventures, but it can be exhausting all the same.”

Vinyl opened her mouth to say something, but Fleur slammed a hoof down, cutting their budding argument short. “Are you being serious right now, Vinyl? You woke up in a bed fit for a Saddle Arabian Sultan after being teleported from a bar by a princess because you drank yourself under it like an idiot!”

All of the bravado the DJ was wearing collapsed in an instant. “I-I never asked him to do any of that!”

“Because you didn’t need to! That’s just the kind of stand-up stallion my—Sweet Celestia you are being so annoying for no reason, right now!”

Vinyl grimaced and sunk back down into her seat. She threw a pillow over the back of her head and groaned. “I know, I know. I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry for being a pain in the flank.”

“It’s quite alright, Vinyl,” Fancy assured calmly. “I know these past few days haven’t exactly been easy for you.”

Vinyl shrilled in frustration and pulled at the pillow harder with her hooves. Fancy worried she’d rip the poor thing in two at this rate. “No it’s not! Hold a grudge! Stay angry! Why aren’t you more angry?”

“I’m not sorry to disappoint you, but I’ve found over the years that while anger can be quite energizing at the start,” Fancy trailed off and sighed. He removed his monocle and started polishing it to remove the old smudges he felt were there again. “It is equally as exhausting to maintain.”

Vinyl’s ears flicked and she put the pillow down. “So, blowing up the Festival of Flakes and ruining your date with the princess wasn’t enough?”

Fancy laughed to himself. “Trust me, Miss Scratch, you haven’t done nearly enough to earn my ire.”

The DJ shrank back at Fancy’s hardened, icy gaze. “Oh-kay. I guess that’s good, then.”

“Anyway,” Fleur interjected. “If you’re done trying to get yourself kicked out of the mansion for two seconds, could we please talk about helping you, for real?”

“There’s nothing to say. I’m just losing a few bits from the school. Just gotta work harder is all, right?”

Fancy took a deep breath and redonned his trusty monocle. “I received this regarding a change to financial aid at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Being a donor myself, they wanted to assure me that steps are being taken to ensure my bits were being spent ‘more wisely’ moving forward.”

Turning back to his desk, he dug out an envelope he had received this morning from Celestia’s school. Inside were several charts and a letter regarding policy changes. He gave it another cursory read to refresh the main points. Canterlot lawyers sure worked fast when given the right incentive. He levitated the missive to Vinyl, who took it in her magic and began glancing over it. Her eyes started slowly, but as she continued reading, they darted more frantically as she poured over the lines.

“There’s a little legal jargon, but simply put, it appears the board of trustees and several donor partners are reviewing financial aid allocation for research students. At the end of the semester, the allocation of grant money will be suspended until they are done. Knowing the reason behind it, I find it unlikely you will maintain your aid at this point.”

“Along with any contracts being fulfilled exclusively via financial aid…” Vinyl finished reading, biting her lip in growing worry.

“Don’t worry about a thing, Vy!” Fleur dashed to her friend’s side and pulled the DJ into a crushing hug. Vinyl yelped being picked up by the larger mare and she dropped the letter on the ground behind her. “I don’t mind getting us more crystals to work with. I use them too, remember.”

“Y-yeah. Thanks.” Vinyl hugged back, but with less enthusiasm.

“Right! We’re in this together ‘cause we’re the best of the best!”

“Better than the rest,” Vinyl replied automatically while looking over her shoulder at the notice on the floor.

“Ain’t no contest, friends!” Fleur recited with bubbly exuberance. Fleur pulled back from the hug and shook her friend. “C’mon, Vinyl. You can do better than that. SchlurrVivyl’s been through worse.”

“Survival?” Fancy arched a brow.

“No, SchlurrVivyl. I had braces back then,” Fleur clarified with excessive spittle, but it didn’t answer Fancy’s question. “Fleur and Vinyl? It’s the same thing when I call you ‘Pantsy.’”

Fleur scoffed and tossed her mane with as much posh drama as she could muster. “Really now, Fancy. You must learn to keep up with such things if you are to last more than a moment with the two of us.”

“I will be sure to keep that in mind, my lady.” Fancy bowed in respect to Lady Faire’s superior position.

“See that you do.” Fleur strode to the double doors of the study with proper purpose and threw them open. “Now then, I do believe the help should be nearly done with the preparing of lunches and I am absolutely famished.”

It was Vinyl’s turn to give the mare a puzzled glare. “But you just ate an entire carton of gelato.”

“Perhaps…” Fleur tapped her chin in thought.

“No. Total-haps! I saw you do it like fifteen minutes ago!”

“Gelato? Where did you get…” Fancy paused, recalling a curious scene just after breakfast. “Wait, the reason you ran all the way back home was to grab a carton of gelato?”

“What is this inquisition?” Fleur clicked her tongue and cast her eyes at Vinyl dismissively. “I did, but I promise you it was for the teaching of a good lesson. Besides, I need to eat a salad to cancel out the calories.”

“That’s not how food works, Fleur.” Vinyl said flatly.
“That isn’t remotely how anything works, Fleur.” Fancy facehooved with a patient sigh.

Both ponies blinked and looked at each other.

“Aww, scolding in stereo. That’s so adorable!” Fleur grinned sweetly with a little squeal as she walked out of the room.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 9: Moondance

“Jasmine, Princess?” Fancy asked after sniffing the cold cup.

Princess Celestia nodded gently. “I find it relaxing after a long day.”

Fancy nodded and noted the later hour. Celestia had sent word earlier that their teatime would be delayed rather significantly. Their usual afternoon cup had changed to high tea by the time the princess’ matters had settled enough for a break. When they were finally able to sit down, the tea had long cooled to room temperature.

“Agreed, though I usually take such a cup before bed,” Fancy remarked.

“As do I,” Celestia said as her horn sparked to life.

At once, all the windows popped open at the sudden influx of heat. Fancy nearly jumped out of his seat as the room’s temperature quickly shot up as the sun began to set. The cool mountain air rushed inside to help offset the ancient magicks’ boiling radiance, but there was only so much the natural world could do against the power of the sun. The room surged with warming energy as motes of magic wisped around freely. Even though the room seemed to blaze around him, he was somehow spared burning alive. In the distance, the sun sank below the horizon, as well as the light of the princess’ horn and the subtle glow around her body. Another day done, Princess Celestia took a deep breath of her jasmine and drank it, satisfied with its wonderful flavor.

“Sometimes, I like to watch the sunset from this room during winter. I built it to be one of the few places I can move the sun safely while indoors.” The flow of cool air slowly returned to normal as Celestia settled to room temperature. Without the pressure of her heat, the windows closed on their own.

“While undoubtedly impressive, a little warning would’ve been nice, your highness.”

The princess giggled. “The first pony to witness the setting sun from this room in a generation, and you’re complaining?”

“It was mere observation, your highness.” Fancy rolled his eyes and joined the princess in enjoying a sip of his tea. It bubbled, but not from boiling. A magical essence swirled within the jasmine creating a subtle glow like a golden orange sunbeam. “It seems the spectacle has warmed our tea to the perfect temperature.”

“It’s called Sunset’s Jasmine, a beautiful invention discovered by a most gifted student of mine. It has been too long since I brewed a cup.” There was a story in her pause, but Fancy didn’t press the matter. He wouldn’t dare touch the pained crack in her otherwise perfect smile. “Seeing as how late I made you wait, Fancy Pants, I thought it was only appropriate. Also, I wanted to thank you and apologize for being so… forceful during our last tea time.”

“Water under the bridge, your highness. I quite enjoyed your sister’s company.”

Celestia’s smile shined brighter than all the sunkissed magic that had lit the room mere moments ago. “You don’t know how wonderful it is to hear you say that.”

“It was a most lovely time, but I could’ve done without the leg-twisting,” he joked.

Her smile returned to its normal pleasant self. “I am sorry. I am just… adamant when it comes to matters with my sister’s happiness. There is so much lost time to make up. Too much. Luna shall have nothing but the best.”

“And I will be there to help in any way I can. It shouldn’t be hard to follow your example of friendship, your highness.”

Celestia drew a sharp breath as if the words had burned her. “N-no, my dear Fancy Pants. My example cost her a millennium. Trust your own heart instead.”

Fancy blinked at Celestia’s unusual slip. While she didn’t guard herself as closely when it was just the two of them, the princess usually didn’t show such weakness. “You sell yourself short, Princess. I know you deeply regret whatever occurred all those years ago, and have strived to do better by everyone. Ponies change, even immortal ones.”

“I assure you, there is no better pony suited for her needs than you.”

“I am honored you think that, Princess.”

Celestia reapplied her smile and took another sip of her tea. “I apologize, Fancy. I’ve asked you to leave our troubles at the door, but here I am dwelling on the past. I do hope that you can forgive me as well as the lateness of the teatime.”

“Please, your highness. There’s no need to apologize. Royal teatime is always one of the highlights of my week.”

“I couldn’t agree more. You have always been such a great friend to me.” Celestia shifted in her seat, looking towards the rising moon. “If you’re not against it, would you be against having high tea from now on rather than afternoon tea? I promise I won’t set the sun on you every time.”

“I suppose we could as long as we avoid days with dinner expectations. Is there a reason why?”

A knowing smile, Celestia turned her head towards the doors to the room. After a few seconds, a click of the knob ushered in a rather drowsy princess of the night. While she’d managed to throw on her tiara, the rest of her regalia was missing. She was draped in a light blue and white nightgown and wearing a set of crescent moon slippers. Fancy Pants wasn’t sure how an aetherial mane could suffer from bedhead, but sure enough, several stars were hanging from unkempt nebulous strands. A large Las Pegasus souvenir coffee mug next to her hovered next to her, wrapped in her midnight magic. The half-asleep princess slurped a noisy swig from her cup, gulping it down for a caffeinated kick.

“Sister?” she asked with a big yawn and trudged in without opening her eyes. “Our guards told us you were taking your evening tea in the solarium. Did you set the sun early again?”

“Yes. But I assure you, I had a good reason,” she answered both ponies. The groggy night princess yawned again, but this time deigned to open her eyes. She met her sister’s unfaltering gaze to her side and followed the trail to see none other than Fancy Pants.

Luna’s widened as her adrenaline kicked in. With a loud pop of magic, the lunar princess vanished from sight. A minute later, she reappeared in her normal regalia, pristine mane, and grumpy scowl aimed at her sister. Her older, solar sister simply brushed the moon’s ire away like raindrops off the tail end of a weathermare.

“We hope this evening finds you well, Fancy Pants.” Luna assumed her regal aloofness as she went for a far more dainty sip from her mug, only to find her magic gripping nothing but air. Another frustrated growl escaped her gritted teeth as she popped in and out of existence to retrieve her mug. “Forgive our more… unkempt appearance from before.”

Fancy said nothing, not even commenting on her slip into her outdated speech. He wouldn’t dare to try anything. The former diplomat was busy biting the inside of his cheek to stop him from laughing. He replied with a quiet nod and offered his seat to Luna.

Luna raised a hoof to stay his chivalrous gesture. “Be at ease, dear Fancy Pants. We did not mean to interrupt your teatime with our sister.”

“Actually, we were hoping you would join us.” Celestia summoned another cushion from the ether for her sister. “You are now friends with Fancy too from what he has told me.”

A brief joyful smile rose to her lips before the younger princess forced it to set again with an indignant harrumph. “Then perhaps you should offer more warning before we appear before our subjects looking worse than the dark side of the moon!”

Fancy bit down harder to suppress his laughter while Celestia guffawed with abandon, bringing a subtle twitch to the younger alicorn’s eye. “I believe this makes us even now, Lulu!”

“You fail to realize that the meaning of war is to achieve victory over your foes, not stalemate them with equality. We swear upon the heavens, our retaliatory prank shall be slow and unrelenting, Tia.”

“I look forward to spending more time with you too, dear sister.” Celestia fluffed the cushion and set it down near Fancy Pants. “Now stop being such a stubborn mare and join us.”

Luna stopped her offended front and gladly took her seat next to Fancy Pants. The smell of her black brew in the stained mug immediately overpowered the light tones of his jasmine tea. He’d seen straight black coffee, but Luna’s was another level of abyssal darkness. It was like staring into deep space with only a few bubbles offering a spark of starlight.

“I say, that is quite the foreboding beverage you have, Luna.” Fancy noticed the slight perk of Celestia’s ears at the lack of ceremony. “Where in Equestria did you find this?”

“Oh!” Luna grinned slyly and turned towards Fancy Pants to give him a better view of her drink of choice for the start of her night. “I am surprised that you’ve never heard of coffee, Fancy Pants. It is quite a popular beverage.”

Fancy decided not to correct the princess seeing as how proud she was to teach somepony else something new for once. “I see. The smell is quite potent. I’m surprised you can drink it.”

“While my sister enjoys gorging herself on the only sweetness of life,” Luna said while dismissing Celestia’s disapproving pout with a wave of her hoof. “I prefer dabbling in the challenging robustness of bitterness. I immediately fell in love with coffee, the true nectar of Elysium, upon my return, but nothing has quite been such a blessing as this flavor. The lovely Athena was kind enough to share this with me.”

“The lovely Athena?” Celestia frowned while her eyes flickered through her memory. “Where have I heard that name before?”

“She is the proprietor of a restaurant here in Canterlot. I took Luna there last week.”

“Oh yes. She must be the minotaur friend you mentioned the other day.” Fancy couldn’t help but notice Celestia relax with a subtle sigh of relief as her warm smile returned.

“Yes. I’ve visited the Labyrinthyum several times since then and this dark blend has become my new favorite. She called it the ‘River Styx,’ a black, caffeinated abyss strong enough to wake the dead. The beans are sourced from the plains downwind from the gates of Tartarus and roasted in fires using Minnosan amaranth. It is dark, nutty, acidic, and unquestionably energizing! I am eternally grateful to her for this pleasant addiction and am honored to call her my friend.

“Though, I suppose you were too busy asking me about Fancy Pants to recall the other friends I made as well that evening, dear sister,” the younger alicorn accused.

“In my defense, the papers showed quite an intimate moment you two shared on the Drive. I was far more interested in reporting your side of the story to stop Cadence before she flew down personally to ask who her auntie was dating. She needs to stay focused on getting adjusted to her new duties, not on the gossip here in Canterlot.”

Luna’s night coat flushed bright red at the mention of that photo. She stood up from her seat and fumed as her eyes darted between Fancy and Celestia.

“Sister! We entreated thee not to recall such frivolous matters again! Sir Fancy Pants served admirably as our most honorable chaperone. Thy vile tabloiding miscreants caught us unawares in the heat of the moment!”

Celestia admired her tea for a moment with the subtlest of smirks. “‘Heated’ is one way to put it.”

Fancy couldn’t tell if her flushed colors were more from rage or embarrassment as she slammed the table with her forehooves and flared her wings open. “Cease thy prattle immediately or our retribution upon thy posterior shall be doubled!”

Fancy risked placing a patient hoof on Luna’s shoulder. The princess flinched in surprise from the contact. “Come now, Princess Celestia. That is enough ribbing at your sister’s expense.”

Celestia looked between the two and shined with satisfaction. “I suppose you’re right, Fancy Pants.”

The younger princess looked down at her hooves, assaulting the table and quickly righted them to the floor. Clearing her throat, she recollected herself enough to calm down, but not enough to meet the sister’s well-respected guest.

“We apologize for our behavior that evening, good Sir Fancy Pants. It was unbecoming of us to take advantage of your graciousness. We—I hope your reputation did not suffer on my account.”

The way the princess always seemed to put her presence into a negative light irked Fancy Pants to no end. Even if she tried to keep her appearances up, Princess Luna was a beautiful, warm, and fun-loving pony that anyone would be delighted to know. He wished she could see that.

“Luna, there is no need to be so hard on yourself for having a little good fun. I assure you, the only fallout after that evening was several days of wild media speculation. Even if it had, I value our friendship far more than the little media circus that came afterward.”

“Exactly, Lulu. Let me deal with the nobility. You have more than earned to have a little fun in your life.” Celestia stood up, walked over to her younger sister, and pulled her into a hug with her alabaster wings. Luna gave no resistance and accepted the feathers as she leaned into the hug. “Enjoy this new world to its fullest and see what the nightlife has in store. It was practically made for you, my precious sister.”

It warmed Fancy’s heart seeing the two sisters’ embrace. Eclipses were always far too rare in his experience. And no matter if it was day or night, they were always a precious sight to behold. A pang of nostalgia struck him as he recalled a familiar summery warmth of his mother’s wings. He took another sip of his tea as he remembered the matter he had left outside that needed tending to.

“I am sorry to cut this teatime short, your highnesses, but I just remembered I have a pressing engagement that I will need to be up bright and early to attend.”

Luna quickly broke away from her sister’s embrace. “Apologies, Fancy Pants. We are sorry if we made you uncomfortable.”

“Perish the thought, Luna. I simply recalled a bake sale a friend of mine holds every year,” Fancy explained as he began polishing his monocle. “She and her late husband built the establishment themselves and I believe they may need my help.”

Celestia frowned, having connected the dots immediately. “Tomorrow is the twenty-third.”

“Yes, Gustav is indisposed and I haven’t had time to reach out to Fleur.”

“Or Éclair?” she added.

Fancy paused for a moment. “Yes. It must’ve slipped my mind to ask her.” Truthfully, it had, but he wished it had stayed forgotten. It would give him a good enough excuse at the very least. He donned his eyepiece and collected himself from his cushion. “I apologize for cutting our teatime short, but I need to be awake even earlier than you, Princess Celestia.”

Celestia painted a smile on her face. Everypony in the room would know better, but at this point, it was probably a habitual reaction to acute discomfort. “Of course, Fancy Pants. Thank you for joining me. As always, it has been a pleasure.”

“By your leave, your highnesses. Thank you for the tea, coffee, and company.” Fancy bowed to the both of them with a diplomatic smile.

“Care to explain, sister?” Fancy heard Luna whisper.

“Some wounds take more time to heal,” she replied to her sister, but Fancy could feel Celestia’s eyes on him as he closed the door.

Fancy sighed. Having left the sanctuary of the solarium, he was free to worry once more about the problems of the world. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his planner, and scratched off the last item from his Wednesday.

The freezing mountain air battered against Fancy Pants as he walked through the cold, sunless streets of Canterlot alone. Despite yesterday’s blessed tea, he’d woken up far too early and not slept nearly well enough. There were no nightmares as far as he could recall, just restless sleep. He wondered if Luna had anything to do with that after seeing her help Vinyl’s nightmare at Cantrips. The princess would still be awake, but not for very much longer. The sky brightened on the horizon as the sun patiently waited to be called by its exemplar. She’d probably be too tired to join him for a few moments before he started his day. A shame, really. He could use the distraction.

Instead, the lone stallion stared at his notebook with intermittent lamplight illuminating the page. With the holidays fast approaching, his schedule naturally lightened up with most ponies preparing for the Hearth’s Warming festivities. While Fancy wasn’t a hearthless windigo, he kept very few obligations during the holidays while everypony else around Canterlot bracing themselves for the oncoming wintertime mirth.

As a result, his itinerary was completely blank, save for the first line:

12th Moon, 23 Thurs.
Attend Memorial Bake Sale (All-day)

With Gustav indisposed, Éclair and Fleur would be the only ones running the store on their busiest day of the year. The pastry chef could always ask Goldie Syrup to stay for the day if things were desperate, but then the sous-chef would be neglecting her other obligations. Fancy had seen the mare floating around other Canterlot establishments, helping them prepare for their rush hours before opening her own maple bar and syrup stand at the open market. Nopony else came to mind that was close enough for Éclair to let help. Not today. She always kept it the twenty-third a family affair.

Fancy couldn’t remember the last time he had visited Pâte de Lune. Despite not making a habit of going there himself, he often sang of its well-deserved praises and the talented Prenchmare behind the bistro. Éclair offered to cater many of his events, but she always insisted on showing up to serve rather than fill a buffet table and leave. Normally, that wasn’t a problem, but she was the exception. He was always such a blasted coward when it came to Éclair de Lune.

As much as he would like to, today was not a day for running away. Fancy had promised Gustav le Grande that he would offer to help them if the griffon’s claws were ever tied up. Fancy was a fool in the kitchen, but he could easily extend the patience of the patrons waiting in line to order their holiday specials with his presence alone. It was what Éclair’s useless husband would do back when the sale was a happier affair.

Turning onto Mane Street, he saw the city starting to come to life. Transporters pulled carts while the weather team busied themselves with preparing for the scheduled light snowfall scheduled for later. Fancy was glad he’d worn his heavier coat in case it didn’t warm up. Hopefully the line wouldn’t stretch too far out the door this year. If it was like the first time he’d been roped into helping, he’d be taking orders all the way down the street so the ovens could stay ahead of the demand.

Finally, de Lune came into view. The bakery bistro’s lights were off in the dining room, but there was plenty of light shining on the second floor. He pulled his scarf tighter and briskly trotted down the alleyway towards the back door. He raised his hoof to turn the familiar knob, but thought better of it and decided to knock instead. He shuffled uncomfortably for what little warmth he could muster as the biting wind blew fiercely through the narrow streets.

“Oh my gosh, Pantsy! What are you doing here?” Before he could answer, Fleur pulled him into a crushing hug. “Get inside. It’s absolutely freezing!”

Fleur shuffled Fancy through the door and shut it with her magic. The ovens in the kitchen were already glowing and filling the air with the smell of fresh breads and sweets, so he availed himself of their warmth. Fleur joined him, rubbing her hooves together carefully to not scuff the fragile leggings of her familiar maid uniform.

Unlike the normal uniforms worn by Canterlot housekeepers, the brilliant lapis lazuli blues and soft golds of the dress lined with its silk white bodice demanded the attention of anyone who caught a glimmer of its sparkle. It was layered with a silver chemise undershirt with puffed sleeves that formed into orbs like the full moon at the shoulders. A white apron embroidered with Éclair’s cutie mark was tied at the front running beneath to protect the outfit from spills and splashes. Altogether, the ensemble shimmered like an impossible midday moonlight.

“You’d think this would be warm with all the layers, but no. Frikin’ wind just blows right through this thing,” Fleur complained while inching closer to the ovens.

“Ah, the sacrifices mares make in the name of fashion. I see your mother is still adamant about the dress code for the sale.”

“At least mom can pull it off with dignity. I look more like a centerfold in Playstud.”

Fancy Pants arched his brow.

“Relax, Pantsy. I only read it for the articles.” She fluttered her eyelashes innocently.

It was far too early to deal with a flurry of Fleur-ness. While Fancy Pants preferred tea, he knew there would be a pot of black coffee for some liquid strength upstairs. He got up and walked over to the familiar spiral staircase near the doorway to the main dining room. With some trepidation, he put one hoof in front of the other and climbed up the stairs.

As he drew closer to the living space, he could hear muffled voices coming from the other side of the door separating the store from the home. ‘Odd. Syrup doesn’t usually go upstairs.’

He reached a hoof to knock on the door only for it to swing open revealing Éclair de Lune also dressed in her own Prench maid outfit. Not even noticing the stallion, Éclair leaned over the railing with a scowl on her face.

~How long does it take to answer a door? Get up here now and show Vinyl how to dress herself properly!~ the chef shouted in Prench.

“Éclair?” Fancy whispered through a hitched breath.

“Fancy Pants?” the chef gasped at the stallion’s sudden appearance. For a moment, not a word was exchanged until a big grin split the mare’s face. ~Perfect! You will do. Come, show this clumsy filly how to wear her uniform.~

~I beg your pardon?~

The chef grabbed his hoof still hanging from the attempted knock and pulled him inside. Being yanked around by mares against his will was becoming an irritating norm he needed to correct.

“You, help little Vinyle with her dress. I need café.”

“Vinyle?” He knew what it translated to, but he couldn’t imagine that her of all ponies—

“For the last time, I don’t need any help! I already tied it, see?”

As it turned out, he wouldn’t have to think too hard. If not for the mare’s gravely tenor, he might not have recognized the DJ in the corner of Fleur’s room fighting with the straps on her dress. While her colors and mark were there, the young mare looked nothing like herself. Makeup had been lightly applied to accentuate her eyes, making them appear far sharper, along with a like coating of blush. Like the others, she was also sporting the store’s signature maid attire, but only barely. Vinyl pointed at her back at the travesty of a knot she had made to tie her apron together.

“Non non non!” The mare stamped her hooves frustrated by Vinyl’s hopeless progress. “You are not the pirates tying a ship to shore! This knot is ridicule. Dear Fancy, aide la petite!”

“Fancy Pants!” Vinyl shouted, finally noticing the other pony in the room. “What the hay are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing, ‘Vinyle.’”

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m getting ready for work.”

“And so is he!” Éclair added. A mug of freshly brewed cappuccino caught Fancy’s nose and he gladly met the earth pony’s hoof with his magic. Of course it would be a little sweet for his liking, but the espresso hiding under the milk and foam was his true goal. “It is so good to see you.” She took a sip from her mug before poking Fancy in the side. “You stayed away for far too long.”

“I tend to keep myself busy these days,” he deflected.

“So busy you cannot see me? Your father would be so shamed.” She laughed and pecked Fancy with a faire la bise on his cheek. Fancy forced a matching laugh of his own.

“After I got the letter from Gustav, I was worried that you would be short-staffed today. It appears you’ve found an unexpected assistant.”

“But of course! Only the best for today, and little Vinyle will make it just so.” Another irritated grunt from Vinyl soured Éclair’s smile. “She looks c'est magnifique if only she could wear her dress properly!”

“I got it on already. “Vinyl grunted as she wrestled with the dress. “What more do you want from me?”

Fancy approached Vinyl and began inspecting the mare’s uniform. The DJ was right in the sense that she was technically wearing the uniform, but she wouldn’t last a second under scrutiny of even the common ponies of Canterlot. Anything that looked even mildly stifling was either poorly tied or completely undone. It would be comfortable until she began moving around de Lune and would undoubtedly cause problems later. Luckily, he had helped Fleur enough over the years to help seal the mare into her suit.

“You heard Éclair. Pardon the magic, Vinyl.” Fancy began undoing the terrible knots that the DJ had tangled.

“H-hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

He stopped his casting, letting the ribbons fall slack. “Making you presentable to the public, Miss Scratch.”

“C’mon already. I tied it just like she said. It’s got bows, loops, and everything.”

“I suppose you are right,” Fancy admitted, earning a proud smirk from the younger unicorn. “That is, if your goal was securing ice skates to your hooves,” he added, earning a withering glare.

“Fine. So, what’re the shaping spells for this?”

“Shaping spells?” Fancy paused and pondered her words momentarily. “Are those the complicated variants of ‘spark-to-life’ that Hoity Toity is always going on about?”

Vinyl furrowed her brow in growing uncertainty. “Wait. Don’t tell me you’re actually gonna have to do everything manually.”

“I’m afraid so. I’m not as gifted a unicorn as you or Fleur when it comes to magic. I can barely keep track of my schedule without a pocket book, so memorizing a catalog of single-use spells is right out. Should I show you the knots still or do it myself?”

“Where the hay is Fleur when you need her?” Vinyl whined as she looked around for her more capable friend. She surrendered with a whimpering grumble. “Fine. Do it yourself. It’s not like I’m gonna wear this again anyway, if I can help it.”

Fancy nodded in reply and readied his horn. “Once again, pardon the magic.”

“Just… just make it quick, okay?”

It had been a while since he’d last helped Fleur with getting ready for the bake sale. He remembered her struggling to follow along the steps with her lack of magic control, making him realize how long he had been avoiding de Lune. Still, the intricate weave of the ribbons and strings made getting in and out a nightmare. The special maid outfit borrowed designs from classical fashions in Prance with a few extra bobs and whistles to attract the attention of less-knowledgeable ponies who would be susceptible to tourist traps. It certainly caught Fancy’s eye years before.

“Can you pull the stockings up for me?” Vinyl complied and drew the translucent white leggings up just below the shoulder where Fancy was working. Ensuring it wouldn’t bunch up at the top of the sleeve, he lowered the puffed sleeves around the upper leg and tied the strap into a tiny butterfly knot. The inner wires would hopefully stop the puffy orb’s shape from pinching while keeping a firm grip.

Fancy gave the strap one last tug before nodding. “Alright. Slip on the horseshoe and let’s get started on the other leg.”

“How much is left after this?” Vinyl asked.

“In a word? Everything.”

Fancy ignored the mare’s rising frustration and focused on the work at hoof. Once the legs were done, he asked Vinyl to remove the outer layers she’d thrown on haphazardly. He worked around the mare, ensuring every ribbon and lace was tied perfectly. With the first layer done, it was onto the ire of every fashionable mare: the corset.

Of course, Vinyl had barely strung the poor thing together properly and had to be completely removed and untangled before trying again. He directed her to adjust the chemise shirt to be as thin and evenly spread across her as possible before looping the corset around her barrel like a vice grip. Vinyl tried to voice a complaint, but bit back her words seeing how complex the criss-crossing thread was. She kept her eyes locked forward, trying to force the blushing embarrassment off of her face.

“Why does it all have to be so tight?” she squeaked out as Fancy finished securing the corset around her barrel.

Fancy laughed with a nostalgic smile as he fetched the corset cover. “I remember Fleur asking the same thing. I always told her it was to maintain the dress’ shape as you’re working, but I’d be willing to bet whoever first designed something like this never planned on wearing it themselves.”

With the primary layer done, it became a simple matter of layering the dress to ensure the balance between blue, gold, and silver ran smoothly from head to tail. Fancy quickly tied every string and ribbon into cute knots and butterfly loops that would flutter as she walked. Finally, he finished sealing the mare into her attire after smoothing out the wrinkles of the apron and tying the thick straps into a bow. Fancy lowered the gold and silver bonnet just as the first shards of light of the morning peeked in through the window.

“There. All done.”

“Great. I can barely breathe. How am I supposed to work in this thing?” Vinyl complained while pulling at the collar bow around her neck.

“Carefully, I suppose. Though, I’ve got a necktie trick that I think we can use to let this front ribbon slack a little bit.” Fancy moved over to the bow tied around her collar. He carefully adjusted the bow to loosen it without losing its shape. He then carefully used an extra hairpin to lock it down in the front like an inconspicuous clip-on tie. “There. I hope that is better.”

Vinyl drew a deep, refreshing breath through her nose and exhaled in content. “It is. Thanks, Fancy.”

“Glad to hear it.” Fancy gave one last inspection to ensure every bow and ribbon was tied properly and in its place. Satisfied with his hoof-work, he admired the fuller picture of the young mare before him. “I must say, despite your misgivings regarding your attire, you pull off the look rather well, Vinyl.”

“Don’t push it,” Vinyl spat, not wanting to hear another word about it.

“Fine, I’ll withhold my compliments in the future. How do you feel?”

Vinyl took a few practice steps in place, twirled around, and then looked at herself in the mirror. “You mean aside from suffering through a makeover and being strapped into a Prench straightjacket? Ridiculous.”

“Perfection!” Éclair exclaimed with a round of applause. She dashed over to Vinyl’s side and admired the results up close. “You look so lovely, Vinyle. Now, now. Don’t be shy. You should feel formidable, my dear.”

“Since when the hay were dresses formidable?”

“Non formidable! Formidable. It means ‘wonderful,’ which you are. But, dresses can be formidable too, Vinyle. You see, this is only part of what stole the heart of my late husband. Now, show us chassé!”

Vinyl looked between her reflection and Éclair with uncertainty. The eager mare simply gestured for her to start.

“She means ‘sashay,’ Vinyl,” Fancy clarified.

Vinyl blinked and tilted her head. Huffing a strangled sigh, she started slowly stepping from side to side in a circle to an unheard beat of music as she counted one through eight over and over. Seeing the confusion shared between her audience brought another embarrassed flush of red to the young mare’s cheeks.

“Eh? What is Vinyle doing?” Éclair whispered in concern to Fancy.

“I’m not entirely sure.”

“What? You said sashay, so I’m sashaying!” the square dancing DJ complained.

“No, she meant you should strut your stuff. You know, walk with purpose.”

“Trot around like a total snob!” Fleur catcalled from the door.

Vinyl scowled and locked eyes on her flaky friend. “And where the hay have you been?”

“In yesterday's breakfast muffins,” Fleur replied and pulled a poppyseed muffin out of a brown bag she was holding. She took a careful bite to avoid getting crumbs on her clothes and placed the bag on her nightstand. “Great job, by the way, Pantsy. She looks like a million bits.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, channel your inner pretentious idiot and prance around like a noble!” Fleur demanded.

Vinyl balked at the idea. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

“Nope! We’re serving up pastries and eye candy today. And those hungry foals will just… Eat. It. Up.” She shook her tail with every sultry pause and licked her lips for good measure. Fleur cleared her throat and ran up to her friend’s side in a flash to powder her nose like a certain eccentric photographer. “Now, show us: the magicks!”

Vinyl closed her eyes and took a deep breath and puffed out her chest. Through half lidded eyes and a scowl that bore no mercy, she began her saunter around the room. Each smooth step was punctuated by an audible clack over the floor boards to inform everyone she was there and should be seen. Even the upturned nose was balanced so that everypony would see she was above them, yet nopony would see up her nostrils.

“Wow,” Éclair finally uttered, eliciting a slow nod from her daughter.

Fancy struggled to find his words as well. He dared not mention how dead of a ringer she was for Upper Crust in her stride, but perhaps emulating said mare was the point. Either way, he didn’t feel like risking an impasse with the comparison.

“Maybe try to be more approachable?” Fancy politely suggested.

The supreme gait was broken as Vinyl tried to adjust her posture, losing confidence with each step. She stopped, taking several tepid steps back and forth, experimenting with her walk. “I don’t think I can do smug and approachable.”

“I can show you some good struts later.” Popping open the bag, Fleur shoved a slightly stale muffin in Vinyl’s mouth with her magic. “Right now, you gotta eat something before we gotta start getting ready to open. It’s gonna be a long day.”

While it was clear Vinyl wasn’t fond of the delivery method, she appreciated the breakfast food and popped it into her mouth with a savage bite. It was still DJ Pon-3 under all that prim and proper dressing. Fancy wondered if anypony would even recognize her. She looked like a completely different pony, or rather, just as one would expect of a Canterlotian. While she perfectly matched the carefully crafted beauty of the other mares around him, he preferred the confidence she exuded normally in her unfiltered appearance.

With the ladies’ preparation finally done, it was high time for him to get suited up as well. He pulled off his coat and scarf revealing his own lapis lazuli and gold tuxedo vest and silvery fitted shirt. The familiar ensemble brought a wistful smile to Éclair. He reached for an apron of his own and tied it to his barrel to finish his uniform for the day.

“Now then, shall we get started?”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 11: Leave Them in the Gutter

Vinyl nervously drummed her hooves as she waited in her apartment complex’s office. The Lofts of Canterlot maintained a mix of modern chic and Canterlotian charm. Minimalistic furniture and sparse decor dotted the lobby amid the faded royal mauve and gold coloration of the castle town. The light shining through the window cast the entire room in a mid-morning glow. With so little to distract her, the DJ couldn’t help staring between the clock on the wall and her mish-mash of hastily crammed documents in an overflowing folder.

She’d done her best to cobble together every scrap of paper that might help her prove she was capable of handling her apartment’s rent. Vinyl wasn’t sure if it would satisfy the owner long-term, but there was still hope that the amount could counter the eviction notice. The little note she found tacked to her door last night had kept her busy until morning. Sifting through the disheveled stacks of contracts took hours and yielded too few useful supporting documents to her claim of financial well-being.

The office had opened on time, but as luck would have it, her landmare was nowhere in sight. It was Hearth’s Warming Eve, so Land Sakes was probably taking it easier today. Still, the DJ’s goodwill towards ponies was reaching its sleep-deprived limit. Vinyl knew the landmare’s annual tradition of going door to door to give out free cookies to her tenants, and she was counting on confronting Land Sakes at the office before she started her deliveries.

Vinyl grumbled as she shuffled her papers again for the umpteenth time. She wanted to plan out her path through the meeting, but her exhaustion wasn’t helping her think. The morning’s caffeine infusion could only go so far. She wasn’t sure if she should lead off with her statements from Cantrips or the one from de Lune. While she earned a lot more from DJing at Cantrips, de Lune probably looked better in establishing a regular paycheck. There were also her freelancing contracts she’d brought with her, but the vaguer she kept those underground gigs, the better.

Looking back through her de Lune paperwork again, she grimaced as the memories from last night wormed their way into her head. After the Moondance had ended, she asked Éclair de Lune for the proof of income statement. The plan went awry when the baker consulted Fancy Pants for help. The savvier pony had only taken a quick glance over it to help fix a few of her errors, but…

The way Fancy Pants had looked at her. He knew. He just somehow knew. The pity in those eyes. It was that same gentle concern Fancy had shown her at Cantrips when she sank into that drunken stupor. Vinyl felt exposed. Nopony was supposed to know how closely she teetered on the edge. She didn’t want to worry anypony with her problems, especially those closest to her.

All of that would have to wait until later. The click of a door snapped Vinyl’s attention to the entrance as an aquamarine pegasus strode in. She held several files in one wing and shuffled through documents in the other. The mare picked through them carefully with well practiced twitches of her feathers, keeping her hooves free to focus on her brisk trot towards Land Sakes’ office. Her dark teal coiffure was swirled into an elegant updo bun. Vinyl had never seen the steely-eyed pegasus before, but she was certain of two things: she was not a tenant nor her landmare.

The richly dressed mare regarded Vinyl’s presence briefly as she passed by her to the main office. She produced a large keyring, flipped over to a match to the door, and unlocked it, all without looking at her hooves. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Come in, Miss Vinyl Scratch.”

Upon hearing her full name, Vinyl felt a surge of nerve-wracked adrenaline shoot through her body. Land Sakes was an older, more grounded earth pony capable of sympathy, while the power-suited pegasus seemed far more likely to sell her firstborn foal for stock options.

“You were expecting me?” she hesitantly asked as she followed the mare into the equally Canterlot-chic office.

“Of course. You’re the whole reason I am here today, Miss Scratch.” The mare pulled the curtains open with a hoof while browsing her files with her wings. Vinyl had never seen a pegasus so nimbly flex their wings for such a mundane task before. The dexterity she displayed would put some of the ESPA’s feather flutists to shame.

“Where is Land Sakes?”

“She’s taking a vacation to visit family in Appleoosa. She will be unavailable until after the new year, so you’ll be dealing with me directly for once.” Vinyl winced as the other mare sat down in the creaky chair in a fluid motion. With a single wing flap, the pegasus fanned out her file’s contents before resting her chin on her hooves. She glanced at the stool across from her and Vinyl quickly took the hint as well as her seat.

“But I am getting ahead of myself. My name is Lofty Heights, the owner of The Lofts as well as many other lodgings here in Canterlot. I am glad I can finally meet you face-to-face, Miss Scratch,” Lofty said with complete neutrality while she poured over her own files. “What can I do for you this morning?”

“I wanted to talk about taking over the lease for apartment 103.”

Lofty produced another folder bearing the apartment’s name from a desk drawer. She feathered through it until finding a tab labeled “103” and pulled out a packet of earmarked pages. “That will be difficult to do, as there is no lease for 103.” Without breaking her focus on the folder, she slid the file over to Vinyl with her wing, removing her feathers, unveiling a red “Terminated” stamped across the top.

Vinyl blanched. “What? Terminated? But I never terminated anything!”

“You are correct. According to my records, CSGU was renting it out, but the school expressed a lack of interest in renewing the lease and gave us proper notice that they were canceling it.” The pegasus pointed her free hoof at Vinyl, briefly glancing at the mare before returning to her more important folder. “The current tenant, i.e. you, will be evicted one week from yesterday. Did you need help securing movers or maybe finding a storage facility?”

“Wait a minute! I don’t want to move. I even brought over the stuff Land Sakes said I needed to—”

“Let me stop you right there,” Lofty chimed in, finally deigning to hold eye contact with Vinyl for more than a few seconds. “It’s been almost two weeks since the school made their announcement and started the process of terminating the lease. We finalized it two days ago. Why am I just now hearing about this?”

Vinyl rubbed her foreleg, trying to find the best way to tell her that up until yesterday, she couldn’t afford rent. “She told me I’d need to show some more stable income than I had shown her previously, so I found a new job. It just, you know, took a little bit longer than I wanted to get everything together.”

“Well, I’m sorry, Miss Scratch, but the time for such talks has long since passed. There is no lease for you to take over.”

“But you can’t just kick me out without warning. I have my rights!” Not that she knew that for certain, but the line had worked before when she’d been arrested by the guard.

Loftys’ aloofness evaporated immediately and she slammed a firm hoof down on the table. Her narrowed gaze pierced Vinyl’s eyes, but the DJ stood her ground. “Do not make such accusations so lightly, Miss Scratch. Number one, I am not kicking you out without warning. You have your seven days warning right there in your hooves, which is more than generous considering you have no rights to the unit you’re inhabiting. If you look through the lease, your name only appears under ‘Approved Occupants’ and not the ‘Lessee,' which leads to number two.

"You never rented that apartment in the first place. For all intents and purposes, the school lived in 103 and had a student guest maintain the apartment for them. I am fully within my rights to go to court and start the eviction process at any time. I could easily have you dragged out of my property. By force if necessary.”

Vinyl had no way to know if Lofty was exaggerating, but the sheer confidence in her tone made the DJ question protesting the claim any further. Vinyl cursed herself for not bringing her shades. They wouldn’t have done much to hide the slump in her shoulders, but at least she’d be able to fake eye contact better.

“Okay, fine. Then what about signing a new lease?” Vinyl huffed bitterly.

Lofty returned to her neutral position as she lifted yet another folder for Vinyl to see. “If you were serious about that, I would already have your rental application right here with all of your updated information.”

“I’ve lived here for three years. Shouldn’t that be enough of an ‘application’ for you?”

“Again, no, you haven’t. At least, not without the school’s involvement. I’ll go ahead and take your evasiveness for an answer. I will need a new rental application from you. Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious. You’ll need to fill out a few forms, have a background check, pay an application fee, provide proof that you can afford the apartment, and give us a personal reference.”

“Okay, fine!” Vinyl returned the favor by slamming the table with a thick folder of her own. “I got everything I need right here and I’m sure Land Sakes will vouch for me, so let’s get this over with.”

Unimpressed with the display, the prim mare’s lips drew into a thin line as she gathered Vinyl’s messy stack of papers from the desk. “I’ll be the judge of that. And mind your manners, Miss Scratch. It does not reflect well on potential tenants to lack professionalism.”

Knowing she couldn’t trust her flaring temper, Vinyl acquiesced to the suggestion with a simple nod. She tried to wipe away her darker thoughts of the unbearable mare across the desk. Vinyl was not about to doom herself in case this pony was another mind reader like Princess Luna or Fancy Pants.

“I’m glad we understand each other. I will look over this later, but you should know that getting a background check during the holidays will be next to impossible before next week. Plus, even if I accept your application, you’ll be placed at the back of the tenant waiting list. In the meantime, I suggest finding somewhere to store your things until we have a vacant unit. I know a few units nearby, or you could always try to pawn what you have.”

Vinyl bit down hard on her tongue to stop it from launching into a tirade. She calmed herself for a moment until she was sure she wouldn’t yell at the top of her lungs. “But the whole point is so I don’t have to leave. Wouldn’t it be easier for you to just let me stay here while you checked everything anyway?”

“You think you’re the only pony interested in living near the heart of Canterlot?” She waved the folder that had kept her attention since entering the office. “This is filled with potential tenants that have been waiting patiently for one of my units to open up in this price range. Since you are not going through the proper channels, you will be placed behind them. I am not in the habit of rewarding lateness, Miss Scratch.”

Vinyl took a patient breath and forced herself to stop grinding her teeth. “Please. I spent the last two weeks getting all of that together as fast as possible. Could you at least look at it now before you make up your mind?”

“Fine. ‘Tis the season for warm harmony, right? Let’s consider this the beginning of your application.” Lofty collected Vinyl’s folder and quickly shuffled through the first set of pages. She arched her brow at the first entry. “You're working at a bakery? I’m surprised they would even hire a DJ. You honestly think working part-time in a little bakery like that is going to cover the cost of living in my building?”

“No, not all of it. You haven’t even looked at my DJing stuff yet.”

“You mean your contract work on the Drive? I assure you, that will not be enough to cover the shortfall you have here.”

“How can you be sure? Do you even know how much I make at Cantrips?”

“Very well. I’ll play along.” The pegasus turned to the next section with messier papers and began searching through the DJ’s revenue sources. “I believe the last time I spoke to Discotheque, he was keeping all of his performers around the same rate at his places on the Drive.”

“Y-you know my boss?” Vinyl felt a twinge of fear creep up her spine. The Lofts weren’t exactly the most luxurious lodgings in Equestria, so Vinyl hoped that Lofty Heights was just a name that she didn’t live up to.

“He’s technically your boss’ boss, but yes. And Hoity Toity, Photo Finish, Limelight, really anypony that would be interested in your services on the Drive or most anywhere else in Canterlot. I own many of the buildings they call home, along with several of the best hotels in the city. While we’ve never met like this, I've known about you for a while. I’ve simply never had much reason to pay much attention to you before now, DJ Pon-3. ”

Vinyl bit back a curse as a new wave of panic swept over her and groaned into her hooves as the last shred of her patience was burnt away. “Oh, come on! Are you all still upset about the stupid festival? It was two weeks ago. Don’t you have better things to do?”

A disappointed sigh escaped Lofty Heights as she dug deeper into Vinyl’s work record. “Your Screech might’ve ruined my evening, but that is neither here nor there. The better thing I have to do is protect my investments, which means this property. Even barring the stunt you pulled at the Festival of Flakes, you have a rather long record of run-ins with the law. Mostly for disturbing the peace, illegal assembly, and trespassing on private property. Am I wrong, Miss Scratch?”

Vinyl didn’t respond, which was more than enough for Lofty. To Vinyl’s dismay, the pegasus began separating out Vinyl’s private contracts into two piles like she was dealing cards. “So, I need to do my due diligence and ensure every bit that I collect from you in rent is earned legally,” she remarked as she set a page to her right, “and not illicitly,” she added, setting a page to her left.

Vinyl crossed her hooves and looked away from the sorted piles. “Looks like you already have my background check then, huh?”

“Due diligence, Miss Scratch. As I said, I wasn’t paying attention before.” Lofty snapped Vinyl’s folder shut with her wing and held it up. “Now, think carefully before answering: if I keep going through your little folder here, can you promise me that every bit you’re claiming as income was earned from a reputable and legitimate source?”

Vinyl put on her best poker face and pushed both stacks towards Lofty Heights’ side of the table, going all in. “Every bit in there was earned by DJing, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“No, it wasn’t, but that’s still the wrong answer, Miss Scratch,” Lofty rebuked sternly, calling Vinyl’s gambit with a firm scowl. She callously tossed the rest of the folder over her shoulder into the garbage can against the back wall.

“Hey! You can’t just—” With a beat of her wings, Lofty leapt out of her chair towards the filing cabinets and yanked a drawer loudly in one fluid motion, cutting Vinyl off before she could finish her sentence. The pegasus sifted through papers until finding her mark and slapped a diagram of Vinyl’s apartment down in front of the unicorn’s face.

“See this?” Lofty pointed at a corner of the floor plan. At the tip of her hoof was a small red seal bearing the image of the royal sisters. The two alicorns swirled around a shield emblazoned with a flame and fire ax. “This is the Canterlot Fire Brigade's Seal of Safety. Every building needs to be authorized before you are allowed to do anything in them. And I do mean anything.”

Lofty swept her wing across the table, spreading the documents she had stacked to her left across the table. Wrapping her other wing around Vinyl, she forced the DJ’s attention to the papers in front of them as the pegasus began pointing to performance contract after performance contract.

“No address listed on this one. Nothing on this one either. And this? Unless somepony built a new road in secret, this address doesn’t exist in Canterlot. Finally, I might’ve missed 2391 Mountainview Lane, but I know that condemned building very well. I will be remodeling it into a hotel and spa next year. Need I go on, Vinyl?”

Vinyl felt a sharp spike drill into the pit of her stomach. She knew bringing her sketchier contracts was risky, but she needed to show a regular freelancing income. Most of the underground nightclubs and pop ups paid under the table, but a few wanted their agreements in writing. Land Sakes would’ve looked at the amount paid for the night and accepted them at face value, but Lofty Heights had caught her red-hooved. In a word, she was screwed.

The pegasus released her wing grip on Vinyl and swept the rest of the papers into the garbage in one swift stroke. Without showing a hint of emotion, Lofty returned to her chair and resumed looking over the other applicants for Vinyl’s apartment.

After a moment, Vinyl risked speaking up. “So… what happens now?” she asked as she bit her lip.

“Do I need to spell it out for you? You failed your application with flying colors. Not acting fast enough after the announcement, not being professional during this meeting, not following proper directions for appealing a lease cancellation—a lease which wasn’t even yours in the first place—and demanding special treatment, lying to me during your application process—”

“I didn’t lie!” Vinyl interrupted with a shout. Her voice cracked with what little pride she could still muster. “I-I didn’t lie. I said I earned those bits, and I did. I played at each and every one of those venues and got paid to perform.”

“Semantics, Scratch. The moment you tried to pass off your illegal DJing as a legitimate income source was enough to know your freelancing record cannot be trusted. This means the only documented income I can accept without question now is your work at Pâte de Lune and Cantrips. You don’t earn enough money to afford living here in the first place, so I am well within my right to reject you as a potential tenant. In fact, any of the reasons I just listed alone would be enough to reject you outright. I must applaud you for going the extra mile and making my job that much easier.”

“What was I supposed to do?” Vinyl asked weakly.

“The correct answer was not wasting my time and what little pity I had left for your situation with this pointless meeting. I suggest you use the time you have remaining to pack up and straighten up that pigsty you call a room before I throw you out on the streets and charge you for cleaning.” Lofty swept up the rest of Vinyl’s useless records off the table with the same care that a broom has for a dirty floor. She deposited them into the trash with the rest of Vinyl’s useless folder. The pegasus took the bin in hoof, walked it to the door, and set it outside.

“Now, get out of my office.”

Vinyl didn't need to be asked twice. She was more than happy to rid herself of the snobby pegasus’ presence. The DJ focused solely on her hatred and clung to it like a life preserver. The moment she let go, she’d sink into despair like a lead weight. Looking down, there was probably no bottom, but if there was, the pressure would crush her first.

Hearth’s Warming Eve celebrations rang out across the mountaintop. While many attended the annual pageant, plenty of other festivities could be enjoyed around town. Usually, Fancy Pants enjoyed a nice, relaxing evening around the hearth of his study alone, but tonight he had decided to attend one of the many private parties thrown by the nobles of Canterlot.

He kept a healthy pace as he cantered through the cold streets bustling with holiday cheer. He tried keeping a lower profile, forgoing his normal fancy suit in lieu of a more fitting, casual, and itchy holiday sweater he’d received from Fleur. The brown and beige monstrosity along with a massive scarf was warm enough to keep the cold away and repulsive enough to keep other ponies from recognizing him.

“Maybe Fleur is onto something with this ‘uggo-flage’ concept,” he mused under his breath as he passed by unassuming ponies. They were too distracted by the eggnog and chocolate-themed, sequin sprinkled nightmare to see the Kingmaker underneath.

He turned the corner of a polished stone fence towards the mansion where he would be spending his evening. He pulled his scarf to his neck and smiled, transforming the awkward glares he had received upon walking onto the property into surprised stares. Several sets of eyes bulged as they darted between his handsome face and the garish seasonal sweater.

“Just getting into the spirit of things, everypony.”

Fancy stopped himself from snickering as he trotted into the home. Even the butler had been shocked into silence. He decided enough was enough and checked the sweater at the door, revealing his socially acceptable black turtleneck underneath. Finally, a wisp of magic drew his monocle from a hidden pocket to finalize his more casual appearance.

There was nothing too special about the mansion when compared to the rest of Canterlot. It was built on a smaller parcel of land, leading to a taller, compact, three-story box rather than a sprawling abode that most of the other nobles enjoyed. Such was the life of new money in Canterlot. Still, the foyer felt rather cozy with just the right amount of decorations to bring holiday warmth without going overboard.

Knowing he was rarely seen out and about on Hearth’s Warming unless he was with Princess Celestia, many onlookers gawked as he trotted leisurely through the lively halls towards the reception room. The sea of ponies parted, allowing him to present the hostess with a finely aged bottle of Griffonstone Brandy.

“A very happy Hearth’s Warming Eve to you, Upper Crust.”

“My, my! This is quite the surprise,” Upper Crust exclaimed for everypony to hear as she gladly took the rare bottle in her magic. She drew a breath through her nose to savor the renewed attention of her guests. “And what brings you here, Sir Fancy Pants, to my humble soirée?”

“I came to apologize and extend a peace offering to make up for my mistake.”

The banker blinked quizzically. “Mistake?”

“Why, yes. I must apologize for ruining that lovely dress you wore for the Festival of Flakes. I should’ve made it a point to see you sooner, but I let time get away from me.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie. Fancy had tried and failed in pursuing other angles to smooth out the Vinyl situation. By the time he thought about visiting her personally, the damage had been done to the DJ’s reputation. Only the revelation of her likely devolving living situation had spurned him into more drastic action. This was far more on the nose than he liked, but he didn’t have time for chess.

Upper Crust’s eyes practically glowed at Fancy as an elated smile split her face. She laughed and pushed the apology aside with a dismissive hoof. “Think nothing of it, my good stallion. It is not your fault if the help can’t help themselves. As far as I am concerned, you were just as much of a victim as I was.”

Fancy shook his head. “I’m afraid I must disagree. Fleur was my responsibility that evening and I let her get carried away.”

“Ah, Fleur de Lis?” The unicorn’s smile strained slightly as her eyes wandered upwards in thought. “I suppose you could say it like that, though I am sure she has learned her lesson since then. She simply needs to be more exclusive with her circle of friends so such an event doesn’t happen again. I trust somepony like you will make an excellent guide for her moving forward.”

Fancy chortled at the mere notion. “Oh heavens no. I’m not sure if anypony could guide that firebrand of a mare, least of all me. Fleur’s always been quite the troublemaker. She told me exactly what happened, but from what I understand, she never apologized to you for causing the Screech in the first place.”

Upper Crust coughed slightly in irritation and set the brandy on the table next to her with the other hostess gifts. “She had nothing to apologize for. It was that minx of a mare she decided to bring with her that was the problem.”

“You mean Miss Vinyl Scratch?”

“Yes. That DJ friend of hers,” the mare groused as she looked away with narrowed eyes. “I’m surprised you bothered remembering her name. Though I suppose you might want to, given the unfortunate circumstances.”

“Of course. She is quite the talented musician. It’s a shame she doesn’t play the piano more often.”

Fancy saw the subtlest of twitches flick in the mare’s left eyelid. The other ponies were mumbling to themselves hearing the praise the Kingmaker was hefting onto the mare. There was a pause before flicking her eyes back to Fancy. “Yes, that surprised me as well. It’s a shame she wastes what talent she does possess on the Drive rather than making herself more useful.”

“I wouldn’t say that is a waste. Princess Luna was interested in seeing Dressage Drive, so I was asked to escort her myself. While we didn’t have the DJ Pon-3 experience, the Princess seemed to enjoy similar music of the Drive’s other performers.”

The mention of Luna on the drive brought more excitable chattering amongst the other party-goers. Neither he nor Luna had clarified the context of that shot somepony had snapped of them together in the middle of the Drive. He hadn’t planned on revealing the information, but Upper Crust was putting up far more resistance than he had anticipated. Under the mare’s uncaring, upturned exterior boiled a visceral, seething anger.

“Fancy Pants,” Upper Crust addressed calmly, “I understand your concern for Fleur. Really, I do. You obviously care for the lovely mare, seeing as you’ve taken her under your tutelage. I assume that’s why you two were there helping at that bakery on Mane Street yesterday. What was it called? Something in Prench?”

“Pâte de Lune. And only partly correct. Fleur works that sale every year.”

“Ah yes, I might not remember the name, but I already know Fleur works there often. They have great deals around this time of year. I usually stop there to get some holiday pastries for my firm’s employees. What I meant was you and that rowdy DJ friend of hers working together. It was clear why you would be there to help Fleur and her mother since I didn’t see Gustav le Grande. I can only imagine your shock at the unfortunate run-in with Scratch.”

It was rare for Fancy to be caught at a disadvantage with a Canterlot noble. He had assumed nopony would’ve recognized the DJ. The surprised whispers hissing around them confirmed that fact. Fancy hadn’t even seen Upper Crust at de Lune yesterday. Heaven knows, he would’ve been the first too considering he’d stayed outside for almost the entire day. While Fancy pondered how she had come across such privileged information, Upper Crust assumed a gracious smile.

“Don’t worry about it, Sir Fancy Pants. Your accidental association with that ruffian was just that: an accident. Frankly, I’m surprised you’d be going so far for her after ruining the festival. Your apology, while unnecessary, is accepted. Be sure to extend my forgiveness to Fleur de Lis as well next time you see her. She seems like she could become a lovely lady if given the right model to follow.”

Realizing she was trying to end the conversation, Fancy rose a hoof to interject. “I’ll be sure to, Miss Upper Crust, but I—”

“I deeply apologize, but as the hostess of the evening, I really mustn’t keep the other guests waiting. Enjoy yourself tonight, Sir Fancy Pants.” The false excuse of saving face seemed enough to placate the crowd, earning a few confirming nods from the onlookers.

With that, Upper Crust moved back into her hostess duties to greet the other well-connected guests, ending the conversation quickly before he had a chance to reply. Fancy silently cursed himself for losing focus. She was craftier than he gave her credit for, granted she had the advantage as he was on the unpopular side of popular opinion. Still, he had given Éclair his word. He would do something to help Vinyl Scratch, and he wasn’t about to back down so easily.

Despite the evening’s self-imposed duties, Fancy allowed himself a moment to enjoy the holiday fun. It wasn’t often that he attended such things unless Princess Celestia dragged him out herself. Hearth’s Warming was a time meant to celebrate with friends and family. The friends he wanted to spend time with would be busy with families of their own, and spending time with his own family was… complicated.

The stallion shook the annoying thought away as he took another sip of eggnog. While he still preferred a harder drink for the night, Fancy had to admit the Crystal Imperial rum added the right amount of kick without overpowering the flavor.

Walking the halls of Upper Crust’s home, it didn’t take long for him to see how enamored Upper Crust had become with the recently returned empire. Imperial sculptures, framed crystalline fractals, and other assorted artworks were scattered around the home. He wasn’t sure if it looked good under normal circumstances, but the glistening, Frozen North themed halls worked wonderfully for the wintery evening. The only thing that clashed with the pure crystal motif was a framed magazine cover with Upper Crust and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza discussing a business deal over coffee.

“Taking in some of the trophies, Sir Fancy Pants?” Upper Crust asked as she approached from behind.

“You have quite the collection,” he remarked as he turned to greet Upper Crust again. “Undoubtedly awarded for a job well done.”

“Just proof of the first step towards a brighter future. These are all thanks to you and the others who believed in Horst Holdings. If you will pardon the pun, we caused quite the tectonic shift in the business world once our partners secured those lucrative contracts with the Crystal Empire,” she remarked loud enough for several other ponies across the room to hear.

Fancy stopped himself from rolling his eyes. She wasn’t wrong, but he wasn’t exactly fond of the position she had put him in. Knowing how groundbreaking the opportunity was, he would've been a fool not to invest in the little venture proudly displayed on the magazine's cover. Upper Crust was the first Canterlot business pony on the train to the Frozen North after the Crystal Empire had reappeared, even before that Sombra fellow had been properly dealt with. Regal Cents had acted too little too late. No matter Fancy’s preference for the stallion, he was simply outmaneuvered.

“Still fishing for that headline, I see,” Fancy whispered back. “While I do appreciate the doors you’ve helped open between Equestria and the imperial city-state, I’m not fond of being so brazenly pitted against ponies that I respect. You would do well to remember that, Miss Upper Crust.”

Upper Crust laughed sharply to hide her nerves and rising ire. “Noted. In the same vein, I am not fond of being attacked by a surprise guest from the moment they trot through my front door, no matter who they are.” She snatched a mug of hard warm cider from a passing servant and motioned for a nearby door leading out the back. “Would you care to join me outside for some privacy, Fancy Pants?”

Despite the lack of decorum, Fancy Pants nodded affably and opened the door for Upper Crust. Even though he could hear the freezing mountain wind blowing strongly from the top of Canterhorn, the back patio was kept comfortably cool by a magical gemstone he wasn’t familiar with. Upper Crust walked over to the railing to admire the glow of Canterlot Castle and the sparkles of light from Cloudsdale on the horizon. Looking back at the stallion, she motioned for Fancy to join her.

“You have quite the collection of unique crystals, Upper Crust.”

“Like it? It’s a shear-shield shard from the Empire. The ones up north are much larger to protect the city from the snow. Little ones like this are a luxury I’m hoping to introduce to Equestria. They’re far better than what we have here.”

Fancy nodded. “Another prize from your victories then.”

“It’s funny, really. I did my best to distance myself from anything related to them, but here I am building my fortune off of a nation of crystal ponies. I suppose it’s only fitting that my life would come full-circle to such things. Before I met Jet Set, I was destined to rot on some nowhere rock farm with the rest of my family.”

Fancy had heard the rock farmer trope before, but rarely had somepony in Canterlot openly admitted to bearing ignoble origins. The Set family wasn’t particularly influential anymore with more modern ponies flocking to coffee than tea these days. However, the old holdouts of Teaset’s dynasty would still have something to say about marrying a commoner pony, especially one that didn’t change their name. Not that such things mattered as much anymore. Wealth was far more powerful than birthrights.

“Don’t look so surprised, Sir Fancy Pants. Where do you think the name ‘Crust’ comes from?”

“I guess that would explain your initial interest in the empire,” Fancy mused.

“I escaped Rockville years ago to make something more of my life than some starving geode cracker. Be it coincidence or providence, I managed to tap into the potential within the Crystal Empire before anypony else. I worked hard and have more than earned my place among the elite of Canterlot. Which brings me to a question I must ask again,” she started icily. “What brings you here tonight to my home? You’re not exactly known for your holiday cheer and I am not accustomed to needless badgering over trivialities.”

“A request from a friend.”

“Fleur de Lis?” Upper Crust guessed.

“Éclair de Lune,” Fancy Pants corrected.

“Ah, so the mother. And here I thought Fleur was the lone driving force behind it.” The hostess shrugged to herself and took another warming sip of cider. “So, what is it that they want from me that the illustrious Kingmaker can’t provide on his own?”

Fancy chuckled thinking of all the colorful things that the two would say to her given the opportunity. “I think I’ll spare you the details and speak my piece instead. Simply put, I would ask you to correct the record and place the fault of the Screech on Fleur de Lis instead of Vinyl Scratch.”

Upper Crust bristled at the notion. “Why in Equestria would you want me to do that?”

“You went overboard with your desire for attention. I’ll admit that I didn’t want to give you the quote you need to bury Regal Cents, but there was no reason to involve Miss Scratch.” Upper Crust leveled a sidelong glare at Fancy for being called out so bluntly. “You’re making her life unnecessarily difficult in a bid to stay relevant long enough to bury your competition. Miss Scratch is needlessly suffering because of it.”

“And you think blaming Fleur for that DJ’s screw-up will fix everything?”

“No, but telling the truth would be a start. Fleur already admitted it was her fault at the festival. I assumed the only reason you shifted the blame from Fleur de Lis to Miss Scratch was to not upset me.”

“If I recall, you weren’t exactly there when it happened either. What makes you think that Fleur de Lis isn’t lying simply to cover for her friend?”

“Even if it wasn’t true, Fleur de Lis is more capable at weathering the storm than Miss Scratch is.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Upper Crust dropped any pretense of civility, letting the fire burning behind her eyes take over as she turned to give Fancy Pants her undivided attention.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I meant what I said about Fleur’s poor choice in friends, Fancy. That DJ is nothing but trouble, and any trouble she is in is rightly deserved. What I find far more concerning is this meddling of yours. Don’t think that I’m unaware of your attempts at damage control.”

Fancy’s mouth drew into a thin line. “Only damage that you’re causing.”

The mare scoffed. “Honestly, I’m quite shocked to see you taking the side of a DJ of all ponies! Musicians are a dime a dozen in Canterlot, and there are far better ones than her. A glorified gramophone is hardly worth your time.”

“I wouldn’t say that at all. She’s quite the remarkable mare if I do say so myself. A truly talented artist brimming with untapped potential.”

“R-remarkable? That brutish loudmouth? What possible potential can you see in her outside of causing absolute chaos?” Upper Crust flared up in anger, nearly crushing her glass in her magic. Fancy stepped back slightly from the enraged mare. She quickly coughed into her foreleg and took a moment to reign in her temper. “No. Fleur simply has you wrapped around her little hoof and blinded you to the truth. That DJ is worthless.”

Fancy took a swig of his eggnog before risking anything else to set his hostess off again.

“I know Vinyl Scratch. I had the misfortune of getting to know her very well when she first showed up.” There was a glint of fragility in the mare’s eyes for a moment before she blinked it away and turned towards the moon. “I was willing to leave well enough alone before, but after seeing what she was capable of at the Festival of Flakes, she has crossed the line. So I’ve decided that she needs to learn a lesson about how power works here in Canterlot.”

“Perhaps ‘power abuse’ would be more fitting a term,” Fancy rebutted in disappointment. “Do you even realize what you have done? Thanks to your petty smear campaign, you’ve made it nigh impossible for her to find work to support herself while continuing her studies.”

Upper Crust tapped her hoof on the railing and then smirked knowingly in satisfaction. “I’m guessing she’s already refused your generosity if you’re coming to me about this. She bears nothing but animosity towards our well-earned success, you know.”

Fancy was at a loss for words. Once again, she was right on the mark. Fleur’s little joke had sparked a fierce reaction from Vinyl. He’d never seen anypony so completely against the mere notion of assistance. The DJ wanted to be her own mare, Fancy could respect that. However, the adamancy she had to be independent seemed more out of self-preservation than outright hostility.

“I thought so. That delusional pride of hers.” The banker ruefully shook her head and drank the rest of her cider in one gulp, not even flinching at the burning of the spice or alcohol. With impassioned resolve, she scowled at her empty glass before sneering at Fancy. “If this is what it takes to break that wild mare, then I’ll gladly snap her like a twig.”

Fancy took a step back. “What could possibly be so valuable to you that you would go so far?”

Upper Crust wiped the vitriol from her face and assumed a far more dignified and haughty stance in front of Fancy Pants. It was the same aloofness she showed to anypony she treated like a stranger.

“Unlike Regal Cents, I won’t needlessly leak information to the competition that could come back to bite me. All you need to know is that the DJ is truly none of your concern, Sir Fancy Pants. You are in the minority this time. We all saw what happened. We all know who was the root cause of it all, Fleur’s involvement be damned. I finally have the opportunity to teach that urchin some manners, so I’d appreciate it if you would kindly leave well enough alone.”

Fancy wanted nothing more than for this problem to go away as well. Part of him wished he hadn’t gotten to know the mare better while trying to salvage her reputation. He might’ve even agreed with Upper Crust’s interpretation of events. It would be so much easier to simply sweep it all under the rug rather than deal with Vinyl given her poor attitude.

But he couldn’t do that. Not to Vinyl Scratch. The DJ was a very abrasive mare, but abrasive didn’t mean bad. In what little time he had spent with her, he had found far more than just a foul-mouthed performer. If she really wasn’t a good pony, Fleur would’ve left her in the dust along with the rest of her fake friends a long time ago. Éclair wouldn’t have begged him to help her.

As for himself, Fancy Pants could see something deeper within the young mare. While DJ Pon-3’s music was a decade or two removed from what he could get into, Vinyl Scratch could play the piano as beautifully as Octavia Melody could play her cello. She was stupid enough to destroy her sleep schedule most nights on the Drive, but gifted enough to earn highly competitive funding for an innovative project he barely understood. There was that rowdy disc jockey partying all night at Cantrips and that hard working pony biting her tongue all day at Pâte de Lune.

Anypony willing to look long enough knew Vinyl Scratch was somepony special. He felt his cutie mark tug at the back of his mind as a thought occurred to him. She simply needed the chance to weather the storm so she could shine all the more afterward.

“I suppose you’re right. I am in the minority on this one,” Fancy admitted with a smile. “Which means I should find a way to capitalize on the opportunity myself.”

Upper Crust turned her nose up to the stallion and opened the back door for her uninvited and unwelcome guest. “Then I wish you luck, Fancy Pants. I will be waiting here to see when your foolish gamble explodes in your face.”

“Have a wonderful rest of your Hearth’s Warming Eve, Miss Upper Crust.”

“Despite your best efforts, I intend to.”

Vinyl nibbled on a carrot as she absentmindedly shot another bolt of magic at her apartment floor. It exploded into an energy wave that ran up the walls and vanished into the ceiling, seeping into the various autonomously running spells along the way. While Proper Primrose’s Enchanted Guide to Housekeeping certainly helped speed up her cleaning efforts, the unicorn felt trapped in a fairy tale with all of the brooms, dusters, and brushes dancing around her apartment.

Even with everything mostly taking care of itself, she had lost focus more than once while packing. Every so often, her scattered thoughts would overcome her senses for a few moments, forcing her to constantly shake them out of her head. She’d find herself folding the same clothes several times over or casting the wrong spell on them entirely. Proper’s Pipe Cleaning had sent one of her scarves to an early retirement, though it had been very effective in clearing out the shower drain of her hair. Vinyl would have to burn the poor thing later.

Luckily, there were plenty of boxes around town for her sudden move. Being the last shopping day of the season, plenty of ponies were more than willing to part with their cardboard for free so they could get back to their last-minute customers. It was the only silver lining she could find in all of this. After her meeting with Lofty Heights, the pegasus had closed the main office for the rest of the year. Vinyl’s fate was sealed.

Another box was packed and she pushed it away from the table towards the door to start on the next. It was only starting to dawn on her how really screwed she was. Where was she supposed to put all of her stuff? Her cursory search for an affordable storage unit had revealed every one of them in Canterlot had closed for the holidays. None of them would be open from Hearth’s Warming all the way through New Year’s. Everything was lining up just right to maximize Vinyl’s misery.

Her anger had long been burnt through and she was now coasting on anxiety. She desperately wanted to go to sleep, but every time she shut her eyes, another worry would shake her awake. At some point, the DJ knew she’d simply pass out. She hoped it’d be near her bed. Vinyl stumbled to her hooves and decided to trudge in that direction to better her odds of hitting her mark.

Vinyl kept her eyes on her steps as she walked across the mostly clean floor. It was weird being able to see it again. She’d left it a complete mess for so long, she’d forgotten what the floorboards looked like. There was a lingering relief seeing it so clean again. Maybe there was something to keeping a tidy home. Little late for that now considering she was about to lack one. A few errant drops of water fell to the floor in front of her.

“The stupid, leaky roof,” Vinyl cursed under her breath, despite being on the bottom floor of a five story building. She was about to fall face first onto her pillow when there was a knock at the door. She wiped her face with her foreleg and threw on her sunglasses despite it being 8:48 at night in winter.

“Please don’t be Fleur. Please don’t be Fleur…”

Opening the door, her heart dropped as she was greeted by the ugliest chocolate brown and beige sweater she’d ever seen. At first she thought it was Fleur wearing some uggo-flage, but the thicker stallion’s build told a different story. Before her exhaustion-addled brain could catch up, a familiar classy voice cut through the winter chill.

“Ah, good. The fourth door was the charm. Good—err rather Happy Hearth’s Warming, Miss Scratch.”

Fancy Pants? Why was Fancy Pants here? Better yet, how was he here?

“Before you slam the door in my face, Miss Scratch, I have a job offer for you,” Fancy Pants said quickly. He didn’t try to force his way in, rather he stood at a comfortable distance, giving Vinyl space.

Horseapples. This was a trap, a trick of some sort. There was no way he’d show up now. It couldn’t be a coincidence. It was far too convenient.

He waited a moment, seeing how she hadn’t left him on the porch, he kept going with his pitch. “This involves something that Steeplechase and the ESPA have been trying to get me to do for years that I think you’d be perfect to help me with given your…” the stallion trailed as his wandering eyes caught the boxes she had stacked next to the door. His eyes softened at Vinyl. “Given your expertise with crystal storage.”

That was rich. Of course he’d wait until he was at her lowest to show up on her doorstep. Vinyl didn’t know his game, and she didn’t want to know. She needed to shut the door.

“I know it’s none of my business, and I’m probably the last pony you want to see right now, but after you asked Éclair for that proof of income, it wasn’t hard for me to put two and two together. I suppose it wasn’t enough money to stop your eviction.”

Just shut the door.

“I promise that I haven’t told anypony about your current situation. I don’t intend to either regardless of your answer. All I ask is that you consider an offer.”

Slam the door in his pompous, know-it-all face.

“Please, Miss Scratch. Vinyl. I know you won’t let me help you, so let me hire you instead. This is a legitimate offer befitting somepony of your unique talents. There is nopony better suited for it than you.”

“Why?” Vinyl finally croaked behind a hitched breath.

“If I’m being honest, I didn’t want anypony else getting into those old records, considering my… unique family situation. But since you know about my father—” Fancy stopped as the DJ walked through the doorway. She lifted her sunglasses, revealing all of the panic and anxiety brimming in her exhausted, bloodshot eyes.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

Fancy smiled kindly and placed a supportive hoof on her shoulder

“I already told you once before, Vinyl. You’re worth it.”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 12: Remembering Yesteryear

Hearth’s Warming day was one of the few days of the year when business in Canterlot came to a halt. A few ponies wandered about the city to keep the essentials going, but most spent time tucked in their warm houses or in their yards playing in the fresh snow. Celestia herself always ensured that the mountain was blanketed in a fresh, thick layer of it every year. The annual snowfall always encouraged ponies to gather around the hearth with friends and family so they would remember the harmonious reason for the season.

While the frosty city was always beautiful to behold, navigating the mounds of snow and ice was a miserable chore. One of these days, Vinyl would find a nice, warm beach somewhere to weather the winter away. She hated trudging through the cumbersome powder. As she drew closer to the dreaded ascent into the wealthier districts, she reached into her hoodie’s pocket with her hoof and pulled out the hastily scrawled note on a torn-out page from an expansive planner. It was the only thing she had from last night to prove her encounter with Fancy Pants wasn’t some stress-induced fever dream.

~~-on, 23 Thurs.~~
~~-tend Memorial Bake Sale (All-day)~~
Miss Vinyl Scratch,
I apologize for interrupting any Hearth’s
Warming plans. If you are available, please
come to the Suede Shoes Estate tomorrow
morning. I require the assistance of an
ESPA-certified Archivist of your talents.
Directions are provided below if you don’t
remember the way.
Thank you for your time.
- Fancy Pants

It was an interesting note, to say the least. For how proper and orderly the stallion always presented himself, a large chunk of the top corner was missing. The horn writing was a barely legible mess of scrawled words. To top it off, a clear bite mark indented the bottom of the note where he had ripped the page out with his teeth. Why he hadn’t simply cut the paper out with his magic was a complete mystery to her.

She paused at the base of the hill and looked again to the upper level of the city. “Keep it together, Scratch. You’re going to a gig. It’s just like the royal wedding.”

“I sure hope not. I don’t want to run from a bunch of changelings on Hearth’s Warming,” a deep voice remarked in a conspiratorial whisper.

The DJ yelped in surprise. She nearly toppled over into the snow until a leathery wing caught her fall. “Woah there, easy girl! Easy.”

“Steeple!” another sterner one added with a smack against the nocturne’s head. “For the love of Luna, I can’t take you anywhere without you getting into some sort of trouble.”

After finding more stable footing and catching the fluttering note in her magical grip, Vinyl finally got a look at the unexpected pair who had snuck up on her. “Steeplechase? Octavia?” The DJ secreted the note into her hoodie’s front pocket, hoping the two hadn’t noticed her slight of magic.

“In the faux fur and flannel, Vinyl! Happy Hearth’s Warming to you!” Steeplechase greeted with a fangy grin.

The Melodys were snugly wrapped in brand-new winter coats. She assumed the two had gifted each other their matching snow white flannels. The only difference between the two was the colored fur. Octavia’s flannel sported pink fur lining the hood and cuffs, while Steeple’s faux color was a charcoal black.

“I would apologize for him, but that would imply he is sorry in the first place.” Octavia leveled a withering sidelong glare at her worse half.

“It’s not my fault we blend in so well,” Steeple bragged and he sidled up like a movie spy to a large pile of shoveled snow. His ashen blue fur and black bat wings starkly defied his stealthy claim. His exasperated partner would be far more capable of disappearing into their wintery surroundings with her more muted gray fur, assuming they were also near an overturned cotton candy stand.

“His hair-brained antics aside, it is lovely to see you again. We’ve barely seen each other since the last showcase concert. I’ve been so worried about you.”

“Why?” Vinyl asked, hoping the cellist had her head in the sand since coming back from Manehattan.

“You have to ask?” Octavia placed a hoof on her chest, almost insulted by the question. “I miss one performance because of an untimely avalanche, and the next thing I know, you’re being painted as public enemy number one in the papers!”

Vinyl’s vision went pink as Octavia pulled her into a tight hug, almost knocking her sunglasses off her face. The DJ fought her instinct to pull away. The usually demure mare wasn’t known for public displays of affection.

“The prof-in-law said you haven’t been going to the audio lab either.” Steeplechase tousled the DJ’s unkempt mane. “I know it’s been a stressful time, but you can’t just up and vanish on everypony, Vinyl. The only reason we didn’t chase you down ourselves was because Fleur asked us to give you some space.”

That was a double-edged sword if Vinyl had ever heard one. While the DJ was thankful for her friend dissuading ponies from bothering her, that also meant Fleur probably knew more than she was letting on. It was sometimes hard to remember that her best friend was actually a smart, quick-witted thinker under all of that Fleur-ness.

“Relax, guys. I’m fine,” Vinyl assured the two as she gently pushed Octavia away.

“Hmm…” Steeplechase flew above his wife and landed on her back, causing the earth pony to grunt from the sudden weight. He craned his neck over her grumpy head and narrowed his yellow eyes, the slitted pupils shrinking into the irises like an attentive cat. “Nuh-uh. Not buying it.”

“No, really. I’ve just been keeping myself busy finding gigs on the Drive.”

“Right. Hold on a second.” Octavia rolled her eyes and her husband off her back. He yelped before plummeting into several inches of snow. The cellist gently removed Vinyl’s sunglasses causing the unicorn to blink in confusion. “Now, let’s try that again from the top. How are you doing?”

Vinyl’s jaw fell slack as a pattern clicked in her mind between Luna, Fancy, and now the Melodys. “Am I the only one who didn’t know about the eye thing?”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know.” Octavia couldn’t help but chortle at Vinyl’s growing scowl. “You’ve got the polar opposite of a poker face without these.”

Vinyl grumbled bitterly to herself as she snatched her pilfered shades back from the smug mare.

Steeple fluttered up and over Vinyl, landed next to the incredulous unicorn, and pulled her into an unwelcome wing-hug. “Aww, don’t worry, silly filly. Think of it this way: you’re simply too honest for your own good.”

“I hate you two so much right now.” Vinyl shoulder-bumped the nocturne away in an irritated huff and lowered her shades back over her traitorous eyes.

“We’re just worried about you, Vinyl. We all are, Father included. It’s not like you to simply disappear for weeks on end.” Octavia looked up the sloping street towards the castle. “On that note, what are you doing out all this way in the first place? Unless you lost a bet with Fleur, I can’t think of a single reason you’d be anywhere near the castle district.”

Vinyl sighed. Rather than risk explaining herself, she pulled out her note from Fancy and passed it to Octavia. The cellist simply raised a curious eyebrow as she took the note in hoof and quickly read it to herself. After a moment, she held the note closer to ensure she was reading it correctly and frowned.

“He does know you just work with crystals, right? That isn’t anywhere close to what he wants.”

“Oh, geez really? Thanks for reminding me!” Vinyl scoffed, trying to play off her nerves. “Why do you think I’m not exactly a hundred percent right now?”

Octavia raised an eyebrow at the outburst, clearly not falling for the jab.

Vinyl scoffed. “Whatever. Shouldn’t you, I dunno, be at home singing carols by the fireplace or opening presents with Professor Melody?”

“We were on our way to do just that until we saw you from across the way.” Octavia pointed a hoof towards the third house down a nearby residential street. “That’s my fillyhood home. We’d already be there if Steeple wasn’t so against staying the night.”

Steeplechase recoiled in mock indignation. “You’re blaming me? It’s not my fault the Melody clan is cursed to keep the concert going all night; a veritable symphony of snores. I’m surprised your neighbors haven’t issued noise complaints. It’s enough to drive a pony batty.”

Octavia’s face slumped into a frown. “Are you saying that I snore, Steeple?”

“But yours are so cute, Fruit—Oof!” Octavia elbowed Steeple in the barrel, knocking the wind out of him.

“Take the out next time, dear. You’re a better liar than her.”

“And let such a good set-up slip by? Why, I’m shocked you’d even suggest such a thing, Tavi. Appalled, even!”

“His unbearable antics aside, we were hoping to invite you with us if you weren’t too busy today, Vinyl. I know Mother and Father would love to have you as well.” Octavia looked at the note again before offering it back to Vinyl as her face softened. “But we shouldn’t keep you. As your friend, I wish you luck, but as your mentor, I don’t think I have to tell you twice to turn him down. Fancy Pants will need an actual archivist.”

“Wait!” At once, Steeple recovered from the hit to his side. His tufted ears perked to attention as his pupils shrank into the whites of his eyes. “Did you say ‘Fancy Pants’ and ‘archivist?’”

Before either mare could answer, his wings were already pumping as he dove between the two. He snatched it out of her wife’s hoof like a seagull stealing an unguarded hay fry and began pouring over it. As he read it over and over, a manic grin split his face.

“Oh-ho-ho! This is brilliant! It’s a Hearth’s Warming miracle!” he cried as he somersaulted in the air.

“What’s gotten into you, Steeple?” Octavia leveled and annoyed glower towards her husband. “You’re acting stranger than usual, and for you, that is an accomplishment!"

“What? And spoil a surprise? On Hearth’s Warming of all days? Heaven forbid! C’mon, we can’t keep Fancy Pants waiting. Let’s get going!” Steeple took to the skies and started flying up the hill.

“What?” Vinyl gaped at the stallion’s sudden self-invitation to tag along.

“What!” Octavia roared angrily. “Steeplechase! Mother and Father are waiting for us!”

“Then tell them I’m sleeping in or something. They’ll get it.” The batty stallion waved a dismissive hoof and then pointed towards his new destination. “Fancy Pants is about to give me the greatest gift I’ve received in years, and I need to go open it right now!”

Octavia sighed into her hoof. “I am not in the mood for one of your moods, Steeple. I swear I will have Father prepare the fruit salad with his magic if you don’t get your flank in gear right now!”

For whatever reason, the odd threat seemed to strike momentary fear into the stallion, but he shrugged off the horror just as quickly as it had crossed his face. “That is a sacrifice I am willing to make, Octavia.”

The married mare groaned in a manner uniquely reserved for her husband's hijinks. “Fine! Then you wait right here while I tell Father why we will be late. Luna only knows what havoc you’ll cause if I’m not there to foalsit you for five seconds.”

The three ponies trekked through the snowy streets of the castle district. Seeing the unfortunately familiar name placards on the walls of homes and fences, Vinyl was certain more than a few of them would not be very welcoming. She pulled her hood up, and ducked between her two companions after seeing the name “Lofty Heights” written on one of the mail slots. The DJ was deep in enemy territory.

After what felt like hours, the oldest home at the end of the street came into view. The day she had woken up in Fancy’s home, she’d been too distracted to appreciate the ridiculous size of the Suede Shoes Estate. Her devolving financial situation had completely distracted her from taking in her surroundings. Part of her was amazed how little she’d noticed in her mad gallop back to her apartment.

At first glance, Vinyl wasn’t sure how big the mansion was compared to its neighbors. The excessive amount of sprawling land it sat upon made it look smaller from the street. Fancy had more open space than anypony in a big city had any right to own. Vinyl couldn’t even see all of it from where she was standing, but it appeared to run all the way to the base of Mount Canterhorn’s upper peaks and Whitetail Falls. The property seemed more fitting for farmland than a random rich pony’s house.

Steeplechase whistled Vinyl back to attention and beckoned her with a hoof to follow them. Not wanting to be left alone in Rich Pony Central, she sprinted to catch up, almost slipping on the icy cobblestone. As they drew closer to the mansion, Vinyl began noticing how different it was from other buildings around the city. The outer walls were a sun-bleached sienna orange made of rustic flagstone and limestone. Sunlight had warmed up the roof enough to reveal the distinctive pattern of faded San Palomino clay tiles buried under the snow. It didn’t clash with its neighbors, but the residence felt far more Istallian than Canterlotian.

The three approached a set of imposing, arched double doors made of dark brown wood. Octavia reached for the bell, only to be greeted by a butler before she could chime it. It was the same older stallion from her last visit, but Vinyl had been so distracted by his bushy brow and goatee that she’d never caught his name.

“Ah, Miss Vinyl Scratch. We have been expecting you.”

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Dapper!” Steeple offered with a chipper grin.

The butler arched his eyebrow high enough to observe the other two ponies with her. “I see you have been joined by Mister and Missus Melody. I’m sure Master Fancy Pants will be more than happy to see you two as well on this lovely holiday. Please, come with me.”

Steeplechase tried to dart past Dapper into the home, but Octavia quickly grounded the stallion by tugging down on his tail. Vinyl had only met Steeple while he was working, so this playful side of the normally subdued librarian was new to her. She still wasn’t sure if the nocturne was normally this excitable or if he simply enjoyed pushing his wife’s buttons. The three followed the old stallion’s sedate pace as he strode through the home in a perfectly even glide.

Inside the home was a far more familiar Canterlot aesthetic with polished white walls and a matching checkered floor. The entry hall proudly displayed paintings, pottery, and other pieces of art from around the world. Vinyl couldn’t go two steps without noticing a new keepsake from some far-flung land. If this was what Fancy could put near the front door, she didn’t even want to think about how many other priceless relics were hidden away in the house.

Further inside, she found herself standing in the middle of a sprawling foyer. Vinyl wasn’t sure why anypony would need two staircases, but she had to admit the symmetry looked nice. From a glance, the stairs followed along the curve of the walls. The steps were lined by black banisters with parallel railings running down the supports like musical registers. Overhead, the foyer formed a dome of streaking golden rods that ended in a large skylight, bathing everything in sunshine. She wondered if there was a way to play the steps like a gigantic piano.

Once they reached the center of the room, Dapper cleared his throat and stood at full attention. “Announcing the arrival of Miss Vinyl Scratch, Missus Octavia Melody, and Mister Steeplechase Melody.”

A moment later, Fancy Pants emerged from a hallway on the second floor. He looked over the railing with a bright smile and began descending the stairs to meet his company. “Ah, Miss Scratch. I’m so glad you could make it. And Octavia and Steeplechase as well? I suppose part of the Hearth’s Warming traditions are unexpected surprises. What brings you two here today?”

“Don’t look at me. He’s the one that invited himself,” Octavia clarified and pointed to her husband. “I’m here to make sure these two don’t break anything.”

Ignoring his wife, Steeplechase hovered up to meet Fancy Pants halfway down the staircase. He bubbled with the excitement of a greedy foal. “Vinyl said you had a gift for me. As the ESPA's historian of musicology, I’ve come to collect.”

Fancy Pants laughed politely and shooed the fluttering stallion back. “That is one way to put it, provided that Vinyl accepts the offer.”

“So, from the clues I’m picking up here, you want me to archive a few records for you?” Vinyl asked. Steeplechase and Fancy Pants said nothing, but shared a furtive glance between each other. After a moment, Steeplechase couldn’t help but smirk with devilish delight.

Octavia looked up and tapped a pensive hoof on her chin. “Wait. Is this about that Summers-Suede record collection you’ve been chomping at the bit to access?”

“It’s a tad more than a record collection, Octavia,” Fancy corrected as he finished his descent. He motioned towards the middle door between the dueling staircases. “It would probably be best if I showed you.”

He dismissed the butler, but not before Dapper Dandy walked ahead to hold the door open for the master of the house and his guests. Leaving the help behind, Fancy led his company through hallway after hallway, pushing towards the back of the mansion. The decorations became older and more distant from what little Vinyl knew about Fancy’s accomplishments as they went. Soon, the trappings of a former diplomat yielded to more musical treasures. Pictures of Griffonstone and Yakyakistan changed to vintage magazine and album covers. Then, they arrived in a hall decorated like no other.

While Fancy kept walking, Vinyl, Octavia, and Steeplechase stopped in their tracks as a collage of colorful rectangles flanked them on both sides. The hallway’s walls were covered with a massive collage of photographs. Unlike the other more professional portraits and paintings of Fancy’s collection, there were far more personal photos mixed in with other mementos from decades ago.

“It’s been a while since I’ve strolled down this rather literal memory lane,” Fancy remarked as he turned to his captivated guests.

The masses of photos were nestled between the bordering wall trim, making a tall line of photographs that grounded ponies would have to crane their necks up to see everything. Vinyl didn’t recognize the ponies at first, but one larger photo stood out among several others surrounding it: a family trip to Applewood Beach.

A stunningly beautiful, dark orange pegasus with curly navy and blue hair wrapped a motherly wing around a small colt who was busy playing in the sand. Despite being a unicorn, the white coated, light-blue maned pony held his pail proudly over his lopsided sandcastle with his hooves. Behind them was a familiar and handsome unicorn stallion. He shared the same coat and build as Fancy Pants, but more importantly, Fleur had a picture of him in her room from later in his life. Here, his mane was still light brown and his piercing emerald eyes hadn’t lost any of their luster.

“Is that Suede Shoes?” Vinyl asked.

“Yes,” Fancy answered with a nod. “And the lovely pegasus in front of him is Sauna Summers, my mother. Five bits if you can guess the name of the colt she’s holding.”

“How come you never told us that you were such a darling foal, Fancy?” Steeplechase cooed as he looked at a picture of a very young Fancy Pants covered in spaghetti. He was holding a large, empty pot in his magic next to a tomato sauce-covered Summers who was shouting angrily at whoever was taking the picture. Vinyl had always assumed Fleur had gotten her temperament from Éclair, but it seemed Suede shared her sense of humor.

Vinyl trotted further down the hall of memories. Their host joined her as they traversed the timeline. “My mother didn’t believe in scrapbooks since you could close and forget about them. So instead, she put pictures like these all over the walls in these little memory collages.”

Fancy stopped in front of a lone professional magazine cover of his mother singing at a concert. Her curly locks flowed down along her white and gold, form-fitting dress speckled with rainbow sequins. Her wings were flared out with her full span draped with a translucent tapestry that cascaded around her as she sang passionately into a microphone. In the background were three backup ponies dressed in similarly colored dresses, but nopony could hold a candle to the leading mare’s magnificence. It was more than just a picture. The DJ understood the fellow performer’s passion instinctively.

Sauna Summers dominated her world from that stage. Vinyl couldn’t hear her voice, but the joy of her singing smile told her tale. The sultry pegasus was powerful, beautiful, and in her prime. Even without a horn, nopony accepted calling the “Sensational Sauna Summers” anything less than the “Queen of Disco”, at least if the words on the magazine were true.

“Did you know her special talent was operating steam rooms?” Fancy asked, snapping Vinyl out of her reverie. She lowered her sunglasses to get a better look at the cover.

Fancy shook his head and pointed to a different photo nearby in the collage. It was obviously from the same night since the performers were all still in their outfits. The sweaty singers were enjoying the high after what was surely a stellar performance while Suede kissed Summers on the back of her neck. Even though the smaller pegasus was wrapped in her husband's embrace, her exposed cutie mark was clear for all to see.

There on her flank, the Queen’s humble talent was represented by a simple, steaming white towel laid over two lumps of coal.

“Before her musical career, Mother was a regular spa pony that enjoyed singing for her customers. She always pushed for her outfits to leave her flank exposed during her performances. Everypony just thought she was trying to be provocative since bell bottoms were in at the time, but Summers always said she wanted everypony to know they were more than just a cutie mark.”

“That aside, this isn’t what I called you here.” Fancy pulled himself out of his wistful nostalgia and towards a padded red and black door. Looking above him, she spotted an old, unlit sign above the door with the word “Recording” written above in white bold letters. “The only ponies that have been in this room since its heyday are the monthly cleaning staff, but everything should be in working order.”

With reverence, he pulled the lever knob, flicked on the lights, and walked inside as the old magelamps warmed up. Vinyl followed closely behind the stallion and stared as the time capsule of a room transported them fifty years into the past. She knew that rich ponies could be eccentric, but this was ridiculous even by their standards.

Beyond the doorway was a vintage recording studio in all of its warm, classic glory. The entire room was paneled with soft, sound absorbing wood. She was so lost in the slatted aesthetic design that she only noticed the plush orange carpet after stepping into the room. Despite its age, Fancy had spared no expense in preserving the space. Every wood panel was polished to a fine luster. The console and soundboard was dust-free with a pristine sheen that sparkled in the light.

Vinyl had to resist pressing her face against the glass panel to the recording room. The space was bigger than her apartment and could easily fit all of her gear in there and then some. Inside were microphones and other recording devices she’d only seen in museums, just waiting to be used to capture that classic, grainy sound again. It’d be an incredible experience to work in such an amazing place, as long as Fancy didn’t mind her using it if she wound up working here. She might even find some new inspiration in the old atmosphere.

Fancy led them further inside to the far corner of the room to a closet tucked away in the back. Steeple grinned widely in anticipation as Fancy turned the secure door handle. “Here we are. The record vault.”

As the heavy door opened, the lights flickered on automatically one by one, revealing shelf upon shelf of boxes. Vinyl could smell decaying cardboard and the waxy vinyl records within them. A few boxes had fallen over, confirming the familiar odor with their stores of black disks spread across the carpeted floor. Aside from the light fixtures, Vinyl couldn’t see a single storage crystal mixed in with the lot.

“It’s better than I could’ve dreamed!” Steeplechase marveled at the sight and excitedly pulled Octavia alongside by the hoof as he led her through rows and rows of boxes labeled with names and dates. “See? What did I tell you, Tavi?”

Octavia balked as she pushed a lid up and looked into another box filled with black disks. “A-are these all masters?”

“Beautiful, isn’t it? Each one contains a slice of musical history just waiting to be archived! Though, for the life of me, I’m not sure why Fancy has never let me back here.” Steeple scowled over his shoulder at his stingy friend.

“As I said time and time again: this is a private matter. I trust you would leave it at that, Steeplechase.”

“And I told you that your little ‘private matter’ is more ‘overlooked public record’ in my book. Sure, I only know because I’m the ESPA’s historian, but anypony that spent enough time close to your family could find out that…” Steeple trailed as he turned to Vinyl. “Oh. I see. Did Vinyl finally uncover your not-secret secret?”

“She had a little help from a curious princess, but yes; which is why I am willing to trust Miss Scratch to respect Éclair de Lune’s desire for a normal life. Éclair loved Suede dearly, but was never interested in the fame that came with marrying him. They only moved back to Equestria when Fleur showed too much magical promise to remain in the Prench countryside away from CSGU.”

“And you don’t trust me to do the same?” Steeplechase’s humor left him and was replaced by disappointment.

“Nothing like that, my friend. It’s more a matter of mistrusting any unicorn you would ultimately drag in here to do the spellwork for you.” Steeple knit his brow indignantly, but shrugged it off and went back to admiring the collection.

Vinyl gawked at the endless rows of shelves. “So, let me get this straight: you want me to archive all of this?”

“Yes. Mother was always a bit of a scatterbrain, but she was very meticulous about keeping everything and anything captured on a disk. And I do mean everything. What you see here is the most complete record of Summers’ and Suede’s careers in the entire world. The white boxes were recorded here, while the older yellow and purple ones are from Groovecasters and Suave Oasis respectively. Those are the labels they worked under before they married and went independent. What I’d like you to do, Vinyl, is organize, categorize, and transfer all of their work to storage crystals to give to the recordkeepers at the ESPA.”

Vinyl’s heart skipped a beat; from fear or excitement she wasn’t sure yet. Archivists were well paid for their work, but she wasn’t an archivist. She knew all of the spells, sure, but that was the easy part. Her research was a more chaotic offshoot of standard crystal magic, but this wasn’t experimental storage testing. Fancy needed official record-keeping work performed. She couldn’t do this.

“Fancy Pants,” Octavia interjected hesitantly, “while Vinyl’s insight into experimental crystalline storage methods are second to none, she is not an ESPA-licensed archivist. You’re asking her to archive the lives of arguably the two most influential ponies to the Society’s modern history, something that would likely take months or even years for a fully licensed ESPA archivist to do properly. Vinyl would have to learn their classification system and practices on the fly.”

“And?”

“What do you mean ‘and?’ I just said the ‘and!’” Octavia snapped back loudly and stormed over to the stallion. “What are you thinking; asking her to do such a monumental task alone? And presumably for the Society’s sake? When were you planning on running this little project by them? The only reason we’re even here is because Steeple is a tactless, nosy buffoon!”

Seeing how his wife was pointing an accusatory hoof to him, Steeple frowned and protested with a weak “hey” that was quickly drowned out by Octavia’s continued protests.

“You might be the biggest donor to the ESPA, but the Society is very strict about their categorization standards, Fancy. Trust me. I have to live with the one responsible for them.”

“Again, hey!”

Fancy sighed and took off his monocle and began polishing it. This wasn’t the first time Vinyl had seen the stallion start cleaning that lens of his. Most ponies probably wouldn’t think twice about it, but Vinyl could tell his magic’s aura was strange. His flickering grip on the lens and cloth was so weak, she wasn’t sure if the stallion was even aware he was casting it.

Octavia’s frown deepened. “Well, Sir Fancy Pants? I’m waiting.”

“I simply think Vinyl is the perfect pony for this position,” he stated evenly as the cloth’s motions intensified.

“Why?” Octavia narrowed her eyes.

“Steeplechase told me her talent for audio storage at the school.”

“Yes, but her work involves magical experiments that often yield more explosive results. I’m sure you’re not looking to raise your magical insurance premiums.”

“Fair enough,” Fancy answered diplomatically as his eyes drifted away from Octavia. The stallion validated Vinyl’s suspicions when his magical aura fluctuated upon noticing his unconscious spellcasting. The subtle spark of his amber aura stabilized as he consciously put the cloth away and his monocle back over his eye.

“Not enough.” The skeptical cellist poked a hoof at Fancy’s chest. “You’re being evasive. Vinyl was too, earlier, come to think of it. Do you know how much cleanup I’ve done to get those elites off her flank?”

“I’d assume about as much as I did when they were trying to convince me to cut her off from the Summers-Suede Endowment.”

Vinyl perked an ear at the mention of the endowment. While she knew the family history behind it now, she hadn’t considered that Fancy Pants himself was the one managing it.

“Yeah, but for peat’s sake, Fancy, I’m a musician, not a negotiator! Woodwind nearly had a stroke when she saw all the complaints pouring into our mailbox. If they’d have found something else, I’m not sure we’d have weathered the storm. I can’t even begin to imagine how much pressure Vinyl must’ve…”

The unicorn in question sucked in a nervous breath as she saw the gears starting to turn in Octavia’s head. Earlier, the earth pony had been worried for her enough to hug her in the middle of the street, but Vinyl hadn’t given her time to think. Octavia started to breathe heavier as she slowly looked over to the DJ.

“Vinyl,” Octavia addressed with eerie calmness.

“What?”

“Take off your sunglasses, right now,” Octavia commanded and marched over to the DJ.

“I’m fine.”

Octavia didn’t hesitate as she ripped the shades from Vinyl’s face. The earth pony burned red with mounting anger. “Look at me and say what you said!”

“I said, I’m fi—” Vinyl couldn’t even finish her attempted lie seeing her friend’s face. The gray mare’s anger fizzled instantly, replaced by a growing panic. “I mean… it’s been a little rougher these last couple of weeks.”

“How rough is “a little”?”

Vinyl scuffed at the floors, hoping she might find a secret door to escape through. With Octavia refusing to let her wiggle away, the DJ made a mental note to find somewhere to practice lying without her shades to hide behind later.

Steeplechase reached out a hoof to his wife. “Tavi. Maybe you shouldn’t—”

“Don’t you ‘Tavi’ me, Steeplechase! I’m her ESPA mentor. I’m supposed to be responsible for her. I’m supposed to help her! But no, I let myself get caught up in a bunch of happy holiday nonsense while she’s… she’s been all alone.”

Steeplechase interrupted her tirade and pulled her into an enveloping hug with his wings. Octavia closed her eyes and leaned into her husband's dark fur for support. He softly kissed her on the top of her head and, after a few more calming breaths, a sad smile tugged at her mouth.

“Octavia. I do apologize, but I have my reasons for keeping the ESPA at hooves’ length about this. And while I had no idea that Vinyl wasn’t certified, I still think she is the best pony for this job.”

“What?” Vinyl muttered, perplexed by his insistence despite being unqualified.

Fancy pushed on, undeterred by the DJ’s interruption. “Perhaps you can help her learn the ESPA guidelines, but I still plan on acquiring her services. Alone. If she wishes to discuss some more details about this job with you later, that will be up to her. Don’t force it.”

Octavia pulled on Steeplechase’s wing twice. She shook her emotions off as the stallion released his wife from his grip. With unnerving calmness, she strode up to Fancy, giving him her undivided attention. Fancy maintained his diplomatic smile, but a bead of sweat betrayed his neutrality. “Just answer me one question, Fancy Pants: are you on her side?”

“Finally. A softball. I will be more than happy to give you an answer if she wants me to be.” Fancy’s features softened as he turned to Vinyl. “Well, Miss Scratch, it’s up to you. What do you say; would you be willing to work for me?”

Vinyl shrugged to herself, silently wishing he had made the offer a week ago. At least now she’d be able to find a place to live once she figured out the pay rate. “I guess another gig couldn’t hurt,” she said as coolly as possible.

“In that case, I believe I am, Octavia.”

If she were being honest, she hadn’t been so relieved in weeks. She could feel the crushing weight lift off her withers, letting her finally breathe freely again. Fancy, Octavia, and Steeplechase all smiled tenderly back at her in unison. It was almost unsettling seeing everypony reflecting the relief coursing through her. Then she remembered her sunglasses were still off. The embarrassed DJ groaned as she buried her blushing face in her hooves.

“I hate you all so much right now.”

With holiday well-wishes and a few more reassurances from Fancy Pants, the two Melodys left the mansion to return to their neglected holiday plans. Knowing Professor Arpeggio, he wouldn’t be thrilled by their lateness. Fancy then led Vinyl into his study where Dapper Dandy and Fluffer Duster were waiting for them. The stallion took a seat in a large reading chair near the fireplace and pulled a smaller ottoman closer with his magic for his guest to sit down.

“So, are we drawing up an employment contract, or…?” Vinyl started as she looked around the warm hearth for something to start employment negotiations. Fluffer Duster quietly offered hot chocolate with a peppermint stick to Vinyl who took the welcome treat in her magic.

“No contracts, Vinyl. I won’t be paying you in a conventional manner.”

The DJ regarded him quizzically, lowering her shades to show her displeasure at the suggestion. “Okay. So why the hay should I work for you then?”

Fancy answered by nodding to Dandy who produced a pillow with an old key in the middle of it. He placed it on a small coffee table between them. “This is a spare key to the mansion, and how I plan to compensate you for your work. You may stay in the guest room in the studio wing and use the amenities of the estate as you see fit.”

Vinyl gaped at the key and then at Fancy. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m completely serious. I want you to take all the time you need to archive those old records in that room to memory crystals. All I ask in exchange is that you spend a few hours every week going through the collection for me.”

Vinyl couldn’t help but feel insulted by the suggestion. She needed cold hard coins, not a rich stallion’s pity. An idea clicked in her head from his behavior after the Moondance. “Oh, I get it. Éclair and Fleur put you up to this, didn’t they? I told them that I don’t take hoof-outs. I’m not your damn charity case!”

“This is not charity, Vinyl. I haven’t mentioned anything to them about your current living situation, or lack thereof.” Vinyl grabbed at her foreleg, the wound to her pride still fresh from the loss of her apartment. “It is not my place to share such things since you never explained why you needed that income statement. Suffice to say, this is my idea, and mine alone.”

“So just pay me for the work and let me get my own place.”

“Then I’d have to assign an arbitrary number of hours per week, which defeats the purpose of hiring you. I am simply cutting out the middle-mare and paying you with a place to live. Right now, you need to lie low. At least until everypony moves on from this overblown Screech nonsense. Put in two hours, put in ten. Maybe fifteen if you’re feeling particularly bored. All you need to do is make progress on archiving the collection as your schedule and patience permits.”

“So, what? I just mess around in a closet for a day or two and that’s somehow worth renting a room fit for a princess.”

Fancy pressed his hoof on the bridge of his nose and motioned to Fluffer Duster. She fluttered away quickly to a nearby cabinet as he stood up from his seat. “Let me make something crystal clear for you, Vinyl Scratch. I’m not just paying you for the work, I am also paying for your silence.”

“Because that’s not ominous at all,” Vinyl scoffed.

“It’s not like that. The ESPA has been hounding me for years to let them into the damned thing. It’s not just a bunch of songs and jam sessions in there. If I know my mother, she saved every mistake, every interruption, every random conversation their equipment picked up. I don’t want those data-devouring jackals at the ESPA digging into snippets from their personal lives.”

“But I’m fine, huh? Because I know Fleur is your half-sister?”

“In part, yes.” Fancy turned away at the question. A moment later, the maid returned to his side with a glass of Dodge City Bourbon. He grabbed the amber liquid with his matching magic and sipped it while watching the logs crackle in the fireplace. “But mostly it’s because you’ve heard the skeleton that must stay in that closet: the Moondance album.”

“You mean that old record we listened to at de Lune? I thought it was pretty good.”

“That’s precisely the problem, Miss Scratch. For better or worse, you’re one of the few ponies alive that has heard it in its entirety.” The flames of the hearth danced in Fancy’s steely gaze. It was a seriousness she’d never seen in the affable stallion. “Every song on that damned album is to be sorted separately and hidden away. If it ever sees the light of day, it will only be upon Éclair de Lune’s death. Nopony must know who her husband really was for as long as she lives.”

Vinyl took a page from Fancy’s book and took a drink of her peppermint hot cocoa. Fluffer Duster also seemed shaken by the edge in Fancy’s voice while Dapper remained silent with a small frown pulling on his lips. Éclair must be serious about not wanting any part of the Canterlot high life if Fancy was hiding his connection to her via Suede. It did make her wonder if the baker was so against it, why she seemed fine with Fleur bouncing in and out of the spotlight with Fancy.

“Okay, so are there any other things I should know about?”

Fancy considered the question for a moment before smiling diplomatically. “You’re a smart pony, Vinyl. If it has no merit to the ESPA, or if you find something that has nothing to do with their musical legacy, simply don’t commit it to a memory crystal. You should have all the tools and privacy you need in that old studio. In fact, feel free to use it as you see fit if you want someplace to put your own musical talents into practice.”

The DJ bit back a curse on the tip of her tongue. He just had to sweeten the deal in the most tempting way. But no, it all felt wrong. She didn’t want to owe anypony, especially someone as rich as Fancy Pants. It went against everything she stood for. Something like this could easily be used against her by the stallion if he changed his mind on a whim. He could afford to be wishy-washy with his wealth while she had to live bit by bit.

“Please, Miss Scratch. This arrangement works out for both of us. If you must hang onto some sense of self-inflicted responsibility, feel free to buy your own food from what you earn on the Drive. The bottom line is that you need a place to live, and I need somepony I can trust to keep a secret.”

“And what makes you think that I am trustworthy? You don’t know me at all. I could swipe a few of your expensive knick-knacks to rent the swankiest spot in town. You probably wouldn’t even miss them.”

“You’re right on all counts there, Miss Scratch. But I have the feeling you value Fleur’s friendship far more than petty theft. She believes in her best friend, so I am choosing to trust in you as well.” He grabbed the spare key and jingled it in front of the younger mare with an earnest smile. “Do we have a deal?”

After a moment, Vinyl huffed reluctantly in defeat. She snatched the key with her hoof and shoved it in her hoodie’s front pocket. “I’m not happy about this, you know.”

“Frankly, I didn’t expect you to be, Miss Scratch. This may seem like a steal or too good to be true, but know that your secrecy in this matter is far more valuable to me than adding that unused guest room to the staff’s daily cleaning rotation. Hopefully by the time you’re done, this whole ‘Vinyl Screech’ nonsense will be far behind you.”

Fancy took one last drink from his bourbon, finishing off his beverage of choice before passing the empty glass to his maid. Satisfied with successful negotiations, he offered a hoof to help the new hire to her hooves.

“Now, if you’re finished with your former living arrangements, I think we should capitalize on the holiday by wrapping up the rest of your move.”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 13: Winter Melody

A sleigh’s worth of carefully wrapped Hearth’s Warming presents sat idly by in the corner of the studio wing’s guest room. Most anypony would be thrilled by such a grand display of gifts waiting to be opened, but it felt like such a waste to Vinyl. It was mostly because she had helped wrap them herself earlier that day. Still, she was getting cold, and her sweater collection had to be in one of them.

When Fancy had suggested they wrap up Vinyl’s move today, she hadn’t expected it to be so literal. Fluffer Duster and Dapper Dandy had accompanied her to the apartment, dressed in ugly holiday sweaters, to help with the move. At Fancy’s suggestion, the three of them had meticulously wrapped every box and piece of sound equipment up like a present and piled them all into a festive cart. They left the old furniture for Lofty to throw out at the maid’s insistence. The DJ reluctantly agreed knowing that no amount of scrubbing could salvage that couch. Plus, leaving Lofty a parting gift to deal with wouldn’t hurt either. She laid out her ruined drainage scarf across the backrest for good measure.

Once they were all packed up, Vinyl and Dapper pulled the cart with their magic as Duster flew above to make sure the tower of not-gifts stayed stacked on their trip back to the estate. While it was a pain to get everything loaded and unloaded in one trip, it’d been worth it. Nopony batted an eye as a trio of holiday helpers transported a sleigh of gifts through town. Along with their itchy sweaters and festive hats, it was the perfect Hearth’s Warming disguise.

Vinyl took another box and shook it to guess what was inside. It felt just like all the last three boxes of clothes she had jostled around. She couldn’t even make an educated guess based on the size. Labels would’ve been the smart thing to do, but she’d forgotten that critical step while rushing to wrap everything before nightfall. After lugging her worldly possessions from one side of town to the other, she didn’t want to think about sorting through all of her stuff. Still, she wanted to wear a better sweater than the crummy one she had borrowed from Fancy.

“Icky, Dricky, Dracky, Maw. Fight a dragon, tooth and claw…” she chanted Fleur’s Ogres and Oubliettes rhyme as she pointed between the potential sweater containers. She glowed the boxtops with her magic as her little guessing game continued. “… my mentor taught me to draw the very best blade, and you are not—”

“It’s dinnertime, Miss Vinyl.”

For the second time today, Vinyl yelped in surprise and nearly lost her footing. This time, it was a feathery wing that caught her before she hit the floor. The box she had cast her magic upon wasn’t so lucky. Her magic surged from the shock, blasting the top open like a cannon and causing the contents to explode outward. The socks, scarves, and leg warmers raining down around them meant she had chosen poorly anyway.

“My goodness! I’m so sorry, Miss Vinyl! The door was open and—” Fluffer Duster’s apology was interrupted by a wooly sock landing on her head. If they could find the other three, it might help the DJ chase the nippy air away.

“Just Vinyl. And I’m fine.” She righted herself up from Fluffer Duster’s wings and pulled the sock out of the maid’s mulberry mane. “Thanks for letting me know, Dusty.”

“D-Dusty, ma’a—I mean Vinyl?” the pegasus recoiled at the dirty word.

“Shoulda figured it might be rude to call a straight-laced mare like yourself that.” Vinyl tapped a hoof to an unknown beat bouncing in her head as she guessed at a better nickname for the flighty maid. “Fluffers? F.D.? C’mon, help me out here.”

“My friends called me Fluffs in school, but I’m not sure if—”

“Fluffs it is then. Cool. Let’s go get some grub, Fluff. I’m starving!” Vinyl smiled as she walked out the door.

“Very good. Right this way, M...uh Vinyl?” Fluffer Duster said to an empty room before chasing the unicorn into the hallway.

“‘Muh Vinyl?’ Wow, you move fast. At least ask me out first.”

The maid’s light gray fur burned pink as she tried her best not to further break decorum. Vinyl snickered at the stammering mess until the maid finally relented with an irritated whine. “Why am I even trying? You’re as bad as Miss de Lis.”

The unicorn puffed her chest out with pride at the comparison. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” The pride fell away as an alarming thought occurred to her. “Does Fleur come to Fancy’s place often?”

Fluffer Duster quickly trotted ahead to guide Vinyl down the correct hallway towards the dining room. “She’s been around a few times, but I’ve only really met her once before.”

“Really met her, huh?” Fleur wasn’t a pony to leave somepony alone when she met them. Vinyl knew careful wording when she heard it. “Just how many times did you ‘meet’ her before she broke character?”

Fluffer Duster looked away and drooped her head in embarrassment. “Three.”

“Aww, Don’t sound so defeated, Fluff. Fleur is an actress. Well, voice actress anyway. She does her Lady Faire character around all the classy ponies she meets.”

“I know that now, but it was so shocking when she came by the last time. Miss de Lis was a completely different pony!”

“Hey, don’t sweat it. If she’s stopped her Lady Faire schtick, it means she likes you enough to be herself around you.” Her intended good news seemed to depress the maid even more as her frown drooped lower.

“I’m not sure that was it. The first time I met Fleur, the real Fleur, I wasn’t exactly at my best.” Fluffer Duster’s folded wings twitched from the memory. “I thought Canterlot was under attack by some other new threat, but it was just her almost breaking down the front door looking for you. Either way, I hid behind some curtains in the entryway until Sir Fancy Pants found me.”

“Oh, right.” Vinyl scratched the back of her head. Considering how much her friend had chewed her out the moment she woke up, she didn’t want to think what a frantic Fleur might’ve been like for others to deal with. “Sorry about that. We’ve been best friends for years, and she’s a little protective of me since I keep to myself. I’m a bit of a loner, so if I don’t show up, she kinda flips her flank.”

“I understand where she’s coming from. I can’t even imagine living alone. I’d be so scared of everything.”

“Really? But Canterlot is usually pretty safe with all the guards around.”

“Oh no. I’m not talking about that. I can fly away pretty fast,” she admitted with an odd amount of content in her cowardice. “I meant that I don’t think I could live someplace by myself. I’m afraid of all the little things, like slipping in the shower or cutting my hoof on a knife. I never moved out of my parents’ house in Cirriucuse until I got hired for this live-in estate job.”

“You live here?”

“Yes, and so does Mister Dapper. He was Suede Shoes’ butler before Sir Fancy Pants was even born. The mansion can support a lot more servants, but Fancy has only used a hoof-full of rooms since stepping down from his ambassadorship, so it’s just the two of us now.” The maid turned around and resumed her station by offering a deep curtsey to the DJ. “As an honored guest of the Suede Shoes Estate, we are both at your disposal anytime you need us, Vinyl.”

“Okay, no. Stop that, right now,” Vinyl urged as she tried to swipe the stench of high society away from her face. “I’m nopony’s honored nothing. I’m a hired hoof just like you, so no special treatment.”

“But Sir Fancy Pants said…”

“I don’t care what he said. I draw the line at needless ceremony standing. I don’t need your help. I’m just here to sort through a bunch of old records.”

“But I like cleaning,” Fluffer Duster whimpered.

Vinyl flinched at the maid’s distress. Even though Fluffs was clearly older than her, she felt like she had just yelled at a filly. The fact that she wanted to clean in the first place was already sending the messy DJ into a downward spiral. Nopony was supposed to like chores. It wasn’t possible, like dividing by zero or turning down a Pinkie Pie gig. She had tried both before with surprisingly similar results.

“Just pretend like I’m not here then. I can handle myself.”

“That is a request I’m afraid we must ignore, Miss Vinyl Scratch. You’d be causing a bigger problem if we did otherwise,” Dapper Dandy remarked, emerging from a nearby door to join the two ponies in their walk towards dinner. “Regardless of your position here, our job is to properly maintain everything in the estate. That includes ensuring you are properly maintained as well, young lady.”

“Young lady” caused Vinyl’s fur to bristle on the back of her neck. She had to put all of this polite nonsense to bed before it got out of hoof. “Look, bushy brows, I don’t know if you know this about club DJs, but we don’t do ‘proper’ anything.”

Dapper raised said bushy brows to meet Vinyl’s hot glare. Instead of reacting angrily like she’d hoped, the butler merely chortled at her rude tone. “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does tend to rhyme every now and then. Very well, then.” His shaggy features fell back into their proper place as he walked past the two girls. He tilted his head, signaling them to join his gait. “Come along, you two. We will be having dinner in the common room tonight.”

“Oh, is Sir Fancy Pants taking his dinner in the study tonight?” Fluffs asked.

“No. The master has simply stepped out for the evening. If Miss Vinyl wants to be treated as one of us, then we will endeavor to do what we can to make her feel comfortable.”

It was hard to tell under all that facial fur, but Vinyl swore the sly codger winked at her. She sighed in resignation. Even her desire for normalcy was receiving special treatment. Still, it was better than staging an entire dining hall for only the three of them.

“Odd, he didn’t mention any changes in his dinner plans to me.” Fluffer Duster quickly reached into her apron’s pocket and pulled out an itinerary. She folded her wing around the small clipboard and read over the schedule to confirm she hadn’t missed anything. “Should I keep his portion warm in the oven?”

“That won’t be necessary. He had me prepare some bits for him before he left, so I believe he intends to dine out tonight.”

Vinyl lowered her shades, looking over the rim quizzically. “Dining out? Tonight of all nights? Just what the hay is open on Hearth’s Warming?”

Fancy Pants shook clumps of snow off his hooves. The bitter cold of the mountaintop made the freezing snow burn where it had snuck under his overcoat. The trip across Canterlot had been miserable, but it’d be worth it to get out of the mansion for a while. After today’s disaster, he really needed a drink and some good company. While every pony-run shop was closed to observe the holiday, there was one establishment in the city he knew would still be open.

Descending the stairs carefully, he was passed by a couple of griffons who had just wrapped up their non-holiday plans for the evening. Fancy hoped he wasn’t too late. The last thing he wanted to do was show up at closing time.

“Fancy Pants!” Athena waved at the familiar stallion from behind the Labyrithiyum’s bar. As he approached, the caring minotaur noticed the shiver in his step. “Hades below! You look absolutely frozen!”

“The weather team have outdone themselves once again this Hearth’s Warming,” he laughed, barely suppressing the stammer from his chattering teeth. Just because he had practice in keeping his speech didn’t mean he enjoyed utilizing the mostly useless skill these days.

Fancy took a seat at the bar while the minotaur quickly pushed a large lamp oil heater situated in the middle of the restaurant closer to him. A few of the patrons voiced their complaints until their fluffy hostess shot a growling scowl over her shoulder. Fancy kept his back turned solidly to their grievances. Not all of them were griffons, but he knew the louder Griffish curses well enough to keep any apologies to himself. He’d let them know the pecking order if it came to it, at least until he could feel his legs again.

“So, what brings you around here on one of the pony-est nights of the year?”

Fancy mulled over the question for a second. “I lost my last good bottle of brandy on a bet, so I was hoping to warm up with a nice Griffonstone classic.”

Athena whistled as she searched for said bottle of brandy from the display next to her. “You only busted out the brandy for diplomatic emergencies. What in Equestria drove you to that?”

“I went all in on a four-of-a-kind when she had a straight flush.”

“Sounds like you underestimated your opponent.” Athena grabbed a wide, snifter glass from under the table and poured the brandy into it while slowly twirling the glass over a nearby candle. “Was it strip poker? You came in without any pants on.”

“Nothing of the sort, but I ended up smoothing over a situation myself in a way I wasn’t expecting.”

Fancy watched in anticipation as the chef slowly heated the amber red liquid over the little light. Griffonstone Brandy was made to be drunk warm like the blood of a fresh kill. While he never dared to try their meat, Fancy had acquired a taste for the griffon warrior’s draught as soon as he was sure there wasn’t actual blood in it. Plus, being able to feel his hooves again would be an added bonus.

“In hindsight, I really should fix that gap in my wardrobe before next winter.”

“You’re the one who’d know the best tailor in town to cover your flank.” With a careful flourish, Athena finished preparing the brandy and handed it over to the stallion. He quickly took it in his hooves rather than his magic and ran his forelegs over the toasty glass.

As he cradled his liquid fire, Fancy felt the gaze of several griffons fall on his withers. The birds of prey could probably smell the little taste of home. Seizing the opportunity, he took his first taste, savoring the liquor with a subtle slurp. He then pushed the sip under his tongue and opened his mouth slightly to take a deep and careful breath through his lips, filling his lungs with the burning vapors of alcohol. Without so much as a hitch in his breath, the practiced diplomat swallowed his first hot gulp of brandy with a loud and satisfied “ah” before setting the glass back down to finish.

He didn’t have to look back to know the griffons had returned to mind their own business. No griffon worth their wings would raise their talons against a pony who could perform the traditional Griffonlord’s Guzzle.

“That would be Hoity Toity,” Fancy finally answered, getting back on topic.

“Is that what your cutie mark is telling you?”

Pausing to consider the question more thoroughly, he shook his head and sighed. “No. That would be Lady Rarity, but I’m not about to take a train to Ponyville just for a pair of custom-tailored pants.”

“With a name like that, I bet they’d be plenty fancy.”

He waved a dismissive hoof. “No, she’s more fabulous than fancy. But I digress. I came here to unwind, and focusing on my frozen flank is not exactly comforting.”

“I suppose it would depend on who’s looking,” she added innocently enough. The minotaur’s gaze drifted away from Fancy, eliciting a sigh from the stallion.

“Unless they have a blowtorch, I’m not exactly interested.”

“I dunno. Luna was pretty captivated by it last time you were here.” Athena leaned over the bar and waggled her eyebrows.

“That was my cutie mark.”

Athena shrugged. “Same difference in my eyes.”

“Miss Cypriel,” Fancy said, his tolerance for the topic waning, “Luna is struggling to adjust to modern life enough as it is without her friends starting rumors about her relationship status.”

“You’re not a bad catch, Fancy. That’s all I’m saying.”

Fancy took another drink of brandy before he said something regrettable. He swished the burning drink in his mouth, savoring its intensity before swallowing. He’d already spent most of his patience for the day keeping himself restrained around Steeplechase and Vinyl.

“Speaking of Luna, how have you two been getting along, by the way? She mentioned that she’s made a few trips here since I introduced her to the Labyrinthiyum.”

“Wonderfully!” Athena bubbled. She smiled widely and clasped both of her hands together in girlish joy. “I never thought for a second that I’d make friends with a long-lost pony princess, but here we are. She’s a regular these days, but only when conditions are just right.”

While Fancy was happy to hear the princess was going out on her own, his curiosity was piqued by his bartending friend. “Conditions?”

Athena looked around and leaned down to Fancy, cupping her mouth to hide her lips from prying eyes. “Well, it has to be at night when no one else is here. I have to perform a very specific summoning ritual,” she whispered darkly like the beginning of a campfire ghost story.

“Summoning ritual?”

“First, I must prepare the offering by gathering the necessary components.” Reaching into a nearby cabinet, she gathered several items in her arms and began placing them down one by one in front of Fancy at the bar. “An obsidian goblet black as the spaces between the stars, amaranth from the furthest reaches of Hades, cursed, bitter seeds grown near the gates of Tartarus...”

Fancy rubbed a hoof on his chin. Ignoring the minotaur’s malevolent theatrics, the ritual was sounding more and more familiar with each component piece. “Is this that abyssal coffee you’ve gotten her addicted to?”

“Oh, so you know it.” Athena brightened back to her sweet self and began prepping the over-caffeinated beverage normally. “Yep, just run it all through this filter here for a brew blacker than the river of the damned.”

With practiced efficiency, Athena whipped up Luna’s favorite brew and put it in the middle of a moonstone coaster. The top was etched with Luna’s cutie mark encircled by a magic sigil resembling the threads of a dreamcatcher. “You just place it here and then ring this bell.” Carefully, Athena brought out a small, beautiful concierge bell made of the purest silver and polished obsidian. Despite the warm light around them, its surface reflected with pale, mysterious moonlight.

“So what you’re saying is you have a magic bell you use to call Luna when you’ve made her coffee?”

“Where is your sense of mysticism, Fancy?” Athena huffed as she crossed her arms and pursed her lips. “There’s more to it than just that.”

“Do tell.”

“Well if I ring it once, the cup teleports away. If I ring it twice, it means no one else is here and she can come in if she has time. This drink wasn’t on her order schedule, but I don’t think she’ll mind a late evening Hearth’s Warming gift.”

She rang the bell once. A lonely, piercing tone rang from the bell. Despite its small size, the depth of the sound echoed louder and louder as its tone sank into a deeper, more profound note. The sigil began to glow, slowly filling with silver and cyan light along the ley lines. Once the pattern was full lit, the coffee cup flashed, collapsing into a drop of pure moonlight. The moondrop bounced into the air before vanishing into an unseen ethereal sea with a pleasant splash, leaving only one ripple of lunar magic in its wake.

“That’s quite the spectacle for a to-go order,” Fancy remarked as he took a sip of from his glass, his eyes still fixed on the point where the splash of magic disappeared.

“I know, right?” Athena agreed with a chuckle. “So, enough about Luna. What did you want to talk about so badly that you came all the way out here?”

“I thought I explained myself rather clearly. I wanted to enjoy a drink that I lost in a bet. There’s not much more to tell beyond that.”

“Uh-huh. And for some reason, you couldn’t just stay home with a similar drink?” Athena drummed her fingers on the counter.

“Now, what made you jump to that particular conclusion?”

“Why else would you trudge all the way over here on one of the coldest nights of the year with no pants on?”

“I suppose the benefit of your company isn’t enough of a selling point for you?”

“I’m sure there’s plenty of other ponies in the upper districts that have better bars in their mansions than mine that would love to spend Hearth’s Warming with. But no. You came here.” Athena beamed victoriously and gave Fancy her full attention. “So, if you want to enjoy my company, start talking. What’s eating at you, Fancy Pants?”

Fancy pressed his hoof to the bridge of his nose and wondered if there was some unwritten law somewhere that all bartenders had to be incredibly perceptive. “Do you remember the Vinyl Screech from a few weeks back?”

“The what?” Athena tilted her head to the side.

“The Vinyl Screech. Do you not remember?”

The minotaur flicked her ear as if she was trying to spark her memory to life.

“It was the day before I came here with Luna for dinner,” Fancy added.

The chef shook her head at the new information. “You’re asking me to recall something from the day before I had a life-changing encounter with one of my biggest fears in Equestria?”

“Athena, all of Canterlot heard it! It was all over the newspapers the next day. You have to at least remember hearing something ear splitting earlier this month.”

“I don’t just live under a rock, Fancy. I live under many, many rocks.” Athena pointed to the solid stone ceiling which ran under a cobblestone street. “The only reason I knew about the invasion when I did was after a bunch of ponies ran through the door screaming bloody murder.”

“Fair enough,” the unicorn conceded. “Well, just know that the girl who caused the ruckus had her life turned upside down for no real reason. Long story short, she is staying with me now while it all blows over.”

“Hold it!” The minotaur slammed her hands down on the bar, causing an audible thump on the countertop. “You can’t just ‘one-thing-lead-to-another’ a story that ends with a mare moving into your place!”

“It’s not like that!” Fancy objected. “She’s one of Fleur’s friends. Her best friend at that. The problem isn’t that she is there anyway. It’s the context in which she is staying.”

“You’re not helping your case, Fancy Pants! If you don’t start giving me the lowdown real soon, I’ll call Luna to drag it out of you.”

“I was just getting to that. Without going into too much private detail…” Athena scowled unamused as she threateningly hovered her hand over the bell. “I hired her to do a job I had no intention of having her do correctly! Happy?”

Athena pulled at her horns in frustration. “You are the worst storyteller! Every time you open your mouth, three more questions pop into my head!” She readied her hand back to slam it on the bell.

“Okay, fine! Just calm down.” Fancy begged while waving his forehooves in defense. The massive minotaur crossed her arms and tapped her elbow with a finger impatiently. “Now, how much do you know about Winter Rollout?”

As Fancy recounted the events of last month, Athena ran through a gamut of emotions. Her dramatic reactions caused several patrons' heads to turn in curiosity. She’d even started crying after hearing of her financial woes, quickly offering to hire her until Fancy assured the restaurant owner that Vinyl was perfectly fine now. Fancy mentally noted to warn Vinyl about the sensitive minotaur’s crushing hugs if he ever decided to introduce them. Athena’s kindness was quite overwhelming at times.

“So now, she’s going to go through the entire collection and crystallize it for preservation.” The story had taken half an hour, a few refills, and a half-eaten pasta salad to retell. He had mostly told the truth, albeit with a few key omissions. Fortunately, the resolution had calmed his friend down, but her ruminating frown and constant ear flick didn’t fill him with confidence.

“So, what’s the problem again? Sounds like if this student can pull it off, it’s a win-win for everyone. Well, I guess everypony in this case.”

“It’s because getting the job itself was never the point,” Fancy admitted with irritation. “I finally figure out how to help the poor girl, but before I can even tell her to keep it from the ESPA. The one pony from there that I don’t want to know about it just so happens to find out immediately.”

“Again, I don’t really see the problem. Now she’s just gonna do it for real.”

“Actually having her finish was never part of the plan. I was intended to let her get back to her own life once she’d been mostly forgotten about, regardless if the task was done or not. Now they’re expecting results.”

“And what’s so bad about that? Isn’t it better that she is actually going to do the job instead of just going through the motions? I mean, I’d be pretty mad if you hired me to cater a party, only to find out you were going to stuff me into a broom closet for money.”

Fancy rested his exhausted forehead on his hooves. Without explaining the problematic Suede Shoes connection, of course she wouldn’t see anything wrong with the situation. He didn’t want anyone knowing about him, even someone as far removed as Athena.

“I suppose you’re right, but I am still not happy with how unexpected things turned out. This feels like the Stampeding Grounds Compact all over again.”

Athena blinked. “And you lost me again.”

“It was an agreement I helped orchestrate four years ago between Appleoosa and a tribe of native buffalo that had no right answers. It was either restrict the Appleoosans from planting trees or risk losing the settlement entirely. Last I heard, it was broken by the Appleoosans, because of course it was. How can you expect farmers not to farm? It’s like telling pegasi not to fly.”

“Or a unicorn not to spellcast,” Athena added as she warmed another glass of brandy. “So, you feel trapped?”

“Honestly, after talking about it, I don’t know how I feel about it. Conflicted? Irritated? Relieved?”

“See? That’s what we call a good thing. Just worrying over nothing. You helped Fleur’s best friend in a way she agreed to. Just let her do the job like you told her you wanted it done and let the magic happen. I for one think it’s great that you saved that lost little kitten from a pack of wolves.”

Fancy laughed at the comparison harder than he should’ve. It was probably the buzz of his brandy talking. “DJ Pon-3 is anything but a kitten.”

“Wait, DJ Pony? That wouldn’t happen to be spelled with the number three in it?”

“I believe so, yes. Did I not mention her stage name before?”

“I knew it wasn’t ‘pawn three!’” Athena smiled victoriously to herself, but the confidence quickly fell into an anxious frown. “Oh wait, then all of that happened to DJ Pon-3? She’s a student, archiver, and performer? And here I thought I was biting off more than I could chew.”

“Yes, but I am not sure how her stage name changes things.”

“You mean you don’t know? DJ Pon-3 is one of the most popular performers on the Drive! You’d think she’d be fighting off job offers left and right, but I guess it’s more complicated than I thought.”

Knowing what little he knew about the DJ, nothing was ever simple when it came to Vinyl Scratch. “So, do you ever go to the Drive? It’s not terribly far from here.”

“Me? Oh no, I don’t think I’d fit in there, physically or mentally. But I do enjoy some of the music. The other day, Luna brought in a bunch of records she’d picked up from a store, and DJ Pon-3 was my favorite out of all of them. I’d never heard anything like it before.” The chef’s eyes sparkled as she stared past Fancy into her memory. “It was just so… captivating. I think Luna called it ‘Trance.’”

“I suppose I should ask her about it sometime. I’ve heard her perform once, but…” Fancy trailed as he remembered Vinyl’s strange remarks about her piano playing. “I’ve never heard her more original work. Every time I’ve run across her at an event, she’s played the records of other musicians.”

“Well, next time you see her, tell her she’s welcome in my restaurant anytime. Drinks are on me!”

Fancy winced at the mention of Vinyl drinking again. “Maybe just offer her a discount on a meal. I think she might appreciate it more.”

Fancy took another bit of his meal. Even with the snow falling outside, leaving for dinner had been the right call after all. He knew he’d have to head back to the mansion soon before the cold became intolerable, but he had to admit that Hearth’s Warming was always better among friends. Even when those friends didn’t observe the day itself.

Being with Athena reminded him of his days as a diplomat. He always found some excuse to spend the holiday away from Equestria after Suede moved back to Canterlot with his happy family. He’d learned winter traditions of creatures all over the world, as well as several summer ones if he headed far enough south. Perhaps next year, he’d charter an airship to Hawhinny for old time’s sake. Those warm island beaches were always a lovely escape this time of year.

Author's Note

EOnly in My Memories

Princess Luna fails to recall the names of several ponies during her first Hearth's Warming since her return, so she decides to test the limits of her memory with the help of her night sky.

Rego · 6.5k words · 66 0 · 1k views

Be sure to check out what Luna's experience was like on Hearth's Warming.

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 14: It's Hard When Things Get Messy

For the first time in weeks, the acoustics department at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns stirred with its usual level of activity. Vinyl poured over her box of sapphires, searching for a good crystal candidate for today’s experiments. With the holidays behind her and the new semester a little over two weeks away, it seemed like everything had gone back to normal.

A strangeness pervaded the mundanity. Everything had settled back down so quickly, at least when considering the alternative. Her year should’ve started in complete chaos. There was no reason for the new normal to feel so much like the old one. Fleur was across the room, working on her vocal modulation spellcrafting, while Vinyl was back to delving into Cacophony’s theories like nothing had ever happened, but so much had.

She had almost lost everything thanks to the meddling of spiteful, rich ponies, but she had also been saved by the meddling of another one. It had only cost her independence, or rather, her semblance of that little lie she still bothered to cling to. For all the talk of earning her place in Canterlot, the knowledge of one pony keeping her afloat terrified her. And now both ponies were acutely aware of it.

Aside from her work on the Drive, everything she thought she had earned could be traced back to Fancy Pants. The grant paying her tuition from the ESPA was started by his parents and he was still maintaining it. Even before she’d lost it, her funding from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns had also been tinged by generous donations from said stallion. Fancy Pants held every card, even the cards she hadn’t known existed, and had drawn another from the deck by providing her room and board for what amounted to a work-study program.

It was that last little bit that Vinyl needed to frame very carefully for Fleur.

“A ‘practical accreditation process’ at Pantsy’s place?” Fleur asked as she paused and put down her own work.

“Yep,” Vinyl replied simply. At least, that was the angle Steeplechase had suggested in order to keep the other archivists at bay.

The DJ chose a crystal from her batch and picked it up in a hoof. She adjusted the aperture of her jeweler's loupe and began searching the crystal’s surface for microfractures and other anomalies. By keeping herself busy, she was hoping against hope that mentioning it off-hoof would be casual enough to stop Fleur from asking questions.

Feeling Fleur’s eyes still boring into the back of her head, she risked sharing a few more details. “I just didn’t want you to be surprised if you trotted by the old apartment and found somepony else living there.”

The DJ thanked Luna’s lucky stars that Fleur and Éclair had gone to Prance for the holidays. It had given her plenty of time to practice her side of the story. She’d almost lost everything, and those two were the last ponies that needed to know. She just needed to keep her eyes to herself and for Fleur to stop prying for details before the curious mare could raise any other red flags.

“It was his idea. Lets me mess around with the record collection whenever I have spare time between school and the Drive. Also, it lets me save a few bits since I lost my grants.” When Vinyl heard the clops of hooves approaching on the softwood floor, she knew she was in for an extended Fleur-y encounter.

“Does that mean you’re quitting after the bake sale? Here I was looking forward to watching you burn pastries until Maman fired you.”

Vinyl bit her tongue before she could ask how Fleur had come to the correct conclusion. She hated how sharp her friend could be when she wanted. Catching sight of a flaw in the crystal, Vinyl carefully brushed a crack with resin and rubbed the excess away to make the surface as smooth as possible. “Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Don’t say it like that, Vy. I was very confident in your ability to burn things.” Fleur assured her friend with a hug from behind, causing Vinyl’s brush to jostle in her hooves. Vinyl tried keeping her eyes fixated on her work, but Fleur was making it difficult by hanging off the DJ’s neck with a flippant disregard for personal space. “I guess that would explain why Professor Arpeggio’s been so excited. He and Steeplechase have always been pushing for you to go for that certification since you know the spells already. Why the change of heart, though?”

“Job opportunities,” she answered simply, omitting her desperation for money to live.

“Really? But you told me that you wouldn’t be caught dead working in an old, stuffy library.” Fleur craned her neck further towards Vinyl’s working face.

“Did I say that?” Vinyl did her best to keep her voice even. That was the sloppiest deflection so far, and she was quickly running out of rehearsed material. She tapped the crystal in her hooves with a tuning fork, testing its frequency. The note was a little too sharp for her liking, but it was workable.

“You can’t be serious.” Fleur scoffed and trotted around to her friend. Alarm bells started ringing in Vinyl’s head. “Kinda hard to forget Steeplechase swooping down from the stacks with that death glare of his. It was very bold of you to say in the middle of the Society’s library when you know he hears everything. So, what changed?”

“I thought maybe working with normal crystal harmonics outside the lab would give me some new ideas.” Vinyl had suppressed her voice from rising into a question, but she didn’t have to look to know Fleur wasn’t buying her excuse. She started etching the crystal’s interior lattice work with cacophony runes, hoping the sensitive work would make Fleur drop the subject and give her some space. “Fancy asked me to do all of it, so I’ll have plenty of practice.”

Fleur nodded along, but then paused with realization. “Wait. Did you say ‘all of it?’”

Her friend’s sudden question nearly caused Vinyl to drop the crystal. “Uh… yeah?” she answered as she scanned the incomplete rune for imperfections. It was salvageable, but she couldn’t have her attention divided by her friend. She shot the larger unicorn a look as she lifted her fragile work, hoping said friend would take the hint and drop the subject.

“When you have ‘spare time?’” Fleur added in disbelief; taking the cue, crumpling it in her hooves, and tossing it in the trash.

“Fleur, I really need to focus here. It’s not a big deal, anyway. Can’t this wait?”

“It couldn’t be a bigger deal! You do know Daddy’s and Auntie’s old collection is stupidly huge, right? And Pantsy expects you to tackle that nightmare of a closet all by yourself just, whenever?”

“Relax, Fleur. Steeplechase is going to be teaching me the ESPA storage protocols, but it’ll just be me in there with the records.”

Fleur stared in bewilderment at Vinyl’s laxness. “And that’s supposed to make it better? Vy, that’s gonna take you forever! Sweet Celestia, what is even running through that royally stupid crowned flank of his?”

Vinyl sighed. Not wanting to risk further damaging a serviceable crystal, she put it down and turned to give her friend her full attention. She might as well get some answers for herself if Fleur wasn’t going to let things go. “I thought maybe you could tell me. It was kinda out of nowhere.”

Fleur sat down and rocked back and forth as she gave the question some thought. “If Pantsy stuck with you without credentials, then it’s probably those flank crowns’ fault. Anytime he comes out of left field with something, it’s usually a Kingmaker decision.”

“So, you and your mom had nothing to do with Fancy choosing me for this?” Vinyl asked while side-eying her friend for any hint of a lie.

“I know he didn’t ask me about anything like that. And for Maman, she wouldn’t even know enough to talk to him about what you’re doing here. It’s weird. Pantsy can spot magical talent from a mile away thanks to that talent of his, but he’s always been hopeless when it comes to understanding the stuff himself. Poor lug just can’t get a feel for the aetherial, if you know what I mean.

“I remember this one time when I was a filly, I scraped a knee pretty bad in the park. He used his kerchief to stop the bleeding by hoof. Couldn’t even focus enough to cast a simple levitation spell when under pressure. Still, I guess I should just be glad Pantsy is finally fulfilling Daddy’s and Auntie’s wishes, even if he is being ridiculous. He’s been dragging his hooves on giving it to the Society for years. Please tell me you’re at least gonna try putting it all into cacophony crystals.”

“And here I thought you didn’t want me trying to get kicked out of Fancy’s place.”

“No, but it’d be more fun!” Fleur bubbled like a filly, pushing her cheeks together in childlike wonderment. Vinyl swore she could see explosions and faerie fire storms shimmering in her friend’s eyes.

“The scary thing is, I can’t tell if you’re joking.” Vinyl shook her head and picked up her project for the day and started working on it once more. “Either way, potential for greater storage capacities kind of falls flat when there’s the higher potential for explosive cascade failures around one-of-a-kind master records.”

Even if he had requested her experimental storage methods, there was no way in Tartarus she was going to risk damaging anything in that vintage wonderland of a studio. She was going to do the whole thing the old-fashioned way, one record to crystal at a time.

“You know,” Fleur started as she leaned onto her shorter friend’s back, to Vinyl’s annoyance, “if he had asked me, I would’ve told him to look elsewhere, just to spare you a couple years of digging through an old closet you’re probably gonna hate.”

“What makes you say that?” Vinyl wasn’t sure to feel hurt or not by the admission.

“For one, the music is swing and disco. Not exactly bringing the bass you like.”

“Believe it or not, my taste is more refined than constant bass drops, Fleur.” The DJ rolled her eyes at her friend and shook her off her back. “Pretty sure I wouldn’t be in the Society if I just wanted to blast pony’s brains out.”

“Okay. Then how about number two? The rest is probably just a bunch of super-boring stuff. Half-sung songs with mistakes, interrupted recording sessions, times they just let the record roll on accident.”

“That’s why archivists do their thing, Fleur.”

“Which. You. Aren’t.” Fleur booped her friend’s nose thrice, eliciting a grumble from the DJ. “Look, I snuck in there a couple of times to listen to some of it after Daddy died. It was… nice, you know? Hearing his voice again, but Auntie’s hoarding was kind of intense. I mean, think if somepony was listening to us just jabbering on right now.”

“But we aren’t famous musicians, Fleur. What’d be the point?”

“So? What difference would it make if we were?” Fleur cleared her throat, stood at full attention, and regarded her friend with a haughty aloofness that bordered on contempt. “Imagine if we spake to thee regarding clouds covering of our moon and more inane musings on yon weather, would thy willfully and joyfully harken to our prattling on?”

“That,” Vinyl pointed to her friend as a smile split her face. “is a frighteningly good Princess Luna.”

Fleur puffed out her chest and started levitating her mane, waving it like a flag in the wind. “A thousand laudations, noble discus spinner, for thy appreciation of our sexy royal voice!”

“Sexy?”

“Oh, hay yeah! Princess Luna’s depth is downright sultry. I could listen to her for hours,” Fleur exclaimed excitedly. She put a hoof to her chin and smirked as she reapplied her lunar tones. “Mayhaps we were too quick to judge partaking in such potentially divine recordings.”

“Princess Celestia’s voice is pretty deep, too, but I don’t remember you going crazy over her.”

“Yeah, but she’s all motherly and reserved.” Fleur blew a razzberry and waved a dismissive hoof at the very notion. “Princess Luna has a lot more energy and pop. Plus, Princess Celestia doesn’t slip into that absolutely adorkable old speak. She’s a lot less fun.”

‘Adorkable’ gave the DJ some pause, but she was more curious about the subtext of her other claim. “You have a Princess Celestia too?”

Fleur closed her eyes and pulled a stool over to herself. Slowly, she lowered herself to her stand-in throne with regal grace. She sparked her mane to life again with the magical flag waving and opened her eyes with a smile as serene as a still pond. “Of course, my little pony. Have I never shown it to you?”

Seeing the solar princess’ pristine mannerisms on her mischievous friend made Vinyl’s skin crawl, but the voice behind it was surprisingly lackluster. “The act’s spot on, but that doesn’t really sound like her.”

“Everypony is a critic, but I suppose you’re right, Vinyl Scratch. Her graceful highness is slightly airy and more melodious despite her much larger size.” The not-princess laughed daintily into her hoof, but never broke her pacifying grin. Fleur snatched a notebook labeled “Princesses” with her magic from her desk and flipped through several pages of spellwork and character notes until she landed on her details about Celestia.

“I have to cast a few of my vocal modulation spells to get Celestia completely right. Damn cheating changelings and their freebies…” Fleur seethed, momentarily breaking character before wiping the anger away.

“On the other hoof…” Fleur popped back up to her full height and looked into the middle distance, keeping her face stern with authority. “Princess Luna’s sharpness bears a similar cadence to our natural voice. We have endeavored to refine our impression of her lunar highness since our serendipitous meeting at the Moondance.”

The Moondance. With everything that had happened in the past few days, Vinyl had almost forgotten how much she had screwed up her first and second impressions with the lunar princess. Now that she thought about it, Fancy was a retired, knighted diplomat who still visited the royal sisters if the Moondance itself was any indication. Was she going to have to deal with royalty now that she was living at Fancy’s mansion? She hadn’t even considered that when she’d accepted the job.

“Anyway.” Fleur threw her impressions to the wind and leaned over her friend’s shoulder. “My point is, that old record collection is going to be an absolute snoozefest if it’s anything like the stuff I’ve heard. I mean, I’m glad you seem happy about it, but I don’t think I’d have the patience for it.”

“I seriously doubt your patience for anything,” Vinyl added with a knowing smirk. “Besides, it’s good practice for normal crystal lattice work. And, if it’s as boring as you say it is, maybe clearing my head will give me some time to think about other stuff. Or you could come hang out while I work.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Fleur huffed as she fell back onto the stool. “Unless you wanna try storing them on a few cacophony crystals to add a little excitement, I’m good. You’re probably in for plenty of good napping material.”

“Thanks. I knew I could count on you,” Vinyl said flatly. It was probably for the best though. Fancy Pants seemed pretty adamant about not letting anypony in on the project, and Fleur would be an unpredictable wild card.

“But, hey, umm… If you do, you know, find anything nice from Daddy, you’ll tell me, right?” Fleur absently clopped her hooves together and looked away, unable to meet Vinyl in the eyes. “Please?”

Vinyl was taken slightly aback, not by the request, but Fleur’s demeanor. She always wore her bravado around her barrel and brushed anypony foolish enough to stand against her aside. It was rare to see the proud mare show weakness unless she was in trouble. Even then, the only pony able to rein Fleur in like this was Éclair.

No, that wasn’t right. Thinking back to the Festival of Flakes, Fancy’s harsh rebuking had reduced Fleur to a quivering filly almost immediately. That made a lot more sense now knowing he was her older half-brother. Vinyl wondered how many layers there were to Fleur’s act.

“Of course, Fleur. I wouldn’t hold out on you.”

The relief behind Fleur’s smile practically lit up the room and she pulled her best friend into a tight hug. “Thanks, Vy. You’re the best.”

“Ain’t no contest, right?”

“Friends,” the larger unicorn finished their saying and squeezed tighter. After a few moments, the hug was dragging on a little too long for Vinyl’s liking. She tried wiggling out of her friend’s grasp, but Fleur wasn’t too keen on letting her go.

“Hey, Fleur? Can I get back to work?”

Fleur nodded, but kept a firm hold. The DJ tried to push away, but the actress’ superior physical strength kept her in check.

“That means I need to be able to reach the table with my hooves, you know,” Vinyl said with an awkward laugh. Fleur gasped and shook her head vigorously, refusing to let go. Vinyl’s limbs went limp as she sighed in resignation. “How much longer is this going to take?”

“We caught up on our holidays, now I’m catching up on my Vinyl snuggles.” Fleur shook her friend like a plushy bear. “I just wuv you sho much!”

The smaller unicorn grumbled, hoping the clingy mare’s grip wouldn’t last too much longer. After about thirty more seconds with no signs of stopping, the DJ tapped her friend’s foreleg. “Compromise. Let’s have a collaboration day and you can hang off me all afternoon if you let me work.”

“We accept the terms of thy surrender,” Fleur replied in her best Princess Luna impression. “Come to think of it, we wished to attempt a new vocal technique with thy help, fair ‘Deejay Pawn Three.’”

“You just had to hear that one, didn’t you?” Vinyl complained as she buried her embarrassment in her friend’s chest.

“Verily. Now, help us take our Princess Luna to the next level, kay Vy?”

A horrific scream pierced the air as a reverberating explosion rattled the audio lab. Moments later, a panicked clattering of hooves sounded as Professor Arpeggio burst through the door to check the source of the piercing sound.

“Vinyl! Fleur! Are you two okay?”

“That could’ve gone better,” Vinyl remarked from her new topsy-turvy perspective of the world.

Arpeggio's eyes surveyed the room. The crystal focus at the center contained the usual pile of pulverized sapphire dust sitting in containment after a failure. That was normal. Vinyl was lying upside down on her neck half-wedged into the foam wall, while Fleur was hobbling on her hooves with the poise and grace of a newborn giraffe. Her mane stood completely on end, blown back like the Bride of Frankenstallion. Arpeggio rushed to catch Fleur before she fell over. His initial fears were allayed by the laughter and manic grin splitting her face.

“That. Was. Awesome!” Fleur whooped with unsteady glee. “Let’s do that again!”

“Let’s not and say we did,” Vinyl groaned as the foam boards finally dislodged her and she tipped over on her side. Her world was still spinning after another cacophonous failure.

Thanks to the containment spells and wards on their focusing station, any shrapnel was well-contained. It just wasn’t calibrated to withstand the force of a shrieking princess, and consequently caused a secondary blast wave. Even though she wasn’t wounded, after suddenly rolling backwards like a rampaging wagon wheel, Vinyl didn’t feel like getting up until she was certain she’d keep her breakfast down.

Arpeggio sighed as he held Fleur in his foreleg. “Would somepony mind explaining exactly what that horrid scream was?”

Fleur arched back up and pressed her face into the professor’s. “It wasn’t a scream. It was the Royal Canterlot Voice!” Fleur shouted between crazed giggles into Arpeggio’s face, still punch-drunk from taking the feedback burst in the face. Seeing as she was fine, he dropped her to the ground and went over to check Vinyl.

“If you want the full story, Fleur wanted to try imitating something she had heard the princesses could do and I had an idea for a new runic sequence that looked promising. Fleur recorded her Princess Luna impression and we tried drawing it out of the crystal multiple times to amplify it. Let’s just say, Cacophony’s spellwork cacophonied again, and the results nearly shattered our eardrums.”

Arpeggio glowered and turned back to his other student. “Fleur de Lis!”

“Oh, Profeggio Arpessor! When did you get here?” she giggled while sprawled on the floor.

“What did I say about trying to imitate the Royal Canterlot Voice?”

“‘Think about it?’” she answered dumbly.

“Which I clearly prefaced with a ‘don’t even,’ Miss de Lis!”

“But come on, Professor! Wouldn’t it be so cool to shout somepony down like a princess? I can see it now.” Fleur popped up from the floor and leaned over the professor, waving her shakey hoof across an invisible canvas she painted with her words. “Somepony cuts you off on Mane Street when you’re pulling a cart and you just yell ‘Hey! I’m trottin’ here!’ to knock them clean off their hooves.”

“Trium-vocalization, or the Royal Canterlot Voice, is a combination of the three primal tribal magicks, and is to only be used by alicorns, Miss de Lis.” The professor heaved a patient sigh. “That verbal arcane power is reserved for edicts and serious matters. Not road rage!”

Fleur clicked her tongue, sobering up from her act. “Relax, Professor. It wasn’t tribal magic or anything, we just tried to layer it a bunch of times over and over and it blew up in our faces.” Fleur cast a spell to clean herself off and right her mane back into its unblasted state. Arpeggio scowled at his student, seeing as how she hadn’t even remotely acknowledged the point he made.

“Be that as it may, it is not a suitable use of voice modulation magic. I’d reject such an ill-thought performance proposal before it left this department.”

“Oh, come on!” Fleur complained as she crossed her forelegs and pouted.

“Oh, right. The showcase is coming up,” Vinyl remarked as she righted herself from the floor and shook the lingering vertigo from her head.

The ESPA’s biannual Performance Showcases were right around the corner. The last month had been so hectic, she’d forgotten all about it. While some ponies paid dues monetarily, others maintained their memberships by applying their craft for the Society’s benefit. Vinyl fell into the latter category. Both her membership and financial aid status were tied to contributing to regular performances and showing progress on her research. It wasn’t much to ask, considering she earned her CSGU tuition by showing off to the Society.

“Indeed. I was going to remind you both since the proposal due date is fast approaching. You need to get yours submitted and approved by the board before I can send them over to the Society for final verification.” Arpeggio regarded Fleur with disappointment. “Proposals that I approve of, that is.”

“Lighten up, Teach. It’s not even that big of a deal.” Fleur waved a dismissive hoof at the rejection.

“Studying how to better imitate royalty is not groundbreaking research. At worst, it’s a capital offense. You might as well be pressing bottle caps into bits in front of the Royal Guard. You can act like the princesses on stage all you want; in fact, you’ll probably land plenty of parts as a princess for any dramas about either of the two sisters. But showcasing a method of faking a royal decree is not a ‘performance’ I will condone.”

Fleur’s eyes searched over her stalwart professor and her ears drooped under his pressure. She looked down at the floor, her breath quickening as she slowly clenched her teeth tighter and tighter. To Vinyl’s and Arpeggio’s surprise, her nostrils started to flare as her playful anger gave way to legitimate rage.

“What the hay is your problem?” Fleur stomped the floor in palpable frustration. “Why are you so against me on this? It’s not like I’m trying to get myself banished or anything. I need to wow them this time, and this is the only thing I’ve got! You know as well as I do that my normal junk isn’t gonna cut it now!”

“What are you talking about?” Arpeggio asked earnestly as he approached his student. “Miss de Lis, Your exquisite speech spellcrafting has always impressed me. The time you fooled everypony into thinking you were Sapphire Shores giving a surprise concert was nothing short of extraordinary. I was hoping you’d figure out how to emulate Countess Coloratura or show your progress on your masculine vocal masking.”

“Like any of that even matters anymore,” Fleur growled bitterly.

“Why would you say that?”

Fleur trotted over to her workspace in a huff and started rifling through her drawers. Settling on a thin, black book, she grabbed it with her magic, flipped it open to reveal the first page, and threw it on the center table.

“Them!”

Arpeggio and Vinyl looked to see it was covered with rough drawings of changelings with haphazard notes jotted down. Flipping through the pages revealed personal interviews and news clippings from the invasion and its aftermath. There were all sorts of photos, blurry and pristine, alongside sketches of changelings from every angle. The best picture was a Ponaroid snap of a changeling mid-transformation getting ready to pounce on a cornered stallion.

“I work so hard, and then these things just come and crash a wedding!”

Fleur had mentioned the species more than once since the invasion. Vinyl had chalked her friend’s hatred of them up to one of her running gags, not thinking that it could come from someplace deeper. The performer messed around so much, it was hard to tell when something truly upset her. Fleur was the filly who cried timberwolf.

“How would you feel, huh?” Fleur asked as she pointed at another changeling drawing. “Somepony—or whatever those stupid things are—just comes along and rips your whole field of study out from under you with magic you’ve never even heard of?”

“I’d probably be pretty excited if it panned out,” Arpeggio replied evenly, giving Vinyl a quick, meaningful look. “But given the context clues,I suppose the feeling would be similar to a unicorn wanting to fly or commune more closely with nature.”

“You think I’m… This isn’t wing envy or earth jealousy! Those aren’t even comparable!” Fleur roared as she slammed her rear hoof into the ground and snorted. “I’ve worked hard for years to even get close to safely pitch-shifting my voice to do convincing male characters, but then these things have the nerve to suddenly pop into existence? What the hay am I supposed to do, huh? There’s an entire species out there that makes my special talent absolutely worthless!”

“Hey!” Vinyl barked angrily at her friend for using the W-word against herself. “That’s not true, Fleur! You’re a great actress. You do more than just voices.”

“Yeah? Well, so what?” Fleur spat back. She whipped around to stare Vinyl in the face, only to have her spite melt under the DJ’s hot gaze. “T-they’re the best method actors ever by default. How am I supposed to compete with somepony that can literally assume their role? I might as well be sucking helium in comparison.”

“From what little we understand of them, Miss de Lis,” the Professor said as he looked over the copious notes in front of him, “I believe there is a key difference you are overlooking.”

“Oh really? And that would be, what? My pretty face?” She plastered a faux-smile for Arpeggio and struck a show-stopping model runway pose before sinking back into a scowl. “Newsflash, Professor, they can copy that too.”

“Sure, they can copy it.” Professor Arpeggio placed a supportive hoof on Fleur’s shoulder. “In fact, they can probably copy everything you do. But, you know what? There is no copying you. You have something to give through your performances. They can only pretend and take away from their audience. Don’t compare your gifts to those who abuse their abilities for personal gain.”

“But…” Fleur looked away, and recomposed herself. She turned back to the professor with pleading puppy-dog eyes and shed a few crocodile tears for good measure. “But I like abusing mine, too.”

“I know you do. By Celestia, how I know you do.” Arpeggio sighed in relief as he shook his head. He couldn’t help but laugh at his student’s antics. “Your spellwork is phenomenal, but you are the key to your performances, Miss de Lis. The impressions are not only amazing because of their accuracy, but because of your delivery. Somepony foolish enough to try copying the incomparable Fleur de Lis would fall face-first into the uncanny valley.”

Fleur’s face softened as she ran her foreleg over her eyes in a flash. She quickly pulled the professor into an unexpected hug, which he returned with a pat on her back after the surprise subsided. Vinyl smiled at the sight until she felt a familiar aura encircling her. She was pulled into the gravitational well of Fleur’s embrace, dragging her hooves along the floor the entire way.

“Oh, come on!” Vinyl complained as Fleur locked her into place again. She tried to free herself from the group hug, but then stopped struggling when she felt the slight tremble in her friend’s forelegs. With a sigh, she hugged her clingy friend back to let Fleur savor the warmth of their support.

“I love you guys,” Fleur whispered as she nuzzled Vinyl’s cheek.

Vinyl said nothing, but leaned into the nuzzle to let Fleur know she cared.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 15: Je Suis Très Inquiet

So what if you're taken?
I can’t be mistaken,
There’s no use tryin’ hidin’ your love, So~
Give me more, give me fire,
Burning cores are my desire…?

“Wait! Wait, wait, wait a minute! Cut the groove!” Sauna Summers yelled over the music. The band died down with a ruffling of papers in feathers. “Burning cores? What’s with the freaky-deaky lyrics, ladies? Somepony’s got their mind on their waistline? We ain’t running an aerobics class.”

“I wasn’t thinking about that kind of core. You know, the core of your heart, like the core of the sun?” one of the voices remarked sheepishly.

“Alright. Who put Sunny on lyric duty again?” There was a chorus of laughter minus the previous pony. “Girl, you are the light in my skies, but maybe chillax a little with the stellar stuff?”

“I’m sorry, Sauna,” Sunny apologized.

“Ain’t no thing, sunshine. But maybe just leave the sunrise to Princess Celestia? Now, I like the rest of what you got here, baby, so what rhymes with ‘more?’”

“Floor?” a stallion over a speaker offered. “Store, lore, bore, yore, wh—”

“Condor!” Sunny interjected optimistically.

“Sunny!” a stern feminine voice complained through gritted teeth. “What do condors have to do with a ‘burning desire?’ There’s nothing sexy about condors!”

“She just asked for rhymes, Spring…” Sunny’s tone sank, crestfallen.

“Now, now, hold on everypony,” Sauna started to say, “Sunny might be onto something here. Drop the ‘con’ and what do you get?”

“Door,” Vinyl Scratch whispered the answer to herself while taking notes of the conversation. She was cheating, since she had the album they were in the middle of working on at her side, but there was no way the recording she was listening to would call her out on it.

“Door?” Spring guessed.

“Exactly, Springstep. ‘Door-desire’ does have a nice ring to it, catch my drift?”

There was a light scratching of a pencil on paper. Springstep hummed a bit of the song and started singing.

Give me more, give me fire,
Open my do-or to desire.

“Holding out ‘door’ like that doesn’t really jive with the beat to me,” Sauna said while pondering the words.

“What if we break the first beat in half and use ‘open?’ ‘Open the door to my desire?’” Sunny offered in a softly sung suggestion.

Sauna smiled and poured her soul into singing the new lyrics.

Give me more, give me fire,
Open the door to my desire~!

“Sen-say-shun-al everypony!” Sauna sing-songily announced to the group. “We’ll make a songwriter out of you yet, Sunny!”

Vinyl stopped the record to check what she had written down about the creative process behind Sauna Summers’ breakout hit, Door to my Desire. She double-checked the appendix in Summers’ biography she’d borrowed from the ESPA library, confirming the song’s title had been correctly attributed to one of Sauna’s backup singers, but it lacked the mare’s name. At least now she had one to work with: Sunny. She just needed to narrow it down. Sunny by itself was rare, but the word was a common component in longer names, especially among weather ponies. She might have to go back to the library sooner than she wanted to.

Leaning back from the desk, Vinyl stretched her legs with a satisfying pop before snuggling back into her hoodie for warmth. She kept her head tilted back to admire the thin softwood slats running along the ceiling. The woodwork was not only functional, but pleasing to the eye as the crosshatched slats sloped towards the row of recessed lights, casting the earthy and maroon colors of the creative space in a warm, refreshing glow. It was a far cry from her cool nightclub fluorescence, and a welcome difference at that. She took a deep breath through her nose to savor the vintage lacquer for the umpteenth time.

After the microbreak, Vinyl leaned back down to her archiving with the collection. Being the more famous of the pair, she started with Sauna Summers’ old Groovecasters records first. Like Fleur had warned of before, the disco packrat’s boxes almost tripled her husband’s collection from Suave Oasis, despite Suede’s five year head start in the industry. Still, Vinyl figured there had to be something in the early days that could be a good sample to practice the ESPA archiving protocols. Four hours later, finding the name of the artist responsible for a famous song title seemed like a good start.

Oddly enough, Vinyl didn’t mind the grind. She was sincerely enjoying listening to Sauna Summers the pony. The mare was far more interesting than the disco she put out, at least in her early years. Not to say her music was bad, but Summers herself was vibrant, sharp-witted, and inspiring. Vinyl could see how such an amazing artist had left her mark on Equestrian music, even down to her language. Sapphire Shores' way of saying “sensational” was clearly a nod to Summers. It cast Sapphire’s hit song Simply Sensational in an entirely new light.

Even though they’d never get the chance to meet, Vinyl was looking forward to getting to know Summers better through the records.

Vinyl flipped through the biography’s sources and index, scanning the words for anything regarding the identities of the backup singers. Its author had been infuriatingly lax when detailing the ponies around the Queen of Disco outside of her producers. Her friends had faded into the background, lost to time. It was nothing short of maddening to be missing one pony’s full name to finish off the entry, but she was invested. Or at least she was until there was a short rap on the studio’s door.

“It’s open!” Vinyl called over her shoulder.

“A keen observation, Miss Scratch, but I was seeking permission to enter,” Fancy called from the other side.

“It’s your place. You don’t need an invitation.”

“But it’s your space,” Fancy countered with a pun. “I’d prefer one all the same, if I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Permission granted, Sir Fancy Pants,” she reluctantly answered. He might not be a father, but she figured something must stir in the hearts of all stallions in order to prepare them to subject others within earshot to awful puns.

“Thank you, Miss Scratch. And again, please don’t feel the need to add the ‘Sir.’”

“And I said I’d drop the ‘Sir’ if you dropped the ‘Miss,'” Vinyl reminded him.

“Ah, yes. Force of habit, I’m afraid. My apologies, Vinyl.” Fancy strolled in with a casual step to see the small mess of boxes and books the DJ had made in the sound room. He looked over her page of notes and the orange crystal suspended by her focusing mount. “It seems you’re making progress with your work. Quite the fascinating set of tools—”

“Don’t-touch-that!”

Fancy froze his hoof a few centimeters from one of the elbows of the claw-like mount.

Vinyl forced a smile. “Sorry. It’s actively channeling magical energies.”

“I see.” Fancy chuckled to himself. “From the sounds of it, I imagine the encounter would’ve been quite shocking.”

“It’d probably sting a little from the shield, but the bigger problem would’ve been if you managed to disrupt any mana-flow with your primal aura.”

“And we wouldn’t want that, would we?” Fancy backed away from the crystal a few more paces and observed the area curiously. He seemed fascinated by the arms that held the floating crystal in place. It was contained in a standard blast shield in the event of cascade failure, but such catastrophic events were exceedingly rare unless you were overcharging them or putting things that shouldn’t be in there, like cacophony runes.

“Yeah. Even if the arms aren’t glowing, that doesn’t mean they aren’t energized. If you knocked the crystal out of suspension before I finished encircling the audio forms in wards, there’d be a risk of spellform degradation. I’d have to dispel my work and start over just to be safe.”

“A rather nasty fate, indeed.” Fancy nodded confidently in agreement.

“Yeah…” Vinyl watched the calm and collected stallion as he looked over the mare’s work. He looked deep in thought, but something about his demeanor reminded her of what Fleur said yesterday. “You didn’t understand any of that, did you?”

“Pas du tout, Vinyle.”

“What?”

“Precisely,” he added with a smirk.

“Look, just don’t touch things near floating crystals and we’ll be golden, kay?” Fancy’s smirk fell into a small frown, which brought an internal smile to the smarter mare. “So, did you need something?”

“Nothing specifically, but I did want to speak to you. That is, if it isn’t too much trouble.”

“Sure. I guess I can give you a progress report, but it’s not gonna be much since I just started.” Vinyl picked up the few notes she had made through listening to the records. Most of it was fruitless nonsense that didn’t go anywhere. She’d still go back to transfer any notable audio samples to a crystal later, but she had determined to focus on finding something noteworthy for her first entry attempt.

“No need for strictly business, Vinyl. It can be about anything you want. I enjoy getting to know ponies that are worth getting to know, so I thought we could break the ice as it were, if you can spare a moment.”

“Oh…”

Vinyl’s first instinct was to tell him to go away, but she quickly reminded herself who she was talking to and reeled back her more introverted tendencies. Even she knew not to needlessly upset the boss ponies when she had nothing on her side. Fancy held all the cards, after all. Plus, he was doing that “I’m a genuinely good guy” thing again. If it was an act, Vinyl couldn’t tell. Given his and Fleur’s parentage, performing apparently ran in the family. Of course, if he wasn’t good, then she was in a very bad situation. To spare her sanity, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt again.

“I could use a break, I guess.” She stood up from her seat, stretching her front and hind legs while popping her back. While they looked nice, the old seats left much to be desired in comfortability. After brushing the detritus from her pencil and eraser shavings off her hoodie, she was ready for Fancy.

“Alright. Small talk,” Vinyl whispered to herself under her breath. Her mind started shuffling through potential conversations. Music was probably a no-go with their age gap. Talking about Fleur would be a nonstarter, too. She already knew how bad he was at magic, so no reason to bring up Fancy’s flaws. They’d been to some of the same parties, but likely had wildly different takes on the nights. What else was there? Food? Politics? Potpourri?

“I suppose I can start us off, then,” Fancy proposed, bringing Vinyl out of her quickly spiraling contemplation. “If you could have any special talent in the world, what would it be?”

Vinyl tilted her head in bewilderment. “That’s a bit of a foalish question, don’t you think? We already have our cutie marks.”

“I suppose that particular conversation starter works better with non-Equestrian species, but I’m curious all the same. While it’s true that our special talents make us happy, that doesn’t mean we’re one-trick ponies. For example, I think it would be fun to be good at winemaking.”

“That’s… a little out of nowhere.”

“Not really, if you get to know the area.” Fancy’s eyes sparked as an idea occurred to him. He walked towards the door and pulled it open. “Care to join me for a little fresh air?”

Not wanting to reject her employer, Vinyl shrugged and shut down her work area. She forced a smile as she passed the chivalrous stallion. Fancy swung ahead of her and led the DJ through yet another hallway Vinyl hadn’t been down yet that ran to the rear of the mansion. While he seemingly had an endless amount of things to display as decorations, the stallion had far too much space to be living by himself. It was no wonder that Fluff’s tour had only taken her to commonly used rooms. There always seemed to be another random space around every corner.

“So, what do you know about the history of the estate?”

“Probably about as much as you do about crystal harmonics.”

“Ah, so nothing at all. Let’s remedy that.” They trotted through a cozy tea room with large bay windows overlooking the rolling hills behind the property. Thankfully, the day was slightly overcast, so the snow still blanketing the fields outside didn’t blind her unshaded eyes. Fancy pulled open a pair of sliding glass doors leading to a small, covered patio.

Fancy took in a large breath as he stepped out into the dim sunshine piercing through the thin layer of clouds. “Wonderful day, isn’t it?” the stallion asked as he held the door open for Vinyl to step through.

Still feeling a bit uncomfortable around his chivalry, she trotted past him into the powder with a small shiver. “The air’s fresh at least.” She pulled her hoodie’s hood up, slipping it over her head and closing the horn flaps with a button and pulling the strings tighter to lock in the warmth.

“Not one for the cold? You mentioned you grew up here in Canterlot. I thought you’d be a bit more acclimated to mountain air.”

“I manage in other ways,” Vinyl said as she sparked a weak fire shield around herself. Sure, defensive magic was a little overkill for a blanket, but it was better than buying more clothes in Canterlot. “More of a summer pony over here.”

“I see. I prefer autumn and winter, so this weather suits me just fine. I always say it’s better to be too cold than too warm. You can always add another layer if the chill is getting to you, but there’s only so much heat you can take before the shears come out,” Fancy quipped with a polite smile.

A brief image of a miserable, freshly sheared Upper Crust in the desert flashed through her head, eliciting a nasally snicker from Vinyl. “Didn’t know you liked that kind of humor.”

“Which is the value in getting to know somepony,” Fancy said with a wink as he led Vinyl further up a tall hillside, slowly sloping up and away from the mansion. The old snow crunched under their hooves with each careful step until they arrived at the hilltop, overlooking the property. Barring the third floor of the mansion, it was the highest point on the property.

To the northwest stood the royal castle with its tallest spires piercing the cloud cover in all of its regal splendor. If she looked a little beyond the river, she could see the castle’s proper walls with patrolling guards rather than the empty border ones encircling most of the city. Turning her sight eastward, the snowy fields ended abruptly at the sheer purple cliff faces leading up to the rest of Mount Canterhorn and where the Whitetail River source cascaded from its frigid peaks. Not many ponies could say they had a waterfall in their backyard.

The most fascinating aspect of the snowscape in front of her was simply how quiet it was. She could hear gentle gusts of wind sweeping over the mountain, every little crackle of the snow under her hooves anytime she shifted her weight, and even the subtle sizzle of steam when an errant ice crystal sublimated next to her ears when it hit her shield. Even though the estate was in the back of Canterlot, it felt a world away from the city; wide open, serene, and utterly breathtaking.

“Quite the lovely view, isn’t it?” Fancy agreed with Vinyl’s unspoken observations. She mentally chided herself for not wearing her sunglasses as he directed her attention back towards his home. “This charmingly rustic mansion was slowly built out of additions to an old winery, Castillo Verde, or the Verdant Chateau. It’s a little hard to tell outside of the exterior San Palomino aesthetic, but you can still see a few hallmarks of the old distillery in the study if you look close enough. I’m sure even you would agree that It’s a smidge tall for a personal library.”

“That’s one way to put it.” Ignoring the stacks higher up, Fancy’s study was nearly as tall as the Society’s main library. While the mansion’s first floor was devoted more to private meetings and office work, the second was lined wall to wall with bookshelves. She’d never seen so many books in one pony’s home, and wondered if Fancy had even read half of them or if they were just purely aesthetic.

“Now, imagine, if you will, rows upon rows of wooden poles draped with dark purple grapes and blackberries covering almost every square inch of this expanse. Planters ran from where the gate meets the road all the way to the river back there,” the stallion pointed over the horizon towards the river at the base of the hill, “and where the grass hits the rocky slopes over there,” he moved his hoof towards the waterfall and mountainside. “Though, I suppose you can’t really tell where that is with the snow.”

“That’s a lot of fruit,” Vinyl admitted as she turned her head along the borders of the property. She’d seen larger farms out in Ponyville, but those had plenty of room to grow. Anypony crazy enough to try to run a vineyard up here earned her respect just for trying in the first place. “So, why make wine on a mountain? Seems like it'd be a rough time, even for earth ponies.”

“Canterlot’s elevation and unique soil enriches the fruit’s flavor palate. Add in the colder climate and harsher sunlight giving the fruit a far deeper color, and the result is a wine that becomes darker, finer, and more elegant in its taste.”

“Sounds like you’ve given it some thought. So when are you planning on starting up Chateau Fancy?”

“Starting up? Oh, heavens no. I’m simply recalling the key details of a conversation with the historical owners of the land. Verdant Berry’s descendants are still very much in the wine business, just not in Canterlot.”

“Why not? Don’t get me wrong, It's a nice yard, and probably even better after Winter Wrap Up, but it kinda seems like a giant waste of space.”

“Those were my thoughts exactly when I was considering the idea, Miss Scratch, but Verde failed for many reasons.”

“And what would those be, Sir Fancy Pants?”

“Sorry, Vinyl,” he apologized with a chuckle before looking up at the sky in thought. “And to name a few: property tax increases, wine price fluctuations, changes in zoning laws, homeowners association, the castle district’s—”

“Okay, I get it. I’m sorry I asked,” Vinyl groaned. She could handle ancient spell texts and pouring over crystals for hours, but she had no patience for Canterlotian legal nonsense.

“Quite the boring way to go, isn’t it? Ultimately, it was gentrification that did them in. So they sold the land to Suede Shoes, and the Verdant Vermillion and Canterhorn Black labels were retired. I believe Princess Celestia herself owns the first and last bottles ever produced. Unfortunate, really. From what I heard, the wine was quite wonderful.”

“Okay, so again, why not?” Vinyl shrugged with a single foreleg as she regarded Fancy quizzically.

“Why not what?”

“You know, restart the winery?”

Fancy paused momentarily as he returned Vinyl’s curious look with his own confusion. “I believe I just told you.”

“Sure, but who cares? You’ve got the money to burn and it sounds like you’d enjoy it.”

“Because it’s the wrong decision.”

“Now you lost me. You want to do something, have the money to do it, it was successful in the past, but it’s the wrong decision?” she asked while counting the reasons with flicks of her hoof.

“I suppose, in that sense, it isn’t that obviously wrong. This space is better served for hosting parties when the castle gardens are unavailable. It can also moor and dock smaller airships brought by VIPs, though that has been a less frequent occurrence since I retired from my ambassadorship two years ago. Perhaps I should look into acquiring one of my own?”

“I guess, but you never know until you try.”

“With all due respect, that’s where you’re wrong, Vinyl. I guarantee this land is being used optimally. You know what my special talent is, right? I choose the best out of the best, the king of kings. Give me three crowns, and I will determine which one stands the tallest: the Kingmaker.

“While I could probably make the vineyard work, I saw that using these grounds as a pristine venue in the middle of the city would be better than farmland. I’ve made many good investments in no small part thanks to my ability to host any size function that I need from my backyard. One chance meeting at an event and I might help launch ten vineyards from this ‘waste of space.’”

“Yeah, but those wouldn’t be your vineyards,” she clarified.

“You’re right. But they would be owned by talented vignerons and vintners that are far more qualified in their crafting and selling than I could ever be. Skilled ponies benefit from the money I’ve accrued through investments in the talents of others, and I benefit from their success in kind.”

Vinyl frowned. “Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said you never made anything.”

“Again, by your definition, yes, you are correct. My wealth is from managing my inheritance. I see myself as the steward of a greater legacy. Funnily enough, I have earned far more by investing in others’ crafts than my parents ever did making music. That wealth allows me to help others make things. When your talent is to distinguish talent, well, you can see how that could be quite lucrative when making financial decisions.”

“I guess. But doesn’t that, I dunno…” Vinyl looked back up at Fancy with a sinking something she couldn't quite place. She surveyed the sprawling lands around them. “Doesn’t it feel kinda empty?”

“Empty?”

“Think about it: you earn money to invest in others that makes you more money and then… what? I mean, you’re the richest pony in Canterlot, right?”

“Hardly,” Fancy laughed with a dismissive roll of his eyes. “I’m a distant seventeenth, last I was told. I’m not nearly ruthless enough to be the richest one here.”

Vinyl groaned again and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her hoof. “I’m not sure if I should be disgusted by how disconnected from reality that sounds or relieved that you’re not crazy enough to care.”

“Truth be told, I did have a hoof in the rise of the sixteen that are ahead of me, but—”

“Stop! Ugh, you’re going to make me lose my lunch with how unintentionally pretentious that sounds.” Vinyl collected herself after a few fake gags, garnering a small chuckle from the stallion. “What I mean is, what’s the point of making the money if you’re not doing anything you want with it?”

“But I am doing what I want with it, Vinyl.” Fancy smiled as he swept his hoof across the open skies above them. “I am helping others and making them shine with it. I can’t think of a better use for it than that.”

“I guess. It’s just, I never thought to ask anypony with a cutie mark what they’d want their special talent to be.”

Fancy lowered his hoof back to the ground slowly. He looked puzzled by Vinyl’s reaction, and seemed to be giving it some thought. She noticed him idly start polishing his monocle as he looked past her towards the river.

“Just saying,” Vinyl added with a noncommittal shrug of her shoulders, bringing Fancy back down to Equestria.

“R-right. I guess I’m simply surprised there’s nothing you’d enjoy being better at,” Fancy clarified as he placed his monocle back over his eye.

“That’s not what you asked. I’d like to be better at a lot of things, like long-distance galloping, staying focused when reading boring spellbooks, maybe cooking, but there’s absolutely nothing I’d rather be than a musician. It’s what I am, and nopony is changing that.”

Fancy’s eyes widened slightly at the force of the mare’s conviction, but then smiled at her passionate pride. “Well then, I will need to think of a better ice breaker in the future,” he joked as he casually strolled past the DJ towards the river. “Shall we head back to the mansion?”

“Uh, yeah? But, umm…” Vinyl answered as she looked over her shoulder towards the mansion in the opposite way he was heading.

“Not to worry, Vinyl. We’re just taking a little detour. I have one more thing that I’d like to show you. I think you might find it interesting.”

Vinyl sighed and reinforced her fire shield before following Fancy’s trail through the snow. After all, there was no way to refuse him.

Fancy led Vinyl along the river, following the flow of the water. As they neared the edge of the estate, she stepped carefully onto the slowly forming cobblestone path as it coalesced into a full pathway leading to a small gate. Beyond it was a shallow staircase leading under a bridge into the canals of Canterlot. The river itself flowed into a wide waterfall that cascaded into the channels below. Though it wasn’t a long distance to the water below, the drop was tall enough for the light roar of the falls to scatter mist into the area.

The small streets below were nearly frozen solid from the snow and river water. Shadowy areas of the waterways were dotted with frozen patches and ice flows that broke apart when the sun moved enough for its light to warm their surfaces. Vinyl stepped with the utmost care as she navigated the slippery steps. Fancy offered a helping hoof, but she pretended not to see it. She’d have to reduce her shield’s strength to safely take it, and there was no way she was getting out from under her warm, magical blanket.

The treacherous steps zig-zagged back and forth, ending under the center of the large bridge passing overhead. Beyond them was a thin cobblestone pathway just wide enough for two ponies to pass each other carefully. Fancy stopped a few trots from the stairs and rifled through his coat pocket as his eyes scanned the wall in front of him. Finding his mark, Fancy smiled and waved at Vinyl to come closer.

“Here we are. Suede’s best kept secret of the estate,” Fancy called out over the burble of the waterfall.

He pulled a keyring out of his pocket, cycled through it to an old cast iron key, and inserted it into the small keyhole hidden within the stone wall. With a loud clunk of the aged tumblers, the stone wall vanished in a flash of magic, revealing a hidden wrought iron gate. Fancy nudged the gate open, the hinges creaking loudly from years of neglect, and walked inside. He held it open for Vinyl who stood at the entrance, locked in place. She traced the outline of the wall leading into the dark, foreboding unknown.

“Is everything alright?” Fancy asked with slight concern.

“Y-yeah! Why wouldn’t it be?” Vinyl tittered as she trotted through the doorway at a healthy clip. She pushed down the creeping thought of entering a strange, hidden doorway under a bridge in the back alleys of Canterlot with a stallion she barely knew. There was nothing wrong with that. If there was something, then whatever that something was wouldn’t be much of a thing for much longer if her magic had anything to say about it.

“Here, let me get the lights.”

Fancy flicked an old wand on the wall, creating a fiery mote of cyan magic that streaked towards the darkness. A lamp hanging from the ceiling caught the magic, ricocheting the firebolt around until it sparked to life, and shot another streaking light further down the tunnel. The pattern continued until the glow rounded a corner out of sight, revealing a crystalline tunnel supported by wooden beams.

Vinyl looked around as she cautiously stepped deeper inside.“Why is there a random crystal mine under a bri—” Vinyl yelped as a loud, resounding thunk of metal and clamor of stones boomed from behind, whisking the trickle of sunlight away in an instant.

“Sorry!” Fancy called out. “I should’ve warned you that the lock is a bit louder on this end.” He gave a few tentative pushes against the wall to ensure the magic seal was secure.

“It’s fine. Forget about it.”

“By the way, did you step on a mouse, or was that adorable squeak you?” Fancy teased as he joined Vinyl’s side.

“I said, forget about it.” The veiled threat through her gritted teeth wasn’t enough to wipe the tiny smile off of Fancy’s face.

“Fair enough. To answer your question, this is a secret access tunnel leading to Chateau Verde’s wine cellar,” he said, pointing down the crystalline pathway. The pale blue crystals jutting from every angle shimmered from the flickering magefire lamps. The glow played off the wall’s polygonal surfaces, scattering light into mesmerizing blue beams, but their aetherial wonder was undercut by the unwelcoming crystal’s razorlike formations.

“Okay? So, why is there a random secret tunnel under a bridge?” Vinyl asked more warily than she meant to while keeping a close eye on their maw-like surroundings.

“If you recall, Mother and Suede were quite the famous couple. When they needed to get out and about without garnering attention from the paparazzi, they used this tunnel to sneak out of the mansion. I haven’t needed to use it much myself.”

Vinyl’s jaw dropped at the admission. He was one of the most powerful ponies in the city, probably in all of Equestria. The only thing separating him from true royal power was his lack of a horn and wings. Not even Princess Luna held a candle to his influence within the elite circles of Canterlot.

“Surprised? I might be a famous pony, but I’m no superstar like Summers. I also lead a very boring private life, so they find it better to corner me in public than in front of my home.” He ran a hoof along the shimmering walls carved out of the ancient crystals. “I mostly used this to sneak out in my younger and wilder days. Following this wall outside will take you a couple of blocks away from the Drive.”

“You? Everypony’s golden colt? Wild on the Drive? I really can’t picture that,” Vinyl snickered at his claim.

“Life has a way of changing everypony. Sometimes for the better, others for the worse. I was quite the stupid brat back in my youth, despite my mother’s best attempts at rearing me.” Fancy sighed wistfully as he looked up at a flickering lamp. “A stubborn fool with too much money to spend on getting anything his little heart desired.”

Vinyl pictured a fanciful blueblood running amok in Cantrips. “I bet I would’ve hated you on sight.”

“I’m not so sure.” He raised a hoof to his chin with a smirk as he considered the idea. “I was pretty loose with my allowance after a few drinks. A smart filly such as yourself would’ve been able to take me for all I was worth if you were so inclined.”

“Then I definitely would’ve hated you. You’re probably an annoying drunk anyway,” Vinyl japed too quickly, before remembering who she was talking to. She bit down on her lips to stop anything else from slipping out, but Fancy didn’t seem to mind the accidental insult.

“I believe I was simply obnoxious in general, but you’d have to ask somepony else about that. I usually had forgotten everything by the next morning.”

“Wow. That much of an animal, huh?” Vinyl added nervously.

“I couldn’t tell you how many of Suede’s lectures I sat through while hungover.” Fancy shook his head at the memory, or perhaps the lack-thereof.

As they followed the lit pathway, the blue crystal formations yielded to compacted dirt and rocks supported by wood slats and grassy root systems along the ceiling. She had to give whoever dug it out credit as she couldn’t even see where it ended. She couldn’t help but wonder if these were already here or if Fancy’s dad had brought in a subterranean species to help with the excavation.

Wait… Fancy’s dad.

“Fancy, do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Not at all. The whole point of this outing is to get to know each other. If it’s about my drinking habits, I’d be happy to share a few more reasonable recommendations.”

“No thanks, I don’t need another potion from Princess Luna.” The DJ blanched a bit at the terrible memory her body remembered more than her mind did. She hadn’t had a drop of liquor since her encounter with that eldritch abomination in a glass.

“I see. Then what is it? Something I can help you with?”

“No, it’s just…” Vinyl trailed as she tried to find a better way to ask her question, only to come up short. “Do you not like your dad?”

Fancy blinked and turned to give Vinyl his undivided attention. “What ever gave you the impression that I don’t like Suede?”

“That.” She pointed a hoof at the stallion’s mouth. “You keep calling him ‘Suede’ even though you seem perfectly fine with Summers being your mom.” Seeing the staggered stallion stop in his tracks, Vinyl retreated a few steps back with a nervous chuckle and coughed to clear her throat. She waved a hoof defensively, hoping to avoid any backlash from the question. “D-don’t worry, I totally get it if you do. Trust me, I’m right there with you.”

Fancy blinked in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, I thought you were doing a subtle jab at him by not calling him ‘Father’ or something. I mean, I hated mine, so I thought maybe we had that in common, you know?” she explained hastily with a forced smile.

Fancy stopped dead in his tracks and started aghast at Vinyl.

“Okay, so it’s not exactly the same since I hated both of my parents.”

“Good heavens!” Fancy placed a hoof over his heart, shuddering at her cold attitude. “How can you say that so brazenly?”

“Cause I do?” Vinyl squinted one eye and looked at the stallion askew.

Fancy bristled at her detachment. “That’s a terrible thing to say!”

“No it’s not. It’s the truth. And stop turning this around on me! Aren’t you doing the same thing with Suede?” Vinyl furrowed her brow in perplexed irritation.

“Good heavens, no! I… loved him.” Fancy sighed in resignation and started polishing his monocle again. She almost mentioned that as well, but she was already treading on thin ice. “I stopped calling him that after he married Éclair. I thought I made my stance on my familial connections crystal clear during the job offer.”

Vinyl’s heart jumped into her throat as her mind caught up to what he was saying. Of course he’d switch his language to make sure that never slipped out. That Éclair angle was the whole reason she was hired in the first place. She chastised herself as she smacked the side of her head for her stupidity.

She messed up. She messed up badly. How many times would she have to be reminded that her feelings weren’t normal? Nothing about her relationships were ever normal! All she had to do was keep one, stupid, rich pony happy, and she couldn’t even go one outing with the guy without shoving her hoof in her mouth. Love was ruining everything again, just like it always did.

“Look, can we just forget this conversation ever happened and move on? Please? I need to get back to work now!” The DJ tried to quickly walk past the larger unicorn, but was cut off from her escape by his foreleg.

“Wait!” Fancy trotted in front of her, cutting off her path, but he didn’t put a hoof on her. She looked away, not wanting to meet the stallion’s eyes. “Vinyl, please. Slow down, take a deep breath, and tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong! Why would anything be wrong?”

“Because you look absolutely petrified. Even more so than you did earlier at the entrance.”

“Okay, sure, let’s go with that,” Vinyl agreed as she rushed behind Fancy and tried to push him down the tunnel with her magic. “I don’t like caves ‘cause they’re dark and scary. So let’s get out of this almost-cave this-a-way before I mess anything else up!”

“Vinyl Scratch!” Fancy said sternly, shaking Vinyl to her core. She released her magic grip and tried to look anywhere but at her employer.

“I’m sorry.” Vinyl’s face fell to the floor. “I didn’t mean to make you mad. Just forget everything and let me get back to my job, please?”

After a moment, Fancy sighed and his face softened. “I’m not angry at all, Vinyl. I wanted us to get to know each other, and while I wasn’t quite expecting it to take that turn, I’m more than a little worried about you. What are you so scared of?”

Vinyl bit down on her lip. She didn’t dare look Fancy in the eyes. However, he didn’t give her much say in the matter as he wouldn’t move out of the way. After a few more attempts to get past the concerned stallion, she decided to face the music and open her eyes. It didn’t take long for the fear to explain itself.

“M-me? You’re scared of me?”

“Can you blame me? My grant money is from you, I’m not sleeping under a bridge because of you. Heck, I bet if I looked hard enough, I’d find that you had your hooves in my contract at Cantrips. I promised myself I’d never be dependent on anypony again, but now, you practically own me.”

“You make it sound like I’m going to throw you away.”

“But, you could, right? Just one little flick of your fetlock and poof! No more Vinyl Scratch. Can you even begin to understand how terrifying that is?”

Fancy opened his mouth to protest, but they both knew he didn’t have a leg to stand on.

“I hate it,” Vinyl whispered before snorting and stamping the ground under her hooves with rising indignation. “I hate it so much! I hate that I can’t support myself and I have to rely on you! I want to hate you, too! I want to hate you so much, but I can’t! You’ve only ever been nice to me, and I don’t know why!”

“Vinyl, please.” Fancy began lifting a hoof to reach out to her, only to put it back down. “I promise I would never do that to you. What would be the point?”

“How should I know? You tell me! You said you always choose the ‘best of the best,’ so what’s ‘best’ about hiring a messed up nightclub DJ who’s only good at blowing up crystals for a job she doesn’t know how to do? To keep Éclair’s secret? I was gonna do that anyway, so bad call on that bribe. It couldn’t be to keep Fleur happy. I know something easier you could do than play white knight with me.”

The more she thought about her situation, the less sense it made to her. If he was so desperate to keep a secret, why bother with keeping the archives in the first place? Maybe he was hoping she’d blow everything up in an accident so he had plausible deniability. It didn’t matter anyway. They were dead. Why should he care about what they wanted? Even if they were last requests like Fleur said, it wasn’t like they’d come back from Elysium demanding him to carry them out their wishes. They wouldn’t be able to love him for doing it either. Nothing made sense.

“Why do you care?” Vinyl asked, genuinely confused by her boss.

“I told you before that I saw something in you, Vinyl Scratch. To be honest, I don’t know what that is yet, but I know you just need a chance to shine. This is that chance. And, you know what? You’re right about me. I’ve never made anything by myself. If not for my inheritance and my talent, I know I wouldn’t be where I am today. And I might not know who your parents were or what they did to deserve your resentment, but you shouldn’t. You shouldn’t hate anypony. It’s too exhausting of a burden to carry.”

“Burden?” Vinyl’s disquieted laughing echoed emptily through the cavernous halls, its hollowness only compounded by the icy edge in her underlying bitter anger. “Everything I am is in spite of them. I’m better off now than I ever was when they were around. My hatred for them fuels me.”

Fancy’s face sank with pity for the younger unicorn. “Surely, there must’ve been some good memories—”

“Not everypony gets to have a Sauna Summers in their life!”

Fancy recoiled at the young mare’s outburst. The pressure of her clenched jaw popped her ears as she grinded her teeth in frustration. How dare he give those two any benefit of the doubt!

“I’ve been listening to her all morning and she sounded so wonderful. Kind, creative, and encouraging; I’d kill to have a mom like her. Instead I got stuck with…” Vinyl trailed with a sigh as she tried to calm herself down. “It doesn’t matter. They’re both gone, long gone, and they’re never coming back. Good riddance.”

An uncomfortable silence settled between the two. Vinyl decided it was her turn to break the ice today.

“If you’re not gonna fire me, can we just get back to the mansion before I have a chance to say something else stupid? I need to finish the entry I was working on before it gets too late.”

Fancy simply nodded and stepped to the side, allowing Vinyl to join his gait down the path. Not another word was said between the two as Fancy led her through the winding tunnel. A few eternal minutes later, they rounded the last turn, coming face-to-face with a large, round door. Without any fanfare, Fancy pushed open the fake cask, showing what should’ve been an amazing secret of the estate. Instead, Vinyl just trudged through the wide barrel to reach the wine cellar proper. She kept going, finding the stairs up the main floor herself.

After a long, lonely walk through the halls by herself, she stepped into the safety of the studio and deadbolted the door. Next time she heard a knock, she’d be sure to pretend nopony was home.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Leave the discussions to discussions. Thank you for reading.

Chapter 16: Beneath a Dreamy Sea

Fancy Pants understood many things in his life: connections, wealth, prestige, power. He’d amassed so much through his special talent of discernment, deftly navigating social situations the world over while making allies everywhere along the way. His time spent as the Equestria’s ambassador had honed his abilities and personality to a royal “T.”

So, why was Vinyl Scratch proving impossible to get along with?

“Look, I get it," Vinyl admitted as she slowly stepped away from him. "You felt sorry for me after Fleur messed up, and now you’re paying for the problem to go away.”

“No!” Fancy pleaded as he desperately tried to salvage what little he could from his conversation with the ever-defensive DJ. “Please, you misunderstand me. That isn’t it at all. If you would just listen—”

“I did listen! The way I see it, you just need to keep everypony happy, and the best way is for her ‘brother’ to buy her friends off! I told you, I’ll get your disks sorted like you asked. Just…” She anxiously searched for an easier way to get her point across, but gave up with a hiccuped sob. “Please, I’m begging you, just leave me alone or get rid of me!” With that, the mare fled for the safety of the mansion’s recording studio.

“Wait!” he cried, but it was too late. Once more, the damnable door slammed in his face and locked. Fancy heaved a disappointed sigh as he reflected on how poorly the conversation had gone yet again.

With a guttural yell, Fancy stomped his hoof and he collapsed backwards as the hallway dissolved around him. A chair caught his fall, and in a flash, he was back in his study, seated behind his desk. He banged his head against the aged mahogany in front of him as he grit his teeth. Just how was he supposed to solve this problem? After so many different approaches and situations, he’d only found a collection of interesting ways to send Vinyl running for the proverbial hills. Perhaps he simply hadn’t learned enough about the young mare yet to reach a different conclusion.

But how was he supposed to get to know her better if she was terrified of him?

The worst part was, she was right, and she had every right to be wary. By sheer happenstance, Fancy held the poor girl’s fate in his hooves. He didn’t want that and had tried to find a way to tell her he was on her side, but the conversation always ended the same. Every scenario he had run through always hinged on that one dreadful emotion: fear.

Fancy’s emotions ebbed and flowed, lost somewhere in a squall of self-loathing, fatigue, and anger. At least he knew a simple solution to that one. Rising from his well-worn chair and brushing the dusty cobwebs out of his way, he carefully trekked towards his liquor cabinet. His hooves almost slipped on the ice patches that had formed where the floorboards had split apart. He briefly considered lighting the fireplace, but the broken bookshelves and collapsing woodwork around him could easily catch fire. Strangely, despite being able to see his breath, he didn’t feel the bitter chill in the stale air around him.

Fancy carefully stepped over a pony’s skeleton and opened the little door to see what he had available, only to be met with another disappointment. He still hadn’t gotten a chance to restock his favorite Griffonstone brandy. The bloody burn would do wonders for his mood. Looking further inside, there wasn't any bourbon left either. Strangely, there were only moldy bottles of Verdant Vermillion. He could’ve sworn the cleaning staff had the old things thrown out when they had stumbled upon the broken ones in the cellar.

“Fancy Pants! Are you alright?” a voice echoed from beyond the walls.

The stallion in question popped his head up from the doors and looked around the room. “Who’s there? Is that you, Miss Duster?”

The answer to his question sparked to life as Princess Luna appeared from the neglected fireplace in a flash of starlight. “My goodness, such a dreary place you have dreamed this night. Allow me to aid you, my friend.” The defender of the night’s horn slowly glimmered to life as the decrepit study around him began to fade away. The decay was replaced by a nebulous void, almost as deep and mysterious as the stellar mare's aethereal mane.

“Wait, I was dreaming?”

“No. You are dreaming still. You were having a most terrible nightmare.” She summoned a picture of the dispelled dream to show his cozy study had descended into a dark, twisted mockery of itself. Fancy considered the image as he stroked his chin, while Luna looked nervously between him and the depiction. “Did… did you not notice?”

Fancy shook his head. “I believe my mind was otherwise occupied.” He looked behind him where the liquor cabinet once stood and sighed. “If I’m asleep, I suppose that means my drink is out of the question.”

“I am afraid so," Luna lightly laughed at her friend's sober plight. "It is difficult to partake in spirits in your sleep. While possible, the act rarely ends with a desirable effect.”

“I suppose I fell asleep at my desk. Must be why I hadn’t noticed.” It wasn’t the first time he had done so while mulling over a particularly irksome problem. Though, he had usually gotten through such brainstorming sessions more quickly and woken up on his own afterwards. “No matter. Thank you for your intervention, Luna. Now, if you will excuse me.”

Fancy focused for a moment and imagined a scenario taking place near the kitchen. Many disagreements with the griffons were resolved over a shared meal. If he broached the subject at dinner, maybe the common experience of eating would help ease the DJ’s fears. Vinyl Scratch manifested further down the hallway, her back turned away from him and Luna. She took careful steps, looking around corners to make sure he wasn’t there. Fancy wished he could imagine the young mare in a less cautious state, but after their last encounter, Vinyl would likely be on edge while navigating the mansion.

“Oh my! We had not realized you bore such phenomenal control over your gift of fate weaving.” Luna marveled at the walls around them and tapped on a piece of statuary displayed on a pedestal. It didn’t tip over, her hoof instead passing through it and warbling it out of phase.

“Control? No. I am simply considering potential outcomes.” He took a deep breath and started walking towards Vinyl. “With less than stellar success.”

“Pray tell, what exactly is it that you are doing?” she asked as she joined his side.

“Trying to work through a slight… personnel problem.”

Vinyl’s ears perked up at his answer to Luna and she whipped around to face the stallion. “Fancy Pants!”

“Or a personal problem, rather?” Luna remarked after seeing the fear burning behind the unicorn's eyes.

“Good afternoon, Miss Scra—Sorry, Vinyl. I have to remember to stop doing that.” he chided to himself under his breath. “Good afternoon, Vinyl. I hope this day finds you well.”

Luna trotted closely behind, observing the surroundings curiously. “Is this also part of your home, Fancy? We must admit, we did not see much of it during our short visit before.”

“Yes it is, Luna. Perhaps you’d like a tour when you aren’t busy with your nightly duties?” Fancy offered.

“Luna?” Vinyl blinked in confusion at Fancy’s answer. She turned to where the stallion was looking, and after a second of searching, her eyes bugged out as she took a step back. “Wha—Princess Luna! When did you get here?”

Luna stopped in her tracks and stared in surprise. Seeing the accidental shift in the conversation, Fancy groaned loudly as the situation ran off the rails. Part of him felt like he should’ve expected the younger mare’s reaction with how his night had been going, but at the same time, he’d never had a guest while dreaming before.

“Astounding!” Luna praised as she dashed to Vinyl’s side. “The daydream we had glimpsed from thee at the Labyrinthiyum was a mere trifle in comparison to your dreamweaving on display here! Your previous visions within it bore no semblance of perception or will, but this is utterly magnificent!” Luna poked at Vinyl, nudging the dream mare who smiled nervously at the strange contact.

“I beg your pardon? I am simply running through a potential scenario with what I know of Vinyl Scratch.”

“What the hay is that supposed to mean?” The DJ backed away in worried confusion while furtively glancing at the two ponies surrounding her. She appeared ready to bolt at any second.

“Nothing untoward, Vinyl, I assure—” Fancy interrupted himself with an exasperated hoof to his forehead. “Why am I bothering at this point?” His courtesy would drive him mad if he started apologizing to his own imagination for nearly giving it an existential crisis.

“Fancy Pants, we haven’t seen such phenomenal control over one’s personal interpretation of the Dreamscape since before Equestria’s founding! This ability is beyond mere lucidity in your sleep!” Luna excitedly tittered and grabbed Fancy by the shoulders. “Please, you must permit us to help hone a talent so exemplary as this!”

“I suppose there is no harm in that. Perhaps it could even help me with my current predicament.” Fancy waved a hoof towards the nervous Vinyl doppelganger who cringed under the odd attention. “Though, it would be remiss of me not to remind you of your antiquated speech patterns.”

“O-of course. My mistake,” Luna said with a blush. She cleared her throat and moved past him towards Vinyl. Before the dream unicorn could say anything, the princess sparked her horn to life and froze the pony in place. “So, I assume your troubles stem from this one’s presence in your mansion. Why is she here?”

“‘Troubles’ would be putting it mildly. Vinyl Scratch has taken up temporary residence in my home to assist me with some record keeping,” Fancy explained.

The princess trotted around Vinyl, looking up and down the stilled vision, poking it carefully. She met resistance around the barrel and flank, but her hooves went straight through the mare’s incorporeal legs. “Record keeping? I was under the impression she spun records for a living rather than accounting them. Speaking of which, I greatly admire her work as Deejay Pawn Three.”

“I believe it is pronounced ‘deejay pony,’ your highness.”

The princess stopped her analysis of the Dreamscape and traced Fancy’s face for any sign of deception as her eyes narrowed. “How utterly vexing. You win this round, my fluffy friend.” She summoned a bag of bits into her hoof and collapsed it into a moondrop that whisked away into the aether. “Be that as it may, what is troubling her? If your interpretation is to be believed, she seems to fear you greatly.”

“Unfortunately, she does indeed.”

Luna tilted her head quizzically. “May I ask why?”

“You mean you don’t already know? You’re inside my head, after all,” Fancy remarked with two light taps to his skull.

“Neigh. This is the Dreamscape, a realm where unconscious minds drift upon falling asleep. It’s not the mind itself. While it's well within my power to access your unguarded memories, I only do so if it will aid in giving you counsel. I wouldn’t dare trespass upon anypony’s private affairs unless they had manifested into a dangerous nightmare.”

“I see.” He turned to face the vision that had been plaguing him. “Miss Scratch!”

“Y-yes?” Vinyl quivered as she shook herself back into awareness.

“Why are you frightened of me?”

A renewed wave of alarm crossed the mare as she buckled under the weight of the straightforward accusation. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry I said that, alright? Can we just forget what happened?”

“No, I was hoping you’d explain why you are for the princess here.”

“Princess? What prin—Luna!” The mare scrambled to her hooves and settled on something between a bow and a curtsey to greet her. “When did you get here?”

“I see what you meant by lack of control.” Luna giggled to herself and reached a hoof over Vinyl. The unicorn tried to retreat, but Luna’s hoof was too swift. The vision closed her eyes and nodded off into a trance. “Perhaps it would be simpler to recall the memory, If that is alright with you, Fancy Pants?”

“I would appreciate that. She may not be real, but I’d rather not put the poor girl through any more of my nonsense. I’ve never had a good grasp on magic.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, my friend. Perhaps it is simply that your magical talents reside within.” Luna offered Fancy a comforting smile before her horn ignited in a blue aura. Nothing changed around them, but he could somehow feel the effects beyond the mansion’s walls as she began her dreamweaving. “When guiding one’s dreams, I usually recreate scenes to observe from a distance, but this would be a good opportunity to teach you how to recall and relive memories at-will. If you would, please stand here.”

A sigil appeared next to Vinyl for Fancy to enter. As he drew closer, he could feel Luna’s magic slowly working its way into his mind to help him remember. His vision softly flashed a midnight blue as she covered him with the shimmering glow of her spellwork. The light slowly sank into his eyes and tingled as it touched his memory. Her magical aura, while odd, felt strangely comforting. It caressed his head with a gentle kneading similar to a stylist shampooing his mane. As his thoughts clicked together, the mansion’s walls scattered like papers blasted by a sudden wind to reveal the familiar tunnel under his home.

The stallion sighed, mentally preparing himself as he got into position next to the younger mare. He felt a tug of unfamiliar magic urge him to start walking forward as he heard Luna’s voice from everywhere at once.

‘Now, allow the magic to guide your words and actions as you reenact the memory. It will not be exact—the mind is a fickle thing, after all—but do not resist what you know to be true. Otherwise, you risk disrupting your recollection.’

Fancy nodded, unsure of where the princess had disappeared to as he looked towards Vinyl. She appeared to be sleep-trotting next to him, but he knew it wouldn’t last long. The DJ’s eyes flashed to life and he could see the gears turning behind them. Even though he knew what was coming, it still didn’t get any easier. He braced himself for the question they’d both quickly come to regret, and to witness fear overtake her once more.

“Fancy, do you mind if I ask you something?”

After reliving the awkward conversation, Vinyl morosely trudged past Fancy, not daring to look up at him as she went through the fake wine casket’s door and vanished into a cloud of aethereal smoke. The tunnel behind him scattered into stardust as Luna returned with the empty Dreamscape reforming around them in her wake.

“Heavens above,” Luna gasped as she fully rematerialized.

“That’s one way of putting it. And the worst part is that she’s not wrong. Without even realizing, I have become her sole benefactor.”

“And what she said regarding her parents; they are deceased?”

“It would seem so. Even if they were alive, they wouldn’t be on good terms if her reactions are anything to go on. Despite my intentions, I’m afraid I have trapped the poor girl in a place she feels is surrounded by ponies that wish her to fail.”

“She is not trapped though.” Fancy felt Luna softly pull at his mind as she waved a hoof, summoning the entirety of the Suede Shoes Estate in the distance. A spring breeze blew, carrying dandelion puffs through the fields in front of the house. “You offer her sanctuary in a home with walls tall, mighty, and welcoming. Furthermore, she is not without friends of her own to call upon, if her attendance at the Moondance serves any indication.”

Luna looked away from Fancy and pointed to their right, drawing his attention to the familiar mother and daughter dancing happily under a moonlit spotlight. They twirled down the cobblestone street of the upper districts towards a somber Vinyl Scratch sitting in the middle of it. Both mares split apart as they approached and tackled the lonely mare, wrapping her in loving hugs. While the mare seemed to hesitate from the contact, she soon smiled softly and hugged them both back.

“After all, even if you seek independence, what worth is there in being alone?” Luna added, causing Fancy to draw a sharp breath.

“Yes, but she doesn’t see it that way. Worse still, Éclair and Fleur are intrinsically connected to me and my house. Even if she were to stay with them, she wouldn’t be free of me. Say the Pâte de Lune were failing from the added expense of her stay, I wouldn’t hesitate to step in and ensure they were financially secure.”

“How generous of you,” Luna praised genuinely with a gracious smile.

“It is quite easy to be when you don't feel the cost.”

“Do not belittle charity so frivolously.” Luna trotted past Fancy into the streets of the castle district forming around them. His neighbor’s homes towered into the sky. “True generosity cares not about the scale of the gift, rather the intention behind it. Many of your ilk fall to the siren song of avarice, only giving when it will benefit themselves.” Fancy noticed sickly green and black brambles begin to emerge from the foundations of the abodes around them. They began to thicken and strangle the once immaculate stonework until the buildings cracked under the pressure and tumbled down. “Such tawdry philanthropy’s only redeeming quality is the benefit it bestows upon those in need. Quite frankly, I find it nothing short of a miracle that somepony of your standing within society has not fallen under the temptatious sway of greed, Fancy Pants.”

“It is a lesson that did not come easily.” Fancy paused for a moment as he felt Luna’s magic eject from his mind. With it, all of the visions vanished in a puff of aetherial smoke as the two ponies returned to the Dreamscape’s endless void. “I would’ve preferred being humbled in another way. Learning slowly while serving directly under Celestia for over two decades would’ve been far more preferable than the loss I suffered.”

“We know the long shadow our dear sister’s light casts all too well,” Luna muttered. For a moment, her coat’s colors faded as an ancient exhaustion sagged her shoulders. She shook it away and regained her regality. “However, my sister speaks most highly of you, Fancy Pants. And quite often at that! You may not be her personal student, but your diplomatic deeds have served not only the nation but ourselves. She values your friendship greatly, and was rather… determined that I enjoy your company as well. Sometimes, it feels even more important to her than connecting to the ones who freed me from the terrible Nightmare.”

“You mean she’d rather you make friends with me over Lady Rarity and her friends?”

“Verily, at least when comparing the two. And while I may find it curious, that is not why I made mention of it.” Luna laid a hoof on Fancy’s shoulders and smiled warmly. “When it comes to matters pertaining to me, my sister seems to trust you more. After meeting you and Athena, I believe her faith was well placed. However, this does not mean that you’ve earned my complete trust.”

Fancy chuckled at the thought. “Frankly, I’d be surprised if I had won you over so easily. It took me nearly four years before I was granted an audience with the Saddle Arabian sultan. I could only speak to his wazir or arrange a meeting where I would attend your sister as her royal advisor. Quite the exercise in relationship building, if I do say so myself.”

“While I doubt it will take quite as long with me, you know that you must be patient. True faith in one another must be fostered over time with love and care.” Luna looked away and pawed at the void below them. “For some of us, that is harder to do without the help of a loved one.”

Fancy sighed despondently and tilted his head back. “And under normal circumstances, I would wholeheartedly agree, but I doubt waiting is an option in this matter with Vinyl Scratch.”

Luna pursed her lips as she raised her brow. “How presumptuous of you to assume you have any options at all.”

“What do you mean? I have plenty of options, Luna. I have been wrestling with them all night.”

“While I find it admirable that you desire to mend this relationship as quickly as possible, I doubt you will find a solution with the magic available to you here.”

“Why not?”

“Seerers are unable to glimpse their own futures,” she stated matter-of-factly.

“If I may be frank with you, I am not trying to predict my future, or any future for that matter. I am simply measuring the likelihood of potential outcomes. I’ve successfully done so many times while on mission for Equestria and many more when considering potential investments.”

“Be it true foresight into one of the many futures before us or predictive creative thinking, it matters not. You may be invested in the outcomes, and you may have been able to use your talent to make more informed decisions, but it is never truly about you. You can only help others achieve a potential future, hence the title ‘Fateweaver.’ When you become too entangled in the outcome, you can only use your natural gifts to practice an encounter with your best laid plan, as anypony would. In your case, you may do so with a little more interactive insight, but it is no better than strategizing before a battle. You still must engage in the war.

“From my many years of mentoring fateweavers, it is a small mercy that fate grants in blinding you in such a manner. What a terrible tragedy it would be to enslave yourself to live out a predicted path or even glimpse your own death.”

Fancy paused to process her words, becoming more irritated with them as he mulled them over. “Are you saying I am wasting my time trying to alleviate her fear of me?”

“I said no such thing!” Luna corrected firmly. “What I do know is that there are no words you can smith here that will guarantee your desired outcome. You may prepare as much as any pony does for the future, but the future will become the present along its own path with its own surprises. It is up to you to keep an open mind, be patient, and spend the time wisely until it arrives. Even if you cannot glimpse your own desired fate, you can still help another reach theirs.”

“But that’s…” Fancy trailed as a cherished vision entered his mind of another path in his life. “I have seen my future once before. Clearly.”

“You have? Most peculiar. In all my years, I have never heard of a seer predicting their future with any accuracy. Perhaps it was merely a lucky guess.”

“No!” Fancy countered forcefully, causing Luna to step back slightly. He found himself becoming oddly irritated as Luna downplayed the thought. “It wasn’t quite a prediction, but an answer to an important question I asked myself. But I know what I saw!”

“Interesting. May I ask what it was that came to pass?”

“Well, it’s complicated.” Fancy looked away as he grew more and more annoyed by the questions. “I wouldn’t exactly say that particular future has happened yet.”

“Then do not concern yourself with it, my friend. It was merely a dream.”

“I refuse to believe that!” There was a distant sound of young laughter rippling through the Dreamscape. Luna stopped and looked around with concern before turning back to the stallion.

“Fancy Pants, what’s wrong?”

He nearly answered “nothing”, but it only came out as a feeble grunt as a dull pain rose from his head and jumbled his thoughts. He felt his mind cloud around his precious prediction and gasped as he felt the memory start slipping away. In a panic, he refocused and forced himself to concentrate on the vision, causing the pressure to worsen at the back of his head. There was a peal of thunder as two shadows of foals ran between him and the princess.

“Oh no,” Luna gasped as she reared back. Panic flashed across her eyes and the empty void began to distort around them. “Still your mind! Do not dwell upon something you wish to keep hidden away!” she exclaimed as she flew into the air, trying to regain control of the dreamscape.

“Don’t think about it? You might as well tell me not to think of pink whales!” Fancy shouted over the fracturing storm.

As if speaking it into existence, a deep humming of whalesong sounded followed by a flash of lightning. The streaking light revealed a massive shadow in the distance that was quickly approaching. At first, it appeared to be in the shape of a whale, but as it drew closer, shadows sprouted from its side that stretched about the void in every direction.

“What in Equestria is that?” Fancy recoiled as the silhouette sped towards them. It grew larger and more threatening as it twisted its form into a colossal, serpentine leviathan. Despite its speed, it kept growing as it reached higher than the peaks of Mount Canterhorn. The horror's deep song warped and festered into a predatory roar as it wrapped its endless shadow around them.

“Tis your mind safeguarding secrets by casting us into a nightmare!” At once, Luna dove towards Fancy through the chaos and pressed her horn against his. She began channeling a soothing magic into his mind as she locked onto his eyes.

“Heed only us! Dwell not upon thy errant thoughts!” Luna commanded sternly as she looked deeply into the unicorn’s eyes. “Focus solely upon the sound of our voice and breathe!”

The terrible cries of the savage predator became louder and more vivid as it drew closer. He couldn’t help but look towards the leviathan’s cavernous maw beginning to open, filling the entire void as its deafening wail shook the Fancy to his core. He couldn’t help but gaze into the avalanche of darkness and serrated teeth as it fell around them, ready to devour the entire Dreamscape. Luna flared her wings, covering his eyes in a feathery curtain and blinding him to the raging nightmare.

“Heed our voice… and breathe,” she whispered with still serenity.

Even though it was a dream, he could feel the comforting presence of the princess enveloping him. Luna’s wings weren’t warm like he expected, rather the embrace bore a comforting coolness as if he had just tumbled into bed or flipped over his pillow. He could feel her breath on his fur as his own matched her calming rhythm. He shut his eyes and relaxed. After a moment, there was only the sound of their combined breathing and the soft hum of her magic flowing down his horn. After a few more moments, Luna pulled away, slowly revealing the peaceful void of the Dreamscape. Fancy heaved a sigh of relief until it hitched at the sight of Luna, whose eyes were glistening with sorrow.

“We beg a thousand pardons, dear Fancy Pants. Instead of bringing peace to your sleep, we nearly plunged thee into a nightmare.”

“Luna, it’s fine. I know you didn’t mean to—”

“Tis no excuse for our negligence! We hath only just reclaimed our abilities and yet we foalishly trip over ourselves trying to reclaim a long abandoned title we no longer deserve.”

“No. It was a mistake, and mistakes can always be forgiven, which I do.” Fancy approached Luna and laid a hoof on her shoulder. “Please. I’ve already seen enough tears tonight because of me.”

Luna cracked a small, sad smile and nodded as she recomposed herself. “Our apologies, Fancy Pants. T’was not our—It was not my place to tell you what you did or did not see, and also foolish of me to agitate the vision.”

“Now, at the risk of summoning that dreadful thing again, what in blazes was that?”

“A manifestation of your subconscious brought upon us by my clumsy interference. I did not realize the depth of your conviction in regards to it and your mind tried to purge your thoughts with overwhelming force before you could accidentally reveal it to me.”

“And you couldn’t have simply whisked it away like my other visions?”

“No. Be it deep secrets, recurring nightmares, or traumatic memories, such tempests are not so easily quelled. If severe enough, I am left with no choice but to send ponies into a dreamless sleep, or worse, forcibly rouse them from their slumber by casting them out of the Dreamscape entirely, which is not without penalty. The mind tends to race and cannot fall back asleep for a lengthy amount of time. Were such things so simply dealt with, Equestria would certainly lack the need for therapists.”

Fancy chuckled nervously. “That is certainly good to be aware of at least.”

“It is one of the many reasons I mentor ponies like you who can draw upon the magic of the Dreamscape. There is not only great power to be found within this realm, but great peril as well. One does not tread here lightly. If I am honest, it is a wonder you haven’t faced such abominations before.”

“I suppose I’ve only stumbled into this place while trying to resolve an issue long enough for me to fall asleep. I’m usually too caught up in playing out the problem to realize I’m doing so. This is the first time I’ve even been aware that I was asleep.”

“Ah, so you do not merely fall asleep, but rather induce a trance while meditating. It would explain your most lucid presence here.” Luna bit her lip and looked towards Fancy with hope. “While dreamweaving may merely be a side-effect of putting your talents into practice over the years, if you are still willing, I would revel in the opportunity to help you tame this realm. That is, if you would have me after making such a terrible mistake.”

“I would be more than happy to accept your kind offer, Luna. If nothing else, it’s as good an excuse as any to enjoy your lovely company.”

Luna lit up like a Hearth’s Warming tree and wrapped Fancy into a crushing hug. He was happy to be asleep as the princess held none of her earth pony strength back as she rocked him from side to side like a stuffed bear. Instead of a sharp pain across his spine,the rush of Luna’s cooling comfort coursed through his body.

“I look forward to deepening our bonds as well, dear Fancy Pants!” she bubbled excitedly as she released him from her grasp. "Now, if you will permit me to show you what is possible."

The princess’s horn sparkled in starlight before she shot into the space above them in a brilliant comet. She streaked out of existence, bursting into a shimmering band that spread across the heavens. It formed into a galactic disk which exploded outward from its central core, blanketing the expanse above him in a cluster of stars, auroras, and nebulas.

The stallion stepped back at the wondrous sight, but his rear hoof tripped over a root behind him, causing him to fall backwards. Instead of hitting the ground, he was caught by a tangle of roots, woven together like a lounge chair. He found himself lying under the canopy of a lone tree among a field of blinking fireflies and moondrop lilies glowing all around him.

Pleasant dreams, dear Fancy Pants.

Author's Note

Chapter 17: Make Me Sway

“Why’s he gotta burn me like that? Suede Shoes’ got his feathers all in a bunch!” Sauna Summers yelled at the top of her lungs as she tore a newspaper into shreds. There was a stomping of hooves for good measure as the angry singer vented her frustration on the remnants of the day’s headlines.

“Unicorns don't have feathers, Summers,” Sunny reminded her friend coolly.

“Not helping, Sunny. Why’s that stud gotta be trippin all the time? I never said two words to him, you know?”

“Summers, I know he’s been a real jerk in the press, but you shouldn’t worry so much about him. What is it that they say about publicity?”

“That’s it! I’ll call his sorry flank out!” she spat with a snort. “Don’t care what that stallion is jiving, I’ll send that horned hunk flying into next Thursday!”

“Flying, Jiving… we could use that—” There was a shifting of beads from a beanbag chair as Sunny squeaked in surprise.

“Forget the song, shug! C’mon. Let’s knock whatever sense that jive turkey’s got left in that fat melon of his!”

“No, let’s not,” Sunny replied patiently. Grunts and half-started arguments started as Summers struggled to find a suitable way to rouse Sunny, but the rustling of a distant beanbag chair signaled the embittered mare had lost the battle before it could start. “Exactly. Now, just relax. We are in the middle of a session, and I’m not about to let you just fly off the handle at a stallion that’s clearly not worth your time.”

“I-I can’t just blow it off.” Another rustling of beans and the shifting of somepony’s weight rattled over the recording. Vinyl could picture the less-than-summery mare curling up and laying on her own hooves.

“Summers,” Sunny whined. After a moment, she sighed and put the paper and pencil down on a nearby surface. “This is about more than that nasty article, isn’t it?”

After a long pause, Summers finally spoke up. “When I was still working the spa, I sang a lot, you know? And the princess, when she said my singing was the bomb, I thought ‘Far out mare, The princess likes my voice! So, maybe others would too,' can you dig it?”

Though Vinyl highly doubted that Princess Celestia phrased it that way, she could picture the princess complimenting Summers’ pleasant singing all the same. The spa pony clearly had a talent for singing, even without a musical cutie mark.

There was another pause, leaving the DJ to assume Sunny was nodding, thinking, or giving some other infuriatingly common nonverbal cue. Despite her name, the mare shined about as brightly as a total solar eclipse. There were several times that she’d almost stopped listening, just for somepony to respond to what Sunny said in silence. When it was more than just the two of them, she became almost impossible to track.

“But Suede says I’m just a bunch’a bunk!”

“So, take the princess’ word for it instead. Who cares what one stallion thinks in the face of royalty?”

“Cause I’ve always liked his style, sunshine! Suede may be half-stuck in the swinging past with all those other grueler crooners, but his other stuff was solid, you know? I used to sing ‘Sway’ all the time, but now, Suede thinks I’m…” There was a harsh slam of fabric before Summers screamed a muffled, “I hate it!”

Sunny took a calming breath. “You know what I think?”

“What?” Summers asked with a sad sniff.

“He’s jealous.”

“Wha…? Jealous?” Summers quickly shifted in her seat and Vinyl could hear the flare of a large wingspan. “Now you’re trippin.”

“Tripping? But I’ve never done any unusual substances.”

There was another pause. “Uhh, Sunny, Trippin ain’t always about trippin on something, you feel me?”

Sunny tittered nervously. “So, your ‘lingo’ sometimes confuses me. Some of us aren’t ‘hip to the groove’ like you are, Summers.”

“Musta been sheltered something fierce to come out such a shick square, shug,” Summers noted with a chuckle.

“I’m not sure if that is a compliment or not.”

Summers snickered again. “Both.”

“Look, the point is, your music is the ‘cat’s meow’ and he’s just ‘flipping his lid’ and ‘giving you the royal shaft’ because your career is ‘cooking with gas’ now!” Vinyl didn’t have to understand what Sunny said to appreciate how awkwardly the mare had said it.

Summers must’ve agreed. The barely suppressed snickers the famous singer was trying to hold back matched Vinyl’s own giggles in the face of Sunny’s awkward silence. If Vinyl didn’t know better, she would’ve assumed Sunny was floundering on purpose. This wasn’t the first time Sunny had tripped over her words, and her well-meaning gaffs never seemed to get old.

“What?” Sunny asked innocently.

The dam burst as both mares split their sides in laughter. The DJ had to interrupt her spellwork to make sure she wouldn’t imprint her own voice patterns into the crystal on accident. After Vinyl had worked it out of her system, she fired up the recording again to let Summers calm down as well.

“S-smooth moves, shug,” Summers stammered out between peals of laughter.

“I feel like ‘smooth’ should be a good thing, but your tone suggests otherwise.” Vinyl swore she could somehow hear Sunny puff out her cheeks. There was another pause. “And now you’re smiling. Why are you smiling like that?” And then Summers redoubled her laughing. A thud sounded as either Sunny stood up in aggravation, or more likely, Summers had fallen out of her chair.

“Tell me—tell me we got Sunny Spaz on mic!” Summers called to nopony as she fluttered to the recording equipment. “Right on!” she practically screamed, peaking the mic as she failed to contain herself.

“Wait, wait! I don’t understand! What’s ‘right?’” Every word seemed to spark more melodious laughter from Summers to the point she started hiccuping. “Summers!”

After failing to contain his own mirth, Steeplechase coughed nervously into his hoof under the scrutinizing gaze of several of his library’s patrons. He wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of heated shushes, and Vinyl savored every schadenfreudian moment.

Resuming his station as both head librarian and historian, he considered the quote on the crystal. After a moment he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Vinyl, but I don’t think her name is ‘Sunny Spaz.’” A suppressed giggle cracked his face after saying the name again.

Vinyl groaned as she fell back into her seat. She had skimmed the collection for hours trying to find something, anything, that had Sunny’s full name on it. For a while, she thought it might be the redundant “Sunny Sunshine”, but then there were times Sauna Summers would call others “sunshine” without any signs of said mare being there. That was when the DJ stumbled upon this heart-to-heart conversation. She’d never heard the word “spaz” before, and while it didn’t sound like a good thing, she’d run into a few unkind pony names in her life. One bungled delivery from the Pony Express came to mind with an unfortunately named pegasus. How that mare had shattered an entire shipment of sapphires was beyond ridiculous.

“‘Spaz’ was a more frequently used insult for a clumsy or awkward pony back then. While I admit that Sunny’s a bit strange, this isn’t enough to confirm a name. The time frame doesn’t fit either. Unless I am mistaken, ‘spaz’ wouldn’t have had enough time to work through the generational lexicon to become a name component for one of Summers’ contemporaries. She would’ve had to purposely rename herself after getting her cutie mark, and I’m not sure ponies are lining up at court to call themselves a spaz. It’s a pretty rude word these days.”

Vinyl suppressed rolling her eyes at the bookish stallion's needlessly detailed explanation. A simple no would have been enough for her. “It was a long shot, but it was all I got.” Vinyl leaned on the table and drummed her hooves to a tune in her head. “So, what am I supposed to do now? I’ve got everything here but her name.”

“Good question! In such events, we either label it a nickname and use single quotes around it, or borrow a trick from lexicography and put a tilde in front or behind the known name components.” Steeplechase wrote both forms next to each other for Vinyl to compare. “In this instance, I feel it’s safe to say her real name is Sunny something, so I’d be comfortable with either, but favor the tilde approach.”

Vinyl nibbled the tip of her pen before writing “Sunny~” to credit the mysterious mare for the title lyrics of “Door to my Desire”. She refracted her magic into the crystal, causing it to scan the last page of the paperwork. She ensured the runes were stable within the memory crystals and cast a minor ward for safety around the imprinted information. With the work properly finalized, Steeplechase stamped it with approval and beamed as he gathered the fruits of Vinyl’s labor with glee.

“And with that, you’ve made your very first contributions from the elusive Summers-Suede Collection to the Society’s archives. It’s an amazing one, too!” Steeplechase hugged the treasures close to his chest and looked at his mentee with a glint in his eyes. “I’m so proud of you, Vinyl! I knew you had the soul of an archivist when I heard your proposal on using Cacophony’s theories for magical storage.”

“T-thanks, I guess? I really just wanted to sample more sounds without dragging a dragon horde’s worth of crystals behind me.”

“Different paths that will arrive at the same destination, as far as I’m concerned.” Steeplechase put the crystals in a small box and closed it for future filing. “Still, what a marvelous discovery! To think Sauna Summers overshadowed her colleagues to such an extent.”

“‘Overshadowed?’” Vinyl curled an eyebrow at the stallion.

“Yes. It’s no secret that Sauna was quite the glory hog in her day. Until this, nopony had any proof of a different lyricist for the mare’s music.”

“G-glory hog?” The DJ frowned indignantly at the phrasing. “Who the hay told you that?”

“Our records did; or rather, our lack thereof. The disco queen was constantly surrounded by ponies, but we know very little about them.” Steeplechase grabbed a nearby copy of Summers’ biography and began flipping through the pages. Finding his mark, he flipped the book around to Vinyl.

The center of the biography had devoted a whole chapter to showcasing famous portraits, posters, and magazine photos from Sauna Summers’ illustrious career. Vinyl had stumbled across it before while scanning for Sunny’s name, but it didn’t help. Each picture had a footnote listing the details of the image on display. Page after page showed Sauna Summers center stage, while sidelining the other ponies in the picture or simply standing alone as the Queen of Disco. The only names that cropped up under them were producers or other famous performers like Suede Shoes.

“Unfortunately, whether she meant to or not, nopony could crawl out from under the queen’s shadow,” Steeplechase said as he turned the book back around to himself. “To be fair to her, Groovecasters wasn’t the biggest label around, so when they found their lightning in a bottle, they likely weren’t interested in spotlighting anypony else at the risk of losing momentum. Still, it wasn’t like their identities became known after Summers went independent with Suede. Either the ponies in her life didn’t care about getting credit, or Summers was actively against crediting them.”

“But—” Vinyl started before standing up and slamming her hooves on the table, “—but that’s impossible! Sauna Summers was kind, sweet, caring, and always supporting everypony around her. She was constantly lifting everypony up with her wings, I can’t imagine she’d do something like overshadow somepony on purpose!”

“It will be up to you to correct the record on that one, Vinyl.” Steeplechase waved a calming hoof to urge his friend to sit down before making another scene in the library. “Still, try not to get too attached to your subject matter. You’ll risk losing your objectivity. Fame, even when well-deserved, tends to get to a pony’s head. I’ve read time and again about a meteoric rise like hers leading to a tragic fall, spearheaded by hubris. That said, I’d welcome being proven wrong in this case.”

Vinyl fell back in her seat, her stomach churning from a pit forming within it. In her quest for Sunny’s name, she had madly rushed through the records, skipping over songs and jam sessions to find the times the microphones had been left on during less musical moments. Every time she stumbled across one, she always found Sauna Summers to be just as delightful as the last. She wasn’t some rich elite, she was a simple pony who wanted to share her music with the world.

It had to be a mistake, it just had to be. If Summers somehow turned out to be an egomaniacal manipulator before the end, then what would that make Fancy Pants? A creeping chill slowly coursed through her veins like a swarm of spiders skittering under her skin. He respected his late mother so much. If she really was a monster though…

Vinyl forced her focus back to her archiving mentor across the table. The stallion was preoccupied with flipping through Summers’ biography and hadn’t noticed her unsteady breathing.

“Just comparing the recordings you showed me today with what I recall of Summers’ life story, she hasn’t hit her stride yet. You can tell, not just by the fact they’re both working on ‘A Mare to Love,' but from Suede’s hostile behavior on the last recording.”

“Y-you mean that lousy hit piece she tore up?” Vinyl clenched her teeth, knowing full well what the heartless news media was capable of doing to somepony. Imagining anypony else having to go through what she did or worse made her blood boil. The hatred helped calm her down, or at least overwhelmed her anxiety.

“Correct. Suede Shoes was part of the old guard of what I ‘lovingly’ refer to as ‘proper Canterlot entertainment,’” the historian remarked with dripping sarcasm. “Swing music was the furthest they allowed in the old Canterlot Musical Society, thanks to their stringent regulations on what constituted ‘proper instrumentation’ as they called it. I believe the article they mentioned on the last recording was very critical of the young Sauna Summers, to put it lightly. At the time, she was seen as an upstart commoner from Cloudsdale with no business being out of a steam room.”

“And after being put through all of that, she wound up marrying him?” Vinyl gritted her teeth, but forced herself to suppress her building tirade. “What the hay, Sauna? You could do better than that scumbag.”

“If you listened closely, despite Summers’ anger, she still called Suede both a ‘stud’ and a ‘hunk.’ The queen was clearly an admirer of his, and by the sound of it, was heartbroken by his attacks. Speaking of the stallion, have you listened to any of Suede’s records?”

“I heard it at—” Her eyes widened as the words started leaving her mouth. Vinyl shut down her stupid mouth by biting down on her tongue before she could leak the existence of the Moondance album. She was already on thin ice with Fancy Pants after exploding at him the other day, and she couldn’t risk making it any worse by mentioning the forbidden work.

Steeplechase grimaced with a sharp breath at Vinyl’s pain. “I hate it when that happens, though mine’s usually far worse,” he said with a knowing smile and running his tongue across his fruit-tearing fangs. “But, you were saying?”

“No, I haven’t. I’ve heard some of his stuff at Fleur’s place before, but I haven’t touched his stuff since I started trying to find Sunny’s name,” she corrected carefully, hoping he’d leave it at that.

“Why would Fleur…” The librarian paused as he mouthed an “oh” in realization. He looked around to ensure nopony was listening and lowered his voice to a whisper. “It’s that little ‘secret’ kept by he-with-too-much-nothing-to-hide, eh? Honestly, I don’t understand his apprehension. Even if word got out, Nopony would care. It’d probably elevate Fleur de Lis in certain social circles. Honestly, Suede’s overall impact is just so small when compared to Fancy’s.”

“Wasn’t Suede Shoes a famous singer though?”

“I suppose in his day, yes. In terms of raw musical talent, Suede was incredibly gifted. He simply arrived too late on the crooning scene as the genre was falling out of style. Suede stood on the shoulders of his mentors as the swan song of a dying breed. It would’ve only gotten worse for them as Summers rose to prominence within the industry. He’s still popular around here since the ESPA would still be the CMS without their musical coup d'etat. But outside of that, he’s been quietly forgotten, trapped beneath the shadow of his more popular wife.”

While Vinyl had primed herself against the stallion, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity for him. It was no excuse, but she knew what it was like to struggle in a niche. DJ Pon-3 did well in the club scene, but off the Drive, nopony was listening. “What about his music? I thought it was pretty good when I heard it.”

“It most certainly is! Suede Shoes was a brilliant performer, tackling almost any genre flawlessly. For example, his cover of ‘Sway’ that Summers brought up was one of his finest early works. She definitely had good taste.” The nocturne stopped himself as he considered the young mare in front of him. “You know, both swing and disco were popular club genres in their respective cultural eras. In a way, these two are your musical ancestors. You may find yourself having more in common with them than you thought.”

Admittedly, the idea of being compared to Sauna Summers excited her, despite not totally enjoying her music. The cost of being lumped in with Suede Shoes as well spoiled the notion a bit, but as long as he wasn’t absolutely unbearable, she could separate the stallion from his songs.

“Putting the music aside a moment,” Steeplechase started as he lifted the last crystal they listened to together, “you might’ve missed it since you were so focused on finding Sunny Something’s name, but there was a second, and very important revelation that you unintentionally provided here outside of your entry. At least, it is if Summers’s claim can be taken at face value.”

The nocturne smiled in anticipation. Not in the mood for guessing games, Vinyl silently rolled her hoof to make him get on with it.

“You’re no fun sometimes.” Steeplechase shrugged his disappointment away. “If she’s telling the truth, Princess Celestia herself was a fan of the Queen of Disco. They not only met at the spa Summers worked at, but the princess was responsible for inspiring her to get into the music industry in the first place. I doubt they even knew that when they put the piece in the paper.”

“With or without a princess, it sounds like he and his buddies got what they deserved for running Summers through the mud.” Vinyl leaned back in her seat and crossed her forelegs in a huff. “Just because somepony is popular, you just get to do them dirty? I can’t believe Summers even gave Suede a chance after that!”

“Again, ponies change, Vinyl. Whether the change was for better or worse will be up to you to decide,” Steeplechase advised as he closed the biography and passed it back to Vinyl. After the moment of sage counsel had passed, he once again flashed a goofy, toothy grin. “Guess you’ll just have to keep going to find out when the tides change in their relationship! The heat should really turn up during the making of the Endless Summers album, if I’m not mistaken,” He whispered with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Vinyl moaned as she slunked over the desk. “You’re making it sound like I’m about to read a trashy romance novel.”

“Oh, but you are!” To her growing dread, the nocturne bubbled with enthusiasm as he clopped his hooves together and shook excitedly in his seat. “Can’t say I’m not jealous. You’ll have quite the unique perspective with both the book here and Summers’ story straight from the pony’s mouth if there’s any more beauties like these stashed away in the collection,” he added while patting the crystals.

An exasperated sigh escaped Vinyl’s lips as she pulled at her face in dismay. If she had one thing to complain about when it came to the Queen of Disco, it was the performer’s fixation on the L-word. If she were still alive, Summers would get along swimmingly with Princess Cadance considering the new imperial princess’ title. The DJ hoped Suede Shoes’ albums wouldn’t rely so heavily on the subject so she could have a palate cleanser before diving back into the deep end with Summers’ side of the collection.

Luckily, she did have an idea of what to listen to next.

Vinyl peeked around the mansion’s hallway from the safety of the recording studio. She thought she heard the sound of ruffling feathers, but looking up and down the hall confirmed that she was alone. The DJ dashed out and hovered the Suede Shoes’ Sway album closely behind her as she darted for the safety of her—the guest room she was using.

Fortunately, a few days had passed since she’d upset her employer, and Fancy still hadn’t confronted her about it. She didn’t know if it was a good sign or not, but she wasn’t going to take any chances. Nopony aside from her and Fluffer Duster usually came back this way after lunch anyway, so she felt as safe as she could in her little hideaway hallways in the waning afternoon.

She’d taken a liking to sneaking out the backdoor. If anything, it was safer trekking through half-frozen canals than constantly checking over her shoulder in the streets around the Castle District. It also lowered the risk of running into Fancy Pants on her way out of the mansion. It was a small mercy he had leaked the secret escape route to her, even if she wasn’t using the hidden tunnel to get away.

To the stallion’s credit, he hadn’t been lying about their utility either. She’d lightly explored the canals before when taking a less-than-legal popup rave job in the old waterworks, but she hadn’t appreciated how easy the paths were to navigate at the time. Suede and Summers could leave the estate without being seen by anypony back in the day, and Vinyl planned to follow their example. She’d just have to learn a few freshening spells if she planned on using them long-term. While they were kept remarkably clean with purifying enchantments to protect the waters of the Whitetail River, she was still traversing a sewer system to get around town.

As she ducked into the guest room, Vinyl was met with the sight of her fake Hearth’s Warming presents still wrapped up and containing most of her DJing equipment. Outside of the sample crystals she used in her Cantrips sets, she hadn’t bothered unpacking any of it. She’d taken to utilizing other DJ’s rigs at Cantrips since there was no way she was sneaking her busted Aquarius out of the mansion without being spotted. The canal paths weren’t wide or safe enough to lug anything bulky through them, and she was not about to put the “aqua” part of her sound system to the test by sailing on it to the Drive. However, she was perfectly fine with using it as a record player.

“Let’s see here,” she mumbled to herself while scanning the back of the album cover. “‘Somepony Who Needs Me,’ ‘Peroxide Pony,’ ‘Everypony Wants to be in Canterlot’—Here we are! Song number four, ‘Sway.’”

She unwrapped the biggest present in the room, magically shredding the paper to pieces and tossing the scraps towards the fireplace. If she was stuck in the lap of luxury, she might as well enjoy it. Right now, nothing sounded better to her than slipping into some comfortable winter clothes, curling up on the bed, and listening to a record while watching the fireplace. The only thing missing would be a cup of hot cocoa, but that would mean going to the kitchen and risking an encounter. She wasn’t ready for that. She wasn’t ready to speak to anypony in the mansion. The mere idea filled her with dread. All the more reason to drown her misgivings out with music.

After a few snugly preparations, Vinyl began readying herself for the rest of her night. She clicked the deadbolt on the door and sparked them and the fireplace to life. Turning back towards the bed, she caught her reflection briefly in the aptly named vanity dresser as she put her shades down. The mare looking back at her didn’t exactly look rad, but she never did when she went into comfy mode. Vinyl would rock a messily tied back ponytail; a triple-x large, multi-patterned San Palomino sweater; and ill-matching striped black and violet socks any day if she didn’t have a electrifying image to maintain.

She climbed onto the bed and dropped the needle on the record player with her magic. The aged vinyl as it popped and crackled to life. She took her notepad and pencil in her magic, just in case anything sprang to mind while she listened. She wasn’t archiving, but it’d be better safe than sorry if something sparked her curiosity.

“Alright, Suede. Let’s see what made you so special to Summers.”

The first song jumped right out the gate with its big band kicking into full swing. The brass and woodwinds bounced between each other amid a steady percussive beat. The style carried a smooth sense of Canterlotian classiness that somehow didn’t grate on her nerves. More and more instruments were added to the mix, the string section and piano rounding it out to meet the CMS standards Steeplechase had mentioned before. Despite her almost instinctive resistance to all things deemed “high class” she felt her rear hoof start tapping along to the swinging beat.

That was, until Suede started singing.

It only took a moment for the mare to pop up from her complacency and take notice of the stark difference in the stallion’s tone between this and the Moondance album. Suede’s pipes in his prime were deep, but vigorous. Youthful with a velvety richness as slick as melty butter. When comparing his performance to Summers,' he was notably better than she was at the same point in her career.

“Oh wait, no. He was trained, so of course he’d be better than some spa pony at the start.” Vinyl made a note of the difference in their skills, unsure if her opinion would matter much. “Still, he might be a jerk, but the guy’s got a killer voice.”

As she listened to the song, she started noticing the lyrics. While the music was enjoyable, the message didn’t mesh with her mood. Even if it was just how the song went, Suede had somepony that made him feel strong, kept him warm, helped his dreams come true, and made him feel needed.

“O-okay, maybe I’ll just skip to ‘Sway.’”

Vinyl dropped her notes on the bed and magically flicked the needle off the record. She hopped down to the record’s side and scanned the grooves on its surface for the fourth large ring. After placing the needle on her mark, the cozy mare returned to her spot on the bed. With any luck, Summers’ recommendation wouldn’t reflect the performer’s favorite subject matter so prevalent in all of her songs.

It took a second to find the maximally snuggly spot again on the bed. As she settled in, the big band kicked up once again, but this time with much different instrumentation. Just like her overflowing sweater, it bore a Palomino flair with saucy piano chords, a marimba, and a strangely fitting cowbell. Just as the song title suggested, Vinyl couldn’t help but sway her shoulders back and forth as she listened to the spicy beat.

Suede’s seamless voice danced with an impeccable swagger around the instruments as he serenaded a nameless partner. She wondered if there was anypony else in his life before Sauna Summers took center stage in it. Whatever the case was, the mare’s recommendation from beyond the grave had been welcome. The song was pretty good, and as an added bonus, it hadn't used the word “love” once. All in all, it met her expectations of what she knew from his work on the Moondance album.

And then the key change occurred.

Vinyl nearly broke her pencil on the page as the crooner blew her away with the raw energy of his amazing range. He effortlessly jumped into a passionate, almost magical tenor as his voice caressed anypony lucky enough to be listening to him. Vinyl’s heart started to beat as she could feel the rhythm that Suede spun around the record. Despite her fondness for Sauna Summers as a pony, Vinyl couldn’t help but wonder how the jerk had lost to Sauna Summers? Suede Shoes was phenomenal!

Maybe it was a change in musical taste at the time, but even if his music was from decades ago, it was so fresh to her. Just as she was getting into it, the song came to an abrupt, percussive close with a strike of staccato to end the dance. She nearly leapt out of her sweater to reset the record and listen to the song again. Laying the needle on the fourth groove, she fired a repeating spell at the record and listened closely. After her fourth time listening to the track, she felt something stir within her.

She could use this.

“Vinyl? What are you doing back here so late?” Steeplechase asked after spotting the DJ from the upper stacks. “I mean, it’s early for me, but you don’t exactly live close by.”

“Looking for the right sound,” she answered while perusing the ESPA’s sound library. Choosing a double-bass, she hefted the heavy crystal from its slot in the shelf with her magic.

Most artists on the Drive used simple synthetic sample patterns that could be stored in small crystals easily. However, Vinyl needed to match the genre she was working with, which meant high quality samples from imprinted instruments. The only ponies crazy enough to make those were the ESPA archivists. Capturing the full range of their sound required hundreds of runes linked together within massive crystals about the size of a full-grown stallion’s leg.

Levitating their weight wasn’t too difficult, but channeling their sound properly at the same time was giving the DJ a headache. Sure, she could spare herself by taking the crystals to the nodes at the end caps to test them properly, but that would mean lugging them one at a time, back and forth. Either approach would give her a migraine, but at least her way was faster. Plus, she was one of the few that could do it, and it was good practice.

If only she could just solve her little Cacophony storage conundrum, the musician would be able to put the irritating size limitation behind her, along with an entire symphony in her saddlebag.

“Going for a more traditional sound this time?” he probed, noticing the DJ was browsing the more standard strings rather than her usual electronica samples.

“Not exactly. I’m remixing something that might need a more classic sound for what I was thinking. Maybe I’ll add a bit more percussion to really feel the beat.”

“Remixing?” Steeplechase asked in pleasant surprise as he fluttered excitedly in the air. “Is it from Sauna Summers, Suede Shoes, or both?”

The DJ lifted the crystalline double-bass to her ear and softly channeled her magic through the lattices to play a simple chromatic scale. While their quality was unrivaled, it still didn’t match the real deal. Imprinted instruments always sounded worse than the real thing and the difference was far too noticeable for her tastes. Vinyl returned the cumbersome crystal back to its slot on the shelf and brushed away the sweat building at the base of her horn.

“Suede. Got an idea for ‘Sway’ that I want to try out. It felt like it was missing something.” Vinyl glanced between the other deep strings until she saw the various violins. Perhaps a lighter string might be a better choice to match with a different baseline.

“You sound like Tavi when she’s doing her arrangements. She’d be so proud! A mare after her own heart.” The nocturne pinned his mane back and hooked his tail around the rafters above her head and matched her gaze. “Can I help you find anything specific?”

Vinyl glanced up, careful to not bump her horn on the nocturne’s nose. “Can I play the crystals from their shelves so I don’t have to keep lifting them up to my ear?”

“Vinyl, this is a library. You’re lucky I let you do that at all instead of using headphones like everypony else.”

“Then, can I lug about twenty crystals to that node for me over there at the same time so I don’t keep having to go back and forth?”

He stuttered aghast at the suggestion and shuffled down the rafter so he could meet Vinyl’s eyes. “You can’t just leave these crystals sitting out in the open! What if one of them rolls down the stairs or somepony trips over it? Capturing the full breadth of sound for an instrument’s imprint isn't cheap, Vinyl!”

“Okay. What if you hold the crystals up so I don’t have to keep levitating them?”

“Vinyl, I’m a librarian. Not exactly rodeo-ready material over here,” he complained as the lanky bat pony waved his noodly arms. Seeing his poor excuse for a flex, she’d probably beat him easily in a hoof wrestle, but Vinyl wasn’t about to let reality get in the way of being lazy.

“So? A stack of books can get pretty heavy. Besides, don’t you want to impress Octavia?” She hinted with a sly smirk.

“How flattering.” Steeplechase rolled his eyes as he regarded the DJ flatly. “I think you and I both know who does the heavy lifting between a bookworm like me and somepony who can swing a cello around like a greatsword.”

“Fine. Just forget it,” she scoffed as she returned to her work. The overtaxed DJ grunted as she pulled the classical violin crystal out of the shelf and played another scale on it.

“Alright already! Don’t twist my leg about it. While I don’t want you making noise, it’d be worse if you wound up exhausting your mana reserves while dual-casting and dropped one of them.” The nocturne sighed as he leaned over to Vinyl’s ear in a low voice. “You can channel the sound from the shelves. Just do it quietly! If Woody catches wind of this, I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear anything.”

She felt like it was pressing her luck, but then she’d be wasting a golden snark opportunity. “Aren’t nocturnes pretty famous for having amazing hearing?”

“I can pretend very well,” he stated firmly, stressing his point by shrinking his predatory pupils and sending a slight chill down Vinyl’s spine. He might be a string bean of a stallion, but he could be scary when necessary.

“Have I told you recently that you're the best, Steeplechase?”

The nocturne pursed his lips as he considered the question. “No. In fact, I don’t remember you ever calling me that.”

“Well, you’re the best!” Vinyl shouted with a big grin.

“Thanks! And don’t make me regret this. Please?” he begged as he looked towards the door of the library. “Also, shush.”

With that, the stallion unhooked his tail from the rafters, flipped in the air, and flew up to the stacks overhead, putting as much distance between them as possible for some plausible deniability. With that little bit of negotiation out of the way, she felt like she could get some proper work done before it got too late at night. She took her notes out of her saddlebag and started noting the additions she wanted to make to ‘Sway.’ She also had an idea just starting to form for ‘Everypony Wants to be in Canterlot,' but that one would have to wait.

The more she thought about Suede’s music, the more inspired she was to make something using it. While she preferred Summers’ personality, Suede’s music was calling to her to create. Disco was okay, but swing somehow felt newer despite its age. Her brain was brimming with ideas and she could feel her cutie mark sparking with inspiration. If it worked out, despite it being a rather large departure from her usual musical fare, she’d have an electrifyingly fresh concept for the upcoming ESPA Showcase.

Now all she needed was to come up with a name for it.

Author's Note

Chapter 18: Lonely Hide-and-Seek

The woodwinds called, and the brass responded. Call and response, woodwind and brass, woodwind and response, call and brass; over and over it repeated in Vinyl’s mind. She dwelled on the timeless pattern that occurred in both music and nature. There were echoes bounding around the open mountains, the soft crashes of waves on the beach, and the steady rise and fall of her breathing. It was the comforting stillness that allowed Vinyl to savor the sound.

She needed this. Deep focus within the nothingness around her. A place alone where she could dwell on her work. She needed to keep her focus on the sound and not think. Thinking would be bad.

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Call, response. Call, response.

Meanwhile, the pulsating rhythm of trance had the familiar steadiness of a regular heartbeat.

One, two, three, four. One, two, call, response. One, two, thee, four. One, two, Ca—

“Miss Vinyl? Are you in there?”

“Mmm? Whazit-huh?” Vinyl responded blearily.

“Ah, so this is where you’ve—good heavens! Have you been there all night?”

Vinyl’s eyes shot open from the new voice. Though she got a brief shot of adrenaline, it wasn’t enough to overcome her exhaustion and spur her from her frozen seat.

Seat? That was different. It would explain the crick in her neck and the chills wracking her body if she wasn’t in a bed. When had she fallen asleep? The last thing she remembered was jotting down some melody progressions. After that, there was a blur of panic followed by a deep nothingness. Had she dreamed anything? She couldn’t remember dreaming all week, not since she had upset Fan—

Don’t think about it!

The thought blitzed through her mind to suppress the incessant dread. Vinyl refocused on the present. Smacking her lips, the familiar taste of morning breath defiled her senses again as she forced herself to sit up in the chair. Half of her vision was obscured by a brilliant white light. She shook her head, causing the paper she had fallen asleep on to slip off and drift to the floor.

Yawning loudly, the DJ shook her head in a vain attempt to kickstart her rickety steam engine of a brain. Steam, however, took heat to start, and despite her hoodie, she was anything but warm. Taking a moment to gain her bearings, she recognized that she was still in the recording studio. Vinyl stretched her legs and placed them on the table in front of her, hearing the familiar shuffle of papers along with feeling a splotch of something curiously wet.

“And this is why I don’t sleep at desks,” she mumbled groggily to herself, feeling the familiar trail of drool on the side of her muzzle.

“It has been quite a long time since the studio has served as an unwitting bedroom.” Vinyl finally shook enough of the sleep away to recognize Dapper Dandy at her side, helping pick up her mess. Papers and crystals were strewn about with a pencil somewhere amid the wreckage of last night. “My, my, you have been busy.” He remarked as he magically lifted the soggy piece of paper, half-stained with spit from the floor.

Vinyl snatched the page with a blush from the stallion’s grasp and laughed nervously. Looking back over it, she was glad she had only washed a few notes away. As to where the missing pieces of last night’s composition had gone, she pulled back her sleeve and wiped the damp spot on her muzzle to see their remnants as nothing more than a gray smear staining her fetlock.

As he helped clean up, Dapper briefly caught sight of Vinyl’s face from behind his obscuring facial hair. He recoiled slightly, raising his brows to give Vinyl his full attention. “Oh my word! Miss Vinyl, are you alright?”

“Y-yeah,” she lied as she broke eye contact. The sting in her eyes meant they were probably red from stress again, but her state of mind was none of his business. She was more curious about the drop in temperature. “It’s absolutely freezing in here!”

“I apologize Miss Vinyl. We cut the heat to everywhere but the bedrooms in use overnight. I will be sure to add checking on you before bed to my list of nightly duties.”

She wanted to protest the unnecessary servile action, but she had given up on trying to stop the old dog from performing new tricks. Or old tricks in an older dog. She decided she was too tired to say otherwise or to fix her mixed metaphor.

He paused and cleared his throat. “Are you sure you’re alright, Miss Vinyl?”

“Rough night,” Vinyl answered curtly. She could add a rough morning to it as well if Dapper Dandy didn’t stop with the needless hospitality. “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to inform you that your breakfast is ready, but I’d much rather you warm yourself first. Shall I run a bath?” Dapper asked as he retreated to a nearby cupboard and withdrew a cleaning solution for the dribble on the table.

She silently cursed herself. She’d been doing so well to avoid troubling Fancy’s little helpers all week. “No thanks. I’m good with a shower.”

“Very well, Miss Vinyl. Hopefully, it will help you feel better. In the meantime, I will fetch your breakfast from the kitchen and deliver it myself.”

The willingness to fight the stallion waned with her mood, so she decided to simply accept the gesture. “Thanks, but you don’t have to do that.”

“Not to worry, Miss Vinyl. I will retrieve it posthaste and ensure it’s kept fresh while you freshen up.”

Of course it couldn’t be easy. The last thing she wanted was for somepony to be waiting on her. “On second thought, just throw it out. I can make myself something later. You don’t need to stop your morning for me.”

“Oh, but you are part of my morning, young lady. Are you sure you want to say no to haybacon and scrambled eggs? I even threw in some catsup for good measure.” Vinyl couldn’t help but smirk at the old pony’s bushy eyebrow waggling. It was like a pair of sweepers brushing dirt from his face.

“It’s fine. I just… I need to get back to work.” Vinyl organized her composition, bound the unfinished song with a paperclip, and pocketed the pencil. She needed to keep working, keep grinding, not thinking. Anything but think. “Besides, I can just whip something up using the stuff I bought later.”

“About that. Forgive me, Miss Vinyl. I know you’ve mentioned your… apprehension about eating food you didn’t purchase yourself, so I took the liberty of utilizing some of the ingredients you bought from the market in making your meal.”

Vinyl stopped and looked up at the stallion who was starting to spray down the table and wipe away her sleepytime mess. “Really? Cause I don’t remember getting myself haybacon.”

“I thought your eggs could use a better companion than just the catsup.”

Vinyl sighed as she pulled at her face. “Sweet Celestia, you just don’t take a hint, do you?”

“If I may be so bold, it will take far more than mere ‘hints’ to stop this stubborn stallion. I’ve made many a mule beg for mercy before the end, Miss Vinyl.” He chortled with a stately amount of pride.

Vinyl smacked her nose with her papers and took a deep, patient breath. She already felt wrong for everything Dapper and Fluffer Duster had been doing for her, despite her constant protests. Even though Fancy Pants had been leaving her be since the incident, these two just wouldn’t stop. She’d quickly given into letting the maid clean constantly. Who was she to deny somepony their feather duster cutie mark?

Of course, that was when the butler took the chance to showcase the covered serving platter on his flank, meaning she had given him permission to serve her as well. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that both of Fancy Pants’ servants would be highly talented in their field, but it was too much to deal with right now. Vinyl just wanted to be left alone!

The old stallion politely cleared his throat. “Excuse me, but I know that look all too well, Miss Vinyl.”

That, and he was the only one who refused to simply call her Vinyl slightly grated on her. Though the old stallion never seemed to call anypony without adding a miss or mister something-or-other to their name.

“I must remind you that—”

“—Everything in the estate must be properly maintained,” Dapper and Vinyl said together.

“Ugh. You’re riding me worse than Professor Arpeggio does, and trust me, that’s an accomplishment.” Vinyl complained as she collected her things in her magic. It was his favorite thing to say when he divined her desires for him to go away.

“I suppose you could say I have honed my nagging over the years. It has served me well in serving others.” Dapper gave a polite chortle at his own wordplay, billowing the old stallion’s mustache ever-so-slightly. “I’ve ‘proudly maintained’ this house for… oh, I forget. What year is it?”

“1001, I think,” Vinyl pondered aloud.

It was 1001 CR, or Celestia’s Reign. Now, she supposed it should be 1 CLR with the return of Princess Luna. There was also Princess Cadance ascending to her throne later in the year after her coronation in the Crystal Empire. Would she be included in the era name?

“Ah, so then fifty-seven, going on eight years, then. And don’t you start forgetting the year, too. You’re far too young for memory lapses.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

“Precisely, Miss Vinyl. I’m quite the old codger, but thankfully I have ponies like you to help keep me young and healthy. The least I can do is make sure you all are as well.”

“Right. Thanks, Dapper.”

“Think nothing of it. It’s mutually beneficial, I assure you.”

Vinyl started for the door, but an errant thought nagged at her. She was already stuck with the old butler, so she might as well get an answer. “So, you’ve been around here for a while, huh?”

Dapper looked up from his work and smiled politely. “I’ve proudly served the Suede Shoes Estate since I graduated first in class from the Canterlot Butler Academy.”

The idea of there being a school specifically to learn how to serve the rich equally surprised and disturbed Vinyl. She shook the thought from her head. “Why did you stick around here for so long? Is the pay really that good?”

“You assume I do this for something as trivial as money, my dear.”

It would be ‘trivial’ to a pony working for one of the richest ponies in the world, but she wasn’t about to say that. “What I mean is, haven’t you earned more than enough to stop working? You know, to leave?”

The butler shifted his bottom jaw from side to side as he pondered the question. “I suppose I have. In fact, I’m sure I’ve earned enough to retire anywhere in the world I’d want to, but I must disagree with the premise of your question. It would be like me asking if you’ve made enough music to satisfy your creativity.”

“B-but that’s completely different! I am making something that I want.”

“I don’t see how the desire to exercise my talent is any different than yours,” Dapper remarked as he lifted a brow to regard Vinyl curiously.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it like that. I… ” Vinyl bit her lip to shut herself up. She was messing up again. She scrambled, trying to find the right words. It was an old prejudice, but she couldn’t help seeing hospitality cutie marks as some sort of curse. It was like fate slapped you across the face by saddling you with a destiny of servitude. How could anypony live like that? “Isn’t it irritating to just be waiting on Fancy Pants all the time?”

“Don’t worry, Miss Vinyl. No offense taken. And, to answer your question, it’s quite the opposite. The work I do is fulfilling and I consider myself quite fortunate to do my best for the best stallion in all of Canterlot. I’ve been there for him since before he was born, and I plan to be here for as long as I am needed. I may not be the young master’s father, but I’ve grown to love him all the same.”

“But what about what you want to do? Why not, I dunno, serve up something nice for yourself?”

“You're not the first to ask me something like that, Miss Vinyl. The young master asked me something similar upon Master Suede Shoes’ untimely passing. I will tell you what I told him: no matter what your trot through this world is, a life best lived is one that lives for the sake of others.”

Being compared to the stallion felt like a body blow to the young unicorn. Part of her wanted to write off his words as an excuse to live with his lot in life, but all things considered, he seemed to live quite a good one. Even if she was failing at it, all Vinyl wanted was to be able to live for herself, by herself. Self-reliance wasn’t wrong. She just wanted to be independent; to do what she wanted.

“I just wish the boy would strike a better balance for himself,” Dapper sighed as he dried the surface with another rag.

“Better balance between what?”

“Oh! Don’t worry about that, Miss Vinyl. You’ll have to pardon an old stallion for rambling and keeping you. You should get washed up and warmed up, Miss Vinyl. I will meet you at your room with a piping hot breakfast.”

It took the DJ all of five minutes to shower. While she would prefer to take a longer one, or even settle into the oversized tub for a relaxing bath, there was no reason to inconvenience Dapper with waiting around for her. She quickly dried off with a towel and a bit of magic, shaking her mane to its usual disheveled style before trotting out of the bathroom into the enormous closet.

At first, Vinyl found it odd that the bathroom wasn’t directly attached to the guest room. The doors led into the hallway and the guest room’s closet, but she supposed those who would bother getting dressed after bathing would appreciate the privacy. Still, she didn’t understand why a guest room needed enough storage space to fit her entire apartment inside it. It’d fit everything she’d ever owned and a boutique’s worth of clothes with room to spare.

She put on one of her regular sweaters to chase away the morning chill and stepped out into her room. Expecting Dapper, she was mildly surprised to find Fluffer Duster standing in the corner with a covered serving platter carefully balancing on a hoof and wing.

“Good morning, Vinyl. Sir Fancy Pants needed Mister Dandy for something, so I’ve brought the breakfast he made for you instead. I hope it’s to your liking.”

The maid lifted the massive cover off, revealing the humble plate of haybacon and eggs underneath, with a dish of catsup and a teacup of something else next to it. Vinyl felt like there should've been a sarcastic kazoo fanfare accompanying the underwhelming reveal. With a sigh, she took her seat at the desk, and the maid quickly set her food down with a mat and utensils. Looking into the teacup, she recognized the instant cocoa mix with the mini-marshmallows that were as deliciously disappointing. Dapper sure went the extra mile to ensure he mostly used the things that she had bought, though she could tell he had used milk rather than water to give more flavor to the humble mix.

“Thanks, Fluffs,” she mumbled with uncertainty.

“You’re very welcome, Vinyl. I hope the hot chocolate is okay.” The pegasus pulled slightly at her apron in apprehension. “We both knew you wanted to only use what you bought, but I don’t know if your drink pairs well with your meal.”

“It’s fine, really. Never worried about that before.”

Vinyl took the silverware in her magic and began with the eggs. She wasn’t sure if she should pour the catsup on them or dip them since they had gone through the trouble of providing a separate dish for them. Looking over to the pegasus, she saw Fluffer Duster still standing at the ready with a tea towel draped over her wing.

“Umm, thank you,” Vinyl said with a bit more force while tilting her head towards the door. The mare simply mirrored the head bobbing in confusion. “You don’t need to wait for me,” she clarified as she dipped her eggs in the catsup.

The maid looked around while fidgeting under the DJ’s gaze. “Oh, I know, but… but who would bring the dishes back to the kitchen?”

“I would. Obviously.”

“But then you’d have to find where to put the dishes after you were done.”

“It’s a kitchen,” Vinyl stated flatly. “I’m pretty sure I can figure out where a plate goes. Besides, don’t you have something else you can be doing, like cleaning?”

“Oh. Oh! Oh yes. I can do that.” Fluffer Duster set the tea towel down and started to remake Vinyl’s pristine bed, or rather the bed Vinyl was using for the moment.

“Fluffs,” Vinyl muttered with rising indignation.

“What?” she asked with the innocence of a filly with her hoof caught in a cookie jar.

“The bed was already made. I didn’t even use it last night.”

“Oh, right. Mister Dandy mentioned that he found you in the studio,” the pegasus admitted with a slight titter. “I… uhh… noticed a few wrinkles and wanted to straighten them out! I always find that a perfectly made bed is easier for me to fall asleep in.”

Vinyl pushed her hooves together and took a deep breath for patience. “Fluffer Duster? I went from a rusty cot to this king-sized monster of a bed. I think I’ll be fine if the sheets are just a little messy.”

“Of course, Silly me. I can be a bit of a featherhead sometimes. I’ll be right back with my feather duster.”

Vinyl arched a quizzical brow. “You’re going to dust while I eat?”

The maid nearly tripped on her hooves as she trotted towards the door. “On second thought, that would be bad, wouldn’t it? I could just—”

“You could just leave,” Vinyl tilted her horn towards the door, “and get back to your work.” Vinyl leaned in deeper. “You know, somewhere else?” Vinyl dipped into a right angle, her horn pointing directly at the latch.

“But…” Fluffer Duster trailed as she looked down at her hooves, “but then you’d be eating alone.”

“Uh-huh…”

“I-I…” the maid trailed off as she kicked at the carpet. “I don’t want you eating alone. Again.”

“Why?” Vinyl asked as her patience started to wane.

“Because we haven’t seen you all week,” the pegasus admitted as she chewed on her lip.

“‘We?’”

“Mister Dandy and I.” Fluffer Duster clip-clopped a hoof on the floor nervously and looked away. “I don’t even think Sir Fancy Pants has seen you.”

“I’ve just been busy,” Vinyl quickly clarified. “Is that a problem?”

“What do you mean ‘is that a problem?’ Of course it’s a problem. It’s a big problem!” The maid threw her hooves up in distress as she fluttered off the floor.

“Okay, getting kinda sick of twenty questions here.” Vinyl massaged the front of her head, trying to keep her voice in check. “I told you guys before, I don’t want special treatment.”

“This isn’t special treatment, Vinyl, we’re just worried about you.”

“Worried? Of all the…” The DJ felt her eyelid begin to twitch as she tried to keep herself under control. “Why does everypony have to be so worried or concerned about me? Did Fancy put you up to this?”

“Sir Fancy Pants? Well…”

“Yes or no, Fluffer Duster!” The DJ slammed her hooves on the desk.

“N-not exactly—”

“So, yes actually.”

“No!” Fluffer Duster shook her head vigorously in denial. “Sir Fancy Pants has nothing to do with this!”

“That’s a load of bull and you know it!” Vinyl shouted as she stood up from her chair, knocking it over. “He has everything to do with this. We all work for him! It’s the only reason we’re all here in the first place. Why wouldn’t he want you keeping tabs on me?”

“But he didn’t, honest! In fact, he told us to do the opposite and give you some space.”

“Then why the hay are you still doing here? You should’ve listened to him!”

“Look, okay? I lied about Sir Fancy Pants needing Mister Dandy. I wanted to bring the food myself because you’ve been avoiding us!”

“W-what makes you think that?” Vinyl did her best to remain calm despite the pit forming in her stomach. She desperately wished she was wearing her shades, but levitating them on now would look suspicious.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe how every time you go down a hall, you’re checking to make sure nopony is there? Like that time you snuck that album out of the studio?”

“How did you—”

She pumped her wings, flaring them open. “You looked left and right, but you didn’t look up.”

“Fine! So I have been avoiding you. I guess I was right, too, considering you are far more annoying than I gave you credit for!” Vinyl seethed through gritted teeth. “I haven’t exactly been in the mood for talking, so maybe you should get to doing your job so I can get back to mine!”

Fluffer Duster’s breath hitched at Vinyl’s outburst, but she did her best to shake the blow away. “I’m sorry, Vinyl. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I’d be perfectly alright if all of you would just leave me alone! It’s not hard. You see me? You act like you didn’t. Find me in a room? Walk past the room! See? Super duper easy! This place is so stupidly huge, you have to go out of your way to run into me. We never even have to see each other!”

“I know! I’ve been doing that all week trying to find an excuse to talk to you, but I can’t take it anymore! I’m worried about you, Vinyl. We all are!”

Vinyl grabbed her head and massaged her temples to try to chase the quickly forming stress headache away. The maid just wasn’t getting it through that thick skull of hers. Fluffer Duster was being just as bad as Fleur, but at least the unicorn knew when to take lay off. Since when did the pegasus start caring so much about her, anyway? They barely even knew each other!

“Okay. You win. You don’t want me eating alone, huh?” Fluffer Duster nodded with a tiny smile. “Fine, I can do that!” Vinyl dumped the excessive catsup on her eggs and began scarfing them down as quickly as she could manage.

The maid gaped in surprise. “Vinyl, please, slow down! You’re going to choke!”

Almost taking it as a challenge, she chewed through the haybacon like a ravenous beast and then, ignoring the burn, chugged the hot cocoa as fast as she could. She tried to stop herself from coughing from the heat, but the scalding temperature caused her eyes to tear up from the pressure she was putting on her throat.

“There, see? Didn’t eat alone. Happy?” She showed the clean plate between coughing fits to Fluffer Duster who gave her a pleading look. “Even better! You wanted to make sure the dishes are done right, right?” Vinyl hastily gathered all of the dishes together and shoved them back under the covered platter. “Here, take ‘em.”

“Vinyl—”

“I said take ‘em!” Vinyl took the platter in her magic and shoved it into the maid’s face. The pegasus caught it and placed it on her back, still giving the DJ her full attention.

“You don’t have to push us away. Please, just talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong is that nopony in this stupid mansion knows when to leave well enough alone! Fancy isn’t paying you nearly enough to worry about me!”

“Of course he isn’t,” Fluffer Duster gasped in horror. “He doesn’t have to pay me to care about you.”

“Great, fantastic, perfect! I’m fine, so don’t worry your pretty little head about me and get the hay out of here!”

Fluffer Duster lowered her hooves back down and took a calming breath. She took the tray and put it down on the floor next to her and kept her eyes downcast. “... No,” she whispered.

“What did you just say?”

“I said no!” the maid shouted with resolution burning in her eyes. “Everypony here is supposed to look out for each other! How can I just leave you all alone?”

Vinyl’s snappy retorts got caught at the back of her throat. The usual nervous mare readied herself for a fight, flaring her wings out and leaning down for a charge. She tried to gather her words, but Fluffer Duster was having none of it.

“You said you wanted to be treated like Mister Dandy and me, right? Well, there’s no way I could leave Mister Dandy alone for a week and not worry about him!”

“O-of course you wouldn’t!” Vinyl bit back after finding her ire again. “There’s a good chance if you didn’t hear from him, you’d find the old stallion’s body in some long lost corner of this stupidly massive mansion.”

The maid recoiled from Vinyl’s words. “How horrible!”

“Well, I’m a horrible pony! The sooner you get it through that ‘featherhead’ of yours, the better.”

“No, you’re not. You’re a good pony,” the pegasus argued.

“And how would you know that?” Vinyl marched forward, staring the maid in the eyes. “You’ve known me for, what, three weeks? Four? You barely know me at all, Fluffs! Did you know I’ve been arrested? I’ve kicked a royal guard in the teeth before!” Admittedly, the last one was an accident, but Fluffer Duster didn’t need to know that.

“That…” she stuttered before shaking her nerves away. “That doesn’t matter! If you were really that bad, you wouldn’t be here at all. You wouldn’t be working so diligently every time I’ve seen you in the studio. You wouldn’t make such wonderful music. And you most certainly wouldn’t bother to remember my nickname.”

Vinyl felt her face tightening the more she looked at the mare putting on a brave face. It was just a face, right? “I… I just don’t—Why can’t you all just leave me alone?”

“Because you're my friend. At least, I hope we’re friends. I like to think we are.” Fluffer Duster’s demeanor softened as she gave her best supportive smile. She reached out to touch Vinyl’s shoulder. “Just talk to me, please. It hurts so much to see you like this.”

She was hurting her? Vinyl was messing things up, as usual, but it wasn’t her fault. This nosy pegasus just wouldn’t take no for an answer! Vinyl felt her breathing become more shallow seeing the other mare’s pleading eyes and the hoof getting closer. Fluffer Duster was on the verge of tears for her sake. Despite everything, the maid still considered her to be a friend. Maybe that would be okay. Maybe she could trust—

Don’t forget. Mommy loves you.

“Get away from me!” Vinyl roared as she swatted the mare’s foreleg.

Fluffer Duster yelped and backed away, rubbing her hoof on her chest. “Vinyl?”

“No! I don’t need your pity! I don’t need anypony! I don’t want you to worry about me, cause I’m not worth worrying about!”

“Don’t say that!” the maid cried. “You don’t have to be alone. It’s going to be okay—”

“It will be once you get out!”

Vinyl threw the bedroom door open and tried to push the pegasus out of the room. The lithe pegasus deftly flipped out of the way, rolling over and landing on Vinyl’s back. Before she could react, Fluffer Duster wrapped her wings and legs around her body, locking into place. Vinyl struggled, trying to force the smaller mare off. Though she wasn’t as strong as Fleur, she was slippery. Every time Vinyl got close to kicking Fluffer Duster away, the pegasus would get another wing on her or hook her hooves around.

“What the hay are you doing?” Vinyl yelled as her anger began to give way to fear. “L-let go of me!”

“I won’t! Not until you tell me what’s wrong!”

As the struggle continued, Vinyl’s headache grew worse and worse. Her heart raced, trying to beat itself out of her chest. Fluffer Duster was too close. Too close!

“G-get off!”

“Stop pushing us away!”

“Stop it!” Vinyl screeched for relief. She wanted to escape; to get away. She bucked and flailed, trying to shake the stubborn pegasus off, but nothing was working. She was trapped. Trapped!

Panic filled Vinyl’s veins. She couldn’t focus. Couldn’t breathe. The world fell away as adrenaline surged through her heart. There was a primal warble of frantically charging magic, a white light, and then everything exploded in a burst of electric blue.

A shrill cry cut through the noise, snapping Vinyl back to reality just in time to see Fluffer Duster sail across the room, violently tumbling across the bed before slamming her back into the headboard. She tried to reach out towards the poor pegasus, but the world was already spinning along with waves of pain and nausea pulsing from the base of Vinyl’s horn. Along with the shimmering blue sparkles left behind by raw mana expulsion, she knew the tell-tale signs of a magic surge.

It was perfect.

“See?” Vinyl spat through gasps as she stumbled towards the downed mare. “Not so good now, am I? Is this what a good pony would do?”

Fluffer Duster groaned as she recollected herself. When their eyes met, she gasped in shock and tried to pull herself up to her haunches, but a wince of pain kept her from righting herself. “Are you okay, Vinyl?”

“Am… am I okay?” Vinyl tried to laugh, but it only came out as a hacking cough. “That’s rich. I just blasted you away and you’re worried about me?”

“I’m so sorry. I just wanted to help. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Me? Scared? You’re the one who—” Vinyl’s words failed her as she noticed the other mare’s concerned eyes reflecting her own.

Vinyl could see them: her traitorous orbs that wouldn’t keep a single emotion to themselves. They were the same cracked, frail, timid, weepy eyes filled with needless fear and sorrow that she’d left behind years ago. Right when she needed to double-down, all she could see was the terrified thoughts rushing behind them. The same terror she’d seen a thousand times of a hopeless, worthless marionette trying to fix what was beyond repair.

“Get away,” Vinyl murmured at the terrified reflection. “Get away from me!” she screamed at the mare in the mirror. “Stay back! Stop looking at me!”

Vinyl desperately tried to channel magic into her horn to do something, anything to make that other unicorn go away, but her restlessness was quickly catching up to her. The DJ’s lungs failed as her horn fizzled out with a few sputtering sparkles shooting out of it. She tried again, and again.

One-two-blank-blank! Blank-Blank-three-four! She called, no response!

“Vinyl, please! Stop!” Vinyl heard somepony call from the void. She tried making a run for it until she heard the sound of hooves tripping over a chair. There was a flash of feathers as the unicorn reeled her hoof back for a punch only to see it was Fluffer Duster crumpled in a feathery heap on the floor behind her. The pegasus was leaning away from her damaged wing with tears in her eyes as she lifted her shaky forelegs up to block the DJ’s incoming blow. Vinyl’s fear drained as reality came back into focus.

“Why?” Vinyl croaked. “Why did you do that? I told you to go away, but you just—Why?” Vinyl swallowed, seeing the damage she had done to the mare. “Get out. Please, just… leave me alone. Limp over to Fancy, tell him what happened. You’ll never have to see me again.”

With that, Vinyl crawled onto the bed and laid down to wait for the surge’s effects to subside. If she was going to be thrown away again, she at least wanted to be comfortable before the end. But then, the tender touch of a hoof on her back sent her rigid.

“I’m so sorry, Vinyl,” Fluffer Duster said as she tried to stay calm.

“Y-you’re sorry?” Vinyl started to laugh, but coughed from her ragged breathing. “I just blew you across a room with my magic, and you’re just gonna pretend like that’s okay?”

“But it was a magical surge, right? You didn’t have control over it.”

“And how would you know anything about that?”

“Well… it’s covered in family housekeeping classes. Unicorn foals can have surges when they get their cutie marks or when they’re, umm, frightened.”

Vinyl chuckled to herself. Of course a Canterlot maid would know about them. It was just her luck. “Yeah, but last I checked, I wasn't a cute little bundle of innocent joy.”

“But I still scared you, right?”

“That's… you’re the one who’s actually hurt!” She didn’t turn towards the maid. She didn’t want to risk seeing her eyes again, afraid of what they would show. “Please. Just stop. I always mess things up.”

“It’s okay. I mess up all the time, too,” the maid laughed a little before the pain set in again. “It just means we both have room for improvement. Are you okay?”

After magically rocketing the mare off of her, injuring her in a fit of surging instability, Fluffer Duster had the gall to ask that? Vinyl snickered to herself and couldn’t help it as it grew louder and louder. She then started laughing so hard that she couldn’t take it anymore and she collapsed onto the bed away from the maid and began sobbing uncontrollably.

“A-alright? I’ve never been alright! It’s always going wrong! I can barely sleep, I need to work constantly or I feel like I’m going to tear myself apart! I can’t even work on my crystal research anymore because it’s sensitive to my emotions, and I’ve just been getting worse and worse! I can’t keep this up forever. Fleur will get suspicious and storm over here and then she’ll get mad at me and then-then at Fancy and-and… I just can’t!”

The cries grew shriller as Vinyl desperately tried to stop her breakdown. Her throat burned from rawness, and she bit down on a pillow to try to muffle the outpouring of needless emotions. Nopony needed to hear her. She just wanted to be alone with her problems. She couldn’t deal with them, but she couldn’t deal with anything, so that wasn’t any different. The only difference this time was injuring a pony during a panic attack, but the injured pony refused to let the DJ rightfully take the blame and go away. Now, said stubborn mare was gently stroking her mane for whatever reason trying to calm her down. It felt so nice, but she didn’t deserve to be comforted.

Why wouldn’t Fluffer Duster just go away?

After a few minutes of getting it out of her system, the maid finally spoke up. “I’m sorry that happened. And I’m sorry that I lost my temper, but if it's this bad, you need to let it out.”

“No! You saw how I let it out, didn’t you? B-but you don't know when to quit, so it doesn’t look like I have much of a choice, do I?” Vinyl spat back, her words dripping with venom that she couldn’t control.

The DJ took a moment and tried to collect herself from being such an emotional trainwreck. Taking her bite-mark riddled pillow in her legs, she gathered her courage to tell the truth while holding it close to her barrel. “I’m scared.”

“You’re scared? Of what?”

“Everything.”

“Everything? E-even me?”

Vinyl nodded. “I can’t trust anypony.” She opened her eyes to turn to Fluffer Duster, but stopped as her gaze caught the vanity and the odd bend of the maid’s wing. “I can’t even trust myself. Just look at what I did to you.”

“Don’t worry about me, Vinyl. It’s only a little strain… I think.” Fluffer Duster winced with uncertainty as she tried to flex the wing slightly. “It doesn’t hurt that bad since I landed on something soft.”

“Right, b-because blasting a pony away like a changeling when all they wanted was to talk and just I couldn’t—”

Fluffer Duster shushed Vinyl and stroked her mane with more gusto, trying to calm the unicorn down and prevent another outpouring of tears. “It’s okay, It was my fault, remember? I was being pushy because I couldn’t stand thinking you were all alone in here. I already told you I’m scared of being alone and… Sorry, this wasn’t supposed to be about me, but I made it that way anyway.

“I already forgave you,” she reassured the DJ. “Do you forgive me?”

“If it will get you to shut up about something that’s clearly my fault, then yes,” Vinyl mumbled with a sniff as she squeezed the pillow.

“Then, we’re good, Vinyl.” The maid sat up straight and collected herself from the bed. “Now, I know you said you’re scared of everything, but you can’t mean that. You’re so strong and capable—”

“No I’m not!” Vinyl whipped around and sat up to look Fluffer Duster in the eyes. “If I was, then none of this would be happening! I’d be in control of my destiny.” Vinyl turned her hooves towards her face. They wouldn’t stop shaking, no matter how hard she tried to make them stop. “Or at least, I’d still think I was. If it wasn’t for that stupid Screech, I’d be blindly taking my financial aid and cashing checks from Cantrips to keep myself going, completely ignorant of everything. Now, I’m trapped and I have to keep everypony happy, or he’ll just throw me out.”

“Who will throw you out?”

“Who do you think? Fancy Pants!”

“But why would he throw you out?” Fluffer Duster asked with genuine confusion.

“All I had to do was not mess up. Have a normal conversation, and I couldn’t even do that. And now, I’m hiding like it will help. Like the problem doesn’t exist if I can’t see it. I can’t figure out why he hasn’t fired me yet.” Vinyl sighed despondently and laid back down. “What’s the point? I’m just… I don’t matter.”

“You don’t believe that. Do you?” All it took was looking into the maid’s eyes to convey her feelings. Fluffer Duster gasped and clenched Vinyl’s hoof with a pained whisper. “Oh no. No Vinyl. H-how could you possibly think that? You’re a very special pony.”

“Cause it’s true. If I wasn’t, why is it that nothing I do works out for long? I-I always mess things up. And don’t give me that ‘everypony is special’ horseapples. Just because it’s called a ‘special talent’ doesn’t mean it is. I’ve seen plenty of ponies with musical talents. I haven’t proven myself better than anypony.”

“But you don’t need to prove yourself to anypony.”

“You think I don’t know that already? I know that! I’ve always known that! Hard work doesn’t matter! It doesn’t pay off to try your hardest, cause in the end you just—” Vinyl bit the inside of her cheek and groaned as she punched the mattress, letting out her old frustrations on the luxurious bed. After a few stress-relieving blows, she found her words again. “It never helped before, why should it work now? It’s not like anything would change.”

“If it doesn’t matter, then why does it sound like you’re trying so hard to?”

“Because what else am I supposed to do? I have to become something, but I’m nothing without Fancy Pants!”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes it is! The only thing I have going for me is my music, and even that isn’t enough! Not without…” She stopped herself again as she nearly let her underground rave record slip. She hated her emotions. They didn’t know when to shut up. “I can’t do anything alone.”

“So? I live off of his bits and board, too. Is that so bad?”

“At least you have ponies to catch you if you fall. Me? I’m Canterlot’s public enemy number one! He’s the only thing between me and them. If I do anything to upset him, I’m done! He’ll cut my funding, cut me out of the ESPA and CSGU, cut me…” Vinyl felt her heart clench as her breathing became erratic. New tears started flowing freely as she stared down at her fragile, powerless hooves. “He’ll cut me off from my only friends,” she whispered, a hollowness chomping away at her soul as she uttered it.

“No! No-no-no-no-no!” Using her good one, the maid pulled Vinyl into a tight wing hug, almost trying to squeeze all of the fear out of the unicorn. “You’re okay. You’re alright, Vinyl. I promise. And I promise, he wouldn’t do that. He’s a good pony, too.”

“What makes you so sure? He’s friends with the princesses, he knows ponies and creatures all over the world, he’s practically got infinite money to bury me alive. W-what am I supposed to do against somepony like that?”

“Why do you have to be against him? You could try trusting him like I do.”

“Wha—You can’t do that!” Vinyl shoved the other mare off of her, causing the maid to yelp as she fell backwards on the bed. “You can’t trust anypony as powerful as him.”

Fluffer Duster shook the impact off and pulled herself back up to keep facing Vinyl. “Sure you can. You just need to choose to.”

“You make it sound so easy,” the DJ scoffed as she laid her head back down, refusing to meet the pegasus’ eyes.

“Well, you’re right. It’s not,” The maid stroked Vinyl’s mane as she considered her words carefully. “I’ll admit that I was scared of Sir Fancy Pants at first. When I saw the job posting for a live-in maid position, it didn’t even say who was hiring, just that they were a high-profile pony. It did say bilingual Prench would be a bonus. I thought it would give me an edge, so I applied.

“A few weeks later, the recruitment officer that interviewed me took me and two other ponies here. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the ‘Sir Fancy Pants’ come down the stairs to greet us. After we all introduced ourselves and our credentials, he paused for a second like he was thinking deeply. Then he asked a question I don’t think any of us were prepared for.”

“And that was?” Vinyl asked as she side-eyed the maid.

“‘What is your favorite color and why?’” Fluffer Duster quoted, raising her hoof to adjust a non-existent monocle for maximum Fancy-ness.

Vinyl blinked. “What?”

“I know, right? I was so thrown by the question, I didn’t know how to respond at all! I remembered later that it’s violet, but I was just so nervous when he asked! I thought it was a trick question and was so worried about saying the wrong thing, I hadn’t even noticed that he asked it in Prench. I just started babbling, trying to think of a good answer and not even realizing I was speaking it too. I couldn’t even pick a color. I just started running through some of the ones I liked with a few reasons, but I couldn’t give him a straight answer. Still, he chose me.”

“Wait, you couldn’t tell him what your favorite color was, and he still picked you?”

“Sir Fancy Pants simply told me my Prench was better than his and hired me on the spot.”

Vinyl wasn’t sure what to do with that story. She blew some of her mane out of her face and kept her gaze glued on the very interesting and messy bedspread they were laying on. She was starting to count the wrinkles, but then they increased as Fluffer Duster shifted closer to Vinyl. Anypony walking in might mistake them for two large cats loafing around on a messy bedspread.

“Look, the point is I know it's the most obvious thing in the world, but I’m a maid, Vinyl. Anypony, or anyone that I will ever work for will always have power over me,” Fluffer Duster admitted as she clopped her hooves together while looking to the side. But then she looked back and smiled sweetly at Vinyl. “But you know what? That’s fine. I like cleaning. It makes others happy, which makes me happy, too. I just do the best I can to bring a smile to everypony I meet. After getting to know Fancy Pants and Mister Dandy, I know they appreciate the smiles I bring.

“I may not be special, unless being bilingual counts, but they make me feel like I am. Even though I haven’t been working with them long, I think—no, I know I can trust them. What I can’t do is imagine either of them doing something cruel, like throwing a truly special pony like you away.”

“I’m pretty sure two languages count more than being an unstable DJ,” Vinyl mumbled.

“You’re a DJ, and a student at Celestia’s School, and an amazing ESPA musician, and one of the coolest ponies I’ve ever met!” The maid practically squee’d like a fangirl as she leaned into Vinyl. “I’ve never been to the Drive before, but I have heard what you’ve been working on in the studio. Your music is incredible! I’ve never heard anything so lively before!”

The DJ rolled her eyes. “Now you’re just saying things. Even if I missed you the other day, I would’ve seen you sneak into the studio.”

“Why do you think the hallway outside of the studio is always so clean?” the maid asked with a sly smirk. “You know that old studio isn’t completely soundproof, right? I couldn’t help but dance to that version of ‘Sway’ when you were working on it.” The mare clopped her hooves again as she giggled nervously. “To be honest, even though I was mostly trying to work up the courage to talk to you, I was also kind of sad that it’s been so quiet the past two days.”

Vinyl snorted slightly at the admission. DJ Pon-3 was infamous for keeping her fans at leg’s length, but it seemed like she’d stumbled into the wings of a new one without knowing. “I’ve been working on something else. It’s still in the planning stages, and I’m still trying to figure things out, but I think it’s going somewhere.”

“Great! I can’t wait to hear it,” the maid bubbled earnesty. “Oh, this is so exciting! No wonder Mister Dandy liked working for Mister Shoes and Miss Summers. Getting a chance to hear brand new music every day is the coolest workplace perk ever!”

“Yeah. Great,” Vinyl remarked sardonically.

“Hey, Vinyl?” The maid brushed Vinyl’s back with her wing before resting it comfortably on the mare again like a warm blanket. “Can I ask you a favor?”

“Sure.”

“It’s kind of a big favor and, the things is, I’m going to ask you to trust me. Is that okay with you?”

“Not like you have to ask,” Vinyl chuckled as she turned to face the maid’s bad wing. “After what I just did to you, you could just blackmail me easily enough.”

“But I would never do that! Why would I want to—” The mare chewed on her lip and tried to think of something. “Please Vinyl. I don’t know what I can say, but you have to believe me. What can I do to prove that I don’t want to hurt you?”

“I… I don’t know. I don’t think you can.”

Fluffer Duster gave a shaky sigh. With a deep, pained breath, she managed to stop herself from crying. “I understand. I mean, I don’t understand, but I want to understand, if that makes sense.” Another pause later, her eyes sparked with a new light. “Oh, I know! I have two favors now, if that’s alright.”

“Okay,” the unicorn shuddered and surrendered. “Lay ‘em on me.”

“Can I ask you to try to trust me?”

Vinyl was about to say no, but the mare wasn’t asking for her faith. She just needed to try. Even if she messed up, it’d still be okay, right? “Yeah. I can do that.”

“Great! Now for favor two.”

“‘Trying to trust’ was favor number one?” Vinyl quirked her brow as Fluffer Duster… Fluffs nodded excitedly with a big grin. “Whatever. What’s number two?”

Vinyl absolutely hated favor two. Fluffs had asked her if she’d join her for dinner later, which was fine. She could stand to get out of the mansion and grab something with the pegasus. They had gone their separate ways after a little more of their heart-to-heart conversation, the maid quickly straightening up the room before going to see somepony about her wing. Vinyl had decided to try and nap away the aftershock of her surge, and fell asleep until Fluffs had returned sporting a new splint on her wing. Oddly enough, she remembered dreaming about two cats looking down from a pier trying to figure out how to fish without jumping in the water.

What wasn’t fine was the fact that they were standing outside the dining hall. Outside the dining hall at dinner time. When everypony ate dinner.

“I think I’m gonna fail this trust thing, Fluffs,” Vinyl muttered as she stared at the imposing double doors in front of them.

“I’m right here, Vinyl. You don’t have to trust me, just try your best.”

Vinyl felt Fluffs drape a supportive wing over her back. She glanced over her shoulder, and the maid returned the look with a genuine smile. The unicorn’s gaze kept shifting back to the splint holding the other wing in place. While it wasn’t broken, Vinyl had done enough to sprain it. Despite the maid’s pleas to forget it, the DJ couldn’t help but feel like she owed the mare.

With a deep breath, Vinyl slowly opened one of the doors to peek in. While she had passed this room before, she’d never really taken the time to look at it. Like the study, this room also had the hallmarks Fancy had mentioned in their conversation about the study. While he hadn’t mentioned this room by name, she wondered if it had been part of the original building too.

Calling it a dining hall was almost too modest a term for the splendor all around them. The walls were decorated with portraits, pictures, and other knick-knacks with their own stories to tell amid large, multistoried windows that let the fading light of sunset inside. Three chandeliers hung from the ceiling, giving the opulent hall a distinct, ballroom classiness. Speaking of which, Fancy Pants could easily host a large party of ponies for most any size event, which made the rectangular table Fancy was seated at feel even smaller. The table’s extra leaves, legs, and chairs stacked in a quiet corner of the room didn’t go unnoticed by DJ either.

Vinyl was about to brave taking a small step in, but Fluffs was having none of it and thrust the other open instead, calling the attention of the two stallions inside.

“Oh, Miss Fluffer Duster, there you are,” Fancy called happily after seeing the maid enter. Vinyl skulked closely behind, putting off the encounter for as long as possible. “I’ve taken care of the house call expenses, but please, do be more careful. When I told you not to break anything, I hoped it would go without saying that you would include yourself.”

“Thank you, Sir Fancy Pants. And I apologize. I was… doing something I shouldn’t have.”

“It’s quite alright. Just as long as you’re all right, Miss Duster…?” Fancy stopped as he noticed the other mare behind Fluffs. “Miss Scr—Vinyl.”

Vinyl hoped her expression was unreadable behind her shades as she tried her best to appear calm and aloof. She kept her focus forward and lips firmly drawn in a straight line by chewing on her tongue. Taking her seat, her act lasted all of five seconds until the butler swooped in next to her.

“How lovely of you to join us for dinner, Miss Vinyl,” Dapper Dandy greeted her sincerely as he levitated a serving platter to her place and unveiled their meal for the evening. “I hope you’ll pardon a more humble bit of pasta tonight. Pesto fettuccine with tomatoes, basil, and dried marigold for a little extra kick.”

Vinyl looked at the dinner and back at Dapper, not that the old stallion would be able to tell behind her sunglasses. At least she hoped he couldn’t. “Umm… is it okay if I eat this?”

“Why, of course it is. What a silly question.” The old stallion chortled as he poured her a glass of water. “You’ve always had a place at the table since you started living here. It is just lovely finally having everypony here for dinner, isn’t that right, master Fancy Pants?”

“I couldn’t agree more, Dapper. You’ve always had a seat at the table, Vinyl.” Fancy offered a warm smile to her. She couldn’t trust it, but she could try. “I do hope the food is to your liking.”

“After perfecting my pesto preparation, it hasn’t failed to impress for… forty years now?”

“We’ll all have to take your word for it, Dapper. After all, you’d be the only one old enough to know for sure.”

“If you’re that gullible, then it’s been a hundred years in the making.”

Everypony but Vinyl shared in a small laugh as the others took their seats behind their own plates of the pesto pasta. She sat and watched as each pony prepared to dig in in their own way. Fluffs asked for Fancy to pass the cheese, which he went the extra mile by politely distributing it himself with the rotary cheese grater until she asked him to stop. Dapper took the time to cut a slice off a baguette and applied a light touch of butter before taking a careful bite. As for Fancy, he poured himself and Dapper some wine, offering some to Fluffs and herself, which both mares declined.

Vinyl couldn’t remember the last time she’d sat down for a family dinner. Sure, there was that time during the Moondance, and then there were those pizza runs with Fleur after long days at the audio lab, but neither were like this. She didn’t have fond memories of family dinners, which was why she had avoided dinnertime around the mansion, too. They were always so cold and stressful. This was different. It was—

“How’s the pasta, Vinyl?” Fancy asked.

She picked up her fork, twisted a noodle onto it, and took a bite. She looked up to the other two, who were also wondering what she thought about the meal.

“—It’s good,” Vinyl answered with a smile she could trust.

Author's Note

Apologies, but this is the only song that I felt fit Vinyl's mental state. Here's a Google Translation of the lyrics.

Chapter 19: Visions of a Kingmaker

How did other ponies get by without a horn? While a blatantly bigoted question, there probably wasn’t a unicorn alive who hadn’t asked themselves at least once. Before the unification of the major tribes, it seemed almost impossible to those blessed with horns for other races to do much of anything without spells to help them. Fancy Pants still marveled at the complex crafts developed by the other races without the use of magic. Blacksmithing and needleworking made some sense, but how in the world earth ponies had developed the beautiful art of glassblowing through their hooves and lungs alone was an absolute mystery to him.

Perhaps the stallion’s unspoken bewilderment was why Luna had settled on the traditional artform for their dream magic practice, or at least something close to it. Rather than conjuring an entire workshop around them, the princess simply summoned a lone, brightly glowing glass furnace in the middle of the formless Dreamscape. Her streamlined approach was probably for the best. Fancy tended to forget he was asleep whenever Luna was dreamweaving. The princess had to rouse him constantly from his foggy stupor whenever her creations became too real for him.

“Still with me, Fancy Pants?” Luna asked, bringing the stallion out of his introspection. He offered a simple nod in reply. “Good. Now, take some molten glass using your hoof,” Luna ordered as she reached into the furnace and pulled off a glob for herself.

Fancy looked into the burning crucible and gulped. He knew it was just a dream, but so far that hadn’t seemed to matter. As he reached out to touch the fiery slag, he swore he could feel the heat rise. An errant ember licked his fetlock and he pulled away on instinct. The contact briefly sparked his jacket sleeve, forcing him to quickly pat it out before it could fully catch fire.

Luna shook her head and approached Fancy, studying his scorched fur. “This unnecessary feedback from your imagination is as peculiar as it is frustrating.”

“My apologies, Luna. Part of me knows none of this is real, but I can’t seem to fully convince myself.” Fancy looked back to his hoof to see it had returned to normal while he wasn’t paying attention.

“Then perhaps a quick experiment is in order.” Luna dipped her hoof into the Dreamscape below and scooped up a strange-looking ice cream cone from the aetherial sea. “Take this in hoof. Tell me, how ‘real’ is it to you?”

Fancy nodded and grabbed hold of it as ordered. “It’s really quite strange. It feels mostly numb, but there are flashes of cold here and there.” Fancy went for a taste, but it was flavorless. Looking closer at it, his mysterious treat appeared to be a white ice cream with orange, red, and black swirls mixed into it. He licked in again, but only felt a dull chill on his tongue.

“Interesting. It appears your imagination mimics reality through your memory. It does its best to keep your mind grounded within the familiarity of the waking world.”

“So, you’re saying that I am overthinking things against my will? Sounds par for the course for me.” Fancy laughed at himself and looked back at his frozen treat to give it another try. “Perhaps if you were to tell me what this is, I might be able to ‘recall’ the taste.”

“Oh, that?” A mischievous spark flashed behind Luna’s eyes. “Why that, my dear student, is a scoop of vanilla ice cream mixed with molten glass.”

A wave of panic shot through the stallion mid-lick as the ice cream began melting immediately. Fancy’s tongue burned with a waxy aftertaste of a used candle. He threw the cone to the ground and backed away as it quickly caught fire, burning itself into nothingness. The princess couldn’t help but laugh at her student’s plight despite the withering glare on his face.

“I’m sorry, Fancy Pants,” she managed to say between her unladylike guffaws. “I never imagined your mind would react so viscerally.” After regaining her teacher-like composure, she studied Fancy again. “Still, it seems even when presented with a contradictory existence, your mind panics, trying to put things back into a proper state of black and white rather than accept the colorful spectrum of impossibilities. Perhaps if I show you what I summoned this crucible for in the first place, we may yet be able to push through your unconscious limits.”

Luna took the glob in her hooves and rolled it into a thin tube. She sealed one end and blew into the other, filling it with air like a balloon. Finally, with a speed and dexterity that would put any birthday clown to shame, the princess twisted and wrapped the glass over and under by hoof, creating a symphony of rubbery squeaks. After her work was done, she held the creation aloft in her hoof and rapidly cooled it with one powerful beat of her wings.

“Behold, a dog,” Luna announced, revealing the animal made of glass.

“Most impressive. I was unaware you knew how to make balloon animals.”

“I know next to nothing about the art in the real world. We had no such thing a thousand years ago. However, performing this level of artistry is mere foal’s play within the Dreamscape.”

Luna placed the balloon animal down on the ground and, after a moment, it sprang to life. The glass creature ran around like an excitable puppy, barking with a tingle of glass shards. It rolled on its back, demanding belly rubs from the princess. Luna gladly obliged by tickling it with her feathers, sending the dog into a fit of happy leg kicks. She giggled at the creation’s antics as she pulled another bit of slag from the furnace and threw it. The loyal balloon bounded up from the floor and gave chase to retrieve its molten toy.

Fancy wished more ponies could see this side of their princess. Luna wasn’t always the nation’s unassailable guardian of the night. She enjoyed herself just as much as anypony else. He couldn’t help but admire the princess’ free spirit as she cheerfully played with her canine creation. Once she was comfortable with somepony, Luna was always an absolute delight to be around. If only she wasn’t so awkward when trying to make her first impressions.

For whatever reason, Princess Luna always assumed everyone was terrified of her. Upon stepping into any room, she tripped over herself trying to assuage the presupposed fear she instilled in others while balancing her deep desire for friendship. The more time he spent with her, the clearer it became just how right Princess Celestia was about her ancient sister needing help to adjust to the modern world.

Fancy heard a glassy bark at his hooves and looked down to see the balloon dog had dropped the slag ball for him to toss. Feeling the heat from the molten glass, he forced a smile and picked up the toy in his magic. His levitation was quickly struck by a midnight aura, overpowering his spellwork.

“Again, you dwell too much upon what is and isn’t possible,” his dream teacher rebuked as she held the molten glass in front of his face. “We currently reside in the Dreamscape, where the only limit is your imagination. Focus on what it is you wish to do. There is no danger before you, so take the glowing ball in hoof and throw it.”

Fancy took a deep, calming breath. He closed his eyes and reached to take the “ball” for the “dog” to fetch. Realizing he wouldn’t be able to feel the toy with his eyes closed, he opened them back up to see it had been replaced by a red rubber ball. As he grabbed it, he saw a young golden retriever impatiently waiting for him to throw it as it jumped up and down trying to snag it out of his hoof.

“That is not quite what I meant,” Luna sighed in defeat. “How utterly vexing. I did not appreciate how much easier it was to train a child’s mind for abstract thought than that of an adult.”

“I’m sorry, Luna,” he said as he tossed the ball for the puppy. It jumped and caught the ball in the air and vanished in a puff of aetherial smoke. “Perhaps I’m simply too set in my ways for this.”

“It’s difficult, but not impossible. Unfortunately, time grows short and I soon must return to my other duties. I’m truly sorry, Fancy Pants. I hope you’re still willing to try despite the setbacks.”

“Of course, Luna. I might be a bad student, but—”

“You are not a bad student!” Luna corrected quickly before shrinking back from her own reprimand. “It is our failure as your teacher. We shall reconsider how to approach your training more effectively.”

“It’s quite alright. No need to beat yourself up about it. I’m nothing if not patient,” Fancy admitted proudly while puffing out his chest.

“Our—my apologies, Fancy Pants. Perhaps it is I who needs to relearn the value of said virtue. My sister was always the more patient of the two of us.”

“It is quite easy to put patience into practice during my ‘off hours.’ Looking at it another way, perhaps it’s a good thing that I’m a slow learner. I might never stop working if I get a handle on this dream magic of yours,” he noted with a laugh. Fancy’s smile faltered when Luna frowned deeply and strode up to him with the stern regality of her station.

“I truly hope that was said in jest, Fancy Pants. I do not impart this knowledge to worsen… I believe the modern vernacular is ‘work-a-holism.’” Luna rubbed her chin as she pondered the correctness of the odd word. “Regardless, the mind needs rest. Not just sleep, but leisure as well. My sister and I do not toil endlessly, and neither should any who live under our skies. There is value in appreciating the smell of roses. I simply wish to broaden your bouquet into a thriving garden.”

“Of course, Luna. I’ll be sure to ‘double my fun’ so to speak,” he promised with air quotes around the princess’ favored line.

“See that you do,” Luna sternly said as she dismissed the furnace with a flash of her magic. “Such lucid dreams are meant for levity, not labor.”

“Speaking of wordplay, your modern Equestrian practice seems to be paying off in spades, princess,” Fancy remarked, brightening the princess’ face with the compliment. “Usually, it’s referred to as ‘being a work-a-holic,’ but I suppose the ‘~ism’ form works just as well. Also, the common expression is ‘to stop and smell the roses’ for the idea of taking life at a more leisurely pace.”

“Intriguing. I was also unaware the humble gardening tool could be used for settling debts.” Luna summoned a quill and parchment to write it down. He made a mental note of his own to look into spades so he could correct the princess before she tried to swap shovels with somepony. “It’s always the subtleties of language that are the most difficult to grasp. Culture is always changing the language. I cannot fathom how my sister is able to keep pace enough to parse the words of those around her.”

“From my experience, your sister is not terribly quick on the uptake either, but I suppose it helps when some of the more timeless sayings are ones she came up with herself. If memory serves right, to ‘stop and smell the roses’ was one of hers.”

“That is… surprisingly eloquent for her. It seems that Celestia’s more poetic wordsmithing has improved somewhat over the years.” Luna whisked away her writing utensils in a flash of magic. “Tell me, do you know if she ever held Night Court during my absence?”

“I believe you said she knows better not to burn the candle at both ends. Well, the sun in her case. I don’t think she ever did. She holds Day Court when other matters aren’t taking up her time. Aside from the time of day, Is there a difference between the two?”

“There was, but now I’m no longer sure. The modern sense of royal courts seems to be an endless flow of petitioners. Back in the Everfree era, our courts were broader in scope. Perhaps the complexities of a larger society demanded delegation of matters to those with the time and talent to work them. Day Court dealt with education, agriculture, and politics of the day, while Night Court was for relaxing and appreciating creativity.”

Darkness descended upon the Dreamscape as the moon rose in the sky with stars sparkling to life. Pulling his eyes away from the heavens, a group of ponies were gathered under the soft moonlight in an open field. They danced and laughed around a large pyre to an ancient folk song played on a string instrument Fancy had never seen before. Luna was enjoying the night right along with them, not as their princess, but as an equal.

“After laboring under the sun, ponies would ply their art in my presence. Music, painting, storytelling, all trades were welcome to be presented for the pleasure of those attending my court. Everypony needs leisure, and it was my duty to ensure laughter was maintained after toiling during the day.”

“It sounds like quite a wonderful tradition,” Fancy affirmed with a smile.

“Indeed. It was once a most joyous occasion,” Luna beamed as she savored the wonderful nostalgia. Her happiness was fleeting as the rest of the memory took form. “However, like all things with ‘royalty,’ it became polluted by politics.”

The mirthful scene was wiped away by walls of ancient stone rising around them on all sides. Luna sat alone on a throne in the Everfree castle overlooking a lifeless gallery of fine art stretching from wall to wall while several pretentious nobles yelled at each other.

“Divisions grew among our little ponies as many began to… shun our night. The few who remained vied for my favor in a petty war of pompous paint brushes. They bore neither a love of art nor a desire for my company. They only wished that their vapid attempts to impress me would find favor with my sister to enrich their waking lives!”

Luna unleashed a powerful, jealous buck upon the castle walls, shattering their foundations and collapsing the castle. As the dust settled, they found themselves in the modern day castle ruins in the Everfree Forest. It took a moment for the princess to catch her flaring temper, and she lowered her head from the weight of old sorrow and shame. “Perhaps it is better that our court remains lost to the Silence.”

“Nonsense, princess. Just because there are various galleries and societies these days doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to restore it to its former glory. It may not be the same, but I know I’d enjoy attending your court.” Fancy laid a supportive hoof on Luna’s shoulder, causing the princess to look up at him with hope. “Besides, didn’t you hold one the night of the Festival of Flakes?”

Her relief was wiped away immediately by the question. The princess bit her lip as she looked around as if somepony else could catch them within Fancy’s Dreamscape. “W-we did, despite your gracious invitation,” Luna admitted as she refused to look anywhere near the stallion.

“Not to worry, Luna. I always leave an open invitation for royalty as more of a formality than anything. Princess Celestia rarely attends my parties considering her busy schedule, and your niece—” He stopped himself before revealing the newest Princess Cadance’s behavior. After their initial introduction through Celestia, the princess of love always seemed to give him a wide berth at any event they were both attending. “She was always busy as well.”

“T’was not our intention to reject your kindness. Verily, we wished to attend, but…” Luna trailed off and dropped her regal demeanor with a depressed sigh. “But our hooves grew cold that night. Instead, we pretended to hold Night Court and kept the doors open to eavesdrop on the festivities from afar. We were not prepared to hear from actual petitioners and we were caught completely unawares after that dreadful noise! In the chaos, we seemed to have ordered an early snowfall. It was not our intention to cut thy merriment short!”

“It was quite a deafening blast. I’m sure a guard must’ve simply misheard something,” Fancy explained, hoping Luna wouldn’t notice the white lie. “Besides, the ‘merriment’ was over after that accident. I for one think it was quite fortunate the snowfall came when it did.”

“We—I suppose you are right. Though, not all was lost that evening. Shortly after the disturbance, my ears were graced by a most wondrous piano solo. I was unable to thank the performer, but it was truly a work of art worthy of my Night Court.”

“Ah, yes. That lovely rendition of ‘A Stroll Through a Secret Garden’ played by Miss Scratch.” While Fancy had enjoyed the concert himself, the memory was marred by the thought of Vinyl’s painful cries at the bar. He hadn’t understood what she meant when the DJ said it had hurt to play, and the fact she wished it had hurt somepony else unsettled him.

“Vinyl Scratch?” Luna gaped awestruck. “You mean the record accounting DJ Pon-3 is a masterful pianist as well? That one never ceases to amaze me!” Luna clapped her hooves together excitedly, but stopped as she considered Fancy for a moment and smiled pleasantly. “A most joyous occasion. It seems you’re on your way to mending the relationship with her.”

“How did you know about that?”

“It is plain to see that you are no longer consumed with worry at the mere mention of her name. Know that I am thankful that she is surrounded by ponies who care about her, even if she cannot see it herself.”

“I think you give Vinyl too little credit. She seems to have taken a shine to Fluffer Duster recently.” He had seen her more around the estate, but he hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to her since that unfortunate time in the tunnel. “I am glad at least somepony can help her feel welcome at the estate more than I can.”

“As much as the young maid is able, yes. I’m sorry I cannot be of assistance in this endeavor. It falls to you and the others as I am powerless to help.”

Fancy cocked his head to the side. “Powerless to help with what exactly?”

“You mean you are unaware?” Luna tapped her chin and searched Fancy’s eyes before nodding. “Then I must trot carefully. I thought you knew more. At the moment, I would do more harm than good approaching Vinyl Scratch in her dreams. I am certain my presence would be a nightmare.”

Fancy suppressed a groan at Luna’s depreciation of herself. “I know you got off on the wrong hoof, but it was a simple misunderstanding. Would you like me to reintroduce you two so you can smooth things over?”

“Neigh, Fancy Pants. That is not the reason. However, I cannot clarify why until you discover the truth for yourself. As of now, there is nothing to be done for her here in this realm.”

“Are you sure? If she is truly in need of your guidance, then surely even disguising yourself would—”

“Silence!” Luna slammed a hoof and looked down upon him with royal authority. Her force of will demanded his attention, lest he be cast down from the mountain that was her sheer presence. “Unless you have suddenly become the Guardian of the Night, the dreams of others are private matters. You will inquire no further!”

“Understood, your high—Luna.” Fancy coughed into his hoof to regain his composure. “However, if somepony like you can’t help, I’m not sure what hope there is of me doing any good for her.”

Luna cocked a quizzical eyebrow at his plight. “Is it not your gift which glimpses into the unknown futures of others, Fateweaver?”

“Fateweaver? Pardon my boldness, Luna, but you must be mistaken. I have done absolutely none of this fate weaving business you claim I am capable of performing for Miss Scratch.”

“You truly believe that? Your actions on Hearth’s Warming Eve say otherwise.”
Fancy felt Luna’s gentle caress on his mind as the Dreamscape came to life. The stallion quickly sidestepped a vision of himself in an ugly sweater as it dashed past him and Luna. His dream self galloped through the snow-filled streets of Canterlot, racing towards a darkened apartment complex as fast as he could.

“Have you not already taken the first steps down this path?” Luna asked as she watched the other Fancy gallop around the Dreamscape. “There you were, charging headlong towards a lonely home to give its occupant a new purpose. You intervened on her behalf to show her another way. If you were not up to the task, you should not have interceded.”

“I told you before, my talents are completely different,” Fancy argued. “I see options before me and I choose the best one. Investments, negotiations, business opportunities. I was simply taking responsibility for what got her into this mess in the first place.”

“So, you attribute your actions to a mere sense of lingering responsibility.”

Luna lightly tapped her hoof on the ground, causing a shockwave of grass to grow and spread all around them. Familiar topiaries and trees sprung to life, forming Canterlot Castle’s gardens. Fancy admired the familiar serenity until he nearly tripped over a prone pony silently frozen in time who was covering her ears with a pained wince.

There was only one reason the high class mare would have such a reaction: the Vinyl Screech at the Festival of Flakes. He hadn’t been outside for it, but the endless complaints from his peers was enough to paint the picture. Surveying the rest of the party, everypony in sight was desperately shielding their ears from a deafening blast coming from the stage. Looking towards the source of the sound, DJ Pon-3 was reared up on her hind legs. The snapshot in time had captured Vinyl mid-scramble behind her sound system. The performer’s sunglasses had been knocked ajar in the mayhem, revealing the young mare’s absolute panic. He hated seeing her like that.

“Tell me, Fancy Pants. Why should you feel responsible for the DJ’s mistake? You were helping a fatigued waiter catch his breath at the time. Your actions have already proven yourself to be a most noble of nobles amid your peers. Why needlessly saddle yourself with such trivialities at all?”

“Because the Screech wasn’t her fault. I couldn’t just let her take the blame for Fleur’s mistake.”

A vision of a horrified Fleur de Lis appeared next to Vinyl. The taller unicorn was trying to focus long enough to lift the plate away with her magic while covering her ears.

“Any why not? Fleur was far closer to you than some random DJ.” Luna relit her horn as the party jumped forward in time to when the nobles glared bitterly at a helpless Vinyl with Upper Crust leading the charge. “Would it not be easier to turn your back and let a stranger take the blame?”

“No, I couldn’t just let it happen,” he murmured as Vinyl tripped over herself and fell backwards. Upper Crust and her friends drew closer, surrounding her on all sides. “It might be easier in the short term, but Vinyl is Fleur's best friend, a talented musician, and most importantly, a good pony. It wouldn’t be right.”

“Chivalry is such a tired, old institution. There are other, easier ways to remedy this situation without the DJ.” Another jolt of the Dreamscape pulled Fancy and Luna into a featureless, black room with Fleur and Vinyl. “So many talented musicians exist within the world, and even our best friends come and go.” Vinyl vanished and was replaced by a young, teal stallion with sunglasses and three stars on his flank. The stallion vanished and was replaced by Octavia Melody, then Lady Rarity, and finally by a vaguely familiar butter-colored pegasus with a pink mane. “Why not let other, less divisive ponies fit that mold?”

“But that’s not the point, Luna! Nopony else would’ve helped her!”

“Nopony you say? Such arrogance!” Luna sneered as a bolt of lighting arched around her, blinding Fancy. Two familiar ponies emerged from the flash’s wake, burning with matching anger at Fancy’s words. “Are you saying Éclair and Fleur are so feckless that they cannot help their beloved friend?”

Fancy tried to retreat, but found his back against a wall as the three mares surrounded him. “I wish I knew! For whatever reason, the girl was willing to lose everything rather than ask for their help. Vinyl clearly didn’t want anypony else to know her situation, so I tried to help her indirectly, even going as far to address the problem at its source. B-but I failed. I couldn’t simply let them get away with destroying her. What else was I supposed to do?”

The Princess of the Night loomed over Fancy, regarding him with an aloof glare as she halted the advance of the other two mares. “Indeed. I believe ‘what am I supposed to do’ was the question that crossed your mind that night.” A soft, understanding smile softened Luna’s face as she pointed her hoof behind Fancy. He craned his head over his shoulder and saw the vision of himself again panting for breath as he knocked on a door. He gathered himself and took several paces back, knowing he was one of the last ponies the mare behind the door would want to see on Hearth’s Warming Eve. “Instead of giving up on her, you instead chose the best way to help her in her time of need given the options presented to you, did you not, Kingmaker?”

Fancy took a moment to watch the memory play out. Luna released her grasp on his mind, allowing the stallion to recollect the scene by himself.

“Please, Miss Scratch. Vinyl. I know you won’t let me help you, so let me hire you instead. I promise you this is a legitimate offer, and there is nopony better suited for it than you.”

“Why?” Vinyl finally croaked behind a hitched breath.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

Her question pulled Fancy back outside of Upper Crust’s estate. He found himself dashing at full speed from the party as he stumbled clumsily through the snow, struggling to get his ugly sweater on in his haste. Though the mountain’s bitter chill was enough to freeze his winter-hardened hooves, he remembered his cutie mark burning with ideas as he galloped through the streets.

The Kingmaker’s concentration was split between recalling the apartments Vinyl mentioned living at over lunch while an idea was formulating in his mind. Moving while lost in thought usually proved hazardous to his health, but Vinyl was being crushed by an uncaring Canterlot elite. He couldn’t stand the thought of her suffering needlessly alone for a second more on Hearth’s Warming Eve of all days. He pressed onward as his focus was drawn away by his thoughts.

In his mind’s eye, Vinyl Scratch trotted into his parents' studio with a notebook in her magic. She was reviewing it carefully as she opened the door to a storage room he trusted nopony to walk into: the Summers-Suede Collection. Fancy had no idea why she was there until he caught sight of her notes. Among the hastily scrawled horn-writing was a list of records to archive.

The mare was working for him, but not as a maid like Éclair had begged him to do. It was that accursed archive that Steeplechase always kept harping on about. While Fancy never intended to let anypony enter that blasted vault, he was surprised by the lack of dread he felt with the mare’s presence. Perhaps with no reason to ask uncomfortable questions, she’d be uniquely respectful of his desire for privacy without having to be told exactly why. If nothing else, it’d help her afford a place to stay.

As he pondered the scene, the vision of Vinyl stopped her contemplation and shivered from the chill in the air. She darted out of the studio into the nearby guest room and grabbed her forgotten sweater off the bed. It’d be easier to simply give her somewhere to stay rather than finding an apartment during the holidays. It’d be a much better place to stay than that old—

His focus returned to the snowy streets of Canterlot just before he nearly galloped face-first into a tall mound of shoveled snow. Sliding on top of the icy streets, he managed to find purchase as he skidded to a halt. Looking around, he could see he was still on his way. His body was on the right path, but his mind was on the wrong train of thought. He refocused, allowing a memory to enter his mind.

The cold streets vanished, revealing Fleur standing next to him in his nice, toasty study. Looking towards the fireplace, he saw Vinyl laid out on the couch still recovering from Luna’s “remedy.” Fancy heard a grim chuckle in the back of his mind, but ignored it to dwell on the memory before him.

“Yeah!” Fleur remarked as he stumbled into the middle of a half-forgotten conversation. “Like, I dunno, and I'm just spitballing here, but maybe some fabulously wealthy pony could offer to pay your rent?” Fleur less-than-subtly winked and nudged his shoulder.

“No!” Vinyl spat back without missing a beat. Both Fancy and Fleur flinched from the mare's sudden defensiveness.

“C’mon, Vi. I was just joking. Besides, Pantsy isn’t like the other snobs around here.” Fancy rolled his eyes at recalling the playful jab from Fleur.

“I don’t owe anypony in this town anything, and I plan on keeping it that way.”

That was right. The proud mare was not about to let him offer her such a living arrangement freely. The only way he could was to give her a job, and the only job he could supply himself without rousing her suspicion would be archiving the Summers-Suede Collection. He didn’t particularly like the idea, but it would have to do.

Opening his eyes once more, instead of wandering the streets again, Fancy found himself face-to-face with an acutely irritated Upper Crust on the balcony of her home. It was the moment he felt his cutie mark begin clawing at the back of his mind after failing to smooth things over with the mare on Vinyl’s behalf.

“I suppose you’re right, Miss Upper Crust. I am in the minority on this one. Which means I should find a way to capitalize on the opportunity myself.”

And so he did. Without missing a beat, he left Upper Crust’s home with a half-formed thought burning at his side as he raced and his mind raced towards a young mare who deserved far more than what Canterlot was willing to give her for Hearth’s Warming.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” the memory of Vinyl asked once more, begging to know why he was wasting his time with somepony like her in the first place.

Fancy smiled kindly. He barely even needed a second to know the answer as he placed a supportive hoof on her shoulder.

“I already told you once before, Vinyl. You’re worth it.”

And with that, Fancy unknowingly started threading a new fate for Vinyl.

Fancy took a deep breath as the memory collapsed around him, revealing Princess Luna standing beside him in the empty Dreamscape. “I’ve made a terribly short-sighted mistake.”

“Do not curse your actions that night!” Luna commanded harshly before softening with a disappointed frown. “You have a good heart, Fancy Pants. Please, to bemoan your actions that evening cheapens the kindness you bear for others.”

“You must understand, Luna. As they say in Minossos, ‘the road to Hades is paved with good intentions.' I just wanted to help her in any way I could, but this… I’ve completely overstepped my bounds. How am I supposed to do this fate weaving nonsense when she has no reason to trust me in the first place?”

“When she cannot trust your good intentions, you must trust them for her. If they are genuine, you need only to let harmony guide your steps. Remain loyal to the path before you. Be honest and generous with her, especially when she cannot understand. Share laughter when darkness threatens to overwhelm. And above all, show her unconditional kindness so that the true magic of friendship may reveal another way for her life to proceed.”

Fancy chuckled with uncomfortable fear rising in his stomach. “You make it sound like I am some sort of hero.”

“Neigh, Fancy Pants. As I said once before, soothsayers are rarely the heroes of stories. It will be up to Vinyl Scratch to determine how your role will ultimately be played within her story.” Luna’s ears flicked at a crackle heard in the distance. “I believe it’s time for me to depart.” At once, she flared her wings and prepared to fly away.

“Luna, this isn’t a shaky business proposal or some controversial treaty that can be renegotiated later. We are talking about somepony’s life! I cannot in good conscious force her to do anything.”

“Correct. The burden of choice lies with her, but that doesn’t mean you refuse to extend your hoof. Continue to serve as a guiding light, Fateweaver.” Luna strode up to Fancy and placed her horn against his as she wrapped him into a hug with her wings. The coolness of her wings and her calming presence in the face of the growing foreboding within himself. “Still your heart and be at peace, Fancy Pants. Do not be afraid. Just as she is not alone, neither are you.”

The princess’ eyes flared open, shining a brilliant silver as she seemed to glimpse into Fancy’s soul. “While I cannot tell you what you don’t know, perhaps I can clarify that which you already do.”

In a spark of starlight, the princess vanished, leaving Fancy suspended in an endlessly dark void. As the infinite blackness overtook his senses, he began to fall. He tried screaming, but his voice failed in the emptiness of space. One by one, stars streaked by, growing more numerous as he fell faster and faster. The loss of control was as beautiful as it was horrifying with the countless wonders of space speeding past him during his descent into nothingness. Within the spectacle, he heard the soft words of the lunar princess echo in his mind.

There is no damsel in distress, only a tower closely guarded.
Gifts given freely arouse suspicions of honeyed words hiding poison.
Clearer vision is needed for reflection, but old fears cloud her eyes.
Despair, unrelenting, shrouds her worth from behind the mirror.

More and more stars coalesced around him, chasing away the blackness of space by plunging the world into a brilliant, terrifying white. Then, everything shattered.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 20: Troubles Over Hot Chocolaty

Fancy shot out of bed as he crashed back into reality. Dream sessions with Luna were usually on the strange side, but he’d never had one end so abruptly. A cold sweat ran down his face as he looked towards the clock. With the urgency the princess had departed, he figured it should’ve been almost daylight, but it was only a little past one in the morning. No matter the reason, he was wide awake now.

The last thing the stallion needed was to have a bout of insomnia. He sighed as he rolled out of his warm bed. Times like these called for an emergency hot cup of sleepy tea to savor before going back to bed. Quickly throwing on his robe for some much needed warmth and taking a candlestick holder in his magic, he snuck out into the darkened hallways and began a quiet walk to the kitchen.

His careful hoof-falls clip-clopped along the cold marble floors, each step punctuating the back and forth debate between jasmine and chamomile tea in his mind. The polished wall trim glistened in the moonlight shining through the windows, serving as guidelines through the lonely corridors. Both walls were brimming with priceless keepsakes from his parents and beautiful mementos from his years of service to Princess Celestia. Each piece in his collection was spaced appropriately for him to string together stories ranging from childhood memories to travels in faraway lands. They had always served him well when entertaining company.

Of course, company rarely came around these days. With the arrival of a new princess, hosting at his home had fallen out of favor in lieu of booking the Canterlot Castle gardens. After seeing the ancient memories of Night Court, Fancy hoped they were interested in meeting Princess Luna rather than trying to curry favor with her elder sister. The princess deserved every chance to make real friends who would appreciate her as just Luna.

Fancy passed door after door on his lonely trek to the kitchen. It’d been so long since many of the rooms had been properly utilized, if ever. While the estate wasn’t as sprawling as some of his more lavish peers’, the space still felt wasted on him. The Suede Shoes Estate was designed for spectacles and soirées, hosting hundreds of guests at a time from all over the world. Without that, it felt senselessly huge. The halls might as well be stripped bare to make it easier for the cleaning staff.

Fancy rounded the last corner and blinked from an unexpected light. Drawing closer, he was surprised to find his destination already illuminated. There was a frantic clamor of drawers being open and shut. Peering carefully inside, he was met with a visibly frustrated Vinyl Scratch scanning the upper shelves.

“Okay. Think, Vinyl, think. If I was a stupid white mug, where would I be hiding?”

“If you’re referring to the plain white guest ceramics, I’m afraid your sights are set a little too high. Those are kept under the middle island here.” Fancy pulled open a cabinet door under the center countertop, revealing an army of plain, white dishware.

“Fancy Pants!” There was a loud pop of magic as Vinyl slammed the other drawers close. “What are you doing up so late? I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

“I’d be impressed if you had. After a rather vivid dream, I’ve found myself in the mood for something warm and relaxing to get me back to sleep.” Fancy opened his drawer containing instant teas. While they weren’t nearly as good as a freshly brewed pot, making anything larger this late would be a waste. He looked down the rows of neatly organized tea bags and stumbled upon a line of large, unfamiliar white packages. “I assume this ‘Swish Mix’ is yours?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s the stuff I bought. Why is it with your teas?”

“This isn’t my tea, Vinyl. Anypony is more than welcome to enjoy a cup of anything they’d like in this drawer.” Fancy turned the humble white package around in his magic to read the opposite side. “Would you prefer I remove it from here?”

“No, it’s fine. Swish Mix is far from the greatest thing in the world, but it kills a sweet craving on a budget,” Vinyl clarified with a passive shrug. “Cheapest instant hot cocoa I’ve found that still tastes enough like real chocolate to me.”

“Real enough is probably the best one can hope for with how many industry buzzwords are plastered on the packaging.” Fancy skimmed the hodgepodge of strange ingredients inside and chuckled. “I suppose this is why you were looking for a mug?”

“What? Oh! Y-yeah!” Vinyl replied, looking away while scratching the back of her head with a hoof. “I wanted to make myself another cup.”

Fancy raised a brow and studied the mare. She was hiding something, but that wasn’t out of the norm for her since she moved in. The DJ always acted so anxious around him, and knowing her reasons, he couldn’t blame her either. He might’ve found her messy politeness endearing if it wasn’t motivated by fear. She was just so terrible at lying, it made the brief flashes of the actual mare hiding underneath all the more obvious. He wished he could talk to the real Vinyl more. Luna had told him to trust his good intentions. Considering the chance meeting, he decided that a little beverage diplomacy couldn’t hurt.

“I must say, while I was leaning more towards jasmine, I’ve suddenly found myself intrigued by this Swishbuckle fellow’s ‘classic chocolaty recipe, now made with real marshmallows.’ I wasn’t even aware there were fake ones.” Fancy lifted a second pack out of the drawer and turned to Vinyl. “Would you mind if I brewed myself a cup as well?”

Vinyl blinked in a mix of nervousness and horror. “N-no? I mean, I don’t mind if you do, but it’s not exactly a cup of tea.”

“You’re quite right about that. I’m usually not one for such sugary sweetness, but this can’t be any worse than vanilla and molten glass ice cream.”

The mare mouthed ‘molten glass’ in absolute confusion before shaking the thought out of her head. “That’s kind of a weirdly specific low bar. Don’t you have tons of better things in there that you could drink?”

“I most certainly would agree before giving it a shot if we were to use hot water per the instructions. Who ever heard of watery hot chocolaty?” He laughed as he trotted over to the refrigerator. Opening it with his magic, he took out a carton of milk and gave it a sniff. “You must never be afraid to try new things, lest you risk missing something truly worthwhile. Besides, this is nothing that a little whole milk and a bit of peppermint couldn’t salvage.”

Vinyl’s eyes bugged as he began preparing the mix. She lifted a hoof to try to stop him. “You don’t have to do that! I can make it myself.”

“Nonsense, Vinyl. It would be my pleasure to serve you. It’s Sunday night—well, Monday morning now, I suppose, which means you just got home from work, right? How was your night at Cantrips?”

“Fine, I hope. I don’t know. I actually asked another DJ to cover my shift so I could get some work done before heading to the audio lab tomorrow.”

“It would seem the latter part of your plan isn’t going too well. I’m sure a little warmth before bed will help lull you to sleep in no time. From what I understand, you’ve been a little… absorbed by the collection these past few days. I know Fleur will be happy to see you again.”

“I went to the ESPA a couple of times, but yeah. It’s been Sauna Summers all day and night for me.”

“I see,” he said with a sigh while measuring out some milk to heat on the stovetop. “While I appreciate your diligence, part of our arrangement was that it wouldn’t interfere with living your life: school or work.”

Again, the mare seemed to struggle with Fancy’s words. “Really? I mean, I know you said that, but wouldn’t you rather I get it done faster so I’d get out of your mane sooner?”

“You’re not in my mane at all, Vinyl. Quite the opposite, actually. I think it’s quite nice having you here.”

“Nice? Me?”

“Yes. You.” Observing the mare’s perplexity, he was starting to draw parallels between Vinyl and Luna’s behavior, and they were not good ones. “Surprised? You really shouldn’t be. It has been quite a long time since this place has been so lively.”

“But all I do is work in the studio and sleep. I only come out for dinner.”

“Then it just goes to show you how incredibly dull it was around here before your arrival. That being said, I don’t mind if you want to explore the estate a bit. Frankly, I’ve been worried that you’re overworking yourself. Far be it from me to interrupt your flow, but please do come out from time to time for a little company.”

Fancy tore open the first packet and glanced inside. The classic recipe amounted to a chalky brown powder with tiny, white cylinders he assumed were the smallest marshmallows known to pony-kind. He gave the packages a cursory smell, suppressing a gag at the overtly milky sweetness of the contents as he emptied it into the mugs. He hoped the peppermint was extra strong while he trotted to the pantry.

“Speaking of your workflow, it has come to my attention you’ve been working on something else,” Fancy remarked. “Whatever it is, Miss Duster seems fairly excited by it.”

“Oh, that? It’s nothing. Just working on something for an ESPA thing that’s coming up.”

“Ah, that’s right. The Performer Showcases are right around the corner, aren’t they? I haven’t attended one of those in ages. If it’s something made for that, I can see why Miss Duster has taken a shine to cleaning near the studio recently.”

“I’m not distracting Fluffs from work, am I?” Vinyl asked with worry.

The nickname brought a small smile to Fancy’s face as he rooted around the walk-in pantry. “If you are, it’s quite the welcome one. Not only is it good to know the old studio is being put to some proper use, but I am glad you seem to be enjoying each other’s company. I fear the young maid doesn’t get out as much as I’d like her to, so it’s nice to know somepony her age is around.”

Fancy rubbed his chin trying to recall where Dapper kept the Hearth’s Warming candy in the pantry. They were supposed to be with the dinner mints. Unless Fluffer Duster had been dipping into them more than he realized, they’d still have some left. Looking up, Fancy pulled down a suspicious, open cardboard box from the top shelf. Hidden inside was what little remained of the holiday treats. He chuckled as he considered how it sat at a prime pegasus pilfering height. No wonder the young maid always smelled so minty when she delivered his afternoon tea.

“Really?” Vinyl asked while tilting her head to see what Fancy was rummaging for in the pantry. “I mean, I thought she just looked young. She’s so professional whenever she’s working.”

“She can come across that way just as long as you don’t throw her off her gait,” Fancy answered as he withdrew a pair of peppermint candy canes from the box. “However, unless I’ve forgotten her birthday, I believe Miss Duster is still seventeen.”

“Seventeen? But she sounded so mature when she…” Vinyl trailed with a flustered sigh. “Never mind. I guess being around Fleur so much has thrown me off a bit.”

“You’re not Fleur’s only victim. That crazy mare tends to throw a rather large wrench into everypony’s perception of reality, but I don’t love her any less despite the headaches her actions usually lead to.” Fancy crushed the curved ends of the canes and deposited them into the cups before adding the warm milk. “I’m just glad she has a friend like you to keep her grounded.”

“I’m sure there are plenty of other ponies that could do the same thing.”

“You’re probably right about that,” he agreed as he stirred both drinks with the peppermint sticks before passing one of the finished cups to a bewildered Vinyl Scratch. “What? Were you expecting me to disagree?”

The DJ shook her head to refocus and looked down at the drink in her hoof. “Umm, yeah? I guess I did.” She moved it with her magic and had a seat on a nearby stool at a small table.

Fancy joined her while maintaining a comfortable distance. He took a sip of the chocolaty concoction and, much like the speed of its preparation, instantly regretted it. “Fleur deserves as many friends as she wants to make, just as you do, Vinyl. I’m sure there are others who are capable of keeping up with her antics in their own ways, but that doesn’t make me any less thankful that you are her best friend. She’s always spoken so highly of you.”

“Well, I hope she didn’t oversell it.”

“Not at all. If anything has been deceptively marketed, it’s this poor excuse for cocoa. The gall of this pegasus!” While it was certainly better than molten glass, his petty side felt the urge to double check his investment portfolio to make sure nothing of his was connected to the weaponized sweetness in his hooves. “Its sweet assault on my senses reminds me of my mother’s favorite soda. No matter how many times I tried it, I never tasted a single strawberry amid the sugary onslaught. Still, Mother loved that Sunkissed enamel destroyer all the same.”

“No way!” Vinyl exclaimed with a happy tail swish. “Summers liked Sunkissed strawberry soda? I like their peach flavor.”

“At least that one has the decency to taste somewhat like a peach—don’t tell Steeplechase I said that. I’d sooner call their supposed strawberry flavor ‘red,' but for whatever reason, that flavor already exists and is somehow even worse!”

“I dunno. Red’s okay in my book,” she said, taking the first taste of her drink. At least she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the cocoa’s sweetness if the DJ’s smiling face was any indication. “It tastes a little like an energy drink without an ionized sapphire kick.”

“Ionized sapphire? Like one of those crystalline batteries? Exactly how do you know what one tastes like?”

Vinyl’s eyes widened, realizing she was oversharing. She rubbed the sides of the mug as if trying to divine an answer from the milky brown liquid. “Umm, too much party salt with too few sober ponies to stop me?”

“Ah, to be young and foolish again.” Fancy laughed and took another cautious taste.

“What do you mean? Thirty-six isn’t that old. I’d expect Dapper to say something like that.”

Fancy quirked an eyebrow at Vinyl knowing exactly how old he was, but decided it didn’t matter much in the end since she was finally opening up. “I suppose you’re right. I haven’t quite earned his sagely status, yet. Still, I know my best years are behind me. Once the big four-zero rolls around, it’s probably all downhill for this stallion.” While he said it as a joke, he couldn’t help but feel a slight melancholy settle as he looked towards the fast-approaching future. In a few short years, he’d be older than his mother when she passed away.

“Geez, you make it sound like you already have one hoof in the grave,” Vinyl complained under her breath. For a moment, she appeared to be having an internal debate, but before he could ask, she took a quick swig of cocoa for strength before addressing Fancy. “One of the newest DJs at Cantrips is a guy named Spindoctor. He’s actually a 49-year-old pediatrician at Canterlot General. He sometimes weirds ponies out since some of them were his patients growing up, but he’s really good at making his own tracks. It’s probably pretty dumb to go between medicine and DJing. He gets tired pretty quick and he misses a lot of nights during flu season, but he likes it. I know I still wanna be pretty stupid when I’m that old.”

“Really now? If that’s the case, perhaps it’s not too late to make an utter fool of myself from time to time,” Fancy thought aloud with a growing grin. Dapper always said the young kept him young at heart. If Vinyl’s zest for living to the fullest was that infectious, perhaps there was something to it. “I think I’ll have to talk to Fleur later about her appraisal skills. She clearly undersold you, my dear.”

Vinyl frowned and shrank down at his praise. “And there’s the cliché I expected earlier.”

“Just because it’s a platitude doesn’t mean it’s untrue. You’re intelligent, creative, respectful—”

“‘Respectful?’ What the hay did you put in this to make you think I’m anywhere near respectful?” Vinyl asked as she gave a cautionary sniff of her drink.

“Peppermint and milk, though they didn’t seem to help much,” he observed after forcing another tepid sip. “Perhaps there is a reason the instructions call for water after all. But more on topic, you may be a bit rough around the edges as it were, but whenever it’s counted, you’ve always shown a great deal of respect towards others. Unfortunately, that’s more than I can say about Fleur or this ‘Swish Mix’ swill.”

“Oh, please. The only time you’ve seen me work was at that bake sale. Of course I’d be ‘respectful’ doing a service job,” the mare replied with a generous application of hoof-quotes.

“You say that, but I’ve run into my fair share of disgruntled grocery clerks who wouldn’t know hospitality if it bit them on the flank. When I say that you did a remarkable job, I meant it. Not everypony can put on a maid’s dress and jump into the thick of things, but you did and performed beyond my expectations. You even worked silently because you were worried about upsetting the noble clientele if they recognized your voice from the festival.”

“H-how the hay did you know?” Vinyl stammered in shock.

“Well, I didn’t know for sure until just now,” Fancy confirmed with smug satisfaction at catching the DJ off guard. With a groan, she drowned her scowling muzzle in chocolaty sweetness. “Éclair mentioned the silent treatment you were giving the customers, and seeing some of the ponies in line, I put it together pretty easily. It was quite thoughtful of you, though completely unnecessary.”

Vinyl’s bitterness gave way to anxiety as she lowered her drink to the table. “No. That sale is important to them. I… I didn’t want to risk ruining it because I was there.”

“Now, that’s no way to think about a job well done. You know that stubborn Prenchmare would sooner kick their flanks out of her bakery than let them say a single disparaging thing about you,” Fancy assured the younger unicorn. He risked leaning a little closer to Vinyl to ensure she heard him clearly.

“Éclair loves you, Vinyl—” The mare flinched with a grimace and looked away. The sudden reaction caused Fancy to back up slightly in concern before continuing after clearing his throat. “—so much so that she was worried about your sudden interest in working at de Lune and asked for my help.”

Vinyl’s ear flicked up and swiveled towards Fancy. “Wait. You said she asked you.”

“Yes?”

“So… so that’s it?” She slowly turned to face Fancy with an unsettling smile splitting her face. “That’s it! That’s the reason!”

“The reason for what, if I may ask?”

“Éclair asked you to help me!”

Fancy tilted his head. “Indeed she did. Éclair asked for my assistance in finding you a more suitable position for your talents than Pâte de Lune, but I don’t see why her—”

“Finally! I finally figured you out!” the DJ bellowed a caustic laugh. “That was your angle all along, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it?” Vinyl confidently said as she pointed an unsteady hoof at him. “You just wanted to use me to make her happy, didn’t you? Didn’t you?”

Fancy recoiled from the mare’s harsh accusation. The worried joy in her eyes seemed just as happy as they were hurt by her own conclusion. “Vinyl Scratch! I’m not using you for any reason! While I cannot in good faith argue that her request wasn’t a factor—certainly networking is helpful in such decisions—do you really think I would only hire you for leverage over somepony else?”

“But, but…” Vinyl’s features sank in shock of her own. She began to rapidly tap the table with her hooves and frantically searched back and forth for answers. “But then everything would actually make sense! Why else would I be here if not to make those two happy?”

“Have you not been paying attention at all? I think you are an exemplary pony, Miss Vinyl Scratch.”

“No! You’re just saying that to try to make me feel better, but I’ve heard it all before.” The mare crossed her legs, but he wasn’t sure if it was more in anger or self-defense. “It’s not going to work.”

“I may just be saying things, but I also mean them. I told you before, I always choose the best of the best.”

“The best, huh? The best at what? I haven’t done anything!”

“Now that can’t be right,” the stallion mock-pondered as he looked up in thought. “Then why is it that your name keeps coming up in conversation with ponies whom I have the utmost respect for?” he asked with a warm smile.

Vinyl rolled her eyes and leaned her head on her foreleg, swiping the claim aside with her other free hoof. “Oh, yeah I bet. What else did Fleur and Éclair say about me?”

“Nothing but the best, I assure you. Though, it’s not just them. There’s, of course, Dapper Dandy and Fluffer Duster, whom I’ve mentioned before. Then there are the ponies of the ESPA and CSGU, along with Mister Arpeggio and his daughter and son-in-law. Those last three sent glowing recommendations for your research before I had even connected your real name with this DJ Pon-3 character my peers were always hiring for their events.”

“So, a couple ponies on your payroll, two alphabet soups that I pay dues to put up with me, the merry Melody’s, and some nobles who are never going to hire me again. Who cares?”

“A couple of others spring to mind,” Fancy mentioned as he thought about Athena and Luna, but the mare staring into her drink didn’t need hearsay from him. “Perhaps I should introduce them to you someday. I know at least one of them purchased a record of yours on the Drive.”

Even though she wasn’t wearing them, Vinyl dipped her head as if she was glaring over the rim of her shades. “You expect me to believe that one of your friends bought my Cantrips LP?”

“Indeed I do. I’ve recently discovered she is a bit of a connoisseur of various arts. She’s heard a few of your performances, but I’m afraid she’s a bit shy in her own way and tends to start off on the wrong hoof. Perhaps I could introduce you to her and her friend sometime, that is if you don’t mind some Minoan food.”

“Minoan? Where have I heard that word…” Vinyl trailed as she tried to remember its meaning. Her eyes shot open when she connected the dots. “Wait, they’re minotaurs?”

“Well, one of them is. The other is a pony that could use a few more friends. Friends like you,” he added with a quick poke of his hoof. “I think if you got to know them, you’d find them to be as charming as I do.”

“I don’t really make a habit of getting to know… fans.”

“Understandable, though I believe ‘fan’ would be a bit too strong of a word here. Besides, you may recall that I’m the son of two very famous performers. I learned very early on not to introduce performers to their fans without a very good reason. I wouldn’t be mentioning them if I thought of them as being overwhelmed by your star power,” Fancy joked, eliciting another groan from the famous DJ Pon-3. “Plus, the pony in question has got a little something going on as well.”

“Really? What does she do?”

“Oh? Curious are we now?” Fancy asked with a knowing grin.

Vinyl shot a glare and crossed her forelegs. “You know what? Forget I asked.”

“Now, now, I’m just pulling your leg a bit, Vinyl,” Fancy said with a cheesy smile, causing the DJ to roll her eyes before she could remember who she was talking to. Fancy was more than glad to be seeing this much of the real mare again. “But to answer your question, I suppose the best way to put it is that she's trying her best at a lot of things. She’s a bit of a newcomer to Canterlot, and you know as well as I do that it can be rather overwhelming for anypony not used to the flow. I firmly believe she has a lot to share with everypony though, and I’m sure once she finds her gait, she’ll thrive.”

“Well, what about Fleur?”

“What about her?” Fancy asked.

“If this mystery pony of yours needs friends, why not introduce Fleur to her? She’s much better than me. I mean, Fleur’s way more outgoing than I am. I’m really only good with music,” the DJ quickly amended after seeing Fancy’s smile falter.

Fancy felt a pit in his stomach, but decided to let the mare’s accidental admission slide for now. “I’ve considered it, but I think you two would click a bit better after getting to know each other. Of course, it’s up to you.”

“Is that a ‘Kingmaker call?’”

Fancy laughed lightly at the sudden terminology. “Not at all. I don’t need to read the tea leaves for every decision, Vinyl. Despite what you may have heard from Fleur, I can follow a hunch. Though if I’m honest, it’s less about you and more about that troublemaker being her usual self, or rather not herself, around others.”

“I guess that’s true. Knowing who you hang out with, I guess she’d pull out Lady Faire.”

“I don’t think she would be her go-to, but I can imagine her opening with an off-color impression or two,” Fancy admitted with trepidation. While he was sure Luna wouldn’t mind her voicework, he didn’t need Fleur doing any royal impressions in front of her highness. He had barely kept the silly filly at bay during the Moondance. Luna unexpectedly talking to herself would bring about some rather unfortunate questions about the first snowfall’s strange timing at the Festival of Flakes.

“Really? She doesn’t usually try to offend anypony right off the bat unless they’ve really rubbed her the wrong way.”

“I think in this case, she’d find it hard to resist. You know how the mare with a million voices can be. Perhaps if you met my friend, you’d agree.”

Vinyl cupped her mug with her hooves and looked at the marshmallows still bobbing around the edges. “I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all I would ask, Vinyl, but it is ultimately up to you. I know how busy you are with everything.” Fancy glanced down at his own drink that still contained three whole, unmelted marshmallows bunched up near the rim. He began questioning their supposed “realness” considering proper ones would’ve dissolved by now, but they did give him an idea. “Actually, rather than bringing you to them, perhaps I could take them to your showcase night with Fleur. Would you mind terribly if I attended your portion of the concert with a couple of my friends?”

Vinyl furrowed her brow and shook her head in disbelief. “Why are you asking me? Aren’t you a big donor to the Society anyway?”

“Simply because I wanted to. I know you don’t exactly like me, so—”

“Wait-wait-wait, what?” Vinyl balked at Fancy’s admission as a thread of panic shot through her. “Do you think I hate you or something?”

Fancy’s balance was completely thrown by the sheer candidness of the question. “Well, I wouldn’t word it quite so strongly. Regardless, I’d still rather have your permission. Not only because I want to introduce you to my friends, but I’d rather respect your wishes rather than go against them.”

“You—you still wanted me to live and work here? Even though you thought I hated you?” she asked, still hung up on his admission.

“First off, I feel like I must mention again that ‘hate’ was your word. And yes, I suppose I did. But as you accurately stated before, I hold quite a lot of undue influence over your life right now. I want you to feel welcome, but I can’t do that if you feel forced into everything. So, I’m asking you. You have the power to turn me away; no strings attached, no questions asked, no hard feelings. I promise. You should never feel trapped, Vinyl. You always have a choice.”

For the first time without her sunglasses on, Vinyl’s face became unreadable. The older unicorn was tempted to assume she’d say no and leave it at that, but that wouldn’t be allowing her to choose. After a moment of her studying his face, she nodded dumbly. “Sure. You can come…?”

After giving her a moment to change her mind, he smiled widely. “Brilliant! I look forward to hearing what you’ve come up with. On that note, while I’ve enjoyed our chat more than the drink, I can imagine that you need to head to bed if you want to be in any condition to work under Arpeggio tomorrow.”

“Oh, yeah. Right.”

“Something on your mind?” the stallion inquired, causing her to stiffen as she stood up with her mug held firmly in her magic.

“I-it’s nothing,” Vinyl blatantly lied with another glance towards another part of the room. “Thanks for the cocoa, Fancy,” she added quickly as she trotted out of the room.

“Think nothing of it. And thank you for the conversation, Vinyl. Really.”

Vinyl stopped and looked back at his earnest smile. A flash of worry and confusion crossed her face as if she wanted to ask him something, but she bit back her words each time. She glanced down the hallway towards her room and then back to Fancy. “You’re welcome,” she mumbled as if she was trying to convince herself of his gratitude.

Fancy waited for the sound of her hooves to fade away before turning his attention to the dirty countertops. He flicked on a faucet and wet a rag to wipe down the island as he turned his hooves towards the sink.

“‘Tower’ she says,” the stallion complained under his breath while scrubbing his mug with a sponge. “With all due respect, your highness, I believe the word you are looking for is ‘citadel.’”

Shaking the water from his hooves, Fancy scooped up the empty Swish Mix packets and continued to wipe down the mess while reflecting on his unexpected encounter with the DJ. The thought of fate weaving plagued him. He wondered if he was helping the girl at all. Vinyl still trotted on eggshells around him anytime she remembered who she was talking to. To be fair, he’d been doing much the same in avoiding dwelling on the troubling things she said about herself.

At the very least, the endeavor had exhausted him enough to counteract his sudden bout of wakefulness along with any sugar high he’d feel from his midnight drink. He’d be sure to make some jasmine to wash Swish’s swill out of his mouth for good measure. Flipping open the trash can to throw the empty packets away, he noticed a curious sight at the bottom: shards of ceramic, suspiciously similar to the guest mugs they had just used for their drinks. A mug that Vinyl had been searching for specifically when he had found her in the room, or rather, caught her in the act.

With a light chuckle, Fancy began looking for a pencil and paper.

After giving Fancy five minutes to get back to his room, Vinyl snuck back into the kitchen and flicked the lights on. Part of her was still reeling in bewilderment. What had just happened? All she was trying to do was find a similar mug to use as a base for fixing the one she broke in frustration. How had it ended up with Fancy asking her permission to attend an event he was practically paying for with his donations?

You always have a choice.

She shook the distracting thoughts out of her head to refocus on her goal. Vinyl was glad he had fallen for the ghost sound spell as the DJ approached the trash can. After being startled by Fancy, the DJ had barely managed to zap the broken cup shards into it before he saw them. At least, she hoped she had. Most of the higher level unicorn spells were beyond her abilities, but she felt pretty confident about her hastily casted teleport. If her luck held out, she’d have ceramic shards to build from instead of a useless lump of magical goo.

The DJ reached for the lid, but heard the ruffling of paper. On top of the lid sat a simple note torn from a restaurant order pad, folded in half, and addressed to her. Biting her lip, she opened it to see what was inside.

Dear Miss Vinyl Scratch,

Unlike you and your sleep schedule,
a cheap mug is easily replaced.
Now, go to bed.

Sincerely,
- Fancy Pants

Vinyl quickly crumpled the note and looked around, hoping the clever stallion hadn’t come back to catch her red-hooved. Hearing nothing, she decided attempting a couple of repair spells wouldn’t take too long before going to bed. She opened the trash can, only to find two discarded packs of Swish Mix along with another folded note and no sign of the broken mug. Wincing at the second paper, she took it in her magic and slowly opened it.

Dear Miss Vinyl Scratch,

Your tenacity is one of your admirable
qualities that I failed to mention during
our chat. In spite of what I said earlier,
I’m afraid I’m giving you little choice in
this particular matter.

Go to Bed. Now.

Sincerely,
- Fancy Pants

P.S. I’ve taken the liberty of extracting the
broken pieces from the trash myself.
Pleasant dreams.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 21: Friends Like These

Filling cracks here, smoothing edges there, and finally performing one last scan to ensure the latticework’s stability: these were all part of Vinyl’s standard sigil inscription procedure. It would be more than a little excessive by most others in the field, but dealing with unstable runes for over the past few years had made her meticulous attention to detail routine. The last thing she needed was to blow something up again.

Despite its chaotic namesake, working with cacophony magic using Cacophony’s principles was all about patience and precision. The musical magister was bent on proving his principle theory on the nature of music: sound and magic were intrinsically linked, and music, without or within, both were an expression of the soul exuded by all harmonious beings. While he’d never proven his ideas unequivocally, his theoretical applications worked well enough in practice. It was successful enough that the ever-humble stallion named the subfield of magic after himself.

Back in his day, Equestria was skirmishing with a rampage of rogue dragons, and his unabridged primer reflected it. The tone of the tome constantly shifted between harmony and entropy. In one chapter, Cacophony would introduce the theory of “Spontaneous Harmonic Surges” to explain the occasional, infectious, unplanned songs ponies broke into from time to time. In the next, he would discuss practical applications of reverberation wards to dampen the effects of dragon roars. Just like his magic, there was always a thread of organized chaos underlying his notes turned into writing.

For two young troublemakers, his proposed sound blaster weapon inspired them to build their “Prototype SchlurrVivyl Bass Cannon Mark I”. They hadn’t gotten very far into testing it before they were caught, but the skill behind their thwarted prank caught the attention of Arpeggio Melody. Seeing the fillies’ potential, he took the two under his tutelage to continue their studies as postgraduate research students. These days, Fleur applied the more harmonious side of Cacophony’s spellwork by trying to magically augment her impressive vocal range, while Vinyl worked on untangling the entropic nature of Cacophony’s more impractical runes.

The cacophony rune’s ability to absorb incredible amounts of magic was what had caught the DJ’s attention in the first place. An odd quirk of his rune was its ability to stack upon itself for a multiplicative effect. Equipment enchanted with several cacophony runes reportedly withstood roars and direct dragonfire by absorbing a terrifying amount of pure magic, but they would overload shortly afterward and unleash their payloads in one devastating magical explosion—a cautionary tale for some, but an amazing opportunity for the DJ. If Vinyl could figure out how to safely store and channel the amazing storage capacity, there was no telling what the limits of such a magical device would be. No more doubling up on equipment or lugging bulky crystals around. Everything could run using a single stabilized cacophony crystal nexus.

Maybe then, she could figure out how to actually perform her idea for the ESPA Performer Showcases without melting her brain.

“That’s it. I’ve got nothing.” Fleur flumped over her desk with a whiny moan. “I’m throwing in the towel. Taking the ‘L’ on this one.”

And apparently her voice actress friend was stuck in the same boat as well.

“Alright, Fleur. I know we agreed to do every showcase together, but if it’s just too much to manage—”

“Don’t go all guilt-trippy on me, Vy.” Fleur leaned back and craned her head to look at Vinyl upside down. At least the eye contact could pass itself off as polite conversation. “How about instead, we both just skip out together?”

“What, and lose my last grant? Unlike you, I have to do this.”

“Fine. Maybe my big showstopper will sound so sick that they’ll drag me off stage before I completely bomb up there,” Fleur spat with enough bitterness to make black coffee blush.

“Oh, please. You’re being dramatic.”

“Of course I’m being dramatic!” Fleur popped up from her seat in exaggerated indignation, mocking a fainting spell with a hoof to her head. “I’ve been slaving away, all day, every day, trying to come up with something! Without my best friend here to help in my time of need! Why, it is all I have left… le drame!”

Though Fleur was playing it off, Vinyl felt the sting of the truth behind her friend’s words. “Alright, I’m sorry, okay? Last week wasn’t exactly great for me either.”

At once, Fleur dropped the overacting and looked at Vinyl in concern. “Sorry, I didn’t mean… Pantsy isn’t running you through the wringer with that collection, is he?”

“Not really,” Vinyl remarked as she thought about the past hoof-full of days. “Actually, not at all. I barely see him outside of dinner.”

“What? You mean that no-good idiot is just ignoring you while you’re struggling under a mountain of records all by yourself? I thought at least Dandy or Dusty would treat my best friend right!”

“N-no! They’ve all been great, really.” Vinyl waved her hooves, trying to deflect the accusation and find her words. She did not want to talk about her breakdown in front of Fluffs, her conversations with Fancy Pants, or other unnecessary details. “If anypony’s been a problem, it’s me. I just got a little too focused on the collection, that’s all.”

“Really? Don’t tell me those records are that enthralling.” Fleur trotted over to her friend and moved Vinyl’s mane out of the way as she inspected her neck. “You haven’t been spending too much time with Steeplechase, have you? He’s nowhere near hot enough to be a vampony, but the jury is still out on bookworms being infectious.”

Vinyl swiped her friend’s hoof and the casual jab at the lanky librarian aside. “I’m fine, but you wouldn’t believe how frustrating it is to figure out somepony’s name.”

“Usually I’d tell you to stop staring from across the room and just ask, but I guess it’s a little more complicated than wallflower syndrome?”

“That’s one way to put it. If you know a spell that can divine a name from a voice recording, I’m all ears. All I’ve got is she's Sauna Summers’ friend named ‘Sunny’ something.”

“Sunny.” Fleur hummed to herself as she considered the name. “No bells ringing up here,” she said while tapping the side of her head. “Did you try asking Pantsy or Dandy?”

“I asked Dapper Dandy, but he didn’t know who I was talking about. No surprise there since Sunny appeared so early in Summers’ career. She hadn’t even met Suede yet.”

“I guess? But if they were friends, you’d think she’d have visited Auntie after marrying Daddy at least once,” Fleur pondered aloud. “What about Pantsy?”

“What about him? It was before he was born. Why would he know anything?”

“Oh, puh-lease! Pantsy is Auntie’s biggest fan. He can be a bit of a scatterbrain when it comes to remembering things, but if anypony else would know an obscure detail like that, it’d be him.”

“Maybe.” Vinyl shrugged as she refocused on her final touches with the newly inscribed cacophony crystal.

“Probably.” Fleur shrugged back, eying her friend curiously.

A long silence loomed over the room as Vinyl poured all of her attention decidedly away from her friend. Unsatisfied with the conversation, Fleur leaned in closely, hanging off of Vinyl’s neck with her foreleg. Vinyl nudged her away, only causing Fleur to fall gently onto the desk. The larger mare’s flowing mane splayed out over the DJ’s workspace as she stared sidelong at her irritated friend with a sweet smile.

“What?” Vinyl huffed in annoyance and tried to find her tools from under the copious amounts of hair.

“Nothing. Just you.”

“Just me?”

“Why, yes!” Fleur exclaimed as she righted herself and leaned on the table, fluttering her eyelashes at her friend. “You’re being so adorable right now!”

“Adorable?”

“It’s just so precious that you’re trying so hard to lie to me, Vy.” Fleur booped Vinyl on the nose and giggled.

Vinyl blinked with a grimace from the sudden contact. “Lie? What did I lie about?”

“Vinyl, Vinyl, Vinyl. I’m an actress; the closest thing to a professional liar you can be outside of politics,” the showmare bragged while running a hoof through her luxurious mane. With a flourish of her foreleg, she flipped up an imaginary hat and leaned down on the desk with the confidence of a saloon pony. “Y’all should know better than try’n pull a fast one on ol’ Fleur.”

“Oh, c’mon. Every single thing I said was true.”

“Sure, you ain’t told me a single falsity,” Fleur clarified through the country-fried drawl of Corn Acopia, “but I know when somepony is trying to mosey on, galloping like the wind while breezing through the details. Only problem is, you’re about three corners short of a square dance, partner. A lie’s a lie, Vy, even if it’s one of omission.”

Vinyl bit the inside of her cheek, trying to keep her face as flat as possible. She forced a sigh and adjusted her loupe to ignore Fleur’s accusation. “You’re just being suspicious.”

“Of course I’m ridiculous.” Fleur spat the accent out into an imaginary spitoon to swap back to her standard Fleur-ness. “It’s your fault for getting all quiet when I mentioned Pantsy.”

Vinyl slammed the table in frustration, ripping her jeweler’s loupe off her face with her magic. “Seriously, Sunny is a pony from Sauna’s early career that nopony, and I mean nopony, seems to know. Not even the historians at the ESPA! I just didn’t think to ask him, that’s all.”

“And there’s the lie!” she sing-songingly teased with a flick of Vinyl’s nose.

“What now?” Vinyl asked, rolling her eyes away from Fleur while trying to hide her nerves.

“That you didn’t think to ask him. It’d take all of five seconds.” Fleur cleared her throat to find another voice. A not-too-dissimilar scratch to Vinyl’s own arose from her friend. “‘Hey Pantsy! Finish this sentence: Summer’s had a friend named Sunny blank.’” Fleur coughed her impression away with a small amount of disgust. “That was rough on the vocal cords. Remind me to work on that one.”

“Okay, maybe I did think about asking him. So what?”

“You’re not one to leave stones unturned when thinking through a problem, especially when the rock is easy enough to look under. So, why is it that I’m getting the feeling you’re purposely dodging my question?”

“Maybe because you’re reading too much into nothing again? I told you, I’m not lying about anything.”

“Yeah, I know,” Fleur replied flatly. “We agree on that one. What I’m saying is that you’re hiding something, which is completely different and only gets worse when you keep trying to sidestep the question.”

“I’m not sidestepping anything! I just didn’t want to ask him.”

“Why not?”

“Cause like I said, he probably wouldn’t know! Why bother him with it at all?”

“Because he might know? You might as well ask anypony that knew Auntie when she was around.” Fleur huffed as she shook her head at Vinyl’s failed obfuscation. “Seriously, Vy, it wouldn’t bother him at all. Unless you forgot, you’re archiving his collection for him. Pantsy will probably get all sappy on you with his answer, but whatever. The worst that’ll happen is dealing with a momma’s colt for a bit after finding out if he knows something that you don’t.”

Vinyl pulled at her face, just wishing Fleur would shut up. She was starting to get a headache. “Fine, I’ll ask him and see if he knows Sunny. Happy?”

“No! You keep dodging my question!”

“What question?”

“Why didn’t you ask him?”

Vinyl felt a pressure build in the back of her mind as she tried to back out of the conversation. She could feel her fortitude wavering from Fleur’s constant questioning. “Please, Fleur. I-I already told you. I didn’t want to bother him.”

“Vy, look at me.” The larger mare pulled Vinyl’s face towards hers by hoof and stared directly into her friend’s eyes. A hint of worry burned in the back of Fleur’s gaze. “Why didn’t you want to ask my brother a simple question?”

Any strength Vinyl had left to deflect evaporated under her friend’s rising concern. What was she supposed to say? Anything now would expose her initial lie and reveal the real reason behind her “ESPA archiving accreditation” at the estate. She’d have to tell her about losing the apartment, and worse, her unwillingness to ask Fleur and Éclair for help.

She didn’t want to owe anypony in Canterlot anything, and that included them.

“I knew this whole ESPA business stank something fierce! Just what are you not telling me?” Fleur shouted in accusation. She put her forehooves on Vinyl’s shoulders and lightly shook trying to get an answer out of the DJ with the grace of rattling a Magic Cue-Ball.

No. Vinyl had to find a way out. There was no way she could answer honestly. That would require talking about how Fancy practically owned her now. She couldn’t do that to Fleur. It was obvious how deeply the mare cared about her family. The way she always hugged her “Maman” anytime they were in the same room, how she had practically begged for anything special the DJ found about her “Daddy” in the collection, how she lovingly referred to Summers as “Auntie” even though they never met, and how hurt she looked at the Moondance…

“Vy, say something! Please, you’re scaring me…”

And now she was scaring her friend because she couldn’t protect her from the truth? Darkness crept along the edges of Vinyl’s vision, swallowing the periphery, and leaving the two unicorns alone in blackness. The DJ’s legs wobbled like jelly as she tried to think of a way out. Each pulse of her heartbeat tightened a noose of unspoken words wrapping around her neck, choking the life out of her.

Vinyl’s eyes watered. Her breathing failed. Her head sank low in shame.
She felt helpless…
Hopeless…
Worthless…

“Vinyl!” a voice echoed from afar.

The call wiped the darkness away from her vision. Vinyl blinked her blurriness away and wiped the tears from her face. She couldn’t remember when she started crying or when Fleur had gotten so close. “Wha—What happened?”

“Oh, thank Celestia you’re back!” Fleur pulled Vinyl into a quick hug before pushing her back and sparking her horn to life. “Are you okay? How many lights do you see?”

“There are four lights, Fleur!” Vinyl answered, shooing the blinding illuminated motes of magic out from her field of view. “Seriously, why does everypony think I’m some fragile little—” she was interrupted by the sight of her friend.

Never in all of her years had Vinyl seen Fleur looking so… defeated. The usually larger-than-life mare shrank away from the DJ, searching for something to say. Vinyl didn't know what had happened, but she couldn’t help but feel responsible as Fleur’s face sank lower and lower. After a few more awkward moments of silence, the larger mare took in a sharp breath.

“Vinyl?” Fleur asked with a small tremble that Vinyl hated with all of her heart. “I know you’ve been through a lot recently, and I know it’s—it’s because of me. It doesn’t take a genius to know that everypony blames you for my mistake because they like me. Well, they like Lady Faire at least. Honestly, I’ve been trying so hard not to think about it, to pretend like nothing’s wrong, and I was so happy when things felt normal after the New Year. We were working again like nothing had ever happened, but that wasn’t real, was it? You’re still upset.”

Vinyl shook her head. She hadn’t even said anything, and she was still messing up one of the few good things in her life. “No! That’s not—” She stopped herself. There was no time for half-truths now. “I mean, it’s been hard, but I’m not angry at you.”

Vinyl’s claim had the opposite effect as Fleur’s face crumpled with tears pooling in her eyes. “Then explain that!”

It was then that Vinyl noticed they had moved to a far side of the room. Following her friend’s hoof, she gasped at the awful sight. No wonder she had a headache again. It didn’t take long to deduce what had happened upon seeing the remnants of the evaporating jeweler’s loupe. She had been holding the blasted thing in her magic when highly emotional, causing the runes to respond in kind. The crystal had latched onto Vinyl’s unstable magic signature through her levitation spell to absorb her flaring emotions in an attempt to prove Cacophony’s theories correct once more.

The unfortunate crystal she had been working on had warped from a brilliant sapphire blue into a sickly, jagged obsidian black.

After a few more seconds, the crystal began cracking under the destabilizing pressure left from absorbing so much discordant magical energy. With brittle, jittery folds, the crystal collapsed in on itself. It might’ve been more fascinating to watch if the slow-motion spectacle wasn’t so horrific. When the pressure became too much, the crystal crunched into a single point before the imploding force violently burst outward, releasing discordant tones that shook Vinyl to her core with a deep, stomach-churning wrongness. Harmony itself seemed to shatter in the wake of the cascade.

As the bitter sound warbled into nothingness, the DJ looked back to her friend. There were no words that could explain that away, and they both knew it. She just wanted to protect other ponies from her burdens. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

“Vinyl?” Fleur began instinctively reaching a hoof out, but forced it down and backed away. “I know I made things hard for you, but please, just tell me what’s going on. I feel like I never see you anymore. Like, you're here but not here at the same time, and one day, you’re going to just up and disappear entirely, and it will be all my fault! I’m so sorry Vinyl, but I’m begging you, even if you… h-hate me now, I want to work things out. Yell at me, beat me up, do whatever will make you feel better, just please,” Fleur pleaded with tears streaming down her face, “say something! Anything!”

“No! No, please don't cry. I didn’t mean to…” Vinyl trailed as she looked for anything to calm her sobbing friend down. “How could I hate you?”

“Didn’t you see it? That crystal? Jagged, black, broken, and all my fault! I ruined your job! I ruined your scholarship! I ruined everything!”

“But it’s not like that, really. I’m okay.”

Fleur shook her head while biting her lip. “No, you’re not! I haven’t seen you smile in weeks! Not really. You’re my best friend, Vy. You’re like a sister to me. You can tell me anything, you know that, right? Please! I… I don’t want to lose you too!” she wailed, coughing and hiccuping from two months of pent up fear and frustration.

Vinyl didn’t either, but seeing her inconsolable friend, it felt inevitable. There were no options left, no other places left to hide. She had done this. She had broken her friend by failing to hide the truth from Fleur, and it was going to cost their friendship. This was why she should be alone. It couldn’t have been any clearer for her. Vinyl couldn’t handle being with other ponies, even the ones she wanted to be around. She couldn’t be trusted.

She messed up. Vinyl Scratch always messed up.

“I’m right here, Vinyl. You don’t have to trust me, just try your best,” Fluffer Duster, or rather her new, maybe-friend Fluffs assured.

“You should never feel trapped, Vinyl. You always have a choice,” Fancy promised the DJ.

“Anything?” Vinyl quickly asked, terrified of her own voice. Fleur bit her lip and nodded frantically, begging with her silence. “Promise you won’t be mad?”

“Of course not, Vy. You’re the one who deserves to be mad, not me.”

“And you won’t tell anypony?”

“No?” Fleur answered, confused by the question.

“Please! Not even Éclair!” Fleur shrank back at the sudden inclusion of her mother. “You have to promise me, nopony else, please!”

For a second Fleur frowned, unsure of what to make of it, but quickly shook it away with a pleading nod, swearing not to tell a soul.

“Okay.” Vinyl took a deep breath and smiled. She had a chance. She had a choice. She was going to try to make it work. “Can we sit down on the couches in the control room? I could use something to drink. This might be a while.”

Fleur forced a smile of her own and used her magic to open the door for the both of them. “Sure. I could go for some coffee anyway. Want some?”

“Yeah. That’d be nice.” Vinyl cleared her throat as they trotted out of the audio lab towards the control room with its comfy lounge couches and warm drinks. “So, do you remember the night Luna teleported me to Fancy’s place?”

As Vinyl retold the events of the last month, Fleur waited patiently on the couch across from her friend. There were no questions and no interjections, just a growing sorrow as Fleur forced herself to silently listen to everything Vinyl had to say for over half an hour. Against her better judgment, the DJ recounted every trying moment to her friend: the loss of her lease, the archiving job, the awkward conversations with Fancy, hurting Fluffs with her magic. No detail was spared and neither needed words to know that they both hated every second of it.

“And well, here we are. I thought I was strong and confident, but I was wrong. I can’t do anything right. If it wasn’t for Fancy, I wouldn’t even be here telling you this right now. All I could do was take his offer and hope it was genuine. Part of me is glad I did, but….” Vinyl’s words drifted away. She still couldn’t figure out how to express her mixed thoughts of the stallion without hurting Fleur more than she already had.

“I’m sorry Vinyl. I’m so, so sorry. I know I promised I wouldn’t, but I'm really mad, and I really, really hate myself right now,” Fleur apologized as she sank into her couch.

“I knew it.” Vinyl took a shuddering breath and tried to stay calm. “I shouldn’t have told you anything.”

“No!” Fleur screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice cracking from the effort as she forced herself to speak clearly through her cries. “Don’t you dare, Vinyl! If you think I’m going to just sit here and listen to you say one more word about how this is somehow your fault, you’re wrong! You’re wrong!”

“But—”

“No! No more ‘buts!’ No more anything! You should’ve told me sooner!” Fleur shouted with embittered sadness. “Why couldn’t you tell me? Why?”

“I’m sorry that—”

“Stop apologizing! Stop it! You’re. The. Victim. Vinyl!” Fleur yelled as she loudly slammed a foreleg into the couch cushions, punctuating each pause. “All because I wanted to make a stupid cake joke, you…” Fleur’s rage crumbled into dust as fresh tears filled her eyes, “you almost lost everything. And you were too scared to tell me? It’s not fair! I hate Canterlot! I hate everything!”

“No!” Vinyl shouted over her friend. She felt so inadequate, having broken her friend’s heart with the truth she failed to hide. “Please, this is exactly why I didn’t want to tell anypony about this. It’s my problem, and I’m so messed up already that—”

“Shut up!” Fleur leapt up from her couch, into Vinyl, and pulled her into a tight hug. She wept into Vinyl’s fur, barely able to say a word as she cried openly. “Please. Just… just shut up already. You’re so stupid, Vinyl.”

Fleur squeezed the DJ like a plushie and nuzzled her friend as she tried to calm herself down. “Thank the stars Fancy figured you out before it was too late,” Fleur finally mumbled through Vinyl’s soaked fur. “I knew something was wrong with this thing with Fancy. I just knew it. But—but I was too scared to ask. I didn’t want to find out you hated me. I couldn’t bear that.”

“I could never hate you Fleur. You and Éclair are the closest thing to a family that I feel like I have.”

“If you really mean that, then why didn’t you just ask for help? Maman said you’re always welcome, and she meant it. We wouldn’t have minded at all.”

“Because I need to do this on my own, Fleur. I can’t take hoof-outs.”

“Sure you can!” Fleur countered looking her friend in the eyes. “We’re SchlurrVivyl! We stick together through thick and thin. Anything I give you will always come back to me anyway. That’s just what best friends are supposed to do.”

Vinyl looked down at her hooves. “I know.”

Fleur frowned at her friend’s hesitancy. “Then why do you sound like you don’t? Vinyl, I’d rush straight into the depths of Tartarus to help you. Wouldn’t you want to do the same for me?”

“Of course I would!”

“So, why wouldn’t you let me?” Fleur begged to know, only managing to eke out a whisper of a question from the pain of asking. “Why didn’t you tell me you needed help?”

“I just couldn’t, Fleur. Not in this. I can’t take hoof-outs.”

“But why not?”

Vinyl knew the answer, but she shook her head, silently begging for Fleur to stop. No matter how many times she asked, no matter how much it hurt, Vinyl couldn’t risk answering that question. She still hadn’t proven herself yet.

After an eternity of silence, Fleur closed her eyes and took in a slow, shaky breath. “I’m sorry I failed you as a friend, Vinyl. I could’ve done more, and I’m so mad at myself for thinking you hated me. I should’ve known better than to leave a loner alone for too long. I’m supposed to be your best friend, for peat’s sake!”

“But, I’m the one—”

A hoof sealed Vinyl’s lips shut. “No. I already told you that you can’t say that word. Now, just stay quiet while I cuddle you.”

True to her word, Fleur climbed onto the couch and pulled the smaller unicorn into a warm embrace. Fleur stroked the DJ’s electric blue mane, kissed her forehead, and held on for dear life. The DJ had seen Éclair shower her daughter with such kisses and hugs before when she was sad. While the intimacy made Vinyl uncomfortable, she took solace in knowing the familial contact was helping Fleur.

She had never seen the snarky mare completely break down like this before. The voice actress always brimmed with sunshine and sarcasm, and Vinyl had no idea how to help the mare when she was the one in need. So, if she needed to play the part of a plushie pony, she’d subject herself to snuggles for as long as Fleur needed them. She wished she could do more, but anything she thought Fleur would want felt beyond her capabilities.

“I’m sorry, Fleur. I didn’t mean to—” A hoof to her nose interrupted Vinyl as Fleur adjusted herself to meet her eyes.

“I already told you; don’t apologize.” Fleur leaned in and kissed Vinyl lightly on the forehead again. “I know I’m nosy and overbearing all the time, but everypony is allowed to have secrets. I just wish you could tell me the ones that are clearly hurting you.” Fleur squeezed with her foreleg again, and laid her head on Vinyl’s. “You’re never alone, okay? You’ve got me, maman, the professor, Octavia, Steeplechase, Pantsy, Dandy, and Dust—err, Fluffs. We all have your back, no matter what. You just need to tell us when you need backup, dummy.

“I won’t give you a hoof-out, but you better let me lend you a hoof to get up. Got it?” the larger mare asked with a threatening edge. Vinyl quickly nodded her head. Fleur straightened up from her hugs and regarded the DJ with aloof grandeur. “Henceforth, we hereby banish thy bouts of lonely misery, forevermore! Thou shalt never secret away your suffering from us again!”

“Yes, your highness,” Vinyl accepted with a little bow of her head in respect towards the false Princess Luna.

After a moment of showering her friend with her regal presence, Fleur broke character with a choked giggle before leaning back down next to her friend. “Seriously, Vinyl, if it gets to be too much, tell me. Interrupt a visit to the little filly’s room, wake me up in the middle of the night, I don’t care. I would never leave my best friend hanging on purpose, so please don’t let me do it on accident.”

“I’ll… try,” Vinyl answered, earning another forceful hug from her friend. “What about the others?”

Fleur opened her mouth, but then closed it to give the question more serious thought. “Do you think you can trust them?”

“Well, they’re all trustworthy ponies.”

“Again, not what I asked. I think Fluffs is a good egg, though she might be a bit too close to Pantsy since she’s his maid.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Well, as much as I want you to like my dimwitted brother, you didn’t outright say it, but you sound like you’re on the fence about him, to put it mildly.”

Vinyl tried to say “no” for Fleur’s sake, but she couldn’t force the lie. The more she thought about it, the more she hated herself for fearing him. Fancy Pants had been nothing but kind to her since they met. Even thinking back to the Festival of Flakes, she hadn’t even given the stallion a chance. In Vinyl’s world, the only rich ponies showing an interest in her beyond her musical services were ones that felt entitled to other, unlisted services purely granted by their social status. However, Fancy wasn’t like any elite she’d ever met.

She assumed the Kingmaker of Canterlot’s ill-intentions from the moment he’d taken a step on her stage with those wine glasses. Like any unicorn mare worth her party salt, she’d memorized detection spells to scan suspicious drinks and had gone so far as to take Fancy’s glass rather than the one he had offered her. She would never apologize for being safe at parties, but a part of her regretted her initial hostility towards him. Despite her bad attitude, he’d always been a model gentlecolt. At every opportunity—the night at the bar, her job offer at the apartment, hiring her for the archiving job—he never once took advantage of her.

“I don’t want to be scared of him, but—”

Fleur shushed Vinyl and pulled her into another, gentle hug. “Vy, it’s okay. I know you take a while to warm up to other ponies. I mean, it felt like it took forever to become friends in middle magical studies, and I think I understand why now more than ever. Just means I need to do what I did then.”

“And that was what, exactly?”

“Not give you a moment’s peace until you accepted my friendship,” Fleur answered with a confident smirk. “This time, I’m gonna make sure you’re practically drowning in friends.”

“You’re not exactly sailing on a ship of friends either, Fleur.”

“That’s because you don’t hang around the school enough. I’m practically friends with every magic kindergartener!”

“I’m glad you’re making friends who are more mature than you,” Vinyl commended the foalish mare, earning a bonk on the horn. Vinyl snickered and slapped on a quick wry smile. “So, if you’re gonna be around more often, does that mean you’ll help me with the collection?”

“Oh, heavens no! I’ll be too busy getting to know Fluffs. I thought she was just another Canterlot maid when I met her, but I should’ve known Fancy would never hire your average housekeeper. Not everypony would take a surge to the face like that and fret over the one that blasted them in the first place.”

“Yeah…” Vinyl sighed with remorse until the first part of Fleur’s reasoning reentered her head with the subtlety of a Bridleway marquee. “Wait, why are you gonna hang out with Fluffs?”

“Because Fluffer Duster wants to be your friend, silly filly. We’re a packaged deal, you and me, which makes her my friend too. If she’s gonna be hanging out with us, she’ll need all the help she can get.” The larger mare hummed to herself in deep thought, which in Vinyl’s experience, was never a good sign for anypony not named Fleur de Lis. “I got it! We should invite her out sometime for a pizza lunch break! Chowing down with us has gotta beat cleaning the mansion constantly.”

“I don’t know. Fluffs really seems to like what she does. Maybe a pizza dinner would be better?”

Fleur groaned. “Don’t tell me you’re agreeing with Pantsy on this one. I thought he was just trying to get me off her back.”

Vinyl shrugged her shoulders. “Hey, if you think you can ask that mare to stop cleaning without making her feel like you just canceled her birthday, you’re welcome to try.”

“That bad, huh? Wow. Cleaning cutie marks are intense. What if we say we’re painting the town red, but she can wash it off when we’re done?”

“I’m not sure what that is supposed to mean with pizza involved, but that might be stupid enough to work.”

“Magnifique! Voilà finalement notre fille aimée,” Fleur exclaimed, while pulling Vinyl into a crushing hug. “Now that we’ve got a friendship plan, we can finally move on from the heavy waterworks and back to solving our original problem before Arpeggio lectures us about punctuality again. Just what the hay are we doing for our part in the Showcases?”

“I thought you said you were giving up?”

“If you can’t take freebies from anypony, then we’re gonna have to earn you some of Pantsy’s donor money somehow, right? That means we gotta do it.”

“Well I have to.”

“Nuh-uh-uh,” Fleur tisked with a back-and-forth waggle of her hoof. “Packaged deal. SchlurrVivyl is a sloppy, unbeatable duo. I just needed a little reminder, that’s all.” Fleur squeezed Vinyl once more for good measure. “On that note, any ideas spinning in that head of yours, Vy?”

“Kinda? I actually brought some of the stuff I’ve been experimenting with. Want to hear it?”

“Do you even have to ask? Of course I do! Anything to shake off these bad-sad vibes. Maybe you’ll even spread some of that Pon-3 magic around.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes at the compliment, but took it regardless. Getting up from the couches—and finally enjoying a little personal space—Vinyl grabbed her saddlebag and headphones off the hanger and headed back for the audio lab. She riffled through her belongings, fishing several small crystals out of them with Fleur watching from over her shoulder. They stopped in front of a synthesizer in the lab and Vinyl popped open the back panel, revealing the crystalarium case.

“You’re using low-quality synth instruments?”

“I made some compromises to make it all portable. I’m not gonna lug around those premium monsters unless I really want to start competing with Octavia in a deadlifting competition. The lighter, synthetic feel works just fine for me.”

One by one, she plopped the small crystals into the four suspension fields, allowing the instrument to actively channel its sound. “Low quality synth double-bass, synth trumpet, synth trombone, and synth saxophone.”

“No percussion?”

“I ran out of synthesizer space, so I had to rig up the percussion separately.” Vinyl held up a slightly larger crystal and wheeled over a sampler with her magic. She opened a tray and slotted the small crystal into the slot and flicked it on to test it. “I have the sampler loaded with a few premixed patterns. It means I can’t improvise much, but since it’s more the backbone and not the focus of the music, it should be fine.”

“Wow. And here I thought you were all about the beat and bass.” Fleur noticed the last crystal yet to be placed into anything. With the addition of the second synthesizer, she was starting to piece it together. “Okay, so what’s this fifth instrument you got here?”

“That’s the synth piano,” Vinyl answered with hesitation as she pulled over a second synthesizer and placed the last crystal in the back.

“Piano? Like, tickling the keys, straight-up piano, piano? That piano?” Fleur cringed seeing Vinyl nod. “Vinyl, I know it’s a little late to be asking this given the last hour or so, but are you feeling alright? You’ve been telling me for years that you absolutely hate playing the piano.”

“It’ll be fine. It’s not like I’m playing a concert solo. Besides, I use a synthesizer all the time. They’re pretty much the same thing.”

“All I’m saying is there's a reason why I bothered remembering that this thing is called a ‘synthesizer’ and not an ‘electric piano.’”

“The music calls for a jazzy walking bass line. What do you want me to do?”

“Nothing, I guess? I mean, it’s fine but…” Fleur trailed off, at a rare loss for words at Vinyl’s admission. “Okay. Just tell me you’re doing this because you want to. This isn’t like some sort of weird form of torture you’ve justified to yourself, right?”

“Torture? Really? That’s a bit strong, even by your exaggerated standards.”

“No. No, it’s not,” Fleur muttered with a tinge of fear as she shook her head slowly. “I really wish it was. The only time I’ve seen you enjoy playing a piano is when you were basically weaponizing back at the Festival of Flakes. That was upsetting for a different reason. Other than that, I’ve only seen you play piano one other time when you filled in for Horseshoepin at the last minute to help Octavia.”

“Okay? What’s the big deal about that?”

“Are you serious?” Fleur balked at her friend. She shook her head as if she was trying to eject the uncomfortable thoughts. “Sure, you played perfectly, but—it’s hard to describe. It’s like you weren’t there at all. Just went completely blank playing the piano. I never want to see you like that again. Nopony does.”

“Please, it couldn’t have been that bad.”

“The fact you're talking about it like you weren’t there is already red flaggy enough. Why do you think Octavia’s never asked you to fill in again?”

Vinyl’s mouth strained into a weak smile. “Look. I have some bad memories with the piano. I just, you know, mentally checked out. That’s all.”

Picking up the sign to drop the topic, Fleur sighed in defeat. She looked at the synthesizer and then back at Vinyl. “You’re absolutely sure you want to do this?”

“Trust me, this is nothing like playing classical music. Now, can I get to showing this off to you or not?”

“Just as long as you’re still here when we’re done. I don’t think we have enough coffee to handle a second emotional session today.”

“It’ll be fine, I swear.” Vinyl finished her preparations, doing a final check of all of the loaded sounds and moving all of the equipment into position. “Okay, so first, the percussion sequences. I had to record them first and let the sampler automate some simple, repeating patterns since I’m not gonna try getting a third keyboard involved. Speaking of which, the bottom keyboard is full synth piano and the top one is split between the rest of the synth instruments.”

Fleur watched curiously as Vinyl activated four buttons, and turned several dials on the upper keyboard. The musician tapped the same notes several times, until the instrument changed and then moved down the line. “What are you doing now?”

“Sectioning off the keyboard. I don’t need the full range of these ones up top, so I’m limiting them to what notes I need to play. My hooves will be down here on the piano while I use simple magic patterns to set up and play whatever is going on above. I’ll have to be careful not to break my concentration since I’ll have to actively cast some of it.”

“Sounds like this is another one of your methods still trapped in ‘unicorn only’ mode.”

“A pegasus might be able to pull it off if they wanted to try a little live mixing. They’d just need to sacrifice a bit more to automation and have enough fine wing dexterity to play two keyboards at once, though.”

“Uh-huh,” Fleur said with a healthy dollop of skepticism. “Look, you can say that all you want after you introduce me to this amazing, hypothetical pegasus with ungodly levels of wing control.”

Unfortunately, one pony did come to mind that might be able to pull it off with practice, but Vinyl shuddered just thinking about seeing that snob, Lofty Heights, again. Forcing the bile down from the memory of the mare, she slid a hoof over the top row, playing all the notes of the different instruments before nodding in approval.

“Like I was saying, you’re overtaxing the keyboard’s sequencer as it is with how many imprinted patterns you’d need to store and recall on the fly, but it’s technically possible. For earth ponies, not so much. You’d need at least two more hooves, but you might as well get real musicians to help if you can’t do it alone.” Vinyl looked back to her friend with a wide grin. “All the more reason to get Cacophony’s principles working in a standard environment, right?”

“Sounds stupidly complex as usual,” Fleur noted, earning a flat stare from her friend. “Technical junk aside, why not record more of this stuff to vinyl and mix it in like you do with some of your live sets?”

“Because the record players are already spoken for. I just didn’t bring the albums with me.”

“Ooo!” Fleur exclaimed with a short canter of excitement. “Are you finally gonna live up to your name and scratch some records?”

“In a way, but I’m not going for the scratching sound. I haven’t found a better solution for dealing with the limited manaflow, and I am not going to risk desyncing the metronome with an overloaded buffer. If there’s a hiccup, then, we’d have an actual cacophony on our hooves. I’ll admit that it’s not an elegant solution, but I have two copies of the song playing, one original and one with remixed bits that I can crossfade between.”

Fleur blinked as she processed everything Vinyl had been saying, adding a hoof movement to count up all the equipment under her breath. “So, let me get this straight. You’re gonna be playing five instruments using two keyboards, percussion on a sampler, all while live mixing two records of the same song at the same time?”

Vinyl blinked as she thought it through. “Well, the key to the whole process is abusing the memory on the synthesizers as much as possible, but yeah, I guess I am.”

Fleur narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Seriously? What kind of pegasus could—” She stopped just short of swearing with a shrill cry. “Just frickin record it all to one disk and play along! You’re doing way too many things at once again!”

“But it doesn’t sound as good if I leave too much to the recordings. I’d restrict my ability to improvise. I already tried to find more ways to automate, but there isn’t enough manaflow to have both the sampler and synthesizers constantly autocasting. I’d either have to reduce the complexity of the percussion so the sampler could handle it, which—”

“—Which is totally unacceptable by your impossible standards.” Fleur nearly rolled her eyes out of her skull with the sarcasm she was layering.

“Now you’re getting it!” Vinyl brushed away Fleur’s snark and pressed onward, making her friend bring a hoof to her face. “So it’s that, or do what I’m doing, and manually skip around using the two records. I marked positions on each disk, so I can quickly skip to where I need to be and crossfade between the two records on the fly. Sometimes you want to play along with the original, other times, you’ve got a remixed pattern you wanna really drill into.”

“It sounds like a nightmare to perform.”

“It’ll take some doing, but I think it’ll sound great when I can pull it all off. Lemme show you.” Vinyl reached over to her metronome and flicked it on. “So, first we record the intro’s walking baseline like so.” Vinyl played a few measures of the song before pressing a button to store the pattern and loop it. “Now, we’ll let that go for a while as I bring more sounds in. Add in the kick drum, a little bit of double bass like so.”

Vinyl began bobbing her head to the quickly evolving song. One by one, she added more and more instruments to the mix. Even without the underlying album to play, she could still feel that swinging beat with the horns playing off each other on top of the piano’s foundation. While it sounded great, it was incredibly taxing to perform with her magic which sparked constantly to keep up with her hooves. She wished she could record multiple variations of sequences to draw from at different parts, but the synthesizer could only hold one per instrument at a time. Stupid crystal limitations!

As the horns and saxophones started bouncing between each other, Fleur started to hum along with it. “This sounds so familiar.”

“It should. This is based off of your dad’s cover of it. Hold on.” Without the album to play alongside, the song was missing its soul. The disks were back home—back at the estate, so Vinyl decided to improvise and focus on playing the melody as best she could recall it. Fleur smiled as she picked up the lyrics midway through with the dramatic panache of a mustache-twirling villain.

You’ve got a noble in your pocket, now,
Canterlot is flailin’ in the dark.
Any risks there are, we can always disavow,
So now, let’s go ahead and leave our mark!
It’s ea-zay!

“This is the villain song from the Aristocrats!” Fleur exclaimed in recognition as Vinyl switched to playing a few improvised piano flourishes. “‘Friends Like These’ is one of my favorites.”

“I heard a song from the musical on the Sway album, and inspiration struck. Found Suede’s Best of Bridleway shortly after that and gave it a listen. I’m still trying to decide what swing I want to remix, so I’ve been trying a bunch of them out.”

“This is incredible, Vy! You’re one-upping the one-mare band with big band swing!”

“That’s the idea,” Vinyl said as she started shutting down all the equipment. “I committed a couple of remixes-in-progress to crystal and listened to them on the way here. It might give you a better idea of what I’m going for in the end.”

After ejecting her last synth instrument from the lab’s synthesizers, she levitated her headphones off her neck and passed it to her friend. Fleur flicked it on and, once the music started, she bobbed her head to the rhythm, trying to get a feel for it.

“Wow, I’ve never heard anything quite like this.” Finding the groove, Fleur started to sway back and forth with a wide grin slowly growing on her face. “Can you even do this weird echoing effect live?”

“Yeah, no. That’s what the second record is for. I played around with the original record by running it through a few EDM sound filters before putting the remixed bits on another disk.”

Fleur’s horn lit up with magic as she cleared some space around the audio lab. After securing the headphones to her head with a spell, she started dancing along to the beat booming in her ears. She cantered wildly in place to the song, spinning and swinging her legs out to the rhythm as she counterbalanced her movements with her other sways from one side to the other.

“Is that how they danced in the musical?” Vinyl shouted over the headphones

“Nope!” Fleur answered quickly between movements. “Just an improvised Countertrot. Pretty popular back before Daddy was born.” She wheeled around in a jittery full spin and caught herself on a front leg solidly before continuing her flowing movements. “Perfect for solo swing dancing, though the electronic beat in this makes me want to stomp my hooves louder than usual. It’s throwing me off my gait a little. What do you call this anyway?”

“What do you mean?”

“The music style. What are you calling it? It isn’t swing. It’s got too much electronica infused in it.”

“I thought about it before, but I’m just remixing songs at the end of the day. I don’t think it’s enough to be its own thing.”

“It could be though!” Fleur insisted as she took a break from the music to focus on her friend. “Stick with the vintage feel, add some more of that modern electro-flair, maybe even get some of the other ESPA musicians to help perform it live, and you could make a completely new genre of hybrid swing songs if you wanted. I know I’d tear up the floor at Cantrips dancing to something like this!”

“I guess it couldn’t hurt. What about something simple like ‘electronic swing music?’”

Fleur thought about it for a second before putting a hoof to her mouth to stifle a sharp snicker. “You really don’t want to put the letters ‘S’ and ‘M’ together unless that’s your thing,” Fleur suggested while gazing at Vinyl with half-lidded, bedroom eyes.

Vinyl frowned and smacked a hoof to her face, hoping the action would stop her from blushing. “Okay. Just ‘electronic swing’ then.”

“You can still add music to the end though if you’re feeling saucy. Plus, it doesn’t jump out at me. This deserves all the pop and pizzazz it can get.”

“Well, you said electro-something earlier. How about electro swing?”

“Fine. We’ll workshop it more if we need to, but it does have a certain je ne sais quoi to it, despite having the same potential lettering problem.” Fleur tapped the headphones, skipping to the next song on the crystal. She began searching for the beat again, only to brighten as she recognized the music. “Oh? You remixed ‘Sisters,’ too?”

“I think ‘tried to remix’ is more fitting for that one. Speeding it up to match the feel of the others really didn’t turn out like I wanted. I did a couple more mixes over the weekend if you want to skip to something better.”

“Yeah, you’re right. The sound’s just a little off sped up, but it’s not terrible.” Fleur tried to dance to it, but she couldn’t quite hit her stride. After a moment of thinking, her eyes sparked to life as a wide smile split her face. “Vinyl Scratch, you brilliant, beautiful mare, you! Mon sauveur!” Fleur sprang to Vinyl’s side and laid a faire la bise on both of her cheeks.

“What? What did I do?”

“This is just what I needed for the Showcase!” Fleur exclaimed as she tore the headphones off and galloped for the door. “I gotta find the professor!”

In a flash, Fleur was gone, leaving the dumbfounded genius alone in the audio lab. While Vinyl didn’t quite understand what had just happened, she was glad to have helped her friend after so long. Whatever it was, she had managed to do something good for a change. Vinyl felt a surge of relief spike through her heart. After all the turmoil the day had brought, she still had her best friend. Thinking back to their heart-to-heart, it felt really good to get her worries off her chest. She’d never confided in another pony like that and have it go so well.

“Please, dear, you’re being ridiculous. Mommy loves that you’re so… passionate about this phase of yours, but really? I just don’t understand why you're so upset. You were doing just fine before. You didn’t need to go so far—”

Vinyl shook the unwelcome memories from her head. Today was a good day. No stupid mare berating her from the past was going to ruin her mood. She still had Fleur. That’s all that mattered. Along with her friend’s enthusiastic approval of her performance, the musician was more determined than ever to get the sound right.

Also, she had to admit, “electro swing” did have a nice ring to it.

Author's Note

Click Here for the Full Electro Swing Remix

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 22: No Strings Attached

Sometimes, it was amazing just how long a pony could keep talking. There was a certain amount of self-aggrandizing auteurism that, when mixed with an endless supply of hubris, made many a high-brow noble put so much effort into saying nothing of consequence in an overly flowery way. Those seeking the Kingmaker’s approval tended to gather with their various pitches to gain Fancy’s favor as a sort of knock-off Princess Celestia of the noble class.

Talk alone rarely wowed Fancy Pants, especially if he couldn’t understand it. In his experience, irreducible complexity usually meant an idea hadn’t been thoroughly explored, or the proposer was actively trying to mislead with obfuscating jargon. It took more than an impressive vocabulary and big numbers to sway his sensibilities. Fortunately for them, he had the patience to listen to their drivel. He was content with smiling and nodding along as the presenter stuffed enough padding into their spiel to stop a speeding wonderbolt.

However, the same could not be said for his royal companion.

“Pray tell, in what world would such a needlessly complicated food stamping system be necessary?” Luna asked with mounting impatience.

“It’s simply to show a known seal of quality, your highness. Those here and abroad will know they are eating only the absolute finest of fruit on the market,” the pompous stallion assured while beaming an award-winning smile. Either the unicorn across from them was as dim as his dark yellow fur, or he truly thought he was about to pull one over on a millennia-old alicorn.

“By ensuring that each piece of fruit has a sticker of the Royal Sister’s seal placed upon it? Do you desire each single, solitary grape to have a hazardous irritation to be peeled off before partaking in something that supposedly meets our approval?”

“Well, I hadn’t considered going that far, but ideally, yes. And perhaps if it increases sales, we could move to label the vegetables as well!”

Fancy resisted shaking his head in dismay. He wasn’t sure if the poor dolt was trying to salvage the conversation or simply too thick to read between the heavily bolded and italicized lines.

“And surely this has absolutely nothing to do with your adhesive business, Sticker Star,” Luna remarked with a deep frown.

After that retort, the stallion’s sweat was starting to show some self-conscious reflection. “Just a happy coincidence, I assure you, your highness.”

Luna scowled and whipped her head to her friend while glaring sidelong at the noblepony across from them. “Is this inane level of farcical nonsense normal for you, Fancy Pants?”

“If anything, it helps pass the time if they’re at least humorous, your highness. Although I tend to try acting a bit more tactfully in front of the pony proposing the idea.”

“Tact? Ha!” the princess snidely mocked, pointing a hoof at Sticker Star without deigning to look at him. “At least the gentry of yesteryear had the boldness to simply make their stupid demands known without indulging in the sound of their voices! Why should we maintain the veneer of politeness when this one insults our intelligence by wasting our time with such blatant self-serving proposals?”

“Luna, may I remind you that Mister Sticker Star is standing right there.”

“Indeed. Frankly, it boggles the mind why he hasn’t already tucked tail and fled.” Luna tossed her nebulous mane and looked upon the shrinking noble with contempt. “Unless your idea is solely meant to give goats more inadvisable material to chew on, your proposal for placing such inedible waste on foodstuffs is rejected, outright and forevermore. Now, begone!”

Sticker Star barely managed a polite bow before retreating to the safety of the other side of the venue. The sight brought a few snide smiles and whispers to the ponies watching the scene play out. To whom or what their haughty comments were aimed towards, neither of them knew. Luna’s eyes flickered about the room as the rest of the art exhibition’s attendees went back to their normal business. Despite being the alicorn in the room, Luna still didn’t like being the center of attention, and she quickly ducked towards a refreshments table and started pouring herself a drink.

“My hope was to meet acclaimed artists from every corner of Equestria,” the princess bemoaned as she pondered the color of her milky coffee. “We did not realize the true purpose was to simply attend.”

“If I may, Luna. I believe part of the reason Princess Celestia asked you to attend was to get to know some of the more important ponies within Canterlot.”

“Important?” Luna clicked her tongue as she carefully looked over her shoulder at the other guests. “We see no reason to hold any one of these ‘nobles’ in higher regard than anypony else! Just as before, those with titles ride the tails of superior ancestors. As for these newer, wealthier ones, we should fine them for wasting what little hours we have in the night and completely drain the arbitrary number of bits granting them a semblance of power. Why should their value be above an honest farmer or a fastidious cook?” Luna downed her cup before blanching at the taste. “At least Athena can make a decent cup of coffee!”

“Perhaps I should introduce you to Commander Spitfire? I saw her a while ago and I’m sure you two would get along swimmingly considering she probably has no desire to be here either.”

“While I would enjoy nothing more than speaking to a real pony until this party is over, my sister requested that I do my best to mingle outside of my comfort zone.” Luna sighed and turned to admire another painting of a pony drawn completely in curves lost in a world of polygons. “I am meant to gain a greater understanding of modern Canterlot’s inner workings, but it feels more akin to a trial of patience. I do not suffer fools, Fancy Pants, and this is a grand parade of foolishness.”

“I’d agree with that sentiment for the most part, your highness, but don’t pay that idiot Sticker Star any mind,” a familiar, collected pegasus called as she approached the two. “While the stallion reeks of desperation, some of us know how to treat royalty.”

“Good evening, Miss Heights.” Fancy offered a polite bow before turning back to Luna. “Your highness, this is—”

“Lofty Heights,” Luna commented rather than greeted. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you within the waking world.”

Lofty smiled and bowed politely. “I’m honored that you know my name, your highness.”

“Yes, your face is one I often encounter within the Dreamscape,” Luna stated neutrally.

“I am unfamiliar with the place, but I do hope they caught my good side, Princess.”

Sensing something amiss, Fancy took to the pegasus’ side to properly introduce the two. “Lofty Heights is a neighbor of mine as well as one of the most prolific real estate moguls in Canterlot.”

“Ah, a member of the modern landowning gentry. That would explain it.” Luna nodded in understanding. “The honor is mine, Miss Lofty Heights.”

“I do apologize if Sticker Star tainted your experience this evening. Canterlot is no stranger to paperwork, but that stallion should know better than to try pushing his half-baked labeling solutions onto others so desperately.”

“Agreed, Lofty Heights, though it does make me wonder if you had an idea for me to hear as well.”

Lofty chuckled to herself. “Heavens, no, your highness. Unlike Sticker Star, I’m already doing quite well for myself. Besides, any property offer I could make would be a complete waste of your time. That being said, feel free to ask if you ever want to downsize or need a seasonal getaway. Going along with Fancy’s line of thinking, I’d rather consider this a neighborly greeting with how close the castle is to my more humble abode.”

“Then well met, Lofty Heights. What brings you to this party?”

“Oh, the usual,” she answered with ho-hum bemusement. “To see and be seen, perhaps participate in the auction if I see something of value. Quite the routine for any of these parties I go to. There is also, of course, catching up with any goings on that I was unaware of. For example, after that rather embarrassing display, I’m certain his business’ days are numbered.”

Looking back at the shell of the stallion trying his best to talk to other guests as they rolled their eyes or walked away. The wealthy pegasus tsked with a pitying headshake seeping with derision. “Poor oaf just can’t secure a contract to save his hide. And to be so openly silenced by both of you at once? I thank you for sticking Star in his rightful place so publicly.”

The news caught the princess off guard as she traced the ground with a hoof. “O-oh, we did not mean to…”

“Please, your highness. You needn’t concern yourself with it. If it wasn’t you it’d just be more ponies in a long line of rejections. If anything, this merely expedites the process. You snapping him back into reality is a small mercy in my view, putting his puerile idea in the trash while he still has some money in the bank.”

“Not necessarily,” Fancy interjected, hoping to inject a silver lining into the topic. “Stellar Labels still has plenty of customers last I checked. He could still surprise us.”

“A one-track mind like his? Hardly. If that company has a future, it will be without him at the helm. Product will only carry you so far without good business sense, and somepony with glue for brains like him can only go so far. Without a board though, it’ll be a matter of convincing him to step down before the situation becomes unsalvageable. Shattering what little illusion of pride he was clinging onto should be more than helpful. It will make mine and Upper Crust’s jobs easier.”

“Hers is another name we are familiar with,” Luna remarked. “Though it stems more from her dealings with the Empire than nightmares.”

“Yes, Horst Holdings was the first to capitalize on that crystal opportunity. A play like that getting royal attention from two nations will turn heads no matter who you are. I’ve known Upper Crust for a couple of years now. As two outsiders breaking into Canterlot, we’re practically birds of a feather.”

Luna blinked. “Odd. It is my understanding that Upper Crust is an earth pony.”

“Yes she is, your highness,” Fancy clarified. “The two simply share similar life trajectories.”

“Ah, I see. You are two halves of a coin,” Luna remarked with self-satisfaction. It was short-lived as her smile slowly strained with her confused audience.

“Yes, well.” Lofty shot a quick look at Fancy before focusing back on the princess. “While I broke into the market from Cloudsdale, my friend has been trying to plant a firm hoof in the calcifying Canterlot markets for years. Now that she’s hit her stride, I plan on going along for the ride by expanding into the north as well. It will be nice to finally have some civilized land in the Frozen North.”

“Now now, Miss Heights,” Fancy admonished. “It is simply a matter of cultural difference. Yakyakistan is perfectly civilized.”

“Not enough to risk losing another ski lodge near those stomp-happy buffoons,” Lofty spat as she regarded Fancy Pants with icy contempt. Luna’s feathers bristled the princess at the sudden change. “Even the fact you didn’t miss a beat knowing exactly who I was referring to speaks volumes about those barbarians. While you might’ve had to suffer them during your diplomatic days, Sir Fancy Pants, I’ve only had the misfortune of dealing with one yak in my life on a regular basis. Outside of his rent payments and checking to ensure he hasn’t destroyed the apartment, I plan on keeping my distance.”

The mare wiped away her frown with a small smile. “But that is all in the past. Now that we have the Crystal Empire to turn to, it’s only a matter of time before we can build a proper wintery getaway. With the new Imperial princess’ permission, of course.”

“I see,” Luna said as she stiffened with regality. “I must say, the portrayals were most accurate in capturing your nature, Lofty Heights.”

“Why thank you! I might not be blessed with the Kingmaker’s perception, but I do pride myself on knowing a good thing when I see it. Speaking of new princesses, your highness, how are you finding Canterlot since your return?”

“It may be different in many ways to the Equestria of the past, but it tends to rhyme more often than I would prefer.” The princess’ eyes scan the room, noticing the slight attention being paid to them from the quiet observers engaged in their own conversations around them. “However, with the help of good friends, I’ve found the strength to continue adjusting to this modern Equestria.”

“That’s wonderful to hear. I do hope we can become friends as well, or at least good neighbors. I can only imagine how busy you must be since you came back. I’m honestly surprised to see either of you here.”

“Oh?” Fancy asked as he was brought back into the conversation. “I can understand the princess with her royal schedule, but attending an event like this isn’t too out of the norm for me.”

“That would’ve been true before the holidays, Fancy Pants. I rarely see you leave that prime piece of woefully underdeveloped real estate of yours. The Festival of Flakes was an unmitigated disaster, but you really should make an effort to get out more. We all know it was that loathsome DJ’s fault anyway.”

Brushing the jab at his houseguest aside, Fancy tried to think of something to counter the claim, but it had been a while since he’d been out of the house. “I suppose I haven’t been making enough time to get out and about. I’ve been rather busy since then.”

“So I’ve heard. After your weird attempt at damage control, the only outings of note anypony has noticed are your private tea times with Princess Celestia. Speaking of which, word from the castle seems to suggest it’s been permanently rescheduled for later in the day to dusk.”

“I didn’t realize such a change was newsworthy.”

“It wasn’t until tonight,” she said as she looked towards the princess.

“Explain,” Luna commanded.

“With respect, Princess, you can’t be serious! Between your presence tonight, tea at sunset just when you’re waking up, and that story of you two embracing on the Drive, is an explanation all that necessary?” Lofty snickered at the proverbial writing on the wall. “After all of these years, the Kingmaker is finally making a move to king himself.”

A gamut of embarrassment played at the princess as she staggered back. “Such impudent—the good Sir Fancy Pants is our escort!”

“That is as plain as day, your highness. Or rather, I can clearly see it.”

“I know what that expression means, Miss Lofty Heights!” Luna bit back, frowning deeply as she attempted to collect herself. “He serves as a faithful guide to help navigate these treacherous noble waters, but why I even bother with such inanity lies beyond my comprehension!”

“Forgive me, your highness. I understand if it might be embarrassing to have a little of your private life exposed to the public, but really, it’s nothing to worry about. They’re just harmless rumors. Headline fodder for the presses. Even if it’s fake, just have a little fun with it. You’ll outlive any story either way, right Princess Luna?”

“But what of the lives they affect in the present?”

“The effects? What, on Fancy Pants? Because falling in love with royalty is such a terrible thing,” Lofty joked with a growing, dismissive smile. “He’d join the miserable ranks of Prince Shining Armor who suffers living in a crystal castle with his beautiful pink princess. Truly a fate worse than death.” The pegasus unfurled a wing to hide her cackle ringing the haughty death knell of a thousand eviction notices.

“And what if Fancy’s heart belongs to another? Would a royal affair be so harmless then?”

“I beg your pardon, your highness, but you must not be aware. It’s very well known that Fancy is the most eligible bachelor in Canterlot. True, there was a flash in the pan when Fleur de Lis showed up out of the blue, but that airhead quickly put an end to that line of thought after making some less-than-subtle moves on several noblemares. Suffice to say, if there was somepony else significant in his life aside from you, it would’ve most certainly leaked by now.”

Luna sputtered helplessly, having lost all sense of decorum. Instead of swallowing the steady heat rising in her cheeks, she released it in a frustrated yell. “Enough!” Luna commanded with a stomp of her hoof. “We have had more than our fill of this insipid event!”

Luna’s horn surged to life as Fancy tried to stop the tirade. “Luna, wait! There is no need for—”

“If the true purpose of such a gathering is an excuse to spread salacious lies rather than to enjoy the artistry of others, then we desire no part of it!” In a burst of midnight magic, the princess flashed away from the room, leaving behind stunned onlookers staring blankly at Fancy and Lofty.

“Well, that princess sure doth protest too much, wouldn’t you agree, Fancy Pants?”

The stallion sighed as he brought a hoof to his forehead. “While I would assure you that our relationship is purely platonic, I doubt anypony is in the mood to accept that as the truth.”

Lofty offered a simple shrug of her shoulders. “Why bother with that when the story through the grapevine is far more enticing? Honestly, it’d make a lot of sense if you were holding out for a princess all these years. If I were a more shameless mare looking for untapped riches, I might’ve made my own pass at you. But again, I don’t like wasting time.”

“And what would you call that interaction?”

“A little bit of information gathering with a miscalculation in mare talk. Nothing more. Was never good at idle chit-chat in the first place, despite being from a weather town.” Lofty whisked away some champagne from a passing server with a careful flap of a wing. “Still, if the princess is going to be like that, I might wait until she’s a bit more adjusted to Canterlot to try ingratiating myself again.”

“You might be waiting a while, Lofty,” Fancy asked while biting back his words. The princess needed friends, not power players like the pegasus.

The mare smiled from behind her sparkling wine. “You would know best.”

“And how do you figure that?”

“Outside of Princess Celestia, yours is the only name that ever comes up when Princess Luna is mentioned.”

“Really? And who would be the one bringing that up?”

“Who’s to say? I was more interested in confirming the validity of the claim than the source. All I know is that you two are the buzz around the castle.” A suspicious glint sparked in the mare’s eyes as she pondered aloud. “Well that, and then there’s your more recent behavior.”

“At the risk of falling into an obvious trap, what behavior are you referring to?”

She belted another laugh before collecting herself. “Far be it from me to be a nosy neighbor, but I couldn’t help but notice the lights being left on far later over the last few weeks as you’ve supposedly been keeping to yourself. Just putting two and two together, Fancy. A little midnight rendezvous with our moonlit leader perhaps?”

Fancy opened his mouth to correct the record, but Vinyl was supposed to be laying low while the Screech was being forgotten. Seeing the blame cast on her earlier, it’d be best to let the rumor mill grind away at this royal nonsense for now. “Nothing of the sort, but whatever I might say on the matter truly doesn’t matter at the moment. For now, I should find Princess Luna.”

“Don’t you mean ‘Luna,' lover colt?” she lightly amended, having caught his slip in decorum. For all of his diplomatic experience, Fancy couldn’t help but glower with his patience wearing thin with the mare. “Oh, don’t be like that. It’s your fault for being single so long anyway.”

“Two feathers indeed,” Fancy muttered under his breath and bowed curtly. “If you will excuse me.”

A brief search of the gallery revealed a distinct lack of royalty in attendance, to the dismay of the guards tasked to watch her for the evening. Fancy retrieved his overcoat and ventured out into the cold streets of Canterlot to find the princess. The problem now was figuring out where she would’ve whisked herself away to. A powerful alicorn could quite literally be anywhere, so it became a question of scope. If she truly wanted to be alone, she’d have retreated back to the castle or started working the Dreamscape. If she needed a friend, there was only one other logical location. In either case, Luna would probably want a coffee before continuing her night.

Thankfully, despite the mid-winter chill in the air, there was no snow to trudge through as he made his way to the Labyrinthiyum. He descended the stairs and tried to open the door, only to find it locked tight. Since he had made it beyond the stone gate, that meant his instincts were probably on-target as he politely knocked on the warm wood.

“Athena? Would you mind opening the door?”

There was a twinkle of dark blue from the other side as it clicked open. Letting himself inside and locking it, he calmly trotted over to the bar, taking his seat next to the princess facedown on the counter next to a mostly empty coffee cup and a worried minotaur refilling it.

“Good evening, Athena.”

“Being the arbiter of such matters, we declare it to be a most terrible evening,” Luna interjected before such pleasantries could be exchanged, earning a sigh from Athena.

“She’s been like this since she popped in,” Athena clarified as she topped off the princess. “From her attitude, I’m guessing Bold Strokes’ exhibition was a bust?”

“A fair assessment,” Fancy agreed. “Personally, I found it to be nothing much out of the ordinary.”

Luna tilted her head, allowing her tired face to be seen. “That is the norm? How you have the patience for such dribble astounds us.”

“Former diplomat, remember? It is one of the few times I consider tolerance a virtue. Besides, it is nothing that Princess Celestia doesn’t deal with on a daily basis.”

“We are prepared to handle the idle petitioner plaguing us with their half-baked brilliance. It is their gossiping that infuriates us to no end.”

“Gossip?” Athena asked, her interest piqued. Luna lifted her head to glare at the nosy minotaur. “What? I just want some context.”

“I’d say it was nothing, but I believe the princess thinks otherwise,” Fancy answered as he opened the menu to see if he was hungry enough for anything.

Luna slammed a hoof on the bar and pushed herself up. “How are rumors about our relations with you ‘nothing?’”

“Oh?” Athena perked up before a low, royal growl smothered her interest. “Right, sorry.”

“A little misinterpretation of my time spent with the diarchy. Nothing more.”

“You make it sound so quaint. We shall find—” Luna stopped as Athena coughed and held up a finger. “... Rather, I shall find the pony responsible for such an egregious act and remove them from the castle personally!”

Fancy winced at the embittered princess’ fervor. “Don’t you think that is going a little far? Despite how disagreeable the mare is, Lofty is correct when she said the rumor is harmless. Harmless rumor milling in the grand scheme of things.”

“If not the content, then we shall set a goal post elsewhere and claim it is the principle of the matter. Loose tongues are not a quality that is desirable in the castle staff.”

“So you got embarrassed because someone is pairing you with Fancy?” Athena asked as she sat a glass of water down for Fancy.

“That’s the short of it.” Fancy shrugged and turned a page of the menu. “Quite a ridiculous notion, really.”

Athena raised her brow at Fancy’s dismissiveness. “Why’s that?”

“Simply put, Luna gains from saddling herself with me.”

Luna blinked. “Saddling?”

“But of course. If I truly had designs on acquiring power, I wouldn’t have stepped down from the ambassadorship in the first place and likely would’ve pursued Princess Celestia. As for what you garner out of marrying me, Luna, I honestly don’t see much benefit. You are already higher on the pecking order as it were, being one of our nation’s rulers.”

“But what of your companionship?” Luna countered.

“What about it?”

“You are quite the charming stallion, Fancy Pants. If such arrangements were only about status-chasing, then the union of my niece and her beau would be for naught.”

“Oh, but they have a long, happy life ahead of them, Luna, whereas I’m a little too old for you.”

Both Athena and Luna shared a curious glance before Luna coughed into her hoof. “Fancy Pants, you do not know this, but I count my number of years by the ages of this world. I have long forgotten any specific number. Pray tell, how are you too old for one such as I?”

“With all due respect, Luna, it isn’t so much about your limitless years, but my limited ones. I’m already halfway through my lifetime while you will always be in your prime. You deserve somepony to share their best years with before they begin their steady decline.”

Luna furrowed her brow with a mixture of confusion and concern as she leaned closer to her friend. “And what are the best years? Who are you to determine such things?”

“A subjective metric, I suppose, but practically speaking, I am as healthy as I will ever be right now. Unless you have a spell to reverse about sixteen years, shouldn’t an immortal wish to maximize the possible time spent with any lover?”

“I always wish I could’ve had more time with those I have taken romantic interest in before my absence, but such value is not determined so simply. The eventual pain of loss is great indeed, but the regret of not having spent such time is far greater.”

Fancy chuckled. “Playing by your rules, I suppose it doesn’t matter as much since I wouldn’t waste your time.”

“Such a low opinion of yourself is unbecoming, Sir Fancy Pants. I have only known you for a short while, but I truly believe anypony would be lucky to have you as their partner in life.”

“It’s not that I have a low opinion, just a realistic one.” Fancy looked down at his water, catching the ghost of his reflection looking more like the last photos of Suede with every passing year. “Both of my parents died relatively young. In a few years, I’ll be older than my mother was when she died. The other died at sixty.”

“Quite the arbitrary notion to cling to. Death could claim any of us at any time. Even I could be struck down by a significant enough blow. The ever-present threat of death is no reason to disqualify yourself from the joys of a relationship.”

“That’s always been something bothering me, to be honest,” Athena commented as she flicked an ear while pondering aloud. “Not the death part, but why aren’t you already married? I think you could have anyone you wanted.”

“When I was fifteen or so, I’d have agreed with you. That rapscallion of a stallion spent quite a lot of time chasing pretty fillies all around Canterlot with the help of his family’s fortune. However, by the time he realized what love truly was and what little it had to do with wealth, it was far too late to settle down.”

“Too late? So what, you’re just gonna stay single forever because you were a wild stallion in the past?”

Quickly losing his appetite, Fancy closed the menu and lifted his water to take another drink while he gathered his thoughts. “Not quite, but I’ve made my peace with it if that’s the case.”

“And here I was foolishly upset with the cheap claims of you seeking a royal marriage.” Luna softened with a somber frown. “Such a dismal outlook is not healthy, dear Fancy Pants. Surely there is somepony that you have found favor with.”

“That is…” Fancy trailed as he began idly polishing his monocle, “complicated.”

“Only as complicated as you make it, my friend,” Luna noted.

“Yeah, there are plenty of fish in the sea, Fancy,” Athena added.

Fancy half-heartedly laughed and put his monocle back on. “Not when you know the best one.”

“While I fail to see what ichthyology has to do with anything, this topic clearly makes you uncomfortable. So instead, let us return to the happier topic of mourning the death of art.” Luna indulged deeply in her coffee, the incredible bitterness matching her mood.

“That’s a rather accurately harsh take,” Fancy noted, smirking with understanding. “Still, I thought Bold’s works were quite nice.”

“As did I, but such a world is tainted by the finery of supposed nobility. The pageantry, the droll conversations, the double-speak…” Luna twirled a hoof, spinning the reasons for hating the exhibition like a weaver’s wheel. “Even granting the skill of the artist, those pieces were not worth the bits they were being sold for.”

“So you noticed that as well? I, for one, would welcome an investigation into the art market. A word of caution though: you may want to familiarize yourself with modern economic machinations before diving headlong into it. While it’s a rather out-of-control situation, it isn’t for lack of trying on Princess Celestia’s part.”

“That is, unfortunately, no surprise,” the princess huffed in dismay. “While my sister has the aptitude for shining a light to scatter the shadows, she can struggle to reveal the ones ultimately casting them. She is no fool, but she often lacks the subtlety one requires to deal with matters efficiently without overstepping her bounds.” Luna rolled her eyes and took another chug of coffee to fortify her patience. “Still, I suppose it was hoping against hope that art could be presented for art’s sake knowing these cretin nobles. The foundations of creativity have all but rotted away in the face of hollow prestige.”

At that last remark, Fancy recalled his request to Vinyl and brightened. “Not all is lost, Luna. I might have a last bastion for such a presentation as it were. Have you heard of the ESPA Performer Showcases coming up?”

“Celestia mentioned she will be attending the event in passing and that it is something I might enjoy, though she also said the same for tonight’s exhibition with your escort. I believe the group that held The Histories of a Thousand Notes are one in the same, yes?”

Rising with more excitement from the comfortable topic, Fancy nodded in agreement. “You’re quite right. It is a venerable institution that I am more than happy to continue contributing parents’ wealth to in their memory. While it is a more formal event, I wouldn’t say it is needlessly lavish. Three nights to enjoy the lesser-known artists of Equestria. If I may be so bold, I would go so far as to say it is held in much the same spirit as the ancient Night Court you told me about.”

Luna’s ears perked up as she turned to give Fancy her undivided attention. “My Night Court? Truly?”

“Of a sort, yes,” Fancy replied, setting his water down to return her attentiveness. “It is mostly a display of the talents being honed at by Society’s members. Music, drama, storytelling, really anything that can be performed, hence the name ‘Performers Showcase.’” Fancy then looked up at Athena. “I was planning on inviting you two on the night I will be attending.”

“Wait. Two as in ‘me too,’ too?” the flummoxed minotaur asked and backed away from her friends. “Why am I suddenly getting dragged into this? I don’t know the first thing about art!”

“Neither do I, but that has never stopped me from enjoying a good show,” Fancy answered. “Besides, the ESPA rarely disappoints.”

“You should come, Athena,” Luna urged her friend with renewed excitement. “It shall be a most wonderful spectacle, especially with your company.”

“I-I don’t know.” The minotaur hummed and closed her eyes to mull over the idea. “You said it was three nights, right? I can’t afford to be shut down that many nights in a row. I’m not exactly a hot dinner spot, but I do get some griffon regulars on the weekends.”

“I’m not asking you to go to all three nights,” Fancy clarified. “I’m only attending the first, the student performances, which is on a Thursday. Your attendance beyond that will be up to you.”

Athena paused her absentminded flicking and grimaced. “How old are these students we’re talking about? Not to sound like a monster, but if it’s a roundabout way of saying ‘foals' choir,’ I’m giving that one a hard pass. The endearing cuteness is not enough for me to ignore the pain in my ears caused by offkey singing.”

“Not to worry, Athena. While it’s referred to as students, it’s more of a young professionals night for the up-and-coming talents in Equestria. They’re only students in the sense that they’re attending a school under the umbrella of the ESPA. Not only do I get to see the students benefiting from my family’s grant money, but it’s also the evening Fleur de Lis and Vinyl Scratch will be performing. I was hoping to introduce you two to them.”

While he was looking forward to meeting the other grant recipients, it was the latter that held significance to Fancy Pants. Vinyl Scratch had apparently taken inspiration from the work she was doing for him with the records. Exactly what she meant by it, he didn’t know outside of her asking permission to use an album of his. While Éclair received all the royalties for Suede’s music, he still managed the distribution rights with the help of the ESPA. By all accounts, he should know exactly what she planned to do with it, but with Fluffer Duster’s excitement for the work in progress, he purposely refused to hear anything about it outside of giving her blanket permission to use whatever she needed for her music. After all, why ruin a good surprise?

“Okay, so I guess the next important question is where is it?” Athena probed with cautious intrigue.

“The Equestrian Society for the Performing Arts’ Rosen Aria concert hall. A tad smaller than where the Equestrian Royal Philharmonic usually plays, but illustrious in its own right.”

“How much smaller? They have double doors, right?”

“Double doors?” Luna asked, confused why doorways should matter for a performance.

“To nip this line of questioning in the bud, you will find that the building is able to accommodate you just fine.”

“Strange. I thought Canterlot had been designed with my sister’s height in mind. Has your size given you problems in the past?”

“Seriously?” Athena curled an eyebrow and leaned over the bar counter to look her friend in the eyes. “When’s the last time you saw another minotaur besides me? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m big even by minotaur standards.”

“Nonsense, Athena. I know you’re a little taller than my sister—”

“A little?” The minotaur stood back up, letting the sitting princess take in her full size. “Luna, I’m pretty sure I’m more than two of you stacked together.”

Sensing the challenge, Luna summoned two astral visages of herself and stacked them with one standing on the other’s back. Seeing how the minotaur still loomed over them, Luna moved the higher projection up to stand on the lower one’s head and just barely met Athena’s eyes.

“Excluding our horns, I’d say we’re about even. Wouldn’t you agree?” Luna asked while turning up at her friend.

The minotaur pursed her lips and looked back at the victorious princess with an impatient scowl before sighing. Athena popped her back and stood up straighter, gaining even more height. Fancy hadn’t realized just how much effort the minotaur had been putting in to making herself seem smaller. With the impromptu princess measuring stick next to her at her full height, it made Fancy glad knowing Athena was a peaceful creature. Even Luna seemed taken aback by her incredible stature.

“One should always endeavor to maintain proper posture, Athena,” Luna mumbled as dispelled the phantasmal alicorns.

“Sorry. Force of habit,” Athena apologized as she caught herself instinctively hunching back down. “It’s just that most ponies don’t feel comfortable placing an order with someone who looks like they could juggle their entire party of four.”

“I am quite surprised that you managed to attain such a physical presence while abstaining from meat. Your kind tends to bend towards the carnivorous side of omnivorous diets.”

“Well, it just kind of happens when you’re willing to try any edible plant you can find to stay away from meat, regardless of potential magical effects. Only realized that I should’ve been more careful with my culinary experiments after I woke up one morning unable to sit up in my room without banging my horns on the ceiling.” The minotaur tapped her index fingers together and blushed from her memories. “After one really awkward conversation with the local alchemist, it turned out making a cobbler using glowing blueberries you found on a walk was a bad idea.”

Luna blinked as she connected several dots in her head. “You mean to say that you stumbled across a mystical titanberry bush and your first instinct was to make a dessert of all things?” Luna’s muzzle crumpled as she tried to stifle her snickers.

“I didn’t know what they were, okay? Twelve-year-olds don’t make good decisions!” Athena barked back. “I’m just glad I was still learning to cook back then and botched the recipe. If I hadn’t burned away most of the juices, I might’ve had to move to the Dragon Lands after ingesting enough berries to dwarf an elder dragon.”

The thought of the meek mountain-sized minotaur selling colossal gemstone cakes to a dragonlord did bear a certain irony Fancy could appreciate. Luna, on the other hoof, found it far funnier and guffawed freely at the innocent girl’s mistake. It did explain why Athena bore the natural physique of a hardened warrior rather than a plump, homebody cook.

“If ancient memories serve me right, just one titanberry was enough for a potent giant’s draught elixir, but those battle potions’ effects always subsided after a few minutes. You must’ve eaten quite a number of them to leave a lasting effect.”

“Y-yeah. It was scary at first, but luckily I was able to stand up and fit through my bedroom door later that day. The problem was, my shrinking slowed throughout the week. I wound up borrowing my dad’s clothes for a while. But, of course, a year later, the teens roared with a vengeance. For once, my parents were thankful that my diet was vegan so I didn’t eat them out of house and home.” Athena shook the past from her head, bringing her back to the conversation. “So yeah, there’s a reason I mostly stick to my restaurant and the outside. I can dip down and go into most anyplace in Equestria with a double door, no problem. Now, should I go inside is an entirely different question. Most of the time, I might as well be a drunk yak in a ceramics shop.”

“Clearly you’re broader than a pony, but you most certainly aren’t as wide as your male counterparts. I recall seeing a rather ridiculously proportioned blue fellow leave your establishment before.”

“Broad and blue… You mean Iron Will?” Athena scoffed and rolled her eyes at the thought of the other minotaur. “If your definition of ‘broad’ is that jerk that doesn’t know what leg day is, then yeah. But at least he can slide through most pony doors. I, on the other hand, have a hard size limit. If it’s a single, there’s a lot of me to push through at any angle I try, and unless it’s an emergency, I refuse to embarrass myself crab-walking through one ever again. I learned the hard way that most anyplace in Equestria outside of Canterlot was going to be a struggle.”

“Why am I sensing a story here?” Luna asked. Athena looked at Fancy Pants and shrugged, letting him take the reins.

“That would be my fault. I happened across Athena while visiting Minossus. After talking to her, I could see her unique culinary expertise was being wasted and offered to help her move her business to Equestria. There would be more potential with her vegan cuisine being far more appealing to pony tastes.”

“I originally had my heart set on Manehattan, but that was quickly dashed on the train ride to Canterlot,” Athena added with a rueful sigh.

“Why is that?” Luna asked. “I’ve been there several times and it is not only large, but also an impressively sprawling city. If not for my wings, I fear I might get lost within its winding streets.”

“Yeah, that last one was why I wanted to move there. Little piece of home away from home, but that was before I got off the ferry in Ponthos to catch the train to Canterlot.”

“Train? Wouldn't it have been faster to use an airship?”

Athena chewed her lip. “I uhh… I don’t like heights.”

“But Canterlot is on a mountain…”

“A fact I can put out of my head by staying within the city limits! Anyway, when I got to the station and saw the train I was supposed to get on, that’s when the problems really started.”

Luna tapped her chin. “I believe those doors are designed to accommodate a wide array of creatures. Outside of adult and elder dragons, I would be shocked to find you struggling to board one.”

“Normally you would be correct, Luna,” Fancy chimed in, “but I hadn’t quite accounted for the route there being run solely by the Frontier Freight shipping company. Unlike the Friendship Express, Frontier’s routes usually run a more streamlined operation to outlying pony settlements and trading posts. They mostly only take a hoof-full of pony workers along with the occasional passenger. Back then, it wasn't a problem since most traveling minotaurs use airships anyway, but for someone like Athena…”

The minotaur leaned over the bar and pulled at her face with her hands, mortified. “That freaking door was barely wide enough for an adult pony to walk through, never mind an oversized minotaur like me.”

“There’s no need to be embarrassed. Besides, you’re obviously here now, so something must’ve worked.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just they put me in a freight car… for eight hours,” Athena whined as she grimaced at the memory. “I guess I should be thankful that it didn’t load at the top so I had a solid roof over my head.”

“Oh. A most uncomfortable arrangement I’d imagine.”

“It was, but that was only half of it. It didn’t have heat, so I had to try digging my sweater out of my suitcase when it got cold overnight. Long story short, I tripped while putting it on and fell into a bunch of grain sacks. Wound up tearing a bunch with my horns on the way down and got covered in oats, barley, wheat, and whatever else they had bought in Minossus. The bath afterwards looked like a bowl of minotaur multigrain cereal when I had finally gotten it all out of my fur.”

“Yes, the cleaning staff did have several questions for me when they found that particular mess in the guest bathroom,” Fancy added as the princess bit her lip trying to stop herself from laughing at her friend’s expense. “In retrospect, some good came from her particularly messy incident. The shipping mishap inspired a few changes in that particular train’s passenger car size. From what I hear, the ponies appreciate the extra leg space along with the few minotaurs that now use it.”

“After I told Fancy what had happened when he picked me up from the station, he warned that a lot of older buildings in Manehattan were built with smaller doors too. I decided to not risk embarrassing myself again and settled in a place where every door must be big enough for a princess to hightail it through at a moment’s notice. It’s usually fine, but there are some doorways that cut it a little close.”

“The building code also widens the hallways to two alicorn widths as well, so you should have no trouble at the ESPA.” Fancy tilted his head up to look at the tips of the minotaur’s horns. “Though you may have to mind your head in some places.”

“That’s never out of the ordinary.” Athena sighed as she started counting the excuses on her fingers. “So, the day is fine, height is okay…”

“You can always decline if you’d rather not go, Athena. I wouldn’t be offended.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to. I just…” Athena sighed in resignation and gripped the third finger in her count with her other hand. “You said Princess Celestia will be there, right?”

Fancy frowned, finally sensing where the true trepidation was coming from. “Athena…”

“Look, I know, alright? It’s stupid and dumb and whatever, but I spent the last five years worried that a princess would come down here, take one look at the meat-like menu, and deport me!”

Fancy removed his monocle and started polishing it again. “Honestly, Miss Cypriel. While her highness might not have thought much about it, she’s at least known of your business for years considering she’s the one who approved it in the first place with you being a Minosan. Furthermore, you think I didn’t tell her where I was taking every meat-loving dignitary under the sun?”

“If I am honest, a petty part of me receives a twisted sense of satisfaction knowing that the fearful shoe is on the other hoof for once,” Luna admitted with a mischievous smile. “Still, I think this event would be a perfect opportunity to meet her in a neutral area. I have also told her much about our friendship, Athena. Not only does she want to meet you, she also wishes to thank you for providing a safe haven for me to… indulge my appetite. Furthermore, if things were to go awry, you can always douse her tongue in your delicious River Styx blend. I have found it to be a most effective countermeasure against the sun.”

“Alright, fine! I’ll go as long as I have you two to back me up.” Despite all of Athena’s blustering, she looked both frustrated and happy to have been cajoled into going.

“But of course, though I don’t think you’ll need the help.” Fancy looked to the princess and winked who returned with an approving nod. “You’re a delightful minotaur, my dear. To be quite honest, I’m more worried about you meeting Fleur and Vinyl than anything.”

Athena’s meek happiness dropped immediately. “Wait, what? Is there something wrong?”

“No, not really—maybe. It mostly depends on Fleur. You see, she may be rather cross when she figures out I spoiled her fun before she had a chance to introduce herself on her terms.”

“You mean her ladyship act you warned me about?”

“Among her other characters, yes.”

“Characters?” Luna asked. “From her performance with her mother, I thought she was a dancer.”

“She’s a multi-talented performer, but her true strength lies with her voice work. Therein lies the problem as she enjoys making first impressions based on who she thinks she can get away with rather than herself.”

“Odd. She was energetic the little we spoke to her over desserts when we met her briefly, but I didn’t expect such duplicity.”

Fancy laughed as he considered how much trouble she would’ve caused for everypony had she been given the opportunity. With it being a more somber occasion, even Fleur knew not to disrespect her father’s memory by upsetting the princesses. “That's because she didn’t get much of a chance to try to pull the wool over your eyes, Luna. Unfortunately, she’s not above messing with royalty. Fleur threw your niece for quite a loop with a farmer character. After fooling Princess Cadance into talking about growing corn in the countryside, I learned then that I should introduce them to her face-to-face rather than preface things.”

Luna hummed in thought. “It sounds like a bit of harmless fun to me.”

“It really depends on how far she takes it. Fleur will keep up her act in perpetuity until she has a reason to break character. With those she likes, she’ll drop the act to get to know them. As for the others, in her words, she enjoys the chance for a sneak attack when she’s mistaken for, as Lofty so lovingly put it, just another noble airhead.”

A small smile slowly crept across Luna’s face as she considered the mare. “So the troublemaker prefers to assess a situation before lowering her guard. Fleur de Lis bears the makings of a useful asset to Equestria.”

Fancy rolled his eyes at the mere thought. “The only spy she’d play is one in the record dramas or movie reels. She enjoys the spotlight far too much to be in the shadows.”

“There are more ways than one to gather intelligence, Fancy Pants. Sometimes the loudest of us are the ones who truly go unnoticed.”

“Perhaps you should meet her before considering her for espionage. Just don’t sic her on the griffons if she makes the cut. I’d rather not jeopardize my relationship with my brandy dealer.”

“We shall do our best to not impede partaking in thy favored vice, Sir Fancy Pants… but no promises.” Luna laughed, the final wisps of stress fading away from her visage. “Speaking of partaking, could I trouble you in firing up your grill for a real meal, Athena? There were several polite offerings at the exhibition tonight, but paltry hors d'oeuvres are nothing compared to something with more substance to it.”

“Gladly!” Athena replied. “Would you like anything, Fancy?”

“Seeing as how I am still your escort for the evening, it’d be impolite to let you dine alone.” Cracking the menu back open, Fancy looked over the menu satisfied with another job well done. While the event had been a complete loss, it didn’t doom the evening to be a failure. Dining with friends was always preferable to an insufferable evening with the rest of the nobles.

Insufferable? Since when had that word so flagrantly entered his lexicon? Fancy chuckled at the word popping into his mind. Apparently the company he was keeping these days was affecting him more than he had thought. Still, it wasn’t much of a competition. Between his tea times with the princesses and dinners with everypony at the mansion, he had found his more recent weeks much more relaxing as he turned down invitation after invitation. The little moments among friends were far more enjoyable than entertaining the whims of the elite.

“Doesn’t it feel kinda empty?”

“I’m sorry?” Fancy quickly asked, turning to Luna.

“Zesty, Fancy. What pairs well with something zesty?” Luna repeated. “I am debating drinks with this zesty grilled ganoderma and I wanted to ask for your recommendation since it’s griffon-inspired and you’re familiar with their spirits.”

Fancy furrowed his brow in thought and looked to the resident cook for her guidance. “I know what tastes good, but she said she wants authenticity,” Athena clarified. “That’s your department, ‘ambassador.’”

“Oh, right,” Fancy said with a smile as he turned over to the alcohol. “Just give me a moment with the drink menu.”

Luna popped her teeth in preparation for the upcoming meal while eyeing the stallion in concern. “Is something the matter, Fancy Pants?”

“No. Not at all, princess.” Fancy replied without looking up from the menu. “Just mulling over some choices.”

Author's Note

Special thanks to Falkenlied for some excellent Electro Swing musical recommendations.

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 24: Making Friends

“Now's the time for action, Summers. We got a good groove going now. Let’s just beat that jive turkey at his game and play on the Drive anyway,” Springstep urged.

“Nuh-uh, ladies,” Summers admonished. “I said it again and again and I’ll keep saying it until it sticks, I ain’t down with that! We play by their stupid rules or we don’t play at all!”

“But why? We got Shoddy Shoes and his masters on the run. Hiding behind their dumb rules to bogart the Drive is all those chumps got left!”

“Springstep, do me a solid and take a chill pill. There’s plenty of room for the both of us in Canterlot.”

“Why don’t you tell them that? Those fat cats down on the Drive have been blacklisting us everywhere we go! ‘Don’t meet sufficiently acceptable artistic merit’ my flank!”

Vinyl’s notes sat neglected on the wayside as she listened intently to the drama slowly building on the Groovecasters record. What started out as a last-minute jam session had devolved into a heated argument between Springstep and Sauna Summers. It was a topic that Vinyl was familiar with in passing, but the argument had always been cut from the record. This time they stayed, probably because they were waiting on the third party to finish whatever it was they were doing. Being silent for so long, it was likely Sunny.

“Spring! It’s copacetic, ‘kay? They got live gigs, we got record sales. Once we get enough for a full band, we can beat them at their game. If we wanna play on the Drive, it's their way or no way, so that’s what we’re gonna do.”

“Dream on, Summers. Who’s gonna play with us? Pretty much every horn in this town is owned by those Society squares!”

“That’s where this comes in, Spring,” Sunny finally interjected, causing Vinyl to ready her notes.

“Ain’t gonna lie, Sunny,” Spring said, “I was wondering what it was that you were doing over there. Especially with that hunk of amethyst.”

Vinyl couldn’t stop herself from cringing at the idea of amethyst storage. While the gems themselves were crisp, easy to channel, and resonated beautifully with sound magic, they were incredibly inefficient. Fitting several songs for crystal clear playback was easy enough, but cramming an instrument’s full breadth of sound was unthinkable these days. Unless somepony was trying to get with an amethyst rock farmer, there was no reason to fill rooms with the things.

“Not exactly,” Sunny chimed in. “Umm… ‘Check it out’ the ‘hip new groove’ we got ‘flowing’ here.”

“Shug, just speak your truth,” Summers corrected.

After an awkward moment, Sunny started up again with a cough. “So I did a little research and found that the Canterlot Musical Society’s rules state that any recognized CMS group allowed to play at a CMS affiliated venue must contain a certain percentage of what they termed a ‘traditional instrumentation soundscape.’ All we need to do is use their seemingly restrictive rules against them.”

“Okay, old news, but sure,” Spring said.

“The keyword here is 'percentage,' Spring.”

“Groovy.”

“D-did you, umm… ‘catch the drift?’”

“I’m guessing we’re gonna cheat the system somehow?”

“No—I mean yes, we kind of are but not—” Sunny growled trying to figure out her wording. Vinyl felt a kinship with the frustrated mare as she stumbled over her words while trying to dumb it down for the fellow performer. She was lucky to work with Fleur at school, but sometimes the rest of the Cantrips talent could be less than quick on the uptake. “Let me phrase it this way. Do you know how both big band swing and small quartets can get away with being properly recognized by the CMS despite being comprised so differently?”

“Percentages?”

“Yes!” Sunny exclaimed, a little desperation sneaking into her voice. “Do you know what I mean by that?”

“Square stuff is your space, dork.”

Sunny muttered something under her breath while Vinyl rested her face on her hooves. Vinyl knew Spring was angry and could certainly relate to her feelings towards the nobles, but the mare’s temperament towards Sunny was grating on her nerves. Sunny herself must’ve been feeling the same way.

“Simply put, we need a certain number of traditional instruments and we’re in,” Sunny clarified. “All we need to do is make sure the percentage meets the bare minimum of the threshold required by the CMS and they can’t reject us for lacking a proper soundscape.”

“Right on. So, who’s gonna play an instrument? You?”

“Umm… I never learned to play one.”

“Fab, Sunny,” Spring groused. “The rest of us can’t play a single thing either, unless tambourines count. So what now?”

“We exploit a loophole.”

“Is that why you wheeled in that gemstone, sunshine?” Summers asked.

“Yes. This is a feather flute.”

“How the hay is that a feather flute?” Springstep shouted in disbelief.

“It’s not a real feather flute, but a magically transcribed one,” Sunny explained. “All you need is to channel the instrument itself through a magical implement and, presto, you’ll hear a flute.”

“Don’t mean to bum everypony out, but between the three of us, I see six wings, eight if Autumn was here today. Ain’t a single horn between the four of us.”

“Sunny is a pegasus!” Vinyl pumped a hoof in excitement as she scribbled it down. Finally, something concrete on their identities. Sauna Summers, Autumn Aria, Spring Step, and Sunny Something; the core four of Summer’s inner circle at Groovecasters were all pegasi. Vinyl thought back to that stunning magazine cover of the silver-clad Summers commanding the stage with her three friends. She hoped Sunny was one of them.

“Exactly!” Sunny confirmed. “Which is why we need a magical implement that anypony can use.”

“And I’m guessing that’s what’s with the weird piano?” Summers inquired.

“Yes. With this, we can beat the CMS at their own game, but it’s not a piano. It’s a magical implement called a synthesizer. Now—” Sunny was cut short by Vinyl pausing the playback.

Vinyl popped open the Summers biography and began looking for when this could’ve been recorded. No matter at what point this would’ve been in Summer’s early years, synthesizers would be considered cutting-edge musical technology. They were far more common these days, but even now, synthesizers capable of handling high-quality crystals were still expensive. Sunny calling it a magical focus rather than a musical instrument was telling enough. That and amethysts wouldn’t have been cheap.

Vinyl spun the record back slightly and then continued. “—called a synthesizer. Now, watch this.”

There was a faint sound of plastic clacking against hooves, but nothing resembling an instrument. “I don’t hear anything.”

“Indeed! But listen. Once I attune this to the conduit—”

Vinyl quickly paused the record again. Forget simply cutting-edge, this sounded more like an early experimental prototype. She’d never even heard of a synthesizer relying on an exterior channeling source. If they were using amethysts, then it made sense to forgo a casing in favor of a free-standing mounting conduit. They were prohibitively cumbersome, but compared to other gemstones, their audio purity was on another level.

Starting the record again, Vinyl heard the unmistakable whistle of a feather flute accompanied by the clack of a hoof sliding down the full breadth of a keyboard. If she hadn’t been told, she wouldn’t have known it was an imprinted instrument. For something like that, the amethyst must’ve been enormous. It’d easily outsize a full-grown mare and likely need a mounting platform the size of a wagon wheel to suspend. Vinyl thanked her lucky stars that history favored utility over quality. Otherwise, she’d be hiring teams of draft ponies to pull convoys of crystals around to her gigs.

“Woah. That sounds like a feather flute… kinda,” Spring said.

“What do you mean? I don’t hear a difference,” Summers added.

“It’s real close, but something’s off about it, I can tell. You get an ear for these things when you’ve been in the biz as long as me and Autumn.”

“If I were to take a guess, it’s probably because you only hear the pure instrument. It lacks the sound of somepony’s breath passing through it,” Sunny suggested, earning a confirming nod of agreement from Vinyl for her accuracy. “Fortunately for us, this counts as a feather flute since one of the Gifted students a few years ago played a quartet by herself using crystals. They carved out an exception for her, leaving us with a convenient loophole to exploit.”

Did Sunny know about Sonorous Spirit too? The often overlooked mare was famous for channeling up to six crystalline instruments at once and one of Vinyl’s obscure inspirations. The sheer amount of raw magic and concentration required to perform music stopped anypony else from trying. Vinyl could only channel two at most, and even then she could only do one note at a time. Spirit had simply been on another level, and Vinyl wished she could’ve seen perform live.

“Far out, Sunny! I knew Summers kept you around for something.”

“Springstep…” Summers warned.

“Chill, Summers. Just a joke. So, we can play the feather flute with this piano, but that doesn’t change the fact nopony knows how to play it. Not super helpful there, Sunny.”

“Right.” Sunny’s incredulity was so thick, Vinyl could almost hear her eyes roll. “Along with this, I was able to convince Smooth Groove to borrow the piano player from Tres Ponis. We’ll rely on him until we can build up enough money to support a full band behind us ourselves. With this in our arsenal, we can channel four of these at once and translate it into enough instruments to meet their soundscape requirement.”

“Stellar work, sunshine!” A fluttering of feathers and a subtle “Oof” from Sunny signaled she had likely been subjected to another impactful hug by Summers.

“Wow. Didn’t think you had a devious bone in your body,” Spring praised with glowing respect. “Always seem so straightlaced.”

“Sometimes rules are meant to be bent a little until they can be rewritten,” Sunny bragged, but the pride she savored quickly faded away. “However… there is a small catch. Unless they’re a traditional choir or an acapella group, singers don’t count towards traditional instrumentation. A nice little rule to try to keep groups like us out.”

“Classy. So what?” Spring asked.

“The synthesizer counts as four on a technicality. Luckily, the drums do also, but we still have the other invalid instruments and the four of us working against the balance.”

“Can’t we just swap out crystals and play, like, one note of each before we start a song?”

“No. The rules state it needs to be a natural part of the overall soundscape, so we’ll need to actually play it to keep things above board. Besides, you want to try switching something that big or larger out on the fly? Touching an active storage or conduit crystal while they’re being channeled can be dangerous. If it didn’t give you a nasty shock to your mana system, you’d probably break the crystal itself. Trust me, you don’t want to do that. Those weren’t cheap.”

“Wait… so what’s the lowdown?” Spring asked in concern.

Sunny sighed. “Unless we can find somepony else to play an accepted instrument—”

“Which the CMS will be absolutely thrilled to let one of their horns play with us while we’re trying to crash their party.”

“Yes, it means with what we currently have, Summers will be the only singer allowed on-stage.”

“Wha—what about you two and Autumn?” Summers interjected.

“This is the best I could do. Groovecasters doesn’t want to throw any more money at this. After I showed them the synthesizer and crystals, I practically groveled at their hooves trying to get us a piano player.”

“Hold up Sunny. You ain’t saying you bought all of… Sweet Celestia! How much did—”

“Don’t worry about it, Summers. This was well worth the investment.”

“I think we’re missing the sky through the clouds here,” Spring shouted over the other two. “All they need to do is get a couple of other ponies to let me and Autumn in. Groove just wants to shine the spotlight on his foxy disco diva!”

“What about Sunny?” Summers asked, raising her voice at her friend being left out.

“Close the shades, Summers! If she wasn’t cool with the idea, she wouldn’t have brought it up, unless she’s trippin. Obviously she’s fine with you going solo for some reason. Bet the flat leaver is just waiting to cuddle up to Groove and the other producers!”

“Don’t put words in her mouth!”

“No, it’s fair,” Sunny defended, cutting off Summers’ argument before it could start. “I don’t know what lever I’m meant to be pulling, but if it means we move forward, I am perfectly fine with it.”

“Well, unlike you, Miss Paper Pusher, this is my only job!” Spring argued.

“I’m sorry, Spring. I really tried, but this is the best I can do.”

“Why don’t we take turns?” Summers suggested.

Sunny sighed again, her voice shrinking further from the conversation. “Smooth Groove was only okay with the idea if you were always on stage.”

Spring forced a condescending laugh. “Well ain’t that just a peach and a half! Me and Aria have been putting years into Groovecasters, but all they want is you shaking your hot-to-trot foxy flank center stage to bring in the bits!”

“Now, now, Springstep. That isn’t—”

“No! Up your muzzle with a rusty shovel, Sunny! You may be fine with the cards you got dealt, or maybe you’re just a woofin, but some of us still got dreams! If you’re for real, let’s blow this scene, Summers. We still got Cloudsdale or Manehatten, and unlike this hornhead haven, we’ll actually be welcome there.”

There was a long pause on the record. For a moment, Vinyl was worried it was the end until Summers chimed back in after considering the proposal. “What about Sunny? She can’t leave Canterlot with her… job.”

“Who cares about Little Miss Executive here? You gotta know when to fly the coop and leave this grounded bird behind. Let her go back to her cushy chair. I ain’t sticking around to squander my one chance at success because somepony has a bum wing.”

“No…” The confidence Summers usually displayed was nowhere to be heard in her voice as doubt wormed its way in. “No! Sunny’s my friend, and we’re supposed to be welcome in Canterlot! Princess Celestia said—”

“We all know what the Princess said to you about harmony, but obviously some ponies around town ain’t hip to the groove! Besides, if the Princess was so interested in you, where’s she now?” Spring asked pointedly. Vinyl felt a certain kinship with Spring, but her dismissive attitude felt needlessly hostile. “That’s what I thought. If she ain’t gonna help and they don’t want us here, I say we give ‘em what they want. They might not say that they hate us ‘cause of our wings, but I got the whole picture now. High time you did too.”

Another uncomfortable silence dragged on until somepony took a deep breath.

“Fine, then leave,” Sunny calmly suggested.

“What?” Spring fired back in disbelief at Sunny’s sudden change.

“Go ahead and leave. If you’ve already made up your mind, the door is right over there. You sound so confident, I’m sure it will be fine.”

“I know it’s better than being forced into playing second fiddle forever.”

“Second fiddle?” Sunny hummed to herself for a second. “That’s quite a generous take. I must’ve been mistaken in thinking that we’re only doing as well as we are because the ‘Sensational Sauna Summers’ exploded onto the scene and managed to drag the rest of Groovecasters along for the ride.”

“Disco’s the new dig. We found the sound, so all we gotta do is—”

“Copy her success?”

“Summers didn’t invent disco, you freak! For peat’s sake, if we’re going by CMS playbook, me and Autumn are way better singers! We got wider ranges and the talent to back it up!”

“Perhaps that is true, but Summers is the one with the magic to make it popular. An underdog ‘commoner’ resisting the proper harmony of Canterlot by performing outside of her cutie mark? That’s inspiring. Summers’ fans can relate to that struggle, especially with how she’s so obviously slandered in the papers.”

“Oh, so now it’s bad we got music marks and you two don’t? Don’t talk jive to me, Sunny! We’ve been busting our flanks since we got ours. If you’re too good for us now, then we’re good enough to make it with or without you two!”

“I never said I was particularly talented with music. I’m not a very artistic pony. But honestly, it’s not a matter of quality performers that will win. It’s who is both quality and marketable. A hot, steamy Sauna of sound bringing a series of endless Summers to your ears? Good luck beating that after flying away from Groovecasters so haphazardly. You’ll be lucky to land knock-off shows in Las Pegasus as the Spring derivative that will always be a Step away from the real deal.”

“Sunny!” Summers yelled. “You’re way out of line!”

“But am I wrong?”

“Fine! Ten-four! Crystal clear!” Spring screeched, capitulating to the bitter truth. “The world ain’t fair and we’re all stuck supporting the hot spa pony in the spotlight. Who cares if we work hard and want to shine too, right? That’s what you’re saying, right? Right?”

“Springstep, wait!” Summers called out as hooves were heard galloping away followed by a door slam. Vinyl’s heart sank as the silence settled in. “Sunny! What the hay was that about?”

“You better go after her. I obviously can’t chase her down,” Sunny laughed ruefully. “Not that I can help her anyway. She’ll need a friend right now, and I’m pretty sure I just ruined that.”

“Nuh-uh, shug. You’re coming too, even if I have to carry you on my back. You need to apologize. We gotta make this right!”

“I have nothing to say to her that would be helpful,” Sunny admitted with remorse.

“We’re supposed to be like a family, shug. This ain’t you.”

“No. No it isn’t, but we need this. You need this, Summers. Our record sales are keeping us relevant to the managers, but we aren’t irreplaceable. If we become bad for Groovecasters, they will drop us. To make sure that doesn’t happen, we’ll get every last bit we can so we become their unequivocal bottom line. That means we need to legitimize ourselves in the eyes of the venues around Canterlot. I’ll make sure that we make it by any means necessary.

“We need to change how we play the game before we can change how it’s played in the first place. If we become just another one-hit wonder, then not even Celestia herself will be able to save us from obscurity.”

“Sunny… I-I just wanna make ponies happy. What’s the point of leaving the spa if I can’t even make my closest friends happy anymore?”

“Please, Summers. I know it’s hard, but this is what needs to be done. If that means I become the group’s villain so we can keep going, then so be it. You just stay strong and keep being the sensation that you are.” There was another long pause, making Vinyl wish she could somehow see what was happening on these records.

“Now, you need to go find Springstep and calm her down. If I know her, she’s probably brooding on a cloud somewhere. I’ll start packing things up arou—”

Vinyl set her headset to the side upon hearing the familiar pop of the recording being cut off by Sunny. She’d been trying to ignore the ever-mysterious mare recently by focusing more on Springstep and Autumn Aria, but then moments like this would happen. On one hoof, Sunny was a painfully naïve pony who always bumbled one step behind the others when performing. Then on the other, her studious, cunning nature always shined through when the music stopped in the most interesting and somewhat terrifying ways.

This was the first time the DJ had heard so many personal details about anypony involved with Summers. The recordings usually cut off before these kinds of sparks could start flying. Vinyl now had strong evidence that they all must be the three ponies pictured most often in Sunny’s early career. This meant Sunny was a pegasus, probably a weather pony of some sort with a “bum wing,” trying to make it in music. A flightless pegasus…

The thought made Vinyl’s skin crawl. If she couldn’t use magic, she’d at least manage to still make music with her equipment. If Sunny’s special talent was weather-related, which the name implied, Vinyl could understand why she’d gravitate to somepony like Summers. Even early on, the story of the Queen’s life was rising above her cutie mark. Vinyl could understand why Sunny would be so committed to breaking into the industry, but “by any means necessary” left a bad taste in her mouth.

That being said, what in Equestria did Sunny do as a day job to afford a synthesizer and amethysts? She blew right past Summer’s valid question. Vinyl’s line of work and studies put her in constant contact with such precious stones. Those would be far more valuable than putting four ponies on the payroll of Groovecasters, so how did Sunny swing that? She hadn’t even seen such beauties at the ESPA! Was Sunny some kind of rogue noble? If she knew Spirit’s work, then maybe she had connections to the school.

“Finally! The headphones come off!”

Vinyl nearly fell backwards off of her stool before Fleur’s pink aura surrounded her. She looked back to her friend, who was covering her mouth, most likely hiding a devilish grin.

“Oops, sorry about that,” Fleur non-apologized while righting her friend into her seat.

Vinyl adjusted her shades as she caught her breath from the surprise. She’d have to get used to her best friend being at the estate now, which was shaping up to be both a blessing and a curse. Seeing as Fleur was decked out horn to hoof in warm clothing for another adventure in the cold, Vinyl was leaning towards curse.

“It’s fine, Fleur. Just taking a breather. Not done archiving yet.”

“Yes you are. You’ve been sitting there for five hours straight.”

“What? No I—” Vinyl looked at the clock, amazed that the recordings had eaten up so much of her time. “Oh…”

“‘Oh’ is not what I want to hear. ‘Sorry’ or ‘Let’s do something fun’ would be better.”

“I’m doing my job, Fleur. I might enjoy it, but I’m not here to have fun.”

“I know, that’s why I’m here. Worktime is over, playtime is now.”

“Playtime?” Vinyl chuckled at the word. “What are we, seven?”

Fleur nodded with firm resolution. “I have it on good authority that seven-year-olds are masters of having stress-free fun. So yes, it’s playtime.”

“Okay. Before recess, have you finished your homework and made any progress on your performance?”

Fleur flashed a victorious grin and levitated a citrine out of her saddlebag. With a flicker of magic, she sparked the sigil inside to life and held it up to her throat. “Yes I have,” she answered simply, her voice doubling up on itself.

“Woah! Is that supposed to be that changeling queen’s voice?”

“Not exactly, but my plans do have a flair of royalty.” Another sparkle disengaged the citrine and she put the gem away in her saddlebag. “What about you? Archiving isn’t exactly swinging into your electrifying action.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes, unable to ignore the puns. “I pretty much have it all figured out for the sound and how to play it. All that’s left now is practicing for the performance.”

“Great, so let’s go! All hooves on deck for a friend ship excursion.”

Vinyl winced. Fleur wasn’t playing fair. After admitting everything to her friend, Fleur had come up with the idea to help her make a few more friends, or at least strengthen her current relationships. Truly, it wasn’t that big of an ask; just let her help Vinyl make a few friends so she wouldn’t feel so helpless and isolated. And, if she was honest with herself, deep down, there was a tiny part of her that didn't want to be alone anymore.

“I guess I could use a break,” Vinyl admitted, closing her notebook and placing the records back in their sleeves. “Where are we going this time?”

“The backyard!”

Vinyl lowered her shades to flash her incredulous eyes at Fleur. “Like, here at the estate?”

“Mhmm!” Fleur nodded enthusiastically as she tossed some of Vinyl’s winter wear into the studio haphazardly. “The snow’s gonna be gone before you know it, and since I’m here, we’re gonna take full advantage of it.”

Fancy quirked a brow as Fleur led him, Vinyl, and Fluffer Duster to the top of the tallest hill on the property. Dapper Dandy was already there, waiting patiently at the top for the entourage, and bowed as they approached. Cresting over the hill, everypony looked out in a mixture of awe and concern at the sprawling track before them. A complex path had been marked by a series of flags, curving and banking around the flowing hills of the old vineyard. Fancy had noticed Fleur going in and out of the mansion all morning, but he hadn’t expected this.

“You know, those flags are meant for guiding airships, not slaloms,” Fancy remarked as he followed the slope with his eyes towards the river.

Fleur shrugged it off. “Not like you get many of those these days anyways.”

Vinyl lowered her shades to get a better look. “Are those kinds of flags usually topped with gems like that?” she asked, drawing Fancy’s attention to the alternating sapphires and rubies perched on the ends of the flagpoles.

“That’s a little addition by me. And no, they aren’t just for decoration.” Fleur grabbed a pair of sleds sitting nearby with her magic and hovered them over. “They’re for races!”

Looking closely at the sleds, he recognized them from the set he bought for hosting dignitaries with children during the winter months. They were sturdy wooden designs with turning reins to help riders steer. The red sled was crudely inlaid with a ruby and the blue one bore a sapphire. “When you pass between the flags, the sled’s corresponding jewel activates a glowing enchantment for a couple of minutes. The pony that passes through all the gates and gets to the finish line first wins!”

A smile crept across the DJ’s face. “Okay, not gonna lie, that’s pretty awesome.”

“It’s also pretty steep,” Fluffer Duster mumbled as she bit her lip.

“I know, right?” Fleur nodded along with anticipation.

Following the trail of flags in the snow, the path ran down slopes that did get steep in places as well as weave around the lower hills at some sharper angles. While sledding wasn’t incredibly dangerous, Fancy wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of colliding with another racer. “That certainly raises the stakes, but I must agree with Miss Fluffer Duster. I’d rather not risk another injury under my watch.”

Seeing the subtle fear in the maid, Fleur moved closer to reassure her. “Look. The weather ponies have been maintaining the snow pretty well all season. There’s plenty of soft powder to barrel into face-first.” Her eyes drifted to the wrapping mare’s injured wing and she sighed in defeat. “But you’re still getting over your sprain, so you don’t have to if you don’t want to Fluffs. It’s no fun if somepony’s not having any themselves.”

“Don’t worry, Miss Fleur, I think it is a marvelous course. And while one can pick up a fair amount of speed on the slope, it isn’t unmanageable for a seasoned sledder,” Dapper Dandy assured everypony.

“You speak as if you have experience with the course,” Fancy noted in disbelief.

“But of course. How would Miss Fleur de Lis be able to test it without somepony else to race against? We currently have a minor problem of being tied two to two, but we can resolve that shortly with a fifth go-around.”

Fancy shook his head. “You always were the adventurous type, Dapper.”

“One is never too old to enjoy a good time, sir.” The butler turned to Fleur and Fluffer Duster, and gave the unicorn a meaningful look. “Still, if one lacks experience, the notion might seem a little intimidating.”

“Y-yeah.” Fluffer Duster lowered her head and dragged a hoof across the ground. “Sledding wasn’t really something we had in Cirriucuse. This kind of looks… dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” Fleur waved a dismissive hoof and blew a razzberry at the maid’s fear. “It’s just sledding, Fluffs, not a ski slope. Foals do it all the time. In fact, Fancy used to take me over to that hill when I came to visit.” She pointed in the distance towards the waterfall and the gradual slope following the flow of the river. “You know, there’s more sleds where those came from. How about I go grab a couple and show you the ropes?”

“Would that be okay? I don’t want to ruin your fun, Miss—” Fleur frowned quickly as the maid caught herself. “—I mean, Fleur! Fleur is what I meant to say.”

After holding the deepening frown for a bit longer, Fleur broke with a hearty laugh and wrapped a hoof around the maid, carefully avoiding touching the wing. “Are you kidding? Just a little one-on-one bonding time with my new favorite filly! I’d be happy to show you the ropes.”

“Very good then.” Dapper nodded along with the idea. “I suppose we’ll have to settle our score after you’ve taught Miss Fluffer Duster how to sled properly.”

“Indeed. We have unfinished business, you and I.” Fleur cackled insidiously before brightening back up to her flowery self. “In the meantime, why don’t you two do a few races? Still got that stopwatch, Dapper?”

Dapper reached into his coat pocket and produced a timepiece and notepad. “And the journal for record keeping, Miss Fleur.”

“You’re the best, Dapper!” The mare leaped over to Dapper to wrap her hooves around the older stallion, who returned it with a warm hug of his own. She turned her attention to Fancy and Vinyl, pointing a hoof at the two of them while hanging off the butler. “Now remember, the time is invalid if they miss a gate. You two have fun!”

Dapper turned to the remaining two. “Well, you heard the lady. Which one would you prefer, Miss Vinyl?” he asked, levitating both options in the air.

Fancy caught the worried glances Vinyl shot from behind her shades between the sleds and Fancy. “I guess I’ll go with the ruby one?”

“Very good. And here is yours, sir.”

Fancy took the sled in his magic, wondering what the right call would be for this situation. After several comfortable dinners, he had forgotten how fast the mare’s mood turned when it came to being around him. Even from behind her obfuscating shades, her apprehension was obvious. He was also getting better at identifying her signals regardless of her glasses, and that split-second debate hadn’t helped his own misgivings as he tried to consider the right course of action.

Paradoxically, it seemed that the more he got to know Vinyl, the less he knew how to act around her. All of his mastery of social situations meant next to nothing when piercing the confounding veil of Vinyl Scratch. Every social rule was flipped on its head, except when it wasn’t. While he was able to easily offer advice from a distance, whenever it came to his personal involvement, his talent felt less than useless with his penchant for overthinking. Even if he knew it wouldn’t help, he couldn’t stop the internal debate. What was the right answer?

“A race requires two competitors, Master Fancy Pants,” Dapper mentioned off-hoof, bringing the ponderous stallion out of his musings.

“O-of course.” Having the answer made for him, Fancy accepted his uncertainty and took the sled in his magic.

“Very good. I shall keep a record of times and victories. Just be sure to light up all the flagpoles on your way down.” The butler began fiddling around with the stopwatch, raising an eyebrow to get a better look at the clock face until he recalled something. “Oh, and the young lady failed to mention this, but no magic, Miss Vinyl.”

“Okay, but what about him?” she asked while tilting her head towards Fancy.

“Frankly, there should be no cause for concern on that front.”

“A very tactful way of saying I wouldn’t be able to cheat even if I wanted to,” Fancy pointed out with a smirk.

“Thank you, sir. I like to think that I’ve picked up a little of your diplomacy over the years.”

“Just don’t quit your day job, Mister Dapper.”

“Perish the thought, Master Fancy Pants! You’d be hopelessly lost without my humble assistance.” Fancy rolled his eyes, but caught Vinyl biting down on her lips, desperately stifling a laugh at his expense. “Now, please ‘get on your marks,’ as they say.”

Vinyl nodded and ducked away to get into position on her sled. He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at Vinyl’s choice of posture, laying flat on it and pushing her forehooves against the sled’s steering instead of sitting down and grabbing the reins with her teeth or magic. Noticing his curious gaze, Vinyl chuckled nervously. “This is just how I do it.”

Fancy pursed his lips at the sight, but ultimately shrugged it off and smiled. “It seems I might be in for quite the competition then.”

Fancy began to take his seat at the starting line as Vinyl’s gaze ping-ponged between him and the starting line. “You know, you really don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Fancy.”

The stallion stopped, trying to figure out his next move. How was he supposed to read that? She clearly wanted to go sledding, but his involvement was making her uncomfortable. He wasn’t just dancing around eggshells, he was trying to climb out of an overturned hen house. Fleur just had to force these kinds of things, didn’t she?

Before Fancy could find a good answer, Dapper inserted himself into their hushed tones. “Oh? Are you afraid he’d beat you?”

“What? No way!” Vinyl dismissed out of hoof, as if the question itself was ridiculous on its face. “I mean—Of course not.” Fancy didn’t know what was worse: her true feelings on his ability to compete or how her genuine attempt at lying to salvage the situation sounded sarcastic.

“Then there should be nothing for you to worry about.” Dapper’s assurance drifted as he pondered the question further. “That being said, Master Fancy Pants does have the home field advantage. Then again, he is wildly out of practice, though I suppose his more shapely physique that he’s developed as of late might help in this instance.”

Fancy frowned as he inspected himself. Lofty mentioned he hadn’t left the mansion in a while, but he hadn’t put on too much during the holiday season. “You’re having too much fun with this, Dapper.”

“And you, sir, aren’t having nearly enough.” Dapper took the sled away from Fancy and sat it down next to Vinyl. “Now, lighten up and get on your mark like Miss Vinyl, chop-chop.”

He couldn’t remember the last time he had been scolded, even in jest. Doing as he was told, Fancy climbed onto the sled which squeaked in protest at the stallion’s weight. He decided right then and there that he was going to resume his morning jogs tomorrow in earnest.

Grabbing the reins in his magic, he gave an experimental tug to test the steering before looking at his opponent. “No going easy on me, Vinyl.”

Holding the stopwatch aloft, Dapper cleared his throat. “On your marks!”

Vinyl sat silent, her mouth shifting back and forth as she thought about it.

“Get set!”

Finally, Vinyl shrugged. “Your funeral.”

“Go!”

Both ponies set off down the slope, the bitter chill of the mountain air buffeted them as they picked up more and more speed. Fancy quickly accelerated due to his holiday “weight advantage,” but DJ was doing her best to even the odds by staying as low as possible to reduce drag. Seeing the DJ giving it her all, he felt the infectious flicker of competition spark as well. Briefly thinking back to his time sliding down the Saddle Arabian sand dunes, he firmly placed his rear hooves on the edges of the sled to help sharpen his steering as they approached the first turn.

While Vinyl went for the outer edge of the track to take advantage of the steeper part of the slope, Fancy leaned in tight knowing the flow of the land led to an opposing turn immediately afterward. A “Woo!” of excitement sounded as Vinyl blasted past towards the first gate, lighting up the ruby before he could get closer. Her elation was short-lived as she started going uphill and off-course. As she struggled to regain control, Fancy flashed a cocky grin and eyebrow waggle at her as he cleanly sailed into the next turn and lit up the sapphire.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Vinyl shouted after him as she stuck a leg out into the snow, doing her best to course correct without losing too much speed.

Looking down the path, there were two other gates fast approaching and staggered to force a tight, serpentine curve. Looking beyond, the rest of the track flowed downstream along the river towards the back of the property. The finish line led into an encircling embankment of snow to help stop the speeding racers. Fancy had to admit, Fleur had really gone all out.

Refocusing on the race, he looked behind him. Vinyl was quickly catching up thanks to Fancy’s more cautious sledding. While he favored slowing down to maintain control, the younger unicorn made large banking turns in an effort to keep a higher top speed. With her lighter frame, it’d be more difficult to accelerate as the course flattened. Fancy found it equally impressive and frightening at how seriously the DJ was taking the backyard race.

As he passed through the s-curve’s second gate, Fancy began slowing down after failing to notice his angle of approach had forced him to go slightly uphill. Course correcting to regain some lost speed, Vinyl quickly launched through the gate behind him and slipped past. She gave him a mock salute as she sped up the ridge and down the other side. Despite the childishness of it all, Fancy felt a twinge of irritation as he leaned down himself. She might be more agile, but he’d have the acceleration advantage during the home stretch.

Fancy gritted his teeth as he aimed towards the next gate. While his path was more direct, Vinyl was moving at a much faster clip. Unfortunately for her, due to her angle, she would be heading away from the final gate. In order to make the gate, she’d be forced to slow down and make a much sharper turn than he would. Meanwhile, he’d easily pivot towards the next flagpole pairing without much effort.

Passing through the gates a few moments after Vinyl, he turned slightly to keep on his straight path towards the final poles. Vinyl dug her legs into the snow to power slide into a good trajectory, but not without sacrificing her speed advantage. Without another steep slope, she’d have a difficult time keeping ahead of him.

With renewed confidence, he leaned down as far as his back permitted him and overtook Vinyl. Seeing his victory in sight, he couldn’t help but grin in excitement. He watched the sapphire light up first as he passed the finish line, and bellowed a victorious laugh as he pulled to a stop.

“Seriously? You gotta be kidding me!” Vinyl cursed as she skidded to a halt shortly after him.

“I regret to inform you that you will have to postpone my memorial service.”

“I can see that,” Vinyl grumbled as she was forced to eat her words.

“Either your acting skills are on par with Fleur and you let me win, or beating this old stallion was a bit more than you could handle.”

“I want a rematch! Now!”

The fire behind her words caught Fancy completely off guard. They weren’t angry, but definitely competitive, much like they were before he had hired her. He was starting to realize why Fleur had chosen such a foalish activity. Despite being an outdoor activity, sledding was a comfortable space for Vinyl.

Fancy smiled, allowing himself to fully join in the fun. “Of course. Best three out of five?”

“You’re on!”

After six more races, it was abundantly clear to Fancy that Vinyl wasn’t graceful in defeat. In fact, her competitiveness clearly overpowered any reservations she had around expressing her true feelings. While the DJ went above and beyond to eke out her victories, Fancy’s heavier weight gave him an easier time gaining speed on the slopes when it counted. After the first four races of exchanging victories, the stallion had found his path of least resistance and was on a winning streak without putting the effort Vinyl was into her sledding.

“Perhaps you’d like to use a spell to—”

Vinyl took a patient breath, cutting him off from finishing his sentence. “I’m not supposed to use magic, so I’m not gonna use magic.”

“I’m not suggesting you cheat, but rather even the playing field. Even if I was in better shape, I’d clearly have a weight advantage, Vinyl.”

“I know how velocity works!” Vinyl barked in frustration. Catching herself too late, she recoiled slightly from her temper. “Sorry.”

“Not to worry, Vinyl. While it’s all in good fun, I do feel guilty for my brandy regiment giving me an edge over your skillful sledding. Honestly, I’m surprised you’ve been taking it this seriously in the first place. You didn’t strike me as a winter sporting type, considering you don’t enjoy the cold.”

“I had to if I wanted to stand a chance against Fleur. It was fine a few years ago, but as we got older, she kept getting bigger. You know how she is when she wins.”

Fancy nodded in understanding. “She does enjoy giving a good ribbing to the loser.”

Vinyl chuckled. “That’s one way to put it.”

Fancy laughed a little himself and smiled. “I’m glad to see you having a good time for once.”

“How do you figure that?”

“You might have your sunglasses on, but that brilliant smile of yours when we’re racing tells me you’re thoroughly enjoying this little backyard outing.” Vinyl reactively snapped her mouth shut. “There’s no need to be shy about it, I am quite enjoying this myself as well.”

“Yeah, I’d be too if it was five to two in my favor,” Vinyl scoffed.

“It’s not the victories, though those are a nice bonus.”

“Then what is it?”

Fancy hummed to himself as he considered the question. It wasn’t exactly a difficult one to answer, but it could be a hard one for the mare to accept if put too simply.

“Vinyl, may I be frank with you?” he asked carefully.

The DJ sat up on her sled at attention. “Umm… okay, sure. I guess.”

“Thank you. Simply put, you know I didn’t pay for your respect, right?”

Vinyl tilted her head and shot an eyebrow up. “What?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way. I told you before that your professionalism at the bake sale surprised me. In fact, your ability to act in a way that one would expect from any proper Canterlotian on the street is admirable, but I haven’t earned your respect.”

“Again, what?” Vinyl’s head tilted further, her sunglasses falling slightly ajar, revealing the utter confusion peeking from behind.

“I hired Vinyl Scratch, the illustrious DJ Pon-3, to help me in a way nopony else could, and I do expect good work from you. That means working at your own pace and enjoying your time at the mansion. I’d much rather work with ponies that are comfortable rather than feeling a constant need to genuflect. I may be providing you room and board, but I don’t think I have done much to have earned anything more than work from you. I suppose that’s a long way of saying, even if you’re doing it by accident, I’m glad you’re acting like yourself rather than showing me respect out of a misplaced sense of obligation.”

Fancy let the answer hang, allowing Vinyl time to process it. “So, what exactly do you want from me?”

Fancy shook his head. “Your question presumes that I want something from you in the first place. I want for you to be happy and enjoy your time living and working here. I would say you have nothing to be worried about, but you have no reason to believe what I say. So instead, just know that I’d prefer you behave in whatever manner you see fit around me. I do hope it isn’t fear-driven, but if it is, I don’t mind doing my best to honestly earn your trust.”

Another complicated frown crossed Vinyl’s face. “What if that’s impossible?”

“Good question.” Fancy stroked his chin as he thought about the answer. If she wouldn’t let him in, that was her decision, but his choice was a different one entirely. “I suppose I’ll simply keep working at it until you decide it is possible.”

Vinyl didn’t answer at first, but eventually nodded as she stood up and picked up her sled.

“You said before that I haven’t made anything myself, so I might as well try changing that by doing my best to make you feel more comfortable while you're here. After all, what’s the point of putting up with me if I can’t make others happy?”

Vinyl stopped in her tracks and gave him a look he couldn’t quite place. After a few moments, she shook it off and pointed at her friends in the distance. “Yeah. I’m going to check out how Fleur and Fluffs are doing.”

“Alright, Vinyl.” Fancy did his best not to let her apprehension affect him. “Sorry if I ruined your mood for rematches.”

“No, it’s not that,” Vinyl explained, but offered no further clarifications. “It was fun though, so thanks.”

“You’re most welcome. To be honest, I enjoyed our races far more than I thought I would.” Fancy stood up from his sled and flashed a winning smile. “You’re quite a fierce opponent. Just give me a year to drop a little of my weighty advantage and maybe even the playing field a little.”

“Good luck with that. I’m not sure there’s much for you to lose in the first place.”

“Now, now, I am definitely not paying you enough to flatter me.”

Vinyl seemed confused for a moment, but a call from on high interrupted her reply. “Master Fancy Pants! Miss Vinyl! Are you done racing for now?” Dapper asked.

“Yes we are!” Fancy hollered back before turning his attention back to Vinyl. “Would you like me to take your sled or will you be joining them on the slopes?”

“I think I’ll go a few more times down the slopes before it gets too late,” Vinyl said coolly, which sounded more like a thinly veiled ‘Hooves off! I’m not done having fun yet!’ to Fancy.

“Alright then, Vinyl. If you will excuse me, I think now would be an excellent time for something to warm up with.” Catching a brief look at the DJ before she turned to head to the distant slope, Fancy couldn’t help but chuckle. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to bring some hot cocoa for the three of you as well. Proper hot cocoa, that is.”

Vinyl stopped and looked back at the stallion. “What? But I didn’t ask you to do that.”

“Didn’t have to.” Fancy lowered his monocle, peering over the lens like a certain DJ did with her shades and smiled warmly. With that, Fancy turned to put away his sled and have Dapper help him prepare something warm for the girls, leaving the open book torn between irritation and gratitude.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 25: Les Cadeaux du Coeur

“Ten minutes behind schedule,” Fancy grumbled to himself as he put another leg into his tracksuit. It’d taken forever for him to find his winter workout gear. He usually misplaced such things out of disuse, which was likely why it felt more snug than usual.

After limbering up with a few stretches and canters, he took the last bite from his protein bar before setting out into the early morning air to resume his habitual jogs. Fancy hoped the month away from his exercise hadn’t completely ruined his endurance. It was getting harder to maintain as he got older.

Despite being the capital city, Canterlot was always fairly quiet before dawn. Ancient tradition kept most ponies inside before the sunrise as a show of respect to Princess Celestia. One wasn’t to rise to the day before the raiser of the sun rose herself. The alicorn herself found the antiquated practice to be just that, but she kept that detail to herself to ensure everypony had the chance for a good night’s sleep. It gave Fancy ample opportunity to do a trot around Canterlot in relative peace. While he had enough room to jog around the estate, he preferred having a change in scenery.

Crossing the open threshold of his property, the stallion began his jog in earnest. He passed his neighbors’ houses, each one sealed behind heavy gates and high walls to keep others out. Fancy’s neighbors wanted him to renovate or to add a gate at the very least, but he rather liked his home’s welcoming openness. The old flagstone walls might not be pristine, but he preferred their rustic, unique character. Besides, such barriers did very little against flight, teleportation, and ladders.

His jog reached a familiar crossroad: the intersection between the districts. Fancy stopped to consider his options. Keeping along the noble quarter’s streets made for an easier workout, though the path was a little dull until reaching the theater district. Turning left down the steep hill would take him to the lower levels, which were more open, but would force him to climb back up arguably the worst ascent in the city. Finally, there was turning right and heading towards the castle, forgoing any exercise, and joining the princesses for a filling breakfast of pancakes, fresh fruit salads, poppy seed muffins…

Banishing the delicious temptation to the recesses of his mind, he set off down the hill with gusto for thinking unhealthy thoughts. At the bottom sat a completely different Canterlot. Simpler, picturesque homes that were similarly designed ran up and down the streets. With such minor differences, the only way for Fancy to tell them apart were the personal touches their occupants left on the lawns. Most were fairly standard: flower pots, gardens, and Equestrian flags. However, there were always the standouts.

His personal favorite oddity was a family of tacky lawn flamingos gathered around a birdbath fountain arranged like a bar. Arpeggio always complained about that particular neighbor’s pink eyesores, but was quick to drop the topic when his decade-old “Proud ESPA Student Orchestra Parents” sign was questioned. Octavia’s early admission into the group had been a moot point for two years now that she helped manage it.

Fancy zipped his hood up at the sound of a front door and picked up his pace through the sleepy burg. He crossed over cobbled bridges spanning the ancient waterways and passed through serene parks scattered about the city. Sometimes, there were hills or raised platforms that crested high enough to see beyond the city walls and the rest of Equestria. He liked to stop and jog in place just to admire the crystal clear view the winter air allowed of the nation. The sun was still beyond sight, but the morning twilight was just starting to sneak shards of light just over the horizon. He could see Ponyville shimmering at the edges of the Everfree Forest with its sea of trees disappearing into the budding light of day.

After the spectacle, Fancy allowed his hooves to carry him nowhere in particular. He could never understand why his friends stayed on their treadmills or bought exclusive gym memberships when there was so much to see outside. All of Canterlot was beautiful, with each space bearing its own charm. Even Mane Street, littered with storefronts and consumer sprawl, bore an air of elegance as it welcomed ponies to Canterlot.

He wandered further and further across the city. With the commercial district gradually sloping downward, he knew he’d regret his meandering jog taking him towards Canterhorn Station. It was one of the lowest points within the castle walls, which would make the return trip harder and raise his chances of being noticed. Barring the recent art show with Luna, the Kingmaker of Canterlot hadn’t made enough noteworthy public appearances for what could be deemed a suspiciously long time. If there was one thing he didn’t have the energy for, it was answering to the media during his workout. Still, he was already this far in. If anything, he’d get a sense of accomplishment making it to the station and back.

Despite the peaceful days he found at home, Fancy missed the simplicity of getting out and about. Though there had been plenty of opportunities to leave the estate, he’d rejected every invitation and done next to nothing almost all month long. He could count the number of times he had left his home on his hooves, and the more he thought about it, the more he wasn’t entirely sure why.

His first thought was the fallout from the Screech, but he was no stranger to scandal. The exhaustion of failing to stop the sensationalism was there, but trivial in comparison to what Vinyl dealt with personally. The series of cascading events had ultimately culminated in a pony moving in—two if he counted Fleur’s impromptu stay. That was it. There were three more rooms to Fluffer Duster’s cleaning itinerary, two more spots at the dinner table, and one self-imposed duty to blindly fate weave.

Perhaps that was what kept him home: a duty to be there for Vinyl, though it wasn’t like he could do much. Everypony else seemed far more capable of helping her. Fancy simply provided the space for all of them to gather. With that in mind, it would probably be better if he was away from the mansion more often. His constant presence would cause undue pressure on the mare, keeping her locked away in the studio. So the question remained: if the less he was home, the better it’d be for Vinyl, why had he wasted a month staying at home doing next to nothing?

A strong gust of wind blew across the mountain as he approached the station. The rush of air across his face felt like the bracing cold of sledding yesterday with Vinyl. She’d looked so happy, grinning from ear to ear the entire time despite her losing streak frustrations. It was a smile brimming with confidence that flared with the thrill of savoring a moment. He hadn’t seen her enjoying herself like that since following Luna into Cantrips. Working at the nightclub was probably the only time she really enjoyed herself anymore. With the Screech still fresh in the noble’s minds, getting any DJing work was unlikely for the foreseeable future.

Fancy couldn’t imagine the pressure of such uncertainty. He was familiar with feelings of doubt, sadness, and disappointment, but he’d rarely reached the depths where Vinyl found herself. There was vanishingly little experience for him to relate. He was born with a multitude of fallbacks and failsafes. Not only that, but thanks to his talents, he always knew the best choice, the right move, the path to success, or whatever interpretation served his needs that day. It was just a matter of investing, optimizing, and reaping the rewards. With everypony vying for his attention, it barely took any effort to find something that would pay dividends in the end. He was rarely wrong, which made far more sense now understanding the scope of his talents.

And, for all that power, none of it helped with Vinyl Scratch. His tools could get him past the starting line, but then he’d fall at the first hurdle. Luna’s parting words about Vinyl had provided as much clarity as confusion for him. The DJ required a different approach: help without saving, success without investment, and of course there were the rest of those accursed words he hadn’t figured out.

Fancy leaned against the pole of the street clock outside of Canterhorn Station to catch his breath. He looked over his shoulder at his flank. “Well, any ideas?”

His cutie mark offered no answers.

“Figured as much.”

Pushing off the pole, he turned his attention up to the clock. “5:53,” Fancy muttered between breaths. Seven minutes before sunrise and when traffic would start picking up around town. If he took the direct path home, he’d get back in a little over twenty minutes, just as long as the trek back up the mountain didn’t kill him. He was feeling the toll of his lethargy already, and he’d gone downhill for most of the way.

He ducked his head down, watching his hooves clop along the cobblestones as he began the slow climb home. He’d get back, warm up with a shower, and find something to get back on track. There was a mountain of letters he’d been neglecting for far too long for no good reason. Now was the time to refocus his attention productively and—

~Fancy Pants? Is that you over there?~

The perfect Prench cut through his introspection, causing Fancy to look towards the source. His absentminded trotting had taken him right past Pâte de Lune with Éclair de Lune meeting his eyes. Her mane was an unkempt mess like she had just popped out of bed and her natural features bore none of her favorite cosmetics, but that didn’t stop Éclair outshining the sunrise in Fancy’s eyes.

~I knew it! It is so good to see you!~ The mare shouted and kissed Fancy on his cheeks. ~Come, come! I just put some coffee on.~

“Jonbour,” Fancy stammered, unable to shed the initial surprise quick enough. ~I mean, Good morning, Éclair! You’ve caught me in the middle of my jog, so…~

~So you’ve earned yourself a breakfast croissant as well.~ Without giving him the chance to refuse, Éclair grabbed the stallion’s hoof and pulled him towards the door. ~Now, come inside and warm up!~

A moment with Éclair being far more tempting than a royal spread, Fancy willingly walked into the darkened bakery. Following the mare, she led him to the familiar spiral staircase to the abode above the storefront, and was welcomed by the nutty smell of freshly brewed coffee. Unlike the overwhelming bitterness of Luna’s abyssal mug, the pâtissier enjoyed lighter notes in her brew. The subtle sweetness matched the warmth of the mare who made it.

Despite having married richly, the small earth pony had forgone taking anything from the estate upon Suede’s passing. Instead, she enjoyed a modest living space that reflected her love of a simpler time in Prance. The downstairs dining area might’ve been designed for the more chic Canterlot clientele, but Fancy would be hard pressed to find a more earthy home in the capital city. Rough, wooden furniture with soft, wool cushions welcomed all into her small forest of potted plants strewn about the living space. Thick, manicured vines stretched up a cabinet, leaning towards the window for what light they could catch while dutifully holding Éclair’s lighter cookware in their grasp.

With the sunrise cresting over the horizon, the morning officially began, lighting the entire room in the vibrant glow of a new day. Gentle sunbeams accented by the soft greens of the foliage around them highlighted the natural, pastel colors of the beautiful pony at the kitchen counter. The messy mare glowed while humming a nameless tune to herself as she plucked two croissants from a batch of freshly baked breads. The ephemeral light caught the steam rising from the accompanying pair of piping hot cups of cappuccinos she carried to the table for their breakfast. When presented with a gift from such effortless beauty, Fancy could only offer a brief moment of silence for the work he was about to undo with the breakfast set before him.

~Would you like anything else? Jam perhaps?~ Éclair offered.

~You seem to misunderstand the point of exercise.~

~Really? I always use such things as an excuse to indulge more. What is life without the joys of good food and better company to enjoy it with?~

~Never change, Éclair,~ Fancy chuckled and took the croissant in his magic, pulling it apart from the ends to slowly reveal the flaky pastry’s interior in all of its calorie-laden glory.

~I don’t plan to, except for the better. Although, I could stand to cut back now that I am over the hilltop as they say. Though not too much. After all, nopony should trust a thin pastry chef.~ The mare giggled, poking at her pudgy barrel for emphasis. ~So, how are you doing, my dear?~

~The same as always. Can’t rightly complain.~ Fancy took a healthy bite out of the unhealthy treat, savoring the butteriness baked to perfection. He could feel what little gains he’d made from his workout slip away with each bite. ~But, is that what you're really curious about?~

~Oh my! Cutting to the chase so quickly? You’ve barely touched your meal.~

~Despite what others may say, I’m not a very interesting pony. I simply tend to surround myself with them.~

~I must disagree. Only an interesting pony would hire Vinyl for record-keeping. Fleur told me that she is doing something for the school with it.~

~Actually, it’s for the Society, but it’s fairly educational in scope, so I can understand the confusion.~

~Again, that detail doesn’t matter. What’s important is that I know she is safe with you.~ The relief from Éclair’s gentle smile wafted over Fancy, putting the croissant’s flavor to shame. ~Thank you so much for helping her.~

~Of course. I’m grateful for the referral. She’s great at what she does and a wonderfully talented mare.~

The baker frowned slightly as she tilted her head. ~What is this? You make it sound so transactional.~

~I try to keep it that way for her sake. She wants to earn every bit she does to live in Canterlot. Who am I to belittle that drive for self-sufficiency?~

~By the light of Luna, isn’t that the truth? I’ve never met somepony so opposed to receiving a gift,~ Éclair bemoaned while shaking her head. ~I’ve only ever managed to give her presents on her birthday and Hearth’s Warming, and even then she is adamant about making it even later.~

~On the subject of gifts, thank you for the coffee.~ Fancy lifted his mug as if he was offering a toast and then took a drink from the cup. It wasn’t bad, but it was sweeter than he expected.

Éclair grimaced. ~Sorry, I knew I should’ve tossed that out.~

~Oh, no. It’s perfectly fine. It’s been a while since we’ve met for coffee~

~That’s not it. I brewed that before you got here. For Fleur. Again.~ she sighed while looking at the lonely croissant on her plate. ~I’m still in mother-mode even though she is staying with you right now. She will always be my little filly, but my flower has blossomed into a capable, beautiful mare. I suppose I should get used to this once she finds her own way in life.~

~Well, you’re always welcome to stay at the mansion, too. I have plenty of room.~

She looked up for her food with a wistful smile. ~Fancy, we’ve been over this before. I’m a simple pony from the countryside. I love the life I built here with Suede. You should enjoy the life your parents left you up there on the hill.~

~Then perhaps I should leave the mansion to her and stay here with you.~

~Oh my!~ Éclair’s songbird laugh brought a forced smile to Fancy’s lips. ~What would the neighbors think about you of all ponies living in my humble bakery?~

~I’ve heard of stranger things,~ Fancy hunched over in his seat and lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. ~Keep this to yourself, but rumor has it that a once-legendary musician played second fiddle to a lovely mare in this very store.~

~Oh really?~ Her ears perked up as she joined him in hushed tones in the private comfort of her home. ~I heard the same thing once before. He was a wonderful stallion who didn’t know the first thing about cooking, but he made up for it by caring for his family. Oh, and by doing all the dishes.~

~There is some merit to it then. If it would help, I’ve been known to clean a cup or two.~

~I do appreciate the offer, but you shouldn’t worry about me. If I were you, I’d be far more worried about leaving Fleur to her own devices in that mansion of yours. That’s a disaster waiting to happen.~

~Thankfully Vinyl is there to keep her in check. She’s got a good head on her shoulders. Plus, DJ Pon-3 is able to put that old studio to better use than I have.~

~I’m surprised you’d give up your mansion so freely to somepony you’ve only just met.~

~I like to think I’m a good judge of character. Those two will surely take the castle district by storm.~

Éclair tried to stop herself from laughing loudly, but only managed to snort while trying to contain herself. ~No, no, no! There’d be nothing left after their siege! Besides, even with her own space to make music, I doubt Vinyl would want that old mansion any more than I would. What do ponies do with so much room to themselves? I’ve never understood it.~

Fancy opened his mouth to offer a witty reply, but the words died on his lips. ~You know, that’s a very good question.~ His eyes drifted down to the coffee he was clutching with his hooves. ~Sometimes, it feels like I’m living in a museum more than a mansion.~

~No, no, no! That will not do at all! What are museums but beautiful mausoleums?~ The mare booped Fancy on his nose, stealing his gaze back to her and her warm smile. ~What you must do is fill your home with life, my dear Fancy. Maybe I’m too old-fashioned, but perhaps you should finally settle down. Find a special somepony to share all of your compassion and good fortune with and see where it goes. If that’s too much, Maybe convince Dapper’s fiance to finally move in.~

Fancy laughed freely at the notion. ~I’d have better luck asking to borrow the sun for a day. For all of my years in diplomacy, I have still yet to negotiate a ceasefire between them. Miss Julia is just as stubborn as he is. And furthermore, I’m firmly on her side. After all, if she were to move in, where would I get my brandy?~

~She’s already named her daughter as her successor, right? If not, there are plenty of griffons left in the Razorwind clan to keep that silly addiction of yours alive,~ she teased. ~How long have those two been engaged? It’s just getting silly now.~

Fancy tried savoring another sip of sweet coffee as he tried to recall. ~Let’s see, my first diplomatic mission to Griffonstone would’ve been when I was seventeen or eighteen. So perhaps a little over fifteen years?~

~And I thought my love life was strange.~ Éclair smirked knowingly at Fancy. The stallion shook his head, trying not to think about it. ~Still, star-crossed lovers even after the old bird’s racist parents have long since passed on.~

~The irony isn’t lost on them, but at the same time they both take pride in their work. From my understanding, it’s now a marathon to see who retires first.~

~Of all the absurd games. Knowing those two, they’ll work themselves ‘til death do they part.~

~Anytime I’ve tried bringing the subject up, Dapper simply refuses to engage. It doesn’t help that she is just as stubborn. I know he wants to stay at the estate during his golden years—which he’s more than welcome to do so—but retiring to the Griffon Lands to a family-run vineyard and marrying the love of his life…~ Fancy trailed off as he looked out the window towards the rising sun. ~The notion sounds far more enviable to me.~

~The idea does carry a certain nostalgic romance. It makes me yearn for the hills of Prance.~

Fancy nodded in agreement, as his mind wandered back all those years. He took a deep breath, smelling the warmth of his breakfast, the loaminess of the plants around him, and the subtle hint of sweetness that wafted in from the pastries baking downstairs. Shutting his eyes to savor the atmosphere, he could hear the wind blowing over the hills outside, rustling grass from the unkempt fields of the countryside, and the adorable laughter of two—

~Fancy? Is something wrong?~

The stallion’s eyes shot open, bringing him out of his reverie. ~No. It just sounds wonderful is all.~ Fancy affixed a diplomatic smile to his face. ~A life that could’ve been.~

~Oh, Fancy,~ Éclair admonished with a dismissive wave of her hoof. ~It’s a life you could always have. You could easily buy a villa in Prance, or really, anywhere in the world.~

~Even if I did, it’d always be missing something important.~

~Then maybe you should find that something first. Nothing would be able to stop a pony like you.~

~You’d be surprised.~

~Now, now, don’t make me pull out my maternal instincts. No son-in-law of mine is going to be so negative!~ she reassured him with a light chuckle at the absurdity of it all. Fancy gripped his cup tighter in his hooves. ~I did once before, and I plan on doing it again once I spot it.~

~A-another one?~ Fancy bit down on the inside of his cheek, focusing on the more preferable, physical discomfort.

~But of course! You didn’t think somepony as wonderful as me would stay a lonely widow forever, did you? I’m sure Suede would’ve already told me a thousand times to hurry up already and find somepony else. I still have plenty of life left to live another one. I just haven’t found another life I’d want to share it with like your father. You’d think Canterlot would have a decent stallion somewhere.~

~If I can help in any way, my door is always open.~

~My dear Fancy, don’t you worry about me.~ Éclair placed her hoof on Fancy’s, smiling gratefully for his concern. ~You should focus on finding your own joy. I’ll be just fine.~

~I know you’ll be.~

~Although, that being said, if you do run into somepony—or someone else—that might be a good match for me, be sure to let me know. Perhaps I should take a page out of Dapper’s book and look into other species.~

~If anyone comes to mind, I’ll send them your way.~ Fancy tried to drink some of his coffee, but he couldn’t even taste it anymore. ~Admittedly, it might take a while. I’ve been traveling a little less as of late.~

Éclair frowned and leaned over the table to get a better look at the former ambassador. ~Now I know there is something wrong.~

Fancy plastered a light smile on his face and quirked his brow. He was quickly remembering why he always stayed away from de Lune. Indulging himself with Éclair’s loving presence always backfired on him. ~What makes you say that?~

~You always loved traveling, meeting new ponies and creatures the world over. Isn’t that why you accepted your royal appointment in the first place?~

~I just needed a break.~

~A break from what?~ Éclair probed.

~Just… a break.~

Éclair bonked the stubborn stallion on the horn. ~Fancy, I’m a mother. I know when I’m being lied to.~

~I’m sorry, Éclair. If I am lying, I’d welcome you letting me know what it is that I’m hiding.~

~In that case, the first step is to start being honest,~ she tisked with a waggle of her hoof. ~You must’ve spun quite the tale if you managed to fool even yourself.~

Fancy shrugged. ~As you said, I am rather charming.~

Éclair’s frown deepened in frustration as she narrowed her eyes. ~Don’t make me slap some sense into you, Fancy Pants. I want all of my family to be happy.~

~I am happy.~

~Are you happy?~

~Why wouldn’t I be?~

~Why wouldn’t you be?~

Like mother, like daughter, the Prenchmare’s perception bordered on prescience. Not wanting to answer, he found solace in the chime of the clock ringing in the half hour mark. They were both behind their schedules now, and Fancy couldn’t have been more thankful for the excuse.

~Thank you for the breakfast, but it appears I’ve taken up far more of your time than I should have. I need to get back to my jog so you can get ready for opening.~ He picked up his unfinished coffee and pastry with his hooves and deposited them into the sink.

The mare gritted her teeth, cursing the passage of time under her breath. ~I absolutely hate that you’re right.~ She sighed in defeat and walked to the door. ~Next time, stop by yourself rather than having me drag you off the streets. Please.~

~You’ll have to let me work off my holiday excess first.~

Éclair walked Fancy to the back door to let him out into the alleyways to avoid any passersby. Neither pony said anything as she unlocked the deadbolt and opened it to the cold morning streets. Before he passed through the doorway, a leg snaked around his neck and pulled him into a small hug.

~Just like you said to me, my door is always open to you. You are welcome here, my dear Fancy Pants, so please, come by more often.~

He lightly hugged back, not allowing himself to overindulge in the mare’s love. ~Thank you, Éclair. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.~

She pushed him away and grabbed his face to command his attention. ~Bah! Keep your useless thoughts! I want you to come visit!~ she growled, but released him after venting her anger. Not wanting to leave it on a sour note, she placed a hoof over her heart and offered him a smile. ~I might not be able to make you happy, but truly, seeing you always brightens my day.~

“My dear, it’s impossible to outshine you.”

“Make sure you saying… save those special said thing—” Éclair groaned in frustration at her inability to respond in kind. ~Be sure to save such sweet words for your special somepony.~

“Of course, Éclair,” he replied as he turned away. Unable to get a decent grip on his hood, he carefully pulled the hood around his horn and zipped the flap up. Upon hearing the gentle shut of her door, he allowed his mask to finally slip away.

“I always do.”

With ponies milling about in their morning routines, Fancy kept his head down as he took a less direct route home. It was getting too busy for his liking, and he wasn’t above sneaking back through the waterways. If he was going to encounter anypony else this morning, he wanted it to be on his terms. He needed to freshen up and shake the unwanted thoughts of Éclair clouding his head.

His path led him through a few deserted parks and towards Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. While plenty of students were making their way to their morning classes, most of them wouldn’t recognize him either way. He’d be surprised if any of them even knew his name. Furthermore, if he ran into the teachers or older students, they’d all be too busy to strike up a conversation. With only a few minutes before school started, even Fleur would have to think twice about—

“There you are, Pantsy!”

—ignoring the consequences of being late.

Fancy considered pretending to not hear her, but it would ultimately be unwise to let her escalate in trying to get his attention. She could easily outrun him and wasn’t above tackling ponies in the streets. Hoping no one else would notice, he turned towards the mare to see she wasn’t alone.

“Oh. It is you,” Vinyl remarked in surprise as he approached the two from across the street.

“Fleur, Vinyl. It’s good to see you two. On your way to the audio department, I presume?”

Vinyl nodded in affirmation, but seemed more curious about his clothing choice. “I guess you weren’t kidding about the workout thing,” she said while inspecting Fancy’s white and black tracksuit. “It’s weird seeing you wearing something so… normal.”

“I suppose I do tend to overdress for success everyday.” Fancy laughed as he looked over himself. “It’s an old habit from working in the castle. Needed to be ready at a moment’s notice. While I’m sure one of my suits would provide a rather unique challenge to my workout, I’d rather be comfortable while breaking a sweat.”

“Looks good. Like the minimalistic approach.” Vinyl nodded in approval with a small smile. “Where’d you get it?”

“I commissioned this and a summer version from Hoity Toity. I would say it is comfortable and concealing, but I suppose the verdict is out on that last part.”

Vinyl sighed in disappointment. “Of course you did. I don’t know why I asked.”

“I’ll be sure to pass along the compliment next time I see him.” Fancy’s mind briefly drifted back to his conversation with Éclair. He’d need to check when Vinyl’s birthday was. “So, was there any reason you two needed me, or are you intending to be late to raise Arpeggio’s blood pressure?”

“Can’t it just be that I want to say ‘good morning’ to my favorite stallion in the whole wide world?” Fleur grinned and pulled Fancy into a tight, uncomfortable hug. Something was definitely amiss, but he didn’t want to deal with her antics.

“Well then. Good morning, Fleur.”

“Good morning, Pantsy! I hope you had a wonderful breakfast before sneaking out of the house so early.”

Fancy paused, trying to figure out the edge of her angle. “I’ve certainly had my fill this morning if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Perfect!” Fleur shifted to his other side, bumping him in the shoulder as she adjusted herself to be cheek-to-cheek with him. “To answer your question, if you must know, Vinyl was the one who pointed you out of the crowd. I was just wondering if she got it right.”

Vinyl took a step back, looking between the other two. “Hey, don’t pin this on me! I just thought it was weird to see Fancy in a hoodie is all!”

“It’s a tracksuit,” Fleur corrected while presenting Fancy like a prop. She paused over his covered hind legs. “Oddly enough, I think this is like, one of two pairs of pants you actually own.”

“Keeps me warm while covering up the cutie mark,” Fancy explained, looking back towards his flank, the only thing that could identify him was his sky blue tail. “I might need to consider a better disguise if I couldn’t fool you two. Perhaps I should borrow from Vinyl’s book and add a pair of sunglasses.”

“Maybe…” Vinyl trailed off in tacit disagreement. If she was failing this hard to lie, perhaps he’d have to reconsider his inconspicuous workout wear. “Where’s your monocle, anyway? Wearing a contact lens?”

“I don’t need it unless I am reading something. The left eye is just bad enough to warrant assistance while being too good for corrective treatment. Besides, even if it was, I like to think I pull off a monocle rather nicely.”

“Indubitably,” Fleur chortled with grandiose smugness while nudging him with a wink. “In fact, throw in a top hat and cape and you’re downright dastardly, my good stallion. Though you’d need to work on the handlebar a tiny bit for a proper villainous mustache twirl.”

Fancy frowned at the joke. “Thanks. I can always count on you for a compliment, Fleur.”

“Bully!” she exclaimed before casting the character off with a deep bow. “It’s what I do, Pantsy.”

“Well, If your only intentions were to exchange pleasantries and chew the cud, I really must be getting back to the mansion to start my day.”

“Oh really? Why’s that?” Fleur released Fancy from her monkeying around and glomped onto Vinyl.

“It’s nothing too serious. I simply realized that I’ve been neglectful in my duties.”

“If it’s that important, don’t let us stop you from doing duties.”

“Fleur, of all the asinine…” Fancy put a hoof to his forehead in a desperate attempt at channeling patience amid Fleur’s over-the-top snickering.

“Sorry, you stepped right onto that one, Pantsy.” The follow-up earned an exasperated sigh from Vinyl who was suffering right along with him. “Guessing you’ve got important meetings lined up with important ponies doing important things, importantly?”

“No, but therein lies the problem.”

“Oh? That’s news to me. Wait a sec.” The larger mare propped herself up on Vinyl’s back, who grunted in complaint from the sudden demotion to table. “Okay, go on. Tell us why not subjecting yourself to the absolute worst ponies in Equestria is a ‘problem.’”

“It’s nothing of the sort, Fleur. You put your talents into practice through your voice work research while I do the same by investing in others. Simple as that.”

Fleur’s muzzle crumpled in disgust. “So you’re going to start attending those boring parties again, hobnobbing it up around insufferable ponies, all because your cutie mark is telling you to?”

“It comes with the territory, Fleur.”

“Does it? Because the way I see it, you shouldn’t give a single one of those jerks the time of day. Not after what they did to Vinyl.”

Vinyl sighed, clearly tired of the topic. “Fleur, it’s—”

“—not. Fine,” Fleur bit back. “I am done playing nice with gentrified jerks. I don’t even want to mess around with them as Lady Faire anymore. You can count me out this time, next time, and for the rest of time!”

“I’d never drag you anywhere you didn’t want to go, Fleur. However, you can’t just assume the worst about every noble.”

“Oh, really, Fancy?” Fleur sauntered closer, stopping just shy of his face. “Then this should be no problem.” She shoved a hoof between them and narrowed her eyes in haughty contempt. “Name one.”

Fancy blinked, looking between Fleur and her hoof. “One what?”

“Name one noble who took Vinyl’s side. After everything that happened.”

“Fleur, you’re being ridiculous. I know for a fact that Miss Photo Fin—” Fancy caught himself before misspeaking. Photo Finish hadn’t outright fought against Vinyl, but she definitely wasn’t taking the DJ’s side. Pressure from the industry would force her to use other performers, and unless she was adamant about DJ Pon-3, she’d use the path of least resistance. Hoity Toity would do the same.

Fleur clicked her tongue in mocking pity. “Monsieur Fancy, do I sense un problème? You need only one. Perhaps there is a noble I don’t know yet that would defend Vinyle? You know more ponies than me, after all.” The good lady fluttered her eyelashes with a saccharine smile that just begged for Fancy to try lying to her.

Fancy furrowed his brow in thought. It was unfair to lump every noble together, especially when they weren’t all there to begin with. There were a few that had sympathetic leanings since it was an accident, but they ultimately didn’t take a stand one way or the other. Apathetic didn’t mean supportive.

“Come, come, Fancy. You can do it, right?” Lady Fair purred. She leaned in, taking up all of his vision with her eyes, boring into his soul.

As Fancy ran through the names in his head, he kept finding problems with his rebuttal. He knew that nopony at the party had changed their minds after talking to all of them. The others he spoke to elsewhere either didn’t care or blindly followed the media frenzy. The princesses, or rather Luna, didn’t count despite being a most noble mare herself. Most ponies at the ESPA were noble-adjacent at best, and the same was true of CSGU. There had to be somepony he was overlooking. Anypony.

The noblemare put her muzzle right up to his ear. Her eerily calm breathing made against it made his blood freeze. “You can’t, can you?”

“Cut it out, Fleur!” Vinyl yelled, having lost patience with the whole exercise. “We’re gonna be late as it is and wanting to pick a fight with Fancy isn’t going to fly with the professor.”

“Fine, whatever. Have fun playing Kingmaker with your ‘friends’, Pantsy,” Fleur spat, tossing her civility into the sun. The voice actress leaned over, and stage-whispered to Vinyl while plastering pity in her eyes. “I take back everything I said about cleaning cutie marks. He’s definitely got the worst one.” With that, Fleur waved ta-ta, as she turned her back on him, and strode down the sidewalk with the starlit confidence of a runway model.

Fancy grimaced as he felt the pressure of his failings fall around his neck. Fleur knew just the right ways to dig under his skin. Why couldn’t he think of a name?

“All you need to know is that the DJ is truly none of your concern, Sir Fancy Pants,” Upper Crust remarked, knowing that she held all the cards. “You are in the minority this time.”

And now even his cutie mark was betraying him. Forget work, he just wanted to go home and drown his throbbing head in a bottle of whatever was available.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Vinyl scratched the back of her head and turned to join Fancy in watching Fleur's perfect stride away from them. “She’s kinda upset that you left so early and didn’t come back for a Friend Ship thing.”

Fancy sighed bitterly, knowing full well it was far beyond a simple absence. “I wasn’t aware of an event planned for this morning.”

“Kind of the point. She woke up early to make breakfast for everypony as a surprise only to find out you weren’t home in time to join us.”

“For the love of—Of course I’d be in trouble for missing a surprise I had no way of knowing about. Serves me right for keeping protein bars in the study, I suppose.”

“Fluffs put your share in the oven—well one of the ovens—to keep it warm in case you wanted it.”

“Whether I want it or not is immaterial at this point if I want to keep my head.” The stallion looked over himself and laughed emptily. “Seems as though nopony is interested in helping me slim down today.”

“You look fine though. Super frustrated, but fine.”

He nearly disagreed with the attempted platitude, but caught sight of the DJ’s eyes from behind her shades. No lies, just a mix of confusion and concern. He tried to take a calming breath, but his mind felt unfocused. “Thank you, Vinyl, but I’d also prefer to be fine as well. Trotting to the station and back winded me more than I’d like.”

“Okay, yeah. I get that,” Vinyl agreed. Her eyes were flicking about as if she was trying to avoid something, but he wasn’t sure what.

“Did you have something you needed to say to me too?” Fancy asked, grumbling far more than he intended.

“N-no. It’s just… does that thing have pockets?”

“Yes, though they are a little hard to see by design.” He poked a hoof into a thin one on his chest and shuffled around it for show. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, you might want to keep something on hoof to fiddle around with when you don’t have your monocle. Casting manipulation spells without an object to focus on can hurt somepony if they wander through your unstable field.”

Fancy tilted his head. “What in the world are you talking about?”

Vinyl bit her lip as her eyes drifted up to Fancy’s horn. He followed her gaze to see it was glowing every-so-slightly from casting something. Following the magic, he noticed his nearly invisible, weakened field grasping at nothing. It was definitely swirling around as if to clean a nonexistent lens with a cloth that wasn’t there.

“Oh…” He coughed into his hoof and dispelled the errant magic.

An awkward silence settled on the two. Vinyl tapped her hoof in an internal debate that played on her face until she finally broke the silence herself. “I know it’s none of my business, but I know a few good objects you can safely stress cast with as long as—”

“Vy!” Fleur yelled from down the road. “I’m trying to make a dramatic exit here to get my point across and you’re undermining it!”

“For peat’s sake,” Vinyl cursed before raising her voice to call back. “Hold on!”

Vinyl sighed and levitated a few crystals from her saddlebag, shuffling through them before settling on a thin, white crystal. She tossed it around in her aura and affirmed her choice with a smile before firing several blasts of magic into it. The crystal’s surface was cut and smoothed over as the mare skillfully inscribed a sigil within its core.

“There,” she announced with a smile. “A quartz all sealed up in case you try to idly cast something weird on it. Gotta run!”

With that, Vinyl shoved the crystal into the bewildered stallion's hooves and sprinted off to catch up with her friend. Instead of joining her pace, the DJ shot straight past Fleur, double-timing it towards the school entrance.

“But Vy, my exit!” Fleur complained.

Vinyl turned around, trotting backwards as she went. “Do you want to be a little late or a lot late so we get an Arpeggio punctuality lecture again?”

Fleur’s haughty facade dropped in horror as she spied the time on the clock over the entrance. “Sweet Celestia, you’re right! Go-go-go-go-go!”

Both mares galloped as fast as their legs could carry them. They rounded the corner up the stairs and darted through the doors, leaving Fancy alone in the street. With a shrug, he turned around and continued on his way home. Looking down at the crystal, he rolled it up and down his hoof, feeling the smoothed over bumps. Levitating it closer to his face, he twirled it around to inspect it.

The crystal’s rough cut bore no traditional beauty to it. Every sharp point and jagged edge had been sliced off haphazardly and beveled to a smooth bump. The quartz’s white coloration was imperfect and cloudy with a sloppily inscribed sigil cut inside it. The only thing notable about it was its weight. It was somewhere near the paper weights at home: just heavy enough to feel comfortably substantial in his spellwork without being cumbersome. Overall, he determined it was an utterly inert, lumpy, and pointless rock. Still, there was something that nipped at the back of his mind.

“Stress casting, she says.” Fancy had heard the term thrown around before, but hadn’t paid much attention to it. It was a step up from idle casting. It was like chewing feathers or hoof biting: habits that parents were quick to tell their children to stop, lest they evolve into compulsive habits.

But that wasn’t what he was doing. He polished his monocle as a simple delaying tactic. It bought him critical time during debates or helped him gather his thoughts in conversations. There was a calming aspect to cleaning the smears and sweat off of it, but that was the simple feeling of a job well done. Even though he found himself doing it more often, that was only when he needed to relax. Although, ponies only needed to do so when they were stress—

“What’s the harm of entertaining the idea?” Fancy asked himself as he twirled the little crystal in his magic. After finding a good side to start on, he began to mimic his polishing by rubbing the edges with his magic. He tried to flatten the sides like scrubbing grime off a lens.

As he rhythmically swirled away, a wave of relief washed over him as he continued scratching the itch he didn’t know he had. The tension he’d felt bridled by since leaving Pâte de Lune slowly dulled to match the smoothed corners of the crystal. He slowly turned it to address each side until he’d polished it top to bottom. Surprisingly satisfied with the simple action, he stowed the rock in his pocket with a contented sigh to continue his jog home.

Or he would have, if he hadn’t already been standing at the gate to his property with no memory of how he’d gotten there.

“Oh. Oh dear.”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 26: Don't Leave the Party Dying

A light, funky smooth jazz tune subtly strummed through the coffee house’s speakers as Vinyl took in the atmosphere of Alotta Latte. Despite being only a block away from the ESPA, she’d never visited the area’s most popular coffeehouse. Aside from a small stage for live performances, there wasn’t a lot setting Alotta apart from other similar shops. It smelled like coffee, overused chalkboards in an attempt to seem more grounded, and was coated in a wide array of colors ranging from brown to darker brown. The only stunning difference setting it apart was the price they charged. Vinyl didn’t find overpaying for theater district coffee appealing, especially when it was more important to be seen drinking the brand rather than enjoying it. She’d never come here by herself.

“At what point does a latte become a milkshake?” Octavia asked Vinyl while overanalyzing her large drink.

The DJ shrugged and went back into indulging herself in her own Strawberry Surprise Latte. Octavia had stopped her archiving report with Steeplechase before it started and whisked her away for an impromptu mentorship meeting. Judging by Octavia’s befuddlement at the menu, she wasn’t familiar with Alotta Latte either. Usually Vinyl would be more hesitant to waste time during audio lab hours, but after what happened this morning, she wasn’t in any hurry to get back to the school.

Octavia stirred her straw, shuffling around chunks of strawberry suspended in thick, fluffy cream. “This is supposedly a latte. That’s what it says on the menu, correct?”

Vinyl nodded along silently, refusing to cease the straw’s flow of sweetness.

“But it’s blindingly red and white. Coffee’s famously brown.” Octavia took another sip, moving the sample around her mouth with practiced, wine-tasting precision. “I think I’m sensing the slightest note of coffee? Maybe mocha? Whatever it is, it’s being absolutely destroyed under pounds of sugar and syrup.”

“You’re the one who ordered two of them so I couldn’t pay,” Vinyl noted before diving back into the safety of the fruity flavor.

“I know, but I think they somehow managed to distill more than half my daily calories into a single cup,” Octavia fretted as she swirled her straw through the creamy mass. “I’m almost certain I’ve had healthier cheesecakes in the past.”

“Well, I think it’s good,” Vinyl said in between sips.

“It’s criminally good!” Octavia’s purple eyes sparkled with rare delight and she drew another generous serving through her straw. “I’m just glad Steeple is such a fruit purist. He’d be more blob than pony if he got hooked on something like this.”

Feeling on the precipice of brain freeze, Vinyl took a break from the strawberry escape to get their meeting officially started. “So, something up with the Showcases?”

“No. We’re pretty much set for that next week, thank Celestia.” The other mare breathed a sigh of relief. “I finalized the schedule yesterday with Woodwind and we’re just waiting for the playbills to be printed. Barring any last minute hiccups, it’s simply a matter of managing public ticket sales now.”

“Okay. Then what did you need from me?”

Octavia frowned. “Do I need a reason to want to share a drink with you?”

Vinyl didn’t like the cut of the question. Unlike herself, Octavia was a rigidly structured mare, rarely doing anything on a whim. “You usually have one for these mentorship meetings.”

“Then consider this me trying something new. I’ve been letting myself get so absorbed in my work that I haven’t been leaving any time for you,” Octavia admitted while rubbing the sides of her frosty treat in shame.

“That’s okay. I mean, we’re both pretty busy these days, right?”

“Maybe that’s good enough for you, but It’s not okay with me,” the earth pony complained as she tapped the table with conviction. “I’m supposed to be your mentor, but somehow Steeple manages to meet you more than I do these days.”

“I’m archiving records. That’s his department.”

“Fair point, but please allow me a little jealousy to steal you away for some quality time between the two of us.” Octavia tilted her nose up from practiced haughty indignation. The proper mare was one of the few ponies Vinyl accepted such fashionable Canterlotian arrogance from. Octavia had the bona fides to back it up with both musical expertise and physical strength. That cello of hers wasn’t carried lightly in any sense of the word. “That being said, I do hope I’m not interrupting anything important that you need to rush back to the school for.”

Vinyl began playing with her straw, watching the remaining half of her latte swirl around in a hypnotic circle. “Not really. We’re analyzing some new samples from the Crystal Empire for Professor Arpeggio. You know, checking their harmonics. We hit a snag this morning, so I’ve got some time.”

Octavia smirked knowingly. “I see that my father has you doing his grunt work as usual. Is it musical or physical?”

“Both, actually. Cacophony doesn’t draw hard distinctions between the two. Professor Arpeggio’s trying to find discrepancies between Imperial crystals and Canterhorn crystals found under the castle. They’re similar in structure and formed through intense magical forces, and he thinks he might be able to compare their ages. He’s trying to determine the nature of Sombra’s banishing of the empire, since the leading theories are a sort of timeskip teleportation or mass magical stasis.”

Octavia waved a mixing stick like a baton, as if silencing an orchestral performance. “Pardon, but I will be cutting you off right there. Anything deeper will reduce me to smiling and nodding along to something I barely understand.”

“Sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for, Vinyl. You’d think I’d learn not to ask questions like that after being raised by a CSGU professor.” Octavia rolled her eyes with a smirk at her own folly. “At the risk of making more of a fool of myself, how are things going at the mansion?”

“You mean the archiving?”

“You can spare those details. I already know too much about it through Steeple. I’m pretty sure I’ll hear all about what you gave him earlier tonight over dinner. Probably doubly so since he wasn’t able to ‘geek out’ with you.” There was a subtle shiver in Octavia’s shoulders at the thought. “No, I want to know about how you are doing, Vinyl.”

“I’m okay. Just archiving and preparing for the Showcases.”

“And?” Octavia pursed her lips and rolled her fetlock, motioning for Vinyl to continue.

“That’s it.”

The cellist dropped her forelegs to the table and gave Vinyl a flat look. “You’re joking, right? There simply must be something else.”

“What else do you want me to say?”

“I’m not trying to gossip, but do you really expect me to believe that? You, one of the most popular DJs on Dressage Drive, are living with Fancy Pants, one of the most illustrious nobles of our time. You can’t seriously be telling me that absolutely nothing has happened at all since you moved in.”

Vinyl dipped herself into the strawberries again, leaving Octavia in the lurch.

The cellist sighed and put a hoof to her forehead. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to bring this up myself, but you leave me little choice.” Octavia’s gaze sharpened as she leaned over the table towards her mentee. “Vinyl, why do you think I interrupted your meeting with Steeple?”

“To catch up?” Vinyl hoped against hope despite the exasperation scrawled across the other mare.

“If it was something so simple, I would’ve waited.” Octavia tapped her hoof just above her eyes. “You were wearing your sunglasses in the library.”

“So?”

“I repeat, in the library. Indoors. Like you are now in a dimly lit coffee shop.” Octavia nodded slowly as she tried to goad Vinyl into saying the obvious.

“I can still see fine,” Vinyl argued half-heartedly. “I just forgot I had them on.”

Octavia hummed to herself and raised a hoof with an idea. “Very well. How about this: I’ll tell you how I know you’re lying if you take off your sunglasses.”

“Do I have to?” Vinyl asked. Seeing Octavia raise her brow at the foalish question, she sighed and threw her shades down on the table.

Octavia grabbed at her heart upon seeing Vinyl’s unshaded face. Her eyes had been stinging enough since the morning to know they were red and puffy. She hadn’t cried, but she felt on the verge every time she thought about Fleur and Fancy. She hated how weak she felt.

“I don’t need the pity party,” Vinyl spat under her breath.

Octavia shook her head. “Please, Vinyl, I’m just—”

“Worried, right?” she finished for Octavia bitterly.

The mare backed up and cleared her throat at the sudden shift. “I was going to use the word ‘concerned,’ but the difference is negligible,” Octavia clarified, to Vinyl’s annoyance. “Steeple was either being polite or too distracted by his toys to notice, but I couldn’t stand watching you go through the motions like nothing was wrong.”

“You and everypony else. Can’t seem to get anypony to stop.” Her mentor was maintaining a good front, but Vinyl could see the cracks of worry forming in her proud stance. “Just spill it already so I can stop freaking everypony out.”

“For one, you agreed to take your sunglasses off,” Octavia noted.

“Octavia!”

“I admit that was in poor taste,” she apologized. “For a less cheeky answer, it’s still rather simple. If the topic is something you might need to stretch the truth about, you seem to be wanting to avoid talking about it altogether. The Vinyl I know speaks fully and candidly.”

The unicorn bit her lip, mentally cursing herself. “I can’t win, can I?”

“If it helps, I think it’s actually sort of adorable that I know foals that are better liars than you,” Octavia politely teased, hoping to brighten the mood.

Vinyl slammed her head on the table, groaning from both the frustration and the impact. “I just want to stop making everypony miserable!”

“You’re not making me miserable,” Octavia assured softly. “We all know you’ve been going through a lot. I’d rather know if I can help than think you’re suffering in silence.”

Vinyl pulled her head up, trying desperately not to give into the tightness in her chest. “But that’s just it! It doesn't matter if I shut up or not, everypony just keeps jumping to their own conclusions! What am I supposed to do?”

“Just tell somepony, Vinyl. If you don’t want my help, then at least Fleur can—”

“B-but that’s what I did! I thought I was doing the right thing, but I wasn't! I was wrong and now she’s mad at Fancy because of what I did and it caused an episode and it’s all my fault!”

Octavia grabbed ahold of one of Vinyl’s hooves and sandwiched it between her own. “Slow down, Vinyl! Deep, controlled breaths.” Octavia tapped her hoof on rhythmically, directing the pace of her mentee’s breathing to slow it back down. “Better?”

A few more long breaths later, Vinyl nodded.

“Okay. Now let’s start from the beginning. What was that you were saying about Fleur and Fancy Pants?”

“Well, we bumped into Fancy Pants on the way to the school, and… it wasn’t what you’d call cordial.”

“And Safe!” Fleur sing-songed as she flicked on the lights of the lab and grabbed the startup clipboard. “C’mon Vy, we gotta get going before the professor realizes we were late.”

Vinyl followed her friend into the studio, letting the larger mare start the day like nothing had happened. Even though the lab was completely dark, meaning they were in the clear with the professor, it was little consolation after what she saw her friend do.

“What the hay was that?” Vinyl demanded.

Fleur slumped her shoulders and sighed. “Do we have to go through this song and dance? I know how it’s going to play out, so let’s just save ourselves the trouble and drop it.” Fleur glanced over her shoulder at Vinyl’s simmering temper demanding an explanation. She clicked her tongue as she flicked on the soundboards. “Relax, Vy. I was just messing with him. No biggie.”

“Horseapples! You treated him like trash!”

“Okay, so maybe I got a little testy trying to talk sense into a certified idiot. Can you blame me?” she scoffed with a dismissive hoof wave before refocusing on the morning’s systems check.

Vinyl frowned and strode over to her friend. “So, is Fancy not welcome on the Friend Ship anymore?”

“Depends if he keeps associating blindly with those stupid nobles,” the taller unicorn replied coolly while turning away and focusing on her tasks. “Garbage in, garbage out. And no, I’m not apologizing for being right.”

Vinyl couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Are you serious? You’re the one who told me that Fancy stress casts in the first place!”

The claim stopped Fleur’s work in its tracks and the mare turned to Vinyl in utter confusion. “What in the world are you talking about?”

“You knew full well that he struggles to channel spells under pressure, but even I didn’t think you’d go so far to purposely trigger him to have an episode!”

“Seriously, what are you talking about?” Fleur set the clipboard down to give Vinyl her undivided attention. “He’s just bad with magic. A regular clumsicorn.”

“That’s because he stress casts! The whole monocle polishing thing, remember?”

Fleur shook her head and sighed. “Vy, you’re reading way too much into that. It’s a simple delaying tactic. He does it all the time.”

“Because that’s his favored object! Haven’t you ever noticed him fixating on his monocle when he’s frustrated or anxious? At the worst times, his aura is almost nonexistent, but he still manages to barely keep it in his magic. When you were cornering him, he started casting levitation on nothing trying to alleviate the stress. He wasn’t even aware that he was channeling at all!”

“That’s not—no. You’re not making any sense!” Fleur accused, poking a hoof into her friend’s chest. “Fancy’s got everything that matters to him: wealth, power, prestige, fill-in-the-blank with whatever other commodities the nobles are chasing and then some. What could he possibly be stressed about?”

“Well…” Vinyl rubbed her leg as her mind jumped to the obvious culprit.

“No!” Fleur screamed over her friend’s unspoken train of thought. “For the last time, it’s not your fault! It was never your fault! Get that stupid idea out of your head right now!”

“Then what is it? You were just fine with him until I told you what happened over the holidays. Now all of a sudden, you’re treating him like dirt out of nowhere?”

“Well, it’s not that, okay? Besides, he should’ve—It’s his—” Their eyes met once more, briefly. Fleur recoiled and turned away from Vinyl’s gaze. “It’s not that simple!”

“But isn’t it? I was the one lying to you about it all in the first place.”

“So? If you were too scared, Fancy should’ve told me!” Fleur turned away, pulling at her hair. “I should’ve been there for you! I could’ve helped you!”

“But that’s exactly what I didn’t want!” Vinyl countered. She trotted around to confront her friend trying to ignore her. “I don’t want ponies to worry about every little thing about me! Is that so wrong?”

“Yes!” Fleur urged breathlessly in utter disbelief. “If you need help, obviously yes! How stupid can you get?”

“So I was right. It is all my fault.”

“Stop. Twisting. My. Words!” Fleur grinded her teeth and seethed trying to keep a grip on her anger. “I said it was fine! Fancy can take it!”

Vinyl frowned and returned with an icy glare. “What, and I can’t?”

Fleur grabbed at her head, reaching her wit’s end. Shaking it to refocus her thoughts, the mare doubled down and stomped her hooves in frustration. “Okay. He got his feelings hurt a little bit. So what? The guy’s got enough bits to blow on anything he wants and then some. He’ll get over it. Better him than you.”

“But that’s not fair to him!” Vinyl countered.

“I don't care anymore!” Fleur yelled, her eyes slowly cracking under the pressure of her blazing anger. “I don’t care at all! In fact, why do you care so much anyway?”

“What?” The smaller unicorn shrank back, confused by the unexpected question.

“You heard me! Why the hay do you care about him? You’re just there to archive old records until everypony forgets the mess I made, right? You said it yourself that you’re scared of him! So, why do you give a flying feather about him at all?” Fleur demanded as she stood rigid, towering over the smaller unicorn. “Why do you care about Fancy Pants?”

“Because…” Vinyl trailed off. The more she thought about it, the more she didn’t know the answer. She should obviously care on some level. Even if it wasn’t codified in a written contract, Fancy Pants was her de facto employer. Every day she woke up in his opulent guest room, she came face-to-face with the power he held over her. With nowhere to go, it was in a word: terrifying.

But through all of it, Fancy had never used that power against her when he could, not even once. He said she always had a choice, he always gave her space, and despite having virtually limitless wealth and influence, he wanted to earn her respect. Fancy said Vinyl was worth it.

“Well? Spit it out!” Even when she had confided in her about her situation with Fancy, Fleur had never gotten this angry. Vinyl just wanted something, anything that would calm her down.

“Because he’s your brother.”

Instead of finding relief, Fleur’s breath hitched from Vinyl’s words, crushing the air out of her lungs. All the anger and fire fizzled into nothing as she staggered from the spear piercing her heart. Her rear leg caught the chair in front of the soundboard and she stumbled backwards, catching herself on the console behind her before her complete collapse.

“Fleur, are you—” The tears streaming from her friend’s shattered eyes silenced Vinyl’s thoughtless question immediately.

“Why won’t Fancy tell me that?”

Fleur’s desperate question echoed through the quiet room. With no possible answer, the broken mare stumbled towards the exit. She galloped out of the department as best she could on her uneven gait, hitting the door on the way out, and leaving Vinyl alone with a cold stone sinking into her heart.

She messed up. Vinyl Scratch always messed up.

Vinyl drank deeply, desperately pulling every last drop of her milkshake or latte, whatever it was, anything to numb her racing thoughts. The brain freeze was better than the memories of Fleur and Fancy burning in her head. She was breaking them apart. Her weakness was ruining their relationship, and it was all her fault.

She could hear Octavia on the periphery, begging for her attention, but the DJ ignored the distant noise. Greedily, she chugged and chugged, hoping there was an infinite amount of cream to drown herself in. She was sick of constantly being overwhelmed. She didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want sympathy, pity, or anything anymore. She just wanted everything to stop!

A cold chill splashed Vinyl’s face, interrupting her spell and causing her to drop her latte. What little was left splattered on the table with a puddle of water. She blinked, feeling her wet fur and looked up from the mess, to see Octavia absolutely livid after splashing her with a pilfered glass of water.

“Stop that right now!” Octavia chastised, her hot glare gripping Vinyl’s heart with an oddly nostalgic fear.

“But I—”

“This kind of behavior will not help anypony, least of all you!” the cellist reprimanded. Vinyl opened her mouth to speak, but Octavia flourished her hoof to quiet the orchestra of emotions, informing the DJ that she wasn’t allowed to make a peep.

For the first time in years, Vinyl felt the pressure of being in trouble. Not from a sense of danger or fear for one’s life, but the sinking disappointment while being addressed by a parent. It bore a forgotten nostalgia that was both terrifying and strangely comforting.

“Now. You want the truth? You’re being way too hard on yourself. You can’t simply blame yourself for everything!” Octavia slammed a hoof on the table, the tidy mare completely ignoring the mess from the watery strawberry remains. “The absolute nerve of you thinking all the woes of the world can somehow be your fault.”

“What about—” another silencing hoof wave cut her off succinctly.

Octavia took a deep breath before continuing to be the adult in the room. “You got caught lying to ponies that care about your well-being. That was wrong. But, you did the right thing and admitted it rather than continuing to try hiding it. Anything beyond that is solely between Fleur and Fancy. Do you understand?”

Vinyl nodded quickly, biting her lip seeing that they were drawing shocked looks from the other patrons. Octavia straightened up, adjusted her bowtie, and glared out the corner of her eye. The disquieting contempt demanded to know exactly what everypony else was looking at. With no adequate answers of their own, they all returned to minding their own business.

“Good.” Octavia cleared her throat. “Now, you’re only allowed to speak if you can do so without the breakdown. Got it?”

After processing she had been asked a question, Vinyl nodded vigorously under the pressure Octavia’s will exerted.

Her mentor exhaled, releasing the tension she was wearing. “So, please tell me about this stress casting theory of yours,” she asked as she calmly fixed her hair.

“It’s not a theory; I saw him doing it,” Vinyl urged with absolute certainty.

“Fine, so he was stress casting. You said it was the monocle, right?”

“When idle spellcasting progresses into a compulsive habit, it usually surfaces as a form of stress relief. There’s comfort in burning off excess magic, like scratching an itch or preening a wing. The sufferer often inadvertently casts basic spells like illumination or levitation. In the case of manipulation magic, it gradually selects a focus to channel into.” Vinyl sighed as she fiddled with the straw in her hooves. “Mine was a—”

I just want what’s best for you.

Vinyl cleared her throat. “A locket.”

“You’re also a stress caster?” Octavia asked.

Don’t forget…

“I was. It’s why I’m so sure. Takes one to know one.” Vinyl smiled wistfully while ignoring the familiar, rusty chains wrapping around her neck once again.

“I’m surprised you haven’t fallen back into the habit, considering the circumstances.”

…Mommy loves you.

“Y-yeah, don’t worry. I’m fine,” she assured herself.

“Wide, down-right,” Octavia stated.

“Huh?”

“Just now, your eyes widened when I asked, and you looked down and to the right when you answered,” she clarified, pointing her hoof in the direction Vinyl looked.

“Okay. So?”

“Left, straight, right, left.” Octavia dictated, along with pointing a hoof in the corresponding directions. “Okay, now you’re just staring daggers at me.”

“What are you doing?”

“I said I’d tell you how I know you’re lying. I’m just holding up my end of the deal.”

“But you already did?” Vinyl asked.

“No, I just told you how I deduced something was wrong. Watching your eyes is how I know you’re lying. Erratic movements, dilation, lack of eye contact; you’re very expressive with them, you know.”

“Okay. So, how am I supposed to fix that?”

“There’s nothing to fix. Last I checked, honesty was a virtue. Just make sure you wear your sunglasses during poker games and surprise parties to give yourself a fighting chance.” Octavia smirked at Vinyl’s grousing. “Now, you were just failing to lie to me about stress casting?”

Vinyl grumbled and clopped her hooves together being caught dead to rights. “It wasn’t exactly stress casting, but I did have a magical surge.”

“Oh my,” Octavia gasped, covering her mouth in shock. “Those can be quite serious from what father has said about them. Father told me about one of the students briefly turning their parents into house plants during a rather harrowing one years ago.”

“Luckily, I’m not so magically gifted. It boiled down to a burst of pure mana. I did end up hurting somepony though.”

“Are they okay?”

“I sprained Fluff’s—err Fluffer Duster’s wing.” Vinyl’s heart clenched with guilt at the memory of launching her after all the hurtful things she said to the younger pegasus. After all of that, it still floored her to think Fluffs had still given her a second chance.

“Seeing as how you’re on a nickname basis, I will assume it worked out in the end. You did apologize though, right?” Vinyl nodded, unable to look Octavia in the face. “Good. That’s about all you can do.”

“Forget about me, we were talking about Fancy! He’s the one compulsively polishing that stupid lens of his all the time! Seriously, am I the only pony who has ever noticed it?”

“No, but I didn’t think anything of it,” Octavia dismissed with a shrug.

“That’s because he doesn’t realize he’s doing it half the time and Fleur’s angry at him and it caused him to have an episode right in front of me—”

Octavia tapped the mixing stick loudly, calling Vinyl’s attention. “What did I say about breakdowns again?” Vinyl shrunk under her mentor’s glare and nodded. “Listen, if it’s true, then he’s been doing that for years. It's simply impossible for you to be the root cause of it now.”

“But aren’t I making it worse?” Vinyl hung her head in guilt. “I try to lie because the truth hurts too much, and I can’t even do that! If it keeps going like this, I’m going to lose the only friend I have!”

Octavia flinched, pushing herself straighter in her seat. “The only friend?”

“Well, I guess Fluffer Duster is trying, but I’m probably going to ruin that one somehow too.”

“But… but aren’t we friends?”

“What?” Vinyl murmured in reply.

“I know I’m your mentor because I've been in the ESPA for most of my life, but I’m only three years older than you. Under different circumstances, I’d like to think we would’ve been friends for a long time.” Octavia put her hoof to her chest and her ears dipped. “Steeple and I, we both think the world of you.”

“But why? I haven’t done anything to earn it.”

Octavia searched Vinyl’s eyes, slowly growing more concerned at the unicorn’s gaze pleading for answers. “You really believe that.”

She moved to take a seat next to Vinyl in the booth, putting a hoof on the DJ’s shoulder. “Vinyl, the better question is why wouldn’t I want to be your friend? You’re honest to a fault, dependable, and far more brilliant than you give yourself credit for. Even if we strip it down to our talents, I might enjoy more traditional music, but your style is what I’d call the ‘in’ thing right now. After listening to that wonderful sample submission for your Showcase slot, frankly, I’m shocked you aren’t already selling out tours all across Equestria. I’d be lucky if you wanted somepony as boring as me to be your friend.

“Maybe you haven’t done something you feel is worthwhile, but friendship isn’t some black and white transaction. It’s true that all relationships have some level of give and take, that’s a given. You don’t need to earn it though. You’re a great pony that anypony should be glad to have in their lives.” Octavia smiled softly as she leaned over, trying to catch Vinyl’s face. “Even if you don’t believe me, I know it’s true. I’ll believe it for the both of us until you can, okay?”

Vinyl could remember believing in something like that. Just a few months ago, DJ Pon-3 had been a great pony. Her actions always spoke for themselves with an unshakable, solitary confidence. There was no need to listen to fools trying to bring her down. For all of the nobles’ bluster, they still hired her every time because she brought the bass that drove everypony wild. She didn’t need their approval, her value was self-evident. After all, DJ Pon-3 never answered to anypony, because who in their right mind could question her?

Then reality reared its ugly head to prove just how fragile and empty that bravado was. The constant threat of failure shackled her to a cliff crumbling on the edge of oblivion. But Fleur, Éclair, Octavia, Steeplechase, Fluffs, Dapper Dandy, and even Fancy Pants, despite everything, had all rallied around her. On her own, she would’ve disappeared into the depths of an uncaring world a long time ago, but they held on to keep her from falling. They cared.

DJ Pon-3 couldn’t do it alone anymore, but maybe her independence had been a story that Vinyl had fooled herself into believing. Even somepony as amazing as the Sensational Sauna Summers had ponies helping her all along the way; not with giving a hoof-out, but in offering a hoof up. That was okay, right?

“I’ll try,” Vinyl promised. She might not have believed in herself anymore, but she wanted to believe in the ones that did.

Seeing the truth in Vinyl’s eyes, Octavia’s smile spread across her face. “Wonderful. Now, if we’re going to continue this meeting, then I think we need another round of lattes to enjoy this time. It’s on the ESPA’s bits, so let’s call it reimbursement for missed mentorship meetings. If we’re going to catch up, we'll need another round.”

“Fancy Pants? Sledding?” Octavia couldn’t help but laugh at the idea.

“He’s surprisingly good at it. According to him, sand dune sledding is harder. Not as soft and you can burn yourself pretty bad when it gets really hot.”

“I’d be surprised he’d even bother with it, but he always has a reason for his more wild decisions.”

“Apparently, it’s a rite of passage in Saddle Arabia. ‘Proactive cultural exchange’ is how I think he put it. Earned him a few points with the sultan despite getting last place.”

“The hazards of that stallion’s hooves-on approach to diplomacy.” Octavia chuckled to herself and took a sip of her water. After cleaning the table, she’d gracefully downgraded to her own glass after checking the frightening caloric content of the Strawberry Surprise Latte. She swore to stick to salads for the next week to “detox” in her words. Meanwhile, Vinyl was content with accepting the comforting sweetness of her milkshake by another name.

“Did you know him back then?” Vinyl asked between sips.

“Fancy? I knew of him, but then again who didn’t? Never met him until I started working with the ESPA. In fact, I wouldn’t be where I am today if he hadn’t recommended me to Princess Celestia for the Gala. While that night wasn’t the best working experience, it did lead to something incredibly special.” Octavia smiled warmly as she ran her hoof along the silver wedding band around her fetlock.

“On that note, Steeplechase knew him before I did, at least professionally. I’m not sure how his constant hounding about the collection led to a friendship, but stallions will be stallions.” Octavia curled an eyebrow at Vinyl as she perked up from her latte. “And no, before you ask, I can almost guarantee he hasn’t noticed a single thing about his potential stress casting.”

And as quickly as it came, Vinyl slumped back down over her drink. She might know the mechanics to everypony’s mind reading, but it wasn’t helping.

“Listen, Vinyl. I think you’re right to be worried about Fancy if he really is stress casting. You could do some real good for him.”

“But I might be making it worse,” Vinyl argued.

“Or you could help make it better. You don’t have enough information to be certain. Assuming you’re right, the fact that you’ve identified the problem already proves that you’re helping, unequivocally. Perhaps this ‘Friend Ship’ of Fleur’s can help the both of them too. You might be the one that needs to hold it all together.”

Vinyl balked at the absurdity of the notion. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“Well, you said your stress casting was in the past. What helped you stop?”

“The source of my stress was… removed.”

“Up-left.”

“Don’t,” Vinyl warned.

“Sorry.” Octavia raised her hooves and backed off the line of questioning. “Just don’t assume it’s you that must be removed from the equation.”

“I wasn’t gonna—it’s not like that! I can’t do the second thing.”

That caught the other mare’s attention. “Really? What was the second?”

“Fleur,” Vinyl admitted. “She wouldn’t leave me alone back then…”

For years, Fleur had always been the one to bail Vinyl out. For all of the mare’s zany antics, she was the steady rock Vinyl needed in life. And now, the foundations were crumbling under pressure. The thought sent chills through her spine, realizing just how dependent she had become on her friend.

Fleur had been the one to rightly warn Vinyl about the experimental flings she had after getting popular at Cantrips. Those multiple, vapid physical flings that were as empty as the void she had been unknowingly trying to fill. Before that, she had urged Vinyl to finally try that music mixing thing she enjoyed, which ultimately led to her initial debut on Dressage Drive. And to start it all off, ‘Schlurr Delish’ was the strangely confident dweeb who invited her to play some complicated, make-believe game out of nowhere.

“It’sh better than looking shad in the corner, right?” the young Schlurr explained with copious braceface spittle.

Vinyl had been taking so much for many years without even realizing, and how had she returned the favor?

“I haven’t seen you smile in weeks! Not really. You’re my best friend, Vy. You’re like a sister to me. You can tell me anything, you know that, right? Please! I… I don’t want to lose you too!” Fleur begged with tears streaming down her face.

“She never left me alone…”

“So, why can’t you?” Octavia asked, pulling Vinyl back to the present.

“What do you mean? There’s only one Fleur.”

“And thank the stars for that. I’m not sure Equestria could handle two.” The older mare laughed behind a hoof. “But I digress. What I meant was why can’t you, Vinyl? Let’s say for the sake of argument you are the problem. Why not turn yourself into the solution? Open up about yourself. Let him know he isn’t alone.”

“I don’t think I can do that.”

“Obviously not with that defeatist attitude,” Octavia chided with an admonishing hoof waggle. “But I know you can, Captain.” The gray mare straightened up and saluted.

“Fleur is the Captain of the Friend Ship. I’m the first-mate, or a sea turtle. I can’t remember.”

“Fair enough. Although, if you do decide to attempt a mutiny, you have my full support. I’m sure I can twist Steeple into it as well once he realizes he’s onboard. I believe in you, Vinyl.”

A spark of warmth flickered in Vinyl’s heart. It was a flicker Fleur always managed to light through her encouragement. Maybe it was her turn to help fan the flames and finally be there for her friend. She wasn’t sure if she could do it, but somepony believed she could. It was worth a try.

“Thanks, Octavia.”

“Now, now. That won’t do at all,” Octavia chided once more before placing her hoof over her heart. “My friends call me Tavi.”

Vinyl smiled at the newfound warmth, but stopped as she considered the nickname. To her knowledge, Steeplechase was the only one that called her that, and it didn’t seem right.

“What about ‘Octy?’” Vinyl offered as a cursed image flashed through her mind. “Y’know, if I’m a turtle, you could be an—”

“If you dare finish that analogy, I will be forced to see if griffons have a recipe for turtle soup,” the sour Octy-pus stated with a lethal finality usually reserved for a certain insufferable bat-brain.

“Got it,” Vinyl sputtered all-too quickly.

Octavia’s steely ire bore down on Vinyl until she couldn’t hold the facade anymore. A small smile crept across her face as she began giggling. Vinyl joined Tavi as they both cracked, the two friends sharing a laugh as sweet as the lattes.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 27: The World Through Different Eyes

The heavens sparkled in regal authority over the skies of Canterlot. There was nary a cloud in the sky blocking the moonlight as Fancy walked alone through the Royal Quarter of the Upper Districts. The circle of homes stood a step above the rest alongside the walls of the castle. If Fancy hadn’t already inherited his family’s property during his ambassadorship, he’d likely have been bequeathed one of the few miniature castles bordering the real one for his years of service.

His confidence wasn’t riding high after the day he’d endured. Despite his rough start, his stir-craziness had finally won out and spurred him into attending whatever event was going on in high society. The quartz in his pocket was working overtime as he gave it one last polish of magic before assuming his stately confidence. Fancy Pants proudly passed through the open gates and knocked on the door of the host’s home as the proper Kingmaker of Canterlot.

After being greeted by a surprised butler, he ignored the coat check and followed the servant through the opulent entryway. With its marble pillars, alabaster walls, and royal purple carpets, one could easily think they’d entered the real castle by mistake. However, the numerous portraits of the mansion’s owner lining the walls dispelled that notion immediately. The former diplomat nodded a greeting towards the ponies murmuring around him, though they were difficult to recognize in the dim light.

As he drew closer to the foyer, “Sir Fancy Pants” was announced to the shock of many gossiping attendees. It didn’t take long for a particular flash of blonde mane to perk up and push through the crowd of ponies with little regard for them. The golden locks forced open the pastel fur wall, revealing the minister of finance and adopted nephew of Princess Celestia, Prince Blueblood. The somewhat royal stallion smiled with excitement and self-satisfaction at the newest arrival.

“Fancy Pants! What an unexpected surprise to see you here!”

“Good evening, Prince Blueblood. I hope the night finds you well.”

“Indeed! Our Auntie Luna has graced us with yet another wonderful evening for a wonderful party.” Blueblood looked up towards the moon above them through the foyer’s skylight.

Fancy joined the prince's gaze, admiring the majesty of Luna’s sky above them. “The chill in the air is quite bracing, but one cannot argue the clarity it provides for seeing her work.”

“Oh yes. More to the point, it provides the perfect lighting for such a noble event, wouldn’t you say?” the finance minister boasted. The pride he exuded stopped just shy of claiming responsibility for the moonrise itself.

Fancy suppressed a sigh. Prince Blueblood’s parties were largely repeats of the same series of events leading up to them. Some organization had approached him with a random idea, and he was going to make a show of it. The minister’s desire to appear supremely charitable meant nopony else would be allowed to run another event at the same time. It wasn’t for fear of retribution from Blueblood, but rather a desire to spare themselves a princely whining session.

On a brighter note, event exclusivity meant everypony would be here tonight. Most attendees rightly used such functions as an excuse to enjoy the carefully curated selections of foods and spirits anyway. The only true expense besides a generously generous donation was stroking Blueblood’s ego. It was as good an event as any to be seen again and catch up on the latest goings-on in Canterlot.

Before leaving the estate, Fancy had mindlessly signed a check for a large sum of bits to throw into whatever the minister was promoting. Blueblood had a bad habit of neglecting to mention the name of the charity, “not wanting to spoil the surprise” as he always put it. As usual, Fancy had simply filled the amount line with enough zeroes to matter, leaving only the “pay to the order of” line blank to scribble down later.

“I’m sure it will be of great help to the ones in need,” Fancy assured as he pulled out his pocketbook. “So, what great cause are you promoting this time?”

“Oh yes, of course!” Prince Blueblood cleared his throat, signaling Fancy was in for the minister’s prepared pitch. “Too long have the colts and fillies of Equestria lacked adequate access to properly portioned bowls for food and artistic expression. ‘Bowls for Foals’ strives to fill every young artist’s belly while also ensuring their paintings will have the most beautiful staging for their still-life fruit displays.”

“It sounds like this oddly specific charity will certainly change the world in an… equally fitting manner,” Fancy diplomatically assured as he quickly jotted the name down. The involvement of fruit must’ve caught the high-class foodie’s attention. He hoped the ones behind the effort had the wherewithal to produce sturdy dishware rather than distribute aesthetically fragile bowls to children.

After giving the check away, Prince Blueblood joined Fancy’s gait to escort him. The two trotted through the party as the minister jabbered about less than nothing in particular. The Kingmaker was finding Prince’s presence more acutely irritating than usual, especially with the prideful stallion’s less-than-subtle wandering eyes. They caused a small commotion with every pony they passed, and Blueblood was savoring it all.

Meanwhile, Fancy couldn’t help but notice their low whispers and sly smiles were directed at him. It not only confirmed his suspicions regarding the notability of his absences, but also told him something else was potentially problematic.

“So, how are things with Auntie Luna?” Blueblood asked while wiggling his eyebrows.

“I’m sure you’d know better than I, Minister Prince. Outside of sharing a spot of tea, I’m afraid I know little of the goings-on around the castle. Especially considering I no longer work there like you do.”

“Oh, Fancy. You don’t need to play coy with me. All of Canterlot is practically abuzz about you two these days!”

Fancy breathed in calmly, reminding himself to take it in stride. There was no use trying to correct the record. It was better for reality to claim such stories as false overtime and let them fizzle out on their own. Also, it would hopefully add another distraction to the zeitgeist and force the Screech out of their minds faster. He’d simply have to grin and bear the annoyance of perceived power grabs for now.

“I’m aware of the rumors regarding my relationship with our lunar leader. While it is true that I consider her a good friend, I’m simply doing my part to bring her up to speed, as it were, with the modern Equestria,” Fancy assured in no uncertain terms.

“So defensive, Sir Fancy Pants. I was only wondering if I should expect to be calling you ‘Uncle Pants’ sooner or later. It certainly would be strange, but if it makes Auntie Luna happy, I will gladly welcome you into the royal family with an open heart.”

Even if it were true, Blueblood’s endorsement alone would’ve been enough to make him second-guess marrying either princess in this lifetime. These rumors had gotten out of control if Prince Blueblood of all ponies was practically scheduling their wedding. Seeing how poorly Luna responded to the speculation previously, he’d need to make more solo appearances in the future to get the rumors out of the nobles’ systems.

“I’ve spent far more time with Princess Celestia over the years, but nopony has assumed I’d ask for her hoof in holy matrimony. Perhaps you should ask Princess Luna herself about this matter before jumping to such outlandish conclusions.”

“I’ve tried, honestly. But Auntie Luna is just so busy these days!” Blueblood harrumphed in privileged frustration. “Every time I see her, she seems to be running late for a study session, detecting a nightmare, or tending to some such matter that can’t wait. It’s so sad really, being busy with no time to yourself. You’d think she was avoiding me if the notion wasn’t so laughable on its face.”

“I couldn’t imagine anypony trying to get away from you, Prince Blueblood.”

“Exactly, Fancy Pants. You and I? Social elites like us are cut from the same pristine cloth of Canterlot. We were molded by the gentle hooves of fate to rise above; to lead Equestria into a new and prosperous tomorrow!” the stallion proudly announced to everypony around them. Fancy eyed Blueblood curiously and turned his gaze towards a painting of the minister standing next to his ‘Auntie Celestia’ towering over him. “Under my Aunties’ guidance, of course,” Blueblood quickly amended with a cough.

“Of course, Prince Blueblood.” Fancy rolled his eyes. His slight break in decorum was interrupted upon noticing his trusty monocle floating to his left, suspended within a weak, magical field. With a quick flourish of his pocket cloth, he caught the rogue lens in his hoof, polished it in a jiffy, and slapped it back onto his face. He then reached into his coat with his magic to subtly massage the sides of the quartz instead.

After a few soothing passes, Fancy finally saw his escape route under the portrait princess’ merciful wings. “If you will excuse me, I believe that is Photo Finish over there.”

The other stallion turned his head to see the fashion photographer mingling with another guest. Her two assistants stood closely behind her waiting to give chase to the mare at a moment’s notice. “Ah yes it is. Shall we go speak with her?”

Fancy felt his eye twitch. The day must’ve been worse than he thought. Generally, he had far more patience for his fellow nobles than this. He needed a way out or he was going to say something regrettable.

“Oh, but Prince Blueblood, you’ve already spent so much time with me.” Fancy looked around, noticing how many ponies had one ear turned towards their conversation. Their hushed tones gave him an idea. “While I appreciate your attention, you wouldn’t want to continue showing preferential treatment to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“As you said before, we are like-minded individuals. Thus, you know as well as I do that we need to ensure everypony feels welcome at our events; regardless of their status.”

“I suppose, but that seems a little… excessive, don’t you think?”

“You’ve attended many of my events over the years, correct?” Fancy asked, leading Blueblood into nodding along. “Then you’ve noticed me going around to guests and servants to check on them.”

“You mean wasting time on ponies that nopony takes seriously,” the princely pot remarked in complete disregard of his strikingly similar coloration to kettles.

“I know, I know, but even if they aren’t important to us, you of course know the opinions they share of us are, yes? Why do you think I am known as such a gracious host?” Fancy could see the gears starting to turn in the minister’s head, just like he wanted. “After all, a true king is nothing without his subjects,” Fancy finished, cementing his conspiring with a wink.

“Yes!” Prince Blueblood exclaimed in excitement before catching himself. “I mean, of course. I knew that.”

Fancy patted his fellow noble on his withers. “Exactly, my dear Minister Prince. You wouldn’t want to accidentally foment a feeling of neglect in your guests. They might start speaking ill of you.”

The minister gasped. “They wouldn’t!”

“They won’t if you greet each one we passed. I saw you watching them as we walked, taking mental notes all the way. Such an enviable eye for detail.”

“Why thank you. I recall all of their faces, as you know,” the humble prince bragged with supreme confidence.

“Then you should have no trouble meeting with all of them. We passed by most of the party already, so you should get a move on. They might leave early and embittered if you tarry too long with me.”

“Oh heavens, you’re absolutely right! We’ll have to catch up later, Sir Fancy Pants.”

“Of course, Prince Blueblood. Don’t worry about me. I’ve got you covered over here,” Fancy assured with practiced diplomacy.

“Thank you, my good stallion!”

“Think nothing of it.” Fancy graciously bowed as Prince Blueblood leapt into action, the golden retriever chasing the tennis ball Fancy had tossed for him. The minister inserted himself into the first conversation he could interrupt.

With Blueblood unleashed on his guests, Fancy trotted gingerly over towards his target, avoiding conversations with other attendees. Being one of the closer noble influencers to Vinyl before the Screech, she’d be a great gauge for how the news was flowing regarding the DJ. As he approached the mare, one of her trusty assistants noticed and began tapping on her employer's shoulder.

“What? What is it? I’m in the middle of important conversings!” the fashion photographer barked back with her unmistakable accent. One of her assistants pointed a hoof silently at the approaching stallion, bringing a wide smile to Photo’s face. “Herr Fancy Pants? Finally! It has been so long. I was worried you had stepped off the face of Equestria!”

“Umm, Miss Photo Finish?” The model mare Photo had been importantly conversing with raised a hoof, trying to regain the photographer’s attention.

“You’re still here? I am done with you now. You two?” Photo pointed at her chestnut and lime green assistants. “Take her and go. I must speak with the Kingmaker, privately!”

Before Fancy could interject, the two assistants nodded in unison and whisked the poor pony away to parts unknown. Even though this was just how Photo operated, the mare’s jarring speed was difficult to get a feel for. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.”

“You have not, except for the flow of my work with your lack of presence at these infuriating parties!”

“I beg your pardon?” Fancy asked, confused by the broken statement. He could tell he was in trouble with the photographer, but he wasn’t sure how.

“I, Photo Finish, require the musics that makes the models dance across the stage. Instead, they bumble down the aisle to irritating thumps of boots and cats!”

“I see. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Yes. Tragic. And that is why it is good you are here now. Better late than never.”

“Late for what exactly?”

“We require… your magicks!” With a dramatic flourish, the mare reached into her purse and pulled out a pair of jet black headphones, similar in shape to the brighter ones Vinyl usually had around her neck. “I have narrowed the musics down to four musicians. You will tell me which one here will bring all the basses.”

Fancy quirked his brow. “I’m still a little lost.”

“Pay closer attention then!” Photo reprimanded before smiling again. “It is simple. You listen to musics, make your choice, and then the fashion lives once more!”

At least the golden opportunity seemed to be providing itself without his goading. “Why not just hire Vinyl?”

“Frau Scratch?” the photographer huffed in mild frustration. “No. Not possible. We must make do with these inferior musics.”

Fancy frowned. It seemed the Vinyl Screech was a story that refused to die off quickly. “If DJ Pon-3 is more than capable of providing higher quality music, then why not just use her talents? You just said it yourself. You don’t need me to tell you she’s the best fit for your shows.”

“And I am telling you it is not possible. Her star no longer shines light upon our stage. You will choose between these four, and only these four!”

Fancy shook his head. “Miss Finish, this isn’t going to work.”

“Nonsense. You just need to warm up. Now listen!”

With little warning, Photo Finish snapped the headphones around Fancy’s head and clicked on the power. At once, electronic pulses and rhythmic progressions blared in his ears, drowning out everything including his own thoughts. It came in waves as it faded in and out. He tried to pull them off with his magic, but he couldn’t concentrate enough to channel a single spark. After a few seconds of deafening audio, Photo took the headphones back and put them on her neck, mercifully releasing him from his sound prison.

“Well?” the mare asked expectantly.

Fancy took a deep breath to get his bearings back as well as let the ringing stop. “Okay. At the risk of rupturing my ear drums, what’s song number two?”

“What are you talking about? Those were all samples of all the musics! What did I say about paying attention?”

“I was, but I am not sure how much I can help. Shouldn’t you choose whichever one that matches your model’s steps?”

“I am showing the most stunning dresses of Equestria, not directing a marching band!” Photo argued.

“But it all sounded the same to me…” Fancy trailed with a nervous smile.

“Stop!” she roared with finality, causing several other party-goers to look her way. “This is getting us nowhere.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Finish. If I were to meet the artists and interview them, perhaps I could give you a better opinion on their work ethic?”

“I do not need to know their work ethics. I need to know the best musics for the spectacle!”

“But that’s purely subjective. There are several ponies that might be of help at the ESPA that I could introduce to you, but my talent doesn’t work like this. I don’t know the first thing about this.”

“Then it is more delays? Fine. Better than nothing,” Photo huffed and pulled out a notepad and pen. “I will send word when I need your Kingmaking, Herr Fancy Pants.” With precision, she flipped the pen into her mouth and began jotting down several notes.

“Be sure it’s not next Thursday evening. I’m already spoken for then.”

“Yes, yes,” she half-heartedly agreed, moving the pen to one side like a cigar in her mouth. “With the rumors of the night, I will make sure I do not try during any evening.” She closed the pen’s cap and stowed it and her notepad. “So much for bringing these headphones to every event. What a waste of time!” She collapsed the device in three furious motions before shoving them into the depths of her purse.

“I’m sorry I can’t be of more help, Miss Finish.”

“Bah! The fault is not yours, but Frau Scratch’s. If only the best DJ wasn’t blacklisted, I wouldn’t be looking through the garbage.”

“What?” Fancy felt his heart drop into his stomach. “Isn’t that going a little far?”

“That is what I said! I cannot believe it myself. Such waste of perfect musics.”

“Wait, you didn’t—Then who did? You’re at the top of the fashion industry!”

“You will need to ask somepony else. I, Photo Finish, had no part in such decisions.”

“B-but Vinyl always gave it her all for you, didn’t she? That has to be worth something.”

“Something, yes, but not worth ending my models’ careers. I will have them walk to polka music before taking such needless risk!”

Fancy’s mind began to race. This wasn’t part of the fate he had envisioned at all. Vinyl Scratch was supposed to work at his mansion for the ESPA while laying low and then…And then what?

“What if I vouch for her?” Fancy offered quickly.

“You would risk your reputation for Frau Scratch? Are you right in the head?”

“There’s nothing at risk! I don’t need to know music to know that DJ Pon-3 is the most popular musician on the Drive.”

“For as long as she is allowed to play there, yes,” the photographer agreed as she pulled out a small camera and photography harness.

How was there pressure mounting on the Drive as well? To his knowledge, DJ Pon-3 was still pulling in the most revenue of any club performer. The bottom line was all that should’ve mattered to these rent-seeking ponies. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. Time was supposed to make everypony forget about the Screech, not allow it to fester! “What is—”

“Enough questions!” she proclaimed loudly, silencing him as she clasped her camera into place. “I have nothing more to say about DJs tonight. We will discuss replacements for her next week. For now, I wish to scout the potential talents. Is Frau de Lis here?”

The mere mention of the mare made Fancy shudder from the encounter this morning. “I-I’m afraid she won’t be attending high society meetings for quite some time.”

“It seems you bring nothing but troubled news today, Herr Fancy Pants. I will hear no more that depresses me tonight. Please give my regards to Princess Luna,” she said with a quick bow.

“Luna? But I'm not—”

“I go!”

With that, the mare sped off into the crowd with her camera at the ready. Fancy knew better than to interrupt her while working, even though she’d most likely get into trouble before the end of the night.

The news she had given him though; he couldn’t believe it. He’d spoken to everypony that had attended the Festival of Flakes—every single one—and just, nothing. Photo Finish was supposed to be one of the easier ones to convince, but even she wouldn’t budge.

“Name one noble who took Vinyl’s side. After everything that happened.”

The pressure at the side of his head was quickly devolving into a headache. He checked to see if he was polishing—no. He checked to see if he was stress casting again. Fortunately, the ring of his monocle still encircled his peripheral vision. However, he felt a mounting urge to take hold of it and clean the lens of all the grime and filth that was building up on it. Why did he feel that way? It was as spotless as it was a few minutes ago.

His quartz from Vinyl couldn’t be pulled out quickly enough. He immediately began tossing it around in his magic, feeling his nerves smooth like the crystal’s edges in his levitation spell. Gazing upon the cloudy rock, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was losing his touch or if this had always been how he managed. He didn’t recall fiddling with his monocle during even the tensest of political negotiations, but unconsciously casting was part of the symptoms Vinyl had mentioned.

Still, he felt that it couldn’t be that black and white. There were plenty of creatures the world over he considered his friends to this day. Diplomats and officials were always willing to work with him to reach an agreement. Everyone was interested in making things work in a mutually beneficial way. His ability to choose the best course of action helped countless times. On the other hoof, talking to the Canterlot nobles left him feeling…

“...kinda empty?”

“Fancy Pants! Thank goodness, you’ve finally come out of hiding!” a boisterous, familiar voice cheered. Fancy stood up and quickly shoved the quartz into his coat pocket.

Turning towards the source, he was greeted by a portly, black stallion with a slick, platinum blonde mane swept down his neck. He approached Fancy Pants with his signature warm, welcoming smile.

“Regal Cents! My good stallion.” Fancy wasn’t sure if he kept his sigh in his head or not, but the stallion was a welcome sight for his tired eyes. “It is so good to see you after so long. How’ve you been?”

“I’m not complaining. I mean, I could complain, but I’m not,” the proper stallion chortled.

“Ah yes, the cutthroat world of finance at its finest. Still, I know you can bounce back on your hooves,” Fancy assured his business friend.

“Indeed,” Regal agreed while looking around the room. “Listen Fancy. I’m in a bit of a bind, but I know I can count on your insight to help me out with a little plan of mine.”

“Of course, Regal. What can I do for you?”

“I have a business proposition that I was hoping to get your opinion on, and perhaps your investment if you’re so inclined. It’s just unfortunate you’ve been so hard to reach these days.”

“Regal. You know you could’ve come by the mansion. I wouldn’t have minded at all.”

“Of course,” the stallion mumbled as he looked around the room again and nodded. He cleared his throat and lowered his voice. “But you know the rumors with Luna… I didn’t want to interrupt anything.”

“Not you too…” Fancy trailed with a sigh. “Alright, tell me about this plan of yours.”

“Gladly!” Regal perked up and cleared his throat, calling attention to himself as if he was pitching the idea to a boardroom rather than just Fancy. “As you know, Regality Investments has been in a bit of a slump while fighting to get in on the Imperial market. While I’m certain I can get a firm hoof in eventually, I was hoping you might be able to help me arrange a meeting with Princess Mi Amore Cadenza to offer her some truly regal ideas.”

Fancy furrowed his brow. “But from what I’ve heard, the Imperial Princess has been working with Horst on that for several weeks before going public with it.”

“That was because the crazy mare had no concept of self-preservation!” Regal fumed quickly before catching himself. “I mean, I wasn’t about to endanger my employees until that menace of the Frozen North, Sombra, was properly dealt with. Everypony in Canterlot had agreed to wait until after the Imperial princess’ coronation, but some less scrupulous investors decided to rush off without a care in the world.”

“From what I recall, Upper Crust went alone to capture the market. She took all the risk herself.” Even if Fancy didn’t like Upper Crust, he wasn’t going to let Regal spread misinformation.

“Fair point,” Regal grumbled through clenched teeth. He adjusted his tie for a moment before proceeding with his pitch. “If you’re going to twist my leg about it, I’ll even ensure you’re first in line for any potential ventures we can peel off of those terrible Horst deals. I’m sure if the princess talks to a real Canterlot business pony, she’ll be more than willing to change her mind.” The stallion extended a hoof and smiled with practiced precision. “What do you say?”

Fancy looked over the hoof and then back at Regal. “I’m not exactly on the best terms with the Imperial princess.”

“Don’t give me that excuse!” the business pony whispered with simmering rage as his eyes darted around at the small crowd of ponies taking notice of them. “You’re practically dating Princess Luna these days. Just have her arrange it for you.”

“Regal, it’s not like that—”

“Fancy! All you have to do is say yes and then give me something to work with. Show your approval somehow and walk away. That’s it!”

“But… do you even hear yourself? Upper Crust—”

“Don’t mention that name to me!” The stallion’s shoulders stiffened as he fought back his anger. “I thought you were somepony I could rely on, but now you’re investing in Horst?”

“Regal, you know I invest with all sorts of ponies. She was the optimal choice, really the only choice, when it came to the Empire. Regardless of any assumed rules she broke, nopony but her was willing to seize upon the opportunity, which left her to set the standard for working with them. You’d be playing catch up in a field that’s stacked completely against you.”

“I know that full well, Fancy! Just say you think it’s a good idea and let’s shake on it!”

Fancy quickly scanned their surroundings, seeing several ponies gathering waiting to hear the outcome, or rather, what the Kingmaker would say. Part of him wanted to acquiesce. Before he met Luna, he probably would’ve. Now though, he knew what his talent truly was, and he knew this wasn’t the right path for his friend to go down. He could feel his cutie mark burning with other ways for Regal Cents to get back on the right hoof. Losing a fiscal war in the Crystal Empire wasn’t one of them.

“Regal, please, listen to me. There are other, far better moves you could be making within the Empire than trying to wrestle control from Horst. Sinking any more capital in an attempt to outmaneuver them might spiral Regality into bankruptcy.”

“That’s only because you caused all of this in the first place!” Regal tossed away any semblance of polite society into the trash as his ire flared to the surface. “My stock value plummeted thanks to you! That mare just needed your blessing with a little bit of backing, and suddenly everypony started clamoring to get in! I’m bleeding critical support, Fancy!”

“I assure you, even without my help, Upper Crust would’ve won this fight. Let me help you in some other way.”

“If you want to help, stop stalling and just give me a hoof already. I need something to work with to take down Upper Crust or I’m finished!”

Fancy shook his head, reaching out to touch the stallion’s shoulder instead. “Even if I were to throw everything I had behind you, you simply don’t have the connections that Horst has made between Canterlot and the Crystal Empire. It’d start a needless capital war in a returning nation that desperately needs stability. I swear that I can help you find something else, just please, let the Empire go.”

Regal slapped the caring hoof away and sneered at Fancy with unbridled vitriol. “How dare you! Upper Crust isn’t even a true noble! And you’re just going to let her take ownership of a once-in-a-generation opportunity! This should be Regality’s capstone achievement that will solidify my name in the history books! You’re a traitor to every true noble in Canterlot!” Regal slammed a hoof down and snorted bitterly. “I will not lose out on what is rightfully mine because of some mud-trudger sired wastrel from a backwater rock farm!”

“Oh dear. And here I thought you Canterlot nobles were supposed to be chivalrous,” a familiar, haughty mare called out from the gallery.

Regal wheeled around and gasped at the one mare that neither of them wanted to see right now. “Upper Crust!”

“Good evening, Regal Cents,” the mare greeted cordially while circling him like a shark waiting to devour its next meal. “I see you’re not living up to that ‘highborn’ name of yours this evening. What are you doing publicly harassing my client?”

“Your client?” Regal spouted indignantly.

“Yes, my client. As you very well know, he keeps a diversified portfolio in both of our ventures. Attacking the esteemed and honorable Sir Fancy Pants in the middle of a charity event? And for what, making sound financial decisions that will benefit our nation's relationship with the Crystal Empire?” Upper Crust tisked and shook her head in dismay. She approached Fancy Pants with a hoof held over her bleeding heart. “For shame, Regal. What would your investors say?”

Regal’s ears flopped as the ponies around them started whispering amongst themselves. Hearing such contemptible words come out of Regal’s mouth was terrible enough, but the visceral hatred he shot towards Fancy hurt far worse. He knew on some level, their relationship was built on polite business exchanges, but he thought they’d shared more than just that.

“This isn’t over yet!” Regal warned as he backed away from the pair.

“You’re right. It’s not,” she stated matter-of-factly before licking her lips. “When that racist slur you just shouted about my earth pony parents lands on the front page of tomorrow’s paper, then it will be over.”

With reality dawning on him, Regal covered his mouth as if trying to force the words back inside. But, it was far too late seeing the size of the noble crowd that had witnessed it. Turning away from them, he pushed his way past ponies to flee as fast as he could from Upper Crust’s flawless smile.

“Looks like you gave me that headline after all,” Upper Crust mocked as she relished in the smoldering ashes of her once-great rival. She grabbed two sparkling wine glasses off a passing servant’s tray and offered one to him. “Cheers, Sir Fancy Pants.”

“Cheers? I was trying to help him!”

“If Cents won’t see sense, then there is nothing you can do for the stubborn fool. You don’t need to take my word for it, but I’d pull out of Regality now while there is something left. I’m sure it will be anything but ‘Regal’ come tomorrow.” Seeing how Fancy was rejecting her offer, the mare clinked the glasses together in her magic and downed one of them herself. “Speaking of which, how is your little volatile asset doing these days?”

Fancy felt his eye twitch again. “Vinyl is doing just fine, no thanks to you I’d wager.”

“Oh, it’s Vinyl now? Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. You two were sledding together yesterday.”

Fancy balked. “How did—”

“Lofty grew concerned seeing somepony marking out some sort of skiing course in your backyard; using signaling flags of all things. She kept checking on it throughout the day and was absolutely floored to see you two racing each other. I suppose your insights don’t extend to personal connections if you’re letting that delinquent associate with Fleur still. I’m surprised you’re letting her anywhere near the impressionable girl after the way she exploded at me during the Festival of Flakes.”

“They’ve been best friends for years, Upper Crust. It should come as no surprise to anypony that gets to know either of them.”

“Is that so?” she mumbled with palpable disappointment. “And I suppose that explains why you’re bothering with that DJ still?”

“I’ve found Vinyl Scratch to be a remarkable pony,” Fancy replied sternly.

“Pity. I guess it would be rather hypocritical of me to point out your problematic investment right after calling out Centsless on his, so I’ll leave it alone for now.”

“After all, such an interesting scandal might risk stealing attention away from your headline.”

“And here I was beginning to question your perception. It doesn’t matter much in the end either way.” Upper Crust smirked knowing her unspoken superiority in the exchange. “Things were already looking up for me. Regal publicly sinking himself now is just icing on the cake. I do like cake though, especially when it is given enough time to be prepared properly.”

“If it doesn’t matter, then why bother with it at all?”

“What, and miss out on enjoying a well-deserved victory? The Crystal Empire was a zero-sum game, Fancy Pants, and Centsless just lost. Terribly. I caught him showing his true colors to you in front of everypony while getting your endorsement about my setting the standard with the Crystal Empire?” Upper Crust breathed through her nose deeply to savor her presence. “Mother was right, good things do come to those who wait.”

“So that’s all this was? Waiting for your moment to strike so you could grandstand?”

Upper Crust scoffed at the petty accusation. “That’s the problem with you Canterlot types. For living so close to the timeless sun, you have no sense of playing the long game. While I will always welcome a chance to show others what Horst is capable of, this was more stamping out a match that might’ve started a fire in the future. Still, that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the moment, now does it?”

Upper Crust nudged him on the shoulder, still holding the bubbling champagne for him to take to celebrate her victory. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to take a hold of it now even if he wanted, at least not without using his hooves.

“Oh, Don’t look so glum, Sir Fancy Pants. You might’ve finally seen through Regal’s lies, but you still have me,” the banker assured her conflicted client. “Make no mistake, Fancy, beyond that veneer of transparency and niceties, that’s who Regal really is. At least I’m honest with what I’m willing to tell. I hold my fiduciary responsibility to a higher standard. One might even call it a loftier height?”

Fancy’s stomach churned at Upper Crust’s raucous laughter. It felt worse than being betrayed by Regal. He felt used.

Fleur as Lady Faire clicked her tongue in mocking pity. “Monsieur Fancy, do I sense un problème? You need only one.”

She wasn’t right about all of them. He still believed in good industry leaders like Photo Finish despite her unwillingness to risk her business to support Vinyl. There were also plenty of lower noble families of soldiers and states-ponies, but he rarely met with houses like the Sparkles or the Sentrys.

“Come, come, Fancy. You can do it, right?” Lady Fair purred.

There just had to be somepony in his circle. Somepony worth—

“You can’t, can you?”

“I need to go,” Fancy muttered to himself. He shoved a hoof into his coat pocket and clutched onto the stress quartz as his magic swirled around the edges, trying to wipe the crusty sensation off of his withers.

“Of course, Fancy Pants. I completely understand if you want to check on some investments. Still, despite our differences, I do hope you’ll continue to see the value in doing business with me in the future.” The mare tipped the second glass back, savoring the taste of total domination as she slowly drained it dry. With a contented sigh she flashed a perfectly welcoming smile at Fancy. “And why wouldn’t you? After all, you’re the Kingmaker.”

Vinyl paced outside the still-lit kitchen, impatiently waiting for whoever was in there to hurry up. After rushing back to the mansion from her late night set at Cantrips, she was in the mood to warm up with a drink. The only thing standing between her and chasing the waterway's chill away was the mystery pony inside. This late at night, the likely loiter would be Fancy Pants, and she was not ready to face him after boldly diagnosing him this morning. She needed to talk to Fleur first.

But it had been five minutes already. Why was he taking his sweet time in there?

Hot chocolate wasn’t on her mind, especially after drinking two lattes. She wanted something to warm up and calm down with after today’s roller coaster. She felt brave enough to take Fancy up on his offer and try one of those teas he’d had mentioned, but her desire to try peppermint tea was not enough to face him. That being said, she’d already waited this long.

She perked an ear again, trying to hear anything from the kitchen. The suspicious lack of noise had her second guessing her assumptions, but that would mean the vigilant Dapper Dandy had missed shutting off the lights. The butler’s pre-bedtime sweeps of the mansion were frighteningly thorough. He’d even thought to check the record collection after Vinyl had already shut down the studio. She still had his carefully penned reminder note to prove it.

Nopony was perfect though, so maybe he’d just missed one of the most obvious lights in the mansion. Having lost patience waiting, Vinyl tip-hoofed over to the doorway and peeked around the corner. Her instincts had been right about somepony being in there, but it wasn’t Fancy.

Draped over the center island in a stool was Fleur de Lis. Her face was turned away from the door, but Vinyl could tell she was sleeping from the steady rise and fall of her chest. The DJ trotted in carefully as to not disturb her and noticed two cups of cocoa, one sitting cold next to the other overturned and spilled through Fleur’s disheveled mane.

“Fleur?”

The mare snapped up with a start, her mane dripping spilled cocoa as she popped up. “I’m awake! I’m awake. I was just waiting for… Vinyl! You’re home!”

“Hey Fleur.” Vinyl forced a smile, but she knew full well that Fleur wouldn’t be fooled without her protective shades on.

“Hey you! I made us—you hot chocolate!” Fleur corrected with a painted smile of her own after seeing the overturned mug. “Sorry. I completely forgot you were playing Cantrips tonight. This is an apology cocoa! You know, like the cake? It started with a ‘C,’ so I figured it was close enough.”

Vinyl shook her head. “Fleur, I’m the one who should apologize.”

“No! Please! Don’t—you don’t have to!” Fleur bubbled with desperate warmth. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You—I was the one who yelled at you when I shouldn’t have. Actually, tell you what? Why don’t we both just forgive each other and say it’s water under the bridge and chocolate in my hair?” Fleur joked with a wide grin. Vinyl knew her best friend was a talented actress, but the mask she wore was so forced, it hurt to look at.

“I did a long time ago. Actually, I’ve been worried about you all day. You never came back to the lab.”

“Oh! Right, sorry. That dumb crystal harmonics thing for Professor Arpeggio.”

“Don’t worry, I took care of it,” Vinyl assured, trying to match Fleur’s positive energy, but feeling somehow short. “I told the professor you weren’t feeling well, so it’s fine. It was more in my wheelhouse anyway.”

“Oh, Vy,” Fleur giggled. “You didn’t have to lie to him about it.”

“I didn’t.”

Fleur’s smile faltered for a moment as she registered Vinyl’s words. “R-right. You’re right. I guess I am a bit of a mess, huh?” Fleur tried to get control of her hair with her familiar spellwork, but the fake chocolate and stubborn semi-marshmallows weren't having any of it. As she wrung out her tangled locks, she noticed the cup in Vinyl’s hooves. “Oh, here. Let me get that for you.” Fleur shot a light heating spell into the mug. “There. Perfect! All nice and toasty, just like you like it.”

Vinyl looked at the cocoa and then back at Fleur. “I think you might need this more than I do,” she said, offering it to Fleur.

“Don’t be silly, Vy. You’re the one struggling right now. You’re the one going through absolute Tartarus right now.”

“Then why do you look like you lost a fight with Cerberus?” Vinyl asked plainly.

Another fracture appeared on Fleur, but she forced herself back together. “Ha! Good one. You win. I guess I’ll give this stuff a shot.” Fleur took it in her hooves while her magic ran through her hair. “Oh my gosh, this is really sweet. Maybe a little too sweet. Like you, Vy. Thanks!”

“You’re welcome, I guess?”

“It was a compliment! Sorry. Maybe it didn’t come off that way. You said it yourself, I’m a bit of a mess right now. Or maybe I said that. Blah! I can’t remember what I said two seconds ago. That’s why I tried to do this for us!” Fleur grabbed the overturned mug and looked between them. “Fancy… h-he calls it drink diplomacy…”

“Well let me make something for myself real quick while you drink that,” Vinyl offered as she took the other cup from Fleur’s hooves. “I drank two milkshakes worth of lattes today, so I think I might try one of Fancy’s teas.”

Vinyl pulled open the familiar drawer, once again seeing her cocoa and various instant tea bags arranged in perfectly neat rows. It still felt weird to see her generic lumpy bags of discount chocolaty carefully and caringly arranged next to premium teas, but she was starting to get used to it. They were fine. It was okay to be part of the collection. She levitated a peppermint one and tore it open to give it a try.

“Yeah… he lov—really likes tea,” Fleur corrected, biting on her lip.

Vinyl took a deep breath as she started to make her tea at the sink. “It’s okay. You can say it.”

“But you hate that word,” Fleur whispered.

With a heating spell of her own, Vinyl took a seat across from her friend and shrugged. “I’ll try to get over it.”

“Okay then. Then… if you’re in a trying mood, maybe you can try to help me with something.” Fleur leaned closely into Vinyl’s face. “And you gotta be honest with me.”

“Alright,” Vinyl agreed with trepidation. She put the tea on the counter to let it brew and give Fleur her full attention. “I’m ready.”

“Great! I want… I need to know something really important. And you’re not allowed to lie. You know that I’ll know,” Fleur flourished a smile and winked.

“Again. I’ll try.”

“Okay here it goes.” Fleur took a deep breath through her nose and looked directly into Vinyl in the eyes. “Is there something wrong with me?”

Vinyl blinked. “What?”

“Nuh-uh-uh! You gotta tell me the truth,” Fleur taunted, her bubbly cadence bouncing back and forth. “Is there something wrong with me?”

Fleur’s jovial merriment was so divorced from the severity of the question, Vinyl wasn’t sure what to say. So instead, she opted for the truth. “No. I don’t think so.”

“Oh, c’mon, Vinyl.” Fleur dismissed the claim with a hoof, but never broke eye contact for a second. “I’ve been known to act out a lot. There’s gotta be something wrong with me.”

“Like, besides your mane?”

“Obviously besides that. Though I’d argue it’s a perfect mess right now,” Fleur proudly proclaimed as she tussled her tousled locks.

Vinyl chuckled and smiled as best she could, which was easier knowing her answer. “Well, you said it yourself before, ‘why fix perfection?’ I honestly wouldn’t change a thing about you. That’s the truth.”

“Oh… good. That’s great.” Fleur slumped in her seat, looking down at her reflection in the cocoa.

“Fleur, I’m not lying to you. I think you’re fine just the way you are.”

“N-no. I get that, you flatterer you,” Fleur forced herself to look up and flutter her eyelashes. “I just thought, well, hypothetically, if there was something wrong with me, then maybe I could fix it, you know?” Fleur said with a failing smile. “Like maybe it’s something small like I breathe through my nose funny or that I’m annoying him too much or I’m too pushy. If it was bigger, then I could work on it little by little.” Her face kept sagging as tears filled her eyes, and she couldn’t hold her facade any longer. “And then… then maybe once I fixed it… or—or Fancy saw I was trying really hard to, he’d tell me he loves me, and—and he wants me to be his sister.”

Vinyl felt an old, sharp pain hit her own heart as her friend broke before her eyes. She kicked over her seat in her rush to catch her falling friend who lacked the strength to stand on her own anymore. Barely catching the larger mare on her shoulder, Vinyl clung on tightly, letting Fleur sob in her embrace. Every old instinct against opening up was screaming at her, but Vinyl refused to let them tell her what she could and couldn’t do.

She wasn’t messing up. Vinyl Scratch wasn’t going to mess up this time. It was her turn to be the rock.

“Fleur? You know Fancy lo—”

Mommy loves you.

Vinyl gripped Fleur tighter, biting her tongue to try to force the intrusive thoughts away. She couldn’t afford to be weak. “—he cares about you.”

“No he doesn’t! He hates me! He hates me and I—I can’t do anything about it!”

“Fleur. Look at me.” Vinyl shook the larger unicorn to attention and forced her tear-filled eyes to focus. “I’m sure of it. You’re one of the most important ponies in the world to him. Anypony who knows you two—really knows you two—can see that. He’s so lucky to have a sister that cares about him like you do.”

The DJ stared unblinking, bearing down on her friend’s gaze as much as possible. She might not be able to lie to save her life, but her eyes could tell the truth for damn sure.

“Really? You really mean that?” Fleur asked after a few moments of searching for a lie that wasn’t there.

“Of course he does. In fact, I hate—” Vinyl stopped as Fleur’s eyes shrank in abject terror.

“No!” Fleur screamed in agony and pulled Vinyl into her chest to stop her from talking. “Don’t say it, please! I-I don’t want to choose between you two! I can’t! I want you both! Please, don’t make me choose!”

“I won’t!” Vinyl’s muffled shout caused Fleur to loosen her vice grip and give her some fresh air. “I’m not, Fleur. I don’t hate him, but I don’t like how he’s making you feel,” Vinyl assured her friend, letting her take in her eyes again. “I won’t make you choose, Fleur. I promise.”

“You promise?”

Vinyl paused as she thought about what that meant. Fleur was claiming Fancy and Vinyl were mutually exclusive. To say otherwise would mean Vinyl thought she could get along with him. To get along with a noble, or rather the noble of nobles, and befriend the Kingmaker of Canterlot. Could she really promise Fleur that?

“Perhaps this ‘Friend Ship’ of Fleur’s can help the both of them too. You might be the one that needs to hold it all together,” Octavia suggested.

It wasn’t a question of could; she knew she would. Vinyl might’ve been angry at him for making Fleur feel this way, but she had hurt Fleur too. If Vinyl deserved a second chance, so did Fancy. Despite that nagging fear, part of her was actually looking forward to it. She’d never met anypony quite like him, and if she could get past her hangups, he might be a welcome addition to the Friend Ship.

Still, Vinyl needed a way to assure Fleur beyond a shadow of a doubt that she’d follow through with getting him aboard the Friend Ship. There was one sure-fire way of making certain, though it would be at the cost of her dignity. It’d be the best of the best, better than the rest, with no contest for the sake of her best friend.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly,” Vinyl motioned with her hoof, drawing an X over her heart. Then, she lifted a hoof up to her face. “Stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Fleur’s momentary confusion yielded to a snort, a cough, and finally a blubbery chuckle. “Wha—what the hay was that?”

“A Pinkie Promise,” Vinyl answered with regret. “You can’t break one of those. Trust me, I tried.”

“A Pinkie Promise?” The fractured mare smiled, and started giggling at the overly cutesy name and accompanying gestures. “And here I thought our SchlurrVivyl thing was cheesing it up. That was absolutely adorable!”

“It’s a thing I had to do in order to finalize a performance contract in Ponyville. Found out the client took it way more seriously than the piece of paper I signed.” Vinyl rolled her eyes at the memory, or lack thereof, after waking up in Ponyville with no clue how she had gotten there. That was the first and last time she tried to bail on Pinkie.

“Oh, I don’t know if it’s because it’s cornier than Corn Acopia or it’s you saying it, but I can’t…” The thought of such a childish rhyme being legally binding broke through Fleur’s tears, causing her to laugh freely. “I just can’t!” Fleur doubled over in guffaws, nearly falling the other way out of the stool.

“Yeah, Pinkie has that effect on ponies, for better or worse.”

“Pinkie? Is she the one with the apology cakes and party cannons?” Fleur asked. Vinyl sighed and nodded. “The more you mention her, the more she sounds like somepony I’d really get along with.”

“A little too well if you ask me.” After hearing what had happened at the Grand Galloping Gala from Tavi, Vinyl was very glad to have invited Fleur to Cantrips with her that night.

“Is… is this Pinkie pony a friend of yours?” Fleur asked with hope in getting a yes.

“It’s more like Pinkie Pie’s friends with everypony, whether you want to or not.”

“Well, do you want her to be your friend?”

Vinyl winced at the thought. “Let’s try getting this Friend Ship thing afloat in Canterlot before we go sailing off to parts unknown, okay?”

“Sounds good to me,” Fleur wiped her eyes and yawned. “Can we get some shuteye first though? I’m exhausted after today.”

“Of course. You might want to get cleaned up first. Want me to wash your mane?”

Fleur gasped dramatically. “The DJ Pon-3 offering to take a bath with moi? Oh! Be still my beating heart!”

“Mane, Fleur. Mane. I’m trying to be a good friend here, okay? I can do without the innuendos.”

“Sorry. Couldn’t help it.” Fleur giggled. She rubbed her hooves together seeing if she would be able to squeeze anymore into the deal. “Could… could I maybe sleep with you tonight, too?”

“A sleepover? Sure, but let’s not give anypony the wrong idea. I’ve got some light pajamas I can wear.”

“Don’t worry. I can behave when I need to. And…” Fleur trailed as the brief laughter interlude weakened. What little the emotional bandage did wasn’t enough to cover the gaping hole in her heart, and the desperation broke through again. “And I really, really need to not be alone right now. Please.”

“Of course, Fleur. What are sisters for?”

Fleur’s breath hitched as her eyes glistened. A smile spread across her face, bursting through the torrent of emotions swirling inside her. With only one outlet, Fleur pulled Vinyl into another long, tearful hug.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Vinyl,” Fleur whispered.

“That goes double for me, Fleur. Now, come on. Let’s get cleaned up. You smell like a cheap chocolate bar.”

“Well at least that’s pleasant. You still smell like Cantrips.”

“Fine,” Vinyl relented, reading between Fleur’s lines. “I guess that stupid guest bath is big enough for the both of us.”

“Yay! Spa date!”

Despite her excitement, Vinyl had to pull Fleur up to her unsteady hooves. As they stood up together, the emotionally exhausted Fleur leaned into the smaller mare for support. Vinyl couldn’t tell if Fleur’s tears were of sadness or joy, but it didn’t matter as long as she was there to keep her going. The pair started the long walk towards the guest room, with Vinyl bearing most of their weight on her withers. They’d clean up, get some sleep, and do whatever else would help Fleur when she needed her family the most.

No matter what, Vinyl was going to do whatever it took to be there for Fleur, be it a best friend or a sister in spirit. Fleur de Lis was the only family Vinyl had left, and she wasn’t going to let it go.

Not again.

Author's Note

And once more, special thanks to Falkenlied for some excellent Electro Swing musical recommendations.

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 28: Heaven Knows

Radical racer jacket? Check. Choice mullet? Check. Allowance? Double-check. After stashing a bundle of bits into his pocket, Fancy Pants flashed a winning smile to himself in the mirror. He was ready to hit the town. Avoiding detection, he snuck out of his room, past the master, and down the stairs to the foyer. In a few scant steps, he’d be out of the mansion and nopony would be any the wiser. The night was young and so was Fancy.

“And where do you think you’re going, shug?”

Fancy seized up at his mother’s voice and lowered his hoof, cursing his rotten luck. Tilting his head slowly skyward, his mother, the Sensational Sauna Summers, was casually roosting in the foyer’s chandelier, waiting for him to leave.

“Out,” he answered succinctly.

“Yeah, I can see that,” Summers said as she fluttered towards her sharply-dressed colt. “But where do you think you’re going?”

“I said out.”

“Mhmm. Trying to play it vague while dressing in vogue,” she observed as she inspected Fancy’s radical popped collar and thick shoulder pads. At least it was a step above her usual bare burnt orange colors. For being a mare, his mother never seemed to put on a single scrap of clothing outside her performances. “Let’s simplify the situation. Tell me, how old are you again?”

“I’m almost fifteen, mother.”

“Exact-o-poso-tively my point. ‘Almost’ ain’t close enough for the Drive, got it?”

“I never said I was going to Dressage Drive.”

“Coulda fooled me with your jingle-jangling all the way down the hall like you did.”
The queen pulled on Fancy’s jacket to rattle the bits in his pocket. The rebellious colt slapped his mother’s hoof away and grunted in annoyance. “Okay, hotshot. Who do you think you’re gonna meet up with?”

Fancy returned the favor with a sigh of his own. “Do we really have to do this, mother? I’m practically working for the Princess already. What’s another two months?”

“I don’t care that Celly wants to put your talents to a good use for once when she’s able. I’m asking you where you think you’re going this time of night, dressed to the nines.”

“I’m ‘gonna’ see my friends, mother,” Fancy spat and rolled his eyes from the questioning.

“Now I know that’s a lie. They ain’t any friends of yours.”

“And how would you know them anyway?”

“Trust me, I don’t need to know ‘em to know a thing or two about those kinds of ‘friends’ you’ve been with. I can tell who’s real and who’s talkin’ jive. Been there, Sugar Bear.”

“Good gracious, mother. Would you talk sense instead of that antiquated slang speech you always insist on using? And knock it off with that Sugar Bear nonsense!”

“You hear yourself, shug?” Summers snickered at the accusation. “You may look ready to take on the world tonight, but even I know your square lingo could use some work.”

Fancy snapped his mouth shut and looked away. He wasn’t going to be lectured by his mother of all ponies about what was and wasn’t cool.

Seeing his unresponsiveness, she closed her eyes and took a calming breath. “Look here Fancy, I can spin that flowery fakery all night if I need to, but I’m choosing to be real with you, unlike those so-called friends of yours on the Drive.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. They like me, mother. They like what I can do for them. What’s wrong with that?”

“What’s wrong is that ain’t friendship.”

“It’s not about friendship. It’s about having fun! I am thoroughly enjoying my time with them, unlike this conversation I’m having with you. Perhaps that’s why all of yours left,” Fancy added with a sneer.

Summers flinched, but forced a laugh as she pulled her curly, dark blue hair out of her face to give Fancy her full attention. “You always know just what to say, don’t you, boy?” She threw her wing over her larger son and hugged him even if he wasn’t reciprocating. “You know, you might be right about that. Still, I don’t want you just having fun. All I want is for you to be happy.”

“You make it sound like those are mutually exclusive.”

“Ain’t supposed to be, but that’s how things shake out sometimes, shug,” Summers clarified. “They’ll keep telling you otherwise, but that ain’t right. Joy is making a real friend smile freely. It’s worth far more than every bit you can blow on having cheap fun with the ones you bought, you feel me?”

“Fine,” Fancy huffed and stepped out from under Summers’ tender wing. The embittered stallion started his long walk back to his room.

“Where’re you going? The front doors over here.”

Fancy arched an eyebrow and looked between his mother and his mahogany escape to the outside. “Wasn’t this whole venture of yours to stop me?”

“I ain’t nopony’s fool, hot shot.” Summers flashed a smile as she stepped away from the door. “You’re just gonna ‘cruise’ out later. I’ve been hot stuff too before,” Summers bragged with a wink.

“Okay then, mother.” Fancy trotted towards freedom from his overbearing mother. “I’m going out.”

“Okay, Fancy Pants. Just…” Summers trailed as she held a hoof out. Putting it down, she walked over to Fancy. “Just, do your ‘antiquated’ mom one lil’ favor, kay?”

Fancy sighed and looked back with his patience quickly draining. “I suppose. What is it?”

Fancy stirred from under his covers with a groan. He had a terrible, yet familiar headache; one he hadn’t felt for many years. What he didn’t recall about hangovers was the feeling of overwhelming exhaustion. Instead of a solid thumping buck to the head, he suffered a gnawing fatigue and numbing pain.

“It’s been quite a long time since I’ve had to come fetch you from someone else’s abode.”

“Dapper? Is that you?” Fancy mumbled, trying to shake the drowsiness away.

“Yes sir. Here, drink this. It’ll be rough going down, but it should help.”

Fancy kept his eyes shut while Dapper helped him swallow a foul smelling liquid. It felt like some sort of slimy medicine that refused to be drunk easily. Forcing it back, Fancy smacked his lips trying to get the awful taste to leave his mouth. “Merciful heavens, what in Celestia’s name was that?”

“A parting gift from Princess Luna, sir.”

It took a moment for the sludgy feeling to crawl down his throat before the memory of Luna’s last “gift” to Vinyl came to mind. Fancy’s eyes shot open as he sat up in bed. The world was still feeling about fifteen degrees off, but he saw the dreaded, tendril-stained glass of eldritch liquid he remembered Vinyl bemoaning.

“Try not to raise your voice,” Dapper placated before Fancy could ask what was going on. “We wouldn’t want to wake Miss Cypriel.”

Fancy blinked away the bleariness and looked down the bed. The massively long, minotaur-sized bed. The tell-tale signs of Minoan architecture towered all around him with high, yet confining walls built with blackened cobblestones. The foreboding stonework was completely offset by familiar, homely touches. A beautiful vase filled with glowing moondrop lilies rested upon a violet doily with silver frills. There were cherry wooden bookshelves brimming with novels and cookbooks next to an enormous lounging chair and fireplace. The only truly Minoan piece was the traditional family weapon mount, but in the place of claymores and warmaces hung a metal soup ladle and grilling spatula.

At the foot of the bed rested the owner of the dark and adorable dungeon, Athena Cypriel. His caring friend had passed out on her bed, still fully dressed in her Labyrinthiyum uniform while watching him.

“If you’re able, please move so I may lay Miss Cypriel down. She deserves a bit of rest after what you put her through last night.”

Fancy nodded solemnly. He began extracting himself and noticed he had been stripped bare. He wasn’t sure where his suit had been taken. Forgetting the size difference in his clothing confusion, Fancy forgot the increased elevation and fell to the floor. He’d stayed with the minotaurs before, but Athena’s living space was on another level of large. The two, full-grown stallions measured up like foals in comparison.

Dapper hovered Athena into place with careful precision while struggling under the minotaur’s weight. After laying her in the bed, he scanned her with his magic to clean her fur and clothes. He draped the covers over Athena, allowing him to magically undo all of her work clothing, fold them, and slip a night gown over her covered body to maintain her minotaur modesty.

“And here I’d almost forgotten how good you were at butlering,” Fancy whispered as the dandy fluffed Athena’s pillow and tucked her in on all sides.

“Top of the class my graduating year from Canterlot Academy, sir. Plus, you gave me several years of practice.” Finally, he withdrew a tin from his pocket containing an assortment of various dried flower petals. He took a sample of lavender and whipped them into the air, quietly bursting them in a flash of magic to scatter its calming scent around the room. “There. Now, let us let your caretaker of the evening get some rest this morning.”

The two stallions slipped out of the room, leaving Athena to get some well-deserved rest. Before shutting the door, Dapper grabbed Fancy’s neatly folded suit from the nearby desk and draped it over his master’s withers.

“This way, sir.” Dapper motioned for Fancy to follow as he led the way through a small maze of corridors. A few winding turns later, they found themselves next to the Labyrithiyum’s storage cellar on the far side of the restaurant’s kitchen.

“Miss Cypriel has given you permission to remain here for as long as you need. I’ve already taken the liberty of paying your tab and compensation for the evening, so if you decide to leave, we simply need to lock the door behind us. No need to move those intimidating slabs outside. Now, would you prefer tea, coffee, or water, sir?”

Fancy chuckled at the graciousness of their hostess. After putting her through whatever nightmare he had, Athena still offered them her home. “I think I’ve already imposed far too much, Dapper.”

“Ice water it is then,” the vigilant servant declared and began pouring a glass for the recovering stallion. “If you feel that way, why don’t you start straightening up your side of the bar while I clean the kitchen?”

Fancy nodded and trotted out to his usual seat. Fortunately, there wasn’t much of a mess to clean up. The last serving of brandy was sitting in place, faithfully waiting for him to return to its comforting, dulling embrace. He felt more like throwing the offending snifter into the nearest wall, but opted to levitate it to the sink. Next to a knocked over bottle of Griffonstone Brandy sat the stress quartz Vinyl had carved for him. He took the weighty crystal in his hooves and wondered what it was doing out of his coat pocket.

“You gave the poor girl quite a fright, you know.” Dapper admonished, startling Fancy from his introspection. The butler had hoisted himself onto the other side of the bar to give Fancy his water and a stern frown. “According to Miss Cypriel, you walked in looking absolutely ragged and took a seat at the bar. Then, you ordered a bottle of Griffonstone, then another, then another, until you finally succumbed to that fourth bottle you’ve got there.”

“I owe Athena more than an apology.” Fancy twirled the curious quartz in his magic. As he gazed at its cloudy interior, he started to remember. “I had this out before everything went black.”

“She mentioned you were staring at a crystal towards the end of the night.” Dapper inspected the rock for himself. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. Where did it come from?”

“It was a gift. From Vinyl.” Fancy ran his magic over its surface. The mare had made it in seconds, but the thought that went into it wasn’t so fleeting. It bore an edge to feel one’s magic run across, but not enough to get caught in a pocket. It was light enough to carry without much effort, but too heavy to levitate without noticing. It was a perfectly crafted lump of rock. “It’s rather calming.”

The butler’s mustache fluttered with a harumph. “Perhaps to you. Athena was unnerved by your sudden fixation on it. Interesting to think you could upset such a large creature.” Dapper looked over his shoulder, taking in the space behind him. “Come to think of it, everything back here is quite enormous, not even mentioning Miss Cypriel’s personal chambers. The scale is closer to the Dragon Lands than Minossus, wouldn’t you say? It even steps down on this side behind the bar. Really gives you some perspective on Princess Celestia calling us all her ‘little ponies,’ doesn’t it?”

Breathing a sigh of relief, he sat back in his seat. “Athena goes rather far to look smaller than she is. Always needlessly worried about her size in Equestria.”

“That’s a shame. She seems like such a lovely girl. In fact, she’s why I’m here in the first place.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised she knew to get you. I don’t believe you’ve met.”

“In passing once I believe, but she didn’t summon me,” the butler corrected. “Princess Luna herself graced me with her presence in my dreams. Unfortunately, it was to tell me that your recklessness had sent her poor friend into a panic. Her highness teleported me directly here once I’d gotten ready.”

Fancy turned the quartz around and began polishing the other side.

Receiving silence, Dapper continued. “As you’ve gotten older, you’ve gotten much better at emptying bottles while bottling yourself up.”

“It’s better than the belligerent drunk alternative,” Fancy scoffed halfheartedly.

“I suppose in some way you’re right. In others, it’s hard to know when to cut you off, and even harder to tell you to do so. Not much of an improvement I’d say, sir.” Fancy didn’t need to see behind Dapper’s bushy eyebrows to know the troubled glare he was giving him. “Now, mind telling me what drove you to leave Prince Blueblood’s charity of the month and drain Miss Cypriel’s brandy reserves?”

Fancy chuckled at the jab at the cheap philanthropy, but ultimately shook his head. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“Then you should get that nothing out of your system,” the dandy insisted.

Fancy flipped the quartz around in his magic before stowing it safely in his coat’s pocket. “While I appreciate the offer, it’s better this way.”

Dapper waited for a few moments to see if Fancy would change his mind, but ultimately accepted the unspoken command to drop it. “As you wish, sir, but it would be remiss of me to agree.”

“Perhaps, you’re right.” Fancy was too tired of it all to disagree.

“With all due respect, it’s not that I’m right, sir. It’s that you’re most assuredly, absolutely, and unequivocally wrong,” the stubborn stallion groused. “Our presence in the young lady’s restaurant this morning should be proof enough. If the master could see you now—”

“I do not need you bringing up Suede,” Fancy bit back.

“Then perhaps you’d rather I invoke the name of the good mistress?”

Fancy clenched his jaw, his magic diving back into his coat to the quartz. “I’m sure Mother would be disappointed. I know I am.”

“Perhaps she would be at first. However, I believe that she’d be far more relieved to have found you safe with a friend who cares enough to tattle on you,” Dapper teased. “Such a shame that I’ll have to reset the board now when we get back.”

“Board?” Fancy pondered to himself for a moment before he recalled the sign from his wild youth. “You don't mean that old incident board, do you?”

Dapper heaved an overly-disappointed sigh. “And to think, you were doing so well too, sir. 4,272 days in-counting without me being called to collect you. A pity, really.”

Fancy’s jaw dropped. There was no way the stubborn stallion would—no, stubborn was enough of a reason. “Fine. And just when was the last time you had to reset the board for me being a bad colt?”

“Griffonstone, but it was more of a technicality than anything.”

“Griffonstone? You don’t mean the drinking contest against that churlish Crowell character, do you?”

“I don’t recall his name, only an ill-mannered black bird that you drank under the table, but not without great personal cost to your liver,” Dapper reminisced. He stood on a box and saluted his master. “You fell valiantly in the line of duty for the glory of Equestria, sir.”

“A sacrifice I was willing to make.”

“Indeed. If she’d been there, Lady Summers would’ve been proud after I’d given her a solid explanation for dragging you back to your bed.”

Fancy felt the need to polish again. “You can stop now, Dapper.”

“I could, but I shouldn’t. Lady Summers isn’t here to talk sense into you, so it falls to me to get you to talk, young colt,” Dapper said with pride. “Well, it’s either that or I’ll be receiving a forcible retirement today. Barring the old bird’s gloating, it’s a win-win either way, I suppose.”

“You obstinate old fool,” Fancy cursed with a smile.

“Master Fancy Pants!” Dapper uttered aghast. “You should know that buttering me up with compliments will get you nowhere.”

Fancy smiled to himself, relenting to the unmovable rock on the other side of the bar. “If you must know, I’m once again learning Mother’s wisdom far too late, Dapper. Far, far too late.”

Fancy took out his little black planner and began idly flipping through pages. It was the most recent iteration of his itinerary, reaching all the way back to a little after the last Summer Sun Celebration. Names, dates, and plans were scribbled down in short-hoofed detail. A business move here, a key investment there, it all seemed so important and the time. He wasn’t a good son, but he was being a good steward of his family’s fortune.

Summer faded into fall as he kept turning. More functions, more meetings, more money. He stopped when he reached the beginning of winter and the Festival of Flakes. From there, every day became a highly detailed series of notes. Each conversation was planned to absolve Vinyl of wrongdoing. He thought it had made a difference in some way, but last night had proved otherwise.

Then there was the remaining scrap of torn paper where Hearth’s Warming should’ve been. Fancy wondered if Vinyl still had it or if she had thrown the invitation to interview away. He’d been so stressed that evening, he scrawled the whole thing by hoof. After that, there were a scant few uneventful entries regarding tea with the princesses and one brief art event.

Then he came upon last night’s entry simply entitled “Prince Event”. No big plans, no intentions, just his attendance and the amount of bits he was donating in case he forgot the amount. Three pony’s names had been listed that he wanted to be sure to talk to: Photo Finish, Hoity Toity, and Regal Cents. He’d spoken to two last night, and knowing what he knew now, the third wouldn’t have helped anyway. The party was supposed to be his return to prominence; the reascendance of the Kingmaker. The fact that he had bothered him the most.

“If you’ll excuse me, Dapper, I feel the headache beginning to subside.”

“Of course, sir. I’ll finish cleaning up here.”

Fancy pushed himself away from the bar and headed towards the bathroom. As he passed into the alcove, he noticed a trash can meant for paper towels. Seeing it held equal importance, Fancy sparked a corner of his planner with a simple magefire spell. Once the little black book was nothing but ashes, he dropped the remains inside with the rest of the useless garbage.

After locking up and leaving a thank you note for his gracious friend, Fancy and Dapper emerged from the restaurant’s depths into the midmorning sunlight. Despite the lingering churn from Luna’s terrifying remedy, Fancy was feeling oddly refreshed.

“It’s a bit of a late start, but you still have plenty of time to make the most of the lovely day Princess Celestia has provided for us all, wouldn’t you say, sir?” Dapper remarked.

Fancy nodded, but said nothing.

Dapper looked over his master’s choice of garb, or rather, the lack thereof. “Are you sure you don’t want to put your suit on, sir? It’s not too bad in the sun, but I imagine the shade might get a bit nippy.”

Fancy inspected his bare self. It wasn’t often that he ventured out without his suit on. In fact, he couldn’t recall the last time he’d gone without clothes at all. Fancy had unceremoniously wadded his suit up like an old T-shirt and stuffed it inside a paper takeout box slung over his shoulder. He was disrobed, unclothed, dressed down like a commoner, even forgoing his trusty monocle.

Fancy took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the crisp air of Mount Canterhorn. “You know what? It’s fine, I’m not feeling very kingly today.”

“As you wish, sir. At least let me fold your suit—.”

“Horsefeathers, Dapper. I’ve got plenty of these at home, and there’s plenty more where it came from!” Fancy bumped the box with his shoulder, bouncing the suit within. “Besides, Mother didn’t wear clothes all the time, and nopony ever spoke ill of her.”

“No they didn’t, sir. I was simply wanting to make sure you were feeling alright.”

Fancy laughed too hard at the idea. “You know, I’d love to ensure that as well, but I can’t make predictions about myself.”

“What do you mean, sir?” Dapper asked with a rising brow and matching concern.

“Don’t worry about it.” Fancy waved it away and waved for Dapper to join him. “Come, let’s go for a walk. As you said, it’s a lovely day.”

Fancy took a deep, bracing breath and began a ginger trot down the street. Shortly afterwards, Dapper fell in closely behind, following at a proper distance. Fancy turned his head towards his companion after a few paces and furrowed his brow.

“Dapper? What are you doing?”

“Walking with you, sir.”

“I can see that. What are you doing back there?”

“Assuming my station behind you, sir.”

Fancy brought a hoof to his forehead. “Dapper. How often do we simply take a walk? Just the two of us?”

The butler rubbed his chin as he pondered. “I suppose the answer to that would be never, sir.”

“Well, if it’s as lonely back there as it is up here, then why don’t you join me?”

“O-of course. Right away, sir.” Dapper picked up the pace and joined his master’s side.

“And, would you just stop with that for now?” Fancy added with growing frustration.

“Stop with what, sir?”

“Stop with the sirs. In fact, until I say otherwise, disregard decorum completely.”

Dapper gasped at the sheer audacity of the request. “But, sir, we’re in public! There is a difference between breaking rules in the privacy of a residence and outside for all to see!”

Fancy rolled his eyes at the dandy’s duty to be eternally dapper. “As I said before, Dapper, I’m not feeling very kingly today.”

“Then how are you feeling, sir?”

“Not very kingly, not terribly fancy, and most certainly not pantsed.” Fancy Pants shook one of his exposed hind legs for emphasis. “To be honest, I think I’m mostly uncomfortable, so stop it.”

“As you wish…” Dapper coughed through his desire to add “sir” to the sentiment. He adjusted his tie, and brushed some nervous sweat off his brow. “What would make you feel comfortable?”

“Well, only a few steps in and I’m starting to regret my choice of side bag.” Fancy adjusted his shoulder, trying to find an impossible angle for his takeout box to rest comfortably. He’d need another one. “We’re close to the Drive, right?”

“You’d know better than I. I haven’t been on this side of Canterlot for several years.”

Fancy reached into the box and pulled his pocketbook out. “How about we take a little detour?”

Fancy held a garishly bright blue jacket up to a trifold mirror. Analyzing the finer details of his selection, it bore a unique style that was all its own, boldly telling all who gazed upon it “this is a jacket from two decades ago”. It was quite the bold statement.

“Hey Dapper?” Fancy asked.

He swapped to the older white one he was debating between. They both looked just as dated, but he still enjoyed the classic look. Unfortunately, his talents were doing nothing for him as he knew that both would be equally terrible decisions.

“Yes, Fancy Pants?” Dapper answered.

The blue was in slightly better condition of the two fashion disasters, but the white looked a bit more modern despite its older age.

“Do you remember having a midlife crisis?”

Blue seemed a little lighter and breathable.

“I don’t recall having one. I’ve always felt rather fulfilled serving you and your family.”

White looked warmer, comfortable, and easy to wear.

“Drat. I was hoping to have somepony to draw from.”

Blue jacket.

“They’re actually quite rare among ponies. I suppose it’s one of the benefits of our cutie marks. From what Julia told me of her father’s, you should still be a few years off from having one.”

White jacket.

Dapper leaned over Fancy’s shoulder as the Kingmaker compared the awful selections. “Do you suspect you’re going through one right now?”

Blue.

“Perhaps,” Fancy replied, consumed by all of his terrible choices. “I think this is what one might feel like.”

White.

“I’m utterly stumped,” Fancy complained and turned to get a second opinion. “Blue or white?”

Dapper sighed and shook his head. “My gut tells me neither, considering we’re in a thrift store, but I don’t believe that is the point of this exercise.” The butler looked between the two options and shrugged. “Wouldn’t you rather pick a contrasting color that doesn’t blend with your coat?”

Fancy smiled widely. “You’re absolutely right!” He held up his selection to Dapper’s faded blue coat. “I think you look better in white, too.”

The stallion blinked as he took the white jacket in his magic, looking between it and his master curiously. “This is for me?”

“I can’t have you overdressed for a simple outing. Though, now that I think about it, I would feel odd being the bare-boned stallion out of the two of us. Maybe I should get something for myself after all.”

Turning away from the changing platform, he was met with the rest of Thrifty Bits’ Thrifty Emporium. The aptly named store had been a staple of the area for years, selling and reselling all manner of things that nopony wanted anymore. Fancy had stumbled upon the place back in his wild stallion days. Back then, it carried clothes from Suede’s era, but now it was his turn for his youth’s apparel to line the bargain racks.

Over the years, Thrifty Bits had expanded to carry a wider array of used goods. Records, crystals, sound equipment, and other retired nightclub junk was strewn about Thrifty Bits in the hopes of selling the Drive’s trash as treasure. As he approached the register, Fancy felt right at home.

“Is there something I can help with, Sir Fancy Pants, sir?” a young teen asked, his crackly voice betraying his shot nerves. The pegasus had broken out into a cold sweat the moment he recognized the famous pony casually strolling through the store.

“I’m still browsing, but I wanted to go ahead and buy this jacket for my friend here.” With a fluid flash of magic, Fancy popped open his pocketbook. “Who do I make this check out to?”

“We, uhh, we don’t take checks here, your sirness, sir…” The teen pointed a nervous, brown hoof at the “No Checks, No Refunds” sign next to him as he ducked down for safety.

Fancy nodded knowingly. “Not a problem, my good stallion. You deal with exchanging used items, yes?”

“Uh, yes sir?” the colt cracked back with warbled uncertainty as he slowly stood back up.

“Then how much can you give me for this?” Fancy flopped his takeout box onto the table and unceremoniously dumped his expensive suit out like a hayburger and fries. The other items around the store seemed to fade away in the presence of its fashionable majesty.

“This—is this a Hoity Toity custom select?”

“You have quite the surprising eye for appraisal!” he complimented the colt. Flapping it with his magic, he straightened out the wrinkled suit to show the branding inside. “I suppose the fact it’s a custom fit would hurt its resellability. Tell you what, you can reduce the value since it’d need to be fitted to somepony else.”

“N-no! I mean, no sir Fancy Pants, sir. I’m not sure we have enough bits this morning to deal with a custom Hoity Toity original.” He popped open the register, looking through the paltry rows of coins. “I’m not sure we’d ever have enough bits to take it!”

“That does pose a problem, doesn’t it?” Fancy stroked his chin and looked up in thought. His eyes snapped to a pegasus ponnequin, suspended from the ceiling. Its in-flight, speedster pose was as eye-catching as the classic dive bomber jacket it was wearing. Fancy remembered the look fondly, being popularized by the famous leader, Captain Top Cruiser. He and his stunt wingmare, Commander Danger Zone, were the faces of the Wonderbolts when he was a younger colt. Even if he couldn’t fly, he'd always wanted to be ‘cruisin’ and ‘in the zone’ as the cool colts put it.

“How about a trade instead? You give me this jacket here,” he shook “white” for emphasis before pointing behind the clerk, “and that old bomber one back there with the matching shoulder bag and aviators, and we’ll call it even.”

The cashier descended into further confusion as he looked between the one-of-a-kind business suit and the aged replica. “But sir, that’s nowhere near close—”

Fancy scoffed. “You drive a hard bargain, lad. I’ll throw in what he’s wearing as well,” he offered and pointed his head back to Dapper still in his brown butler uniform.

“I beg your pardon!” the butler exclaimed indignantly.

“What? You’ve got plenty of them at home,” Fancy dismissed outright. “If you need a replacement, I’ll just order you another one or two later.”

“That’s not the point, sir! I’m rather fond of my suits!”

“Sorry, you’re right.” Fancy sighed impatiently as he turned back to the shivering colt. “So, what can I get for just my suit?”

“I-I don’t know!” the colt blurted in an overpriced panic. “This suit is probably worth every piece of clothing in the store!”

“Is that all? Fine. If it’s a problem, let me help you clear out some of your inventory. Pack everything up and deliver it to the ‘Herd Mentality' donation center on 8th street. Or maybe just pick whatever things you’d like to take home today like those nice speakers in the back. I don’t give a single flying—” Fancy felt a tap on his shoulder and looked back to see Dapper glaring at him through raised eyebrows.

“Fancy Pants. A moment, if you would.”

Sensing a confrontation, Fancy nodded and stepped away from the register, leaving the trembling colt juggling the suit, doing his best not to damage it.

“What is it? I’m in the middle of negotiations here.”

“Yes, I can see how you could think that. What I see is you terrifying that poor colt there by dropping an incredibly expensive suit to barter with in a bargain thrift store.”

Fancy shrugged. “They wouldn’t take my check.”

“Then, perhaps it is a sign that it may be wiser to simply wear the clothes we already have and return home?”

“No.”

His master’s bluntness threw the old stallion completely off. “I see…”

“You can head home if you want, Dapper. I’m not leaving without that dive bomber jacket.”

“I thought we came in here for you to find a side bag?" Dapper asked worryingly.

“Plans change, Dapper. Besides, it’s annoying to carry that blasted suit on my shoulder!”

“Blaster? But I offered to carry it for you.”

“I don’t want you carrying it! In fact, I don’t want you wearing that butler outfit either!” Fancy poked a hoof at Dapper’s chest as his patience flared out. “I just want us to be two normal ponies, walking outside, enjoying a lovely day for once!”

The old stallion sighed. “If you’re going to be that way about it, then at least use the funds I prepared for you last night.” The butler reached into his coat and produced a hefty bag of bits. “I didn’t know what to expect at the Labyrinthiyum, so I brought adequate compensation for potential damages rendered.”

Not even acknowledging the reasoning behind the funding, Fancy glowed as he snatched the bundle of cash. “Perfect! I will be sure to pay you back.”

“They’re your bits,” the butler corrected flatly.

“Even better!” Fancy waltzed up to the counter, eying his prizes while smiling confidently. “Okay, my good stallion. Let’s do some proper business.”

One rain of bits later, Fancy and Dapper walked out, dressed to the two’s in their unfashionable outfits. Dapper had done his best to cleanse the apparel of their musty smell, but it’d require proper servicing if their outfits were to be restored to their former glory. It didn’t matter to Fancy though. The Kingmaker smiled confidently as he adjusted his aviators and stepped into the sunlight like a veteran Wonderbolt.

“I can see why Vinyl wears things like these all the time. It’s so much easier on the eyes,” Fancy said as he looked up and down the street while not being blinded by the bleached walls of several buildings.

Dapper sighed as he joined Fancy wearing the white leisure jacket and matching floral undershirt he’d bought him. It had looked fine inside, but in the sun, Dapper looked just about ready for a nap on the porch of a Seaward Shoals retirement home. The bell of the store behind them rang as the pegasus clerk locked up. They both watched the young thrift store employee reverently pick up the pair’s sealed suits before taking to the skies with slow, cautious wing flaps.

“You know, having him air deliver those to the estate slightly undermines the purpose of purchasing a bag to carry your suit comfortably in the first place.”

“They offered same-day shipping. Would you rather lug around your suit in a saddlebag all day?”

“I suppose not, but again, I was perfectly comfortable,” Dapper reminded pointedly.

“Oh, Dapper. A day like today doesn’t call for such overly proper attire. Besides, now I’ve got a bag to bag the bit bag in.” Fancy shifted his shoulder, allowing for the funds to ching against each other. “Come along, you old codger, let’s see what else is going on around here!” Fancy boldly proclaimed, catching the sunlight in his shades. He looked around, not recognizing much of anything in particular after several years of changes. “Any ideas, Dapper?”

“I wouldn’t be able to tell you. I have only passed through here on occasion.”

“And you didn’t stop to take in any of the sights? You’ve always prided yourself on your attention to detail.”

“I was usually more preoccupied with dragging a certain drunk stallion back to his bed.”

“I can see how that might be restrictive.” Fancy scanned his surroundings. They were receiving a few odd looks, but were mostly ignored by the ponies going about their day. Nothing much around them stood out until an ice cream cone carried by a filly caught his eye. “Are you hungry? I could definitely go for something after Luna’s frighteningly effective brew.”

“Very well. What did you have in mind?”

“Something interesting!”

“How vexingly vague,” Dapper complained.

“Just like the good ol’ ambassadorial days, right? Come, let’s take a trot around the block and see what we can find.”

Dapper shook his head as the two set off in search of their next destination. With nowhere particular in mind, Fancy simply did what he did on his jogs and let his hooves carry him to wherever they’d go. After all, most of Canterlot was beautiful, and he was going to enjoy those beautiful parts as much as he possibly could.

“That looks nice.” Fancy followed Dapper’s sights towards an unremarkable salad bar.

“Interesting, Dapper. We’re looking for interesting.”

“I see.” Another quick swivel of his head and Dapper leaned his horn towards a row of tall buildings. “I think that’s a pizza place over there.”

Fancy considered the selection briefly before recognizing the familiar branding of diamond-cut gemstones running down the corners. “No. I believe all of these are Regality properties.”

“Is that somehow a problem?”

“It wasn’t until recently,” Fancy replied nonchalantly. Thinking of the area, most places would be owned by a few moguls that were fighting over the businesses in the area. Fancy didn’t feel like throwing himself into the middle of it. “You know, I do believe much of Restaurant Row is privately owned and operated. It’s only a few blocks from here. Perhaps we might find some more unique offerings?”

“Then, I suppose you should lead the way, Fancy.”

“Three stars. Three stars. Three stars.” Fancy idly commented with disinterest as they passed samey restaurant after samey restaurant.

It seemed that Restaurant Row had fallen into catering towards Canterlot’s elite expectations. Each drab restaurant was the same as the last. The street lacked the creative freedom his mother had championed for in the fight against the restricted rules of the Canterlot Musical Society. If the nobles had gotten their way, the Drive would be just as depressingly boring as the cookie-cutter establishments around them.

“Three is as high as the rating goes around here, I’m afraid,” Dapper noted.

“I know full well how Zesty Gourmand operates. I’ve met her too many times over the years to not. She gave the Labyrithiyum two stars and outright refused to even try Pâte de Lune! Can you believe that nonsense?”

“To be fair, de Lune doesn’t really fall under her column’s full-course restaurant focus.”

“Fair enough, but still. Giving the only Minosan food in Canterlot only two stars? Outlandish! Furthermore, I was the one who recommended her for that critical column in the Canterhorn Courier in the first place!” the indignant Kingmaker complained. “You’d think she’d at least get a coffee at de Lune and tell me if she liked it.”

Dapper raised an eyebrow at the younger stallion. “I didn’t realize it bothered you so much.”

“Well it does now!” Realizing his temper was simmering, Fancy took a calming breath and tried to find his center as he jostled the quartz in his pocket. Just thinking about it was making… making him smell something delicious?

Looking down the street, amid the pale stonework, one orange oasis of a restaurant stood out at the end of an alley. “Oh-hoh! And what do we have here?”

“‘The Tasty Treat, Grand Opening,’” Dapper read aloud on the nearby signage. They looked up to see the goldenrod spires and rounded domes. The curved door flowed upwards towards a zenith that pointed up to a desert flower of flavor blooming overhead. Its welcoming, zesty colors promised to bless its visitors with wondrous flavors. “A rather unique building for the Row. Saddle Arabian?”

“If the architecture matches the scent, I believe it’s actually Maredrasian.” Fancy burned with anticipation of the spicy flavors held within. “What a refreshing little oddity, completely different from its neighbors. Just like the estate,” Fancy praised as he drew closer to the door. He looked up at the freshly carved sign and smiled back at Dapper. “And no stars at that!”

“Fancy, are you certain you want to go into an unrated restaurant?”

He answered with another whiff of the flavorful air. “I’m more than certain. Don’t you smell that medley of exotic flavors? It’s been years since we’ve enjoyed a good bowl of curry.”

“Not to speak ill of an establishment I’ve never tried, but I can’t say I’ve ever enjoyed Maredras’ particular flair for flaring food in the past. It tends to burn away what little taste I have left,” Dapper chortled, trying to mask his hesitancy for eating dishes that could singe a dragon’s tongue.

“If they’ve set up shop here in Canterlot, then I’m sure they’ll have something for more sensitive tongues. If not, we’ll just ask them to bathe your order in coconut milk,” Fancy taunted with a smug grin. “Now, let’s head inside.”

The grand, yet humble exterior did nothing to prepare the two for what laid inside. Fancy beamed as the restaurant was not only Maredrasian, but unapologetically so. Standard wooden seats had been mixed with plush couches and seating cushions, reflecting their homeland so far away. Tapestries hung overhead spun with rolling sunset colors and low-light lamps shining both on the tables below and the ceiling above. The design ensured guests could marvel at the colorful food when eating and the intricate needlework when leaning back to pat their satisfied bellies.

“It doesn’t seem particularly popular,” Dapper remarked, seeing the utter lack of any customers.

“More for us then!” Opting for the local approach, Fancy chose one of the couches himself rather than wait to be seated. After Dapper joined him, they began searching for the menus, but couldn’t find any. Perhaps they served a meal of the day instead of a full selection. Either way, Fancy was looking forward to partaking in an old favorite.

“Hello? Is somepony there?” a lovely voice asked from the back. A few moments later, a beautiful and perplexed unicorn mare poked her head out from behind the kitchen’s bead curtain and looked around for the source of the shuffling. Her purple eyes settled on the two curiously dressed stallions and sparkled with excitement before quickly ducking back inside. “Hey Selestiya! Paapa, I think we have our first customers!”

“Suprabhātam,” Fancy called back. A tripping of hooves followed by a clumsy gallop brought the mare through the curtain to reveal herself in full.

Fancy nearly froze as he got a better look at the mare. A painful nostalgia washed over him seeing the pony’s familiar, burnt orange coat and dark, fluffy mane. She was different enough, especially the unicorn horn and Maredrasian garb, but if the mare dyed her mane blue, she’d almost be a dead ringer for Sauna Summers.

“Svaagat!” the unicorn greeted warmly with a modicum of shock. “I was not expecting our first customers to be Maredrasian. It is so far away from here.”

Fancy snapped back to reality. “Sorry. I’m afraid I’ve only picked up a few phrases during visits to your Saddle Arabian neighbors. I hope we aren’t too early for lunch.”

“No-no! Well… maybe? The business hours are a little up in the air right now.” the mare clarified with a nervous smile. “We only just arrived in Canterlot last week.”

“Oh! Then welcome to the capitol. My name is Fancy and this is Dapper.”

“A pleasure,” the butler bowed with perfect Canterlot decorum.

“My, they did say Canterlot ponies were proper. Even in such… interesting clothes, you still carry yourselves with such dignity!”

“I was in the mood to try all sorts of new things today,” Fancy said as he took in the atmosphere once more. “The Tasty Treat might be just what I need to continue the trend.”

“I see! Then, let me get you some naan to start. Paapa and I are just cleaning up after a late breakfast. Oh, and my own manners! I am Saffron Masala and I will be your cook today.” Saffron smiled wider and stepped away towards the kitchen. “Paapa! You are supposed to host, so host!”

“Coming, coming!” A deeper voice called from the back as a tubby, curry-colored stallion carrying several menus skidded to a halt. Following Éclair’s logic, if the food was as good as the stallion’s girth suggested, they were most certainly in for a tasty treat today. “Good day. My name is Coriander Cumin. Welcome to The Tasty Treat! What can we get started for you?”

“I haven’t had anything since last night, so I am very much ready to fix that,” Fancy said as he looked over the menu. “Aren’t you, Dapper?”

“Provided I am not breathing dragonfire at the end of the day, I suppose my answer would be yes,” the old stallion conceded.

“Wonderful. It has been a long time since I visited your lovely home, so please take us on a culinary adventure, you two.”

Saffron beamed. “Gladly!”

The Tasty Treat did not disappoint. The savory, simmering food of Maredras had swirled around his tongue in a fire dance of flavor. Dapper had taken a more tame chickpea tikka masala while Fancy was sure he would regret sampling almost every curry they had later. He’d have to jog up the entire mountainside to work off that meal.

“A welcome addition to Canterlot’s flavor palate, wouldn’t you say, Dapper?”

“Ask me in a few hours, Fancy.” Dapper burped silently into his foreleg.

“Come now, there was barely any buck to your meal.”

“I think it was simply the fumes emanating from yours. How in the world did you eat all of that without bursting into flames?”

“When diplomacy calls for an iron stomach, you develop one quite quickly,” Fancy bragged with two quick thumps to his chest.

“Stop right there!”

The stallions did as ordered and turned back towards The Tasty Treat. Fancy dipped his aviators to get a better look at Saffron chasing them with Coriander hot on her tail trying to calm her down.

“Oh, Saffron. Is there something wrong?” Fancy asked calmly as she drew closer.

“Vipers!” she shouted and threw a crumpled piece of paper at Fancy’s head. “I should’ve known from your tacky outfits!”

“Tacky?” Sure it was out of style, but that was going a little far.

“Do you take us for fools?” Saffron growled as she readied to charge them with her horn.

“Now, now, Saffron. I say we try cashing it,” Coriander shushed his daughter, trying to gain control of the fiery mare’s nerves. “If it’s real, this could change our lives!”

“Paapa, you saw it yourself. There is no way that they aren’t trying to scam us! Aren’t we struggling enough?” Saffron retorted with a pained disappointment.

“Scam?” Dapper Dandy questioned while grabbing the offending wad of scrap. Unfurling it, the note was clearly one of Fancy’s pocketbook checks. “Now what is this about—sweet merciful heavens!”

Fancy shrugged. “I said I enjoyed the meal.”

“Meal?” Saffron scoffed indignantly. “You just bought the building at least twice over with this much!”

“I suppose I did leave a suspiciously large tip.” Fancy sighed as he grabbed his pocketbook to pen another check. “Shall I remove a zero or two?”

Saffron growled at him. “Just give us what we are owed in real bits and stay away from us!”

“In hindsight, I can see how it could be seen as insensitive,” Fancy remarked as he took the bag of bits out and hovered over to Saffron. “Here. I wasn’t going to use the rest of this anyway.”

Saffron grabbed it out of the air with her magic with a sneer, but nearly dropped it from the unexpected weight. With a cautionary eye trained on Fancy, she glanced down into the bag, but then did a double-take at the staggering amount inside. She reached inside and fished out a cascading amount of bits.

“W-what is this?” the mare muttered in disbelief. “We cannot take this much money!”

“But we could though! Nothing is stopping us,” Coriander argued.

“Band Karo, Paapa!” she chided her father and smacked him gently with the bag before marching up to Fancy. “What are you trying to pull over us? Do all rich ponies think so little of hard work? Why must you do this? We are doing our best!”

“Of course not!” Fancy defended, backing up slightly from her angry advance. I simply have more than I need. I enjoyed your food and would like to keep it in Canterlot.”

“We intend to stay here without your obvious strings attached!”

“There’s not—” Fancy sighed, and gripped the quartz in his pocket. “What I mean is that I’d like you to stay around despite your stiff competition. Zesty Gourmand bears a very particular palate. Without her blessing, you might struggle to find customers, especially here on Restaurant Row.”

“Then we will struggle to succeed by ourselves! I had hoped Miss Gourmand would come around, but if this is true, then don’t throw money at us in pity. Eat and bring friends! I came to Canterlot to share my home’s food, not simply exist here!”

Fancy rubbed the crystal more as he gritted his teeth behind his closed mouth. “Then, think of it as an investment. You’re the only Maredrasian restaurant in town. I’m just getting in on the ground floor.” Saffron narrowed her eyes at his claim. Why was giving a simple gift always such a problem these days? “Of all the—Just take the money already!”

“I refuse!” The mare tied off the top of the bag and threw it at Fancy’s hooves. “Pay me what we are owed and only what we are owed!” the little cook demanded the Kingmaker. “The Tasty Treat is not for sale!”

Fancy blinked at the mare’s fiery conviction burning hotter than her delicious curry. He looked down at the bag, truly a paltry sum of bits to him, and back at the insulted cook. Not long ago, there was a certain DJ who refused to take his money as well. He just couldn’t stop himself, could he? For all of the Kingmaker’s accolades, he really was just a one-trick pony. Fancy couldn’t help but laugh at himself.

“What’s so funny?” Saffron barked.

“I never learn, do I?” Fancy removed his tacky, antiquated aviators and put them in their case. Dapper was right. He needed to stop bottling things up. It wasn’t doing anypony any good. It never did before either. “I’m so sorry, Miss Saffron. You’re right. I should’ve known better. Mares of your caliber are never for sale,” he said, laughing even harder at himself, confusing his onlookers.

“You’d think a retired diplomat would be able to treat such wonderful ponies better.” Fancy took a calming breath and bowed as he should’ve earlier. “If you would allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Fancy Pants, former Ambassador of Equestria and Envoy of her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia.”

Coriander gasped. “Wait… wait-wait-wait! I know this stallion!” He looked around and spotted an abandoned newspaper at the foot of a competitor’s entryway. “Look! On the front page! I thought I recognized that cutie mark. He’s called the Kingmaker of Canterlot!”

The stallion flashed the front page at his daughter, who gasped at the photo. Fancy almost did as well, but not from the article’s content. He knew what was there. It was the fragile stallion shown on the cover that pulsed his stranglehold on the stress crystal.

Upper Crust coiled around a rather foolish pony, savoring her complete and utter control over him. She wielded the crowns on the sod’s flank as her tool, to strike down her enemy when he was most vulnerable. Fancy shouldn’t have been so surprised, his “friends” had been doing it for years.

“Didn’t quite catch my good side, did they, Dapper?”

Dapper looked solemnly at the picture and then stood at attention for his master. “Sir, what happened at this party?”

“Nothing you need to worry about. Just some very lucrative investments that I’ve come to deeply regret.”

“Fancy—Sir Fancy Pants,” Saffron corrected as she looked over the cover. “You look so…”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. It was quite the hateful slur, and it wasn’t even directed at me. They can’t even print the contemptible thing that foal uttered.” Fancy looked back at the paper, reading Upper Crust’s headline aloud. “‘Regality Racism, Regal Cents Exposed and Deposed?’ Even in our harmonious nation, there are still those that cling to such tired, old prejudices.”

Saffron bit her lip and looked at Fancy. “Did he say anything else?”

Fancy rolled his eyes. “If only you knew the half of it. Regal said many terrible and regrettable things.”

Saffron shook her head and trotted closer to Fancy, looking up at him with her piercing, purple gaze. “Perhaps I should rephrase my question. What did he say to you?”

Fancy opened his mouth, but the words died on his lips. The young mare was so different, yet so similar to the one he’d callously ignored all of those years ago.

“Okay, Fancy Pants. Just…” Summers trailed as she held a hoof out. Putting it down, she walked over to Fancy. “Just, do your ‘antiquated’ mom one lil’ favor, kay?

Fancy sighed and looked back with his patience quickly draining. “I suppose. What is it?”

“Don’t get hurt.”

Caught off-guard by the heartfelt plea, Fancy couldn’t help but laugh as he turned to look at her pitiful eyes. “Seriously, mother? It might be the Drive, but it’s still Canterlot. It’s nothing dangerous, mother.”

“I know, but...” Summers started leaning in to kiss her son goodbye before ultimately deciding against it. “But, please. Don’t let anypony hurt my little Sugar Bear.”

Fancy cleared the frog out of his throat. “To think, Dapper, I worked with Regal Cents for almost ten years, and a complete stranger shows more concern for my well-being in ten seconds than he ever did.” Fancy picked up the discarded bits with his hoof and opened the bag, looking at all the riches inside. It rested rather heavily in his hooves, but felt so empty.

“Miss Saffron? I cannot give you what you want. I have too few friends to share or a word that is worth anything on its own. All I have are bits made by kings and queens.” Fancy felt an urge to put the aviators back on. Perhaps Vinyl was onto something with those shades of hers. “I truly enjoyed eating with you two and Dapper. Not just the food. It was one of the best meals that I’ve shared outside of my home in a while. You can take this. It’s perfectly fine. You’ve more than earned it.”

Fancy tried to levitate the bag, but it dropped to the street in his unstable magic, spilling it all over the ground. He knelt down and tried to sweep it together to offer it. “Please. It’s all I have left.”

Saffron smiled sweetly, but shook her head. “No. It wouldn’t be right. We will accept the bits for the meal, a reasonable tip, and your continued business, Sir Fancy Pants.” The cook reached out a hoof to pull Fancy back up. Once he was on his hooves, she magiced a mass of bits from the ground, counted out the proper tab, and deposited the rest into Fancy’s bag. “Please, come again. We would love to have you and your father as our dear guests.”

Fancy laughed and wiped a tear from his eye. “Oh, did you hear that Dapper? If only I’d have been so lucky! No, Dapper Dandy is my butler and one of my closest companions. I’d be lost without him to keep my head on straight.” Dapper nodded in agreement and bowed once more with dutiful precision. “However, you said something about a reasonable tip?”

Sensing the tide of the conversation, Coriander nodded. “Yes. Thirty percent—”

“Twenty,” Saffron quickly corrected.

“—Twenty percent maximum from you, Sir Fancy Pants. We will fight for our place within Canterlot, with or without your large, life-altering sum of bits.”

“Not to worry, Paapa! All we need to do is earn his fortune by fattening Sir Fancy Pants up like you!” Saffron joked and pecked a kiss on her father’s cheek.

“Please, it’s just Fancy Pants. I haven’t been a Sir for quite some time. However, if it’s a tip you want, I might be able to provide something more useful than bits.”

Fancy closed his eyes and concentrated on a question: What did they need to do to succeed? He tried to envision The Tasty Treat, not an empty store at the back of Restaurant Row, but a thriving business. After a quiet moment of focus, he arrived at an answer.

“I’m afraid that you’ve made a deep mistake setting up your shop on Restaurant Row. The businesses here serve Zesty Gourmand’s taste and those three star ratings are what draw customers to their doors. With her tastes, I am uncertain if she will give your lovely restaurant a fair shake.”

“That’s your tip? There’s nothing we can do about that!” the tubby stallion cursed.

Saffron shook her head. “We will make it, paapa. I know we will.”

“As do I,” Fancy interjected. “I know most restaurants convert themselves in this area to make their businesses work to Zesty’s taste. It’s why they all look the same, serving Canterlot styles of their own food.”

“No! I refuse to sacrifice our flavor on the whims of a single mare!” Saffron objected.

“As you shouldn’t. I like The Tasty Treat as it is now. Warm, unique, and inviting. Which is why you two must double down!” Fancy proclaimed as he stamped the ground to stand defiant against the flow of Canterlot popularity. “Be unapologetic. Don’t just exist as the odd orange gem at the end of the road. Step outside of your walls and offer ponies samples of a food they’ve never tasted before. Show your culinary creativity, Saffron Masala! Shine boldly amid a series of bland, ho-hum restaurants and blast Zesty’s pointless opinion out of the mango lassi!”

Saffron sparkled with the same energy as they did when they had when she saw him and Dapper sitting in their restaurant. “Do you think that will work?”

“My dear, I can guarantee it. Provide samples to passing ponies and let what you have to share spread. I will also be sure to back you up with my continued patronage, of course. I’d be a fool not to. Your family’s cooking is simply brilliant, Saffron.”

Fancy grunted from the sudden impact of the cook embracing him. He’d almost forgotten what it was like to be thanked for his help. The nobles never did. As the lonely kingmaker returned the hug himself, he thought back to the lesson he neglected from his mother. Summers was right, the happy little cook’s joy was priceless.

“I think your word might be worth more than you think, Fancy Pants,” Saffron assured as she broke away. She grabbed her father and bounded like an excited filly. “Come, Paapa! We need to find dishes to make samples! Thank you, Fancy Pants!”

“Think nothing of it, Saffron,” Fancy said as he bowed. “See you soon.”

With an enthusiastic wave, Saffron dashed inside with her father nodding a quick thank you before following her to strategize their sampler publicity campaign. With a satisfied sigh of a job well done, Fancy beckoned Dapper to join his gait as they trotted out of Restaurant Row.

“Smashing use of your kingmaking talents as always, Fancy Pants.”

Fancy laughed and shook his head. “Thank you, but you’re mistaken. That wasn’t a kingmaker decision. I offered them a path that I thought would be more successful.”

Dapper frowned as he pondered Fancy’s answer. “I’m not sure I’m following your logic. What’s the difference?”

“It’s simple really. I want them to succeed, so I wove a different fate.”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 29: Getting Ready for a Solid Groove

The synthesizer keys danced under Vinyl’s hooves as she crescendoed into the last measure of a jazzy piano interlude. It was both the most crucial and the most aggravating part to play. So many things needed to happen with her hooves and horn to make it work, and she only had a scant few seconds to pull it all off flawlessly. She’d added a glissando slide to give herself a free hoof to help lighten the mental and magical load, but there was only so much she could do from her position.

As she hammered out the rhythm leading up to the gliss, she sparked her magic over the upper synthesizer. First, fade out all the other instruments; second, swap back to the original record; third, cue up the other saved patterns and double check their positions; and fourth, wait for the trumpet’s last long note to begin the slide while kicking up everything else. Every step needed to occur in the span of five seconds, with one of those dedicated to the playing of the gliss itself.

Unfortunately, Vinyl was no closer to cracking cacophony storage, so nothing else could be automated without locking it into place. Putting her irritation to the back of her mind, she breathed through her nose as she readied for the manual maneuvering.

“And… go!”

Vinyl’s lightning blue aura flashed over the top synthesizer’s buttons in a memorized sweep. Everything clicked to its proper prepared pattern as she lightened her hooves to play pianissimo. Quickly moving her mass manipulation spell, she magically switched the turntable to the original record, causing the trumpet to roar to life. Checking the numbers on the digital displays, she saw each one set to the fourth and final pattern for the coda. The metronome was still clicking away to ensure everything kicked in on the same beat. She readied her magic to hit the upper keys all at once as she got her body in position to slide down the keys.

With the trumpet still going, Vinyl smirked. She had made the switch in record time. Finally, she felt her practice was really paying off. But then, another second passed and a needling thought entered her mind. It should’ve been impossible to shave off a full second and a half from—

“The sampler!” Vinyl gasped, seeing the percussive mix hadn’t been swapped over yet. Her magic quickly shifted to try to fix the error, but then the trumpet’s last note played. A deafening silence hung over the failed performance. She’d missed the glissando cue, again.

“Horseapples!” Vinyl yelled as she slammed her hooves on the keyboard, blasting a bitter smattering of notes.

After all her hard work, the arrangement wasn’t getting any easier to play. In isolation, she was able to perform each magical maneuver with ease, but stringing them together for the whole song was proving to be a struggle. There was only so much one mare could do, and she felt like she was plateauing. There were no numbers she was keeping track of, but her gut told her that she was still messing up far too many times in rehearsals to perform it for the show. She began resetting everything for another attempt from the top until the old studio’s intercom buzzed to life.

“Kay, Vy. You’re done in there,” Fleur called from the other side of the glass.

Vinyl panted in frustration. “No. Not yet, Fleur. I—I still haven’t—”

“That wasn’t a question, Vinyl.” Fleur furrowed her brow. “I don’t even need to check your aura strength to see that you’re struggling in there, DJ Sweat-3.”

Vinyl grumbled at the terrible pun. She wiped said liquid from her forehead while trying to catch the breath she didn’t know she’d lost. “But I’m running out of time. The Showcases are tomorrow!”

“Exactly. You obviously shouldn’t be straining your magic the day before,” Fleur argued. “Plus we both know you’ve got a larger mana pool than I do. If you drain yourself completely, you might not be fully recovered for the real deal.”

“But I’m still messing up the coda.”

“The what now?”

“Oh, for peat’s—The finale, Fleur! The last part of the song!”

“Okay, you’re getting snippy about music terms again. You’ve got until the count of five to shut everything down before I drag you out of there by the tail.”

“The count of five is the whole problem!”

“Four…” Fleur counted with an impatient glare.

Vinyl growled in frustration. On one hoof, her crabbiness had always been a good barometer for her magical exhaustion. On the other, it gave Fleur a reason to never learn proper musical terminology. She might focus more on the acting part of her vocal performances, but her friend still had a great singing voice. Fleur’s natural mezzo-soprano was leagues better than the DJ’s scratchy contralto. It bothered the petty, classically trained part of Vinyl that Fleur had no idea what she was talking about.

“Three… You’re running down the clock in there, sis.”

Right. Sisters. That was a term she was still coming to terms with herself. “I got it, I got it!” the irritable DJ barked back. “Shutting it down in here.”

Vinyl stepped away and ran her waning magic over the systems, powering them down one by one. Putting some distance between herself and her equipment, she was starting to feel just how much mana she’d burned during practice. Still, just because Fleur was right didn’t make it any easier to accept. She needed to get that last series of steps down before tomorrow night.

Trotting towards the studio’s door, Vinyl flicked off the lights of the mansion’s live room and was met with an enormous Fleur hug the moment she exited.

“Did you forget I’m sweaty?”

“But you need a big hug, big sis.” Fleur pulled Vinyl in closer without hesitation and nuzzled the top of her head. “See? Doesn’t that feel better?”

“Yeah, I guess… lil’ sis.”

“Vinyl? We’ve been over this,” Fleur bonked the smaller mare’s horn lightly with the back of her fetlock. “You don’t need to lie to make me feel better.”

On impulse, Vinyl opened her mouth to deny it, but she knew Fleur wasn’t letting even the smallest excuse slip by her anymore. “It’s not the hug, really. It’s just ‘sis’ feels weird, you know? I haven’t had a family for a long time.”

“Sure you have. You just never noticed, silly filly,” Fleur corrected with a wink and giggle. “Fleur’s still perfectly fine in my book, too. It’d actually be weird to call me your sister all the time.”

Vinyl sighed. “Sorry. I’m really trying. I promise.”

“And that already means the world to me. No need to beat yourself up about it.” Fleur trotted around to face Vinyl directly. “Look at me.” She propped Vinyl’s shades to her horn so she could see her eyes. “You don’t need to apologize for being you, okay? Especially since you are so cuddly-wuddly, Vy!” she exclaimed as she pulled Vinyl into another crushing hug.

Fleur always knew how to ruin a moment when it needed to be. “How did you turn out so big if your mom is so small?” Vinyl grunted under the pressure of Fleur’s vice grip hug.

“Maman’s strength and Daddy’s size,” Fleur bragged as she wiggled Vinyl like a teddy bear. “I got the best combination for making mares like you the perfect hugging height.”

“I know I’m trying to work on myself, but I do enjoy my personal space,” Vinyl complained. At this rate, she was going to be tumble dried from her friend shaking her back and forth.

“Hey, if you got it, you flaunt it.” She flexed a leg, showing off her earth pony side. It wasn’t much, considering she had the build of a lithe unicorn model, but that little extra physical strength and size were better than the none at all that Vinyl had. “Think of it as sisterhood hugging exercises.”

“Then let me pace myself better and let me go already!”

Realizing her mistake, Fleur immediately released her and backed off. “Sorry! My bad, Vy! It’s just that I’m not having to wrestle you into hugs anymore, and I can’t help myself sometimes,” Fleur admitted while averting her eyes. Her shoulders slumped as she grabbed her mane and pulled at it. “I’m sorry. It was supposed to calm you down, not rile you up again.”

While Vinyl appreciated the mare’s restraint, telling Fleur not to “Fleur” so much was difficult. “Don’t worry. It did help a little,” Vinyl was glad that wasn’t a lie as her friend’s smile came back. “But let’s find a middle ground, alright sis? I’m not as clingy as you.”

“Okay. And you worked in such a natural-sounding ‘sis’ there, sister! That calls for a…” Fleur trailed as Vinyl stiffened in preparation for another hug. “—a verbal compliment and a pat on the withers.” Fleur stomped her legs down in self-control before raising a hoof to her friend. With restrained movements, she patted Vinyl twice, squarely between her shoulders. “Good job, Vy.”

Vinyl acknowledged the compliment with a nod and took a swig of water from her thermos. As the refreshing crispness hit her tongue, it reminded her just how much of a workout performing at that level was. At least with her other genres she could make something work by modulating a few synth sounds into something different. Electro swing required so much more effort to sound anywhere near decent. Simplifying any further was off the table. Doing so would ultimately detract from the original rather than add to it.

“Okay, fresh air time,” Fleur announced as she started shutting down the rest of the studio.

“What about practicing for your routine?”

“No need. Unlike your insanely complicated solo swing band, I’ve only got a couple of illusion spells, a gem, and a parasol. More importantly, what is that I hear in the distance?” Fleur threw the door open to the hallway, raised a hoof to her perked ears, and plastered on a commanding grin at the inaudible sound. “Avast! It be the call to adventure! Time to set sail once more on the Friend Ship!”

Hearing the gravely, seasoned call of Fleur’s new favorite, name-pending captain character, Vinyl sighed and saluted dutifully. “Where to, ma’am?”

“By my seasoned seafairer sense, it be a little before four o’ clock,” Fleur reckoned by using her honed, seadog experience to read the clock on the wall. “Miss Fluffs is probably still swabbing the study. Let’s go see if Mister Dapper needs help in the mess hall!”

Offering a nod, Vinyl went to lower her shades until Fleur’s magic intercepted them. “We won’t be needing the services of DJ Pon-3 on this voyage, matey.”

“Right,” Vinyl agreed reluctantly and hovered her trusty sunglasses to rest on the soundboard.

Rather than perpetrating her mutiny like Tavi had suggested, Vinyl had allowed the captain to expand the rules of the Friend Ship while they were on board. Top of the list was leaving Vinyl’s sunglasses off for the duration of any voyage unless DJ Pon-3 would need to make an appearance. There was no need to hide one’s self while sailing on the Friend Ship.

A small part of First Mate Scratch was still considering overthrowing the captain. She was growing tired of the constant nautical puns. Fortunately, she had found a middle ground.

“Okay, glasses are stowed, captain,” she reported as the two stepped into the hallway. “That means I get to enact rule two.”

“Yar must be pulling my peg leg!” Fleur harrumphed and stroked her non-existent beard. With how long she drew her hoof down, it must’ve been very impressive in her imagination. “Don’cha like me salty company?”

“If I gotta be honest, you gotta be honest. So, no act’n, cap’n.”

Fleur nickered in disappointment and tossed the invisible captain’s hat inside the studio before slamming the door. “Stupid rule two,” she grumbled under her breath.

“Hey! Stupid rule one!” Vinyl countered, pointing to her unshielded eyes.

Fleur puffed her cheeks, but it only lasted so long before their giggles started. It felt good to be laughing freely with Fleur again. Vinyl hadn’t realized how much she had missed it since her life was turned upside down. It was the simple things with her best friend—or sister rather—that always lifted her spirits, and it was comforting to know that Fleur felt the same. The two fell into a familiar gait side-by-side as they shoved off for the kitchen.

While Vinyl was still getting used to it, Fleur had immediately clung to their newfound sisterhood and wouldn’t let go. It had felt like the right thing to say at the time to calm Fleur down, but she didn’t realize just how serious of a commitment she’d made in the moment. Vinyl didn’t see much of a difference between it and being a best friend, but Fleur was adamant about them being sisters now, to the point she was telling everypony they knew. At least it was always interesting to see their reaction, even if it was a little embarrassing.

Thinking back to their friends, Fluffs had bubbled with excitement as if the two had announced an engagement. Dapper had welcomed “Miss Vinyl” into the family without missing a beat. Arpeggio had been confused, thinking they were already dating. Steeplechase was in trouble with Arpeggio for having fooled his father-in-law into thinking the two unicorns had been an item for years. And, as for Tavi…

“I’m so proud of you, Vinyl.”

It was stupid. Vinyl’s eyes always became a little heavier anytime she thought of her mentor’s warm smile. “Sister” was just a word, but it was also so much more. It was a deeper bond that Vinyl didn’t fully understand, but was willing to learn. Fleur had gone without a sibling for so long, even though she had a strangely reluctant half one. It reminded her of her own hang ups over certain words. And not being alone anymore? It was nice.

As for the last candidate of the Friend Ship’s crew, Vinyl wasn’t sure what to make of Fancy Pants’ reaction. It had been interesting to say the least, but not for anything the stallion had said at the time. He’d used an expected platitude, but despite the genuine happiness behind it, something more was bothering her.

“Is it just me, or has Fancy been acting funny recently?” Vinyl asked, breaking their pleasantly silent trot.

Fleur tilted her head at the question. “‘Funny haha’ or ‘funny uh oh?’”

Vinyl felt the temptation to ask for clarification, but sensed a sort of trap behind her wacky sister’s response. “Strange, Fleur. Weird, off, that kind of funny.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, he’s been wearing turtlenecks around the house instead of his suits for one.”

“So? It’s still sweater season. I’ve seen him wear them before when getting his Hoity Toity wardrobe dry cleaned. No biggie.”

“Yeah, but that’s like two days max. He’s been wearing them for almost a week now.”

“Hey, that’s an improvement in my book,” Fleur argued with a suspiciously wide smile. “I know I’d rather just lounge around in comfortable clothes if I’m gonna stay home. I’d hate to shuffle into a dinner dress every day for the heck of it.”

“Speaking of, hasn’t he also been pretty evasive at dinner?” Vinyl pressed. She received another quirk of an eyebrow in response. “Oh, come on! You’ve had to at least notice me trying to carry a conversation with him, but he just kinda says nothing.”

“Says the shut-in,” Fleur teased with a snicker. Seeing Vinyl’s bemused frown, she cleared her throat. “Sorry, that sounded funnier in my head. ‘Haha funny,’ that is. You’re not exactly a social butterfly, Vy.”

The remark wouldn’t have bothered Vinyl at all before; she knew full well that she wasn’t the most talkative mare. However, she was supposed to be helping bridge the gap between Fleur and Fancy, but she was failing even more at that than playing the coda correctly. At first, she chalked it up to being bad at small talk, but the more she tried to talk to him, it just didn’t feel that simple. Fancy was a socialite who should’ve been a master at keeping any conversation going, but he seemed to be leaving them to die before they could really start. She couldn’t claim to know him very well, but it was all just so wrong.

“Don’t worry about it, Vy. He’s always been that way with me. Guess he’d extend it to another ‘sister,’” Fleur added bitterly.

“What about—”

“Look, Vinyl. I know you’re trying really hard for me. I really, really appreciate it. More than you know. You have to understand. He’s always been a little distant. Fancy’s polite and sweet, but he…” Fleur trailed as she tried to figure out what to say. “You know how you’ve always put up one massive wall after the other?”

Vinyl said nothing, but nodded in agreement. It was strange to be bothered by it. She knew full well what she was doing, but the shame was still there.

“With that, at least you can crane your head up to see if you’re almost over it. With Fancy, it’s an endless, foggy maze. He’s got a bunch of paths that you can go down, but just when you think you’ve figured it out, something gets turned around and you find yourself back outside.” Fleur’s head dipped from the weight of her disappointment. “I’ve been getting lost in it for so long.”

“Fleur—”

“Don’t worry! It’s not your fault. I know I haven’t been making it any easier on myself recently. Probably why he’s been weirder than usual,” Fleur admitted, the unspoken guilt of last week weighing her down. She brandished another overly large smile. “But hey! At least I always stumble out, right? And now I’ve got a big sister to help me now! Maybe—maybe we can figure it out together?”

Fleur’s was usually able to snap out of a funk at the tip of a hat, but Vinyl wasn’t buying it this time. With a sigh, she snaked a leg around the back of her friend’s neck and squeezed a quick hug before letting go to continue sailing through the hallway.

“And now you’re just spoiling me,” Fleur joked.

Vinyl shrugged. “You needed it.”

After Fleur’s initial surprise passed, a tender smile crossed her lips. Vinyl’s heart fluttered with pride. She was getting better at this real friendship thing.

As they rounded the corner to the foyer, they came face-to-fancy-face with Fancy Pants walking back from the front door with a stack of letters wrapped in his magic. As per his new usual, he was dressed down, but managed to maintain an air of classiness. If it had been anypony else, Vinyl wouldn’t have questioned it, but this was supposed to be the Kingmaker. Before he was always dressed for an occasion that wasn’t even happening.

The stallion’s turtleneck color of the day was a flat, dark gray. What was more curious was the wireframe pair of reading glasses he was sporting that she’d never seen him wear. Fancy’s custom wardrobe seemed to enjoy hiding subtle pockets, but after a quick visual sweep, the sweater didn’t seem to have one to carry his monocle in for when he needed to destress. After a few more scans, she realized she was staring and looked away just in time for him to notice their hoofsteps.

“Good afternoon you two. I hope practice is making perfect for tomorrow night.”

Vinyl slowed down, trying to think of an answer that could start a conversation between the three of them, but came up short as usual.

“I think we could use far fewer attempts at it, but we should be ready for the Showcases tomorrow,” Fleur assured him evenly.

“Wonderful! I must say, Fluffer Duster’s excitement has proven quite infectious. Even Dapper has been looking forward to it all week,” Fancy remarked. Vinyl noted the lack of Miss and Mister titles. When had he dropped that bit of decorum? “I bought them tickets closer to the front, so be sure to keep an eye out for them.”

Fancy nodded a pleasant goodbye and trotted into his study. With that, the two friends continued on their journey to the kitchen. Suddenly, Fleur stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes worked back and forth to assemble something in her mind. She gritted her teeth and bolted after her half brother, with Vinyl chasing her as she galloped after him through the double doors.

“Wait! Did you say Dapper is going to the concert?” Fleur asked warily.

“Yes I did. I gave them the night off, and both she and Dapper are looking forward to showing you their full support. We all want to see you two shining on that stage tomorrow night.”

“‘We?’” Fleur seized up, dumbfounded by the pronoun. “You mean you’re still going?”

Fancy looked back over his shoulder as he continued towards the study’s fireplace. “You sound surprised. I already told you I was attending.”

“No, well yeah, but—but it’s just… I just assumed you weren’t going like you never do,” she struggled to say with a subtle pain creeping into her voice. “You always have something else come up.”

Fancy sighed as he began organizing the letters into a neat stack with his magic. “I know, and you deserve far more from me than a mere apology for missing such things so often. While it’s true that I usually do have other things to do, this year will be different, I promise.”

“You said that before, Fancy.” Fleur drew closer, suspiciously eying the stallion. “You’ve always said that before, but then bailed on me in the end anyway!”

“I know, I know. But this time, I promise. I will be there,” Fancy assured. He brightened up as he went back to his letters. “I’m even bringing friends!”

“Friends? Who the hay in your elite circles even wants to see us perform?”

Fancy’s aura weakened around his bundle of mail at the question. He caught the letters in his hooves before they could scatter like a loose deck of cards. With a sigh of relief, his magic flashed briefly somewhere. Before Vinyl could trace where, she was distracted by Fancy’s low chuckling at the question. The stallion’s hollowness rang so uncomfortably alongside the crackling of the fireplace.

“What, and spoil the surprise? I learned my lesson last time, Corn Acopia,” Fancy teased the lying actress. He turned towards Vinyl with a wry smile. “That being said, I am very much looking forward to introducing my friends to you, the both of you. They’re big fans of DJ Pon-3, but I’m sure they’ll be excited to meet you as well, Fleur.”

Fleur’s breathing quickened. “But—but I’ve invited you every time!”

“I know, Fleur,” Fancy sighed. Vinyl couldn’t tell if he was more frustrated with Fleur or himself. “I know.”

“Then what changed?” Fleur demanded, her ire quickly rising.

“My priorities have shifted,” Fancy answered curtly, not looking up from his stack of letters.

Unsatisfied with his vaguery, Fleur drew closer to him. Vinyl leapt to her hooves to try to stop what might happen next. She was supposed to be helping these two, not just sitting idly by watching their relationship disintegrate.

Before she could stop Fleur, Fancy unknowingly halted the mare’s battle march by casually tossing a sealed letter into the fire. Fleur’s eyes widened and her mouth fell agape seeing the missive burn. The stallion skimmed the sender’s name of the next one and frowned before tossing it callously into the fire as well. That unread letter was then joined by another one. And then another. And another.

After the purge, only two unread letters were spared a fiery demise. Curious to see who the survivors were from, Vinyl craned her neck trying to catch sight of their senders. She didn’t need to see any names, immediately recognizing the familiar cheap pastel yellow and blue envelopes of Canterlot utility bills. The rest of the mail, all sealed with crests of famous noble houses, burned as kindling for Fancy’s fireplace without a second thought.

With a sigh of relief, Fancy turned towards the two mares, raising an eyebrow at their stunned silence. “Was there something else I could do for you?”

For once, Fleur failed to find a single word to utter and simply stared as the unopened envelopes curled and blackened from the flames.

“Nope. Everything’s fine! Right, Fleur?” Vinyl shoulder-bumped Fleur, trying to get a reaction from the catatonic mare.

Fleur nodded absently, her eyes flickering as once vitally important letters were reduced to smoke and ashes.

“Well okay then, if that is all, I need to go get properly dressed for my weekly tea time. I’ll see you at dinner.” And, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all, Fancy walked up the spiral stairs of the study and headed towards his room.

After watching the fire consume the corner of the last letter, Vinyl tapped Fleur on the shoulder, trying to shake her out of her stupor. “You still in there, sis?”

“That was—That just happened, right?” Fleur finally answered, her gaze still locked on the fireplace.

“You mean Fancy throwing a bunch of his fancy mail into the fireplace?” Vinyl asked, earning another slow nod from Fleur. “Yeah?”

Fleur swallowed with dry lips as she slowly turned to Vinyl. “I think something’s wrong with my brother.”

Fancy reached into his suit to pull out his pocket watch as he followed a royal guard to the princess’ sunroom. He was a bit early, but that was to be expected. He’d wrapped up his day before it had even started, only taking a brief break from the nothing he’d been doing to deal with some junk mail at the door. His inbox was looking exceptionally clean these days.

After his morning jog, purchasing the tickets, informing the venue of his plus-sized guest, and ironing his suit himself, he still had hours upon hours to do whatever struck his fancy. That shouldn't have been a problem. After all, he was the Kingmaker. He had all the money in the world to do whatever he wanted in the world. He just needed to find something he wanted to actually do first.

Fancy offered a quick thank you to his escort before customarily checking his worries at the door to the tea room. He took a deep breath and tried to clear every problem weighing him down out of his head. When that failed utterly, he stroked the quartz in his pocket several times and trotted into the sunroom anyway. His brief moment in the late afternoon sun came to a swift close as he was drawn into a dark blue night of feathers.

“Thank the stars you have finally come, dear Fancy Pants!”

“L-Luna!” Fancy exclaimed as his horn met her royal highnesses.

“Be still. Focus upon our voice and relax.”

Lunar magic sparked with silver starlight as the princess gently leaned her horn onto his. A wave of serenity rushed through Fancy’s body. It was a half-remembered, soothing sensation he’d felt in a dream once. The tranquility nearly lulled him to sleep on the spot until he managed to shake free of the princess’ surprise spell.

“Thank you, but don’t worry, Luna. I’m fine. Really,” Fancy said diplomatically while stepping away from the princess, but regretted it after seeing Luna flinch.

“Lies! We have stayed our hooves to respect thy desire for privacy, but we can bear it no longer!” Luna cried. He could see the bags under her eyes and stress shooting through her twitchy wings. “We intended to demand an explanation for drinking thyself into a stupor in the trembling presence of sweet Athena, but received our answer in the press the next morning.

“That contemptible money-changer!” Luna shouted royally with a thunderous stomp of her hoof. “How dare she, the miserly whelp!” The princess’ eyes pulsed with glowing light.

“Luna, it’s fine…” Fancy trailed as he noticed he could see his breath. Looking around, the air became heavy as it began to crystalize in the void of Luna’s desperate rage.

“‘Tis not fine!” Luna roared with as much strength her royal voice could manage. “And the thought we are powerless to strike her down where she stands—”

“LUNA!”

A star-shattering boom forced Fancy to the floor. Though not as loud as the Screech, Fancy still covered his ears from the overwhelming magical pressure as the air blazed in the fiery might of Princess Celestia’s Royal Canterlot Voice. In an instant, the withering chill was consumed by the intensity of the sun descending upon the room.

“S-sister,” Luna gasped at the sight of the elder princess’ scorching glare.

“You shall not pass judgment so lightly upon our subjects!” Celestia rebuked with absolute authority.

“But, sister! You do not understand. If you’d only seen his dreams!”

Celestia softened with pity as she closed her eyes and breathed deeply through her mouth. Solar wind breezed towards the Princess of the Sun, gathering a subtle, ancient strength as if the world itself was drawing a bracing breath.

“Sigōntōn…”

A stern, primal whisper shook the room, and at once, all became silent.

Fancy tried to stand, but Celestia’s commanding utterance yoked him to the floor. Looking up, Luna’s eyes had returned to their shimmering turquoise, but that was not all. Her majestic mane had flickered out, falling into a light blue mess alongside her coat fading into the same blue color as Fancy’s mane. Luna’s legs struggled to shoulder the burden of the oppressive silence her sister had ushered in. He tried to say something to make sure Luna was okay, but he couldn’t speak. His lips moved, he felt the tremble of his vocal cords, yet he was mute. In fact, everything seemed muted. Colors, light, the air itself. Nothing dared to oppose the word of Celestia.

Before he could muster the strength to turn to Princess Celestia, the world boomed back to life. Magic rushed back in to fill the vacuum that had been banished from by the will of the sun. It seemed Celestia had suffered ill-effects as well with her mane flowing back to its pastel ethereal form. She slowly opened her eyes and looked upon her sister in utter sorrow.

“Luna. Please.”

“But we—I cannot abide by this, sister,” Luna stammered as her magic returned to her, her mane slowly shimmering back to nebulous life, just as her starlit sky winked into existence every night.

“I beg of you, sister. If not for all of our little ponies, then for me. This place is special. We all need escape, and this is mine. In the warmth of spring and summer, I rest here and look at the flowers and listen to birdsong.” The elder sister stepped into the room, looking out upon the cold, waning daylight lighting the slumbering royal garden waiting patiently to spring back to life when the time was right. “Problems of the outside world are banished from this sanctuary for a reason. I wish to enjoy this fleeting peace we allow ourselves. If you wish to comfort our dear friend, then you may do so while respecting all life.”

Fully rebuked by her sister for her trespass, Luna lowered her head in shame. “You are right, dear sister. I have made the grave mistake of entertaining dark thoughts against others before. I should not do so, so lightly again. I will reflect on this.”

Celestia stepped up to her sister and lifted her head from the ground to see her loving eyes. “Thank you, my dear Luna. Forgive yourself. This too shall pass. Do not let such things marr the precious starlight on your face.”

Amid the two swans supporting each other in a boundless, sisterly love beyond mortal understanding, Fancy felt like an intruder. It was as if he stood upon sacred ground with dirty horse shoes, but could do nothing to clean them.

Then, after an eternity of heartfelt tenderness, Celestia shot an eyebrow up with a smirk. “All of that being said though, if you do wish to defend your mate’s honor, I might be convinced to resurrect a certain ancient tradition, within modern reason.”

With that, the illusion of divinity shattered completely into dust as the room fell silent for a completely different reason. Luna’s face and ears burned in the flames of hot embarrassment as she stammered trying to find her words again. “For the final time, Tia! Fancy Pants is our friend! Those are rumors being spread across the castle by salacious gossips!”

The elder sister shrugged as she let go of her little sister’s head. “Of course. Whatever you say. That’ll pass, too, eventually.” She took her seat and began preparing her high tea, sparing only a brief moment to look up at her fuming sister. “Oh, don’t be like that.”

“You are the one who said our words carry weight!”

“I did.”

“Then don’t play into falsehoods so lightly!”

“But they’re so fun, Lulu,” her royal highness, Princess Celestia, whined with the pouty disappointment of a foal.

“Very well, dear sister,” Luna sneered with a competitive smile. “If he is so wonderful in your eyes, why have you not taken him as your suitor?”

“Because it wouldn’t be proper. Fancy Pants is a Noble to me,” she replied without missing a beat.

“From what I can tell from the history that still exists,” Luna continued, earning a furrow of her sister’s brow, “that has not stayed your hoof with other nobles over the last few centuries.”

“Mind the sources you read, Lulu. I can assure you that any modern lineages that claim to be descended from me have been wildly exaggerated. Still, that is not what I meant. This stallion isn’t just a noble, Lulu, but a Noble One.”

“A Noble One? In the truest sense?" Luna balked and then smiled giddily. "My, my, dear Fancy Pants, you are truly one-of-a-kind.” Luna’s praise shied away as she considered the title. “Wait, but that means I would stay my hoof as well.”

“Excuse my interruption, your highnesses, but while I feel as though I should be flattered, I don’t know what you mean by a ‘Noble One,’” Fancy noted.

“Ah yes. A truly ancient custom, but one we still wordlessly follow.” Luna’s gaze turned skyward as she watched the warm twilight colors gently paint the clouds above, her eyes trained on the heavens beyond them. “The first nobles weren’t great heroes or renowned servants, but families who were our intergenerational friends: The Noble Ones. Those ones who were kind enough to share their whole lives with us and maintain it through their lineages. We knew them from birth till death as family, back before we were burdened with the responsibilities of Equestrian princesses.” Pulling her vision down to the present, she raised a hoof to her chest. “I was known as Lunaria then while Tia was—”

“Luna,” Celestia promptly interjected, “let’s not weigh Fancy down with details of something so far removed from the present that it might as well be a different world.”

Luna bristled at the interruption. “It is you who brought up such ancient history in the first place!”

“In passing only for your benefit as it is the recent history that matters here. It was meant for you to know just how special Fancy has been to me since his foalhood through his wonderful mother, Sauna Summers. She was both a marvelous masseuse and sensational singer who just wanted to make others happy.”

Luna shook her frustration with her sister away for the sake of their company and her own curiosity. “The more I hear about this amazing mare, the more I wish I could’ve met her.”

“Oh, you would’ve loved her, Lulu!” Celestia sparkled with fond nostalgia as she recalled her dear friend. “She was an inspiration to a generation, and to myself. A dear friend who left this world far too quickly. It’s a true blessing that she had such a noble son to continue her legacy of Noble friendship with me.” The princess’s fond smile twisted into a knowing grin towards her sister. “But only with me. As you said, it is regrettable that you never knew her, but there are certain other blessings such Noble ignorance grants.”

For a moment Luna blushed brightly again, but it was replaced by a somber frown. “You always believe yourself to be so clever, don’t you sister? Perhaps if our problems are not worthy of consideration, it would be best if we took our evening coffee in our chambers, alone.”

“Luna?” For once, Celestia seemed to be at a loss for words as she grew more concerned from her sister turning away from her. “Please. It was just harmless fun to lighten the mood, honest! Truly, all I ever wish for is for your eternal happiness.”

“Princess Celestia. If I may,” Fancy interjected between their sisterly feud. “I believe you said we should check our problems at the door a moment ago?”

“I suppose I went too far,” Celestia conceded. Taking a sip of tea, the solar princess smiled, turning her attention upon her former diplomat. “Then let us actually see about you then, my most Noble friend. It fills me with gladness to see you have joined us for high tea, dear Fancy Pants. I admit, I was worried about you, but I should’ve never doubted the resilience of my most capable envoy.”

“You are too kind, your highness,” Fancy said with a bow as he took his usual seat with Luna following behind. Still upset by her sister’s words, she moved her cushion closer to Fancy and draped a wing over his back. Celestia smiled warmly at her sister's gesture.

“I’m afraid I’m not the kindest one out of all of us tonight. I have been very unkind in keeping my distance from you in your time of need and to my sister’s needs just now,” Celestia apologized as she poured a cup of tea for her friend.

Fancy shook his head. “Had I felt it necessary, I would’ve requested your audience sooner.”

“And I respected that privacy until you stepped into this castle. Now that you are here, I do have something I can kindly offer to you.” She glinted with a familiar light from years past. “I wanted to ask you closer to the event, but in light of more recent ones, I think it would be better to ask you now.”

“Ah. Is it another request for me, your highness?” Fancy asked knowingly.

“Not a request, but an offer. Something to get you back on your hooves, though you are free to decline. While we must maintain a strict distance from weighing too heavily upon our little ponies' lives, politics falls more directly under our royal purview. I want to call upon you to assist me with a diplomatic matter: one involving the Crystal Empire.”

The briefest tempting thought of revenge crossed Fancy’s mind. Doing something in service to both the Crystal Empire and Equestria over Upper Crust certainly bore a tasteful sense of polite society revenge. However, it would mean interacting with the one that inspired him to step down from his position in the first place. The risk was far too great for satisfying trivial desires. “Princess, I’m not sure that is a good idea.”

Both royal sisters replied with their own quizzical confusion scrawled across their faces.

“I was expecting outright rejection, but not this. May I ask why?” Celestia asked.

Fancy sighed, considering his words carefully. He didn’t want to say it, but it would eventually lead back to it no matter how he spun it. He might be able to get around Princess Celestia, but he knew Luna wouldn’t allow him to mince words for long at all. “To put it bluntly, I don’t think your niece likes me. It might be enough to jeopardize the mission.”

“What?” Luna shouted with a tremble of royalty. Her wings flared out as she leaned over to Fancy in disbelief. “You? The epitome of noble chivalry in an era devoid of such notions? How can this be? There must be some mistake!”

“I don’t know. I don’t recall doing something to offend the Princess of Love in the past, but she’s always been very… uncomfortable around me. You’d think I’d remember upsetting a royalty before.”

Celestia narrowed her eyes as a tiny frown crossed her face. “She will need to get used to your presence soon enough. I will not allow animosity to fester over misunderstandings. Even though you’ve stepped down from your position at my side, you’re both a dear friend to both me and my sister and a major figure in the fabric of modern Equestria.”

Fancy felt the urge to grasp the quartz in his pocket, but he opted to clean his monocle so as to not arouse suspicion. “I’m not so sure I want to be the latter anymore. Truthfully, I’m not even sure what I am meant to do.”

Luna nodded in understanding and pulled him closer into a wing hug.

“All the more reason to take on this challenge I’m offering you,” the elder princess urged as she tapped a hoof on the tea table. “I believe you are perfectly suited in helping Luna with managing the Imperial delegation.”

Luna’s comforting aura crumbled away as her attention whipped back to her sister in shock. “What are you playing at, sister? Why is this the first time we are hearing of such a change of plans?”

Celestia shook her head. “There is no play here. I always intended to ask you to take charge of this, dear sister. I just wanted to make sure you were ready, and I believe you are.” Celestia winked at Fancy in thanks for his service before returning her attention to her sister. “We are meant to rule together, you and I, but I haven’t let you take charge of anything since your return.”

“That is because we cannot be trusted,” Luna argued as she shrank into herself. “We have been an utter foal in public these past moons. It is still far too early for one as clumsy as us! We have yet to stand firmly within modern Equestria.”

“For once, I believe we can use our time apart as a source of strength,” Celestia countered with a complicated smile. Luna’s ears perked at the claim. “You may not be over the trauma I inflicted upon you—”

“Sister, you didn’t—”

Celestia raised her hoof, quieting her sister. “Please. Let me finish. While I failed you utterly in the past, you are in a unique position to empathize with a citizenry displaced by time.”

Luna paused as she considered the notion. “You mean to say that something good may finally come from me becoming—”

“That was not you!” Celestia snapped back in a solar flare of anger. After a smoldering moment, she recovered herself with a cough before continuing. “The world they existed in is far fresher in your mind than mine. This is the perfect opportunity to get your ruling hooves wet again,” the elder princess assured. “The treaty with the Crystal Empire is very likely to occur, but not a forgone conclusion. Cadance has recused herself from making any formal decisions outside of signing the finalized treaty. The crystal ponies will be the ones to strike a balance between ourselves and their reemergent city-state.”

Luna tapped her hooves together nervously. “Even so, do you really believe that I am capable? You were always the one with the better mind for the light side of politics.”

Celestia smiled tenderly at her precious sister. “I do. There is no doubt in my mind. I can go over the finer details with you later, but our proposed terms are fairly favorable for them. The major hurdle was taken care of in the preliminary negotiations.”

Fancy nodded in thought. “I can imagine bringing the Empire up to speed with a thousand years of political change would take some time.”

“Surprisingly, that wasn’t it. When the Crystal Empire returned, the minds of its inhabitants were somewhat confused. It’s why Cadance’s coronation hasn’t happened yet, but we don’t foresee any problems, despite her Equestrian heritage. Those who have recovered fully appear to be overjoyed to crown somepony who resonates so deeply with the Crystal Heart. However, many are still suffering the aftereffects of Sombra’s domination, so we’ve only negotiated the terms at length with Cadance.”

Fancy tapped his chin. “I can see how that could pose a problem, and why Luna might be better equipped to relate to their desires if they’re based upon the knowledge from a thousand years ago.”

“On the mark as always, my capable envoy. As they continue to emerge from the fog, they will surely have desires we could not anticipate. That’s hopefully where you come in, Fancy Pants.”

“I understand your strategy in relying upon Luna’s fresher experience with the Empire, but why do you want a stallion like me? I’ve never dealt with them in any meaningful way.”

“True, but your special talent of discernment would be invaluable. This is not a negotiation of balancing powers, but how we can best grant power back to those who have lost it in good faith. You are the perfect negotiator to help my sister with maintaining the needs of modern Equestria while aiding our ancient friends in recovering their lost heritage.”

“Your highness, this is a monumental responsibility.”

“It is,” Celestia agreed, cutting him off before he could ask her to reconsider. “I was going to make this a more formal request later, but after what happened, I wanted to do what I can to help my Noble friend.”

The princess looked towards her waning sun. The light shimmered in her timeless pools, reflecting a deep sorrow bubbling underneath the surface. “My sister and I were called upon to become caretakers of Heavenly Harmony. Despite the tremendous power we wield, we aren’t goddesses. For this reason, we must be absolutely clear about the lines we must never cross. As co-ruler of Equestria, I protect all of my little ponies equally, even if my desires as Celestia the pony are at odds with it. To do otherwise could prove… catastrophic.

“So, please. I will not order you, but I beg you to consider. It is the only help I can offer you. Take this chance to rise above the squabbling gentry and show the world, and more importantly yourself, who you are.”

Fancy sighed as he looked down at his hooves. “And who is that, princess?”

“You will know that answer in time.” The solar princess closed her eyes and sipped her tea. “Take comfort from your dearly departed mother, Fancy. Sauna Summers didn’t limit herself to her mark. She found more things in life that she enjoyed and expanded her horizons. If not for her boldness, you wouldn’t exist. With your talents, all you need to do is try.”

“Thank you for trying to cheer me up,” Fancy said with a chuckle. “You both are too kind to a washed-up stallion such as myself.”

“It is a lifetime too early for you to think such thoughts. It was always my intention to enlist your aid in this business with the Empire. That being said, you shouldn’t see this as a mere extension of your former responsibilities to me,” Celestia assured as she placed her hoof on Fancy’s. “Now more than ever, I want you to rise above your peers like your mother did before and thrive. Just as Luna needs to see she has her place in this world, you must see yours.”

The princess withdrew her hoof and straightened herself to her fullest height as she looked upon both Fancy and Luna in solar authority. “So, will you two accept this task?”

With no intention of answering the question before her lunar highness, Fancy looked to Luna for her answer first. The younger princess waxed and waned between her sister and Fancy as an internal debate raged across her flittering eyes. To ensure it wasn’t him holding her back from the decision, he nodded to Luna in unvoiced support.

“If you truly believe us to be adequate, we—rather I accept this task,” she answered while turning herself back to Fancy, “provided Fancy Pants is willing to assist me in this endeavor.”

“Of course, dear sister. There is no one else I would entrust you to.” Celestia’s eternal gaze fell upon Fancy. While it was as gentle as sunbeams shining through his window in the morning, the first light commanded those under it to start their day.

“You’ve always had such a way with words, your highness,” her most capable envoy relented. “I believe I already accepted being Princess Luna’s escort. An ‘ambassador of today’ is how you put it if my memory serves right. I wouldn’t dare abandon her now.”

Celestia smiled with the serenity of Elysium. “You know me too well, Sir Fancy Pants.”

“But of course. It has always been my business to know you.”

Celestia bowed her head towards him, pointing her horn to his in the same manner she had when knighting him all of those years ago. “From the bottom of my heart, you truly are my dearest Noble friend in this generation. However, with your acceptance, the Crystal treaty has become a diplomatic problem to be solved outside of these peaceful walls. In this moment, let’s enjoy the passing of the day into night as we look forward to spending more time together.”

As the sister’s took hold of their celestial orbs, the room filled with their ancient magics bestowed to them during a time only known to them. In the presence of both heavenly bodies, their powers swirled around the room in perfect harmony, wrapping him in a temperate breeze of warm embraces and comforting coolness.

Despite the heavenly beauty, Fancy’s thoughts were fixated on the mild dread of confronting the third princess again. From the time they met, she always forced a smile while trying to escape him, and he wasn’t sure why. He gripped the quartz in his pocket, hoping neither alicorn would notice the faint aura of stress from his paltry polishing.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 30: L'exposition

“Okay, so we’re agreed on rhyming ‘greed’ with ‘steed?’” Sunny asked the rest of the group.

“Unless we can come up with something better, I say it stays, shug,” Summers answered. “Let’s get something down on paper first. We can fix it later if we need to.”

A stallion buzzed in over an intercom. “Miss Sauna Summers? You’ve got a visitor out front.”

“Tell ‘em we’re busy!” Summers barked back. There was a pause on the other side as a few murmurs filtered through from the studio, but Vinyl couldn’t make them out on the recording. “Look, fellas. Unless it’s Princess Celestia herself, I’m not interested. We’re in the middle—”

“It’s Mister Suede Shoes.”

“Suede? What the hay is that—” the record cut off Summers abruptly. Vinyl groaned knowing she was missing vital history, but Sunny was always quick to not waste record space. At least, she assumed it was her. Sunny always seemed to be the one to stop the recordings.

A few pops later and the record roared back to life amid yelling. “—you can’t be serious! He’s the enemy, Summers!” Springstep fumed, causing Vinyl to flinch from the sudden ear-splitting arguing in her ears.

“Take a chill pill, Spring. It’s just a few flowers. Now, where did we leave—”

“No, Summers! You get real! We’re supposed to be showing those chumps on the Drive how it’s done, not making nice with them!”

“He said he was sorry for being such a turkey. We’re all musicians trying to make it in Canterlot, right? Might as well take him at his word.”

“I can’t believe you,” Spring muttered, her words dripping with hurt contempt. “He hates you! He hates us! All those high-class fat cats hate us!”

“I mean, she’s right, you know,” Autumn Aria agreed with an airy whisper. “We haven’t been able to join you on stage for months because of them.”

“I know, Autumn, I know. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t just leave him hanging when his partner flaked. I used to sing the duet all the time, so I just filled in, you feel me?”

“Groovy,” Spring seethed in disgust. “If you’re down with saving that bogart’s skin, then I’m out of here!”

“C’mon Spring, it ain’t like that at all. Why not shove a little kindness in their face to make ‘em think for a sec? If he’s lying, then we’ll really let him have it next time,” Summers joked.

“He’s playing you, Summers, and if you’re gonna be that out to lunch…” Spring scoffed at the unspoken implication. A door creaked open before she continued. “I’ve had it. I know a phony when I see one, and that’s you!”

The door slammed, leaving the other three performers in the room. A deafening silence hung over the empty space in the recording with only the soft sniffles of Autumn’s crying seeping into the soundscape.

“Let her cool off, Summers,” Sunny finally said. “She doesn’t—” There was a desperate scrambling of hooves as somepony ran out the door. “Wait, Summers! Don’t—”

“Duty calls!” Fleur shouted as she lifted Vinyl’s headphones, cutting Sunny off. Vinyl’s vision was filled with purple and pink as Fleur popped in front of her. Thankfully, the DJ had been getting used to it and caught herself before tilting back too far in her chair. “Ready to go, Vy?”

“Y-yeah,” Vinyl assured herself.

Fleur frowned as she backed up to give her sister some space. “Wanna talk about it?” she asked, not bothering to entertain the blatant lie.

“No. I was hoping to calm down with a little archiving, but…”

“It’ll be fine. I’ll be right there with you the entire time.” Fleur squeezed a quick hug, trying to wring every ounce of worry out of her best sister. “Besides, it’s only one song. It’ll be over before you know it. You’re gonna be amazing tonight, sis.” Seeing Vinyl still struggling with it, Fleur turned Vinyl’s seat towards her and put her forehooves on her dear friend’s shoulders. “Look at me. You’ve got this.”

Vinyl averted her eyes. “But I’m still messing up the coda.”

“Coda, Schmoda, à la mode-a,” Fleur dismissed with a razzberry. “Just repeat after me: ‘I’ve got this, sister.’”

“I’ve got this, sister…” Vinyl sighed.

“Once more, with feeling!” Fleur commanded as Lady Faire, holding her hoof aloft with a trembling, dramatic power.

“I got this, sister.”

“Better,” Fleur complimented as she dropped the act. “Now, ‘I got this on lock.’”

“I got this on lock.”

“Louder!"

“I got this on lock!”

“With conviction!” she urged, throwing on her Luna voice.

“I said, I got this on lock!”

“Now, speak! ‘Rule two is not necessary!’”

“Rule two is absolutely necessary!” Vinyl flared back, denying the faux-princess her decree.

“Nuts. Thought I could sneak that one in,” Fleur giggled cheekily with a saccharine smile. “Fine. Let’s get going, Vy. We’ve gotta help everypony else set up.”

Vinyl suppressed a sigh as she lowered her shades over her eyes. She was hoping for some good old wisdom from the disco queen’s recordings, but Summers was having just as difficult a time as she was right now. DJ Pon-3 wasn’t supposed to be nervous in front of ponies anymore. Between Cantrips, the ESPA, and her solo gigs, she'd performed hundreds, maybe even thousands of times, but those were before the Vinyl Screech.

She didn’t want to care. Before, Vinyl could take comfort in knowing there was nopony but herself to disappoint. It was more than just making ponies dance now, though. There were friends she cared about; real friends. She wanted them to be happy, to be proud of her.

Mommy’s so proud—

Vinyl flooded her mind with music to drown out the intrusive voice. She was finally opening up. That was a good thing. Everypony else was telling her that was a good thing. She just had to focus on them; just had to remember them and only them. With Fleur at her side, Vinyl had this. She had it on lock. And even if she was DJ Pon-3 tonight, rule one was absolutely necessary.

The streets bustled with activity outside the Society’s Rosen Aria Concert Hall. While not the premier venue of the Theatre District, the reported attendance of both princesses was enough to make it the number one destination in Canterlot. Thankfully, the castle had kept their presence a secret until the last minute, so there were plenty of ponies from all trots of life waiting to enter. There’d be plenty there wanting to watch the show rather than simply be seen at the same place as a princess.

However, the current center of attention was drawn to a towering midnight blue dress. The evening gown streaked with soft, silver stars flowing down from the shoulder, broadening towards the base in a glistening band of starlight. Its bold beauty was undermined by the nerve-wracked minotaur accompanying the Kingmaker of Canterlot to the Performer Showcases.

“Are you sure I should be here?” Athena asked as she tried to make herself look smaller. She couldn’t help but force a smile at the ponies looking curiously at her while engaged in their own conversations. Other, less tactful foals, stared, gobsmacked by her huge presence.

“Of course, Athena. Why wouldn’t you be welcome? You’re as much a Canterlotian as anyone else here, pony or not.” Fancy tisked seeing how she was bending her knees. “Now, now remember what Luna said about your posture. The flounce shouldn’t be dragging the floor,” he reminded her, pointing to the fabric on the ground.

“Why are you two so insistent about that?” she whimpered sadly.

“Because there’s nothing to be ashamed of, Athena. You’re just you. Besides, the dress flows better when standing at your full height.”

“That’s because Luna had it made that way!” she complained while pulling at her horns. “And why did they make it so revealing?”

Inspecting his taller guest, he hummed as he noticed far more fluff showing than usual. Fancy knew first-hoof that it could’ve been a lot more with the princess’ inexperience with Minoan modesty culture. While he didn’t necessarily agree with Luna’s methods, he had to admit that it was a good way to ensure their towering friend wasn’t stressing her spine all the time.

“I suppose it is a touch more open than what you normally wear,” Fancy admitted.

“A touch? She told me I couldn’t wear my undersleeves! My arms and back are… exposed,” the minotaur mumbled as she hid her face behind her matching purse.

Perhaps the restriction of sleeves was a bit much, but being a student of Luna himself, he knew she was more of a trial-by-fire kind of teacher. “Are you cold?”

Athena bit her lip. “Well, no. But it’s just that I’m—”

“Beautiful, my dear,” Fancy assured his timid friend. “You might be built a bit sturdier than most, but whether those muscles of yours are magically induced or not, you shouldn’t feel like you have to hide who you are. You don’t want to develop a hunchback, do you?”

Athena mumbled a complaint to herself, but relented. “If you say so.”

The minotaur took a calming breath and straightened up, popping the knot in her back while heaving a sigh of relief from the pressure. Athena looked down and smiled seeing her furry toes peeking out from the dress. They were wrapped in the ensemble’s beautiful, matching silver sandals. She giggled as she wiggled them freely. “Maybe this isn’t so bad.”

“See? You’re looking better already,” Fancy said, craning his neck up at his foreign friend.

Athena nodded and blushed at the compliment. Her elation was short-lived upon noticing the street light next to her that she was now eye-level with. She slowly reached her hand over her horns’ tips, swiveling her wrist back and forth freely as they rose taller than the post itself. “Oh Hades…”

“Don’t worry, Athena. I’ve escorted dragons larger than you through Canterlot before. If anypony has a problem, just take a page from their book and look threatening,” Fancy joked.

“Can we just get inside, please?” the meek minotaur begged. “They just opened the doors.”

“They have?” Fancy looked over towards the concert hall, but couldn’t tell past the mass of his fellow ponies. “See? Your good posture is already paying off. Let’s get going.”

Despite her hesitation, escorting Athena through the throng of ponies was quite easy, as it usually was when accompanying large creatures. Fancy took point to lead them through, with most ponies moving out of the way of the minotaur as she took careful steps through the colorful crowd. She shyly waved at the ponies she passed by, trying to alleviate their nerves as well as hers.

“You okay back there?” Fancy asked.

“Just trying not to trip.” Athena forced a smile as they pushed towards the entrance.

As promised, the theater had double doors for Athena to comfortably duck under as the two made their way inside. Athena was able to stand up straight, only tilting her head to avoid bonking a horn on the occasional light fixture. After grabbing a couple of programs from one of the volunteer greeters, Fancy pointed towards a larger, less-traveled staircase up to another level. The minotaur heaved a sigh of relief as the number of ponies around thinned out, allowing her to take more confident steps.

Athena stopped in her tracks as the two emerged onto the middle level overlooking the deceptive simplicity of the Rosen Aria Hall. She couldn’t help but marvel at how small she stood amid the vast forest of lumber curved above them. The hewn walls towered over them with seating wrapping around in a long, ovaloid cone tapering down towards the stage below. Rows of red velvet cushions fanned out from center stage, ensuring everypony in the gallery would have the best-sounding experience no matter their viewpoint.

“Rosen Aria was the inventor of the lyre,” Fancy explained, bringing Athena out of her quiet awe. “The architects took inspiration from the ancient unicorn’s instrument and modeled the venue out of it. It’s gone through a few changes since the ESPA took it over, including modifying the stage to pull out if they don’t need the orchestra pit, but I’m glad you seem to like it.”

“I guess I was just expecting it to be small too.”

“Not everything about us is little, despite what their majesties may call us.”

“Right. Well, I still don’t want to block anyone's view, so…” Athena looked around, spotting a gap in the seating near a wall. “I guess I’ll stand over there?”

“Not at all. We will be seated in the back over there.” Fancy pointed his horn towards a corner where the seating looked more like an ascending staircase of scaling chairs. Above all of them was a set of large sliding doors with no connected flooring.

“Just choose which seems the most comfortable to you and have a seat.”

Walking up to one of the middle chairs, she carefully lowered herself onto the cushion while maintaining the flow of her dress. She leaned back and sighed comfortably. “Wow. This is pretty nice. The armrest is way too low though. Really wide, too.”

“That’s because those aren’t armrests, Athena.” Fancy climbed the stairs behind the chairs and sat down at her side. “A good host can’t leave their company in the lurch now, can they?” For once, he sat slightly higher than his friend, though it was mostly due to the seat being designed for a perched dragon. Athena didn’t need to know that she’d walked right past the minotaur section.

“I told you they’d have plenty of room for you. They even have an elder dragon window, though it hasn’t been used in quite some time.” Fancy pointed up at a set of double sliding doors flanked by small boxed seating sections. He swept his hoof to a lavishly decorated balcony box with celestial motifs draped over them. “And over there is where the princesses will be sitting.”

Athena nodded along, but noticed a distinct lack of any royal presence. “Where is Luna anyway?”

“Athena!” As if answering a summons, the lunar princess appeared from the entryway to the balcony and galloped up to her friends. She leapt into Athena’s lap like a large dog and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Luna!” Athena returned the warm gesture. “I’m so glad to see a friendly face around here. I’ve been getting gawked at since I got here thanks to your dress!”

“This is most pleasing news!” Luna clopped her forehooves together in excitement. “Stand tall so I may see the full glory of the night on display!”

“That’s not what I meant!”

“I’d like to see this dress that my sister is so excited about as well,” said a voice as warm as a summer breeze.

Athena’s face sunk in horror as her head whipped around to see the other pony joining them. Trotting calmly towards the three friends with smooth and powerful steps was Luna’s older sister.

“Princess Celestia!” Athena shouted as she quickly stood to her feet. Luna yelped from the world turning ninety degrees as she tumbled from her friend’s lap to the floor. “Oh! Sorry!” Athena bent down and picked up Luna, righting the dizzy princess to her hooves.

The elder princess chuckled as she backed out of the way of the panicked minotaur's movements. “Mind your horns, Miss Cypriel.”

Athena went rigid, locking her arms to her side. Her eyes wandered trying to determine if eye contact was rude or not. “R-right! Sorry, your majesty.”

“Gracious me. It’s not every day I have to look up at a minotaur. I haven’t seen one as large as you for quite some time.”

“Sorry, your highness.”

“That’s nothing to apologize for. I do know a thing or two about being the biggest one in the room. Just make sure you don’t eat any more titan berry cobblers. I’d rather not have to redirect traffic around a guest if I don’t have to.” Celestia smiled, causing Athena to shoot an embarrassed glare at Luna. “I hear you’ve been helping my sister with your cooking expertise. I can’t thank you enough for being a good friend to my precious sister."

“Oh! Right. You’re welcome, your…”

Fancy leaned over and whispered into Athena’s ear. “Highness.”

“Again? But I already used that one!”

“It’s fine.”

“Your highness!” Athena parroted.

Celestia chuckled at the giant's nervous display. “Of course, Miss Cypriel. Canterlot, and all of Equestria, is better for your gift of food and friendship.” She turned her gaze towards her most capable envoy and smiled sweetly. “I hope you’re doing better yourself, Fancy Pants.”

“I’m no worse for wear, Princess. Thank you for your concern.”

Celestia nodded, not digging any further into the stallion’s mental state. Instead, she took note of the dress flowing down the front of the minotaur. “Draping your new friend in your stars, Luna? If I’m not mistaken, that’s the Path to Elysium.”

“Indeed, dear sister,” Luna bragged as she hovered next to her friend. “Standing upright, Athena is the perfect canvas to fully display the Andromaredra galaxy’s heavenly road in all of its magnificent glory.”

Celestia studied the minotaur momentarily before spreading a smile across her face. “It’s lovely Miss Cypriel. You wear it well.”

“Thank you, Princess Celestia.”

Luna threw her forelegs around her friend. “My joy is as boundless as the sky above seeing you wearing the stars so brilliantly! You look wonderful.”

Athena blushed at the over-the-top declaration. “T-thanks, Luna. But couldn’t you have made the dress less… showy?”

“What? And hide your lovely qualities behind even more needless coverings? Many a fine warrior would kill to have the strength you seem to draw shame from!” Luna said with disbelief. “I refuse to play into your needless fears!”

“Lulu, some creatures have different standards of dress.” Celestia trotted around the side of Athena, looking over the low-cut V ending at the middle of the minotaur’s rippling back. “Perhaps next time you should consult Fancy Pants before devising such a gift for your friend? You wouldn’t want to create a misunderstanding.”

Luna frowned and landed next to her sister with a huff. “My apologies for my insensitive aesthetic choices, Athena. And to you, Fancy Pants, thank you for suggesting the changes to conceal her refined abdominal musculature.”

Athena tilted her head at the wording until she pieced the princess’ meaning into a revealing midriff and flashed beet red. The modest minotaur covered her mouth and leaned over to her host to whisper “thank you”. She clasped her hands at her waist on instinct to hide the washboard under the dress.

Celestia’s eyes subtly bounced between Luna and Athena. “It is rare for my sister to share her skies with somepony else, and even rarer with someone else. To think, a thousand years ago I’d never thought I’d see the day that my sister befriended a minotaur.” She draped a wing over Luna and leaned down. “Lulu, would you like to sit with Fancy Pants and Miss Cypriel this evening?”

Luna paused, giving her older sister a quizzical look. “What?”

“I’m sure you’d rather sit with your good friends than your overbearing older sister.” Celestia ruffled Luna’s nebulous mane. “We’ll have the rest of the nights to be together.”

“Neigh! Tis the first evening of the Showcases, and I wish to showcase our united front to our little ponies.” Luna frowned and nuzzled her older sister. “We have so little time when our schedules overlap during the night; I wanted to spend it with you.”

Celestia brightened with solar warmth at her sister’s sweetness. “Of course, Lulu. I just thought Fancy Pants might need your support more than me right now.”

“If they wish to sit with us, perhaps they could join us on the balcony?”

Athena paled at the distance between the royal balcony and the floor below. “T-that’s okay. I wouldn’t want to put it to the test. I’m a little heavy.”

“And you wear it well, Athena.” Celestia looked towards the minotaur’s noble escort. “And I suppose you’d rather not leave your guest behind, Fancy Pants?”

“Perish the thought, your highness,” Fancy said with a hoof to his chest. “I’m afraid I’m spoken for tonight.”

Celestia lingered on the stallion before nodding. “Very well. If you’re sure. Then, if you will excuse us, we need to greet other attendees before enjoying the show ourselves. Even during leisurely outings, royal duties never truly rest.” Celestia bowed to Athena. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Athena Cypriel. May your friendship with my sister last a lifetime.”

“We look forward to discussing the performances with the both of you after the show! We are so excited to see what our little ponies have in store for us!” Luna hovered up to Athena and gave her another firm hug. “This night shall be divine!”

Luna exchanged a bow with Fancy Pants before fluttering back down to the upper section’s entrance. Celestia’s ancient eyes lingered on the minotaur with a smile as serene as Elysium before turning away to join her sister.

“See? Nothing to worry about,” Fancy assured his large friend.

Athena slumped back down in her seat and sighed in relief at the royal’s departure. “Y-yeah.”

“Oh, come now, Athena. Princess Celestia was very welcoming and complimentary.”

“I don’t think she likes me,” Athena mumbled with a tremble as she twiddled her thumbs.

“Nonsense. You’re reading too much into it. She’s just very… protective of Luna. Princess Celestia can get rather heated when it comes to matters pertaining to her. Trust me.”

Athena nodded solemnly, but said nothing in response.

Fancy considered saying something further, but was running up against a familiar royal problem. He had been able to break the ice between her and Luna, but despite knowing Princess Celestia for far longer, she was much harder to pin down. She was the blazing sun; apparent and predictable, but blindingly so. Her movements were as plain as the day, but the intentions behind were obscured behind her brilliant light.

Meanwhile, Luna was her soft moon. A mystery to distant strangers, but honestly showing those she trusted who she was, flaws and all. You either accepted her or you didn’t, though Fancy couldn’t imagine anypony who got to know Luna would reject her. If they caught who she really was, they were safe as long as they remained on her good side.

As he watched the two royals exit, he noticed them pausing to bow to somepony coming up the stairs. Fancy leaned to get a better look and caught sight of a familiar, bespectacled gray stallion he hadn’t seen in months: Jet Set.

“I’ll be right back Athena. There’s somepony I need to speak to for a moment.”

Athena nodded and pulled out the showcase program from her purse. Fancy hopped down and followed the world traveler to a quiet, unassuming corner. Knowing the stallion, he was curious why he wasn’t making more of a show of his presence.

“Good evening, Jet Set. I’m surprised to see you here.”

The stallion raised an eyebrow, but barely broke eye contact with the reading material he was hovering in his face. “Same to you, Fancy Pants. I didn’t think you usually came to these shows.”

“Usually? Do you?”

“I try to make the most of my membership,” Jet Set stated evenly as he flashed said proof at Fancy from his wallet.

“Consider me doubly surprised. Is Upper Crust coming as well?”

“It’d be news to me if she was. She doesn’t enjoy such events unless there is something to be made from it. Though with the princesses being here, Upper Crust may kick herself later for missing out.”

“Her loss,” Fancy said with a shrug. “This is where the cutting edge of music is presented. Who knows, we might be witnessing the debut of a new musical legend tonight.”

“If you crown anyone after the show, I’ll be sure to pass the information along for her to make the proper investments. Is that why you’re here?”

“No. I’m here with a friend to see the young ponies who are benefitting from the Summers-Suede Endowment.” Fancy pointed a hoof towards the section Athena was sitting at. Jet Set leaned over, seeing the massive minotaur holding the small pamphlet carefully as she tried to read about the upcoming performances.

“You’ve always kept the strangest company, Fancy Pants,” Jet Set remarked coolly as he leaned back down.

“Seeing what the world has to offer keeps life interesting.”

“I can respect that, though I’ve always preferred to travel alone when I can.” Jet Set flipped through the program's pages and stopped when he found the listing for Fleur de Lis and Vinyl Scratch. “I try to keep my distance from troublesome matters.”

Fancy held back his annoyed frown from Jet Set’s cold shoulder. While the stallion was usually aloof, it was rarely so passive-aggressive. Fancy wanted to take the hint, but he couldn’t ignore the opportunity to potentially get Upper Crust off of Vinyl’s back.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Fancy said, drawing a deeper frown from his present company, “why haven’t I seen you around as of late?”

Jet Set hummed to himself. “Says the Kingmaker in absentia.”

“While it is true I’ve been a bit of a recluse, I still find it odd that I didn’t see you at the Festival of Flakes nor your own Hearth’s Warming party.”

“Right. That.” Jet Set put away his reading material, deciding to have the conversation Fancy Pants wanted. “If you must know, I’ve simply been focusing more on myself recently.”

“What do you mean?”

“In a word, we’re on a break, or rather I’m on a break. With my wife finally hitting her stride in Canterlot, I’ve decided to let Upper Crust take life by the reins, as they say, without me. Far be it from me to get in the way of success.”

“But you’re no stranger to success yourself, Jet Set.”

The stallion laughed haughtily. It rang with a grating high-society smarm far too similar to his wife’s. “Sereni-Tea might be the family business, but I’ve never had a mind for such things. The curse of the wrong cutie mark, I suppose.”

“I wouldn’t sell yourself so short. Why, it wasn’t long ago at all that you sponsored one of the Canterlot Garden Parties with Upper Crust.”

“That feels like a lifetime ago now. Also, unlike you, I don’t recall the event very fondly. That countryside dressmaker showed her true pastoral colors that night with her friends. Made a mess of things just as they did at the Gala. Sister was furious,” Jet Set complained as he turned his nose up at the memory.

“May I remind you that those six countryside ponies are also close friends of the princesses?”

“The political angle doesn’t concern me. I only bother with the results that affect me financially. I’d rather live off my legacy than risk losing it like you do.”

Fancy tilted his head. “I don’t quite follow.”

“Please, Fancy Pants. I’ve known since I was a colt that Sereni-Tea would have me set for life regardless of what I did. It’s just fortunate that my parents had the foresight to have a second foal who bore a more useful talent than me in the end. It made my life all the easier.”

Despite not agreeing with the underlying sentiment, Fancy nodded along. Ruby Rosette was a powerhouse of the finery world. She’d always been a safe investment, continuing the legacy of the Sereni-Tea brand with her eye for design. Her Floral Rosary line had been a hit among tea aficionados, especially with Princess Celestia's love of Rose Congou. Fancy was fairly certain it was Sereni-Tea porcelain they used at their weekly high teas.

“Frankly, I’m surprised you’ve been trying as hard as you have,” Jet Set added.

“I suppose I could’ve coasted through life on my family’s earnings, but I wanted to be a good steward of my parents' wealth.” The old, familiar guilt slumped in Fancy’s stomach. “It’s the least I could do after what I put them through growing up.”

“And to think I was jealous of you once. The Fancy Pants from back then was quite the wild stallion. To see how you ultimately turned out…” Jet Set trailed with a shrug. “I suppose with your Kingmaker mark, it was a much easier path to go down than mine would’ve been. My mark is pretty useless in the grand scheme of things.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Fancy said as he began considering various paths the wanderlusting stallion could go down. “You do know how to plan a good resort vacation. Why not open up a travel agency or write a column about your trips?”

Jet Set scoffed at the very notion. “Unless you intend to crown me ‘King of Vacations,’ I think I’ll do what I’ve always done and relax when I want to get away from it all. I’m not exactly interested in sharing my secrets.”

“Sounds rather unsustainable if you ask me.”

“Special talent, remember?” Jet Set bragged with a winning smile. “I know how to relax without spending more than I have coming in. And in the event that I am called upon to actually do something with Sereni-Tea, I have a great insurance policy in Upper Crust.”

“Upper Crust would have the business savvy to help you if necessary, I suppose.”

Jet Set laughed harder than before as he shook his head. “No, you misunderstand. Upper Crust is the insurance policy.”

Fancy grimaced at the pride Jet Set held for the notion.

“Oh, please. Why do you think I married a commoner like her in the first place? Sure she’s beautiful, but more importantly, she’s driven. I’m next in line for the family business if something ever happens to Ruby. I’d rather pass the responsibility off to somepony that knows what to do with it than deal with something so troublesome.”

“So you asked her to marry you for such a shallow reason?”

“Not at all. It was her idea in the first place." Jet Set laughed smugly once more, driving Fancy’s magic into his pocket. "She gets access to Teaset family connections and a noble, and I get to live the carefree lifestyle I’m used to. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. My old noble titles are only worth as much as they can support me, but a mare like her can make use of them.”

Fancy’s stomach churned as he reached for his crystal to calm himself down. “Doesn’t such a life feel empty in a way?”

“I’m a simple stallion with simple needs. I don’t need more than that.”

“You never know until you’ve tried. Perhaps you’d enjoy a challenge or two.”

Jet Set shot a sharp glare at his company. “Spare me the clichés. Some of us found out about our limits the hard way.” Jet Set’s glower diminished as he sighed to himself. “Tell me, Fancy Pants. Have you ever had children?”

“Most eligible bachelor in Canterlot, remember?”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, such things have never stopped nature taking its course.” Jet Set smirked knowingly. “Recalling that wild stallion back when me and Upper Crust had just gotten married, I thought perhaps there’s more to Fleur than we thought.”

“While I’d welcome the idea, I assure you she’s not.” Fancy sighed, thinking about that dark time in his life that always came back to bite him. “If you can believe it, I was too proud for such intimacy when I was younger. Nopony was good enough for me. I was both wild and wildly immature.”

“Myopically misogynistic in a mare’s world?” Jet Set cackled once more. The stallion’s voided laugh caused Fancy to reactively clutch the quartz in his coat. “If only I had been so foolish.”

“You say that like you have foals.” Fancy tried to recall any signs of a child at their mansion from the Hearth’s Warming Eve party, but he couldn’t recall even seeing a family photo with the mystery foal.

The proud stallion’s laughter died as he sunk into his seat. “‘Had’ would be the operative word. Glitterati didn’t make it much past her cute-ceañera.”

“Oh. I’m so—”

“Don’t.” Jet Set took a deep breath as he looked down at his hooves. “I was never good father material. Life taught me that in one of the worst ways possible. We’ve tried—Well, I’ve tried my best to forget about the girl. I thought we were both in agreement after what happened, but Upper Crust thinks differently now. Thanks for that, by the way.”

Fancy frowned. “What did I do?”

“The wife has been riding so high on the Empire deal you invested in, and now she wants to have another. ‘An heir born from both noble legacy and new wealth’ is how I believe she pitched it.” The stallion reached under the sweater draped over his back into a hidden saddlebag and produced a flask. He downed some of its dulling contents before hiding it again. “I decided to do what I do best and take a vacation to let the heat die down.”

And with that realization, Fancy sighed. Negotiations had ended before he’d even gotten them off the ground. “Then I suppose you wouldn’t be willing to hear out a request from me?”

Jet Set’s face hardened. “I thought you reeked of a certain desperation. If it is in regards to what I think it is, then absolutely not. I’m not about to get in the middle of those two after hearing about the Vinyl Screech for months. I’d advise you to do the same and leave well enough alone.”

“Please, Jet Set. She’s holding a needless grudge that's ruining Vinyl’s life.”

“Yes. I believe that is the point.”

“And you’re just okay with that?” Fancy shouted to Jet Set's surprise.

“As I said, I prefer to avoid troublesome situations. It doesn’t make me a good stallion or a good husband. Some days I love Upper Crust. Others I don’t. Either way, it’s a mutually beneficial relationship for the both of us at the moment. Only time will tell if the costs will outweigh them for me.”

“And what about her needs?” Fancy added.

“If Upper Crust wants a foal, there are plenty of ways to get one without my involvement,” Jet Set callously remarked. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you never mentioned seeing me here. Last thing I expected was for somepony that actually mattered coming all the way back here with a minotaur of all creatures.”

With that, Jet Set flapped open the program and engrossed himself in reading it, silently signaling that the Kingmaker had long overstayed his welcome. Fancy Pants sighed and trotted back to his seat with the burden of another failure to negotiate weighing upon his withers. At this rate, he was starting to wonder if he’d imagined his entire ambassadorial career. He climbed back up to his seat next to his guest for the evening, rubbing the crystal in his coat pocket to calm him down.

“Welcome back! How was your friend?” Athena asked as she lowered the program.

“Better than expected,” he dodged with his reply. He withdrew his own program with his hooves rather than his magic.

Athena furrowed her brow, seeing the unicorn’s lack of levitation. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes. Just kicking myself a little after seeing that my ‘friend’ thought to sneak a flask in here,” he answered diplomatically.

“Fancy…” the stubborn minotaur said with rising suspicion, “you keep talking like that and I’m going to ban you from my bar.”

Fancy chuckled politely. “I’m glad that not all of my investments haven’t soured on me, Athena. I’ll take your caring soul over your distilled spirits any day. Now, let’s see what the ESPA has in store for us tonight.”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 31: Contrepoint Rigoureux

It was halfway through the Performer Showcases and the night had gone perfectly. As one of the more senior members of the ESPA, Vinyl was keeping herself busy and helping wherever she could. It mostly boiled down to following whatever orders Octavia or another organizer barked at her, but she didn’t mind. Anything to keep her thoughts occupied.

She’d practiced as much as she could. Fleur had assured her that even if she messed up, nopony would notice. Part of the charm of live performances was the organic feeling it had, which meant It didn’t have to be flawless like a studio recording. Still, all of those assurances didn’t help her fraying nerves. Vinyl wanted to come out swinging. Not just for the genre’s namesake, but the performance. It was DJ Pon-3’s big comeback, and she wanted to show everypony that she was ready for a fight. She knew what she had was good, fantastic even. Everypony that heard it at the full rehearsal had been blown away, despite her many, many mistakes.

It was good, but that wasn’t good enough. She was DJ Pon-3. She had to be perfect to show everypony that they needed her. She didn’t need anypony—

Vinyl smacked herself with her clipboard and cursed under her breath. That wasn’t the way Vinyl Scratch was supposed to think anymore. Vinyl Scratch was a better pony than that now. Other ponies were good. She was opening up to ponies. Other ponies cared about her. They wanted her around. They loved—

“Too much,” Vinyl muttered as she tried to calm herself. “That’s still too much.”

Vinyl needed to focus on the now. She dove back into the safety of her task. Once the Ponyville branch’s Pony Tones were finished with their quartet set, she’d need to help move the staging around for Manehattan’s Bridlewaywards. After that, it was finally SchlurrVivyl’s turn on the stage as the night’s closing acts. Vinyl’s performance as DJ Pon-3 was the very last show of the first night, and the wait was killing her.

“Vinyle!”

Vinyl popped up from her work and looked behind her to see somepony that wasn’t supposed to be backstage calling to her in a hushed yell. “Éclair?”

Éclair de Lune trotted gingerly up to Vinyl and pulled her into a hug. “I wondered where you were! I was looking for my fleurs.”

Vinyl reached a leg around and patted the little mare on the back to return the hug. “Oh, right. Well, Fleur is still getting ready in the dressing room. Fighting with her citrines after realizing a problem during dress rehearsal.”

“Oui. I know. I have spoken to Fleur, and I wanted to speak to my other fleur. So, here I have found you!”

“Yep. Here I am!” Vinyl exclaimed, trying to match the Prenchmare’s pep. She hoped that Fleur hadn’t said too much. “Are you enjoying the show, so far?”

The proud mare turned her nose up and stomped a hoof in complaint. “Non. I did not see you two yet. It is terrible, I tell you.”

“Of course,” Vinyl chuckled as she flipped the clipboard around and pointed at the upcoming acts. “Well, just wait about twenty-ish minutes and then it’ll be our turn.”

“I am excited to see you shine on la scène once more,” Éclair said with a proud, peachy smile that fell as quickly as it came. “I see my fleurs so little these days. I worry.”

“Sorry. We’ve just been… busy.”

The little mare tisked. “Everypony always says such things! Busy, busy, busy! And now I feel like the last to know all the things!”

“Know what things?” Vinyl asked nervously.

“Like your new sisterhood.”

And Fleur had said too much. “Oh, right. That. Yeah, we’re calling each other ‘sister’ now.”

“And you two did not tell me?”

“It’s just not that big of—” Éclair glomped onto Vinyl and pulled her into a deep hug.

“Vinyle.” Éclair stroked Vinyl’s mane. “I am happy as I am hurt. Why did you not tell me? You should not learn to keep distances from Fancy!”

“I didn’t think it was that important,” she lied.

“Non, Vinyle!” Éclair cried with an adamant shake of her head.“C'est important. C'est le plus important!” The little mare squeezed tighter. “I want to support myfleurs. Both my fleurs.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Vinyl assured as she hugged back. Éclair took deep breaths as she savored Vinyl’s touch. A smile crept across her face as she nuzzled Vinyl’s fur and kissed her cheek. “Éclair? Umm… you can let go now.”

“Non, Vinyle. This moment is one I wish to remember. Let me, please. Fleur said you worried, and I want to help.”

Vinyl steadied her breathing from the extended contact and bit her lip. “Okay.”

“You will do wonderful tonight, my fleur en Vinyle,” Éclair assured softly, beaming with as much pride as she showed her daughter. “We are here. Your family is with you.”

Vinyl flinched, but powered through the discomfort with an enthusiastic nod.

“Take off the glasses. Let me see your face.”

“I’d rather leave them on.” She knew she was disobeying rule one, but she didn’t care. Éclair was getting too close, and she didn’t want to show it. “Besides, it’s really not that big of a deal. Me and Fleur are the same as we always have been.”

“But it is, it is! Your bud is finally opening, and I see the wonderful beauty inside you just waiting to bloom! I am happy! So, so happy…”

“Oh, well good. And since I know that, you can happily go back to the front and find a seat to watch the rest of the showcases.” Vinyl turned back to her clipboard, staring at nothing in particular and hoping against hope that Éclair would be fooled.

“But that is just it, Vinyle! Tonight I want to…” the plump, pint-sized mare mumbled to herself, trying to gather her words. “J’en ai jusque là! How to say the things I want said?”

Vinyl swallowed her stress and forced a smile. “It’s fine. Éclair. I really need to get back to work on this.”

“Non-non-non! Please, wait Vinyle!” Éclair trotted in a tight circle as she tried to think in her tizzy. “Où sont Fleur et Fancy quand j'en ai besoin? C'est tellement frustrant!”

“Well, just figure it out and you can tell me later, okay?”

“No, now! Please! You are worried so! Important. Please! Important!”

Éclair grabbed Vinyl’s face and pulled her shades up so she could see Vinyl clearly. The smaller mare began humming a gentle melody while staring straight into Vinyl’s eyes. The tune drifted into a song as she began singing in Prench. Vinyl had no idea what she was saying, but Éclair's pleading gaze prayed to overcome the language barrier.

“Can’t this wait until—” Without missing a beat, a swift hoof silenced her.

Éclair shook her head and pressed on, refusing to let go. As she continued her song, Vinyl sucked in her lips. She didn’t know what the mare’s words were, but she was definitely starting to understand. Vinyl tried to keep calm as Éclair pulled her closer into her shoulder, and continued serenading her. Seeing how excited Fleur was about becoming a sister, Vinyl knew what Éclair would want and had been trying to steer clear of Pâte de Lune. She wanted to pace herself more; she wasn’t ready for this.

Loosening her grip, Éclair positioned Vinyl in front of her and smiled like the morning: gentle as a freshly baked bread, warm as fresh coffee, and tender as…

“Je t'aimerai toujours, ma précieuse petite fille.”
~I will always love you, my precious little girl.~

Mommy will always love you.

“Stop it!” Vinyl cried as she shoved the other mare off.

Éclair reached a hoof out, but pulled it down and looked at her ~~precious daughter~~, a confused fear crossing her face. “Vinyle?”

Vinyl dropped the clipboard and covered her mouth in horror. Had she said that aloud?

“I’m sorry, I-I can’t! I… I need to get back to work!” The DJ slammed her shades down, turned away, and fled as fast as she could.

“Wait! Vinyle! Wait!”

Vinyl didn’t bother looking back. It was too much for her. She needed to warm up to the idea, like hugs and accepting help. Friendship was fine, Vinyl could get her head around sisterhood, but this? She was going to mess this up and needed to go somewhere; anywhere but there. She couldn’t trust Éclair with herself, not when Vinyl still didn’t understand.

Another round of applause rang out for the Bridlewaywards as the actors gave a final bow and darted off the stage. So far, not a single act failed to garner the audience’s complete adoration. Athena was bouncing up and down, somehow whistling using her fingers. It was quite a charming and effective cheer. While they probably couldn’t see past the lights shining on the stage, many performers had stopped to look for the curious whistle anytime she blew through her thumb and index fingers.

As was their new routine, Fancy and Athena looked up to the royal balcony to see how the princesses had enjoyed the last show. Celestia gave her usual, polite applause, but Luna smirked as she caught her friends’ gaze out of the corner of her eye. She mouthed “so fast!” at her Labyrinthyum buddies. Athena and Fancy both nodded in agreement. Even if they weren’t seated together, they were still thoroughly enjoying the same stars shining on stage tonight.

“Thank you so much for convincing me to come out, Fancy.” Athena tucked her dress again as she hopped back into her seat. Her excited energy shot through her arms as she continued to wiggle with pent up glee. “This has been so much fun!”

“What did I tell you, my dear? Isn’t this better than staying underground all the time?”

“You’re telling me! Fleur de Lis and DJ Pon-3 are next, right?”

“I believe so,” Fancy said as he produced his program from his coat. “They will be performing arrangements of two selections from The Aristocrats. Another musical, but not like the ten-minute one we just watched.”

“Weren’t they just amazing though? I’d never seen a musical before!” Athena said as she clasped her hands together and smiled a toothy grin. “I think I love them!”

Fancy couldn’t help but return the enthusiasm. Athena was always so careful when smiling not to show her canines, but she was having too much fun to care. “Well, I’d never seen such a speedy one before. Who would’ve thought you could run through Hinny of the Hills in such a short amount of time? But it’s to be expected; the Society has never failed to impress.”

“And you said you didn’t know anything about art. You’ve been calling things right and left all night!” Athena elbowed the stallion in the barrel and winked.

Fancy cleared his throat to hide his groan from the powerful jab. “And I stand by that claim. I know just enough to make it sound like I know what I’m talking about. Quite a useless skill outside of impressing others at dinner parties.”

“I appreciate it.”

Fancy laughed diplomatically. “Well, you’d be the first.”

Flipping through the program again, Athena ran her finger down to the bottom of the performance schedule. “So, ‘SchlurrVivyl’ is performing ‘Sisters - a Royal Rendition’ and ‘Everypony Wants to Be in Canterlot - Electro Swing Remix?’”

“It’s a stretch of a pun. Don’t worry about it. As for the music, both are odd selections for sure.” Fancy scratched his chin in thought. “‘Sisters’ is a fight between two lower class siblings, or lowborns, chasing after the main villain, Filch Farthing, after he tricks everypony into thinking he’s a rich noble. As for the royal part, well, you’ve got me there. Maybe they’re foolishly pining after Blueblood?”

“And what’s a ‘capella?’ My gut says mushroom, but that’d be stupid, right?”

“‘Acapella,’ my dear. It means it will just be vocals without any instrumentation. A very peculiar move considering it’s a duet with an instrumental dance number in the middle of it. I didn’t think Vinyl sang.”

Athena nodded as she pointed to the finale. “What about the other one?”

“That one is even stranger considering it’s Vinyl performing it. It’s the prologue to the entire show, but is rather noble-focused and cruel to anyone that’s not a unicorn, to put it lightly. It’s from a bygone era and is usually skipped in modern stagings for good reason. Still, Fluffer Duster, my pegasus maid, loved it. I’m certain Vinyl performs the piece tastefully; whatever this ‘Electro Swing’ part is supposed to mean.”

“Well, it looks like we’re about to find out,” Athena said quietly as the lights dimmed once more, signaling they were ready for the next showcase.

Fancy nodded in agreement as he focused on the stage. The anticipation was palpable. It’d been so long—too long really—since Fancy had been to a show to support Fleur. The night had been wonderful. Spending time with Athena, exchanging knowing glances with both princesses between acts; he should’ve been doing this for years. No time to entertain regrets now, though. The curtain rose, revealing nothing but a simple black curtain backdrop behind it. After a few moments, nothing seemed to happen. A small tension began to build from the pregnant pause.

Fleur sure did enjoy keeping ponies in suspense.

“Announcing the arrivals of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!” Fleur’s sultry guard voice boomed from seemingly everywhere. Fancy blinked and looked up to see both princesses still seated in their box with curious looks of their own at the surprise announcement.

“Tia?”
Luna sang from stage left.

“Lulu?”
Celestia answered like a swan from stage right.

“What is it you’ve called for us to-do?”
Luna asked, her cadence dripping with sass.

Princess Celestia, or rather a convincingly costumed Fleur de Lis, strode onto the stage with a warm spotlight shining upon her and matching white and gold parasol. She was singing as the princess with an amazing impression of her highness. Which could only mean one thing…

“I want to raise the sun right now!”
Fleur’s Celestia demanded with a petulant hoofstomp.

As she finished her motions, the spotlight cut off just as another silvery one lit the opposite side of the stage, revealing another costumed Fleur standing under it.

“This we cannot yet allow,”
Fleur as Luna replied with a sassy hoof covering her snickering mouth.

Somehow, Fleur was standing on opposite sides of the stage with black regalia. The mare had dyed her coat the same deep blue as the Princess of the Night and was sporting her own black and silver parasol. The spotlight cut off again and went back to Celestia.

“Sister? it’s seven,
It’s time for us to move the heavens!”
Celestia complained as she strode in time with her singing towards center stage as the light cut off again.

“Neigh dear sister, you forget,
Daylight savings isn’t in effect!”
The cheeky little sister replied with a teasing grin as she lightly skipped towards the center.

Instead of the lights swapping between the two, the stage lit up with both warm and cool lights on either side, revealing two Fleurs on stage at once. They both mirrored their movements perfectly as they tapped their regalia at the same time, activating an orange gemstone inlaid in their royal peytrals.

“We’ve been together,
For what seems forever,
To raise both the moon and sun.”

The sisters sang at the same time in a duet as they twirled their parasols in their hooves. While they walked in perfect profiles—only showing their sides to the audience—the colors of the spinning fabric shifted between black and white, silver and gold, hinting at what was about to happen.

“But she’s still my sister,
Which makes it clearer,
That we can still have some fun, hun!”

The mirrored sisters met in the middle and swung their parasols, meeting at the tips and exploding into gold and blue light. The warm and cool spotlights swung around and mingled together, criss-crossing and merging on the stage below. From the pulse of contrasting colored magic, Fleur stepped out towards the audience, her coat, mane, parasol, and regalia colors were split perfectly down the middle. One half of her was Celestia and the other was Luna.

“Wow! How is she doing that?” Athena asked, absolutely floored by the amazing display of magical skill and pure stage-presence.

“The better question is ‘why?’” Fancy sunk his head in his hooves. He couldn’t stand watching it anymore.

Athena tapped Fancy’s shoulder in concern. “What’s wrong?”

“Athena, do me a favor. Could you check on the princesses and tell me what you see?”

“Uh… okay,” Athena replied in confusion. “Well, Luna looks like she is having a blast. Celestia still has that same pleasant smile she’s been wearing all night. Does she always have to do that? It’s kinda creepy.”

Fancy sighed in relief. Maybe it wasn’t going to be so—

“Wait, no. Luna stopped smiling. She looks like she’s thinking about something now…” Athena trailed off before gasping. “Okay, that’s not a good face. Now she’s saying something to Princess Celestia. Is something wrong, Fancy?”

“Other than the fact that Fleur is a foalish imbecile? No. Let’s just hope Luna is more impressed with Fleur’s performance here than the one at the Festival of Flakes.”

Deciding to risk contact, Fancy looked up to see Luna watching the performance with pouty lips and a heated narrow gaze. On the other hoof, Princess Celestia was facing the stage, but her eyes were locked on Fancy with a knowing smile. She shrugged and mouthed the word “pardon.”

“Well, unless her highness is trying to apologize for something, we’ll see if a solar pardon can withstand the scrutiny of a coequal lunar diarch.”

Vinyl kept her nose deep in inspecting the ESPA’s sound equipment, going through her final systems’ check for the fifth time. She knew everything was set up as properly as it could possibly be, but most ponies wouldn’t bother her if she looked busy. Unfortunately, the approaching mare wasn’t most ponies.

“Two minutes, Vinyl. Everything ready?” Octavia asked as Fleur was wrapping up her royal song and dance number.

Vinyl nodded.

Octavia frowned. “Okay, are you ready?”

Vinyl thought about it for a second, but decided to nod again.

“Ear twitch. So, the second one’s the lie. Got it.” Octavia trotted over to Vinyl and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Okay, so what’ll help you get ready?”

“If you could apologize to somepony for me, that’d be great.”

“Sorry,” Octavia apologized to Vinyl. “Better?”

“Not funny, Tavi.”

“You’re the only pony in earshot, and we don’t have time to find somepony else.” Her friend patted a hoof on Vinyl’s withers. “So, let me ask a different question. Do you want to play?”

“Look. I’ll be fine. I’m just not feeling too hot at the moment.”

Octavia lightly smacked Vinyl on the head with her clipboard. “No need to push yourself, Vinyl. You don’t have to perform if you don’t want to.”

“No!” Vinyl hissed. “No. I need to do this.”

“I know you need to do this for your financial aid’s obligation to the ESPA, but you also need to be able to perform to go out there at all.”

“I know! I just,” Vinyl looked at her hooves. “I want… I don’t know what I want.”

“It’s fine, Vinyl. If you don’t think you can go on—”

“No!” Vinyl stamped her hooves down. “I can’t back out now. I need to play. I need to be better. I need to know I won’t keep messing things up!”

“Why? I mess up all the time. Even if you get something wrong, you can always do better next time. You’re allowed to get better as you go.”

“But… but what if I can’t fix it?”

“I don’t know, but you’re trying, right? That counts for something. Fixing doesn’t mean making it perfect. Just get enough done to make it work.”

Vinyl took a deep breath as she adjusted her shades. She was trying. She wanted to be better. She wanted to live life on her terms. It was worth a shot.

The audience thundered in applause as Octavia nodded at a few of the crew. “Impromptu mentorship meeting over. Last chance to back out, Vinyl.”

“Don’t worry, Tavi. I got this. I got it on lock.”

“Then don’t let me stop you.” Octavia smirked and shooed Vinyl away from the equipment. “Now, get into position, your entrance is coming up on stage left.”

“Stage left? I thought I was coming out center stage.”

“No?” Octavia flipped through her notes. “There wouldn’t be room for the dancers if you were in the middle.”

Vinyl lowered her shades and looked over her clipboard. “Dancers?”

Despite the standing ovation, Fleur took a single bow before quickly darting off the stage at full gallop. She barely savored any of the adoration as she began tearing off her enchanted costume regalia, dispelling her altered coloration. They must’ve really been short-staffed tonight if Fleur wasn’t Fleur-ing it up at the end. They hadn’t even closed the curtains. With nopony to cheer for, the confused crowd died down with smattering of mumbles.

“Well, here’s why you invited Luna and I tonight,” Athena whispered with bubbly anticipation.

Fancy couldn’t help but agree. While he enjoyed Fleur’s performance—self-incriminating implications aside—Vinyl’s request to remix one of Suede’s songs had him curious as to what a modern Drive DJ was going to do with such an old song. Outside of the Moondance album, he couldn’t recall the last time he’d listened to Suede Shoes. It’d been even longer since he’d actually looked forward to such an experience.

A slight murmuring rose from the crowd as a few ponies stood up from their seats. One by one, more and more ponies began leaving. He couldn’t make most of them out in the dark, but their flashy garb was enough to tell Fancy who they were.

Athena straightened up in her seat to get a better look at the showy silhouettes walking out of the theater. “Hey, where’s everybody going?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Fancy reminded himself with a subtle polish of his stress quartz. He turned his attention up to see the princesses waiting patiently for the next act to start. Luna in particular watched the doors out of the corner of her eyes, icily glaring at the elites left as they left. “Just enjoy the show.”

He watched a few more ponies too good for DJ Pon-3 filter out of the balcony, but didn’t see Jet Set among them. Leaning over, he saw the stallion waiting patiently for the next show to start, his eyes fixated on the stage below. If he hadn’t bothered to check the schedule, he was certainly in for a rude awakening.

Fancy watched as more and more electronic equipment was quickly being stacked and checked by the stage crew. As the mass of devices and staging grew, it became clear why they hadn’t closed the curtain to set it all up. A sprawling mess of wires, crystals, and boxes spread across the left side of the stage with Fleur rushing around the other ponies pointing to where things should go.

Taking advantage of the dim lights, Fleur briefly scanned the crowd and waved as she caught sight of somepony. Seeing the section of the seating, it was probably Fluffer Duster and Dapper Dandy. She continued looking around to find anyone else she recognized, but then stopped as she caught sight of the open doors. After a double-take, Fleur stamped in absolute rage and tore a microphone from a nearby stand.

“Hey! If you’re not gonna stay for my sister, then don’t you dare stay for me in the first place! Every single last one of you pretentious fops can get—” The microphone cut off. Fleur hit it with her hoof and tried to shake it back to life.

From off-stage, Octavia charged forward and smacked the rebellious performer over the horn with her clipboard. Fleur yelled back, pointing at the leaving ponies, but the proper mare was having none of it. Octavia whacked the angry actress again and pointed to stage right. Fleur shot one more withering glare at the ponies at the door and spat before turning her nose up and striding away with model elegance. Octavia shook her head and bowed an apology to the princesses and the audience that was still seated.

So far, the finale was going exceedingly well.

After a moment of stunned silence, Athena leaned over to Fancy. “I thought you said Vinyl Scratch was Fleur’s friend.”

“It’s complicated,” he whispered back.

“Are all pony families so complicated?”

“For the sake of our nation, I hope not.”

After the emotional interruption, the crew finished up their work and the lights went out again. The murmurs died down as everypony left waited to see what the last show of the night had to offer.

“Everypony still in da house!” Fleur boomed as electrifying blue and white lights kicked on. “Let’s make some noise for the iconic, the incomparable, the incredible DJ of Dressage Drive, DJ Pon-3!”

Upon hearing her name, DJ Pon-3 leapt from off-stage, landing in front of her rig with a burst of blue magic and slam of bass as her hooves touched the floor. She flashed a victorious smile to the audience, who roared in excitement. Her confidence faltered as Vinyl took a step back, surprised by the welcoming reception. Shaking it off, DJ Pon-3 flashed with pride as she pranced up the short flight of stairs to her setup.

“And returning to the stage with her wonderful Maman, give it up for the freestyling hoof-work of Fleur de Lis and Éclair de Lune!” Vinyl nearly tripped over the final step as she turned around to see Fleur twirl on stage along with her mother. Both released each other and planted their hooves firmly on the stage, eliciting another blast of bass.

Fancy checked his program again, seeing no mention of anypony aside from DJ Pon-3 listed with her. Returning his attention to the stage, Vinyl looked just as surprised as he was at the two sudden additions.

“Somepony’s gotta dance, right sis? We got your back!” Fleur declared.

Éclair bounded over to her daughter and pulled the mic down from Fleur’s magic. “Bring my roof down, Vinyle!”

Vinyl nodded with a gigantic smile and took her place behind her equipment. She placed her trusty headset on and ran her hoof along the keyboard, testing its sound. Giving one last look to the mares with her on stage, she pointed a hoof skyward and was joined by the other two as they took each other in their hooves. With everypony ready, Vinyl’s magic shocked everything around her to life.

Unlike the music Fancy had heard briefly at Cantrips, Vinyl’s rendition began with a jazzy piano riff played alongside Suede’s original cover. It’d be a while since he’d heard the record, but he was certain there were a few additional instruments with a more modern flair. While it was lovely, it wasn’t anything that special. Looking towards the dancing mares, they were swinging slower as the music built up, with Fleur leading her mother. In a few seconds, he’d hear Suede’s singing once again.

“Everypony wants to be in Canterlot,
Because the Lot’s the only spot,
that’s got what it’s got.”

Suede’s velvety pipes sang out of the old record. Fancy began to sing along under his breath.

“Everypony’s looking for that wealth and prestige,
All anypony ever really needs.”

As the words left Fancy’s mouth, he winced at the words he’d never thought about. There was a reason the overture was usually cut these days, and it was only going downhill from here if she was following the original.

“But if that’s really true,
What else can you do?
Foals stumblin’ in the dark.”

Fancy blinked. That wasn’t at all how the song went. Right before the lines about unicorns being better, the record jumped to a different line from much later in the song seamlessly.

“Snatch your chance from on high,
Set your name in the sky!
Try’n leave your mark!”

Somehow, Vinyl had spliced different pieces of the song together, rearranging their order to change their meaning. It seemed a few of the others had caught on to the change as the parts talking down to the common ponies had been blended to flip the script on its head.

Vinyl ran her hooves across the keyboard in a quick glissando as Fleur spun her mother into a low dip, and then…

The bass dropped.

The stage exploded with a mix of lasers and vintage lighting, mixing the old and new together with the synthetic instrumentation flowing smoothly with the jazzy horn section. Fleur and Éclair spun alongside the records as the daughter led her pleasantly surprised mother in their accompanying dance. Seeing Éclair’s somewhat sloppier dancing, Fancy realized it was not just the audience’s first time hearing the song.

With the energy being pumped on the stage, some of the less civilized ponies took advantage of the more open space around them to start jumping up and down with the beat. The commoners were in good company, as Luna herself swayed back and forth, not having enough space to dance on their balcony. Her elation beamed with the brilliance of a crescent moon. Even Princess Celestia’s pleasant smile had fallen off as she marveled at the raw talent on display. Fancy turned to his companion, Athena was tapping her foot to the rhythm with an open-mouthed grin of her own.

The song continued, ebbing with Vinyl’s jazzy piano playing and surging with electrified synth horns and strings. Despite having heard Suede Shoes’ albums hundreds of times before, Fluffer Duster was right. Fancy had never heard anything like this before. And he really liked what he was hearing.

The synthesizer keys danced under Vinyl’s hooves as she crescendoed into the last measure of the jazzy piano interlude. She knew it was the most crucial and the most aggravating part of this electro swing remix. She’d already hit a couple sour notes earlier, but it didn’t matter. The ponies she could see past the blinding lights were still having a blast.

So many things needed to happen with her hooves and magic to make it work, and she only had a scant few seconds to pull off the coda. Vinyl hammered out the rhythm leading up to the gliss, she sparked her magic over the upper synthesizer. If she messed it up, it didn’t matter. With the two “freestyling” dancers supporting her, she knew she couldn’t do much worse than their attempts to swing dance to her music with no practice.

“And… go!” Vinyl’s lightning blue aura flashed over the top synthesizer’s buttons in a memorized sweep. Everything clicked to its proper prepared pattern as she lightened her hooves to play pianissimo. Quickly moving her mass manipulation spell, she magically switched the turntable to the original record, causing the trumpet to roar to life.

Checking the numbers on the digital displays and swapping the sampler, she saw each one set to the fourth and final pattern for the coda. The metronome was still clicking away to ensure everything kicked in on the same beat. She readied her magic to hit the upper keys all at once as she got her body in position to slide down the keys. She was sweating from the heat of the lights, the rush of the performance, and the joy of having her sister and… Éclair on stage with her.

With perfect timing, she slid down the keys in a beautiful gliss while her magic activated the rest of the stored music patterns in one flawless movement. Suede’s voice kicked back up again with the chorus as she kept playing along with the record until it slowly faded out along with her playing. She pulled her headphones over her withers and sighed with relief. Finally, she’d done it. The show was over.

Vinyl panted for breath, but was nearly knocked off her hooves by the crowd’s explosive applause. Even though a third of the seats were empty, their cheering was louder than any of the other performances before hers. DJ Pon-3 had gotten cheers a thousand times at Cantrips, but this hit differently. Despite her mistakes, despite the Vinyl Screech, despite everything, they still liked her music. They still liked her.

As the house lights came on, Vinyl could see the gallery still going wild, the upper section cheering for an encore she was definitely not going to perform, and a piercingly loud whistle coming from—

“Sweet Celestia, that minotaur is huge!”

“Vy!” Fleur’s forelegs wrapped Vinyl into a tight hug as she kissed her cheek. “C’est magnifique! You were amazing!” Fleur hovered the microphone over to her, not bothering to back away from Vinyl’s ear. “That’s the first night of the Showcases, everypony! Let’s give one more round of applause for all of our fantastic performers!”

The backdrop opened up to the bare stage behind as all the performers showcased on the first night stepped forward for the curtain call. Fleur led Vinyl down the stairs to stand with the others who joined around them. Éclair rushed over to them and gave both of them a crushing hug.

“Well, I’m certainly glad we went before you,” a white, vaguely familiar unicorn from the Ponyville quartet said with a wink. “There’s absolutely no way we’d be able to follow what you just did, Miss Pon-3.”

The big, red stallion next to her nodded in agreement and added a simple “Eeyup.”

Fleur nudged Vinyl’s side. “See? What’d I tell ya, sis?”

Vinyl was very glad she could ignore rule one, otherwise, she’d have to take her shades off. DJ Pon-3 had an image to maintain. She just hoped everypony was too distracted to see the sheer relief streaming down her face.

After the show, the performers made their way out to the main ESPA building for a break to meet their friends and family before preparing for tomorrow night. Only card-holding members of the ESPA and their guests were allowed, and many of the “nobler” ones had already left before the show was over. Fancy was perfectly fine to be rid of the lot. They’d missed out on the most spectacular performance of the night for no good reason.

Despite the diminished attendance, it was still a sizable crowd. Ponies from all over Equestria had come for the event. He thanked several soloists and groups for their performances, including the surprise appearance of Lady Rarity and the rest of the newly formed Pony Tones. However, the fashionista had barely registered his praise upon seeing his plus one’s midnight dress.

The looming Athena had tried to duck down to meet the mare, but Rarity was having none of it seeing how it affected the dress’ flow. She instead led the minotaur over to a nearby staircase to talk shop. Despite the species gap, the fashion-forward mare gushed over the minotaur’s beauty. He almost felt sorry for Athena as Rarity asked a hundred questions that the poor cook had no clue how to answer. Lady Rarity was truly one of a kind.

Unfortunately for him, that meant he’d lost his spotter and was on his own to track down SchlurrVivyl. Looking around the room, he wondered which crowd of ponies were accosting them. He’d assumed they’d be swarmed by now.

No, that was the wrong question. The better question was where would those two go to celebrate after a performance?

Fancy sniffed the air, hoping to catch a whiff of any food. He passed up several hors d'oeuvre trays knowing those wouldn’t have been enticing on their own. He recalled a small break room used by the staff and headed towards there. As he drew closer, his nose caught the faint, unmistakable scent of reheated pizza dough.

“Of course,” he said while chuckling to himself. Opening the door, Fancy’s brilliant deduction was rewarded with the sight of both Fleur and Vinyl sitting over a box of half-eaten cheesy mushroom pizza from Spicy Marinara’s. Fleur glanced between the pizza half in her mouth and Fancy.

The ever-polite pony took a massive, greasy chomp out of her pizza and licked the excess tomato sauce off her lips before shouting, “Pantsy!”

“I see the two stars of the evening aren’t wanting to meet their adoring fans.”

Fleur pursed her lips in thought. “Depends. Do they have pizza?”

“No. But I do think you have the right idea. Mind if I have some?”

Fleur opened her mouth, trying to find something witty to say, but settled on a smile with a pat on his head. “I guess you can have one for being such a good boy tonight for actually showing up!”

Rolling his eyes, Fancy hovered a greasy slice out of the box, grimacing slightly from the oil. He carefully cut it in half and took a healthy bite from the unhealthy monstrosity. It’d been far too long since he’d had something so deliciously cheap. He’d have to step up his workout tomorrow if he indulged any further.

“What happened to your minotaur friend?” Vinyl asked after swallowing a mouthful of pizza.

“Athena’s currently occupied with Lady Rarity. It might be a while before I can introduce you, but it’s probably for the best so you can finish your dinner first. I’m sure she’d rather not contend with the door.”

“You said you were bringing ‘friends,’ but it looked like you two were sitting alone.”

“That is because we were waiting for our cue!” a royal voice called from the other side of the door.

With a sparkle of moonlit magic, the breakroom burst open, revealing Princess Luna trotting triumphantly through it to join them in the quickly crowding kitchenette.

“P-Princess Luna?” Vinyl nearly choked on her pizza as she scrambled to her hooves.

“Ha! See sister?” Luna said as she looked over her shoulder. “We knew we would find them if we followed Fancy Pants!”

“My. It seems you two found a nice escape from the evening, didn’t you?” Princess Celestia added as she ducked her head to join everypony.

“Your highnesses! Tis a pleasure to see you once more,” Fleur greeted with equal lunar regality. Fancy couldn’t help but smack his head while Princess Celestia giggled behind them.

Luna’s smile widened in surprise. “We must admit, your impression of our voice is even more impressive when spoken normally, Fleur de Lis.”

Fleur bowed deeply. “We thank thee, your heavenly majesty. We hath strived to convey the full depth of your sonorous tone.”

“And you bear such a way with words,” Luna swooned at her vocal reflection. “We see why our guards were fooled by your royal decree at the Festival of Flakes.”

“Why yes, we…” the Faux-Luna trailed as she registered the second part of the complement and dropped the act. “Wait, what did you say?”

“We will have words of our own for you in a moment,” Luna said with a stern frown that flipped immediately as she turned to Vinyl. “For now, we are in a most joyous mood! You both have graced us with thy wondrous melodies and for that, you have my sincere gratitude. Still, we humbly request one more service from the DJ if she will permit it!”

In a flash of moonlit magic, a square flashed into existence under the breakroom’s flickering fluorescent light. The princess caught it in her hooves and smiled with the exuberance of a filly. “Will you sign this album?”

Vinyl looked down at the album sleeve the princess was holding in her magic. It was a somewhat recolored picture of her at Cantrips spinning records for a full dance floor. Another spark of magic summoned a glittering blue marker pen which the princess hovered over to Vinyl’s side. “My LP?”

Luna’s smile faltered as she uncapped the marker and hovered it to Vinyl’s side. “Please, Vinyl Scratch. We know we… freaked thee out… at the Moondance. But truly, we’ve adored thy record spinning very much as DJ Pon-3!”

Vinyl took a sharp breath. “You’re a fan?”

“I think we both are now,” Celestia added as she draped a wing over her sister. “That was a wonderful rendition you performed tonight. It was so good hearing dear Suede Shoe’s voice given new life through your talents. Thank you so much for sharing what makes you so special, Vinyl Scratch.”

“S-sure thing, your highnesses!” Vinyl said quickly and took the marker. She flashed her signature over the album cover and magically stamped her cutie mark on it.

Luna’s smile became more forced as she tried to ignore Vinyl’s growing discomfort. “Thank you so much! We will treasure this for as long as it lasts. We shall do our best to preserve it for many years to come. We—I promise.”

Vinyl nodded quickly. “If you don’t mind, I really need to check up on… something.”

Luna looked down at her record with bittersweet joy. “O-of course, Vinyl Scratch. Thank you again for your music.” The DJ offered a quick bow to both princesses and fled. Before Fleur could follow, Luna stopped her with her magic. “Now as for you, my little imposter.”

“Now, now Lulu, let’s be reasonable,” Celestia said calmly. “You accepted the pardon for her crimes against royalty.”

“My what now?” Fleur asked hesitantly as Luna draped a wing over the actress’ back.

“Yes, yes. We shall disregard your felonies and accept your ‘practical joke’ as part of the eternal prank war you sang of this evening.” Luna’s smile distorted into a sinister grin as she tightened her wing-grip to pull the stunned Fleur closer. “Unfortunately for you, you sided with my sister. A poor choice on your part. I tend to savor revenge.”

Before Fleur could ask, Luna’s horn sparkled with midnight blue magic as they both vanished in a flash of blue and silver. Fancy exchanged a worried glance with Princess Celestia.

“Not to worry, Fancy Pants,” Celestia assured as she hovered the leftover pizza into the fridge. “My sister isn’t upset about the Festival of Flakes. We just want to make sure Fleur never tries anything like that again.”

“That’s a relief. The last thing I wanted to do was bail Fleur out of the Canterlot dungeons.”

“Don’t be silly, Fancy,” the princess said as she laughed politely. “You know full well that felons go to Tartarus.”

Fancy laughed as well at her joke. At least, he was fairly certain she was joking. “Well, I should probably get back to my escort for the evening. I wanted to introduce Athena to Vinyl as well.”

“Of course. Enjoy the rest of your night, my most capable envoy.”

Fancy followed the princess out of the breakroom before looking around for Vinyl. He had hoped to introduce Athena first and ease into meeting Luna with the kind cook’s help, but fate had other designs for him. Seeing the young mare’s reaction, she’d been quite overwhelmed at the very least. Not even her sunglasses could hide that.

Pushing through the crowded lobby, he tried to find any sign of the DJ’s electric blue mane, but troublingly, there was no sign of her.

“Fancy!” Athena called out as she waved him down.

“Oh, Athena! There you are. Do you see Vinyl anywhere?”

“She just bumped into Rarity as she ran up the stairs and dropped her sunglasses.” Athena opened her hand to reveal DJ Pon-3’s iconic eyewear. “Is everything okay? She looked so scared. I don’t think she even noticed that she lost them.”

Fancy sighed in frustration as he wrapped the sunglasses in his polishing cloth and placed them in his coat pocket. “I’m afraid Luna has that effect on some ponies, even though it couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“O-oh…” Athena mumbled as she pressed her index fingers together. “Yeah. I get that.”

“Thanks, Athena. I’ll go look for her. After all, I still haven’t introduced you two yet.”

“Okay.” The minotaur bent down and cupped a hand around her mouth to whisper into Fancy’s ear. “Please find her quickly. I haven’t seen a pony look so frightened since the invasion.”

Fancy nodded resolutely and left to locate the missing mare. He wasn’t going to let a simple misunderstanding ruin what should be one of the best nights in the young performer’s life. DJ Pon-3 was back and better than ever, and Vinyl deserved all the happiness in the world.

Author's Note

Fleur's Showcase Inspiration

Vinyl's Showcase Inspiration

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 32: Récapitulation

Static. It was all Vinyl could hear. A ceaseless, terrible buzzing of nonsensical feedback drowning out the world around her. Princess Celestia’s lips were moving, but all that was there was the deafening noise. Vinyl did her best to read her lips, but it was almost impossible to register anything outside of a thank you. Once the princess stopped, it was probably her turn to say something.

“S-sure thing, your highnesses!”

A marker hovered in her periphery next to her album. Right, she was supposed to do something about that. Vinyl fired off her magic, quickly letting her spellwork write out her name. DJ Pon-3, Vinyl Scratch. It didn’t matter. She just needed to scribble something legible on it for her fan, Princess Luna. A princess who liked her music. Said princess muttered something, but there was no way she’d pierce the angry swarm.

Her duty done, Vinyl capped the marker and choked a smile out of her face. “If you don’t mind, I really need to check up on… something.”

Her magic grasped for her headphones, but she’d left them in the theater’s dressing room. There was no hope for relief here, so she excused herself, pushing past royals, then shoving her way through the sea of attendees in a mad dash for the stairs. She clambered up the steps, tripping over one of them briefly and jamming her hoof on a step. The pain barely registered past the pressure in her head, and she pushed on. There was no time. She needed to do something before her head exploded. Her uneven galloping gait matched her surging heartbeats as she ran on pure instinct towards the only place she might find relief: the library.

The doors thrust open from a bolt of magic which ricocheted into the lightswitch. Vinyl immediately dove into the biography section, frantically searching through the titles and pulling anything she thought might be relevant. It was going to be a waste of time, she knew that for a fact. Nopony had the resources she had access to in the mansion’s archives, but she needed to do something that at least felt proactive, even if it was hopeless.

Her eyes scanned over the flipping pages, skimming for the answers that weren’t there. Still she prayed that she was wrong. Vinyl didn’t need an exact quote, just something to go off of. Her mind was racing. Everything was too fast. Why was everything happening all at once? Life needed to slow down, to take its time, and allow her to pace herself. Where was her breath? Was she breathing? How long had she been looking through books? There were already three books next to her in a stack. Still no answers. She wanted answers so badly. She didn’t understand why it was all happening. She needed to understand.

“Ah, so this is where you went.”

Vinyl tore herself from her searching to see Fancy Pants trotting through the double doors. A clear voice. The static was gone. That was good. When had it stopped? She didn’t know.

“I hope you don’t mind my intrusion,” Fancy said as he traced the stacks of books around her.

“Fancy Pants! What are you doing here?”

“Trying to find you. I neglected to congratulate you on your amazing performance tonight, Vinyl. You were absolutely brilliant,” Fancy said as he approached the table she was seated at. “Those jackals who left early should be kicking themselves for missing out on a free concert from the incredible DJ Pon-3.”

“What?” Vinyl barely eked out above a whisper. “You… you liked it too?”

“How could I not?” Fancy’s smile glowed wide and welcoming. “Never have I heard that song presented in such a lively and scathing manner. It was respectable in its irreverence of the original, a marked improvement in my opinion. Good show, Vinyl!”

“You liked it too…” Vinyl trailed as she drummed her hooves on the table. “That’s good, right? Yeah, that should be good.”

“If you don’t mind my saying, you don’t sound too thrilled by the notion.”

“No!” Vinyl said on impulse before realizing her mistake. “I mean, no, why wouldn’t I be? You and the princesses… you like my music. Even the biggest minotaur I’ve ever seen likes my music! What’s not to be thrilled about?”

“That’s exactly what I thought, but what are you thinking?” Fancy approached cautiously while keeping a respectable distance. Of course he knew she was upset, but she couldn’t help it.

“Nothing?” Vinyl forced a toothy grin. At least she hoped it was a grin. She wasn’t sure. It wasn’t going to work, but she had to try.

Fancy opened his mouth to say something else, but snapped it shut as he gave a sad, tender smile. “I seem to have you at a disadvantage again.” He reached into his coat pocket with his magic and carefully extracted her sunglasses. gave the lenses a gentle rub of his polishing cloth before setting them on the table. “Here, Vinyl. These should level the playing field a little. You dropped them in the lobby.”

Vinyl touched her bare face. She hadn’t even noticed they were missing. Their siren’s song emanated from their obfuscating lenses promising to shield her with the comfort of a security blanket. All she needed to do was put them on, and she could resume her role as DJ Pon-3, hide her eyes, and ignore the world around her from behind their reflection. Fancy knew that. He was offering her the option. She had a choice.

However, that’d be breaking rule one. DJ Pon-3 was no longer needed tonight. She was supposed to be Vinyl Scratch. She was supposed to be helping Fancy and Fleur. So, she pushed the sunglasses away and tried to calm herself with the rhythmic tapping Tavi had done before. It sort of worked, allowing her to Swallow the panic coiling around her throat. Vinyl tried to think of something to say. Unfortunately, there was only one thing on her mind, and she’d been avoiding the topic with him.

“Can I ask you a question?” she asked, regretting every single word.

Fancy nodded. “If it will help, by all means. Go right ahead.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Vinyl took a deep breath, but still didn’t have the courage to look at him. “Do you know a mare named Sunny?”

“Sunny?” Fancy mulled over the question, his eyes wandering upwards as they dug through his memory. “Could you be more specific? I’ve known several ponies that may have gone by that over the years.”

“Sunny! C’mon, you know Sunny, right?” she joked as she pulled at her legs “You have to! She worked somewhere in the weather service at a desk job, had a broken wing? She’s sweet, selfless, painfully naïve but exceptionally sharp?” She forced herself to laugh as her legs gnarled along with the panic twisting inside of her. It coursed through her body as she braced herself for the answer she knew she was going to get, only causing more worry in the stallion. “Please, Fancy. She was your mom’s best friend."

“This has something to do with the archives, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. I—I meant to ask you a while ago, but I never got around to it,” Vinyl lied as she slumped over in shame.

“Why is this important now?”

“Please!” Vinyl shouted louder than she intended. She covered her mouth briefly to pull the reins on her emotions flaring out of control. “I—Please, just say yes or no. Do you know Sauna Summer’s best, most important, most precious friend?”

Fancy’s eyes widened in shock before he frowned at himself. “I’m sorry, but no. I know I should, but I’m not sure I’ve ever met anypony like that.”

“You don’t.” Vinyl laughed bitterly. “Of course you don’t. Why would you? Nopony else does.” She turned back to her useless stacks of books. Despite her assumptions, his definitive answer was still soul-crushing. “Nopony knows anypony connected to the Sensational Sauna Summers.”

“Right,” Fancy said slowly as he opened a nearby book of his mother. “That’s why you’re on the case. You’re trying to fill in the gaps.”

“But, just hear me out on this one: why is it so friggin hard to find anything about the ponies around Summers in the first place? Why would such talented ponies just… fall by the wayside? Tumble out of history to be forgotten?”

Vinyl hated how accusatory she sounded, but her nerves were far too frayed to be anything but direct. If she had offended him, he didn’t show it as Fancy gave her questions some genuine thought.

“From what I recall, it was because Groovecasters wasn’t interested in record-keeping beyond their star,” Fancy answered.

“Who told you that?”

“I believe it was Steeplechase.”

“So, not Summers?”

“Sadly, no. I only recall her being completely alone, and using her loneliness against her.” Fancy sighed with regret before collecting himself. “May I ask you something as well?”

Vinyl flinched. “Sure? Only fair, I guess.”

“Why are you asking—no, that’s not right.” Fancy closed his eyes in deep focus. After a moment, they shot open, burning with perfect clarity. “What does Sunny have to do with anything happening tonight?”

“Right! I should’ve known you’d choose the best question. One cutting right to the heart of it.” Vinyl snickered, trying to calm herself and forced her best cheeky grin. “Do you know the best answer, too?”

Fancy blinked. “Well, no. That’s why I asked you.”

“That’s too bad.” Vinyl’s glib glee collapsed in despair. “Because—because I don’t know what I should say.”

“My apologies, Vinyl. I didn’t mean to corner you. You can just ignore that question.”

Fancy was being the perfect stallion as he usually was. Recently, the world made her tell the truth anyway since she was so bad at lying, but he was giving her another way out. She could shut it down. But she didn’t want to shut it down. Not when Fancy was communicating for once. She couldn’t let this chance go to waste. Vinyl needed to be strong, to be honest, and stop hiding behind a shade.

“It’s because I need her. I need her, but I can’t find her.” Vinyl surrendered to her desperation as the unsettling truth overtook her. Her legs rattled from sheer panic as she begged the books for answers she knew weren’t there. “I-I can’t find her, Fancy! I can’t find Sunny!”

“It’s alright, Vinyl.”

“No! No it’s not! I can’t find her and that’s a problem, a big problem!”

“Then it’s going to be eventually. It might not be now, but I’m sure you will find—”

“No! I need her! I need her right now!” Vinyl pulled another random book from her pile, not even glancing at the title as she searched for any mention of Sunny inside. “I can’t even find her full name. All I have is Sunny. Nothing else. No backstory, no family, nothing! It’s like she’s been wiped away from history!”

“Vinyl, please calm down. What could she tell you that’s so pressing?”

“Because she’ll know how this turns out!”

“How what will turn out?”

“The princesses like my music, Fancy! You like my music!” she screamed.

Fancy tilted his head in confusion as he tried to follow her derailing train of thought. “Is that a problem?”

Vinyl leaned over the table and cradled her head, trying to stop her brain from bursting at the seams. “I don’t know if it is!”

“Vinyl, listen to me,” Fancy said calmly as he took the seat next to her and looked the anxiety-addled mare in the eyes. “You worked so hard for your return. Why wouldn’t we appreciate your efforts? You’re exceptional!”

“But—but I don’t want to be!”

Fancy balked. “What?”

“I don’t want to be special! Didn’t you ever consider that? You choose the best of the best, but how? What does ‘the optimal outcome’ even mean? What if it’s something I don’t want?”

“I—I don’t…” Fancy stumbled through his words, trying to process what he was hearing. “Don’t you want to be successful?”

“No!” Vinyl cried. “I just want to be me!”

“But you are you, Vinyl. You showed everyone who you are. I told you before that I saw something in you, and it was more than I could’ve ever imagined. It’s normal to be rewarded for such accomplishments.” Fancy rested a supportive hoof on Vinyl’s shoulder and smiled knowingly. “The successful mare I know has such a bright future ahead of her if she lets it happen.” He chuckled to himself. “Who knows? Maybe one day it’ll be her making enough bits to get angry over a ruined dress.”

Ice shot through Vinyl’s veins as her eyes widened, completely bewildered by Fancy Pants. “You don’t get it, do you?”

Fancy’s smile faltered as Vinyl laughed at her own stupidity. “I beg your pardon?”

“Of course you don’t. Why did I think for even a second that you would?” Vinyl swatted the fop’s useless hoof away as she roared back to life, her raging fear overtaking her senses. “Nopony ever gets it!”

“Vinyl. Please calm down. What’s wrong?” Fancy asked as he stood up and backed away to give her some space.

“What’s wrong? What isn’t wrong? Everything is wrong! All of you are just so wrong and you can’t even see it!” The mare fumed as she stood up and marched towards him. “What made you think I wanted anything like what you have? Fame, power, money. What’s it all for? You nobles just keep getting richer and richer without a second thought! But it’s never enough, is it?”

“I don’t understand. That’s not—”

“Of course you don’t understand! Why would you? You don’t even think to ask yourself basic questions. Can you even remember why you wanted all your wealth in the first place?”

Fancy stuttered trying to find some sort of reply. “My life has always been this way.”

“Is that why you’re so weird? You’ve been so sheltered that you don’t know what it means to want something? Or maybe this is all just a ruse to make me think you’re a good pony like Sauna Summers. Was she even a good pony?”

“She was, Vinyl. I promise you she was.”

“But how can I trust you? Do you even know what they say about her? The queen casted an endless shadow. Everypony that even fell under her wings, Autumn Aria, Springstep, Sunny, even Suede Shoes; nopony could escape. They were good, talented ponies that didn’t deserve that, Fancy. Sunny didn’t deserve that!” Vinyl screeched in trembling anger.

“I don’t know what to say. Sunny sounds like she was a wonderful pony.”

“She wasn’t just wonderful! Sunny was everything! She’s the one who made sure Summers was always sensational! She sacrificed everything so Sauna Summers could fly where she couldn’t! You owe her so much, but you don’t even know she exists! Nopony does!”

“Vinyl, please. I’m so sorry that I can’t be of more help.”

“I want to believe you. I want to believe Summers was a good pony. But how could she be if she just let everypony forget Sunny?”

“Vinyl…” Fancy paused his retreat, and stood firm in the face of her tantrum.

“You know what the absolute worst part is?” Vinyl seethed as her righteous indignation began to crumble. “I know why. I know exactly why, but I’m just too scared to admit it.”

Why are you being so sensitive?

“The wealth, the power? It goes straight to your head, doesn’t it?”

We can’t all have good cutie marks, dear. I’m just trying to make sure you’re taken care of.

“You might feel free at first, but then you see that little bit more just around the corner. It’s always just one more step, one more rung of the ladder, one more pony to trample.”

That’s nice dear, but I really need to get to work now. Be a good filly while I’m gone.

“It poisons your mind, making you crave it all like some hoard-maddened dragon.”

Oh, and before I forget…

“Everything in life just becomes another obstacle to crush. Suddenly money becomes more important than everything. Your talent? Your friends? Your family? It doesn’t matter. None of it matters!”

…Mommy loves you.

“You just tear everything apart!”

Vinyl fell back as a flood of old memories seized her by the throat. She wanted to tear them all out of her skull and burn them to a crisp. There was nothing good to remember. She hated it. The past was supposed to be dead to Vinyl Scratch. It didn’t matter. Even if she still didn’t understand it, it didn’t matter.

“I don’t want that!” she shouted defiantly at Fancy. “If somepony as amazing as Sauna Summers failed to resist it, then what hope do I have? I don’t want riches or fame. I don’t want to become a monster!”

Fancy furrowed his brow with resolution as he approached the quivering mare with conviction. “Vinyl, I can promise you this: I wasn’t always the best pony, but my mother was. No matter how successful she became, Sauna Summers was always a compassionate and caring mare. I refuse to believe anything to the contrary.”

“Maybe to you. You’re her darling child. Her successful, Kingmaker son! Of course she’d be proud of you! You could live up to her expectations!”

“Vinyl, that’s not—” Fancy stopped and shook his head. “You’re right. I could’ve lived up to her expectations, but I never did. But you know what? She never held it against me. I was absolutely terrible to her. I caused her so much grief, probably more than I will ever know, but Mother loved me anyway. All parents love their children, Vinyl. It’s what they’re supposed to do.”

“They're supposed to…” She didn’t understand that. She’d been told something like that before, but if it was true, then reality didn’t make sense. “So, why didn’t mine?”

With four little words, Vinyl ripped the wind from Fancy’s sails. He stood, utterly dumbfounded and speechless, as if such a thing wouldn’t be possible. All of the past bubbled up to the surface, washing away the anger and replacing it with the vulnerable filly she thought she’d discarded so long ago.

“They never accepted me, Fancy. My talent was never good enough for them. They told me to not take music ‘so seriously.’ That I should use it to find a partner with a more ‘stable talent’ that could make up for the lack of mine. After all, ‘Rich stallions just love a mare who can play music.’” Vinyl spat in disgust with love leaving the taste of bile in her mouth.

Vinyl closed her eyes. She refused to cry. They didn’t deserve her tears, even if it killed her. “What if I like my talent? What if I think I’m good enough? You can’t just throw me away because I’m not what you wanted me to be! I want to live my life on my own terms! Parents aren’t supposed to do that, right?”

“No, Vinyl. No,” Fancy assured weakly after finding his voice again. “I’m sure if they could see you now, they’d be happy to know how far your talents have taken you. Princess Luna was so impressed with you that she begged for your autograph. I’m sure if they were here, they’d be absolutely thrilled.”

“Stop giving them the benefit of the doubt! They only cared about riches and prestige! They’d never care unless I—” Vinyl stopped dead in the middle of her rant. “No. You’re right.”

“Of course I am,” Fancy said with a relieved sigh.

“But that’s all that would matter to them, wouldn’t it?”

“What would?”

“You and the princesses like my music, but they wouldn’t care about that. They’d only care that you approved of it. That’d be the value.” Vinyl slumped to the floor, hugging herself as reality dawned on her. She couldn’t help but laugh at herself, but the painful mirth was choked by a sob she couldn’t hold back anymore. “She told me no hoof-outs. I had to make it on my own. But, she never told me what that meant to her.”

Vinyl felt her magic reach out for a locket that wasn’t there. “I… I could never win, could I?”

Fancy simply stared, lost, almost scared. It was funny in a way and made the broken record on the ground chuckle as the arbitrary rules of her life’s game revealed themselves in their vaguely defined detail.

“I’m so stupid. I thought if I tried hard enough, I could prove them wrong. I could prove that I mattered. They’d be proud of me. They’d accept me. They’d… they’d finally love me.” Vinyl seized up at the curse, a sharp knife twisting in her gut, long neglected but never forgotten as her stress casting flicked an invisible heart open and closed. “But no. That was never going to happen. Not without money to back it up. She’d just tell me it was nice, pat my head, and tell me she loved me as an afterthought.”

It wasn’t fair. DJ Pon-3 had kept the world awash in a colorful trance, drowning out everything in the beat of her music. Keeping the static of her life away. Anytime she doubted herself, she’d simply look at her reflection through the purple haze and see the confident mare that mattered. But then the music came to a screeching halt. The colors faded, the music died, and she could hear the filly behind the mirror again. Vinyl thought she’d left that weakling a long time ago. After all these years, that filly was still crying as loud as the day she’d been abandoned. She just wanted to know one little thing that Vinyl had never been able to figure out.

Looking up from her broken records, she saw Fancy standing there, waiting to help. She didn’t trust him, but maybe she could try anyway. If Vinyl didn’t have any answers for her, maybe she could ask the Kingmaker.

“Why would Mom tell me she loved me if I’m worthless?”

Before Vinyl could completely shatter, before a single tear was shed, she felt the familiar pull of another tugging her back from the edge of the abyss. It was still dark, but only because of the black fabric wrapping her in a trembling embrace. There was the rapid sound of a panicking heartbeat, but it wasn’t hers. Underlying it all was the subtle thrum of a weak magical aura, but she could feel that her channeling had been interrupted.

“Don’t listen to them!” Fancy begged as he held Vinyl closely to his chest. “They couldn’t be more wrong! Please, don’t let them hurt you.”

Vinyl sat dumbfounded. Poking out his coat pocket and surrounded by his golden magic stress casting was a quartz—her quartz. It was the stupid little rock she’d carved for him in the heat of the moment and instantly regretted. Fancy still had it. Despite his precious monocle sitting on his face, he was using the quartz for his stress casting.

Why did he still have it? It was cheap, ugly, and clouded. If he had taken her streetside diagnosis, why didn’t he buy something better? Why was it his favored object?

“I don’t understand,” Vinyl muttered.

“What’s not to understand? You are DJ Pon-3: the amazing and talented artist that blew away any expectations that I could’ve ever had. You are Vinyl Scratch: a gifted student and persevering pony that deserves so much more than she’s been given credit for. Don’t let them take a single thing away from you.” Fancy loosened his grip so he could meet her eyes. Buried under his chuckle was a complicated smile. “Nothing anypony can say will ever change what makes you special, Vinyl. Especially not me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m afraid I haven’t been entirely honest with you, Vinyl, despite you being so forthright with me, willingly or otherwise.” Fancy cleared the hesitation out of his throat. “Before I decided to hire you, did you know that I met with each and every noble that attended the Festival of Flakes in an effort to change their minds about you?”

Vinyl blinked, her tears completely dried by the absurdity of such a notion.

“I’ll take that as a no.” Another snicker and sigh escaped the stallion. “Well, I used every diplomatic trick that I could think of before offering you a job. Every word was crafted with perfect precision, every conversation was planned with care; I tried so hard to tell them all that the Screech wasn’t your fault, even throwing Fleur to the proverbial timberwolves to get them off your back.” Fancy laughed as he reflected on the memories as Vinyl stared blankly in utter disbelief. A wistful smile caught his musings and dragged him back down to Equestria with a disappointed frown. “But in the end, Fleur was right. It was all for nothing. Not a single one of them listened. I couldn’t make them see you as anything but a pariah, no matter what I said.”

“Why? Why would you do that? You didn’t even know me.”

“Because it’s the truth,” he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “It was as true then as it is now. I couldn’t just let Upper Crust use you for a cheap headline.” Fancy drew a sharp breath before continuing. “I even went so far as to confront her directly on Hearth’s Warming Eve, you know.”

“You did what?” Vinyl shot to her hooves, locking her legs in distress. “Y-you can’t talk to her!”

“Well, I know that now,” Fancy briefly smirked before it died on his lips. “Bloody Hades, do I know that now. It would’ve been helpful if you’d told me sooner, but I suppose I wouldn’t have noticed something I’d been ignoring for too long.”

“What did she say to you?” Vinyl asked hesitantly.

“Nothing that bears repeating here. She simply held up a mirror, and I didn’t like what I saw.” Fancy took a calming breath before giving Vinyl his earnest attention. “Do you remember why they call me the Kingmaker, Vinyl?”

Vinyl cleared the stress in her throat. “Yeah? You said your special talent means you’re good at picking talented ponies out of a crowd.”

“You’re right, Vinyl. I choose the best of the best, the king of kings. Give me three crowns and I can tell you which stands the tallest.” Fancy’s eyes glazed over as his gaze fell away. “But, you know, there’s something about kings that had slipped my mind until recently: Kings aren’t elected, Vinyl. They’re born into privilege.”

Vinyl’s breath hitched. She could see it now. The sudden change in his appearance, the snippy conversations, the purging fire, and the overarching weariness; Upper Crust hurt him. She’d torn open a wound and dripped her vile poison inside to ravage him. How could she have possibly done that? Fancy Pants, the Noble of Nobles, The Kingmaker of Canterlot. How could she have managed to hurt him of all ponies?

“I’m so sorry, Vinyl. I could scream from every rooftop, tell everypony in Canterlot how hard you work, how talented you are, how brilliant you are, how happy you make everypony around you; but they wouldn’t hear me. Not when they’ve already made up their minds. None of it would matter.”

Vinyl panicked as she scrambled for something to say. This wasn’t right at all. “But everypony looks up to you, Fancy!”

"Unfortunately, you’re wrong.” Fancy shook his head and looked over his shoulder. “Everypony looks to my mark, not to me.”

“Horseapples! You’re, like, the most important pony in Canterlot! You’re a knighted ambassador! For peat’s sake, you have tea with the princesses every week!”

“And absolutely none of that mattered!” Fancy flared bitterly as he met Vinyl’s eyes. “I’ve negotiated peace treaties, presented trade deals, and met with leaders the world over, but it didn’t help. I wanted to shelter you from a storm that I thought I could control, but I couldn’t. In the end, it didn’t matter. I failed!”

Fancy bit down on his tongue to steady his temper. She could see the faint glow of his stress casting glistening from his horn as he calmed himself with the crystal in his coat. After a patient moment, he reclaimed his senses. “I’m so, so sorry, Vinyl. Because I couldn’t see past my ego, I failed you. The one thing I’m supposedly good at, and I failed you spectacularly.”

“But why? Compared to somepony like you, I'm nothing.” Vinyl looked down at her hooves. She still didn’t understand. “Why do you care?”

“Oh, Vinyl. That’s the wrong question. The better question is, ‘how could I not?’” Fancy said as he approached the confounded mare. “For all of my wealth, power, and prestige, there’s only one pony standing in this room that’s worth anything.” Fancy lifted Vinyl’s head by the chin and beamed with melancholic pride.

“And she is priceless.”

In a single moment, everything stopped and all was silent. Not a crackle of static, a thrumming of magic, or a whisper from the air around them. Even time itself seemed to yield its unrelenting march forward, just to finally give a single moment to breathe.

But Vinyl forgot how.

Her magic whisked over to her discarded shades and snatched them from the table. The shield slammed over her eyes, starting the clock again. Realizing he’d overstepped his bounds, Fancy pulled his hoof back and retreated to give her some much-needed space as he kept his face turned away from her.

“Right. Terribly sorry about that. I keep forgetting you asked me not to compliment you. This is supposed to be an evening of fun, and here I am being a killjoy.” Fancy took a few calming breaths and plastered a diplomatic smile on his face. “If you’re up for it, I would still like to introduce Miss Athena to you. She and Luna are good friends of mine. I do hope you wouldn’t mind getting to know them for that friendship thing Fleur’s been on about.”

“Okay,” she replied quickly.

“I won’t force you, but I know they’d both lo—” Fancy interrupted the curse word with a cough. “Rather, I know they’d enjoy getting to know you better, if you’re willing to give them a chance, that is. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry that I surprised you with Luna. I need to stop doing that.”

“Yeah. It’s cool. Don’t worry about it. Just… give me a moment to clean up here.”

“Of course, Vinyl.” Fancy hummed to himself. “Now, I think everypony will be wondering where the brightest star of the evening has wandered off to, and Luna is not fond of misplacing those. Plus, I’ll need to see if Fleur needs a lawyer.”

Vinyl’s ears popped up. “A lawyer?”

“Nothing to worry about. I’m overstating things… I hope. Would you like me to help you pack away these books?”

“No!” Vinyl shouted before chuckling nervously. “No. I got it. I know where they go anyway.”

“Ah, true. Steeplechase would be rather cross with me if I messed up his library when a perfectly good archivist was already here,” the stallion joked knowingly. “Don’t tarry too long here now, this night is about celebrating your brilliant success. A success you shouldn’t fear.”

“Mhmm, yeah. Got it,” Vinyl agreed dismissively while shooing him away with her hoof. “Just give me a minute alone, please.”

“Right. I’ll be downstairs.”

The door shut quietly behind him, and she listened for the clops of the stallion’s hooves to fade away. When she felt he was safely out of earshot, she allowed herself to give into overwhelming anxiety forcing its way into her mouth. With nowhere else to turn, she tore a nearby cushion from a seat and screamed into it.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. The whole point of talking to Fancy Pants was to fix things between the estranged siblings. The pressure building inside was going to make it worse. She was going to mess this up. Vinyl Scratch always messed things up. She didn’t want this. In a whirlwind of frustration, the mare swept the stack of books off the table, letting the old tomes fall to the ground as she slammed her head on the wood. She pressed firmly on her temples, trying to squeeze the useless emotions racing through her mind out of her head. They weren’t allowed to exist.

If only he hadn’t said those things. If only he hadn’t been so genuine. If only he hadn’t kept that stupid quartz. Fresh tears streamed down her face. She didn’t want to understand. She’d heard it too much recently. It was the one downside of listening to so much of Sauna Summers and her music. The stupid disco queen wouldn’t shut up about it, but thanks to her, she knew the symptoms perfectly.

Vinyl shuddered, cursing under her breath in complete terror while covering her burning ears. It didn’t help as the music was already in her head, pulsing her heart at a solid 125 beats per minute. Her face flushed red in a trance she’d never truly experienced, but knew the fluttering inside her chest all too well from the electrifying swing of a classic disco groove.

So what if you’re taken?
I can’t be mistaken,
There’s no use in tryin’ hidin’ your love. So~!
Give me more, give me fire,
Open the door to my desire!

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 33: Home

The record on Vinyl’s sound system crackled from the blank void it was needling. The Summers album she’d been listening to had finished a long time ago, spinning endlessly on nothing. The record’s static, coupled with the burning firewood, filled the empty air of her room, allowing thoughts to swim freely through her head. Usually she drowned it out with music, but for once, Vinyl simply wanted to exist.

It was late. She didn’t know how late, but it was late enough. She should’ve been helping set the Showcases stage for tomorrow, but Tavi wasn’t having any of it. After her mentor caught wind of Vinyl fleeing up the stairs in what was accurately described to her as a “blind panic,” DJ Pon-3 had been dismissed for the night. She bumped into Athena and Fancy again on her way out. They’d invited her to join them for a drink, but she refused. Vinyl needed to be alone tonight.

A long walk home, a swift shower, and a quick change into her sweater and socks later, Vinyl found herself laying in bed, staring at the ceiling. It wasn’t the first time today. A few hours ago, she woke up in the same position, stressing about the upcoming concert. She almost preferred that passing dread to the stress that was keeping her up now. Music was difficult, but familiar and workable. This, however, was completely new to her.

The firewood’s pop and the record’s crackle flowed underneath the fizzly ambiance. It was a contained, but flickering ember upon a static-filled soundscape. If she didn’t feed it, eventually, the flames would die out, leaving only the lonely record spinning forever. Part of her wanted it to die, but Vinyl liked the warmth of the fire.

Turning her head to the firewood cupboard, she levitated another, unscented log from the stash and threw it onto the lit pile. Why the rich and fabulous had to have five different types of wood was beyond her. Lavender might be nice though. She watched as the regular log slowly sparked to life, giving her bedroom’s fireplace renewed vigor and overpowering the idling record.

Her bedroom. Vinyl had caught herself thinking that more often. This was Fancy’s guest room, not hers. She’d gotten too comfortable, too complacent. She was living in a fantasy world. All around her was the gold-trimmed opulence of an overly lavish lifestyle that reflected its true owner. She existed by the mere graciousness of a stallion who could afford letting it sit unused without a second thought. The pile of luxury, scented firewood was likely worth more than all of her worldly possessions combined. The Kingmaker could take the illusion she lived in away on a whim and throw her on the streets. Part of her wished he would, but Vinyl knew Fancy wouldn’t do that to her.

What was she supposed to do? She’d already gotten Summers’ musical prognosis of how everything would play out, at least if she was normal. Nothing was ever normal for Vinyl Scratch. It wasn’t for lack of trying. Despite her wild line of work, she was always chasing after the normalcy everypony sang about. It just never worked out, always falling out of reach, leaving her hollower, colder, and lonelier every time she tried to make that connection.

She wanted to be normal. She wanted to be normal so badly. But Vinyl Scratch wasn’t allowed to be normal. If she was normal, why wasn’t it Fleur that made her feel this way? They’d been best friends for years, but despite Fleur being the beautiful, wonderful, and exhausting mare she was, Vinyl never felt anything beyond that. She should’ve, right? All the pieces were there. Why didn’t they fit?

In comparison, she barely knew Fancy Pants. Sure, she’d known about him for years, just like everypony else. It was impossible not to when working in Canterlot. She’d talked to so many fake ponies, flaunting their wealth to hide the predator underneath. Vinyl never trusted any of them. Somepony like him was supposed to be the worst of all of them, the source of all the troubles of the Canterlot nobility. But then she actually met him.

Fancy Pants wasn’t like the others who thought she was some cheap talent for a fun time. He just wanted to know she was okay.

“Nopony should be miserable at a party if I can help it.”

He didn’t judge her when she messed up.

“There. Another glass down. Still with us, Miss Scratch?”

He respected her, even when she refused his kindness.

“Fine, I’ll withhold my compliments in the future. How do you feel?”

Even when she’d hit her lowest and chased everypony else away, Fancy found a way through.

“I know you won’t let me help you, so let me hire you instead.”

He made her feel stronger.

“You should never feel trapped, Vinyl. You always have a choice.”

He made her feel warmer.

“I want for you to be happy and enjoy your time living and working here.”

He made her feel…

“For all of my wealth, power, and prestige, there’s only one pony standing in this room that’s worth anything.”

Against her better judgment, Vinyl tossed one of the lavender-scented logs onto the fire. She didn’t know how much such a lavish wood cost, but she needed something to calm down. The thoughts were speeding up again, and she couldn’t see any of them clearly. She took a deep breath, trying to steady the ocean swimming above her. There were so many ways ponies had described what she was going through. The songs had always made it so fun and cute. She’d never given the word “crush” much thought. If this is what one felt like, its overwhelming weight was terrifying. She curled tighter on the bed around the dreaded desire.

Vinyl had floated by herself for so long, trying to make something by herself within her sea of static. Only now could she see how far she’d sunk into the depths. After years of struggling, there was finally a spark, but it wasn’t hers alone. Holding onto the foreign light could only spell disaster, but still, she couldn’t help herself. Now, there were so many things that Vinyl had learned to want.

She clutched onto the heavy flicker in her heart. It popped and fizzled in defiance of the freezing waters. Within its miniscule glow shone a world of possibilities, revealing a place she wanted to go. A yearning stirred within it for connection. However, thanks to the light it cast, she could finally see the thick sheet of ice she always knew was there. It stretched across the surface in a crystal clear barrier, blocking her from the warm world above.

Vinyl stopped floating and swam against the current, searching for a way through. She focused on the sights she could see just beyond the frozen depths to a land dotted with all she ever wanted: a life full of life. She wanted to have close friends that understood her. She wanted Fleur to be her sister. She even wanted Éclair to be her mother. They offered it freely. She could see them. They were all right there waiting for her, wanting her to join them. It was everything.

But she just couldn’t.

The ice refused to yield, spanning endlessly across the expanse in an impenetrable wall of her own design. A few ponies had noticed her banging on the other side. They asked how they could help, but she couldn’t answer them. Her screams were drowned out by the static rushing into her mouth. Nopony could understand her, not even herself. The only thing she had was the spark that somehow found its way to her.

The little light was cruel in a way. If not for its presence, she’d never have realized how deadly cold she was. It was stupidly dangerous to hold onto it. All of the alarm bells in her head blared around her, telling her it would burn her in the end. It’d just be another disappointment. The primal fear urged her to stamp it out and forget about it. She could just go back to her listless floating.

But the light was warm. It was so warm within the static’s chilling bite. She didn’t know if she could forget how warm it was if she put it out. She wanted again in a way she didn’t know what to do with. The heavy little spark was so terribly precious.

Vinyl turned away from the fireplace and returned to staring at the ceiling. She’d been with ponies before. Various attractive flavors had presented themselves, and her little bit of fame had paired her with amazing stallions and stunning mares in their prime. She’d been with them, even had a bit of fun in different ways, but even the best of their brief highs left nothing but an empty afterglow. No matter what she did, it just never clicked. It’d be normal to click, but she wasn’t normal.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there was Sir Fancy Pants. She’d always found the stallion to be traditionally handsome in that properly public way. The suave exterior was wrapped up with everything she hated about Canterlot. When she peeled away the shell, she thought nothing would be inside, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. Underneath was somepony completely different in that he was almost exactly the same. It didn’t matter whether he was suited up, sweatered out, or wrapped in that bed robe of his, the stallion always shined the same way he did whether he looked like two bits or a million.

It made no sense. Fancy Pants reality was a glittering realm where nothing could escape his reach if he willed it. He was born into wealth beyond consequence, bestowed with a powerful cutie mark granting him favor with the highest powers in Equestria and around the world. Manifesting just a fraction of his riches would bury her alive under an avalanche of gold. Produce the whole thing and it’d crush the lower quarter under the sheer weight of his coins.

All of that power, all of that obscene wealth; he’d called it all worthless.

Unimaginable treasures rotted in heaps of useless gold. Immense power atrophied from disuse. A mountain of prestigious accolades amounted to absolutely nothing. Fancy had even entertained the idea of having a different cutie mark, a winemaking one of all things. The king wanted to throw away his crowns to become a farmer? It was the dumbest thing she’d ever heard in her life. Just what was that stallion thinking? Better yet, what was stopping him? Even if it wasn’t the “right choice” to his sensibilities, it wasn’t like it’d put him under. He had everything he needed to do whatever he wanted until the day he died, but he just… didn’t.

More questions swam through her head, demanding her attention, but they were silenced by the sweet aroma of lavender from the fire. Vinyl breathed in the calm, and the waves stilled, allowing her mind to wander back to her head. The rush of the day had finally caught her, draining what little energy was left. There was a school of questions wanting more answers, but they’d have to wait until her mind wasn’t a stress garbled mess. She didn’t even bother to take off her sweater before pulling the covers over her as she turned back to the fireplace.

The flames danced with a soft, orange and purple glow. Vinyl chuckled to herself. Of course the scented logs were enchanted to burn a different color. Only the best for Fancy’s fanciest guests, not that she was one of those esteemed individuals. After all, Vinyl Scratch was just some loudmouth DJ from the Drive.

“And she is priceless.”

Vinyl bit her lip, scared of what that meant to him, but more than that, what the spark meant to her.

Fancy Pants sipped his cooling morning tea next to his untouched bagel as he reread the paper. He’d flipped over to the entertainment section to see what had made the news. As expected, it was abuzz with the surprise revelation of the diarchy’s royal attendance to the often overlooked ESPA Performer Showcases. The sight of a strangely large minotaur accompanied by the former ambassador was barely a footnote in comparison. Several well-known ponies had given their impressions of the unexpectedly important show. A few even gave their thoughts regarding their favorite performers instead of talking solely about the princesses.

One found the Pony Tones to be “quaint,” adding they were “pleasantly surprised” to see Lady Rarity of all ponies singing along with her fellow Ponyvillians. Another made remarks about an up-and-coming solo concert violinist that would make a fine addition to any soiree. The article even made mention that Princess Luna’s favorite was the final show of the night, though instead of detailing her response, they followed the news up with a quote from another noble who praised the amazing duet sung solo by Fleur de Lis. To them, the first night came to a close on a royally high note.

Fancy growled in anger and tossed the whole lot of it in the fire. There was just no appeasing any of them. Vinyl Scratch didn’t exist except to deface Canterlot’s beauty.

“Confound this nonsense!”

“That’s my line, Pantsy.”

Fancy turned around and gasped at the sight of an utterly exhausted Fleur de Lis stumbling towards him. “Merciful heavens, Fleur! What in the world happened?”

“I just woke up.”

“Now?” Fancy checked the clock, seeing it was almost ten. “Weren’t you already asleep by the time we got back?”

“I ‘slept’ for twelve hours, forty-four minutes, and twenty-one seconds,” she rattled off as she collapsed forward onto the couch. “It’s a fun number when you write it down.”

“And an oddly specific one at that,” Fancy added.

“It’s how long it took me to fill a hundred chalkboards with ‘I will not impersonate a princess with the intention of issuing a royal decree’ by hoof.”

“Oh. Oh dear.”

“At least Princess Luna was ‘nice’ enough to give me a pair of wings so I could fly up to the higher boards. For nearly thirteen glorious hours, I dreamed I was the Alicorn Princess of Chalk.” Fleur twirled her hoof in the air with the enthusiasm of a depressed cat. “Woo. Hoo.”

Thinking back to last night, Athena and him were wondering why Luna seemed so distracted. Every-so-often, the princess asked them to wait a moment and would close her eyes. After the fourth time, he finally asked what she was doing.

“Not to worry, my friends,” Luna answered, her fang-filled smile savoring the mushrooms she was devouring with gusto. “I’m simply helping somepony with a little nightmare.”

Fleur’s loud yawn brought him back to the present. He added one more check to the mental list of reasons to never get on Luna’s bad side.

“You know what the best part is, Pantsy? I get to do it all over again to dismiss my second felony count. ‘I will not falsely issue royally sanctioned schedule changes to city-wide weather patterns.’”

“To be fair, I did warn you about impersonating royalty.”

Fleur only groaned as she followed her sinking mood deeper into the couch.

Fancy leaned lower in his chair to catch the mare’s tired eyes. “I assume you’ll be in for a rough night tomorrow then?”

“Ha! I wish. But no, I need to ‘reflect on my actions’ first before she strikes again.”

“Strikes, you say? That seems rather… sinister for her highness.”

“Yeah. That’s the point. How did she put it again?” Fleur pulled herself up and cleared her throat, adjusting a pair of unseen glasses. “Fool! A prank is best delivered when it is least expected! For now, dwell upon the night and sleep lightly, for this will not be your last nightmare!”

Fancy could hear the undertones of Luna in her impression, but dark authority stirring around it felt completely off. “That doesn’t sound like the princess to me.”

“Neigh, daywalker! For it is I, Professor Nightmare Moon: Queen of Demerits. Your detention shall last forever!” Fleur cackled madly as she made her dark voice grow more distant. “Cue thunderclap, whisk away in a plume of shadow, and… scene.”

Fancy balked at the thought. “She appeared to you as Nightmare Moon?”

“Not at first. She tried to step up the fear factor by summoning that evil mare. I might’ve been scared if she hadn’t immediately softened the blow by dressing her up. That white button up, a midnight blue blazer, and half rim starsilver glasses?” Despite her fatigue, Fleur gathered enough energy to chef kiss into the sky and count her blessings. “Luckily Princess Luna didn’t catch on. She might’ve changed whatever it was that kept an eye on me into a real nightmare, like Coach Longview.”

Fancy slowly raised an eyebrow at the thought of anypony enjoying the presence of one of Equestria’s most fearsome foes.

“What? It wasn’t like Nightmare Moon was really there or anything. Besides, behind every good hero is a great villain, so I’ll take the sumptuously wicked stare of an evil mare over being loosely monitored by lumpy, three-chinned hoofball stubble every time,” Fleur answered with a shrug. “Oh, and if I see his pudgy face instead of that sultry villainess next time around, I’m blaming you.”

While problematic in its own way, hopefully this meant Luna was working through her history with Nightmare Moon in a healthy way. By the sound of it, she was getting more comfortable with her past, despite Princess Celestia’s outright revulsion at merely mentioning the old villain. However, that didn’t mean Fleur should embrace the darkness so readily. He couldn’t help but laugh.

“Glad you’re having fun at my expense for once, Pantsy,” Fleur joked as she tried to shake herself awake. “I’m just trying to find a silver lining in the most restless sleep I’ve ever had. I didn’t even know she could turn lucid dreams against you.”

“Dream magic is a fickle thing for sure.”

“And how would you know that? You’re not exactly—” Fleur bit down on her snide temper and cleared her throat. “What I mean is, you’ve never really shown an interest in specific fields.”

Fancy blinked as Fleur turned her attention to her messy mane. She was never one to pass on an opportunity for a joke, especially one directed at him. He nearly forgot to answer the question. “Oh, right. I guess I never mentioned that. Luna is both my friend and mentor. She sometimes teaches me how to control my dreams when she’s not too busy. Apparently I have a certain knack for it, unlike my real-world magic.”

“Really?” Fleur perked up and cradled her head in her hooves as she idly kicked her hind legs. “What can you do in your dreams?”

“Impressively little, I’m afraid. I’d always heard it gets easier to do what you want when you realize you’re asleep, but it’s when I’m aware I’m dreaming that I completely lose control.”

“So what you’re saying is, you can’t break into detention, unseal my horn, and let me fill in all the chalkboards in one go?”

“Unfortunately for you, no. Getting a grip on my own dreams is difficult enough. I’m getting better at it, but it’s still a struggle. Perhaps I simply lack imagination.”

“I don’t think that’s it.” Fleur’s eyes shot to his cutie mark. “You’ve never really had issues when you’re problem solving. Just think of this as helping me with a really big one.”

“I don’t think I’d ever manage to do what Luna is able to in my lifetime. Even if I could, I know better than to choose sides in their eternal prank war.”

“You wouldn’t have to choose between them if you’re my double agent.” Fleur’s grin grew conspiratorial as she wiggled her eyebrows.

Fancy shook his head. “Royal tea time is interesting enough without an undercover operative making a mess of things. Besides, you’re the actress here. I’m better at showing I have cards rather than keeping them under the table.”

“Fine,” Fleur groaned without her cheeky smile faltering in the slightest. “So outside of tea time, you also get some one-on-one dreamtime with the lunar princess?”

“I suppose that’s one way to phrase it.”

Fleur’s ears perked up as her lips puckered. “Oh-hoh? Perhaps I’m not the only pony in this room that fancies the fair Princess of the Night?” she remarked with a flutter of her long eyelashes.

Fancy sighed into his hooves. He was so tired of that blasted rumor. Why had this sparked around his relationship with Luna? He didn’t remember having to deal with the same scandalous gossip with Princess Celestia, and it surely wasn’t helping anypony involved. The only thing it would have potentially been good for was infecting the zeitgeist enough to drown out the Vinyl Screech, but it didn’t even manage to budge the needle against that nonsense.

“What? She’s a beautiful, star studded princess. I say why not shoot for her? Even if you miss the heavens, you could still hit the moon.”

Fancy pulled his face from his hooves. “For the love of—It’s not like that at all! We’re friends, Fleur. Just friends.”

“Would you be against being a little more than just her friend?”

“Please. This is not up for discussion, Fleur.” Fancy kneaded the base of his horn. He’d left the quartz in his room. He wasn’t close to needing it, but Fleur did have a way of trying his patience when she grew out of control.

“Why not?”

“It just isn’t, okay? Drop it!” Fancy flared back in frustration.

Fleur recoiled from the heat. Instead of roaring back, she faltered and slunked onto the couch. “I’m sorry.”

“No,” he said more to himself, regretting his failing temperament as of late. “No, I shouldn’t have snapped like that. I’ve had a lot on my mind recently.”

“Yeah,” Fleur laid her head down. “And I’ve just been making it worse. Sorry about that, too.”

“What? No you haven’t. Where did you get that idea?”

Fleur kept her eyes away from him, her tired focus looking at nothing in particular.

“No, Fleur.” Fancy’s heart sank and he wasted no time in getting out of his seat. He wasn’t about to have a repeat of last night if he could help it. “You haven’t. Really, I’ve always enjoyed your company. Having the infamous SchlurrVivyl duo has certainly livened things up around here. I know your mother misses you terribly.”

He began trotting over to the couch and saw Fleur’s eyes shoot back at him. He paused his steps seeing the mixture of fear and sadness, but that wasn’t what stopped him. She was draped with sheer exhaustion, not from the sleepiness of a rough night, but rather a somber prediction of what he would say. Fleur buttressed herself to brace for what she knew was coming.

The words in his mouth, denying her reality, telling her she was wrong about it, they were so ready to sound off in an uncaring slew of platitudes and excuses. How many times had she looked like this, but his nose had been buried in papers or he’d been pouring over useless letters? He’d never meant it that way, but he couldn’t help dwelling on his callousness. Not with last night still swirling around in his head still. Fleur wasn’t a measly afterthought.

Fancy slowly approached her, but instead of talking above her, he knelt down, resting his chin to meet her where she was. Her fear melted into confusion at the sudden closeness she wasn’t used to.

“You know I love you, right?”

Fleur shrank back, rolling her legs under herself and her lips into her mouth as she looked down and away from him. She said nothing, but it told him everything.

“I clearly haven’t said it often enough. I do. You and Éclair both mean so much to me.”

“Mhmm.” Fleur nodded along, risking the briefest glance his way.

“And you’re so talented. So much more than me. I thought your performance was amazing at the showcases. I’m so proud of you. I’ve never stopped being proud of you.”

Fleur crossed her forelegs and buried her muzzle into it, trying to hide. “I-I know.”

“No, I don’t think you do, and it’s my fault for not taking the proper time to do so. I love you so much. I’m so lucky that I’ve been able to see you every day since you’ve been staying here.”

Fleur turned her head down and dug deeper into her hiding place.“Would you stop that already? Why are you and Vinyl always so quick to blame yourselves when I’m the one that's wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

Fleur poked her head from under her legs, meeting Fancy with a conflicted frown. With pent up anger, she pulled herself up and motioned over Fancy. “This! You’re never like this! You’re supposed to be confident and commanding. You’re always the most important pony in the room without trying.”

An amused snort escaped Fancy’s nose. “Let’s just say I’m trying something different after reality checked up on me.”

“I know, I can tell. It’s my fault and I’m sorry, okay? When we ran into you on your jog that one time. I didn’t mean—” Fleur stopped herself and flopped back down with another groan as she crossed her forelegs in front of her eyes. “No, I did. It was a lie. I knew it was a lie, but I wanted to hurt you. And the worst part is, I got what I wanted.”

“I’m afraid I don’t quite follow.” Fancy rolled his head to the side in thought. “As I recall, you were absolutely right about nopony helping Vinyl.”

“Don’t play dumb, Fancy,” Fleur muttered as she peeked over her wall of fur. “That wasn’t what set you off and you know it. I don’t want to say it again.”

While true, the better question was what hadn’t. Thanks to Luna’s eldritch concoction, he could clearly remember everything about that terrible party. It was so clear in his head, he could barely remember anything before that. Thinking back, he went for a jog, got caught by a surprise Éclair breakfast—which immediately undid any gains of said jog, met the girls on the way back for a rushed conversation…

“You’re not referring to the blueberry pancakes breakfast I missed, are you? Even reheated, they were delicious.”

The walls fell in shock and Fleur stared him down, her glare melting into disbelief. “You really forgot? B-but how?”

“You know me,” Fancy said as he laughed heartily. “If not for Dapper and Fluffer Duster, I’d have already misplaced my own head by now. Though I haven’t been much of anywhere lately, I’ve had a lot more on my mind as of late.”

“But Vinyl said I triggered some kind of weird episode!” Fleur sunk down in shame. “She was so mad at me for it.”

“Now, now, don’t worry about that, Fleur. Whatever you said to me, it might’ve been said harshly, but I think you were right.”

“I said your cutie mark was the worst,” Fleur corrected quickly.

“Oh. Is that all?”

Fleur stammered incomprehensibly before recapturing her words. “Yes! And you’ve been acting weird ever since and it’s all my fault!”

“Where in blazes did you get that silly idea?”

“Just—just look at yourself!”

Following her orders, he leaned off the couch and inspected his rough shape. “I know it’s been a bit of a battle for me trying to shed the excess holiday weight…”

“No, the sweater! You’re wearing a sweater!”

Fancy blinked as he pulled on the collar of his black turtleneck to look inside. “Is this a problem?”

“Is it?”

Fancy quirked his eyebrow as he thought about it more. “Would you prefer if I wore a suit instead?”

“No!”

“Just plain fur then?”

“No, no! Just shut up! It’s not about the stupid sweater!”

“But you said—”

“I know what I said! Even if you forgot, I can’t stop thinking about it!” Fleur tried to calm her unsteady breathing as she vented palpable anxiety. “This isn’t you, Fancy. The Fancy I know dresses to the nines, goes all over Canterlot, and makes barrels of bits just by talking to ponies. He doesn’t sit quietly at home in comfy clothes and throw papers he doesn’t like into the fire. He corrects problems, especially the ones I cause.”

Fancy sighed. “I suppose you’re right about that one. But I see that I might’ve been causing problems as well. I’m doing my best to make up for it.”

Fleur pulled back, shrinking back behind her forelegs to brace herself again. “Is it a good thing?”

“I’d like to think so, but you’re going to have to be the one to tell me if I have.” Fancy reached over and took ahold of Fleur’s untucked fetlock with his hooves as he lowered himself back down. “Sometimes something hurtful from you is just a poorly worded bitter pill to swallow. I know you’re always good for an apology later if you ever say anything that you feel was undeserved.”

Fleur’s eyes were drawn to her hoof as she fought back a smile. “I specifically told you that I wouldn’t after ripping a pillow over your horn.”

“Then you should probably stop telling me when you’re having second thoughts, silly filly.” Fancy ruffled her mane with his free hoof like he used to do when she was younger. “You learned far too much compassion from your mother for something like that to last.”

Finally, the bulwark collapsed as Fleur giggled in agreement. Her face glowed behind her mess of hair that she didn’t bother fixing. Instead, she adjusted herself on the couch to get a better angle on Fancy’s hoof and wrapped her forelegs around it. Fleur cuddled it close like one of her dark dragon plushes and smiled sweetly as she held on tight. He couldn’t remember the last time she’d seemed so at peace. The happiness rang bittersweet.

“Hey Fancy?”

“Yes?”

“Do you love me?”

Fancy chuckled at the foalish question. “Of course. I couldn’t stop if I tried.”

“In what way?”

“You’re family, my dear.”

Fleur’s smile faltered as her grip loosened. “But is there a better word for it maybe?”

“I don’t believe so.”

The melancholy returned as Fleur’s head flopped to the side. Her frown deepened as she kept her eyes locked onto Fancy’s hoof. Unlike before, it only took a few seconds for it to click what she was referring to. It was the one roadblock he couldn’t overcome, and family wasn’t going to cut it for Fleur.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you again.” Fancy began to pull his leg back to his side, until he felt panic shoot through Fleur’s body. He froze as she immediately seized the leg and yanked it back before he could take it any further away. She wrapped her body around it, refusing to let go.

“No! No, please! I’m sorry! This is enough. It’s more than enough.”

Fancy steadied himself, looking at the filly buoying herself with his useless leg. “You have no idea how important it is to me for you to know how much I love you. I love you so much, Fleur. I always have, from the moment your mother told me about you.” He could feel the joy welling up inside him as it escaped with a smile on his face. “And when I finally got to meet you? I knew I could never let you go. You’ve always reflected the best in her.”

Fleur smiled sadly as he looked back into Fancy’s eyes. “What about Daddy?”

Fancy reinforced his warm smile. He stroked her loose mane out of the way so he could see her whole face. “Not to worry. He showed up eventually in a way I know all too well. Despite your mark, you were blossoming more into a sunflower than a little lily.”

She giggled at the cheesy pun. “What can I say? I had big shoes to fill.” Fleur turned her nose up at him and tousled her mane with a shake of her head. “I never envisioned Lady Faire as a pétite role.”

“You certainly grew into it splendidly. To be perfectly honest, there was a moment I thought I’d have to inquire where the castle staff ordered alicorn mattresses.”

Fleur looked back down at him with withering confusion. “You thought I’d be princess-sized, and you still forgot to update my room?”

“A little bit of an exaggeration as well as the wrong location,” Fancy clarified. He propped his head up by resting his chin on his free leg. “Why do you think you and your mother swapped rooms at de Lune?”

“Maman’s not that small.”

“Yes, but you were simply that large.”

“I know,” Fleur sighed with a knicker as she relaxed back on the couch. “I hated it so much at first. I felt like an awkward balloon on stilts, and even now, I’m still always the biggest pony in the room. Even stallions look up to me.”

“Well, after the growing pains, the height does have its advantages.”

“Yeah, but sometimes I’d rather be small like Maman. You know what the worst part was?”

“What?”

“I couldn’t ride on your back anymore.”

“It’s not like Éclair could do that either,” Fancy chuckled knowingly. “Besides, it certainly didn’t stop you from trying even now.”

Fleur’s head slid further as she cuddled Fancy’s leg for warmth. “I miss it.”

“Well, we all grow up sometime, Fleur.”

“I liked pony-back rides,” she whined as her eyes glistened with nostalgia. “You and Daddy always gave the best rides.”

“And you always said he did a much better job at it,” Fancy reminded her.

“That’s because Daddy gave it his all every time,” Fleur countered, turning her eyes up to him while keeping her face close to his captured leg. “You never played rodeo right.”

“It was for the best. You don’t want a ‘clumsicorn’ like me trying to catch a flying filly like a hoofball.”

“Nah. I’d have been fine. I’d never lose the bronco-buck to you. Daddy rarely knocked me off, and he usually threw his back out trying.” Fleur giggled as her eyes flickered through their shared memories. “Remember when he did win? He’d catch me and ‘claim his prize’ by tickling me until I got the hiccups.”

“I seem to recall one instance of being enlisted to try scaring them out of you when you had a case that lasted a whole afternoon.”

Fleur started giggling as she remembered. “Oh yeah! And your lame excuse of a jump-scare just made them worse? Classic Pantsy move.” Her laughter grew louder as she gripped his leg tighter.

“Acting was always your gift, Fleur. I did refer him to the best pediatrician if they didn’t go away. Luckily Dapper came along and banged two pans next to your ears.”

“Yeah! But then, Maman was so startled, she started hiccuping instead!” Fleur’s raucous laughter grew as she couldn’t contain herself any longer. She pulled his hoof even closer as she laughed so hard she started to cry. The laughter died to the sorrow as she clutched Fancy’s leg as she sobbed loudly in mourning.

“I miss him, Fancy! I miss him so much! I miss riding on his back. I miss being ‘Daddy’s little filly.’ I miss his singing when he’d tuck me in at night.” Fleur stared deeply at Fancy’s fur with a desperate, unspoken desire. He knew what she wanted to say, but she didn’t want to risk destroying what she had by uttering its name. “But, you know what I really miss the most? I miss us being happy. Everypony was so much happier back then when we were all together.”

Taking a patient breath to power through the guilt, Fancy freed his hoof. She tried to grab it again, but Fancy moved to caress her cheek instead to wipe her tears away. “I’m here now, Fleur. I’m so sorry I haven’t been.”

Fleur leaned into the tenderness, savoring what little she could from the distant closeness. He couldn’t give her what she wanted. What he wanted to give her belonged to Suede.

“Don’t you miss him?” Fleur asked between hiccups. “He was your daddy, too.”

“Of course I do, Fleur.”

She choked back another sob at his white lie and pressed forward, “Then why don’t I believe you?”

“We simply grieve in different ways.”

“No we don’t. I don’t believe you. Why can’t you tell me the truth?”

Fancy sighed, trying to find the right words to say. “Grief isn’t a competition, Fleur.”

“Right. Sorry. You’re right. It’s alright,” Fleur said, trying desperately to trick herself into believing his deflection. Cheap words didn’t make it past Fleur. She was too smart for that.

She wrapped her hooves around his foreleg, and leaned her head into it trying to channel strength and support. Her breathing steadied as she tried to calm herself, but Fancy could still feel new tears wetting his fur as she hid behind it.

“This is enough,” she whispered to herself. “This is more than enough,” she repeated the mantra, trying to color it into reality.

“I’m sorry.”

Fleur shook her head trying to disagree, but ultimately yielded to the truth while desperately clinging to his comforting lies. “Me too.”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 34: The Spark of Desire

An avalanche of storage crystals rained down on the table as Vinyl carefully poured out the contents of her sack in front of Steeplechase. The stallion balked at the sheer number of them clinking in a rain of gemstones. As they bounced around, he quickly shot a wing out to catch some of the errant rollers from falling off the table.

“You’ve brought quite a haul for me today, haven’t you?” Steeplechase said as he looked over them. “And unmarked with little documentation to boot.”

“Oh, right. There was just so much, you know?” Seeing the number she’d collected since their last meeting, she smiled sheepishly. “I can just take them back and figure it out.”

“Not to worry, Vinyl. It just means I get to listen to them more closely and piece the timeline together. If it becomes a problem, I’m sure Professor Chrysanthemum can help sort them with her magic. More to the point though, I guess with the showcases behind us, you’ve had more time to really crunch the crystals.”

“Y-yeah!” That was a far better excuse than the one she’d come up with.

“I can’t blame you there. It must be like trying to put a good book down.”

Either she was getting better at lying, or he was far too enamored with the haul this week. Her bits were definitely on the latter. “Yeah, most of these are actually from the Suede Shoes side.”

“Really? I thought you were focusing on finding that Sunny character.”

“Something else piqued my interest recently,” she admitted as evenly as possible. Vinyl knew it was going to keep the conversation going, but she wouldn’t have to lie as long as he didn’t dig too deeply.

“Oh, do tell!” the stallion pressed with a glint in his eye. Vinyl did a mental hoof-pump at the vaguery. It’d give her enough wiggle room to explain without explaining.

“Well, after the concert went so well, I really wanted to look more into Suede’s swing.” That was true. “I was really wondering if I could learn something more about Summers from his perspective.” Also true.

“Oh ho ho! Something tells me you just reached a certain part of Summers’ side of the collection and wanted to hear about it from the other half.”

“Yep!” Which was true as long as he didn’t ask for her motivations.

A fang-filled, knowing smile crossed the nocturne’s lips. “So, all of this here would essentially be speeding through the boring bits of his career to get to the good stuff.”

“Not at all. I learned a lot listening to his time under the Suave Oasis label.” Which wasn’t the point at all, but Steeple didn’t need to know that. “I’ve never studied big band swing, so hearing it explored during development has really helped me learn more about the fundamentals. He preserved a lot less than Summers did though. That’s been a bit disappointing.”

“Look on the bright side: all the better to reach the saucy bits quicker, eh?”

Vinyl allowed herself to blush and looked away. She’d rather have him think she was developing a taste for trashy romance novels than researching relationships for herself. Her previous flings had taught her nothing useful.

“I knew it!” Steeplechase leaned over the table, hoping to pick her brain for juicy, decades-old gossip. “Please tell me you’ve got some lovely little details we’re missing in our records!”

Vinyl’s mind reeled back from the stallion’s invasion of her personal space. The closer he was, the more likely he’d see through her dodges. “I don’t think so. Sorry. I haven’t gotten into the relationship stuff yet. Most of that right there is his early career before Summers started hers. I was just saving everything notable, which was probably already known. The only thing that might be newsworthy is how bigoted his producers were.”

The reveal deflated his enthusiasm immediately. Steeplechase slumped back in his seat and sighed. “It is well known enough to be an issue among musical historians. He did sing the original version of ‘Everypony Wants to be in Canterlot’ for the Sway album after all. Some of the more, let’s say problematic portions of his discography, have been overlooked considering who he wound up marrying.”

“I don’t know what to think. There’s a few slurs thrown around on the recording sessions, but he’s never the one to say them. He does laugh along though.”

“Don’t worry. While it’s hard to know what really went through his head during that time, if he ever harbored any unsavory views of non-unicorns, he disavowed it rather publicly when he famously rebelled against the archaic Canterlot Musical Society with his fiancé. Hopefully your archiving work will help shed some clarifying light on that. Everypony is worthy of forgiveness if they work towards healing.”

“Yeah…”

“Chin up, Vinyl. Whatever the truth is, I’m sure it will end happily. Racism isn’t an innate quality, it’s something that must be fostered. I know first-hoof that Fancy Pants doesn’t have a prejudicial bone in his body, so Suede had certainly changed his tune by his adulthood.”

Vinyl felt the twist in her heart at the mention of Fancy. He was the last pony she wanted to talk about out of the blue. She might stumble in her words and he started asking questions. She was glad Fleur had been occupied recently. Talking to her sister about this was… No. Just, no. Every single last no in the world.

Luckily, after giving her dilemma some thought, she’d remembered there actually was somepony she could ask for advice on what to do. They were somepony who would share her full experience completely without asking questions and wouldn’t tell a soul: Sauna Summers. It was already Vinyl’s job to research the Queen of Disco. If Fancy was to be believed, then Summers’ advice from the collection would be invaluable. She rarely skimped on the details, just as long as Sunny didn’t cut the recording. It’d be harder to find, but perhaps even Suede would have a moment to learn something from. Hopefully with both sides of their story, she'd be able to piece it all together and figure out something.

A pony cleared her throat, dragging Vinyl out of her musings. “If you two are done, I believe somepony has asked me on a date.”

“It’s not a date, Tavi.” Vinyl muttered back.

“Oh, let me have my fun, Vinyl. You’ve never asked me out to lunch before. I want to savor this moment.”

“What is this? Are you cheating on me? In broad daylight? Oh, how could you?” Steeplechase cried in despair as he choked on crocodile tears.

“Oh yes, my love,” Octavia passionately whispered in reply before her crestfallen eyes drifted to the glistening table filled with audible treasures. “This is revenge for all of the late nights I’ve seen you cuddling up with these crystals instead of me.”

“But darling,” Steeplechase swore in a desperate plea, “you know these are just a passing fling. My eyes, they belong to you, and only you!”

“It is not your eyes that I know have drifted from me, but your ears! Instead of listening to the music of my soul, their attention is only drawn to these… these sparkling floozies!”

Vinyl watched the melodrama she was caught between unfold as they began garnering the attention of several confused onlookers. “Have you two been spending too much time in the Theatre department again?”

“Guilty as charged,” Octavia admitted with a slightly embarrassed giggle after noticing their small audience. “It’s so hard not to. The Teen Troupe chose A Wing and a Whisper, and—tell absolutely nopony I said this—their overacting is the pinnacle of young performers having absolutely no idea what they’re doing. I thought Fleur would’ve told you all about it since she’s helping out.”

“She’s been spending some time at home. I haven’t seen her much outside of the audio lab.”

“Oh.” Octavia’s mirth dropped as she leaned over to Vinyl. “Is she okay?”

“She said she’s having trouble sleeping and wanted to go home for a bit. Plus, sis wanted to spend some time with…” Vinyl’s voice fell away as she tried to finish the sentence.

Deep down, she knew she wanted to say it. Vinyl could almost hear somepony begging her to. But, she knew that was too much for her.

“...her mom,” Vinyl finished lamely.

Oh, come on! Ugh!

Viny’s ear twitched at the squeaky annoyance of a filly. That wasn’t how she mentally berated herself for failure. Where was her—

“Oh. So I’m a fallback friend?” Octavia pouted.

Vinyl snapped back to attention as her heart dropped. “N-no! I really want to spend time with you.”

“It’s okay, Vinyl. I’m just pulling your leg. I didn’t mean it.” Tavi patted Vinyl’s hoof to reassure her. “I’m just so glad you’re getting out more. Looks like you might need it considering…” The mare let the silence sing for her as she focused her attention on the mound of storage crystals.

Vinyl cleared her throat. “Oh, yeah. I had a lot of time to go through the collection with Fleur off my back for a bit.”

“Clearly.” Octavia lifted one of the storage crystals in her hoof. “How many are there?”

“At least fifty by the looks of it.” The batty stallion could barely contain himself as he hugged the treasure trove of knowledge. He was practically drooling with anticipation at digging into them all like a bushel of peaches. “She really got after the archiving this week, but I can’t blame her. She’s reached the romance saga between Suede and Summers. Wouldn’t you want to hear both sides of their story at the same time?”

“Well, I know I would,” she admitted before turning her disbelieving curiosity toward her mentee.

Octavia’s curled eyebrow forced Vinyl to match with a sheepish grin. Even if the mare knew something was off, she'd have no way of even guessing Vinyl’s motives.

“Well dear, we better leave you to your work.” Octavia and Steeplechase shared a quick kiss. “I’ll see you at home.”

“But Fruit Cup, I was thinking with all of these crystals that I might stay—”

“I will see you at home,” Octavia stated as a fact for her husband. “Dinner is at seven. I will be making pasta and a fruit salad, and you will not bring a single one of these with you. Got it?”

“Yes ma’am!”

“Wonderful.” Octavia rewarded the obedient stallion with another kiss. “Come on Vinyl. Let’s get going. Where did you say we were eating again?”

“I should’ve known the first place you’d take me out to would be peculiar.” Octavia said while observing the large, intimidating stone slab doors of the Labyrinthiyum open before them. Risking a look down, she peered into the cavernous maw towards the double doors below. “And you said this isn’t a club, correct?”

“Nope. Just because it’s a few blocks from the Drive doesn’t mean every shady staircase leads to a club. They might have club sandwiches though.”

“I’ve heard Fancy Pants make mention of this Minoan restaurant before, but I didn’t realize the extent of its authenticity.”

“I know, right? Who’d think to build a minotaur maze under Canterlot?” Vinyl said as she stepped into the shade and propped her sunglasses on her horn. “Remember that big minotaur that came to the Showcases? This is her place.”

“She was rather large from the pictures I saw in the paper,” Octavia said timidly as she watched Vinyl take her first steps onto the descending cobblestones.

“Trust me, I met her for a second after the Showcases and she’s more timid than Fluffs. It was like talking to a giant mouse.”

“Oh, I see.” Octavia smiled knowingly. “You’re trying to get another conscript for the Friend Ship, aren’t you?”

Vinyl turned her gaze up. That ship had slipped her mind. “Something like that, yeah.”

“No wonder you’ve been nervous all morning. You’re trying to make a new friend by yourself!” Tavi quickly caught up to Vinyl, completely forgetting her initial hesitancy in the heat of the moment.

“Fine. You got me,” Vinyl admitted while looking away, hoping her nerves would mask the half-truth. “I wanted to do this without Fleur, but I’m scared I’ll mess up if I try on my own. I figured somepony normal would help.”

“Well, I’m not sure what ‘normal’ is to you, but I’ll be right here for you.”

“Yeah. Plus, I still owe you for Alotta Latte, and the owner here said the first meal was on her.”

“In that case, we definitely shouldn’t keep our hostess waiting. I’m starving!”

Vinyl breathed a sigh of relief as her friend patted her on the withers. Tavi had bought her sidelong excuses without forcing her to lie directly. It was going to be risky moving forward, but all she had to do was keep Octavia asking the wrong questions while giving her the right answers. The only problem was finding out what the right answers were supposed to be in the first place.

During her latest sessions, Summers had mentioned Suede wasn’t all that bad despite his public hostility towards her. Suede’s performer friends at the clubs always spoke highly of him, which in turn had “sparked” Summers’ interest. That sounded like what Vinyl was carrying now; a burning curiosity. If she could get some answers, maybe even figure out whatever Summers had, she’d be one step closer to knowing what to do with hers. Inviting Octavia to the Labyrinthiyum to meet the minotaur was meeting two of Fancy's friends in one go. She just wished she could remember the minotaur’s name.

Reaching the bottom of the staircase, they pushed open the imposing double doors to enter the welcoming, yet foreboding, cross between a diner and a dungeon. Decorative vines covered the darkened walls, dotted with cute flowers sprouting in a rainbow of colors. The imposing stonework was paneled with soft, polished wood to catch the light and brighten the maze around them. They could hear conversations from happy customers already enjoying their meals, but couldn’t see them past the winding path of partitions. The scent of warm bread and freshly cut vegetables wafted around the corner in a tantalizing medley of aromas. While Vinyl’s goal was to find answers, it didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy whatever was cooking while she was doing it.

“Looks like we’re supposed to choose where we sit,” Tavi said as she read a chalkboard sign next to the door, “and today’s special is a ‘deli-sliced mushroom and spinach guy-ro?’ Whatever that is.”

“Smells good if that’s what I’m smelling,” Vinyl noted after taking another delicious whiff of the air.

“I agree wholeheartedly.” Octavia hummed in thought as she looked over the floor plan, or rather maze woven around their seating options. “It looks like all the tables are taken, so it’s between booths or seats at the bar.”

“Let’s do a booth. I’m always sitting on barstools at Cantrips.” More importantly, booths had a bit more privacy.

“I guess I’ll sign us in at table eight then.” Tavi wrote an “8-2” on the guest ledger. In response, the table glowed blue on the map as a light shot down across the unicursal maze. Turning towards the path, they noticed the lapis lazuli tiles on the floor lighting their way. “Oh, fancier than I expected.”

Vinyl cleared her throat as she followed after Tavi to their table. “She said she runs the place by herself. Automated enchantments would help for sure.”

“I suppose the restaurant isn’t that big if you ignore the overhead space. Must be a nightmare when it’s busy though. Perhaps you two can bond over needlessly complicating things, Miss One-mare-show.”

“I just want to be sure everything goes right.”

“I know, Vinyl. But next time you decide to do something involving swing, just ask. I’ll happily provide my cello or double-bass.”

“We’ll see.”

At the end of the blue line was their empty booth. Vinyl could see why most ponies were sitting at the tables considering the seating’s massive scale. It was designed to accommodate creatures of most sizes and shapes along with plenty of legroom underneath the table. Said table sat on two central legs supported by a hinge with a crank. Unlocking the mechanism, Vinyl spun it with her magic, causing the table to lower closer to the booth seats.

“Sorry, sorry! I forgot to reset it after last night!” a deep, yet airy voice apologized. Turning towards the sound of thumping feet, they witnessed their hostess rushing over, balancing a large tray of food. “Let me fix it for you real quick.”

“My word,” Octavia whispered as she backed away from the approaching fluffy beast.

The minotaur placed the food on the table and ducked down to work the underside’s mechanisms. Even hunkered down on her knees, the minotaur was just as tall as them. She balanced on her elbows and spun cranks, unlatched locks, and folded jacks to scale the booth down to a more comfortable, pony size. It was still big, but at least they wouldn’t look like two foals pretending to play grownups.

“There we go. I’ll be right with you to take your—” Their hostess paused when she finally noticed who had shown up for lunch. “You’re DJ Pon-3!”

“Uhh, just Vinyl is fine,” the nervous DJ said with a strained smile seeing the starstruck minotaur.

“You actually came!” the minotaur squealed with delight as several other curious ponies looked their way. “Please, please! Have a seat. Let me get these orders out and I’ll be right with you, Vinyl and…” she trailed seeing the other pony staring at her in astonishment.

“Octavia Melody. It is lovely to meet you, Miss…”

“Huh? Oh! Right, I’m Athena. Athena Cypriel! It’s so nice to…” Athena trailed off again as the wheels started turning in her head. Her smile somehow widened even further with recognition. “Oh-my-gosh! I know you! You were the organizer of the Performer Showcases!”

Tavi smiled politely, not used to being on the receiving end of fan reactions. “I certainly helped out with the event, but my part wasn’t so—”

“It was so amazing! Thank you so much for putting it together. There’s so much I want to talk to you two about…” Athena caught her excitement, realizing she was making her much smaller guests uncomfortable with her bouncing. She slowly turned to see every customer was looking at her. Her face flushed red immediately, recalling she was in the middle of the lunch rush. She shot up to her feet, going rigid from embarrassment as she robotically grabbed the tray of food. She cleared her throat trying to remember how to talk again until realizing she was standing at her full height. With a gasp, she bent down slightly to try to appear less threatening. “Umm, sorry. I’ll be right back with the menus.”

Octavia and Vinyl stared blankly as the mortified minotaur turned and stiffly walked away, depositing several plates of food onto a couple tables before retreating to the kitchen.

“I’d never heard of stage managers getting fans,” Octavia muttered, but smiled in relief as she saw their properly scaled booth. “But she seems nice. Shall we take our seats?”

Vinyl nodded absently as she sat down. She recalled Athena being excitable at the Showcases, but she was not prepared for the massive minotaur's fangirling. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be too distracted by what little starpower DJ Pon-3 had to talk about Fancy Pants.

She rapped her hooves on the table to the beat in her head. There had to be a strategy to this, a game plan, or something. What could she talk about that would circle around to Fancy Pants? Fleur would know how to ask without anypony finding out. What would Fleur do?

“Okay, so Lady Faire distracts the guards by starting a heated political debate in the gallery room so the rest of the party can sneak out the back to corner the Saddle Arabian wazir. I add my diplomacy skill bonus and roll a charisma check!”

“Not helping, Fleur,” Vinyl complained under her breath.

“Here you go!” Athena said as she came back with a pair of menus and water glasses, only to stop when she noticed how far apart they were across the table. “Oh, right. Could you lean back in your seats?”

Both ponies did as they were asked as Athena set the glasses aside. She pulled two heavy latches on the side of the table and folded the leaves on top of each other, effectively cutting it in half. She then reached out to both booth seats’ backs and lurched them closer together until a loud clunk locked them in place. Finally, she pulled a tablecloth from a cubby hole under the table and gently laid it across to hide the hinges.

“There! Much better,” Athena said with a satisfied sigh as she dusted her hands off like a powerlifter. She lightly pinched the pony-sized waters and set them on the table with care. “Now, can I get you started on anything?”

Vinyl and Tavi had both gotten so lost watching the behemoth’s feats of strength coupled with motherly tenderness that they’d forgotten to look at the appetizers. Athena’s smile strained from nervousness, reminding them they were supposed to be eating. In unison, they popped open their menus to browse.

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” Octavia noted as she looked over the offerings. “What would you recommend, Miss Cypriel? I’ve never had Minoan.”

“Oh! Well, you could start off with the Minoan Mezze Maze. It has a little taste of everything I make here. I wouldn’t mind explaining the flavor combinations after sampling a few things on the platter; if you’re okay with me doing that, that is.”

“I think we’d both enjoy a guide if you’re not too busy with the rest of your customers.”

Athena’s face flashed with joy before her professionalism pulled it back. “No, it’s fine. They’ve already ordered. I just need to watch the floor if they buzz in with something else.”

Vinyl tilted her head. “Buzz in?”

“Yeah, see that button on the wall there?” Athena pointed across the table from her. “It might be a little high.”

Vinyl turned attention to the partition wall at her side and looked around until she saw a blue button above the center of the table.

“Just push it in like so—” Athena said as she leaned over the table and pressed it. A bell sounded and the minotaur stepped back to show the floor underneath her as the lapis lazuli tiles lit up and curved towards the kitchen. “—and that’ll let me know you need something!”

Vinyl whistled, impressed by the sheer amount of magic running through every aspect of the place. “You sure have a lot of enchanted items around here.”

“Yep!” Athena pushed the button again, dispelling the light trail. “It’s just me here, so I needed all the help I could get. Luckily, Fancy Pants knew some artificers that could help me get started. They even worked out these modular booths so I could sit all sorts of guests down!”

Fancy Pants! Okay, the topic was broached. Now Vinyl just needed to continue it as naturally as possible. What could she say to start asking questions about him?

“I’ll need to bring my husband here sometime,” Octavia said as she looked around the restaurant. “He loves seeing magical items at work.”

Vinyl growled to herself. That dorky bat-brain was going to insert himself without being here and derail her train of thought before it even pulled out of the station.

“Your husband?” Athena asked, somewhat bewildered.

“Yes, he’s a nocturne named Steeplechase.”

“Oh! Okay. Sorry! For a second I thought you two were…” Athena’s face flushed red again.

Octavia quirked her brow. “We were what?”

“Nothing! I’ll be right back with your appetizer!” she stammered as she ran for the safety of the kitchen.

“Wait! We didn’t—and she’s gone. Oh well. Rather nervous for such a large creature. Us together? Can you imagine if…” Octavia regarded Vinyl and giggled. “Now I see the misunderstanding.”

“What?” Vinyl asked.

“You look almost as nervous as Steeple was when he proposed to me.” Octavia giggled to herself. “While I’m flattered, you know it’d just break his fruity little heart if I left him for you.”

Vinyl grumbled to herself. Of course, she was already showing her nerves. Without her sunglasses to hide behind, she couldn’t fool anyone for long. But the last thing she needed was to cower behind a mask. It’d be okay just as long as they kept asking the wrong questions.

“Oh, Vinyl, it’s just a joke. You’ve been so high-strung today, I was hoping a little levity might wind you down. Unfortunately, Steeplechase is much better at that than I am.”

“Maybe I should’ve invited him to lunch then instead.”

“Here’s the thing about that idea: at least I know when to stop. Steeple would just take it and run until he was offering you his hoof in marriage as the punchline.”

“I guess you’re right. He’s so different when you’re around.”

“Because he likes to push my buttons, even if he gets in trouble for it later.”

“Sounds irritating.”

“Oh, it can be outright infuriating at times, but truly, I adore him for it.”

Vinyl narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out if Octavia was the one trying to lie to her for once. “You mean you actually like him messing with you all the time?”

“That’s not exactly what I meant. I like the way he makes me when he’s around, even if it’s embarrassing. You’re lucky you only met me after we were already together. I was an upwardly mobile stick in the mud.”

“You still are."

“Yes, but now I’ve graduated from just a stick to a pony who can enjoy mud, at least as long as I have him to play around in it with me,” Octavia clarified, her face brightening at the thought of her husband. “I would’ve never acted out a soap opera in a library before I met him. He taught me that it was still okay to loosen up and have fun.”

“If this is what you think ‘loosen up’ is, I don’t want to think of what a tightwad Tavi would be like.”

“Let me tell you, she was the worst. That Octavia always kept to herself and tried to be the most proper pony she could be. And you know what? It was absolutely dreadful. I think it would be overstating things to say the cliché ‘he completes me,’ but I know Steeplechase helps me be a better version of myself.”

Vinyl could get behind that. She’d gone through many iterations of herself before striking what she thought was gold with the DJ. It felt right. Her talents were being used to the best of their abilities, she was making her way in Canterlot, but thinking back, it was so difficult to stand alone. After that monolithic façade of strength crumbled into dust, she didn’t even know what a complete Vinyl Scratch looked like anymore.

“Well, what do you do for him then?” Vinyl probed.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, it sounds like Steeplechase was already good enough to be on his own. Is he just helping you?”

“Oh heavens no. I’m sure he’d be fine, as would I, but we’re both better off together. He can sometimes get so focused on a task that he neglects himself. One of the reasons he’s so thin is that he can go on research binges and forget to eat. Luckily, he’s got me now to drag him away from his books so we can enjoy each other’s company. Steeple can’t resist my charms, or my strength.”

Vinyl flopped her head down on the table. She didn’t know what she could bring to anypony, let alone somepony like Fancy Pants. He’d told her she was smart and a hard worker, but outside of music, magic, and plenty of emotional baggage, she didn’t know how he’d help her. All she’d wind up doing is siphoning off him more than she already was. What could she offer to a pony who already had everything?

“You don’t need to pressure yourself so much. I told you before that friendship isn’t a transaction. All you need to do is talk to her. That’s how you meet others.” Octavia leaned in and glanced around to make sure nopony was watching before whispering into Vinyl’s ear. “Not a lot of ponies know this, but you’re very likable.”

“That’s news to me,” Vinyl grumbled.

“You are. I know you’re frustrated by it, but I find your blunt honesty to be so refreshing, especially here in Canterlot. You hold fast to your principles and refuse to budge on them. I never have to second-guess anything around you. You’ll always break something down if it doesn’t sound right to you.”

Vinyl picked herself back up to look her friend in the eyes. “Even when I don’t want to?”

“You might think you don’t want to, but trust me, you’re so much better for it. White lies are still lies, you know. If you get too comfortable telling them, you’ll still find yourself in a tangled mess before too long. You might even forget they were lies in the first place. I’m glad to have somepony like you with so much integrity that I can’t even fool myself when you’re around.”

Integrity was a word she hadn’t heard outside of stories and her crystal research’s structural kind. She’d already shattered so many times, she didn’t know how there was enough Vinyl left to have anything resembling that. It felt more like a flaw in her design that held her back than a quality characteristic. She always thought if she was better at lying, everything would be so much easier. Lies seemed so much more comfortable to those that could live with them.

“Order up!” Athena announced as she rounded the corner carrying a massive tray. “The Minoan Mezze Maze platter for all your grazing pleasure.”

Instead of pulling a plate from the top, their hostess laid the whole thing down, taking up over half the table. Thin breadsticks had been cut in halves and arranged in a meandering pathway that led through various vegetables, salads, nuts, and spreads. Vinyl and Octavia marveled at the sheer amount of food that was present for a single appetizer. They’d somehow ordered a house party buffet to split between two ponies.

After the initial shock subsided, Octavia cleared her throat. “Is everything here mazed-themed?”

“This is the only one. It’s easy to have the breadsticks do the work, so I figured why not have fun with it? Here, let me show you.” Athena pointed to one of the breadsticks at the edges leading in. “First, you get lost in the flavor here.”The minotaur began to move her finger along the path. “Then, you wander around inside trying to mix things together,” she explained as she moved through the maze, circling over various selections of food along the way. “And finally, you make your way out the other end once you’ve found something you like,” she finished as her finger followed the line out the exit. “Ta-da! The Minoan Mezze Maze!”

Octavia and Vinyl both shared a look as the happy minotaur bubbled with excitement. They silently agreed that no matter what they did, no matter how hard they tried, they’d never be able to do anything cuter than what they had just witnessed.

“So, we just mix and match stuff at random?” Vinyl asked as she scanned up and down the mountain of food in front of them.

Athena nodded. “That’s part of the fun! But, I can show you some of my favorites if you’d like.”

“Please do,” Octavia said as she tried to take in the grocery run’s worth of food sitting on the table. “This is a bit overwhelming.”

“Oh! Sorry.” The minotaur tucked her dress apron under herself as she gently lowered herself to the floor, sitting on her legs. She immediately pointed to a bowl filled with white, lumpy sauce with a green garnish on the top. “So, I like to go with the tzatziki first. It’s yogurt with cucumber, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and a few other flavors. Just dip anything into it or take a spoonful by itself.”

Selecting a carrot stick, Vinyl took a little off the edge. She’d never considered yogurt could be used for anything outside of breakfast or dessert. It dripped more like a chunky, white salsa with a little greenery thrown in for good measure. As she was contemplating her food, she couldn’t help but notice Athena’s attention flicking between Vinyl and the carrot stick.

“Everything okay?” Vinyl asked.

“Oh! Yeah. Well, it’s just that if you don’t like tzatziki, it kind of knocks out most of the menu.” Athena shrank down as she apprehensively pushed her index fingers together. “It’s a staple of Minoan cuisine.”

Octavia grabbed a breadstick for herself and dolloped a spoonful on the flat side before taking her first bite. She chewed for a bit, waiting for the flavor to hit her before her eyes widened in pleasurable surprise. “It’s quite an interesting flavor. Mellow, with a little zesty kick.”

“You like it?” Athena asked.

“It’s light and lovely,” she assured the nerve-wracked minotaur. “Don’t keep our hostess in suspense, Vinyl.”

Following suit, Vinyl went all in, tossing the carrot stick into the air and catching it in her mouth with a full bite. Immediately, she could taste the carrot’s earthiness enveloped by the tzatziki’s mild tang. It wasn’t particularly powerful, but the full medley of the experience felt pleasantly flavorful.

“This is great!” Vinyl said, allowing the minotaur to sigh in relief. She quickly plucked a grape off one of the bunches and dipped it to see how it’d match. “What do you use it in?”

“It can go in almost anything. Gyros, pizza, vegetable skewers…”

“What’s a hero?”

“It’s the thing you probably read as ‘gee-ro’ or ‘guy-ro’ out front. Also, it’s today’s special! Diced trumpet royale or portobello mushrooms with a lightly spiced tzatziki sauce, mixed with grilled tomatoes and onions, all wrapped in spinach and pita bread.”

Octavia hummed in contentment as she sampled a tzatziki-dipped celery stalk. “If we have any room left after this ‘appetizer,’ then I think I know what I’d like to try next.”

“Of course! I’d be more than happy to send you home with some too. I haven’t met a pony yet who hasn’t liked my gyros.”

Vinyl took a piece of toasted pita bread and started stacking several vegetables at random before pouring tzatziki on top of all of it. “I can’t imagine anypony hating something like this unless they just don’t like yogurt.”

“That’s what Fancy said when he tried my cooking for the first time. I used to sell gyros from a food cart, but I barely had any business.”

Fancy Pants! Finally, the conversation was back on track. Vinyl swallowed to get herself a second to think, but went with her gut. “Really? But this is so good!”

“O-oh! Right, the thing is, I refused to use…” Athena paused before bitterly murmuring, “certain ingredients.” She sighed and crossed her arms. “When I was back in Minossus, I found things to emulate the flavors everyone liked, but most minotaurs outright refused to eat ‘prideless’ meals.”

“Prideless?” Vinyl asked.

“If I were to hazard a guess, griffons and minotaurs can eat more than plants,” Octavia said in a low whisper to avoid other customers overhearing them. “And, no offense Athena, but minotaurs aren’t known for having the patience for fishing.”

“Oh.”

“They hunted things like quarray eels and ophiotaurus, but at the end of the day, the most popular ingredients were farm-raised chicken or cockatrice!” the minotaur complained while pulling at her horns. “And my parents said I made it taste close enough. Everyone else just hated it because it was different!” She sighed and slumped her shoulders. “Sorry. It’s still a sore spot for me.”

Seeing her frustration, Octavia offered a carrot stick to Athena. “Of course. There’s no accounting for taste. Food is better with friends, right?”

“Thanks.” Athena took a bite for herself and smiled from the flavor. “I tried to show the others we could try a different way where we didn’t have to eat other creatures, but…” Athena drifted as she looked down at her half-eaten breadstick. Vinyl knew the feeling very well from getting ready in the morning.

“It felt useless? Like no matter what you did, you couldn’t change anything?”

Athena nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t want to hurt anything for a meal, but no one wanted my ‘fake food’ when there was the real deal across the street.” She sighed and finished her food with another bite. “I was just about to throw in the towel when Fancy Pants wandered up to my cart. I had no idea who he was, but the word ‘vegan’ caught his eye and he wanted to try a gyro. He took one bite and asked me why I didn’t have a line running around the corner. We got to talking and he offered to help me move my business to Equestria on the spot.”

Octavia chuckled. “That sounds just like him. Quite the lucky break, huh?”

“Yeah, but I told him no.”

“What?” Vinyl nearly dropped her food out of her magic. She thought she was the only one stupid enough to turn Fancy’s bits down. “But why? Wasn’t your stall going under?”

“It was, but somepony just showing up out of the blue and offering to fix all of your problems? It was just too good to be true. Things like that don’t just happen.”

Vinyl laughed nervously. “Can’t blame you there.”

“After that, he didn’t ask again, but he did show up every day after that to have lunch. When I asked him about what he was up to, he said eating the best food in town with no wait was a no-brainer. I might’ve turned him down, but he still wanted to support my business for as long as he was in the capitol.”

Vinyl tapped her hooves on the table. While this wasn’t exactly how it had played out for her, this story was hitting a little too close to home with her. “What changed?”

“I asked my parents about it the day before he was going to go back to Equestria what I should do. I was so worried. It’d be such a big change. Then, my father asked me what I had to worry about. If he was lying, I could snap Fancy like a breadstick.” Athena giggled innocently before noticing her guests’ stunned silence. “B-but I never would! It’s just a minotaur thing to say, I swear! It was really sweet of him, honest!”

Seeing that her guests weren’t buying it, Athena coughed into her fist and brushed her killer strength aside. “Anyway, while we were just trying to scrounge up enough to afford me moving to Equestria, Fancy mailed me a train ticket to Canterlot with a bag of spending bits to help me get started. It was already more than I had saved up, so I just packed up and left.

“I wanted to set up in Manehattan, but there were some logistical issues,” Athena growled, before shaking off whatever was bothering her. “When I got to Canterlot, I stayed a couple nights at his estate while he finalized a land purchase. After that, he showed me what he bought before he clarified he’d bought the land under the street. He hired engineers, geomancers, and artificers to make all of this just the way I always wanted. He paid for everything without even batting an eye.”

“Fancy never mentioned that he owns the Labyrinthiyum,” Octavia said.

“He doesn’t. I do.”

Vinyl blinked. “But you just said he paid for everything.”

“I know, but everything is under my name. He just paid for it.” Athena paused for a second. “Wait, no. He still owns the land, but that was because I couldn’t. I wasn’t an Equestrian at the time, so I could own everything but the land itself. Once I got my citizenship, I asked him to sell it to me, but he told me to wait until I had a bit more saved up to afford the taxes on it without risking my business.”

“Wait, so you pay rent to him?”

Athena shook her head.

“If he doesn’t own the restaurant and he doesn’t collect anything from you, what did he get out of the deal?”

“I didn’t know for the longest time. He always talked about this place in different ways for everyone he brought in, but he didn’t need to do all of this for me. It didn’t make any sense.”

The more she heard of the Labyrithiyum’s story, the more uncomfortable it became to listen to. “Did you ever ask him about it?”

“I wanted to, but I thought if I asked him, it’d break the spell. I’d find out some dark, sinister reason and be trapped forever. When I finally worked up the courage to ask him directly, do you know what Fancy said?”

The two ponies shared a glance before shrugging or shaking their heads.

“He just wanted me to feel at home.”

Vinyl blinked. Was that all? That’s what he wanted? She’d heard that excuse before, but it sounded so stupid to her at the time.

“So, what exactly do you want from me?” Vinyl asked. Even if she’d come to regret it, the uncertainty was too much to bear.

Fancy shook his head. “Your question presumes that I want something from you in the first place. I want for you to be happy and enjoy your time living and working here. I would say you have nothing to be about, but you have no reason to believe what I say. So instead, just know that I’d prefer you behave in whatever manner you see fit around me. I do hope it isn’t fear-driven, but if it is, I don’t mind doing my best to honestly earn your trust.”

Why? Why was that the answer? And why did she already know it?

Athena’s smile quivered as she sniffed and she wiped her glistening eyes with her wrist. Vinyl knew that overwhelming relief. It was a terrifying kindness only afforded by the Kingmaker who could throw bits around like they were nothing. And he’d said it was nothing while she was…

“And she is priceless.”

It didn’t make any sense. She’d never be able to completely change somepony’s life. While she could only spin records like a glorified gramophone, Fancy Pants could wipe reality away.

“I don’t know why Fancy Pants bothered with someone like me, but he did, and I’m so grateful for it. I have more friends than I ever thought I would and, even though it’s been a bit slow-going, the five years I’ve been here have been the best of my life. I owe him so much.”

“But how are you supposed to pay him back then? You can’t make it even! You never can!”

“That’s not the right way to think about it.” Athena laid her hand on Vinyl’s hoof. “Something like that? You can’t pay that back with money. But that’s fine. Instead, I work every day to make sure everyone who comes here feels my gratitude in every dish I cook.”

“But, he could just come back and tell you one day to pay up, right? He holds that power over you. He could just walk in here and demand anything he wanted! Doesn’t that scare you?”

“Fancy isn’t like that. He told me that he has more money than he knows what to do with, so when he finds something to do with it, he just does it.” Athena’s grip tightened as she looked Vinyl in the eyes. “But sometimes? I really wish I could repay him. I know I can’t, and it’s frustrating. He changed my life, but even if I could give him every last bit back, it’d be meaningless to him.”

But that wasn’t possible. If money was meaningless to him, why didn’t he just always do what he wanted? He wanted a vineyard to make wine, but it wasn’t optimal use of the space. If not for money, what was he optimizing for? Her heart clenched tight. She didn’t understand, but she wanted to so badly.

“Vinyl, please. Just listen to me. I don’t know what kind of debt you think you owe him, but you don’t need to be scared of it. I know it’s weird to say as someone who’s trying to make a living running a restaurant, but money isn’t everything. It’s just a tool that helps you do what you want. There are other things you can do. I provided food for his meat-eating friends. You just need to do what you feel is right, okay?”

The spark burned in her heart. It made sense. She knew it made sense, but she’d tried that before and it never worked. There were so many things she could do to try to express it, but she had no idea what the right one was. She just wanted a solid answer, but she didn’t know how to ask.

“Well, it seems you didn’t have to worry about messing a single thing up, Vinyl.” Octavia said, reminding the other two she was still there. “I think you two have a pretty solid friendship going, right Athena?”

Athena’s face sank as she realized what she was doing and quickly let go of Vinyl’s hooves. “Sorry! I’m supposed to be showing you the food and got caught up in the moment. I didn’t mean to get weird.”

“Don’t worry about it, Athena. I’ve got another friend who’s far touchier than you,” Vinyl assured with a pat of the minotaur’s steely forearm since there was no way she was reaching her shoulder.

“Oh good. I know I can get a little touchy-feely and since I’m so big you probably—wait did you just say another friend?” Athena shrank back in shock.

Vinyl couldn’t help but laugh at how mousy the minotaur could be. “If you’re up for it. Fancy wanted us to be friends. I think I’d like that too.”

“Count me in as well. Vinyl’s a good judge of character, and any friend of hers is a friend of mine.”

Athena beamed a smile and clapped her hands together as she bounced up and down. Vinyl and Tavi shared another quick glance and endearing smile, silently wondering how the brawny behemoth of a minotaur could be so adorable.

“Okay, well let’s keep going on this maze tour, shall we?” Athena suggested to her new friends as she dipped a breadstick into another bowl. “This next one is called baba ganoush!”

“Thank you so much for coming in, you two!” Athena said as she walked Vinyl and Octavia to the door.

Vinyl stumbled to her wobbly legs. She’d eaten way too much. Thankfully, they were the last table to have been seated before the lunch rush died, so Athena had helped them knock out a good portion of the Mezze Maze, but then she brought the gyros out. They were the size of foals, and Athena had managed to eat two of them with ease while she and Tavi were almost completely full after the appetizer alone.

“We should be the ones to thank you, Athena,” Octavia said, suppressing a burp from the sheer amount of food she’d eaten before surrendering to the portions. “I think this might be my new favorite restaurant in Canterlot.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but I will have to be mindful of the portions next time.” Octavia shifted her weight, bouncing the leftovers weighing her down. “I’ve never had four saddlebags worth of takeout before.”

Athena flicked her ear as she blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry. I really wanted to thank you both for everything, so I made everything me-sized.”

“I guess my evening pasta plans have changed. Are you sure you don’t want to take any of this, Vinyl?”

Vinyl shook her head. “Fancy’s got plenty of food already. Plus, Dapper doesn’t like having leftovers in the fridge. I can’t even keep a slice of pizza without him trying to toss it out.”

“Well, I need to get back home before these frost wards wear off. Want to come with me, Vinyl?”

She shook her head. “I should really get back to the audio lab. I’m already a couple hours late.”

“Okay, well then I’ll walk you to the school to give Father some of this as a peace offering. Hopefully Mother hasn’t already started on their dinner.”

“You just don’t want to carry a bunch of leftovers, do you Tavi?”

“If you’re feeling anything like me right now, you just want to find a bed and collapse for a day until it all goes straight to your flank.” Octavia turned to the minotaur who was guiltily biting her lip from stuffing her new friends. “Don’t worry, Athena. Letting loose once won’t kill me. If I keep eating like this though, I’ll simply need to get an impressive physique like yours to burn it off.”

Athena chuckled as she drummed her fingers together.

“Shall we, Vinyl?”

“Oh wait!” Athena called out as they stepped through the door. “Vinyl? Before you go, can you come here for a second?”

“I’ll be waiting upstairs, Vinyl. I’ll need the extra time to drag myself up the stairs while fending off the food coma.” Octavia grabbed two of the takeout saddlebags and placed them on the floor. “But I am not carrying all of this up by myself.”

“Okay, Tavi. I’ll be right behind you,” Vinyl said as she draped the takeout over her back. It was like carrying two sacks of groceries home with the sheer amount inside. “So, what’s up, Athena?”

“I know we just met, but…” the minotaur tried to swallow her nerves, but her trepidation still played out on her lips. “Would it be okay if I give you a hug?”

“Uhh, sure? I guess.”

Athena waved her hands. “No, you don’t have to if you don’t want to! It’s okay.”

“Really, it’s fine. Just not too long, okay? I’m not a touchy pony.”

“Thank you.”

Athena took a deep breath and got on her knees again. She extended her arms out and waited. For a moment, Vinyl was confused. Usually Fleur just glomped onto her, but Athena was letting her change her mind if she wanted. Vinyl already said it was okay, so it was okay. She approached carefully and let the minotaur wrap her massive arms around her.

Athena gently lifted the saddlebags off Vinyl’s back as she pulled the little pony into a hug. She pushed Vinyl up, letting the DJ’s head rest on her shoulder. Vinyl would never be able to wrap her legs around the minotaur, so she adjusted herself to hug Athena’s neck. It was still as taut as the rest of her, but Athena’s white fur was so soft. She was just a big, fluffy, muscle-bound blanket.

“I’m sorry,” Athena whispered. “I probably need this more than you do.”

Vinyl nodded, but was unsure why Athena needed a hug from her in the first place. Athena’s grip tightened slightly, but not uncomfortably so. She wished Fleur had this level of restraint. After a few more moments, Athena breathed out and let Vinyl back down.

“I’m so glad you came today. Even if you didn’t want to be my friend, I’d just be glad to know you’re doing better.”

Vinyl tilted her head. “Okay?”

“I know it sounds strange, but I’ve been wanting to give you a hug for a while. Fancy told me what happened to you after that big snowfall event, and I just…” Athena took a breath to calm herself down, “it broke my heart.”

“What? But, why? We’d never even met!”

“No, but I knew you were hurting. I just couldn’t do anything to help until now. At the Showcases, I nearly chased you down when you dropped your sunglasses. I didn’t know what was wrong, but I just wanted to hold you and tell you that everything was going to be okay. Still, I know I’m scary, so I would’ve just made it worse.” Athena smiled softly with a tinge of apprehension. “B-but now that we’re friends, I can try to help, right?”

“Yeah, but you can’t just say that. You don’t even know what’s wrong. How could you even say that?”

“I don’t know. I just thought that, maybe if I said it enough, it would come true. That’s what I want to believe anyway.”

Vinyl’s ear twitched. There was something so comforting about that notion. A nagging desire pulled at her, something she didn’t want to remember. She clamped her heart down to stop it and steeled her gaze.

“Athena, you can’t just—”

No!

Vinyl froze as she felt the spark surge against her. It knew Vinyl was cold, and it wanted—no, it demanded to be warm. It was small, frail, and whiny, but refused to be ignored. It flared with all of the weaknesses she didn’t want to show and overflowed with everything she really wanted. She knew why.

Someone was right there. Just in front of her within her reach. All she needed to do was extend her hoof, but she just couldn’t do it. For all the promise of warmth, there was the threat of it leaving again. Vinyl nearly screwed up everything with her sister, and they’d been friends for years. She barely knew Athena. Her head listed from her unsteady desires, sinking her gaze to her hooves as the fear bore down on her back. But then, that’s when she saw her.

That filly. That stupid little filly that wouldn’t shut up. She was pulling at Vinyl’s legs with all of her feeble strength. She wanted Vinyl to move. She wanted Vinyl to connect. She wanted Vinyl to get out of the static. As she struggled uselessly trying to get the stubborn mare to budge, her eyes cracked open to see Vinyl could finally see her. She stopped reared up onto her hind legs, pressing her forehooves against Vinyl’s chest.

Stop it, please! I don’t want to be alone anymore! the filly begged as she pounded as hard as she could on Vinyl’s chest, flashing the spark with each desperate blow. Vinyl acquiesced to the filly’s desires as she swallowed her defenses.

“Can you, maybe say it now?” Vinyl quickly asked.

“Of course, I’d be happy to!” Athena gave Vinyl a big thumbs up and winked. “Don’t worry, Vinyl! Everything is going to be o-kay!”

“No! Not like that!” Vinyl barked back, causing Athena to recoil in shock. Catching her temper, she took a steadying pause and tried again. “Could you maybe say it like you said it before?”

Athena nodded as she softened. “Don’t worry, Vinyl. Everything is going to be okay.”

Vinyl stomped her hoof. It still wasn’t enough. She was still so cold, and it hurt. It was getting hard to see through the water clouding her vision. She just wanted to be warm. “Could you hold me? Please?”

The minotaur gasped and punched through the ice to pull Vinyl out and into her deep and caring embrace. Vinyl could feel Athena’s hand gently cradling the back of her head as Athena’s fingers cupped around her ears to block everything but her tender support. “Shh… it’s okay, Vinyl. It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

“But I’m scared,” Vinyl admitted. She hated what she was doing, but it felt so warm. She gripped Athena’s apron like a life preserver and clung on tight. “I’m just going to mess everything up again. It’s going to be all my fault!”

“You won’t mess anything up, Vinyl. Just do what you feel is right, and I’m sure it will work out.”

“What if it’s wrong though?”

Athena pulled back and wiped the tears from Vinyl’s eyes. “I don’t think it’s wrong.”

“How can you even say that?”

“What’s wrong with liking somepony? I think it’s beautiful.”

Vinyl’s breath hitched. “H-how did you…”

Athena covered her mouth with her free hand. “Oh, Hades. I’m sorry! I didn’t realize you were keeping it a secret. Don’t worry. Barkeepers have to be confidential if they want their favorite customers to keep coming back. I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”

“I can’t believe I’m already screwing up this badly!” Vinyl pushed her on her temples and growled at herself. “What am I supposed to do? I don’t know what to do with these feelings? What if he finds out before I even know?”

“No! It’s okay, I promise! If it’s any consolation, I don’t think Octavia noticed,” Athena said with a weak shrug. “I’m just really good at keying into the emotions of others. Your heart was practically singing when we were talking about him today.”

Vinyl’s heart sank even further. “You mean it’s that obvious?”

Athena balked briefly, but wiped it away with a nervous chuckle. “I mean, no! I have no idea who you were talking about?” Athena’s smile strained from the obvious lie.

I was wrong! Bail-bail-bail! Vinyl could hear the filly scamper away and crawl back behind the mirror to hide. For once, Vinyl wished she could join her.

“And I thought I was bad at lying,” Vinyl huffed with a forlorn chuckle.

“Well, the only other pony we talked about was Fancy Pants, and you really glowed when I mentioned him, so I just kept talking about him and…” Athena trailed and put Vinyl back down on the floor and bowed to apologize. “I’m so sorry.”

At least she’d be able to come right out and say it then. “Well, if you’re the expert, what should I do about it?”

Athena flicked her ear in thought. “Oh, I wouldn’t know. I’ve only read novels. My eating habits are kind of a turn-off to most of the dates I suffered through, and the only other minotaur I know in Equestria is Iron Will. He’s… a bit much.”

“Ever thought of dating a pony?”

Athena looked away with a lonely frown. “We’re completely different species. I wouldn’t be able to do anything for him.”

“Woah, woah, woah!” Vinyl swatted at the air, trying to cleanse it of the conclusions Athena was leaping to. “Who said anything about that? What about just having fun?”

“No. Dates aren’t fun for me. I’m always too nervous about them.”

“What’s the point of dating if you’re not having fun?”

“My parents always wanted grandchildren. I never really asked anyone out, so they’d find a mate they liked and set me up. I rarely got through dinner with any of them.”

“That sounds awful.”

“It was! I hate interviews,” Athena whined as she pulled at her horns.

“Well, there’s your problem. Maybe minotaurs do things differently, but you’re in Equestria now. You can do whatever you want!”

“Like what?” Athena asked innocently.

“Like, what if you don’t even want to date a guy? What about a girl?”

“Oh. Well I…” Athena trailed as she thought about it. “I don’t know. I was trying to get stable for so long, I guess I never thought about it.”

Vinyl laughed morosely. “Looks like we both have more in common than we thought. We both have no idea what we want.”

“Well, you do, right?”

“Wha—No? That’s why I was asking you in the first place!”

“So, why don’t you just do what you want to do and have fun? It’s Equestria, right?” Athena said as she shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s not that easy for me.”

“Well…” Athena got off the floor and brushed her work apron and dress off as she stood to her full, monstrous height. “What makes you think it’ll be easier for me?” Athena joked as she looked down at the little pony.

“You have a point.”

“Don’t worry, Vinyl. Everything will be okay!” Athena cheered before angling a thumbs-up down at her friend. “I’ll be rooting for you!”

“Thanks, Athena. I’ll be doing the same for you. After all, somepony…”

A really special somepony?

“…somepony important to me said something that’s really helped me a lot recently,” she finished diplomatically.

Fine. I guess that’s close enough…

Athena tilted her head. “Oh? What’s that?”

Can you at least say it the way I want to?

Vinyl nodded, letting her heart take the reins.

“You deserve as many friends as you want to make, Athena!”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 35: Living Like Magic

It was a little after four o’clock, which was far over the time Princess Luna had allocated for the first meeting of the Crystal Summit Committee. The session wasn’t supposed to be a long ordeal. Just a quick way to introduce each other, discuss roles, and cover the larger ideas Luna envisioned. After almost an additional forty-five minutes, the only thing crystal was how clearly obstinate these ponies would always be.

Fancy Pants put his pocket watch away and looked around the familiar meeting room. Aside from the additional moon motifs to complement the various suns, nothing much had changed about his old workspace. The table was just as wide, the meetings were just as long, and the nobles were just as insufferable. For her part, Luna was running it better than expected despite the gentry’s constant interruptions. She’d tried to stop their squabbling on multiple occasions, which only seemed to fuel further squabbles.

Everypony’s attempts to wrest control from the reclusive princess made Fancy appreciate how effortlessly her elder sister negotiated around their egos. Princess Celestia masterfully weaved vague answers that were equal parts clear and confounding. Anypony that tried to counter her would find themselves lunging at nothing before falling to an unseen attack from all sides. Meanwhile, Luna refused to play any games. She’d brought a verbal battle axe to clear-cut through forests of nonsense. The sweeping swipes left a path of destruction, allowing the sneakier ponies to endlessly nitpick her meanings.

Fancy had held back unless absolutely necessary, per Luna’s request, but he was starting to worry about maintaining his continued silence. The princess’ patience with the ordeal was nearing its limit. She’d swapped to the “royal we” out of stress fifteen minutes ago, and it seemed the other nobles could smell the blood in the water. Upper Crust especially was not taking Luna’s “no” for an answer.

“We hath weathered all thy infuriating—” Luna stopped herself before going too far with a deep breath through the nose. “Rather, we’ve understood, and continue to understand your numerous issues with your perceived change in leadership, but as we have clarified multiple times, our sister never specified the manner in which this summit would be conducted.”

“Please, I understand your highness, I really do. But it’s not an objection for my sake, but for Ambassador Dovetail’s,” Upper Crust deflected once more, moving back to Fancy’s successor for the millionth time. For the pegasus’ part, the ambassador herself had checked out and was probably lounging on a beach somewhere in her mind. “She has been working so closely with the Crystal Empire for months. It feels wrong to take her crowning achievement away from her.”

“As we have said before, Ambassador Dovetail will be at the actual ceremony. However, Sir Fancy Pants has graciously offered his assistance as well. He will be helping us in various ways, including helping ourselves with the finer details of the negotiations.”

“Haven’t we been doing that already with Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?”

“No. For various reasons, we have been working with our niece only, as the crystal ponies have…” Luna trailed as she tried to find a way to not let the weakened mental state of the crystal ponies slip. While not a secret that they were still out of sorts, the specific nature of their ailment left the crystal ponies vulnerable to coercion and manipulation. Some less scrupulous ponies might take the opportunity to use the potential fog in judgment to make some very lucrative exclusivity deals at the Empire’s expense.

“They have been adjusting to the changes since the kingdom vanished,” Fancy clarified. “Princess Mi Amore Cadenza has been speaking for them as best she can, but nothing has been solidified with the crystal ponies themselves.”

Luna smiled through the exhaustion. “Thank you, Sir Fancy Pants.”

“All the more reason to have a face they will be familiar with then.” Upper Crust eyed the helpful stallion with a small frown. “While Sir Fancy Pants’ previous record is undeniable, he will be playing catch-up. I don’t see how this change can be beneficial for anypony. Ambassador Dovetail is more familiar with our dealings with the Empire. She’s been absolutely fundamental for all of us in helping make critical connections.”

Luna sucked in her lips and nodded with a silent plea for all of this just to end. “We are aware of your business exploits to help bring the Crystal Empire’s economy into modernity, but this final mission is a more diplomatic venture.”

“If I may be so bold, your highness, good trade is important to any international relationship. After all, what is the purpose of a treaty between nations but to profit together in friendship?”

“Do not speak down to me about running a nation, Upper Crust!” Luna fired back. “Fancy Pants’ kingmaker talents will make him ideal in perceiving what is best for both nations, not just Equestria.”

While several nobles backed away from the princess’ rising temper, Upper Crust brushed it off. “The success of both nations is my top priority. Their success is our success after all. I simply want to ensure they are given the best we have to offer.”

“And they will. We will be hosting the royal delegation within the castle while the servants and airship stay with Sir Fancy Pants at his estate. We do not anticipate any trouble, but in the event of another invasion-level threat, the delegation will be able to defend our guests along with their vessel more easily with their proximity to the castle. All other matters can be addressed in our meetings moving forward.”

Upper Crust raised her hoof once more. “But, your highness, if I may—”

“You. May. NOT!” Luna boomed as her patience finally reached its end. “If you refuse to bow out gracefully, then perhaps we must speak more plainly: We see thy maneuvers for what they are. Horst Holdings and its partners shall not be permitted to grant favored access to the delegation under our watch for any business contracts! Do we make ourselves clear, Upper Crust?”

The mare lifted a hoof to her chest in shock as she fought back a sly smile. “Please, your majesty! I was simply asking questions. You do not need to sink to baseless slander if we have a perceived disagreement between the two of us.”

Fancy cursed under his breath. So that was her plan all along. Looking at Luna, it seemed she was falling for it in her seething anger.

“Slander?” Luna stood up from the table, her mane flaring to life as the temperature began to drop. “You dare accuse us of slander after you so brazenly—”

“Pardon, your highness,” Fancy Pants interjected quickly, “I may be out of practice, but perhaps I can find an amicable solution here.”

“Amicable?” Luna sparked with the power of a pulsar. “She dare speaks of—”

Fancy ignored the outraged alicorn and raised his voice to the ambassador. “Pardon me, but perhaps we should ask Ambassador Dovetail for her opinion on the matter?”

Said pegasus’ ear flicked at the mention of her name, drawing her away from the terrifying princess’ presence filling the room. “Yes, Sir Fancy Pants?”

“Is my inclusion in this joint endeavor an inconvenience for you?”

She quickly shook her head. “No! N-not at all, sir!”

“Are you sure? As Upper Crust has correctly pointed out, I am a latecomer into the negotiations and need to be brought up to speed.”

“It will be a bit more work admittedly, but I also need to prepare Princess Luna. I believe I will be working with you both at once to not repeat the same information.”

“That is correct, and I look forward to working with you to fulfill your desires for the delegation.” Fancy smiled and bowed to the magnanimous diplomat, giving a quick wink to Luna, who ceased her enraged ascent and slowly lowered back to her seat in confusion.

With the ambassador’s clarification at the ready, he advanced towards his true opponent. “So if I understand the concern, Upper Crust, the problem stems from Princess Celestia tasking Princess Luna with managing the Crystal Summit as her first official international duty, which Princess Luna then requested that I assist her with preparations. Are you perhaps worried Princess Luna is incapable of performing this task?”

“Not at all,” Upper Crust quickly deflected.

“Then you doubt her judgment in selecting me to help perform?” Fancy pressed.

Upper Crust hesitated for a moment. “Not necessarily.”

“I see. So that is the heart of it. You believe Ambassador Dovetail is more equipped to deal with this?”

“Frankly, yes. She has spent more time with them, knows their taste and their customs, and is far more familiar with the relationships that have been established throughout these past months. The Crystal Empire knows her, not you.”

“Exactly. I am glad you understand, Upper Crust,” Fancy agreed with a smile.

“Wha—What do you mean?”

“While you and Ambassador Dovetail’s work has helped bring the crystal ponies up to speed on who we are today, Princess Luna knows who they were a thousand years ago better than anypony at this table. Where I come in is my ignorance of them both past and present.”

Upper Crust laughed. “Oh, this is rich. And here I thought you didn’t have a sense of humor. You mean to say that you haven’t done your homework on our potential allies at all?”

“Precisely. I’m glad you understand, despite it being a bit avant-garde. I’ve never interacted with them in a truly meaningful way, but I have worked with the other nations around our modern world. I am prepared to show them who we are as Equestrians and the allies they will be joining without knowing who they are, just as they won’t know who we all are. It will be a two-pronged approach between past and present ignorance. Such reckless faith will ensure we trust each other as we all move towards discovering what our futures can be together.”

Upper Crust’s mouth moved, but no words came out as she stumbled trying to follow his obtuse logic. Seeing the opening, Fancy went for the decisive blow. “Do you not trust me, Upper Crust?”

“Not at all. Why would I doubt the Kingmaker?”

Fancy smiled diplomatically. “Then there’s no need to worry, Upper Crust. I always choose the best of the best. As you’re so quick to point out, why would I do anything different?”

The haughty mare turned her nose up and snorted at the mere notion. “Of course, Sir Fancy Pants. You’ve never steered me wrong before. We just need to put our best hoof forward with your strategy of…” she stammered as she tried to formulate something to keep the discourse spiraling.

“I know it’s a bit hard to follow at first, but I’m glad I have your endorsement in this endeavor, Upper Crust.” Fancy bowed as Upper Crust’s eyes shot open, realizing she’d dropped the conversation too long and surrendered the match. She tried to add something else, but Fancy quickly cut her off. “Then, if we are all in agreement, I believe we’ve already taken up enough of Princess Luna’s precious time. Is that correct, your highness?”

“Y-yes,” Luna answered quickly, with a little too much desperation dripping from her words.

“Then, would you close us out, your highness?”

“Gladly!” Luna shot up from her cushion before another word could be uttered. “We hereby declare the end of the first meeting of the Crystal Summit Committee. Now if you will excuse me!” Luna slammed her side of the table, not even bothering with the gavel, and stormed out the doors to the safety of the castle’s private hallways.

Upper Crust scrambled to her hooves and tried to chase down the Kingmaker. “Wait! Sir Fancy Pants, a word—”

“If anypony has anything else they need to add, we will be accepting written proposals for the summit.” Fancy offered an apologetic bow and continued trotting to keep up with the alicorn. “For now, I must attend to Princess Luna.”

Not even bothering with Upper Crust’s disingenuous pleas, Fancy Pants turned away to follow Luna out the doors and let the guards cut off the nobles’ pursuit. Looking down the halls, he spotted Luna rushing away, forcing Fancy Pants to gallop after her.

“Luna! Please wait! Where are you going in such a hurry?”

“To beg our sister to reconsider our involvement in this accursed summit!” Luna answered, not slowing her gait in the slightest. “We were foolish to accept even the most simple of tasks. The basics remain beyond our capabilities. We lack the fortitude to maintain this modern ‘proper decorum’ amid such arrogant malcontents!”

“Your highness, we may still be within earshot,” Fancy whispered.

Luna stopped in her tracks and flashed around as quick as a comet to roar down the hallway. “Let the fullness of our rage fall upon their despicable ears! They heard us at the art exhibition and think we are naught but a blundering foal! That we would be blind to blatant sops! They only desire riches for themselves while draped in the trappings of friendships we wish to forge! The Empire is nothing but a line in their selfish ledgers! The crystal ponies would be fools to want anything to do with us!”

“I understand your assessment, Luna, but you must understand, this is not how the game is played.”

“Fie upon such games that these foul ponies play! With such options, we’d rather flip the table entirely! We thought the court a thousand years ago was despicable, but now we pray for their earned arrogance instead of these moneyed vipers!” Luna released her frustrations in several powerful bucks to a nearby pillar until it cracked. “Why has our sister allowed for Equestria’s politics to devolve to such useless frivolity? For what purpose can this possibly serve? We cannot operate within such stifling, circuitous word games!”

“It is true that it can be exhausting, but I promise that there are many talented ponies who support you. Both Princess Celestia and Equestria itself have greatly benefited from sharing the burden with loyal, talented individuals. It takes many ponies working around the clock to satisfy the needs of our complicated nation.” Fancy placed a supportive hoof on Luna’s shoulder. “Those like Ambassador Dovetail and the others are good ponies. They’re some of the best minds and talents of our age.”

Luna sneered sidelong at the hallway towards the meeting room. “It is not she that we are concerned with, but the rest. If they are among the best, then Equestria has indeed fallen into a sorry state.” Luna’s anger weighed down on her as she removed her tiara and looked upon her reflection in it. “And if we cannot best them, is that not the most severe indictment of our enfeebled abilities? We can only make an utter fool of ourselves with the most fundamental politicking!”

“If you ever feel overwhelmed, there is no shame in asking me for help. I’m here to support you, Luna.”

“You would not need to support us if we knew to stay in our place!”

“Please, you belong wherever you want to go. Your place is anyplace as we are lucky to have somepony as wonderful as you alongside your sister.”

“Silence! The only thing full of wonder is how a fool such as ourselves has not brought about ruin sooner. We are only useful when skulking the deep reaches where the wicked believe their machinations to be safe. Such ponies are only honest when they hide. Within this lying daylight, we are blinded!”

“It’s fine to make mistakes, Luna. You’re still adjusting.”

“And we will continue to adjust until the age has moved on without us once more. We cannot keep pace. Our desire to walk with others in the light is utter folly.”

This wasn’t working. The princess teetering on the verge of collapse sparked his stress casting to coil around his quartz. He’d kept his head on straight throughout the meeting, but seeing Luna’s needless struggle with self-loathing was too much for him to bear. No matter what he said, the princess wouldn’t stop beating herself up. He needed an argument so solid that she’d have no chance to turn it back on him. But what could he possibly say? He was drawing a blank.

No, that was the wrong question. There was nothing he could say that she hadn’t heard before in one form or another. But perhaps there was something only he could do.

Fancy quickly looked around and saw nopony was nearby. He grabbed Luna by the hoof with the sudden contact shocking her out of her rumination. “Come with me a moment.” They two trotted through the halls, taking the less-traveled areas to hopefully avoid any guards or castle staff. The last thing he wanted was to feed into the romantic rumors about them still floating around Canterlot.

“Fancy Pants?”

“Please, just trust me.”

After a few quick and careful dashes through several hallways, they finally arrived at the base of Luna’s personal tower. Seeing the confused Lunar guards stationed outside her quarters, Fancy trotted up to them and regarded them sternly. “Your names, now.”

“Royal Order,” the unicorn stallion answered.

“Silver Spear,” the nocturne mare replied. She looked past Fancy towards her patron princess with concern. “Is her majesty alright?”

“Nice to meet you Royal Order, Silver Spear.” Fancy offered a bow before rising with absolute authority. “To answer your question, I will be trying to remedy that. For now, just know if I hear even one whisper of me escorting the princess to her room, I will personally hold the two of you responsible. I may not be Equestria’s ambassador any longer, but I will do what I can to make sure that you are replaced by guards that can protect their princess. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir!” both answered quickly as they opened the door.

“Thank you. My apologies for being short with you. As you were.”

Fancy led the princess into the security of her private room. Unlike Princess Celestia’s personal quarters, which sprawled over several rooms of the castle, he was met with Luna’s preference for small, sparsely decorated spaces. There was a little library with a desk, a fireplace with a lounging cushion and coffee table, and a kitchenette with a glowing coaster Fancy recognized from its partner at the Labyrithiyum. Prominently displayed in the center of the room was a sigil-inlaid dais that reflected the phases of the moon.

There were no other doors, and for a princess who specialized in dream magic, the lack of a bed was odd to say the least. Instead, he guided Luna to her seat near the fireplace and gently laid her down on her cushion. He looked for nonmagical means to light the fireplace, but Luna would never need such a thing with the power at her disposal. He was far too stressed to light the logs and instead knelt down next to the princess.

“What are you doing?” Luna asked with concern.

“Something that could confuse others that might see us.” With no hesitation, Fancy dipped his head and met the tip of his horn with hers. “Listen to the sound of my voice. Focus on nothing else and breathe.”

“What?”

“No questions, just clear your head and breathe, please.” Fancy followed his own instructions, taking care not to exhale in the princess’ muzzle. This wasn’t a dream, and he didn’t have anything to chase away his potentially bad breath.

A small smile crept across Luna’s face. “You are aware that this is meant to be accompanied by a relaxing spell, right?”

“Unfortunately, I’ve only been on the receiving end, so this cheap imitation will have to do,” Fancy replied with a smirk of his own. “Besides, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the magic enough to perform it anyway.”

Luna nodded slightly as she looked up at his horn. “Indeed. Your aura pulses erratically. I thought I was the one who was supposed to be upset.”

“You’ve seen my dreams lately.”

“I have. And you are so unfair to yourself; placing so much undue burden upon your withers. I am guilty of the same at this moment. Still, I wasn’t aware you were involuntarily casting magic.”

“Neither was I until Vinyl pointed it out. Now, if you’d humor me and try to ignore it.”

“Of course, dear Fancy Pants.”

Following his request, Luna shut her eyes and matched Fancy’s breathing. After a few moments, Luna began to channel her magic and Fancy Pants felt her gentle spellwork silence the acute stress roiling in his head.

“Subliminal Soothing. It's a dream spell that envelopes the subject’s unconscious mind and calms it with a flow of harmonious emotions from the caster, but it requires both parties to be synchronized. I can cast it like an illusion, but it is better when the soul is at peace so the effects are genuine.”

“You don’t need to lie to me to help me feel better,” Fancy assured.

Luna smiled peacefully. “If it was an illusion, admitting it now would’ve broken the spell.”

Fancy backed away from the contact. “Then, is it safe to say that you're feeling better?”

“From the moment our horns touched.” Luna embraced her friend in a desperate wing hug. She kissed the base of his horn and sat back down with a serene smile. “I cannot thank you enough for your tenderness, dear Fancy Pants. I have friends like you and sweet Athena to be there for me when I cast myself into darkness.”

“We will always do our best to help you.”

“And I you. Both of you.” Luna concentrated and summoned another lounging cushion in her midnight magic and set it to Fancy’s side. “Now, despite your invasion into my personal space, it would be remiss of me not to offer you a seat in my own room.”

Nodding in reply. Fancy moved the cushion to the other side of the coffee table and took his seat. The princess looked at the table between them and shrugged with a smile. Her horn lit up as her aura went to work in the kitchenette, preparing some coffee to go along with the table.

“I must say. Charging so brazenly into a lady’s quarters and threatening her guards? I would never expect such behavior from you. You’ve been trained so well by my sister,” Luna remarked as she hovered a cup of coffee to her guest.

Fancy took a cursory sniff to ensure it didn’t burn his nostrils with hellfire, before taking a sip of the delightfully normal brew. “I’ve found my words to be much less helpful as of late, so I’ve been trying to be more actionable when they fail me.”

“While appreciated, I must wholeheartedly disagree with that notion. You were able to end the meeting where my attempts proved utterly inept. I must admit, I am still unsure how you did so. I couldn’t quite follow the logic of your agreement with Upper Crust.”

Fancy straightened up with pride. “That’s because there wasn’t any.”

“What?” the princess asked with a laugh.

“We’d already accepted her objection’s framing and, to be fair to her, it was a rather solid one. I’d hoped she’d run out of steam, but Upper Crust can be a very persistent mare when she has her eyes set on her target. Instead, I simply gave an absurd answer with enough confidence to muddy the waters before changing the question to a more favorable one. I didn’t let her fully process what I had said and took the pause to end the meeting in a way nopony could object to.”

“So, you countered her disingenuity with tomfoolery?”

“Truly the boldest of balderdash,” Fancy proudly claimed as he smirked victoriously.

“Quite devious of you, Fancy Pants. Not the most honorable way for a knight my sister appointed to conduct themselves. I must be having an effect on you.”

“Only the best kind, I assure you.”

“Be careful what strength you draw upon for me. My words would have resulted in different litigation after sending Upper Crust through a wall. I much preferred your modern spin on a clandestine solution.” An insidious grin split the princess’ face as she pondered their position. “Perhaps we could do something about that meddlesome mare to spare ourselves further trouble.”

Fancy shook his head. “I’m afraid you’ve made that impossible now. I’m just glad I was able to stop you before you completely fell into her trap.”

“Hardly. I may be out of practice, but I would never lose to such churlish pedantry. I’d simply pull my royal rank on her.”

“Unfortunately, this is Canterlot, and we have laws here to protect against abuses of power, at least for those who know how to use them. I’m afraid if I hadn’t intervened, you would’ve acquiesced to giving Horst Holdings free reign over anything that could profit them.”

“Ridiculous!” Luna scoffed as she turned her nose up at the very idea. “There was not a chance of us giving into her demands without a fight.”

“Which was exactly what Upper Crust wanted you to do.”

Luna's frown deepened as her narrowing gaze demanded an explanation.

“Simply put, Upper Crust saw your patience waning and tried to get you angry.”

Luna laughed bitterly. “She succeeded, but it is unwise to anger an alicorn.”

“Perhaps, but either she walks away with nothing, or she gambles it all and sees if she can make you speak before you think. Unfortunately, it worked with your baseless accusation against her greedy intentions.”

Luna slammed her hooves on the table. “Nonsense! Ours was not a baseless claim! There would be no other reason to prolong such a simple meeting if she was not seeking personal gain!”

“Yes, but that’s what you said, not her. She argued for the work Ambassador Dovetail performed, which was a legitimate criticism used for her own purposes. She’d be within her rights to sue you for claiming she was trying to utilize any part of the committee to further ingratiate herself and her business dealings with the Crystal Empire.”

“But her selfish desires were perfectly clear! Everypony in that room knew what she was doing, and she would lose! It was the truth!”

“Everypony could intuitively know that, but again, she never specifically said that.” Fancy rolled his hoof over the point to the princess. “You, on the other hoof, did. The meeting’s minutes wouldn’t reflect that and she could still argue intent. Taken out of context, and throwing in the rumors swimming about our relationship, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that you were trying to show me favor.”

“B-but, tis a lie! All of it! We would never…”

Fancy’s gaze hardened. “Yes, but intent would be much harder for you to prove. She was probably gambling on us not wanting drama to be attached to the Crystal Summit. And she’d be right. I would’ve moved to settle out of court and given into her demands if it meant salvaging the Summit without issue.”

“Then we should remove her! Such an uncaring pony should not be allowed to be within the committee in the first place.”

“We can’t do that either. The only reason she could pull off what she did was because she knows we need her on the committee. Upper Crust has laid important groundwork with the crystal ponies. She knows their businesses better than they do at this point. More importantly, even if you wanted to remove her now, it wouldn’t be without personal cost. You gave her a powerful card to play with your accusation against Horst.”

“So? What would she even do then? She’d be out of this so-called game.”

“No, she’d just be one step removed. If I were to hazard a guess, she’d try to force me out of the committee.”

“What? Why?”

“With how much she was leaning upon her working relationship with Ambassador Dovetail, my first thought is she wants her to be advising you rather than me. Even if it isn’t the good ambassador’s intent, she’s been working closely with Upper Crust and her associates. Without any prompting, she’d likely favor hiring those she’s already familiar with, which I would assume just so happens to prominently feature Horst Holding clients and partners.”

Luna bit down on her lip as her eyes finished connecting the dots in her head. “And if we tried to tell Dovetail no when they were adequate choices, Upper Crust could argue that we were punishing her allies using our shortsighted outburst.”

Fancy nodded. “She’d flip the script the moment we turned down something that would profit her. Upper Crust would become the victim of a vindictive princess who wanted to favor her friends. She’d still win.”

Luna’s face fell as she looked at her hooves before sinking into them. “This is why our sister should be the one to deal with such matters of the state. Our subtly is with our actions, not our words. We have no patience for disrespect and lose our temper too quickly for those who do not speak the truth.”

“Don’t worry, Luna. Your rhetorical blade simply needs a little sharpening to meet the dirtier tactics of today.” Fancy reached a hoof over the table and rested it on her shoulder, bringing her face out of the dark.

“It is so much though,” Luna whimpered. “It is a mountain we must scale by our hooves alone.”

“Luckily, you have those who will help you climb.”

Luna nodded. “Thank you, Sir Fancy Pants.”

“Of course. As your sister said, you were meant to rule together. After getting to know you and your standards, it is good that you have returned to us. Seeing the state of the nobility, it is plain to see how your influence has been sorely missed, Your Highness. I look forward to seeing you flip every table in Canterlot.”

Luna sucked in her lips and nodded as she savored Fancy’s wisdom. Taking a calming breath, she smiled as brilliantly as the full moon. “Then we don’t have another second to waste. Forget discussing the treaty for the moment. Let’s have some fun planning my lovely niece’s welcoming party!”

Setting the hard work aside for the day had been a blessing for both Luna and Fancy. After the stress of the meeting, it felt good to simply go through what would bring a smile to Princess Cadance’s face. Seeing the lunar princess in her element, it was no surprise why she used to also bear the Element of Laughter. Outside of the business of the treaty, she only wanted her niece to know boundless joy upon her return to Equestria. Luna wanted to be something called a “funtie,” or fun aunt, she’d encountered in her linguistic trend research. Fancy Pants had never heard the word, but he wasn’t about to argue the veracity of something that made Luna happy.

They agreed to have a practical dream magic session by envisioning what such a party might look like, but he’d need some real world planning to work from. After dinner, he’d changed into a turtleneck and gone to his desk in the study to brainstorm some solutions, but he was coming up short. Flipping through his rolodex for the umpteenth, there were plenty of options to choose from, but none of the companies or ponies stuck out in his mind. Plenty of them would suffice, yet he was still letting his pettiness from the festival get in the way of his judgment.

Fancy poured a bit more Griffonstone Classic into his glass and savored its bite, hoping the liquor would dull his senses to help him make a decision. The brandy just made him more bitter towards them for rejecting DJ Pon-3. His mind wandered to his original thought of trying to determine what Princess Cadance’s tastes were.

Princess Celestia hadn't been helpful in that regard. Over the years, she’d always delegated her niece's party planning to other ponies. Even the wedding had been planned by the Element Bearers, and she could only recall the broad strokes of their approaches. If he couldn’t figure something out soon, he’d have to send a message to Lady Rarity in the morning to inquire what the young princess had enjoyed about it.

Fancy tried to recall the event outside of the invasion, but the weight of the attack sat heavily in his mind. Under terrifying memories of a blackened sky, there was birdsong accompanying the wedding march, the rainboom as the royal couple finished their vows, the homely catering provided by that rather straightforward farmer; and Princess Cadance had loved all of it. She’d even enjoyed the rather interesting dinner and reception despite its uniqueness. He hoped she preferred the elope party afterwards. Several aspects of that part of the event had been inappropriately juvenile to put it lightly.

He tried once more to see if there was a thread linking them altogether, but he was coming up with nothing. It was an unfocused, unrefined, and random assortment of talented ponies doing their best. Princess Celestia said she’d selected her student to organize it, being familiar with both sides of the royal couple, but none of it had a throughline he could easily identify. What did apple fritters, the pony pokey, and singing birds have in common? It was just a bunch of her friends doing what they did best. They probably had fun doing it, loving it even, but there was nothing connecting them.

“Wait a moment,” Fancy mumbled as he ran that last thought through his head. They were performing their talents. Doing what they loved.

“There’s absolutely nothing I’d rather be than a musician,” Vinyl said with conviction. “It’s what I am, and nopony is changing that.”

Fancy shoved his useless wheel of business cards into his desk and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. He needed passionate ponies not only doing what they were good at, but what they loved to do. The only exemplars he wanted to invite were those who would not only want to share their talents, but would truly value friendships with the crystal ponies.

First and foremost would be food. There were plenty of tastes for the delegation to try. He knew several of the best options, but they weren’t the ones he wanted to give. Such guests were probably used to receiving 5-star meals anytime they wanted, but they might not seek out all that Equestria had at the ready.

“The Tasty Treat, Pâte de Lune, and I suppose Athena is an Equestrian now,” Fancy mumbled to himself as he added the Labyrinthiyum to his wishlist. “What is the name of that pizza place that Fleur and Vinyl always get to?” He tapped the side of his head with the end of his fountain pen, trying to jog his memory.

“Spicy Marinara’s,” Vinyl answered.

“Ah, thank you…” Fancy paused and looked over the rim of his reading glasses to see the DJ walking up to the desk. She stopped for a second as her eyes met Fancy’s. “Vinyl? What are you doing here?”

“I just got done with archiving for the night. Wanted to get out of the studio.”

“I see. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen Fluffer Duster since dinner. She might be in her room.”

Vinyl scratched the back of her head. “I was actually looking for you, Fancy.”

“Oh? What did you need me for?”

Vinyl frowned, somewhat troubled by the question. “Nothing, I guess? Sorry, I should go then, right? You’re probably busy with something.”

“Of course not,” Fancy assured as he smiled welcomingly. “That couldn’t be further from the truth. I can’t say I’ll be the most exciting company though.” He pointed a hoof towards one of the many seats available. “Please, make yourself comfortable. Perhaps you can assist me with a little party planning, being a party mare yourself.”

“I’m actually not much of one,” Vinyl said while looking between the smattering of seats available. She flashed a quick and nervous smile before taking the seat closest to him across the desk. “My music just plays well at high-energy events.”

“Really? That’s honestly quite surprising. You always seemed to have so much fun at them when you were performing your way.”

“I mean, yeah, I like DJing. But outside of the music, I don’t really like parties. Too many ponies,” she muttered as she rubbed her legs together. “I usually just stick around for the beats and a few drinks. Actually, maybe not even the drinks anymore.” She shuddered with a look of disgust.

Fancy laughed heartily. He was able to recall with unfortunate clarity exactly what she was referring to. “I can’t blame you there. That so-called curative of Luna’s leaves much to be desired in the aftermath. If not for my little brandy addiction, I might’ve dropped the stuff as well after my unfortunate run-in with it.”

Vinyl balked. “You had some before?”

“It was a rough night; one I’d rather have forgotten considering the poor company, but Dapper and the princess had other plans.”

Fancy didn’t even need to mention her name. He could see Vinyl’s face sink as the mare in question entered her mind. “Sorry.”

“Now, we don’t need any of that. However, you do look like you could use a drink yourself.” Fancy stood up from his chair and took a clear decanter from his liquor cabinet. He then reached into a chilled drawer and grabbed a couple whisky stones in his magic as he poured it into a tumbler. Seeing the DJ’s apprehension, he smiled gently. “Don’t worry. It’s just water in a flashy container.”

Vinyl took the offered glass as Fancy returned to his seat with the decanter for her to use. She took a cursory sip and smiled as well. “Thanks, Fancy Pants.”

“Think nothing of it. If you don’t mind, I could still use your younger perspective, if you don't mind. You played Princess Cadance’s elope party, right?”

“I played the after-party. I’m not sure what an elope party is.”

“Precisely that. It was the one with the organizer performing… I believe it’s called ‘carry-okay.’”

“Oh, yeah, that. It was less karaoke and more an event Cacophony termed a ‘Spontaneous Harmonic Surge.’ It’s where the emotional state of enough ponies affects the aetherial balance of the surrounding…” Vinyl trailed seeing Fancy nodding along in a complete lack of understanding. “Umm, Pinkie’s friend kind of got caught up in the moment and was hijacked by Harmony for a bit. I’m not sure if the song she sang even has lyrics.”

Fancy suppressed the mild annoyance of being caught, but appreciated the dumbing down for him. More importantly, that last name sounded vaguely familiar. “Pinkie? She wouldn’t happen to be a party planner from Ponyville, would she?”

“Yeah, Pinkie Pie’s the one that got me the wedding gig in the first place.”

“I recall Princess Cadance very much enjoying the music. Do you know what her taste in music was in particular?”

“No clue. It was a wedding, so I ended up playing a bunch of different things you usually throw out at them. I snuck in a few originals that night too just to see how ponies would react, but there was nothing I was told to focus on.” Vinyl looked between her glass and Fancy. “Did you enjoy the music?”

“I’m sure I did, but I’m afraid I’m in the same boat as you. I recall dancing to it with Lady Rarity, but I’m drawing a blank on anything specific.”

“Oh. Okay,” she said with a shrug, but the disappointed slump in her shoulders gave Fancy pause.

“I do recall everypony having a lovely time, myself included. They do say the older you get the less you enjoy music. But then again, I suppose Luna would challenge that notion. You know, even after the other, professional evenings, you were her favorite performer at the Showcases.”

“I mean, I guess that’s nice. I was just kind of…” the mare trailed as she considered her words.

“Kind of what, Vinyl?”

“Maybe you’d like my music too?”

Fancy wasn’t sure why Vinyl was hesitating or wanted his opinion of her music, but he still gave the question some thought. “While I did enjoy your performance at the Showcases as well, I must admit that I didn’t really understand the music I heard at Cantrips. Quite frankly, when I first walked in, the whole experience was a bit of sensory overload for me.”

“I get that. I have earplugs at the ready when a novice performer gets too loud for me. I don’t need tinnitus from some amateur blasting sharp sounds into my ears.”

“Not a bad idea. I should consider that in the future. Either way, you don’t need to try to impress me, Vinyl. I’m sure you’ll be perfect for a few of the less formal events we’re planning.”

Vinyl dipped her head as she rubbed the back of her neck. “N-no, that’s not why I—” She paused as she shot back up with confusion. “Wait, events? What kind of party are you planning that would even need a DJ like me there in the first place?”

“I suppose I’m getting ahead of myself. The crystal ponies will be staying here for a week. I was planning on requesting your deejaying services for any summit events that won’t require the more formal touch of an ESPA quartet.”

Vinyl blinked. “Summit? Like, a diplomatic summit? And by ‘here’ you mean in the estate?”

“Right on both accounts, my dear. And we’ll get to use the old guidance flags for ships rather than slaloms,” Fancy added with a wink at his wordplay. The DJ smirked and rolled her eyes. “Princess Cadance’s airship will be moored out back. We plan on holding events at the estate, in the castle, and perhaps elsewhere around Canterlot.”

“And you think having me perform is a good idea?” Vinyl asked with palpable disbelief.

“Without a doubt. Luna and I wish to show the crystal ponies who we are, and you’re the most popular performer on Dressage Drive. You’re the clear choice. This doesn’t call for a wedding DJ, this event calls for DJ Pon-3 and her electrifying music.”

For a moment, Vinyl’s smile widened with excitement, but it quickly fell apart. “But wait, if it’s for the Crystal Empire, then that means the nobles will be there. Upper Crust will be there! I-I don’t want to risk ruining another—”

“Stop right there, Vinyl Scratch,” Fancy commanded sternly. “That is the only invalid reason to refuse.”

Vinyl recoiled in mild shock. “W-what?”

“You may reject this because you feel uncomfortable around such ponies, you have other commitments, or that you simply don’t want to. However, I will not accept you taking any of their drivel to heart and driving yourself away.”

Vinyl shook her head. “But you don’t understand—”

Fancy held firm as he tapped his hoof on the desk. “No, I understand completely. Or perhaps it would be better said that I understand in a different way, and what I’ve heard from their circles is utter garbage.”

“But, I’ll just be making more problems for you. They hate me.”

“Then so be it! If you being there is somehow a problem, then we’ll make it their problem. If they don’t accept you, then show them their foolishness for rejecting you. If they won’t listen, it will be their loss. I refuse to let a single one of them tarnish your brilliance!”

“But you don’t even remember what my music is like.”

“Then let’s remedy that immediately,” Fancy suggested as he stood up from his desk. “You’re still set up in the studio, yes? Would you mind playing me some of your original work?”

“You want to hear my music?”

“You seem surprised. I understand if you don’t want to go back to the studio since you’ve been in there all day.”

“Nope! It’s no problem at all! I’d…” Vinyl’s voice caught as she tried to continue the sentence, but something was stopping her. She tried a few more times to begin the sentence but ultimately sighed to herself in disappointment. “Umm, yeah, let’s just go.”

“Are you sure?” Fancy leaned in to try to get a better look at Vinyl. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot unnecessarily. You can say no.”

“No! It’s not—I mean…” Vinyl knocked back her water like a shot before clearing her throat. “Don’t worry about it. I’m weird. I just hope you like it.”

“If it’s something by you, I’m sure it will be splendid. Lead the way, DJ Pon-3.”

The walk to the studio wing of the estate was a mostly quiet affair. Fancy didn’t bother striking up a conversation with Vinyl as she was locked in a silent debate that he didn’t want to interrupt. Initially, he thought the DJ might’ve been trying to determine what songs to play, but she’d seemed nervous for whatever reason. After giving it some thought, he could probably hazard a guess as to why considering their history.

He’d hoped she’d gotten over his fear of him. Their mostly normal conversation had given him hope, but it was moments like this that dragged him back down to Equestria. She’d made it clear the night of the Showcases where the line stood between them, and it was a barrier he could never hope to cross. The best he could do was give her the space she needed. He might not understand what would make a pony like her happy, but he’d do his best to weave a good fate for somepony who deserved it.

As they entered the familiar studio, Fancy admired what Vinyl had done with the place. Nothing had changed about its design or decor, but it looked like it was being used properly again. He hadn’t seen papers strewn about the desks with sheet music and notes since before his mother had passed. A box of storage crystals sat next to the record player where Vinyl did her archiving work. It wasn’t a mess, but it felt lived in. The young mare respected the history around her while making it her own. Fancy hadn’t realized just how happy it’d make him to see his mother’s favorite room being put to good use again.

As Vinyl flicked on the lights to the live room, he saw the true personal touches she’d added to the space. The older sound equipment had been carefully moved to the side in favor of her newer rig she was using for her music. It was the same black and blue sound system he’d seen at the Festival of Flakes alongside a few more keyboards and other things he didn’t know the names of. However, one giant detail had been left exposed that drew his attention.

“Why is there a hole in your turntable still?” Fancy asked, pointing to the familiar old wound from the evening.

“Don’t you remember? Upper Crust ripped out the core power sapphire,” Vinyl answered bitterly as she began readying the soundboards in the recording room.

“I recall Fleur mentioning that, but why is it still there?”

“I fixed the damage inside and reinforced the shielding around the implements. It’s fine.”

Fancy hummed to himself, unconvinced. “I guess you’d know a lot about the equipment you work with, considering your field of study.”

“Yeah. I’ve… had a lot of practice. It wasn’t the first time I’ve had to fix something like that.”

“Still, that isn’t what I asked. Isn’t it dangerous to leave all of that exposed?”

Vinyl shrugged. “It’s safe as long as the water stays on this side of the glass.”

Fancy walked inside the live room to assess the damage for himself. He hadn’t gotten a good look at it during the festival with the Screech’s aftermath pulling his attention elsewhere. Upper Crust had done a real number on it. The metal chassis was bent and twisted around the edges of the hole where she’d torn the crystal out. Looking inside, the sapphire wasn’t all that big. He’d never be able to “pull the plug” as it were with such remarkable precision.

“I wonder how much it would take to repair the damage?” he asked himself while carefully tapping part of the bent metal with his hoof.

The intercom buzzed in. “I’ve almost got enough saved up,” Vinyl answered before he could ponder it further.

Fancy turned his head towards the glass and gave Vinyl a flat look.

“But I do! When I stopped buying my own food, I started putting it towards repairing the old Starwhirler there.”

Fancy sighed as he brought a hoof to his forehead. “Vinyl?”

“I know what you’re going to say, Fancy, but that was the first thing I bought with my own money. I want to fix it myself.”

Not wanting to carry a conversation over an intercom, Fancy trotted back into the other room. “Vinyl, had you signed an actual contract before Fleur put you on that festival stage, it would’ve shown that I shoulder any damages to equipment that are incurred while on the job caused by myself or any attendees.”

Vinyl looked down and away from the pressure he was exerting. Fancy caught his temper and took a deep breath to refocus his thoughts. He was scolding a full-grown pony again. This wasn’t how he wanted to treat her. It wasn’t helping to dismiss her pride in wanting to do something by herself. After all, the notion wasn’t far from what he’d felt from time to time with his cutie mark.

“I could shout legalese at you all evening, but that wouldn’t get us anywhere. Please answer me honestly: would it matter if I said I simply wanted to pay to fix it for you?”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow, apparently not having considered he’d ask a question like that. “You want to fix it?” Vinyl shook the thought of her head and refocused. “Why do you even want to in the first place?”

“What do you mean why? It’s broken and I can afford to fix it. It looks dangerous and I want you to always be safe when performing. Throwing money around is what I’m good for, remember?”

“What?” Vinyl’s temper flared as she powered through the redness building in her face. “Don’t say it like that! You’re not just a bag of endless bits!”

And Fancy had not been expecting that counter. He cleared his throat. “I suppose I’m glad you think that, but in the same vein, you’re more than your ability to pay to work safely, Vinyl. Let me do what I can to help you do what you can. I just want you to be safe, and exposed wiring is clearly dangerous no matter how clean the environment.”

Vinyl frowned, but agreed with a nod. “Well, you’re right, I guess. I hate seeing that hole everyday anyway.”

Fancy sighed in relief. “Good. I’ll look into getting this fixed first thing in the morning.”

“Is the summit that soon?”

“No, but you shouldn’t be using something potentially dangerous. Also, in the event you do get a new gig lined up, I’d rather get this fixed as soon as possible so you’re not held back by potential equipment failure. I know I’m being pushy, but I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Vinyl’s face flushed red. “T-thanks.”

“You’re most welcome, Vinyl. And thank you for being flexible on this. I know it’s hard for you to accept a gift.”

Her fluster faded from her as she frowned. “Yeah. Sorry about that. It’s dumb of me anyway. I probably couldn’t ever pay you back even if I wanted to for everything you do for me.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Seeing you happy is far more valuable to me than whatever it takes to fix that hole here.”

“Well, I’m not happy about this,” Vinyl complained while crossing her forelegs.

“I know you aren’t.”

Vinyl growled in frustration. “No you don’t! I’m thankful that you can help me like it’s nothing, but then what am I supposed to do if I want to do something to return the favor?”

“It’s just a little money, Vinyl. I’ve inherited more of the stuff than I know what to do with. There’s no ledger I’ll be holding against you.”

“I know that, but even if you don’t feel a thing, I feel completely overwhelmed! And the fact I can’t do anything about it? It sucks, okay?” Vinyl turned away and leaned her head on her hoof. “I’ve accepted that I can’t pay you back, but why should I be the only one happy here?”

Fancy wasn’t sure he’d heard that right. “You’re happy? Here?”

“Yeah?” Vinyl tilted her head back to Fancy. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“B-but I was under the impression that you weren’t. I thought I was making you miserable.”

Vinyl nearly slipped off her hoof as she turned to face Fancy. “No! You weren’t—Well okay, you were, but that was more of a ‘me’ thing than anything. I was, and I’m sorry. You’ve helped me a lot, and I really appreciate it. There’s a bunch of things I thought I could never do, but you helped make those happen.”

“You were always capable, Vinyl. It was just the circumstances that stopped you,” Fancy countered with a quick smile before he thought back to the Showcases. “But, I’m not blind, Vinyl. All of those things you said in the library. You desire to live life on your own terms? I’m the one who defines those. I’ve trapped you here with me.”

“Trapped?” Vinyl flinched from the idea and quickly tossed it aside. “That’s stupid. Are you keeping me here against my will?”

Fancy nodded. “I might as well be. I’m not paying you with money for the archiving.”

“It’s not that simple though.”

“But it’s wrong, Vinyl. You should’ve never felt so dependent on me in the first place. We both know I practically own you.”

“I mean yeah, but you’ve given me so much more than bits. You’ve made so many things possible for me. I have a job that lets me focus on my music and research when I need to. You let me stay in a place where I’m surrounded by ponies that actually care about me. Honestly, I’ve never really had that kind of thing. I’ve always been alone, and I didn’t know how painful it was until you showed me.” Vinyl rubbed her leg and looked away. Her ear flicked as she seemed to focus on something else for a moment before looking back at Fancy Pants.

“But, really? If, umm…” Vinyl struggled with her words as she stammered trying to figure out what she wanted to say. “I guess what I mean is that if I have to get a little help from somepony else for a while, I’m really glad it’s somepony like you, Fancy Pants.”

Fancy felt his heart swell. Maybe there was still hope for their friendship after all. “Likewise, Vinyl. I’m simply glad I can put this old money to some good use. I couldn’t ask for a better…” He wanted to say something more meaningful, but he didn’t want to scare her away after making a little progress. “A better employee.”

“Right,” Vinyl muttered to herself before clearing her throat. “So, about the music?”

Ignoring the disappointment in her voice, Fancy nodded while his eyes drifted back through the window to the live room. “Do you have a recording you could play me instead? I don’t want you using your equipment until it’s fixed.”

“What? Don’t worry about it, it’s fine.”

Fancy raised his eyebrow. “Not from where I’m standing.”

“But, I want you to hear me perform live.”

“I know, but I know you’re already a brilliant performer. You don’t need to prove that to me.”

“Oh, come on! I’ve been using it like that for months now,” Vinyl complained.

“And I feel bad knowing that you’ve been risking your safety doing it.”

“Nothing’s gonna explode in there. You think I’d be dumb enough to use something that could explode in a beautiful studio like this?” Vinyl dragged her hoof across her face at Fancy’s obstinance. “Look, this is how I can help you right? You’re trying to figure out this whole thing with the princess? Well, if you’re gonna do what you can do for me, let me do what I can for you. Deal?”

“I suppose it’s only fair…”

“For the love of…” Vinyl groaned as she entered the room. “If it’s that big of a deal, I’ll throw something over it to patch the hole until somepony can fix it. Would that help?”

“If it’ll make it safer, then yes.”

It was Vinyl’s turn to regard him flatly. She rolled her eyes and looked around the room for something suitable. Spotting an old metal music stand, she quickly pulled it from the corner of the room, popped the sheet music tray off, and laid it across the front. She then motioned a half-hearted “ta-da” before seeking his approval.

“That’s not exactly what I had in mind.”

Vinyl gritted her teeth in frustration, levitated a few nearby pens, and tossed them against the makeshift patchwork with growing ire. She glared back at him, daring Fancy to say it wasn’t good enough shielding.

Fancy knew better than to tempt fate. “You’ve made your point.”

Sighing in relief, she took her place behind her equipment and started flicking several things on. “Okay, so I know you’re not sure what I’ve got, so what do you think you’d want to hear? Give me a mood, a speed, a couple instruments, something to go off of. It can be anything.”

Fancy’s thoughts immediately started to race with different settings and scenarios that Vinyl’s craft would fit into. Dances, buffets, tours; but then he realized that wasn’t the right question. They would’ve been if he’d asked it, but Vinyl was the one asking him about what he wanted. After a few moments, he pressed the intercom button and dipped his head to the old microphone with a dark grin.

“If anything is a valid answer, then perhaps you’d permit me some pettiness. Do you know anything that would get under Upper Crust’s skin?”

For a moment, Vinyl sat dumbfounded at his oddball request. A small smile crept across her face, growing wider and wider with each passing second. She winked back at Fancy Pants before slamming her trusty shades over her face. The brilliant smile warped into a sharp grin that could rival Chrysalis’ twisted glee as DJ Pon-3 burst to life.

“One self-satisfied serving of ‘Shut Up Juice in F Major’ coming right up!”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 36: A Smooth Operator

It’s the groove you feel,
That sends you to Cloud Nine.
And the mood’s unreal,
It makes you feel sublime!

Your love’s like dancing on clouds!
(You’re dancing on clouds~)
Here we are dancing on the clouds!
(We’re dancing on clouds~)

Vinyl bobbed her head to the disco beat. Summers and the others were in the final stages of writing what would be their next hit, “Cloud Nine.” It sounded far more like the disco she was familiar with thanks to them finally getting a proper band together. With each passing album, they were getting one step closer to the truly Sensational Sauna Summers. To top it all off, Vinyl recognized their voices from another set of records. Specifically, she’d heard their big band sound on the Suede Shoes’ side of the collection. It seemed the two were getting closer with each passing record.

As the band moved into an instrumental break, a door slammed open.

“What the hay is this, Summers?” Springstep yelled in disbelief, interrupting the jam session.

“Woah! Chill out, Spring,” Summers called back. “What’s got your feathers ruffled?”

“These squares! Why are they here?”

“Who are you calling squares? These cool cats are—”

“With Suave Oasis. Yeah, I know. I ain’t a fool with their heads in the skies. Not like you Summers!”

“Spring,” Sunny warned. “I know what this looks like, but with these ponies, we’ll be able to perform on-stage in the clubs.”

Spring clicked her tongue. “Unless they switched sides, these chumps are who we’re up against.”

“Not from where I’m standing. I believe these fine performers are here to play with us so we can finally meet the society’s quotas. Suede Shoes is helping us, Springstep. He’s even paying for them to be here.”

“Uh-huh.”

Vinyl knew that wasn’t the whole story. Recently, Summers was making surprise appearances in Suede’s side of the collection. She’d filled in during a few performances where his usual duet partner, Vibrant Voice, had gone on an extended leave. The future couple sounded great together, even better than Vibrant in Vinyl’s opinion. Putting her Summers bias aside, it was clear that the other mare wanted the spotlight for herself, resulting in an unspoken strife that weaved through their duets.

Meanwhile, Summers was fine simply adding her passionate depth to the music. She didn’t mind playing second-fiddle at all and joyfully added her tones to the color of his songs. Ironic, considering their roles would be reversed in a few years. As a thank you for her help, instead of sending another bouquet of flowers, he’d sent the big band. It helped that she’d also befriended the members in the time she’d spent with them. Vinyl could hear Summers chatting away during the lulls in their practice sessions. Unlike Vibrant, Summers was just happy to be there.

The reality of her humility and kindness made Vinyl resent how history would ultimately remember the Queen of Disco. She casted no shadow. There was only her summery light.

“Really, Spring?” Summers asked flatly. “We got good vibes going with this gig, and you’re still hung up on the Suede connection? We’re all finally gonna be singing on-stage together again!”

“I don’t like this. You’re being played.”

“It ain’t like that at all. I’m trying my best, but you gotta meet me halfway here. I want us to be a group again, Springstep. Please. I can’t remember the last time we performed together.”

“Well I do. The last time I sang with you was the last time I performed at all!” Spring growled. “Ever since Sunny struck that club deal with the crystals, Aria and I have been your backup at best. It’s always Summers this and Sauna that. Nopony wants to hear us anymore! Only you!”

“And with their help, we’ll be able to fix all that,” Sunny pointed out calmly. “We don’t even need those crystals to play.”

“Groovy way to say they finally caught on to our loophole and changed the rules on us,” Spring added bitterly.

“I dunno. I kinda like the rocks, sunshine,” Summers interjected. “Especially some of the newer stuff. There’s some psychedelic tunes I’ve heard with some really trippy synthesizers. I can really dig ‘em! One of those brainiacs at the school made a really groovy one by accident and it’s freaky. I wouldn’t even know how to describe it; like maybe a piano string running through a shaking metal tube?”

“It’d count against our sound count as a nonstandard instrument, but we have more than enough of the ratio to play around with now,” Sunny added. “Either way, now that we have access to proper instrumentation, we should be able to play within their revised ruleset.”

“At least until they whip up another rule outta nothing to keep us down,” Spring spat.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Any further changes would risk hurting their own performers.”

“Don’t be playing the fool, Sunny. Then those jerks will keep on tweaking until they just outright say ‘Nopony that we don’t like gets to perform! Period! End of story!’”

“So, what do you think we should do?” Sunny asked calmly.

“What we shoulda done all along: screw the rules. Do the clubs the way we want, like we want, however we want. Get fans on our side and watch them riot when we get dragged out by the royal tin cans! If she really likes Summers, I say we put that ivory princess in her tower to the test.”

Sunny sighed in irritation. “But why? Why get Celestia involved?”

“She’s the princess. If we get her to side with us against those stuffy suits, she can just smack ‘em down.”

“You know the princess can’t pick favorites, right? We’re all ‘her little ponies’ in case you forgot. That includes the ponies we don’t like.”

“Then maybe she should try putting her hooves down when some of her little ponies are hurting others!”

“Please, Spring,” Summers begged. “We’ve got the band, we’ve got Suede’s support, we can do this without a fight. It’ll all work out, shug. Just give it a little more time.”

“It’s working out just fine for you, but I’m sick of waiting! Waiting ain’t doing nothing for the rest of us.”

“Please, Spring. Just mellow out. We can get through this together.”

“No, Summers. I’m putting my hoof down. You get one more shot. One more. If we’re really soul sisters, stop bogarting the spotlight and let the rest of us shine for once, no matter what Smooth Groove or Sunny says!” Springstep paused. Vinyl could only imagine what sort of glare she was giving Summers. “Otherwise, I’m out, for real.”

“Springstep, I-I…” Summers trailed off.

“I gotta look out for me,” Spring reiterated, her voice shaking. “Ain’t no one else in this town gonna, even a totally deece featherhead like you, Summers. Going with the flow ain’t cutting it for the rest of us. I ain’t gonna let them make me a one-hit wonder.”

After their argument, the rest of the record went by uneventfully. A few more practice runs with the addition of Springstep’s vocal work was welcome, but Summers didn’t pop with her same, spirited energy. It was clear that the divide in their working relationship was tearing Summers apart.

And then there was Sunny.

By Springstep’s less-than-friendly tone, Sunny herself had fully stepped into her role as the group’s villain. Gone was the innocent mare from before, subsumed by a role of driven pragmatism. She had one goal, and it was for Summers to succeed. While Vinyl understood it with the forces against the group, Sunny’s unrelenting assistance was hurting Summers. It was like the industry itself was attacking from both without and within. Vinyl could relate.

Hearing these struggles in the past made Vinyl wonder how Summers had managed to rise to acclaim in the first place. It was clear she enjoyed singing and wanted to succeed, but the queen was less of a force against the system than history had remembered her. The broad strokes were accurate enough, but hearing it play out from the mare herself painted a far different, far sadder story.

Vinyl popped open her notebook to jot down the observations from the last recording and added it to her Summers-Suede timeline. Reviewing her findings, not a lot had been added to Suede’s side since they rarely left the records running. Most of her observations on his side had been added from little snippets of conversation caught during sessions, and they were coming less frequently as the tension built on Summers’ side.

Another discrepancy also irritated her the more they went on: Summers considered everypony to be part of a single girl group, but nopony else seemed to recognize it. She’d even thrown around names like the Seasonal Sensations or Sensational Seasons, but that wasn’t how Groovecasters worked. Checking the albums covers, their branding was always the same. “Groovecasters presents: A Catchy Album Name” with a “Featuring: Somepony Special” in big letters followed by a tiny “with whoever else” thrown in the corner.

All Summers ever wanted was for the ponies around her to be happy, but everypony else said no. Reality was simply incompatible with her desires. The door remained closed. While every recording was creeping closer and closer to Summers stepping into the lonely spotlight as her renowned role as the Queen of Disco, it was obvious to Vinyl that the former spa pony herself had no intentions of becoming a solo artist. So how had she wound up becoming the exact opposite of what she wanted?

Vinyl popped open her primary source of Summers’ life, the biography. Nothing had been sourced directly from the mare herself, since it came after her death. In fact, it didn’t explore much of anything outside of her career. It didn’t even start with Sauna Summers’ birth in Cloudsdale. The first line mentioned her rise from obscurity in the hospitality sector after finding inspiration from Princess Celestia herself. Opening to the table of contents, Vinyl began scanning chapter titles.

“The Start of Summers, Endless Summers, A Queen is Crowned, Summers’ Reign, The Queen’s Revolution…” Vinyl mumbled to herself as a sinking worry crept into her stomach. “Wait. Where is ‘Sauna’ in any of this?”

Until now, Vinyl had never noticed just how little Sauna Summers herself was featured in her own book. It was always queen this and queen that, treating her like some sort of force of music rather than the kind mare she was. Turning to the last catch-all chapter, Vinyl started skimming for any mention of her life outside of her career. Summers had married Suede Shoes, broken from her label, produced several independent albums, and then a few more little snippets before reporting the date she died without even the cause of death mentioned.

It was a career biography. Vinyl knew that, but Summers’ career wasn’t about this. So little of what made Sauna Summers actually sensational wasn’t her music. Honestly, it wasn’t even that good compared to Suede’s in Vinyl’s opinion. Who had they pulled their information from?

“Wait, is Fancy Pants even in here?”

She turned back a few pages trying to find anything else more of her personal life, but no. There was nothing, he wasn’t a source. There wasn’t even a passing mention that Summers had a kid at all with Suede. Shutting the book, she looked at the title: Long Live the Queen of Disco: The Definitive Guide to Sauna Summers.

“This is supposed to be definitive? Even the title puts ‘Queen’ first,” Vinyl remarked with confused disgust. “This book is… garbage?”

It didn’t tell the reader anything about the real Sauna Summers. It was filled with her accolades, riches, prestige, fame, and gossip. Unless Summers abandoned who she was later in life, none of that mattered to the mare that Vinyl had gotten to know. Those were Canterlot elite values, not hers. It was no wonder history had forgotten everypony around Summers. History hadn’t even bothered to remember Sauna Summers herself. Vinyl grabbed the useless book in her magic and shut down the studio. She wanted answers, and she was going to get them from Summers’ biggest fan in the world.

As usual, Vinyl had found Fancy in his study, buried beneath a mountain of work. Since he’d told them about the summit, the stallion was spending most of his time getting things ready for his temporary return to Equestrian diplomacy. If he wasn’t out and about, he was sitting behind his desk, sporting his comfy turtleneck and humble reading glasses, pouring over details for the delegation’s visit. She’d almost backed out of asking him about the book, but when he noticed the title on the cover, he figured it was as good a time as any for a break with good company.

They had moved over to the fireplace for him to read over Vinyl’s earmarked sections. She watched him from the couch as he casually read through the book in his favorite reading chair, and the wait was getting to her. The fact Fancy hadn’t recognized the book at all was a worrying sign. She couldn’t imagine why he wouldn’t at least know about it. Vinyl took another swig of her peppermint tea, hoping it’d calm her down.

If it wasn’t the book spiking her nerves, it was just being around the stallion in the first place. After finding out about his diplomatic assignment, Fleur hadn’t come back to the mansion. She had no interest in seeing him set up for another highbrow party, and was outright against Vinyl’s participation in the whole ordeal. So for now, it was just the two of them when Dapper and Fluffs were busy working. While a part of Vinyl missed seeing Fleur every day, a tinier part of her was happy to have so much uninterrupted time with Fancy Pants.

“You’re right. It is quite sparse on the details,” Fancy noted as he flipped through the last pages.

Vinyl snapped out of her musings with a shake of her head. “Right. Doesn’t that bother you?”

“What do you mean?”

Viny paused and blinked. “What do you mean, ‘what do you mean?’” Vinyl fired back. “It’s a book about your mom that doesn’t tell anypony anything useful about her!”

Fancy lowered the book slightly to get a better look at his company across the fireplace. “It’s about her career. From what I can tell, it documents that aspect of her life fairly accurately.”

“But it feels so wrong! How can it be definitive if it misses the most important parts? It doesn’t have anything about her life, her friends, or even you! I’m surprised you never complained about it.”

Fancy shrugged. “I never bothered reading it since I would’ve heard most of this first-hoof. I’d honestly forgotten that this book existed.”

“Wouldn’t they have asked you about her as a source?”

Fancy shook his head as he continued to read.

“How is that even possible? You’re her son! You’d think they’d at least ask you one question.”

“I have a hunch about that one.” Fancy turned back to the front of the book and looked at the title page. He narrowed his eyes as he read the fine print. “Here we are. That would explain it. Looking at the publication year, it seems the ponies behind this book were trying to capitalize on her passing.”

“And that means what?”

“I would’ve been unavailable to comment on anything here. This was written during my ‘extended diplomatic mission’ in Prance for two years.”

“What in the world would’ve taken you two years to do in Prance?”

“It wasn’t exactly a mission, but a temporary stationing until things calmed down here. Remember, Sauna Summers was a celebrity. Princess Celestia understood the problems that came with having a famous mother. I was allowed to work from outside of Canterlot until I was ready.”

“But two years? I mean, not to sound rude, but that’s like a lot, right?”

“It wasn’t as if I completely abandoned my duties. I simply worked remotely among other things.”

“They could’ve at least tried to mail you for a comment.”

“If they did, I threw it away as junk mail. I only responded to missives from the castle or Princess Celestia herself.” Fancy sighed as he looked at the effigy of his mother on the shimmering cover. “I needed to get away. There were so many ponies offering their thoughts and well-wishes, but most were only doing so to be seen doing it. In a word, it was exhausting. Even if they were the well-meaning ones, at some point, I simply grew tired of the constant reminder that she was gone. You can't move on like that.”

Vinyl frowned as she tried to wrap her head around it. She didn’t even know Summers until after she’d been long dead, but she still felt a deep connection with the mare just from listening to her over the records. It was hard knowing she’d never get the chance to actually meet Summers.

“That sucks,” Vinyl complained absently.

Fancy coughed as an unexpected laugh escaped him. “Indeed, it does! As always, you have quite the way with words, Vinyl.”

“What? You said you didn’t want sympathy. ‘I’m sorry’ didn’t seem right.”

“Right you are. I appreciate the forethought.” Fancy took another look at the book before hovering it to Vinyl. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Umm, what about the book?”

“As I said, it was sparse on the details. It’s to be expected, considering it appears to be mostly compiled from Groovecasters interviews and news articles.”

“But there’s nothing about her here,” Vinyl pressed. “It’s all this ‘Queen of Disco’ nonsense.”

Fancy hummed to himself as he regarded the biography. “I’m not sure I’d go so far to say it’s nonsense. The book does serve its stated purpose. I can’t hold it against the author if their attention was focused solely on that.”

“But it misses so much! Summers was far more than what this stupid book says! They should’ve at least mentioned the fact she had you!”

“That’s probably for the best anyway.”

“What? Why?”

Fancy took a few ponderous moments to admire the fire as he gave the question some thought. “I wasn’t exactly a critical figure in her career.”

“How could you say that?” Vinyl asked in utter confusion. “You’re her son!”

“I wouldn’t have been much help in what this book wants to do. At this point, you likely know more about Mother’s early life than I ever did by listening to her records.”

“But that’s not important. You know what made her special, what made her Sauna Summers.”

“Special to me, yes. But that has no bearing on her time as the Queen of Disco.”

“Who cares about that? If somepony really wanted to read a definitive book about her, this fails epically! She didn’t care about her career, she just wanted ponies to be happy, and nopony seems to even acknowledge that! They just say she was a trendsetting pony who rose to become the biggest star of her generation. They missed everything actually great about her.”

Fancy smiled sadly. “Well, it is wonderful that you think that. I look forward to hearing more about what you uncover about her to correct the record.”

If Vinyl ever found the author of the biography, she certainly owed them a solid hoof to the chin. While the aggregation of information was certainly helpful for pinpointing dates, the aggravating lack of Summers’ influence on the book gave a hollow impression of the mare. In Vinyl’s mind, the author had missed the entire point. She wasn’t just a fabulously successful singer, Sauna Summers was a real pony.

“If that is all, I really should get back to work,” Fancy said as he began to sit up from his chair.

“But, wait… this isn’t right! Why aren’t you more upset by this?”

“It’s just a book, Vinyl,” Fancy dismissed.

“It’s not just a book. It’s the book! There’s nothing on her outside of this! Maybe she slipped into other books about the era or disco, but this is the only guide to Sauna Summers.”

“Perhaps I could commission a writer to do a more complete work on my mother once the archiving is done.”

“But it’d still miss who she was outside of the studio.”

“Not entirely. I’m sure Princess Celestia wouldn’t mind sharing a few tidbits about her friend. And, if I can recall them, I could add a few childhood stories as well.”

Stories about Summers? Stories from when Fancy was a colt? A tug pulled at Vinyl’s heart.

I want to hear those.

Turning towards the fireplace, Vinyl could see the filly again. It was the clearest she’d ever appeared, a spitting image of her younger self before she’d earned her cutie mark. Her little self was bundled up in the sweater she wished she was wearing. It was wrapped around her like a massive blanket as she sipped a warm mug of her favorite cocoa. Vinyl felt a ping of jealousy seeing the filly draped in all the things she desired.

At first, the spark had been a welcome change from her other unwelcome thoughts, but she was starting to worry about these desires of hers becoming more substantial. They always showed up at the worst times, making her self-conscious about every little thing. She watched the fire for a few more moments, hoping the moment would pass, but her spark was having none of it.

What are you waiting for?

These thoughts were going to be the death of her. She didn’t even know how to broach the topic.

Why do you have to overthink everything? Just ask him nicely.

Right, that’d actually work. Why hadn’t she thought of—well, technically she had.

Vinyl cleared her throat. “Can you tell me some of those then?”

Fancy paused. “I beg your pardon?”

“The stories you remember from when you were little. Can you tell me some?”

“What does my experience have to do with the archive?” Fancy asked, dumbfounded by her curiosity.

And that’s why she wanted to think about it.

What’s wrong with telling the truth?

“Nothing,” she answered aloud without thinking. Vinyl needed to be more careful. “I mean, at least not right now. I… I just want to hear them,maybe?”

Fancy put a hoof to his chin as he considered the DJ’s request. Finally he relented with a shrug. “If it will help, then ask away. What would you like to know about?”

Vinyl cursed herself mentally while eyeing the filly. She hadn’t thought that far ahead, or at all for that matter.

Seriously? Anything’s fine, right?

“I guess anything that comes to mind.”

“Anything? I’m not sure how that’s supposed to help your research.”

Vinyl clopped her forehooves together nervously. “It won’t. I just kinda… wanna know more about—”

You.

“—her,” Vinyl finished succinctly. She really needed her heart to learn to shut up for once.

“Of course. I’d be happy to talk about Mother,” Fancy replied, bringing Vinyl back to Equestria. “I still might need a visual aid to remember the finer details. Give me a moment.”

Fancy stood up from his reading chair and walked over to a nearby bookshelf. Vinyl hadn’t noticed in the sea of books around them, but there were several rows that contained binders instead. The filly bounced over next to Fancy to get a better look, which was absurd considering the figment of her imagination wouldn’t be able to see anything.

Then get over here. You know you want to.

Vinyl adjusted herself on the couch in defiance of herself, finding a more comfortable position before taking a cozy sip from her tea.

Fine. Be that way.

“Are those binders?” Vinyl asked to sate her curiosity.

“Photo albums,” he answered while making a selection.

“I thought you said Summers didn’t like those.”

“She didn’t.” Fancy made his way back to his seat, the little filly following curiously the entire way trying to sneak a peek at the contents. “There were a lot more collages hanging up before I took over the estate. The only one left untouched is the one in the studio wing.”

“Why’d you take them down?”

“Oh, you know. Just to make room for my things. I also don’t walk down that way very often.” Fancy smiled diplomatically before taking his seat.

Vinyl didn’t like that answer. Neither did the filly, but for once, she didn’t have a comment.

“Okay. Let’s see if I can jog the old memory,” Fancy muttered to himself as he opened the thick tome. There was a crackle of old plastic as he turned the photo sleeve pages one after another. Vinyl could only guess what he was looking for. The filly had taken a more proactive approach by hopping up next to him and marveling at each page despite having no clue what she was seeing. Deep down, was Vinyl really that childish?

Yep!

“Mind if I take a look?” Vinyl asked while shooting a quick glare at the filly sticking her tongue out.

“Oh sure, feel free.” Fancy closed the album and levitated it to Vinyl.

She took the album in her magic and curled her brow at the stallion. Shrugging it off, she turned her attention to the photos.

Ahem!

Before Vinyl had glanced at a single picture, she looked back up to see the filly staring at her expectantly, motioning between Vinyl and Fancy. She pointed to the couch she was laying down on and how it could easily seat two ponies side-by-side.

Vinyl shook her head no.

The filly nodded an emphatic yes.

There was no way she was going to ask Fancy to sit next to her.

Then how are you supposed to know what the photos are about?

They could just levitate the album back and forth. It wasn’t a big deal.

That’s super annoying!

But it was also safe.

Safe from what?

Vinyl didn’t know the answer to that.

Yes you do!

“Is something the matter, Vinyl?” Fancy asked.

“Yes. I mean, no!” Vinyl quickly amended before mentally cursing herself as the filly smiled victoriously.

“You can say whatever is on your mind, Vinyl,” Fancy assured to the filly’s utter delight.

She really needed to learn to shut up. “The thing is, I know what I’m looking for, but I don’t know what I’m looking at.”

Fancy nodded in understanding. “I’d be more than happy to explain anything you find in there.”

Vinyl took a deep breath and adjusted herself to make room for Fancy to sit next to her on the couch.

Reading the cues, Fancy acquiesced with a nod. “I suppose it would make things easier. Should we return to the desk?”

The desk would allow them to sit at a comfortable distance. He could sit on across from him as he—

Don’t you dare say yes.

“No. I like being next to the fire.”

“As do I,” Fancy agreed as he took another moment to think about it. “Very well. As long as you don’t mind.”

As Fancy stood up and trotted towards the couch, Vinyl felt the weight of the spark completely shooting her nerves. It didn’t make sense. She’d spent plenty of time with him before. She’d played music for him, gone sledding, and even been hugged by him. Fancy’s mere proximity shouldn’t have been affecting her as much as it was. Looking around for an answer, her cheeky little self was nowhere to be seen.

Vinyl decided right then and there: crushes were the worst.

Fancy was about to sit down but stopped. “Would you prefer to sit on the side closer to the fireplace?”

“O-oh! Yeah. Thanks.” Vinyl quickly scooted over towards the fire side.

“You’re welcome. I’m dressed a bit warmer than you are, after all.” Fancy sat next to Vinyl and smiled as he opened the album and began slowly flipping through the pages of photos. “So, does anything catch your eye?”

Vinyl didn’t want to answer that one. Several unbidden ideas had already run through her head, and none of them involved the photo album. One needling desire in particular felt drawn to the stallion’s shoulder. It looked so comfortable and tempting to lean against. She wasn’t supposed to be a touchy-feely mare.

Are you sure?

No, she wasn’t. Vinyl refused to acquiesce and refocused her attention to the album, pointing her hoof at a random photo to get herself out of her head.

Fancy furrowed his brow. “That one?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“While it was a performance, it’s not exactly what I’d call musical. Summers isn’t even in it.”

Finally looking at the picture, she had pointed to one with a very young Fancy Pants seated next to a casually dressed Suede Shoes in a stadium. Fancy’s eyes were trained on the skies as he held onto his little blue and yellow flags while Suede looked sidelong towards the camera with an inquisitive smirk. His raised brow wondered why the photographer wasn’t watching the show despite knowing the answer to his unspoken question.

“Well, Summers took the picture, right?” Vinyl deflected.

“Fair enough, I suppose. I must’ve either five or six years old here. The memories are a bit hazy, but I think this was the first time we went to Las Pegasus for a Wonderbolt show. I used to be obsessed with them thanks to Mother.”

“I thought you weren’t supposed to take pictures at an airshow,” Vinyl pondered as her eyes drifted to the adorably excited colt.

“Flash photography is certainly prohibited, yes. At least that’s the excuse Mother gave everypony. By this time, Suede had already bought her the imaging camera to save on film, so she brought it everywhere.”

Vinyl flipped to the next page, seeing more pictures of them at the stadium. He looked so excited in every shot until the last picture where he was sound asleep under his mother’s caring wings. Summers herself glowed as she nuzzled him. The longer she looked, the less she focused on Fancy and just stared at Sauna Summers’ maternal beauty. If only she’d gotten to meet her. If her mom had been half—

Vinyl cleared her throat and turned the page back. “I didn’t even think they had crystalline capture back then. At least not scaled down to emulate Ponaroid cameras.”

“You’re not entirely wrong. Mother was always on the cutting edge of technology. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was using one of the first of its kind on the market.”

Vinyl smirked. “I bet that was Sunny’s fault. She’s usually the one that’s introducing Summers to new tech on the recordings. Sunny provided the group with their first synthesizer.”

“You know, the more I hear about this Sunny character, the more curious I become. Have you had a chance to listen to Mother’s later work?”

“No. I haven’t gotten there yet.”

“You might find it interesting when you do. After disco went out of style, she pivoted to a more synthetic sound with the style of music I enjoyed when I was younger. I always thought she was simply trying to emulate who I liked at the time, but perhaps it was the other way around with her inspiring the rest.”

Vinyl’s ear flicked. When she’d offered to play him some of her music, she’d never been able to get anything out of him that was sensible, but perhaps she’d been focused too much on what she knew. “What kind of music were you into back then?”

Fancy shrugged. “I suppose, most anything from the New Wave.”

“Like, the whole thing? That’s kind of a lot of genres.”

“Sorry. I’m not entirely sure what to call it specifically. I mostly defaulted to liking what was popular at the time in the clubs, or at least pretending to anyway.”

“So, we talking pop, hip-hop, mane metal, or what?”

Fancy chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his neck. “Admittedly, I never bothered to learn the terms, but they sound familiar.”

Vinyl sighed to herself. He was just as useless as Fleur in the musicology category. “Okay, maybe just try naming some bands, I guess?”

“That I can do.” Fancy’s turned his eyes up as he considered his answer. “Over the years, I’ve drifted away from the more energetic parts of the New Wave like Drakkenponk and Dueling Durians. The music I still enjoy now from my youth is the gentler and smoother music, my personal favorite to this day being Shade.”

Vinyl perked up. She knew that name! “Dulcet Darkness?”

Fancy smiled widely. “Oh, so you know them as well? That’s one of my favorite albums.”

“Them? I thought Shade was just her name.”

“You’re not wrong. The lead singer’s name is Soothe Shade, but Shade is also the name of the band behind her. I was fortunate enough to meet her once in Hollow Shades. It’s just hard for me to get to their concerts since they keep their nocturne schedule and are known to play exceedingly late.”

“I didn’t realize she was still making music.”

“That’s not exactly the way to look at her work,” Fancy corrected. “Soothe Shade is the kind of pony who makes art when she has an idea, and only when she has an idea. She does concerts every-so-often, but her albums are few and far between. It might be a few years or a decade, but when she has something to say, she sings it perfectly.”

“That would explain why I can never find her stuff. While contralto isn’t the norm for trance, she’s a great artist to pull samples from for remixes. I’ve been known to insert ‘Cherish Today’ and a few other songs of hers while doing live mashups.”

“Intriguing.” Fancy nodded his head, causing Vinyl to pause, having slipped into musician mode.

“Do… do you want me to explain what I just said?”

Fancy chuckled from being caught again. “I suppose that could be helpful, if you’d be so kind.”

“Mashups are when you blend samples and songs together, layering bits and pieces over each other until you’ve made something new. As for contralto, it’s considered the lowest female vocal singing range. It’s where I’m at. Most trance uses mezzo-soprano and soprano, which are higher pitches, but Shade is an exception.”

“Good to know you have good taste in the artists I grew up with. So, do you sing for your songs as well?”

“Oh, no-no-no,” Vinyl corrected quickly. “My voice is a bit rough around the edges. Nothing like her satin smooth voice.”

“Just because it’s different, doesn’t mean it’s bad. At least you can probably carry a tune. I’ve been told I’m a bit tone deaf by Fleur.”

“But your coloratura is so full though,” Vinyl remarked with disappointment.

“My what?”

Vinyl smacked herself for thoughtlessly slipping in another musical term. “Sorry. I meant to say the color of your voice. It’s got a refined and dignified depth to it. You know, I bet you’d put up a good fight against Suede if you tried.”

Fancy laughed. “While I appreciate the compliment, I will have to say ‘ladies first’ to that one, Vinyl.”

She replied with a waning laugh of her own. “No thanks. I’d rather not do disservice to the greats.”

“Now, I wouldn’t go that far. I’m sure you have a lovely singing voice. It has a lovely color to it as well, even if it is ‘scratchy,’ Vinyl.”

“Thanks.” Mercifully, the terrible pun undermined his charm and stopped her from blushing. “Anyway, I’ve also mixed Shade with deep house artists like Kool Kommandant and DJ Gryphoria to make some really chill mixes.”

Fancy recoiled slightly. “I’m honestly quite surprised. The music I’ve heard from you is usually so energetic, especially what you played the other day. I thought my teeth were going to rattle out of my mouth.”

“That was dubstep. Lucky for you, I played it quietly,” Vinyl remarked as she lightly jabbed the stallion.

Fancy’s face sank in shock. “That was quiet?”

“Trust me. It’s usually played loud enough to feel it shake the room. Dubstep’s not my favorite, but the low frequency of the wobble bass interferes with the noise suppression magical field around the Drive.” Vinyl snickered to herself at the growing horror on the stallion’s face. “So yeah, play it loud enough and the nobles hate it. That’s more than enough reason for me.”

“Admittedly, I’d probably get upset as well.”

“Yeah, I could tell. That’s why I stopped after the sample. You, uh… you didn’t seem to like it much.”

“Sorry, Vinyl. It wasn’t my proverbial cup of tea,” he admitted as he lifted his own to his mouth and took a sip. “However, it was good to experience some of what modern music is like. We’ll probably need to put such music outside facing away from the city proper.”

“You’re kidding right? You want me to play dubstep for the delegation? Are you trying to start an international incident?”

The stallion smiled without a hint of sarcasm. “Not at all. If you think it’d be a good example of what the Drive is today, you’re welcome to. What would you rather play?”

“Well, I mean sure, dubstep is popular right now, but I just like playing all kinds of music. It can be whatever you think you want them to hear.”

“You seem to be missing the point, Vinyl. What I want is to hear what you want to play. Just like how I’d like the caterers to make the food they want to make the most. It’s all about what you lo—rather, enjoy doing.”

“R-right,” Vinyl mumbled as she tried to find a way to shift the subject away from her. “So, you like Shade, right? What got you into her?”

Fancy’s brow furrowed as his face fell. “That is a bit of a story, and not a very good one.”

Vinyl didn’t want to pry—

It’s not prying. It’s supportive!

It was clear to her that it was an uncomfortable topic for him.

He listened to your tantrum in the library. That helped you.

Vinyl took a bracing breath and shuffled slightly in her seat, making herself a bit more comfortable, before giving Fancy her undivided attention.

Fancy smiled softly and nodded. “Very well. Do you know their breakout album, Diamond Nights?”

“I should have it somewhere in my record collection, but I can’t remember which songs are on it aside from ‘Smooth Operator.’”

“That’s actually the one I was going to bring up. It’s about a handsome world traveler who goes around making mares swoon for him and living the high life.”

Vinyl tapped her chin. “That’s not how I remember it. I thought the song was about a sleazy business pony who goes around breaking the hearts of mares.”

“But only if you properly interpret it that way, right?” Fancy suggested as he took the photo album with his magic. He began skimming through the photos, turning further and further into the future until finally settling on one of the last pages. “For a certain stupid and impressionable colt, that pony was somepony to be admired. A much younger and dumber Fancy Pants wanted to be a smooth operator, but he was a bit too dimwitted to figure out how.”

Vinyl was met with the face of a young stallion, sneering at the camera. “Is that a mullet?”

“Indeed it is.”

Her eyes wandered down his painfully dated hairstyle to the bright red jacket sporting shoulder pads so large that you could moor an airship on. “And you’re wearing a Glitzy Glamour jacket?”

“It’s a Radical Racing Jacket, or a ‘Rad Racer’ as we called it, but yes. The very same style he popularized during his Pop Rock-it tour. I tried on a lot of looks, but I wore that one the most.”

“Yeah. That’s not exactly what I’d consider…”

“Smooth?” Fancy finished as Vinyl nodded half-heartedly. “I agree, but you must remember, past Fancy Pants was an imbecile. Rebellious while trying—and failing—to be cooler than both the Queen of Disco and the King of Swing. Poor fool didn’t stand a chance.”

Seeing Fancy Pants like this really drove home their age difference for her. She’d only seen ponies dressed like him in books and New Wave-themed raves. There was never anypony seriously wearing the look. Browsing the other photos, Fancy seemed… unapproachable.

“I mean, you don’t look bad,” Vinyl offered.

“You’re too kind. But, that’s a bit of a problem. I definitely wanted to look ‘so badd’ as we said at the time. Perhaps even a ‘Badd Little Pone,’” Fancy joked, adding a little gravel into his voice.

It took a moment for Vinyl’s head to make the connection, and she dry-heaved in disgust. “Sweet Celestia, don’t tell me you actually like that song!”

“At the time, it was one of the buh-buh-buh-baddest songs you could listen to.”

“Gah! Don’t do the ‘B’ thing too!” Vinyl could hear the corny singing starting to worm its way into her brain. Her brain scrambled to play any catchy melody she could think of to wash the song out. “I can’t imagine anypony ever thinking it was good, bad, or whatever. It’s like moldy cheese being stuffed in your ears with how it gets stuck in your head.”

“Admittedly, it didn’t age well. Movies playing it to death didn’t help either. That being said, I thought the guitar solo was fun though.”

Vinyl’s face sunk into a withered glare, earning a laugh from Fancy Pants who reveled in the schadenfreude. There was nothing redeeming about that song. Even at the time, it was dated. It was just an awful song all around.

“Isn’t it just a jab at Princess Celestia since she calls everypony ‘her little ponies?’” Vinyl asked.

Fancy’s eyes widened. He concentrated as he mouthed a few of the lyrics. “You know, I never thought about it like that. Perhaps it does lean a little treasonous.” Fancy brushed it off. “No matter. I liked Glam’s ‘Badd’ better anyway.”

“That I can agree with. Hard to go wrong with the Prince of Pop.”

“Good. I’d have to question your tastes if you couldn’t appreciate one of the greatest performers of all time.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes as she went back to the album. Looking over the photos, Fancy was a dwindling presence in them. Each page showed a stallion who simply did not want to be wherever he was pictured. They usually captured him mid-eyeroll or wearing an utterly forced smile if he could even be bothered to do so at all. His ever-shifting wardrobe was a garish display of colorful wealth. The worst picture was him looking ready to fight his mother’s wings off his withers.

“Wow. That’s some distilled teen angst right there,” Vinyl remarked with a straining smile.

“The definition of a ‘poser’ when looking back. Always chasing the trends, spreading me all over the spectrum when it came to the New Wave. That colt was trying too hard to be a badd, yet smooth operator while dressed as a radical pop star. The only thing he was good at was throwing his parent’s money around to buy things he thought he wanted in a desperate bid to satiate his ego.”

“Well, at least you got over it,” Vinyl said as she turned her eyes to the stallion. She wet her lips debating whether or not to say what was on her mind. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re plenty smooth now.”

“What?” Fancy snickered in depreciating disbelief. “Me? Smooth?”

“It’s a different, classier smooth, but yeah. At least you pull off sweaters better than I do,” she said while admiring his black turtleneck.

Fancy laughed heartily. “I didn’t think I pulled off much of anything these days, but I’ll take the compliment. On that note, I wasn’t aware that you wore sweaters at all. You always leave for shows in those hoodies of yours.”

Vinyl smirked confidently. “While DJ Pon-3 would never, Vinyl Scratch likes wearing sweaters that are way too big for her and just snuggling up in the sea of wool. Sometimes, I just pull into one entirely and become a pony burrito.”

“Fleur would do the same thing when she was a filly,” Fancy noted with a hint of nostalgia before catching himself. “Now, that’s not to say such behavior is childish, mind you.”

“Nah, I get it.” Vinyl waved it off as she recalled the last time she’d seen a loaf of Fleur. “She got stuck once, and I had to get her out of it. She’s thin, but she’s still got a whole lot of leg-length along with one really sharp horn to cram into a sweater without ripping it.”

“Big ponies like us tend to get in trouble in tight situations,” Fancy joked as he started flipping further into the future. Finally, they arrived at a picture of him standing next to a wall with Summers fluttering in the air. She was pointing at a line above his head while Fancy did his best to ignore her.

“When was this?” Vinyl asked.

Fancy pointed a hoof at the wall behind his younger self. “My thirteenth birthday. You can tell because of the height chart behind me there.”

Looking at the numbers behind him, she definitely saw a jump between the numbers ten and eleven. She turned her head back and forth between the photo and the stallion himself. “You look just like you do now.”

“Minus the wear and tear, yes. It runs through Suede’s side of the family. Simply full of early bloomers.” Fancy pointed to the bottom of a number obscured by his chin. “It’s hard to tell because she’s fluttering off the ground a little, but I was already taller than Mother when I was eleven.”

Looking between the picture pair, Fancy seemed like he didn’t want to be there at all while Summers seemed to be marveling at the sight of her statuesque son. Looking at the next photo, Fancy and Suede were standing shoulder to shoulder while Summers was wedged between the two of them, the littler mare in the mix. While Fancy’s acidic attitude bled through the frame alongside his father’s forced smile, clearly irritated with unnecessary bitterness, Summers shone like the sun every time. Without fail, Fancy’s mom was always elated to be with her two stallions.

“She looks so effortlessly happy every time.”

“As opposed to me,” Fancy muttered as he looked his younger self in the eyes. “I’d gotten terribly sick of the constant photography long before this one was taken. She had this habit of stopping every moment to snap a picture for posterity. Mother was her own personal paparazzi.”

“Why did she take so many pictures anyway?”

A wave of nostalgia wiped across his smiling face. “She enjoyed capturing moments, but more importantly, it helped her jog her memory. I have a greater appreciation for it now since I inherited a little of her absentmindedness. Mother used her photos and records. I use my notes and schedules.”

“From what she tells me, Fluffs uses the notes and schedules. You just follow them.”

“True, considering I might forget to look at it.” Fancy laughed a little too hard at that jab. His laughter grew as he tried to distract himself from the album, but he finally looked back down to see the pages and pages of his younger self scowling. “Oh, looking at these is just so aggravating. I treated her terribly for no good reason.”

Vinyl bit her lip. “Well, teens are jerks. I mean, even though fifteen is the big year, we’re still all pretty stupid then.”

“No, Vinyl. No. It went beyond that. Way beyond that. I was cruel and primed to become just another spoiled, ungrateful little scoundrel of Canterlot. I abused my talent to get what I wanted out of anypony I targeted.” Fancy sucked in his lips as he looked back at Summers trying her best to hug Fancy. “And the easiest mark for me was always Mother.”

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

“Please, Vinyl.” Fancy frowned in discomfort as he looked over to her. He took a deep breath and refreshed himself with a diplomatic smile. “It’s probably for the best if you get the full picture since you’ve been living here for a while. I know I’ve explained my talents to you before, but there is a darker side to them. I can get to know somepony well enough—” Fancy drifted as his mask slipped into a pained grimace. “Well enough to know the optimal way to tear somepony down to their very core.”

Fancy let the idea hang in the air, waiting to see how she would respond. For her part, Vinyl wasn’t sure how to take it. She knew he wouldn’t use that against her. She trusted him, even if it was foolish to do so.

Why do you always have to… ugh, forget it.

Seeing nothing from Vinyl, Fancy continued. “Interpersonal skills can go both ways. All I had to do was compare somepony to another, more talented pony, or figure out what they hate most about themselves and use it against them. I took comfort knowing that no matter what, I could always turn it around and deal a fatal blow when I wanted to win. There was no stopping me when it came to getting my way.”

Fancy turned the page, seeing another collage of bitter selves sneering, scowling, and shrugging everything off no matter who got hurt. “I thought I was invincible. Not even the promise of working with Princess Celestia was enough to temper my raging ego. To me, it was simply the logical outcome. I deserved it because of who I was.”

Against her better judgment, Vinyl slowly reached her hoof out towards him. “What finally broke you out of it?”

Fancy closed his eyes. “Mother’s death.”

Though she could feel the fire at her side, all the warmth had been sapped from the room. Fancy’s face was, in a word, complicated. He licked his drying lips as his eyes drifted forward in thought. She could see his horn flickering with unstable magic, with the subtle sounds of the fire masking the thrum of his stress casting.

“I’m sorry, Fancy. You don’t need—”

Realizing he had drifted off, Fancy took a shuddering breath and cleared his throat. Vinyl quickly retracted her hoof before he noticed it. “Sorry, I was just recalling that, well, it wasn’t just that. My time in Prance finally humbled me. Living somewhere that nopony knew who I was made me realize just how little I really had. How vapid my ‘power’ was. I wish I could say for certain I would’ve grown out of it eventually, but seeing ponies like Blueblood still at it? It’s wishful thinking. I know I’d never learn to appreciate Mother while she was alive.

“I am only who I am now because she is no longer with us. The ‘me’ everypony knows now would’ve never been able to meet her. Truly, I hate that more than anything.”

An oppressive silence settled on the two as he stared daggers at the album. There was a righteous fury in his gaze, but still, it didn’t look much different than the withering anger so prominently displayed in the album. Fancy looked at Vinyl out of the corner of his eyes and quickly blinked away the vitriol boiling within.

“Sorry about that. It’s just that…” Fancy sighed and chewed his lip before continuing. “I’d give anything to redo the last time I saw her. I was throwing an inane tantrum about some nonsense that I don’t even remember, and probably ignoring any advice she was giving me before I stormed out of the studio with all the answers already decided in my head. She was just some dated has-been with no friends while I surrounded myself with ponies I’d bought off. I ripped into her for it. I knew her loneliness would hurt her. So I did, easily, without a second thought.”

Loneliness? That didn’t sound like Summers. “You said you didn’t know Sunny, but I didn’t think that meant she really didn’t have any friends.”

“No. She only had Princess Celestia and Suede Shoes in the end. I was there, but… you know how much good that did her.”

“Are you sure? No Sunny, Springstep, or Autumn Aria?”

“Those are the ponies that were with her in her early days, right? If I did, I don’t remember now. Even in my childhood, it was always just the three of us and Dapper. There was also the occasional visit from the princess, but perhaps we could just ask Summers herself.” Fancy suggested as he jostled the album.

Vinyl nodded and took the binder in her magic and turned back to the first page to begin her search. As her magic flipped through it, dozens of photos sped by with the occasional appearance by Princess Celestia and Dapper Dandy. She stopped to see the odd maid or butler over the years, but they weren’t exactly what Vinyl was looking for. Even if she could think of a few excuses for their absence, there was no getting past it constantly being just Fancy and his parents.

She’d spot a party in Canterlot with the other nobles, but they were always gathered closer around Suede or Fancy while Summers seemed to struggle to fit in. There’d be a professional photo or magazine snippet of her with fans, but it never looked intimate like the photos of Summers with her family. She’d be singing at a show or caught candidly out with Suede, but there was never anypony else.

Years passed as Vinyl poured over the pages. Summers’ smile became more subdued as everypony grew older. Fancy went from an adorable colt to an insufferable teenager. And through it all there was nothing, nothing, and more nothing. Landing on the last page, Vinyl saw Summers seated on her bed with a pen in her mouth as she drafted music. There was no conclusion to it, just a story midway through its telling that was cut short.

“The other albums are like this one. Feel free to look through them, but you’ll probably see more of the same.” Fancy’s eyes wandered back to his mother’s face. He smiled wistfully and placed his hoof next to her head before reverently shutting the album and closing his eyes. “Sorry, Vinyl. Looking at these pictures. Mother deserved so much better than me. It’s sickening to think that had she lived, I’d likely still be a horrible, entitled fool towards her.”

Vinyl couldn’t stand seeing Fancy Pants tear himself apart like this. She tapped her hooves rhythmically on the cushion as she tried to think of something to say, but she was drawing a blank. There were so many generic things running through her mind, and they were all crap. His horn was still glowing unsteadily.

Stop thinking and do something, stupid!

“Well uhh… at least now you’re just a normal idiot, right?”

Fancy’s eyes shot open and he slowly turned to Vinyl, utterly flabbergasted by her response.

Wha—what did you just say?

Vinyl forced a smile through her awkwardness. She was really starting to loathe her spark.

Fancy balking was fractured by a nasally snickering before his guffaws broke through his stunned silence. Vinyl joined in nervously, wondering why they were laughing.

“Oh dear,” he said as he caught his breath. “Right you are, you gifted unicorn, you,” Fancy said as he ruffled her mane. “These days, instead of outwardly and awkwardly denying it, I nod along until somepony notices. Unfortunately, this fool can’t seem to sneak anything by you.”

“Yeah. I’m just kind of observant, I guess,” she mumbled as she scratched the back of her head.

“You are always so unexpectedly refreshing, Vinyl. Thank you.”

Turning her eyes up to Fancy’s horn and saw it had stopped its errant spellcasting. “Of course, Fancy. Anytime.”

“I’ll be sure to take you up on that offer if you’re willing to put up with my rambling.”

She was about to heave a relieved sigh as her eyes drifted back down to the smile pulling at Fancy’s lips. It wasn’t a wide, toothy grin, but a subtler one of tender relief and appreciation. The glow of the fireplace caught his eyes, bringing a gentle, caring light to the piercing blue of his tender gaze. She could tell. She’d helped. She’d actually helped him. Vinyl Scratch hadn’t messed up.

Fancy’s face fell into a troubled frown as he tilted his head. “Vinyl? Are you alright?”

And then the moment was gone, realizing she’d been staring.

“Sorry. I just… sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for, though I should apologize for getting a little side-tracked. You were wanting to hear about my mother, not me.”

“Right,” she lied.

Fancy’s ear flicked as he cleared his throat. “Anyway, this was a good kickstart to the old cogs in here,” he said as he tapped the side of his head. “Why don’t I tell you about one of the times I watched her and Suede produce one of their later duet albums?”

“Sure! That sounds great.”

“I don’t think I saw any of the photos from those sessions here.” Fancy tapped the album’s back cover before lifting it with his magic. I’ll go see if I can track it down.”

Fancy hopped off the sofa and went back to the bookcase. Vinyl watched him as he pulled a random binder off the shelf and flipped through it. A smile crossed his face as he poured over the memories within. After a few moments, he put it back and took another and cracked it open. As Vinyl waited for him to return, she levitated another log into the fire to keep it burning. The embers beside her didn’t hold a candle to the warmth sparking within her heart when Fancy was close. She couldn’t wait for him to sit back down and tell her another story.

Vinyl decided right then and there: crushes were the best.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 37: Not Alone

“Ready to start recording?” Vinyl asked as she ran one last diagnostic check of the crystal’s containment shield.

“Yep!” Fleur buzzed enthusiastically over the audio lab’s intercom. “Go ahead and wow ‘em!”

Vinyl rolled her eyes. Research logs weren’t exactly known to be showstoppers. Still, she couldn’t shake the excitement of putting her academic hat on for the first time in a while. Between her archiving work and the Showcases preparation, she’d mostly put her own studies on the backburner. Her lab time had been dedicated to helping Professor Arepeggio’s Imperial crystal studies or her sister’s vocal research. When she approached her own work, it was only in short bursts, and usually resulted in another shattered gemstone. It felt good to finally be experimenting in earnest again. On top of that, she’d actually stumbled across something worth making an entry. She cleared her throat as she approached her workspace.

“Cacophony research log number seventy-eight: I’ve sanded down a topaz into a small, 20 carat spheroid and inscribed a Cacophony rune which now contains a low-quality violin imprint,” Vinyl reported as she observed her carefully shaped gemstone contained within its protective shielding. “Theory: Cacophony’s claim is that sound and magic are intrinsically linked. Therefore, it stands to reason that while magic is not sound itself, his spellwork relies on principles of sound waves for resonance.

“To reduce noise during channeling, perhaps the shape of the medium, the topaz in this instance, is less important than its size for storage. If the magic channeled along its surface is pulsed like a pressure wave, it might bring further stability to the spellform when trying to extract inscribed enchantments. It took…” Vinyl trailed as she tried to recall the time she’d spent polishing. “It took way too long to sand it down to an evenly distributed surface and another two hours of careful attunement, but I can say now we’ve connected to something inside the crystal!”

A small smile crossed her face at that last line. She hadn’t successfully registered an instrument stored on a crystal in months. So far, they weren’t breaking new ground, she had a good feeling about this one. Vinyl opened her mouth to continue her entry, but then the intercom buzzed to life.

“Correction: You found it,” Fleur added from the recording room. “I just kinda watched you polish a topaz for most of the morning and then got us sandwiches while you were trying to get it all working.”

Vinyl sighed. “You still helped, Fleur.”

“I’ll agree to a credit as the ‘Assistant Cheerleader’ and ‘Principal Caterer’ at this point.”

“Fine, whatever. Just let me finish!”

Fleur nodded and motioned for the researching DJ to continue.

A few months ago, such an interruption would’ve restarted the entire entry, but after listening to the Summers-Suede collection, Vinyl had developed a deeper appreciation for the smaller moments. Even if it was superfluous information, those were her favorite parts of archiving. If somepony down the line ever listened to these logs, she wanted them to feel the happiness she did around her sister too.

“I’ll be attempting to perform the standard C-major scale using a cacophony crystal and recording the sound I am able to produce starting from Middle C. I’ve prepared a second synthesizer currently channeling the same violin stored in a standard storage crystal as a control.” She took a deep breath and held her hoof above the key in question. “Striking Middle C in three, two, one…”

A single, sustained note from a violin resounded throughout the school’s audio lab as Vinyl pressed down. She looked over her instruments, implements, and the crystal itself in disbelief.

“You’ve got a note, Vy!” Fleur shouted over the intercom.

“I do…” A thrill of excitement rushed through her spine. “I do!”

The cacophony crystal was holding fast as it maintained the note. The tone sounded slightly off, but Vinyl was elated to finally pull anything from a stored instrument and not having the crystal destabilize immediately. She reached over to the other keyboard and hit the same note, listening carefully to the tuning. The crystal produced a stable, sharp sound, but not a large enough jump to quite hit the half-step up to D-flat.

“Do you hear that?” Vinyl asked.

“Sounds out of tune to me,” Fleur reported back.

“Mark it down as C-quarter sharp.”

“What the hay is a quarter sharp?”

“It’s on the twenty-four tone scale. Saddle Arabia has additional sharps and flats that fall between half steps like F-natural and F-sharp. You don’t run into it here in Equestria very much.”

Fleur snickered. “So what you’re saying is that it is out of tune, but in a good way.”

“Just staying optimistic.”

“Oh? How unlike you, sis. Something good happen recently?”

“Gotta keep morale up when working with Cacophony runes, remember?” Vinyl deflected. She was very glad her back was turned to Fleur as her mind wandered to her time spent with Fancy over the past few days. “Just trying to take a more positive note from you, Fleur.”

“Aww! But I only have twelve,” Fleur complained cheekily.

“Just write C-quarter sharp, please. Next will be a full step to D.”

Vinyl released the note on the keyboard and waited for the violin to quiet down. Checking the sustaining pedal on the synthesizer, it didn’t appear to be broken. The note was simply holding out by itself. Looking towards the crystal itself, it trembled with the pulses of magic running across its surface as it trailed off in a long legato. While a worrying sign, it wasn’t a reason to stop the test.

Moving to the next key, she pressed the D down and held it. Like C before, it sounded decidedly off. She struck the other keyboard, trying to match the pitch. Moving the half step down to D-flat, it nearly matched.

Vinyl hummed to herself. “Mark it as C-sharp. Next will be a full step to E.”

“Why not try to see what happens with D-flat?”

“We’re just testing the natural notes of the C-major scale test,” Vinyl reminded her sister while looking over her shoulder.

“I know, but come on, sis. We could go into an eighth step and hear a note that’s never been heard before!”

“It’s just going to sound like an accidental if I play it.”

“I thought it was an out-of-tune accident in the first place until you pulled out the Arabian notes from nowhere.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes and turned back to her work. “I’m going to move on to E now, Fleur.”

Getting a confirmation scoff from her sister, Vinyl stuck the E key. The note rang out as a struggling D-flat, or rather a strained C-sharp. For whatever reason, the furthest it could stretch was a half step above C. She quickly released the note, almost hearing the struggling string despite there being no physical instrument within the crystal.

“That sounded really bad,” Fleur said warily. “How’s the topaz doing?”

“Lattice work is still being read fine from the synthesizer. The crystal still looks intact from here,” Vinyl assured herself as she stole a quick glance at the quivering crystal. “Somehow,” she added beneath her breath. “I imprinted the violin’s range, right? Not just C?”

“As far as I know, yeah. But again, this is your rodeo, Vy.”

“Then why can I only seem to pull C out?” Vinyl released the keys, trying to make sense of what was happening. “Moving down to D-flat.”

“Alright, now that’s what I’m talking about! Let’s hear something really awful!”

Vinyl rolled her eyes and tried D-flat out. The note rang crystal clear, but decidedly not D-flat. She clicked middle C down on the keyboard next to her, matching the note.

“C-natural?” Vinyl released both notes.

“That’s disappointing.” Fleur sighed with mock disappointment. “I don’t know much about pianos, but it sounds to me like the keys are inverted.”

“Not quite. If that was the case, middle C should’ve sounded flat, not sharp. Trying middle C again.”

As Vinyl pressed the key down, the crystal began to shake as violently as the note itself. It warbled all over the place in an uneven vibrato while never leaving the note’s range. She released the key, only for the note to keep growing louder and louder. She quickly cut the power from the synthesizer, attempting to sever the mana flow connection.

After taking a deep and calming breath, she approached the containment field to inspect for physical damage to the cacophony crystal. Not wanting to risk hurting herself, she grabbed the blast-shielded jewelers' loupe to check the damage. Lowering the metal mask over her face and muzzle, she leaned in and began her search. The magic swirling within it from the rune rattled the surface, making it look like violent seawater with waves swelling and crashing into each other.

Vinyl groaned in defeat. “It’s flow fracturing.”

“Ooo! Can I break it this time?”

“No. I want to try one more thing before we lose it. Hopefully it’s still stable enough.”

“Fine, but I’m still coming in to watch the fireworks.”

With that, Fleur took her headphones off and quickly galloped into the studio as Vinyl moved her hoof over the power button to restart the synthesizer and shot a look at Fleur. Her sister nodded and slapped on the other blast shield to watch their latest sacrifice to Vinyl’s research. They both put earplugs in as well to shield themselves from a potential ear-shattering ending to the experiment.

Flicking the power back on, Vinyl could hear the high-pitched ringing from the crystal’s unstable reverberations in her ears. Not even bothering to announce her intentions, she quickly pressed down Middle C, hearing the unstable strings strain as they played a warbly note somewhere near her target. She then added E and G in an attempt to strike the C-major chord.

Instead of latching onto different sounds, the note twisted out of control, blending and screaming into an ear-piercing cavalcade of shrieking chalkboard sounds until the crystal exploded into dust.

Fleur whooped in delight, removing the mask and approaching the pulverized crystalline powder. “I’ve missed working on your stuff. It’s always so fun!”

“Glad you’re enjoying it at least. Meanwhile, it took me hours of searching for a violin in a sea of chaos just to play four notes,” Vinyl complained as she joined Fleur’s side. “Not even four different notes, just four terrible versions of the same one.”

“Aww. Cheer up, big sis. We’re trying positive notes, remember?”

“That was before it exploded again, just like the last time.”

“Any clue what went wrong this time?”

“Same thing as always: channeling instability resulting in a random cascade failure. This time, the flavor was Flow Fracturing, the prettiest form of failure!” Vinyl reported with bubbly sarcasm before her forced glee flatlined into frustration.

Fleur smiled softly and leaned over to Vinyl, pulling her into a side hug. “But you were able to play it this time. You’ve never gotten that far, right?”

Vinyl sighed and leaned into the contact. She felt Fleur squeeze ever-so-slightly. “Barely an improvement, but yeah, I guess. But who knows if the rest of the violin was even still in there or if I just scraped it off whatever was left of it inside.”

Fleur nuzzled the top of Vinyl’s head as the DJ sighed in somber contentment. It was warm and supportive. She remembered liking those things a long time ago and she was slowly relearning how nice it could be. There was a lingering sense of safety and belonging, unlike before.

“I must congratulate you, Miss Scratch. It appears you have stumbled across yet another pitch that can overload my sound wards,” Professor Arpeggio said as he entered the room.

Vinyl broke away from the sisterly embrace to give her full attention to their teacher. “Sorry about the noise, Professor. Again.”

“No apologies necessary. Luckily we still have the foam boards and insulation.” Arpeggio’s horn began glowing as he scanned the walls. A sigil took shape as he checked the spell’s formulation, the professor laughed to himself. “Oh, this is even better! The wards are active and the spellwork is completely intact. That means you managed to pierce through them as if they weren’t there. I shouldn’t be so surprised. Cacophony is nothing if not predictably unpredictable.”

Vinyl sucked in a shuddering breath as her supports disintegrated. She’d made more than just another exploding crystal. Cacophony magic was always a double-edged blade of potential creation and destruction, with an emphasis on destruction. She was sick of finding, or perhaps rediscovering, ways to weaponize the old battlemage’s magic. At first, the mayhem Cacophony’s principles caused was entertaining in its own right, but now she was getting tired of the constant chaos her field of study brought. It’d just take another upset noble raising a fuss about her noise-making to reignite the media firestorm against her.

Fleur leaned towards her fuming sister. “You okay, Vy?”

Vinyl reared back and sent her stool flying with an infuriated buck before yelling in frustration.

Before it could smack against the wall, Fleur caught the projectile chair with her magic and set it down. “Taking that as a ‘no.’”

“Why won’t things just work without catastrophe? I’m trying so hard!”

“It’s okay, Miss Scratch,” Arpeggio assured the bitter mare. “It’s just the nature of the beast you’re pitted against. You’re trying to make sense out of nonsense. The only character we’ve ever witnessed doing so successfully is that sealed draconequus.”

“Great, so I’m on the same wavelength as the Harbinger of Catastrophe,” Vinyl grumbled.

“That’s not what I said, and you know that.”

“Does it even matter? That’s what everypony thinks I am! Some kind of chaosbringer bent on destruction!”

“It’s fine, Miss Scratch. This is the School for Gifted Unicorns. Noisy and destructive magical nonsense happens every day within these walls. You’re just a single rung in the long chain of ponies breaking down the barriers of magic.”

Vinyl took a calming breath. “It’s just so aggravating! The closer I get to something workable, the worse the failures become. It’s like nothing ever works like I want it to, and I’m just making more and more noise. I just want to make music!”

“And such is the nature of all research,” Arpeggio assured calmly. “There are so many hypotheses to test before finding one that is close enough to the truth to be reliable.”

“I thought I was close this time, but all it did was blow up in my face. Again. All I’m doing is making a bunch of explosive noises in new and creative ways!”

Arpeggio approached the containment field and lifted the sparkling dust in his magic. “Well, you’ve been going through a rough patch both in here and out there. Nopony is going to hold that against you.”

“We’ll see if the committee members factor ‘life struggles’ into their assessments.”

Fleur’s ears perked up. “Oh right, that’s coming up again, isn’t it?”

Vinyl sighed. “Yeah. It’s always Performer Showcases and then the research report presentation or whatever you want to call publicly validating my financial aid’s existence.”

“Well, good news this year is you’re only defending your research to the ESPA for money.”

“Yeah. Now instead of fighting for grant money, I’m begging them to let me study here. The best part is that I haven’t made any meaningful progress since I’ve been slacking.”

“Cut that out, Vinyl! Remember, the Screech was my fault no matter what anypony says. Besides, It’s the Summers-Suede Endowment. You’re doing innovative research while archiving the collection. It’s pretty much a formality at this point since it’s Fancy’s money anyway.”

Vinyl knew that. It was clear as day to her. If she lost the endowment, Fancy could easily pick up the tab for her. Just like Athena, Fancy had the power to change Vinyl’s entire world effortlessly. That didn’t mean she wanted him to though. She’d fought so hard just to stay in the game, but Fancy could simply buy the entire board without a second thought. Despite her budding feelings for Fancy Pants, there was a small and petty part of Vinyl that still resented him for it.

“Doesn’t that kind of cheapen it though?” Vinyl muttered.

Fleur blinked in confusion. “What?”

“Like, why are you even trying, Fleur? It’s not like you have to.”

“Uh, yeah I do? It’s not like anypony else is researching magical pitch shifting like I am. Just like you with the Cacophony runes. Right, Professor?”

Arpeggio nodded firmly. “You are correct. As far as I know, you two are currently the only ones looking into Cacophony’s work at all. It’s why I wanted you two to study under me in the first place. He is a rather overlooked figure in magical research, considering the chaotic nature of his theories.”

Vinyl shrank back and sighed. “Right. Sorry.”

“Oh, no you don’t,” Fleur fired back quickly, pulling Vinyl’s attention squarely to her. “What about guaranteed money is making you feel cheap?”

“I-I didn’t say that.”

“Nuh-uh,” Fleur admonished as she shook her head. “Fancy won’t cut you off from the endowment and you said that ‘cheapens it.’ That’s Vinyl for ‘I’m uncomfortable about something.’”

“Just forget it, Fleur. It’s not important,” Vinyl assured as she looked away from the mare.

“Hey, hey. None of that now,” Fleur countered softly, but firmly. “If that was true, you wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place. What’s bothering you?”

“It’s nothing.”

“You promised not to keep things bottled up if it was painful. I’ll drop it right now if you can look me in the eyes and tell me that it’s nothing.”

Taking a deep breath, Vinyl turned her head up to Fleur, expecting her glare, only to see her sister’s tender concern. All of her fortitude melted away as she slumped her shoulders. “I don’t know if it is.”

“Well, let’s try to figure it out.” Fleur looked at the clock, seeing it was around eleven. “Wanna put lunch in the fridge and go for pizza?”

“N-no. I’m good here. I don’t want to go outside.” The mere notion of going anywhere lingered in Vinyl’s head like a creeping fungus. She had no clue why she didn’t want to go outside, but she knew she didn’t want to.

Fleur nodded as she laid a hoof on Vinyl’s back. “Okay, let’s take a break. That sound good?”

“I guess.”

Vinyl watched Arpeggio and Fleur exchange glances in silence. “I’ll clean this up. I could stand to be away from my desk for a bit anyway.”

“Thanks, professor,” Fleur said as she led Vinyl out the door. “You’re the best!”

As they entered the lab’s control room, an oppressive gloom slowly beared down on Vinyl. Fleur sat her on one of the lounging couches and said something before heading to the coffee maker they used for hot water. Vinyl saw Fleur mouth the word “okay” and she nodded. She wasn’t sure why she couldn’t hear her beyond a deafening static buzzing in her ears.

A lingering melancholy grasping at her body with tendrils of tar wrapping around her. She was no closer to breaking through the Cacophony conundrum. She was still where she was before, which was to be expected. It was just another failure to add to the never-ending list of failures. It shouldn’t bother her so much. Yet, it felt so—

How very disappointing. Another mess of yours for me to clean up.

Oh, right. That was the word. Vinyl had mercifully forgotten about her mom until recently, or at least she hadn’t thought about her. All she had to do was ignore it. The memories would pass on their own eventually. She just needed to grin and bear her for a bit to get the beratement out of her system.

No! Please! Don’t think about her! Her imaginary filly self cried as she ran over to the couch from the corner of her eye.

Unfortunately for them, telling somepony not to think about something generally had the opposite effect.

Oh-hoh? Feisty now, are we? You’ve become such a rebellious little foal. She heard her mother call from a distance, her proud sneer echoing through her mind.

I don’t want to! Please! the filly begged.

“Sorry. It doesn’t work like that,” Vinyl muttered to herself in defeat.

But we don’t have to. Fancy said we didn’t have to listen to her anymore…

They heard their mother tut in disapproval as her voice grew louder and clearer. Just look at the damage you’ve done to yourself. Your lovely mane is so short and disheveled. And where did you even find these tacky sunglasses? Your father? What an utter disaster.

Come on, do something! The filly cantered nervously in place looking around for something, anything to stop the intrusive thoughts. Uhh… Fleur! Yeah, get Fleur! She’s right over there!

If it wasn’t now, it’d just be later. The memories of her mother would always be back no matter how much time passed. It’d be best to let it just run its course—

Fleur! Help me! Fleur! FLEUR! the defenseless filly screamed as she collapsed into a sobbing wreck, terrified of the encroaching darkness.

Vinyl heaved a heavy sigh. She remembered when she did that before. It was best to grow numb to it than cry about it.

Honestly. What am I going to do with you? You’re always trying my patience—

Vinyl’s drag down memory lane was interrupted by her vision being filled by the shaking of a paper cup and the rattle of a mixing stick.

“One chocolate-ish mocha-sorta-kinda latte,” Fleur said softly as she sat the tall drink on the coffee table.

“Thanks.” Vinyl propped herself up to take a sip of her drink without spilling it everywhere.

“You don’t look so hot.”

“How’d you figure that out?” Vinyl mumbled bitterly.

“Telepathy, obviously,” Fleur joked with a small, caring smile.

Vinyl scoffed as she laid her head back down. “Right. So, what am I thinking?” She asked as she looked to Fleur’s left to see her little self clinging desperately to the larger mare’s side.

“Nothing good, I can tell you that, but it’s okay. You also know your little sister’s right here for you,” Fleur assured as she reached her hoof out towards Vinyl. “Just talk to me, Vy.”

Vinyl shuffled her hooves, reaching out with one hoof while pulling in her other legs as she hugged herself. It was okay. She could extend a hoof out to take the hoof-up from her sister. “What do you want me to say?”

“That today was a big success. That you were able to channel the violin without breaking the crystal immediately. That you’re amazing.” Fleur smiled warmly as the filly nodded, but kept her face pressed into the larger mare’s side. “It actually played notes instead of exploding the moment you struck a key. That’s something!”

“But is it okay if I keep failing all the time?”

“Succeeding, sis. You succeeded, okay?” Fleur leaned in close, filling Vinyl’s vision with her perfect fur and pink, lustrous eyes. “Nopony in the world could do what you did today.”

“Probably because it’s so stupid. I just keep making noise in interesting ways. Messing up like always,” Vinyl spat.

What? The filly stopped shaking and slowly let go of Fleur. What are you doing?

“That’s fine by me. We make the best messy noises. SchlurrVivyl is the best when it comes to cacophonous messes.”

“I’m still so far from any goals I have,” Vinyl said as she closed her eyes. “If I can’t make it on my own, what good am I to anypony?”

Stop it! Why are you talking like mom?

“You don’t have to,” Fleur assured her sister. “What I’ve learned from watching you is that doing things all alone can get pretty lonely.”

“I’m not self-sufficient; completely at the mercy of others. I just want to be able to do what I want without relying on somepony else to get me there.” Vinyl opened her eyes and glared, despite the filly desperately trying to stop her accusatory posturing. “Don’t you want to be able to stand by yourself without anypony holding you up?”

“Of course not. Why would I?”

Vinyl stopped and stared, dumbfounded by Fleur’s confident admission. That made absolutely no sense. Fleur was the most free-spirited mare she knew. Vinyl slowly pulled herself up and searched for a lie in her sisters’ eyes. “You don’t mean that. You can’t mean that!”

Would you cut it out and listen to her?

“Don’t you want to be able to pull yourself forward by your bridle?” Vinyl shouted, despite the cliché’s absurd hypocrisy.

Fleur doesn’t deserve this! You don’t even believe what you’re saying! Stop throwing mom’s stupid words at her!

“What good are you to anypony if you’re so useless that you can’t live on your own?”

Silence fell upon the two sisters, with only Vinyl’s heavy breathing filling the air. Vinyl knew she was lashing out. She knew it was unfair to throw all of these questions that constantly ran in the back of her mind at Fleur.

“Vinyl, please. I want you to listen to me, and listen carefully. I get that you want to be good on your own, but what you’re trying to do, this weird, misguided virtue of suffering through self-sufficiency of whatever…” Fleur trailed off as she reached down again for Vinyl’s hoof. She pulled it to her chest, pressing it against her heart and held on tightly as she burned with resolute fire in her eyes. “I don’t know where you got this utter nonsense from, but what you’re describing? It’s not independence, it’s total isolation.”

Vinyl’s heart clenched. “N-no. That’s not right. I just don’t want to owe anypony. I couldn’t—”

“Couldn’t take hoof-outs, right?” Fleur interrupted as her mouth drew into a thin, leery frown. “Even when you were on the brink of collapse? When you had and still have plenty of ponies that care so much about you? What else do you call that?”

Hiding, the filly answered honestly. Vinyl’s eyes sank as the filly laid against her heart, causing it to throb from her contact. Because nopony can betray you if you don’t trust them.

But she wasn’t like that anymore. Vinyl Scratch wasn’t like that anymore.

You’re not supposed to be like that anymore, but we still hear mom.

Vinyl tried to steady her breathing. She just kept having to tell herself: they’re dead. Her mom was dead. Her dad was dead…

… To us.

They’d been dead for years…

… To us.

She didn’t owe them anything. She didn’t need to play by those rules anymore.

So why do you keep trying?

“Sis?” Fleur lifted Vinyl’s head up by the chin as she leaned in closer to Vinyl. “You still with me?”

No.

“Yeah. Sorry. What were you saying?”

“I asked you a question, but I think that was a good enough answer for me.” Fleur gently smiled and kissed Vinyl on the forehead. “You’re right in a way, you know. I do want my schooling to end up with voice acting in my own one-mare shows and stories, but I can’t do it alone. I need help to pay tuition. I’d be lost most of the time without Professor Arpeggio to guide my research. For peat’s sake, I don’t even know if I’d even be here without you! So what’s wrong with depending on others?”

“Nothing, I guess. It just feels wrong.”

Fleur scoffed as she pulled Vinyl into a deep hug. “Whoever taught you that crap needs a solid buck to the face.”

With renewed strength, Vinyl wrapped her forelegs around her sister and returned in kind, a smile splitting her face as she couldn’t hear her mother anymore. There was just the sound of Fleur’s steady breathing as she held her close. Relief washed over Vinyl as she rested in the caring embrace.

“Oh-ho ho! Since when did you become so affectionate, Vy?”

Practicing for Fancy Pants? the filly asked knowingly as she watched from Fleur’s back.

Vinyl swatted away the errant thoughts from the peanut gallery and simply savored her sister’s warmth. “I’ve been trying some new things lately,” she said as she nuzzled Fleur’s neck.

Fleur giggled. “I like it!” She pushed away from Vinyl and kissed her forehead again. “I’ll always be here for you no matter what. What else are sisters for?”

Vinyl smiled nervously. “I’m still trying to figure that one out. And a whole bunch of other things.”

“That’s because you always overthink the simple stuff,” Fleur dismissed. “All I know is that I’ve got the best sister in the whole wide world!” She punctuated the point by diving into a vice grip of a hug and grunting from the extra effort she was putting into squeezing Vinyl. “And I know I can always depend on you to help me where it counts.”

“Pushing… it…” Vinyl choked out a laugh from her sister’s bone-crushing earth pony strength. She tapped Fleur’s foreleg, causing the other mare to release her.

“Sorry.” Fleur tittered nervously as she adjusted her hair. “You can’t pull nuzzles out of nowhere.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You know what? We should have a sleepover at my place!” Fleur suggested as she clopped her hooves together excitedly.

Vinyl laughed. “I think we’re a little too old to call staying the night at your place a sleepover.”

“It’s the spirit of the thing, Vy! We can do our hooves and manes and stay up way too late swapping stories while eating pizza!”

“We could just do all of those things normally. Heck, I stay out late pretty much every other night at Cantrips.”

“C’mon, sis. I’ll even beg Maman to let you come over to make it authentic! Plus, you could use a break from being stuck at that stupid mansion all the time.”

And there was the rub. “Fleur…”

“What? You need to get out more. We haven’t even set sail on the Friend Ship for like two weeks. I miss spending time together with my sister.”

“What about Fancy Pants?”

“Pantsy?” Fleur snorted derisively as she looked away, “He’s already got enough ponies to juggle. I don’t think he has any room for real friends.”

The relief she felt slowly evaporated as a sharp pang of guilt stabbed her in the back. Ever since Vinyl had told her sister about Fancy’s temporary return to diplomacy, she’d been avoiding Fancy Pants and the estate entirely. It’d only gotten worse after Vinyl had mentioned he wanted her to perform as DJ Pon-3. Now Fleur was actively trying to pull her away to keep her safe, but despite her fears, Vinyl still wanted to play.

“It’s not a party, sis. It’s an international event. Fancy is doing what he can to help out with the treaty with the Crystal Empire.”

“I don’t care. I told you before, I’m done with all of those stupid high society circle jerks,” Fleur growled and crossed her forelegs while turning her head away. “Sure. He’s doing it for the good of Equestria. I get it. What I don’t get is why you have to help him! I say you stay with me until this whole stupid summit blows over.”

“But then what?” Vinyl asked. “Fancy Pants is the Kingmaker. There’s always going to be something else. Do I just run and hide every time he hosts an event?”

“Why not? Just get the archiving done and get out of there. You can stay with Maman and me at Pâte de Lune. We’re your family.”

“But he’s your family, too.”

“I know that!” Fleur spat viscerally before reeling in her temper. “I know.”

“Please, Fleur. You said you wanted both of us. That you couldn’t choose. I don’t want you to choose between us.”

“Well then he needs to stop doing dumb things that make me hate him first!” Fleur slammed her hooves in anger, accidentally bumping the coffee table and knocking over Vinyl’s latte. She gasped as it spilled across the table.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” Vinyl assured.

Fleur sighed in frustration as she levitated a stack of napkins to wipe up the rest of the drink Vinyl missed. “Sorry. Here I’m supposed to be cheering you up and I’m making it all about me. I’ll make you another one.”

Vinyl did her best to whip up the spilled drink in a whirlwind of magic, swirling it back into the cup. She grabbed the cup with her hoof and kicked it back. “Still tastes fine to me.”

Fleur offered a small smile in appreciation as she went to work cleaning up the mess on the table. The fleeting happiness was wiped away as she focused on the mess. Vinyl kept quiet as the streaks became smaller and smaller, each pass of the napkins picking up trace amounts of coffee. Once it was mostly gone, Fleur trudged over to the trash and flopped the damp wad of paper inside. Then, she just stood still, staring into the bin.

“I don’t know what to do, sis. What’s right? I want to be there for you, but I’m really scared. If they start attacking you like last time, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’ll probably just end up causing more problems for everypony like last time because I just get so mad—” Fleur coughed to interrupt her growing tirade. She took a calming breath as she clenched her eyes closed. “Please, don’t do it. I can’t watch you get hurt again, Vy. I just can’t!”

“But Fancy said he needed me.”

“He can buy any help he needs. It doesn’t have to be you. You shouldn’t have to face a bunch of ponies who hate you for no good reason.” Fleur trotted to Vinyl and put a supportive hoof on her shoulder. “Something else stupid will come along eventually to eat their attention. Please, let’s lay low and let them forget all about you.”

Vinyl blinked. “Forget me?”

Right. That was the original plan. Vinyl was supposed to hide at the estate while the Screech drifted out of everypony’s memory. Even if it took a while, Fancy was going to keep her employed with the archiving job. There was no reason for her to risk anything. It’d take her years to go through the working lives of his parents, and Fancy had said he was fine with her working at her own pace, no matter what said pace was.

At first, she’d delved into it as her duty to uphold in good faith trying to find a mysterious pony’s name. However, that pursuit had been put to the side having been engrossed by the life of Sauna Summers. She pulled a lot of hours with it just to hear her talk. She was like a friend she never met and a model of a good pony pulled into a world of corrupting riches. And that world had ended up being how she was remembered. Her life had been recounted in a lackluster, hearsay account of accolades that told nopony about who the queen of disco really was. Summers was so much more than anypony knew anymore, and Vinyl couldn’t stand it.

“Screw that!” Vinyl roared as she stood up from the couch. “I don’t want to be forgotten!”

Fleur backed away. “What?”

“Fancy said that I was worth it, that I was brilliant!”

“Pantsy really said that?”

“Y-yeah!” Vinyl cleared her throat, trying to still her beating heart’s influence. “And I want to believe that too. I shouldn’t have to hide from them and let their fake story define who I am. I’m DJ Pon-3, the most popular performer on the Drive!”

It felt good to say. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so proud to be herself. Her pulse was beating to the music she felt inside. Her inner filly was doing her best to dance to the beat while cheering for an encore.

“But I know that I can’t do it alone anymore,” Vinyl admitted as she caught her ego. “That didn’t work at all last time, so I could really use my sister and…”

C’mon! the filly urged as she bounced up and down. You can do it! You’re Vinyl Scratch!

“... and Maman’s help,” Vinyl finished confidently.

A beaming smile immediately split Fleur’s face as she tackled Vinyl with a hug, nearly knocking them both over into the coffee table. “Then you shall have it!” Fleur said as Lady Faire. “We are, how you say, a most formidable family!”

Family. Vinyl was starting to really enjoy the word as it slowly took on a new meaning in her mind. It was supportive, caring, and most important of all, warm. She held onto her sister like a life preserver, keeping her head above the freezing static that threatened to drag her back down into the depths. If she had ponies like Fleur and Éclair—her family—then she was going to have a hard time sinking below the surface.

Even if she still wasn’t quite used to depending on others, it was leagues better than the oppressive loneliness of being a self-made mare. If that was the cost of doing business, then she never wanted to be alone again.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 38: Rhythm of Change

The bitter chill lingering in the air weighed upon Fancy Pants as he and Princess Luna escorted the noble Summit Council around the Royal Castle’s Grand Ballroom. There were no decorations or displays, only the empty grandeur of the finest of Canterlot spaces speaking for itself. The immaculate walls glowed orange in the late afternoon light in stark contrast to the icy nobles following him. Today’s meeting was meant for unveiling the preliminary staging and explaining the layout to the planned festivities of the first night. After briefing them on their goals and working through their many, many grievances with Princess Luna’s methods, they had moved into the ballroom to give a uniquely magical tour of the event.

“And here we’ll have a few samples of some rather unique eating options outside of the standard Canterlot Castle catering,” Fancy announced to the group as Luna began to channel her complex spellwork. “Plenty of peculiarities to partake.”

A dreamy window opened before the committee, revealing a mock-up of their plans for the night. Imperials and Equestrians bustled about a buffet area lined with tables of colorful and exotic food. Unlike the usual pristine and carefully arranged order of Canterlotian cuisine, each table was uniquely themed with regional accents of far flung corners of Equestria. Fancy had seen many of them before in his travels and grown an appreciation for each style, even if he wasn’t particularly fond of some of the food himself.

As the nobles eyed the offerings curiously, Saffron Masala quickly trotted through the kitchen’s doors from the back. She struggled with a massive pot of spicy curry in her magic as she almost tripped over the rug. Before she could stumble, Athena grabbed the pot out of Saffron’s magic, the two sharing a smile before getting back to work.

“Is that some sort of minotaur?” one of the gentlecolts asked in disbelief.

“Good eye, Mister Whinnyworth. She is Athena Cypriel, a friend I made during my ambassadorship and a recent immigrant to Equestria.”

Athena began pouring it out into individual sauce boats for ponies to sample, before turning to another guest asking her a question. She quickly motioned an apology to Saffron, who took the pot back in her magic as Athena stepped over to her table to show off her gyros.

“I see. And what is it that the minotaur is serving?”

“She was assisting with some traditional Maredrasian curry, but it appears she’s now helping a guest sample the finest Equestrian-styled Minossan,” Fancy bragged. Not allowing the obvious question to be asked, he pressed forward with his prepared spiel. “Our nation extends our desire for friendship to all who would wish to call Equestria their home. I thought it’d be best to show not only the Canterlot standard, but also the other flavors our friends bring with them.”

Whinnyworth hummed to himself in thought as he eyed Athena with suspicion. “And you are absolutely certain a minotaur is the best fit for this sort of prestigious event?”

“Hers is my favorite food offered within the nation,” Luna interjected pointedly. “If her cuisine is good enough for your Princess of the Night, so too shall it be for you and our guests.”

The stallion nodded quickly in agreement and shied away from accidentally antagonizing the princess. The other members walked forward to get a better look at the area as he and Luna had imagined it within the Dreamscape. The scene continued with a plump earth pony mare walking past the window. She was carrying a stack of thin boxes on her back while sharing a bubbly conversation with the petite and pudgy Éclair de Lune.

Upper Crust grimaced at the mere sight of the heavyset pony. “Was that Spicy Marinara?”

Fancy nodded with a proud smile. “Indeed it was.”

“You must be joking! Certainly, you can’t be suggesting we offer pizza of all things to our distinguished guests. That cheap grease can only be the best of the best in the sense of clogging arteries!”

“While you may find it commonplace, Miss Upper Crust, pizza did not exist as it does now a thousand years ago,” Luna clarified before tapping the side of the dream window.

A nebulous clang reverberated through the illusionary glass, grabbing both dream mares’ attention. The princess pointed to the boxes Marinara was carrying and the visions nodded to each other in understanding. They placed the stack down next to them and grabbed the first two off the top.

The nobles looked upon curiously as the other visions inside the illusion seemed to become aware of the window’s existence. Athena leaned back over the table to catch a glimpse at what the others were looking at. Spotting Fancy and Luna through the magical glass, the minotaur brightened and waved enthusiastically along with Saffron and her tubby father. Fancy nearly waved back on instinct. Even if it was just an elaborate waking dream, Luna knew exactly how to make you forget the creatures on the other side weren’t real.

The two earth pony mares approached the window, opening their boxes to reveal two wildly different offerings. One was a deliciously cheesy mushroom and onion pizza, piping hot and ready to serve. The other was a sort of strange square of flatbread with parsley, lemon, and a few other random bits of foodstuffs on top.

Luna stepped forward and pointed towards the menu items. “On the left is a modern pizza, while on the right is an example of ancient focaccia, the closest thing they had at the time. It was topped with a few standout items and usually whatever was leftover from other dishes. While delicious and still served to this day, focaccia is nothing like its modern descendant.”

After giving the nobles a chance to study the differences between the two dishes, the mares closed the pizza boxes and smiled as they took a step back, to show the rest of the cooks gathering together to look back at them.

“Our goal with this summit is to show our allies what Equestria has become. See the faces within this window?” Luna asked, expanding the window so they could all see the creatures within and smiled warmly at the dreams inside. “These visions are your real life neighbors here in Canterlot. They work for you, earn money for you, and deserve both your respect and appreciation, regardless of what their talents produce.”

“So you plan to proudly display the commoners of Canterlot for the Crystal Summit,” the statuesque Baron Bucksaplenty remarked as he stepped forward, the gentlecolt unicorn standing almost at eye level to the moon. “Fair enough. You have shown us plenty of interesting sideshows ranging from the lower festivals and carnival fair food, but where is our representation, your highness?”

“You must ask?” Luna ceased her casting, dismissing the friendly faces within as she turned to face the nobles’ judgment. Her eyes scanned over her subjects, well dressed, properly poised, and utterly unbearable. “I see not a single commoner among the membership of this elite council. We stand within the most luxurious venue at the epicenter of power in Equestria. And you, Baron, deem yourself worthy of questioning such decisions to your princess. Is this all not in and of itself representative enough of your class’ influence?”

“That is not exactly what I was saying, your highness. Princess Celestia—”

“Has left me in charge of planning the festivities around the Crystal Summit,” Luna finished firmly for him.

Slightly taken aback by her sharp interruption, Bucksaplenty closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “My apologies, your highness. It was not my intention to speak out of turn. I simply mean to express my fear that such… guests may lack the propriety to maintain decorum around our honored guests.”

“Propriety as defined by whom? You?”

“As defined in stark opposition to the rabble rousers that ruined the last Grand Galloping Gala!” he urged, his genuine passion catching the princess off-guard. “Have you forgotten? Did your royal highnesses not just finish repairing this very room after the damage wrought by those with little regard for the proper order of things? You may have performed matters differently during your reign a thousand years ago, but during your absence, we have developed rules of etiquette, and for good reasons, your highness!”

Luna’s quick retort hung on the tip of her tongue as she tried to say something to counter his claim. As her hesitation lingered, her eyes drifted to Fancy for help. He understood why as well. While dripping with pompousness, it was clear that Baron Bucksaplenty genuinely believed what he said was for the good of the summit. The destructive impact Lady Rarity and her friends had on the most recent gala was impossible to deny.

“While I do understand your hesitance, my good sir, I assure you that the ponies we have extended invitations to have all worked with the aristocracy before, in one way or another,” Fancy insisted to the worried stallion. “And unlike the misfortune that befell the gala, I assure you that each one of them is on the same page as we are. They wish to make a good first impression on the crystal ponies, not only as friends, but as business partners and customers. They have a vested interest in the success of the summit for more or less the same reasons.

“Furthermore, keep in mind that they will not be the only ponies to potentially make mistakes. I expect the crystal pony delegates themselves to break proper Equestrian etiquette multiple times. We mustn’t hold their millennium of ignorance against them, nor the modern ignorance of those who are often excluded from entering such spaces. It’s up to us to show the graciousness of Canterlot high society and act in good faith.”

For his part, the baron seemed satisfied with the answer and nodded. Fancy wasn’t all that surprised, knowing the wealthy soldier’s background. He was well-meaning, but still deeply mired in elite culture that had whittled away his more grounded sensibilities. Fancy had become far more familiar with that feeling of unfortunate disconnect recently, as well as the repercussions it bore. It was, in a word, embarrassing.

“A rather avante-garde approach to planning as opposed to your usual methods, Sir Fancy Pants,” Upper Crust remarked as she looked at her clipboard.

“While Sir Fancy Pants has been a great help to preparations, the honors of peculiarity belong to me, Upper Crust,” the princess cut back in, eying the mare aloofly. “And I am truly thankful that you’ve noticed. I’ve met a number of great ponies that I wish to show our old friends from the north. Knowing the circles they’re kept within, it is unlikely the delegates would ever come across these unique local flavors on their own.”

“On that, we agree, your highness.” The businessmare flipped back and forth through the pages of the event staging and started to move towards another section by herself. She smirked and lowered her notes. “On the subject of peculiar picks, has the music been chosen?”

Fancy suppressed a sigh at the question, knowing exactly where she was going to go with that train of thought. He readied himself for a defense. “We’ve been looking into our options with the help of the Equestria Society for the Performing Arts. Our intention is to give the crystal ponies a chance to hear a wide array of musical offerings and innovations since they’ve been gone.”

“I see. Do you have a list of potential candidates?”

“It’s quite an exhausting list of options, but we could have one prepared for you if you’d like, Upper Crust.”

“That would be wonderful, but I’m mostly wondering if it will be limited to live performers.” Upper Crust pointed her hoof at the allotted space for the performers. “It’s a large section, but not big enough to fit the ESPA symphony or a full choir. Are you intending to rely on a DJ?”

Fancy could see the bait, but to breeze past it would call attention to it. “While we favor live performances, using a DJ is one of the options we’re considering for those that would be troublesome to accommodate.”

“Really? Who did you have in mind?”

Seeing the knowing smarm on her face, Upper Crust was simply waiting for Fancy to make a move. It was a battle of wills to see who would say Vinyl’s name first so the other could spin the resulting reaction in their favor. Unfortunately, it was harder for him to dodge the question. Upper Crust could simply feign ignorance, but he couldn’t pretend not to know the answers.

Fancy reached into his pocket for his planner to feign forgetfulness, only to be met with the quartz in his pocket. It was then he remembered that he’d discarded the ashes of said notebook at the Labyrithiyum weeks ago and hadn’t bothered replacing it since he destroyed it in anger. A frown threatened to cross his face, and he chewed the inside of his lip. The moment was dragging on too long. Fancy needed to say something, but he wasn’t sure what.

“A talented pony by the name of Vinyl Scratch,” Luna answered simply.

Fancy’s heart dropped seeing Luna step right into the trap. He could feel his magic coil around the stress quartz in his pocket.

“Vinyl Scratch? You don’t mean you’re seriously suggesting DJ Pon-3 for this event, do you?” Upper Crust clarified for everypony else, feigning astonishment at the suggestion. She turned to Fancy, readying to strike the final blow. “Did you not learn your lesson from the Festival of Flakes, Fancy Pants? I can’t believe you would suggest such a menace to the princess!”

The murmurs began almost immediately. They might’ve forgotten her name by now, but they certainly remembered that fiasco with “The Screech” popping around the ensuing whispers. It sat in the collective memory of the upper classes with the likes of the Grand Galloping Disaster and Wedding Invasion.

“I believe I was the one to answer your question, Miss Upper Crust,” Luna affirmed, stepping forward with towering authority over Upper Crust. “What makes you think it was Sir Fancy Pants’ idea?”

Neither Fancy nor Upper Crust expected Luna’s boldness. The smaller unicorn steeled herself with the royal highness bearing down on her. “With all due respect, Princess Luna, the name Vinyl Scratch isn’t very trusted within Canterlot. Perhaps you recall the obnoxiously loud incident that disturbed your first Night Court.”

“I am more aware of that reality than you realize, Upper Crust. In all facets.”

“I see.” The mare’s eyes flickered back and forth as she tried to find a rebuttal. She looked back to Fancy and smirked with inspiration. “All facets? So then you know that Sir Fancy Pants has been housing this DJ at his private estate?”

At that, the committee’s curiosity overflowed as it exploded in fevered gossip.

“I’d heard the rumors, but I never thought Sir Fancy Pants, of all ponies, would do such a thing!”
“That can’t possibly be true, right? I thought he was dating Princess Luna!”
“I suppose a wild mare does carry a certain sense of danger. Still. To be seduced by somepony like that… Who knows where a mare like her has been.”

The salacious speculation forced Fancy’s magical grip tighten around the crystal in his pocket as he struggled to keep a straight face. When he’d invited her to stay with him, the bachelor hadn’t even considered the optics. His “eligibility” was the furthest thing from his mind at the time, and now Vinyl was paying for his negligence. It wasn’t fair. In such a pairing, she’d be the victim, not him.

Upper Crust cleared her throat as she readied to attack once more. “Now, now. My goal was not to guess what Miss Scratch was up to with him—though it certainly does beg the question. After all, a mare like her has to make it somehow. But that’s not important.”

Fancy’s blood boiled underneath his diplomatic smile at the accusation. The mare’s pettiness was almost too much to take.

“To be clear, I’m simply worried that the Kingmaker’s judgment has been compromised. He might be playing favorites with a fling rather than fulfilling his role as her majesty’s counsel properly,” Upper Crust explained as she approached him with unbridled confidence. “His role is to help her majesty choose the best from the best, is it not?”

His magic flowed over the smooth corners of the crystal in a vain hope of finding relief from the inquisition. Even if he knew in his heart that Vinyl was the best choice, they’d never believe him with such framing. The news would spread like wildfire, and further fan the flames of scandal around Vinyl Scratch, painting her as some floozy chasing his wealth, which couldn’t have been further from the truth. His legs numbed with the hollowness of rotted tree trunks as he tried to maintain his cool posture. The weight in his pocket, the gift Vinyl had given him out of selfless concern, could be weaponized against her.

“You are so quick to judge an incredibly talented pony, Upper Crust,” Luna interjected, pushing Fancy aside with her wing and blocking the smaller mare’s advances.

Upper Crust briefly scowled before correcting her poise to properly address royalty. “With all due respect, your highness. It isn’t Fancy’s talent that I was questioning,” Upper Crust insisted. “Simply his other motivations.”

Luna smirked. “And it was not Fancy’s talent that I was calling into question. You are so quick to assume it was his recommendation that motivated me to request her services.”

Upper Crust blinked in confusion. “What do you mean, Princess?”

Fancy blinked as well. Vinyl’s inclusion had been his idea before they’d even had their first meeting. Rather than saying anything, the princess simply sparked her magic to life. After a moment of focus, a teleportation spell popped an album cover into existence above them. She caught it with a hoof and admired the front of it with a soft smile before spinning it around to show the others. It was Luna’s signature copy of DJ Pon-3’s LP album from the Cantrips Collection addressed to the princess herself.

“You?” Upper Crust asked in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.”

Luna smirked with unshakable confidence and nodded once.

The mare recoiled in disgust, but quickly shook it away to maintain decorum. “I don’t mean to be rude, your highness, but she is a meager disc jockey, a servant tasked to play records. There is no real talent required for such a simple task.”

Fancy balked at the sheer gall of the mare. Everything spewing from Upper Crust’s mouth was utterly vile. He wasn’t sure how he’d never noticed it until recently. Perhaps he hadn’t been paying attention before. What was new to him was how much it bothered him to hear. It’d been years since he’d felt the strong urge to buck somepony in the face.

Luna clicked her tongue. “Such confidently spewed naïvete. Out of all the wonderful music I’ve heard since my return, DJ Pon-3 has become my favorite musician of this generation. Did you forget about her piano performance at the Festival of Flakes? Or more recently, the Performer’s Showcase? Oh wait, that’s right. You weren’t there, Upper Crust. In fact…” Luna trailed as she scanned the gobsmacked nobles around her. “None of you were.”

“B-but I was, your highness!” Whinnyworth corrected meekly before clearing his throat. “I went to the ESPA’s Performers Showcase and saw your favorite show of the night.”

Luna turned to the barking puppy of a noble. “Do you mean that article that said my favorite was the last show of the night?”

“Indeed! Miss de Lis’ stellar duet inspired by your royal self and Princess Celestia. It was quite captivating, if I do say so myself.”

“I see. Then, you and your friends left afterwards, right?”

“Of course. The show was over.”

“Of course it was,” Luna agreed gently. “Because the next performer after her was her friend DJ Pon-3, right?”

The stallion’s confidence died on his lips. “She… she was?”

“Perhaps you shouldn’t believe everything you read.” Luna stepped forward, her hooves clip-clopping firmly with each step slowly draining her patience as she bore down upon him with a withering glare. “Had you actually been there, you would’ve known that your friends all left in protest right before she took the stage.

“For your edification, Mister Whinnyworth, I stayed. My sister stayed. Sir Fancy Pants stayed. My dear friend Athena Cypriel—the minotaur whom you dismissed so readily—stayed. We all stayed and enjoyed the last performer showcased that evening, which was an astounding display of musical talent by the incomparable DJ Pon-3! Hers was objectively the best show of the night, praiseworthy of a princess, but apparently she wasn't good enough for any of you to even give a second thought!

“So yes, I wish to have DJ Pon-3 perform her wonderful music at this event. If any of you have objections to her inclusion as a representative of modern Equestrian music, raise them now so that I may refute them immediately!”

Luna waited for anypony to say something, but not a word was uttered. After a dragging, agonizing silence, Luna slammed her hooves into the marble floor and boomed with regal authority. “SPEAK!”

Every noble in the committee ducked to the floor as her electrifying ire crackled through the air with the power of a lightning bolt.

“Is deafening club music really the best to be played at a high society event?” Upper Crust asked from below.

“Even if you do not share the respect for her craft that we do, Upper Crust, it is our desire to have Vinyl Scratch perform!” Luna shouted, her royal Canterlot voice crackling the very air with ancient, magical fury.

“Then what—” Upper Crust paused and shuddered, noticing that she could see her breath as she spoke. She quickly refocused and shook the shock away. “What do you expect her to do that would be acceptable for this event?”

“We expect her wonderful variation of swing she has infused with her own creative light!”

“But, your highness—”

“SILENCE!” The command echoed through the ballroom with the force of a thunderclap. The princess took a deep breath and sternly trotted to the tiny speck of a mare under her. “From our understanding, Suede Shoes performed in these very halls many decades ago. If his swing was acceptable, so too shall Vinyl Scratch’s electro swing be welcomed, alongside any other styles the crown sees fit for our neighbors far to the north. Is that clear, Upper Crust?”

Upper Crust looked away and nodded halfheartedly.

“Is. That. Clear?”

“Y-yes, your majesty!”

“Any other complaints regarding our desires?” the princess asked the other committee members. She narrowed her eyes as she looked over the cowering nobles.

After taking a moment to gather himself, Baron Bucksaplenty rose to his hooves. “No, your highness,” he answered resolutely for the other nobles.

“Very well. Then please do our royal selves the smallest favor and wait to dribble your chittering gossip until our back is fully turned. We refuse to hear you impugn those whom we hold in the highest regard. The accolades and prestige you wield above any of them mean little to us. We have yet to bear witness a single reason that warrants your supposed superiority! Now, if you are done playing these ridiculous games with us…”

Luna raised a hind leg and, with a mighty thrust, stomped any notion that she’d discuss anything more.

“This meeting is adjourned!”

The impact rumbled through the ballroom, kicking the dirt off the floor with a magical pressure wave. The mighty Princess of the Night had no patience for the noble’s frivolous fencing. With an about-face, Luna strode away from the committee with her head held high. She eyed Fancy, silently urging for him to join her gait as they withdrew from the ballroom. As ordered, not a peep was heard from them as they walked through the great doors leading into the hallway.

When she and Fancy Pants turned the corner, out of sight and sound of the noble’s perception, the princess’ stern visage slipped away, replaced with a giddy smile. “Did you see that?” Luna asked excitedly as she fluttered her wings in bubbly delight. “We won! We—I defended the honor of you, Athena Cypriel, and Vinyl Scratch!”

“It was a brilliant display,” Fancy replied. “Thank you, your highness.”

Luna’s ear flicked at the proper title. “Is there something wrong?” Her eyes immediately went up to his horn, and she gasped seeing the barely perceptible flicker of his magic. Not even waiting for a response, she darted in front of him and leaned her horn against his.

“Princess Luna! Please, I’m quite alright.”

“Neigh. I mustn’t withhold assistance from my dear friend and student,” she answered softly as she began channeling soothing magic into him.

“But, what if—”

“If somepony sees?” Luna laughed to herself. “I suppose there are enough rumors abounding this afternoon. Let us remedy that.”

Another spell channeled through her horn and, in a flash of moonlight, the hallway fell away as they appeared elsewhere in the castle. Vibrant, silvery blue stardust walls draped with heavy burgundy curtains falling from arched windows with inlaid diamonds at their zeniths. Black floor lamps with branches tipped with silver magelights brought a dim, comfortable light to the ethereal space. Against the wall sat a bed in the shape of a crescent moon, also dotted with a soothing lamp hanging from its tip.

“There, now we will have complete privacy,” Luna assured as she summoned two cushions for them to sit upon. “Come. Let us relax after a job well done.”

In a fluid motion, the princess whisked off her obsidian peytral onto a nearby ponnequin and crown while kicking off her silver horse shoes. Relaxing herself, she magicked a set of slippers from the side of the bed and donned a robe woven of midnight silk and pure white cotton. Finally, she breathed a sigh of relief as the magic faded from her hair, as it fell flat at her side in a cascade of light blue mane and the deep color of her fur faded.

“I believe this would be the alicorn version of ‘letting your mane down,’” the princess answered the stallion’s unspoken concern, her brilliant smile taking pride in her correct use of lingo. “It will be many moons still before my natural alicorn magic recovers enough that my ascended appearance occurs on its own. For now, my tiara draws upon my magic to maintain it.”

Fancy nodded in understanding, wishing he could do away with his suit in favor of a comforting sweater. “Sounds rather exhausting.”

“It can be if I cast too many spells. Which is why if I want to relax, I return to the safety of my bedroom.” Luna smiled warmly and tapped the cushion next to her. “Now, come.”

Fancy silently took his seat next to the princess and tried to calm himself. While Luna’s stalwart defense had eased him somewhat, his nerves were still fraying from the what-ifs plaguing his mind. Wordlessly, she urged Fancy with a dip of her head to lean down and allow her to assist him. As her horn gently graced his own, the soothing coolness of her magic flowed through his mind.

“Your distress is palpable, Fancy Pants.”

“I must apologize, Luna. It’s a wonder that I ever managed to work before.”

“Has it ever been this intense before? I can’t imagine your aura going unnoticed for so long.”

“I’m not sure. It might be a new development. After all, I never dared to enter your sister’s bedchambers when I was the official ambassador,” Fancy replied as he tried to focus on the silent serenity around them.

“And still you charged into my living room not knowing what was beyond my tower’s doors. Does my innermost sanctum make you uncomfortable?”

“No. Quite the opposite. I’m afraid I’d never wake up again should I fall asleep in here. It is the fact that this is your bedroom that makes me uneasy.”

“Such a chivalrous stallion,” Luna teased. “While it is indeed the most private of spaces, this is merely another of my personal rooms that I’m more than happy to share with my friends. In fact, nopony may enter here without my permission. Do you see the dais on the floor over there?”

Following Luna’s pointing hoof, Fancy’s eyes searched the room while keeping his head locked. His eyes wandered the contours of the dark carpet before settling on a raised platform on the opposite end of the room from them. The sigil carved upon it seemed familiar. He couldn’t recognize its function by the laylines like Fleur or Vinyl, but he remembered Luna had another one like it elsewhere. “Is that a teleportation circle?”

“Yes. It is linked with others within this tower and can only be used by Tia and I. They were a boon before I had reclaimed enough of my former strength to teleport using my own power. Now, I only use them before I’ve had my first cup of coffee. According to Sister, she had this structure built to withstand even the greatest destructive forces in Equestria. Not even she can pierce these walls without calling upon aid from the sun. It is the most secure place in the world.”

“Always the protective sibling, isn’t she?”

Luna rolled her eyes. “Tia is… overzealous about such things when it comes to me. Almost worryingly so. It’s simple enough to enter the bottom floor, but only those who accompany us may travel between the rooms of my abode. I know she means well, but it did prove most vexing to discover I had slept through an invasion. Had Queen Chrysalis prevailed, I would’ve awoken to a castle swarming with changelings none the wiser.”

“For as long as I’ve known her, Princess Celestia has valued safety for her little ponies above all else,” Fancy recalled as he dwelled on her highness’ overly cautious tendencies. “I can only imagine how much that must extend to somepony she would move mountains for.”

“Indeed. In some ways, she’s exactly the same as she was before, but far more intense. Her protective gaze is a lens, focusing a sunbeam upon a single point and setting it ablaze from its distillation. But thanks to that overbearing smothering, we are utterly safe here. So please, try to relax.”

Fancy smiled back and closed his eyes, allowing the stress from the meeting to slowly wash away as the princess worked her magic.

“You know, aside from Tia and the element bearers, only dear Athena has seen me like this.”

“Should I feel honored to be included in this secret?”

Luna smirked. “In the sense that I trust you with seeing my old, withered state, yes.”

Fancy chuckled to himself, looking the princess in her tired, teal eyes that still bore the depth of their mystical wonder. “I would count myself blessed to have a mere fraction of your beauty when I’m old and withered.”

“You’re always such a charmer, Sir Fancy Pants.”

“I’ve been known to have my moments every now and again.”

“You breathe a comforting light into my darkness,” Luna said as she ended the spell. She pulled back and pushed her mane out of her face to give Fancy her full attention. “It’s honestly a wonder to me that you’re unwed.”

Fancy shrugged, and smiled diplomatically. “It simply hasn’t been a priority.”

“Why not?”

“Because I haven’t ever made it one.” He knew very well there wasn’t much of a reason to now.

“That’s not much of an answer, Fancy Pants.”

“Sometimes there isn’t a good one.”

“Though my niece has taken the mantle of the ‘Princess of Love’ upon herself in this new age, romance fell under the night’s purview before my absence. It’s not my business to pry, but I do worry for you, Fancy Pants. You don’t seem to be uninterested in the notion of love to me. So, why are you not partaking in living with such joy?”

Closing his eyes, Fancy knew the answer that had sat like a stone in his heart for years. A calcified impossibility of a world that he knew could be but never came about. The vision of that house on the hill with those children still burned in his mind after all of these years. Though the colors had faded, he could see it so clearly. It was a vision he couldn’t make into a reality no matter how much money, prestige, or power he gathered. It was wrong, so utterly wrong, but he yearned for it.

“That is a difficult question to answer,” Fancy mumbled as he withdrew from the princess slightly.

“I am aware of this in the vaguest of senses. I asked you before and let it go, but after seeing it used against you and Vinyl, I cannot shake the thought out of my head. Is there truly nopony, or no one for that matter, who makes life feel more vibrant?”

Vinyl looked around the pristine, snowy hillside of the Suede Shoes Estate. “Doesn’t it feel kind of empty?”

Fancy shook the image out of his head. “You’re not the first to ask me something like that.” Fancy’s plastered smile strained, looking upon the princess’ weakened form which she shared without hesitation. The hypocrisy rested heavily in the forefront of his mind, but to speak it was simply too much. Before the stress overwhelmed him, he felt Luna’s horn touch his again, soothing his mind with the cool embrace of her moonlit magic.

“I know that the topic makes you uncomfortable, so I won’t press you if it truly upsets you. My only wish is to see my dear friends' lives filled with happiness.” The princess’ magic faded as she looked down at her hooves. “I have so few now in this modern world. It is truly a blessing to have you here and now.”

“It’s me who should count himself blessed to have you.” Fancy reached out to grab one of Luna’s hooves, plush from her bedroom slippers. “I can assure you that I’m quite content with what I have. There is nothing to worry about.”

Luna smiled sadly. “Contentment is a fake luxury reserved for timeless beings. It’s not quite the same as happiness. It can be a most comfortable trap, accepting what good you have because of the fear of losing what you have in the pursuit of gaining more.”

“Don’t worry, your highness. I can always get more if I want,” Fancy casually dismissed. “It’s barely any trouble for a pony of my means and talents.”

“You will need to do better than that to placate me, Fancy Pants. I know this nebulous ‘more’ doesn’t fulfill you. You’re left wanting, but not from the endless wellspring you can easily draw from for all of your days.” The princess’ smile tightened as she lifted Fancy’s head by the chin. “A selfless despair? Or perhaps a despairing lack of a self? From where did you learn this behavior?”

“Life, I suppose. I didn’t like who I had become. Nothing was working out the way I wanted, so I sought to change it.”

“Self-improvement is an honorable goal, but often the desired end is usually a more realized self.”

“Trust me. This is an improvement,” he assured as he took stock of himself. “A vast improvement.”

“Yes. You’re revered as the Kingmaker. One who realizes the dreams of others, but for what purpose?”

Fancy shuffled his hooves. “It’s what I’m good at. You said it yourself, I am a soothsayer, a fortune teller. I am not meant to take center stage, but guide others into the light.”

“Indeed, but that is their story. You still have yours to experience. You’re not meant to simply exist as a means to somepony else’s end. Why do you deny yourself so?” Luna asked sincerely as she pulled at Fancy. “I’m not privy to your past, but I assure you that mine has been infinitely darker than yours, yet I still try to live beyond it! You and Athena have shown me that I can.”

“Is there something wrong with the way I am?”

“If there wasn’t, then why do I catch you absently casting magic so regularly? It is not just an anxious reaction. It serves as a release to relieve undue pressure upon the mind.”

“Trust me, Luna. I am under very little pressure these days. Since retiring from my ambassadorship, the most important decisions are choosing which ponies to invest in. My talent allows me to choose the best from the best.”

“Which you are unable to do for yourself,” Luna added sharply. “You always have the clear-minded perspective of looking from without, but your foresight cannot pierce from within. For heaven’s sake, the first time I witnessed your power over dreams, you had been spending hours trying to fruitlessly craft your apology to Vinyl Scratch. It was a nightmare of your own making!”

Fancy laughed uncomfortably as the princess bore down on him. “Perhaps I’ve learned to lean on my talents a bit too much.”

“Indeed. I told you once before that living a predicted life would be akin to a curse. Seeing your own end would paradoxically lock fateweavers into a chosen fate, one optimized to live the best life they could, constantly seeking their next decision rather than deciding for themselves.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about, Luna. I made plenty of choices before your return, plenty of terribly selfish ones. I was a regular blueblood who abused my power, wealth, and talents to crush others. However, I learned very quickly that it’s nigh impossible to maintain any sense of smug superiority while working with Princess Celestia.”

“You claim your ego was tempered by toiling under the immortal sun?” Luna narrowed her gaze as she peered through Fancy Pants. After a moment of study she took a deep breath before returning to a relaxed gaze. “I see. You have learned much under my sister’s tutelage. Too much in my estimation.”

“Learned what exactly?” Fancy asked cautiously.

“Perfectionism,” Luna stated evenly. “While she has remained as steady as the sunrise, there is one change that my sister has undergone these past thousand years which troubles me; her dogged pursuit of perfect safety. Take this exceptionally enchanted tower for instance. It is impenetrable from every angle, inside and out. Just as none but my sister and I may enter, none may leave without our aid.”

“So, for the sake of argument, if you were to leave without me…”

“You would be trapped until you’ve breathed your last. And Celestia can only travel via the teleportation circles. If I destroyed them while she’s still inside, she would need to unleash the power of the sun to leave. It’s all so flawlessly flawed, is it not?”

While Luna laughed to herself, Fancy couldn’t help the creeping unease pulling at his withers. He knew it would never happen, but the possibility was enough to fuel the sinking dread. Clearing his throat, he forced a laugh to match Luna’s energy. “I suppose my fears of never waking up again weren’t entirely unfounded.”

“Indeed. Just as I believe my fears regarding you, fateweaver. You allow others to freely pour their lives into yours, but why is your life so devoid of life itself? In one sense, you selflessly give of your time freely, but in another, it would appear that you purposely avoid leaving any time for yourself. Why do you suppose that is, Fancy Pants?”

“You make it sound like living for the sake of others is some sort of moral failing.”

“Living for others doesn’t call for sacrificing your own desires!” Luna quickly rebuked as she gritted her teeth. Searching through his eyes, the princess softened. “No. Perhaps I am going about this the wrong way. Your own future is vague, your true wishes are beyond the misty veil, so to achieve certainty in a perfect outcome, you choose to not choose. You live vicariously through the accomplishments of others while never living for yourself.”

Fancy averted his gaze. “That is not a fair assessment of my talents, Luna.”

“Fairness is not the question at hoof!”

“Then what is your question?”

“Why are you doing this to yourself?”

“I’m doing nothing to myself.”

“And neither are you doing anything for yourself! I see it so plainly and it’s hurting you! Instead of moving beyond your former selfishness, have you simply discarded yourself? If you were a monster, perhaps you still are and simply flipped the script of who you abuse.”

“I beg your pardon!” Fancy shouted as he bristled from the insinuation. “Are you suggesting I am hurting myself, or worse, the ones I love through my actions?”

Luna sighed as she closed her eyes in sadness. “The framing of your question speaks for itself.”

“With all due respect, I find it to be a perfectly rational question, your highness,” Fancy snapped back with a deep frown.

The princess’ eyes flashed open as she sharply bore into Fancy Pants. “Then answer me this: from my perspective, why would your self-inflicted harm somehow be a lesser form of abuse?”

Fancy balked at the ridiculous sentiment. “Hurting another is incorrigible, obviously! Not to mention illegal!”

“Are you not another to me? If I were hurting myself and you knew about it, would it not damage you as well?” Luna bit her lip to take a calming breath through her nose. “Is it not a form of violence inflicted on those who love you to see you hurting?”

All became silent. Any heated rebuttals he had from common sensibilities died before he could utter them. She was right. Luna was absolutely right. The thought of any harm coming to Vinyl, Eclair, Fleur, or anyone else close to him filled Fancy’s heart with dread. He swallowed and cleared his throat before plastering on another smile he knew wouldn’t work.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not hurting anypony,” Fancy said to assure himself and the princess. “Right?”

Luna sighed and dipped her head to point her horn towards Fancy’s. As ordered, he met hers once more, allowed the princess to channel soothing energies into his mind which would hopefully calm the intense ringing of the crystal in his pocket.

“You must understand, dear Fancy Pants. Love is not something you simply optimize for to achieve the best outcome. It’s wild, messy, and unpredictable, like the lives we must lead. Its terrifying uncertainty can be part of the beauty. There is no feeling quite like discovering that an unspoken love is shared between you and another.”

After another quiet moment, Fancy finally found the courage to speak again. “What if you know the outcome already?”

“You don’t,” Luna stated with complete certainty. “You may think you know, but whatever this is that you have convinced yourself of, it cannot be the truth. You’ve simply bought into a narrative that you’ve sold yourself.”

Fancy’s heart clenched with the smoldering embers of a prophesied flame burning after so many years. “I told you before, I’ve seen it.”

Luna’s ear flicked in annoyance briefly before her eyes sparked with recognition. “Ah, the fate you claim to have glimpsed for yourself.”

He nodded as he closed his eyes and focused on the fire. He could still smell the freshly baked bread, feel the sunshine warm his fur, and hear the laughter of their foals. A wave of relief crested over him. “I assure you, there is more to it than that. So much more.”

“But it remains unfulfilled because it is not the proper time?”

The water crashed on his back with icy fury, pulling him back to reality. “It’s… difficult to explain.”

“I disagree, Fancy Pants. The answer is obvious: whatever that is, isn’t love.”

“What?” Fancy reeled away from Luna, his nerves spiking.

“Love is worth pursuing. If you’re unwilling, then I do not believe what you see in your mind’s eye is love.”

“How dare you!” Fancy shouted as he stood up and backed away. “How could you possibly say that? You don’t even know what I’m talking about!”

“Yet I do know who I’m speaking with!” Luna stated resolutely as she followed his retreat. “You cannot allow a woven fate to leave you threadbare. You are the one who can realize a future, but be it perfect or flawed, you mustn’t be afraid to act. If this path is true, then realize it. If not, then do not allow a nightmare to consume your waking life!”

Fancy and Luna stared at each other, the oppressive silence splitting the room in two. As the princess calmed down, her ear flicked at the ringing from an unsteady aura of magic. The princess softened as her eyes drifted up Fancy’s horn as it fluctuated.

“I beg your forgiveness, dear Fancy Pants. I brought you here to help you, but I’ve only caused you further duress,” Luna turned back around and returned to her cushion, offering her hoof up for him to take his seat again. “Please, let me help you be at peace, if only for a moment.”

“Yes, of course.” Fancy cleared his throat as he readjusted his seat to let the princess continue. “I am so sorry, Luna.”

“The fault lies with us both, dear Fancy Pants. We have some time before I must begin my nightly duties, so please, focus only upon the sound of my voice and breathe deeply.”

The princess donned her tiara once more, flaring her nebula mane to life as she wrapped her wings forward around their heads. Within the encapsulating peace of her night, the princess hummed a song both ancient and familiar as Fancy drifted into the Dreamscape.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 39: An Old Familiar Feeling

Identity concealing tracksuit, check. White chocolate and macadamia nut granola bar, check. Brand new, state-of-the-art earphones, present. Fancy bit into his light breakfast while pouring over the details of his impulse purchase. He could recall a time when getting a new toy excited his younger self. There were so many things he’d see and throw money at back then just to try out. The unassuming clip-ons, however, he found mildly intimidating.

After getting back home, Fancy had spent a good chunk of the previous evening studying how to work them. The box contained a couple of tiny accessories to stick onto either ear and a separate storage crystal to put the music on; no clear buttons, no control mechanisms. He was slowly figuring out how to work the things with his guide booklet, but then Vinyl just had to stumble in his impromptu study session.

The young mare’s eyes had immediately sparkled upon seeing them. She knew exactly what they were on sight, the makers, the model, and so many more fine details that his little fold-out failed to mention. All Fancy could was smile and nod seeing the genius living under his roof at work. Then, she offered to make a crystal to make it all sound “even crisper” as she put it. He wasn’t aware that sound could be crispy to begin with. He just needed to tell her what he was planning on listening to and to leave the rest to her. That’s where he went from feeling old to both old and awkward.

“I should’ve just kept my mouth shut,” Fancy muttered under his breath as he clipped the little things at the base of his ears. Checking the second to last item off of his list, he then went to fulfill his last goal: Get the peacock sapphire from Vinyl presumably filled with electro swing.

Leaving the safety of his study, Fancy began his long trot through the halls towards the studio wing. It was a path he rarely traveled down. So many memories lined the walls that he’d rather not dwell upon. Each sweet reminder of his mother always bore that same bitter aftertaste. He’d carefully curated her memories to reflect the good times, but he knew the edited history in his heart. Summers rarely took a picture alone, and he’d painstakingly cropped himself out of most of them. Through all the memories, at least his younger self wasn’t there anymore, tainting the moments on display with his cruelty.

His hooves took him further back in time to memorabilia of his mother at the primetime of her life. He’d see a keepsake would be proudly displayed amidst a brilliant collage, but he wouldn’t be able to retell a single piece of their stories. It wasn’t like she hadn’t tried either, Fancy simply never bothered committing them to memory when she was around. As he approached the diplomat quarters, or rather his parent’s second bedroom, his trot slowed to a trudging crawl. So much of Mother’s time had been spent back here during her last years doing what she loved. She was always plugging away at new songs, recording with Suede, and hiding from the rest of the uncaring nobles, including her wastrel of a son.

Fancy would never know for sure, but he wouldn’t blame her if she’d been avoiding him at the time. Coming back here now felt like an intrusion. Music wasn’t his world, it was her escape from it.

All was quiet around him. He wasn’t even sure if Vinyl was awake yet. Knowing her late-night schedule, the DJ probably slept in as often as possible. Waking her up for a crystal was far too petty a reason to bother her, but perhaps she had finished doing whatever she was going to do before sleeping.

Turning his attention to the other side of the hallway, Fancy saw the live recording sign was turned off. That didn’t mean much, considering he didn’t know if Vinyl used it or not when working. He’d only checked on Vinyl back here once, and the only things he recalled from that day were things Fancy wished he could forget. Still, if it meant he didn’t need to bother Vinyl this early in the morning, he’d find the crystal and figure out how to work it by himself.

The sneaking stallion lifted an ear to the bedroom door, but he heard nothing coming from inside. He hoped Vinyl was a quiet sleeper as he turned away to check the recording studio for the sapphire. Carefully grabbing the door, Fancy gently turned the door handle and crept inside as he flicked the lights on. With no time to lose, he immediately went to the workspace to check for any sign of his quarry.

“Oh thank, Celestia,” he whispered in relief as he saw the familiar flicker of blue from the top of the desk. He plucked the earphones off with his magic and placed them down in front of him. “Now, just line them up with the points of the cut crystal and tap them at the same time to pair, and…”

Nothing happened.

Fancy pursed his lips. “But this was how… No matter. Perhaps this way?”

He flipped the earbuds over and pressed them closer to the crystal. Still nothing. If he was doing something incorrectly, he couldn’t tell. He tried several other iterations that didn’t fare any better.

“For heaven’s sake, old boy. It was only a single page of instructions! With pictures!”

Sir Fancy Pants had famously negotiated complicated treaties between Equestria, the Dragonlands, and Griffonstone, he should be able to figure out these blasted little devices. The instructions were all the way back in the study, and he was not about to take the walk of shame to retrieve them. Not when he’d poured over the blasted thing several times in the first place. Rubbing his chin trying to think of anything else he hadn’t tired yet, he saw the logo on the side.

“Aha! The inscription!” he recalled with a smile. They’d only work with a specific rune like on their company logo, though he hadn’t bothered to remember the name.

Fancy picked the sapphire up and tried to see inside. It was cloudy, but he could make out the shape of the embedded rune inside. He placed it down next to the earphone to compare it side-by-side.

“Drat. They’re completely different shapes.”

“Yeah. Also, that’s a cornflower sapphire, not a peacock.”

Fancy yelped in surprise and turned around to see the DJ covering her mouth to hide her snickering. “Vinyl!”

“Morning, Fancy. Guess you’re looking for this?” Vinyl levitated a brilliantly vivid, blue-green peacock sapphire, with a cleanly inscribed rune inside. Even from a distance, he could see the fine quality of the cut.

“It’s beautiful,” Fancy muttered, awestruck by the gemstone’s craftsmareship.

“Thanks!” Vinyl said as she hovered it to Fancy. “Had to figure out how your Möbi-beats’ crystal worked first, but it was pretty easy-going after I picked out the enchantments. All in all, I think it turned out pretty well.”

Fancy took the crystal in his hoof. While his Möbi-beats earphones had come packaged with lustrous gypsum crystal, the flawlessly polished glean of the sapphire Vinyl had cut was on a completely different level. It was easily double the size and, despite laying flat on his hoof, was cut into a tubular hexagon rather than a flat diamond shape. The inscribed Möbius strip sigil was so cleanly cut inside, it almost looked like she’d grown a crystal around a thin band of paper.

“Good gracious, how long did this take you to make, Vinyl?”

“The cut? Not very,” she answered nonchalantly as she approached the workspace. “It’s a simple geometric shape using its natural structure, just thinner. I rounded the corners a bit so it wouldn’t rip anything in your pocket. Their spellwork was a bit tougher to crack, but I managed to figure it out. I rushed a bit, so maybe a little more than an hour?”

“Incredible. You made something this amazing in an hour?” He took another look at the gemstone in his hoof and marveled at its make. “How is that even possible?”

Vinyl quirked her brow. “It’s not that great. I didn’t need to sand it down super carefully, so the crystal was like five minutes tops. The rest of it was figuring out the inscription pattern.”

Fancy’s mouth fell open. “The crystal wasn’t the hard part?”

“Okay, Fancy? I know you’re not the best when it comes to magic, but cutting a crystal is taught in magic elementary school. For peat’s sake, I cut one in front of you before. Just figure out the wavelength it resonates at and you can manipulate its structure.”

Vinyl snatched the cornflower sapphire from the desk and focused her magic on it. She stuck her tongue out slightly as she concentrated, the ambient sound of her magical aura changing pitches going low, then high, and then low again as it searched. After a few moments of manipulation, she brightened as Fancy heard the crystal slowly start tingling with the same note as Vinyl’s magic.

The sapphire glowed brighter with magical power as Vinyl’s eyes began tracing the edges of the sapphire. A few moments later, chunks of the crystal began sliding off cleanly with no debris as portions just fell off of it. There were no sharp shearing sounds of a magical blade as the mare cleanly carved it into a perfect cube standing on its corner. Suspended in the core was the inscribed rune, clearly visible through the gem’s natural cloudiness.

“See? Had to be a little more careful not to break the inscription, but it’s easy enough. How do you think rock farmers buck boulders open? It’s mostly magic, not just raw strength.”

Fancy took the crystalline cube in his magic and smiled widely. “I suppose you’ll just have to pardon me for being easily impressed by extraordinary results from mundane magic.”

“I guess I get a lot of practice working with them all the time.” Vinyl blushed as she began to scratch the back of her neck. Shaking the redness away, she cleared her throat. “Anyway, can I have that back? It’s the crystal with all the songs I was going to give you.”

“Hmm?” he asked as his mind refocused on why he was there in the first place. “Oh! Sure. Go right ahead.”

Vinyl laid everything on the table, sandwiching the peacock sapphire in between the two earphones. She pressed both down with her hooves until a quick shimmer of magic across the ribbon sigil inside brought a smile to Vinyl’s face.

“Good. The pairing works,” Vinyl said as she pulled the sapphire cube closer. “Now we just gotta transcribe some music onto the rune.”

She tapped both crystals together, activating the runes in both before laying them both next to each other on the desk. Soon, a rainbow ribbon of magical energy stretched out of the Möbius strip towards the cube. It phased through sapphire, wrapping around the edges of the sigil inside, causing it to glow as well. A white line as thin as a thread of silk began running from the cube’s core back down into the peacock crystal and vanishing inside the rune.

“What is it doing?” Fancy asked as the tabletop lightshow continued its magical display.

“Transcribing a copy of the music onto the crystal. It takes a little while, especially if there’s a lot, but it’s a pretty foolproof automated solution as long as you don’t interfere with the spellwork or try to copy something with no audio like a picture. So don’t put this thing active near any of Summers’ photo gems.”

“I’ll be sure not to. I can’t imagine listening to pictures works too well,” Fancy joked as they watched the entertaining transfer together. “Is this how you archive the collection?”

“Kinda sucks, but no. Can’t.” Vinyl shook her head as she watched the magic at work. “The Reading Ribbon spell is a bit too unwieldy for what I do. You’re pretty much at the mercy of whatever it latches onto, and you can’t edit what it picks up.”

“I see. And why does that matter?” he added before Vinyl could call him out for not understanding.

“I can’t be selective if I do it like this. Möbi-beats’ spellwork just kinda guesses where stuff starts and stops. If there’s no clear markers, it might decide to cut a song in half or combine an entire album into one track. Makes shuffling or replaying really annoying.”

Fancy chuckled as he watched the magic at work. “I can already see that all of this is a bit more complicated than dropping a simple needle.”

“That’s one way to put it. It shouldn’t be a problem going from crystal to crystal with my stuff. I can be pretty obsessive with little details like that.”

“Good to know.”

Fancy watched the lovely lights spin their magical strings between the crystals held in Vinyl’s magic. The aetherial threads whipped past like a speeding aurora of colors, like Luna’s dream magic, but in the real world. After a few moments, the DJ cleared her throat, grabbing Fancy’s attention back.

“So,” Vinyl started to ask as she looked over Fancy, “did you just want my experimental stuff to jog to or what?”

“Not exactly, though I imagine it will help. I wanted to sample some more of it since Princess Luna was hoping you’d be willing to play some of this for the first night of the Crystal Summit.”

“What?” Vinyl balked as her eyes shrank. She shook the momentary fear away. “Like outside, right? Somewhere in a corner?”

“The corner part is right, but you’d be with the rest of the ESPA guests inside the grand ballroom. We’re intending to have many different music styles featured, including yours.”

“B-but I haven’t even figured out how to play most of it live! Why does she want it to be at an event like that?”

“Presumably because she likes it,” Fancy answered with a welcoming smile. “She even gave a very spirited defense for your inclusion in the event alongside the other nontraditional ideas she’s had for it.” He turned away from the crystals to give Vinyl his full attention. “Now, before you say anything, I want to assure you that this is completely your decision. If you truly don’t want to perform, I’ll let her highness know. No questions asked.”

Vinyl opened her mouth, but shut it as she thought about it. Fancy couldn’t help but notice the mare looking past him as she wrestled with the idea and mumbling something to herself.

“Vinyl? Are you alright?”

The mare perked up and sucked in her lips, her eyes darting between him and something else. Fancy shot a glance into the window between the studio and the recording room trying to see what she was looking at in the reflection, but there was nothing.

Fancy offered a small smile, hoping to calm her down. “You don’t need to decide right now. The event isn’t even until after Winter Wrap Up, so there’s still time.”

Vinyl shrank back as she looked to her hooves. “R-right.”

Fancy couldn’t help but chuckle. He hoped her behavior wasn’t from anything he was doing to make her uncomfortable. For a pony thought to be a wild, anarchistic pariah bent on the destruction of the aristocracy, she sure was a meek mare at the strangest times. He wanted to tap her on the shoulder to snap her out of it, but he stopped himself.

“Just take some time to think about it, alright?” Fancy requested softly.

Vinyl nodded, but kept her head down. She didn’t even notice the spellwork had finished. Fancy plucked his new toys off the table and slid the finished crystal into his pocket while donning the earphones.

“Again, thank you so much for your help, Vinyl. I’m sure you have other things to do today, so I’d rather not keep you. I appreciate you putting your wonderfully mundane talents to use for this hopelessly inept stallion.”

With that Fancy trotted past the mare and left the studio. He pressed his hoof to his ear, trying to find the right amount of time he was supposed to hold the blasted things to activate them. He was halfway down the hallway when he heard the quick pop of a door opening behind him.

“Wait!” Vinyl shouted as she galloped after him.

His heart nearly shot out of his chest as he ripped the earphones off in fear of them exploding or something. “What, what? Is something the matter?”

“Can uhh… Can I go with you?”

Fancy blinked. “Go with me?”

“Y-yeah. On your jog. Can I go, too? With you?”

Fancy arched an eyebrow, utterly confused by the proposition. He was certain that he’d told her about the cat being let out of the proverbial bag with her stay. It’d be playing into the nobles’ hooves if they were seen together.

After a brief eternity, the mare sagged down and rubbed the back of her neck as she began turning red. “Right, you’d probably rather not—cause you have important stuff and things, and the whole thing with the Möbi-beats because of the event music and like…” Vinyl trailed off as her eyes wandered to the wall where Fancy had tossed the earphones in question. She quickly hovered them off the ground and fastened them back onto Fancy’s ears. “Sorry, never mind.”

Fancy’s heart sank at seeing the dejected mare begin to turn away from him. “Wait a moment. I was simply not expecting company during my exercise. I’d lo—Rather, I wouldn’t mind your company at all.”

Vinyl’s mood rebounded shockingly fast. “Really?”

For a moment, Fancy wondered if this is what having a dog wanting to go on a walk with you was like before shaking the rude comparison out of his head. “Of course, Vinyl. You’re more than welcome to. It’s just a little early still, and I thought you must be tired after getting in late.”

She blew a razzberry and swiped her hoof to strike the notion down. “Nah, I’m used to getting up this early for school after pulling a night at Cantrips. I’m surprised you got up this early after messing with those for so long.”

“You’re not the only night owl. I’m used to pulling long nights for Princess Celestia,” Fancy retorted proudly before unhooking one of the earphones. “Admittedly, I did take far too long trying to figure these little things out.”

Vinyl smiled widely as an idea occurred to her. “How about I show you how to work these things while we’re out?”

“That’s a great idea, Vinyl! You can even provide some commentary about the music.”

The smile faltered on Vinyl’s face. “Wait, what?”

Fancy gingerly levitated the loose earphone and carefully affixed it to Vinyl’s ear. “There we are. Simply smashing. This way, we can listen at the same time, can we not?”

“I guess so.”

“The wonders of magical technology,” Fancy sighed as he took out the crystal to admire its beauty again. He lifted the sapphire up, its shimmering blue-green hue matching Vinyl’s electrifying blue mane and lightning-touched fur. “I must say, these modern marvels suit your natural beauty much better.”

Vinyl bit her lip and averted her eyes, but her reddening cheeks and ears betrayed her feelings on the matter.

“Oh, come now. There’s no need to be embarrassed by something I say, Vinyl,” Fancy joked with a generous roll of his eyes. “Besides, it’s just color coordination.”

“Would you knock it off already?” Vinyl barked back as she turned even brighter.

“Right. No compliments,” he reminded himself succinctly though a wide smile. Looking over her the flushing warmth reminded him of her limited wardrobe options. “Speaking of suiting, do you have anything warm to jog in at this time of the year?”

“Nope, but it’s fine. I’ll just use a fire shield again to…” Vinyl paused as she stared at the sapphire. “Wait, no. That might interfere with the connection to the crystal. I don’t really have anything outside of hoodies and a windbreaker. My sweaters aren’t exactly exercise friendly.”

Fancy pondered the predicament. While he would enjoy the company, he surely didn’t want Vinyl freezing herself to death. Nothing in his closet would come close to fitting a mare like her, and he didn’t want to wake Fluffer Duster to ask her. It’d be unlikely anyway, since she was even smaller than Vinyl. His eyes wandered as he tried to spark some inspiration to their problem. A cover of a fashion magazine featuring his mother embracing Suede caught his eye. She was leaning into the nape of his neck, brushing the underside of his chin as he stood up straight. Fancy himself stood roughly the same height as Suede, which gave him an idea.

“You wouldn’t happen to be a medium, would you?” Fancy asked as he approached Vinyl and straightened up as he measured Vinyl with his hoof.

Vinyl tilted her head. “Yeah? Why?”

Fancy tapped his hoof nervously as he waited on the other side of the guest closet door for Vinyl to finish changing. His gamble on his mother’s clothes had paid off after the quick trip down memory lane. It’d been interesting to see all the brands that had come in and gone during Summers’ musical career. He’d forgotten just how many boxes of free clothing she’d stuffed away like junk mail in the back of her closet. It made him wonder how his parents had ever settled on the name Fancy Pants for how often Summers refused to wear anything that’d cover up her cutie mark.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to wear these?” Vinyl finally asked from the other side.

“Of course. They were only hers in the sense they were given to her. I’m fairly certain the brand deals they were trying to entice her into have long since expired. Hopefully the clothes haven’t met the same fate.”

“Nope. The preservation wards held up, somehow. They could use some real ironing though. These creases are too intense for my magic to work out alone.”

“I’m not surprised. They’ve been folded up in that closet longer than you’ve been alive,” Fancy admitted with a laugh.

“How’d you even know there was a tracksuit in here in the first place?”

“The box was from Viva Velour. They were famous for one thing during one decade. I just hope it isn’t a complete fashion disaster.”

On cue, Vinyl opened the door to reveal a pristinely preserved, soft gold and silver jogging suit. The plush velour fabric bore copious vertical bar patterns and muted colors that shined more with a warm “peace and love” vibe than the blindingly “totally rad” energy he’d grown up around. Forget the clothes being older than Vinyl, it was all likely older than him.

“How do I look? Groovy? Outta sight? Shagadelic?” Vinyl asked, twirling around to give Fancy a full show of clothes that were assuredly older than him.

“Let’s ignore that last one,” Fancy corrected as he took in the look from jacket top to flared pant-leg bottoms. “That being said, you’re definitely all the above and far, far out.”

Mercifully, Vinyl’s colors matched despite the outfit being made with Summers’ deeper hues in mind. The top also had button-up wing sleeves, so at least she could keep the cold sealed away. The fabric looked a little tight on Vinyl, but form fitting with flared sleeves was the style at the time. In any case, Vinyl likely wasn’t going to be turning any heads in a good way wearing it despite how well the ensemble suited her.

“There’s still one more piece in here.” Vinyl levitated a matching white and gold loop of fabric and stretched and scrunched it within her magical grasp. “Should I put it on?”

“That’s a sweatband. And no, probably not.”

“Why not?” she asked while pulling her hair back into a ponytail as she donned the final piece of the ancient ensemble. “You don’t like it?”

“I’m not sure my opinion matters much here, Vinyl.” Fancy sighed as he raised a hoof to his head. He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at the absurdity of it all. “Dear heavens, I’m sorry. This was such a terrible idea on my part.”

“I dunno. I kinda like it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Vinyl turned to the mirror and looked over herself. “But that might just be Summers’ jive talking messing with my head.”

“Well then, if you like it, it’s yours.”

A small smile pulled at the mare’s face. “Maybe it’s so out of style that it’s coming back in again. That happens sometimes, right?”

“My cutie mark can’t divine that information. However, my instincts would point to definitely not yet.”

“That sucks. It’s super comfy,” she said as she wiggled in the plushy suit.

“Indeed. You don’t usually wear uncomfortable athletic wear. Though Viva Velour classifies more as athleisure, I believe. Fleur would know better.”

“Whatever. We’re burning morning time, right? We should get out there.”

“You… you’re going out in that?”

“Exercise outfits are always weird looking anyway, so why not?” Vinyl looked over herself in the mirror. She seemed to like what she saw, but then slumped a bit as uncertainty crossed her face. “Unless you think I look really bad in this. I mean, I know I don’t really have much of a fashion sense, but if I look awful—”

“No-no-no!” Fancy cut her off as he waved a hoof. “Not at all. Honestly, I don’t think that’s even possible for you. Rather, I remember you saying that you have an image to maintain. I simply didn’t think ‘psychedelic’ was part of that.”

The smile returned to Vinyl's face as she looked back at Fancy. “Well, I said, DJ Pon-3 has an image to maintain, but Vinyl Scratch enjoys getting comfortable. And you know what? This old thing feels like I’m wearing a blanket all over. Plus, anypony who’d care is still asleep right now.”

“Then don’t let me get in the way. If it feels as nice as you say it is, then my mother didn’t know what she was missing.”

Vinyl grabbed a white wool scarf from her personal collection and wrapped it around her neck and muzzle. Despite appearing to have been plucked right out of a time capsule, she wore it all wonderfully well. He was tempted to swap to his Wonderbolt bomber jacket, but the whole point was not to be recognized. After one last check, she then plucked the loose Möbi-beat earphones off the nearby dresser and clipped it over her ear. With one methodical sweep of her hoof over the top of the device, she activated her half of the pair.

“Lead the way, Fancy Pants.”

It’d taken an extra hour to get ready and run through the earphone gestures, but Fancy was finally ready for his workout along with his surprise guest. The streets were still mostly in the clear as they left the borders of the estate. The two ponies jogged together, side by side, and listened to Vinyl’s various remixes of Suede’s music. She hadn’t limited her selection to big band swing. Other styles were included with the same vintage renditions layered and redone with modern electronic instruments.

Fancy didn’t even bother debating which direction to go in today as he made the right turn down the slope leading out of the upper districts. With the eyes of the nobles probably watching to see him with Vinyl, it was already risky enough to be out with her. For her part, Vinyl didn’t seem to mind. Even if she was wearing something outdated by at least four decades, she wasn’t readily recognizable outside of her hair and eye color. Without her striking shades, she could’ve been anypony.

As they trotted along the quiet, residential sidewalks, the stallion couldn’t help his steps clip-clopping to the beat in his left ear. Looking to his right, he could see Vinyl syncing with the music as well. It was different from his quiet morning jogs, but he could feel the appeal of having such songs help keep the blood pumping.

They made quite a pair of ponies. An older stallion strutting down the street in a well-worn trendy tracksuit accompanied by a young mare gingerly trotting next to him sporting a brand new athleisure wear from fifty years ago. The two were a tangled mess of generational contradictions listening to modern vintage music caught somewhere in the middle of a topsy-turvy timeline. The workout had barely even started and it was turning out to be the most fun he’d had on a jog in a long time.

Heading into the nearby park, they’d missed the sunrise by half an hour, but the morning light’s glow was still beautiful to admire. All around them were signs of winter winding down. The clean cobblestones bore nary a flake of frost on it. Looking towards the knolls covered in slushy snow, a few wild stalks of grass had breached the crunchy powder. Soon his cool mornings would be met with colorful fields of mountain flowers as the world slowly warmed back to life. Fancy slowed down as he reached his favorite, sunkissed spot in the park.

“Why’d we stop?” Vinyl asked as she turned the music down.

“Just pacing myself. I usually take a short break here to watch the sunrise. We’re just a bit behind schedule today.”

“Oh.” Vinyl looked away. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, Vinyl. I consider it a fine trade off to be able to enjoy your company. It’s nice to have somepony else for once, and the music is quite literally a change of pace.”

Despite the pun, Vinyl brightened as her tail swished slightly. “Do you like it?”

“Very much so,” Fancy said with a nod. “I’ve heard these songs so many times before, yet they feel so different.”

Fancy didn’t need to see Vinyl’s smile that she was hiding behind her scarf. The light in her eyes was a dead giveaway. “Thanks. It’s already great dance music. I’m just putting my own spin on his swing.”

“I think it’s a little more than that, Vinyl.”

“I definitely added more percussion to it,” she noted.

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Fancy lightly rebuked as he admired Equestria shining in the dawn. He lowered his hood and slid his hoof up his ear slightly, raising the music’s volume to feel the deep rhythm pulsing through her “Amame Mucho” remix. “I’m not quite sure if I can explain it.”

Closing his eyes, the stallion concentrated. He started to hum the song underneath the iterations and then unclipped the earphone. Despite his tone being all over the place, he replayed it in his head the way he’d heard it countless times. It was an old song, a San Palomino bolero that was much older than him and his parents.

“Suede Shoes was the last of his kind; the final King of Swing. Even he would admit that his favorite style was only relevant because of the CMS’s meddling in permissible music trends. Simply put, he was born a generation too late to truly put his talents to use. So many of his albums had other songs to spice up the offerings so he could sell them. However, when you add your own sound to it?”

Fancy smiled as he clipped it back on, closing his eyes to savor the music once more. The love song was nearing its finale. In the original, it drifted out slowly and quietly in a moment of tenderness. He wondered what this version would do.

A-ma-me,
A-ma-me mucho…

Underneath Suede’s pleas for a nameless lover to stay with him and be his alone, Vinyl’s influence pulled back to hang on the intimacy of the moment.

Kiss me my darling and keep your heart closer…
To mine.

On the final note of the song where it should’ve ended, it repeated the last line of “to mine” several times as the electric influence danced alongside the ballad, extending it into a fierce tango burning at the end. Fancy tapped the device to pause it as he took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air around them before looking up to the clear sky above.

“It’s invigorating. New, but nostalgic. Classically tuned while completely unorthodox. Perhaps that paradox is what gives it that punch. It breathes life in a way I never thought Suede’s music could. Without a doubt, he’d be absolutely thrilled to hear what you’ve done with his work. They both would.”

Fancy shook his head and sighed to himself. “And there I go with complimentary language again. My apologies, Vinyl.” Fancy opened his eyes and turned to Vinyl. “It’s just that I find this simply…”

His words were stolen away seeing the smaller mare’s eyes shimmering in the new light of day, bursting with unbridled joy. Vinyl pulled gently at her scarf, revealing a smile, small and precious. Despite the mare trapped on all sides between a noble class that hated her and his inescapable influence in her life, she glowed with a wild and free abandon that broke through all the darkness. The rough and tumble pony glittered in the growing daylight. Gratitude distilled in a disheveled DJ, shining like a star just for him to see.

“... Brilliant.”

“Thank you, Fancy. You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that.”

After taking a few seconds to remember how to breathe, Fancy cleared his throat. He averted his eyes from the gold and silver light gracing him to look back towards the countryside in front of them. After all, it was incredibly dangerous to stare directly at the sun. “Please, think nothing of it, Vinyl. Shall we continue?”

“Oh! Right, sure.” She pulled her scarf back up, and readied her hoof to start playing the music again. “The next track should be ‘Save the last Prance for Me.’ It was a little hard to work with since Suede already changed it up a bit, but I think I figured something out. I hope you like it, too.”

“I’m sure I will.”

After another grateful smile with her eyes, Vinyl tapped the earphone to restart their jogging music. Fancy threw his hood up and focused on keeping up a healthy clip to his canter. He tried to focus on the music in his ear rather than the one performing it next to him. She needed to be more careful.

After all, a stallion could get the wrong idea seeing such raw beauty directed at them.

Author's Note

I couldn't find an electro swing version of the song that inspired this chapter, so I went with gypsy jazz.

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 40: A New Unordinary Feeling

Dumb. This whole situation was so dumb, and Vinyl was dumber for enjoying it so much. She’d invited herself on a jog with Fancy Pants on a whim, and she was just eating up every moment like candy. Stupidity, pure and simple. And she hated how stupidly happy every one of his words made her.

No you don’t, the filly taunted knowingly from Fancy’s back.

Yes she did, or at least the functioning part of her brain was still against all of this. Vinyl was acting ridiculous while dressing ridiculously and getting ridiculously excited at the slightest modicum of praise she was given.

It was more than that, though! Way more. He said you made Suede’s music alive again! That’s not slight!

Yes, but she shouldn’t be three steps away from bursting into a heartsong. Fancy had been complimentary about her in the past.

But that was before your crush.

Vinyl gritted her teeth. Fancy’s words shouldn’t have hit her so hard. Sure, he was Suede’s son. Obviously his thoughts on her music would carry a unique perspective. Him speaking for Summers and Suede, though; even if it was just him saying things, it felt validating. Vindicating. She had something that they would appreciate.

That’s not why you’re so happy though.

Vinyl tried to shake the elation from her head. Hearing him describe the music—her music—in his own way, she wasn’t sure if she could wrap her head around how deeply it affected her. The relief and elation she felt after the Showcases, the standing ovation in front of a roaring crowd, it simply paled in comparison. She shouldn’t have felt this good about it. And she most certainly wasn’t supposed to let her emotions overtake her senses, making her act like an idiot!

But you liked acting cute, the filly teased.

Vinyl Scratch wasn’t cute! She was DJ Pon-3. She was supposed to be cool and confident, not practically melting from one stallion’s words. That wasn’t who she was. Vinyl looked up from her thoughts to Fancy ahead of her. After they’d left the park, he’d turned and pulled slightly ahead of her. Leading them on his usual jogging path. On his back sat the troublesome little nag, wrapped up in Vinyl’s favorite sweater like a burrito. She sipped the best hot chocolate Vinyl’s mind could imagine and glowed with complete contentment.

It was her. All of this was that filly’s fault!

That little nagging spark constantly urged her to be around Fancy Pants all the time. Before she came along, Vinyl would’ve never walked into Fancy’s study and started geeking out over a stupid pair of objectively amazing earphones. Vinyl was fine with quickly chopping a quartz apart for a stress crystal, but spending the time to custom craft a sonorous sapphire out of the best one she had for him? That was all the filly’s idea.

But you wanted to do something nice for him.

It’s the least she could do for him. She owed Fancy so much.

You know that it’s not about that.

No. Not it wasn’t. It all boiled down to one fact: Fancy liked her music. She knew that already. He’d said as much before. But, it wasn’t just that he was saying it. He was enjoying it. It made him feel alive and invigorated. He… he understood it. He got it, but more importantly, he got her. She swooned as much as she was troubled by it. How much one opinion from Fancy Pants—one, single pony—had affected her? It was simply terrifying.

And that’s why Vinyl had become a profound moron. She knew the risk of investing so much into one pony. Seeking validation from others. Just wanting to know she was appreciated, that she had value, that she was okay just the way she was. The opinions of others weren't supposed to matter this much, but here she was foolishly hanging off of Fancy’s every word. She thought she was better than this now. This was a song and dance she’d done before. How vulnerable it made her. She’d been taken advantage of like this before.

No! Don’t think like that! the filly quickly rebuked, shaking her head. This is different! Fancy’s different!

Nonsense. The filly was what Vinyl wanted, but knew she shouldn’t. A contemptible, temptatious fiction of a poisoned mind she’d given into at her own peril. Vinyl cursed the imaginary, tortuous voice in her head she’d ignored for so long. She buried it deep and whacked it with her shovel anytime it dared to crawl back up to the surface. It felt good in the moment, but such dependence on others could only lead to disappointment in the end.

Stop it! the filly cried, interrupting Vinyl’s train of thought. She sat up and stared directly into Vinyl’s soul. You don’t want to be sad anymore!

But it always hurt—

It won’t this time!

Vinyl turned away from the filly to look anywhere else. She hadn’t noticed that she’d followed Fancy onto Mane Street. How long had she been lost in thought? They were passing slowly filling walkways with ponies wandering about. Some had even stopped, noticing the striking clothes she was wearing. A slowly creeping self-awareness sank into her spine. She was jogging with her crush where ponies could see them.

Isn’t it great?

Vinyl turned towards the store they were passing, seeing her reflection looking back at her.

And, to top it off, we’ve got some groovy clothes to go with it, too, the filly praised through Vinyl’s reflection. Summers would probably say you look ‘dy-no-mite’!

No. Vinyl Scratch liked hoodies and darker clothes that blended in. This was obnoxiously loud and decades out of style.

But Vinyl Scratch also likes this too. Why can’t you just admit what you want?

“What I want you to do is shut up!” Vinyl whispered angrily to her reflection.

I know you do, but I also know you don’t. You like what Fancy said about—

“I know what he said!” Vinyl hissed lowly. “Stop talking as if you’re real!”

Mercifully, the row of windows passed, overtaken by brick and plaster walls. Vinyl sighed in relief as she turned her head to face forward.

I’m not real, I’m just you.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the muzzle of another pony. She turned to see her fully and was met with… herself. Not as a filly, but as clear as her unavoidable reflection. She was wearing the exact same clothing that Vinyl was, but somehow, she wore it better. Vinyl jogged, but she strided. Vinyl frowned where she smiled. This other version of herself was warm, and Vinyl wanted to be warm too.

Of course you do. I’m what you want, but won’t admit to.
I want the world to enjoy my music.
I want to discover a method of stabilizing a cacophony crystal.
I want to try a blueberry muffin from the shop you just passed.
I want friends who care for me.
I want to hang out with Fluffs more.
I want to get to know Dapper Dandy better.
I want to try all of Athena’s awesome food.
I want to laugh at Steeplechase’s terrible puns.
I want to have wildly unhealthy lattes again with Tavi.
I want to know why Princess Luna likes my music.

Vinyl slowed down as her chest began to feel heavy. The flair of confidence in her imagined self began to diminish as she kept listing all of her wants. With each one, she became smaller, younger, and more honest.

I want a family who won’t abandon me.
I want to call Éclair ‘Maman’ like I said I would.
I want Fleur and me to be sisters forever.
I want to forget the pain of not having a place to call home.
I want to be free from the past.
I just want to be held without fear.
I just want the pain to stop.
I just want to be told I’m okay.
I just…
I…
Please, I don’t want to be alone anymore!

Vinyl knew that. She knew all of that. All of those tempting desires constantly whispering in her ears caused nothing but trouble for her. It was her greed. The greed she learned from before.

No! Stop it! the filly begged herself before she collapsed. The little girl kept shrinking as she curled up into a ball. Her cutie mark vanished as she closed her eyes. I-I don’t want to think like that anymore. It hurts.

It was true. Vinyl wanted to, but she couldn’t. She’d learned it too well. Maybe that’s why these desires—her Desires—were like this; why they felt like something separate from herself. They were compartmentalized and hidden so deep they were unrecognizable with a deep lingering wrongness. These wishes were something unattainable. Foolish whims that would hurt her in the end. Dangerous. With an imperative to be ignored, or else. She needed to suppress them again, right here and right now.

But she couldn’t. She didn’t want to ignore them. Not anymore.

“Vinyl?”

Hearing her name, she snapped out of her stupor and looked to Fancy Pants who was approaching her in concern.

“Are you feeling alright?” Fancy asked. “We can head back if you’re unwell.”

I… I don’t want to stop jogging with him, Desire answered feebly from the ground.

“No!” Vinyl shouted before shaking her head. “I mean, no. I just got lost in thought for a second while catching my breath,” she replied, placing a hoof over her heart. She’d been so distracted, Vinyl didn’t even know which track she was listening to. “Let’s keep going.”

“Of course, Vinyl. I’ve been a bit distracted too this morning,” Fancy admitted with a cough. “Here I am supposed to be jogging with you and I nearly wandered off with my head in the clouds while leaving you behind.”

“It’s fine. I told you to lead the way and you did, right?”

“But that’s no reason to keep going ahead of you when you wanted to join me for this excursion. I’ve been a terrible host.”

I want to jog side-by-side.

Picking up the cue from her heart, took a deep breath and walked through the door. “Then you can make up for it by jogging next to me. You wanted to ask me questions about the music, right?”

Fancy nodded with a smile. “Of course! But, could you remind me how to motion to go back again? I’m afraid I wasn’t listening as mindfully as I should’ve been.”

“Yeah. Double-tap quickly on the sigil side. Double left is back and double right is forward.”

“How exactly do I tap left?”

“No, I mean double-tap the left earphone. I’m wearing the right one, so I’d double tap to skip to the next track.” She perked her ear up and clicked her hoof twice on the side of the earphone, pausing the song and then playing the next one. “It does mean you need to be careful when pausing though. You can always do these with your magic if you want to be more precise.”

Fancy hummed in thought as his horn sparked to life. His aura wrapped around the earphone as he clicked twice to go back to the song they’d been listening to. “Is there a way to do this faster?”

“Just double-tap to start and then keep tapping. You kinda need to remember your playlist order though to navigate it quickly.”

“I see.” Fancy carefully skipped his way back through the songs. He nodded, confirming the first few beats of the song before passing it by. He kept going until the first notes of “Save the Last Prance for Me” sounded in their ears.

Vinyl tilted her head. “All the way back here?”

“Again, I got distracted,” Fancy admitted with a diplomatic smile. “Anyway, we are almost to the station. Since we’re in the area, would you mind if we stopped by Pâte de Lune? I need to talk to Éclair about some of the catering.”

Vinyl blinked. Stop by de Lune? While she was with Fancy Pants? Wearing what she was wearing?

I want to see my sister and maman.

“Sure. Let’s go,” she answered without a second thought.

Éclair de Lune was still opening up the bakery when they arrived. Upon seeing two of her favorite ponies, she galloped to the door and pulled them both inside. The little mare was so excited to see them, she made sure the front door was flipped to “closed” and locked up tight.

“Fleur! Notre famille est arrivée!” she shouted as the baker scrambled up the stairs.

“Family?” Fleur loudly groaned from upstairs. “Why is Vy here?”

“Et Fancy aussi!” Éclair added.

“What?”

Fleur emerged from the entrance to the house section of de Lune. Her magic was untangling her mane as her toothbrush was sticking out of her mouth. She looked over the banister at the ponies following her mother up the stairs and did a double-take at her sister’s choice in clothing.

Not wanting to pass up on the opportunity. Fleur quickly ran her brush over her back rear teeth before hovering a cup to perform a foamy spit-take as her sister approached. “Vy! What in the world are you wearing?”

Vinyl slapped a smile on, intending to do her best to play along. “Do you like it?”

“Like it? It’s awesome! You’re finally embracing your grumpy side and dressing like an old mare,” Fleur joked as she examined her friend. She trotted around to see the whole outfit. “It’s even got flared legs!”

At once, the warmth was sapped from her body as it sank into her hooves. Fancy was right. She shouldn’t have gone out wearing it. She looked terrible. It was why she never wore her sweaters outside. She didn’t know much, but she knew being comfortable was never good-looking.

“Where did you find something like this? It looks brand new!” Fleur exclaimed excitedly as she came back around, at least until she saw the straining smile on Vinyl’s face. “Woah, woah, sis. Just because it’s old doesn’t mean you’re not pulling it off. I think you look great!”

Vinyl’s mood surged back with hot relief. “Really?”

“Yeah…” Fleur said as she gave the psychedelic DJ a curious glance. “Since when do you care so much about fashion?”

“I don’t.”

Usually, Desire added in the back of her head.

Vinyl cleared her throat. “It’s just that DJ Pon-3 has an image to maintain.”

“Okay?” Fleur furrowed her brow. “But that’s not something you’re gonna perform in. I’d expect that level of fashion panic from a runway model.”

Before the inquisition could continue, Éclair cut in between them, smiling warmly for Vinyl. “You are beautiful, Vinyle. You glow with such sunshine. This must be precious.”

“Not really,” Vinyl said quickly. “It’s just something we found in the closet so I wouldn’t freeze to death on the jog.”

“Oh? So it is Fancy’s?”

“In a sense, yes,” Fancy interjected to clarify. “Though, only through inheritance. I wouldn’t be able to squeeze into that if my life depended on it.”

“Inheritance? Then this is Summers’?”

“It belonged to her, but she never wore it. Fortunately, she didn’t throw it away either, so it’s Vinyl’s now. In pristine condition to boot.”

Éclair gasped in awe. “I see. It is most precious.”

“It’s a hoof-me-down,” Vinyl dismissed.

“Non-non, Vinyle,” the mare whispered gently as she reached up to stroke Vinyl’s ponytail as she gazed tenderly. “It is a gift. A gift is always precious. And you look so formidable.”

The caring touch. Her gentle eyes. A motherly voice. Vinyl knew she wanted this, but she hadn’t realized how much she did. She sucked in her lips and leaned into the touch as she let go of her fears for the briefest of moments as she felt her heart beat.

“Thank you, Maman.”

A second of surprise swept across Éclair’s face, but it was quickly doused by her beautiful smile. She wasn’t bouncing with excitement like Vinyl had expected. Maybe it was the mare’s maternal instincts at play or she was just so relieved to finally hear the word, but Éclair simply glowed. She was as soft as she was strong, pulling Vinyl forward into a hug. Even though Éclair struggled to get her shorter legs around Vinyl’s neck, it dwarfed the safety she felt from Athena’s massive arms. Vinyl became a filly again, desperately crying out for warmth as she collapsed into Éclair’s embrace.

“Welcome home, ma précieuse fleur de vinyle,” her maman whispered into her ear.

The quick visit to de Lune had derailed immediately. Vinyl didn’t know how long it had been since Éclair sent Fancy and Fleur downstairs to continue setting up de Lune for the day, though she couldn’t bring herself to care. She knew she was being selfish, breaking down into a blubbering mess, but Éclair was just so warm, freely and unconditionally. Maman had taken the estranged daughter into her bedroom and sat her down on the bed, guiding the sobbing mare by the hoof the entire way and never once letting go.

Éclair didn’t shush her when she started crying. She didn’t ask questions. She said absolutely nothing. All she did was hum. When she joined Vinyl on the bed, Maman had pulled her close to her side, pressing Vinyl’s ear against the side of her neck as she hummed the same song she had tried to sing at the Performer Showcases. If Vinyl wasn’t sobbing so hard, she might’ve fallen asleep to the comforting melody reverberating through her heart.

Vinyl never wanted this moment to end. She’d forgotten the feeling, if she’d ever experienced it in the first place. There was no begging for Éclair’s attention. There was no need to earn this from her. There was just endless affection and food for a starving soul. The more she savored it, the more the years of its absence tore at her. Each missing moment renewed her cries to fill a hole in her heart so deep and abandoned that she’d forgotten it wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place.

“I’m sorry,” Vinyl finally managed to choke out between heaves.

Éclair leaned over and kissed her daughter’s forehead. “I’m not.”

“B-but de Lune—”

“Is not important,” she interrupted softly. “You are one most important, Vinyle.”

Vinyl had nothing, only her apologies for taking advantage of her time and touch. “I’m sorry!”

“Why?” Éclair asked with a smile as warm and welcoming as a fireplace. “I am joyed. Filled with happiness. I wish I knew more words to tell you.”

Even if her speech was sometimes silly and broken, the truth was clear from her heart. Vinyl clutched tightly onto the smaller mare who returned the gesture with another motherly kiss.

“I always worried when you went back to your lonely home,” Éclair whispered, soft and tender. “I wanted to stop you. I wish I stopped you. But, you are now here. You are with family. Fleur, me, and Fancy.”

Vinyl looked up at Éclair in confusion. “Fancy? But you said he’s never here.”

“No, but you have him, Vinyle, and he has you, too.” Éclair booped Vinyl on the nose with her hoof. “You look great as one.”

“As one what?”

“Qu'est-ce que c'est ça? Do you not catch my meaning?” The mare lifted one of the loose ends of Vinyl’s scarf with her hoof. “Your beauty at this beautiful gift is clear, no?”

Vinyl wiped her eyes and shuffled her hooves, kneading her nerves into the bed. “I already told you. We just found it sitting in the back of a closet. Besides, the scarf was one of mine.”

Éclair pursed her lips. “But you like it so. It can be small, big, old, new. It does not matter. Your heart glow is the same as mine, and you are beautiful. So beautiful.”

“The same as your what?” Vinyl asked with trepidation.

“My glow. I remember it with my Suede. My husband.”

“Woah, woah!” Vinyl shouted before Éclair could continue. Vinyl’s tears were shocked out of her system and she pulled away from Éclair in an instant. She reflexively grabbed the door with her magic and slammed it shut. “We aren’t like that! Where did you even get that idea?”

“But you are glowing with beauty. Are you not falling with him?” Éclair asked in confusion.

Vinyl’s instincts were screaming at her to deny it out of hoof like she tried to with Athena. It was just clothes. They were old and neglected. Junk mail in the back of a forgotten closet that just so happened to let her go jogging this morning with Fancy.

But you want it to be true, Desire whispered in Vinyl’s heart.

Did she really though? It was just a crush. It didn’t mean anything. Fancy was just being kind and considerate like always.

Which is just one of the things you like about him.

She shook it away. That wasn’t special. Fancy always treated everyone with proper decorum and took interest in what they were saying.

Even if he doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

But he was still willing to learn more, even when feigning understanding.

It’s so cute when you catch him! He even tries to fess up to it on his own terms, which just makes it even more adorable.

She wouldn’t call it adorable. That wasn’t a Vinyl word. Besides, it wasn’t special. He’d make anypony feel that way.

Like they’re worthwhile. Like they’re the only one in the world. Like they’re priceless.

Vinyl could feel the warmth rushing to her face.

You know, the longer you’re quiet, the guiltier you look.

That might not be true. Maman was from Prance. There might be a different reading of awkwardly long silences. She flicked her gaze back to Éclair who was barely containing her laughter.

You’re very bad at hiding your feelings, Desire teased.

“As they say here in Equestria, ‘You have it quite bad’ so it seems,” Éclair joked as she squeezed her daughter.

“Don’t tell anypony, please,” Vinyl begged.

“I won’t say anything. But watch your face. It says everything already.”

“I’m serious! I-I don’t know if I like him!”

You do.

Vinyl buried her head in the bedding and groaned. She was already emotionally exhausted from crying. The last thing she needed right now was her intrusive thoughts tag-teaming with Maman.

“If you really don’t know, then you should try and see,” Éclair explained as she stroked Vinyl’s mane with her hoof. “You glow with such joy for him. I will cheer for you in quiet.”

She wasn’t sure why, but hearing Éclair’s encouragement was relieving. A soft touch, the smell of warm bread, the tenderness of her understanding, even if it was embarrassing to be caught, it felt good to affirm the possibility. “How did you know you liked Suede Shoes?”

“Aside from his handsomeness?” Éclair said with a wink. “His heart. I wanted him to be near all the time.”

“Not his music?”

Éclair giggled and brushed the idea away. “Non, Vinyle. Truly, I did not know he was a great musician before I told him I was falling with him.”

Vinyl balked. “You mean, you didn’t know he was a famous singer?”

“Not at all. Suede was not famous in Prance. I found his songs very old, but beautiful when I heard them.”

“You at least knew he was rich though.”

Éclair shook her head. “He dressed well, so I knew he had money. I did not know how much money. It was ridicule! Why have so much?”

“I don’t know. I mean, you wouldn’t ever have to work again.”

“Non, non, non! I like my work. I like baking bread.”

“But you could do whatever you wanted!” Vinyl argued.

Éclair tisked and wagged a hoof in admonishment. “Is money why you like Fancy?”

Vinyl shrank away and chewed her lip. “Well, no, but… it’s weird, right?”

Éclair’s brow curled at the confession. “Who says it’s so? Money wasn’t why I liked Suede. Do you think I am one wanting to call le Dragon de la Riche Antiquité?”

Vinyl’s brain halted at something about rich dragons. “Call a what now?”

“It is a saying of the Prench ponies. ‘Do not call the dragon of Riche Antiquité.’ Do you not know her story?”

Vinyl slowly shook her head.

“Je suis choqué!” Éclair exclaimed, taken completely aback. “But Fleur favors les dragons en peluche so dearly! I think she would share from where her enjoyment comes.”

Vinyl shook her head again, though it was more because she didn’t know what Maman was talking about.

“For the real? Bah! I told it to her many times, though in Prench. That silly filly,” Éclair scoffed, brushing her frustration aside like an irritating gnat. “It seems I must tell it now.”

A strange thrill ran though Vinyl’s spine. She’d never been on the receiving end of the Prenchmare’s Prench-ness without Fleur. Éclair was always one of the ponies Vinyl kept at a distance, but being one-on-one with her now left her feeling like a filly again. Vinyl Shuffled into place to listen, and Éclair smiled as she readied to prepare her daughter a story from home.

“Before, Prance was ruled by La Dame Riche Antiquité. She was a greedy pony who loved money and cake. She was a beautiful dame and lived in the most beautiful castle of gold and ruby. Riche ruled over Prance and took from ponies. She bought grand dresses and hosted parties for her friends. When she heard stories of hunger outside, she asked ‘Why do they not eat cake?’”

Vinyl rolled her eyes. “Sounds like a class act.”

“Oui oui, of class and mean minded that one. She was too much! A wise pony came to her. She told Dame Riche, ‘You live like a cruel dragon, on gold and rubies! You must not keep so much. If a dragon sees, we will be eaten!’ But, Dame Riche did not listen. She would buy ponies to fight dragons. ‘No one would take from me!’ she said. So, she hired knights to protect her. She stopped buying dresses and hosting parties. Riche only sat in her house and grew richer on treasures and fatter on cakes.”

“Cakes? That would’ve been a pretty sweet deal for you, Maman.”

Éclair laughed knowingly. “You say just as Fleur did, but that is not my meaning. Let me finish, Vinyle,” Éclair complained as she bonked Vinyl on the head with her hoof. Not bothering to wait for her to say anything, she pressed on. “One day, she wanted a new dress, but was too fat from cakes. Non dresses fit in all of Prance. So, she made all her too small dresses into one extravagante. Dame Riche told the knights to take her outside. She wished all to see her grand beauty as she ate her cakes. The knights did so, but she was a mountain of cake and gem, and they tired from moving her. Outside, her back became a great rainbow in the sun and she was proud.

“But, a great dragon saw the rainbow from the sky! Riche Antiquité called for her knights, but they were sleeping. The dress was as grand as her belly, and she could not move. So taken by gems, the dragon did not see Riche. He ate her in one bite like a cake. But Riche was too rich with cake and gems, and the dragon went sleeping. The ponies quickly took the gold and rubies off the castle and shared it before the dragon woke. Then, the dragon woke and saw nothing but poor ponies and left. And then, all of the ponies of Prance were happy ever after.

“So, in Prance, we say do not grow fat on rich cakes and money. You never want to call a dragon like le cruel Dame Riche Antiquité. La fin.”

“Was that a true story?” Vinyl asked.

“Who’s to say?” Éclair admitted with a shrug. “It is a tale from many years before. Riche Antiquité was real, I think. The story is told in different ways. One say she is only little fat. Once, I saw a picture book showing her cake belly bigger than her gold castle. Another says she changed into the dragon and was chased by her knights. It matters not. The meaning is always the same. Do not be greedy. Do not call the dragon.”

The gears began turning in Vinyl’s head as she mulled the story over in her mind. “So… I’m not weird?”

“Weird? Why say you are weird?”

“I don’t like money.”

“Non weird, Vinyle,” Éclair cooed with a smile as she stroked Vinyl’s mane. “I feel similar feelings, you know? I do not like what money does to ponies. It makes them proud for having many little metal circles. Why? It is shiny, but so is sugar. I can eat sugar, not metal.”

Vinyl chuckled to herself at the thought as she leaned into the pats from Éclair. Maman seemed to know exactly what to say to make her feel at ease. She was so caring. So wonderful. It was everything she ever wanted as a filly, but never felt for long. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this way, and it hurt. It hurt so badly.

So many missed moments, so much time fearing the touch of somepony who cared. They’d compounded into a crescendo of mistaken apathy. She didn’t hate being held, she hated being let go. It wasn’t an annoying presence, but the eventual absence. How it’d be taken away again. Ripped away and repossessed. How she’d have to earn it again, but she could never afford it. Not for long. The rent was always too high. Her eyes burned with heaviness again as she pressed into Éclair’s side, trying to absorb every last morsel of Maman’s tenderness to make it all stop.

Sensing the fragility, Éclair softened as she let Vinyl bury her face. “It is okay. I am here.”

“I’m sorry. I-I want to stop, but I can’t… I can’t! I’m so sor—”

Éclair silenced Vinyl with a kiss on her forehead. “Again. I’m not. I will never be, ma précieuse fleur de vinyle.”

Vinyl was embarrassed. Refreshed and exhausted like she’d never been before, but still completely embarrassed. A quick visit to see Fleur and Éclair had morphed into a sobbing fest in the embrace of her new maman. No. That was wrong. Not new, just the one she distanced herself from for far too long out of an unspoken fear of another word. Vinyl refused to use it. That was still a bad word. Too much pain wrapped up in too many memories.

To her shock, Fancy hadn’t left. She wasn’t sure if it was for her sake or he was patiently waiting to speak to Éclair. Whatever the reason, he didn’t seem angry in the slightest at the long delay. Luckily, when they had opened, Fleur had managed to barely hold down the breakfast rush while Fancy packed pastries in the back, hidden away from the clientele. He’d called the ordeal “impromptu kitchen calisthenics.”

Fleur had offered to go with her sister back to the estate, but Éclair had stepped in before letting her get in on their one-on-one time. Hopefully all the Prench they shouted back and forth had been convincing to let them go without suspicion. Still, Fleur gave her a big hug before she left. Vinyl hugged back, deeper and more sincerely than she ever had, and Fleur noticed. She still wasn’t nearly as clingy as princess monkey grip herself, but Vinyl could now say without a doubt that she liked hugs now. Or rather, she liked hugs again. She’d forgotten that.

Blinking away the sting in her eyes, Vinyl wished she’d brought her sunglasses. They’d call attention to her as DJ Pon-3, but, she didn’t need to look in a mirror to see how swollen and puffy her eyes must’ve been. She didn’t even know she could still cry like that, at least not anymore. Her throat burned raw and the winter chill wasn’t helping matters, but Vinyl would do it all again in a heartbeat.

For his part, Fancy had forgone listening to any more of the music. He still needed to put his hood up to avoid anypony calling out to him, but he was walking slowly with Vinyl as they journeyed back home. Every time she’d stolen a glance, she’d been caught by Fancy looking back with concern, giving her his undivided attention with enough space for the silence.

Vinyl followed the direction of Fancy’s steps without muttering a word. If anypony had noticed either of them, they hadn’t said anything. That was good. Any trouble would be her fault after all of that. The whole point of his early jogs was to not be recognized. He probably wanted to get home as quickly as possible, but instead he was slowly trudging with her. The “Sir Fancy Pants” could be doing a million other, better things with his valuable time, but instead he was spending his time on her like she was the only pony in the world. Even if he was just being a gentlecolt, she couldn’t help but savor the spark’s burn inside.

Feeling the slope at the base of steps, she knew the Upper Districts awaited them. Soon, they’d be home after their jog. Even though the thought of curling up in bed was tempting, she didn’t want to end their time together so quietly. She liked going around Canterlot with Fancy. There were so many little spots he knew that she’d ignored on her way to Celestia’s school. Maybe she’d been too busy to appreciate them or had grown callous to the city after fighting it so long, but seeing it through the eyes of a diplomat—a stallion who’d proudly represented his country—she could glimpse its true beauty through the glitz and glam.

“Vinyl?” Fancy asked, noticing the mare next to him had stopped moving. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” she lied.

“We’re almost back to the mansion. It’s just a little up this dreadful hill and to the end of the street. You can get cleaned up and do whatever you’d like.”

No, she couldn’t. What she wanted to do was spend more time with Fancy Pants. She wouldn’t have a good reason if they went back now. Worse still, the desire left her feeling greedy, needy, and abusing his good will.

“Sorry,” Vinyl muttered. “I must’ve messed up your whole day.”

“Not at all, Vinyl. From what I can tell, you definitely needed that. If I had anything to do with—”

“No!”

Fancy’s mouth hung with his words shoved fully back inside from her sudden objection.

“Please, sorry. I mean. No, you… you didn’t do anything wrong or whatever. I was just being stupid.”

“Don’t say that,” Fancy quickly countered with a firm frown. “I disagree with such an analysis wholeheartedly. I haven’t seen Éclair that happy in years. Not since—” Fancy shut his mouth, biting back words on his own. “Rather, I think it’s good to let out such emotions. I fear I haven’t been honest enough with myself and paid dearly for it.”

“What do you mean?”

The stallion fell silent as he considered his answer. After a few moments of tense contemplation, a complicated smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth as he turned back to his companion. “I’m afraid I’m still not honest enough to answer, but I’m glad you are with yourself. You’re braver than I am.”

Vinyl chuckled at the idea. “If something is enough to scare a stallion who drinks griffon brandy and has argued politics with dragons, I don’t think I wanna know what it is.”

“You’d be surprised. Ponies can be frightened by the smallest and silliest of things.”

Vinyl shrugged, giving up the argument and the idea of delaying their trip back home any further. She started taking steps up the hill, but stopped seeing Fancy was lingering behind.

“You know, I did have one more meeting planned for today,” Fancy pondered aloud as his eyes wandered away from the hill. “It was going to be around dinner, but working around dessert breads this morning made me hungrier than usual. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if we bumped it up to a brunch appointment.”

Is he asking you out on a date? Desire exclaimed.

If only she could buck her heart into the stratosphere for buzzing in at the absolute worst times. “D-do you want me to go too?”

“Only if you’d like. It’s my treat.”

“After everything I put you through this morning?” Vinyl pressed.

Fancy’s smirk grew into a confident smile as he straightened up to his full height. “You mean after cutting a wonderful crystal for me, a pleasant jog to introduce me to it and your amazing music, and on top of all that, I got to see Éclair the happiest I’ve seen her in years? If that’s putting me through something, then I suggest you keep it up. So far, this has been one of the most enjoyable mornings I’ve had in a long while. I only wish to repay the kindness.”

“But I’ve been crying all morning.”

“I suppose there is that,” Fancy agreed as he scratched his chin. “If you’d like, we could go back so you can get changed first and wash up a bit, but I don’t think Athena would mind.”

“The Labyrinthiyum?”

“I need to discuss our plans for the catering of the summit, but outside of that, I’m sure she’d enjoy seeing you again. From what she told me about the experience, she was thrilled to have you and Octavia the first time. And, don’t take this the wrong way, but if there is anyone that I think you’d benefit from seeing, it would be a friend like Miss Cypriel right about now.”

Oh. So that’s why, Desire sighed. An Athena hug sounds nice right now, though.

It wasn’t a date, but the small disappointment wasn’t enough to stop the happiness spreading across her face. “I’d like that.”

“Wonderful!” Fancy exclaimed as he joined Vinyl’s side. “Shall we head to the estate first?”

Vinyl shook her head. The butterflies were already fluttering in the stomach. She didn’t want to give her nerves the opportunity to have second thoughts.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Fancy remarked as he turned around with a million bit smile. “To be honest, smelling cinnamon rolls for an hour can leave one quite famished, and I do not want to be on the latter end of her brunch rush.”

Nodding enthusiastically, Vinyl joined Fancy’s side. She reached into her pants’ pocket and retrieved one half of Fancy’s paired earphones and clipped it on.

Following suit, Fancy flicked his hood back and clipped on the other. “Smashing idea, Vinyl. I do believe you said we were only halfway through your playlist.” With practiced movements, Fancy reactivated the crystals and the music began to play again. A smoother beat began playing as he nodded along to the rhythm. “Oh, this one isn’t like the others.”

“I don’t have a lot of electro swing made yet, and there was a lot of room left in the crystal, so I threw in some music I thought you might like. I didn’t make this one, but I think you might like this shot in the dark.”

As she finished her explanation, a smooth, sultry voice of the night sang in their ears. Fancy’s smile widened in recognition. “Soothe Shade.”

“One of my favorites,” the DJ remarked confidently.

“Your tastes are impeccable, Miss Pon-3.”

The two shared a laugh as they listened to the music. There was still half a song list to go, and Vinyl was looking forward to how it might play out.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 41: When in Minossos

It’d proven to be a remarkably eventful day for Fancy Pants, and it wasn’t even noon yet. After an extended jog, he was feeling the length of his and Vinyl’s trek as they drew closer to the Labyrinthiyum. They’d been taking it slow since leaving de Lune, but they still had walked the entire length of the city and then some. Glancing over at Vinyl, she didn’t seem to be struggling at all. The music pumping in his ear was helping, but he could feel the months of neglected workouts taking their toll, especially after his surprise shift in de Lune’s kitchen. Fortunately, he’d be able to sit down soon enough.

He refocused his attention on keeping to the beat and ignoring the burn in his legs. It hadn’t been a question on his mind, but Vinyl had curated an amazingly accurate playlist to suit his taste. She’d only had a few sample electro swing works in progress that were “good enough” to share, at least according to her. The rest of the songs were a smattering of her original works and some educated guesses from his youth. Thanks to the DJ’s spot-on takes of his tastes, Fancy’s ears were “riding the New Wave.”

And it was quite a ride thanks to the peacock sapphire Vinyl had cut and enchanted. It’d proven to be an amazing magical implement for his new earphones with how clearly he could hear the music. Even if he was lacking the right side of the soundscape, he was hearing notes and effects he’d never noticed in some of his favorite songs. Vinyl Scratch was nothing short of a miracle worker when it came to sound.

Taking another look at his companion, he was relieved to see her smiling again. To say he’d been navigating a tempest this morning would sell the experience short. Instability was the word of the day in his mind, and he couldn’t quite pierce the veil when it came to reading the ebbs and flows. Even back at the mansion, she was enthusiastic and then dour. Morose followed by gleeful. Keeping up was like trying to catch his own shadow by shining a light on it. Through it all, he tried to focus on her smile. Her genuine smile.

Hopefully he was fate weaving adequately enough. Luna told him to serve as a guiding light, and he was trying his best to cast enough to help brighten her life. They’d had such a rocky start at Hearth’s Warming, but little by little, they were finally finding some common ground. They shared a surprising amount in common, despite coming from vastly different worlds. Their tastes in music were similar, they shared the same friends, and even if they were radically different in other ways, they still found a way to enjoy each other’s company. Admittedly, she was, perhaps, getting a little too comfortable around him for his comfort.

Be it on purpose or not, Vinyl held nothing back. Perhaps she simply felt her emotions at a higher intensity—heaven knew Luna and Fleur could be firecrackers when they wanted. Still, Vinyl was a constant outpouring of herself and who she was. Or maybe it was the artist within her making it that she couldn’t stop expressing herself. She was an open book that she couldn’t close no matter how hard she tried. It had become even more pronounced after their heart-to-heart after the Showcases.

That fateful encounter in the library still burned in his mind. He barely recalled any of the performances anymore. They’d all been buried by Vinyl’s collapse at the end of the night. Even now, he could see the pain etched on her face as she crumpled to the floor in a ball, hugging herself as she stared into a darkness he couldn’t fathom. Then, those terrible, soulless eyes, robbed of any light, when they turned to him, begging for an answer to a devouring question…

“Why would mom tell me she loved me if I’m worthless?”

Fancy couldn’t take it anymore. All pretense of gentle guidance had dropped in that moment as he dove in after her. He crossed a line, desperately attempting to pull her from the depths of her drowning despair. He just wanted her to stop, to see what he saw in her. So much creative genius and potential, all garroted by a deep and needless loathing. It was yet another thing they shared in common, but he wished they didn’t. Fancy only took a small comfort in knowing his wounds were self-inflicted. There was no world in which Vinyl deserved to be saddled with such a terrible burden.

After facing that unknown specter haunting her, he knew his meager light wasn’t enough. It’d never be. No fate he could hope to weave would ever be able to quash such a thing. Instead, he decided to just focus on that smile and try to follow that. Whatever made her happy, whatever brought her a moment of respite, that would be good enough for him. Fate weaving and harmony would simply have to sort themselves out.

Taking another glance, he caught her looking towards him again, but at least the smile was still there. He couldn’t blame her either. Athena was always good at bringing those out.

“So, was it just the one time you went to the Labyrinthiyum, or have you been there since?” Fancy started, figuring they’d walked in silence for long enough.

“Just the one,” Vinyl answered.

“What did you have?”

A brief grimace flashed across her face. “A lot. Like, way too much. I don’t think Tavi and Steeplechase were able to finish it all.”

“Ah, so she got excited and made minotaur portions for you.” Fancy chuckled knowingly. “From the sound of it, she rolled out the whole kitchen.”

“I guess? We had some kind of maze appetizer, which was already enough food to feed an orchestra, and then I lost track pretty quick after that. She just kept bringing more and more.”

“Fortunately for our waistlines, we’re getting here a bit before the brunch rush, so it should be on the lighter side this time. I can’t guarantee she won’t go in for a crushing hug, though. I’ll let you take the hit on that one to save my back,” Fancy said with a wink and a smile.

“How very chivalrous of you,” Vinyl teased.

“Thus is the way of a Knight of Canterlot.”

“I thought you said you didn’t like being a ‘Sir’.”

“I’m not a fan of being called ‘Sir Fancy Pants’ these days, but there is utility in chivalry.”

The two shared a laugh as they came upon the entrance to the stone slab doors of the subterranean restaurant. Either Athena hadn’t opened yet or they were the first ones to show up. Guests rarely closed the door behind them considering how difficult they were to move in the first place. Fancy took a breath before grabbing one of the doors with his magic to pry it open. Before he could even start his struggle, Vinyl’s aura overtook both sides and she threw both open with ease.

Fancy blinked, and cleared his throat. “Well this is a pickle.” Fancy tapped his chin before extending his hoof forward. “Ladies first?”

“But I opened the door,” Vinyl countered.

“Yes, however, you’re not a guardsmare.”

“I’m also not a Lady, good Sir,” the rough DJ reminded him.

“Fair.” After another brief moment of non-thought, Fancy offered a small smile. “Shall we simply go in together?”

Vinyl smiled back. “Sounds good to me.”

Another good-natured laugh was shared between the two of them. Fancy was getting better at this. At first, he’d had his doubts about asking her to brunch, but his instincts seemed to have been on the mark. After all, if anyone could keep Vinyl bright and cheerful, it was Athena.

They stepped through the threshold and made their descent to the entrance of the maze. Fancy gave a firm push on the double doors leading into the restaurant proper to ensure they weren’t barging in on an unopened establishment. Hearing the welcoming bells chime and the door give way, he pushed forward slightly to get into a proper door-holding position, only for Vinyl to push on the other side and walk through. It seemed the infamous DJ wasn’t content with being treated as a Lady in the slightest.

As they entered, Athena peeked around the corner of a partition holding a broom. “Welcome to the Labyrinthiyum! Give me a second to—” As she recognized the arrivals, she brightened with glee as she hugged the stick close. “Vinyl! Good morning!”

“Hey Athena. Fancy said the brunch here was good, so here we are.”

“Oh, sure! Love the winter look by the way. Did you and your friend want a seat at the booth or the bar?”

“I’ve been reduced to a mere friend?” Fancy asked in jest as he pulled the hood back, revealing his proper self.

Athena balked in shock at the sight of the stallion, covering her mouth as she went rigid. “F-Fancy?”

“Sorry for the surprise. It seems this tracksuit is more effective than I gave Hoity Toity credit for.” Fancy reached into his pocket and pulled out his reading glasses. “Good morning to you as well, Miss Cypriel. I hope we aren’t too early.”

The minotaur’s eyes bounced between the two ponies as she held her hand over her mouth trying to hide a growing grin. After an increasingly awkward moment, Athena shook her head to finally answer the question. “Nope! You’re right on time. Let me get you two the booth in the corner,” she said with a giggle as she bounced to the kitchen.

“Well, she’s pretty excited, don’t you think?” Fancy asked his companion. “Is a booth okay with you?”

“Y-yeah…” Vinyl answered tepidly.

An alarm sounded in Fancy’s head at the curious response. All the joy from before seemed to have evaporated in an instant. “Vinyl?”

The mare blinked whatever she was feeling away and plastered a fake smile on. “Oh! Don’t worry. I just… remembered something… I need to get… later. From Cantrips, later.”

There was no point in calling such a blatant lie out as the emotions behind it were real enough to him. “Listen, Vinyl, I won’t be upset if you want to go back to—”

“N-no!” Vinyl quickly denied earnestly as her eyes drifted over towards their large friend. Athena emerged with menus wearing a huge smile on her face and beckoning them to follow her. “I umm… I just hope Athena doesn’t get too excited and forgets something really important.”

“She’s always been a dependable friend for me. I wouldn’t worry too much about that,” he assured, earning a genuine smile from the mare.

Satisfied with that, he trotted over to Athena as Vinyl meekly shuffled behind. He gave a quick double tap on the Minotaur’s shoulder with his magic, causing the towering creature to lean slightly and angle her ear down.

“She’s had a really rough morning. Could you maybe give her one of your refreshing hugs?”

“Gladly!” Athena lowered the menus down and jostled them, signaling Fancy to grab them in his magic. “Don’t worry about a thing. She’s probably just nervous.”

“Nervous?” Fancy asked too late for their hostess to hear, having already started making her way to the trailing DJ.

In one fluid motion, Athena got down on her knees and extended her arms in front of Vinyl. With an all too familiar yelp, the mare was pulled into a deep hug by the towering cuddle monster who squeezed her plush friend.

“Oh wow! You’re so soft today!” Athena remarked.

At first, Vinyl seemed to fight the sudden contact, but after a few seconds, he could see Vinyl’s horn popping up from behind the minotaur’s bicep as she leaned into the embrace. Giving them some space for reprieve, Fancy flipped his hood back up and continued to the table. Athena had already adjusted it into pony-mode, so Fancy took a seat as he placed the menus down and began scanning the limited selection.

Seeing that it was just a large, single page, Fancy wondered if he’d ever actually been to Labyrinthiyum before noon. There were several breakfast exclusives he’d never seen before. Each bore the hallmarks of yogurt and honey flowing freely from different bowls, but there was a key difference in proportions. The meals could be scaled with up to eight patrons eating the same thing. The more you ordered, the cheaper it became per customer. Thinking back, minotaur clans always started their days at the table to share the same communal meal. The pricing certainly encouraged a sense of community.

“No wonder this place is more popular at brunch,” Fancy remarked to himself as he looked over the page.

“That’s what I’ve been telling you, Fancy,” Athena added as she came to the table carrying a Vinyl in her arms while petting her back. Luckily for him, Fancy was just a bit too big to be held like a housecat by the monstrously strong minotaur. Vinyl seemed to be at a complete loss at what to do, her face burning bright red from embarrassment.

“Excuse me, Athena,” Fancy said diplomatically while suppressing his urge to laugh. “Do you think you could put Vinyl down so we can order?”

“Hmm? O-oh!” Athena scrambled, realizing what she was doing and quickly scrambled to put the DJ down. “Sorry, sorry! Your clothes were just so fluffy a-and…” she trailed off as her face entered a blushing competition with Vinyl’s.

“It’s fine,” Vinyl assured as she cleared her throat before looking over herself. “This is really comfortable.”

“I’d love a coat or something made out of whatever that stuff is.”

“Velour isn’t too popular right now, but I can look into getting something made for you if you’d like,” Fancy offered. “You can think of it as a late Hearth’s Warming present.”

Athena shook her head. “You don’t have to. It’s almost spring anyway. Besides, are you sure you should be offering me gifts right now?”

“Why not?” Fancy asked, genuinely confused by the question.

“I’m-ready-to-order!” Vinyl announced as she slammed her forehooves on the table, cutting off their conversation.

Fancy raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t even picked up your menu.”

“Drinks! I mean drinks! I am ready to order a drink, uhh…” the mare waffled as she quickly scanned the offerings. “This! The River Styx coffee here sure sounds good. I like rivers!”

Fancy and Athena shared a quick glance before turning back to the DJ. “Umm… Vinyl? Are you sure about that? It’s incredibly bitter, and that’s putting it mildly.”

“Hey, it’s whatever. When in Minossos, right?” Vinyl retorted with unfounded confidence.

Something had felt decidedly off ever since they’d arrived at the restaurant. Not that it was hard to tell. Vinyl’s erratic behavior was a dead giveaway. Unfortunately, her overreactions were so commonplace, Fancy couldn’t even begin to guess at what was bothering her. She could be hiding some important information to her or she could be trying to mask some unrelated discomfort that was miles away. Regardless of the attempted misdirection, one thing was clear: she truly wanted to be here.

Shaking off his worry, Fancy hummed to himself before settling on an out for the two of them. “I’ll have a pitcher of milk with honey for the table in case the coffee goes south.”

Vinyl watched as Athena left to make their drinks before turning her eyes back onto Fancy. “You don’t think I can drink coffee, Fancy?”

“Knowing your tastes for Swish Mix? I will admit that I have my doubts.”

Vinyl scoffed with a confident smirk. “You’d be surprised. I might have a sweet tooth, but I can do bitter sometimes, too.”

The stallion sighed knowingly. “To each their own, but I think it’s only fair that I mention that the only pony I’ve ever seen drink it is Luna, and she has… unique tastes.”

The bravado faltered momentarily on Vinyl’s face before she doubled down with a confident leer. “Whatever. You’re on.”

Fancy chuckled. “It’s not a bet, but go right ahead if you want a challenge. I’ll be sure to ask Princess Celestia later if she has any Zap Apple Jam if the honey isn’t enough to wash the taste out.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes before looking back at the menu. “Where’s the prices for this stuff anyway?”

“They’re at the top right of the sheet.”

Vinyl furrowed her brow as she tried to decipher the information until it clicked. “Oh. The hooves are one to eight ponies. Wait, so we’re supposed to order the same thing?” she asked while lowering her menu.

“Not necessarily. You can order whatever you’d like.”

Vinyl shrank back a bit as she fiddled with the edges of the menu in her hooves. “But, it’d cost less, right?”

“It would, but it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Well.” The mare looked off to Fancy’s left, falling silent for a few seconds before turning her attention back to him. “Would it be okay if we shared something together anyway?”

“Of course we can. When in Minossos, right?”

“Right.” A small smile of relief crept onto Vinyl’s face as she brightened at the idea and nodded, her confidence rising back as she looked over the menu again. “So, what were you thinking of getting?”

“Well, we are already getting plenty of dairy with the milk, so I say we limit the yogurt. Strapatsada looks interesting, as does this Minoan Omelet.”

“Okay. Let’s go with the strap-stuff then.” Vinyl’s eyes scanned further down to see the available sides. “Can we get some fruit with it?”

“Whatever you want.”

“But, do you want it?” Vinyl pressed, a troubled look crossing her face.

“Honestly, I wasn’t thinking about it much.”

“Then, what do you want?”

“Vinyl. It’s just a side. If you want to eat fruit, it’s not a problem at all,” Fancy assured sincerely. He could get why she wanted to be accommodating to him considering their relative positions, but he wished she’d be able to just relax a bit like they were earlier. “Besides, now that you’ve mentioned it, fresh fruit does sound quite nice after our jog.”

“You’re not just saying that, right?”

“I’m not. You don’t have to be so nervous around me when money gets involved. I didn’t get to where I am today because of miserly bit-pinching.”

“That’s not—” Vinyl bit her comment back and looked away again. “I’m sorry.”

Another apology. Truthfully, Fancy was getting sick of those. “I just want you to enjoy yourself. That’s the whole reason I wanted you to come along.”

Vinyl’s eyes fell further as she fidgeted with the menu. “R-right.”

Fancy frowned in concern. “You sound disappointed.”

The mare popped back up straight and sucked in a sharp breath. “No-no-no! I’m not! Really. I like being with you.” As the words left her mouth, her eyes widened and her face reddened.

Fancy snickered at the accidental confession and brushed it aside. “Good. That makes two of us. I enjoy your company as well.”

Vinyl blinked as she tilted her head to the side. “You do?”

“Now you sound surprised,” he laughed to himself. “I told you before that you have so many admirable qualities. Ever since I’ve gotten to know you, I’ve always been impressed by your talents and heart.” His face sank as he realized he’d made an error without thinking. “Blasted—sorry, I’m complimenting you again.”

“N-no. It’s okay,” she assured, a ghost of a smile tugging at her lips as she eased back into her seat. “It’s kinda nice to hear actually.”

“Well, compliments are generally meant to brighten one’s day, which I must say that you’ve been doing a bang up job so far with mine considering the danger.”

Vinyl tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“Well, as you’ve stated before, you’ve got a reputation to uphold. While I can’t say it’s particularly wise, I’m glad you risked yours by agreeing to go with me this morning. I’m not sure I can say that I’ve enjoyed my morning routine this much in a long time. Still, I can’t imagine being caught with me would do you any good. ”

“What the hay are you even talking about?” Vinyl barked back in disbelief. “I’m the one who’d ruin things!”

Fancy sighed as he placed his menu down and crossed his forelegs. “Honestly, I wish that were true. But, I’m afraid I’d be found blameless in whatever narrative somepony crafted between the Kingmaker of Canterlot and DJ Pon-3.”

Vinyl laughed weakly. “Oh please. I’m already lower than dirt to anypony who’d care about that.”

“On my end, yes,” Fancy admitted bitterly at the thought of any of those pretentious fools dragging Vinyl down. “Still, I don’t think I’d be able to deal with seeing you suffer because speculation got out of hoof. I already told you that a few ponies are already aware that you’re staying with me thanks to our neighbors.”

Vinyl shrank back and tapped her hooves rhythmically on the table. “Y-yeah.”

“For us to be seen in public together in a setting like this? They’d probably start swearing that you’re seducing me for money or that I’m keeping you around as a young floozy. It’s why I’m wearing this hood and have my back to the main dining area. The lower the chance of you being seen with me, the better. Meanwhile, outside of your hair and coat color, you’re practically hidden in plain sight without your DJ sunglasses.”

Vinyl grabbed her foreleg and looked down.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. If it’s any consolation, my parents never let their fame get in the way of doing the things they wanted. Summers lived on her own terms, and I try to do likewise. So, if you wanted to come with me today, who was I to stop you? I wasn’t going to let others dictate what you should and shouldn’t do. After all, why should you be punished for simply being friendly.”

Vinyl slowly turned her eyes back up, but the dismay still didn’t leave her eyes. “F-friends?” she asked as she bit her lip.

Fancy scratched the back of his head and averted his eyes. “Sorry, that might’ve been presumptuous of me, but just because we’re a generation apart doesn’t mean we can’t be, right?” Clearing his throat, he refocused his attention and tried to return the smile she’d so graciously given him at sunrise. “If you have room for one more on that Friend Ship of yours, I’d be happy to—”

“Drinks on!” Athena blurted out from behind as she scrambled over to the table and slammed a drink tray down, splashing a little milk out of the pitcher and tipping the two glasses on their sides.

Fancy nearly jumped out of his skin at her sudden appearance. “Goodness Athena! Did the rush start while we weren’t looking?”

The minotaur opened her mouth and closed it as she tried to find something to say. “No? But—Oh, wait! Yeah, yeah, they could come in at any moment!” Athena agreed forcefully with a wide smile as she nodded feverishly. “I just want to maximize the time I get to spend with two of my favorite ponies in the world.”

It seemed Vinyl’s nervousness was infectious with Athena racing to fix the glasses and pour their first drinks. Fancy could understand Vinyl’s hesitancy to eat with him, but why in Equestria was Athena acting this way? From his understanding, the two had already become good friends. Strangely, his cutie mark wasn’t helping him in the slightest. He cursed his blasted limitations.

Deciding not to make it worse, he bought the terrible lie wholesale and pressed on. “Well, if you’d like to join us for a moment, I was hoping to discuss some of the logistics of catering the—” Fancy’s words died immediately upon meeting the lethally bemused frown cemented on the minotaur’s face.

“Really?” Athena asked flatly. “You want to talk about catering?”

Now he was even more lost. He’d seen that look a few seconds before she’d have to pile drive a rowdy griffons at the bar; the times irritation overtook her demure sensibilities.

“Actually, that’s kinda why he’s here. I invited myself today,” Vinyl added weakly.

Athena blinked. “Oh.”

An awkward silence settled on the three as Vinyl shuffled in her place and Athena flicked her ear idly with a finger. Feeling somehow responsible for whatever was happening, Fancy tried to think of something to change the topic to one that wasn’t a mistake. That’s when he heard a misplaced accordion gracing the air.

“Is that…” Fancy started to ask as he listened to the overplayed romantic melody. “Is that ‘La Vie en Maris?’”

Athena’s face fell as her eyes drifted up to the overhead speakers. “Is that what that song’s called? I play it all the time during brunch.”

“You play Prench music during brunch?”

Athena laughed to herself as she straightened up and looked away. “More like sometimes? I mean, you can only listen to lyres and lyras so often, right?”

Vinyl thumped her head on the table and groaned.

“A-actually, I was listening to it while reading last night and forgot to swap out the record,” Athena corrected sheepishly as she tapped her index fingers together.

Fancy wasn’t even going to bother asking why she was using her restaurant to listen to music while reading. Dwelling on the minotaur’s moon logic was starting to hurt his head. “Do you perhaps want to swap it out before other customers arrive?”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s nice, right?”

“Yes, but isn’t it slightly… ill-fitting for a Minoan restaurant?”

“Well,” Athena began pulling utterances out of nowhere as she searched for some excuse to pull out. “Sharing food can be intimate. What if somepony brings a date?”

“I suppose that’s possible,” Fancy agreed tepidly. “But dates are usually reserved for dinners, not breakfasts.”

“R-right. But, you know. What if?” she reiterated.

“I can’t debate on ‘what-ifs,’ Athena,” Fancy stated evenly as he pressed his hoof to the bridge of his nose. “In fact, I’m not entirely sure why I’m debating you on this at all. It is your restaurant.”

“Can you just get my coffee, please?” Vinyl begged from her face pressed against the table.

“Oh, right! Give me a second, it’s probably done brewing by now.” And once again, the minotaur bounded away towards the kitchen, leaving Vinyl and Fancy alone to enjoy each other’s company. Admittedly, Vinyl didn’t seem to be in any sort of mood to do so.

Sensing asking the obvious would be a bad approach, Fancy decided to take a sip of his milk and wait for Vinyl to snap out of whatever weight was burdening her.

Was Fancy really this stupid, or was he just messing with her? There was absolutely no way a famously perceptive diplomat and respected talent-spotting noble could be so blind. He should be suffering blunt force trauma from the terrible hints Athena was beating over his head. From the moment she’d realized it was just her and Fancy Pants, a devilish glint had flashed through the minotaur’s eye. Athena was keeping her promise to not tell a soul, especially not Fancy himself, but she was doing everything else possible to be an unnecessary wingmare in the worst way possible.

Vinyl was no stranger to the supportive role, having been forced into it several times at Cantrips. Bumblebeat would see a “cutie pie” somewhere in the crowd and ask DJ Pon-3 to play along and help upsell her country-cooked colleague. It was annoying to say the least, and she didn’t enjoy being on the other end of the equation. With the embarrassment finally waning, Vinyl found the strength to look back up at her brunch non-date. She pulled herself up from the table to see Fancy offer her a drink.

“Not quite sure if you’ve ever had the combination before, but honeyed milk is a staple of Minoan breakfasts,” Fancy explained as Vinyl took the tall glass in her hooves.

“Thanks for the lesson, Fancy,” she huffed as she took a gulp. She hated it for being so delicious. She wasn’t in the mood for sweetness anymore.

“If something is bothering you, you can tell me, Vinyl.”

The sympathy was torture, plain and simple. If he’d figured her out, maybe this was his way of letting her off easy. If not, then either he was far dumber than she’d given him credit for, or she was so far off the market to him that subtext bounced off his skull. She wasn’t sure which was worse. He’d stated in no uncertain terms that them being seen together was bad for her, but had he even considered she might want to be seen with him? What if she wanted to seduce him?

You took the words right out of my mouth, Desire agreed with a scoff in the back of her head.

Vinyl shook the thought away. Those were his words, not hers. Still, she hadn’t really wrestled with how they’d look together. It’s not like she was unaware of the idea. The first time they met, she thought he was trying to chat her up for a slot in his “lower stable” as so many monsters in his ignoble class had put it. But even if she was genuinely interested in him, that’s not how anypony else would see it. She’d just be another gold digger to everypony. Vinyl hated that more than anything.

On top of that was the odd way he was framing the notion. Everything was always for her sake, and he’d put it in a strange, self-demeaning way. He wasn’t worried about his reputation at all, only hers. He was even wishing to take the blame if they were caught together. And as for how he’d sheepishly asked to be her friend, she didn’t know where to start with that. It wasn’t sitting well with her, whatever the answer might be.

On the other hoof, Athena had obviously considered the word “friend” to be the stereotypical red flag of entering the dreaded friend zone. She’d popped up from around the corner just in the knick of time to interrupt their doomed conversation. In fact, suspiciously so. It was almost as if Athena had been spying on them the entire time.

“I need to use the bathroom,” Vinyl whispered as she pulled herself up from her seat.

Fancy’s eyes widened momentarily from the sudden news as he pulled back into his seat and cleared his throat. “Well, don’t let me keep you,” he whispered back.

As she got out of the booth, she crept around the other side to confirm her fears, only to be met with far more. Athena was indeed there, hunched out of sight as best she could in a nearby corner with an ear pressed to the wall. The cup of coffee Vinyl had ordered was sitting off to the side on a nearby table as the minotaur was pouring over a book. It’d be funnier to see the gigantic minotaur flipping through the tome dwarfed by her massive hands if not for why she was doing so in the first place.

“Athena!” Vinyl yelled quietly.

At her name, the beast fumbled the book out of her hands as she desperately tried to catch it, only for it to fall on the floor between her and Vinyl. Athena’s massive arms froze going in different directions as she looked down in horror at the book and her heated friend.

“Coffee?” she offered with a wince.

Vinyl brushed the mug aside and refocused on Athena. “What do you think you’re doing?”

The minotaur caught dead to rights tried to make herself seem as small as possible as she curled up in the corner. “Nothing…”

Vinyl smacked her face with her hoof before lifting the “nothing” off the floor in her magic. Sighing, she looked at the title, Hubris and Humility, and then back at Athena, silently demanding an answer.

“It’s good with the music,” Athena defended while looking away.

“You mean the music you put on after you sat me and Fancy down?”

Athena pursed her lips and pressed her index fingers together. “To be fair, Jenny Austere’s hard to put down.”

“I don’t care if this book is Elysium’s sun-kissed gift to Equestria, what the hay do you think you’re—”

“Vinyl, is everything alright?” Fancy called over from the booth.

Vinyl swallowed her temper whole, trying to suppress the angry embarrassment in her voice before turning towards the approaching stallion. “Yeah, I just almost bumped into Athena on my way,” she answered while side-eying the meddling minotaur.

“Oh heavens! Are you two alright?” Fancy said as he hopped out of the booth and galloped over to the scene. In unspoken synchronization, Vinyl shoved the literary evidence into Athena’s hands who then quickly tucked it into her apron’s front pocket. The minotaur shot up to her feet and went rigid right just as he arrived.

“We’re fine, Fancy,” Athena assured, brushing herself off while trying to mask the suspicious book lump in her clothing. “I’m used to watching out for my customers, though it’s been harder to spot them since some ponies told me I should stand up straight.”

Fancy sighed in relief hearing they were both unharmed. “Well, I’m glad you’ve taken Luna’s and my advice to heart, though I can see how it might be inconveniencing you in other ways.”

Athena shrugged while a nervous smile pulled at her lips. “Well you know… Equestria is just a little too small for someone like me, but we both knew that going in.”

“I only said your size may be an issue, never that you were too big, but I digress.” Fancy turned to Vinyl. “Weren’t you going to err… freshen up, Vinyl? The facilities are in the other direction.”

“Right, yeah,” Vinyl agreed absently as she tried to think of some throwaway excuse. “Just was startled for a second from her popping out of nowhere.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, considering she’d caught the minotaur hiding behind the booth, but there was no way he’d buy that.

Fancy nodded. “That’s understandable. Thanks to those softer feet of hers, she can be quite hard to hear sometimes.”

Vinyl blinked in confusion. Her eyes drifted down to see the six, rabbit-like toes poking out from under Athena’s green apron dress. Somehow, she hadn’t noticed them before and stumbled into flawless reasoning.

“Either way, I’m just glad you two are alright,” Fancy’s eyes drifted around the empty dining hall. “Odd, I thought more ponies would’ve shown up by now.”

“Some days are slow!” Athena quickly deflected. “Here’s your coffee, Fancy. I’ll show Vinyl where the bathroom is.”

“But I didn’t—” Fancy’s objection was interrupted by having to suddenly juggle a mug in his hooves as he tried and failed to spark his magic. Vinyl fired her aura around the cup and levitated it over to the table herself. “Thank you, Vinyl. I suppose I’ll leave you two to it then.”

They both watched the stallion turn and walk back to the booth, glancing over his shoulder at them as they waved goodbye. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he hopped back into his seat. Out of sight and out of earshot, they both shared a sigh of relief.

“I guess I’d better actually show you then, huh?” Athena remarked with a gulp as she pointed a finger towards another part of the restaurant.

The towering minotaur slowly kept her eyes locked forward as Vinyl trotted next to her to keep up. Athena’s guilty frown curtailed Vinyl’s anger towards her overeager friend as she sighed. “Look, Athena, I know you’re just trying to help.”

“I’m sorry,” Athena said as she bit her lip and hugged herself. “I just want you two to be happy together.”

Aww. Give her a hug.

Vinyl wanted to, but she wasn’t exactly sure how to do that with a nearly two story tall minotaur.

Figure it out.

“It’s okay,” Vinyl assured as she wrestled between tugging on her clothes and patting her leg.

“No it’s not. I’m just making you both feel awkward and uncomfortable.”

Vinyl sucked in a breath. She was definitely uncomfortable, but she could at least appreciate the intentions behind it. “It’s not a date like I might want it to be, but I’m having fun.”

Athena started to wring her hands to shuffle the stress out of her system. “Well, at least I didn’t ruin that yet.”

“Actually, the whole reason Fancy wanted me to come was to see you as soon as possible.”

Athena stopped and looked down with a disbelieving quirk of her brow. “Really?”

“Yeah, it’s been a busy morning. I’m kinda figuring out a lot of things about myself all at once, and it’s kinda overwhelming.”

Only ‘kinda’?

Vinyl paused as she chewed her lower lip. “Okay, it was really overwhelming.”

Athena immediately fell to her knees and once again pulled Vinyl into another surprise hug. The DJ could feel a tremble that wasn’t hers. “Is this helping?”

Vinyl grunted from the tightness, but managed to squirm enough to free a leg to return the embrace. “A little.”

A lot, Desire corrected.

“I’m so sorry. I thought you were just nervous because you were here with Fancy Pants. It didn’t even cross my mind that something else could be going on.”

“Yeah, and I’m still trying to figure everything out. Especially with Fancy. I want to find out on my own, but not like whatever this all is.”

“You’re right,” Athena apologized as she released Vinyl. “I’ve just never had a friend who I could help like this before, and I got carried away.” A blush overtook the minotaur’s face as she scratched the back of her head.

“Maybe next time, ask before you go full wingmare mode?” Vinyl suggested with a smirk. She picked through Athena’s pocket with her magic and lifted the book she’d caught her with. “And maybe don’t take advice from an old book like this.”

The minotaur gasped and shook her head. “But it’s so fitting though!” She snatched the book from Vinyl’s aura and flipped through the pages, narrowing her eyes so she could read the small print. “It’s about a proud pegasus baron from Altairstratus that slowly falls in love with a stubborn jenny from a lesser noble house in Fairview Village below the cloud city. It’s a romantic classic!”

Vinyl grimaced and averted her eyes from the book. She’d heard the title before, but never wanted to read it. It was probably filled cover to cover with the L-word. “I don’t read a lot of books outside of work. Especially not romances.”

“You totally should though. Jenny Austere is a legend.”

Vinyl tittered nervously at the minotaur’s passionate defense for a book as she tried to push it aside. “Maybe, but Fancy doesn’t even think of me that way, at least it doesn’t feel like he does.”

“Maybe not yet, but according to this, all Fancy Pants needs to do is see past his elitist preconceptions to see the real you.”

Vinyl blinked in confusion. “I don’t think ‘hubris’ is the issue here.”

“You know, that doesn’t sound like him now that I’ve said it. And you’re not really a good fit for the role of Lizabelle. She stubbornly refuses to let go of the pride she has in her humble origins in her warped sense of humility. That doesn’t sound like you at all.”

“Yeah. Exactly,” Vinyl lied half-heartedly.

“Okay, well enough hugs,” Athena announced as she stood back up and brushed her apron off. She took a few more steps and opened the door to the bathroom hallway. “The filly’s room is on the right. I need to get everything back to normal before Fancy gets even more suspicious.”

“Right, the music.”

“Well, that and… I might’ve closed the restaurant after I sat you down at your booth,” Athena added as her eyes wandered away from her friend.

“You did what now?”

Not waiting to clarify, the minotaur bolted to the back to reset the over-the-top music selection. Vinyl couldn’t help but groan from how hard the minotaur had tried to set them up. She almost didn’t want to go back to the table and face Fancy after all of Athena’s meddling. If Fancy had caught any of the obvious subtext, he didn’t seem to register it. It almost made it worse.

You still want to eat with Fancy though.

That was true. Stupid desires. Slapping the embarrassment out of her system, Vinyl decided it’d been long enough to fake a restroom break and headed back to the booth. Hopefully, no matter what happened, she’d just be able to enjoy some time with Fancy Pants.

“Welcome back, Vinyl.”

“Thanks I—” As she hopped back into her seat, her muzzle was attacked by a caustically acrid fume assaulting her nostrils. Vinyl dry heaved as she looked around for the offending odor. “Sweet Celestia, what is that smell?”

“That would be your order, Vinyl,” Fancy answered as he nodded towards the unassuming beverage.

That was the coffee? Vinyl pulled the cup closer to her, the smell growing stronger as it approached. Contained within the unassuming logoed mug sat pure darkness. She’d seen straight coffee before, but never a brew so purely black. She swirled the cup, watching it flow around like liquid pitch. She could barely detect a hint of nuttiness underlying the bitter smell. It was death distilled.

“Are you sure this is even drinkable?” she asked warily.

Fancy nodded hesitantly. “Admittedly, the flavor is intense, but Luna swears by it. You don’t have to drink it if you don’t want to.”

Vinyl bit her lip as she looked at her nervous reflection in the obsidian mirror. “Well, when in Minossos.”

“W-wait, Vinyl, I really don’t think that’s necessary.”

Throwing caution to the wind, Vinyl kicked back the brew to chug it in one go. No matter how terrible it might taste, she’d be able to force it down before she registered the flavor.

Or at least she thought.

The instant the River Styx touched her tongue, her world changed. All faded into darkness as she desperately tried to force it down, but her body refused. Even though it had cooled, her mouth burned with the embittered flames of hellfire demons ravaging her taste buds. Only the tattered shreds of her pride kept her mouth closed as her throat desperately tried to gag the poison back out.

Her eyes burned with tears from holding in her retching disgust. Vinyl was trapped between worlds. She couldn’t swallow, but she couldn’t spit it out either. The moment her mouth weakened, she was sure she’d lose control and spew it all over herself or Fancy Pants. The rhythm was rushing out of control as her resolve waned. She tried to force the coffee into her cheeks to spare her tongue further exposure, but there was nowhere for it to go from the sheer volume she’d tried to force down.

She could barely hear anything from the pounding pressure building in her mouth as Athena rushed to the scene. Fancy and Athena exchanged a quick back and forth until she pulled a trash can out of a nearby receptacle and rushed to Vinyl’s side.

And when the climatic crescendo hit her ears, Vinyl dropped the bass.

After her brief brush with death, Vinyl wondered if she’d ever be able to taste sweetness again. Her personal journey with the coffee matched Fancy’s description of the mythical Minoan river the River Styx blend had taken its name. After a terrible coughing fit, she’d spent fifteen minutes nursing her tongue with yogurt and honey, trying to wash the bitterness out of her mouth.

On his end, Fancy was enjoying the appetizers while dutifully mixing her spoons of honey and yogurt. Even if she couldn’t taste anything, a part of her was enjoying being taken care of by him again. When he caught her staring, Vinyl looked away and growled.

“Shut up,” Vinyl whined as she suckled on the spoon.

Fancy smiled diplomatically. “But I didn’t say anything.”

“I know you find this absolutely hilarious.”

“I assure you that I’ve said nothing of the sort,” Fancy defended adamantly before a smile crossed his lips. “However, I can neither confirm nor deny that I might’ve thought something along those lines.”

“I didn’t see you try to drink it,” she huffed as she stuck a fresh spoon in her mouth.

“That’s because I know better than to tempt the Minoan Fates. I wasn’t about to enter a competition that we’d both lose.” Fancy poured himself another glass of milk before taking another cluster of grapes to eat.

Vinyl groaned again as she rested her head on the table. Science had told her that tastes evolved alongside eating habits to reward good food choices while preventing bad decisions. Unfortunately, it did not account for a pony’s stupid pride overriding her senses, and now Vinyl was paying for it dearly for her own nonsense again.

“So, would you say it was better or worse than licking an active power sapphire?” Fancy asked with a cheeky grin.

Vinyl covered her eyes in shame, not even wanting to look Fancy in the eyes. Somehow he’d remembered that little slip of the tongue from before. She just wanted to crawl into a hole and die of embarrassment. “This is a thousand times worse. At least the ionized sapphire numbed everything after the initial sour shock. This is just constant torture.”

“Perhaps I’ll suggest that Athena adopt a signed waiver policy to place an order for it in the future.”

Vinyl put her hooves back down and nodded in agreement as she focused on trying to taste sweetness again. She was quickly forgetting it and the other flavors under the oppressive might of the bitter coffee. How anything could stomach the accursed brew was beyond her. It didn’t help that, according to Fancy, Luna had up to three cups of the stuff almost every night. The mare had a newfound respect for the Princess of the Night, defender of dreams and drinker of darkness.

“Are you feeling better, Vinyl?” Athena asked as she approached the table in concern to replenish the yogurt and honey.

“Why do you even have something like that on the menu?” Vinyl complained, praying the lingering taste would end before she had to look up obscure taste spells.

The minotaur shrugged her shoulders. “Well, it’s kind of a staple in Minossos. A coffee that chest-thumping warriors can drink. I have it on special days, as do a few of the minotaurs that come here, but that’s more tradition for me than actual enjoyment. The griffons sometimes use it for drinking contests when they can’t risk getting drunk before flying home.”

“Different strokes for different species, eh?” Fancy added, earning a grumble for Vinyl.

“Do you want me to bring out the strapatsada now?” Athena asked hesitantly.

Vinyl sighed in defeat. “Might as well. Don’t think I’ll be able to taste it though.”

“Just keep sucking slowly on those spoons. Maybe try gargling some milk. It can help too.”

“Gargling milk?” Vinyl blanched at the thought.

Athena pulled at her apron apprehensively. “It helped me the first time my parents forced me to drink River Styx.”

Fancy shrugged. “It couldn’t hurt to at least try, Vinyl.”

Yes it could. It super could. Gargling milk like mouthwash in front of the pony you had feelings for definitely sounded like it could hurt her chances with him.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed. It takes a lot more than gargling to chaff against my sensibilities,” Fancy assured her after reading her face like a book. “I’d much rather you be able to enjoy yourself than worry about what I think.”

And what exactly would he think? Probably nothing good. But he seemed genuinely concerned about her, and the spoons weren’t doing much. She sighed as she finished off the last spoon, took a mouthful of milk, swished it around before tilting her head back and gargling. Her face burned hot with embarrassment as she came back down and swallowed.

“Mix some honey into it if there’s not enough sweetness,” Athena said as she poured another glass.

Vinyl nodded reluctantly and repeated it, all the while feeling the eyes of her audience boring into her. The worst part was that the second time, she could feel it working better than the yogurt and honey spoons. She almost resented how much it was helping. After a second gulp, she plucked a strawberry from her fruit dish with her magic and popped it in.

“Better?” Athena asked.

Despite being mortified, Vinyl nodded. The taste wasn’t all there, but she was definitely tasting more strawberry than liquid death.

The minotaur smiled in relief. “Great. Consider the next time you come in without Fancy on the house.”

“What?” Fancy asked in mock indignation.

“It’s not much of an apology if I reward this jerk for not stopping you, right?” Athena said as she lightly smacked Fancy on the back of his head.

“I believe you were the one who brewed it.”

“Don’t pass the buck to me, Fancy. Besides, even if I did make the meal free, you’d still pay for it somehow.”

Fancy chuckled. “Once again, you’ve caught me dead to rights, Miss Cypriel.”

“Be sure to treat her nicer, Fancy Pants. She may be a rough and tumble DJ, but she’s also a very special pony, you know.”

Vinyl froze at the remark and stared in shock at Athena.

“I know, I know,” he dismissed with a wave of his hoof. “Granted, I only had an inkling that she probably wouldn’t like it, but far be it from me to tell somepony no.”

Athena smiled softly between the two ponies as she took the empty glasses and bowls away. “I’ll be right back with your meal, you two.”

Feeling the redness still in her cheeks, Vinyl opted to mask her heated cheeks by kicking back another embarrassing gargle of milk and honey to give her a small reprieve from the conversation. The last thing she wanted to talk about now was special someponies.

“It must be helping more than I thought. You’re really going after it,” Fancy noted.

Vinyl screamed through the gargles in frustration. She just couldn’t win this morning. Even though this wasn’t a date, it had gone so poorly that it felt like it had undermined all potential future dates with sobbing, rambling, and gargling. The whole morning had been one mortifying moment after another in a cavalcade of failure. It was a miracle he was still sitting across from her after everything. He probably wanted nothing to do with her anymore.

“I’m looking forward to trying something new,” Fancy said as he began to clear the center of the table away to make room for their plate.

Vinyl tilted her head at the quick change of topic. He was probably just being nice at this point, but her curiosity was piqued. She couldn’t imagine him still having an appetite after all of that. “You haven’t had this strapta-whatever-it-is before?”

“I don’t recall. I might’ve seen it on the menu, but I don’t think I’ve ordered it before.” Fancy tapped his chin as he pondered for a moment before giving up on remembering. “Either way, I hope your tastebuds will have recovered enough to share it with me.”

She gripped onto the tiny shred of hope she still had that she wouldn’t embarrass herself any further as she nodded in agreement. “M-me too.”

As quietly as she arrived, their hostess returned with a sizzling black frying pan and a bread basket to split between them. “Careful, it’s hot,” Athena warned as she lowered the pan onto the table.

The pan smelled strongly of tomatoes and oregano with the bubbling globs of feta cheese melting across mounds of scrambled eggs. Athena grabbed a wooden serving spoon from the bread basket and the saucy mix in front of them to break it up a bit before cracking a toasted bread loaf in half and placing it on their plates. She then spooned a serving of the stuff onto each slice before placing the spoon back in the pan.

“Now, just keep it stirred a bit so it doesn’t clump together and feel free to heat the pan up with magic unless you want to eat it cold. Enjoy the flavor, you two!”

With that, their hostess departed. Fancy was the first to follow her advice and took a slice in his magic and crunched into his first toasty bite. He’d aimed slightly off of a glob of feta cheese that stuck to his mouth and the bread as he pulled away, which he quickly brushed with a napkin. Aside from that though, he hummed in approval as he chewed with a smile.

Not wanting to be left out, Vinyl took her own slice and chomped into it. At first, she couldn’t taste much of anything, but slowly as she let the sauce hit her tongue, she couldn’t help but smile back and the rich, zesty flavor of their refreshing breakfast. If not for the egg and Minoan seasoning, it’d almost taste Istallion.

“It’s really good,” Vinyl remarked, thankful that her senses were working again.

“Hopefully it makes up for your coffee selection.”

“Alcohol, coffee, I’m slowly running out of drink options when I’m around you.”

Fancy gasped in horror. “You can be serious. I understand forgoing alcohol, but coffee? How are you even going to function in the morning?”

“Okay, maybe not coffee. I didn’t taste anything but pain in that stuff anyway.”

Fancy chortled, trying not to spray the fresh bite out of his mouth before swallowing. “It’s an acquired taste, though I’m not sure if it’d be worth it in the end.”

“I usually throw a whole bunch of stuff to make it actually taste good. By the time I’m done with it, it’s like ninety percent creamer and other stuff with a little bit of coffee in there somewhere.”

“I wonder if you can even call it coffee at that point,” Fancy pondered aloud.

“Whatever it is, I like it. Any other coffee I pretty much just kick back for the caffeine shot like medicine.”

Fancy grimaced. “If that’s how you feel about it, then pills might be preferable.”

“Or energy drinks,” Vinyl added with a grin.

Fancy took his last bite while rolling his eyes. “Now that was an experience I’d rather not relive.”

“You’ve had one before?”

“At Fleur’s behest. Once,” Fancy stated in no uncertain terms. “I’m not sure what it was I tasted, but I can say it was very, very green.”

“That’s the taste of an all-nighter,” Vinyl clarified. “Chases the sleep away and leaves you ready to take on the world while sleep-deprived.”

“I think I’ll leave such experiences to you. I’m getting too old for such electrifying experiences.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Vinyl smirked devilishly as she waggled her eyebrows. “It’s an acquired taste.”

The two shared a laugh as they worked on their breakfast. Through all of the morning’s setbacks, they were still enjoying each other’s company. Vinyl had done nothing but mess up this morning, all of it culminating in her throwing up in a trash can in front of her crush, but Fancy was still there despite it all. In fact, it didn’t seem to bother him as much as it bothered her.

Maybe he was being friendly. Maybe she’d already shot her chances with him. Maybe he just didn’t know how much it meant to her. It didn’t matter right now. They were two ponies, sitting at a table, sharing a meal, and enjoying every minute of it. Vinyl could only hope that Fancy liked it as much as she did.

And that maybe, despite her mess ups, he’d like to do it again sometime.

Author's Note

Chapter 43: The Ones on My Mind

Vinyl’s blood, dribbling down the side of her head. Her tears, staining her face. Her eyes. bouncing between lucidity and an unfocused gaze. But the worst of all was her delirious, self-hating muttering, squeezed between hyperventilating gasps for air. Her desperate apologies, begging for forgiveness for nothing.

Fancy Pants had no idea what to do with any of it.

To say he was unnerved would be an understatement. It’d be one thing if she was just hurt, but the emotional duress was pure torture. He couldn’t imagine being on the other side of it. Even when Vinyl was barely conscious, unable to form sentences, the first words on her mind were still those accursed ideas twisting in her head. They weren’t true. Not a single one. Why did she believe those things?

No, that was the wrong question. He knew why. Exactly why. A little filly deprived of love and support. Why did she have to believe those things, despite all the living proof around her screaming the opposite?

Fancy hadn’t give it much thought at first, but Vinyl constantly apologized for every little thing. Some ponies were just like that, but her frequency, her fervency, her urgency; it was all so disquieting. Her pleas felt so terribly genuine whenever she said she was sorry, and Fancy was so tired of hearing it. Explaining she had no reason to apologize didn’t help, so he’d relented just to make it stop. Her reaction was almost unbearable.

“R-really?” Vinyl asked with a glimmer of hope.

Why? Just… why? If it was the right question, he simply had no answers.

The sheer joyous relief on her face hurt to consider. He’d just given into her senseless begging trying to calm her down, and yet his acceptance meant the world to her. Vinyl was always begging for forgiveness, from big things to little things, and for absolutely nothing at all. She was just sorry. Sorry for troubling, sorry for mistaking, sorry for just being. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. A mare like Vinyl shouldn’t have to feel like she was causing trouble for everypony no matter what. If she could only see what Fancy saw. Everytime she outperformed his expectations. She was so talented, so brilliant, and so…

At once, the fear in her eyes melted away as she smiled in complete relief. Fancy felt a pressure on his hoof pushed back as Vinyl leaned her head into it, breathing easier just from his words alone.

“I trust you too.”

And so…

“Fancy Pants? Are you there?”

“Fancy Pants?” Celestia asked again, nudging his side.

He popped up from his musing, seeing Princess Celestia smiling softly upon her envoy as she waited with eternal patience.

“Welcome back. Did you have a good daydream?” she asked with a calm, yet cheeky smirk.

“I apologize, your highnesses. My mind went elsewhere,” he explained as he felt his unsteady aura leave the crystal in his pocket.

“We could see that,” Luna remarked with concern. “Perhaps the question was more difficult than we anticipated?”

Refocusing on reality, Fancy remembered he was in the middle of him and Luna giving Princess Celestia a tour of the ballroom proposals. He flipped through his notes, trying to determine what stage they were at in the process.

“I don’t think that’s it, Lulu,” Celestia teased as she nudged Fancy’s hooves away from his search. “Our good stallion’s attention is simply a little divided.” With perfect precision, she magically jumped to the page they were all on and highlighted the paragraph.

“My apologies, your highnesses.”

Celestia giggled to herself. “Don’t you worry about that. I’m sure whatever it was that you were lost within is also important, my most capable envoy. However, we need you here to help with the summit planning.”

“Of course. If you will pardon my rudeness, could you repeat your question, Luna?”

Luna furrowed her brow, giving Fancy a soul-piercing glance before returning to her own clipboard. “In regards to the delegates, I cannot recall if we determined how we were going to approach their attendance. In our last meeting, we were divided between a guided cultural tour of the sections and having them explore the ballroom at their leisure. You said there were benefits to both approaches.”

Fancy nodded as his mind fired back up to address the task at hoof. “Correct. But as I said after the meeting, it depends upon how much we can trust the crystal ponies to ‘mingle’ unaided. My primary concern was with the authenticity of their interactions when meeting other Equestrians. I said my recommendation will come down to trusting our guests’ ability to communicate themselves unaided.”

“You must be referring to the culture shock you experienced during your first visit to Yakyakistan,” Celestia remarked sagely.

“Yes, in a manner of speaking. A tour will pressure the Equestrians to put on a show for the group rather than have real conversations, but at the same time I worry about a hooves-off approach leading to… problems.”

Celestia giggled into her hoof. “Not to disparage our Yakyakistani friends, but the crystal pony traditions are less forceful than theirs. I wouldn’t be too concerned with our guests requesting a head-butting contest out of the blue to break the ice.”

“While I agree on that point, it’s not the crystal ponies that have raised my concern,” Fancy admitted as he flipped through several pages of sponsors and hosts. “It’s more the issue of a lone delegate slipping into a brain fog that worries me. Did you confirm whether or not they were still suffering from it?” he asked Luna.

“Our niece reported it is declining in frequency in her most recent missive.”

“That is just the cases reported though,” Fancy added. “A pony would have to realize they or somepony else was afflicted in order to track it.”

Luna put a pensive hoof to her chin. “True. I hadn’t considered that.”

Fancy turned to Celestia. “Do Equestria and the Crystal Empire still wish to keep this a secret, your highness?”

Celestia nodded once more. “At least the true nature of their affliction. What little has leaked out we’ve publicly blamed on long-term teleportation sickness rather than subjugation spells. Remember, we want to present the Crystal Empire as equals to Equestria, not a diminished city of displaced survivors.”

After a few silent questions to himself, Fancy’s cutie mark burned to confirm his intuition. “Then, I would recommend we keep a tighter leash, as it were, on our guests. While the arrangement is less than ideal for freedom of movement, it’d be best to be able to keep an eye on the crystal ponies by having them stay close to Princess Cadance.”

“What if we were to organize them in smaller groups?” Luna offered.

“Honestly, that would be better, but there would need to be enough ponies to watch over them and recognize the symptoms. The point is to keep it a secret, not risk further leaks.“

At that, the younger princess’ eyes widened with a spark of inspiration. “Higher ranking members of the guard have already been briefed on the situation to some extent. We could have a select number of them serve as escorts for smaller groups of delegates and simply have them watch for the signs.”

The new information spread a smile across Fancy’s face. “A wonderful idea, Luna. If they have foreign experience, they may even be able to serve as personal liaisons without needing much training. I could also advise them myself before the Summit. However, they will need to be comfortable being unarmed and unarmored while on-duty.”

“What?” Luna stepped away, completely taken aback by the idea. “But why? Would we not wish to show we value their protection?”

“International optics,” he answered succinctly. “This being an event of geopolitical importance, other nations will be watching closely. While we would see it as a show of communal support, others might infer Imperial frailty. ‘The shattered crystals cannot protect themselves, so they need Equestria to do so’ or something along those lines.”

Fancy flipped over to the guest lists of international representatives and scanned the list of expected attendees from other nations to observe the treaty. “The griffons especially would especially question the Empire’s strength. Every griffon in their government has undergone military training and been granted the privileges of a high-ranking officer. Their guards are not there for protection. It’s more about presenting strength in numbers.”

“I see their adherence to the Warbird Philosophers’ quills haven't dulled over the centuries,” Luna remarked knowingly.

“‘Primal instinct calls each of us to violence as our first act. We breach our own shells to take the first gasp of the free air, to take upon the violence of life, and to fend off beak, talon, and blades of iron, until we ourselves are breached, and thus, take our dying breath.’”

“I don’t recognize that proverb.”

“The Reflections by Jade Pinion. His style can be a bit… indulgently loquacious, but I found it invaluable for understanding modern Griffon culture.”

A canter of hooves interrupted the two’s conversation as Princess Celestia clapped on the floor in excitement. “Outstanding!” Celestia cheered with glee. “I am so glad I asked you two to manage this. If it’s decided, I will have Raven draw up a list of potential candidates for escorts for you to look at later.”

“Thank you, sister. That would be most helpful.”

Celestia sighed and smiled with genuine affection, looking between Luna and Fancy Pants. “It simply warms my heart seeing the both of you working so well together. It is surely a load off my mind.”

“And I’m glad to do it,” Fancy agreed. “Honestly, it feels good to be working for the good of the nation again, if just for a little while.”

“You have no idea how happy that makes me, my most capable envoy.” With that, Celestia whisked away her clipboard with her magic and smiled upon two of her favorite ponies in the world. “I will leave the rest to you. Please let me know if there is anything else you need from me, though I doubt you will.”

Princess Celestia began to walk away with a joyous clip in her clops as she practically bounced out of the room. Luna balked, looking between her unfinished list and Fancy Pants before teleporting in front of her sister.

“Wait a moment! We still haven’t shown you—”

“I have seen enough to know I’ve left you in capable hooves, Lulu,” Celestia assured softly. “Besides, I don’t think you need me here getting between the two of you and your work,” she said with a wink towards Fancy.

Luna looked around, searching for something to stop Celestia from leaving. “But what about the budget?”

“Don’t worry about something little like that. If you require any resources from me, simply submit it in writing and I’ll sign off on them as quickly as possible. Beyond that, I don’t think you’ll need me outside of the treaty negotiations and a dress fitting.”

“But—”

Celestia poked her sister on the nose, silencing Luna with the sudden and strange contact. “No buts. You’re doing great your way. With Fancy Pants by your side, there is never a need to worry. He’s here for whatever you need him to do. You can trust him, okay?”

Luna flittered her gaze to Fancy Pants in concern before sighing. “Very well. We shall strive to do our best.”

“That better not be the royal ‘we’ this time,” Celestia teased. With another light-hearted laugh, she strode out of the ballroom to finish out her afternoon.

As she passed Luna, she didn’t notice her sister’s downcast face as she looked over her notes. The uncertain younger princess stole one last glance at her elder sister, opening her mouth to say something, but ultimately deciding against it. Fancy wasn’t sure if he was missing something or not in Princess Celestia’s way of thinking. Whatever the case, he wasn’t about to let her get away without a good explanation.

“Please wait, your majesty!” Fancy called out as he chased the taller princess down the hallway.

“Yes, Fancy Pants?” she answered while slowing her gait.

“My apologies, your highness, but could you perhaps reconsider your stance and provide feedback for our remaining summit preparations?”

“I’ve already done so. You two are doing a phenomenal job together. I trust you completely with her.”

“Thank you, your highness, but with all due respect, she still has her doubts regarding her actions.”

The princess stopped her steps and turned to regard the stallion in confusion. “As I always have with mine, but doesn’t Luna have you for that? I entrusted you with her care and support her decisions. She needs the confidence to stand equal with me as co-ruler of Equestria.”

“Agreed, your highness, but this is also out of her expertise.”

“Which you have plenty of to share.”

Fancy cleared his throat, feeling the need for his verbal foil. “While I appreciate your high praise, I am still no substitute for a sister, your highness.”

“You are not a substitute for me. There is no need for it,” she replied firmly. “In my eyes, you are what’s best for her now. She should not feel the need to seek my approval for every little thing. You are the Kingmaker, are you not?”

“But she desires your approval,” Fancy said as he carefully advanced.

“And she has it, fully and without question. I want her to stand proudly as she should've for centuries, making her own decisions without such a strong urge for me to hold her hoof.”

“But this isn’t hoof-holding, princess.”

“Then what is it, ambassador?”

“Validation,” Fancy countered. “Assurance that she is on the right track from an equal peer. She may be doing things her way, but surely you can understand that your input, no matter how small, would help build her confidence. She is still learning how to manage modern Equestria as you do.”

Celestia sighed, frustration began seeping through her mask as she pressed her hoof to her forehead. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to avoid. I want her—Equestria needs her—to deal with things differently than I do. She shouldn’t need me when she has you as well as an entire castle of ponies at her beck and call to validate her decisions.”

“I must humbly disagree, Princess Celestia. You’ve said on many occasions that you are meant to rule together.”

“Do not turn words that you do not understand so flippantly against me!” Celestia rebuked. A scowl he’d rarely ever seen crossed her face forcing him on the defensive. “I couldn’t ask her opinion on a single decision by her for a thousand years, and I’ve done hundreds of thousands of things she’d disapprove of for the good of Equestria!” The princess shut her burning eyes and took a deep, sorrowful breath. “From the time of our ascension, we stood together for all of Equestria in the face of apocalyptic chaos, yet when she simply needed her sister, I…”

The princess went silent for a few moments, breathing softly as she regathered herself. She then opened her eyes once more, smiling with the serenity of Elysium. “Please, Fancy Pants. I am doing everything in my power to rectify an ancient mistake. Luna must become strong to stand both with me and against me. If that means I must be the villain for a time, then so be it.”

“But why would she ever need to stand against you?”

“The arc of her history is timeless like mine. She must be prepared for whatever fate faces her, with or without me. In my countless years, I never imagined I would ever be forced to raise a weapon against my own…” Celestia trailed as her eyes widened from what words were starting to dance off her lips. Before she could utter another sound, she slammed a rear hoof down. The immense power boomed in a stomp of ancient arcane might, all the while maintaining perfect poise and dignity. Though the furious clap brought the entire castle to stunned silence, her soft, scorching smile never left her face. “This discussion is over.”

With that, her royal highness resumed her stride with solemnity, leaving Fancy Pants behind in her wake. He’d never been on the receiving end of the princess’ ire. As Equestria’s Royal Ambassador, it used to be his business to know the will of the Solar Princess before she had to say it herself. Now, Fancy couldn’t even begin to guess what was going through Princess Celestia’s mind. He was either too out of practice or he’d gotten far too used to Luna’s openness.

Upon reentering the ballroom, Luna wrapped her hooves and wings around him in a comforting hug. The shiver in her grip made it feel that it was more for her sake than his. “Our apologies, Fancy Pants. We should’ve stopped you before you pursued.”

Fancy snaked a hoof out to return the tight hug with a few friendly pats. “Please, Luna. You did nothing wrong. And to be honest, the absolute last thing I want to hear is one more apology from anypony.”

The princess pulled away and looked at Fancy curiously for a time. Her distress from her sister washed away as it was replaced with the gaze of a sage mentor. “We sense it is not these royal matters that truly troubles you, dear Fancy Pants.”

“As surprising as it is to anger your sister, you’d be correct. But don’t feel the need to ignore your feelings for my sake.”

“Worry not. Your intervention on our behalf has lessened the sting of our sister’s conviction in her machinations. We wish to lend an ear in turn if our wisdom is welcome.”

“While I appreciate the offer, we are in the middle of working on the summit, Luna. Also, please, be still, your highness.”

The princess’ ear flicked at the phrase they’d practiced for the summit and she took a calming moment to recenter herself. “You have my gratitude. But back on the topic, you and I were supposed to be walking my sister through our plans and vendors for the next hour, however, that seems to have ended prematurely. Celestia will still see to it that the guard is informed of our request for their help, so please allow me to help you, my dear friend.”

Fancy sighed and scratched the back of his neck. The memories bubbling in his head almost made him reach for the quartz in his pocket. “It’s about Vinyl.”

Luna swished her tail and brightened at the mention of the mare. “Oh yes, the wonderful DJ Pon-3. Has she been well, my dear fateweaver?”

“Not exactly. There was an accident at the estate yesterday.”

“By the stars!” Luna gasped. She leaned in close, urgently worried about the disposed performer. “Is it serious?”

“The doctor was able to help, but I’m worried about…” Fancy sighed as he tried to think of a way to put it. As he focused, all he could see was that tearful gaze pleading for salvation from her transgressions. “I don’t know how my influence is affecting her.”

“I see. How does she fare now?”

“Better. Her family is at the estate.”

Luna furrowed her brow. “I thought you said her parents had passed.”

“Yes, but this is a different one,” Fancy said as a fractured smile crossed his face. “One that loves her properly.”

“You done yet?” Vinyl complained into her sister’s fur. “You said it’d only take a second.”

“Be patient! You’re supposed to be the older, responsible sister, right?”

“My patience ran out the moment you sat on me and stuck your chest in my face!”

“Lucky you, right?” Fleur giggled. “I’m almost done anyway.”

Vinyl sighed as she tried to blow the mare’s flowing mane away from her nose to no avail. Her sister had been straddling her for at least ten minutes, checking the top of her head where she’d gotten patched up by the doctor. While they were able to stitch her wound up easily enough, for it to heal properly, they had to shave part of her head down the skin. Fleur wasn’t about to let that lopsided fashion statement stand for long, regardless of Vinyl’s feelings on the matter.

“Okay, I think I got it attuned right.”

“Attuned?” Vinyl asked. “You said you were doing something to my mane.”

“I am! You don’t want this stitching job to be visible if you don’t have to, right?”

“Who—” Vinyl started to fire back before the heat died on her lips.

Who cares? You do, Desire answered. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good for—

“Whatever,” she grumbled over her stupid, invasive desires. After yesterday, Vinyl was so sick of her thoughts getting in the way. It felt shallow and vain to care, but she still did. Vinyl wanted to turn her head and look away, but Fleur was keeping her locked in place with her magical field.

She heard the door to her room click as the smell of freshly bread filled the air, “Finally found this room again. This house is much too large for so small pon—” Maman’s voice died immediately as she began shouting in high-pitched, stammering Prench.

“Geez! It’s not what it looks like!” Fleur yelled over their likely swearing maman.

“Then off! Off I say!” Éclair demanded as she stormed over to the bed. “Before you are sending the bad messages!”

The little mare ripped her daughter off her other daughter by the tail without losing a single baguette out of the baskets poking out of her saddle bags. The larger unicorn yelped and flailed her hooves fruitlessly as she sailed across the room, landing on the couch Dapper had moved for visitors.

A glint of orange caught Vinyl’s eye. She looked up to see a garnet falling to the bed. Instinctively, she tried to catch it with her magic, only for the little energy she felt gathering at the base of her horn fizzle out at the dampening ring around it. She winced in pain as what little magic bled through rebounded into her head in a dull ache.

“Non-non, Vinyle. Remember what le médecin says. No magic until you are right in the head.”

Luckily, Éclair meant the minor concussion. It just meant a day or two of taking it easy with a dampening ring. Outside of the slight headache and itchiness from the stitches, Vinyl felt fine. However, everypony else was taking the injury so seriously. It was easier just to stay in bed.

“Sorry. Kind of a habit. Not using magic, you know?”

“Oui, ma pauvre et précieuse fleur de vinyle. Your sister was always roughing up the house with her papa in Prance. She wore such rings twice before.”

“Blunt force trauma would explain a few things,” Vinyl teased as she glanced over at her frowning sister.

“Ha ha. Very funny. At least I didn’t lose a fight to a book,” Fleur retorted.

Vinyl shrugged. “Just means you haven’t read anything challenging.”

“Behave now! Vinyle is hurt and needs our support,” Éclair insisted. “Which is why I come with bread in bed!”

The pastry chef smiled widely as she drew a loaf out like a sword and grabbed a food tray off a nearby shelf. Instead of using a knife to cut it, the mare simply pulled the bread apart, having baked it to be soft to the touch instead of the lackluster crispy bricks that other Prench-inspired places had around town. With the loaf torn into uneven slices, Éclair lay out the pieces around in an attempt at artistry.

“If you must know, I forgot a knife,” the petite mare clarified.

Vinyl chuckled as she took the tray by hoof. “It’s fine. Looks good.”

“It is good. I made it for you.”

Vinyl waned as she became lost in Éclair’s—her maman’s—endless smile that she wore just for her. As soon as they’d heard she'd been hurt, her family rushed over as quickly as possible to take care of her. They’d even stayed the night just to make sure she was fine. She didn’t want to worry anypony, but she couldn’t help but savor their warmth. Éclair couldn’t be more different than… her.

Even after all of this time, she still owned Vinyl. The DJ curled her hooves around the sheets as a sinking fear clawed at her. No matter how much she tried to put it out of her mind, she was just one errant thought away. Her presence still reigned supreme. If she came back, she’d say all of those things again. Vinyl didn’t want to hear those things again. She wanted Maman to keep smiling, to be there to stop her from coming back. That shrouded nightmare she refused to call by name.

“Vinyle? Are you well?” Maman asked, sensing the vice wrapping around Vinyl’s neck.

Don’t lie. Desire urged softly. I know you want to lie, but don’t lie.

Vinyl knew that. She didn’t need a voice in her head telling her what she already knew. The fact she was hearing Desire in the first place was starting to scare her.

What? But why? I’m you.

No she wasn’t. Desire was an elaborate hallucination. Just like her.

That’s not right! I want you want! Why won’t you listen? I’m trying to help you!

“She’ll be right as rain in a sec,” Fleur assured as she snatched the garnet from the bed and began fiddling with it and a silver disk.

Vinyl wished that was true. Memories usually rammed themselves into her head and got stuck on repeat even before her world had turned upside-down. There were cringe-inducing experiences that would make her sick with embarrassment, arguments that she wished she’d dealt with better in hindsight, and warped memories of her past that plagued her every-so-often. It was an endless can of earworms she’d have to blast away with blaring music, physical pain, or anything to distract her. But Desire was something entirely different. Even if she chewed her cheek until she tasted iron, that stupid voice wouldn’t leave her alone.

No. Please. I’m—I’m sorry… Desire mumbled as her voice shied away. I just want you to be happy.

And now she’d entertained her childish whims to the point her worst nightmare had come to life. She was slowly going crazy because she wasn’t strong enough to stand against her. Maybe she’d keep dreaming up more and more voices until she was a babbling madmare caught between fantasy and reality. Vinyl was broken. At least now she had the stitches to prove it.

“And there!” Fleur announced, snapping Vinyl out of her dreary thoughts. “Whipped up a little clip on earring for you and just needed this lil guy to make it work.”

Fleur trotted over to the wounded side of Vinyl’s head and clacked the custom jewelry on her sister. Other than flicking her ear from the added weight, Vinyl didn’t feel anything. She couldn’t even tell if the gem was working properly, or if the dampening ring was affecting it.

“Alright, that looks great!” Fleur announced.

Vinyl blinked. “It does?”

“Yeah, check it out.”

Fleur levitated a compact mirror over and popped it open to show Vinyl her work. As promised, the stitches were gone, replaced by thin streaks of blue shaven mane with highlights. The illusionary hair followed the same curved path of her stitches, but flowing all the way to the back of her head in a wave.

“I guess it’s better. Now I just look like a shaved sheep on one side.”

“That’s where part two of the manestyle comes in: The part!”

Vinyl sighed to herself. “Sis. I don’t do manestyles. I just wake up and go with whatever’s happening up there.”

“Perpetual bedhead, I know. But don’t worry, this one is super simple. You don’t even need to use magic! We’re just gonna comb the whole thing over to the right. My right.”

Fleur picked up a long-toothed comb by hoof and ran it through Vinyl’s hair, untangling, straightening, and then ultimately curling it all to one side to let it drape down in one massive part. Fleur quickly inspected her work before nodding with a smile and hovering the compact back for the grand reveal.

Vinyl’s eyes widened upon seeing herself. The look was certainly different, or at least a different flavor of different compared to her usual, disheveled self. She recognized the half-saved stylings of the neo-drakepunk look. The simple part flowed like a curled dragon spine while showing off the edgy drake frills curving around the back. She’d seen it worn by punk rockers she occasionally bumped into on the Drive. It was cuttingly sharp, violently brash, and unforgivingly loud.

“You’re a lifesaver, sis,” Vinyl said as she admired her salvaged, savage mane.

“It looks great, right?” Fleur bragged as she polished her hoof on her chest. “I used the same illusionary coat coloring enchantment for my dual princess costume. Usually punks do it with good old-fashioned fur dye, but SchlurrVivyl’s got the rocking power of crystals on our side!”

Chuckling at the pun, Vinyl brushed her hair and inspected herself from every angle to appreciate Fleur’s miracle work. “I feel like I need to get like fifty different piercings and a vat of eye shadow.”

“So avant-garde, Vinyle!” Éclair praised as she clapped her hooves together. “Daring and mystérieux. C’est magnifique, Fleur!”

Fleur flourished her mane and strutted to Vinyl’s side like a superstar model. “Merci Maman. I think she’ll be ready to take on the world again.” She flipped Vinyl’s mane with her hoof and smirked. “At least once her brain isn’t scrambled eggs anymore.”

Vinyl’s smile flattened as she glared at her sister. “Thanks, Fleur. You always know how to tie a bow on things.”

“I’m just the gift that keeps on giving.”

“Good, good, good,” Éclair said as she shooed Fleur away. “Now that makeover is done, you must eat. The bread is cooling too much.”

Fleur rolled her eyes as she wrapped a piece in her bright pink aura. “Really? It’s like you forget I have magic, Maman.”

“Do not toasting!” the baker exclaimed, quickly snatching it out of her daughter’s spell “I made it special soft for Vinyle’s easy chewing.”

“Okay! Fine! Yeesh, you don’t need to be so protective.”

“Yes I do! She is hurt. We came for helping her.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like I’m trying to make it worse.”

Why are you making me the bad mare here? I just want what’s best—

“Stop fighting!” Vinyl screamed over the intrusive memory. Her voice cracked from the pressure, betraying her underlying fears. Both ponies turned to her with shock and worry scrawled on their faces. Vinyl cursed herself under her breath for yelling over them and looked away.

The Prenchmares shared a concerned glance between them before turning their complete attention to the bedridden mare. Their silent conversation just made Vinyl feel worse about cutting in. She wasn’t even sure why it was so upsetting to her now. They’d argued plenty of times in front of her, and it was even fun to watch their playful bickering despite not understanding a word of it. But now…

Vinyl steadied her breath, trying to work up the courage to face them again. “Sorry, I umm… even if you’re just playing, please, just don’t, okay?”

Éclair reared herself up against the bed to meet Vinyl’s eyes. “Non, Vinyle, it is we who is sorry. Right, Fleur?”

Fleur rubbed her shoulder, not being able to meet Vinyl in the eyes. “Yeah. You already have a sore head. You don’t need our yelling making it worse. Don’t apologize for that.”

“Thanks,” Vinyl muttered.

Turning her attention back to the tray of rapidly cooling bread, she grabbed the closest piece to her with her hoof and took a bite. Even if the warmth had left it, the care Maman had baked into it was still oven fresh. The soft, buttery goodness washed over her tongue, sending her to a place of gentle bliss.

“Is it okay?” Éclair asked.

Vinyl hummed positively and nodded in approval.

“I brought more if you still want more.”

She kept nodding while focusing on the sweet bread in her hooves.

After another moment of silence, Fleur leaned over to catch her sister’s focus. “You feeling alright, Vy?”

Vinyl didn’t know the answer to that. She just wanted to live in the peace of the moment. To chew on the soft baguette in peace for eternity without another word from the intrusive thoughts from any voices in her head. No fears. No desires. Just the quiet safety of delicious bread.

“Please. Talk to us, Vinyle,” Éclair said as she tried to reach out and touch Vinyl.

C’mon, Desire urged. You know you want to. It’ll help you feel better.

“We just want to help, sis,” Fleur added.

Really, dear, Mother sighed and clicked her tongue. Why do you have to be so sensitive about everything?

Desire hammered in Vinyl’s heart. Listen to them! Talking will make her go away!

Oh, really now. ‘Vinyl Scratch’ you say? One of her last memories of mother countered.

“Everypony just shut up! I can’t think!”

That’s because you’re always overthinking things! Desire yelled. Or was that mother? Vinyl couldn’t tell anymore You need to focus! Why are you like this?

“Stop it!” Vinyl screamed.

“Vy!”

“Vinyle!”

And now you’re worrying everypony again. Why do you need to complicate everything so much? Just be happy! “Why can’t I just be normal?”

A jerk on Vinyl’s shoulders pulled her from the encroaching static. All she saw was pink. As she calmed down, she could feel the hooves holding onto her through the noise. She then recognized the various tints and stray streaks of gray as the manes of her family. She could feel the weight of their bodies pressing against hers on the bed, squeezing her in tight hugs to bring her back to Equestria.

Vinyl leaned in, trying to warm herself again. “I’m sor—”

“Stop it, please!” Fleur hushed as she gripped Vinyl even tighter. “Stop keeping things to yourself! You promised! You promised!” Fleur shook her head into Vinyl’s fur. She could feel the dampness from her sister’s tears. She’d made her cry again.

“Fleur de Lis. Calm down,” their maman cooed as she pulled Fleur back. “This helps nopony.”

“B-but she said she’d tell me. She’d tell me if it got hard, Maman.” Fleur took Vinyl by the hoof and placed it on her heart. Fleur’s sorrowful gaze pierced through her heart, turning the tender flame into a painful blaze. “Please. I want to help. Just tell us what’s going on. We’re your family. We love you.”

Don’t forget—

Vinyl flinched as her ears pin back trying to silence the rest of the world. “Please. Not that word.”

“But we do!” Fleur argued and squeezed Vinyl’s hoof. She grabbed a nearby pillow and wiped her face to take a moment to collect herself. “I can—I can talk all around it. I’ll throw every word in the thesaurus at your head, but it doesn’t change how I feel. Please. We’re right here, Vy.”

Vinyl pulled her legs back and shrank into herself. “I don’t know. I just wish things would stop happening.” She leaned down and buried her face in the bed’s comforter. “I don’t want to feel this way. I don’t want to feel any way anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Fleur asked in rising concern. “I promise. You can tell me anything.”

“I…” Vinyl swallowed, trying to force herself to follow her heart, even if it was mired in delusions. “I’m scared, sis. I think I like Fancy Pants and I’m—I’m scared.”

Fleur’s tenderness was replaced by tender confusion. “So, why would you be scared of that? I’d be totally on board for you two to be friends.”

“No. I mean, I think I like him.”

“Yeah, I heard you the firs—” Fleur’s voice grinded to halt as Vinyl’s ears grew hotter and hotter in embarrassment. With the secret spilled, the sheepish mare snuck a peek over the sheets, revealing her flush face.

Fleur gasped and covered her cheeks as a gigantic smile split her face. “Ohmigosh! You have a crush on—Mmpf!” Her bold declaration was interrupted by Éclair shoving a baguette into her mouth.

“Tais-toi, stupidefille! She shares her heart and you tear it out with careless words!”

Fleur argued back with a slew of muffled complaints and over-the-top hoof gestures.

“Do not speak with your mouth full.”

Fleur rolled her eyes and bit down, splitting the bread into two pieces as she chewed the middle. “You’re the one that put it there in the first place, Maman,” she noted through smacks of bread in her mouth.

“Fleur! I did not teach you such manners!”

“I know,” Fleur agreed as she smacked her lips loudly in dramatic satisfaction. “That’s why I don’t have them.”

Éclair sank her head into her hooves and began muttering curses in Prench to herself, or at least that’s what Vinyl guessed from the cheeky grin on Fleur’s face. The larger mare rubbed against her little maman, depositing a few crumbs in her hair, before diving at Vinyl in a deep embrace.

“This is great!” she squealed in delight. “I’m so happy for you, Vy!”

Vinyl’s fell limp. “What? But weren’t you grossed out?”

Fleur hummed curiously as she pulled back. “When did I say that?”

“After the Festival of Flakes. When you said how old Fancy was.”

“Well, yeah. Duh. I don’t want ponies thinking that I’m dating my brother.” Fleur wretched from the mere notion and shook her head. “I just use the age thing as an excuse. Besides, Daddy and Maman were way, way, way further apart.”

“Non non, Fleur! We were twenty years difference, so that means,” Éclair stopped as she puzzled over the math and muttered under her breath. “Only five years difference!”

“Between their fifteen and your twenty, yeah. Fifteen is a huge age gap.”

Éclair crossed her forelegs in a huff. “I don’t think it is so.”

“Seriously? You and Daddy had, like, an age rift! It’d take a pegasus chariot just to cross it.”

“As you say, I favor le renard argenté.” Éclair batted the criticism away with a flick of her fetlock.

“The what?” Vinyl asked.

“Silver foxes,” Fleur clarified flatly. “She likes them old.”

“Bah! You say it so simple, Fleur. The young pony is so silly and knows nothing!” Éclair argued adamantly, slamming the bed with her leg to punctuate her point.

“Okay, yeah. She enjoys stallions like fine, aged cheese.”

“Wine! Vin! I want a charming stallion who knows how to treat a mare and how to entreat a mare, if you catch my meaning,” Éclair said with a wink and waggle of her eyebrows. The mare sighed wistfully as she took her mane in hoof and inspected its pink with stray grays running through it. “But now I am on top of the hill with silver too. So… ten anssuffisent.”

Vinyl froze as her mind struggled to catch up to the conversation she was apparently having. “I think this is more than I ever wanted to know about Maman.”

“Eh? Why?” the older mare asked, almost taking offense to the question itself. “We all have our tastes. Fleur savors les fleurs and you look to savor silver too, ma fille.”

“N-no! I don’t like—I don’t know what I like, but I don’t—” Vinyl quickly descended into a sputtering mess of denial, struggling to remember what language even was anymore.

Éclair guffawed as she fell back, laying a hoof on her petitely plump belly. “I joke! I am the fools day jester!” After a few more laughs, she pulled herself back up and tenderly touched Vinyl’s cheek. “Je n'étais pas sérieux, ma précieuse Vinyle. I saw how happy Fancy makes you. Generosity. Kindness. As I said, you value him, not these many bits of his.”

“Hold up, Maman,” Fleur cut in between the two. “You make it sound like you already knew about this.”

Éclair chuckled with pompous delight as she flipped her mane and stuck her nose up. “As I say. The young pony knows nothing,” she gloated, running her hoof through her graying mane in a Fleur-ish flourish. “Vinyle did not need to tell moi to know her heart when she so fancies Fancy.”

Fleur bristled at the accusation, her cheeks turning red with embarrassed anger, knowing that Éclair had called it correctly.

“Aww,” Éclair cooed as she pinched her big daughter’s puffy cheeks. “It’s okay ma innocente Fleur. This is why young ponies need Maman. Éclair de Lune tells you all about le chocolat, le pain, et la délicieuse crème which makes the sweetest mess together, oui?”

Fleur blanched and shooed Maman’s hooves from her face before shaking the grossness out of her fetlocks. “I don’t need ‘the talk’ again right now.” She turned to Vinyl. “I figured something was up when you visited the shop with Fancy, but I’d never guessed this in a zillion years. You’ve always hated rich ponies.”

Vinyl sighed to herself as the brief joyful moment was smothered again. “Yeah, I know. And, I’m really scared.”

“Why?” Éclair asked in disbelief, completely flummoxed by the idea. “You made a good paire! Before the tears, you were so happy! I was so happy too. A good day!”

“But I don’t want to be rich. I… I don’t want to call the dragon, Maman.”

“The dragon? Non, non. Don’t be silly, Vinyle. I tell you again: you are nothing like Riche Antiquité.”

“Yeah, and Rich Antiquity is just an old mare’s tale anyway,” Fleur dismissed as she pulled Vinyl into a side hug. “Unlike that lard bucket, you have us to keep you grounded if you start demanding cakes every day. De Lune gets enough business anyway.”

Vinyl nestled into the nape of her sister’s neck, careful not to agitate the stitches on her head. Her vision fell upon the low stacks of boxes and notebooks sitting nearly in the corner of the room. “I know, but… I can’t help it. That’s why all of that’s over there.”

Fleur tilted her head slightly, but not enough to break any contact from Vinyl. “The boxes of books? Were you wanting to go round two on them or something?”

“No. Those are all Summers. Diaries, sheet music, and keepsakes. Very heavy keepsakes,” she added as she rubbed the back of her head.

“So? What are they for?”

“Answers. Summers married Suede. I need to know if it changed her. If she became a monster.”

“What, and we can’t?”

“Fleur de Lis!” Maman reprimanded.

“I’m serious here. Shouldn’t we be enough?”

“Ce n'est pas la question, ma fille! We know who Vinyle is, but Vinyle wishes to know who she is. We support her, no?” After snorting derisively at Fleur, Éclair brushed her anger aside to gently place her hoof onto Vinyl’s. She then smiled with her endless, buttery warmth. “We are famille.”

Fleur grumbled in rising irritation to herself before ultimately sighing and squeezing Vinyl back under her neck. “I’m sorry, sis. If anypony is becoming a greedy dragon, it’s me. I just don’t want to see you hurt or crying or anything bad anymore. I want all smiles, all the time from you. If it takes a little encouragement from Auntie, then let’s do it.”

Fleur quickly swept up the spilled pieces of bread, crumbs, and flakes of crust in her magic and whisked them all into the fireplace along with several logs. After sparking it to life, she then hovered over a few random journals off the top of the various stacks and fanned them out over the bed. Finally, she fished the last baguette out of the bag and sliced them into thin slices and laid them across the food tray for them to munch on.

“Really?” Vinyl tilted her head up to catch Fleur’s eyes. “But, I thought you weren’t going to help archive.”

“I’m not, but this is totally different. I always wanted to know more about Auntie.” Fleur scooched away from Vinyl and laid down in front of the books with a wide grin. “Plus, if all goes right, you can be my sister and sister-in-law! How awesome is that?”

Vinyl grimaced. “Out-of-context? Not very.”

Fleur rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. At least until you get your magic back, I’m sticking right by you unless you need me gone, alright?” Fleur looked back at Éclair. “If that's okay with you, Maman.”

“That is for our Vinyle to say. But yes, we will be right here for you.”

Vinyl’s heart skipped a beat with excitement. “You too?”

“You say as if I can’t take vacation. Pâte de Lune can wait until this… Sommet Politique de Cristal or what it is that Fancy and Princess Luna do needs baking. I will help my fleurs if I can do.” With a resolute nod, she hopped off the bed and placed her saddlebags back on. “I will tell Monsieur Dandy of our stay and make hot chocolat for reading by the fire.”

“Thank you, Maman.”

“Anything for mesprécieusesfleurs.”

The fireplace slowly crackled and popped in the privacy of Princess Luna’s room. Luna had stopped Fancy’s story before he started to keep the nature of their sensitive conversation away from curious ears. With the rumors about the royal suitor still bouncing around the unknown servants and guards, neither of them wanted to risk complicating the matters further by layering Vinyl Scratch on top of it.

Fancy had started from the troubles after the Performers Showcase to catch her up. She listened to his recounting carefully, only offering a slight nod and asking for little clarifications and definitions for phrases she was unfamiliar with. Despite the thick, blackout curtains keeping the room in perpetual evening, Fancy could tell it was getting late when her scheduled cup of evening coffee from Athena teleported in. Luna had woken midafternoon to give the canceled tour to her sister, so the evening’s scheduled cup from Athena was a welcome pick-me-up for the princess. She looked like she needed it after hearing about the struggles of the troubled artist.

“So, this morning. I checked on her and she seemed to be doing better, at least on the surface. She still has a silencing ring keeping her from spellcasting until any lingering effects of the concussion wears off. Hopefully, she’ll have recovered completely from that in the next few days. The wound itself will take longer though.”

“Did she say how she managed to hurt herself with the boxes?”

Fancy shook his head. “She almost seemed afraid to tell me anything at the time, and I left before she awoke this morning.” He fiddled with his hooves knowing he was treading into Luna’s territory. “I know you can’t tell me exactly, but do you at least know if she slept well last night?”

Luna shook her head in kind. “I’m afraid I don’t know. Truthfully, I am unaware if she dreamed at all. I do not sense every pony in the Dreamscape unless I sense a nightmare or search for them. Given what occurred, she likely entered a dreamless sleep from her injury.”

It wasn’t much, but Fancy took solace in knowing she had a few hours of peace. “Hopefully it is just my nerves then.”

“I will endeavor to seek her out this evening, but remember, I am unwelcome in her mind. I can only influence her sleep from afar.”

Fancy perked up in concern. “Still? Not even disguised as another pony?”

“Again, any foreign presence is unwelcome in her guarded subconscious. Given what you’ve shared with me, I have a better understanding of why it is so, but to divulge any further would break the sanctity of her privacy,” Luna stated evenly. She breathed deeply through her nostrils and looked away as a sad smile marred her face. “However, after telling me all that you’ve observed in the waking world, you don’t need her dreams to confirm what you know to be real.”

Fancy lowered his head and shut his eyes. He knew the answer to that without even having to think about it. The terror that burned in that unsteady gaze, the sheer panic in her strained breaths, the tears streaming down from her unblinking face…

“It all stems from that one, blasted question,” Fancy spat.

Luna closed her eyes. “A foalhood of uncertainty, trying to earn three little words we all take for granted. So pitiable. That child clearly anguishes over her worthiness among a host of other ideals forced upon her. Her past is so darkened by sorrow that it is even hidden from my eyes when I watch over her slumber. You will not wish to hear this, but you likely know more than I do.”

“But what good is knowing anything if I can’t help her? I barely have a grasp of this fate weaving nonsense as it is!” Fancy felt his magic latch onto the quartz in his pocket as he tried to keep control of his rising emotions. “Anytime I feel as though I am doing a modicum of good for her, showing her how wonderful she is, how lucky anypony is to be around her, I am eventually blindsided when it all comes crashing down without fail.”

“Curious. Perhaps your fate has become too entwined with hers to see clearly?”

Fancy couldn’t help but laugh at himself as he pressed his hoof against his agitated horn. “Wonderful. Simply incredible. I can’t believe she sees herself as the one that is making a mess of things when I’m the one who is powerless to do anything! Perhaps I should hire an army of specialists? I bet that would work out perfectly.

“I can see it now. ‘Here, Miss Scratch. I’ve noticed you have a bit of a problem with your self-esteem. So, I’ve found the best of the best in mental health and taken the liberty of turning my home into your own personal psychiatric ward.’ That would no doubt boost her confidence, subjecting her to therapy and counseling she didn’t consent to. I have nothing else but to keep throwing bits on the pyre at the problem until I’ve paid enough for it to go away or drug her up so much that she feels nothing but catatonic joy!”

Luna began to lean her horn towards him as she readied to pulse a smoothing light into him again. “You are already doing your best, dear Fancy Pants. Please, calm yourself and—”

“I don’t want to calm down, Luna! I am done with being calm!” Fancy shouted with finality. The stallion rose from his cushion and walked away. His head was throbbing from the sheer amount of magic wrapping around the quartz in his pocket.

“Fancy Pants! I know you are frustrated, but there is no reason to subject yourself to this unproductive ire. You should feel no shame in trying to help when you obviously care for her well-being.”

“And it’s not good enough!” Fancy roared. “I cannot help her no matter what I do!”

“We said, be still!” Luna demanded. Her booming voice crackled with ancient fury, stealing the thunder from the fuming stallion with one simple command and sending him to his knees.

Her steely edge dulled as she knelt down next to him and began to channel her magic. “We apologize for our sharp tongue, but you mustn’t torture yourself with this perceived failure. Please, you’ve served as an ambassador in the past. You know the importance of level-headedness. There is a time for righteous anger, but only after you’ve thought it through.”

“You’ve never seen her when she is just happy. I’ve barely glimpsed it, but when it’s there, she glows.” Fancy took a shuddering breath as he tried to absorb the quieting clarity of Luna’s soothing spellwork swaddling his mind. “She glows, Luna. A smile so brilliant, it gleams like a shooting star. Wondrously beautiful, but so terribly fleeting.”

Luna nodded. “She is lucky to be surrounded by ponies who care so much about her. We must admit to being more than a little envious of such high praise.”

“I’d give anything just to see it lighting the stage with its magic. Vinyl should be able to share the breadth of what she is capable of to all the world. But it always burns up before she is seen. It’s an injustice that it’s wasted on me alone.”

“Neigh, my dear Fancy Pants. It may be that such happiness is brought about by you. You bear a light that brightens our—my night anytime I am blessed to see you.”

“Thank you, Luna. I’m always happy to see you too.”

“It is not so simple, Fancy Pants. It is one thing to be happy in the presence of others, but bearing a sense of belonging is something entirely different. There is almost a perverse pleasure knowing that others feel an unshakable wrongness in one’s absence. Take it from me,” Luna said as she looked towards a picture of her and Princess Celestia. “No home feels better than one that deeply misses you when you’re gone.”

“‘When you’re gone.’” Fancy looked down at his hooves as he pondered the thought. He’d felt the sharp sting of loss from his mother, the palpable emptiness of the estate without her. He couldn’t help but wonder how anypony would feel when he was gone.

The princesses would surely miss him, but they were no strangers to loss over their countless years. Dapper would as well, though Dapper leaving before him was far more likely. Hopefully that day was far away from him as the butler pushed into his late sixties. Éclair and Fleur would miss him as well, but he was already out of their lives so much already. As far as his other friends, at least the real ones that missed him and not his money and influence, they’d miss him too. Athena, Steeplechase, Octavia, maybe even Vinyl Scratch would, at the very least.

But would anypony feel wrong without him there? That sense of something was really missing from their lives? The sadness from his mother’s absence, even Suede despite everything. But as for him leaving a gap in others’ homes, he didn’t know.

Fancy snickered to himself. It was funny in a bitterly ironic way. He was lavishly wealthy, yet utterly homeless.

“Fancy Pants? This spell doesn’t work if you fight it.”

“Oh! Sorry. Just lost in thought for a moment again.”

Luna frowned in concern. “Do you wish to talk about what is troubling you?”

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s nothing to worry about,” Fancy said as his troubled mind let the coolness of her magic wash over his senses, helping him forget his worries, if only for a moment. “Nothing at all.”

Author's Note

Chapter 44: A Little Tenderness

Fluffer Duster’s jaw nearly hit her plate. “Really? That long ago?”

“Really. All the way back from when she was a kid in Cloudsdale,” Vinyl explained with a smile. “Summer’s first entry is about somepony named Doctor Limbis recommending that she start writing a diary to help her remember things.”

“That doesn’t sound good. Did she say why?”

“No. Or at least I don’t think so. When I say a kid, we’re talking about really young here. Like, no cutie mark young. Sometimes there’s just a crayon drawing.”

“I might be able to shed some light on that,” Dapper interjected with a hoof to his mouth as he finished the bite of his sandwich. “It didn’t occur often, but there were times when Lady Summers became overwhelmed. At its worst, she’d forget where she was or who she was with and panic.”

Fluffter Duster gasped. “Oh no! That sounds awful!”

“Oui. Suede had this thing… how can I say?” Éclair trailed. ~Fleur, can you tell her that your father had a habit of reminding me of things a lot? Even when I found it annoying, he just couldn’t break the habit.~

Fluffer Duster leaned closer. ~He must’ve really cared about you both.~

~Yes he… wait. You speak Prench, Miss Fluffer Duster?~

~Yes I do. It’s one of the reasons Mr. Fancy Pants hired me.~

Éclair clapped her hooves and giggled with glee. ~You sound so natural too! Are you Prench?~

Fluffer Duster flinched from the sudden shift in Éclair’s attention. ~N-no, ma’am. I’m from Cirriucuse. Even though it’s a wandering settlement, it never floats out that far from Equestria. My school taught it growing up and I just kept going.~

~Pardon me,~ Dapper interjected. ~Not everything will speaking on a Prance table.~

Éclair tilted her head. ~What?~

~I think he meant to say ‘not everypony can speak Prench at the table,’~ Fluffer Duster guessed. ~Oh, right! He must mean Vinyl. She can’t speak any Prench at all.~

Vinyl perked up at hearing her name. “Sorry, what about me and Prench?”

Dapper’s mustache rustled from a brief chortle. “Don’t worry about it, Miss Vinyl. We simply forgot our manners.”

Fancy Pants savored another sip from his wine glass as he watched the scene unfold before him. He couldn’t recall the last time his dinner table had been filled with such lovely ponies. Parties had filled the dining halls in a garish rainbow of coat colors and luxury garbs plenty of times, but not a single aristocratic event could hold a candle to a simple meal with the ponies he cherished.

Visions of such lively mealtimes often played in his daydreams. Laughs and love would abound. He’d ask his kids about their day and they’d chipperly report in a long, winding, and unintelligible story. At least until their rebellious teens, when the conversations would be laced with complaints and linguistic flourishes that’d be lost on him. In retaliation, he’d borrow some puns from Steeplechase and drown their angst in terrible jokes. It’d all work out after he mended the rift with ice cream. A perfectly imperfect mess.

However, this wasn’t a dream. Vinyl’s new mane style reminded him of that every time he looked in her direction. Éclair and Fleur were only here because he’d made a terrible mistake. Today was the first day Vinyl had been allowed out of bed and back to some semblance of normalcy. Despite the work they’d done to hide her stitches, Fancy couldn’t unsee the injury that kept her locked away.

When she’d first gotten hurt, Fancy had stayed by her side while the doctor stitched her back up. Vinyl had slept through most of it, but being there for her was the least he could do. From there, the others had stepped up to help. Fleur and Fluffer Duster had kept her head clean and bandaged while Éclair and Dapper prepared her meals. However, the most important job was to keep watch, as Vinyl had proven to be a terribly impatient patient.

More than once, somepony had found her digging through Summers’ boxes by hoof and had to corral her back into bed. The last thing the recovering mare needed was to do something that aggravated her injury, but the ever-industrious Vinyl wasn’t content with simply waiting around to heal up. They’d all reached an agreement to help her research within reason, as long as everypony else did the legwork. Even Fancy had managed to squeeze in an hour or so. However, halfway through his shift, she’d gotten too dizzy to read and had to stop and rest.

“Fancy? You alright?” Vinyl asked in concern, stirring him from his thoughts.

“Oh, of course,” he dismissed, quickly lifting his drink in his magic to make sure he wasn’t stress casting. “Why would I be anything but?”

“You’re just…” Vinyl trailed as she glanced at the wine bottle for a second before looking back at him, “really quiet.”

“Not to worry. I was just listening in.” Fancy smirked as he took the bottle he was working through in his hoof. It was much lighter than he’d realized after working through it alone. “Besides, it will take a little more than Palomino Pinot Noir to down this stallion.”

“We can stop talking about Summers if it’s making you uncomfortable,” Vinyl suggested with a forced smile.

“Nonsense. Mother would never make me uncomfortable.” And it was true. As long as they weren’t talking about when he showed up in her life, Fancy was fine. “Besides, you all are just so passionate about finding out more about her past. It truly warms my heart.”

Vinyl laughed to herself as she rubbed the back of her neck, trying to buy what he was selling. “Yeah. I almost feel like I know her. I wish I really did.”

“She would’ve enjoyed your company so much, Vinyl. I’m sure you two would’ve been fast friends.”

The briefest of smiles crossed the mare’s face before it fell back to her plate. “I guess. She was friends with everypony.”

“‘Everypony worth being friendly to’ rather. It was a good policy that I am trying to put more into practice these days.”

“Oh really, Pantsy?” Fleur purred, her tail swishing with fiendish delight. “And how many friends do you have with your little dip back into high society diplomacy?”

Fancy laughed to himself as he emptied the last of the bottle into his glass. “Very few, as it turns out. But I’m certain that comes as no surprise to you, Fleur.”

Fleur’s grin fell away immediately. “Wait, what?”

Fancy paused. That hadn’t played as well as he’d wanted.

“It’s true. Outside of the ones I’ve personally invited to take part in the summit, I can’t think of anypony, save Princess Celestia and Luna.” Seeing the equal shock on Fleur and Éclair’s faces, he took a bite of his salad to think of a way to salvage things. He didn’t want to worry everypony over nothing. “Don’t get it twisted. Some of the council members are among the finest ponies in their fields, but I wouldn’t consider any of them to be my friends. None of them are particularly worth the trouble. Simply business.”

“Well, what about the Crystal Ponies?” Fleur asked.

“I haven’t met any yet. I’m merely assisting Luna with the planning and executing of several functions over the course of the summit. Furthermore, I will be serving her in an advisory role for negotiations when the time comes. As for the Imperial Empress, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza? I suppose we’ll just have to see if we can be friends this time around.”

“There is no joy in your working?” Éclair pressed in concern.

Fancy tapped his hoof in thought as his eyes wandered over towards Vinyl who was watching him like a hawk. While he could easily lie and say it was nothing, assuming Fleur let it slide, they’d still worry, Vinyl especially. The sharp DJ was decidedly familiar with the hidden depths of purported nothings.

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that. Neither Luna nor myself particularly enjoy our meetings with the other council members. The worst being when there is a disagreement. But I do think it’s good to be working for the betterment of our national relations again. All I meant to say was as far as my mother’s policy is concerned…”

“Trust me, I know a thing or two about those kinds of ‘friends’ you’ve been with. I can tell who’s real and who’s talkin’ jive. Been there, Sugar Bear.”

Fancy washed the sting down his throat with another sip of wine. “Let’s just say that I’ve discovered that the well’s running a little drier than I first thought.”

An uncomfortable stillness settled over the table after throwing a proverbial wet towel over the bustle. Sensing his mask was slipping, Fancy shot the rest of his drink down in one last gulp and stood up from the table. “If you will excuse me.”

“Where are you going, Sir?” Dapper inquired.

“I just think I need to step out for a moment. Please continue your pleasant conversation,” Fancy answered with a diplomatic smile.

He didn’t want them to worry over nothing, but knew he was asking for the impossible. He retreated from the dining hall with inconspicuous haste to the closest exit. The last thing he needed to be during a warm family dinner was a killjoy. Everypony deserved to be happy, even if he wasn’t. Vinyl had been through so much already because of him. At the very least, she deserved a nice meal.

Fancy threw open the double doors to the patio outside, meeting the warm pastels of the setting sun contrasted by the cold wind of the waning winter. It wasn’t unpleasant thanks to his sweater, but it wouldn’t be enough to keep Mount Canterhorn’s air from chilling him to the bone for long. When it got too uncomfortable, he’d make his way towards the kitchen and whip up a warm drink of something. Coffee sounded nice. He could add a little cognac to it to settle his nerves.

“Settling nerves,” Fancy mumbled to himself. “That’s a good thing to question.”

As he watched the sky gradually darken, the kingmaker wondered what he was feeling. A relentless guilt weighed on his shoulders, but that wasn’t all that was there. Jealousy? Envy? Irritation? He couldn’t pin it down exactly. It was petty all the same, just as it always was. Beyond the threshold, there was a living dream playing out before his eyes both familiar and foreign. The actors were all there playing a part, but their roles were all wrong. Fancy wasn’t a father. Éclair wasn’t his wife. His children were nowhere to be seen. They’d been rewritten as an estranged sister and her best friend. It was all being performed live in his house, but this wasn’t his home. Fancy simply owned the Suede Shoes Estate.

“Maybe I’ll ask Dapper about it once he follows me out.”

As if on cue, the sound of the door behind him turned his attention back to Equestria. What he didn’t expect was the pony giving chase, nearly tripping over her unsteady hooves in pursuit.

“Vinyl?” His heart dropped as she ran towards him, wearing nothing but the fur on her body. “What the bloody Hades are you doing out here? It’s freezing!”

Another cold gust blew her mane in her face to reinforce his point. She seized up with a bitter wince at the icy wind, but laughed it off. “Yeah. I guess I could ask you the same thing, huh?”

“I came out here for some fresh air.” He automatically began reaching for his coat, only to be reminded again that he wasn’t wearing it. He whispered a curse under his breath before giving the shivering mare his full attention. “You can’t be out here. You’re still recovering.”

Vinyl took a hissing breath through her teeth as another strong gust blew against them. The eye below her wound twitched from pain, but she powered through it. “I guess you’re right. We should really go back inside then, huh?”

”I’ll be along in a moment,” he quickly assured, trying to usher her back to the warmth of the mansion. “Head back in and finish your dinner.”

“Already did! I kinda, sorta, scarfed it all down to come get you.”

“And nopony thought to stop you in your condition?” Fancy asked, aghast.

“No, they did, but I said I’d just be a minute after I got you. So let’s go before they start worrying about us.”

Fancy sighed as his head sank in frustration. He usually expected this level of winding obstinance from Fleur. “Please, Vinyl. You’re barely standing as is. Just go back inside.”

Vinyl forced an uneven laugh through her shivers and smiled despite herself. “I totally will, but not without you. Now stop being stubborn and let’s go already.”

“I’m not being stubborn, Vinyl, you are!” Fancy barked back in anger, immediately regretting raising his voice as she shrank back from him. He took a deep breath to collect his thoughts as the stress built in his horn. “Please. You shouldn’t be out here.”

Vinyl shook the fear away and stepped forward. “And neither should you, but here we are.”

They were getting nowhere fast and Vinyl was plainly suffering. All because of him again. The shivering mare dipped her head down from the biting wind, showing the top of her shorn side where her stitches were. Such cold exposure couldn’t be good for them. Fancy couldn’t fathom why in Equestria Vinyl had followed him out here in her condition.

“Okay! You win! I’ll go inside!” Fancy shouted over the billowing wind. He turned towards the edge of the patio and trotted through the old, frozen snow towards the other side of the house.

Vinyl looked up and balked seeing him walking away from the dining hall’s doors. “Wait!” she called out, and chased after him with an uneven gait over the slick ground.

“What are you doing?” Fancy cried as he rushed over to her side in case she fell over.

“What are you doing? The door’s back over there!” she yelled back.

“I was going to the kitchen for a drink.”

“Guess I’m going with you then,” she said with a chuckle as she struggled to stay warm.

“For Celestia’s…” Fancy heaved a trailing sigh, having lost the will to argue with her. He took Vinyl by the hoof and did his best to put his body between hers and the freezing air. He could feel her shaking against him as she leaned into his barrel for what little warmth he could provide. For once, he was glad he had a little extra weight on him to soften her journey.

It didn’t take long to guide her to the kitchen’s double doors. He barely managed to dig his keys out from his sweater’s pocket to unlock the door with his hooves. Fancy didn’t even want to risk dropping them with his unstable magic.

Seeing him struggle with the door, Vinyl looked down at her shaking hooves. “S-sorry.”

“None of that now. Let’s just get inside.” As he turned the knob, another blast of wind blew the doors open for the pair. He quickly shuffled them both inside and slammed them back shut, locking the cold outside. He ripped his sweater off and clumsily wrapped it around Vinyl to try to get her warm again.

“I’m f-fine, Fancy,” she assured weakly. “We were only out there for like a min—”

“I don’t care how long it was, you’re still recovering! That was very irresponsible!” he rebuked firmly. His frustration burned out at seeing her crestfallen face. “Sorry. That came out wrong, but still. Why?”

“I… I just didn’t want you to feel lonely.”

Fancy’s mouth ran dry. He swallowed the lump in his throat plastered on a soft smile. “I wasn’t alone. How could I be with all of you here?”

“No,” she muttered while focusing on the floor. “I know what alone looks like.”

Fancy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Even in her state, Vinyl could still see clearly. He couldn’t help but laugh to himself. “I can’t seem to get anything past you, can I?”

“Yeah, right. I’m the one everypony can read like a book.”

“Well, it looks like you’re starting to read us back. Or at least me.”

“Guess it takes one to know one, huh?” There was one of her smiles again. A small one that managed to shine in the dwindling sunlight. He turned away from the glow and headed over to their instant hot drink drawer to begin whipping something up for her.

“Do you feel like tea or cocoa?” Fancy asked.

Her brief happiness faded as she slumped into the sweater wrapped around her. “Cocoa, I guess.”

“Don’t worry about anything, Vinyl. I’m fine,” Fancy assured as he levitated a packet of premium cocoa for her while picking a decaf roasted blend for himself. “See? Magic.”

A flickering relief reflected in her deep eyes that shimmered with an underlying sadness. Vinyl was struggling to maintain eye contact as her gaze darted away, filled with a deep shame. “Sorry, Fancy.”

“It’s quite alright. You were just checking on me. I just wish you didn’t get hurt in the process.”

Vinyl ears flopped down against her head. “I’m fine though. I’m just a little frosted.”

“You’re going to have to do better than that to get one past me. How do you really feel?”

She slumped lower over the counter, digging into the sweater’s warmth. “It’s like each stitch is clawing into my skull, and everything feels a little sideways.”

Fancy turned away and hid his pained grimace under the guise of preparing their drinks. He grabbed two mugs from the stockpile of generic guest tableware, the ones they’d used the last time they’d met in the kitchen. Had he just swallowed his pride and followed her back in.

“I’ll grab some medicine for you once I’m done with this,” he promised.

After filling a coffee pot with water and setting it to boil, he wandered over to the wine cooler to find his cognac. Part of him wondered if Vinyl would mention anything since she’d brought up the wine at dinner. To his mild surprise, she still said nothing as he sat the bottle on the counter. However, the mare’s worried eyes became transfixed on the booze.

“Well? Go on,” Fancy suggested with a weary smirk.

“What?”

“Something’s clearly on your mind.”

“No, I’m good.” Vinyl hid behind the sweater’s warmth, but continued glancing at the bottle of cognac.

Fancy chuckled dryly to himself as he stared at the pot. “Alright, but I also don’t enjoy uncomfortable silences. It’s a good strategy for applying pressure during adversarial negotiations, but I don’t think either of us is interested in coercing the other.”

Vinyl nodded in agreement as she shuffled her hooves. After finding her strength, she looked back to Fancy. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“What?” Fancy recoiled from the mere notion. “No! Merciful heavens, no! Where did you get that idea? I always enjoy your company, at least when you’re not risking your health.”

“Oh… that’s good.”

The room went quiet again with her returning to contemplating the cognac. “Was that all?”

“What did you think I’d ask?”

He looked down at his cup, briefly considering dousing the grounds in alcohol and drinking it straight. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe about my liberal drinking tonight, or the good old ‘what’s wrong’ standby. Some sort of platitude or cliché.”

“Sorry,” she said as she looked away.

“You are, are you?” Fancy chuckled to himself and leaned over the counter. “I wish I was surprised. You’re always so quick to jump to those apologies of yours.”

“I—” Vinyl wrung her hooves anxiously, holding back the apology dancing on her tongue. “I don’t know what else to say.”

“I know. I think the worst thing is that you always mean it too. Even when it doesn’t make any sense.” Fancy leaned over the counter to catch her eyes. “Don’t you ever get tired of it? If you don’t, you really should. You shouldn’t feel the need to say sorry about everything when you’re right on the mark so often.”

“Right. Because I always have great takes.”

“You do, though. Truly. Almost too much at times. Your perspective always gives me something to think about. So many things that I’ve never thought to consider.”

Vinyl sat there, stunned and confused by everything coming out of Fancy’s mouth. He couldn’t help but laugh.

“Let’s see if I can clear this up a bit with an example. Lets see, one thing that has really weighed on the back of my mind…” Fancy questioned aloud as he thought back through their times together. “Oh! You know, I still haven’t been able to think of a better icebreaker.”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“You forgot? Well, quite a lot happened that day, so I don’t blame you. You were such a firebrand with your impassioned rebuking answer of the question ‘what would you want your cutie mark to be.’ Frankly, it was enlightening. It made me ask myself some uncomfortable questions that the world has always been screaming at me, but I’ve just been too comfortable to pay any mind.”

“Oh!” Vinyl’s ears perked up for a moment, but then they fell down as she thought about it more. “Oh, right. I guess I was a little harsh.”

“Come now, Vinyl. Don’t take it back!” Fancy jovially objected. “I’ve tried a few different conversation starters out, but nothing more has compelled me than that ‘what if’ proposition. You are so attached to yours, it made me wonder why I don’t feel the same about mine.”

“So wait. Are you telling me that you, the Kingmaker of Canterlot, don’t like your cutie mark?”

“I don’t think I’d go that far. I’ve simply never had the same passion about it. I enjoy what I can do with my talents. Reaping the rewards of it can feel pretty vindicating at times. However, I wouldn’t say I feel satisfied.” Fancy couldn’t help but chuckle at himself with a rueful smile. “This must sound incredibly dumb coming from a stallion like me.”

“A little, yeah. But I think I get it,” she muttered as she pulled Fancy’s sweater closer to her face for warmth. “It’s like me wanting to be successful, but I don’t want to be rich. Like how does a musician succeed without selling tickets and records?”

“I suppose it would depend on how you define success,” Fancy pondered aloud as the pot began steaming. Not wanting to wait for it to be boiling hot, he snatched it off the heater and poured the water into both cups before reaching for the cognac for his own drink.

“I may have been a successful diplomat, but truthfully, I started for all the wrong reasons. I was just blindly chasing prestige. The position was little more than bragging rights to me, and it took a long time for Princess Celestia’s guidance to temper me into a better pony—somepony Mother would actually be proud of. While I am grateful to her highness for the opportunity, I don’t think I ever really wanted it. I just thought I did and kept going with it because it was working. Even when I pivoted to the private sector, all of the success felt so… unrewarding.”

Fancy took a deep, shuddering breath, filling his nostrils with the smell of decaf. He wanted to pour the liquor in to dull the pain, but it’d come back. He couldn’t drink his way through reality.

“I wonder if Mother ever felt like this?” Fancy asked as he looked down to the crowns painted on his side. “She was a talented singer, yet fate had labeled her a spa pony. In that same vein, is this my fate? Am I really supposed to be the Kingmaker of Canterlot? Her majesty’s most capable envoy? The steward of the Suede Shoes Estate?” He turned back to face Vinyl with a wistful smile. “You were absolutely right that day, Vinyl. It’s all just so empty.”

What little color was on Vinyl’s face drained. She bit her lip and fidgeted on her stool, likely scrambling to say anything that wasn’t an apology. Fancy was worried she’d fall out of her seat from the stress.

“It’s okay, Vinyl. Don’t worry about it,” he assured softly.

“B-but I can’t! Not after hearing something like that.”

“This is nothing you need to concern yourself with. Just keep shining as brilliantly as you always do. That’s more than enough for me.”

Like the last light of day, Vinyl’s rebuttal died on her lips as she sank back down into her seat with the sunset. Fancy smiled softly and pushed her drink towards her as he stood up with his coffee and bottle of cognac. He turned away and began to walk towards the hallway as moonlight filled the room.

“I’ll go grab your medicine along with somepony to help you to your room,” Fancy promised. “I think I should be alone for a bit.”

As he reached for the door latch, he heard a sharp ping of metal falling to the floor. Then, an electric blue aura overpowered his own weak grasp on his drinks and jerked it away. He whipped back around to see Vinyl wincing in pain as she slammed the coffee and cognac back onto the kitchen island.

“What in blazes are you doing?”

“I’m… fine!” she seethed back through the pain.

“Clearly you’re not!”

“W-well…” The mare hesitated as she tried to find her words. “What about you? You’re not okay either!”

Fancy froze briefly, but shook the accusation away. “That’s neither here nor there, Vinyl. Now, please put the ring back on while I go grab your medicine.”

“No need. I got some right here.” Vinyl snatched the cognac and popped the cork by hoof with ease before pouring it into her hot chocolate.

Fancy’s heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. He tried to fire a spell to stop her, but he couldn’t concentrate. “Don’t drink that!” Fancy begged as he sprinted for the table.

Ignoring his pleas, Vinyl stirred the mixture with her magic before gulping the entire steamy concoction down in one go. She slammed the cup down, coughing the biting liquor away before staring daggers at Fancy Pants. “There! Good as new. Now sit back down.”

“Sit down?” Fancy asked in disbelief. “I need to get you to the doctor’s! You can’t mix alcohol and medication!”

“I’ll be fine. Haven’t had any since this morning, so sit down already!”

“You can’t expect me to simply—”

“Please…” Vinyl put a hoof to her head and massaged her temples with a groan. “Just sit. I’m sick of yelling.”

Against his better judgment, Fancy pulled his seat around and sat down. A small smile crossed the mare’s lips before her aching ripped it away again. Fancy quickly ducked down and grabbed the dampening ring by hoof and offered it to her.

“Thanks,” she muttered as she slid it back on. The two sat in silence. The mare covered her eyes and laid her head down on the cool countertop.

“Can I get you anything?” Fancy offered.

“Another hot chocolate without the booze would be nice, I guess.”

“Alright. Coming right up,” he said while pouring some more water into the kettle to boil.

“Thanks, and sorry.”

Fancy frowned at the apology, but said nothing as he levitated another cocoa packet out of the drawer. “Are you sure you’re going to be alright?”

“I’ve mixed way harder stuff with alcohol than painkillers. And it’s not like I’m drinking myself under the table with a barely hard chocolate.” A brief look of concern crossed her face at her accidental admission. “Please don’t ask.”

Fancy offered a sympathetic smile. “I won’t if you don’t ask me about several concoctions this stallion tried in his wilder days.”

“Deal,” Vinyl moaned.

Both ponies sat in the dark, with only the soft moonlight shining through the windows. The wind howled intermittently, gusts blowing against the door. Vinyl sighed as she pulled the sweater around herself as best she could. Fancy wanted something to lighten the mood, but as his failing mark would have when it came to her these days, nothing sprang to mind.

After a few fuming moments, Vinyl turned away and stared at her empty mug. She rolled it around in her hooves as a somber smile crossed her lips. “You know, before all of this happened, I thought I was doing great. I was making it all on my own like I was supposed to, pulling myself forward by my reins, y’know? It was really tough, but I kept it going. I was independent, confident, and working how I wanted. But, then? It all came crashing down.” Vinyl’s face fell with the bitter memories. “I thought I lost everything. But you know, looking back now, I realize something.”

“And what is that?”

“I was miserable, Fancy. I was always so miserable and lonely, but I was too busy to notice. Or maybe I did, but I just buried it deep down—like I do with everything—and tried to ignore it. But now? Even if I finish archiving the collection, figure out Cacophony’s work, and sell a billion records from now until the day I die, I don’t want to be independent. I never want to be if it means I have to be alone again.

“I like having friends. I like having a family. I like living some place where I can come back, and somepony is there to welcome me home. It’s so nice.” Vinyl wiped her nose with the back of her leg and smiled through the sadness on her face. “I never thought a simple hello could be so magical. I never want to go back. I can’t.”

Fancy returned it with a soft smile of his own. “You’ll never have to. You have Éclair and Fleur now.”

“And you do too. So why do you say you should be alone? Why can’t you just enjoy it?” Vinyl bit her lip with an envious sorrow burning in her eyes. “I’d have given anything to have somepony like Éclair or Dapper or Summers growing up. What’s stopping you?”

Fancy furrowed his brow as he sat completely still, letting the question linger in the air as it choked the life out of the moment. It always did and always would stop him from taking what he wanted; from admitting his deepest desires. Fleur had asked similar things a million times, and he’d said the same thing every time.

Fancy closed his eyes and prepared for the onslaught. “It’s complicated.”

Vinyl waited for him to say something else, but when it was clear he wasn’t going to, she just sighed. “Okay.”

A deafening nothing filled the air as Fancy waited for her to say something else. He cracked open an eye, expecting to see Vinyl leaning in, but she was deeply buried in Fancy’s sweater.

Fancy blinked. It didn’t make sense. His answer was unacceptable, he knew that. It was purposely and plainly vague. Fancy waited for her to say something else, but she kept her head down. He leaned over, worried that the cognac was affecting her condition. Just when he got close, Vinyl shifted her head back up, her gaze flickering up to his. Their eyes met in the middle. The only sound that broke the silence was the whistling winds just beyond the door. For a moment, they simply sat and stared at each other.

Vinyl peeked out from the borrowed sweater. Luna’s waxing light from outside gently scattered across her eyes and pooled in the corner, revealing every intricate detail of her iris in soft, moonkissed magentas. The diadem of color banded around with a cascading beauty which burned with an unspoken understanding. Complicated was enough for her. Not that she wasn’t curious, but because she knew how complications worked. The fear of trying to uncomplicate such feelings with something as clumsy as words.

“I think the water’s done,” Vinyl said as her eyes looked away from his.

With the spell broken, Fancy blinked back to reality and shook his head. “Oh! My apologies.” Fancy coughed into his fetlock and looked up at the incredibly interesting ceiling. “I was just concerned if the medicine was mixing poorly with the liquor.”

“Still here. Just a little thirsty with a pounding headache. Kinda sleepy.”

Fancy smirked back at her before returning to preparing the cocoa. “Just be sure to enjoy the drink this time.”

Vinyl nodded. “I wasn’t a fan of the spiked chocolate anyway.”

“Agreed. I think I’ll stick to the lighter drinks for the rest of the evening.” He levitated the cognac back to the wine cooler and shot a genuine smile back to Vinyl. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve had my fill of cold kitchens.”

“Okay. Where are we going?” she asked, still committed to not letting Fancy be by himself.

“I think you could use a warm fireplace, and I believe Dapper moved a couch into your room. Shall we head that way?” He levitated a few packets of coffee and cocoa out of the drawer and stood up from his seat, offering a hoof to Vinyl.

She took the hoof up from Fancy, slowly getting up from her stool. “Can we go to the study instead? I’ve been cooped up in the back of the mansion for like three days now.”

“Of course. Can you walk by yourself?”

“Umm… No,” she lied as she kept a hold of his hoof and buried her face in his sweater.

Fancy snickered to himself. “Very well, just keep close to me and I’ll make sure you’re warm all the way there.”

The brilliant glow of Vinyl’s radiant smile put any heat his meager fireplace could give off to shame. “Thanks.”

“You’re quite welcome. I’ll take your gratitude over your apology any day, Vinyl.”

The smaller mare nodded with a blush and leaned into his side for support, resting her head on his neck. He could feel her breathing steady and relax as she leaned into his bare body, fur brushing against fur. It was almost tempting for him to enjoy it as well, if not for Vinyl’s stitches hiding in plain sight in his periphery. It was a harsh reminder that kept him tied to reality. No matter how relaxed Vinyl felt next to him, he wasn’t able to do the same.

Her presence wasn’t unwelcome, but despite the cold, her unstated eagerness carried a worrying undercurrent of something more. Fancy had lost count of how many times he’d entertained similar scenes with Éclair in mind. Around this point, their tails would carefully twirl together in a sidelong embrace as they walked entwined in love. But this wasn’t Éclair de Lune. This was Vinyl Scratch. If anypony caught them together like this, no matter how much he denied it, the optics would prove disastrous for any future he could envision for her.

Vinyl didn’t deserve that. A sweet, beautiful, one-of-a-kind mare like Vinyl deserved the world. One that didn’t only let her talents beam as bright as her smile, but was filled with family, friends, and a warm home that would love her forever. He almost envied whomever it was she wound up with. Feeling her precious light leaning against him, Fancy knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that whomever gave her that world would be one of the luckiest creatures alive.

Author's Note

Chapter 45: Good Morning My Sunshine

Dear Diary,

I decided that I’m gonna take Miss Tropical up on her offer if she still hasn’t filled it. Now, I know what you’re saying to that. “Summers, you’re trippin! There ain’t nopony you know in the capital! Why are you going all the way there when you got plenty going right here in Cloudsdale?”

And you know what? I’ve been asking myself that for two weeks now. Why should I go? But, I think I know my answer now. I want to see how the other two-thirds live. Keeping my head in the clouds means I only meet ponies that can get up here. Going groundside means I can get out of my comfort zone, try new things, meet new ponies, have an adventure, you know?

The thing is though, Diary, I’m scared. Like real scared, you know? I wonder if Miss Tropical would’ve offered me the job at Steamsations if she knew how much I need you to keep my head on straight? Doc Limbus said that it’s okay to need help, but what if I don’t want to always need it? Maybe if I challenge myself, I’ll build myself up and won’t get lost anymore. Of course, you’re going with me. Even if I fix myself to where I don’t need you, we got too much history to stop now. I love you lots, Diary.

XOXOXO

“Was that really why you moved to Canterlot?” Vinyl quietly asked Summers’ words on the page.

Usually, she’d ask somepony else in the room with her, but everypony else had already gone to bed. At least, she hoped they had. She spied the time: 11 o’clock, two hours after she’d acted like she’d fallen asleep already. Hopefully, nopony would check on her or else she’d get into trouble with Maman again.

“Wait. I’m worried about getting in trouble.” The mare giggled to herself as she kicked her legs under the covers, feeling like a filly.

Still, Vinyl couldn’t put the book down. Not when she’d finally found something closer to the time period she wanted to know more about. Or at least she hoped she was close. Piecing together a cohesive timeline from all the material they’d collected from Summers’ diaries and personal collection was proving to be a daunting challenge.

The earliest ones were easy to sort. They had crude drawings and barely legible hints to help jog the little filly’s memory. The problem was as time went on, the everyday nature of her journaling made it more difficult to tell where it fit in the timeline. What really didn’t help was that Summers never dated anything. If she did, it was buried in an entry and rarely contained the year. Cataloging the order of events wasn’t the mare’s goal though. The disco queen simply lived from book to book for help with recent recollections.

Without any clear order or her magic to help, Vinyl had started pulling journals out at random and pouring over their pages for hours trying to find anything of note. Even if she had her magic, there was no telling if there was a spell that could accurately place them chronologically. Mass manipulation magic wasn’t something she studied, and she was almost certain those spellforms relied on markers themselves.

According to Dapper, they likely had been at least in some semblance of structure at one point, but Fancy Pants had instructed the servants to pack everything of hers away upon her death. With so many memories over her life, they’d chosen to fit the books to the boxes with no attention paid to their arrangement. If not for her crush on him, the DJ would kill him for making this so difficult. She’d read entries ranging from her early childhood to Fancy’s teens. While they’d been interesting on their own, Vinyl wasn’t any closer to answering a single question weighing on her mind.

At least she’d finally drawn a good journal out of the pile. This most recent find was Summers’ entries right before moving to Canterlot, going back and forth about whether to move or not. Summers had stressed out about it so much that she’d become “lost” as she always innocently put it. Some of the later diaries mentioned medication, but Vinyl still wasn’t sure if that solution had only come about later in her life.

Dear Diary,

Moved in today. Super tired from pulling the chariot with Whisperia. Even though Canterlot ain’t that far from home, it’s still a pain pulling everything, especially with how many sisters you have, Diary! I don’t think Whisperia was expecting so much stuff, but I’m glad she helped get me here. I still got a ton of unpacking to do. Hopefully I can get it done before I need to start working.

I’m gonna go pass out now.

“I’m not,” Vinyl whispered as she turned the page.

Dear Diary,

Sorry I missed something like a week and a half. Moving for this Steamsations gigs got me worn down too much to write. I don’t think I’ve gotten lost since coming here, knock on wood, but I almost did today, so I figured I better jot it down.

One of the guests complained about how I talk myself through running the steam room so I don’t forget a step. I don’t like doing it either, but does that turkey want me to skip something important and boil his behind off or something? Totally rude to yell about it! But, I think I came up with a solution. Three guesses what it is Diary.

That’s right! Doc’s old standby, mnemonic singing! Thank you, Doc Limbus!

I’ll songify work so it won’t bother anypony! At least I hope it won’t. If they complain it’s getting too samey, maybe I’ll just try associating the steps with different songs. Make it a dance, right? Suede Shoes is popular with most of the snob clients we get, so maybe I’ll try associating his music with what I need to do at work. I dig his grooves anyway, and there’s a lot to choose from, so it shouldn’t be a problem to mix up the music so I ain’t getting mixed up myself.

Mnemonic. Vinyl had made a note of the word before when she’d found it on the inside cover of Summers’ very first diary, though she hadn’t looked up its meaning yet. In lieu of medicine, Doctor Limbus had written it down with instructions for “memory journaling” as a “mnemonic tool” to help Summers remember things. One of the earliest diary entries was a picture of her and the doctor singing together surrounded by thought bubbles. Was the Sensational Sauna Summers’ career launched by the spa pony singing her way through the workday?

Dear Diary,

The mares in Canterlot are all so beautiful! Ugh! Why? I was copacetic in Cloudsdale, but I tell you what, these fab girls are on another level! Chill everypony! You ain’t outdoing a princess, but sweet Celestia, they be trying! And it’s making me book it back home to hide.

I met plenty of solid earth ponies that are built like a brick house, if you catch my drift, Diary. Unicorns are far out and foxy with their magical mojo. Even the pegasi are soaring at cloud nine at all times! There was a stunning cat I gave a wing massage today, and she looked absolutely dynamite, and guess what? Her wing was broken! I look like I dragged myself straight outta bed and here this chick’s putting in work when her wing doesn’t work? Now I don’t got excuses to—

“Wait, what?” Vinyl stopped reading and doubled back to the last few lines. “‘There was a stunning cat I gave a wing massage… her wing was broken!’ Sunny?”

It was a longshot, but there was a chance she was about to stumble onto something incredible. Maybe the two had met before they’d even started at Groovecasters! Her hungry eyes dove into the rest of the entry.

I look like I dragged myself outta bed and here this bird is putting work when her wing doesn’t work? Now I don’t got excuses to skip on doing myself up in the morning. At least I can fly. Poor mare’s gotta walk everywhere while she’s grounded. Next time, world, just shout, “In your face!” I’ll get the skinny.

Gonna make a note here in case I forget:

ASK MISS TROPICAL ABOUT WATER-RESISTANT MAKEUP

Don’t look at me like that, Diary. I ain’t going bananas with it. I want to look good cause I want to look good. Trust me, I ain’t getting anywhere close to how pretty these ponies are.

Vinyl quickly began skimming the diary. The odds of that pony being Sunny were next to nothing, but Sunny’s flightlessness was the only thing Vinyl knew for certain about the mare. As she hunted for word scraps, she grew more aggravated fumbling through pages by hoof.

“Come on you stupid diaries. Give me something to work with!” Vinyl grumbled. She wanted to tear the dampening ring off of her horn, but the last time she’d casted magic had resulted in a migraine. Even thinking about how much the wind hurt on her stitches that day made her head burn.

As Vinyl scanned through page after page, she caught the word “CELESTIA” written loudly in the header or one of them, bringing her search to a halt.

PRINCESS CELESTIA CAME TO STEAMSATIONS!

I didn’t even think I’d ever see the princess personally! Thank ~~Celestia~~ HER that I remembered my makeup today because her highness is stunning! Now I get why everypony always looks like a billion bits. If she can just stroll in out of nowhere, you wanna look your best! Everypony, and I mean every pony, was freaking out. She came in totally unannounced, just wanting to relax. I can dig that. She’s got a kingdom to run. Talk about pressure!

I hope she didn’t mind my singing. I ~~garanty~~ ~~garuantie~~ Lemme tell ya, Diary, I would’ve lost my head without it. Thank you Doc! My hooves are shaking like crazy just thinking about it still. I had to sing “Princess Celestia came to Steamsations” all the way back home to myself. Didn’t want to forget it before writing it down. Hope nopony heard me. She said she likes keeping her relaxing time on the down low. Maybe that means she’ll come again? That’d be crazy!

That wasn’t anything new to her. She already knew Princess Celestia had met her at the spa. Summers herself had said as much in the recordings. Still, it’d at least given some context to their relationship. She flipped to the next page, the next, and then the final page of the journal talking about a recipe she’d learned from Miss Tropical for key lime pie. No Sunny, no Celestia, nothing.

Vinyl groaned in aggravation as she fell back on her bed. She’d come so close to the start of Summers’ musical career and her time at Groovecasters, but the entries stopped just short. Looking over the cover, it was just a simple Academia brand spiral notebook with a flower pattern on the front labeled Summers’ Diary. No numbers or dates as usual. Summers might’ve bought it in a floral set if Vinyl was lucky. She was willing to stay up all night digging through boxes, but even touching one would set off the alarm wards Fleur had placed to keep her out of the collection.

No. Vinyl would just have to be satisfied with the diary she’d hidden under her pillow. She cracked open the notebook again to see if she could—

“Vinyle…”

Hearing her name called like a haunting specter, she whipped her head around to see Éclair de Lune frowning at her from the door. “Maman! W-what are you doing up this late?”

The mare trudged over to the bedside without a word and motioned for the diary. With a sigh, Vinyl gave it up. She watched with envy as the earth pony reached into the collection and harmlessly placed the diary in a box. It wasn’t fair that Fleur had the foresight to ensure it was only Vinyl who couldn’t touch them after nine.

“Go. To. Sleep,” Éclair instructed firmly. The mare yawned and tucked Vinyl in on all sides so she wouldn’t get up again.

“How’d you know?” Vinyl asked.

“Maman knows when her fleurs are not being good,” she explained with maternal wisdom. “And Princess Luna asked me to check you,” she added with a wink.

“Seriously? Stupid princesses!”

“Do not say such rude things! It means we all care for you. Now, go to sleep or I will sleep in your bed too.”

Vinyl rolled over in a huff. “Fine.”

Éclair laughed to herself. Before leaving, she leaned over the bed and kissed Vinyl on the cheek. “Goodnight, ma fleur de vinyle.”

“Night, Maman.” Even if she’d been caught and had her book taken away, Vinyl couldn’t keep the small smile off of her face. She was half-tempted to ask her to stay anyway.

The air sat heavy around the breakfast table. Fleur had led Vinyl to the breakfast nook in the studio wing and poured two bowls of Choc-Oat-Lots cereal for them. Now, the bigger mare was giving her sister the silent treatment to match Maman and with only the occasional crunch of cereal.

“Okay, I’ll bite,” Vinyl relented. “What is it?”

“Oh, nothing. Just trying to figure out what it’s gonna take to keep your hooves out of the collection at night,” Fleur growled between spoonfuls.

Vinyl dropped her spoon into her cereal and crossed her forelegs. “Come on, sis!”

“Why don’t you come off it instead?” Fleur snapped back. “You wouldn’t even need that ring on your horn if you just got a decent night’s sleep for once.”

“But I’m so close to making a discovery!”

Fleur raised an eyebrow. “So? What else is new? A smart mare like you is always on the verge of a breakthrough. You’re just too stupid to take care of yourself. I didn’t think helping you with this whole diary thing was going to be helping you stop.”

“You made your point.”

“Good, now all you have to do is actually take it.”

Vinyl threw her hooves up. “Fine! You win! Game, set, and match. Happy?”

“I always am,” Fleur assured with a wink.

Knowing that Fleur was absolutely right burned Vinyl up to no end. She had to admit that the research was starting to get away from her. She’d already missed several days at Cantrips and lab days at Celestia’s school. Still, what else was she supposed to do until she was better? She was still cut off from her magic and everypony kept telling her to stay in bed.

Vinyl took another bite of her unbalanced breakfast and looked out the window as she chewed. She’d been here for months, but hadn’t bothered checking upstairs to see what other rooms were around her. Just above her bedroom was one of the most stunning views of Mount Canterhorn that Vinyl had ever seen. There was even a patio outside, perfectly sized for flyers taking off and landing. Given the sheer size of the entire space, Vinyl wouldn’t have been surprised if Princess Celestia had spent a few mornings eating with Summers and Suede here.

While the hills behind the mansion were still blanketed with a thin layer of snow, it wouldn’t be for much longer. Winter Wrap Up would blow through soon enough, whipping it all away to reveal the acres of grassy knolls leading up to the slopes of the mountain and the walls of the castle. The river and waterfall would probably shine even grander in the world of green. The sheer beauty of Fancy’s oversized backyard was criminal.

“Hey, sis?” Vinyl asked.

“What’s up?”

“Why do rich ponies build big houses?”

“To hold all their stuff,” Fleur answered absently.

“Yeah, but this place is enormous.”

“So are all the other houses around here.”

Vinyl took another spoonful of cereal.

“Did you read something about houses last night?” Fleur asked.

“No.”

“Then why are you asking?”

“It’s just, this place is big. Really big. I get why Fancy might want a huge house since he was a diplomat and all, but why Summers?”

“Rich ponies gonna rich.”

“Do you want a big house?”

“Nah. Cleaning would be a pain.” Fleur crunched down on another chocolaty bite to give herself a second to think. “Also, why are you pinning it on Aunty? It’s called the Suede Shoes Estate.”

“Well, was your house big in Prance?”

“Pas vraiment.”

Vinyl glowered at her sister. “So is that big or small?”

Fleur smirked. “It means ‘not really,’ Vy. Maman didn’t want a lot. Working Prenchmares like her enjoy homey spaces. Don’t blame her either. I wouldn’t wanna take care of much if I had a restaurant to clean on top of a house.”

“Either way, Suede was okay with downsizing and giving this all to Fancy. I guess he might’ve gone with what Maman wanted, but he didn’t have to. It just feels weird.”

“What about you then?” Fleur asked, spinning it back to Vinyl. “Would you want to live here?”

“I… I don’t know. Having a studio across the hall is one of the coolest things ever. And this on top of it?” Vinyl looked back out the window towards the mountain rising above them. Without Canterlot’s buildings and walls obstructing the scene, she could appreciate the majestic cliffside weaving the waterfall through evergreens lightly powdered with snow. The natural serenity sang to her soul.

“It’s pretty nice, isn’t it?” Fleur agreed as she took another spoonful.

“It’s amazing, but it’s so much. Too much. I didn’t even know this was right above me.” Vinyl looked back at her half-eaten bowl of oats. “And here we are eating cheap cereal.”

“The best kind of cereal,” Fleur remarked with a smirk.

“I just… why though? Like, look at all these cushions. Eight ponies could sit here easily, right?”

Fleur looked around the extravagantly large breakfast table. “Maybe they had a lot of guests?”

“But they didn’t! Summers would have pictures for sure, and Fancy said she was always alone growing up. And let’s say they threw a ton of parties before he was born, that still doesn’t explain all of those guest rooms near Fancy’s bedroom. They make sense for Fancy Pants the diplomat, but not Sauna Summers the singer.”

“Why does it matter? They were probably just copying the neighborhood. I mean, the castle is right there!” Fleur pointed her spoon towards Canterlot Castle bordering the back of the property. “What else are a couple of rich ponies gonna spend their money on?”

“But it’s too much! They bought it together, so why would a forgetful mare like her even want a place she could easily get lost in? If anything, she’d want a smaller house like your place above Pâte de Lune!” Vinyl took another greedy bite of cereal to splash some cold milk onto her fiery tongue. She took a deep breath to calm her cranky thoughts. “I’m sorry, Fleur. Stupid stuff like that keeps me up at night.”

“Don’t apolo—well, do apologize for staying up late all the time—but don’t apologize for whatever is eating at you. When you put it that way, it is kinda weird. I wonder if there were signs before Fancy took over.”

“Who knows? If she did, it’d be in her diaries somewhere. It’s why I want to know.”

Fleur stood up from her seat across from the table and walked around to the other side to sit next to Vinyl. She pulled the smaller mare closer to her in a supportive hug. “I know you do, Vy. I know you’re trying so hard to find answers for yourself. That’s why we’re here to help. Within reason.”

Vinyl leaned into the hug. “Thanks, sis.”

“But, have you thought about what happens if you can’t? What if in all of those diaries and keepsakes and junk, you can’t find whatever it is you’re looking for?”

“What do you mean?” Vinyl scoffed and waved off the ridiculous idea. “Of course it’d be in there. She was a packrat. She kept everything and then some.”

Fleur pulled tighter. “What if those aren’t all of them? What if they got lost or thrown away?”

That was a potential Vinyl didn’t want to think about. She shook away the screeching needle in her ears.

“Vinyl, listen to me,” Fleur whispered tenderly, double-checking to make sure they were alone. “I know you like my brother, and I know you’re scared of all of this wealth he’s got if it… gets serious. I don’t know exactly why you’re so scared of it, but I don’t need to know the why. I just need to know you’re scared.”

“But I already told you, I don’t want—”

“Yeah, yeah. You don’t want to become a monster. Rich Antiquity’s dragon and everything. Blah, blah, blah,” Fleur rattled off impatiently. She pushed Vinyl back and held the smaller mare by the shoulders. “I get all of that. What I don’t get is why you even think you’d become somepony like her when you’re borderline terrified of it. Do you think money is like some siren’s song that will turn you into an entitled narcissist? Ponies don’t work like that, Vy. It’s a load of bull. You could be showered with every bit in the world and you’d still be you. No dusty book from Aunty is going to tell you otherwise.”

“But what if you’re wrong?”

“Then the greed monster got Aunty in the end.” Fleur shrugged her shoulders. “You wanna know a secret, though? You’re not Aunty Summers. You’re Vinyl Scratch, my little, big sister.” Fleur lightly booped Vinyl on the nose and smiled. “You’re never gonna be alone like she was because I’m not gonna let you be all alone no matter what, got it?”

Vinyl sucked in her lips and nodded.

“I was hoping for a smile, but I’ll take it.” Fleur magicked over her bowl of cereal and scooted away for a prime scarf-down position. “Now, let’s get this taken care of and see if we can get you some answers from a bunch of old books.”

Getting answers was easier said than done. After cleaning up breakfast, the two students dove back into the boxes. As luck would have it, the next volumes had been bundled right under it. The bad news was that nothing noteworthy happened in them that Vinyl didn’t already know.

“Look at this this way,” Fleur offered. “Now we know that Princess Celestia became a secret regular at Steamsationals.”

“Great. Now we have it in writing that Princess Celestia likes to sneak out of the castle for spa days forty years ago.”

“Weird right? You’d think she’d just stay in the castle. I hear they have everything in those walls from spas to bowling alleys.”

“I’d be more surprised if my first encounter with Princess Luna up close hadn’t been on the dance floor at Cantrips.” Vinyl leaned back with a groan, putting her hooves over her eyes to suppress the budding headache.

“Need a break?” Fleur asked.

Vinyl took a deep breath and fell back onto the floor. “This isn’t a tired headache, it’s a frustration one.”

Fleur stepped over her sister, blocking Vinyl’s view of the ceiling. “Okay. So need a break?”

Vinyl looked into her sister’s eyes, seeing a hint of concern behind her usual snark. “Yeah, okay. I don’t want to get in bed though.”

“How about we take a bath?” her sister offered.

“It’s almost lunchtime, Fleur.”

“Okay. So how about we take—”

“Knock it off.” Vinyl swatted the taller mare on the fetlock. “I don’t want to have to cover the stitches again.”

“What should we do then?”

Vinyl picked herself up off the ground and trotted over to collection. She climbed over one of the front boxes and opened another one at random.

Fleur followed. “That’s not taking a break, sis.”

“Taking a break from reading. There’s more stuff in here than diaries.”

Rummaging through the boxes was harder without magic. Stuff would flood back as soon as she pushed it aside in a flood of physical memories. The gloss of an old magazine caught Vinyl’s eye from underneath an empty picture frame. The Sensational Sauna Summers boldly strutted across the cover, posing with her head held high, but her eyes looking back to her exposed cutie mark.

Fleur clicked her hooves together. “Oh! Let me see that!”

Vinyl passed it to Fleur as she dipped her head back inside the dusty package. Towards the bottom she spotted a long, black box. She reached inside, pushing a few notebooks off to rescue it from its prison.

“I wonder how many times Aunty made the cover of Trot,” Fleur pondered as she flipped through the pages, browsing the pictures and articles. “Think these coupons are still good? I could use something that ‘every groovy girl’s gotta get.’”

“Will it drive the stallions wild, too?”

“Doesn’t say. Or at least I don’t think it does. I can speak Prench and Ponish. Some of this is gibberish to me.”

“If there’s a stallion with an afro wearing short shorts anywhere near it, then skip it.”

Fleur glanced around the page. “Nope. Just some mare named Soulful Abode rocking a disco suit with some insanely flared sleeves. She’s owning it, but how are you supposed to dance without tripping over yourself?”

“Carefully, I guess.”

Vinyl popped open the gold clasp of the box and was met with a small treasure trove of large crystal earrings. Shifting the jewelry around in her hooves, she saw that they slotted into little indentions in the box. She began trying to sort them by color, matching the pairs.

“Here, let me.” Fleur levitated the rainbow mess out of the container and began to sort them in the air.

“Show-off,” Vinyl complained.

“If you’d just get a good night's sleep for once, you’d be able to do this again,” Fleur fired back. After whipping them around into order, she carefully placed them back in the box except for a pair of rose quartz crystals matching her eyes. She hovered one up to her ear and leaned into Vinyl. “What do you think? Do I look great, phenomenal, or perfect?”

Vinyl rolled her eyes and pushed her away, trying to get the larger unicorn out of her personal space. As she fought back, the glint of a design on the crystal’s exterior caught her attention.

“Wait! Stop, Fleur.”

“It’s a simple question, Vy.”

“Seriously! I think those earrings are enchanted.”

“Really?” Fleur immediately stopped her horseplay by pulling Vinyl into a side hug so they could look at the crystal together in the light. Having her sister smushed cheek-to-cheek wasn’t exactly optimal for inspecting the stone, but at least they were looking at the same thing. “I think you’re right. Can you tell what it is? I haven’t seen this inscription before.”

“Not off the top of my head.” Vinyl went back to the box, seeing if there was a clue. On the underside of the lid was a quill and half-note logo that she didn’t recognize. “Sunny got Summers into cutting-edge technology. My guess would be that these are wearable storage crystals if they’re anything.”

“Cool! Think there’s anything on them?”

“Maybe. Could you grab my headphones?”

After freeing Vinyl from her grasp, Fleur snatched Vinyl’s headphones off the nightstand and popped the side open to the storage crystal compartment.

“Be sure to unslot the quartz before putting it in there.”

“I know. This isn’t my first rodeo.” Fleur twisted the pink crystal off the mount and stuck it inside. She switched it on and held the headphones up to her ear. After a moment, her eyes sparkled.

“What? What is it?” Vinyl asked.

“‘Don’t forget to pick up Sugar Bear from daycare at four. Look into spring at Las Pegasus. Tea time with Celly is at 2 today,’” Fleur reported as she listened in.

The DJ looked back at the assortment of earrings. “Wearable memory crystals?” A joyous smile split Vinyl’s face at the extraordinary find.

Fleur grinned at her sister’s glee as she passed the headphones. “Sounds like it. Also, is Sugar Bear what Aunty called Pantsy? That’s absolutely adorable!”

Putting the headphones up to her ear, Vinyl listened in.

“Dapper is busy shopping today, so don’t you dare forget to pick up Sugar Bear from daycare!” Summers stated firmly. “4 o’clock on the dot. Got it, Summers?” There was a brief pause and a click before the sound came back. This time, it was accompanied by the sounds of a crowded street. “Look into spring at Las Pegasus,” Summers whispered. She took a deep breath. “You’ll make this right.” And then there was another click. “Celly has a meeting today, so tea’s at—”

Vinyl paused the note and cycled back.

“Look into spring at Las Pegasus,” Summers whispered. She took a deep breath. “You’ll make this right.”

Fleur noticed the curiosity crawling along Vinyl’s face. “What’s up, Vy?”

“Is she talking about Springstep?” Vinyl skipped forward a bit, trying to hear anything else on the memory crystal. When it repeated, she ejected the crystal and scrambled to put the other one in.

“It’s another morning, You’re next to me lying there…” Summers sang to herself. There was another click. “It’s the first light of morning, I see that you’re—Fancy Pants! Get your little flank down from there right now!” And then there was another click.

“Summers is trying to figure out the lyrics to something in this one.” Vinyl passed the headphones back and let Fleur listen.

Fleur nodded along to the music, but stopped as she listened. “Huh. That’s weird. This almost sounds like Wonderful Moonlight.”

“Should I know what that is?” Vinyl asked.

“It’s one of the love songs on Daddy’s album, Moondance, remember? It goes like this,” Fleur cleared her throat and began to sing.

“It’s the first light of evening,
You’re wondering what you should wear.
I watch as you worry,
And tussle your long pink hair.

And then you ask me, is this alright?
And I say ‘Of course, You’re my Wonderful Moonlight.’”

The DJ’s trained ears perked to the vaguely familiar tune. It was a tender ballad Suede had crooned to Maman, the moonlight being a reference to both her name, Éclair de Lune and her crescent croissant cutie mark. “That is weird.”

“Oh, wait! Come here, Vy, there’s more!” Fleur announced as she listened. She motioned for Vinyl to come closer. The sisters leaned in and perked their ears to hear the headphones between them.

“Okay, Summers. You got this. Deep breath,” the mare reassured herself. There was a rustle of paper and feathers.

“It’s the first light of morning,
Day shines through the window pane.
I nudge you to wake up,
And rustle your long pink mane.

And then you ask me, ‘Is everything alright?’
And I say, ‘Yes. Good morning, my sunshine.’”

The crooning disco queen took a deep, calming breath and exhaled before she continued.

“There’s a magic I hear,
Because you are near,
With power that scrapes the sky.

I feel light as a feather,
When we’re together,
We don’t even need to fly.

And this is all I can ever do,
You’ll never know just how much I… I…”

Summers choked back a sob and whispered, “I love you.” Click.

Vinyl and Fleur sat in silence, letting Summers’ last, lonely note hang in the air along with the soft humming of levitation hovering the headphones between them. They waited for anything else to play, but the memory crystal simply began to repeat from the beginning.

Flicking the power off, Fleur calmly took out the memory crystal and set the headphones on the bed. She looked at the quartz and then at Vinyl. In a swift flicker of magic, she ripped the jewelry case from Vinyl’s grasp and closed it.

“Let’s go see if Maman has started making lunch yet,” Fleur said quietly as she hovered the box on top of the wardrobe, out of reach.

“Hey! What about the rest of them?”

“Let’s take a break, okay Vy?”

Vinyl scoffed. “If you need one, fine. Just get that box down and I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” Fleur asked in disbelief. “Listen to all of them and get even more confused? You said you wanted answers, and here we are listening to Aunty sing Maman’s favorite song Daddy wrote for her, but it’s about some other mare with pink hair! There aren’t any answers here, it’s just a bottomless quagmire of questions!”

“B-but this is my job,” she argued.

Fleur stomped her hoof. “No it isn’t! Your job’s supposed to be archiving that dumb closet full of records. This is just some crazy obsession you have with Sauna Summers!”

Vinyl gritted her teeth. “I’m not obsessed! I’m just trying to figure things out!”

“And how is that going, huh? Just step back for a second and look.” Fleur took Vinyl by her hoof and pulled her to the door. They stopped and turned to the corner filled with rows of old cardboard boxes, some even bigger than her. “There’s years—literally years—worth of books and who knows what else in that mess. And it’s not even in order! You’re already swamped with that impossibly huge record collection, how long is it going to take to make any sense of all of it?”

“I—I don’t know. But I need to try.”

“Why though? Is the secret to stabilizing Cacophony’s runes written in one of her diaries? Did Aunty record your next song on a crystal somewhere decades ago? She already lived her life, but what about yours?”

Fleur led Vinyl to the front of the vanity and unclipped the enchanted earring. The illusion over Vinyl’s head faded away, revealing the red gash and black stitches keeping it closed. Fleur stroked the side of Vinyl’s head, carefully avoiding the cut. “You’re hurt, sis. You’re hurt and you’re not sleeping and you still can’t use your magic. Please. Stop it. Or at least slow down. You’re tearing yourself apart looking for something that might not even be in there.”

Vinyl gazed at her reflection staring back at her. There were deep bags under her eyes she hadn’t noticed. Probably the only reason she was clean was because Fleur lended her magic to help her keep her wound dry while bathing. The longer she looked at herself, the more exhausted she felt. If Summers were alive, she’d probably be telling her to “chill it” with the reading and take care of herself. Vinyl was constantly trying to make everypony stop worrying about her, but here she was giving them a real good reason to be concerned. She leaned into her sister’s side and turned away from her ragged image.

“I’m sorry.”

Fleur shushed softly and leaned down and kissed the maned side of Vinyl’s head. “Don’t be sorry. I know how important this is to you. I just wish you’d be more confident in yourself without digging through a bunch of books.”

“I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore.” Vinyl closed her eyes and tried to focus. “I wanted to know Sunny’s name, but then I started enjoying listening to Summers talk. I wanted to hear her more, but I couldn’t and now I… I just want to be okay.”

“You’re already okay, Vinyl. I promise. No book is going to tell you that. What you need to do is to take it easy and focus on getting better than just ‘okay’ for a little while.” Fleur hovered the box down from the wardrobe and put it on the bed. “Here. Let’s take a break, get some air, see some other ponies, maybe eat lunch, and then we can listen to whatever else is on them to get it out of our heads.”

Vinyl looked up at her sister. “Our heads?”

The larger mare giggled. “Well, duh! You don’t think I’m dying to know too? I just found out that Daddy rewrote one of Aunty’s songs about another mare for Maman. That doesn’t just happen. Aunty sure did live an interesting life.”

Vinyl sighed as she cuddled up to her sister’s comforting embrace. “Yeah. I wish she was still alive. I have so many things I’d want to ask her.”

“Me too.”

“Apology Anthology? Seasons of Grief? This is so frustrating.” Click.

“Figure out how to get more zap apple jam from Celly.” Click.

“Autumn might be in Manehattan. Maybe Off-Bridleway?” Click.

“Spring turns to Summer, A time of life to… remember? Ugh. Ask Suede about it later.” Click, pop.

Fleur swapped over to the studio microphone and leaned over the turntables. “That’s all there is for that one.”

“Did we already check the matching emerald?” Vinyl asked as she jotted the last line of the most recent memory crystal.

“Yeah. That was the shopping list one, remember?”

“Right.” Vinyl flipped back over her notes with the earring gemstones and contents listed. Her hoof was getting tired transcribing the recordings, but Fleur’s magic was busy linking the stones to Vinyl’s sound system. “How many more pairs do we have to go?”

“We haven’t checked the purple tourmaline or the rubies yet.”

Vinyl nodded as she put her pencil down and stretched. After taking an extended break from the collection, the two had returned to listen to the rest of the earrings. The time away had been welcome, seeing ponies around the mansion, going out to grab some smoothies, and just taking a moment to relax before trying to sate their burning curiosity. They’d decided to move the operation to the recording studio and use Vinyl’s equipment to listen over the speakers rather than crowd around her trusty headphones.

What they had uncovered in listening to the recordings had been enlightening, if a bit spotty. Among the everyday to-do lists and little reminders were hints of a larger project Summers had been working on: Reuniting the Four Seasons.

Springstep, Sauna Summers, Autumn Aria, Suede Shoes rolling in as a standin for winter, and Sunny along for the ride in whatever way she wanted. More than anything, Summers wanted everypony to have fun singing together again. Unfortunately, from the clues she’d left behind, Summers was having just as hard of a time tracking down her old friends as Vinyl was. And just like Vinyl, Summers couldn’t find Sunny.

Of all of her friends, Summers was looking for the mysterious mare the most. It could be hidden away in a diary entry somewhere or on another crystal, but it was clear that Summers cared for her. Deeply. Why? Vinyl didn’t know. Did Suede know? Maybe? Either way, he’d found out eventually considering Wonderful Moonlight was based on it.

“Ready?” Fleur asked.

Snapping back to the present, Vinyl picked up the pencil in hoof and nodded. She silently wished she’d practiced writing with her mouth more as a filly. Her fetlocks were going to be sore in the morning at this rate.

With a spark of magic, Fleur arched a thread of magic between the console and the ruby in her aura. “Hoo… I’m really starting to feel burnt out, Vy. This might be the last one today.”

“That’s more than fine by me.”

The speakers popped as the recording started.

A deafening slurry of sloshy noises and foalish giggles blared over the speakers. Click.

“Testing, one, two, three,” Summers boomed before a final click.

“Testing, again, one, two, three. This thing better not be broken, Sugar Bear! Momma needs her memos.” A toddler giggled before another click and a pop.

Vinyl looked up at Fleur who had stopped channeling. “Was that it?”

“No, but did you write all that down?” Fleur asked. “That was totally adorable!”

“Keep going, sis. You can make fun of Fancy later for chewing gems like a dragon.”

“Trust me, I will,” Fleur assured with devilish glee as she recast the spell.

The sound popped back in with the sound of ponies milling about and a clattering of tableware. “‘Good Morning Sunshine’ or ‘Morning My Sunrise.’ One of the two. You think those are good, Sugar Bear?” There were a few beats, but no response. “Gonna need to learn ya to listen to your momma, Fancy.” Click.

“They rescheduled the ESPA meeting for tomorrow at ten. Also, don’t let Sugar Bear near the recorder until after he’s stopped chewing on everything he can get his dang mouth around.” Click, pop.

“That’s hilarious,” Fleur said. “Also, that was it. Short one, huh?”

“Maybe Fancy accidentally wiped what was on it.” Vinyl made a note of the contents and underlined Good Morning Sunshine. “At least we got a couple or working song titles out of it.”

“That’s not nothing.” Fleur winked as she closed the box of earrings and walked out of the live room and turned off the lights. “We still got the rest of the afternoon. Wanna go see if Fluffs is done with her work?”

Vinyl smiled and put her pencil down. “Sure. She still needs to drink her smoothie before Dapper throws it out of the fridge.”

“Exactly! Glad you’ve got your priorities right, sis.”

“Couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Why would you want to?” Fleur asked as she opened the door. “After all, we’re the best of the best—”

“—Better than the rest—” Vinyl continued.

“Ain’t no contest, friends!” Fleur finished
“Ain’t no contest, sisters!” Vinyl finished.

Fleur stopped and turned around. “Sisters?”

Vinyl’s cheeks began to burn slightly. “Why not? Isn’t that better?”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t really roll off the tongue. Nopony says ‘best sisters.’”

Vinyl shrugged. “We could start it. It’s already maximum cheese anyway. Why not go full cringe?”

“I like the way you think, Vy,” Fleur said as she smiled widely. “Best sisters it is!”

The two best friend sisters shared a laugh as they exited the studio, leaving the work behind to enjoy the rest of their day. While questions still bubbled in the back of Vinyl’s head about all the mysteries to uncover in the past, what she really wanted to do right now was enjoy the present with the ponies that were still here after everything. Summers wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was Vinyl.

Author's Note

Chapter 46: What I'm Feeling Now

The cups of tea and cocoa gently clacked atop the tray Fancy was levitating as he turned down the hallway towards Vinyl’s room. His eyes wandered the photos, record albums, and magazines he’d seen a million times, but they lacked the old weight of his past failings. Instead of focusing on the wayward son standing just out of frame, there was simply his mother that was glad to see him.

The mementos surrounding him felt warmer these days. Summers’ radiant smile sent him back to happier days resting at the edge of a half-forgotten memory. There were times he could almost hear his mother’s singing again. Not the disco queen he’d heard a million times, but his mother’s little songs that she’d made up just for him. A warm blanket, a feathery wing, a tender nuzzle, all while she sang what his teen self considered the heights of emasculating embarrassment. He couldn’t help but hum along to the little ditties in his head.

Sugar Beary, Sugar Beary,
You’re quite extra-ordinary,
You’re my little guy,
There’s no need to be shy.

Fancy’s ears flicked as a pin pricked the back of his mind. “Sugar? Sugar!”

He quickly looked at his tray and lifted the lid off the sugar bowl to double check its contents. He sighed in relief seeing everything in overflowing order and recomposed himself before knocking on the bedroom door.

“It’s open,” Vinyl reported absently from the other side.

Fancy chuckled. “While that’s good to know, I’d rather have your permission.”

“Oh, Fancy! Yeah, come on in.”

As he opened the door, he was met with the equally brilliant and welcoming smile of the DJ on the guest bed, her tail swishing subtly. She was wrapped up in another enormous wooly sweater, surrounded by papers, and had a clipboard resting against her left foreleg. The only detail marring the perfectly cozy scene was the dampening ring still sitting at the base of her horn. Vinyl’s magic couldn’t return soon enough as far as he was concerned.

“Good evening, Vinyl. I’ve brought along a little treat to go with your research.” He hovered the tray to Vinyl’s nightstand while taking the chamomile tea for himself.

“Thanks.” Vinyl shimmied carefully towards the cocoa and noticed the sugar bowl. “I know I like sweets and stuff, but putting sugar in hot chocolate’s a little overkill, isn’t it?”

“Normally I’d agree, but it depends on what form it takes.”

Vinyl shot a quizzical look at him before taking a peek inside. Her smile widened with pure elation at the sight of the container packed to the brim with jumbo marshmallows. Ignoring the tongs, the sweet-toothed mare shook out enough to completely coat the top of her drink in a thick cloud of candies. After applying the avalanche of sugar, Vinyl shook out one last puffy treat into her hoof and popped it in her mouth for good measure. Seeing the pure joy on Vinyl’s face, Fancy made a mental note to thank Éclair for the recommendation.

“I gotta get well enough to start going out again soon. You and Maman are going to make me fit into my sweaters if I have to keep taking it easy,” the comfy mare half-complained as she took a delighted sip of hot chocolate.

“And it’s my turn to help with that.”

“Helping me get better or fattening me up?”

Fancy smirked. “Whichever you’d prefer. Either way, I’m here to ensure you’re taking it easy with your research before bed.”

“Don’t worry, I am,” Vinyl assured as she looked back over her clipboard alongside her new cocoa companion.

“Your small sea of papers tells me otherwise.”

“Relax. It’s not even from the collection. This is for the Crystal Summit.”

Fancy blinked. “The Summit? You’re still attending?”

“If I’m good for it, yeah. You said Princess Luna wanted some more electro swing, but there’s no way I can do what I did at the Showcases if I’m still not at a hundred percent. So, I figured I could try my hoof at composing an easier original than remixing Suede’s stuff all the time.”

Taking one of the pages from the bed at random, Fancy looked over the scrawled sheet music, unable to make heads or tails of it. The only thing he knew for sure was more notes meant more complexity, and the page was littered with them. His lips drew thin with concern as he eyed their composer curiously.

“Trust me, it’s a lot easier than it looks. The only problem is making it sound right.”

“I suppose that would be the struggle all musicians face when plying their craft.”

“It’s not that. What’s there sounds good, but it doesn’t have…” Vinyl paused and took a sip of hot chocolate while lapping a couple marshmallows to buy time to think. “It’s just not the sound I want. There’s too much electro and not enough swing. But when I try to make it more swing-y, it plays like I’m copying Suede’s homework.”

Fancy rubbed his chin as he mulled over the problem. “And so you want it to be more Scratch-y than Suede-y?”

Vinyl nodded and glared at her stubborn clipboard, silently pressuring it to become better. The stubborn page didn’t seem to be phased in the slightest by the DJ’s intimidation tactics. A few more moments of staring, the struggling musician blinked first and sighed in defeat. “Knowing music theory is one thing, but actually applying it? It’s going to take forever to make it sound like me, and I don’t have forever.”

“Why don’t you play some other music then? I know the princesses enjoyed your electro swing performance, but the summit is only two weeks away. An original composition in that span of time is quite a tall order.”

Vinyl patted her hooves on the bed. “Well, you like it better than my other stuff too.”

“You don’t need to trouble yourself with making something before the summit. I’d rather you play whatever best fits you.”

“What fits best for me is what the audience wants to hear. That’s electro swing. I just gotta figure out how to write it without sounding like a knockoff.”

Fancy hummed to himself. “It is a rather unique sound already. Are you sure it’s not just in your head?”

Vinyl shot a quick heated glare out of the corner of her eye, suppressing her frustration with a quiet breath. “Yes. I’ve been listening to Suede and Summers for months now. I think I know when I’m ripping them off.”

“Of course, but don’t pressure yourself needlessly. We are all just amalgamations of our influences,” Fancy assured. “I’m certain most of my diplomatic sensibilities amount to borrowed observations from Princess Celestia.”

“Right. Like how ‘Wonderful Moonlight’ borrowed from ‘Good Morning My Sunshine.’”

“Ah yes, that song about the mare with the pink mane.” He hadn’t believed his ears when hearing the recording for himself. Vinyl always said how important Sunny was in his mother’s life, but he’d never imagined it was to such an extent. “Did you find anything else regarding the song?”

Vinyl set the clipboard down as her ears folded back. “No. The diaries packed away with it didn’t mention anything about the song.” The mare turned to Fancy curiously. “And you’re sure you’ve never heard anything about a pony Summers wrote something like that about?”

Fancy shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. Or mercifully. I haven’t decided which yet. I was quite young at the time of those recordings. Dapper was kept in the dark as well, though such affairs are usually clandestine.”

“Hey! Don’t jump to conclusions,” Vinyl defended. “We don’t know what Summers was thinking when writing it.”

“Or what Suede was thinking when he rewrote it?” Fancy countered.

Any rebuttal Vinyl had died on her lips as she sank into her hooves. “I don’t know, but I don’t think we should read the worst into it.”

“Her version of the song never saw the light of day, so perhaps it was simply a secret she kept close to her heart. That being said, I highly doubt there’s much room for a different interpretation, given the context.”

“And I bet there was more on her earrings, but they’re long gone now.” Vinyl leaned forward into the mattress and muffled a loud, exasperated groan.

“No use dwelling on what’s lost, Vinyl. Best to focus on the road ahead,” Fancy said more for himself than Vinyl.

Once she’d worked it out of her system, she sat back and leaned her head against her hoof. “I wonder how many answers were overwritten so she could remind herself to pick up a prescription.”

“She always claimed those pills were for high blood pressure. ‘Just need a little help keeping the old record spinning.’”

Vinyl smirked and added, “‘Sugar Bear’?”

Fancy chuckled. “To finish the quote, yes.” His face fell as his mind drifted further into the far reaches of his past. “To think she was keeping the truth from me.”

“She probably didn’t want you to worry about it. From what I’ve read, she never told anypony about it unless she was caught.”

“I did catch her, but I never put it together. One of my earliest memories is of her snatching me up into a deep hug somewhere, but I don’t know where. Maybe a store?” Fancy shook his head as he wrestled with the image ingrained in his mind. “All I see are some lights above us as she whispers ‘I know you’ over and over into my ear. I was scared, but only because she was…” Fancy trailed as memory was replaced by his younger self spewing his vitriol into her confused face.

After a moment, Vinyl leaned closer. “Fancy? Are you okay?”

“I caught her so many times, Vinyl, but I thought that’s just how she was. At some point I became annoyed with it and stopped helping. I called her a simpleton, a featherhead, every blasted name my pigheaded brain could come up with rather than simply helping my mother.”

A small, tender touch silenced his thoughts. His eyes were drawn to the caring touch of a hoof. He slowly followed Vinyl’s face with her shimmering magenta gaze. They burned with a shared understanding of unspoken regrets he wished she couldn’t fathom. He felt an urge to grab the hoof in his. To connect to somepony else that wrestled with similar thoughts. He could almost feel himself getting lost within her radiance.

“Thank you, Vinyl.” The stallion retreated from the bedside, putting his mind anywhere besides those expressive orbs of hers. “But I’m here to help you, not upset you.”

“R-right. Sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologize, Vinyl.” He cursed himself silently under his breath. His slip-ups were becoming more frequent as he was getting closer than he should be comfortable with. The mare’s gaze was so intense, he could feel his heart rattle anytime Vinyl offered him a modicum of warmth. And the worst part was that he was starting to indulge in it.

Fancy had to focus. He was a fateweaver. Her fateweaver. His duty was merely providing her this space to find herself again. There was a glorious destiny waiting for the talented DJ to find her stride. He might have a place in it, but his duty was tending the fertile soil and watching from the ground as she bloomed skyward into who she was always meant to be. He used to be able to see it clearly, but each path seemed to collapse one by one as time marched on.

It contradicted everything he knew. Fancy had gotten to know her far more than he’d ever expected to, and he was learning more about the mare each day. But, where more information would give him insight for anything else before, now the way forward became more obscured with each passing day. Door after door slammed in his face, just as they had when Luna first found him in the dreamscape trying to reconcile with that vision of Vinyl.

“Curious. Perhaps your fate has become too entwined with hers to see clearly?” Luna suggested.

Fancy pretended to clear his throat as he pounded his chest with a punch of his hoof. He’d seen his fate many years ago. His optimal outcome. The vision had been clearer than any fate he’d ever woven for anypony else. Two beautiful foals in a rustic house on a hill, surrounded by grapes and pastries, that he and his wife maintained with love. It was a wonderful and ruinous future that he longed to realize that slipped further out of his reach with every passing year. Vinyl had nothing to do with it. Fancy refused to let the echo of a whim drag down a mare with so much more potential than he had.

“Are you alright, Fancy?” Vinyl asked in concern.

“Yes, my—Miss Scratch,” he quickly amended, wincing at his irksome mouth spilling over. “Give me a moment, if you would.”

Instead of listening to that withering thought in the back of his mind, he redirected his energy into the present. Right now, Vinyl was looking at him in deep concern—No! No, that was the wrong observation! Utterly wrong! He almost slapped himself to refocus his insolent thoughts.

Before his interruption, the mare was struggling to come up with her music for the summit. It was a matter of reinventing the wheel as it were, and likely many an artist, had struggled similarly with when they were contemplating their muses. Suede was taught swing along with the many styles he’d pursued in his life. Mother on the other hoof said many times that her voice was only as good as what Fath—Suede had helped her find. Vinyl had backed that claim up with proof in the record collection.

In fact, the song he had heard, a predecessor of sorts to that blasted song “Wonderful Moonlight,” sounded far more like a Suede composition than anything that his mother had arrived to on her own. Perhaps Summers herself had developed her own style of swing before her song had ended.

With a hardened heart, he turned to Fleur’s sister and smiled diplomatically. “A thought just occurred to me. Have you ever considered listening to the record collection in reverse order?”

“No? Why would I do that? I’m trying to archive the collection chronologically, not mess up the order like the corner over there.”

“For your own musical edification, of course.” Fancy lifted the discarded score sheet in his magic and turned it to Éclair’s daughter. “This ‘Good Morning My Sunshine’ song didn’t just come from nowhere. Suede had some influence on it. Whether it was from teaching her or composing the music himself, he shared his knowledge with her at one point. Perhaps those lessons lie within those old records?”

Vinyl’s eyes sparkled at the idea briefly, but the light dimmed as a frown crossed her face. “Yeah, but when? All we have is an earring. There are no dates to match up with the records.”

“Maybe not written down, but there was a troublesome foal there who could help,” Fancy remarked knowingly as he laid a hoof over his heart and bowed. “Sugar Bear is at your service.”

Vinyl carefully walked with her delicious drink in tow as she followed Fancy to the record collection. Earth ponies made three-legged walking look so easy. Meanwhile, she was struggling to keep her cocoa from spilling a single precious drop. She lapped up another marshmallow to save it from a potentially swift death upon the floor. After all, setting the drink down and picking it up off the ground would take far longer than five seconds without magic.

You’re not above lapping one up off the ground though. Eat another one before you drop it!

Vinyl groaned quietly to herself. In her mad scramble to read every scrap of paper Summers had put a quill to, she’d almost forgotten she was slowly losing her mind. Now that she wasn’t filling every waking moment with somepony else’s words, she was starting to hear her own desires again. Vinyl already knew what she wanted to do. If she hadn’t promised to take it easy, she’d still be nose-deep in Summers’ diaries searching for clues with reckless abandon. It felt good to be satisfying such urges, but a nagging dread loomed behind her thoughts. At any moment, if Vinyl wasn’t careful, she would come back.

“Vinyl?”

The DJ snapped to attention at her name, going completely still mid-chew of her marshmallow. Fancy chuckled to himself seeing the reaction and audibly shimmered his magic near Vinyl’s mug. Giving her hot chocolate one last sip goodbye, she gently released, allowing his golden aura to take over as he placed it and his teacup on the nearby table.

Stop getting distracted, Desire complained.

“And who’s fault is that?” Vinyl shot back under her breath, only to remind herself that it was herself she was angry at. Either she’d scramble her thoughts in a sleepless dive into information or her brain would scramble itself for her.

“Now, let’s see if my hunch is correct.” Fancy opened the door and stepped through while holding it long enough for her to catch. Vinyl wasn’t sure if he remembered from the Labyrinthiyum or if he was more concerned with what he wanted to show her, but she appreciated him not holding the door open for her all the same.

Vinyl caught up to him as Fancy ran a hoof along the white boxes of the more recent recordings. While still made of cardboard, they opened like trunks, with flat bottoms and backs with faces that rounded outward towards the center aisle.

“Have you tried recording anything on the studio’s equipment and found that your master record was missing when you were done?” Fancy asked.

“I usually record everything to crystals and master them before committing them to vinyl. The vintage stuff can’t do that.”

“Perhaps it’s just as well you didn’t. If you had decided to use the old Frontier equipment outside, you might’ve missed the sorting enchantment.”

“Summers always did like having the top of the line stuff.”

“Oh, no. This was better than the line. It has a unique enchantment. With only a few ponies to help out at the time during their more private recording sessions, my parents invested in enchantments to help.” Fancy dipped his hoof towards the base of the box. “If it detects a record running out of space, it teleports it into the next available slot and stamps a date on the outside.” He tapped on the side, pointing to a small printed marking that read like a book stamp. “11.03.963. Or the third of the eleventh moon, year nine-sixty-three of Celestia’s Reign. This was before I was born.”

Vinyl nodded along. She sparked with excitement as she caught onto his idea. “So, if you were a foal when she was working on the song…”

“Brilliant deduction, my fair Vinyl. Let’s assume I was two or three at the time. That would make this somewhere in the realm of CR 966 or 67.”

Vinyl followed the markings on the boxes as she walked down the years. At first, they were tightly packed together with mere days passing between them. However, the dates grew further and farther between as they walked down the line. By the time they reached the late ’60s, they were nearing the very end of the collection.

“There’s not a whole lot of boxes after these.”

“No there isn’t,” Fancy remarked with a dour frown. “Summers worked on and off on her music through the years, but she likely put it aside to deal with me.”

He’s sad again.

Vinyl nudged the stallion, trying to shake a smile back onto him. “Hey! Lucky you, right? Lots of quality time with Summers.”

Surprised by the sudden jab, a curious smirk worked its way back underneath his mustache as a puff escaped his nose. “Indeed.”

A small, joyous rush filled her heart again as she appeased the nagging muse rolling around in her mind. At least it felt good to give into what she wanted. Now if she could just teach her demanding urges to stay put.

Fancy leaned into the boxes and peered through his reading glasses at the little numbers marking the records. “We have three 07.22.967 records. Assuming both sides are full, that would mean this and the one next to it are a little over two hours.”

“Why include the fourth?”

“The arrow,” Fancy explained while pointing to the crude, red marking in question. “The date would be written by hoof if they bothered writing one down. How likely would you say that this is what we’re looking for?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Vinyl said with a shrug.

“I must disagree. You’ve devoted the most time to this collection. Being the more seasoned archivist out of us, what does two hours usually signal in the collection?”

The praise brought a smile to Vinyl’s face. She scratched her chin as she considered the question in earnest. “If it was a continuous recording, then that’s a meeting. A jam session trying to find a new song, ironing out the sound or lyrics, or just something that they forgot to turn the recording off for.”

Fancy flipped open a box, revealing several cleanly sorted master records with enough space to slip two or three more discs into each wide sleeve. It was much easier to see and grab a record than the tightly compacted albums filed away in the older collections

“Then shall we give this a whirl?” he asked as he pulled the first of the set out.

Absolutely yes!

“Didn’t you say you were making sure I ‘take it easy’ before bed?”

Desire groaned. Oh, come on!

“I’m not saying we should listen to the whole thing right now.” He flipped it around to the back and smiled. “How about we sample the b-side for a bit to see if we’re on the right track? It would be a good bellwether if Summers was working on this reunion tour concept with Suede.”

“Alright. But only for a little bit. Maman will throw a fit if I’m not shutting this all down by nine.”

Fancy shuddered at the thought. “The last thing I’d want to do is upset her. Trust me.”

Vinyl giggled. “Okay. I will.”

A suave smile crossed the stallion’s face as he whisked the disk to his side with his magic and led Vinyl out. He stopped at the door and held it open for her to step through. At least she had her answer now. Old habits died hard, it seemed.

“You’re the one with the goods, Fancy.”

“Oh! Right. My mistake.” The gentlestallion slipped past, but spared a hind leg in kicking the door open long enough for Vinyl to catch it.

Fancy flicked the equipment on, searching and failing to find the buttons to activate the studio’s record player. Vinyl stepped past him and turned the control room’s sound system while flicking off the console Fancy had stopped in front of.

“That’s all for the live room. The control room equipment is over here.”

The stallion’s smile strained as he cleared his throat. “So it is. It would appear I’m too out of practice.”

“You actually ran the sound board before?”

“Briefly, for Suede. When he was working on the Moondance album. But I didn’t do much of anything aside from watch the green bar here.”

Vinyl tapped the clear top of the record player and then turned to her hopeless copilot and held out her hoof. “May I?”

With a nod, he passed it with his magic. She threaded the record over its towering needle, turned it on, and watched with anticipation for whatever was on the master to start playing.

“—n’t what I meant, and you know it!” Summers cried.

“I know, I know,” Suede’s velvety voice calmly assured. “Just because it didn’t play out how you expected doesn’t mean you should give up.”

“Don’t be trippin now. What’s the point if Springs’s gonna sit on it? There ain’t time enough for her to be flying out here when she’s got another gig going on.”

“But she sounded happy in the letter. She said as much herself.”

“But she gave up, Suede! She shoulda shined like the sun she was, but never had the chance cause I was all those chumps wanted! Why didn’t I tell ‘em cats to keep on steppin’?”

“You’re looking at this the wrong way, love.” There was a rustling of papers. “She accepted your apology and asked for one in return. And just look at all of these letters from her students. They were so excited to know she was your friend. She’s happy that you found her.”

“Students?” Vinyl asked in a moment of silence.

“Sounds as if this Springstep character took up a different profession after her musical career,” Fancy remarked.

The microphone picked up the sharp squeak of a chair. “It’s too late. I was too late,” Summers mourned, her voice muffled by fabric. “It was her dream, and I threw a wet towel all over it.”

“No, darling, no. She's doing just fine, just like we are,” he promised. “Furthermore, this doesn’t mean she's completely against touring for a semester. And choirs are known to travel.”

“A choir teacher,” Fancy noted over the recording while nodding in approval. “A noble calling if I’d ever heard one, wouldn’t you say Vinyl?”

Vinyl shushed the noisy stallion. “I’m trying to listen.” She reversed the record a few seconds to catch what Fancy had talked over.

“—own to travel.” Vinyl could hear a few loving hoof pats against his wife’s back. “Besides, if Springstep can’t move back to Canterlot, there’s still Autumn and Sunny out there.” There was a slight pause before a jingle of keys rang out. “We made plenty of space for them and whomever might be along for the ride.”

Summers took a deep breath before the recording went silent again. The soft smack of two pairs of lips pulling away broke the stillness along with more shifting of fur. “I love you, Suede babe. You’re so good to me.”

“I love you too, my darling Sauna Summers. Shall we try again from the top?”

The mare loosed a deep, airy breath before diving back into another kiss from the sounds of their lips. They parted once more as she moaned in thought. “I dunno. The mail call made me feel like Spring’s song ain’t steppin’ right to what I thought it needed.”

“Alright then,” the crooner replied. “What do you want to do then?”

“I just wanna be for a bit longer.”

“Of course. Just relax.” There was a rustling of mane with the occasional smooch that rang through the speakers. Their deep affection for each echoed from the past with each sensual sound.

Meanwhile in the present, Vinyl was doing everything in her power not to make eye contact with Fancy. Her face was already on fire listening to Summers and Suede sharing a private moment. While the noises and breathing on the other side was still chaste, there was no telling if it’d escalate into something else before long. Against her better judgment, she stole a quick glance out of her periphery. Fancy sat slack-jawed as he listened to his parent’s tender lovemaking. Vinyl had never felt so self-conscious about anything in her entire life.

Another creak of a chair followed by a suggestive purr was enough to send the DJ over the edge. She slammed her hoof on the fast-forward as she perked her ears for the sound of anything actually music related. As the record quietly spun, she squirmed under the urge to say something, anything, to get her mind out of the gutter Summers had shoved it in.

“You sure did take after your dad!” Vinyl blurted, her inner filly screaming for her to stop.

“P-pardon?”

She kept her gaze locked on the console, unable to bear even looking at Fancy. Instead, Vinyl said the first words that came to mind. “Words! Your words! You use words and Suede uses words. They’re both the most words!”

The sharp sounds of a record skipping ahead filled what palpable silence was there, leaving the two ponies to stew in the curdling awkwardness.

This is the end. I think I’m going to die, Desire declared flatly.

The stallion cleared his throat, but failed to muster a reply. Instead, he rolled his seat over to the desk and knocked back the rest of his tea cup like a whiskey shot.

Piano keystrokes speeding by on the disk made Vinyl release the skip button as she raised the volume on the speakers. There was no digging their way out of the bottomless pit of awkwardness they were both screaming down. The only option was to move on and pretend it never happened. As the record settled back into a proper pace, a swift melody played up and down the keys. The jazzy tune raced down a river of smooth and rocky tunes with the ebb and flow of the music.

“This ain’t the flow I meant getting caught up in, Suede,” Summers remarked.

“You can’t mean that you want all of the songs to be somber. This is a call to your old friends. Don’t you want them to be excited to see you?”

“It’s about telling them they were right, Suede! You’re not supposed to be lighting up the dance floor, cuttin’ the rug, or whatever you’re doing here when I’m trying to say I’m sorry for being blind.”

“Are you certain? Springstep appears to be doing well. Would you not want them to feel the same about you?”

“They know I’m doing good, but they don’t know how much better they made me feel. I miss them. Every day. And every day that goes by, I can’t help but feel like I coulda done more. If everypony kept saying I was the queen, why didn’t I just shout out orders like Celly?”

“You still are the Queen of Disco, Summers. Nopony can take that away from you.”

Summers laughed wistfully. “That last thing I want is for the disco to be anywhere near this. Let’s just see what we can do to put a lil’ more autumn and a lil’ less aria into your groove there, Suede. You feel me?”

The piano stopped playing. “So you’re saying that there should be fewer lyrics then?” he joked.

“Don’t be trippin on definition, Suede!” The mare growled with emotional exhaustion. “We want a-pol-o-gy, not re-vel-ry. Get it, hepcat?”

“Got it!” Suede squeaked nervously at the mare’s fire.

“Good!” Summers paused and breathed through her nose. “Good. I need something. I don’t know what that something is yet, but some—”

Fancy lifted the player’s needle off the record, bringing an early end to the show. “I believe that is more than enough for now.”

Vinyl nodded absently and vowed right then and there to never in a million years listen to a Summers and Suede recording with another pony in the room again. Her head was still burning hot, and she couldn’t even douse it in water without risking getting her stitches wet.

“Barring their more... private moments, you might find something to help you out of your creative slump from those two working together.” He retrieved the record by hoof. While his trained, stalwart stance didn’t falter, she could tell from his lack of magic that he was still as frazzled by the more intimate audio. “Mother’s apology album appears to have been a united effort. Perhaps you’ll learn a helpful thing or two about Suede’s process if nothing else.”

“Yeah.” There were more than a few processes running through her head right now. None of them were good. “I’m going to get ready for bed I think.”

“Good idea. Don’t forget your cocoa.” Fancy quickly trotted to the table behind them and retrieved it. He tried to spark his horn to warm it back up, but failed to even get his aura around the cup. “Apologies. It seems the recording has negatively impacted my concentration.”

“You and me both,” Vinyl admitted, trying to cut a hole in the tension to let the pressure out. She took a comforting sip from the lukewarm sweetness and savored a half melted marshmallows sliding across her tongue. “Thanks for the drink, Fancy. It’s delicious.”

“Of course. Just let me know if I can do anything else.”

“No. No thanks. Just, put that disk back where you found it,” Vinyl quickly stammered before Desire could start running in her imagination. “I’m going to get ready for bed.”

“I can at least manage that last chore,” he said as he bowed with the disk resting against his chest. “Pleasant dreams, Vinyl.”

“You too, Fancy.”

As he walked into the storage closet, Fancy let the door close behind him and slumped into it as his magic enveloped the quartz in his sweater pocket. He could finally drop his guard and let his face flush as red as Vinyl’s. He’d considered his parents to be just his parents for the longest time, completely neglecting the fact that they were also lovers. At least what they’d listened to together had been on the tamer side. He didn’t want to think about their further escapades knowing how intense her song “Hot Trot” was.

Though the stallion was no stranger to the concept, he'd abstained from reaching the ultimate levels of intimacy with anypony. Most of his business partners and acquaintances were busying themselves with their families after having foals of their own. Those didn’t just fall from the sky. He knew that. It was completely natural. He shouldn’t be feeling so embarrassed as a grown stallion, but he couldn’t help it.

“Of all the ponies to walk in on you two with, why did it have to be Vinyl?” the fuming son complained to his loving parents’ memories. He could almost hear his parents laughing all the way from Elysium over the soft thrum of his aura channeling into his support crystal.

It took a few quiet moments to stabilize his magic. Fancy took advantage of the soundproofed studio by venting his embarrassment into unintelligible curses shouted within the closet. Shaking the last vestiges from his system, he fired up his horn and snatched the stupid record off the floor with ease. He stood to his hooves and shoved it into its proper slot with his magic.

Fancy placed his hoof over his heart, feeling it still beating with flustered vigor. “Why did it have to be her?”

Vinyl curled in under the covers of her bed. She wanted nothing more than to fall asleep, but her brain had been pulling in every direction possible since she’d lain down. It didn’t help that her sleep schedule was already in tatters, leaving her wide awake alone with her thoughts and Desire. The little figment of her imagination had shrunken down to the size of a toy and was making herself comfortable resting against Vinyl’s chest.

Hey, it could’ve been worse.

“How could it have possibly been worse?”

We could’ve listened to Summers and Suede making out and not have somewhere to start from tomorrow. Desire’s tail flicked. Or maybe tonight?

“Tomorrow,” she rebuked her wild thoughts. “In the afternoon. Late afternoon.”

Fine. Her tiny desire snuggled deeply into Vinyl’s chest, pressing herself deeper into Vinyl’s fur until she could feel her desires beating in her heart. Do you think you want to get intimate with Fancy?

“Why don’t you know? You’re supposed to be me, remember?”

You haven’t thought about it much. You want safety and family. You want him to be around. He makes you feel warm, even when you’re not next to him. You’ve risked touching and even cuddling up next to him when you can get away with it. But you haven’t thought about what Éclair talked about. And it’s not like you’ve never knocked hooves with another pony before.

“Don’t remind me,” Vinyl grumbled bitterly.

Can’t help it when you’re the one thinking it.

And Vinyl was thinking of it. It was drumming in her head with what fleeting fun she could remember from those nights. Unlike being with Fancy, the height of those highs had been followed immediately by deep lows. They’d all just been clubbers from Cantrips. Closing her eyes, she could see their outlines lying next to them. The rippling backs of the stallions, the supple curves of the mares, the smell of their sweat, the texture of their hair, and the warmth of their embraces.

But beyond the physical, there was nothing. Vinyl had never made a connection with any of them. She couldn’t even remember some of their names, and the thought made her sick to her stomach. No matter how lovely or charming they had or hadn’t been, it only made things worse when she’d eventually crash out and burn it all away. All of the pointless experimentations had left her empty and alone.

You don’t want to try—
“because I don’t know if—”
You’ll get hurt again.

“What if—”
You hurt him—
“Like the others?”

The speedy dates, the casual hookups, the attempts to feel something real. Each relationship had ended in an utter disaster. If the pattern continued, she’d finally get close to what she thought was good, what she thought things were supposed to be like, what she thought she wanted, and then annihilate it.

You’re scared.
Vinyl was scared.

You always mess things up.
She always messed things up.

But, don’t worry, dear…
Her skin began to crawl.

… Mommy loves you.

Vinyl shot out of bed and looked at the clock. Ten O’ two. She dove for the closest box in Summers’ collection that she could get her hooves on and clutched onto it for dear life. She hummed the first song that came to mind, Wonderful Moonlight, Good Morning My Sunshine, she wasn’t sure what to call it anymore. All she knew was that she needed help.

“It’s okay. Summers needed help too,” she whispered to reassure herself. “It’s okay.”

“Qu’est-ce que tu fiches?” Éclair yelled moments later from down the hall. Her galloping drew closer until it skidded to a halt. The irritated baker slammed open the door in a huff. “You are to be in bed, Vinyle!”

Vinyl pushed herself off the box and scrambled to her hooves. Without a second thought, she rushed into Maman’s fur. Éclair was real. They shared a connection she always yearned for. Vinyl knew her name, Éclair de Lune’s beautiful name. A little leg reached around and pulled her closer into a pudgy barrel as she felt a cascade of mane draped down her back.

“Oh, ma précieuse fleur de vinyle. I am here,” the tender mare whispered as she shut the door behind her. “I am here.”

Vinyl smiled and sighed in relief. She wrapped her hooves tighter around her maman, refusing to break down again.

“Do you need Maman to stay tonight?”

Vinyl sighed in relief at the offer and nodded.

“Okay,” Éclair said softly while patting her daughter’s back. Vinyl couldn’t help but smile as she leaned into the hug, savoring the warm silence.

Mother was gone, Maman was here, and Vinyl was safe.

Author's Note

Chapter 47: The Cacophony of Life

Books and papers fluttered around Vinyl’s bedroom in a flurry of gentle, electrified magic. She would’ve preferred to swirl an arcane tempest around her, but the recovering unicorn couldn’t push her magic more without risking injury. This little effort was already taxing enough. Still, she couldn’t sit back and take it easy today, not when she finally had a lead.

“Burgundy red spiral. Burgundy red spiral.”

The budding archivist had been repeating her mantra as she sought it out within Summer’s writings. Her current box coming up short again, Vinyl swiftly popped open the next and began levitating its contents around her. Knick-knacks, notebooks, and loose papers hovered in a conga line of mementos for her to check. She sent each one back in a flash before they could tempt her away from her target. She needed to stay focused.

Her head was starting to ache from the magic use, but she pushed through the pain. Any headache she’d get from the exertion would be more manageable if she had the reading material she was seeking. The next in line was an accordion folder tied off with string. She reached up with her hooves and undid the knot, flipping it open to find several pieces of sheet music.

“‘Call Away Castaway’, ‘Blue Horn Bayou’, ‘Only You in My Heart’... Spiral!” Not sparing another second, Vinyl reached in with her mouth and pulled on the metal rings, recovering a very promising notebook from inside.

The unicorn nearly dropped her levitation spell in the rush of excitement. With a quick flourish of sparkles, she returned everything else to the box to focus on her prize. It was a deep, reddish spiral that was actually labeled for once with “SWING LESSONS” written across the front. Vinyl nearly squealed in delight as she clopped her forehooves together.

“This might be it.” She reverently opened the cover to look inside.

Big Band Swing: simple, clear melody, strong beat to dance to.
Two flavors: Sweet and Hot
Sweet — Slower and softer for high class functions. The noble’s party music.
Hot — louder, faster, and puts the rhythm down. The noble’s dirty secret.
Swing releases pressure of high society and breaks through with classy joy in spite of rigidity.

The words buzzed with familiarity. Vinyl flicked on her record player, waiting for Summers and Suede to confirm the find.

“Now, darling. Big band swing is more than just classy music to dance to,” Suede Shoes explained. “It has rules and conventions, just like any style of music. It is meant to be catchy and clear with simple foundational melodies to allow listeners to dance to and performers to build upon with improvisation.”

Summers hummed to herself in thought. “Okay. How about your slower stuff? Like everything on Only You in My Heart? I’m wanting that smooth mellow groove that can get sad, ya dig?”

“The album? That’s still swing, just a different kind called sweet swing. Good music to eat dinner to if you don’t want a classic quartet. I like hot swing to really get the hooves moving.” There was a pause on the other side. “Here, why don’t you write it down? I’ve got a spare you can use here.”

“Thanks, babe.” The sound of flipping through thick, crisp pages flapped over the air. “You always go for the classy stuff, doncha? Even your scratch paper is fab and a half.”

Suede laughed to himself, his voice as velvety smooth as his singing. “I never thought I’d hear a notebook of all things being called classy. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by my station too much.”

“This cover’s making me crave red velvet cake.”

“I believe the color is burgundy wine, but I can see how you’d see that. Would you like to get some? I think cake will keep you awake for our first lecture.”

“Now you’re talking my language, baby! But, what’chu say about a lecture?”

The record cut off and Vinyl cut the power. She grabbed the notebook off the floor and hugged it to her chest as she fell back, kicking her hind legs in glee. “Haha! Yes! Finally! Something!”

After half-listening to the timeframe Fancy had recommended, she’d finally stumbled across something at the end of one of their sessions, and it was the most promising lead she’d ever received: one-on-one lessons from the last King of Swing himself! Vinyl stuffed the notebook back into the folder and rolled onto her hooves. With no time to waste, she ran across the hallway, shocking Fluffer Duster out of her cleaning from the sudden appearance of a sprinting unicorn.

“Sorry, Fluffs!” Vinyl threw out as she darted into the studio and plopped the folder on the work desk.

“Goodness, Vinyl! Where’s the fire?” the maid asked as she ducked into the studio. “You almost made me drop my dustpan!”

“This!” Vinyl proclaimed as she pointed to the notes. “I just needed a miracle and I think I might’ve found it!”

“While I’m glad you were able to dig something out, please be more careful. You don’t need to hurt yourself again, or me for that matter. Unicorn horns are sharp.”

Vinyl winced recalling how her carelessness had cost her friend before. “Yeah, you’re right. I got a little too excited.” She turned around in her seat and gave her friend her full attention. “Are you okay, Fluffs?”

“I’m fine, Vinyl. It was a little surprising, but no harm done, aside from spilling a little dirt.” She fluttered over to the desk, looking at the header of Vinyl’s find. “‘Basics of Big Band Swing?’”

“Yup. Summers was working on an album and asked for Suede to teach her about his music, and these are the notes!”

Where she’d hoped to eavesdrop on snippets of tutoring, she’d stumbled upon a veritable gold mine of information. Even if it was just Summers’ notes, these could prove to be invaluable insights into how Suede created his music. She flipped through the pages filled with penciled words. Hopefully Summers’ lifetime of journaling translated into being a meticulous notetaker. The folder itself was brimming with sheet music Suede had marked up himself. They ranged from some of his best, swinging hits to songs she’d never heard before.

“If I can learn their process, maybe it’ll help me when I’m trying to make my own swing music. I can add my own spin to Suede’s fundamentals and get this song working before the week’s over.” The papers flew around in her magical field as she tidied up the stack to reference later.

Fluffs nodded along and smiled. “That’s great, but are you sure you should be using your magic this much? We just took the ring off yesterday.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s just paper.”

“Uh-huh. But how many boxes did you have to look through to find it?”

“I was careful,” she swore.

Fluffs simply stared, waiting through Vinyl’s failed poker face for a proper confession.

“Okay, geez! I have a little headache, but it’s nothing!”

The maid’s smile soured as she fluttered into the air in frustration. “Vinyl! If you push yourself too much, you won’t be able to play at all come Friday.”

“Okay, okay. Only basic levitation for an hour.” Vinyl swore as she lifted her pen. “Happy?”

Fluffs nodded. “But only the pen. After all, we need to maintain everything and everypony, right?”

“Right,” Vinyl agreed halfheartedly.

“Good. Now, I’ll be sure to come around to get you for dinner when it’s ready.”

“You don’t have to,” Vinyl assured as she turned back to her desk. “I’ll be there.”

Fluffer Duster frowned and narrowed her eyes. “Last time you said that, you ate cold spaghetti at midnight.”

Vinyl threw up her head back and groaned at the ceiling. “Fine! Whatever! Sweet Celestia, ever since I hurt myself, you all have been treating me like a filly.”

“It’s just because we care about you, Vinyl.” The maid shrank back slightly and kicked her hoof across the floorboards. “And, if I can be honest, I feel like we have to watch you or you’ll hurt yourself again. It’s like you care more about Summers than yourself sometimes.”

The worst part about the claim was that Vinyl knew Fluffs was right. She knew it, but stopping now would be almost as painful as reinjuring herself. Time was running out, and she needed to be productive, or at least she had the overwhelming urge to not waste time. Vinyl’s life had been a constant burn at both ends for years to scrape by. Now, she had no candles, but plenty of fire to go around.

“I just don’t know how to relax.”

“You can always ask me. When I’m not cleaning, I know some good ways to unwind.”

“Thanks, Fluffs. I’ll be a good girl until you get back.”

The pegasus giggled. “Alright. I’ll hold you to that and be back in a few hours. Good luck!”

With that, Fluffer Duster hovered out of the room to continue her daily cleaning duties, leaving Vinyl alone with Summers’ notes. Keeping to her word, Vinyl opened a notebook of her own with her hoof and grabbed her pencil in her magic.

“Okay. Taking it easy. No problem. I can do that.”

Suede Shoes was nothing less than a musical genius. Even in second-hoof short form written by a mare who clearly only got about half of what he was talking about, his talents shined through. Summers had an ear for what sounded good, but every few pages had a glossary of notes for defining basic musical terms. It was a small blessing that the foundational work of swing amounted to simplicity itself.

According to Suede, swing consisted of simple melodies with solid beats for the sake of clarity. The bedrock served as a starting point to build upon and improvise on the fly, which was where Vinyl had made her biggest mistake of overcomplicating her original composition. Some of the tricks and flourishes were so subtle that she hadn’t even registered them as improvisations. Despite Summers’ musical illiteracy, Suede had written down examples in the provided sheet music. It might’ve been somewhat wasted on Summers, but Vinyl was eager to try them out on her own.

Vinyl’s confidence had soared from even the few pages she’d poured over, at least until she’d stumbled on one page of the Summers’ notes on one of the musical fundamentals Vinyl was very familiar with: Call and Response.

The DJ frequently used the concept in her own music. Repetition was one of the cores of a trance. She’d lay a solid percussive beat to begin, introduce other sounds to lay the foundation, and finally drop in the melodic phrase to play with. Iterating on theme was part of the joy of the genre. Building it up, crashing it down, and stretching the tension all around to see what could be drawn from the progression. However, seeing it written down in another way of thinking gave her pause.

Call and Response — One instrument calls and the other answers.

Complimentary: One starts a phrase, the other finishes it

Contradictory: One starts an argument, the other raises the stakes

Questioning: One asks a question, the other answers or asks back

Repeating: One states, the other states again

Challenge - Write down examples of Call and Response outside of music in two minutes.
Mountain Echoes, Birdsong, Seatides, Lovers’ Hearts, Ketchup and Mustard, Birds and Bees, Paired Crystals, Dogs and Cats, Seasons, Socks, Sun and Moon

Though Summers had devolved into things that went together, the idea of paired crystals gave her pause. She’d attuned thousands of crystals trying to ensure they resonated cleanly with whatever sigils and foci they were being used with, but she’d never considered the musical concept of call and response with a crystal.

Conventional wisdom taught that crafting sigils served as a track for magic to follow. The enchantment either drew from the crystal itself, ambient magic, or the user’s primal mana to follow a specific, predictable spell. A magelight needed to shine every time it was activated, not randomly douse the user in water or teleport them across the country. The rigid, complex simplicity was why earth ponies, pegasi, and any other creature could use an enchanted item.

It was also why drawing anything from a cacophony crystal was nigh impossible. Anything put inside one became so distorted and entangled that it might as well have been chaos magic. It made sense, considering the cacophony rune itself served as a conduit for packing in as much magic as it could until it destabilized. Its predictable purpose was violently exploding, after all. Trying to find anything sensible to channel within the noise was akin to reaching into a birthday cake to pull out a pristine cup of sugar.

However, what if she didn’t try to channel anything from it herself? What if, instead, the crystal could respond appropriately to her request by itself? Not in something as normal as a somatic casting pattern. Those were just sigils by another name, with the same channeling problems. Her question was both far, far simpler and absolutely absurd on its face. If she couldn’t pull the sugar out herself, maybe the cake would give her a cup of it if she asked nicely.

Vinyl knew she was on to something. Something big. Something radically different than any approach she’d thought of before. Her mind was constantly throwing more fuel on the fire, turning her inspiration into a raging inferno. She needed to get to the school’s audio lab and—

A sudden wave of pain rattled Vinyl’s skull from the base of her horn. It ached with pulsating pressure that ratcheted like a vice around her brain.

“Stupid busted magic,” Vinyl hissed as she winced. She quickly grabbed her pencil by hoof and jotted down a few ideas in her notes to refresh her memory.

Looking at the clock, it’d only been an hour since she’d started. Vinyl hadn’t even gotten a single measure of music rewritten after getting sidetracked. The musician and researcher in her mind were at odds for her attention, and both demanded that she press on. It was only a little pain, after all. She’d suffered worse. So, she did what she needed to do. Vinyl stood up, trotted calmly across the hall to her room, grabbed the dampening ring off the nightstand, and put it on her horn again.

Oh, come on! her desires complained. You’re on the verge of a breakthrough!

“Nope. Don’t need you right now.” She trotted over to her painkillers and tossed back another dose. It was a couple hours early, but she needed the relief. She was tempted to crawl back into bed and try to nap it away, but the siren’s song of the collection being a few steps away was too great. Vinyl needed to be anywhere but here right now.

Aren’t you supposed to take those with food?

“Yep. And I know how to remedy that.”

With the Crystal Summit quickly approaching, Fancy was practically tied to his desk whenever he was home. Every day he answered letters, double-checked schedules, organized workers, and did whatever else his duties required of him. It was a small mercy that his informal station allowed him to stay out of the castle. Instead, he was able to simply borrow a phoenix flame candle to keep in contact with the princesses without anything distracting him.

At least until there was a knock at the door of the study; an odd occurrence, since he kept an open door policy with the mansion’s shared spaces.

Fancy turned to see who it was. “Yes?”

The door cracked open and Vinyl poked her head through, carefully looking around. “Can I come in?” she asked, her voice drained of strength.

Fancy shot up to attention. “Yes, of course! Are you alright?”

The mare said nothing as she entered, but Vinyl’s slow trudging with her hoof pressing against her head was enough of an answer. As she approached his desk, he noticed she was wearing the dampening ring again.

“Got any granola bars?” Vinyl groaned.

He paused for a moment from the unexpected question. “I do, but the kitchen has more variety.”

Vinyl shook her head. “Please. Just something, okay?”

With a slow nod, Fancy Pants forwent any mention of dinner fast approaching and opened his desk’s snack drawer. “White chocolate macadamia nut or blueberry?”

“Surprise me.”

With a nod, he grabbed a blueberry bar. Vinyl reached over to take it in her hoof, but Fancy stood up and walked around to her side instead. “Let’s just get over to the couch first.”

Vinyl stumbled at the offer. “You don’t have to do that. You’re busy with summit stuff.”

“Yes, but I believe we could both use a break from our work,” he insisted. “You especially.”

With a sigh, she conceded. “At least give me the bar. I can carry it by myself.”

“Then you’d have to stop holding your head.”

Vinyl’s eyes wandered up to her hoof under her horn, and she chuckled to herself. “Alright, but you’re not holding it while I eat, got it?”

Fancy smiled softly. “That’s what the coffee table is for.”

With the matter settled, Vinyl joined Fancy’s gait towards the fireplace. Despite her claimed desires of self-sufficiency, she leaned into him for support as he escorted her. He could feel her flowing mane resting against his neck and their barrels gently brushing together with each careful step. While Fancy was glad to have earned Vinyl’s trust, the warmth of her mere touch burned with unbearable comfort.

Fancy quickly helped his suffering guest up onto the couch to lie down. Setting the breakfast bar next to her, he quickly retreated to the safety of his liquor cabinet to pour a glass of water for Vinyl and to douse his soul in spirits. Fortunately, he hadn’t lost his magic to stress yet, but he was well on his way without a little wine to settle himself. Even if he knew where the lines were, he needed to stop letting himself be so easily caught between the blur.

“Stupid… Freaking… Gah!”

At first Fancy thought somepony had been reading his mind, but he turned around to see Vinyl fruitlessly fighting against the stubborn wrapper. She’d given up any sense of civility and was chomping on the end trying to bite her way inside.

Fancy flashed his aura near the corner of the bar. “May I?”

Vinyl sighed in defeat and held out the sealed granola. With a fluid flourish of magic, he cut around the wrapper to reveal the partially broken deliciousness within.

“Thanks,” she said before taking her first bite.

“You’re welcome.” The stallion hovered Vinyl’s water to the table as he took a seat in his favorite chair. He sipped his wine and took a calming breath, letting the slight burn of the alcohol give him strength. “If you don’t mind me asking, what brings you to the study?”

Vinyl simply raised the bar and waved it around in her hoof.

“I see that, but like I said, the kitchen was available. Furthermore, it’s closer to your room.”

Seeing how she wasn’t going to get off that easy, she took a deep breath through her nose and swallowed her bite. “Because Maman, Fleur, and Fluffs are probably in there right now. They’d get on my case about… this.” Vinyl pointed to her aching head.

Fancy raised an eyebrow. “And I wouldn’t?”

There was a pause as she considered the question and nibbled on her food. “I liked my odds better with you.”

“So you’re saying I should spare you the obvious lecture about taking better care of yourself, ensuring you that the work will still be there when you’re better, and so on and so forth?”

Vinyl rolled her eyes. “Unless you want to make the headache worse, yeah.”

“We wouldn’t want that now, would we? That wouldn’t be much of a break for me anyway.”

Vinyl nodded slowly. “I got enough of a headache for the both of us anyway.”

“Then let’s avoid that while enjoying a little breather together.”

With that, Fancy took another sip of his wine and made himself comfortable in his seat. Instead of making conversation, he cracked open the Imperial book he’d been reading through in his spare time. A quiet crunch of the mare’s bar drew his attention before he immersed himself into his crystal tome. He spared one more look at his companion. She’d take a bite and then lay back down, covering her eyes with a nearby pillow to drown out the late afternoon light.

Deciding that wasn’t a good sign, Fancy stood back up and drew the curtains one by one around the room as he walked over to the liquor cabinet. Popping open the wine cooler, he began rummaging through the contents to see if he had anything that could help her.

“What’re you doing over there?” Vinyl asked, her ears flinching from the glass clinking together.

Fancy lifted a flat whiskey bottle in his magic, hefting it up and down to test its weight. “Improvising.” He then checked the drawers and spotted a container of salt.

Vinyl watched curiously as he rummaged through his cabinet, wincing at any sharp noise. “What, the wine not strong enough?”

“I have something different in mind.” Fancy retrieved a couple bar mops and laid them flat on the bar. He then reached for the scoop and shoveled some ice cubes from the icebox underneath and spread them across. Finally, he hovered some salt with his magic and doused the cubes to keep them from melting too fast before wrapping the whole thing up.

“Imperfect, but it’ll do the trick.” Fancy gently placed the makeshift cold compress on the mare’s head.

“You could’ve just gone and grabbed a cooling pad from the medicine cabinet.”

“True, but then that would’ve roused suspicions if I was caught,” Fancy said with a wink. “How does it feel?”

“Better. Thanks, Fancy.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t want to be a bad host.” He sparked the fireplace to life for some softer light before retaking his seat.

“You don’t have to do all of this.”

“It’s no trouble at all. Just relax for a while and let the headache wear off. I’ll be right here reading if you need me for anything, lecture or otherwise.”

Vinyl smiled and laughed. “Thank you.”

With that, she laid down, letting the backrest balance the bottle on her head. Fancy returned to the depths of his book as best he could. The text had become more difficult to read in the dwindling light, so he held the book closer to his face. With his poorer eyesight, that meant burying his muzzle deep enough to catch a whiff of the old pages.

“Can you even see the words?” Vinyl asked, noticing his slight struggle.

“Not to worry. It’s a little dim, but my natural magical aura provides a warm reading light.” After all, his convenience was a small price to pay for Vinyl’s well-being.

Another comfortable silence descended between the two. A page turn here, a bite there, small sips of liquor and water, and the intermittent pop of the fireplace. Occasionally, Fancy stole a glance over the top of his book to check on the mare. Though he enjoyed her pleasant company, he was hoping she’d drift off to sleep and rest her head. Given the flicker of her restless eyes, she was working through a brilliant idea or three he’d have no hope of fully grasping. Fancy hadn’t realized his own eyes had wandered to hers for a little too long after trying to read the same line for the fourth time and she caught him spying over his book.

“What’re you reading anyway?” Vinyl asked, her eyes darting away from his.

“Good question. I always forget the full title.” Fancy closed the book and flipped it around towards the fire. “The Chanters’ Tales of Fiery Hearts in Our Frozen North: Histories of the Crystal Empire.”

“Is it for the summit?”

“And for pleasure. While I’ve been assured that these events did occur, there’s clearly artistic license taken within these embellished accounts. Creative history makes for a fun read.”

Vinyl nodded along slightly, but her brow wrinkled as she considered it. “So wait, how are you supposed to know what’s real then if it’s all exaggerated?”

“You read the same story five times from five different perspectives. I’m sure strictly written histories are chronicled somewhere, but experiencing love in all of its myriad of forms is an important facet of the Crystal Empire. This here is the testament of five different chanters regarding the time after the coronation of Amore.”

“Just Amore? No princess or empress tacked onto it?”

“Of course, but not at first. She’s been called many things; Princess Amore, Empress Amore, Our Love Evermore, The Light of our Hearts. It can be a little difficult to keep track at times with how flowery each story becomes as Amore rises to power. I’m only about halfway through the second account, but I’ve already noticed several story beats that share the same information. That might as well be true.”

“That sounds infuriating.”

“Perhaps for empirical archivists like yourself. Imperials are far more comfortable with facts being lost to time. For them, the absolute truth is secondary to the context it bears today. What matters more to them are the feelings and lessons being passed down through the generations. Her name comes secondary to the impact her life had on those she loved, and that memory evolves beyond her identity.”

Vinyl’s face scrunched in disgust. “I hate that. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad for you, but the idea that a bunch of snooty poets get to define who I am, and won’t even get my name right? Hard pass. I’d be known as the Screeching Banshee or something.”

Fancy hid his grimace behind his book as his mind reeled to push past the subject. “I hadn’t quite considered that. At the same time, I can see how the names of those that came before aren’t as relevant as their effects in the present. This more liberal view of history is quite beautiful in a way, even if it’s a little too open to interpretation for more exacting sensibilities. Speaking of which…” Fancy put down his book to give Vinyl his full attention. “I heard from Fluffer Duster that you made an exciting historical discovery of your own this afternoon in the collection. Not to belabor the point, but I’m assuming that your headache has something to do with it.”

Vinyl nodded her head slightly. “I did thanks to your lead, and now my mind is racing with a bunch of theories that I can’t test because of this stupid, busted horn.”

“Injuries aside, that’s wonderful news, Vinyl! Does that mean you’re over your creative block?”

The mare didn’t seem to know how to answer that as she sucked in a breath. “Kind of? But not the one I thought I would. I didn’t get any work done for this Friday.”

“That’s perfectly fine. I wouldn’t want you to perform if you’re still under the weather as it were.”

“Thanks, but what I mean is, if I’m right though, I think I might have something to show for all of my work at the school finally.”

“You mean your research into those complicated crystals? That’s amazing! I can’t imagine anything Mother had written down that could possibly help you.”

Vinyl blushed from the compliment, she nestled her face between her forelegs trying to hide the smile. “Actually, it was both of them together.” Vinyl looked at Fancy. “And all because you were chewing on a crystal. Good things just keep happening when you’re around.”

Fancy chuckled. “You give me far too much credit. All I did was point you in the direction. You’re the real talent doing all that legwork.”

“But you’ve helped me do so much since I started living here. Heck, even before I got here, you were helping me.”

“There were barriers holding you back from reaching your full potential, and I had enough money to remove them. Had they not been there, I’m sure you would be flourishing by now.”

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t want to change a thing. I like being here.”

“You do?” Fancy tried taking another gulp of his wine, only to find he’d already drained the glass dry. “I’m glad you’re happy here. I enjoy having everypony around as well. This place was always meant to be filled with ponies. There’s far too much room for just me.”

“Yeah, but that’s not why I like it. Even if the mansion burned down and we all had to cram into my old apartment, I wouldn’t mind.”

“What about the collection?”

Vinyl’s face fell as the thought tore through her hard enough to send another wave of pain. She winced and gripped her head. “Okay, maybe I’d mind a little.”

“Don’t worry. This place isn’t going anywhere for a long time. Just relax and try to rest your head for now,” Fancy said softly.

“With my magic all messed up, it’s not like I have much choice.” What happiness she had quickly left as her brow wrinkled. “Sorry that you’re always having to take care of me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, I’m always getting hurt or freaking out or breaking down. Heck, the first time we really talked, I got drunk off my flank and you had to water me like a plant. I don’t know why you put up with me all the time.”

“You’re stacking the deck against yourself rather nicely when you fail to mention all the good work you’ve done since you’ve been here.” Fancy abandoned the book and gave Vinyl a supportive smile. “In fact, it’s quite the opposite when I think about it. When I hired you to archive the collection, I never imagined I’d be having to stop you from working. You should take pride in how much you’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time.”

“The collection doesn’t feel like work anymore. I mean, it does, but it’s so much more than that now. I don’t know how to describe it. Summers is like a teacher, a parent, and a friend all wrapped up in one pony. I’d give anything to meet her so I could tell her how much she means to me. Even if it was just for a second so I could say thanks.”

An old melancholy tugged at the back of Fancy’s head with that old wish to feel Summers’ feathery wings one more time. He took a long breath through his nose to savor the scent of bittersweet nostalgia. “I wish you could’ve met her as well. You two would have so much to talk about.”

“Thanks to you, I have in a way. And if I keep going, so many other ponies might get to know her too. Ponies like me that could use somepony like Summers in their lives.” Vinyl leaned her head to the side and looked towards the fireplace with a wistful smile. “I want to dethrone that hollow Queen of Disco so Sauna Summers can be remembered for the wonderful pony she really was.”

In the glow of the fireplace, Vinyl’s eyes danced with a sorrowful passion. Even though he had envisioned her working here with the collection so joyfully, he had no idea how attached she’d become to it. Every follicle of her fur was screaming with a desire to reveal the real Summers to the world. Fancy couldn’t believe that his veiled excuse to keep the poor mare off the streets had turned into such an important goal for her. Who was he to stand in the way if this was a good fate for her?

“If that’s how you feel, then you’re welcome to keep the key I gave you permanently. The Suede-Shoes Collection is yours.”

Vinyl whipped her head around, nearly throwing the bottle off of her head. “W-what?”

“Don’t act so surprised. Other than myself, I don’t know a single pony in the entire world that cares more about my mother’s legacy than you. You have the expertise and drive to do something with all of it and do it right, so if you want it, the entire collection is yours to do with what you will.” He looked back at the end table next to him and lifted The Chanters’ Tales in his magic. “You could even write a book about her if you want.”

The mare quickly sat up stammering to herself as she tried to form a sentence and balancing the whiskey bottle on her head. “But the whole reason you hired me to archive it in the first place was because you wanted me to keep any terrible secrets I found quiet! I haven’t even found the Moondance album in there!”

“I did, didn’t I?” Fancy leaned back in his seat and looked at nothing in particular. “It’s funny. I cared a lot more about that a few months ago before you got here. But, you know what? It’s not my place to decide what happens with that album. It was a gift given by Suede to Éclair. He just recorded it here.” Fancy chuckled to himself. “Legally, she holds the rights and royalties to his music anyway. If you do manage to find it in there, ask her what to do with it.”

“But, it’s my job here! I’m only staying here because you’re paying for everything.”

“That is true.” Fancy scratched his chin in thought, but quickly shrugged it off. “Then why don’t you take the ambassador room and studio as well?”

“You can’t just do that!” Vinyl screeched in protest.

“It’s not just that I can, but I feel as though I should. You’ve put them all to such good use already that it feels wasted on me. Besides, you’re Fleur’s sister now, and she has a key already. This is just tying up loose ends.” Fancy looked back down and leaned forward in his seat towards the flummoxed mare. “In my mind, you’ve more than earned it.”

Vinyl shook her head. “No. I don’t. It’s too much.”

Fancy stepped out of his seat and began trotting to Vinyl’s side, but as he got closer, she backed away from his approach. He stopped in his tracks and sat where he was to give the mare his undivided attention as he looked up to her.

“You’ve done so much good with my mother’s legacy that I let rot for years. You haven’t just earned it, you deserve it. Far more than I ever will. However, I know how you feel about such things. If this arrangement makes you uncomfortable, then just say the word and we’ll pretend this conversation never happened. Nothing has to change.”

Vinyl chewed her lip as she looked down from her seat. She laid back down so they would be eye-level, her face wracked with confusion. “What am I supposed to say to that?”

“Anything you want, Vinyl. I just want whatever will make you happy.”

“I-I…” The troubled mare stood up and looked away, a deep blush overtaking her face as she stammered for something else to say. She gripped her head and clamped her eyes shut. “I can’t think straight because of this stupid headache!”

Fancy’s heart clenched seeing the mare in pain, and his overwhelming gift was just making it worse. “Sorry, Vinyl. Don’t worry about any of that for now. Just lie back down and rest. Focus on getting better, alright?”

Vinyl grunted in frustration, but she ultimately lowered herself back down and leaned into the couch.

“This should go without saying, but just because you’re given a gift doesn’t mean you have to accept it. You always have a choice, Vinyl. Remember that.”

She nodded slightly, but kept her face turned away from him and any of the lights in the room.

Fancy stood back up and brushed his sweater off. After seeing the careless damage he’d done, he collected his wine glass and returned to his desk to give Vinyl some much needed space. He silently cursed himself for listening to his heart in the spur of the moment rather than thinking through the offer. Fancy was the kingmaker for a reason. He always needed to think things through lest they end in disaster, and even without using his talents, he should’ve known better than to offer something she’d see as utterly extravagant.

But even so, he wanted to give it to her. All of it. If Vinyl had the freedom to pursue whatever she wanted, a driven mare like her would become unstoppable. She could become a timeless musical star or a renowned master enchanter. All it took was a little money to clear her path and she’d lead a grand legacy filled with joy and laughter. Her time spent correcting the record on Sauna Summers would simply be a footnote in the saga of her life. The only fate she’d have would be one of endless, unfettered success.

That’s exactly what Fancy wanted. He wanted her to be happy. He just wanted her to be happy. It had to be that, because anything otherwise would be wrong. She deserved far more than he could ever give. That’s all that he wanted. It just had to be. Even if he couldn’t see it anymore, Vinyl’s happiness had to be all that he wanted. It could only be that because it could only ever be that. Anything more was too much for him. It’d be a waste.

Her precious smile would be wasted on him.
Her reckless brilliance would be wasted on him.
Her caring tenderness would be wasted on him.
Her shining youth would be wasted on him.

Fancy refused to allow a single thing of hers to be wasted on somepony like him. It would all be a waste, because he’d already seen his fate. An optimal fate. His optimal fate. The kingmaker knew it from the bottom of his heart.

Despite Luna’s claim of him being blind to his fate, he’d already glimpsed a beautiful one for himself before. And it wasn’t Vinyl standing at his side on the hills of Prance. Fancy was bound to that fate, married to it, whether the vision was ever realized or not. At least the outcome of that life was certain. Any divergence would go against everything his cutie mark ever told him. It’d be selfish to indulge in wanton uncertainty when there was a clear path before him. It was his weakness alone that failed to walk it after all these years.

He’d tried it before, walking towards it like a moth to a flame. The warmth was old, kind, and familiar. The light had burned steadily since his time in Prance. He’d rested in the scattering light for over twenty years, watching its flickering dance from a distance. Now, after years of admiring that blaze, there was another; a newer spark that had snuck up on him. By the time he’d realized it was there, it was already burning through his hardened heart, lighting it anew with its mere presence. Had he been paying more attention, he might’ve been able to put it out. It was too late though, and now he had to soldier on and do his best to contain it.

Before he settled back into his work, he stole one last look at the mare resting in the soft light of the fireplace. While he hated that she was suffering miserably from her headache, his selfish side was grateful that her eyes were shut tight. Vinyl wouldn’t have to see the face he was making, whatever it was. His heart refused to harden any further. Doing so would require the resolve of an ancient alicorn. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the one question repeating in his mind.

Why did it have to be her?

Author's Note

Chapter 48: Lost in Memories

The eve of the Crystal Summit had arrived with little fanfare, but no shortage of stress. The official festivities weren’t set to start until tomorrow, yet legions of guards, servants, and committee members were already rushing around. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and the Imperial Delegation were arriving tonight, and they only had one chance to make a good first impression. It’d been years since the Suede Shoes Estate had bustled with so much activity. Everything had to be perfect when welcoming the not-so-foreign leader back to Canterlot.

The old song and dance wasn’t anything new to Fancy Pants or Dapper Dandy. However, the same could not be said for the young Fluffer Duster. Fancy had spared the young mare the task of head maid due to her default seniority over the outside help. Instead, he decided to keep her close as his personal assistant for the evening. While his presence ran the show, her schedule would direct it.

To prevent any upper class confusion, Fancy had taken the liberty of providing Fluffer Duster a business blazer and blouse fit for her temporary role. Éclair infused a bit of Prench professionalism by tying the mare’s mulberry mane into a beautiful, interlocking bun. According to the humble baker, if one had to be formidable, it helped to be formidable. Fancy was inclined to agree. Had she accepted Fleur’s offer of fake glasses, Fluffer Duster would fit right into any boardroom in Manehattan.

Her official-looking presence had the added benefit of helping Fancy look busy. For once, he was glad she was such a homebody. He heard murmurs between the nobles trying to name the mysterious planner hogging all of his attention. Even during the lulls where he could be interrupted, he acted occupied to avoid getting roped into an endless conversation with the more vocal members of the committee. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to Upper Crust any more than necessary.

Fancy took one last look around the dining hall to ensure everything was ready for the delegation’s arrival. “How are we doing on time, Miss Duster?”

“Going by the watchtower’s last report twenty minutes ago, I’d say we have about six minutes until the Adora lands.”

Fancy nodded along, but stopped at the name. “Not the Imperious? I thought the Empire only had one airship.”

Fluffer Duster flipped through her clipboard until she arrived at a communique from the castle. “I don’t know. It says here that a pink and white ship called the Adora requested entrance into Canterlot airspace. Maybe her Imperial highness changed its name?”

“And the paint from the sounds of it,” Fancy added with a warm chuckle. “I suppose our world’s newest leader is more attached to her duties as the Princess of Love than as the Crystal Empress. A name like Imperious doesn’t sound very lovable.”

A familiar airy laugh drew their attention. “You’re right. I probably should’ve thought about that when I commissioned the ship for her,” Celestia remarked.

“Y-your majesties!” Fluffer Duster stuttered. Remembering her manners, she dropped to the ground in a deep bow. The gesture rippled through the room as ponies fell like dominoes in reverence to their immortal leaders.

Following their example, Fancy knelt down respectfully toward the approaching sun and moon being led by Dapper. “Good evening, your highnesses. I apologize for not greeting you upon your arrival.”

“It is I who should apologize to you, dear Fancy Pants. I didn’t wish to cause a commotion upon our arrival. So I asked the impressively mustached one to refrain from announcing us. It was a foolish thought in hindsight.” Luna shot a leer around the room full of bowing ponies, then launched herself skyward with a resolute hoofstomp.

“Arise, everypony! Return to your duties at once!” she commanded with her royal voice. Everypony bounced back immediately and returned to their work as she fluttered to the floor. “Such needless pleasantries.”

“I think it was worth the try, sister,” Princess Celestia said in support. Her eyes darted around the area with an eternally exacting eye for detail. She smiled in approval at the results. “Besides, it would appear that everything is in order for our beloved niece's arrival, including you, Sir Fancy Pants. Don’t you agree, Dapper Dandy?”

“Indubitably, your highness. It’s marvelous to see you dressed in your finest again, sir,” the old butler remarked with a subdued, yet pleasant smile.

“I’m just glad the old thing still fits. Barely.” Fancy looked down at his diplomatic uniform in all of its ornate, royal, and uncomfortably tight splendor. His decorated navy blue and gold jacket rattled with silver stars, gold medals, and other honors that he’d earned over his years of service to the crown.

“Not to worry, my dear friend,” Luna said as she admired his outfit. “You wear our colors well.”

“With all due respect, you’re not the one with your barrel bunching up like a marshmallow.”

Dapper stepped forward to inspect the slight bulge of his underside. “From my limited understanding, you’re simply in the early stages of developing something Fleur calls a ‘dad bod,’ if I heard her correctly. Supposedly those are ‘in’ right now.”

“Don’t believe everything you hear, Dapper. Especially from Fleur. Still, I appreciate the sentiment.” Fancy made one last attempt to adjust his jacket, but he could still feel the pooch of flab where his shirt met his stomach.

“You look fine, Fancy Pants. You already have my sister’s approval, which I wholeheartedly agree with,” Princess Celestia assured as she shooed the stallion’s hoof away from his midsection. Her ear swiveled subtly towards several approaching committee members. “Let’s go ahead and get ready to meet my niece on the back lawn.” The princess’ horn flared with magic as she wrapped the group with her powerful spellwork. In an instant, the tiled floors yielded to soft grass as they appeared outside.

“Not even sparing a moment for the nobility?” Luna asked with a knowing smirk. “You must be more excited than I thought.”

The elder sister smiled softly. “I’ve been looking forward to this moment for a very long time.”

Winter Wrap-up had finally come and gone in Canterlot, and the bitter chill of the late evening wind had yielded to the cool mountain breeze of spring. Pegasi had swept away the snow, revealing verdant fields with fresh grass springing up along the river and around the waterfall. The free-flowing cascades kicked up a cloud of vapor that scattered the setting sunlight in a warm rainbow. While the wildflowers hadn’t come in yet, the warm glow of the setting sun kissed the grass, painting the blades in yellow and red hues. Fancy’s gaze followed the trail of signal flags from the designated landing zone all the way to the city’s east wall. In the distance was a large, pink balloon with a shimmering glint underneath that was getting larger with each passing moment.

Even though he’d mentally prepared, Fancy couldn’t help but feel the slightest modicum of apprehension. Ever since he’d known Princess Cadance, he’d always made her uncomfortable. While she bore no outward hostility towards him, the princess always found some excuse to avoid meeting him more than she had to. He hoped his presence wouldn’t complicate things if there was still an issue between them, especially since Princess Celestia was so adamant about him being here.

His magical aura reached for the stress crystal that his mind knew wasn’t there. The formal dress uniform was too tight to secret it away without drawing an unsightly bulge on his chest. For now, he’d just have to make do with his monocle, or Princess Luna’s magic if she caught him stress casting.

As the Adora made its approach, the luxurious gold and silver ship dropped ropes for the Royal Guard’s Air Force. Pegasi and nocturnes worked together, pulling the ship lower to tie it to the ground. Finally, the last and largest rope meant to tie the ship down appeared off the side, carried down in a royal streak of pink and purple. The beautiful swan of the Frozen North, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, alighted to the ground like a seasoned sailor dressed in golden Imperial finery. She guided the thick rope in her mouth to the mooring post and tied her royal ship down by hoof. After testing the knot with a tug, she brushed her mane to reveal a beaming smile at a job well done. It only shined brighter upon seeing her adoptive royal family.

“Auntie Celestia! Auntie Luna!” The youngest princess broke into a gallop towards the sun and moon.

Princess Celestia extended her wings and caught her niece within her feathery spread. “Welcome back to Canterlot. It is so good to see you again, your Imperial Highness.”

“Oh don’t you start with that. It’s just Cadance with you two.”

Luna trotted past the pair to observe the princess’ work. “I see you’ve been practicing nautical knots, Cadence.”

“Shiny taught me that one!” she said with pride. “It was a good excuse to get off the boat sooner. I just wanted to be your niece for a few minutes before things really got underway.”

Luna flicked the rope with her hoof and smiled. “Searching for ways to shirk your duties? My my, I think our nations will get along swimmingly, my lovely niece.”

“Without a doubt, Auntie Luna. This whole thing is basically a formality anyway.”

Luna’s mouth drew into a firm line. “Perhaps it is so for the Alicorn Princess of Love, but it mustn’t be for the Empress of the Crystal Empire. Unless Harmony itself is at stake, you are expected to act in the best interest of your nation first and foremost.”

The pink princess bristled slightly at the sudden change in her aunt’s demeanor. “But the conditions are already so favorable, I don’t see why I should treat you any differently. Besides, the crystal ponies love Equestria so much!”

“While it is true that we’ve done much to help them upon their return, we are still separate powers. Regardless of your unique connection to the Crystal Heart, the delegation may question your loyalties as their Equestrian-born sovereign. Fortunately, we have our good friend and fateweaver to guide us. While not impartial, his limited foresight should help us strike a better balance.”

“Oh yeah. I almost forgot. This isn’t the castle’s backyard, is it?” The princess tittered and glanced around until she spotted him. Her face fell briefly, but she quickly recovered by clearing her throat. The royal still had a good century before her mask even came close to her aunts'. “It’s good to see you again, Sir Fancy Pants.”

“The pleasure is all mine, your Imperial highness.” Fancy bowed deeply with every ounce of deference he could muster. “It is a privilege to be able to lend my humble estate to house your servants.”

“Thank you, Sir Fancy Pants,” she said weakly. Fancy lifted his head to give the princess his full attention, but her eyes flicked over to Luna the moment his made contact. “Auntie Celestia told me that you and Auntie Luna were working closely together.”

“And the both of them have been doing an excellent job,” Princess Celestia stated as she motioned for Luna to come closer. She nudged Fancy Pants towards her younger sister, almost making them bump into each other. She then extended her wing all the way around both of them and pulled the two into a close hug. “I am very pleased with the results of their efforts, and I’m sure you will be as well.”

The smaller stallion did his best to smile while awkwardly sandwiched between the royals. Fancy knew Princess Celestia was determined to fix the rift between him and Cadance, but this was far more forward than he expected. He glanced up at Luna, who seemed to be annoyed by her sister’s crushing wing hug and complete lack of subtlety. Before either of them could protest, Princess Celestia released them and shifted over to Cadance’s side.

“After seeing them in action, I know there’s nothing they can’t do together. What do you think, Cadenza?” Celestia asked.

The youngest princess’ ear flicked. Everypony in the castle had known for years that she hated hearing her full name. “I’m sure the summit will be—” The words died on Candance’s lips as her eyes widened. She quickly glanced back over to Fancy and Luna, her focus darting between them as her face paled. “Aunt Celestia? Could I talk to you for a moment? Privately?”

The solar princess’ smile glowed with the serenity of Elysium as she hugged her niece. “Of course. I already had a room prepared for us, but we should wait for the rest of your subjects to finish landing first.”

Cadance shrank back into her aunt’s embrace. “O-oh. Right.”

Where he’d hoped some time apart would’ve helped, it seemed Princess Cadance was more upset by him than ever. Her revulsion hadn’t been missed by Luna either, as she offered him a supportive wing hug of her own before shooting a disappointed frown at Cadance. At this point, Fancy was hoping his mere presence wouldn’t spark an international incident.

“Sure you don’t wanna duck out with us for the night, sis?” Fleur asked Vinyl for the umpteenth time. “We’ve got a mattress with your name on it.”

Vinyl leaned back from her desk and shook her head. “I’m good here. Just gonna hang out while the welcoming party’s going down.” She grabbed her half-eaten plate of random food. “Don’t want to waste Dapper’s good cooking.”

“Okay, Vinyle. Remember you promised,” Éclair warned as her eyes scanned the studio’s clutter.

“I know, I know,” she assured the two, but the worried frown on her maman didn’t budge. “You know what? How about this?” Vinyl shuffled the pages of music and notes she’d taken until her hoof clicked against her dampening ring. She slid it on, numbing her horn again. “No magic until the performance tomorrow. Deal?”

Éclair finally smiled softly and nodded. “Deal.”

Fleur gave Vinyl a quick hug. “Just actually take it easy. I don’t want to have to run all the way over here from home just to smack some sense into you.”

“The ring stays on all night, I promise. I’m just gonna relax and listen to some records, no notes.”

Fleur narrowed her gaze, giving her sister a suspicious stink eye.

“I swear, no notes.”

“Okay. I trust you. But first, I’m just gonna…” Fleur’s magic wrapped around the mound of paper on the table, sweeping it up in a flurry of magic and depositing it on top of the tallest cabinet in the studio. “There!”

Vinyl shot an eyebrow up as she leaned over her clean desk. “How exactly is that trusting?”

“I trust that you won’t be able to reach those. I’ll ask Dapper to check on you before bed. At nine.”

“Geez, okay. Anything else, your majesty?”

“Non, non,” Fleur answered as Lady Faire without missing a beat. “If I hear you are, how you say, being a bad filly, I will send for la guillotine, oui?”

“I comprende.”

“Qu'est-ce que c'est?” Fleur tilted her head. “This is non Prench.”

“Whatever. You still got it.”

“Sí.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes and waved her sister out of the recording studio. Maman simply shook her head and helped Fleur out the door with a soft kick to her flank. She then smiled sweetly as she leaned her head back inside for one last look. “See you tomorrow evening, ma précieuse fleur de vinyle.”

Vinyl cracked a smile and waved goodbye until the door closed. After they left, she sighed and tried to reach for her fork with her magic, only to fail her spell. “Right. Shoulda finished my food before the ring thing.” Forgoing any Canterlot table manners, Vinyl stuck her muzzle into the food and grazed off of her plate, holding her mane back by hoof.

Her eyes wandered up to her research, filed neatly along with the sheet music she’d planned to compare to Suede’s music. “So much for that idea.”

It was probably for the best anyway. Without the use of her magic, there wasn’t much else she’d be able to do if something sounded off. Now she had the problem of waiting for bedtime to roll around. Fancy had offered to invite her to the welcoming party, but there was no way Vinyl was going to spend a second more than she needed to around rich, snooty ponies.

So what are you going to do then? Desire asked.

Vinyl groaned to herself. She’d been alone with her thoughts too long. “Something to keep you quiet.”

You want to listen to your collection.

“Fancy’s collection,” Vinyl corrected firmly. “Fancy’s parent’s collection.”

But he gave it to you.

“I never accepted.”

You wanted to accept it. You want all of this and more.

“I know, but please. Not now,” Vinyl begged fruitlessly as she sunk her head into her hooves.

Fine. You still want to listen to something, though. Desire hummed loudly to herself, banefully interrupting Vinyl’s thoughts. Oh! I know! Let’s find the Moondance Album!

“First off, don’t talk like you’re realizing anything I haven’t. Second, you say that like it’s gonna be easy. The masters have been missing for years.”

Maybe Fancy never tried to look? It’s gotta be somewhere in the newer records. We won’t even need your magic.

Vinyl sighed. She was supposed to be taking things easy, but the last thing she wanted to do was relax for even a single second.

Let’s just look, alright? Finding Moondance would make Fancy happy and make you feel better about accepting the collection.

Vinyl’s shoulders sagged as Desire pulled at her heart. “I don’t want to accept it.”

But you do want it.

Vinyl said nothing, but it wasn’t like she could hide her desires from herself. Plus, it’d offer a distraction from thinking about anything.

That’s the spirit!

Especially Desire.

That, not so much.

Vinyl scarfed down the last of her greens in one gigantic bite and set the plate aside. She was going to need the space if she intended to dig some albums out of the collection. Vinyl swore to herself that she wasn’t going to go crazy with the search. The last thing she wanted was to upset everypony again… Right?

Right! Desire agreed.

“Right. So, let’s get started.”

The welcoming scent of old cardboard and vinyl wafted over the amateur archivist’s nose as she opened the door to the collection again. Every time she’d stepped through the threshold, Vinyl had stopped to gaze down the rows and rows of boxes brimming with old disks. She remembered seeing Steeplechase bubbling with excitement as he looked around the musty, neglected shelves. At the time, Vinyl had no idea why, but now she saw it.

Despite the decrepit appearance, the collection was alive in its own way. A living, breathing, untapped treasure trove of two ponies that had come to mean the world to her. Summers and Suede were a constant source of musical inspiration, a wellspring of life lessons, and the parents Vinyl wished she’d had growing up. And Fancy Pants wanted to give it all to her.

Better than any ring, right?

Vinyl’s face flushed bright red and she slammed her hooves down. “Would you shut up already!”

Shaking the annoying idea away, Vinyl stepped inside to begin her search. The timeline started to her left with two rows of separate boxes that eventually merged into one. From there, it jumped across to the right wall and flowed from the back as the years went on. The newer cases ended, eventually turning into storage for retired sound equipment. If she had time, Vinyl could try restoring them to use in her studio—

“Fancy’s studio,” she reminded herself.

Vinyl trotted over to the very end of the collection. She kept a sharp eye out for dates on the side of the boxes to get a feel for the period she was searching through. There wasn’t a single marking on the last box, nor any masters inside.

“Makes sense,” Vinyl muttered to herself. “They’d need to prepare boxes to store the records in as they made them.”

The next few boxes were the same. No markings, no masters. They were all so empty. A sharp pang of loss flickered through her heart. There was still so much room they could’ve filled. So much more she thought was there to listen to. Vinyl stopped bothering to check for dates and simply opened the boxes to look inside as she went down the line.

Finally, she opened a box to find a lone record marked with a strange entry marked 01/18/00. Confused by the impossible, thousand-year-old disk, she slipped it out of the box and took it back to the record player for a quick listen.

Vinyl put on her headphones and listened closely, but heard nothing. As she cranked up the volume, the thrum of a magic aura sparkled through, along with the sound of a pencil writing. If she listened closely, she could barely hear two ponies talking in the distance. She ratcheted up the audio as high as it would go, trying to catch what they were saying, only for the scratchy sound of her own laughter to explode in her ears.

Vinyl knocked her headphones to the ground and pulled down on the soundboard’s volume, hearing her past nearly die of laughter as she slammed the table. “Cats meow!” she heard her past self wheeze through guffaws.

Vinyl cut the record and sighed. At least now she knew where the collection ended thanks to the “Sunny Spaz” incident. She went back and slotted her accidental submission to the collection as a bookend to the timeline. With renewed purpose, Vinyl opened the next box in line to check the masters, only to find it empty like the others. As far as she knew, the last time the studio had been properly used was by Suede.

“So, if this was the Moondance, it’s long gone.” Vinyl shut the box and leaned her head against it. Of course it wouldn’t be this easy. Fancy would’ve obviously checked himself since he was familiar with the dating system.

Still, she wasn’t deterred from her search. Her goal might’ve been a bust, but Vinyl still had plenty of time before bed, and listening to the records was always so comforting. Skimming the next few boxes, another strange entry in the collection caught her eye. It was a box full of records marked with the same date: 08/23/980. It sounded strangely familiar, but Vinyl couldn’t put her hoof on it. Her curiosity piqued, she stacked the last five masters on her back and returned to the sound board to give them a listen.

Popping the very last one in, she gently raised the audio to spare herself any deafening shenanigans. She listened intently, waiting for something to start, but there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. The studio was completely quiet on the other end. She might as well have been listening to paint dry.

“That’s weird. Did they forget to turn the recording off?” She lifted the disk and put the second down. Nothing. The third. Still nothing. Then fourth and the fifth. Nothing and nothing.

“They definitely forgot to turn the recording off,” Vinyl huffed in frustration. All she wanted was something to listen to for a while. Why was this so hard?

The irritated archivist placed the wasted disks back into their slots, not bothering to check the order, and traced her hoof all the way to the first disk of that day. If this turned out to be a bust, she was going to eat her sunglasses. She stormed back over to the studio’s console for the third time and sat down to hopefully listen to the final record in the collection.

And at last, she heard a voice.

“You… you ready?” Summers asked nervously. Vinyl could practically hear the mare sweating in her horseshoes. “Is it recording?”

There was no answer from the other side.

“Okay. Groovy!” The queen laughed to herself, trying to downplay her nerves. Summers then coughed. “Umm… this is a song that I’ve really wanted you to hear for—heavens, I can’t remember how long. I had a little help from Suede making it. Well, a lot if I’m keeping it real. I just did the lyrics.”

Another stint of silence fell over the disk, but this time, Vinyl could hear the vague sound of a gentle laugh. After a few moments, the studio’s speaker clicked. “Go ahead, Summers. I’m all ears,” a warm, friendly, and familiar voice assured her from the sound booth.

Vinyl shot up to attention. “Sunny?”

Aside from the awkward reintroduction between Princess Cadance and himself, the rest of the welcoming party went off without a hitch. The Crystal Delegation was given a royal welcome by their hosts with plenty of food and drink for everypony, along with enough time for the undercover guards to find their escorts for the week.

As for the princesses, Celestia and Cadance had left the dinner early for some privacy. Luna tried to follow, but was stayed by her sister’s firm hoof.

“You have enough on your plate this evening, Lulu,” was the excuse Celestia had given, but her sister hadn’t bought it for a second. Suffice to say, Princess Luna’s indignation was palpable.

The rest of the evening’s event went as planned, with a short orientation about the schedule for the rest of the week. Once everypony was in agreement, the delegates were led to the castle by the Royal Guard with their personal servants. The rest of the Imperial entourage either returned to the ship or retired to the mansion’s servant quarters. As for Fancy Pants, he still had to contend with the perturbed princess. By her request, the two had adjourned for a walk around the mansion to help her cool off.

Fancy stopped in front of the next display item in his collection. “And this here is a—”

“A blue Saddle Arabian crystal decanter with yet another diplomatic story behind its acquisition?” Luna finished curtly for him.

“A gift from Wazir Black Pearl. I forget how to pronounce his name properly in his native tongue.”

“It is a beautiful treasure from a remarkable friend, just like the rest of your ambassadorial collection,” she remarked as she passed it by with the same level of interest Fancy would spare for a paper cup. “It just proves once more how beloved Equestria’s most decorated servant is to the rest of the world, save one rude niece.”

Fancy sighed and tried to push through the princess’ anger. “While I do not know the reason behind Princess Cadance’s apprehension around me—”

“You mean vitriolic disgust,” she corrected rather than suggested.

“Please. Do not so quickly characterize her reaction as such. We’ve spoken before about my younger days. Perhaps I offended her in some way back then?”

“How foalish. Unless thy transgression was egregious a sin against her and worthy of decades of condemnation, we see no reason for our ‘niece’ to be so sickened by you.”

“Be still, your highness,” Fancy softly reminded the bitter moon. “If I did make a mistake, perhaps she will be more willing to tell you in secret. I will do my best to remain professional and apologize if I have upset her before.”

The princess snorted in anger and whipped back around to face him. “This is what we—what I mean. How could anypony find fault with a perfect gentlecolt like you? Utterly vexing! I have never been so disappointed with Cadance.”

“I’m sorry about that,” a nervous voice called from the distance.

Fancy looked past the princess to see a nerve-wracked Cadance approaching from down the hallway. Luna sneered and reared up to her hind legs as she spun around. She slammed them down in a powerful, silencing blast and stood as tall as she could against the other princess.

Cadance bit her lip. “Aunt—”

“SILENCE!” Luna boomed, threatening to wake the entire mansion. “Keep that familial title out of your mouth, Empress Mi Amore Cadenza! No family of mine would treat our beloved friends so terribly. We demand an explanation!”

Cadance’s ears pinned against her head, genuinely hurt by the harsh words, but she didn’t flinch. “Yes. I understand. He’s your friend, right?”

Luna leaned into the other princess’ face and sneered. “Indeed! Sir Fancy Pants was the first dear friend I made upon my return. Daresay, I consider him to be even closer than my harmonious saviors!”

“Right. And nopony’s closer to you than him?” the other princess probed carefully.

“The details of my relations are none of your concern right now!”

“I’m sorry Au—P-Princess Luna,” the dejected mare whispered as she retreated.

Having heard enough, Fancy stepped around between the two royals, shielding Cadance from Luna’s fury. “Okay, that is sufficient, your majesty. She may be your niece, but as you stated earlier, she is also foreign royalty. You mustn’t address her with such open hostility.”

Luna grinned ruefully. “You see? He still intervenes upon your behalf despite your loathing of him.”

“I don’t hate him!” Cadance swore.

“Such a claim would be easier to believe had your eyes for him not borne the same displeasure of gazing upon a festering corpse!”

“Please, your highness!” Fancy rebuked firmly, catching Luna by complete surprise. He cleared his throat, doing away with any remaining semblance of decorum. “You’re jeopardizing everything we’ve been working towards! You cannot allow such a small matter to ruin the summit before it even starts.”

The princess’ fury flickered away faster than a comet’s trail, but her chilling spite still remained. “Fine. Be that way. Where has my sister gone, Empress Cadenza?”

“I’m not sure,” the cowed princess answered. “After we spoke, she said she wished to be left alone.” Cadence looked down at her hooves and shivered. “She… wasn’t exactly happy with me either.”

Luna’s mouth briefly fluttered with the beginning of a snide remark, but she bit it back. “Very well, then I shall respect her wishes and continue on my tour of the mansion while you two work this out.” Luna narrowed her gaze at the other two ponies. “And you will work this out. Immediately.”

The Princess of Love looked back up to her aunt and nodded quickly. “I was planning on doing just that, Princess Luna.”

Luna scoffed. “Hopefully it was set in motion before I demanded it.” She turned her nose up at the two and trotted away with her head held high. “For now, I will peruse more of my dear friend’s celebrated history, alone. Perhaps reflecting on his renowned service for the good of all ponies will put me in a more forgiving mood. If not, I bid thee goodnight, Empress.”

With that, Luna quickly strode away in a huff. When Fancy could no longer hear the echoes of her powerful hoofsteps, he heaved a sigh in either relief or weariness. He wasn’t sure which. His new companion didn’t seem to be faring much better, grimacing uncomfortably at the void left by her beloved aunt.

Fancy bowed deeply. “I do apologize for all of this, your highness.”

Cadence shook her head. “Please, don’t, Sir Fancy Pants. After all, she’s right. We need to get along better. Or really I need to start getting along with you.”

“Then allow me to be the first to make amends for whatever it is I’ve done to upset you.”

“No-no-no! It’s not…” the princess trailed as she bit back her words. “It’s nothing like that. As she said, you’ve never been anything but a perfect gentlecolt to me.”

Fancy’s mind went blank. “I don’t understand. I must’ve done something to upset you. For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve maintained a… polite distance.”

“A lovely way of saying I avoided you as much as possible,” Cadence joked with a hesitant smile. “It’s just something I can’t help but feel around you. Or maybe it’s better to say that it’s something I don’t feel from you.”

Fancy blinked trying to fathom what in Equestria she could be talking about. He wasn’t wearing his regular suit. Prince Shining Armor bore the same colors as he did, albeit in different hues. Plenty of ponies had various facial hair styles and eyewear. He was almost tempted to smell himself in case his natural scent was repulsive.

“I don’t mind telling you, and honestly, you deserve to know why. But, please think about it first. I don’t want to hurt you,” the princess added cryptically.

Fancy smirked in disbelief. That was a new one. He wasn’t sure if he should feel amused or threatened. “I assure you, it takes a great deal to offend a seasoned diplomat like myself.”

“Even if it is tied to a closely guarded secret of yours?” she pressed with a wince.

Fancy chuckled to himself. “If it’s a secret from over fifteen years ago, I bet I’ve already forgotten it by now.”

“No, Sir Fancy Pants. It’s something from your past that still remains in you to this day.” Her eyes drifted to his chest with a pained grimace. “Let me remind you that I am the Princess of Love. It is my duty to spread its many joys and heal its sorrows. I can also feel… the weight of the hearts around me. Like yours.”

“The weight of my heart?”

“Mhmm.” The princess turned her head away and looked at him askew.

“You say that as if there’s something wrong with it.”

Cadence nodded her head fervently while covering her muzzle with her hoof.

“Then please, tell me!”

“It’s hard,” she finally answered.

Fancy stepped forward, trying to meet her retreating eyes. “With all due respect, your highness. I know it might be difficult to say, but if it’s this bad, I must know.”

“No, I mean your heart is hard. It’s like a rock,” she answered sadly. “Solid, inert, dead, and utterly broken. I don’t know how else to describe it.”

Ice shot through his veins as he gripped his chest. “Let’s say I believe you. Just how bad is it?”

The princess hesitated as she considered the question. “I’ve seen worse, but not often.”

Despite his fear, Fancy was compelled to ask. “Like who?”

Princess Cadance bit her lip and closed her eyes. “Chrysalis.”

A changeling’s heart? And not just any changeling, the changeling queen’s? “No, that’s impossible. Chrysalis is a heartless villain who steals love. I’ve served Equestria for years, building relationships with creatures across the world. I would give anything for my friends and loved ones! How could you possibly compare my heart to hers?”

“It’s not that. It’s just your love is so painfully strained. You guard it so closely that you choke the life out of it. It not only hurts you, but risks hurting those that you want to love but refuse to. Haven’t you ever tried to comfort somepony or be there for another, but found that you couldn’t?”

“Of course not! I’ve never—”

“Fancy, it has been ages since you come to Pâte de Lune! Even longer for coming for the anniversary. You make time for Fleur. You make time for the princess. But none for me? I have missed you so dearly!” Tears started streaming down Éclair’s face. “Why has it been so long? D-did I do something?”

“I-I’ve never…”

“No… it isn’t like that.”

Fancy’s horn screamed for relief, trying desperately to find his stress crystal. He attempted to draw a calming breath, but his lungs refused to work at all. He would’ve collapsed to the floor had his legs not locked up.

“Sir Fancy Pants!” the princess exclaimed as she shot her soothing aura around him. Like Luna before, he could feel the calming, comforting caress of another’s magic in his mind, but this time it wasn’t helping.

“H-how much do you know?” Fancy eked out in a strangled wheeze.

“I don’t know! I swear I don’t! I have no idea who or what or why, but whatever it is, you’ve held on to it for years.”

Princess Cadance was right. She was exactly right.

“Whatever love escapes it is strained, hampered by something hurtful and old. The loss of a loved one, unrequited passion, a traumatic rejection; I’m not sure. It…” Cadance sucked in her lips silently cursing to herself. “It was never my place to say.”

She was right. It wasn’t her place. She shouldn’t have said anything. Living in ignorance would’ve been bliss.

Her eyes glistened with empathy as she reached out to him. “Please. Whatever it is, you have to resolve it.”

Fancy felt his old, smoldering flame flare up from the ashes, sparking him back to life. “Resolve it?”

The princess smiled softly. “Yes. I can help you, I promise that I will however I can.” She placed a supportive hoof on the shaking stallion’s shoulder. “But you have to act. Confess your love for them, admit that it’s over, face the reality that they’re no longer with us, move onto somepony new. The sooner the better. You have to stop hurting yourself.”

Fancy shook his head. She was wrong. He knew happiness. He knew the proper happiness. The optimal happiness. He just had to figure out how to make it happen first. For Éclair’s sake. For his sake.

Cadance placed both of her hooves on his shoulders and start to shake him. “No, please! Stop that! Stop poisoning your heart with whatever it is you’re thinking.”

“My thoughts are my own!” Fancy yelled far louder than he meant as he backed away from the damnedable mare. “You know nothing!”

“You’re right. I don’t. But I could if you were to tell me.” The terrifying pink princess bent down to meet his gaze, trying to trick him into lowering his guard. He could feel her intrusive empathic magic worming its way into his very soul. “I want to help you. I’ve wanted to help you since I met you, but… the time was never right.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Cadance sucked in her lips as her eyes searched for the right words to say. “Please, Sir Fancy Pants. You’ve locked yourself away in so much darkness and pain when there is so much more happiness out there just waiting for you. New ways, new lives, new loves. Don’t cling to the prison of ‘the one.’ There is no such thing. Deep down, you must know. There must be someone else who has moved your heart before or since.”

Fancy’s heart raced in sheer panic. It pounded with a solid percussive rhythm that would suit a genre of music he barely understood. The beautiful beat sent a shock of electricity through his system and rattled the sides of his iron heart.

Cadance gasped with a spark of hope. “There! Right there! That joy you felt for a moment. It’s renewing vigor. That’s a love worth pursuing!”

“Get out of my head! Get out!” Fancy roared as he fought against her aura. His hooves reached for the closest thing he could get a grip on and threw it to the ground between them. A shattering of Saddle Arabian glass broke the princess’ concentration, releasing him from her violating grasp.

“I… I’m sorry. I just wanted to help.”

Fancy struggled to catch his breath, but eventually settled down enough to form a coherent thought that wasn’t just a string of curses. “I am a professional, your highness. I will not allow my personal feelings towards you marr my perception of those you represent.”

Fancy grabbed his monocle by his hoof and polished it as he tried to gather his thoughts. Otherwise, he was going to say something that both of their nations would regret for decades to come. “However, if you ever try to do that again, I will be forced to recuse myself from any further negotiations. I fear I might not be able to look past my personal grievances with you.”

“I understand, Sir Fancy Pants. I apologize for—”

Fancy’s eyes sharpened to a contemptible gaze filled with utter loathing. “Do not waste your breath, your Imperial majesty. It will not be accepted. Now, I beg your leave before I say anything else I cannot take back.”

“Yes. Of course.” The Crystal Empress closed her eyes, unable to face Fancy. “I’ll just see myself out.”

Fancy cantered away, leaving the shattered glass on the ground. He’d have somepony clean it later. For now, he had to calm down. He had to get away from her. His mind was reeling, and polishing his monocle wasn’t helping at all. Hopefully, Luna would be able to soothe him with her spellwork, wherever she’d ended up in the estate.

He wandered through the halls, trying his best to track the princess in his own house. In all the time that they were friends, Luna had never visited him. Or at least, she’d never done so in the waking world. With Vinyl’s apprehension towards her, she’d kept her distance. At this rate, he’d need to keep his distance from Vinyl too. His heart couldn’t be trusted to do what was right with her around him. Not like this, after what that so-called Princess of Love had done to him.

Reaching the stairs at the end of the hallway, he had a choice of going up towards the servant’s quarters on the third floor, or down towards Vinyl’s room on the first. Deciding it wasn’t his lucky night, he ventured downstairs to find Luna. It was a more visually interesting path to take anyway. With any luck, she wouldn’t have made it all the way to the studio.

“Princess Luna? Are you down here?” he asked warily at the bottom of the stairs. Hearing nothing, he continued on through the halls of his parent’s memorabilia, towards the last place he wanted to go tonight.

Memories of his late parents grew more numerous as he pressed on towards the mansion’s Studio Wing. Reaching the corner of his mother’s collage hallway, he stopped and silently wished he wouldn’t find her. He strode out to check and—as his terrible luck had it—in the middle of the hallway was his royal friend staring at the wall.

“There you are, Luna,” he said as he approached her. For her part, she didn’t flinch in the slightest, her eyes transfixed on a single picture.

Wondering what had captured the princess’ attention, Fancy joined her side to see a very familiar magazine cover: his mother singing at her breakout concert. Sauna Summers’ curly locks flowed down along her white and gold, form-fitting dress speckled with rainbow sequins. Her wings were flared out with her full span draped with a translucent tapestry that cascaded around her as she sang passionately into a microphone. In the background were three backup ponies dressed in similarly colored dresses, but nopony outshined the “Sensational Sauna Summers.”

Fancy decided to go with the canned question he always posed to his guests. “Did you know her special talent was operating steam rooms?”

“Yes. We are aware,” Luna answered, her eyes never moving from the picture.

Fancy forced a chuckle. “I don’t remember telling you that. Perhaps your sister mentioned it to you?”

“Yes. She spoke of this, amid a great many other things,” Luna stated, trying to keep her voice even. “However, she said nothing about this when recounting their past together.”

Fancy took a deeper look at the familiar cover, but couldn’t tell what had caught Luna’s eye. “Is something amiss?”

The princess raised a firm hoof, pointing out one of the mares behind Sauna Summers.

“Why is ‘Sunny Skies’ performing with your mother?”

Fancy’s mind went blank upon hearing the full name Vinyl had been searching for all this time. Before he could even begin to formulate a proper response, a shrill, terrified scream pierced the halls. Fancy and Luna both looked to the source from further down the hallway. There was only one pony he knew that’d be down there at this time of night.

“Vinyl!” Fancy raced ahead, the princess joining his side in a fierce gallop.

“It came from this room,” Luna said as she threw open the door to the studio.

Inside was Vinyl, trying desperately to destroy a record by hoof as tears streamed down her face. She was hunched down on her hind legs and using her forelegs to slam it on the ground over and over with all her might. It was the best she could muster with her magic sealed by her dampening ring. Her eyes that always brimmed with life were shattered red with pained rage. She’d been hurt, deeply, and she was striking back.

“Vinyl!” Fancy shouted as he ran into the room. He caught her leg with her hoof, preventing it from damaging the record or herself any further. “Vinyl!”

Finally, the mare snapped back to attention, realizing she wasn’t alone in the room anymore. She shrank back at the sight of the princess, but then she spotted Fancy and turned to him, quivering with sorrow.

“Fancy…” she croaked as her face crumpled. Vinyl collapsed into his chest and wailed.

Without a second thought, Fancy hugged the trembling mare as she wept into his fur. “Vinyl, what happened?”

The mare coughed and tried to answer, but Fancy couldn’t understand through her muffled cries.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. Please, just tell me you didn’t hurt yourself again.”

“She’s… she’s dead.”

Fancy’s heart sank at the sudden news. “What? Who?”

“Summers. She died. I-I heard it.” She gripped his dress shirt, struggling for any strength or warmth she could feel from him. “I heard Summers die.”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 49: The Silent Princess

The grip on Fancy’s foreleg finally loosened with the steady rise and fall of Vinyl’s breathing. It’d taken almost an hour for the poor girl to calm down, and even longer to finally fall asleep. When she’d broken down, his first thoughts were to get her family. But even after she’d stopped crying, Vinyl desperately clung to him, refusing to let go. She didn’t want to be alone, even for a second, and he didn’t want to leave her alone either.

So, he stayed by her side, quietly comforting her as best he could the entire time. There were so many things he wanted to know about what had happened and what she’d heard, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask them. Inquiring would be too cruel. She didn’t need to relive what she’d heard. Vinyl was so attached to his mother now, despite never meeting her. It was a testament to just the sort of incredible mare Sauna Summers was, and how unfortunate it was the two would never meet.

Fancy could almost see it, the old, graying queen with her unquenchable disco fever meeting the next world-changing mare in music. They’d have so much to talk about. They’d laugh, sing, make music, and all the while, Summers would smother Vinyl with the love she deserved. Before he could stop himself, Fancy found his hoof gently running through Vinyl’s side-swept mane as the lingering jolt of electricity shot through it. Cadance’s words pulsed with every beat of his chest, along with the needling shock of joy he feared to entertain. Even if the princess was right, and it was something worth pursuing, Vinyl deserved far more than what little love his hardened heart had to give.

“Pleasant dreams,” he whispered as he stood up from the side of the bed.

Fancy carefully tucked Vinyl in before sneaking out of the room. The lights in the studio were still on, meaning Luna was still there. He crept inside to find the princess pouring over Vinyl’s notes. A sharp ferocity boiled just behind her eyes that flared into a wince with every new line of information. The only thing holding it all back was the pensive scowl keeping a lid on the rising pressure.

“Luna?” he finally asked. The princess’ ear twitched, registering his presence, but she did not look up from her work.

“If you are here, then Vinyl Scratch must finally be asleep. Good.” She took a deep breath through her nose and stepped away from the desk. A silver drop of magic arose from her horn that swept through the air towards the door and vanished. “That shall ensure a peaceful end to her fraughtful night. For now, I require your immediate assistance.”

Fancy stepped closer to the desk hoping to glean what she’d uncovered. “Of course. What do you need?”

“I…” The princess shook her head before turning to face Fancy. Her eyes watered with great despair. “I do not know if I should be enraged or terrified beyond measure.” Luna took a calming breath to refocus. “Tell me: did the young DJ mention anything about my sister’s presence in Summers’ final moments?”

“No. Vinyl barely said anything at all.” Fancy steeled himself as he thought back to that terrible day. “If the princess had tried to intervene, that would explain why Mother spent her last moments at Canterlot General across town.”

“Fancy Pants, Celestia is Sunny Skies.”

Fancy paused and took a step back, dumbfounded by the idea. He wanted to say no, but Luna had called Sunny out by name. It couldn’t be a mistake.

“Your deafening silence tells me you were unaware of this as well.”

The mystery pony Vinyl had been looking for all this time had been Princess Celestia herself. He met her highness weekly for tea, yet the thought hadn’t ever crossed his mind to ask her highness about this Sunny character. One little question might have spared Vinyl months of her wild goose chase.

“We were not always the Alicorns of Heavenly Harmony,” Luna explained. She lifted Summers’ biography from the desk and passed it to Fancy. Her magic encircled another instance of Sunny Skies talking to Sauna Summers after a concert. “In a different lifeage of this world, when time required no keepers, we were simple ponies. She was a pegasus cloudkeeper named Aprīca Caela.”

The princess closed her eyes and shimmered into pure, blinding moonlight that collapsed in on itself. When Fancy’s vision returned, a small unicorn no taller than Éclair de Lune stood proudly before him. A short bob of blue mane encircled her head like a bowl barely large enough to support her oversized tiara. Combined with the princess’ royal peytral slumped over her shoulders and fetlock boots fit for a mare four times her size, she might as well have been a filly who’d just finished raiding her mother’s closet.

“And I was a unicorn starcharter called Stēllāris Media Nox,” the little unicorn proclaimed. Her once boisterous voice had lost all of its royal depth, reduced to the gentle timbre of an ancient bookworm. The mare turned and showed her flank’s crescent moon was nowhere to be found, replaced by a simple three-star constellation connected by lines of light. “When we suppress our power, we become like we once were. We honor our ancient identities by using our given names in the modern tongue: Sunny Skies and Starry Midnight.”

“My word. I never knew. I’m honestly surprised I didn’t. Such information would be crucial to ensure nothing happened to you.”

“That would defeat the entire purpose. If not for the present circumstances, you would never know this deepest of secrets.” Starry Midnight materialized a pair of wings as she flared them outward, flashing brilliantly with ancient might. A pulse of arcane power swept through the studio as Luna resumed her true form once more. “We flow as silent as raindrops through a stream so that we may feel ‘normal’ again. Finding Sunny Skies so brazenly printed upon a magazine cover is anything but normal.”

“Well, you can rest assured that your sister has done a bang-up job of covering her trail,” Fancy said with a knowing chuckle. “Vinyl has been searching for her full name for months and hasn’t found a shred of her existence outside of these recordings.”

“Yes. I presume that’s what my sister's excuse will be as well.” Luna lowered her head and looked at the table with its spread of notes and damaged record. “But what I have found goes far beyond mere obfuscation. I must confront my sister regarding this matter. What I read here points to a far more disturbing abuse of our timeless power.”

Fancy Pants’ felt his heart sink. “What in heaven’s name did you find on that disk?”

“A pattern.” Luna’s face sank as she tried to hang onto any shred of resolve she had. “Celestia is… different than I remember. At first, I thought she was merely making up for our lost time in her own, smothering way. My sister held me close in her warm feathers and shined her light onto the path through this modern world. However, her wing upon my withers pulls taut when I try to step away. I can neither see where we are going nor whence we came.”

The conversation was quickly escaping Fancy’s grasp. “I’m not sure that I understand what’s wrong. I can’t speak for her highness, but it sounds to me like she simply wants to make sure you’re safe. Why is that a problem?”

“Fate is woven from more than a single thread. Be it an illusion or not, we must be given the freedom to choose how we weave the tapestry of our lives.” Luna levitated the record from the table and held it between them. It was chipped and warped from multiple strikes against the floor, but still whole for the most part. “It is fortunate that Sauna Summers’ extraordinary legacy has been meticulously preserved for all who come after it. However, it also makes me wonder if she was truly the author.”

“You’re speaking as if she had no control over her life. I never even knew this Sunny Skies pony existed before Vinyl found her.”

“Your experience may be true, but the young DJ’s notes are what alarm me. Sunny Skies was a looming presence during every major branch of her life. I cannot dismiss this as mere coincidence.” The princess lowered her head as her confident front waned into distress. “However… I am still diminished. I will be powerless to hold her accountable if she resists judgment.”

“Resist? But she would never raise a hoof against you,” Fancy assured his frightened friend. “Your sister loves you.”

“Yes, she does, just as I love her. But even sisters quarrel at times. Sometimes over trivialities, others are… more serious.” Luna turned to face him, her formidable mask cracking under the looming dread. “I swear I would not ask this of you without reason. Please, I beg of you. I cannot face her alone.”

“As I told your sister before, I wouldn’t dare abandon you. Of course I will help—” Before he could finish, his vision was shrouded in midnight as the princess embraced him.

“Thank you.”

He reached a hoof around and held her close, trying to chase her worries away just as she had done for him many times in the past.

Fancy’s heart was racing a mile a minute. The warmth of the fireplace and the pristine comfort of royal cushions did nothing to put his mind at ease as they waited in Princess Celestia’s reading room. He’d rarely stepped hoof into her most private spaces even during his ambassadorship, and every time it was a matter of dire urgency. Given what he was preparing himself to do, tonight would be no different.

“Calm yourself, Fancy Pants. Focus only on the task,” Luna whispered as she sipped her tea. “We are here to ask my sister a few questions.”

“Quite the understatement, wouldn’t you say?” he remarked, reaching for his own tea. His mask would easily fool the guards outside, but there was no way it’d be a match for her highness’ discerning gaze.

“Indeed. Which is why we must be careful. This will be a negotiation of information. Speak only when spoken to and tell her nothing she doesn’t already know.”

Fancy knocked back another cup of rose congou and reached for the kettle. “I’ll do my best, but you should know that I’ve neither beaten her highness at chess nor in a battle of words. You also know I barely have any magic to speak of. Assuming you’re correct and Princess Celestia becomes—” Fancy cleared his throat to settle his nerves, “—disagreeable, what is it you expect me to do that won’t just get in your way?”

The princess sat her tea down and gazed into her reflection. “If I am honest, I do not know what my sister will do if she feels cornered. However, I am confident that if this is a game, she believes you to be her piece on the board. She won’t expect treachery from her most capable envoy, which gives me an advantage.”

Fancy tilted his head. “I prefer to think of myself as an intermediary, but I fail to see how that will prove beneficial against the most powerful pony in existence.”

“Do not discount your strength here, Sir Fancy Pants. You are the Kingmaker of Canterlot, and the queen on my chess board.” The princess forced a confident smirk. “And I’ve never lost to my sister in a game of chess. We’ll just need to be ready when she tries to flip the table.”

With that, the doors opened to the Princess’ bedroom, revealing Celestia draped in a fluffy nightgown. She lightly yawned into her hoof and smiled at her guests as she approached the table. “Good evening, Lulu. Fancy Pants. What brings you two here at this hour? I was just about to turn in for the night.”

Luna smiled softly. “Good evening, dear sister. We’re sorry to bother you, but there is a matter that I urgently wished to discuss with you.”

Her solar highness sighed as she plopped down on her large cushion. “That’s what the guards said, though I specifically remember telling them I wished to not be disturbed tonight for any reason,” the sleepy princess grumbled to her nightowl sister. “Could this wait until breakfast? I need to be rested for the start of the Crystal Summit.”

Luna’s ears dropped with a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry, sister, but I’m afraid this is a matter that has been put off long enough. I just finished a tour of Fancy’s estate, and I had a rather pressing question.”

Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow as she sipped her cup. Then, her eyes flickered with an idea. “Oh, is that all?” her royal highness giggled and leaned over the table with a playful smile. “I guess you found an unexpected mare in one of the more notable pictures.”

“Y-yes, we did,” Luna replied warily, not expecting such a straightforward admission from her sister.

“Okay, fine. You caught me. I may have snuck out of the castle to have a little fun with the Queen of Disco. Which photo was it, by the way? The magazine cover or the afterparty?”

“The cover. It was far more eye-catching.”

“Indeed it was.” The elder princess’ eyes glistened with nostalgia for a bygone era. “A pity really. I hid myself so well, too. Even made sure my bad wing was turned away.”

“We’re sisters. You cannot fool me so easily.”

“You say that as if I was trying to. I expected this though, with you getting so close to Fancy Pants and all. You’d stumble across it eventually and I’d have to be taken to task for having a little fun.” Celestia laughed to herself and shooed the little trouble away with a flick of her fetlock. “You don’t have to worry though. It was just a one-time thing as a backup dancer. Nopony even remembers that I was there. If they do, I guess I may have to wait a while longer before I sneak out again for some R&R. Not that I have time these days anyway.” The princess laughed once more to herself before savoring her favorite brew.

Fancy’s ears flicked. That wasn’t right. After all the time Vinyl had spent researching, she’d found Sunny Skies all over the place in Summers’ early career. Why would Celestia lie about—

“Something the matter, Fancy?” Celestia asked with a pleasantly piercing glance.

“No, your highness. I was just confused,” Fancy confessed as he brought a hoof to his chin, trying to hide his nerves with the gesture.

“About what?”

“Well, I wasn’t aware you had a bad wing.”

Celestia gasped. “Oh dear. And here I thought you’d completely unmasked us.”

“I was very judicial with the information I revealed to him,” Luna assured.

“I’m glad, though I guess I’ll go ahead and share it now that the cat’s out of the bag.” The princess fanned her perfect wing out with her magic and pushed some fur and feathers aside to reveal a frightful, black and purple gash where the limb met her body. “It’s a wound inflicted by pure chaos that paralyzed my wing a very long time ago. My alicorn magic keeps it suppressed, but whenever I go around in disguise, it flares back in full. On that note, have you shown Fancy Pants who you were, Lulu?”

Luna shook her head. “No, I have not. However, he has seen me without my regalia before.”

“Oh?” Celestia’s face curled with gossip-hungry delight. “I didn’t realize you two had become close enough for such secrets.”

“We are good friends,” Luna assured.

The grin retreated into her mask as she nodded in approval. “Yes you are, and that fact makes me so happy.” Celestia yawned once more and summoned a massive tome from the aether. She took one last drink from her tea and stood up from the table. “Now, if that was all you ‘urgently’ needed, I think I’m going to turn in for the night with some light reading.”

“That wasn’t the question I had for you, sister,” Luna interjected and reached out to her sister before she could get away. “If you would be so kind, that is.”

“Very well.” Celestia smiled gently and sat back down. “I can’t say no to you, dear sister. But please make this quick. You know I need all the sleep I can get.”

“Then let me slice the chase,” Luna said evenly, stretching the smile on her sister’s face a bit wider. “Fancy also showed me the amazing recording studio as well as the extensive Summers-Suede Collection.”

“Oh. You did? It’s quite something for just two ponies, isn’t it? Sauna Summers was such a packrat!”

“Indeed. It was a sight to behold. The sheer amount of volumes was rather striking after it was explained to me what they contained.”

“I always told her that she should’ve gotten rid of it, or at least cleaned it up a little.” Celestia tapped a hoof on the table as she thought to herself. “And if you’re bringing that up, you must’ve heard something on an old album?”

“Yes. There was a record from much later in Summers’ career which gave me pause.”

“A later one? And here I was prepared to answer more about her time at Groovecasters. Summers and I were good friends until the end, but I can’t imagine what you would’ve possibly found that couldn't wait until morning.”

“Actually, I brought it with me.” Luna lifted the record Vinyl had tried to smash by hoof. “It’s been badly damaged, but some of the sound is still salvageable.”

“Interesting.” Celestia’s tired eyes shot over to Fancy. “Did that novice archivist that is staying with you listen to it as well, Fancy?”

“I don’t believe so,” Fancy answered as carefully as he could. “Vinyl has been cataloging the collection in order.”

“That’s strange. Then how did you find this recording?” the princess pressed further.

“I found it on the floor, wedged under a shelf,” Luna answered for him. “It must’ve fallen out at some point and taken a beating over the years. I was barely able to restore any of it.”

“Really?” Celestia shook her head and tutted as her gaze bore into him. “You should really be more careful with your parents’ things.”

“You’re right as always, your highness.”

The patient sun lingered on him for a short eternity. That subtle smile and gentle gaze had broken even the hardest of negotiators with its limitless pressure. The quintessence of her silence sucked the air out of the room, demanding any slip of the tongue to fill the vacuum. And just because one knew the tactic didn’t grant immunity from it. Princess Celestia had the time to wait forever.

“Shall we listen and find out?” Luna offered to interrupt her sister’s wordless inquisition.

Celestia’s focus idled for a little longer, trying to glean anything from Fancy. After another fruitless moment, she drifted back to her sister. “Fine. If it means that much to you, then let’s give it a quick listen.” Celestia fired a quick spell at the door, covering it with a translucent sheet of magic to keep curious ears from hearing. “Go ahead.”

Celestia tilted her horn towards a nearby mahogany cabinet, or at least that’s what Fancy had thought it at first. Upon closer examination, he recognized the woven wool mesh over the front of an old speaker. Her magic’s golden aura nudged the top open, revealing a pristinely preserved record player that would’ve been top of the line half a century ago.

Luna stood up and placed the record down carefully on the turntable, adjusting the needle with her magic trying to find a place to start. “The outer rings were destroyed completely, but the recording becomes much clearer further in.”

Princess Celestia nodded in understanding and motioned for her to begin. Luna glanced at Fancy with silent purpose before dropping the needle. The real game was about to begin.

Everypony’s ears were immediately assaulted by scratches and distorted warbles of the needle trying to read a single thing from the disk. A chalkboard being ground up by a blender would be more pleasant to listen to. Every so often the briefest utterances could be heard, but it was completely incomprehensible. Eventually, one of the mares on the recording barely broke through the chaos.

“N—This—wrong. You—Sued—” Sunny urged in snippets.

Princess Celestia’s ears perked up to attention as her glance shifted to the record player. The mask held firm as she seemed to show slightly more interest in the messy record.

“but I al—want you in my li—” Summers briefly said between warped cries and static.

“But why?” Sunny asked. “I was—break—oint—group spl—because of me and I ran—. You shou—hate me!”

The record hit a rougher patch as the needle screamed in a cacophony of unbearable, broken nonsense from the damage Vinyl had done to the record. Despite its random wailing, Princess Celestia listened with rapt attention, her face giving away nothing but a calm serenity.

“My apologies,” Luna interjected. “What I want to ask you about should clear up in a few moments.”

Celestia nodded. “I’m curious to hear how much of this survived.”

The needle strained to find something recognizable to play amid the broken grooves, but at least it caught something and jerked back into the past with clarity.

“—point if I can’t make—I love the most in the world happy? I ain’t selfless, Sunny!” Summers yelled through her tears. She sniffled and coughed trying to maintain some semblance of control. “I didn’t start singing because I wanted to change—to have fun! When you asked me to tag along on that stupid audition—I just wanted to spend time with you. But then they liked me more than you and everything just—fast.”

“You—do you even hear yourself?” Sunny asked incredulously as the record’s worst damage finally passed, though the pitch of their voices still shifted with the wobble of the uneven disk. “We were at Groovecasters for maybe three years? Four? You’ve been with Suede for so much longer! You’ve built a life with him. You had a foal with him! How can you even be saying this?”

“Because it was Suede’s idea. He wants me to give us a chance. He knows I got enough love for you too. I love you, Sunny—”

“ET TACET!”

Before Luna could react, a bubble of white energy appeared around her and the record player at Celestia’s command. The sealed princess’ mouth moved, but not a sound escaped. Her nebulous mane lost its sparkle and fell flat as the last of the colors drained from the orb, leaving only a black silhouette of the alicorn inside. The oppressive silence around her nearly forced her to the ground, but she still fought it with every trudge towards the edge of the distortion.

Celestia shot up to her hooves in alarm and shouted, “VINCULA!” A barrier of spinning, golden light wrapped around the silent prison, but Luna still tried to push through. Her shout of “TEMPUS TARDUM!” slowed the light’s spin as well as Luna’s movement to an impossible crawl.

Fancy scrambled from his seat and began to rush towards Luna to help, only for Celestia to appear before him in a burst of furious golden light. In all his years, he’d never seen her highness burning with such open rage. The heat of the sun boiled off her making him instinctively shrink away from the princess’ overwhelming presence. “Your highness, what is the meaning of—”

The carpet below the princess’ hooves sizzled from the heat of her steps. “I will only ask this once: exactly when and where did you find this?”

“I-in the collection—” Oppressive rays of light flowed around and lifted him off the ground. The sun refused to be ignored.

“I HAVE NO TIME FOR YOUR GAMES! WHERE AND WHEN?”

Fancy winced from her searing light. “Why do you need to—”

“VERIM LOQUI!”

A rush of wind flowed into his mouth. As he tried to process what had just happened, his tongue began dancing with words that refused to be ignored. “I don’t know for sure!”

“You don’t know?” The princess gaped in disbelief before flaring back with a burning sneer, her magical grip tightening with contempt. “How could you not know? It’s your collection!”

“I wasn’t the one who found it! This is the first time I’ve listened to that record.” Fancy admitted weakly.

Celestia screamed in frustration as she threw him away. The room sailed by until he collided with the far wall near the fireplace and fell into a stack of spare cushions. “Very well. If you truly don’t know, I’ll just have to improvise,” she stated evenly.

“What—” Fancy cracked his back as he slowly pulled himself to his haunches. “What do you mean by improvising?”

The princess did not deign to explain herself further. Instead, she whisked her late night reading from its place on the table and thrust it open. The pages fluttered past until her eyes settled on the one she needed to begin her spellwork. An immense amount of power flowed from her horn into a conjured orb that began glowing larger and brighter by the second.

Whatever the princess’ cryptic plan was, Fancy knew he couldn’t let her go through with it. There had to be a way to stop her from casting whatever spell she was using, but he had no clue how he’d be able to counter the raw power of an angry alicorn. His horn was only capable of basic magic on a good day, and the interwoven bands of sigils swirling around the mystical sun forming above her looked anything but basic.

No, that was the wrong question. He couldn’t stop her magic with his, but how could he make her spell fail?

“Don’t-touch-that!” Vinyl said quickly. “It’s actively channeling magical energies.”

Fancy froze. His hoof was nary a few centimeters from one of the elbows of a claw-like mount containing one of Vinyl’s crystals. “I see. I imagine it would’ve been quite shocking,” he noted as he carefully stepped back from the apparatus.

Fancy gulped. If touching a channeling crystal was dangerous, he’d likely fry to a crisp if he threw himself in the middle of such a fearsome spell. His eyes frantically searched the room for something, anything that he could use to stop her highness from casting. The seat cushions were too soft. The table was too big to hurl without magic. There was no telling what might happen if one of the princess’ decorations turned out to be a magical artifact—The tea kettle!

Without a second thought, Fancy sprinted towards the table, snatched the pot from its doily, and chunked as hard as he could towards Celestia. Catching the projectile porcelain in her periphery, she fired a bolt of pure energy to intercept, blasting it to pieces. However, she hadn’t accounted for the brew still inside. The spilled tea continued sailing towards its target and splashing all over the book, covering her page with red tea and rose petals.

Celestia gasped in horror as her concentration shattered, collapsing the orb entirely. She frantically began brushing flowery debris from the page and tried to restart the spell.

“I’d live a lifetime as a weird, singing spa pony if it meant we could be together,” Summers swore tenderly on the old recording.

Celestia’s ears drooped at the sound of the record playing again. Her mouth opened as she turned towards her sister. “ET—”

“OMNES SOMNO!”

Luna's royal command eclipsed Celestia’s as she burst from her prison of light. A sudden wave of sleepiness washed over Fancy Pants as he struggled to stay standing. Through his closing eyes, he saw Celestia tottering back and forth on her legs as the light faded from her horn. Before he could witness her collapse, he fell into darkness.

The crisp pop of a burning fireplace stirred Fancy Pants from his slumber. Everything was muddled, sluggish, and wrong as he tried to rouse himself from a terrible night’s sleep. Even opening his eyes was proving to be a struggle.

“What in the world happened?” He rolled over on his back and looked up to investigate.

The world answered with fire. Everything was on fire. Pitch black smoke plumed skyward out of a hole in the ceiling and into the red skies above. Scorched wooden beams cracked under the pressure of the thatched roof it tenuously supported. One loud crack split it apart as it burst into pieces, causing an avalanche of fiery spears, splinters, and rocks. Not even sparing a second to scream, he continued rolling out of the way towards an opening in his periphery.

“Merciful heavens!” Fancy tried to gain his bearings in the chaos. He’d narrowly escaped a collapsing cottage. The rest of the rudimentary buildings fared any better, with sod, wood, and stone burning to ash and melting around him. Nothing looked familiar in the slightest. He reached into his chest pocket for his trusty hoofkerchief, but remembered he was still in his ambassador uniform.

“Of all the rotten luck,” Fancy cursed to himself as he dipped low to the ground to avoid the black smoke. He covered his muzzle with his hoof as best he could, but then noticed it was holding his trusty white cloth anyway.

“How—where did this come from?” The medals on his chest glistened red hot where his pocket would’ve been. They should’ve been burning a hole in his chest from the inferno around him, but couldn’t feel a thing. In fact with all the fire, the smoke, the ashes swirling around him, he should’ve been burnt to a crisp long before he’d woken up.

“I’m asleep?” Fancy carefully stood to his hooves, waiting for the noxious smoke to begin burning his lungs, only to smell nothing. He almost heaved a sigh of relief, but just because he wasn’t about to die didn’t mean this nightmare he found himself in was any less terrifying. Scanning the area for an escape, he spotted a well-trodden pathway up a slope leading out of the burning village. He galloped for safety, hoping to find out what was going on.

As Fancy reached the top, he was met with a hauntingly familiar sight he’d seen a thousand times during his morning jogs. He was on the peaks of Mt. Canterhorn, or at least he thought he was. The beauty of Equestria spread out before his eyes, but it was obscured behind the golden gleam of an enormous magical shield. Looking down the cliffside, he couldn’t spot a single spire from Canterlot Castle. In fact, he wasn’t sure where on the mountain he was. It seemed so much higher than in the waking world

His eyes followed the bend of the shield that ended as it reached the red sky. The clouds retreated away in a circle, pushed away by a powerful force. He kept tilting his head back until his eyes fell upon the heavenly orb above him slowly drawing closer than he’d ever seen. Wrathful flares blasted from on high, licking burning buildings and melting the mountaintops into slag. A cataclysm had arrived: the sun was setting upon Equestria itself.

May all mortal flesh be silent,

Fancy’s ear’s flicked as he heard a somber voice carried on the rushing wind.

Worry not for whom you dread;

Somepony was singing. Fancy scrambled to his hooves and raced towards the source.

Conjure not a single vision,

The singing grew louder as he rounded the mountain path. Before him stood the ornate remains of a grand temple built of carved stone. The last remaining spire cracked from the solar winds and collapsed, destroying stained glass windows and intricate edifices as it smashed into the ground and rolled off the mountainside.

Slumber peacefully instead,

The resonant voice of Princess Celestia echoed from the temple in a hauntingly beautiful dirge. After quickly reminding himself that it was just a dream, Fancy made a break for the double doors leading inside.

Song woven in spell, shall vanquish…

As he pushed open the massive doors, a resplendent hall as beautiful as Canterlot Castle greeted him. The walls adorned with burning solar tapestries surrounded rows of pews, though it was hard to see with the smoldering wood remains of a vaulted ceiling filling the sanctuary with smoke. He followed the red and gold carpets running down the aisle towards her highness’ singing.

And bring this terror to an end.

Finally, the smoke cleared enough to see the fallen grandeur of the temple he had found himself in. His pace slowed as he passed the final pew to arrive at a raised, central platform amid three enormous holes in the wall. Shards of melted glass were the only signs of the several stories of stained artwork that once stood there. Now, they framed the sun itself slowly descending upon the world.

On the platform lay Princess Celestia, curled around a stallion Fancy didn’t recognize. Her lifeless companion was dressed in flowing robes matching the princess’ sunrisen hair.

“Your highness!” Fancy shouted as he ran up the steps. “Your highness!”

The princess said nothing as she caressed the limp body in her forelegs.

“Princess Celestia!” he pleaded, trying to get her attention. “The sun!”

“You’re really here, Fancy Pants?” The princess giggled as she gently brushed the stallion’s mane aside and kissed it. “I see. Then, that wasn’t a nightmare.”

Fancy tilted his head. “Your highness?”

Celestia looked up towards the sky with a pained smile. “Well played, Lulu.”

“BE STILL!”

Luna’s booming command echoed throughout the Dreamscape. The fires froze, the sun stopped, the smoke cleared from the air, and the stallion’s body vanished in starlight. The moon rose in the sky, eclipsing the sun as night overtook the day. She floated down with a translucent tome in her hooves.

“‘Traveler’s Remembrance,’” Luna read aloud from the conjured image of her sister’s bedside reading. “‘Allows the user to travel back in time once to relive a brief moment and change it for the better.’”

“A powerful, comically useless spell I commissioned from Starswirl,” Celestia explained as she stood up. “It took the rest of his life to create it, but its range is only a week. It couldn’t travel back to save you, but its limitations would be more than enough to correct a mistake.”

Luna’s eyes flicked up from the book as it faded out of existence. “Or hide something from me. Something you knew that I would question.”

“How…” Princess Celestia’s eyes flickered between sadness and fury as she clenched her teeth. “How do you have that record? I destroyed it. I know I did.”

A vision of a distraught Celestia teleported next to them as she galloped into the studio formed around her. All three of them watched the memory play out as the panicked princess immediately ran to the console. Her expert eyes scanned with precision learned through years of working such equipment until she spotted the master disk recorder. Her magical aura ran over the studio’s system, shutting it all down as she lifted the master record into the air. With one spark of her horn, the vinyl flared into plasma, not even leaving a cloud of smoke as it vanished into nothingness.

“The recorder is enchanted. It automatically stores filled masters and reloads itself to continue a recording session,” Fancy explained. “The one you destroyed would’ve had nothing on it if you waited too long.”

“An enchantment?” A puff of air escaped Celestia’s nose, followed by a cackling laugh. “Oh, Summers. Always on the cutting edge after I showed you that synthesizer.”

Luna clopped her hoof against the stones to call for her sister’s attention. “Celestia, First Princess of Equestria and Scion of the Sun. Do you know why I have forced you into this realm?”

“I have no power here.” Celestia bit her lips. “Please, don’t do this.”

“Sauna Summers said she loved Sunny Skies,” Luna stated evenly. “Sunny Skies. Not you, Celestia. At least not the real you. Is this true?”

Celestia flinched from her sister’s cutting words. “Yes, Luna.”

“I see. And she never knew that Sunny Skies and Celestia are one in the same. Is this true as well?”

The elder princess nodded as she sucked in her lips.

Luna closed her eyes and took a calming breath. “Then we have only one question: For what purpose did you manipulate her heart?”

“It wasn’t like that. I didn’t—”

“SILENCE!” Luna slammed her hooves down in judgment as her royal voice echoed throughout the Dreamscape. “A pony dearly loved a false face while you stood by and watched! If that is not manipulation of the highest order, then the word is meaningless! Now…” The princess took a deep breath as her eyes glowed with righteous rage. “CONFESS! WHY DID YOU LIE TO SAUNA SUMMERS?”

Celestia looked away in shame. She hung her head low in submission. With a solemn nod, Luna’s horn lit with magic as a familiar spell shot into the other alicorn.

“It was a mistake,” Celestia admitted. “Sunny Skies always wanders the world as a forgettable nopony. When I realized Summers had developed feelings for her, I tried to put a stop to it.”

A vision of a middle-aged Summers trotted towards her with a loving smile. She lifted Celestia’s head as she burned with tender passion.

The solar princess tried, but she couldn’t look away as her soft smile gave way to grief. “But even after so many years. She had a wonderful husband, a beautiful son. I just couldn’t understand.”

“I wouldn’t trade my family for the world,” Summers said as she slowly walked towards Sunny. “But I’d throw my useless crown in the trash to be with you. I’d go back to my life as a singing spa pony in a heartbeat if it meant we could be together. I love you, Sunny. I always have. And I always will. I could never forget you even if I wanted to.”

Sunny, or rather Celestia, couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Don’t do this.”

“Then, please. Don’t run away this time,” Summers reached for Celestia’s hoof. She tenderly wrapped her fetlock around and pulled it close to her heart. “Do you love me too or not?”

“Summers…” Celestia croaked. Her eyes widened in fear. She didn’t know what to do. This was all happening too fast.

“If you don't then… then I promise that I’ll leave you alone, okay sunshine? I won’t ever try to find you again. Just, please. Tell me straight. Do you love me?”

“I… I—” Celestia bit her tongue and ripped herself away from the memory. “Luna! Stop this torture, please!”

“She was not Noble to you,” Luna said as she dispelled the vision. “You met her long before she ever became the Queen of Disco. How long did you deny her love for you? And how long did you deny your love for her?”

Celestia’s ears pinned back against her head. “You don’t need to know, Luna. Let me bear this burden in silence.”

“I allowed you to conceal this ancient sin that ushered in your so-called Age of Silence, but I shall not extend such a mercy so close to living memory!” The Princess of the Night stomped her hoof again. “SPEAK!”

Celestia closed her eyes and smiled. “As you wish, dear sister.” Her horn glowed with silver light as she embraced Luna’s magic. The world flashed with a mix of gold and silver light as she finally yielded. “Anything for you.”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 50: The Bird Who Cannot Fly

It was midafternoon as Sunny Skies trotted down the streets of Canterlot on three hooves. The fourth was preoccupied with her struggle against her broken right wing trying to flop out of its sling again. She muttered a series of ancient curses as she fought back against her long pink mane getting in the way of her careful hoofwork. The problem wasn’t so much the useless limb dragging on the ground as the attention it would draw from passersby.

“Come on!” Sunny complained as she wrestled with the stubborn wing sling. “Why do I have to be so much bigger before I lose my magic?”

“What is this?” Fancy asked as he watched Sunny Skies groan in frustration. He spun around trying to see his body, but couldn’t find it. “I can’t see myself!”

“This is how I experience the memories of another,” Luna explained calmly. “You are still here, but not here.”

“It’s quite an experience, isn’t it, Fancy Pants?” Sunny asked knowingly as she passed in front of him. “This is the first time I’ve experienced it on this end. You used to take me on your walks through the Dreamscape all the time, Lulu.”

“That was before you wiped the memories of me from the face of our world.”

Sunny nodded solemnly. “Yes. I miss it, sister. It was always a joy to see you in your element.” The pegasus went back to wrestling with her wing to no avail. “I also miss you putting this accursed thing on for me before I head out!”

“Do not delay, Celestia. Tell us why you are showing this to us.”

Sunny nodded as she continued her journey through the streets. While the Canterlotian architecture was still the same as always, the ponies were an era apart. Bell bottom sleeves, groovy hairdos, and far out colors that were out of sight decorated every pony in every corner of the lower district.

“A few decades ago, Day Court had gotten to me worse than usual,” Sunny recounted to her invisible audience. “I needed some time away from the castle. The nobility had fostered this notion of ‘Proper Harmony’ over the preceding century, yet another cycle of hatred born of nobles trying to win my favor. This time proved to be particularly resistant. Every time I tried to dissuade them from their nonsense, they came back with a more ‘proper’ interpretation.

“You remember right, sister?” Sunny asked as a frown crossed her face. “How the Noble One’s descendants were scrambling to appease me? How I let the attention go to my head? They diminished art and music you loved trying to curry my favor, disgracing your Night Court in my name.”

“I remember it well, unfortunately,” Luna grumbled to herself. “But focus on what’s before you. Do not try to change the subject.”

“Right,” she slipped her mask back on and continued her tale. “I remembered I’d recently approved recreational use of Canterlot’s clouds for a new spa. It was being run completely by Cloudsdale ponies to boot. I was so glad! It meant I could get away from the nobles for a while. None of them would’ve been caught dead in such a common place.”

Sunny smiled widely as a sign Fancy had only seen in his mother’s old albums came into view. Before them stood Steamsationals, the humble spa and beauty salon his mother had worked at when she first came to Canterlot. While the building itself looked like any other whitewashed building, the funky fresh styles of the psychedelic sign welcomed guests into a small slice of Cloudsdale in the capitol.

As the disguised alicorn stepped through the door she found the place packed with pegasi and a few earth ponies. There wasn’t a single horn in sight. Beyond the lobby, all manner of pampering pleasures were at a pony’s disposal. From hair dryer hoods and hooficure couches to massage tables and mud baths, Steamsationals was where it was at to simply be sensational.

“The pictures certainly don’t do this place justice,” Fancy mumbled, in awe of seeing his mother’s workplace the way she’d always described it.

“Yes. It’s a shame that it went under a few years ago,” Sunny replied quietly so as to not disrupt the visions around her. “When I walked past the steam rooms, I was graced by one of the most beautiful voices I’d heard in that era. It wasn’t particularly honed through years of training, but it bore a pure joy that reveled in the mere act of singing.”

First, we check the quality of all the water,
Make sure it’s nice and clean.
Then we spin around and spread across the fire,
And that’s how we make our steam!

Following the sound of a pleasantly untrained voice, the slack-jawed Sunny stumbled across a much younger Sauna Summers. The steamy mare was working the room with glee as she sang about her process. She couldn’t have been much older than Fluffer Duster, almost as if she’d left home on her fifteenth birthday to see the world. Fancy had never seen her afro so blue or the vibrance of her orange fur in her prime. Steam room Summers was a completely different pony.

“To my surprise, it was one of the workers,” Celestia continued. “A young mare who’d recently moved to Canterlot. The singing spa pony was attracting a small crowd of loyal fans who sometimes came to simply hear her sing through her process. It was almost impossible to look away from her striking beauty that bore a style all her own.”

The nimble steam room pony fluttered to and fro, working the whole room like magic. Each thing she touched had at least a little ditty. Even a quick turn of a valve was a hummed scale. Hearing Summers’ songs brought Fancy back to his childhood during the times she’d do anything for him without Dapper or the other servants. She always seemed to have a song in her heart to keep her mind focused on any task.

Sunny approached one of the steam room’s low-hanging cloud beds and laid down to savor the pleasant humidity. Her ears flicked from Summers’ wonderful tunes that put her at ease. While the castle’s private amenities were superior in almost every way, her royal duties were always too close for her to truly relax. Her lonely steam room also lacked the lively atmosphere of a real place. Steamsationals was quickly becoming music to her ears.

“What’s a shagadelic swan like you doing here in this duckburg scene?”

Sunny’s eyes popped open as she whipped her head around to meet the singing spa pony from earlier. The lovely mare was busily molding the cloud’s sides, but Sunny had no idea why.

“E-excuse me, miss?” Sunny asked in concern. ‘What is it that you’re doing?”

“Setting up nice and quick. By my count on the wall, you're twenty minutes late.”

Sunny looked around in utter confusion. “Umm… late for what, exactly?”

“You ain’t my three o’ clock?” Summers asked back. She lifted her hoof to inspect the rainbow of rubber bands running down her leg. “Pretty sure I had a three today.”

“Are you saying that this cloud is meant for a service here? My apologies, I had no idea.”

“Well, you parked your fine flank right on my massage stratus. Since it seems they split, you can help your shagadelic self to the slot if you want. You looking like you could use a mellow yellow.”

Sunny blinked, utterly lost in the flow of the young mare’s words.

“I’m asking if you wanna free wing massage, shug,” Summers whispered with a slick smile.

“O-oh… well. I suppose if you’re offering. I can pay though. I have the bits.”

“Aww, ain’t you sweet. It’s all good. We’ve been getting the bits up front since a turkey split the other day, so this one’s on the no-show.” Summers happily swept up the stratus to extend the other sides to get ready for Sunny to spread her wings. “My name’s Sauna Summers, by the by. Got a name, sunshine?”

“Actually, my name’s Sunny Skies.”

“You ain’t just woofin?” Summers asked, pleasantly surprised.

Sunny paused to consider the context. “No? I don’t think so.”

“Far out, mare! Well you got a yestergroove vibe, but I can dig it. You’re solid in my book, Sunny. Mind hanging loose with your wingspan?”

Assuming she meant spreading her wings, Sunny unfurled her flawless, majestic wing out and laid it flat, allowing her elegant feathers to flow off the sides. Even in her reduced form, the princess’ wings were some of the longest Fancy had ever seen.

“Woah! Forget swan, you’re an albatross!” Summers smirked as she began adjusting the cloud’s surface. “Just where you be stashing all this wing at? Gonna have to pull around some more steam for you, sunshine.”

Sunny blushed, though she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to take that as a compliment or not. By Summers’ tone, she saw it as a positive, so she decided to take it as such.

“Need help getting the other outta this?” Summers asked from Sunny’s right.

“Oh, you can just ignore that one, Sauna Summers.” Sunny stopped and turned to face her trendy wing masseuse. “Should I address you as Sauna or Summers?”

“Take your pick, sunshine. A swan like you can call me whatever you want.”

The disguised princess tapped her chin. “Well, I’ve always been partial to summer. I do enjoy the Summer Sun Celebration.”

“Right on. Summers it is then,” Summers said with a wink. “But back to your wing thing in the sling; you’re letting all the steam soak up in the fabric. Ain’t gonna be good on the feathers sitting around in stale water. Gotta let both your big girls fly free.”

“I don’t think the feathers on that one can get much worse,” Sunny said with a weak chuckle.

“Don’t worry, Sunny,” Summers swept around and flashed her flank past her new friend. “You see this cutie mark? I might be new, but I’m good at what I do. Just let it all hang out, Sunny. I’ll take plenty good care of you.”

While the princess was hesitant to undo all of her hard work to get her wing in there, she didn’t want to fight the spa pony on something she knew just as well. “Alright, but be warned. It’s not a pretty sight. You may want to push the cloud away from the other guests.”

“No sweat, shug,” Summers assured despite the copious amounts of said liquid in the room. She pushed the cloud closer to the steam stones and kicked up the steam to increase the fog. With a bit more privacy in the public room, Summers put some of the steam into the bed to widen the sides before unwrapping Sunny’s wing.

“Good gracious!” Fancy nearly gagged seeing the broken wing splay across the surface.

Where the princess’ left wing was the pinnacle of pegasus beauty, her right was a sickly husk of an appendage. Without her alicorn magic to suppress the damage, the depth of the ghastly injury was on full display. He was surprised such a wing could even grow feathers with how thin and withered they appeared. Black and purple veins ran the length of the span, thickening as they drew to the base where it met Sunny’s body in a deep gash. If not for her alicornhood preserving it, the limb likely would have succumbed to necrosis and fallen off long ago.

Summers gasped at the sight, her eyes running up and down the impossible damage done to Sunny’s wing. Finally, the spa pony broke her silence and turned to its owner. “Does it hurt?”

“It did, but I’ve gotten used to it. The doctors did their best, but it’s a corrupt form of magic. It’s a small miracle that I still have the wing at all.” Sunny smiled serenely, trying to put Summers at ease. “I’m hoping that one day I can find a cure so I can fly again, but for now it’s something I’ll just have to live with.” She took one last look at her ruined wing before laying her head back down. “It’s harmless, but you don’t have to touch it. I know it’s… unpleasant.”

Summers shook her head. “Nah, Sunny. You’re just trying to play fair with the rest of us birds with this wing tied at your back.” Without hesitating, Sunny carefully pressed her hooves against the terrible limb, helping it rest more comfortably while tenderly kneading it. “You’re still the only swan I see, sunshine. Anypony saying otherwise is just trippin.”

Summers’ warmth brought a smile to Sunny’s face as she closed her eyes. “It’d been a while since I’d felt at peace like this as my former self,” she explained to her invisible audience. “Though I know in my heart that I am truly Celestia, there are moments when I feel as if I am simply Sunny Skies with magical makeup. She made me feel beautiful inside and out.”

“You say something, sunshine?” Summers asked.

Sunny turned to the vision and smiled wistfully. “While I would love nothing more than to relive this lovely time, shall we move on, sister?”

“Indeed,” Luna said as she brought the memory to a halt. “Her speech was strange, but it is clear to me that the young Sauna Summers had taken an interest in you.”

“At the time I thought she was just being nice. I had no idea she really meant it.”

The pegasus closed her eyes and flared both of her wings as a horn sprouted from her head. In a sparkle of sunlight, Celestia resumed her real form as the massage table extended to accommodate her larger size. She laid back down as the world shifted around them to another time in a smaller, private steam room with just herself and Summers.

“After my first visit here in disguise, I began taking semi-regular trips to Steamsationals as my true self to enjoy Sauna Summers’ massages.” Celestia popped in a floating tea set on a nearby cloud. “I became what she called her ‘royal o’ clock’ session.”

The world resumed its motion as Sunny gently cantered on the princess’ back, working all the knots she could out of it. Meanwhile, Celestia smiled in content as she peacefully sipped her rose congou.

“What are those jive talking cats at the castle doin to bum you out so much, princess?” Summers asked, growing more frustrated with each passing second. She started hopping up and down trying to get some reaction from Celestia, but her highness didn’t even flinch. “I’m solo stampeding up here trying to get these kinks out!”

“Don’t worry, Miss Summers. I’m known for my sturdiness. You said I was built like a brick house before, right?”

“Ain’t supposed to be literally bricks! Deep tissue shouldn’t need a jackhammer, ya dig?” Summers began to bounce off Celestia like a trampoline, crashing her limbs into her spine like a professional wrestler.

“Yes. I believe I do ‘dig,’” Celestia agreed with a giggle. She fired a spell at the exhausted pegasus’ hooves, causing them to glow with warm, aetherial light. “There, that should help.”

The masseuse looked at her empowered limbs and smiled. “Woah. Freaky deaky…” She immediately went to work with a far more normal approach, pressing into the princess’ back. Finally feeling her hooves making progress, she began singing a song to herself as she carefully massaged the rough royal withers. “So, what’s got you all uptight, princess?”

“I believe the title should be enough to make an educated guess,” Celestia mumbled through her blissful pampering. She hissed with pleasure as audible pops and cracks sounded, causing her stiff smile to melt into pure pleasure. “You know the aristocrats I suffer through every day wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like this. They’d probably complain that they couldn’t lay on a cloud, making it improperly harmonious.”

“Fine by me if those squares wanna stay in their lush, primo places. Still, and I don’t mean to call you out, but ain’t you kinda doing the same all hush-hush about you coming here?”

“I can see how it might look that way—” Celestia said through an irritated grunt from a particularly rough muscle. “However the moment those jackals find out that I’m coming here, they’ll start clamoring to steal my presence away from you for themselves with their own singing masseuse. It’s why the castle has its own spa in the first place.”

“That’s a major drag. Why not nix ‘em all if they’re bumming you out this much?”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple, Miss Summers. The needs of a nation are complicated and require more than what I can do… alone.” The princess’ mask fell away, slipping into a bitter scowl. “Though, truth be told, I am not above applying force when necessary.”

“Yeah… I get that, princess. No way I can say I hustle like you, but being alone can be scary. Ain’t gonna lie, but I kinda had a freak out when you first started coming around here asking for me. Even lost my head a little, you feel me?”

“No, Miss Summers. The whole point is for you to feel me,” Celestia teased as she savored the other mare’s spectacular touch.

Testing her enchanted massaging abilities, Summers stopped her humming and pressed down between her shoulders. “Trying to seriously confab with you here, your majesty. You mind?”

The princess’ eyes went wide and twitched with a pain she hadn’t felt in centuries. “Okay, okay! Mercy, Miss Summers. I yield! I yield!”

“That’s more like it.” The masseuse chuckled as she kissed her golden hooves. “But like I was saying, I know it can be scary flying solo, but I don’t mind doin’ my little part for the good of Equestria if you need me. I could always use more friends. Only got one in town so far… I think.”

“I’ll give the offer some thought, Miss Summers.”

“Then… mind dropping the Miss? None of my friends call me that back in Cloudsdale.”

“Very well, Summers. I’d love to be your friend.” Celestia turned back around and smiled with genuine warmth. “And perhaps you could just call me Celestia?”

Sunny paused her work and hummed a few bars to herself. She bobbed her head back and forth to the beat as she considered the thought. For a moment, Celestia’s mask slipped back on to hide her nerves at the offer.

“Three beats ain’t exactly easy to sing,” Summers remarked. “How about Celly?”

The princess’ face warmed back up with a delighted grin. “It’s perfect, Summers.”

With a wide grin, Summers went back to work trying to help the princess relax after a long day of ruling. Meanwhile, Celestia turned back around and met her sister’s gaze through the Dreamscape.

“I did not come here to relive your favorite spa sessions, sister,” Luna growled as she furrowed her brow. “What is the point of showing us this other than to buy time to wake up?”

“Because shortly after this meeting, I stumbled across this,” Celestia said as she summoned a flier and passed it to her invisible audience.

Reading the posting, it was an open call for talent tryouts for a new music label Fancy was very familiar. Groovecasters was looking for the best new sound around from anypony in town in an attempt to set themselves apart from the gentrified music space.

“Yes. You see, around that time, there was a bit of an upheaval in the musical world. Thanks to the nobility chasing a ‘properly harmonious sound’ as they put it, the music industry had stagnated under the ironhoof control of the Canterlot Music Society. While the big spenders were commissioning constant masterpieces for me, everyday ponies weren’t buying it anymore. Apparently, Groovecasters saw an opening and went for it.”

“Yes, so naturally, you must’ve brought it up to Summers,” Luna finished for her sister.

“I did, but…”

In a flash of light, the vision of Summers appeared between the princesses. “I don’t know, Celly. I know you like my singing, but I’m good just being me.”

“Wait, so my mother refused the offer?” Fancy asked.

“Yes, but I’d already seen the crowds my humble friend had attracted at the spa. I knew she had a fighting chance. But more importantly, I also thought back to my troubles with the nobility. If I couldn’t subvert their ideas of ‘Proper Harmony’ from the top, perhaps I could shatter their foundations. Honestly, what better way to do that than turning a humble spa pony from Cloudsdale into a star?”

Luna frowned in concern. “Wait… then how did you—”

“Hey, Summers?” a vision of Sunny called from the distance.

Summers turned around and smiled. “Sunny! Long time, no see. Weather work got ya bogged down?”

“Yes, and honestly, I’ve just about had it,” Sunny complained with a stomp of her hoof. “I’m sick of pushing papers around in the back. Not being able to fly with everypony when my talent is breaking clouds… it’s just brutal. I need something new.” Sunny sheepishly pulled out the Groovecasters flier and showed it to her friend.

“You wanna try singing, sunshine?”

“Yes. And you’re the best singer I know.”

“I guess I could give you some pointers if—”

“Could you come with me for the tryout?” Sunny asked with pleading eyes. “If I’m with you, I might have a shot. You’re an amazing singer!”

Summers scratched her afro and looked away in apprehension. “I… I dunno, Sunny. I riff all the time to keep my head on straight while steaming. I don’t think I’m ace enough to get down and jiggy in the big times. I just wanna do my best to make ponies at Steamsationals happy.”

“Please, Summers! Just think how many more ponies could be happy if we actually made it. I can’t do this without you there next to me.”

Summers took one last look at the poster and back at her friend. After a moment, she smiled and put her wing around Sunny. “Well, the worst those cats can do is tell us to make tracks, right? I’m down.”

“Great! I promise, you won’t regret it,” Sunny assured. “Now all we have to do is come up with a song.”

Summers laughed as they began to walk away. “You for real right now? How you gonna sing without no song?”

Celestia watched the visions walk away as she finally stood up from the table. Luna stepped out of the aether with Fancy Pants as the memory yielded to the ancient burning temple from before. She stared vacantly as Sauna Summers followed after her friend down the path to superstardom and vanished into the aether.

“She didn’t even want to try out,” Luna whispered in disbelief.

“No. No she didn’t. But from that moment on, I did everything in my power to ensure Sauna Summers became a success ‘on her own,’” Celestia explained as she looked up at the molten mountain top frozen in time. “And she accomplished more than I ever thought possible. She became the Queen of Disco, rising above the aristocrats and even marrying their last star, my dear friend Suede Shoes. Once she had firmly established herself, all I needed to do was throw my weight behind the usurper Queen and her class traitor King.”

“So, you made my mother who she was?” Fancy asked. “Why all this secrecy then?”

Luna slammed her hoof down, nearly cracking the stone platform they stood upon. “To make it look natural! Like this was her fate occurring in due course!”

“Is that not fate weaving?” Fancy asked in genuine confusion. “I offer ponies an alternative and they take it.”

“But they choose to do so!” Luna corrected. She turned to Fancy with a flame of righteous anger burning from within. “Do not besmirch your gifts by comparing them to such fickle manipulations! Though you may be influential, your foresight is a thread that has yet to be considered.” Luna stepped towards Celestia with bittered anger. “Whereas my dear sister used a mortal life in a way she saw fit to force her desired outcome!”

“I saw an opportunity to solve a problem and took it, nothing more,” Celestia defended. “Just as I’ve seen many opportunities over the years to make Equestria better. Sauna Summers served a greater purpose.”

“What purpose can there be to excuse using up the limited time of another!” Luna shouted as she ran in front of her sister, trying to catch her gaze. “We are immortal, sister! We have centuries to ponder such problems whereas they have naught a single one at most! This is not how you serve as a steward of our little ponies!”

“I was on an ever-tightening schedule, sister,” Celestia said calmly as she looked down at Luna. “With her, I was able to crush that twisted ideal of harmony and begin to burn it away while Sauna Summers lived happily ever after. Or at least, that’s what I hoped would happen.”

Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The Dreamscape bent around the three of them again, but refused to yield completely to the new vision with the world still frozen in fire around them. Celestia disappeared into Sunny Skies once more as she drew a pair of red reading glasses from the aether. After she put them on, several thick lines of gray flowed down her mane in an attempt to add a few years to her immortal disguise.

They found themselves back at the studio with Summers just as Fancy remembered her. She was older, grayer, but still her unmistakably sensational self. The Queen of Disco was pouring her sensational voice into “Good Morning, My Sunshine,” her profession of love for Sunny Skies put to a soulful ballad. While Luna’s gaze hardened with anger and heartbreak at the sight, Fancy's sight was drawn to her mother’s vest. The brown tassels swayed from side to side with threaded beads that matched the ones in her afro. He knew the look and this day very well. After all, it was seared into his memory.

Sunny lowered the volume on the console and turned her sights to her captor audience. “She’d been asking me about a weather paper pusher named Sunny for years, but I just ignored it. I thought she’d move on eventually with her life. She’d forget Sunny Skies. When I finally gave in and went to the mansion that day, I had every intention of settling the matter once and for all, but… I had no idea. It wasn’t supposed to go this way, I swear.”

“You have my pity, Celestia, but that is all you have. These are the fruits of the seeds you so carelessly sowed at your friend’s expense, and I will bear witness to them now.”

Luna’s magic pushed sound back up on the console just as the song drew to a close. Summers cleared her throat as the final notes faded out on the piano playback. The seconds of silence drew on and on and the singer’s smile strained until she finally relented and spoke into the mic. “What did you think, sunshine?”

Sunny answered by jumping out of her seat and bolting towards the studio door.

“Wait!” Summers cried as she rushed out of the live room. “Please! Don’t run! It took me so long to find you again.”

“I shouldn’t have come,” Sunny whispered to herself as she gripped her head. “This is wrong. You have Suede. You have Fancy Pants.”

“I do. I do and I love both of them so much, but…” Summers grabbed her dear friend’s hoof and held it close to her chest. “I also want you in my life, Sunny. I love you too. I love you so much that it hurts.”

Sunny shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t understand. I was the one who pushed us past the breaking point. The group split because of me. I took all of your dreams away. You should hate me!” She tried to take her hoof back, but Summers held on tight.

“I know. I know, and I’ve been thinking long and hard about what happened. What I should’ve done. And you know what?” Summers’ eyes glistened with tears as she bit her lip. “I was too weak. I shoulda never let you be the bad girl.”

“Please. There was no other way. You wouldn’t have made it.”

“I didn’t want to make it if it meant losing you!” Summers screamed as she bowed her head onto Sunny’s hoof. “I just wanted to sing with my friends! I wanted to make ponies happy! I never wanted to lose my sunshine!”

As her friend broke down, Sunny didn’t know what to do. She stepped to her friend’s side and let her lean in, supporting Summers’ body with hers. “But you have brought the world such joy with your music. You showed everypony you can be more than just your cutie mark. You threw that ‘Proper Harmony’ nonsense back in their faces. Not even Princess Celestia could’ve done that.”

“But, what’s the point if I can’t make the ones I love the most in the world happy? I ain’t selfless, Sunny!” Summers yelled through her tears. She sniffled and coughed trying to maintain some semblance of control. “I didn’t start singing because I wanted to change the world. I wanted to have fun. When you asked me to tag along on that stupid audition to Groovecasters, I really just wanted to spend time with you. But then they liked me more than you and everything just started happening so fast…”

“You… do you even hear yourself?” Sunny asked incredulously. “We were at Groovecasters for maybe three years? Four? You’ve been with Suede for so much longer! You’ve built a life with him. You had a foal with him! How can you even be saying this?”

“Because it was Suede’s idea. He wants me to give us a chance. He knows I got enough love for you too. I love Sunny.”

“I… I just wanted you to forget about me.”

“That’s the funny thing, Sunny. I tried. I really wanted to for a while after we split up.” Summers chuckled to herself, trying to regain control of her crying. “But the thing is, I could never forget you for a second, Sunny. I only ever forgot you weren’t there. And, every time I remembered? I couldn’t stand it.”

Summers reached into her beaded shirt’s pocket and pulled out a key adorned with a beautiful pink sapphire. She held it up in front of them and smiled.

“What’s this?” Sunny asked.

“It’s the key to your room,” Summers answered as she offered it to her dearest friend. “Suede and I built this place for us. For all of us: Spring, Autumn, and you. I want everypony back, making music like we shoulda been all along.”

“You want all of us to move back to Canterlot?”

“Not if you don’t want to. I know Spring’s got her students. Autumn’s got her musicals in Manehattan. I don’t know what you’re up to these days, but we got more than enough room for everypony. They can move their families here or just come and go when they got time. And you and me?” Summers clacked her right forehoof against Sunny’s left tenderly as she smiled in relief. “We can finally be together.”

Sunny stepped away to put some distance between them. She looked at the key in her hoof. “You’re the Queen of Disco, married to the King of Swing, so close to the princess that you call her Celly! Me? I’m just a flightless nopony.”

Sunny couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Don’t do this.”

“Then, please. Don’t run away this time,” Summers reached for the hoof Sunny was holding the key in. She tenderly wrapped her fetlock around and pulled it close to her heart. “Do you love me too or not?”

“Summers…” the disguised princess croaked. Her eyes widened in fear. She didn’t know what to do. This was all happening too fast.

“If you don't then… then I promise that I’ll leave you alone, okay sunshine? I won’t ever try to find you again. Just, please. Tell me straight. Do you love me?”

“I… I—”

Before she could answer, the door slammed open. “Mother?” A vision of a teenage Fancy Pants called as he strode in like he owned the world. “I need an advance on next week’s allowance.”

“Fancy!” Summers cried, releasing Sunny’s hoof, dropping the key to the floor. “I thought I told you that I was having a very important company over!”

“But time is of the essence! I made this request politely before. Twice. And still I have yet to receive it. Did you forget again?”

Luna turned to the present Fancy looking on in complete horror. “Fancy Pants?”

“I… I don’t want to see this again,” the current Fancy mumbled lowly to himself.

“Who knows? You burn through ‘em so fast, maybe you forgot you got it already,” Summers countered, barely holding back her anger. The last thing she needed was to be forced to deal with her son’s grievances again at such a critical moment.

The stubborn teen rolled his eyes. “Hardly an excuse. I’m not the featherhead of the family, Mother.”

Sunny chuckled to herself and stepped forward between the mother and son. “You must be Fancy. Your mother has told me all about you.”

“Fancy Pants,” the young stallion said slowly for the mare to hear. “Soon to be Ambassador of Equestria Fancy Pants.”

“Ambassador-in-training if I heard correctly. You’re acting very rudely towards my friend and your mother, Fancy Pants.”

The young stallion narrowed his eyes. “And you are?”

“A friend of your mother. Did it slip your mind?” she asked with a light bonk to his horn.

“I have no time to waste with one of your commoner friends,” he said with a scoff towards Summers.

“Don’t you dare speak to her that way!” Summers roared. She bent down, almost ready to charge him. She was so angry.

“Fancy Pants!” Suede Shoes yelled from a distance. The King of Swing galloped into the room at full speed, dressed in his finest and fuming with anger. “Stop trying to squeeze money out of your mother this instant!”

“Wonderful. He’s caught up with me.” The son turned to face his father. “What else was I supposed to do? You keep refusing to give me an advance.”

“Because you’ve burnt through enough of your allowance for half a year!”

Fancy clicked his tongue. “You say that as if we’re impoverished. The paltry amount you give me is an absolute pittance compared to the wealth we’re sitting on. Just give me what I need and I’ll stop bothering you about it. My friends are growing impatient.”

“Growing impatient over what?” Sunny interjected.

“None of your business, ‘friend.’ Stay here and help Mother flick some switches or whatever it is you sound ponies are supposed to be doing.”

“Fancy Pants! You apologize to Sunny, right now!” Summers screamed so loudly that she nearly blew out her voice. She quickly fell into a fit of hacking coughs as her eyes watered from the strain.

While the young stallion didn’t even flinch at his mother’s scream, her broken yell reverberated through Sir Fancy Pants’ soul as he nearly lost his balance. Luna’s cool wing reached around him as her comforting magic entered his mind.

“I apologize, my dear friend,” Luna whispered.

“It’s almost over,” Fancy replied as he waited for the end to come. “Soon, I will blow off my mother’s cries, say something utterly foolish, kick the door closed, and then never see her again.”

“Fine,” the young Fancy complained. “Sorry you had to see this. I’ll just have to figure out my financial situation later. I always do.” With that, the teen bolted past his father out the door, kicking it closed to buy himself time.

“Fancy Pants! Fancy Pants! Come back here this instant!” Suede yelled as he gave chase.

Fancy watched the vision of his younger self vanish down the unfinished hall into the Dreamscape. Those words. He wished so dearly he could take them back. Fancy wanted to tell his mother that he didn’t mean it, but he knew deep down that every blasted word out of that stubborn child’s mouth was blinded by selfish self-importance. He heard the shuffling of hooves, bringing his attention back to the rest of the day he’d missed.

Sunny turned to Summers and knelt down next to her. “Are you alright?”

The queen's hacking cough persisted as she struggled to catch her breath. Fancy’s heart nearly stopped as he saw her wide-eyed, terrified stare. He’d seen that furtive glint of confused terror in his mother's eyes before. It was the eyes she always had when he’d beaten her in an argument with his clever wit, never connecting it to her condition. Summers had gotten “lost” again.

“Summers?” Sunny asked again, trying to snap the mare out of it.

“Sunny?” she wheezed as her eyes sparkled with recognition. “Sunny!” Summers immediately dove into her friend and hugged her, desperately clinging to her neck as if she hadn’t seen her in years. As she settled down, she looked around, seemingly relearning where she was again. “Oh, my sunshine! Sorry, about that, shug. I just need to… settle. Settle down. What were we talking about again?”

Summers’ mouth opened up, but no words came out of it. Her ears pinned back against her head as she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and threw on a smirk. “We were… just mentioning how that brat of yours was somehow going to be our next ambassador.”

The smoothing magic stopped as Luna’s mouth fell open. “What did my sister just say?”

“Oh? Oh! Crazy, right?” The old queen laughed as she coughed again, trying to clear her throat of whatever was in it. “Celly said she saw something in him, but ain’t no critter out there that is gonna like that stubborn colt walking in like he knows everything. She’s trippin.”

“Maybe, maybe not. Celestia’s been around forever. Maybe she just sees something we don’t. She’s probably faced plenty of proud ponies like him before. Just give her some time to polish him to a shine, and I’m sure he’ll be a better stallion by the end of it.” She smirked with a cunning glint in her eyes as she rubbed her friend’s shoulder. “After all, a talent like his only comes around once in a blue moon. I bet she’s got a plan to set him back on the path to Harmony.”

The younger princess looked at Fancy Pants out of the corner of her eyes before forcing herself to keep watching.

“I hope you’re right. More than anything. Heaven knows he won’t listen to me again.” Summers gripped the right side of her head and winced as she tried to stand back up. “I just wish I knew where he got that mean streak of his. Maybe I gave Sugar Bear too much sugar and spoiled him.”

“Don’t worry so much about it. It’s just a phase, like you said. Colts like him feel like they can run the world after having their mark for a few years, but they’re still children. The princess will be able to instill some much needed humility. It’s hard to rise higher than the sun, you know.”

“Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Sunny.” Summers coughed again but looked up to the mare holding her and smiled, but it was lopsided. “I missed you so much. You’ve always been the light in my skies.”

“I-I’ve missed you too, Summers,” Sunny said with rising concern.

“All that matters is you're here now, sunshine. And I got a little song for you to hear.” She said weakly as she leaned into Sunny’s wings. “I’ve wanted you to hear it for so long. You know, I just did the lyrics. Suede made the music.”

“Yes, I believe you mentioned that.”

“I did? Wh—when was that?”

Sunny rose her hoof to Summers’ face, trying to get a response from her glazing eyes. “Summers? Are you okay?”

“Yeah… Just, just give me a minute. I got a song I wanna sing to you when my voice ain’t so freaky.” Summers closed her eyes and sighed contently.

“Summers, I really think we need to—” Sunny’s voice hitched as Sunny’s full weight leaned into her side. “Summers?” She nudged her limp friend. “Summers?”

“Summers!” Celestia screamed. She burst into her full alicorn glory as the memory shattered to pieces around them. The fallen princess slumped down as the Queen of Disco’s body stayed behind, but she shed no tears. Those had fallen long ago.

Fancy’s stomach churned at the sight of his mother, resting in peace in the princess’ embrace. No wonder Vinyl hadn’t told him what was on the record. She’d collapsed right after he left. His mother hadn’t died at the hospital. “Did I—?”

“There is no point in entertaining that notion, Fancy Pants,” Celestia interrupted. “I did everything in my power to save her, but I didn’t alter the records. It was complications from her medication that killed her. An elevated risk of stroke.” Celestia curled around the dead mare, hugging her tenderly. She brushed away Summers’ curly mane and kissed her forehead one last time before the vision dissipated in a scattering of light. “It’s so funny. I’ve been forced to watch so many I despise drift away slowly, yet somepony I love so dearly is gone in the blink of an eye.”

“Love?” Luna muttered in disbelief, not accepting anything from her sister. “You call that sick, twisted vision love?” The princess of the night teleported in front of her sister and slammed her hooves down. Despite the thundercrack around her head, Celestia didn’t even flinch. “You lied to her! Every day you were around her as either mare was a living lie! Even to the very end, you took advantage of her condition!”

“I was a coward. I ran before she could tell me, hoping she’d move on, but she didn’t. I returned as Sunny with every intention of rejecting her love outright, but… I couldn’t. I loved her, and I still love her now.” Celestia took a deep breath and stood to her legs. “But ultimately, her untimely passing was a small mercy for us both.”

“Mercy? You had Traveler’s Remembrance. You could’ve saved her! You could’ve fixed this! She deserved it after what you did in her final moments!”

“Fix?” Celestia laughed to herself as she waved the notion away. “No, that would’ve broken everything. The Queen of Disco’s self-made ascension could not be questioned. If the nobles ever caught wind of my involvement in her rise, they might’ve assumed she’d seduced me. It took a century to dispel Proper Harmony. Summers made the music flow freely again. She served a greater purpose.”

“And what great purpose was that?”

“Night Court, sister,” Celestia answered simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She trotted past her sister towards one of the rows of seats in the front. She reached under it and grabbed a book from underneath. She turned it around to reveal the ancient work Fancy had seen before when he visited the Melodys. He couldn’t make out the old writing on the cover, but it was clearly a pristine copy of that book of lost songs from the Silent Era.

“There was no time to fix it by myself. The stars were aligning to aid in your escape. I wasn’t going to stand idly by and let ponies ruin the art of your lovely evening again as they had a thousand years ago.” Celestia looked upon Luna with a zealous tenderness burning with sisterly care. “You always enjoyed what the composers came up with, at least before they started trying to impress me.”

Luna's eyes widened in abject horror at the oppressive love bearing down upon her like a collapsing star. “Are you saying that the reason you wanted to overturn Proper Harmony, the reason you pushed a spa pony to become a renowned musician, was just so ponies would make music for me again?”

“Of course, dear sister. All I ever wish for is for your eternal happiness. So, I confess.” Princess Celestia smiled with the serenity of Elysium. “I made this world for you, Luna. All of it.”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 51: A Glimpse of Paradise

The moon rose on the eve of the longest day of the year, its surface still scarred by the visage of a demon who had consumed a lost princess over two centuries ago. The ancient spell’s chill ran down Princess Celestia’s spine, just as it did every night as she set her sister’s orb on its proper path. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was how Luna felt every time, or if the moon’s frozen bite was of the villain lashing out at her intrusive touch.

“Your majesty, we are ready to begin the festivities…” a long-forgotten farmer said warily as he approached.

“85,196,” Celestia counted to herself as the ice on her breath created an unseasonable mist in the warm summer air.

“What was that, your highness?”

“Nothing.” Her horn dimmed as she turned to face her faceless subject. “Shall we begin this year’s Summer Sun Celebration?”

“Well, of course your majesty, but it’s just…”

“Just what, my little pony?” she asked with a dispassionate smile.

“Well, it’s just that the longest day is tomorrow, right? Why’re you wanting to hold the festivities now instead of just waking up at the crack of dawn like we always do?”

“As you said. It’s the longest day. Why would I want to make all of you celebrate for so long in the heat of summer?” The princess held her hoof out, letting her fur rustle in the wind. “The coolness of an evening summer breeze is an unmatched pleasure. It’s much better to enjoy the evening and end with the sunrise than suffering such a gruelingly hot day, don’t you think?”

The farmer took his straw hat off and shuffled it around in his hooves by the brim. “Well… it’s just that… you know.” While the silhouette of the stallion bore no eyes, his gaze unmistakably was drawn over Princess Celestia’s shoulder to the nightmarish moon behind her.

The princess giggled to mask her acute anger. Then, she smiled with the serenity of Elysium. “Well, perhaps this change will be the first step in helping fix that.”

Princess Celestia sat down in a royal box in a massive concert hall in Canterlot. As she got comfortable, she raised the playbill of the evening to admire the cover. Two disparate lovers sat on the edge of a moonlit lake looking away from each other, their hooves reaching out to touch one another. Under them was the name of the opera she was here to see: Starlight Soliloquies.

“Oh, oh! There she is! It’s Princess Celestia!” a noble lady called out, but the princess paid her no mind. “I told you she would be here tonight.”

“I don’t believe it,” the flummoxed opera manager whispered back to her with dread. “She didn’t hold Day Court today. I was so certain she would come to one of the earlier showings!”

“She’s in attendance now. Is that a problem?” the lady asked.

“All of our leads are resting. She’s going to be suffering through a slew of understudies!” he bemoaned. “And with Proscenium still mixing up his verses half the time, this show is going to be a disaster! Why didn’t she announce her attendance earlier?”

“Who is to say? The sun moves as she wants, and she seems to favor going out at night.”

“But nopony wants to be out at night!”

“There’s nothing for it, my good stallion. Perhaps your prime showing should be moved to later?”

Their petty aristocratic debate continued, and the princess breathed a sigh of relief as the world became just a little more bearable. As the curtains rose, so too did she channel the icy spell to raise the moon. “156,251.”

The stage moon came into full view as the actors took their places upon the stage. Princess Celestia offered a light applause and smiled with the serenity of Elysium.

“Princess Celestia!” another blank stallion called out from afar.

The alicorn turned her head down as the pony caught up to her long stride down the hallway of her school for gifted unicorns. “What is it, Headmaster Wintershire?”

“I must speak with you urgently regarding this new magical proficiency test you’ve instated this year,” the stallion said as he caught his breath.

“The one for the magical kindergarteners?”

“Yes. I’ve been reviewing the tasks you’ve asked to be performed and, well—forgive me for speaking out of turn—they don’t seem fair, your highness.”

The princess raised an eyebrow as she stopped to give the stallion her full attention. “Oh my. What makes you say that?”

The vision of the headmaster sifted through his papers, looking for the right one. “You see, your highness, while the problems you’ve provided have varied solutions from all the various schools of magic, they are much easier to satisfy if the student’s natural inclination favors illusion, enchantment, and abjuration. Those showing promising talents in different schools will have a harder time placing.”

“This is a problem. I didn’t think it was so obviously weighted.”

“It’s not a glaring mistake. I almost missed it myself after analyzing the solutions, but the bias is definitely there if you know what you’re looking for,” the headmaster bragged.

“I see. And have you mentioned any of your findings to the other teachers?”

“Not yet. I wanted to bring it to your attention first before asking the faculty.” Wintershire bowed respectfully as he offered her a scroll. “These are some recommendations I’ve made if you wish to review them. In the meantime, we can still use the old tests.”

“Wonderful. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, headmaster.” Celestia picked up the scroll in her golden aura and sparked it with a flicker of sunlight, reducing it to cinders in an instant. “There. Administer the tests I designed.”

“P-Princess Celestia?” the headmaster stammered as his head followed the scattering remains.

“Equestria is in need of more ponies gifted with the focuses I’ve recommended. With more ponies growing more comfortable with staying out later, we will need better spells for illumination and protection in the future. Nopony should be afraid to explore the wonders of our world, day or night.”

Wintershire looked over his papers again and then back at the princess. “But the tests… they’re not fair.”

“No, they’re not. Is that a problem?”

The stallion stomped a hoof in objection. “Of course it is! You’re asking me to play favorites with our applicants on a whim!”

“Then I suggest you pretend that it isn’t,” Celestia stated warmly, but firmly. “It will only be for a time, I promise.”

“But it’s discrimination!” He let the word hang in the air, but was met with cold silence. Hearing no reply from the princess, Headmaster Wintershire sighed as he tucked his papers at his side. “Very well, your majesty. It will be done.” The stallion turned around and began to walk away.

“Oh, before you go.” Celestia stopped him with her wing and guided his gaze up to her face.

“Y-yes, Princess Celestia?”

“Just now, were you going to tell the other teachers about your findings?”

“No, your hig—”

“Verim loqui,” she whispered as a gust of primal arcane magic flowed into his mouth.

“What language was—yes, I needed to tell them not to use the weighted tests.” The stallion froze and covered his muzzle in shock.

Celestia smiled with the serenity of Elysium. “Thank you for your honesty. I will be sure to attend and see that our newest applicants are given the proper exams. For now, would you care to join me in watching the moonrise tonight as we discuss your replacement?”

The wing against the headmaster stiffened before he could make a break for it. He then nodded yes. “N-no. I’m scared,” he admitted weakly.

“There’s no need to fear, Wintershire. I’m sure field research in the Frozen North will suit you well.”

The princess lit her horn with the strength of the solar winds as she channeled for a teleport across the world. She folded the shivering stallion into her caring wings as she counted 292,388 in her head. Even if the moon’s face was still marred by that old villain, she was going to enjoy seeing it from Crystal Peaks Outpost. The icy air always made her sister’s sky shine so much brighter.

A prismatic explosion shattered the sound barrier and rocked the School for Gifted Unicorns with its powerful energy. The applicant trying to hatch the test phoenix egg began glowing with the unmistakable might of a magical surge. Before she lost complete control, Princess Celestia threw a shield up around the little filly to contain the worst of it, but she underestimated her raw power. She hadn’t felt such gifted strength in ages. It took layers upon layers of wards to maintain the hastily cast shield, but the filly showed no signs of slowing down.

In a desperate attempt to save the girl from overwhelming herself, Celestia ran to the nearest window and redirected the excessive magic force into a beam of pure energy. Her horn burned as she channeled it into the most massive arcane firework Canterlot had ever seen. It burst into a flash of lavender that rivaled the rainboom that had caused it in the first place. She made a note to apologize to the weather services for the disrupted cloud layer later.

The princess lowered her shield, expecting to find the worst underneath. To her surprise though, the little pony was still alive, only a little dizzy from the ordeal. Not only that, but a purple phoenix chick emerged from its shell. It’d been many moons since she’d seen a mage channel enough of their magic into one of Philomena’s eggs to change the chick’s natural plumage so deeply. The unicorn was so young too.

“Twilight!” her mother, Twilight Velvet, cried out as she rushed the platform to embrace her daughter.

“Are you alright, my little pony?” the princess asked Twilight.

Twilight’s eyes spun around trying to figure out which way was up. “Did I pass?”

Celestia giggled as she reached for the phoenix chick. “I’d say. And with flying colors,” she announced loud enough for the examiners to overhear. They nodded in agreement and began writing in their notepads. “You have a very special gift. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a unicorn with your—” her words died on her lips as she saw the filly’s familiar cutie mark appear at her flank: the symbol of the Element of Magic.

“Princess?” Twilight asked nervously.

“Twilight Sparkle? I would like to make you my own, personal protégé here at the school.”

“Huh?”

The princess tilted her head. “Well?”

“Yes!” the filly shouted as she jumped for joy.

Twilight’s parents joined in her excitement as they rushed around their daughter. Celestia nearly hopped in as well. Such a phenomenon couldn’t have been a coincidence. This was the first sign from Harmony that the ancient predictions weren’t wrong. The prophecies were all coming together, and soon the stars would aid in her sister’s escape. And, if Twilight’s cutie mark was an indication, she would play a pivotal role in saving Luna where Celestia had failed all those years ago.

Celestia subtly plucked a feather from the phoenix and summoned a book of her personal students. Passing by entry after entry, she found the next blank page and began to paint a circle using the feather’s fiery barbs. The book’s enchantment worked its magic, burning a hole in the center of the circle while Celestia copied the filly’s full name at the top. The phoenix’s right eye glowed with magic for a second as her enchanted tome finished burning a window onto the page. She clicked her tongue to grab the chick’s attention, and nodded in approval seeing it look up to her face through the lens in the book.

“One more thing, Twilight Sparkle,” the princess said as she closed her Personal Protégé Compendium.

“More?” Twilight asked in disbelief.

The princess turned to her new student and smiled with the serenity of Elysium. “What would you like to call your new phoenix familiar?”

The moon shone in all of its unblemished glory on the outskirts of the Badlands. It’d taken far longer than Princess Celestia would’ve liked to track down Chrysalis after she and her ilk had been blasted away from Canterlot. The little drones that had survived the newlyweds banishing spell had suffered enough, and hopefully learned their lesson. There was just the matter of dealing with their recovering queen.

Celestia gave one last look to make sure she hadn’t been followed when sneaking out of the hive. The coast was clear, so she dove towards a clearing and rolled the cocoon off her back and kicked it towards the ground below. It smashed into the dirt with a splattering impact, expelling the injured royal within. Chrysalis screamed from the violent wakeup call as she tumbled over sideways before a tree trunk brought her to a sudden stop. The weary changeling groaned in pain as she tried to get her bearings.

“Good evening, Chrysalis.”

The queen’s eyes shot open at the familiar chipper tone. “Y-you! How are you here?” She looked around at the forest’s edge that stopped just shy of the wasteland. “Wait, this isn’t the hive.”

“No, it’s not. You didn’t make it easy either. Luckily, most of your subjects are still trying to recover what’s left of your invasion forces. Retrieving you from your hive was easy enough to do without anyone noticing.”

“But my throne… nothing but changeling magic should work! The disabling barrier would’ve made picking you off mere nymphs play.”

“Throne?” Celestia tried to recall anything remotely chair-shaped in that place. “Oh! So that’s what that siphon-stone structure was supposed to be. Unfortunately, I couldn’t just leave it alone with all the harm it was doing to the local environment,” she explained, pointing towards the perfect circular edge where the grass fell to the desert. “The hive will just have to make due with the barrier gone.”

“G-gone?” Chrysalis balked. “How—”

Celestia’s horn sparkled with golden sunlight. “Siphon Stone, or Antimanacite, doesn’t completely negate magic. It only absorbs it when used. The stone still needs to dissipate the energy, and it’s not very efficient at cooling off when it comes to solar magic. Don’t worry though, I was able to erect a shield long before it exploded.”

“But…” The exhausted changeling struggled to keep up with the alicorn’s explanations. “What is even going on? You don’t look hurt in the slightest. I blasted your horn with everything that I had. You shouldn’t be able to walk around!”

“I will admit that you did fool me enough to gather an impressive amount of love. That was no small feat. I wonder though, was it cunning or coincidence that you attacked me when you did?” Celestia tapped the top of her pristine horn with her hoof. “I had to take the blow myself. Otherwise, defeating you might’ve resulted in too much collateral damage. Lulu would’ve been so upset.”

Chrysalis tilted her head. “Lulu?”

“Yes. My sister’s been looking forward to our niece’s wedding, despite having to keep watch from the anonymous tip you left to throw us off. Honestly, it is a small blessing that she was sleeping when you made your move.” Celestia smiled softly as her eyes flared briefly with a deep, ancient anger. “Had you struck her down, I assure you that we wouldn’t be speaking right now.”

The changeling shuddered from the brief change in the princess’ demeanor. She looked away, trying to blow off the unease. “Well, you found me. What do you want?”

The princess shook her head. “There’s nothing I need from you. I just wanted to offer you a chance to tell me your last words. Do you have any?”

“Last words? What do you mean last—” Chrysalis screamed as lashes of solar wind wrapped around her with searing light. She shivered with anger and pain and tried to control her breathing. “W-what do you think you’re doing? Let me go this instant!”

“My apologies, Chrysalis, but I can’t let a creature like you scuttle away. Not when I’ve worked so hard to bring perfect harmony to this world.” Celestia stood up, lifting her captive next to her as she escorted the queen to the border between the grassy plains and sandy wasteland. Another fiery flash sounded as Chrysalis tried to break free. “Don’t struggle against the binding. They only burn if you move. I don’t want you to pass out before the end.”

“The end?” The changeling’s eyes shrank as she finally understood the gravity of the situation as the edge of the wasteland drew closer. “Wait, no! Stop! Don’t I get a say in this? A trial at least?”

“You’re already guilty of attacking Equestria. I have the headache to prove it.” Celestia held the changeling over the dropoff into the desert. “And like so many villains to come before you, I don’t see a path of reformation given your proclivities. So, I will ask you again: do you have any last words?”

“Please! You can’t do this! I’m Queen of the Changelings!” the captive creature cried as she tried to wriggle her way out of the magic locking her in place. The scorching magic tightened around her body, squeezing her until she was immobilized as her eyes were forced to stare at the unwavering sun. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry! I promise, I won’t ever attack Equestria again!”

“Thank you so much for apologizing.” Celestia smiled upon the sinner with the serenity of Elysium. “Henceforth, I shall bear these final words in silence. Go now before me in both peace and harmony, Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings.”

With that, the princess shot a golden beam of purifying light into Chrysalis’ eyes as she begged for mercy. Her wails became brittle and hard as the petrification spell wormed its way through her body down to her silken tail. When the pest had finally solidified, the princess lobbed the fresh statue into the air. She whipped around and gathered every ounce of strength from both her body and the surrounding landscape into her hooves. As the pitiful statue fell behind her, Celestia unleashed her mountain-cleaving fury into a single buck.

The problem dealt with and her anger vented, Celestia took a calming breath as she watched the flakes of gray silt scatter in the wind. She gave one last scan of the horizon with a life detection spell to make sure nothing had witnessed Chrysalis’ judgment. The last thing the princess wanted to do was chase down loose ends when she had a wedding plan to readjust around her sister’s freer schedule.

The final vision collapsed, but the tranquil smile on Princess Celestia’s face never faltered. Fancy stepped back, his fur standing on end, finally seeing the taciturn warmth for what it truly was. Luna stared directly at its dominating glow. There were no words that crossed her lips, only tears that flowed freely along with the scales that were burned off her eyes. The oppressive light of her sister’s confession seared her soul with lifetimes of sins she bore in quiet serenity.

Celestia’s stillness faltered with gentle understanding. “I am so, so sorry, Luna. You were never meant to know any of this.”

“Sorry?” Luna muttered in disbelief. She subtly shook her head, not allowing her gaze to falter in the face of such calming terror. “No. You’re not sorry. You can’t be. Not after manipulating our little ponies for a millennium…” Luna trailed as she looked into her sister’s brilliant, pink eyes. “How have you not succumbed to darkness?”

“I would never. I did this to dispel the darkness forever. As long as we keep watch over chaos’ seal, nothing will ever come between us again,” Celestia assured.

“Because you purged everything in daylight! How is this not the realization of that loathsome utopia the worshipers of this forgotten temple sought to establish?”

“Because they wished to end the night forever! For me to slay you!” Celestia’s eyes flickered as she reaffixed her smile and calmed herself. “I would never do that! Not to you.” The princess reached her hoof out and shined sweetly upon her little sister. “I love you, Luna. I love you more than anypony. More than the world. More than Harmony itself.”

Luna retreated from the blistering malevolence extending its touch towards her. “This isn’t love… this is madness! Never in my wildest dreams would I think you were capable of such profanation.”

“I know. I do not expect forgiveness for what I have done. All I ask is that you now allow me to fix this.”

“Fix? What do you mean fix?” Luna yelled through desperate laughs. She wasn’t sure if it was from the insanity of it all or the sorrow crushing her from within. “There is no fixing centuries of tyranny! There is only stopping it before you can use up even more lives!”

“No, I can. I swear to you that I can. It’s possible if we act now.”

“Stop it! Stop lying to me!” Luna gripped her head as she fell back on her haunches. “What can even be done to begin repairing the damage you’ve done? What justice could you possibly serve as recompense for such heinous acts?”

Celestia closed her eyes. “I’m prepared to face whatever punishment you decide to enact, my beloved sister. Trapped within an eternal dream, petrification, beheading, whatever will make you happy.”

Luna flinched from the very thought. “There is no realm in this or any reality that I would take pleasure in taking your life! I still love you, sister! Despite the evil you have done, the terror you have inflicted, the lives you have taken, I still love you.”

Celestia smiled gently and closed her eyes. “As do I. I always have and I always will love you. no matter what. All I ask is that whatever you require of me, that we never be parted if I remain in this world. I could not bear it.”

“SILENCE!” Luna boomed as she stood against her sister in defiance. Nostrils flared as her gaze burned with righteous rage, but her knees quaked in the face of reality. “Silence. Be… be still. Do not speak. You have no right in making any requests of me. Not when I don’t know what to do!” Her breathing became uneven as grief overtook her and she began to weep. “Why, sister? Why have you done this? You knew it was wrong. You knew I would hate this! Why?”

The elder princess rushed in, wrapping her wings around her precious sister, holding her close as she cried. Celestia dried her sister’s tears with her feathers as Luna tried to push away, but the larger alicorn refused to let go. She kept the moon within her warming embrace as she kissed her forehead.

“I am weak, Luna,” Celestia admitted, smiling all the while for her beloved sister. “I failed you a thousand years ago because I loved myself too much. I was blinded by hubris until it was too late, and then I drowned my sorrows in the adoration of the ones who built this accursed place. Even still, I didn’t see what I had done until Glissando’s zealous cry forced me to destroy what my blind arrogance had created. I couldn’t let them turn against you again. I wouldn’t let the Nightmare return. Never again.”

“And now the world is a nightmare we cannot awake from.”

“No, no,” Celestia cooed as she lifted Luna’s head to meet her caring gaze. “I swear this was a mistake, Luna. Just wake me up and I will make all of this go away.”

Luna sucked in her lips as her resolve weakened to her sister’s siren song. “How? Suppress my memory like you did centuries ago?”

“Never. You would never fall for such a clumsy illusion for long anyway.” Celestia stroked her sister’s mane, trying to calm her down. “Just tell me where you found that record and I'll make this all go away.”

Luna’s tears dried as she realized what Celestia was asking her to do. “Traveler’s Remembrance…”

“Yes. All you have to do is tell me where to find that troublesome record and I will destroy it as it should have been all those years ago. Allow me to bear the terrible weight of this sin in silence.” She pulled the smaller princess under her chin as she smiled serenely. “I swear upon the sun, moon, and stars above, you will never find this out again.”

Princess Luna’s eyes dried as she pulled back from her sister’s wings. Her horn lit with magic as she teleported away from the eclipsing sun. “You expect me to just forget this? To let you walk away? To allow your sins to go unpunished?”

“No. Not if you don’t want me to. You may deliver your judgment to me now and I will do my best to carry it out myself. And once this silly summit is over and you’ve fully resumed your place at my side, we can finally rule together. Or, if you prefer, you can go explore your wondrous world while I watch over Equestria. Whatever you want to do.” Her gaze flickered over to her most capable envoy. “I just happen to know the perfect guide for your travels. Isn’t that right, Fancy Pants?”

Fancy blinked in confusion at the sudden attention. “I beg your pardon?”

“Again with the questions. It was your business to know my desires before I had them for over fifteen years. How are you so dense?” Celestia’s angelic laugh made Fancy’s fur stand on end as she brought a hoof to her forehead. “Honestly, I’m really disappointed. You’ve been on dates and gone to her room multiple times. And then I find out from Cadance that there’s not even a spark of romance between you? From either of you? I know they say I’m as patient as the day is long, but even I have my limits.”

Luna’s breathing increased rapidly as she began connecting dots in her head. “Those rumors, constantly cropping up around the castle… It was you. Of course it was you. How could it not be you?”

“I won’t apologize for trying, but I will if I misread any shifts in your preferences. If it’s not a stallion you favor, I’m certain any or all of the Element Bearers would love to have you. There is also a former student of mine if you want a bit of a bad girl, but I’m afraid arranging a blind date will be difficult. She fled through Starswirl’s mirror portal when she traced the scrying spell on her familiar.”

“They’re ponies with free will, not dishes to be sampled on a whim!” Luna rebuked, cutting her sister off before she could utter another word. “By the stars, I’m still finding myself after my return. So much has changed, both in the world and in myself. It may be years before I can trust myself enough to share a lifetime with another.”

“And that is fine. Those will pass in due course, Luna. The Elements saved you from her clutches. However, that does not excuse you, Fancy Pants.” Her smile never faltered, but her eyes burned with a thinly veiled wrath as she turned to him. “The time you’ve spent together should’ve been more than enough for there to be at least something. Still, you feel absolutely nothing for her?”

“But I do care for her, your highness. It’s simply that she’s a princess—”

“And you’re a noble!” Celestia argued as she stood taller. Her mask cracked as she drew her smile slightly too taut. “Not just any noble, but the noble of nobles. The Kingmaker of Canterlot. Respected, well-traveled and versed in multiple languages, handsome, uniquely talented, honest, loyal, kind, filled with laughter, and generous to a fault. You turned out to be better than I could’ve ever imagined, practically sent by Harmony itself right when my sister was set to return! You are perfect in every conceivable way! I made sure of that!”

The solar princess stomped her hooves in explosive fury as the cathedral began burning once more under her solar flaring. “SO WHY DON’T YOU LOVE HER?”

Luna dove into Fancy Pants, sweeping him across the room to safety, away from her sister’s wrath. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m…” Fancy trailed as he tried to find his courage. He could feel Luna’s tremble in her desperate grasp. “I’m fine, your highness. But what about you?”

Luna shook her head as she clutched onto Fancy. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry you were caught up in this. I’m sorry for… I’m sorry!”

Fancy hugged the princess back, shielding her from the sun’s burning rays. The envoy looked towards Celestia and held firm as he stood up. This needed to end. He couldn’t allow Luna to keep fighting on her own.

“Your majesty, is this what you truly wanted?” he asked as he stepped forward.

“Of course not, Fancy Pants. I’m sorry that I lost my temper, but we wouldn’t even be in this situation had you not so hastily spilled your tea on my book.” The princess stepped forward, standing at her full height against him as she hardened her gaze. “I trusted you with her, I tasked you with her safety in this foreign world. You were my most Noble friend, and yet you betrayed me.”

“You once said that a true Noble One was somepony who carried the legacy of friendship through their lineages,” Fancy remarked, refusing to yield any ground. “How can you say you were truly a friend of my mother after you so blatantly abused her trust in you? How can I be a Noble One if your friendship was built on a lie?”

“That was not a lie. I loved your mother,” she answered evenly, despite the twitch in her eye.

“You certainly had a strange way of expressing it,” he spat in disgust.

“How dare you!” she shouted as her mask cracked further under the pressure. “You saw the memories! I wanted to tell her that I loved her. I wish I could’ve told her the truth. But it would’ve jeopardized everything I’d worked for!”

“I’ve seen what your work does. Just look around us!” Fancy pointed his hoof at the grand cathedral serving as the most splendid funeral pyre the world had ever seen. “How many more were there like Summers? Any one of them could’ve loved you like she did! I bet we could fill this room with the sheer number of ponies who would’ve gladly shared their lives with you. Was sacrificing all of them worth it?”

“A thousand fleeting lifetimes for an eternal one? Without question,” Celestia answered as plain as day. “You come and go like waves on a beach. Even if I feel relief for a moment as you wash over me, the water always recedes, and I’m left alone upon the burning sand once more.”

Fancy glared at his friend in disappointment. “So, our lives are only valuable for the comfort they provide you?”

“Do not twist my words!” the princess roared as her mask shattered into pieces. The light of the sun glowed hot with indignation. “If I did not love you, I would not bother ensuring the sun rose every morning to bring life to this world. It was my overindulgence that brought the Nightmare about! You had all the love to give to me, and I greedily took it all for myself!”

“No. You’re wrong, Celestia,” Luna corrected as she looked up from her despair. “That is not what happened.”

Celestia stopped her tirade and turned to her sister. “What are you talking about? I was obsessed with the attention. I shined so brightly that nopony could see you. I failed to share their love and mine. I failed to save you as the Elements took you away for a thousand years.”

“Neigh. You belittle my involvement in this sordid affair. I still became—”

“You became trapped in the moon because of me!” Celestia argued.

“You can erase the memories of those awful events, but you cannot change what happened.” Luna stood to her hooves and wiped her tears so she could gaze clearly at her beloved sibling. “I know what I did. I remember it clearly. Why do you insist on taking it all upon yourself?”

“Because it was all my fault! Don’t you see? I didn’t love you enough. I only loved myself. I betrayed you!”

Luna shook her head. “And your memories betray you. A thousand years was naught but a blink of an eye for me. I became jealous—”

“Because I—”

“CEASE YOUR PRATTLING AT ONCE!” Luna royally commanded her sister, the force of her voice collapsing another section of the fracturing wall. “This world doesn’t revolve around you!” The princess fumed quietly for a moment, but then caught herself as something flashed across her face. “But you think it does, don’t you? Why else would you play goddess with fate?”

“I had to. I couldn’t let anything drive us apart again. I just wanted you to be happy.”

“Happy with you,” Luna remarked as the gears began turning in her head. “Not jealous of you. It always was, and still is about you. You say you made this world for me, but if that was true, then you would have submitted to night eternal long ago!”

“No! I’d never forsake you to that evil! I-I just wanted you to come home and be happy again. I love you,” Celestia offered weakly.

“I know you do, but you also want me to love you.” Luna took a long, hard look at her sister, who was slowly cracking under the pressure. “You’re scared that I won’t. You… you fear that more than you actually love me.”

Princess Celestia’s eyes bulged as the words crossed her ears. She shook her head on instinct, but her shivering told a different story.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” Luna said as she stepped forward in deepening concern. “It’s the only reason you’d go so far. You’re absolutely terrified of the idea.”

The retreating sun opened her mouth to deny it, but she couldn’t force her lungs to breathe. She desperately tried to cauterize her wounded mask, to reset control of herself, to become the steady sun once more, but she could no longer hide. Her hoof touched the side of her head, feeling her visage locked in panic. “I’m scared?”

“I see it now. You’re frightened. Just like I was jealous. You let that festering fear control you, consume you, and drive you to this.” Luna’s face fell with grim understanding. “You could never become a Nightmare because I already made your life a living one, every day for a thousand years.”

“No, don’t be silly, Lulu. You did nothing wrong.” Celestia shook her head as she plastered on a fragile smile. “Just allow me to wake up and pluck that record from the past. I promise that you’ll never discover this again. I can do this.”

Luna smiled sadly. “I know you can. You’d keep this from me for all eternity, letting it fold within the annals of history as time erased any trace of your abuse outside of your memory. However…

“I SHALL NEVER ALLOW IT!”

Princess Luna flared her wings out as darkness swirled around her. “I see through your dwindling light, sister. You put on a brave face as you walk this world in denial of the truth, but the guilt is crushing the sunlight within you. I know it well, for it is the same one that I’ve lived with since my return to this world.”

“Denial? No. I’m not denying anything.” Celestia struggled to put herself back together, but her mask crumbled again when she saw the encroaching shadows. “You were judged by Harmony upon your return and found blameless. You have no reason to feel guilty for what happened.”

“That is what you wish for, but that is not how things are, or ever were.” The Princess of the Night continued her slow march towards her sister. With each step, her body lurched higher as blackness consumed her fur. “For you to face your sins, you must first accept mine.”

The last vestiges of her front collapsed as she backed away from the advancing moon. “No, Luna. Stop. You’re mistaken. She wasn’t you. You’d never hate me. I stole that light from you. It was my fault!”

“Even before we ascended, I was always jealous of your superior grace, your beauty.” Her nebulous mane flared out with stellar power as her pupils narrowed with predatory intent. “And when we became Celestia and Luna, Harmony had the audacity to grant you greater magical strength as well. You grew in greater power and beauty under the favored day while I faded into the darkness of night!”

“Stop it. Please. No more!”

“I hated you,” Luna said as her voice became sharper and colder. “I slowly turned my back on Harmony as loneliness and envy festered within my soul,” the ancient demon proclaimed as her mouth sharpened and she donned a mythril helmet. “I was the one who devoured our subjects for magic to match yours. It was I who wished upon the stars for a chance to murder you in cold blood!”

“Et tacet!” Celestia hopelessly commanded, but the magic fell on deaf ears within the Dreamscape. “Et tacet!”

“It was me, dear sister!” Nightmare Moon cried out, her monstrous presence stained with deep sorrow and shame. “It was always me.” The ancient villain bowed her head. “I’m so sorry that I hurt you. I love you, Tia. Even after all you’ve done. I love you so much.”

“Get away from me!” Celestia crumpled to the floor, her majesty fading as the years weighed upon her shoulders. “Nightmare Moon hated me, and… and I hate her for taking you—for stealing my sister away from me!” The streaks of green and blue retreated from her mane as her alabaster coat lost its brilliant luster. Finally, her broken wing fell open at her side, the enfeebled limb’s feathers blowing away, leaving behind a threadbare appendage.

With pity in her eyes, Nightmare Moon stepped forward towards her withered sister. Celestia tried to crawl away, but her brittle hooves skidded uselessly against the stone floor. “I used to dream of this moment. I would savor watching you helplessly flee before I slaughtered you. I am so sorry I ever entertained such darkness.” Nightmare Moon stretched out her obsidian wings and drew closer to the eclipsing sun. “Deny the truth no longer. Please, sister. I cannot stand to see you suffering like this.”

“Then let me wake up!” Celestia begged as the shadows licked her scattered feathers. “Let me fix this so you never see it again!”

Nightmare Moon shook her head and knelt before her sister. “We were meant to rule together, to bear the weight of the heavens in harmony. So too must we bear the yoke of our immortal sins upon our withers. I solemnly swear this to you: I shall never leave your side again, my beloved Celestia. We shall care for each other, sharing in sisterly love forevermore and beyond, even after time itself has reached its end.”

“No! No, please! Let me wake up!” Celestia wept bitterly into her sister's raven chest, screaming for relief as the black swan’s wings folded around her. “Wake me up!”

The cathedral’s fires flared even larger, trying to set the stone platform below them ablaze to free Celestia from her worst nightmare. Fancy looked around for safer ground, but there was nowhere to go. The dreamscape burned so intensely, he swore he could almost feel the heat boiling the air. He fruitlessly reminded himself it was just a dream as he ducked down lower to the floor to avoid the billowing smoke. He watched with worry as the black pillars rose skyward towards the sun.

And the sun stared back at him.

“Luna!” Fancy yelled as he pointed up to the sunlit iris engulfing the sky. “Above us!”

The Nightmare scattered into black mist, leaving Princess Luna behind in its wake. She turned away from her sister and looked up to see another sun turn its gaze towards her, enveloped in a blazing sky that stretched across the horizon. Luna quickly lifted her sister’s tear-streaked face and looked into her mournful, pink eyes.

“If this is not a Nightmare, then this must be…” Luna looked back up at the sun and gasped with recognition. “You said that this was a cursed recurring dream. A punishment for tearing out the memories of our subjects whilst they slept. Why did I believe you?”

“I was too weak, Luna.” Celestia’s head fell forward against her sister’s neck. “My resolve was faltering. I needed to remind myself.”

“So you created a tantabus?”

The entire sky roared with deafening, magical fury that shook the world. Meteors began to rain from the sky, bursting upon the ground with apocalyptic fury. The sun retreated away, revealing a second as it pulled its face away from Equestria. It reared back and crashed one of its hooves into the backside of the moon, breaking the heavenly body apart like a mere dirt clod. Fancy’s mind nearly shattered trying to fathom the enormity of the creature blotting out the stars.

Through his descent into madness, a beam of light blasted him between the eyes, along with a command from Princess Luna.

“DESTROY THE BOOK!”

Fancy shot awake from the nightmare and looked around. Princess Celestia had collapsed onto the table, but Luna was nowhere to be found.

“Dear heavens! Is she actually in there with that thing?”

He rushed to Celestia’s side and found the soggy book under her sleeping forelegs. He tried to grab it with his magic, but his aura was already occupied with searching for his crystal. He carefully took the tea-soaked tome out from under her and threw it in the fireplace. He stoked the fire until the spell in question was burned beyond recognition for good measure.

With the forbidden spell book dealt with, Fancy needed to get Luna out of that nightmare. He reached for his unfinished cup of tea and whispered a soft apology before splashed it into Princess Celestia’s face. However, nothing happened.

“Wake up, your majesty!” Fancy yelled into the princess’ ear. It flicked slightly, but it wasn’t enough to overpower the magically induced slumber. Looking around, he spotted the record player still spinning in silence, with the occasional pop of the needle. “That could work.”

Taking a page from the Festival of Flakes, Fancy cranked up the volume as high as it would go and set the disk to reset itself. He then covered his head with the cushion and waited for the broken record to do its duty.

SCREEEECH!

The old speaker wailed with the shrieks of the damned, sending Princess Celestia skyward in terror. Her sudden ascent stopped as quickly as it started as the back of her head collided with the ceiling. She bounced back down to the ground and turned the player off.

“What in heaven’s name was that for…?” Celestia’s voice fell away as she remembered the answer. “The book!”

Fancy kept his mouth shut as the princess teleported to the side of the table, searching high and low for her precious tome. The fireplace popped with the fresh kindling, whipping her attention around just in time to see the last of the pages turn to ash. Celestia’s magic reached into the fire to pull it out, only to recover the scorched remains of a hardback cover. The conquered princess’ knees buckled as she toppled to the floor.

After another moment, a mote of starlight shined into existence and flared with lunar light. Princess Luna sailed out of the exploding starburst towards the ground on her back, covered in soot and smoldering wood. She bounced across the floor and collided with the wall, groaning in pain as she flopped onto her side.

“Luna!” Princess Celestia cried. She abandoned the useless remains and teleported to her beloved sister. “Luna, are you okay? Luna!”

The smaller princess groaned as she coughed up some debris. She glared at her sister with pity and righteous indignation. “By the power granted to me by Harmony itself, I hereby strip you, Celestia, of your title and duties as a Princess of Equestria and Keeper of the Sun, effective immediately.”

“But sister, you have only just returned. You’re not ready for—”

“This is not a request,” Luna wheezed through a hacked cough. “If my lungs were not filled with ash, I would be issuing this decree with the Royal Canterlot Voice. Do you understand me?”

Celestia closed her eyes and nodded. “Yes, your highness.”

“You shall be relieved of all duties until you have served penance for imposing your will upon the fates of others and I deem you capable of ruling once more, if ever such a day comes. For now, I must ask you to relinquish your power willingly to me immediately.”

A palpable silence fell over the room as the waning moon looked upon the all-powerful sun.

“Please, Tia,” Luna begged with a weak croak. “I cannot fight you. Not again.”

Celestia sucked her lips in as she gazed lovingly at her precious sister, tears welling up in her eyes. She channeled her magic as she leaned down and kissed her sister’s forehead. The morning light faded from her aetherial mane as it flopped down in strands of pink. The luster of her right wing withered with the chaotic wound flaring back. Its creeping black and purple veins webbed through the unfurled limb hanging lifelessly to her side.

As the fallen princess broke her kiss, her soft smile returned with the serenity of Elysium. “Anything for you, Lulu.”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 52: The Quiet Storm

Vinyl didn’t want to be awake, nor did she want to go to sleep. She just didn’t want to be anything. Being anything meant she could think. Vinyl didn’t want to think. Thinking was consuming her from the inside, those thoughts swirling around one looping record. She’d tried to destroy it, but it hadn’t helped. It was everything and nothing, containing all the answers she’d been looking for while rendering them useless, and she hated it. She absolutely hated it.

All of her work had been built on a misconception. Nothing was wrong with Summers, but everything was wrong with Sunny. Vinyl wanted to buy her own copy of that useless Queen of Disco biography so she could burn it in magefire.

In hindsight, it was so obvious. Vinyl couldn’t find the mare’s full name on any album cover crediting her for a song. No record in the collection even mentioned Sunny’s existence. Nopony ever called Sunny by her full name on the records. For heaven’s sake, Sunny was the one who controlled the recordings themselves! The mare was a ghost. She could’ve been a changeling for all anypony knew. It’d make sense for how cruel she’d been in those final moments.

On the other end was Sauna Summers. Her success hadn’t corrupted her at all. She hadn’t even wanted it. The queen’s all-consuming shadow was just a work of fiction, a creation of pompous historians with incomplete records focusing on exactly the wrong things. Had she been able to tell her story, it would’ve shown her actively fighting against everything she’d accomplished. The snooty Canterlot recordkeepers would probably be offended by how little she cared about what they did. If she hadn’t died, maybe she would’ve been known as the Steamy Summer Wind of the Four Seasons rather than the dominating Queen of Disco. She wanted to be surrounded by everypony she ever cared about. Nothing else mattered to her. The wealth, the fame, the status; utterly meaningless.

So, where did that leave Vinyl? What was she supposed to do with it all? She’d started looking for Sunny to prove the record wrong, that the queen’s success hadn’t changed her. If that was true, then maybe by extension, any success DJ Pon-3 attained wouldn’t destroy her too. It’d mean Vinyl could be Vinyl. She could do what she wanted without fear of becoming a monster. However, in her pursuit of not becoming a twisted version of herself, she’d lost who she was. What it meant to be Vinyl Scratch was dissolving with each passing day. What did she even want anymore?

Vinyl waited to hear that intrusive voice, but no answer came. Her desires were silent. Everything was static as the record kept spinning and spinning.

“Vy!”

The DJ snapped to reality as the buzzing in her ears faded away into a din of polite conversation, clinking glasses, and softly played music. Taking stock of her surroundings, she was at the Crystal Summit in the Royal Ballroom next to the stage, waiting her turn to go on. Standing next to her with a grim frown was her sister, tapping her hoof impatiently.

“What?” Vinyl asked.

“Six,” Fleur counted. “That’s six times you’ve blanked on me.”

Vinyl pushed her shades closer to her eyes, hoping that they’d be enough to shield her from the prying eyes of those around them, but Fleur wasn’t having any of it.

“I never should’ve let you talk me into coming tonight,” Fleur complained with a dramatic sigh.

“I didn’t talk you into anything. The deal was that if my horn was fine, I’d perform.” Vinyl shot a few sparks with ease. “The horn’s fine, so I’m gonna perform.”

“Yeah, and the head it’s attached to is anything but!”

“Nothing new about that.” The DJ flashed a smirk. She hoped it looked convincing for once.

Fleur glared flatly at the gesture. “Seriously?” She sighed and softened with sympathy. “Look, sis. It’s okay for you not to be here tonight. I’m sure everyone that matters would understand.”

Vinyl’s face hardened seeing her bluff fail. “All I did was listen to a record. I’ve heard plenty of stories that have… stuff like that in it. That’s a pretty lame excuse to skip out on a gig.”

“Yeah, in Ogres and Oubliettes! With me pretending to be my dragon plushies! What you told me was just…” Fleur bit her lip as she pulled on her own shoulder. “I’m not okay, and I didn’t even hear it. But still, to think Fancy could—”

“That wasn’t Fancy Pants,” Vinyl stated earnestly, trying to keep her voice in check. “At least, not the Fancy that I know. Fancy Pants is kind, generous, and endlessly supportive. He gave me a place to stay, a chance to make a comeback, not because I’d make a ton of bits, but because it was the right thing to do. He’s always there in my lowest moments. He helps me up when I fall because he cares about me.” A more honest smile crossed her lips as she tilted her shades down to meet her sister’s eyes. “He stayed with me until I fell asleep last night and made sure you were there for me when I woke up.” Vinyl’s heart surged with desire and conviction. “I want to be here for him. I want him to know that no matter who he was, he’s different. The past doesn’t matter. I…”

You? Desire tried to say.
“You?” Fleur somehow echoed.

“I don’t want to disappoint Princess Luna either.” She cleared her throat as she felt her face flush a little. “Fancy said she stood up for me against the snobs here. I don’t want to give them the satisfaction of bailing now.”

Fleur chuckled to herself. “Fine. That’s a good enough reason, even if it’s not the main one.” The cheeky pony winked knowingly. “Just promise me you won’t do anything stupid if it gets to be too much.”

“That’s your job, remember?” Vinyl joked with a bump to her sister’s shoulder.

“Exactly! Don’t do something that I would do. Or at least think about it first if you’d do it without me.”

Vinyl laughed and shook her head. “Nah. I’ve done too much on my own already. I… I don’t want to be alone ever again.”

Fleur pulled her into a crushing hug. “And you never will as long as I have anything to say about it.”

Without hesitating, Vinyl hugged her precious sister back. It didn’t matter who was watching, she needed it.

“Alright,” Fleur said as she released Vinyl from her vice grip. “I’m going to be hanging out around the buffet just in case Maman needs something. I’m not working tonight, but I don’t think anyone else over there speaks Prench. She can get a little heated when she’s got a bunch of cooks she can’t talk to. Pretty sure she’s already made that minotaur friend of yours jump out of her apron more than once already.”

Vinyl chuckled to herself as she enjoyed the squeezing embrace. “Yeah. Athena could probably bench press Pâte de Lune, but she doesn’t stand a chance against one headstrong Prenchmare.”

“Haha… yeah.” Fleur nuzzled Vinyl’s sideswept mane before releasing the smaller unicorn. She looked over towards the corner of the room brimming with foodstuffs from across Equestria. The towering minotaur was doing her best to balance several tables’ worth of food on her massive arms. “You’re not serious about the lifting buildings thing, right?”

They watched as Athena slowly made her way over to her table, tiptoeing through the crowds while nibbling nervously on her lip. She had the same castle chef uniforms as the other cooks helping tonight: a double-breasted, short-sleeved jacket and matching apron. However, instead of her normal dresses, she was wearing a pair of gray pants. Vinyl became very familiar with Athena’s beach ball arms after being carried like a cat, but she’d never seen her beastly legs so plainly. They bent from the front like a dragon’s and were thicker than Vinyl’s barrel was around.

“Honestly, I’ve got no clue,” Vinyl admitted as the minotaur set her plates down with a sigh of relief. Athena then plucked an empty serving cart with one hand and headed back towards the kitchen doors. “Let’s just be glad she’s a cook and not a fighter. With muscles like those, walls are probably just a suggestion.”

Fleur nodded absently. “Right. Better go help her survive Maman. Be sure to pop by after your set.”

“It’s not just my set. I’m DJing the rest of the night after my performance.”

“Not going to autoplay?”

“Can’t. Elegy’s Elegant Entertainment uses too much magic to maintain the whole night. I wouldn’t be able to perform.”

“Then show me how and I’ll keep it going. I got plenty since I didn’t conk myself on the head with a box like an idiot.” Fleur lightly bonked the side of her own head.

“I got this. Just go save Athena already,” Vinyl joked as she nudged her sister away.

“Okay. But, sis? I’ll be right over there if you need me, got it? Now, if you’ll excuse me. It’s time to blend in.”

Fleur cleared her throat and tossed her mane as she straightened up with an air of model superiority. Her hooves gently clopped along the marble floor as she effortlessly strode through the crowd. Vinyl couldn’t help but wonder how many ponies were still falling for the Lady Faire act given how many times she’d publicly broken character. Sure, the crystal ponies would be fresh marks, but it was unlikely that the nobles had forgotten how she’d shouted down everypony during the Showcases. Though, it was equally possible she was giving them too much credit. The upper class fools were eating it up as the beauty brushed past them.

Vinyl turned her attention back to the stage with Octavia’s quartet wrapping up their classical music session. While she wasn’t paying attention, the crew had gotten ready to move Vinyl’s Aquarius Starwhirler onto the stage behind them. There was just something wrong with following up a prim and proper ESPA act with her DJing. Sure, she was mostly going to be playing ESPA selections for members that couldn’t be here tonight, but she just couldn’t shake the weirdness away as she approached the platform.

“Good evening, Vinyl,” Octavia greeted with a light smile and swish of her tail. “It’s so good to see you again.” She was immediately on Vinyl, inspecting her eyes for any attempts at deception while double-checking the magically disguised stitches. “Everything okay? How’s your head? Are you sure you’re well enough to perform?”

“Geez, don’t worry, Tavi. Got enough magic for my part of the night. And for the rest of it, I still got four of these.” She held up a hoof and waved it around.

Her mentor searched Vinyl for a moment before brightening further. “Very well. If you say you’re fine, then the stage is yours.”

Octavia flipped her cello onto her back, signaling for the others to begin packing their instruments away and allow Vinyl’s sound system to take center stage. She motioned for Vinyl to follow her as they went around to the back of her system. The crew was already giving Vinyl’s system a final check before running off to help move the piano. A glossy, black box from the Society filled with fresh 7-inch records sat to the side next to Vinyl’s own collection.

“The disk order is front to back by order of submission,” Tavi explained while pointing out where to start. She picked up the first one labeled Crystal Summit 1A. “Each side contains one song from a different artist or group. Play both the A-side and B-side before switching to the next record. Finally, whenever you feel like throwing in your performance, go ahead. Any questions?”

“Nah. It’s pretty self-explanatory.” The unicorn looked around the party, looking for any sign of royalty. “Hey, I know you’re pretty blind when you play, but have you seen Princess Luna?”

Octavia eyed her mentee with a perturbed frown. “I don’t keep my eyes closed all of the time. Though, truth be told, I haven’t seen her.” She tapped her chin in thought. “Come to think of it, Princess Celestia and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza seem to be absent as well. Did Fancy Pants say anything to you about a change of plans?”

“I haven’t seen him since last night. I was kinda hoping you had,” Vinyl admitted with a nervous tap of her hooves. A creeping unease settled in Vinyl’s stomach as her mind started to wander along with her gaze. “It’s kinda weird, right? I thought this was supposed to be a cultural exchange thing with the big wings.”

“That’s enough speculation. Focus on the present.” Octavia placed a supportive hoof on Vinyl’s shoulder and guided her closer to her turntable. “I know things have been crazy these past few years at these big functions, but you can’t worry about what could happen. If you’re truly ready to perform, then take center stage. You’ve got an audience waiting for you, so the show must go on.”

DJ Pon-3 nodded as she pushed her shades back into place. “Right. I won’t let you down.”

“You wouldn’t be able to anyway.” Tavi smiled softly and was about to walk away, but she quickly looked around to make sure nopony was looking and sneaked a quick hug. “You’ve got the whole Society at your back, Vinyl.”

“Thanks, Tavi.”

“Anytime.” She placed the first disk on the turntable and joined the rest of her quartet.

With renewed vigor, Vinyl revved up the Starwhirler for the audience. She might be stuck playing songs in order, but she was going to do her best when the time came for her to shine.

Said vigor waned as the night dragged on and on. The box of singles was halfway gone, and there was still no sign of Princess Luna. If the stupid alicorn would just show her face already, Vinyl could get her performance out of the way. That’d mean she could go through the records without paying any more attention to the party. If she could stop paying attention, she’d stop noticing all the Canterlot nobles silently judging her every time they passed by the stage.

Fancy had warned her that the aristocrats were still bitter about the Festival of Flakes. Vinyl thought she’d mentally prepared herself to ignore them, but the stuffy glances and irate scoffs were getting to her. She’d even stayed out of the public eye for the most part. Just how long were they going to hold onto their stupid grudge? Though, come to think of it, Summers hadn’t fared much better with them back in her day.

Vinyl gripped her shoulder as she slumped behind her turntable, the same one she’d brought to the last upper class gig she’d worked. She wondered if anypony would notice it’d been repaired. The Vinyl Screech really hadn’t been that long ago in the grand scheme of things, but for her it’d felt like forever. Her life had completely changed since then. The loud, brash, self-assured DJ felt like a distant, foggy memory. That naïve performer would be chomping at the bit to drop the track she’d composed on these fools’ heads, but right now Vinyl didn’t want to stir the pot. She didn’t want to mess things up again.

There were times she felt like she could capture that Pon-3 feeling again when blasting beats in Cantrips, but they were fleeting. The moment she stepped out from behind the system, she was just Vinyl again. It was kind of nice in a way. So much of her DJ identity had been tied up in constantly working, tirelessly moving, and consistently proving. What exactly it was that she was supposed to be proving was a moving target of constant struggle, and she never stopped to ask herself why she’d bothered with the struggle in the first place. The virtue of an endless work ethic was supposedly self-evident. It’d be worth it because it’d make her worth it.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Vinyl shook her head back on straight to catch sight of flowing locks of pink, purple, and gold off the side of her stage. She whipped around to see Princess Mi Amore Cadenza looking straight at her. While Vinyl’s instincts were telling her that there was no reason the royal guest of honor would be talking to her, the mare’s undivided attention was undeniable. The alicorn’s concerned gaze was boring right through Vinyl’s sunglasses.

“Can I help you?” the DJ asked as the eyes of the crowd settled on her and the princess.

Cadenza smiled sadly. “Honestly? I wish you could. But that’s not why I’m here. Could we talk for a second?”

“Umm… I’m kinda in the middle of working here? If you’ve got a song request, I can play it if I’ve got it lying around here. Royal privilege and all.”

“The music is fine. I actually wanted to speak with you for a bit,” the princess glanced out of the corner of her eyes at the unwanted attention they were drawing. “Maybe somewhere more private?”

“I’m kinda waiting for Princess Luna since she requested I’d be here tonight,” Vinyl said as she looked towards any of the doors the princesses would come through.

The alicorn’s smile strained. “Something came up. Princess Luna won’t be making an appearance tonight, I’m afraid. Honestly, the only reason I’m here now is because I need to be. Can’t really have a party for the guest of honor when she doesn’t show at least once, right?”

Vinyl frowned. “Yeah, so why not enjoy yourself?”

“Because this is more important.”

The conviction the princess poured into her pleading eyes was more than Vinyl could ignore. With a sigh, she grabbed a disk of classical music from her normal collection and put it on the second turntable, queuing it up to start playing once the current record ended. “You’ve got twenty minutes.”

“Thank you.” Princess Cadenza’s ears flicked towards the crowd’s growing murmurs that Vinyl had already heard a thousand times before. Some were confused, others were happy and hoping she was getting removed permanently. Even the cooks were looking over in their direction with Athena shooting worried glances between the two ponies. “Follow me. I know just the place we can go.”

Vinyl hopped down from the stage, falling in behind the princess. Cadenza raised an eyebrow at the distance and beckoned the DJ closer with her wing. With a stifled nod, Vinyl drew nearer, standing side by side with the princess who offered a reassuring smile.

“Thank you. You can call me Cadance, by the way. I never got to thank you for playing at my wedding. You were incredible, DJ Pon-3!”

“Oh, yeah. Glad you liked it. My real name is Vinyl. It’s easier to say than my stage name,” she said as she kept her head low as she followed the princess through the crowd.

“Glad to finally meet you, Vinyl.” Cadance lowered her head towards the shorter mare’s ear. “You don’t need to worry about any of them,” she whispered. “You’re with a princess.”

“I’m not. I just don’t want to cause any trouble.”

“Really? But I’ve heard so many stories about you from ponies trying to convince me to ban you from coming here tonight. By their stories, I would’ve thought you were a loudmouth anarchist ready to take over the world.”

Vinyl chuckled mirthlessly. “Don’t believe the hype.”

“I didn’t, even for a second,” Cadance assured with a wink.

The guards opened the double doors leading outside, letting the soft chill of the early Mount Canterhorn spring blow over them. As they strode into the fresh air, the party died away to the peaceful evening. The full moon shone down, lighting the path around the sprawling castle gardens. Cadance led them further inside between the trees and past the budding flowers ready to bloom.

“This is much better, don’t you think? If you were a pegasus, I’d invite you on a flight, but I think we’ll just settle for a little walk in the park.”

Park seemed like an understatement for where the princess was taking her. There was an almost otherworldly peace within the greenery around them. It bore a deep and ancient splendor from centuries of careful tending. The walls of the castle fell away to trees and shrubs until any sense of Canterlot was gone. She looked up trying to see any of the princess’ spires, only to find the full moon looking back down at them, lighting the way between the foliage as they wound their way through.

“How are you doing?” Cadance asked.

“Fine, I guess,” Vinyl answered with a shrug. She propped her shades against her horn to help her see in the darkening garden. “A little weirded out. Kinda wondering why we’re out here in the first place.”

“Privacy mostly. But also to get you out of there, at least for a little while.”

As they continued further in, the cobblestones yielded to stepping stones, and then eventually soft grass. The ground dipped into a perfectly circular pond that sat in the middle of the area. Small streams fed into it that branched out into the rest of the garden, but the subtle flow didn’t break its pristinely glassy surface. Beyond it sat a breezie ring of mossy stones and mushrooms wrapped around an elevated mound large enough for two princesses to rest upon.

“This is the center of the castle gardens,” Cadance said as she trotted inside. “I’ve been told it’s the closest you can feel to nature in Canterlot.”

Vinyl followed her inside as she kept her eyes on the night sky’s perfect reflection on the water. “Fancy’s backyard is pretty quiet too when there’s not an airship parked in it.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it. Either way, we shouldn’t be disturbed here.” The princess turned towards Vinyl and smiled softly. “If you’d like to stay here for a while, you’re welcome to. Otherwise, I’m ready to send you back to Fancy’s estate whenever you want.”

“Wait, what?” Vinyl took a wary step away from Cadance. “But what about the show?”

“You can finish that too if you want, but Princess Luna asked me to check on you as well as let you know that you’re under no obligation to play tonight or any of the summit if you’re not feeling up for it.”

“Does she want me to leave? Did I do something wrong?”

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing like that. She just wants to make sure you’re okay. I can’t tell you exactly why, but Luna was very worried about you.”

“But why would Princess Luna be worried about…” A stabbing dread shot through Vinyl’s veins, stopping her in her tracks. “The record.”

“Vinyl?”

“It’s about that record, isn’t it?” Her blood ran cold as her heart immediately shot into overdrive. “It has to be, right? The princess was there last night!”

Cadance held a hoof out. “Please, slow down Vinyl.”

“Why did she repair it? I tried so hard to destroy it! Did you listen to it?”

The princess winced. “Not exactly, but I did hear about it.”

“If you know about it then…” She gripped her heart as she felt her eyes start to burn. “Please tell me Fancy didn’t listen to it!”

“Woah! Calm down, Vinyl. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

“He shouldn’t have to suffer though that again! He’s not the same pony anymore!” She covered her ears, trying to unhear the young stallion’s cruel words reverberating in her mind. “If only I had my magic! I could’ve shattered it! It’s all my fault! I wish I would’ve never listened to that stupid record!”

“He’s fine! I promise, Fancy Pants is fine!” The princess scrambled for anything that could calm Vinyl down. She plopped down and raised a hoof to her chest. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Vinyl’s panic was replaced with confusion seeing the princess go through the foalish motions without a shred of shame. “A Pinkie promise?”

“Oh, good, you know them! I was hoping you would since she’s the one who got you in the first place. Can’t break one of those, right?” the princess assured with a solid hoof bump to Vinyl’s shoulder and threw on a smile. “If you think seeing royalty do that is weird, you should see my friendship chant with my sister-in-law.”

“Is it completely stupid with motions and cringe-inducing words?”

“Is there any other way to do them?”

A small smile pulled at Vinyl’s face. “No.”

“Exactly!” the pink princess proudly proclaimed. “So I promise that Fancy is okay, or at least as good as one can be after listening to something like that,” she amended. “He’s probably doing the best out of all of us right now.” The princess smiled earnestly as she looked around Vinyl. “You know, I bet Fancy would be touched that you were so worried about him.”

Vinyl tried to fight back the blush building on her face, but the spark pounded in her heart. “Thanks, I guess.”

“Wow. That.” Princess Cadance softened with gentle warmth. She placed a hoof over her chest as her eyes shimmered with wonder. “That is so beautiful.”

The DJ raised an eyebrow and followed the princess’ gaze behind her, but she saw nothing in particular. She’d heard there were supposed to be some rare animals out here from Fancy. Maybe she just missed it.

“No, Vinyl. You. You’re positively glowing. You really love him, don’t you?”

Vinyl’s heart lurched into her throat. “W-what?”

The princess covered her mouth. “Oh, I’m so sorry. It’s just plain to see.”

The unicorn slumped down, her teeth clenching from the exposure. “I know. Everypony seems to figure it out no matter how hard I try.”

“But why would you want to hide it? It’s so pure.”

“What in the world are you talking about?” Vinyl asked warily.

“Here. Let me show you.”

The alicorn’s horn glowed brightly as aetherial ribbons of magic flowed out, bouncing up and around to form little hearts as they encircled the DJ. They dissipated into a fog of light all around Vinyl. It pulsed regularly with shimmers of color, growing larger and larger around them until both herself and Cadance were completely enshrouded by it. She couldn’t even see the pond anymore.

“Do you mind joining me over here?” Cadance asked as she shifted over, opening a spot for Vinyl.

Vinyl nodded and began walking, only to notice the mist following her every step. As she drew closer to the princess, the ground became softer, like a natural pillow of grass and dirt. As she laid down, she looked up to see the fog had risen high enough to flow around the branches of the trees.

Vinyl reached a hoof out to touch the mist around her. She’d never seen anything like it before, yet it felt strangely familiar. “What is all of this?”

“This beautiful cloud is how you feel about Fancy Pants. Usually I’d expect it to be wrapped in fiery passion. And while there is a little there,” she said as she plucked at a strand of red thread, “it’s negligible to your emotional connection. Not to say either is wrong, but this is almost pure compassion. And the fact that you're a notoriously raucous DJ just makes it all the more adorable! Are you demi?”

The random Prench caused Vinyl’s ear to flick as she turned her attention back to the princess next to her. “What does bread have to do with anything?”

“Bread?” the princess pondered for a moment before she burst out laughing. “No, no. Not a demi-baguette, silly! It’s a rarer form of attraction that looks beyond the physical, and focuses directly towards the heart of another. It takes time to foster and grow, but once it blooms, it’s truly a sight to behold. You have so much love to share, but you’ve just never known the right one for long enough to trust that someone else at a deep level.”

Vinyl chewed on her lips as she watched the cloud pulse with feelings. She held her hoof over her heart, noticing it was beating with the pulses. “Look, can we stop talking about this please? And maybe make this cloud go away?”

“Don’t worry, only you can and I can see this. You’d have to be a changeling to—” The princess’ eyes widened briefly but she shook it away. “Well, I can promise you that we’re the only ones that can see your love right now.”

“Great. Make it go away,” Vinyl said flatly.

“I’m sorry, Vinyl. I know I can get a little love-crazy,” Cadance giggled. “You can’t see it anymore, but I can’t make it go away. You’ve got it real bad.”

“I know. So let’s stop talking and make it go away already!”

The harsh defensiveness in Vinyl’s order got the princess attention as her ears fell. Cadance stopped her spellwork like Vinyl had asked, clearing the fog away. She then turned to the DJ, looking into her eyes and down at her heart.

“S-sorry, your highness, I didn’t mean—”

“No. It was my fault. I got a little carried away.” Cadance lowered her head. “Guess I’m out of princess practice with focusing on my newer imperial duties. I recently ruined the one chance I had to help somepony I should’ve a long, long time ago.”

“Oh.” Vinyl pawed a hoof at the dirt trying to think of something to say. “That sucks.”

Cadance smirked at the bluntness. “Yeah, it does. I’m the Princess of Love. I want to guide hearts into a better and lovelier tomorrow. There’s a lot of times I can’t do that, especially now that I’m both a princess and an empress. And, it’s hard for me to ignore ponies in need.” Her eyes fell down towards Vinyl’s chest.

“Could you stop looking at me like that?” the smaller mare complained as she looked away from the pink eyes bearing down on her. “This is getting weirder, and it was weird enough already.”

The princess nodded and turned her gaze back up to the pond. Vinyl followed suit and looked out as well, letting the awkward silence hang over them. She set her head down as she waited, unsure how long she’d been with the princess. She wondered if the music was still playing. Hopefully somepony had taken her place. The last thing Vinyl wanted was to cause another problem at one of Fancy’s events. Maybe they’d already replaced her with another act, or maybe somepony from the ESPA had taken over the records. Tavi behind the turntable would be a sight to see.

More than anything though, she didn’t feel like going back. Not if she didn’t need to play anymore tonight. Not if Luna wasn’t going to be there. Not if Fancy was too busy with whatever was going on. It wasn’t like her attempt at goodwill was going anywhere with the nobles anyway. Their sneers were still as vicious despite being on her best behavior. It wouldn’t help her, just like it hadn’t helped Summers. To top it all off, it didn’t seem like the guest of honor was going anywhere anytime soon. She was doing as Vinyl had asked and keeping her eyes closed. All the while, she hummed a soothing song to herself.

“So, are you just gonna sit there?” Vinyl grumbled.

“I can leave if it’d make you feel better.”

“What are you asking me for? Don’t you have a super important party to get back to?”

“I have all week to parade around like a princess,” Cadance said with a weary smile. “Between you and me, Princess Celestia just wanted to see me again and for me to enjoy myself a little. This entire week is actually pointless. I could sign off on the treaty right now and head back home.”

“What? But Fancy and Luna worked so hard on it!”

“I know, and I really appreciate it, which is why I’m still here after…” The princess’ brow furrowed as she took a bracing sigh. “It doesn’t matter. Outside of Yakyakistan, the entire Frozen North is being given back to the Crystal Empire with an open border to come and go as we please. If I asked for any more, we’d literally be annexing parts of Equestria. Nothing I do in there will make much of a difference. But out here, I can at least help you.”

“Help me?” Vinyl pulled back. “Help me with what?”

Cadance turned to look Vinyl in the eyes. “Do you mind if I answer that with a question?”

A gnawing anxiety clawed at Vinyl’s heart under the gentle gaze of the princess. It was worse than when she’d first met Princess Luna at Pâte de lune. If Vinyl’s was an open book, then Cadance was reading every page at once. For how unnerving it was to be under the microscope, there was a strange comfort there too that held a nugget of curiosity.

“Fine. Just, get it over with,” Vinyl huffed.

Cadance closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. As she did, she brought a hoof to her chest. She exhaled, pushing the air out along with her hoof fanning back to her side. “Who do you love?”

Vinyl winced. “What? The stupid cloud wasn’t enough for you?”

“It’s not that. Maybe you could tell me who else you love?”

“It’s none of your business,” Vinyl growled and put her head down on her forelegs.

The princess followed suit and put her head down as well. “It doesn’t have to be romantic love. Any love will do. Friends, family, anyone.”

Vinyl’s ears pinned against her head. “Yeah. I got plenty of ponies that I care about.”

“Do you mind telling me who they are?” the princess prodded.

“Well, there’s my sister, Maman, Tavi, Steeplechase, my professor, Fluffs, Dapper Dandy, Athena,” the mare averted her eyes, feeling the heat rising in her head. “Fancy Pants. That’s plenty right?”

“So you love them all?”

The smaller mare grit her teeth at the pestering. “Yeah, I do. Would you knock it off already?”

“Tell me,” the princess ordered gently.

“Tell you what?”

“Any one of them. Tell me that you love them.”

“I already told you that I do! What are you not getting?” Vinyl shouted as she sat back up.

“But you didn’t say you love them?” Cadance pressed as she followed her up.

Vinyl shot up to her hooves. “So?”

The princess stood up as well. “Do you love them?”

Vinyl’s eye twitched from the mounting stress as she stomped away from the meddling princess. “I do. I swear I do! I—I care about them! They mean everything to me!”

“Please, Vinyl. Just say what’s in your heart. It’s okay.”

“Why should I have to tell you?” she fired back with indignation. “You know what’s in there!”

“Because you haven’t said it,” Cadance urged with a growing concern. “What is stopping you? I’ll stop asking if you just tell me that you love someone. Anyone.”

“Who cares? I said it a thousand other ways! You know what I mean!”

“I do, but words can be powerful. Terribly powerful. Sticks and stones wished they could do as much lasting damage as three little words can when they’re misused.” The princess stepped down from the mound and approached the unicorn carefully. “You’ve reacted so viscerally every time I’ve said the word lo—”

“Don’t!” Vinyl fell backwards on her flank and pressed her hooves to her ears, trying to shield herself from the prying princess. “Stop saying that stupid word already! Please!”

“Okay. I won’t say it anymore. I promise.”

“Good! Because it’s stupid! Ponies throw that stupid word around all the time! What does it even mean anyway? It’s stupid!” She hit her head with her hooves, trying to jostle the intrusive thoughts away. “Stupid!”

“I don’t think it’s stupid. It’s one of the most important things in this world.” Cadance dipped her head down and looked into Vinyl’s downcast face, trying to meet her eyes. “I don’t think the way you feel is stupid either, especially if you’ve been hurt before.”

Vinyl ground her teeth as she pressed her hooves harder into the side of her head. The princess wasn’t even saying the word anymore, but her mere presence was driving her insane. She was thinking about her again, and the throbbing wouldn’t stop. She could almost hear her stitches crawling along her scalp. If she could rip them open and tear out her memories, she’d happily do so. She wanted them out. She wanted everything out!

“Have you ever been hurt by it, Vinyl?” Cadance asked.

Vinyl bit down on her lips to keep her mouth shut. If she didn’t, she’d scream. It wasn’t any of her business if she’d been hurt or not.

“Vinyl, I promise that I’m here to help you. You’re safe.”

“Shut up!” Vinyl begged as she dug her hooves deeper into her skull. “Just… just shut up. W-why are you even here? Why do you even care?”

“Because.”

Vinyl sneered as she fired an icy glare at the princess. Or, at least she meant to. As soon as their eyes met, she could see those pink, caring pools gazing upon her with sympathy and support. Cadance's eyes fell upon her hoof as she raised it between them and offered it wordlessly. She was still there, just because.

“I see you, Vinyl. You’re not alone. I’m so sorry you’re hurting,” Cadance said gently, her soft voice somehow cutting through the ringing in Vinyl’s ears. “I want to comfort you. I can stay here and watch over you. I can hold your hoof. I can hug you close. What do you need?”

Cadance was giving her options. She had a choice. Vinyl watched as her hoof reached out almost on its own. The princess gently met it midway between them and took the offer in her soft and firm grip. She didn’t pull Vinyl any closer, nor apply any unwanted pressure. The princess was here, and Vinyl was safe.

“Good. I know you’re scared, but I’m here for you,” Cadance assured again and nodded. “I’m right here.”

“I don’t want to be scared,” Vinyl muttered, or maybe it was Desire. She wasn’t sure which. “I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

“I know you don’t. I don’t want you to be scared of it either. Do you know why you’re scared?”

Vinyl bit her lip. “Because… I-I’m always wrong. I always mess up.”

“Who told you that?”

The oppressive static barreled down on her again, forcing her head down. There were so many things that told her that, so many that showed her that. She was too scared to pick a single one of them out. It was all there in the cacophonous catastrophe that was her life, swirling around and scattering in a deafening cyclone.

“I’ve got you.” Cadance squeezed tighter and pulled her back out. “I’ve got you, okay? I’m still here. Whoever said that was lying. You’re not always wrong. It’s not true.”

“How do you know? You don’t know me! You don’t know!!”

“You’re right. I don’t know you very well, but I saw your heart.” Cadance’s smile cut through the night with glowing warmth. “It was so wonderful, and so are you.”

“But I’ll just mess it up. I always mess it up. Every time I tried, it never…” Nameless, half-remembered ponies laying next to her in bed flashed through her mind. They were confused by her confusion, concerned with the sudden distance, or smug from another successful conquest. Vinyl covered her eyes, but she couldn’t hide from her memories. “It never worked. I tried, but I never felt anything. I’m not normal.”

“Please look at me, Vinyl,” Cadance requested sweetly as she squeezed Vinyl’s hoof. “You’re hurting, but you’re not broken. It’s not your fault if you were misunderstood. It’s not your fault that it’s hard for you to trust ponies. You don’t have to trust me, but do you trust Fancy Pants?”

“I just want whatever will make you happy,” Fancy said with his classy smile.

Vinyl nodded.

“Do you think he understands you? That he values you?”

“What’s not to understand? You’re DJ Pon-3: the amazing and talented artist that blew away any expectations that I could’ve ever had. You’re Vinyl Scratch: a gifted student and persevering pony that deserves so much more than she’s been given credit for. Don’t let them take a single thing away from you.”

She clenched her eyes shut and nodded again.

“Do you want to tell him how you feel?”

Vinyl’s heart froze at the question. She knew how she felt. She’d known since the showcases, and it’d only grown since then. It was so precious to her, so magical. It gave her strength. It made her feel warm, wanted, secure.

“For all of my wealth, power, and prestige, there’s only one pony standing in this room that’s worth anything.” Fancy lifted Vinyl’s head by the chin and beamed with a bittersweet pride. “And she is priceless.”

But, Vinyl was just a DJ. A hated one. A problematic pony for somepony like him. Even if he said that, even if he meant it, she’d just be a burden.

“You’re the Queen of Disco, married to the King of Swing, so close to the princess that you call her Celly!” Sunny shouted. “Me? I’m just a flightless nopony.”

“I’d throw my useless crown in the trash to be with you,” Summers swore softly. “I’d go back to my life as a singing spa pony in a heartbeat if it meant we could be together. I love you, Sunny. I always have. And I always will. I could never forget you even if I wanted to.”

A gentle squeeze of Vinyl’s hoof brought her out of her rumination. Princess Cadance had kept quiet, only doing enough to ensure Vinyl that she was still there. Vinyl didn’t know how long she’d been lost in thought, but she could feel the stinging in her eyes.

“I don’t want to end up like Summers and Sunny. I-I can’t stand being alone anymore.” Vinyl’s breathing hitched, but she pushed through as her vision flooded. “Is it okay?”

The princess smiled with a timeless tenderness. “You don’t need anypony’s permission but your own, Vinyl. You can be happy.”

Vinyl’s sparking heart beat warmer and hotter. Her desires were on fire with passion as it struck against the ice, in spite of the static, and through all of the noise. With one guttural, scratchy screech, Vinyl shattered the permafrost between her and the open sky, leaping out with her heart’s desire into the light.

“I love Fancy Pants!”

Princess Cadance caught the drowned unicorn in her forelegs and wrapped her warm wings around her as Vinyl cried into her chest. “I know you do. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. You have so much love to share. You can pursue that love in every corner of our world, and live a life so abundantly filled with joy that the Crystal Heart will feel the effects of your love for ages to come. I’m so happy for you.”

And so Vinyl cried openly into the fur of a caring stranger, in the quietest place in Canterlot amid the flowers and trees. Even with the spring breeze brushing against her fur, Vinyl had never felt more warm in her life. She’d said it. She’d finally said it. She’d admitted it, and it was okay. Even though it was scary, even though it hurt, even if the moment was fleeting, it was so good to say. It wasn’t mommy’s word, it was hers.

Vinyl Scratch loved Fancy Pants, and there was no way she’d ever forget it.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 53: Butterflies

Vinyl’s heartbeat pounded at a solid 125 beats per minute as she rode the high of her emotional rush: the exhilarating, liberating, and terrifying song racing through her heart. Before they’d split up for the night, Cadance had told Vinyl to give herself time to process her feelings and then some other things she couldn’t remember over the thrum of her desires. She'd been simmering the thoughts forever, and she already knew what she wanted to do. The thing, though, was that she didn’t want to actually go through with it.

Vinyl wanted to tell Fancy how she felt. The mere thought of doing such a thing sent a thrill of fear down her spine. The familiar crackle and pop of the study’s fireplace was the only thing keeping Vinyl’s nerves grounded as she waited and waited. She wasn’t even sure he'd be coming back to the mansion tonight. At least everypony else had gone to bed for the night.

Whatever the case, Vinyl was going to be lying on the couch for a while, possibly until the morning, for Fancy to come back. But it’d be worth it. She needed to do this before she could talk herself out of acting. Vinyl was keenly aware of how good she was at it. The courage she’d received from voicing her desires would only last so long. Once it faded, it’d only be a matter of time until she shut down. It was so easy to smother the flame and let it die, to slip back into the water. There were a million reasons to keep quiet if she thought them through:

Fancy Pants was busy with the summit, she needed to wait until after.

He’ll always be busy with something, Desire countered. By the time it’s perfect, you’ll already have chickened out!

Vinyl was just caught up in her emotions.

You’re actually letting yourself feel them!

She needed to think up a good speech to make sure she was successful. Something to really sell him on the idea.

Don’t think like that. You’re not like her. Her word is yours now.

Then why couldn't she say it again?

Just focus on what you can do.

But there was always the possibility that he’d reject her.

But what if he says yes? If you wait now, you’ll just keep waiting forever.

“But I’m scared,” Vinyl whispered to herself.

And you’re scared of never telling him. Desire throbbed in Vinyl’s heart, forcing the mare to not ignore them. Listen to your heart. You want to confess to Fancy Pants.

“I want to…” Her hooves reached for one of the pillows on the couch. She pulled the cushion close to her chest and hugged it, using its fluffy touch to buoy her strength. It was her life preserver within the tempest of her own excuses trying to drag her back under the static. Her emotions were all over the place; the only thing that was stable was her singular desire to tell Fancy Pants how she felt.

Vinyl closed her eyes and focused on the burning fire in her heart that roared hotter than the fireplace. It’d been burning since that night after the Showcases. Perhaps even before then. There were so many reasons it had started, why she enjoyed its warmth and kept it close, and why she trusted it. Fancy had done so much for her.

Even though she’d been rude trying to chase him off and ruining the Festival of Flakes, Fancy had tried to help her in secret without expecting anything in return. When she’d gotten sick off of salted liquor at Cantrips, he helped her recover and kept her safe when she passed out. He’d been a perfect gentlecolt when any other sleazy stallion would’ve taken advantage of her. He’d given her a job and a place to stay when she was about to be homeless, keeping it a secret not to hold against her later, but out of respect for her wishes.

And it wasn’t just a home, it was freedom to finally live for once and be who she wanted to be. Being DJ Pon-3 was both nice and useful at times, but she much preferred being Vinyl Scratch these days. She didn’t know who that was yet, but she knew exactly who she wasn’t. Vinyl Scratch wasn’t a pony who was satisfied being a musical draft mare, burning the candle at both ends. She didn’t have to prove herself constantly to an impossible standard to live. She could just be herself and figure out who that was day-by-day. One thing that she’d found while exploring who she was that starved little filly inside who wanted to be held, safe, and…

“I don’t want to be alone anymore.” Vinyl curled around the pillow and squeezed all of her fears into it, trying to relieve the mounting pressure.

The roar of the fire faded away as she tightened around her feather-filled lifesaver enough for the strain to make her ears ring. Her mouth quaked with an urge to bite down on the corner and chew through the upholstery. The tempo flared out of control with her very soul beating out of her chest with an explosive crescendo.

“Vinyl?”

The sound of another pony broke the spell as she gasped for a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Popping out of her panic, she nearly fell off the couch until a firm pair of hooves gently caught her before hitting the floor.

“It’s okay, I got you!” Fancy assured softly as he placed her back on the couch. “There. Seated upright and back in the waking world. Are you alright?”

“Waking world?” Vinyl asked before her she caught up to the perfect excuse. “Oh, right! Yeah, that was a doozy of a nightmare!”

Fancy’s brow shot up in confusion at her meaningless failed lie.

“You know what? Forget I said that.” She smiled as she bit her lip.

“Very well. I know we’re all a bit at wit’s end right now,” he said with a chuckle that shifted into a stifled yawn. “Now, I imagine there’s a reason you fell asleep in my study. Sorry that I kept you. I’ve had a rather… eventful two days and I imagine you have some things on your mind.”

Vinyl tapped her hooves together as she reconsidered her timing. Looking over the poor stallion, Fancy was simply exhausted from hoof to horn which reflected in his disheveled suit. The scent of sweat and faint smell permeated the stains of his clothes. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was the same thing he’d been wearing last night.

Fancy smiled softly. “As I said: eventful. Don’t worry about it, though. I’ve been through rougher—” Fancy coughed his excuse away before he could finish. “Well, just don’t worry about me.”

“I wasn’t…” Vinyl growled at her stupid eyes, always telling on her. “It’s hard not to worry after you all asked me to go home. Cadance being super vague about why didn’t help either.”

Fancy sat down at the other end of the couch and sighed into his hooves. “I know, and I wholeheartedly apologize. You’ve been working so hard to prepare for the event, only to be asked to leave early. I heard from Princess Cadance that Fleur was furious about your sudden exit with her. I’m honestly surprised she isn’t here with you now.”

“I guess she was busy helping Maman.”

The mention of the Prenchmare brought a soft smile to Fancy’s face. “Possibly. Those two would move the sun and moon for you if they thought you needed it.”

Vinyl pulled at her shoulder. “Yeah. I… they’re family.”

“And you couldn’t do better, trust me.”

Vinyl’s heart fluttered, bringing a contented smile to her face. “I do.”

A flicker of bashful surprise crossed Fancy as he looked at the other mare. After a moment, he nodded and turned his attention towards the fire as he threw on a comfortable smile. “I’m glad I’ve earned it despite having to be so secretive. I promise, you’ll be the first to know when I can talk to you about it. It’d actually be nice to be able to confide in you.”

“It would?” Her tail swished in delight at the news.

“Yes, though you might have mixed feelings about it, to put it lightly.”

“Can you tell me anything right now? Maybe it’ll help.”

Fancy laughed to himself. “Thank you, but I’m fine.”

“No you’re not. You look like you lost a fight with a dragon.”

Fancy laughed at the bluntness. “I suppose I have been wearing this a tad too long.” He brushed his shoulder, kicking up a gray cloud of what looked like ash. “I appreciate it, I really do, but there’s no need. A good night’s sleep will be enough for me.”

“But, you’re always helping me with everything while all I ever do is break down in front of you!” she pressed, not wanting to let this prime opportunity slip away. “Please, I want to help you for a change.”

Her earnest plea gave him pause. “Don’t sell yourself so short, Vinyl. You’ve done so much more for me than I think you realize.”

“Then at least let me help you when I know about it!” Vinyl snapped back, her intended supportive softness slipping into acute irritation and pulled away.

Fancy was taken aback slightly by her stern rebuke, but he quickly recovered and relaxed as he relaxed on the seat. “Alright. I suppose there’s no harm in venting a little about what I can. I just need to figure out what that is.”

“That shouldn’t be an issue for somepony of your talents,” she joked, poking at his flank.

“I suppose I could try the old cutie mark.” Fancy closed his eyes and went quiet as he mulled it over in his head. His ears flicked as he concentrated, mumbling under his breath as he shot down whatever ran through his head. After a few more moments, he finally opened his eyes and slumped his shoulders.

Vinyl frowned. “No dice?”

“Not exactly. I’ve discovered that the closer I am to a subject, the harder it is for me to make use of my insights,” he said as he glanced over at Vinyl.

“Well, can you just wing it?”

Fancy shrugged. “I suppose that’s all I can do when it comes to you, isn’t it?”

“I guess?” she answered, unsure of what he meant.

“Very well. Now, where to begin?”

“The start usually works for me.”

The stallion threw on a tired smirk. “That’s classified, at least for now.”

“Okay, so what about why you couldn’t come to the party today?”

“That was…” Fancy trailed as he chewed on the question. “I was meeting with a few of the princess’ dear friends from out of town regarding the matter at hoof. One of them is rather close to Princess Celestia and didn’t take the news very well. The resulting fallout kept both Princess Luna and Princess Cadance busy while I spoke with Princess Celestia.”

“Oh,” Vinyl muttered in slight shock. A few years ago, a problem worthy of the Princesses' attention would've worried Vinyl more, but she felt like she should've expected it considering one seemed to crop up at every major event these days. “Is Princess Celestia okay?”

“Yes. She’s doing quite well,” Fancy replied with a diplomatic smile. He took a moment to watch the fireplace burn, but his forced passivity failed as his gaze drifted down towards nothing in particular. “That’s where I should leave it, but I don’t have the strength to. To say anymore would be classified, but to say everything is fine would be a blatant lie.”

“Oh.” To think something could be wrong with Princess Celestia felt wrong in and of itself. She remembered hearing about her being knocked out at the wedding by that freak Chrysalis, but she bounced right back the next day.

Catching the worry in the mare, Fancy was quick to shake his head. “Make no mistake, she is perfectly healthy and still… frighteningly powerful, but I’ve recently discovered something that has shaken our friendship. I’m afraid our relationship will never be the same again.”

“O-oh…” Vinyl pawed at the seat cushion trying to think of something to say other than oh. At this rate, she was just going to be stringing a series of unhelpful uh-huh’s, I see’s, and you don’t say’s. Fancy always at least had something, but she was drawing blanks. She opened her mouth, trying to see if something would fall out.

“Yes?” Fancy asked after a patient moment, letting her know it was okay to speak her mind.

“Are you—” She stopped herself before she could finish the dumbest question ever. There was no reason to ask if he was okay when he obviously wasn’t. “Are you still going to do your royal teatime?”

Vinyl’s eyes widened hearing herself ask something that was somehow dumber than her first thoughtless question. Her brain screamed silently as Fancy's head tilted at the sheer idiocy on display. The fact he brought a hoof to his chin to puzzle over her stupidity made it even worse.

“You know, I haven’t thought about that.”

“Do you want to still? I mean, I—” Vinyl bit down on her tongue before she blindly offered to replace a royal teatime with a lame one with her. She wasn’t even that big of a tea pony, especially compared to a socialite like him. “I know you like tea.”

“That’s very much true,” Fancy agreed with a small smirk. “I suppose it depends on how things shake out. At the moment, I’m just trying to process everything.”

Refusing to utter another useless “oh” again, Vinyl scrambled for something else. Looking over Fancy, he was clearly hurt by whatever it was that the princess had going on, but she just couldn’t think of anything. She folded her forelegs and sunk into them. “I’m sorry, I’m terrible at this.”

“I wouldn’t say that. Even I’d be hard-pressed to say something without more to work with.” Fancy sighed in troubled satisfaction as he looked up towards the chandelier. “It’s enough to know you care.”

But it wasn’t enough for her. For peat’s sake, Fancy was doing more to comfort her in her failure to help him. Vinyl just wanted to be useful for once. To show that she cared. She cared so much about him. If only she could make him smile again, she’d actually show that she could be something more than useless. Fancy always made it look so easy, effortless, second-nature. Even when he struggled to find the right words at first, he would bounce back with something that made the wait worth it.

Meanwhile, all she could do was hem and haw, flail around for even a fraction of a good thought. She could write lyrics and throw snark back in a second. However, when it came to saying the slightest comfort, she fell flat on her face every single time. It was all she had practiced over the years of fending ponies off. Now that she actually wanted closeness, she didn't know how.

And again she was blowing everything up. Forget seeing a good mood, Vinyl would be lucky to not die of bottled up embarrassment. She'd imagined herself being smoother, slowly building up to the perfect moment to tell Fancy her feelings. How was she supposed to do that when she couldn't even spare a helpful-adjacent word? She was so stupid!

“Now then.” Taking a deep breath through the nose, the seasoned diplomat bounced back and plastered on a smile she knew was fake. “What was it that you needed from me?”

Vinyl shook her head. Despite all the effort he was putting into his stiff upper lip, she knew he was fighting all by himself and suffering. Fancy was all alone. She didn’t want him to be alone anymore. Vinyl cared so much about him. There had to be something she could say.

“I…” Vinyl pulled herself up and closer to Fancy. Any mood she’d hoped to set was absolutely ruined beyond repair. Her tongue was tied without any hope of uttering anything to make him feel better.

So, if she couldn't say, she'd just have to do instead.

Vinyl gently leaned up, raising a hoof to his head. The mare waded through his musky scent as she pulled him closer until her muzzle met his. In a final gambit, she closed her eyes as her lips tenderly graced his. Vinyl poured all of her heart into saying nothing at all.

The stallion’s mustache faintly tickled the tip of her nose as she savored the intimate gesture. There was a ruggedness in his breath mingled with traces of luxurious alcohol. Sensing a strange temerity in his touch, Vinyl pressed further, drawing his flavor in softly through her nose and accepting all of him. She could almost hear a faint ringing of a gentle bell that grew louder and louder.

Then, the ringing grew into the familiar sharp whine of a horn stress casting.

Vinyl broke away and opened her eyes to meet Fancy’s, whose eyes were wide with sheer terror.

Vinyl’s heart plummeted through her chest and onto the floor. “Fancy?”

The stallion fell off the couch as he tumbled back. He put a hoof to his mouth, covering it as he tried to stand to his hooves, all the while his horn desperately pulling at the crystal in his pocket.

Not wanting to see him flounder, Vinyl leapt up from the couch and reached out her hoof to help. “Fancy, are you—”

“Stay back!” Fancy cried in fear.

The desperate plea stopped Vinyl in her tracks as she lost feeling in her legs. She didn’t understand what was wrong.

“No-no-no, please. I didn’t mean for—” Fancy clambered up and tore open his liquor cabinet, grabbing the first thing he could get his hooves on and biting off the cork before kicking a bottle of red wine back.

Vinyl tried to say something, but no words came out as she watched him down the entire thing. Her hooves ran cold with dread hearing him slam the bottle onto the counter like a gavel and coughing up a storm. He stumbled further away from her and leaned over his desk for support from the wound she’d thoughtlessly inflicted upon him.

“I’m sorry, Vi—Miss Scratch,” he croaked through coughing fits. “I’m so sorry. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“W-what?”

“All this fate-weaving nonsense!” Fancy placed a hoof on his forehead as he tried to focus. “No, that’s wrong. I saw it right before my eyes, and I chose to ignore it. I got too close. Too comfortable. It was just so… I didn’t mean for this to happen. It’s all my fault!”

“I don’t understand,” Vinyl muttered as her lungs refused to breathe.

After another bout of coughs, Fancy stood up from his desk and turned to Vinyl, wracked with sorrow. “I’m supposed to be helping you, guiding you into a better future, not…” he gritted his teeth. “Not confusing you! You must understand. You’re a brilliant mare, Miss Scratch. A wonderful girl with limitless potential and endless possibilities. You have the ability to go further than I ever could, and you deserve the best this world has to offer. Far better than me.”

“But,” Vinyl salvaged what little remained of her failed kiss, scooping up the last bit of courage as she mustered all of her strength into her mouth. “But I love you...”

The words washed over Fancy’s ears, freezing him in place as they seemed to echo throughout his entire being. After a second of eternity, he turned away. “You can’t.”

All the world stood still. Somehow, it was so much worse than rejection. Those two little words crashed through her heart, shattering it into pieces. The smoldering remnants of her misguided feelings dug into her chest with their glassy edges, shredding her desires into ribbons.

She couldn’t love him. It was wrong. She was wrong, again. She’d messed up, again. It made sense. Vinyl wasn’t normal. It was weird. She was weird. And now she’d ruined everything, again. And so, she began to fall.

But now Fleur would have to choose. Instead of getting to know Fancy and starting to mend their relationship, she’d let a little kindness go to her head.

“A while?” Éclair shouted over Fancy as they danced. “It has been ages since you come to Pâte de Lune! Even longer for coming for the anniversary. You make time for Fleur. You make time for the princess. But none for me? I have missed you so dearly!” Tears started streaming down Maman’s face. “Why has it been so long? D-did I do something?”

And if there was a wedge between Fleur and Fancy, he’d distance himself from Éclair again. Just when he’d gone out of his way to hire her for the event, Vinyl had gotten too greedy and ruined the progress they’d made on their relationship.

And then there was Octavia, and Steeplechase, and the ESPA, and her grant money, and her living arrangement, and the collection, and her research. Everything she still had left was because of Fancy Pants. It was by his grace that she even existed anymore. Vinyl had lost sight of that. She’d forgotten her reality, gotten lost in her stupid feelings, and thrown everything away.

Vinyl messed up, but that wasn’t surprising. Vinyl Scratch always messed up.

So, maybe she should just stop.

“Are you listening?”

“Huh?” the mare replied as the world filled back in around her.

“I-I was suggesting for you to leave for the night, Miss Scratch,” Fancy stammered as he tried to compose himself. “Please. For your sake. I think you should stay with your family, at least for now. Don’t worry about me, just focus on yourself. On what really matters.”

She nodded absently as she looked around for something that did, but there was nothing. No ice, no water, no static, just the abyss of her own making. The void should've reduced her to a sobbing mess, but instead it all just felt numb.

“I’m sorry. I just…” Fancy massaged his head as his magic wrestled with the crystal for relief. “I’m sorry. I promise, we’ll figure this out, okay?”

The mare continued nodding. Continued to agree as the last shred of her useless heart’s desires bled away into nothingness. The unfeeling was familiar in a way. Comforting. Nostalgic.

“Good. I… good.” Fancy attempted to take a few calming breaths, but nothing seemed to be helping as he shook from the sheer amount of stress coursing through him. “For now, let’s pretend this ever happened and try to forget—Dear heavens, it sounds worse when I say it aloud—just forget this ever happened.”

She kept her lips sealed. There had already been too much damage done through useless actions and words. The situation could always get worse. Experience had taught her that time and again.

Fancy Pants trotted over to the door to the study and opened it. Despite everything, the gentlestallion couldn’t help but treat her with a respect she didn’t deserve. She shuffled through slowly heading towards the studio. As she passed in front of Fancy, he looked away, unable to bear the sight of her. It was even expected. Despite the good sir’s disheveled appearance, she was downright ghastly in comparison. At least he was still dressed while she was truly a terrible sight to behold. However, she knew she shouldn’t be impolite and ignore the chivalry wasted on her.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Y-you’re welcome,” he said, confused by the formality. “Will you need anything else for the night?”

That was a good question. If she was going to forget like he’d requested, she’d need a little help. Fortunately, the mare had a pretty good idea for getting all of this nonsense out of her head. She just needed to borrow a few of the DJ’s things.

“Thank you for your concern, but please don’t trouble yourself,” she assured politely as she stepped through into the darkened hallway. “I’m sure I have everything I need waiting for me at home.”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Primer: On the Sound of Magic — Unabridged

By Archmage Cacophony

Annotated Excerpts from Chapter 5: The Cacophony Rune

Fundamental principles of magical implement design, as well as practicality, dictate that logical use of any enchantment magic should result in a magical craftwork with predictable behavior. However, the spontaneity found in creative expression is what gives music the novelty we enjoy. There exist artistic styles where the individual endeavors to let harmony guide them within a free-form state of oneness with their muses.

This begged the question: If music is an expression of sound and magic, then would allowing harmony itself to enchant a rune result in its purest form?

The result of this was further proof of harmony's musical nature, as well as a paradoxical rune both phenomenally useful and catastrophically useless. While the implement successfully produces several sounds at once, without a guiding medium to give it proper form, it ultimately destroys itself. Nevertheless, it serves as evidence, as the sound is always different, even when inscribed within the same medium.

It does this by absorbing power from any and all magical sources, including ones thought to only influence the expression of magic. Examples beyond conventional wisdom include such things as weather manipulation, remarkably strong emotions, and most importantly dragonfire. The amount of magic absorbed determines both the sound emitted and the point of failure. Whatever is taken within the medium the rune has been inscribed is forever lost as it is reduced to pure energy.

Correction: The medium determines how much can be absorbed before becoming too saturated with mana. Sapphires have proved to be ideal with excellent thermal conductivity for heat dissipation while bearing a strong lattice work that is both easy to manipulate with guided magic and incredibly resistant to the mess of mana inside.

Correction 2: Cacophony is wrong about the entropic nature of the mana within the crystal. While the source is stored inside, it is not lost unless heavily compressed together, which results in a resonance cascade failure. However, trying to draw whatever has been put inside out in any meaningful way is incredibly difficult and puts far too much stress on the crystalline lattice, which also results in a similar resonance cascade failure when the medium or rune is weakened to the point its capacity is reduced. Thank Celestia for shielding when that happens!

I remember writing that. I wish I would’ve just stayed in my lab.

The rune itself has proved theoretically effective against dragon raids if disposed of immediately upon dragonfire absorption. However, being affected by strong emotions, the fearsome presence of such foes can instill a great terror within the hearts of ponies, which the rune can both feed upon and exacerbate. Those that have experienced deleterious effects from items inscribed with these runes have reported their emotions “running wild” as it were, with even the most hardened soldiers succumbing to the grip on their hearts.

~~Hypothesis: Maybe changeling emotional feeding works similarly?~~

Hopefully Confirmed: I can feel it draining my emotions right now.

To avoid this, other magical shields must be placed upon any enchanted item or medium to prevent accidents when used. A rotational, multiphasic barrier must be used to isolate the inscribed object and physically suspended by a nonconductive support to reduce the risk of the barrier itself being absorbed through contact. Furthermore, up to ~~three~~ additional runes can be inscribed to increase the storage capacity of the medium in question, but this results in larger cascades. Thus, the instability and danger of accidental exposure has proven to be impractical for further weaponization.

Correction: Six in total seem fine when placed on a near-perfect sphere. Please, for once, just work.

Despite the magical forms being lost when reduced within the rune, the medium usually takes on aspects of the source. Tests using different types of magic have resulted in different colorations and properties. Draconic manaforms take on a green coloration. Illusion spells can cause hallucinations in the observer or render the crystal invisible. Further examples in detail can be found within Table 1A.

Weird. It doesn’t mention negative emotions. It’s blacker than obsidian now. I wonder how dark it will go.

Because of the rune’s sensitivity to any form of magic it encounters, anypony working with such crystals must use the utmost caution. Clarity of mind, along with proper shielding and focus, must be maintained at all times. Not doing so risks the rune latching onto the source and draining it directly.

~~Hypothesis: Linking a second, intermediary crystal that can reflect and refract the state of the Cacophony crystal without storing the mana itself could facilitate easier imbuing and channeling magic from within the paired crystals. It’d function like an echo that can be called upon to reproduce whatever is inside the primary crystal.~~

~~Confir~~ Why am I even bothering? I was right about at least putting things into it, but it’s not working fast enough. I still feel everything and the drain is making it feel even worse. It’s so hard to focus on what I want gone, so I’m going to just keep writing everything in hopes that it will take everything. Maybe if I’m lucky, it’ll even destroy the memories.

You shouldn’t have tried, Vinyl Scratch. You should’ve known better. I can’t believe you were so stupid. You know you can’t do anything right. When you thought for once you could actually love somepony, you messed up. You always mess up.

I hate you.

I hate how you hurt the ponies closest to you!
I hate how you’re always wrong!
~~I hate that you thought you let your desires would help~~
You always make everything worse!
You hurt everypony!
Stop it!
Just Go away!

It's been forever, but there’s still more. How is there still more? Am I really that greedy? I'm almost out of space to write and I can't think of anything else. I just want to put this all behind me. Is that greedy too? Just work, please. I don't want to remember. Take it all away.

Author's Note

Chapter 54: After the Lights Go Out

Fancy Pants shakily poured himself another Griffonstone brandy. His head was scattered everywhere and nowhere at the same time as he stumbled back and forth in a tipsy haze. The next event of the Summit was only a few hours away, but nothing was easing the persistent anxiety clawing at his mind. The stallion’s magic had been effectively sealed since last night, locked around the crystal in his pocket. He’d feel the carefully rounded sides with his aura, aching for relief where there was none to be found. Every crafted contour served as a reminder of his failures.

The signs had all been there. Though they had diminished over the years, the aging bachelor was no stranger to the advances of others vying for his wealthy hoof. There was a time he flaunted it, taunting would-be marefriends with his power, only to deem them all unworthy and withholding what he considered the ultimate prize. The fool either didn’t realize or wouldn’t admit his only value was the scraps he plucked off the pony feathers of his parents. Maybe if he hadn’t taken so long to grow up, he wouldn’t be paying for the mistakes of his youth now.

His bleary gaze drifted to the papers scattered across his desk, focusing in on his adjusted itinerary for the night again. Ambassador Dovetail was covering for him under the assumption he was recovering from two straight days of sleepless work. However, the closest he’d gotten was passing out for maybe half an hour in his chair. The rest of the time, he’d been draining his personal bar of liquor. At the rate he was day drinking, he’d have to ask Luna for another eldritch concoction before tonight.

Fancy murmured wordless curses into his drink before taking another shot and collapsing into his chair. He flopped over his workspace, scattering stationary everywhere as he slumped down to rest his head in his forelegs. He risked nodding off again, hoping the sheer exhaustion would be enough to whisk him into some semblance of slumber. However, the moment he closed his eyes, he was met with hers again.

“But… but I love you…”

Her dejection, her sadness, her fear, her confusion; Fancy couldn’t bear it no matter how many times his mind threw it at his face. It was so similar to the terror he inflicted upon his mother, and his shattered heart broke a little more every time.

He’d grown too complacent, too comfortable, and let her warmth far too close. The only thing he couldn’t figure out was when it started. He felt it in her lips, saw it in her gaze. The young mare only had eyes for the stallion before her. Her fiery passion nearly engulfed him before he mercilessly stamped it out. Vinyl Scratch loved him. Him. Not his wealth. Not his prestige. Not his power. For the life of him, Fancy Pants couldn’t figure out why.

“Excuse me, Fancy Pants?” Fluffer Duster asked carefully.

“Yes?” he croaked as he groggily pulled himself up from his desk. “Is it time to return to the castle?”

“No, not yet. It’s Miss Éclair de Lune. She is here and wishes to see you,” Fluffer Duster announced, looking over her shoulder at the impatient mare. “Urgently.”

“Please, let her in.” Fancy dragged himself to his hooves to face the music just as Éclair burst through the doors. The sheer force nearly knocked the poor pegasus off her hooves. Instead of maternal fury, the mare’s face was etched with a deep worry.

“Please, Fancy. Please tell me you know of where Vinyle is! The maid says she’s non here! I have seen not the day with… it was been…” Éclair shrieked in frustration. ~To Tartarus with it! Nopony has seen her since last night!~ she exclaimed in Prench.

Fancy’s fuzzy head drifted to the side in confusion. “Isn’t she at home with you?”

~Home? What do you mean? This is her home!~

“This is where she lives and works, yes. That doesn’t make this place a home. Family does.”

~Yes! And since she is so fond of…~ Éclair caught her mouth with her hoof and coughed. Fancy’s breath hitched as the mare tried and failed to deflect her slip of the tongue. ~Since she is so fond of living here, this is her home. She’s always talking to me about how nice it is to have a recording studio just down the hall and—~

“I rejected her, Éclair,” Fancy stated, not wanting to dance around the apparently open secret.

She froze and blinked. ~Forgive me, Fancy Pants. I still sometimes struggle with the language. What do you mean ‘rejected her?’~

~Vinyl told me she loved me, and I rejected her,~ he reiterated firmly in Prench.

Éclair held a hoof over her heart and her eyes flitted about, trying to process what she had just heard, lost for words in either language. Fancy turned away and reached for his brandy to let her catch up, as well as brace for the oncoming onslaught.

~But, why?~

~I don’t love her,~ he swore to himself as he nursed his drink.

“Horseapples!” Éclair swore loudly. Fancy could hear her petite, but heavy hoof falls canter up behind him. She grabbed Fancy and forced him back around. ~Look me in the eyes, and say what you said!~

~As both her employer and benefactor, I wield tremendous power over her. I’d be taking advantage of her had I even entertained the notion.~

~I see. Hiding behind your eloquent words like a liar and a coward.~ Éclair clicked her tongue loudly and flashed the daggers in her eyes. ~If you didn’t love her, then why have I found you reeking of alcohol so early in the day? I haven’t seen you this upset since your father passed.~

Feeling the knife twist into his heart, he did his best to maintain his stance. The last thing he wanted to talk about was him with her of all ponies. ~I do care for her, but anything more than that is a mistake. This is for the best.~

~Really?~ The mare bit her lip to hold back her steaming fury. She then whipped out a newspaper and threw it to the ground. ~Is this for the best too?~

Fancy hesitantly reached down towards the paper prominently featuring the headline, “Audible Annihilation! Department Destroyed by Darkness!” As he lifted it towards him, his attention was immediately drawn to the front-page picture. He didn’t even need to bother reading the article. There were no words that could ever hope to capture its devastation in writing.

If not for the golden guards blocking off the entrance, he would’ve thought the picture was black and white. A recording studio, or at least the remains of one, was covered from wall to blasted wall in streaks of oozing, crystalline sludge that seeped through what was left of the soundproofing panels. Broken remains of a table with unidentifiable equipment sat melted and warped in the middle of the floor as it slowly disintegrated into nothing.

~My precious lily flower said that it was caused by the unstable crystals Vinyl studies. They respond to strong emotions, but she’s never seen anything so terrible. Nopony was found there, but truly the only one capable of this is my little Vinyl!~ The concerned mother fought through her twisting emotions and glared at the likely reason behind the destruction. ~Tell me, is this really what’s best for her?~

Fancy gazed at the abyss darkening the page in his shaking hooves. Just trying to wrap his mind around it was already too much for him to grasp amid the myriad of other spiraling crises.

~Well? Answer me!~ she demanded.

~I don’t have one.~

~Not good enough, Fancy!~

~I know. I never have been, have I?~

~Don’t turn this around on yourself! You’re not the victim here!~

~I’m not. I’m simply stating the fact that I don’t know what’s best for her.~ Fancy carefully folded the paper and placed it facedown on his desk, unable to look at it anymore. ~There was a time that I thought I knew, but it became muddled and complicated. All I’ve ever known for certain is that she wasn’t meant to be with me.~

The mare huffed, dismissing the notion with a swat of her hoof. ~And what makes you so sure?~

~Because I know who I’m supposed to be with. I’ve know for decades, but I’ve never been able to tell her. Not after she fell for the wrong stallion.~

~Who are you to say she was wrong? Does every lover in Equestria need the Kingmaker’s blessing?~ Éclair snapped back before she scoffed at him. ~Such a silly and cowardly thing; pining after somepony for so long.~

~Yes. You’re right. I am a cowardly pony who has sought a clear solution time and again where none can be found. I’ve played the situation over in my head a million times, and each time I’ve told her, it ends in complete disaster.~

~Well, at least you admit it. Now, if you are done with your pity party, we must find Vinyl!~ she demanded as she grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him along.

~We?~ Fancy asked.

~But of course! If she is not here, then you will help me find her after your mistake!~

Fancy pushed the mare’s hoof away as his last nerve began to fray. ~There was no mistake, Éclair! Do you think telling Vinyl no was easy?~

~If that’s what you think, then it would’ve been much easier for you to say yes, you stubborn idiot!~

Fancy gritted his teeth and slammed a hoof down. ~I told you, it wouldn’t have been right!~

~Why? Because of this ‘power’ you lord over her?~

~Because I love you!~

The heated confession brought the argument to a complete stop. For once in his life, it was Éclair that was taken by complete surprise as she gaped back at the stallion’s outburst.

~What do you mean?~

~I love you!~ Fancy repeated, trying to calm himself. ~I love you, Éclair de Lune, the only light in those dark days all those years ago. The pony who built me back up and made me realize that money couldn’t buy happiness. You were the one mare who didn’t try to trick me into buying her, the one who turned my life around and set me back on a path I should’ve always been on. I’ve always loved you!~

Fancy wasn’t sure if it was the sleep deprivation or the liquor helping him soldier through, but it felt good to finally tell her. An old tension flowed out of him with the comfort of a held breath. The satisfying catharsis must’ve been how Vinyl felt before he’d responded, despite how fleeting it would be once she returned the favor.

~You can’t possibly mean that…~ Her brow furrowed as she tried to process what was happening.

~It’s the truth. I love you. I was just too scared to tell you because I knew it would only end in failure no matter what approach I tried.~

~Of course it would! I am your mother!~

~Only because you made the wrong choice!~

Predictably, Éclair pulled back, before pouring all of her anger into a slap across Fancy’s face. He was tempted to keep looking away. He didn’t want to see her face contorted with anger, hurt, sorrow, or all three. Still, he knew he had to play his part, and turned back to meet Éclair’s eyes once more, burning red from tears she refused to shed.

~You pig-headed idiot! You know I loved your father! I still love him! A relationship between the two of us? It wouldn’t work!~

~Because it’s wrong?~ he replied sardonically. The twist of the cheap blade in his own heart felt paradoxically pleasant.

~Do not compare this and that! Why would I marry my son?~

~A son by law only!~ he fruitlessly argued, airing the grievances he’d held in for years. ~A son according to a little piece of paper lost in some forgotten filing cabinet in the Canterlot Council building. If it was just the matter of paperwork, this wouldn’t have been difficult, but there’s always been one pony in the way with a knack for complicating things. If she wasn’t…~ Fancy’s heart ached as he clamped down on his tirade.

~If who wasn’t—~ Éclair stopped as she caught onto Fancy’s meaning. ~Fleur? You’re talking about my precious lily flower, aren’t you?~

Fancy bit his lips and averted his gaze in shame. Even in his lowest moments, he could never utter such an awful notion aloud.

~You’ve always refused to let Fleur call you her brother.~ She couldn’t bring herself to finish the thought. She didn’t need to anyway. Fancy’s grim silence told her all she needed to know. ~How could you even entertain such a horrible idea? Fleur is your sister! She loves you!~

~And I love her, but not in the way she wants.~ Fancy shook his head. ~And no matter how much I want to, I can’t replace her father. Not when we share one.~

~Lying drake!~ Éclair screamed as she slapped Fancy hard across the face again. ~You speak of choices and love, but all you have are hollow words! You reek of alcohol and bitter jealousy!~

~I know! I know that full well!~ Fancy cried as he poured the vitriol out of his heart. ~I admit it! I was jealous! So incredibly jealous of Suede when you told him you loved him! And it’s because I loved you that I stayed away from you!~

His envious roar caused the smaller mare to flinch and back away from him. He went back to his desk to spare her from the seething viciousness coiled around his embittered heart. He took a moment to catch his breath and recenter himself. No matter how angry he got, it wasn’t her fault. It was his for not pulling the bandage off a long time ago.

~I knew it was wrong to be jealous, and I hated myself for hating him. Thankfully, returning to Canterlot helped eventually. I even started enjoying the letters you sent, especially the ones when Fleur came around. She was so precious.~ Fancy looked up and smiled at the memories they’d sent from Prance. ~But then you moved back to Canterlot for Fleur’s studies. It was the right thing to do for her, but I still wasn’t ready. So, I gave you both the only thing I could: space.~

Éclair sighed and trotted over next to Fancy. ~Fancy Pants, your father and I never wanted you out of our lives. We wanted you to be part of them. Everypony was so excited to move here because we would be close to you. Fleur was singing about how she was getting to finally meet her big brother.~

A dull sting struck his chest. ~Yes, and we were happy for a time, weren’t we? Seeing you three together, it reminded me of my childhood. Those were better days.~ Fancy sighed through his nose, savoring the last wisps of warm nostalgia before they were swept away by a deep, dormant anger roiling back to life. ~But then Suede did something I will never forgive him for.~

~What?~ Éclair asked in concern.

~He died.~

The softness on Éclair’s face faded, replaced with genuine confusion.

~I accepted that you fell in love with him. I accepted that the two of you married and started a family. I accepted all of it. But… but then he died.~

~Yes. It was a terrible day for all of us, but why would you be mad at him? How could you be? It was nopony’s fault.~

~Because he left you behind!~ Fancy shouted. ~Widowed you! Condemned you to raise Fleur alone in a land you barely knew anything about!~

The mare shook her head adamantly. ~Fancy, all of us will die someday.~

~And he should’ve thought of that before he proposed!~ Fancy slammed his hoof on the desk and ground his teeth furiously. ~If you were just some gold-digging horse after his wealth that would’ve been one thing, but he loved you. Truly, devoutly loved you! So why didn’t he consider his age? Did you know my grandfather died young as well? I wonder how my great-grandfather fared? He would’ve known the risks, and still, that selfish stud didn’t think twice about how old he was before he stole the best years of your li—~

The petite mare reared up and punched him with a right hook, silencing his angry spiel and nearly knocking him off his hooves. He stumbled back and tried to shake the stars from his vision.

~Suede stole nothing from me! He gave me the greatest gift I could have ever asked for in your sister! I will always treasure the years I had with your father! I only wish we had more together.~

~And I would’ve given you more!~ Fancy adamantly proclaimed as he pulled himself back up, ready to take all the blows she’d throw at him. ~It was a mistake to choose him! At least I’m still alive!~

There it was, the most uncomfortable, undeniable truth. It was the lowest blow that Fancy had dreaded to say, but it was ultimately right. Suede was dead. Fancy was alive. If Éclair had chosen him, she’d still have a husband. There was no counter. Which made it all the more surprising that Éclair began to giggle, soon breaking into full bouts of laughter.

~Alive? You? Oh, that is rich.~ The mare wiped an errant tear from her eye as she tried to catch her breath. ~You are such a joke!~

~What?~ Fancy furrowed his brow. ~But, it’s true. Suede’s gone. I’m still here.~

Éclair’s laughter turned on a bit as she sneered with murderous fire in her eyes. ~Exactly! You! Are! Here!~ Instead of bucking him in the jaw, she stomped a solid hoof against the tiled floor, thundering with righteous fury. ~Right here! Alone! In this cold, empty place! Every time I need you, you’re always here!~

Her fury echoed around the room, bounding off of untouched bookshelves and grand halls built to be brimming with the lives Summers cherished. Despite the vast space, all of the oxygen was sucked from the air as Éclair drove her grievances into Fancy’s soul.

~Why didn’t you come to the funeral? Why weren’t you the brother Fleur needed when it mattered most? Why weren’t you there to help your family? All you ever did—all you’ve ever done—was come and go at your own leisure! Showering us with more money than we would ever know what to do with!~ The mare caught her breath as her anger gave way to grief. ~We didn’t need your wealth. We needed you, Fancy! But, it seems our love was never enough for you, was it? You always stayed here.~

Fancy’s mind went blank and his legs locked as he was rendered helpless by the mare’s cutting words. He could only watch as the end slowly barreled towards him. An end that, in all of his times he’d tried to find a solution to this argument, he never anticipated.

~You say I chose the wrong stallion because he died?~ The mare wiped her eyes and sniffed the one tear that escaped, refusing to let another go to waste on his account. She steeled herself with a disappointed frown. ~You choose not to live at all.~

If only she’d just kept punching. A trip to the intensive care unit would be more bearable than her exacting words hollowing him from within. The shell of a stallion fell to his knees as he stared down at the floor. In the polished marble, he could see his reflection more clearly than he’d seen it in years. Behind all of his dapper dressings and accolades, he was still just a little colt who thought he knew better than everypony in the world.

All the times he’d played this conversation in his mind, he’d always wound up breaking her heart, scaring her off, or driving her away in anger. The thought that he didn’t love her never crossed his mind. He was so certain of it. He’d seen it a million times in his mind spending the rest of his life with his destined one in the Prench countryside.

Her patisserie, his winery, her wonderful baking, his clumsy farming, their two beautiful children, Fancy could see it all so clearly when he closed his eyes. He’d smell the bread or taste the merlot just before foalish laughter interrupted the quiet times just before bed. He’d take them up to their room, tuck them both in and read a story, and then retire with his wife to their own bed to contemplate adding a third to their home filled with more happiness than he’d ever thought possible. Fancy was always so certain that it was real, the perfect life he’d seen and failed to manifest. It was a lovely idea, but that’s all it was, an idea, a fantasy, a dream.

Luna was right. She’d always been right. Fancy couldn’t predict his future.

“I’m sorry,” Fancy whispered to himself. “I’m so sorry.”

All that was left was to listen to her steps towards the door. Éclair would rightly walk out his life and slam the door on her way out to wake him up, leaving him to rot in his gilded halls filled with useless treasures. And he waited. And waited. And wait—

~Get up.~

“W-what?” Fancy croaked as he opened his eyes.

A forceful nudge bumped his shoulder, calling his attention back to the fuming Éclair. “Get up! Up I say! Up-up-up!” she ordered, trotting in place with the beat of her voice.

By her command, the exhausted stallion pulled himself up, feeling the full force of his liquor and exhausting emotions bearing down on him.

“We are now done with pity partying,” Éclair stated rather than asked. “You waste enough time! I still need my Vinyle! Now, come and help!”

“Wha—But why?”

“Because she is missing!” Éclair slapped his face lightly back and forth “Keep up, espèce d'idiot ivre!”

Fancy stared back in flabbergasted shock. “But everything I said. Everything I did…”

“Oui, you fall for moi, like many before, do stupide things, and I tell you non. You say sorry for being stupide? Fine, but still on the very thinnest ice with me. My Vinyle is more important to find than you. So, you will help find, now! Do you not listen?” The mare heaved a slew of curses under her breath. ~This is why I only date older stallions. You young ones are so useless!~

“But I’m the last pony Vinyl will ever want to see.”

~I don’t care! You made mistakes, many, many, many, mistakes. Now, you must do right for once. And we will start by finding her!~ the mare declared as she began fixing Fancy’s sloven attire. ~Perhaps if you are good enough and beg for forgiveness, she will ask again. Then, you can say yes like you should’ve in the first place.~ As she fixed his bow tie, she gently slapped him twice on the cheek. ~There. Good enough. Now we go.~

Fancy frowned. “I told you, I care for her, but I don’t love her.”

~You don’t or you won’t? You two have spent so much time together despite your differences. The way she glows around you is precious, and you almost look halfway attractive with such a beautiful flower by your side. Perhaps if you are still somewhere in my vinyl flower’s heart, I will consider letting you be my son-in-law again,~ Éclair said with a hearty laugh.

Fancy pushed the sudden disowning aside and shook his head. “I told you before, it wouldn’t be right. I must’ve done something, taken advantage of her somehow. Manipulating her into thinking she loves me.”

~No Fancy. I know daughters. Vinyl is many things: strong, vivacious, and honest to a fault, but she is no fool.~ The mare paused as she took in Fancy again. ~Then again, she fell in love with an idiot like you.~

“That’s my point exactly! I embody every single thing she hates! I’m a rich, Canterlotian noble who lives off the works of others simply because I know where to invest my parent’s wealth. For goodness sake, it was ponies like me that ruined her life because of a simple wine stain!”

~I do not know what is in her head, but I do know one thing that is in her heart.~ Éclair grabbed him by the shoulders and focused his attention on her face. ~Tell me: did she say ‘I love you’ when she told you her feelings?~

“Of course she did. It was a confession. A confused, ill-placed confession.”

~Fancy Pants. In all the years I’ve known her, I’ve never once heard her say she ‘love’anypony. Not to me, not to Fleur, not even to her favorite parfaits. You Equestrians throw the word around on everything, yet every time I tell her, she seems hurt. If she said she loves you, she meant it with all her heart.~

“I’ve heard her say it before,” Fancy swore with a needling uncertainty in the back of his head. “While I’m aware she can be… sensitive to that word, I know she’s said it around me. She’s had to.” Instead of thoughtlessly making claims, he closed his eyes and concentrated, letting his cutie mark finally do some work as he considered when he’d heard Vinyl say love.

“After all, ‘Rich stallions just love a mare who can play music.’” Vinyl spat in disgust.

No, not that time. The other times. The good times. The times when she was having fun as herself. There had to be…

“I’m so stupid. I thought if I tried hard enough, I could prove them wrong. I could prove that I mattered. They’d be proud of me. They’d accept me. They’d… they’d finally love me.”

… at least one time…

“Why would mom tell me she loved me if I’m worthless?”

… that she said it—

“But… but I love you…”

“Fancy Pants!”

The world snapped back into focus at the sound of his name, reminding him to breathe as he gasped for air.

“Why do you sleep? We must find Vinyle!”

Once. Only once. He couldn’t think of any other instance, and even then it was her last, desperate plea. Placing a steadying hoof over his chest, Fancy could feel his heart rattling from an electrified jumpstart that he barely understood. Thoughts, emotions, sensations, tastes, sounds, light itself all seemed to pulsate out of control as his mind reeled from his guilty desires.

“Are you ready?” Éclair asked with an impatient tap of her hoof. “Night will be coming soon.”

“N-night?” Fancy shook his head as he tried to recollect himself. “You go look for her. I must return to the Crystal Summit immediately.”

“Qu'est-ce que c'est?” The mare hardened once more with anger and stomped her hoof. “The princesses can do your politics, we need to find Vinyle!”

“I know and I agree. I will have the guards not tied up with the Summit help you search for her. Twenty trained pegasi will find her faster than I can.”

“Then you will get twenty guards and you! Get the princesses! Your family needs you!”

“As does the Summit,” Fancy swore, knowing that his good excuse was still just an excuse. He cleared his throat as he picked up his papers and checked his pocket watch. “Vinyl is scheduled to DJ tonight again during the reception, so there is a chance she will be there. I promise I will send her your way if I find her.”

Éclair leered at the tiny pony in front of her. ~So, you’re choosing to stay again.~

Fancy sighed, knowing he still couldn’t sneak anything past the mare. “Yes, I am. I rejected her already. She’ll move on. She’s still young.”

~As are you.~

“In your eyes, perhaps.”

~So you are right for me, but wrong for her?~

“You only had nine years with Suede. You deserved more. So many more.” Fancy reached inside his pocket and pulled out his stress quartz still being held in his aura. Taking a deep breath, he opened a drawer and placed it inside. “Neither of my parents made it past fifty. I couldn’t bear doing that to Vinyl.”

Éclair tutted as she placed a hoof on his shoulder. ~Listen to me, Fancy. You, I, or anypony else in this world could die at this very moment.~

“Not exactly a comforting thought,” Fancy said with a fragile smirk.

~No, but focus on the present, not the future. You are still alive. Even if you knew the day you were going to die, you shouldn’t act like you’re already dead in the here and now. If Vinyl is willing to forgive you, then don’t let death steal the joy you could have. Would you deny a princess her love knowing she has lived thousands of years and will continue for thousands more after you?~

Fancy grimaced from the fresh wounds from the other crisis weighing on him. “T-that’s different...”

~How so? She still feels the pain of loss, but if she is like me, she will cherish the time you shared. There is no difference. I’d rather bear the lives of a million ponies in my heart than live an eternity alone.~

“I see. I will be sure to ask Celestia about that at our next teatime,” Fancy promised, unsure if there’d ever be another one. “For now, I’m needed at the castle. If I find Vinyl, I’ll be sure she is sent your way. You have my word.”

With that, Fancy trotted towards the doors to the entrance and opened it for his guest. Éclair growled lowly, but eventually accepted the gesture with barely restrained contempt as she strode towards the exit.

~Fine. I will hold you to that, coward,~ she reluctantly agreed. As she stepped through the door, Éclair gave one last side-eyed glare at her host. ~My precious Vinyl will need her family’s love when she sees how far you’ve fallen.~

Fancy chuckled at his foolishly aching heart. “I’ve been at rock bottom for years. I simply never noticed until now.”

After ducking into the royal waiting room to freshen up and pop a couple emergency caffeine pills, Fancy performed one final check of himself before briskly cantering towards the ballroom. His mind was still in a million places, but his country needed him more than ever while Celestia was still noticeably absent from the festivities. The other two princesses could only keep the nobles so distracted from the towering gap left by her former majesty.

Upon entering the reception, he immediately noticed the lack of any music within the hall. He looked up to see a vacant platform where Vinyl would’ve been performing. It made sense. She hated these parties. He’d known that from the day they’d first met. Since getting to know her, Fancy had grown to loathe them too. It was all pageantry and theater with nobles talking in practiced circles as they tried to carve out a single moment to be memorable to the others. He muddled through the pleasantries and welcomes in rhythm, letting his memory guide him through the meaningless words.

The familiar mundanity served as a good reminder that this was for the best. This was the role he’d made for himself, the life he deserved. Hopefully Vinyl was far away from it. Perhaps she’d decided to skip town and leave the mess he’d made for her behind. A little space could be all she needed to move on with her life, just like how he’d fled to Prance all of those years ago. Fancy wished her well if that was the case. Heaven knew that he was never going to forget her.

As he clinked a polite glass of sparkling water, he heard a commotion rising from the other side of the room. It grew louder and louder with the sea of ponies parting to make way for Athena running as fast as her feet would carry her. She barreled past him before he could utter a word, not even seeing him through her terror. She held her hand over her mouth and was clutching her stomach all the way to the exit. He nearly pursued her, but a haughty scoff caught his attention. Fancy followed the minotaur’s wake towards a small gathering near the windows overlooking the royal gardens. As he drew closer, Upper Crust’s sharp quibbles arose above the din of conversation. He wasn’t surprised to see her of all mares at the center of attention alongside Princess Cadance and her delegation.

“My apologies to you all. Some of us tried to maintain some level of sophistication in this event, but we were overruled despite our best intentions.” Upper Crust spat towards the wide-open path of ponies Athena had carved through the hall. “Thank goodness nopony appears to be hurt. I’m surprised an oafish brute like that could even squeeze through the doors.”

The mare was likely in need of a harmonious reminder, using disparaging language like that around the crystal ponies. Fancy was surprised the young empress hadn’t said anything to object to the aristocrat’s objectionable opinion. Instead, Upper Crust’s eyes sparkled as she caught sight of his approach.

“Sir Fancy Pants! It is so wonderful to see you again!” the mare exclaimed with pure delight. “It’s been far too long.”

“Good evening, Upper Crust,” he said diplomatically. “You seem excited.”

“Oh, is it that noticeable?” She cackled insufferably as she gave Fancy an unwelcome hug. “Oh, who am I kidding? I haven’t been this elated in years!”

“How lovely for you. Now, would you care to explain why my dear friend Athena was so…” Fancy’s words failed him as his eyes caught sight of Princess Cadance’s face.

The Imperial Empress was smiling, or at least doing her best to smile at the pony she was speaking with. Fancy Pants knew the mask better in its perfected, Elysian form. It might’ve been enough to fool other ponies, but Fancy’s trained eyes could see the horror leaking through. Her eyes were locked upon the young mare, unblinking and unflinching, as she trembled in her presence. He couldn’t fathom who or what Princess Cadence couldn’t look away from, but she appeared to be on the verge of a complete breakdown.

“Oh, I suppose I should introduce you,” Upper Crust said with a giggle. “Dear? Mommy has another pony she wants you to meet.”

The daughter’s ears perked at her mother’s summons, and she turned her head slightly to nod. Fancy caught sight of the mare’s magical aura as it hovered a small sampling of hors d'oeuvre along with a wine glass next to her, glowing with a familiar, electric blue aura.

The young mare wore a luxurious, blue Crystal Imperial dress bearing a ghost of a wine stain, with matching aquamarine earrings. Her long, two-toned blue mane and tail were perfectly feathered, matching precisely the amount of effort her mother had put into crafting the rest of her appearance. Fancy could tell the shock of yellow hue to her fur was her natural color, a light blend of her mother and father’s coat colors.

The well-mannered daughter bowed to the princess, who graced her in kind. Fancy could hear the internal screaming behind Cadence’s parting pleasantries. She took the moment in-between conversations to finish her cheesecake tart and sip of wine with perfect grace before properly setting the empty glass down on a nearby tray. She turned to Fancy Pants and Upper Crust, gracing the onlookers with her carefully cultivated beauty.

“Sir Fancy Pants, allow me to introduce to you, my daughter Glitterati.”

Fancy stared into the abyss opening before him, outlined by familiar, cerise irises.

“We are so glad to finally have her home, isn’t that right, Glitterati?”

“Yes, mother,” Glitterati replied on cue.

“Jet Set and I have just been so dreadfully worried about her, running off and galavanting around Celestia knows where. She plays the piano so wonderfully, but the cliché of the starving artist exists for a reason.” Upper Crust laughed and brushed the thought aside. “But that’s all water under the bridge now that she’s come back home, isn’t that right?” She turned to her little filly and smiled.

“Yes, mother,” the beautiful husk parroted once more.

“I know it was hard, but Mommy loves you too much to see you out on the streets, my dazzling Glitter,” she said as she patted her daughter’s head, jostling the wig the young mare was wearing to hide her stitches. Upper Crust quickly flashed her magic to adjust the hairpeice back into place and smiled. “She just cleans up so well! She might be a little late to debut into high society, but better late than never. And what better place than at the castle, wouldn’t you say? I’m sure we’ll find her a good stallion in no time.”

Glitterati said nothing, but smiled on command as her dead eyes stared past Fancy towards nothing at all. A tiny crinkle pulled the young mare’s attention off to the side.

“Oh, no!” Upper Crust cried in passable concern. “Your monocle!”

Fancy looked away from the abyss long enough to see a sphere of magic squeezing crumpled wire and glass powder in his aura screaming for relief.

“I’m sorry,” Glitterati said as she stared at the shattered remains.

Fancy swallowed, forcing the choking lumps in his throat down into his stomach. “Don’t apologize. This is my fault. You did nothing wrong.”

A flicker of life flashed behind the unicorn’s eyes as she looked back at Fancy. “I-I’m…” Her breath hitched as she tried and failed to suppress her emotions. “I’m sorry. I’m—”

Upper Crust shushed her daughter and pulled her away from the crowd. “It’s okay, Glitterati. Mommy’s here again. I know how you always struggled at these parties. You’re just a little out of practice. Now come along. Let’s go clean you up before you cause another scene.”

As the pair walked away, the gossip started immediately with the sudden emergence of a mysterious daughter from nowhere. A strange specimen for sure, but unmistakably a member of the family with how well they matched. Only time would tell if she could be molded to fit in with society or if she’d just be pawned off to some stallion seeking an in with either one of her parents’ businesses.

Through it all, Fancy just stared as they walked away with the crushed remains of his monocle in his hooves, twisted and broken beyond repair.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 55: Unforgivable

Fancy stared at his blank sheet of paper at a complete loss. He’d given his word to Éclair if he found Vinyl at the castle, but there was nothing to say that could possibly begin to describe who or what he’d seen there. He’d barely wrapped his mind around it.

Glitterati, Upper Crust’s beloved daughter. Thinking back to the scant time he’d visited Jet Set’s and Upper Crust’s home, he didn’t recall seeing a sign of her existence anywhere. No family pictures, no keepsakes, nothing that’d say a filly had ever lived there before. The only time he’d heard the name was from Jet Set in passing. The way he spoke of her sounded like she’d died a long time ago.

His mind thought back to the times Vinyl had said something in a similar vein. The mare said they were gone or not around. That she was never enough for them, could never get their approval, never worthy enough. The only thing Vinyl ever wanted was their love, but she never received it. Knowing who was responsible for the cruel upbringing put Vinyl’s burdens in stark relief. And now, she’d gone back to them, trying to find acceptance where he’d rejected her.

Fancy made a terrible mistake, and now everypony was paying the price, especially Glitterati.

“You’ve barely touched your tea, Fancy Pants,” Celestia noted as she sipped hers.

“I know,” Fancy replied to the former princess.

The alicorn nodded and fired off a quick spell to reheat his untouched cup. “Tell me, Fancy Pants, is this a new pressure tactic you’re attempting to apply?”

“No, your highness.”

“The formality is no longer needed, Sir Fancy Pants.”

“Sorry, it’s… a difficult adjustment to make.”

“I understand. Change is difficult, but part of life.” Celestia wiggled slightly, trying to get more comfortable in her seat as she adjusted her wing sling. “This is just the first stage of what will become the new normal in Equestria.”

While he nodded in agreement, Fancy couldn’t help but loathe this new state of affairs. Like Luna before her, Celestia’s form had diminished. She was just as tall as she’d always been, but the alicorn’s lustrous alabaster fur had dimmed along with her mane. Instead of the colors of the dawn, only a long, flowing pink mane and tail remained, its sheer volume and length becoming more of a hindrance after losing its aethereal wisp.

It wasn’t an unsolvable issue though. Luna had enchanted her older sister’s regalia with the same empowering spellwork to keep up expected appearances, but Celestia simply refused to wear anything aside from her sling. She’d been stripped of her royal title and duties, a proper punishment for her heinous actions, and she intended to follow through with it. And despite Luna’s wishes, the alicorn had even confined herself to a cell of sorts, her sunroom, ever since her last meeting with the Element Bearers.

Breaking the news to the six had gone over about as well as Fancy had expected, meaning a complete disaster. Miss Twilight Sparkle had taken it especially hard. The poor pupil had started digging for an explanation, convinced that there must’ve been some mistake. There was no way her mentor, the guiding light of the nation, could do such unspeakable actions. That was when Celestia had shown them her book containing a phoenix’s bird’s-eye view she used to “monitor her students.” The former princess didn’t even bother chasing Twilight down when she ran off. She closed her eyes, summoned her fresh pot of tea, and returned to her private sanctuary.

Celestia took a sharp breath through her nose, letting her displeasure shine in full force. “Fancy, would you remind me of the only rule I set for entering my sunroom?”

“To leave all problems at the door,” Fancy answered.

“Yes, which clearly that little piece of paper is serving as a massive one for you.”

“I know, but—”

“If you knew, then why are you here with it? I may not be your princess anymore, but this castle is still my home. Respect my wishes or leave,” she ordered through a heated scowl that could melt diamonds.

“Of course. My apologies.” Fancy stood up from his cushion and gave a quick bow. “Thank you for the tea, your highness.”

Celestia sighed to herself as he began to walk towards the door. He reached to push it open, only for a golden pop of magic to whisk him back into his seat. “You can thank me after you’ve actually tasted it.” The impatient mare hovered the tea to his face. “Now, drink.”

Not wanting to disobey such a powerful, perturbed pony, Fancy immediately took the cup into his hooves and sipped the tea. Instead of the sweet roses she enjoyed to drink, his mouth was met with the sharp, yet soothing pair of peppermint and lavender. It was a blend she used during particularly stressful situations to calm down while remaining alert. Even though Celestia was likely already drinking it herself, he appreciated the thought.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied out of obligation.

Despite her words’ sharp edge, Fancy found the change from her calm demeanor strangely refreshing. Princess Celestia’s serene aura had always been a puzzle box of second-guesses. One had to be adept at reading between the lines that were already between the lines to even begin to guess at what was behind that mask. Now that all bets were off, it was much easier to get a read on her. He just wished that every sentence wasn’t tinged with contempt.

She teleported Fancy’s blank missive out of his hooves and into hers to look it over. “You’re usually not one to struggle with a simple letter. Mind telling me what this is about?”

“It’s my problem, Celestia. As you said, I shouldn’t have brought it in here.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” she agreed. Celestia’s brow tightened as she shot a fiery look at him. “In fact, you shouldn’t be in here in the first place as we’re both problems for each other.”

“Then why did you let me come in?”

The mare’s frown softened as it turned inward. “Because it’s better than being alone and hated.”

“I don’t hate you, Celestia. I only hate what you’ve done.”

“The feeling isn’t mutual. I hate you, Fancy.” The waning sun boiled with a deep anger that threatened to overtake her. “I hate you for betraying me. I hate that you ruined centuries of careful planning and contingencies.”

“But you were doing terrible things—”

“I did what needed to be done to ensure my sister’s safety!” Despite lacking a connection to the sun, the almighty alicorn’s temper still had enough power to heat the room. “Luna will never face the Nightmare again! She is loved and will be loved by ponies everywhere, like she always should’ve been!”

Celestia slammed a hoof down as she shot up out of her seat, shaking the room to silence. The only sound Fancy could hear was his errant stress casting and the sound of the alicorn's steady breaths. Her stern frown barely held back the anger eating at her from within.

“But, I don’t want to hate you, Fancy Pants.” Celestia’s searing fury began to fade into sorrow as she struggled between loving and loathing. “I don’t want to feel so bitter and resentful whenever I see you, but I do. I know you were right to stop me. Even now, I am telling myself that, but…I hope I will come to accept it before Elysium takes you. I can’t stand this.”

Fancy sighed into his cup. “Our relationship will never be the same again.”

“I know it won’t. It can’t. However, different is better than nothing at all. It will have been my ultimate betrayal of Summers if I simply allow the last shreds of our Noble friendship to vanish.”

Fancy felt a familiar twinge in his heart as he grappled with his own mistakes with his mother. “You really loved her, didn’t you?”

The princess closed her eyes and breathed softly, not allowing herself to give into her grief. “I swore I would never let myself enjoy the world too much during Luna’s imprisonment. But then, I met Sauna Summers. She was the only pony to ever weaken my resolve to such an extent. I wanted her. Coveted her. I would’ve moved the stars themselves just to be with her. But I couldn’t.”

“You felt like you didn’t have a choice. Like Luna’s fate was more important than your own,” Fancy added, fiddling with his hooves as he reflected on his own recent actions.

Celestia smiled warmly. “I guess you haven’t completely forgotten how to read me.”

“Not exactly. I just know what you mean, unfortunately.”

His response gave the princess pause as she looked back down to her once trusted envoy. She sat her tea down and gave Fancy her full attention. “You do,” she noted as she looked through Fancy. “And somepony with your gifts would have a different relationship with fateful decisions.”

Fancy chuckled and pulled at his shoulder. “I’ve always been a bit of a perfectionist.”

The princess flickered the paper over with her magic. “Is that what this blank page of yours is about?”

“Yes, though I suppose there is no perfect way to tell somepony you’ve made an absolute mess of things.”

“I see. It seems you’ve learned a little too much from my tutelage.” The smile on the former princess strained as she reached her hoof over to his, placing it next to his, but not touching it. “Your life is too short for you to pursue such notions. Upon reflection, perhaps even immortality is not enough.”

The room sat in stillness in that imperfect moment, only the sound of the princess’ magic thrumming as she held the paper between them. There were still no words that came to him as he stared at the oppressive, blank page. Suddenly, the bottom of the paper ignited, engulfing the entire page in a golden fire that burned it away. Before Fancy could say anything, the princess stood up from her seat.

“I’ve found in my experience that some messages are best told rather than read,” she remarked with a smile.

The room disappeared around them in a flash of light, replacing the warm, cozy tearoom with damp cobblestones under his hooves and the sound of rushing water. Fancy jumped up, wondering what had happened. While he couldn’t see in the darkness, from the sounds and smells, he surmised they’d appeared somewhere in the Canterlot Waterways. Where or why exactly was still an open question.

“Your highness?” Fancy called out in alarm.

“Again, it’s just Celestia now,” a lighter voice corrected as a familiar pegasus stepped out of the shadows. “Or rather, Sunny Skies.”

Though Fancy knew it was Celestia underneath the mare, seeing Sunny Skies step out into the present was still a surreal experience. He’d only seen her in the few photos that managed to capture her and within the Dreamscape. Her overflowing mane had returned to a more manageable length, but she was still a towering mare no matter which form she took. It was hard to imagine she was sisters with the much shorter Starry Midnight. Even in ancient times, the two were polar opposites.

“What are we doing here?” Fancy asked, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

“I’m helping you deliver your message,” Sunny answered simply. “Before that, could you tighten this a little?” the mare asked, shaking her limp wing slipping out of its sling. “I’m a little short on magic when I’m like this.”

Fancy nodded and quickly stepped to the mare’s side to begin carefully folding the wing up. He’d seen the wound before, but it was so much worse up close in the real world. Unnatural, wiry feathers barely clung to a nearly necrotic limb made of broken bones and skin. It felt more like he was jostling a loose bag of rocks than a proper wing. He did his best to tighten the brace keeping it from falling out, but the sheer length of the wing wasn’t helping either. They were barely shorter than when she was an alicorn.

“Don’t worry how it sticks in there, just fold it however it will fit and tie it up.”

“Just give me a moment longer, ‘Miss Skies.’ I may be a unicorn, but I still had a pegasus for a mother.” Refusing to do his duty improperly, Fancy finally found where the wing joint would naturally bend amid the broken mess and carefully folded it in, pressing the limb to the pegasus’ side before pulling the sling tighter with his teeth. There was still far more slack than he liked, but there was only so much he could do with a sling meant for the largest mare in the world. “There. I hope that’s more comfortable.”

She wiggled her side, trying to shake the wing loose, but only flapping the extra cloth around. “It is. Thank you, ‘Sir’ Fancy Pants.” The mare cleared her throat and gave him a thankful smile as she opened a nearby door and stepped out into the moonlight. “Now, let’s see what we can do about your problems this evening.”

It was strange following the former princess through the city. Either by happenstance or habit, she stuck to less-traveled streets and alleyways as they made their way around Canterlot. Not even a seasoned jogger like him knew half of the paths that Celestia—or rather Sunny—knew, though that wasn’t much of a surprise coming from a pony who’d lived there since before the city existed. They easily dodged the would-be prying eyes of anypony as they walked and talked.

At first he only meant to tell her enough to get an opinion, but that led into the last few weeks, and then the past months. By the end of it, he was spilling his heart out to Sunny. Despite the rift in their relationship, confiding in somepony like her made him realize just how much he’d been holding inside over the decades. There was just so much. Years of his life, his Kingmaking, were all interwoven into a patchwork of fates he’d helped realize. Viewed from afar, his work had created beautiful tapestry. The Fateweaver had spliced it all together with finest gold threads his parents’ legacy could buy. He’d done his best to serve as a steward, spreading Summers’ and Suede’s love and light beyond their lives into future generations. There were so many wonderful things that he’d helped grow with their gifts.

However, no matter how long he looked, Fancy couldn’t see himself at all within the patterns. The masterwork was supposed to be his life, but he was nowhere in it. If one stepped closer, they’d find he was little more than a tawdry needle, dancing desperately along the seams to continually validate its existence. If it ever stopped sewing, the work would be done and the little tool could be tossed into the trash without consequence. With no fate woven for himself, Fancy couldn't help but wonder how he’d held himself together for so long. Of course, the answer to that was obvious: he simply hadn’t. The Kingmaker was just good at keeping up appearances and focusing on the results rather than the means. After all, he’d learned from the master of the craft.

As for said master, whether it was because of her disguise or recent dethronement, Sunny Skies was far more forward than her usual self. Where Celestia would hide a dagger in a soft pillow, Sunny spoke sharply with a warranted arrogance. Any semblance of a mask had been stripped away as well. She listened calmly and patiently to Fancy’s woes while offering her wisdom like before, but made her opinions clear as day.

Fancy admitted he’d dreamt of marrying Éclair de Lune for decades. Sunny excused herself momentarily and bucked a poor street lamp in half.

Then he tried to figure out how to broach the topic of Glitterati with Éclair and Fleur. Then she suggested he seek the counsel of a Fateweaver with a sassy wink.

Finally, Fancy asked what she’d do if Luna was in the same situation as Vinyl. Sunny smiled with the serenity of Elysium.

Unsettling reminders aside, Fancy had to admit it was nice to just have somepony that understood him. Perhaps it was an indictment of his crumbling social circles that his best available confidant was somepony who hated him, but he hadn’t felt so relieved in days. Then, Pâte de Lune came into view.

Fancy sighed upon seeing the lights shining from the patisserie’s kitchen and led Sunny into the alleyway towards the family entrance. “Time to face the music.”

“What will you tell them?”

“That I found Vinyl and that I’m sorry.”

Sunny shrugged. “It’s a start.”

Fancy could feel the tension hanging in the air as he approached the back door. The welcoming soft glow of the light shining through the window brought him little comfort. He reached a hoof to the door, bracing himself before walking into the proverbial furnace, and only managed to knock once before the door was nearly ripped off its hinges in a pink glow of magic. On the other end, hunkered over ready to charge him horn-first was Fleur de Lis.

The mare roared as she lunged forward, her bloodshot eyes filled with murderous rage. Fancy tried to back up, but he tripped over himself and fell over from the shock.

“Stop!” Athena’s broken voice begged from inside as her large hands wrapped around the unicorn before she could barrel into her target. The minotaur pulled the young mare back with ease, wrapping her in enormous arms and squeezing her into a hug.

Fleur stared down Fancy with more ferocity than a starving chimera. Tear streaks matted the fur under her death stare. Her nose flared with her quickened breathing as her teeth gritted tighter and tighter, wanting nothing more than to tear the stallion limb from limb.

Athena shook her head as she buried it into Fleur’s mane. “Please, stop. No more. I can’t. I-I just—” her voice hitched as she started to cry again.

Fleur’s ears perked at the minotaur’s renewed sniffles before she slumped helplessly in Athena’s massive hug. Fleur’s face crumpled up as she tried to return the gesture. “I’m sorry. I know I said I wouldn’t, but…”

Sunny helped Fancy up from the ground. “It seems you won’t need to break the news to them after all.”

“And just who are you supposed to be?” Fleur growled at the mysterious mare.

“My name is Sunny Skies. Sir Fancy Pants has told me a lot about you.”

“Oh, he has, has he?” Fleur snapped back briefly before a look of confusion crossed her face. “Wait… Sunny Skies? The mare Vinyl was looking for all this time?”

“I see you’ve heard of me,” she said as she walked inside with Fancy. “That’s very rare.”

“It can’t be though. You should be an old mare by now.”

The pegasus giggled knowingly. “Practically ancient, but you wouldn’t believe what a little moisturizer does for the wrinkles.”

Athena looked up from her sadness at the smiling mare. She narrowed her eyes as she peered at Sunny. “You look really familiar.”

“Perhaps we’ve run into each other before?” Sunny suggested with a pacifying smile.

The minotaur’s eyes widened with newfound fear as she squeezed Fleur tighter. The massive beast shrank behind the smaller pony as best she could. “P-Princess Celestia?”

“My, my! Lulu did say you were very perceptive.” She extended her good wing and shut the door behind Fancy before glowing with golden light once more, bursting back into her full alicornhood. She brushed her overflowing hair to the side to give them her attention. “Did my sister tell you about me, or was it something else?”

“No. You just have a…” the minotaur trailed as she tried to choose her words very carefully. “A very unique smile.” She blinked as she looked up and down the princess, noticing some very key differences in her appearance. “Did something happen—”

“Hold on!” Fleur shouted as she wriggled out of Athena’s weakened grasp. “Are you saying you were Sunny Skies this entire time?”

The former princess said nothing, only raising an eyebrow at the indignant accusation.

“Know what? Doesn’t matter anymore! The only mare who cares is gone,” Fleur spat as she turned her focus towards Fancy. “And it’s all your fault!”

“Fleur, I—”

“I don’t want to hear it! I just want to know why! She loved you, Fancy! Do you even know how scared she was?”

Fancy nodded. “Admitting one’s feelings for another can be… difficult.”

“Oh-hoh, not that. We aren’t even in the same dimension as that. She was terrified of who you are. What liking you would mean for her. Do you even know why she was doing all of that stupid research in the first place? It was for you! She was terrified of becoming somepony like you! A rich—” Fleur’s tirade froze as her bitter tirade tripped over a passing thought for the first time. Her eyes widened as the terrible cogs snapped into place. “A rich monster.”

“She told me as much before.” Fancy admitted. “I tried to assure her that she had no reason to fear success.”

“No, no. Even before she met you, she always just wanted to eke by making music. But then she met you and became obsessed with finding out if money changed Auntie Summers into a terrible pony. She feared letting loose the dragon of Rich Antiquity. She was so scared of it. More than anything.”

“What’s rich antiquity?” Athena asked.

Not bothering to answer, Fleur straightened up with purpose and made a break for the back door. Celestia blocked the bolting mare, extending her good wing to stop her in her gallop.

“Where do you think you’re running off to this late, Miss de Lis?”

“I’m getting my sister back. Now.”

The former princess tilted her head. “Right now? Without a plan of action?”

“I don’t need a plan, I just need to get her as far away as possible from that crusty bi—” Fleur floundered over her language briefly, remembering who she was talking to. “Bigot.”

Celestia smiled warmly at the hotheaded mare’s slipup and pivoted herself to block her larger body. “And what do you expect to happen when you are denied entry into her home? Trespass further by breaking and entering? What if you’re caught?”

“Who cares? My sister needs me!”

Celestia took a sharp breath, wincing from the familiar wound being aggravated. “I know the feeling, Fleur de Lis. There were times I wished to shatter the moon itself to free mine. However, the last thing your sister needs is for you to be locked behind bars. You might have an ethical argument, but you lack a legal one.”

“Well, what about Upper Crust’s crimes?” the young mare pressed.

“Oh?” Her interest piqued, Celestia gave Fleur her undivided attention. “Which ones are you referring to? I’d be very interested in hearing those.”

Fleur balked at Celestia’s naïvety. “What do you think? She’s abusing Vinyl! She’s been doing it for years!”

“And what is your evidence of this supposed abuse?”

“Like, everything? She’s miserable all the time for no reason. She thinks everything is always her fault. For peat’s sake, she can’t even utter the word ‘love’ without having a mental breakdown! Who else would’ve done that except an abusive parent?”

“While I truly sympathize with her situation, ‘Like, everything’ is not admissible within our nation’s courts.” Celestia rubbed her chin and hummed to herself in thought. “Do you have anything else? Witness testimonies, threats made in writing, maybe apparent signs of physical abuse?”

“No, but—”

“Then I’m sorry to say that you have no case as of now.”

“But it’s all true!” Fleur argured.

“Without evidence, such a claim is not provable beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Fleur snorted, quickly losing patience. “Then what do you expect me to do?”

“Come up with a workable plan before you get yourself into trouble. Again.”

“Stop treating me like a foal!”

“Then stop acting like one!” Celestia reprimanded firmly. The alicorn stood to her full height, the weight of her frown bearing down on the little pony before her. “Last I heard, being a bad parent is not a crime.”

The belittling remark contorted Fleur’s face in bitter anger. If Celestia was any other pony, Fancy was sure Fleur would’ve bucked her in the face. Seeing how quickly the situation was devolving, he wouldn’t be surprised if she did it anyway.

“Well, you know what’s going on, right? Why don’t you do something about it?” Fleur countered.

Celestia tilted her head at the suggestion. “Oh? Like what, if I may ask?”

“Anything! You practically make the rules around here!” Fleur argued.

“I know you’re a smart mare, Fleur de Lis. You wouldn’t be a student at my school if you weren’t,” Celestia stated calmly to Fleur’s ever-increasing ire. “We both know that it isn’t that simple. Besides, it’s imperative that a pony like myself is bound to the laws of Equestria as well.”

“But you’re a princess! Who’s gonna stop you?”

Celestia tilted her head back and cackled, sending a shiver down Fancy’s spine. “If I think about it, there are only two things in this world that could potentially stop me, and they’d have an incredibly hard time doing so. Trust me when I say that I’m the last pony you want to ask to do anything extrajudicially.” She shot a quick glance at Fancy and winked. “I’ve been known to go a little overboard.”

With the last of her patience drained, Fleur finally screamed at the top of her lungs and slammed her hooves down. “Fine! If you’re not gonna do anything, then get out of my way already!”

“Enough!” The upstairs door slammed open with a furious galloping of hooves as Éclair made her way down the circular staircase. “Fleur de Lis! Stop with all of the yells! It will not help a thing! We all hurt from…” her own shouting died as she spotted their guests. “Princess Celestia? Fancy Pants?”

“Good evening, Éclair de Lune.” Celestia quickly bowed her head to greet the mare. “I apologize for not seeing you when you came to the castle.”

Éclair sucked in her lips and shook her head as she tried not to give in to her own feelings. “No small words now, please. I do not want them. They will not return ma précieuse fleur de vinyle.” She turned her attention to Fancy Pants as her eyes shimmered with sorrow. “I met this sweetheart Athéna running with complete fear from the castle. She told me what she saw. Is it true? Did somepony take my Vinyle?”

Fancy looked away. “I’m so sorry, Éclair.”

The mare closed her eyes and took a breath through her nose and out through her mouth to keep herself together. ~I know you are,~ Éclair said as she held firm with a deep frown. ~But a feckless apology won’t bring my daughter home. This mare, Upper Crust. She is Vinyl’s birth mother?~

“I’m afraid so. Glitterati even said so herself.”

~Glitterati?~ Her face scrunched in disgust at the mere sound of it sliding off her tongue. ~What a terrible name for my Vinyl. It sounds cheap and fake like the rest of your rich ‘friends.’ You will fix this,~ Éclair stated as a matter of fact.

“Him?” Fleur cried in disbelief before laughing sardonically. “Oh, no-no, Maman. Fancy’s the problem! He’s the one that caused this in the first place! If he wasn’t here—”

~If Fancy wasn’t here, Vinyl would’ve suffered without us even knowing. He showed her kindness, generosity, and understanding, and then she fell in love with him.~

“You’re conveniently forgetting the part where he broke her heart! He broke it so bad that she blew up the audio lab and ran away!” Fleur whipped around, glaring at Fancy Pants with nothing but loathing. “You should be the miserable lonely pony, not her! She did nothing but her best and you threw her away!” She clenched her teeth, her jaw shaking from the pressure she was biting with. “I hate you!”

Éclair’s eyes widened in shock. ~Fleur de Lis!~

Fancy tried to stand his ground in the face of Fleur, but he’d never seen her so angry and it was only getting worse with each passing moment. His mind went blank as his stress aura tried to find something to latch onto to alleviate the pain burning off of the enraged mare.

“You heard me! I hate you!” She poured every last ounce of her contempt she could muster, leaving no room to doubt her sincerity. Her breathing quickened as she pulled at her fraying mane. “I hate you and I never want to see you again! Why don’t you just do us all a favor and drown yourself in a pool of your stupid bird brandy until the bubbles stop?”

“ET TACET!”

Everypony collapsed under the weight of Celestia’s Royal Canterlot Voice. Even Athena wasn’t immune from its power as she curled into a tighter ball and covered her ears. A bubble of colorless silence engulfed Fleur, keeping her locked in on the floor. She tried to call for help, only to hear nothing in the void. She tried to yell, scream, or hear anything as panic filled the voice actress’ eyes. Before she succumbed to fear, Celestia lowered her head and popped the bubble with the tip of her horn.

“Fleur de Lis,” Celestia called out to the cowering young mare. Instead of a sharp anger, the princess’ eyes were filled with sorrow as she knelt down to meet Fleur on the floor. “I know you are angry, justifiably so. But please, do not say such terrible things.”

Fueled by her bitterness, Fleur fought through the fear enough to sneer at the alicorn. “Why? Because Sir Fancy Pants’ one of your favorite little ponies?”

“Because it works!”

Fleur’s snappy retort came out as little more than a confused whimper in the face of her weathered plea. It echoed with a timeless agony; a once majestic mountain eroded into little more than gravel over eons of endless rainfall.

“When somepony you care about more than anything in the world speaks such powerful words from their heart, it infects you. The words mangle you from the inside worse than any parasite or disease ever could. And when you know them to be true, there is no salvation. Without reconciliation, such words will torture you until you are driven mad.” The dethroned princess sank behind to her limp mane, its unkempt, wild flow cutting into what little grace she had left. “They will destroy you if they don’t kill you, and even then, you may wish you could die just to make it stop.”

Fleur’s gaze fell down to the floor as she tried to grapple with Celestia’s words. “But, what am I supposed to do, Princess? I hate him. He hurt my sister. He ruined everything.”

“I’m not asking you to forgive him. Harmony knows that I’m still working on that myself,” she said as she shot a pointed glare at the traitor. “But do not place such a terrible curse on him by echoing the words he already knows in his heart. At the end of the day, I still believe Fancy is a good stallion who desperately wants to make things right.”

Not even needing a cue from Celestia, Fancy rose to his hooves and stepped forward towards Fleur. “I know this is coming far too late, but even still I want to make this right. I promise we will get your sister back, somehow. You deserve a sibling who will be there for you, instead of somepony like me who has always failed to live up to your expectations.”

The mare’s ears perked up, hearing the familial subtext loud and clear. She stood to her shaky legs at the word she always wanted him to hear. “If you’re just saying that, if you don’t mean that…”

“I do, Fleur. I promise that I do. All I’m asking is that you give me a chance to—”

“One.” Fleur held up her hoof and glared daggers at him. “You get one. And I still don’t know if that’ll be enough to forgive you. You don’t get to just be my brother now because you said you’re sorry!”

Fancy closed his eyes and nodded. “I understand. I know I’ve neglected you. Neglected this family. I was wrong, and I don’t know if I can ever make it right. I’m so sorry.”

“Good. You should be!” Fleur’s fury collapsed under her conflicting emotions as her eyes misted over. “And, I’m sorry. I don’t want you to drown. I’m just so angry and I can’t. I can’t, Fancy!”

“I know. It’s alright.”

“It’s not alright! Nothing about this is alright! I don’t want forgiveness!” Fleur seethed as she covered her face. “I hate you! I can't even begin to forgive you!”

Fleur pressed into her hooves and fur, muffling her shrill screams into her hooves, crying for relief. After letting it all out, the exhausted pony looked back up towards the pony she despised more than anything in the world with a shard of fragile hope. “I hate you so much right now, but… but can I have a hug? Please?”

Fancy barely managed to extend his leg before Fleur rushed in and buried her face in his chest. He felt his fur dampen from her cries as she both hugged him and punched her hoof into his side. It didn’t matter whether it was from her frustration or relief, hatred or love, or anything else that was roiling within her, Fancy simply held his sister close, letting her unleash everything that had built up over the years of pushing them away.

Fleur fell asleep leaning against her estranged brother, her day of searching for Vinyl finally catching up with her. Fancy kept a tight hold of her, despite the bruises from her lashing out. The dull ache of the young mare’s gentle rise and fall against them was nothing compared to how twenty wasted years felt pushing her away. Still, he couldn’t stay there forever. Not when he’d made a promise. Athena couldn’t fit up the pony-sized staircase, but she was able to hoist Fleur up to the second floor, letting Celestia carry her the rest of the way to bed.

After saying their goodbyes, the three guests left de Lune for the night out the back door and started heading out. They didn’t make it far out of the door before being given a few bags of leftover bread from Éclair and the promise that Fancy would come up with something to help Vinyl.

“Even a day old, Éclair’s pastries are simply divine,” Celestia praised as she bit down on a macaron. As she chewed, she flashed with light, whisking her horn away as she became Sunny Skies once more. “I wish you would’ve sorted all this out ages ago, Fancy Pants. Dignitaries would be crawling over themselves to meetings if she was catering more of them.”

Fancy sighed to himself. He’d promised everyone he’d fix this, but he wasn’t sure how he was going to swing that. Upper Crust was cunning, ruthless, and always prepared. Showing up to her door and asking for Vinyl would be even less effective than Fleur’s more hooves-on approach.

Athena huffed and crossed her arms. “Is now really the time for jokes like that?”

“Now’s the perfect time to lighten the mood.” Sunny said as she popped a green one from the bag tucked under her good wing. Satisfied with her selection, she smirked and looked up at the towering minotaur. “Or perhaps you’re suggesting it was in poor taste?”

“This is serious, your highness!”

“Doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun now, does it?” she asked, wiggling in delight from the food and unfortunately forgetting the extra slack in her sling. Her bad wing flopped lifelessly out of the bundle, unfurling itself on the ground next to her in all of its threadbare glory. “Oops.”

Athena covered her mouth and somehow paled seeing the sickly appendage barely hanging off the pegasus.

Sunny chuckled nervously at the sight of the frightened minotaur. “Sorry about that. Could you get that for me—”

“Are you okay? Does it hurt?” Athena panicked as knelt down trying to figure out what to do. “Is this why you look like Luna did on Hearth’s Warming?”

The disguised alicorn was slightly taken aback by the sweet gesture. “No. I’ve had this for longer than Equestria has existed. And what do you mean about Luna looking like me?” the overprotective sister asked.

“Oh!” Athena’s mouth tightened at the question and she averted her eyes from the pegasus. “Well, you know. Your mane is not all wispy and you look less princess-y, I guess? Are you alright? Can I help?”

The minotaur’s warm concern gave Sunny pause as she watched the timid monster nearly reach for the wing several times, unsure of where to grab it from. She nibbled on her fingers trying to figure out what she should do before Fancy scooped it up with his magic.

“I see your magic is still stable after all of this, Fancy.”

“Fortunate for us both,” he said as he carefully folded the wing back into place and tightened the sling back up in one smooth, magical movement. “I know things have been strained recently, but I appreciate you giving me your guidance this evening. I just hope I can figure out something before it’s too late.”

Sunny shook her head. “I think I’d rather thank you for allowing a withered old mare like me to tag along. You have a good family that’s worth fighting for, Fancy Pants. I’m sure if you all put your heads together, you’ll figure this out. I didn’t call you my most capable envoy without reason.” She sighed as she adjusted her sling. “Now, it’s very late. I should return to the castle before they wonder where I’ve run off to. Breaking out isn’t very model behavior.”

“It’s not like that, Celestia,” Fancy corrected. “You’re free to go to and from the castle as you please.”

“I know I am. Outside of petrification, there is no prison in existence that could hope to contain me,” the almighty mare scoffed with a sad smile.

“That may be true, but even if we could, Luna doesn’t want you locked away. She wants you to get help, to get better, and to be better. And I wholeheartedly agree with her.” Despite the sheer exhaustion and lingering anxiety still weighing in the back of his mind, he managed to find a genuine smile for his former highness. “I like to think that the world is a lot brighter when you’re at your best.”

Sunny laughed and took a deep breath as she reached a hoof to Fancy’s head. “To think, I passed up the opportunity to have you as a stepson.” Sunny tilted Fancy’s head down and kissed him on the forehead. She bit her lip as she drew back. “It may take a lifetime, but please, I beg of you, don’t give up on me.”

“Umm…” Athena chimed in, raising her hand between them to be called upon. “Did I miss something really important?”

Sunny smiled back at the kind creature. “Actually, Miss Cypriel? I know it’s past our bedtimes, but would you mind coming back to the castle with me? My sister could use a friendly face like yours right now. She’s recently had a lot thrust onto her plate because of me.”

“Y-yes, your majesty!” she answered without hesitation as she stood up straight and saluted. After a few seconds, she thought about what she said and waved her hands. “Wait, no! I mean, no, your highness, ma’am!” Athena paused again as her mouth strained under the pressure. She tapped her forefingers together as she shrank back. “Which one ends up with me going with you to see Luna?”

Sunny couldn’t help but laugh at the timid giant’s flustered antics. “That sentiment will more than suffice. And it’s just Celestia now, or rather Sunny when I’m like this.”

“Okay. Lead the way, umm… Sunny?” Athena swept with her hand, pointing gently out of the alleyway towards the castle as she would for seating a guest at the Labyrithyum.

Sunny nodded and took a step forward towards the street. “So, Miss Cypriel, I’ve noticed you’re rather close to my sister,” she remarked slyly.

“What?” the mousy minotaur squeaked.

Fancy smiled to himself as the two left. Mulling over Celestia’s parting words, perhaps she was right to expand his scope. If he wasn’t enough by himself, he still had plenty of others that wanted to get Vinyl back to her true home. With that, he turned back around and knocked once more on the door, hoping his stepmother would allow him to crash on the couch for the night.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 56: Glitterati

Fresh cobb salad, buttery corn on the cob, potatoes, and garlic bread. A dinner Glitterati hadn’t eaten in years sat in front of her, getting colder with each passing moment. The selection was a personal favorite of her mother, Upper Crust, mostly for how easily the ingredients were thrown together. Preparation didn’t take long and the whole thing could be whipped up while doing other, more important things.

“Dear, your wig is slipping again.”

“I’m sorry,” Glitterati mumbled as she pulled at her hair.

“No, no. Not like that. You’re just making it worse.” Upper Crust sighed as she fired up her horn to adjust the wig herself. “Sometimes I wonder how you’re able to dress yourself in the morning.”

She didn’t. Glitterati didn’t even like clothes. If it was up to her, she’d just hop out of bed and shake the tangles out of her mane. Besides, her fur was enough to keep her warm, at least outside of winter. If she did wear something, it was always something easy to throw on in a second or two. That was before, though. This was now. Mother didn’t need excuses. She needed results, or she’d get upset again. Glitterati liked the clothes more than the yelling.

“There we are. There’s my daughter,” Upper Crust said with a smile as she tousled the fake hair just right to hide the stitches. “It’s so good to have you home again, right Jet?”

“It certainly makes things more interesting,” he noted while stabbing another bite of lettuce.

“Interesting?” Upper Crust glared at her husband with utter contempt. “Glitterati has come back home and all you have to say is ‘interesting?’”

Jet Set shrugged. “Seeing her again was probably the last thing I expected to trot in on last night. Is that not interesting?”

“Our daughter finally came home after six years, Jet Set,” she reiterated tersely.

“I did notice, and I said I found it interesting.” He took a relaxed bite of his salad before glancing towards Glitterati. “Welcome home, dear.”

“She actually came home the night before last, while you were on one of your vacations. Again. I barely had time to get her halfway presentable at the castle.”

Jet Set nearly fumbled the fork in his magical grasp. “You took her to the castle?”

“Of course I did. I wasn’t just going to leave her at home. Now that the fever has broken, she needs us more than ever.” The mare glowed with motherly pride as she smiled at Glitterati.

He looked towards the pony in question again and frowned. “And you think it was a good idea to take her there looking like that?”

“Excuse me! I did my best, no thanks to you,” she complained with a pointed glare at her useless husband. “My poor Glitter’s sparkle was an absolute mess, and this was the best I could do on such short notice. She was the visage of death itself!”

“That’s not…” he trailed and sighed. “You must have known that somepony would recognize her!”

Glitterati sank into her seat. “Please, don’t fight.”

“That was the whole point, Jet! I wanted her to be recognized! She missed her debut, among many other milestones in a young noble’s life. Our little Glitter has a lot of catching up to do now that we’re a family again.”

“And so everypony simply forgot Vinyl Scratch overnight?” Jet Set asked pointedly.

Glitterati flinched and her ears pinned back over her head as the room went completely still. She couldn’t smell the food over her mother’s palpable anger.

“I told you never to say that name in this house,” Upper Crust hissed. “That deplorable mare is out of our lives for good.”

Jet Set’s eyebrow rose as he eyed Glitterati. “Is that true?”

“Of course it’s true!” Upper Crust slammed a hoof on the table, nearly knocking over her red wine. “You’re the one who convinced me to let her entertain that half-baked idea in the first place! Now that I’ve finally fixed it, we can go back to how things should have always been.”

“I suppose you're right, honey.”

“I am right! Now you need to finally step up and be a father after I’ve done so much to correct the damage you did.”

“That I did?” he asked indignantly.

“Yes, that you did. You’re the one who took her down to the registry to let her change her name in the first place. Against my better judgment, may I remind you.”

“Because she got her cutie mark,” Jet Set explained.

“But really? To such an ugly, ill-fitting name for our lovely Glitterati?”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem with it at first.”

“I humored it, Jet. Tolerated it. Everypony goes through a bit of a cutie mark obsession when they get theirs, but that’s simply no reason to go overboard.” Upper Crust’s eyes widened before she groaned to herself. “And now I’ll have to go back there with her to undo it. Celestia knows I can’t trust you with it. You’d probably just get bored and wander off again!”

“It’s a wanderlust cutie mark, not an absent-mindedness one.”

“Well you have yet to prove that to me since our honeymoon, Jet!”

And so the discussion came back once again to the part of the argument she’d heard a hundred times: cutie marks. Despite not feeling hungry, Glitterati grabbed her fork and took her first bite, hoping the sound of her chewing would drown out the argument. The flavor was just how she remembered: lukewarm and bland. It didn’t bear any of the zest of Dapper’s pasta or ma—Éclair’s warm treats. A meal of necessity to fulfill her family role. But Glitterati was no better at cooking, maybe because of her poor teacher. At least the bread was toasted. She couldn’t even hear herself think over the crunch in her mouth.

“Glitterati!” Upper Crust shouted over her deafening chews, sending the younger mare rigid. “Slow down for goodness’ sake! Don’t stuff your mouth like a dragon!”

“M’ shorry,” Glitterati quickly replied.

“And don’t talk with your mouth full!” Her mother heaved an exhaustive sigh into her hooves. “Please, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten everything from finishing school.”

Glitterati quickly shook her head no to answer.

“Is that a ‘no, you haven’t’ or a ‘no you’ve forgotten?’” she asked impatiently.

Not wanting to make Mother wait, she forced herself to swallow, trying not to choke on the less-chewed food that scraped her throat on the way down. “I-I haven’t.”

“Then start acting like it, please!” Upper Crust leaned back in her chair and massaged her forehead. “Gracious me, you two can give me such a headache sometimes.”

“I’m sorry.”

Upper Crust sighed to herself before pushing her frustration down and smiling across the table. “I know you are, Glitterati. And Mommy is sorry for losing her temper. She just has a lot of things going on with the Crystal Summit. Or rather, she would if she was allowed to attend this evening,” she added bitterly. With a patient sigh, she refixed her smile and looked upon Glitterati with what little love she could muster. “I’m just so happy you’re finally home, even if it did come at the worst possible time.”

Glitterati said nothing, but nodded. It wasn’t like she had anywhere else to go, not after Vinyl Scratch had messed up and ruined everything.

Upper Crust took the last bite out of her properly portioned, miniscule meal. “If you will excuse me, I need to get some fresh air. Thank you for getting the dishes, dear.”

With that, she stood up with her drink and left the table. As she passed her daughter, she stopped and took a warm look at Glitterati. The older mare reached her hoof over and adjusted the wig once more, trying to hide the mess underneath. Smiling at her good work, she began to ascend the stairs towards the balcony, but stopped for a moment to look back down.

“Oh, and Gitter? Don’t forget, Mommy loves you.”

Fancy Pants took a moment to recenter himself as he crossed the threshold to Jet Set’s and Upper Crust’s property. He’d spent years preparing for moments like this during his tenure of ambassadorship, and even longer negotiating the businessworld. This, however, was like nothing he’d ever faced. Even at the griffons’ most aggressive times, he’d never felt he was stepping into enemy territory.

Still, now was not the time for fear. Luckily for him, he wasn’t alone this time. He’d spent the day getting things in order, and with some ideas from Fleur, he was ready, for better and for worse. Now, all he needed to do was get the upper hoof on the perpetually prepared Upper Crust. He reached for the doorbell and readied himself for one last negotiation.

After a few moments of waiting, his heart clenched at the sight of the familiar curl of purple and white bob through the front door’s frosted glass. He adjusted his glasses and ran his magic along the side of the quartz in his pocket. Fancy couldn’t afford to show a shred of weakness in front of the mare. The door swung open and he was face-to-face with one of the ascendant queens of Canterlot.

“Sir Fancy Pants? What an unexpected surprise!” The mare shot a glance behind her as she placed a wine glass she’d brought with her on a nearby table. “I would've thought you'd be busy with important matters with the Crystal Empire, but judging by your more casual attire, I guess something has come up?”

“I suppose you could say that, Upper Crust,” he noted, his lips taut from stopping himself from frowning outright.

“Oh, don’t be like that. So many good things are coming together at once. Tomorrow will be the signing of the treaty, renewing our ancient bonds with the Crystal Empire. You add yet another illustrious achievement to your ambassadorial legacy alongside your wealth once Horst and our partners begin working with the Empire. To top it all off, my precious Glitterati has finally come home!”

“You mean Vinyl Scratch.”

He barely had managed to finish saying her name before Upper Crust’s displeasure fell across her face in a bitter scowl. “No, I don’t,” she corrected sharply, before burying it under a plastic smile. “But I do owe you my thanks for finally snapping my daughter out of that phase of hers.”

“The feeling is not mutual, I assure you.”

“Touchy.” A ghost of a snide grin rested on the mare’s lips. “In fairness, I did warn you about involving yourself with her. To think she really did end up exploding,” she said with an airy chuckle to herself. “I would’ve preferred a method that didn’t leave such a mess behind, but I guess that rebellious DJ wouldn’t have gone out any other way. Tell me, what exactly did you do to set her straight?”

“I rejected her when she confessed her love for me,” Fancy admitted as calmly as he could manage.

“She what?” Upper Crust froze briefly as her mind caught up to the news. Then, a wide smile split her face as she broke into her raucous laughter.

Fancy wished he could be surprised by the mare’s callous outburst. He closed his eyes and tried his best not to hear the insufferable guffaws, but it only brought to mind the image of the blasted-out audio lab. The fact that she knew about the explosion and was still laughing it off made it so much worse. The last thing he needed was to let her genuine glee at Vinyl’s expense get under his skin.

Letting the joy out of her system, she fanned herself with a hoof. “Oh goodness! You’ll have to forgive me, Fancy Pants, but that’s one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard.” After one last giggle, she finally recollected herself. “I guess going after Canterlot’s most eligible bachelor wasn’t the worst idea. She should’ve known better than to try gold-digging before cleaning up her act. Had she wisened up sooner, I might’ve even offered her my support so she’d actually have a shot with you.”

The mere thought of being related to the mare in any way made him blanche. “I’m not interested in dating your daughter. I’ve suffered enough humiliation at your hooves.”

“Oh, don’t be like that. It was just a joke, Fancy.”

“I’m well aware,” Fancy fired back with a stern frown. “You’ve been making them nonstop at my expense for months now, haven’t you?”

Upper Crust paused at the sudden terse turn and she tilted her head. “What are you talking about?”

“Tell me, how many headlines do you need to squeeze out of me before you’re satisfied? First the Festival of Flakes, then Regal Cents’ public breakdown, and now Vinyl Scratch—a pony all of Canterlot knows I’ve been housing for months—blows up a department at Celestia’s School? And she’s your daughter?”

“Wait, slow down. You’re not seriously suggesting—”

“That you’ve been pillorying me in the press? Dragging me through the mud with sensational stories that you just so happen to keep magically catching me in the middle of?” Fancy accused as he stood up straighter. “I don’t know what your game is, Upper Crust, but I’m no longer going to play any part of this scheme you have with your daughter, Vinyl, Glitterati, or whatever you’re calling her next.”

Any sense of meekness vanished as Upper Crust’s eyes flared to life with indignation. She slammed the front door behind her and stomped right up to the stallion with unbridled fury. “How dare you compare that reprobate to my precious girl!” the mare screeched with a twitch of her eye.

“Compare? They’re one in the same.”

“That delusion died in that explosion! As far as anypony is concerned, DJ Pon-3 no longer exists! For goodness’ sake, why do you think I kept that hellion’s face out of the paper? Without those gaudy shades, nopony would even make the connection between her and my wonderful Glitter, let alone believe it if they did!”

“For once, we agree. The DJ’s a ghost now, allowing this Glitterati of yours to return to society. Which forces me to deal with the substantial mess she left in her wake.”

Upper Crust turned her nose up at the notion. “Now you’re just spouting nonsense! None of her messes are your responsibility.”

“How can you even say that when everypony knows that I’ve vocally and financially supported her? Vinyl Scratch was Fleur’s best friend, Éclair loved her, you might have forgotten, but I even recommended her for the Summit as a representative of modern Equestrian culture! Princess Luna is a fan!”

“And I tried to stop you at every turn, but you kept meddling—” Upper Crust’s shrill grunt scratched like glass on glass. She tossed her mane and turned away, unable to stand looking at the sheer idiocy on display. “Just think for a second and ask yourself: why would I want to ruin the reputation of one of the most beloved and respected ponies in Canterlot? You’re one of my top clients!”

“To be frank, I’m not sure. Your maneuvering and machinations still make no sense to me, but I can at least see the game being played before my eyes. So, instead of playing a losing match, I’m ending it now and cutting my losses. I quit.”

The energy behind the banker’s tirade crashed faster than a pump and dump. “You quit?”

“Yes. Congratulations, Upper Crust, on your most recent conquest.” Fancy slowly applauded with a single hoof against the ground. “From this day forward, Fancy Pants is no longer the Kingmaker of Canterlot.”

Upper Crust recoiled from the blowback of the sudden, confusing news. Her eyes flitted about trying to figure out what it was he meant, but then froze as they flickered with understanding. “Oh, wait. I see how it is.” She laughed the drama off with a haughty smile. “You really had me going for a moment there.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“This little gambit of yours. I can’t believe I almost fell for it.” She laughed again as her nerves resettled. “You and I both know you were rather fond of that pernicious pet DJ of yours. Why else would Princess Luna be so interested in her when she had no value? Because you liked her,” she accused with a light poke into his chest. The mare narrowed her eyes and leaned closer to Fancy with vicious delight. “That worthless distraction is dead and gone, and now my family can get back on track. Whatever it is you’re doing, it won’t work.”

Fancy snorted, pushing the mare off of him. “You think this is about Vinyl?”

“Of course it is. It has to be, though I have no idea why. Unlike her, you actually have a good talent to leverage. An incredible one actually. Getting the Kingmaker's recommendation is practically a rite of passage these days. You’re one of the pillars within the Canterlot investment community. Do you actually expect me to believe that you, the royals’ favorite stallion, would simply stop?” She laughed at the absurdity. “Please. What would you quitting even look like?”

“I’d imagine something like this.”

Fancy reached into his saddlebag and produced a short stack of papers bound together with a large clip. Seeing the documents, Upper Crust rolled her eyes and took them for her review. Unable to see in the dark, she opened the door again to shine a light from inside as she looked them over. Her brow furrowed as her trained eyes skimmed over the important details.

“You’re closing your accounts,” she remarked with a hint of worry as she studied one sheet after the other. “A lot of your accounts…”

“Yes. I spent most of the day sorting out the details. Once the legalese is sorted and they don’t find anything fraudulent, they will be closed and I’ll be out of the market entirely.”

“So, what you’re saying is that you’re retaliating against Horst Holdings for a personal grievance you have with me?” Upper Crust clicked and passed them back with a confident smile. “Such a sad excuse for risking securities fraud. I’m sure my lawyers will have something to say about such a sudden, targeted, and dramatic change to our working relationship.”

“I’m sure you would if it was targeted, but that was just the first one. I spent the afternoon visiting every bank in Canterlot, including Horst.” Fancy pulled out three more equally thick stacks of account closure notices.

The mare raised her eyebrow and pulled the added documentation towards her to study them. “Every bank in Canterlot?”

“Well, not every bank. Most of the accounts are already frozen while a few will require review, but I can assure you this is not isolated to you. I’ve closed every account I’ve ever used to invest and am unilaterally pulling my support out of all of Canterlot. Every security, every bond, every derivative.”

Upper Crust’s eyes widened at the sheer scope of his fiscal irresponsibility. “You can’t be serious. This will ruin you!”

“In a certain sense, yes. I’ll likely be taking substantial losses in liquidating them at market value, but I should be able to comfortably weather the storm. I’m sure you will be fine as well without my backing. With all of the success on the horizon, Horst Holdings won’t even miss the relative pittance I invested.”

“I don’t understand. Why go so far? It’s just one disc jockey.”

“Don’t try to pin this solely on her. I’m simply refusing to play your games any longer, Upper Crust, and consolidating my assets into something more manageable. As you said, the Kingmaker of Canterlot is a pillar of the community. If you want to be that pillar so badly, then the title is yours.”

“M-me? But I never—” The mare stopped herself and cleared her throat. “What I mean to say is that my talents… lie elsewhere. There’s plenty of smaller, desperate ponies who would never see a single bit if not for your insight and gracious generosity. Not only that, but you're uniquely connected to potential partners around the world, not to mention the princesses down the street!”

“Perhaps you should’ve thought about that before you went on the offensive,” Fancy spat, eying the mare with contempt. “I might’ve been blind to your machinations before, but now I can clearly see the writing on the wall. I’m sure you’ll have enough clout to step into the role soon enough. Knowing your fondness for making the news, I’ve already talked to the media about it.”

“Oh, you have?” she asked, her steeled nerves fraying at the seams. “What did you say to them?”

“I believe it should be on the front page tomorrow. ‘Crust Crushes Canterlot’s Kingmaker’ or something along those lines. While it stings, it does have a certain ring to it. I’m not too proud to admit defeat.”

With that, Upper Crust thrust open the door wide and stepped aside. “Fancy—Sir Fancy Pants? Would you mind joining me for a drink in my office?”

“I’d rather not. After all, there’s nothing left to be said.”

“As one of your concerned friends and business partners”—she grabbed the wine from the table and downed it in a large gulp—“I insist.”

Fancy sighed and relented with a nod. As he stepped inside, he shot a glance to the far side of the house, leaving the rest to fate.

After finishing dinner and the dishes, Glitterati dragged herself to her room. She wanted to toss her stupid wig into the trash, but she placed it back on the ponnequin head like she was supposed to. It was the exact same gift she’d received from Mother after she’d “lopped her mane off” years ago. In fact, everything was the same as she’d left it, thanks to the dust sheets sealing it all away. Nothing had changed. Absolutely nothing.

Her daybed under the window was the same. The vertical piano in the corner of the room was the same. Her foalhood clothes were the same. The only things out of place were the family photos and picture frames stacked in her closet. It was almost comforting to know they hadn’t thrown everything out.

But then again, everything she’d left behind was still here. Upper Crust had hidden Glitterati’s existence completely after disowning Vinyl Scratch, but it was all still here, waiting for her eventual return. Ready to be slotted back into her proper place. Right where Mother wanted her to be. Nothing had changed. Absolutely nothing.

Glitterati flopped onto her bed, not even bothering to turn on the lights. She wasn’t tired. It wasn’t late enough to go to sleep. It just didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. She was back now. She’d be sent off to parties, talk to rich ponies about nothing, meet potential suitors, be scolded by her mother when she messed up. Glitterati was always messing things up. She was hopeless without her mother’s guiding hoof. A catastrophe waiting to happen. When Glitterati tried, she made mistakes she couldn’t fix. She couldn’t say the right words, she couldn’t make the right decisions. If she ever thought she was doing something right…

“Stay back!”

… it always exploded in her face. Just another failure. Even when she just wanted to be happy…

“You can’t.”

… she was wrong. She wanted to forget…

“Oh, no! Your monocle!”

…but she couldn’t.

No. She couldn’t do anything right. She could never do anything right. She was always wrong. She would always be wrong. Nothing had changed. Absolutely nothing.

So there was no point in dwelling on the inevitable. Disappointment, anger, sadness, none of it mattered.

It was best not to feel those things.

Best not to feel anything.

Best to do nothing at all.

To be static.

Within the hum of the void, there was a firm knock at the door.

“Are you still awake?” a paternal voice asked through the darkness.

“Yes, Father,” Glitterati mumbled back as her room came back into focus.

“Good.” Jet Set stepped through the door, turning on the lights as he came in. “You have company.”

“Company?” she parroted from somewhere bordering curiosity.

Her father gave a single nod as he entered. The stallion trotted closer to the bed, keeping his eyes locked on hers with an unreadable passivity. His approach stopped just shy of her bedside as his magic reached over to flick open the latches on the window behind her.

“It’s this one,” he called out in mild annoyance, before turning back around and walking out of the room. She began to lean up from the bed to ask about the guests, but then a clumsy clattering of hooves caught her ears.

“Seriously?” a familiar voice complained from outside. “I tried knocking on this one before, but—woah!”

Before she could fully turn around, Glitterati’s vision was filled with pink and white as a heavy weight collapsed on her.

“Sorry! Are you okay, Fleur?” a husky whisper called from outside.

“I’m fine!” Fleur swore quietly as she rolled off of Glitterati and popped up to the window sill. “Just keep quiet and stand still! Even moving your lips will strain the enchantment!”

“Sorry…”

“Athena!” Fleur hissed again.

The minotaur corrected herself by humming sheepishly in agreement.

“Fleur?” Glitterati asked as she pulled herself up, shaking the stars from her eyes.

The mare was barely up for a second before she was wrapped in a tight, desperate embrace. She could feel the hoof at the back of her head, stroking her shorter fur as Fleur tried to muster every ounce of love she could.

“I was so scared! Thank goodness you’re alright.” Fleur kissed the side of Glitterati’s face and pulled back. “Well, all things considered, at least.”

Glitterati shook her head, completely at a loss for words. “How…”

“I got a little help from your big minotaur friend,” Fleur answered as she tilted her horn towards the outside and looked out the window. “Check it out!”

Glitterati followed Fleur’s gaze. At first, she couldn’t see anything as she glanced around the backyard. But then, for just a moment, she saw the outline of a hand wiggling her fingers in a little greeting before disappearing.

“Cloak of Refracted Reflections?” Glitterati asked, seeing the telltale signs of the fragile illusionary spell.

Fleur hummed proudly and nodded as she stood up, pulling Glitter’s hoof along with her. “Much easier to enchant than pure invisibility on short notice. Now c’mon, let’s get you outta here before she drains the crystal.”

Glitterati tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that we’re saving you, stupid.”

“But—”

“Look, we can talk all you want about your secret origin story later. Right now, you and me have gotta jump into the thick arms of a two story minotaur.”

“I’m not that big!” Athena whined.

“I meant it as a compliment!” Fleur shushed again. “Look, Crusty will flip if she catches us. Kinda thought it was all over when Jet Set opened the window, but he seems pretty chill. Guess we got lucky, right?”

“That’s not a surprise. Father doesn’t care about anything,” Glitter clarified.

“‘Father?’” Fleur stuck out her tongue and gagged disgust. “Do you even hear yourself? I knew we should’ve broken into here last night. Gotta get you back into a soundbooth, stat!”

Glitterati ripped her hoof back and turned away. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“We aren’t going just anywhere, we’re going back to my place, Vy.”

“I’m not Vinyl Scratch.”

Fleur frowned to herself as she inspected the mare in front of her. “Let’s see. Beautiful blue mane, strikingly magenta-ish eyes, quarter note cutie mark, adorably scratchy voice? Unless you’re a changeling, I say you’re my one and only sister, Vinyl Scratch.”

“No. You’re mistaken. She’s gone,” Glitterati corrected. “That mare was nothing but trouble.”

“Yep. You are the best troublemaker that there is, at least besides yours truly. Now, let’s go! Out the window!” she repeated and leaned out the window.

“Please. Just leave. You’re all better off without her.”

“Oh, come on! You’re really going to do this now? I turned over all of Canterlot looking for you, you know!”

“I never asked you to do that.”

“Didn’t have to. I was ready to make Fancy buy me an airship to track you down."

“Well, you found me. Congratulations.”

“I sure did. Now for my prize, let’s go get lost together. In Athena’s general direction,” Fleur urged as she waved her hooves towards the window.

“Why did you have to come? You couldn’t just leave me alone, could you?”

“Wha—why are…” Fleur bit her tongue down as a fire sparked behind it. “No, I couldn’t. Counterpoint: what happened to you coming to bother me when things got too tough? You promised that you’d find me anytime you were feeling overwhelmed!”

“I—I never promised you anything.”

Fleur growled. “Fine! We’ll do things your way!” She leaned away on the bed and extended her hoof. “Hello, Glitterati! I’m Fleur de Lis. We’re going to be such good friends because you look, walk, and talk exactly like my friend Vinyl when she’s super depressed! If you need to unload on me, I’m here for you. I promise that you can always talk to me about anything. Good?” She took Glitter’s hoof and bumped it with her own. “Good. Now that we’re the bestest of friends, mind talking to me?”

“Please. I can’t. Not about this.”

“What? That you’re Crusty’s kid? Who the hay cares who popped you out? Maman and I actually love you.”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then what? Fancy making the absolute biggest mistake of his life rejecting you? Which, by the way, seriously? You go native because of him? Overreaction much.”

Glitterati’s face fell as she thought back to that painful moment again. The sheer panic on Fancy’s face, his pleading for forgiveness, the hatred, the self-loathing. Vinyl had made the biggest mistake of her life, and it was Glitterati that would always pay the price.

“Sorry, sorry! That was way too harsh,” Fleur begged as she tried to get Glitterati’s attention. “I know you really like him, but there’s other ponies out there. You shouldn’t get hung up on a loser like him.”

“Stop!” Glitterati begged as she covered her ears with her hooves. “Please. Just stop it! It wasn’t his fault!”

Fleur’s jaw fell slack in disbelief. “You’re defending him? He’s the one who broke your heart! Why are you blaming yourself?”

“Because I wanted you to choose him!”

Fleur’s ears pinned back as she flinched from the shrill cry and leaned away from the other mare. “What are you talking about?”

Glitterati grabbed at Vinyl’s sister, pulling Fleur closer as she leaned her head onto the other mare’s chest. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! You begged me not to make you, but… I got greedy and messed everything up!”

“Woah, woah! Slow down there, Vy.”

“You—you didn’t want me to hate Fancy Pants and didn’t want me to make you choose between me and him, but then I got to know him and started liking him and fell in love with him when it was wrong of me—” Glitterati’s rambling broke as she tried and failed to catch her breath.

Fleur grabbed Glitterati’s hoof and stroked it trying to calm her down. “It’s gonna be okay, sis.”

“No! No it’s not! You’re mad at him because of me!”

“Of course I’m mad at him. But this is all his fault.”

“No! It’s mine! I wasn’t supposed to love him, and I ruined everything like I always do! I’m sorry!”

Glitterati’s strength gave out as she slumped down further into Fleur’s tenderness and cried like she always did. Like she always would when she couldn’t deal with things, but she couldn't help it. Everything had gone wrong, and she couldn’t hope to fix it. Now, Fleur would feel bad and hug her back trying to comfort her, to help her stop crying. The cheap sympathy of the poor little girl who had no recourse. All she had was to spill her heart out and hope Fleur would understand.

“It’s going to be okay, Vinyl. We can talk all about this when we’re not here. Let’s just go back home.”

“Just go already!” she begged, pulling away from the tempting warmth. “I am home!”

“Are you crazy? You’ve always hated Upper Crust! Heck, she hates you too! It’s no wonder you ran away from all of this. I would too at the first chance I had.”

“Mother can’t hate me more than I already hate myself.”

Fleur bit her lip. She laid down next to Glitterati. “You don’t mean that. You’re my best of the best, ain’t no contest, awesome friend sister. There’s nopony else I love more in the whole wide world. You’re so smart and talented, way too good to be cooped up in here.”

“If I was smart, I wouldn’t have left. I would’ve stayed here like a good girl is supposed to and accepted it. Nopony would’ve gotten hurt.”

“The only pony here who’s hurt is you, sis.”

“What about Fancy Pants?”

“What about him?”

“I… hurt him. I told him how I felt.”

“Yeah, and then he said no, right? You’re the one who got hurt.”

“You weren’t there!” Glitterati shrieked back as she sat up. “I should’ve never done that! Everything I—that Vinyl wanted just hurt ponies in the end. She was selfish and wrong! She never did anything right!” Glitterati’s frown bittered as she shook her head. “The stupid mare couldn’t even drain her stupid desires out of her head.”

“Drain? How would you even—” Fleur’s eyes widened as she lurched back up. “Sweet Celestia. You tried it with a cacophony crystal?”

Glitterati nodded grimly as she sucked in her lips and looked away.

“You know how dangerous that is!”

“I had to try something! I didn’t want to feel this way anymore! I don’t want to feel anything anymore!” Glitterati panted for breath as she sank back down into her bed. “I’m tired, Fleur. I’m so tired of everything. It’s easier just to go back to the way things were before I left.” She could feel her magic reaching for the locket in her nightstand. “What I want is wrong. It’s always wrong. I’m not normal.”

“And I am? What does ‘normal’ even mean? Actually, better question, why is it that you being miserable is normal?”

“It’s only bad when I act out,” Glitterati argued weakly.

“You mean when you try to be your own pony,” Fleur clarified.

Glitterati sank lower. “Please. Just go.”

“No can do without you.”

Not wanting anything to do with the conversation anymore, Glitterati buried her head in her pillow, refusing to budge.

“Sis… please.” Fleur begged. Hearing no response, she sighed to herself. “He told me not to say anything, but Fancy’s here too.”

Glitterati’s ears perked up at the name as she turned her head to look up. “He is?”

“Of course that’d get a reaction…” Fleur laughed sardonically to herself. “He’s distracting Upper Crust while we’re supposed to be getting you out of here.”

“What?” She felt her heart drop into her throat. “But why would he do that?”

“He might’ve been dumb enough to reject you, but even an idiot like him knows you shouldn’t be here.”

Glitterati scrambled to her hooves. Fancy couldn’t talk to her. Not again. Not so soon. She’d say something cruel, something to get under his skin or stress him out. Glitterati couldn’t let him get hurt again. It’d be her fault, again. She’d already put Fancy through enough herself.

“Woah, settle down, Vy! You don’t—”

Not wanting to listen to her a second longer, Glitterati kicked Fleur in the barrel, throwing the bigger mare off, and allowing her to make a break for the door.

“Wait! Vy!” Fleur wheezed as she tried to get the air back in her lungs.

Ignoring the mare’s plea, Glitterati burst out of her room, closing the door behind her and hoping Fleur wouldn’t risk getting caught. She looked around, trying to recall which set of stairs was closer to Mother’s office. The last thing she wanted was for Fancy to suffer talking to Upper Crust at her expense. He didn’t deserve that.

Choosing left, she bolted down the vaguely familiar hallways, nearly missing the stairs from losing her bearings amid the ostentatious sea of decoration. She didn’t even know where she was going as she looked around the blindingly extravagant rooms reflecting Upper Crust’s good fortunes. She clambered down and rushed towards her mother’s office, only to find a bar in its place. Glitterati looked to the next room to see another remodeled space she didn’t recognize. She barreled into the sitting room for any signs of life, but only saw her father nearly fumbling his book in surprise.

“What are you doing here?” Jet Set asked.

“Where’s Fancy Pants?” Glitterati asked as she began running for the kitchen.

“Never mind that. Why are you still here?”

The question stopped Glitterati in her tracks. She turned to face her father. “What?”

“Fleur de Lis and… I think her name is Athens or something?” Jet Set paused trying to recall it briefly, but shrugged, deciding it didn’t matter. “That monster friend of yours outside. They came to collect you, right? So why are you still here?”

“They want me to leave with them.”

He nodded absently. “I figured as much.”

“No. You don’t understand. They want to take me away and not come back,” she clarified.

“I understand perfectly. What’s the problem?”

“Oh… right.” Glitterati slumped down. She’d forgotten who she was talking to for a second. “I just thought, maybe now that I was back, that you’d want me to stay?”

The stallion raised an eyebrow. “I’m barely in Canterlot as it is these days. What makes you think I’d want you here?” he asked as he flipped through the book to find his page.

Ignoring her father’s bluntness, she pressed forward. “Could you just tell me where Fancy and Mother are?”

“I believe she’s in her office with him. After she disowned you, she moved into your old playroom.”

“Right. Thanks.”

“But I’d advise not going there,” the stallion stated firmly before Glitterati could run off. “Since Upper Crust won that deal with the Empire, she’s become intolerable. I’ve avoided coming back here as much as possible. I Imagine it’s going to make things even worse now that you’re here.”

Glitterati deflated at her father’s berating. “I’m sorry. I tried to make it on my own, but I couldn’t. I ruined it.”

“I never expected you to actually take it seriously. The terms were vague at best, so I expected you were just cutting ties and leaving forever.”

Glitterati recoiled back in disbelief. “What? But I didn’t want that! I stayed in school and kept trying to make a name for myself. I earned every bit that I could without any help!”

“Yes you did, to my genuine surprise.” Taking a deeper interest in the conversation, Jet Set tossed a bookmark onto his page and set his reading material down on the table. “For the longest time, I thought you were just putting on a show for her rather than trying to appease her. At the very least, you are aware that she didn’t define the exact terms of the agreement so she could change them on a whim, right? What did you expect to get in return?”

“I… I just wanted you two to accept me.”

Jet Set tilted his head. “When did I not accept you, Vinyl?”

There were no words. Glitterati could only balk at the gall of his question. How could he ask that so genuinely? Her father had never shown her an ounce of tenderness for as long as she could remember. He was always passive, cold, and uncaring. It was almost unnerving how completely oblivious he was to it.

“If I recall, it was always your mother who hated that name and the rather useless cutie mark that came with it. Her words, not mine,” he quickly deflected before she could say anything like it was a defense. “She always said you got it from my side of the family.” He rolled his eyes under the weight of a thousand blame-shifting arguments. “Perhaps it is, but you actually want to make something of yourself. You got that drive from her, for better or worse. It’s just unfortunate you never realized it was impossible.”

“I know it wasn’t fair, but I tried! I worked so hard and did everything she asked me to do!” Glitterati wilted as she looked down at her hooves. “I knew it didn’t matter. That it was probably hopeless, but I still pulled myself by the reins like she wanted. Doesn’t that count for anything?”

“You do realize that turn of phrase is absurd on its face, right? It’s an old earth pony expression. Pulling yourself forward is clearly impossible. No matter how hard you work, you’ll never get ahead.” The stallion shook his head at the nonsense.

“I thought if I did what she wanted, Mother would go back to being like she was before. She was always excited to see me. When she said she loved me back then, she actually meant it—”

“You’re mistaken. She’s always been like this. You were just too young to notice. Too caught up in discovering who you were, which made her worry more and more every time you bounced off of what she wanted you to do. The moment that music note showed up on your flank was the moment your mother finally gave up on you.”

Despite knowing the answer, Glitterati’s heart still clenched. “So there was nothing I could do?”

“To appease your mother? Well, you could attract and marry a rich, well-connected stallion to continue the line,” he answered with a shrug. “Apropos of nothing, your mother’s reins were pulled out of that dead-end rock farm she came from by me.”

“What about you?” Glitterati asked with growing impatience.

“What about me?”

“What did you want me to do?”

“Anything but come back here. Your absence was good to leverage against her every time your mother brought up the idea of us having another foal. She’s the one who drove you away, after all.”

“How can you say that? You were behind her the entire time! If you accepted me, why didn’t you stand up for me? Why did you just let her throw me away?”

“You turned fifteen, meaning you didn’t have to be here anymore. It seemed like the best outcome for everypony,” he answered without hesitation. “I never wanted to be a father in the first place.”

Glitterati waited for a “but” or “however” that she knew would never come. This was the father she always remembered barely being around. After all of these years, he hadn’t changed in the slightest. The dispassionate candidness he spoke with lacked any sway one way or the other. Each callous answer drove into her with the piercing sting of a javelin. He was so brutally honest, showing no regard for how hurtful his truths were to hear. She almost envied it. Life would be so much easier if she didn’t care, but she did. Even after everything, after trying to purge herself with the crystal, she couldn’t help but desire their approval. Their acceptance. Their love.

And that made her a fool. What little hope she’d forgotten she had flickered out. Glitterati thought she’d failed to meet their expectations as Vinyl Scratch, but no, she was even wrong about that. Glitterati, Vinyl Scratch, it didn’t matter. They never stood a chance. The expectations were impossible for her to meet short of turning into Mother herself. Even if she cried, it wouldn’t matter. Father wouldn’t hear her. He wouldn’t care. He’d throw something like a toy or ice cream to distract it as always and then walk away if his gifts didn’t make the noise stop. His presence now was not out of love, but simple obligation.

It was almost haunting looking into his eyes now. She could see herself perfectly in the hollow reflection, but that was all. He was lifeless. Anything within had been drained dry and smothered a long, long time ago. She couldn’t remember if he’d ever looked at her any differently than with the indifference he had now. If Glitterati got lost in his placid gaze, she feared that she’d never find a way out.

“If that’s all you needed, I believe Fleur de Lis has been trying to get your attention for a while,” he finally said, breaking the spellbound stare and returning to his book.

Glitterati shook the darkness away and checked over her shoulder to see Fleur skulking in from around the corner. She kept her head down, but her irritation at the stallion was plain to see.

“What is with him catching me all the time?” Fleur cursed under her breath as she drew closer.

“You’re not exactly hard to miss, Miss de Lis. Now, would you kindly take Vinyl Scratch out of here before your little diversion fails? I’d rather not deal with the aftermath if Upper Crust finds you in here with me.”

Fleur clicked her tongue at the stallion. “What’s his problem? Come on, Vy, let’s just go.”

Glitterati barely managed to shake her head, unable to answer. She simply tottered away, Fleur keeping her close to her side. There was nothing she could do. No bar to step over, no milestone to reach, nothing. She could do exactly what was expected of her, but nothing short of becoming a completely different pony would be enough. It didn’t matter that she’d suspected it for years. It didn’t matter if she told herself that she didn’t care what they thought. She knew it was difficult to think about them. It was why she’d fueled her time as Vinyl with resentment. She wanted to prove them wrong. Everypony wrong.

But being told she wasn’t wanted… it still hurt.

“I-I did what they asked. I tried. Why can’t… why?” Glitterati crumbled under the oppressive expectations, the impossible standards, the loveless home. It was less than nothing to them, but weighed more than the world upon her heart.

Fleur wrapped a foreleg around the smaller mare’s back and pulled her close. “You know, there was a time I thought I needed to change myself. I thought it was my fault that my brother didn’t love me. But then, my sister came by and told me that I was perfect just the way I was; that she wouldn’t change anything about me.” Fleur squeezed, pouring every ounce of love that she could into her hug. “She said that anypony that really knew the two of us would know that he loves me, and that he was lucky to have a sister like me. There’s not a doubt in my mind that anypony that really knows my sister would love her just the way she is, too. I love her more than anything else in the world, and I’d do anything to see her again.”

“I-I’m here, sis,” Vinyl whispered as she leaned against her sister. “I’m right here. I’m so sor—.”

Fleur gently shushed her sister and kissed her on the forehead. “The only thing that matters is that I found you, Vy. Let’s go home.”

If there was anything worse than Upper Crust, it was a furious Upper Crust. The mare had dragged Fancy up to her office to pour over Fancy’s closure notices for any hint of malfeasance. As far as he was concerned, there couldn’t possibly be unless there was a rule against consolidation he’d missed. Upper Crust had been digging though every page trying to find the trick to the game he was playing.

Of course, the trick to it was that there was no trick. Save the embellishment of Glitterati’s involvement, there wasn’t even a game to it. The only thing he needed to do was create a diversion and give Fleur and Athena time to convince Glitterati to leave with them. So, he’d taken a page from Luna’s book and flipped the table, blasting the mare with two simple words: I quit.

Upper Crust’s free hoof was tapping at an anxious pace as her eyes darted over every detail of each page of the papers, looking for the falsehoods that weren’t there. “Oh? What’s this?” she asked with a wicked smile. “Harmonic Capital International. A rather large transfer of funds to a different account prior to closing it today. What might that be?”

“That would be for any payments and fees that might incur as I transfer the ownership of some land I own in town to a friend of mine. It was a little money to help her on her way to fully owning the property her restaurant is built under.”

“Did you say under?”

“Athena Cypriel, the minotaur you referred to as an oafish brute before.”

Upper Crust spared little more than a thin smile for Fancy. “Of course it is. Because you’re such a kind-hearted soul.”

“I was only holding the land temporarily anyway. Now seemed like a good time to begin that process.”

The mare growled as she threw the papers down on the desk. “Fine. So, you’re going through with this bone-headed move. Destroying all the hard work you’ve done over the years just to get back at me for my daughter coming back home.”

“As I said a million times at this point, my exit from the market is not any sort of individualized retaliation against you or your family.”

“For legal reasons, I’m sure,” she spat.

“I’m simply done being a laughingstock. I have every right to do with my money what I want within the bounds of the law, Upper Crust.”

“I know you do!” Upper Crust yelled as she jumped up from her seat and slammed her hooves on her desk. “You can always do whatever stupid thing you want and sink your entire livelihood! Just leave me out of it!”

“I asked you to do the same with the press before, but you refused and went with your smear campaign against ‘Vinyl Scratch,’ which just so happened to drag me along for the ride as well,” Fancy reminded with a stern frown. “This setup was simply the last straw needed to break me over your back.”

“I just wanted my daughter back!”

“Is that so? Then what about the Regal Cents story? You clearly used me as your kingly prop to get an edge over him. What part of that involved Glitterati?”

“Nothing, of course! That was just business! And besides, it was objectively complimentary of your wonderful talents. You helped me finally take that racist idiot down!”

“Yet I was still caught in the middle, candidly on camera, looking like a bumbling fool at a complete loss for words as you wrapped yourself behind me. I didn’t ask you to intervene in that conversation in the first place. You were the one who thrust yourself into the spotlight that night.”

The mare quaked with volcanic fury. She was stopping just short of blowing up, releasing her rage upon Fancy Pants. Her clenched teeth could crush diamonds under the pressure with her patience finally reaching its end along with Fancy’s bank documents. There was nowhere left to go, no loophole to leap through, no oversight to exploit. Fancy was being honest, and there was nothing that Upper Crust could do except to accept reality.

Fancy cleared his throat. “If that is all you needed—”

Before he could finish, the tectonic plates cracked under the pressure. With one furious burst of primal magic, she sent an earth-shattering blast with her hooves onto her desk.

“GET OUT!”

Not wanting to risk spending one more second next to the mare frothing at the mouth, Fancy quickly stepped out the door without uttering another word. Making a swift break for the stairs, he heard the sharp sound of glass shattering and wood splintering under the mare’s pyroclastic outrage. He calmly trotted down the stairs, hoping the girls were long gone to spare them from suffering the mad mare’s wrath. As he descended the final flight, he spotted Jet Set waiting at the bottom for him with a large paper grocery bag.

“I take it your conversation didn’t end too well for her?” Jet Set asked, already knowing the answer.

Fancy shrugged. “She didn’t like what I had to say all that much.”

“It happens,” Jet Set admitted with a shrug. “I’m sure I’ll be on the receiving end for a little bit, especially now that Vinyl’s left again.”

“She’s gone?” Fancy asked while feigning shock.

“No need to act surprised. She left with Fleur and that minotaur while you were speaking with my wife,” Jet complained with a smirk. He lifted the bag and shook it in his magical grasp. “She forgot a few things on the way out.”

The bag piqued Fancy’s curiosity as he took it from the stallion. Vinyl hadn’t taken anything with her on the way out of the mansion, at least as far as he knew. While Jet led him to the foyer, Fancy reached into the bag with his magic to see what was inside. Expecting perhaps a few photos or fillyhood knickknacks, he instead found stacks of pamphlets and programmes for various events. He hovered a selection in front of him, recognizing the ESPA logos on most of them. A few were from venues he didn’t recognize.

Fancy flipped open one at random and began skimming the contents. “What is all this?”

Jet Set hummed to himself in thought as he opened the door. “I suppose they were an insurance policy of sorts, but it doesn’t matter much now. I’m sure they’ll be a liability soon enough.”

As Fancy searched through the booklets one after the other, a pattern began to emerge. Each one had at least one performance from Vinyl Scratch. He reached inside once more and bumped up against something more solid. Pulling it out, he saw a familiar album cover: DJ Pon-3’s Cantrips LP.

Before Fancy could ask, Jet pushed the album back down into the bag and rolled the top down to close it. “Thank you for stopping by, Fancy Pants. Give my regards to Fleur de Lis and your minotaur friend next time you see them.”

“Of course, Jet Set. Have a good night.”

After giving Jet Set a polite bow, Fancy placed the bag of DJ Pon-3 paraphernalia on his back and trotted down the front porch stairs at a healthy clip. He wanted to put as much distance as he possibly could before the erupting volcano inside realized her daughter had left.

“Oh, Fancy Pants?” Jet called out from the door. “Would you do me a favor?”

“What is it?”

“Make sure that girl never steps one hoof into this house again. There is nothing left for her here.”

Jet Set gave a final nod before closing the door. Fancy heard the clicks of the door lock and the deadbolt as the lights turned off. Everypony who was supposed to be there was already inside for the night. Nopony else was welcome.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 57: The Last Dance

Trot down the sidewalk at a healthy clip, reach the intersection between the districts and the castle, and take a left down the slope towards the Middle District without a second thought. Fancy just had to keep a healthy pace to kick off his morning routine, or more accurately, his only routine. With less than nothing on his plate, he was finally able to breathe easily, though that might’ve been the exercise paying off. He figured his suit jackets would fit better these days if he found a reason to wear them.

Per his route, he passed through the residential district, his hooves clip-clopping along the cobblestones to the beat of the same music that kept him going day in and day out. He couldn’t remember how to switch the songs out of his player—it’d taken him a good hour the first day to remember how to even turn the Möbi-beats on—so he’d been listening to the few songs he had for almost a month. Luckily, he still enjoyed the selection Vinyl had put into the gemstone, especially the DJ Pon-3 originals. Even in their mostly unfinished state, the mare’s compositions were captivating. He’d listened to them so often during his jog, he could time the beats of his route to the music.

The streets were clear, just like always, as he entered the park to watch the sunrise. Spring was in full swing now. Rolling grasses were dotted with mountain flowers in full bloom, painting the natural gardens in beautiful pastel colors that matched the daybreaking sky. With the Amame Mucho remix starting to play in his ears, Fancy waited at his favorite spot to watch another day begin.

“I guess I’m a little early,” he muttered to himself after a few moments. “That or Luna’s struggling with the sun again.”

Instead of trotting in place, Fancy parked himself on a nearby bench and waited for the show to start once more. The song in his ears had become one of his favorites on the crystal, both for its artistry and the fond memories carried with it. When he closed his eyes, he could still see Vinyl dressed in that ancient athleisure wear, trotting next to him listening along. He might’ve missed the sunrise that day, but her smile cresting over her scarf more than made up for it. Not even his old fantasies of his supposed perfect life could hold a candle to Vinyl’s brilliant light. He wished he could see it again. More than anything.

As his father’s dulcet tones continued alongside DJ Pon-3’s signature style, the sun finally rose over the horizon. It was as beautiful as always, casting its glowing rays across a slowly waking Equestria, but he’d already lost interest in the little orb’s mundane glory. He leaned back and looked up towards the open skies, letting his mind wander. The last vestiges of night were chased away by the daylight, revealing an empty expanse of blue above him. A vast void of nothing. Fancy felt he could relate.

There was nothing for him now. No plans to make, no schedule to keep, no rush to anywhere, everything was open before him. Fancy could fling himself away on an airship to attend any event imaginable. Nothing would stop him from going on an endless vacation across the world until he’d spent every bit to his name or died trying. He could fill his sky with any and all manner of pleasures, but none caught his interest. The only empty space worth filling was the one next to him on the bench.

He closed his eyes and listened to the music filling his head. Beyond it, all was quiet. The park, the sky, the sunrise were as silent as his mansion. Fleur and Éclair had left with Vinyl, taking what they could fit in their home above Pâte de Lune while Fancy held onto the rest for now. The bedroom, the studio, and the collection belonged to Vinyl anyway as far as he was concerned. They could use the space however they wanted. He had no better use for it.

Part of him hoped the noise would come back. Fancy daydreamed of waking up one morning to the rhythmic pulses of an artist at work. It was the same part of him that wanted to go on more jogs with her, to share a warm drink with her in the study, and to sit together on a bench in the park to watch the sunrise. It was the same part that refused to let his heart harden again, no matter how hard he tried. It yearned for that uncertain future which he couldn’t see like the stars obscured behind the blue sky above him.

A-ma-me,
A-ma-me mucho…
Kiss me my darling and keep your heart closer…
To mine.

Fancy waited, letting the song play out as the electro-kissed tango drew to a close once again. Before the next in the playlist began, he double-tapped the left earphone, restarting Amame Mucho from the beginning. He could afford to listen to it a few more times. After all, there was nowhere he needed to go.

“There you are,” Dapper said as Fancy stepped through the front door. The fastidious butler offered him a sweat towel. “You forgot this.”

“Thank you, Dapper, but it was just a quick jog.” Fancy dabbed the sweat from his brow. “You didn’t have to wait for me.”

“Quick you say?” The old stallion chortled. “Then you can understand my worry, considering it is half past noon now.”

“Is it?” Fancy pondered aloud as he checked the time on a nearby clock. “So it is. I suppose I missed lunch again?”

“It’s nothing that needs warming,” Dapper assured. “I simply whipped up a few sandwiches today. Feel free to peruse at your leisure whenever you’re hungry.”

“Leisure,” Fancy sighed to himself as he started making his way towards the study. “It seems all I have left is leisure these days.”

“Seeing that you’ve stepped back from both business and politics, I’m inclined to agree. Perhaps you should take up a hobby?”

“I’ll take it under advisement.”

“I’d urge you to take it more seriously. You’ve done nothing since the signing of the Crystalline Accords. A driven stallion such as yourself doesn’t do well resting on his laurels. Idle hooves and all those other clichés.”

Fancy slowly pulled the towel over his face as he finished cleaning himself off. “I can assure you that I’m not resting on anything, Dapper. If you’re this concerned about it, I can ask Celestia and Luna for some advice later at high tea.”

“That’s tomorrow, sir,” the butler corrected.

“Tomorrow?” Fancy furrowed his brow in thought. “Then today is Tuesday?”

Dapper shook his head. “I’m sorry, but it’s Thursday, sir.” He took a step forward and leaned over his younger ward. “If I may be so bold, one might suggest that it’s not a sign of a healthy mind for the days to blur together.”

“It’s nothing you need to worry about,” Fancy dismissed.

“It’s precisely all that nothing of yours which I find so greatly concerning,” Dapper pressed without missing a beat. “It’s been weeks since you’ve done anything more than jog or attend royal tea parties. Might I suggest talking to Princess Luna about joining that Truth and Reconciliation Council you told me about?”

“It’s a commission, not a council,” Fancy clarified, as if the distinction mattered. He rested his makeshift sweat towel over the back of his neck. “Besides, my talents lie in revealing potential fates, not investigating the past.”

“I suppose you’re correct, but it’s hard to imagine your insights being unwelcome. You’re one of the closest living ponies to her former highness, so you may be able to help her feel more comfortable opening up. ‘History is her story’ as they say.”

“But Celestia has also tasked them with reconciling her ‘crimes against Harmony’ in any way they see fit. Ignoring the fact that her meddling with my mother’s fate would make me a potential victim, our decades of friendship would require me to recuse myself from almost any judgment to be delivered.”

“Be that as it may, there doesn’t seem to be much occurring in your immediate future as of late. Perhaps a bit of purposeful navel-gazing into the past would be preferable to all the nothing you’ll be doing later today.”

Fancy sighed sharply from the mounting irritation. “I would prefer to forgive, forget, and move on from the past, both ancient and recent. In fact, I would appreciate moving on from this line of questioning, Mister Dapper.”

“I shall take it under advisement, sir.”

Fancy held his tongue, not wanting to lose a battle of wit with the quippy dandy. “Thank you. Now, if that is all, I would like to sample some of your sandwiches.”

“Right away, sir.” The butler opened the door to the study. “By the way, I took the liberty of sorting your mail while you were gone.”

Fancy nodded as he walked in. “Much appreciated, my good stallion. I’ll be sure to toss the extra kindling into the fire.”

“Already done and burning. The important mail is on your desk.” Dapper offered a deep bow before turning his attention towards the kitchen. Before Fancy could enter the room, Dapper quickly looked back. “Oh, and I suggest you read the top letter immediately. The young lady who delivered it said it was time-sensitive.”

“Thank you, Dapper.”

His curiosity piqued, Fancy trotted over to his desk to see what the morning’s fuss was about. His withdrawal from high society had been largely ignored thanks to Celestia’s abdication completely usurping any other stories. His letterbox was still filling up with ignored invitations and offers, though the stacks were getting noticeably smaller over time. Before he’d gotten close, he noticed a peculiarly pink missive resting on top of the stack of letters. He could clearly read the fine cursive reading “Pantsy” across the front. Fancy immediately fired his aura around the letter, carefully cutting the seal to reveal the message. As he unfolded it, a small card fell out. He ignored the insert and began to read.

Dear Pantsy,

P.S. You’re an idiot. A huge, mondo, stupid dumb-dumb. On a scale of one to ten, you’re an “F” for frikin moron.

I just wanted to write that prescript first. If I didn’t, I wasn’t going to be able to write this letter without it spilling into it, and I wanted to actually convince you to show up for once. Tonight—yes TONIGHT, tonight—I am cordially inviting you to my Practical Defense Presentation for my Continued Research into Vocal Modulation and Modification Enchantments at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Why? Because you probably wouldn’t come otherwise. I bet you threw the event notice in the fire with the rest of your mail, Respected Contributor to the Institution.

Fancy glanced up at the roaring fire, burning with a stack of letters that likely contained said reminders. He muttered “Fair enough,” to himself before continuing to read.

I was debating whether or not to invite you at all. You’ve never come any of the other times I have, but you said you were sorry and that you’ve changed. I’m still angry at you, but I think it’s less for everything that happened and more that I haven’t seen you since you helped get Vinyl out of that harmony-forsaken Hades-hole. (Learned that last one from Athena! ) I wanted to say thank you for that, so thanks.

I actually came today to say it to your face, but you were still on your jog. Maybe I just have bad timing, or maybe you’re just avoiding me. I’m not going to lie, I was kind of hoping you were running away so I’d have a reason to give up on you, but after talking to the others, I don’t think that’s what’s going on. Fluffs says you haven’t been taking good care of yourself, and Dapper was telling me that he can barely get you out of the mansion these days, except for very long jogs apparently. They sounded really worried about you, and I guess I am too now.

So, this is it. This little letter I’m hoping you walk in on me writing is your second last chance. You know where it is. The times on the invitation. Just be there, alright? For once, please. You don’t have to do anything more than just sit there and listen while Vinyl and I do our thing. It’d really mean a lot to me, and probably the world to her if you came. I know I just do silly voices with crystals, but Vy’s really got something special planned for the panel.

So do it. Be there. Tonight. I know you’re free. Please.

Your tentatively loving sister,
Fleur de Lis

P.S. How are you still not back yet? It took me an hour to write this!

P.S.S. I found a thesaurus. Idiot. Moron. Stupid. Featherhead. (Feels a little racist, but okay.) FOOL!!! Dimwit. Dumbbell. Dunce. Ignoramus. (That word is living its best life.) Imbecile. Pinhead. Clod. And that’s it. See you tonight or else!

“I see you found the letter,” Dapper remarked, drawing Fancy’s attention away from it. He was carrying a small plate with several garden sandwiches and a thermos on his back.

“Yes, I did.” Fancy watched as the old butler set the plate down on the desk and unscrewed the cap to pour a cup of water in its lid. “Is there a reason for the curious choice of container?”

“I wasn’t sure when you’d be back, so I made sure the meal was portable in the event you needed to rush out the door. Fortunately for you though, you have plenty of time to eat and wash up before tonight.”

“I see.”

Fancy lifted the invitation from the floor and turned it over to inspect it. It was no bigger than a business card, bearing the seal of the school along with the time and date of the presentations in the Solarium Lecture Theater. It was good for one reserved seat for a friend or family member of the presenters. Such things were unnecessary for ponies like him. Celestia’s school and the Society were the only places he still gave to after purging the rest of his bank accounts. While he didn’t need the little slip to attend, it felt wrong to turn down a heartfelt invitation.

“Tell me, Dapper; what would you have done had I said I wasn’t going to go?”

“It’s nothing you need to worry about, sir.”

“And I thought my version of nothing was concerning. Coming from you, I’m considering notifying the princess.” Fancy chuckled to himself and took a bite out of his sandwich.

“Who’s to say her Lunar Highness doesn’t already know?”

Fancy’s chewing slowed as he turned his discerning eye to Dapper. “Please. I wasn’t gone that long.”

“As I said, it’s nothing you need to worry about.”

The old stallion’s steady and stubborn neutrality was only second to Celestia’s pacifying smile when it came to bluffs. Unlike her former highness, Dapper had the added benefit of his copious facial hair and eyebrows to hide behind, providing the perfect natural mask. Fancy swallowed the lump in his throat along with the bite of his sandwich, having no way to tell how serious the butler was being.

“Shall I run the bath for you?” Dapper asked, breaking the silence that had settled between the two.

“No need,” Fancy said as he downed the cap and grabbed his lunch to-go. “A quick shower will more than suffice.”

“Very good, sir.”

Fancy Pants adjusted his glasses as he trotted gingerly towards the school. The oncoming evening had brought a gentle chill to the mountain air. It made perfect weather for the sweater he’d chosen to wear. Still, he couldn’t help but feel underdressed. As far as Fancy could recall, the last time he’d attended anything in Canterlot without a suit was before his ambassadorship.

The prestigious campus came into view, fully lit to welcome everypony to the evening’s practical presentations. While he’d never gone, Fancy understood it to be one of the more popular academic events. Setting aside Celestia’s usual attendance, there was always a chance to glimpse the bleeding edge of innovations in magic which attracted discerning researchers and investors alike.

“Fancy Pants?”

Hearing a friendly voice cut through the din brought a smile to Fancy’s face. He turned to see the prim and proper Octavia Melody trotting towards the school gates, sporting her usual pink bowtie. The mare’s modest attire sent a slight wave of relief shot through him as he pulled at his turtleneck collar.

“Octavia! What a pleasant surprise.”

“It is you!” she gasped in astonishment. “My goodness, it’s been ages.”

“Not quite by my reckoning. There was the summit last month if you recall.”

“I do remember, but it’s been quite a while since we’ve actually spoken without any business getting in the way.”

“I can’t argue that.” Fancy looked around and up for any sign of her batty beau. “Are you ‘flying solo’ as it were tonight?”

“Yes and no. Steeple is here, but he was invited as an expert panelist for one of the presenters at the last minute. He’s been very excited about it in his usual way. For three weeks and two days straight.” There was the slightest sliver of a twitch in the mare’s eye. She cleared her throat and swept the irritation away. “I’m surprised you hadn’t heard.”

“I believe the last time I spoke to him was at the Performer Showcases.”

“I know. You seem to be less available recently. More so than usual.”

“Well, you know. Business keeps us all busy,” he deflected.

“I’m very aware of just how busy you’ve been recently.” Octavia craned her head to the side, her eyes running down this side. “Are you doing alright?”

“Never better,” he assured with a diplomatic smile.

Octavia returned it with a practiced smile of her own. “I can tell. You seem to have dropped a bit of weight since I last saw you.”

“Really? I thought the sweater was fitting a bit better this evening.”

“Considerably so,” she noted pointedly with a raise of an eyebrow. “Even your face is thinner. I’d go so far as to say gaunt.”

“I’m sure it’s just age starting to get to me. Nothing to worry about.”

“You know, you’re always welcome to visit Steeple and I for a bite to eat. Steeple is a wonderful cook when he isn’t falling over himself.”

“I appreciate the offer, Octavia, but—”

“I insist, Fancy,” she pressed firmly, dropping all pretense of polite conversation. “While your retreat from high society might’ve gotten a little lost in the shuffle, we’ve definitely noticed your absence.”

Fancy sighed to himself. “Seems like all I can do is make ponies worry about me these days.”

Octavia’s face softened in understanding. “Reminds me of another mutual friend of ours.” She turned towards the school and pointed at the entrance. “Speaking of, the first presentation will start in about twenty minutes. We should probably start heading that way.”

Fancy smiled in kind as they made their way towards the event. “Good idea. I wouldn’t want to miss a single question from your husband.”

“Oh yes. Harmony forbid we miss a single one of those,” she said with a generous roll of her eyes. “We’d never hear the end of it.”

“Who’s the we in this situation?”

“You, obviously.” She nodded resolutely with a proud smirk. “If you didn’t want to risk being roped into his nonsense, you should’ve stayed home.”

Fancy laughed a couple of times before sighing. “While tempting, tonight is too important to spend at home. Besides, my schedule was rather light today.”

“If it remains that way, you should consider squeezing a detour to our house into your morning routine. We’ve got plenty of coffee and oatmeal to keep you fueled up for your trot around the park.”

“I’ll be sure to take you up on your kind offer,” Fancy answered honestly as he opened the door for his dear friend. “Sooner rather than later.”

The two entered the venerated school and began their short trek to the lecture theater. Fancy was familiar with the layout, but not enough to know where each room was. Luckily, the staff had the foresight to light the way by shutting off the lamps in unnecessary areas. As he drew closer, he was surprised to find more than just a few ponies waiting to head inside. There were a few familiar faces among them, like Baron Bucksaplenty and Lofty Heights, but one stood out from the crowd. While her flowing Imperial finery sparkled with a lavender jade that matched her the color of eyes, his attention was captured more by the contempt burning within them.

“I see you’ve finally decided to grace us with your presence, Fancy Pants,” Upper Crust spat loud enough to call attention to him.

Fancy took a deep breath through his nose, begging Harmony for patience he no longer had. “Good evening everypony. Seeking to capitalize on some upcoming talent?”

“Obviously. It’d be a waste of time otherwise,” Lofty said with a shrug, briefly catching the firm gaze of Octavia. “It’s true for ponies like us. Why else would we be here?”

“I could take a shot in the dark, but I’d rather not jump to conclusions,” Fancy answered, keeping his eyes trained on Upper Crust the entire time.

Upper Crust scoffed and turned her nose up. “While I’ve appreciated your educated guesses in the past, I’m not very interested in hearing what you have to say.”

“The feeling is mutual, just as long as I don’t read about it in tomorrow’s paper.”

“Now, let’s remain civil. We’re all aware of her penchant for milking media attention out of anything, thanks to how far she pushed her luck with you,” Bucksaplenty answered with a dash of ire towards the mare. The large unicorn ignored the Upper Crust’s irritation and kept his attention on Fancy. “It’s honestly surprising to see you here. You never showed an interest in attending whenever I asked you.”

“I’ve always appreciated the gesture, Baron Bucksaplenty, but the opportunities here have always leaned too heavily on the theoretical for my liking. I can assure you though, I have no desire to do any kingmaking tonight. I was invited by Fleur de Lis,” Fancy explained as he produced his ticket.

Upper Crust pursed her lips at the little card before reaching into her shawl. “Then we are here for similar reasons,” she chimed in as she produced a ticket of her own.

Fancy balked at her invitation. “One of the presenters wanted you to come?”

“Oh?” The cheeky mare covered her mouth as her magic secreted the ticket away. “So now you’re interested in a little gossip?”

Fancy cursed himself for taking the bait so easily. “Forget I said anything.”

“But why? This is far more enjoyable for me,” Upper Crust boasted with a snide smile. “I’m sure you can guess who would have the audacity to try to coerce me into coming to this little magic show.”

His eyes bulged at the insinuation. “You can’t seriously mean that Vinyl—”

The business mare smiled with saccharine sweetness. “So you can still put two and two together, how nice for you!”

“What’s with the tone?” Lofty asked, losing her patience with the direction of the conversation. “You’re starting to make me question your side of the story between you two, Crust.”

Upper Crust went rigid at the name. She cleared her throat and dulled the daggers in her eyes. “You know how I feel about nicknames, Lofty.”

“I know. That's why I used it. If you’re making any news, it’s goading the guy you claim that you didn’t run out of the game.”

“He’s the one who—” The mare vented shrilly into the sky before taking a breath. “Fine. I’m not entirely sure why, but Fleur dropped this off at my house earlier this morning with an ultimatum of sorts from Vinyl Scratch.”

“You mean Glitterati?” Lofty corrected flatly.

“No, I do not!” Upper Crust yelled as quietly as she could. “My little Glitter would’ve never used that sort of language with me!”

“But Vinyl would. A mare who just so happens to bear a remarkable resemblance to that random long-lost daughter you dragged to the castle.”

Upper Crust’s temper roiled underneath an icy glare that said all that was necessary.

The prickly pegasus rolled her eyes and sighed. “Just make sure your denial of reality doesn’t bleed into my business. I always dump assets before they become toxic.” The mogul strutted past the other mare, brushing off any final word she’d be able to throw. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find my seat and wait for… who did you say it was?” she asked, looking over at Bucksaplenty.

“Luminous Burst and her—”

“And her thing about more efficient magelights. Got it.” The busy mare unfurled a file Fancy hadn’t noticed and fluttered through them with her precise feathers. As she passed Fancy, she shot him a little smile. “And if you see anything that catches your eye, Sir Fancy Pants, feel free to let me know.” With a final wink, Lofty left the group behind, giving her full attention to the documents she’d brought along. The slight left a fissure of a scowl splitting Upper Crust’s face, marring the ostentatious wealth she’d donned for the evening.

The baron shrugged. “We should make our way inside as well.”

Upper Crust lashed out against the floor with a powerful hoof stomp. Apparently she hadn’t forgotten everything from her farming days if the shattered tile she left behind was any indication. With a sharp intake of air, she brushed her hair back into place and released the pressure as she settled for a flat frown.

“Shall we?” she asked Fancy.

The former kingmaker nodded in begrudging agreement and offered a polite hoof to lead the way. Upper Crust took it out of obligation, letting him escort her to their seats. He could feel the accursed ticket burn in his pocket. If Fleur and Vinyl had some sort of revenge planned, he hoped the extent of his punishment wasn’t any more than sitting near the mare.

Octavia leaned over towards Fancy’s ear. “I need to check in with my mentee before she’s up.” She fired one last glare towards said mentee’s infuriating guest. “Good luck with that one.”

Fancy sighed. “Thanks. I’ll need it.”

The two stepped through the threshold, entering the largest classroom the school had to offer. Several hundred sectioned seating cushions with a hint of a backrest fanned out in rows facing the center stage. Fancy’s gaze followed Lofty who’d already unfolded her seat’s desk to take notes. Fancy pulled out his ticket to see if there was a numbered row they were supposed to be.

“It’s those seats on the front row,” Upper Crust clarified with a dip of her horn towards the section in question.

He offered a bow to thank her and continued their journey, garnering a few excitable and confused whispers from the others around them. He already knew this was going to be a brutally taxing affair, but he hoped to Harmony that nothing much would come from being seen together. When they arrived at the reserved seats, Fancy grumbled to himself seeing they’d already been labeled with the presenter’s names. Sure enough, the only “Guest of Fleur de Lis” was seated right next to the only “Guest of Vinyl Scratch.”

This was going to be a long night.

The evening was flying by faster than Fancy could’ve imagined. He didn’t need to understand what was going on to appreciate the work that went into their practical presentations. The raw talent and devotion on display sent thrills of excitement through Fancy with each one, regardless of how flashy they were. Each presentation was as invigorating as they were nerve-wracking for the ones defending their research. It was almost a show in and of itself with expert panelists cycling in and out for deliberation of each one, save two ponies: Headmaster Pennywhistle and Chancellor Celestia.

The audience had fallen silent at both the former princess’s attendance and physical appearance. While Fancy was no stranger to it now, Celestia’s once flowing mane had been cut short enough to barely curl around her face at the sides in a pink bob. She’d given a quick speech and word of encouragement to all those presenting before the show started. As for the controversies still swirling around her, she was quick to remind everypony that it was still her school. Besides, if they had a problem with it, they could always vote to change the “C” from Celestia to Canterlot. When Celestia’s gaze had met Fancy’s, they silently exchanged an unspoken gratitude, each thanking the other coming out of hiding for the night.

And Fancy was truly grateful, despite his unpleasant company. As for Upper Crust, the mare sat stiller than a mountain, barely acknowledging the wonder before them as she waited for the real show to start. If anything had caught the new kingmaker’s eye, it hadn’t broken through the resting scowl on her face. The mare was here for one thing and one thing only. Anything else was just a waste of time.

The shields lowered around the last presenter, the aforementioned Luminous Burst smiling nervously as she answered questions while sweeping up the remains of her lamps. Celestia’s genuine smile spoke of her approval of the young mare’s progress, which couldn’t be further from Lofty’s acute disappointment in the explosive end to the presentation. If it was up to Fancy, he’d already be throwing his support behind the girl for her continuing studies.

“Thank you for your time, Luminous Burst.” Celestia flipped to the next page of her binder. Her eyes shot over to Fancy Pants as she cleared her throat. “Fleur de Lis, please come to the stage.”

On cue, the lovely flower strode out from the back doors towards the center stage. Fleur wore a superstar smile as well as a gold choker necklace, inlaid with three small gemstones. A phonograph followed closely behind her, wrapped in her pink aura. She placed the device next to her under the spotlight and bowed before the panel and guests. The young mare’s eyes widened and she nearly tumbled over as she caught Fancy midway through the gesture. A pang of guilt shot through his chest at her surprise, but it was quickly replaced with a far deeper concern when a devilish grin briefly crossed her face.

“Good evening Chancellor Celestia, Headmaster Pennywhistle, Doctor Heartsong, Doctor Arpeggio, and Doctor Steeplechase. I am Fleur de Lis of the School of Illusion’s Acoustic Department.”

The panel bowed in kind before Pennywhistle took the charge. “Good evening, Miss Fleur de Lis. For what reason are you providing this practical defense of your research this evening?”

“I am formally requesting to continue my research into auditory manipulation with a focus on enchantment, Headmaster Pennywhistle.”

“Before you begin, please answer the following questions: One, you understand that already being accepted into the magical research program without financial aid, your presence here this evening is not required in order to maintain your status as a research student, correct?”

“Correct,” she answered.

“Two, you also understand that you agreeing to reviewing your in-progress research through a Practical Defense as a student carries the risk of having your research’s presence at the school reevaluated and possibly revoked, dismissing both it and you from the program, correct?”

Fancy chest tightened. “What?”

“Correct,” Fleur answered again without hesitation.

Fancy couldn’t believe the stakes were this needlessly high. No other student presenters so far were under such scrutiny. Had Fleur been subjecting herself to the same process twice a year, every year since being admitted to the program? Looking around, nopony seemed to even be batting an eye, making him wonder if he’d even heard the headmaster correctly.

Pennywhistle pressed on. “Three, given your answers to questions one and two, for what reason are you presenting your research tonight?”

“Because Vinyl has to do one of these, and SchlurrVivyl always does everything together.”

“What wonderful display of friendship,” Celestia praised with a soft smile.

“Thank you, your…” Fleur trailed, stopping herself from the formal royal address. “Your Chancellorship.”

Celestia giggled at the slip-up. “You’re quite welcome. Now I believe those are all the questions, and you’ve accepted the conditions, so please continue with your defense.”

“Gladly!” she exclaimed with an excited flick of her tail. “Thank you for coming, esteemed contributors and researchers in the field. My studies focus on Vocal Modulation and Modification Enchantments. As it is well-known, the fundamental principles of spells like Ghost Sound and Spectral Mimicry are based within the School of Illusion. The historical roots of such spells are thought to be based around defense to ward off predators and fool assailants, meaning that their function is rooted in hallucination.

“While these old spells still have their uses in the modern day, they are rarely used for survival. Instead, their function has shifted primarily to augmenting performances in stage plays, a far larger audience than a prowling manticore. In order for them to be properly tricked, the spell requires an ever-increasing pool of magic or risks only half the audience experiencing the show as intended. Further complications arise when they are used with a recording device such as this phonograph. Observe.”

Fleur’s horn lit up and shot a bolt of magic into the sky. It exploded into a terrible chorus of various sounds. Everypony tried to shield their ears as all manner of sounds filled the air. Horns roared, whistles shrieked, and Fancy swore he could hear a train derailing next to him. All the while, Fleur spoke calmly next into the old device before striking a hoof against the floor three times.

As the noise finally stopped, Fleur turned back the disc and let it play.

“No doubt you can’t hear me over the ghost sounds I just fired off, but as you can see—or rather hear—the record is none the wiser. You’re probably so overwhelmed by the sounds, you don’t even hear my hoof.” As the record finished speaking, there were three clicks of a hoof.

“But the record did,” Fleur finished while flicking the power off. “It's the classic inanimate subjectivity problem. This can be overcome using Arcane Whisper, but as you know, the more complicated the sound itself is, the harder it becomes to produce the sound convincingly. When it comes to the nuances of speech patterns, it becomes nearly impossible to maintain. This problem pushed me to branch out and seek different fields of magic for the answer, and I found that in studying Cacophony and his focus on enchantment and alteration.”

Fleur puffed out her chest so the light caught the jewelry she’d made. “Tonight, I will show you some of the progress I’ve made on that front. While my goal of full control over the texture of a voice is still unrealized, I will use three distinct voices that are out of my natural range, along with one impression that is in my range, as a control.” Fleur turned her attention to the panelists. “Would you like me to offer proof of my spellwork before proceeding?”

“That will not be necessary, Fleur. Your advisor has already validated your claims,” Celestia explained as she shuffled through her paperwork. “Furthermore, it takes a lot to fool me.”

“Should I take that as a challenge?” the cheeky student pressed.

“You should always strive to push your limits, Miss de Lis. Just be judicial when you try to push mine,” the former princess clarified with a glowing smile.

“R-right. Moving on. As for the impressions,” Fleur said as herself before clearing her throat. “This is kinda close to a mare named Springstep. I’ll actually be performing the entire song using this voice, but it will be overshadowed by the alteration enchantments as I cycle through them with my magic.”

Celestia’s ears perked up in curious recognition as Fancy tried to place the voice he’d sworn he’d heard somewhere before. She hummed a few notes before activating the first gem.

“The light blue is Autumn Aria.” Fleur’s voice jumped up an airy octave or two. Celestia's face had already sunk in realization at what the audacious mare was doing.

“The pink citrine is an often forgotten mare called Sunny Skies,” Fleur said with the unmistakable authority of the former ruler’s disguise.

“And bringing it back home as the orange citrine, we’ve got the best for last! My late Aunty Sauna Summers!” she sing-songed with the unmistakable energy of Fancy’s mother. Not wanting to let Celestia get a word in, the mare pulled a hidden microphone from under her cart and flipped it on. “Now, let’s get this groove train going!”

Fleur lightly bucked the phonograph she’d rolled in away from her. A fluttering ballad filtered through the class’ speakers as Fleur manifested a glowing disco ball made of magic that slowly rose to the ceiling. Both Fancy and Celestia recognized the song immediately as Autumn’s gentle voice sang along.

One chance,
One chance tonight.

Fleur’s horn pulsed, flipping to the pink gem to impersonate Celestia’s disguise right in front of her. The slick performer offered a knowing wink to the alicorn.

This is your one chance,
One chance for life.

As light faded from the necklace, allowing Fleur’s impression of Springstep to barrel through the other two with firm passion. She shut her eyes, crooning with a deeper, soulful voice.

I want you, to hold true,
To renew, and pursue.
You’re one who, can see through
All that I am, and you know what I am.

With a sharp grin, Fleur’s eyes flared open along with the music as the final jewel flashed to life. In the spirit of her dearly departed Auntie Summers, Fleur spun around and pointed a hoof directly at Fancy Pants with a lovely smile that burned with a barely contained fury before she swept it over the rest of the audience.

It’s your one chance, so make a stance!
One chance, now take a stance!
Use this one chance, to take your stance, make it right!

It’d been a long time since Fancy had heard the song, but he was fairly sure Fleur was improvising some of the lyrics. His half-sister was taking no prisoners, grilling him using his mother’s voice under the guise of a disco anthem. He wasn’t sure how to take the scolding from beyond the grave, but knowing Summers, she would’ve approved and sang along. Celestia might’ve too if she hadn’t already plastered on a practiced smile before the song started.

The funky fresh brass and smooth string sections of the classic disco anthem, One Chance, swept through the room, causing several ponies to stand up and dance along with the infectious groove. Fleur herself danced to the music, demonstrating both her stellar singing and showmareship by shifting effortlessly between the ponies she was channeling.

Autumn Aria flowed gracefully across the stage anytime she began to sing. Sunny Skies accentuated her lithe movements with half-lidded flutters of her eyes that challenged onlookers to try to approach her majesty. Springstep bounded around the stage with her fresh, boisterous beats. Finally, the Queen of Disco, Sauna Summers, blasted the listeners with her endless positive energy, even leading the audience to stomp their hooves with the rhythm.

Finally, Fleur went for broke, strobing through the entire spectrum of performers at once, letting all four voices harmonize at once in a final, beautiful note. The speed her magic soared through the crystals brought the entire band back together for one final, joyous reunion before a hoof stomp brought it all to a close.

The accompanying music ended, and Fleur took a breath through her nose and puffed it out in relief. “So, as you can see and hear, the applications of using enchantments to augment performances so they can be experienced by both a live audience and later listeners. Furthermore, I wish to state that such devices are not meant to replace talent, but augment it to allow for shows that would be impossible without them. I encourage more researchers to suggest other applications of such magitechnology and try them for yourself. Thank you.”

The mare gave a deep bow, popping up from it as quickly as she’d dipped and letting her messy mane drape around her like a rock star. “Any questions?”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 58: Never Say Never

The thunderous applause echoing through the school halls could only mean Fleur had finished her presentation. Vinyl’s nerves ran high as she performed her final equipment check for the third time. No amount of distraction could get her thoughts to stop circling around the same fact: They were here; Fancy Pants and Upper Crust. They were both here.

That was good. This was what she wanted. Vinyl had spent almost every waking hour since that last night at the mansion getting everything ready for her presentation. Even when she was scheduled to play at Cantrips, the DJ was constantly sneaking samples and snippets of tonight’s performance into her sets. Still, despite all of her preparation, she couldn’t stay calm.

Vinyl had done her best. She knew she had. She was ready to show what she’d been working towards, to show that it’d been a good use of her time, to show that she could do something right, no matter what anypony said. It didn’t matter as long as she held strong. There was no time for weakness. She was Vinyl Scratch, The one and only DJ Pon-3. She was going to stride in front of that stupid judge with her head held high and prove her wrong no matter what. If only her heart would stop trying to beat itself out of her chest.

“Warmed them up for ya, sis!”

Vinyl yelped and reared back, tumbling backwards from the sudden outburst. Before she could hit the ground, she found herself wrapped up in a supportive hug.

“You’ve got this on lock, Vy,” Fleur whispered tenderly. “You’re amazing and you know it. Everypony who loves you knows it. And if there’s anypony left, they’re gonna be too speechless to do anything about it. Remember, we’re the best of the best—”

Vinyl picked up her end of the phrase. “—Better than the rest—”

“—Ain’t no contest—”

“Sisters,” Vinyl finished as she gripped her best friend’s leg.
“Sisters,” Fleur said softly as she squeezed her best friend in the world.

After a quiet moment of letting the warmth chase her lingering fears away, Vinyl tapped out of Fleur’s crushing grip. “Thanks, Fleur. I needed that.”

“Any and every time.” Fleur let go, then rolled Vinyl’s equipment in front of her. “Now go knock ‘em dead.” A sinister smile split her face. “Figuratively or literally.”

Vinyl laughed. “I think you already did enough damage to their ears with those noises. Did you really have to throw in the train—”

“Vinyl!” Octavia hissed and beckoned from down the hall. “They’re ready to call your name! Come on already!”

A surge of adrenaline kicked Vinyl into action. The rattled DJ quickly grabbed everything in her fully healed magic and made a break for the door. She didn’t even hear whatever Octavia was saying as she rushed through into the lecture theater. The temperature of the room dropped immediately as everypony turned towards the slamming doors. They stared at her with a mix of surprise and confusion. Vinyl bit back an automatic apology, unsure of what was wrong.

“I like the eagerness,” Celestia said with a smirk before clearing her throat. “Vinyl Scratch, please come to the stage.” The former princess swept her leg over the space to welcome her to the show.

Vinyl could feel her cheeks already flushing red as she sheepishly hovered her setup to the stage. She started arranging her things wordlessly, giving herself a moment to power through the embarrassment. There was the ESPA synthesizer, her backup sampler, and most importantly, her cart full of cryst—

“Oh horseapples.”

“Vy!” Fleur yelled, cutting through the awkward silence.

With a flourish of her magic, she thrust the cart carrying incredibly sensitive equipment through the door. It sped towards the stage at an alarming speed, forcing Vinyl to deflect it, banking it around the backside of the platform on a pair of magical rails. It rolled right up to her side before she finally pulled the breaks on the wheels, bringing the impromptu show to a squeaky halt.

Vinyl was sure she was burning brighter than a red glow stick. Thankfully, there wasn’t a mirror in sight. She cleared her throat and readjusted her trusty shades to recapture DJ Pon-3’s confidence. Vinyl’s eyes flickered around the room, stopping as they hit two very familiar silhouettes next to each other. While she wanted to focus on the positive, the negative refused to be ignored.

Upper Crust burned right through Vinyl’s lenses. She couldn’t see them, but she could feel those relentless daggers bearing down upon her, judging every move. Vinyl had expected it. She’d prepared for it. The mare’s unflinching disgust would never see anything in her. That was fine. It didn’t matter. Tonight was going to be different. DJ Pon-3 was going to wipe that smug smile off that resting b—

“Miss Scratch?” Celestia called out in concern. “Are you ready?”

“O-oh! Right.” Vinyl bit back another reactionary apology. She refused to utter the word in front of Upper Crust. “Good evening esteemed members of the panel: Chancellor Celestia, Headmaster Pennywhistle, Doctor Heartsong, Doctor Arpeggio, and Doctor Steeplechase. I am Vinyl Scratch of the School of Illusion’s Acoustic Department.”

Vinyl offered a bow to the panel, sneaking a quick peek over towards Fancy. She froze seeing the stallion more clearly. It’d only been a month since she’d seen him, but he looked so different. His face was so much thinner than before. She couldn’t tell if it was a trick of the light or he’d gone on a crash diet. Was he sick? Fleur hadn’t mentioned anything about—

“Miss Scratch!”

“Yes!” Vinyl asked, popping back up with a forced smile.

“Yes?” The headmistress tilted her head. “Do you need me to restate the question?”

“Oh, no,” she lied, hoping it was the question she always asked after the greeting. Vinyl hadn’t even started to present and it was already crashing and burning. “I am formally presenting the results of my research into further applications of magic contained in Cacophony’s Primer and requesting for my findings to be recognized by Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, Headmaster Pennywhistle.”

“As in a final thesis defense?” Celestia asked in surprise. “I thought you were presenting your incomplete research and requesting permission for continuing studies.”

“No, Madam Chancellor. I know it was a late change, but I recently made a breakthrough and am ready to present my findings as a completed work of magic.”

“It’ll be pretty cool if it works!” Steeplechase chimed in briefly before receiving a kick from his father-in-law.

“As the professor overseeing her research, I am confident that her findings have met the standards needed to warrant a submission to the Equestrian Arcana Compendium and potentially a title,” Arpeggio assured.

“A titleworthy presentation?” Pennywhistle said with palpable excitement. “This will be interesting then, knowing the cacophonous nonsense your student’s been digging through.”

The unflappable grump flashed a little smile. “Which would be most ‘cool’ indeed.”

Celestia nodded in agreement. “With that out of the way, please continue, Miss Scratch. But be warned, knowing the danger cacophony runes present, I will be strengthening the barrier around the stage for the duration of your practical demonstration. Should we feel it is unsafe to continue, I will personally dispel the magic immediately, which would likely result in an automatic failure of defense. Do you agree, Pennywhistle?”

“I will defer to your judgment throughout this process, Madam Chancellor. Aside from perhaps her professor, you are the only one who knows much about this side of his research.”

“Very well, then shall I lead the proceedings from here?”

“Please do.”

The former princess nodded. “Now, Miss Scratch. Considering the sensitive nature of Cacophony’s research, I will need to conduct this review in a slightly different manner than you are accustomed to. Do you accept?”

Seeing the headmistress pass responsibility over to Celestia herself, Vinyl did her best to keep her nerves in check. While she was confident in what she’d prepared, there was no telling what the alicorn knew about Cacophony and his research beyond his publicly published works. The ancient mare had a library full of privileged and forbidden knowledge.

“Umm, can I ask a question first?” Vinyl replied with uncertainty.

“If it is in regards to the nature of the review, then I will explain after you’ve accepted.”

“Then, yes… I guess?”

“Good. Let’s begin. First, are you prepared to answer highly specific questions regarding your research during your oral presentation?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Good. Then please explain the intention behind your research and why you wish to present it now.”

“What do you mean?”

Celestia took a moment to consider her wording carefully. “Very few take Cacophony’s more undefined creations so seriously, especially those teetering on the edge of certain disciplines. Why are you so interested in this portion of Cacophony’s work?”

Vinyl rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, I just wanted to stop lugging a bunch of crystals everywhere I perform. Since this rune kinda absorbs everything, I figured if I could find a way to stabilize and channel its magic, I’d be able to just carry one crystal instead of a mine’s worth of gemstones.”

“While this is true in theory, the fundamental nature of the rune itself makes it impossible. It simply breaks down and absorbs magical power from any source it finds. Trying to draw any energy out of the crystal once it is inside is like trying to pull a bowling ball through a glass window. Even if you manage to get something out of it, the inscribed medium will shatter soon afterward, resulting in a resonance cascade equal to the amount of magic stored within them.”

“You’re right. It is impossible to directly channel energy from a cacophony crystal once inside.”

“Directly?” Celestia remarked, catching the specific wording. “So you claim to have found an indirect method?”

Vinyl nodded and lifted two vastly different sapphire crystal balls out of her cart. The first orb was as big as her head and the other no wider than her hoof was around. She quickly checked the surfaces of both for any scratches from their wild card ride. She’d spent hours polishing the imperfections out of them, getting their shapes as close as possible despite their difference in size.

“For my demonstration, I will be using two sapphire orbs. Both were cut from the same gemstone to ensure their internal structure is as similar as possible. I will inscribe a cacophony rune into the large one, while the smaller of the two will be paired to reflect it with an enchantment called Sonorous Echo.”

“Are you referring to Bellbright’s Sonorous Echo?” Celestia wove the basic spellform into the air from memory and inspected it with her hoof. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but this spell was effectively replaced by Resounding Resonance almost a century ago.”

“Yes. Resounding Resonance is far better at mimicking real sound by putting the listener in the center of the soundscape. Sonorous Echo is far more rudimentary in comparison, as it just reflects the same source for a doubling effect. This shortcoming provides a unique benefit over its successor in that it doesn’t need energy from its partner to create the effect.”

Celestia smiled as she caught on to the idea. “Meaning that the enchantment on the smaller orb will not risk being absorbed by the larger one it is paired with.”

“That’s right!” Vinyl exclaimed with a smile of her own. “It functions more like a magic mirror, reflecting the real conditions of its tethered source without having to extract any of its stored magic. Scaling the crystal down loses some clarity, but as you’ll see in a second, accuracy won’t matter.”

“Very well, Miss Scratch. Please proceed with your presentation.”

Vinyl nodded as she finished carving the final glyphs into the crystals. She then carefully lowered each onto their own pedestals, the large sapphire suspended in the air while the small one was clenched by four steel claws. Then, powerful shields encircled each sapphire, cutting them off from the outside world and each other. Vinyl carefully pinched the edges of the shields and pulled them closer together, stretching and warping their fields.

“What is it that you’re doing?” Celestia asked with a slight alarm.

“Creating a funnel for the cacophony rune to absorb these.” Vinyl opened a large box containing various amethysts. “These are simple synthetic instrument crystals that I will be using for this demonstration.” She hovered the box to the panelists, letting them take a closer look, noting that each had different colored magic inside them. “They are used by hobbyists with simpler synthesizers, like this one, with up to four crystals at a time.”

After they were done, she drew the box back to her side and flicked on her instruments. Vinyl would’ve rather used the one upstairs in the department, but it was still a twisted wreck from her explosion last month. Still, it and the small sampler she brought were easier to work with. A simpler set-up was far better than quality sound tonight. She thrust the first crystal in, a Synth Piano with a slight red glow, and ran her hoof up and down the keys.

“It’s not exact, but still recognizable as a piano.” She plugged the other crystals in a line and switched to them one-by-one to showcase their sound. “Next, Synth Strings Gamma, which sounds like an entire string section. This one is what I call Acid Brash, a distorted brass section with great energy. Finally, there is Ocean Swell, which sounds like various beach noises. To my right is the sampler. It’s a secondary device used to store various percussive elements which is also limited to these four other crystals.

“I’m sure you noticed that each crystal is glowing a slightly different color.” The remark earned several nods from the panelists. “I modified the instruments inside each crystal to glow in easily recognizable colors. This is to make tracking their magical signatures easier once they’re absorbed.”

“A clever idea,” Celestia remarked. “However, it should lose the modification once it’s absorbed.”

“It will, but I am not concerned with the cacophony crystal. Please observe.”

Vinyl grabbed the piano crystal with a pair of tongs and carefully removed it from the synthesizer, much to the instrument's noisy protests. She then pressed it through the shielding to the small crystal. At once, the red energy was violently sapped from the amethyst and rushed through the small link between the two sapphires.

Celestia’s eyes widened seeing a mote of red light appear in the smaller crystal. It bounced around the crystal with the energy of a cage firefly. “What is that?”

“That’s the piano,” Vinyl answered simply.

“That shouldn’t be possible. The other crystal consumed it.”

“Yes, it did. But this smaller crystal is enchanted with Sonorous Echo.” Vinyl pointed to the fluttering blip swirling inside the small orb. “This light here is what is inside the cacophony crystal, an echo.”

“But the other crystal should’ve torn the piano’s spellwork to pieces! How is it still there, let alone red?”

“Just because we can’t draw the piano out of the crystal doesn’t necessarily mean it’s destroyed. It’s just in a form we can’t sense, making its spellform appear lost to entropy to us. We just need a proper way to detect it. That’s where this smaller crystal comes in. I call it an echo focus.”

Celestia stared in pensive silence at the light whizzing around in the crystal. “So you have located the magic within the chaos of the crystal, an admirable feat on its own. How do you intend to use this ‘echo focus’ of yours?”

“I intend to play it like I would any other crystalline instrument.” Vinyl retrieved a cable from her cart and carefully placed it inside the synthesizer’s crystal slot. “As you can see, Sonorous Echo still recognizes the magical signature from the brief time it interacted with the spell, including the coloration, which reflects what’s inside the paired crystal. Because the focus is trying to reflect what is inside its partner, it should still function without having to store the piano itself. One calls, and the other responds with an echo.”

Vinyl ran her hooves over the keys and the piano played once more, every single note. Satisfied with the connection, she then improvised a jazzy smattering of notes to prove it wasn’t just able to slide up and down the scales.

Celestia offered a light applause at the success. “Truly remarkable, but your goal is to store multiple instruments. How does the focus parse through the noise of a multitude of instruments?”

“That, I don’t know,” Vinyl admitted as she repeated the process with each crystal, taking it out of the devices they were slotted into and feeding them through the echo focus. “I haven’t been cutting the power to the synthesizer when I removed the instruments, so the synthesizer is still attuned to the spellform’s signature. As long as it can find the instrument it is trying to detect within the focus, it should still work.”

When she was done, a colorful rainbow of fireflies danced around the inside of the small crystal with a network of cables running from the base of the crystal mount. Vinyl tested each instrument and every setting on her equipment, smiling after seeing they’d all successfully connected to their corresponding sounds.

Headmaster Pennywhistle broke her silence, unable to contain her astonishment any longer. “Absolutely incredible, Miss Scratch! And are you saying that you can utilize the full breadth of the cacophony crystal’s capacity?”

Vinyl shook her head. “No ma’am. This is more of a messy proof of concept. There’s nothing that currently exists that can interact directly with the echo focus itself. An ideal setup would be some sort of device that can slot the focus inside to read any number of echos at will.”

“Still, you were able to utilize magic once thought reduced to pure magic! Can it be used with anything other than sound?”

Vinyl tilted her head. “Like what?”

“Perhaps if we could—”

Celestia slammed a hoof down with royal authority, silencing the room. “I apologize, but that particular line of questioning is beyond the scope of this presentation, wouldn’t you say?”

“But, your highness!” Pennywhistle flinched not only at her mistake, but the pacifying smile the princess wore that wordlessly commanded the headmaster to cease speaking at once. “Of course. I was simply caught up in the moment.”

“I understand your excitement. There are many potential paths for this magic to take shape. It could be a very narrowly applicable magical implement or a revolution in spell storage when applied broadly. Those notions can be addressed later after this first concept has proven itself. Besides, this device is not a magical implement, but rather magitechnological in nature, correct?”

Taking a moment to recollect herself from the chancellor’s sudden outburst, Vinyl nodded in agreement. “Right.” She pointed to the back of the synthesizer at a battery pack. “They are using magically sourced electricity running through the devices. It is only reading the instruments stored magically. If it was magic alone, the cacophony crystal would probably absorb it through the cables.”

“A rather large limitation for most forms of magic. Which brings up my main problem with this, Miss Scratch. Cacophony runes are highly unstable, even when shielded properly.”

Vinyl pulled at her shoulder. She knew exactly what was coming next. “You’re correct.”

The chancellor pointed to the extended shielding that bridged the two crystals. “I wouldn’t say such a thin shape is very resilient. I suspect there is a reason for such a unique structure.”

“As I said before, it’s a funnel. The shape is intentional, albeit a little strange. I tried using a standard shield shape, and it sometimes pulled the magic around the crystal or tore it into pieces, leaving a random number of echos for the same spell. This is the most predictable method I found.”

“Have you considered other methods to achieve the same effect without potentially compromising the shielding around the crystals?”

“Yes, but the methods are outside of my expertise,” Vinyl explained while looking away from Celestia. “Any magic outside of the polarized containment shielding found in the primer will be absorbed by the crystal.”

“One of the fundamental principles of Cacophony’s research is that music itself is the combination of sound and magic born from the souls of every harmonious creature. While it is an unproven theory, it might as well be a law of nature with how well the concept grafts onto Cacophony’s magic.”

Vinyl sucked in her lips and nodded along. “That’s right, Chancellor Celestia.”

“In particular, strong emotions can not only be absorbed by these crystals as a source of energy, but be intensified by the connection itself, creating a feedback loop of ever-increasing emotions until the subject either breaks the connection or the crystal overloads and breaks apart in a resonance cascade.”

Vinyl closed her eyes as her mind was thrust back to a month ago. That void of emptiness, the pain of hollowness in her heart. It was a precipice she wished she’d never gazed down. Even though she’d bounced back after barely a day, there was a brief moment in time she truly couldn’t feel anything just before the crystal exploded. The drain had been so intense, she didn’t even register the danger. She simply didn’t care. She never wanted to feel that unfathomable despair again…

“I-I know. And I am prepared to demonstrate the shielding’s capacity by performing a song with a sympathy stone while wearing a dampening ring.”

…But she had to.

“A sympathy stone.” Celestia frowned at the idea. “Such a bold and rather personal solution. It’d most certainly be effective, but you’d be bearing your heart to everypony here.”

Vinyl nodded as she forced a smile. “That’s the plan.”

“Your emotions would also need to be powerful enough to risk agitating the cacophony crystal. I know you’re a professional musician, but are you sure you’ll have a strong enough emotional response from a performance?”

“M-more than sure.” She tried to sound authoritative, but she couldn’t suppress the quaver that betrayed her nerves.

The former princess softened. “It is clear to see that the idea makes you uncomfortable. I would be willing to consider another method—”

“No!” Vinyl shouted, sounding far more desperate than she intended. Celestia was caught completely off-guard by the outburst, along with the other panelists. “I mean, it’s okay. I want to present it here. In front of everypony. Please.”

The chancellor went quiet for a moment as she closely studied the Vinyl from her seat. Vinyl did her best to keep calm under the extra scrutiny. She had to perform tonight, no matter what. Everything would be ruined if she couldn’t.

Before Vinyl could spin herself into a panic, the shields around the stage went up with a golden flash as they were reinforced once, a second time, and finally a third with Celestia’s magic. Vinyl didn’t even dare test how many fortifications the alicorn had applied to the barrier around her. The energy was so pure, she couldn’t even see it with her eyes. Nothing was getting in or out unless Celestia allowed it.

“Very well then, Miss Scratch. Please proceed.”

Fancy was completely lost. Of course he’d struggled to follow along during the other presentations, but Vinyl’s was on a completely different level. He recognized the words, echoes, crystals, cacophony, but their meanings were lost on him. All he was able to latch onto were Vinyl’s emotions.

He’d almost forgotten how easy the mare was to read. She’d been nervous since they started, terrified seeing Upper Crust, and horrified when she saw him. Perhaps Dapper had a point if Fancy was causing ponies to nearly trip over themselves in shock at the mere sight of him. To think he might’ve derailed the entire presentation just because he wasn’t taking proper care of himself. He made a mental note to not pass on meals anymore.

Now though, Fancy wasn’t exactly sure what Vinyl was feeling. She’d sat down on a stool after preparing the sympathy stone. It was a pearlescent, milky white rock, almost like somepony had carefully polished a large egg. The DJ leaned in closer to inspect it, making the color shift to a bright yellow.

“No need to be nervous, Miss Scratch,” Celestia assured with a knowing smile. “It’s working just fine.”

“I’ll try,” Vinyl replied. She reached over with her hoof and moved the stone underneath the funnel. “The sympathy stone will respond to my emotions, glowing more vibrant the clearer they are. Putting it directly under the weak point should be a good indicator.”

“An acceptable measurement as any. And you will be wearing the dampening ring to ensure you aren’t manipulating the sympathy stone?” Celestia assumed.

“Yes ma’am. No tricks here.”

“Very well.” The former princess stood up from her seat and stepped towards the sapphires floating over the cart. “I will be monitoring the shielding to ensure your emotions have not breached it. If I sense anything is going wrong, I will end the practical immediately. Is that understood?”

Vinyl nodded. “I understand.”

“Good. Now, go ahead.”

The DJ took a deep breath as she gave her equipment one last once-over. She began tapping her hoof to an unheard rhythm and started to play the piano. It was a simple melody of sorts, tinged with a hint of sadness. She played it once, then tapped a large button on the keyboard which flashed another light into the small crystal behind her. Her hooves stopped moving, but the piano kept playing, looping the melody she’d created. Then, she added another part. And then another, and then another.

Fancy wasn’t sure what was happening, but the slowly evolving melody sounded hauntingly beautiful, evoking a strange loneliness. The panelists were all staring at the crystal with rapt attention, but Fancy couldn’t take his eyes off the DJ. Finally, the mare did something he’d never heard her do: she began to sing.

Why care about anything,
When there’s nothing on every side?

The mare’s voice dipped as low as Shade’s, if not lower. It was scratchy as always, but with a sultry satin texture to it that shook from the deepest part of her range. As she sang, a blue light filled the stone.

Who cares what the future brings,
When I’m already dead inside?

A flash of pink appeared alongside the blue, and they began to spin.

So why take me in?
I fell from the light.
When I was too scared,
Had nothing but spite.

The pink grew and began wisping around and the blue as they dipped into each other and swirled around, fighting for dominance.

You showed me your love,
And what it could mean.
My heart was prepared,
To let it be seen.

The melody picked up the pace as more sounds were mixed in. The beats rolled angrily as dark, somber strings cried from the bass below.

So how could you run from me?
You were my ecstasy.
For all of my bravery,
You dropped so easily?

The blue light swelled back, easily overtaking the dwindling pink light, and crushing it to nothingness in a deep blue that grew darker and darker.

Please, Don’t run away,
Don’t let this love decay!
I’ve tried so many diff’rent ways,
But all I can say—

—is pleasewould you just…

The music dropped out entirely as a tiny sparkle of pink shined in the middle of the blue, bright, brilliant, and resilient as it tried to fight against the oppressive, somber tide. DJ Pon-3 ripped off her sunglasses, tossing them aside as she turned directly to face Fancy. Instead of a blasting boom of bass, there was only a meek piano accompanying a humble plea from the performer.

Stay…
I want you to stay.
I want you to stay with me,
and stop running away…

In that moment, the audience faded away, the stage vanished, and the very air was sapped from the room. To Fancy, there was nothing else but Vinyl. The entire world began and ended with her eyes. Those shimmering eyes, brimming with sadness, scarred by betrayal, yet lit by a flicker of hope. Fancy couldn’t look away, even if he wanted to, as nothing else existed.

Stay…
I need you to stay.
I want you to be with me,
Don’t throw my love away…

Stay~...
Please just… stay…

Vinyl blinked first, breaking her spellbinding stare as she collapsed over her piano, striking a smattering of sour chords.

“Stay…” Vinyl begged one last time.

After another quiet moment, the shields dropped. “That's enough, Miss Scratch,” Celestia said softly as she approached the mare.

Fancy finally remembered he had lungs as he caught his breath. His attention was immediately drawn to the sympathy crystal. Blue and pink swirled around each other, waging a battle for control while completely ignoring the chuck of obsidian darkness that had settled at the bottom half. No matter how much the two colors fought, the black stone refused to move. Before the fighting could be settled, Celestia deactivated the sympathy stone. Everypony had seen more than enough.

“Please note for the record that the barrier around the echo focus and cacophony crystal held,” the chancellor announced for the panel. She bent down next to the DJ, hiding her face with the keyboard. “I think it'd be best if you stepped away from the stage for now, okay?”

Vinyl drew herself up from her seat, blocking her eyes with her leg, trying to hide what little she wanted kept to herself. The alicorn reached to the discarded sunglasses with her magic and offered them to the performer.

“And Miss Scratch? You were exceptional.”

As the volunteers and Celestia were clearing off the stage, Fancy crept up the stairs and snuck away from the lecture theater. The sun had fully set by now, shrouding the unlit halls in a veil of darkness. It didn’t bother him. He’d wandered the lonely halls of his mansion plenty of times. This would be no different. As soon as he was a safe distance from the event, Fancy broke into a full gallop.

He ascended the stairs to the top floor as fast as he could. He knew Vinyl had to be there. She just had to be. The mare was most comfortable in her element. He wound through the halls, following half-seen signs that he hoped were pointing him in the right direction. Illusory wing, several research labs, and finally the Acoustic Department. Fancy turned the final corner, but skidded to a halt upon seeing a lone mare standing outside the room.

“Fleur…” he whispered as he slowly approached his half-sister.

Fleur de Lis glared at him with a deep scowl on her face far deeper than Upper Crust could ever hope to muster against him. After all, her anger was both genuine and righteous. Fancy had no words for her, so he settled on the only thing he could think of in the heat of the moment.

“Is Vinyl here?” he asked.

“She is,” she replied sternly.

“May I see her?”

She shot a glance at a nearby clock on the wall. “Five minutes. I thought you’d be here sooner.”

Fancy turned to the clock and then back to Fleur. “Do you want me to make an excuse? An apology?”

“A promise.”

“Anything. Just name it.”

Fleur stepped forward, staring Fancy with unflinching resolution. “No matter what happens, no matter what you want to happen, you tell her the truth. No lies. Whatever it is that you feel, she deserves to know.”

“I had no other intention,” he swore.

“Good,” Fleur’s face crumpled a little as her breath hitched. “And Pantsy? Even if it’s everything she wants to hear, you have a lot of work to do before me and you are anywhere close to okay. Got it?”

“I understand.”

Before he could say anything else, Fleur was already on him with a deep hug, it shook with both fragility and rage. “This was what she wanted, you know. I told her to forget you and dump your lousy flank after what you put her through.”

“Thank you. I love you too, Fleur.”

His reluctant half-sister squeezed tighter one last time before she broke away and walked past him. She refused to show him her face as she trotted down and around the corner. Now, all that was left for him to do was face the music.

Walking in front of the door to the department, it looked a lot better than it did from the photo from a month ago, but it was still largely under renovation. From what he’d read, the explosion caused the most extensive damage the school had suffered in ages. Every defensive ward had been completely obliterated by the sheer amount of dark energy it released. Some of it was so severe that it corrupted any surface it touched, disintegrating tables, equipment, and sections of the walls into nothing. It was a miracle Vinyl survived if she was anywhere near the blast.

As he headed further inside, Fancy could see the walls were still being replaced. Arpeggio’s office was little more than a fold-out table and rolling chair fit with an orthopedic cushion. It didn’t even have a door. The space marked “Control Room” had a twisted pile of ghastly wreckage sitting next to a couple of couches and a coffee machine that seemingly survived the destruction.

Finally, he approached the audio lab itself. Again, there was no door, no floors, not even a chair to sit on. The place had been completely scrubbed clean, leaving little but a white void of sheetrock and cement floors waiting to be filled. The only thing inside was Vinyl, curled up in the corner. Vinyl’s ears perked up at the single clop of his hoof on the floor and she turned towards him.

“Fancy Pants?”

Fancy couldn’t believe his ears. She sounded surprised, as if she hadn’t expected him to actually come. After everything she’d just put herself through. After everything she’d been through because of him, Vinyl was somehow happy to see him.

“Vinyl, I’m…” he tried, but failed to come up with anything. After shining so brilliantly for all to see once again, she’d run off to a corner to hide. “I don’t know what to say. Truly, I don’t. You’re so brilliant and wonderful.” Fancy swallowed his nerves and pressed forward. “A-and beautiful…”

Vinyl rose up from the floor slowly. He didn’t need to see her eyes behind her glasses to know they were wide.

“I told you before that you were making a mistake. Even after you bore your heart out for all to see, I still think it is. You can do so much better. I know you can. When I was your age, I was a failson wasting time chasing after nothing that mattered. You prove time and again how amazing you are, and you will only continue to shine brighter until not even the sun can outshine you.

“So I just don’t understand. All I am, all I can be, is a bland, rich pony who profits off the talents of others. My best years are all behind me. Even if I give you everything that I have, I can’t give you the time I lack. I will die long before you do.” Fancy shook his head, trying to maintain some semblance of control over himself. “I couldn’t bear doing that. Not to you. You deserve somepony who can cherish you every minute of every hour of every day of your life.

“So please, just tell me. Why? Why would you want me at all?”

Vinyl stood to her hooves and slowly approached Fancy Pants. She pulled her glasses up and rested them over her horn, revealing a pair of eyes, brimming with both fear and love.

“Because, you’re worth it too.”

Fancy blinked. He blinked again. And he blinked a third time as he felt a stinging sensation he hadn’t felt in years filling his vision. His throat ached and his breathing became shorter, unable to hold himself back. He reached his forelegs around Vinyl like a life preserver and pulled the little mare close to him. He felt tears moisten his old fur and drip down his muzzle, carrying with them a weight that slipped off his shoulders.

As he held her tight, Vinyl reached out slowly to meet his embrace. She grabbed at his shoulders and pulled as tightly as she could. Her grip trembled as she clung to him, keeping him next to her, refusing to let him slip away. Fancy shifted his stance, pulling her closer still into his chest. He could feel the side of her head as he shifted her ear over his heart. Fancy hoped his steady, pulsing rhythm would be enough for the musician to ease her worries. He wasn’t going anywhere.

Fancy caught his breath and gently pushed Vinyl away so he could meet her eyes. They shined with a gentle warmth as they met his own gaze. As beautiful as they were, they were still tinged with a hint of anxiety. A lingering disbelief that expected failure, that something would go wrong, held her back.

“Vinyl?”

The mare briefly looked away, placing her hoof on his heart before looking back up with a deep desire cowed by apprehension. “Is… is it okay?”

The fragile question stole his breath as it ran him through. He lifted a hoof to the side of her head, gently caressing it, hoping to pierce through that remnant of despair hanging over her.

“It always was. I’ve regretted every single day since I told you that it wasn’t.”

He wrapped his hoof around the back of her head and dipped down to meet her. The two closed the distance, and he tilted his head to meet her lips. As they touched, a thrill of electricity shot through his spine. This time, there were no mistakes. No misunderstandings, only the smell of her sweat and budget shampoo, the crisp taste of bottled water, passion, dedication, and sacrifice. Vinyl poured every ounce of love into him, filling his weary soul with the magic of her heartsong pulsing in her chest. It was a wondrous miracle he could only hope to match.

As they finally ended their first kiss, their first true kiss, Fancy smiled at the mare, who returned with a cheesy giggle of her own. He searched her eyes once more, finding nothing but warmth in them.

“I love you, Vinyl Scratch.”

There it was. That brilliant smile that made the whole world stand still, burning brighter than the sun and glowing softer than the moon. He’d never look away again as he knew it was a smile meant for him.

“I-I love you too, Fancy Pants.”

Vinyl walked with Fancy side-by-side towards the Lecture Theater. She leaned into his shoulder and listened to the steady beat of his heart. As comforting as it was to rest against his side, it still didn’t feel real. Like it was all a dream. Like if she lifted her ear from him, even for a second, the spell would be broken. He’d disappear, leaving her all alone.

But no. Fancy was here. He stayed next to her. Vinyl didn’t know if he’d picked up on her trepidation, but he’d started to hum Amame Mucho. The deep sound reverberated through his body. The notes were a little off-key and he struggled to hit a few notes, but it was perfect all the same. It made her feel safe. It made her feel warm. It made her feel loved. It was all she ever wanted.

The lights grew brighter with every step as the Solarium came into view. Standing right outside waiting for them was Fleur, who grinned ear to ear upon seeing the two together. She quickly trotted towards the two and gave both of them a big hug.

“I’m so happy for you, Vy!” Fleur exclaimed, before turning a flat look to Fancy. “Break her heart again, and I break you.” Then she flipped right back to the joy-filled Fleur as she pulled Vinyl away. “C’mon, sis. They wrapped up the final presentation a bit ago and we’ve been waiting for you. Still got the closing ceremony.”

Vinyl tilted her head in confusion for a moment until she remembered she’d given one of those tonight herself. “What? How long have they been waiting?”

“Doesn’t matter, let’s get in there already!” Fleur whisked Vinyl away and bolted through the doors, barely giving Fancy a chance to start waving goodbye. As they raced down the stairs, she shouted, “Found her!” with a few half-hearted apologies to the ponies they pushed past getting in line with the other students and researchers.

“Thank you for rejoining us, Miss Scratch,” Celestia said with a warm smile that shifted into a sly smirk. “I hope your extracurriculars worked out the way you wanted.”

Vinyl slammed her sunglasses over her eyes and nodded, unable to say a word to the perceptive alicorn.

“I’ll have to ask Fancy about it later then,” she whispered with a wink. “Headmaster Pennywhistle?”

The mare nodded and stepped forward. “On behalf of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, I would like to thank our very gifted students and researchers for presenting their findings, as well as our faculty, fellows, and staff for assessing their progress. We witnessed great works from nearly every field imaginable—” she glanced over towards Vinyl “—and some unimaginable. As for the results of your defenses, Chancellor Celestia and I will be meeting with your panelists and advisors and announce the results next week, with one exception.”

A small murmuring arose from a few of the presenters, but most were rightly focused on the pony who’d had hers cut off early after she broke down in front of everypony. As Vinyl dwelled on it more, her face became redder and redder with embarrassment. Celestia stepped forward towards her, confirming what everypony suspected after such a dramatic interruption.

“Miss Vinyl Scratch,” the alicorn began, “your presentation and defense of your echo focus was both incredible and inspired. However, we were forced to stop your practical defense before you’d properly finished the oral component of your presentation.”

“Oh… right. My bad?” Vinyl said with a shrug.

“While we are all very interested in hearing more about your work, I’m afraid we will have to reassess your presentation in a private forum at a later date when there’s time. Will this be acceptable?”

“Yes ma’am!” Vinyl quickly replied. Anything was better than an automatic failure.

“Good. However, I believe it will be little more than a technicality,” she added confidently, raising her voice so that everypony left in the audience heard her. “Your groundbreaking method of piercing the veil of Cacophony’s most confounding work is nothing short of genius. It could very well be the beginning of a revolution in enchanting.”

Vinyl opened her mouth, but all that left was a creaking gasp. She had no idea what to say to such high praise from the former princess. If Vinyl had managed to impress the most powerful pony on the planet, she must’ve been doing something right.

“So, on behalf of my school, as well as the Equestrian Arcana Compendium, I thank you for presenting us with such an amazing find and adding it to the nation’s public spellbook for all to utilize in our communal march of progress.”

A sharp voice cut through the air like a knife. “Public spellbook?”

Ice shot through Vinyl’s veins. She took a deep breath and readied herself. This time was going to be different.

All eyes turned to the front row and the incredulous mare sitting in it. Upper Crust slowly stood up, staring in disbelief at Vinyl. “Did she just say you submitted all of that work, the one thing of value you’ve ever made, into the public spellbook?”

Celestia’s brow furrowed as she looked down at the little mare. “Yes, Miss Upper Crust. Vinyl holds no outstanding financial obligations to anypony and has decided to file the ‘echo focus’ along with her ingenious setup with the Arcana Compendium, putting it and subsequent magical designs stemming from it into the public domain, freely accessible for anypony to study.”

“That’s right,” Vinyl proclaimed confidently. “From now on, anypony who wants to try and use it is free to do it and build upon it, forever!”

Upper Crust was exactly where Vinyl wanted her. The obligation for her end of their bargain would be turned on its head as Vinyl revealed the result of her studies. It didn’t matter if it was big or small, she wouldn’t let her get a single bit no matter what. It was her life’s thesis: Vinyl didn’t need money to be happy.

“You colossal idiot!” Upper Crust roared as she stormed over to the stage. “Celestia is talking about magical revolutions and cutting-edge storing methods, and you just throw it all away?”

The moment Vinyl had been dreaming of for years quickly descended into a nightmare. Her confidence fell apart as Upper Crust loomed over her with nothing but death in her eyes.

“And for what? Proving some useless point about the nobility of your poverty? You insolent, naïve, worthless failure!”

Vinyl had prepared herself, fantasized about rubbing it all in Upper Crust’s stupid face. There were no hoof-outs, no cries for help. She had played the game like she was supposed to, and now she was going to turn it all around. This was supposed to be Vinyl Scratch’s moment of triumph. She was finally going to give Upper Crust everything she deserved, which was absolutely nothing.

Vinyl Scratch didn't need money to be happy. That was all she needed to say. It was on the tip of her tongue, but her mouth refused to move. Despite knowing she was right, Vinyl couldn’t utter a single syllable under her mother’s oppressive glare. The DJ sputtered uselessly as she tried to scrounge the remnants of her comebacks. Vinyl’s vision went black, but only because of the one who’d jumped in front of her.

“That’s more than enough, Upper Crust!” Fancy shouted. “It was her work that created it. She is allowed to do whatever she wants with it!”

“Here to protect your pet DJ now that she’s your precious scratch off again, are we?” Upper Crust spat, her voice dripping with disdain for the both of them. “I suppose she wouldn’t need world-changing success with a sugar daddy like you filling her feedbag.”

“No!” Vinyl screamed as she ran to Fancy’s side. “He had nothing to do with this!”

“Nothing to do with…” Upper Crust’s eye twitched furiously and she began to shake. “Oh, I see. I was wondering why the invitation came from you instead of my Glitterati. This whole thing of yours was meant to upset me, wasn’t it?” The mare cackled as her eyes rumbled with rage. “Well, congratulations! It worked like a charm! I can’t believe that I thought for even one second you could do anything by yourself! You will always ruin everything that could possibly be good for you! You threw whatever future you possibly had in the garbage!”

Vinyl wanted to shout her down. To scream that Upper Crust wasn’t right. She had so many curses, so many plans to belittle the petty mare. If only for a moment, if Vinyl could just make her feel a fraction of the despair she felt every time she thought of her. Vinyl wanted Upper Crust to cry, to grovel, to bleed, but she couldn’t follow through. The revenge she’d dreamed of fell apart in the face of Upper Crust’s rage.

“You’ve made your point loud and clear. I suggest you return to your seat,” Fancy warned, pushing Vinyl further behind him away from the fuming mare.

“Or you’ll what? And here I thought you were trying to stay out of the news.”

Out of the corner of Vinyl’s eyes, a pair of white hooves shot out like cannons towards Upper Crust’s face, but bounced off a golden light before they could make contact. Fleur yelped in surprise as the repelling force launched her away, as she tumbled forward from the force of her buck.

Upper Crust whipped around to see Fleur flop on her back and smirked from the failed assault. “Thank you for keeping the riff-raff away, Celestia.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t want Miss de Lis to give you a method of playing the victim tonight,” Celestia clarified as she smiled with the serenity of Elysium. “I believe that I’ve heard more than enough from you. I will be sending you to my school’s front gates now. Make no attempts to reenter the campus or I will be forced to call the guards.”

Before Upper Crust could raise an objection, she disappeared in a flash of golden light. Vinyl watched helplessly as the last sparkle flickered away. With the mare gone, Vinyl’s legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees. The one chance at payback that she’d wanted and waited years for, and she’d messed it up. Vinyl was just too scared.

“It’s going to be okay,” Fancy assured softly. “She’s gone. I’m right here, Vinyl.”

Vinyl shook her head, trying to string some semblance of a sentence together, but nothing was working. Nothing was how she wanted it to happen.

A nudge to her shoulder brought the rest of the world back into focus as Fleur shook her by the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Vy. You beat her. You won.”

“I did,” Vinyl finally muttered to herself. Fleur was right. Vinyl knew she was. Still, the fallen mare could only stare at her hooves, shaking with anger, disappointment, and fear that she didn’t understand. “So, why does it feel like I still failed?”

Fleur shook her head and wrapped her hooves around her sister. She said nothing and just held Vinyl together in her moment of triumph.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 60: One Last Encore

The minutes ticked by as Vinyl Scratch waited in the most luxurious tea room she’d ever seen. An enormous wall of windows faced the dip between the majestic mountains, between where the sun and moon set every day. Spread just outside was the familiar Canterlot Royal Gardens, blooming with exotic plants and filled with wildlife from across Equestria. In the distance, the cascading rainbows of Cloudsdale burned warmly in the waning light of dusk.

The view she could see from her seat was almost transcendental. It was a carefully crafted artistic expression, cultivated over centuries with the sheer beauty of Equestria by the one who built the place. So perfect was its design, Vinyl couldn’t help but wonder what came first, the garden or the castle.

The jostle of the door turned her attention away from the setting sun. A golden aura of magic gently opened it, revealing the former princess herself, Celestia, trudging through while her guards positioned themselves on either side of the door. Her eyes were closed, weighed down with a crippling exhaustion after yet another day of questioning from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Without opening her eyes, the princess whisked a cushion and collapsed into it across the table from Vinyl. Her magic immediately set to the task of preparing her tea, her cup, teapot, sugar bowl, and spoons all working in perfect harmony. Only after taking her first sip and sighing did she bother to open her eyes, her gaze already focusing on her guest. Celestia drew a breath to speak, but it hitched as her eyes fluttered widely on seeing her.

“Adept Scratch?” she finally said as she quickly applied a mask. “How unexpected.” The alicorn looked around the table and saw only two teacups. “You are here alone.”

“Yes, I am. Good evening, madam chancellor,” Vinyl said with a bow.

“There is no need for that, Adept. My chancellorship exists solely so those that are uncomfortable calling me Celestia may have a title to include.” Celestia laughed to herself. “And even that is becoming tenuous with each and every day. I suppose you were not in attendance at today’s hearing?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Then that explains why you’re still here. After what I admitted to today, nopony will likely want to be anywhere near me again.” Celestia took a sip of tea before returning with a pacifying smile that rang with forced tranquility. “I will spare you the grim details of that day four hundred years ago. It goes against my rule of bringing problems within this space.”

The alicorn’s admission to such a thing while wearing her placid smile unsettled Vinyl to her core. She had no clue what to say. “I’m sorry.”

Celestia shook her head. “Do not apologize on my behalf. It was a heinous act I perpetrated out of fear and hatred. I believe the name they will likely settle on is the ‘Tartaran Massacre.’ Just another on the list of confessions for the record.” She stirred her tea as reflected on the days, weeks, and months she’d been telling her secrets under oath. “It’s an infinitesimal punishment for my wrongdoings, wholly inadequate to serve any sense of justice. I wonder, can it even be considered a punishment if it requires my consent? The forces in this world that could deliver the judgment I truly deserve only exist with my permission.”

For not allowing problems in the tea room, Celestia sure was unloading them by the barrel. After hearing what she’d done to Chrysalis, Vinyl could only imagine what the alicorn could’ve done back then. It was almost worse not knowing, but she guessed that was part of the point. Vinyl knew that she didn’t want to talk about any massacres, and likewise Celestia likely didn’t want to talk about anything at all.

The former princess waited for another moment before pouring a second cup of tea and setting it in front of her guest. “So, what brings you to my sunroom at high tea, Adept? I don’t mind Luna and Fancy inviting a guest, given your relationship, but seeing as neither of them are here, I am frankly puzzled.” The alicorn’s passive gaze sharpened to a bladed edge. “I most certainly didn’t invite you.”

Every bone in Vinyl’s body was screaming for her to run out the door. She almost apologized again on instinct, but she swallowed her words as she reached for her saddle bag. “I was hoping I could talk to you.”

“The commission hearings are public events that are open to questions and comments within a week’s notice,” Celestia rattled off before retreating to her cup.

“N-no! it’s not about that stuff, I swear!” Vinyl assured while trying to calm the self-proclaimed demi-goddess down.

“Then I humbly request you state your business and leave me to my tea in peace, Adept.”

“I-I could come back another day.”

Celestia drew a sharp breath and closed her eyes. “I am sorry. You deserve more respect than what I am capable of offering. Today was very trying. Please, just tell me what you want and I will consider it. I promise to at least write to you if not.”

“Okay.” Shuffling through her bag, Vinyl finally found her notebook and the book she’d brought with her.

Her curiosity piqued, Celestia begrudgingly glanced over at what the young mare was preparing. Before Vinyl even opened her mouth, Celestia teleported the book over to her, her eyes flashing at the mare on its cover. “Long Live the Queen of Disco: The Definitive Guide to Sauna Summers?”

“Yeah. That awful waste of ink is the only thing I have to work from. Everything else is back at the mansion.”

“Fancy told me you were archiving the collection,” the alicorn recalled as she turned her attention back to Vinyl.

“Yeah. I was doing that, but after listening to the rest of it, I sent most of it to the ESPA for them to deal with. I kept the ones that were more… personal.”

Celestia’s mask fell from her face and she bowed her head in relief. “Thank you.” She recollected herself and straightened back up with a small smile. “So, what is it that you need from me?”

“Well, if you don’t mind, I was hoping I could get your help for a book I’m writing.”

Celestia tilted her head. “A book?”

“Yeah. That so-called definitive guide doesn’t tell anypony anything about who Summers was, so I want to correct the record and write my own biography of her, with a little help from Steeplechase. I know you were her best friend, so I was hoping you could tell me about your time together.”

“I…” For once, the alicorn was tongue-tied, wrestling with what she wanted to say. Finally, she shook her head. “It was fake, Vinyl. If you truly listened to the entire collection, then you’re one of the very few who knows that for a fact. I will agree to answer any questions you may have, but you’re better off leaving my part of the story out of it.”

“I don’t think I can. I’m still going through her memory diaries, but Sunny Skies was one of the most important ponies in her life. She loved you so much, and I know you loved her back.”

“But it was built on a lie!” the shattered sun cried. “I manipulated the world around her for my own gain, set her up with her husband, and when her part was finally over, I ran away!” The day’s exhaustion caught up with her as the invincible alicorn struggled to lift her cup to her thirsty mouth for a reprieve, only to find it dry. The hollowed mare set it down on her saucer as she stared at the empty vessel. “I am a monster with an unpayable debt. Those who I’ve wronged the most are long dead and forgotten. Please. I beg of you, do not let my presence taint what little good is left.”

The former princess didn’t bother refilling her cup. She stood up from her sanctuary and headed for the door. Instead of asking Vinyl to leave, she stepped out to leave herself, to the surprise of the guards standing outside. They were about to fall in behind her until Vinyl rose out of her seat.

“I don’t think you’re a monster, Celestia.”

The mare stopped in her tracks. “Then you do not know enough about me.”

“No, but I do know a real monster. She’s done terrible things like you—”

“You speak from utter ignorance!” The dethroned princess did an about-face in the doorway and stood tall, regal, and indomitable above the little mortal beneath her. “Upper Crust has done nothing close to the atrocities I’ve committed! Tartarus lies in ruins because of me! It is nothing but a gravel pit, a quarry of broken marble. The very air snows with dust eroded from the petrified remains of prisoners crushed by my hooves!”

Despite the rage spilling out the alicorn’s mouth, Vinyl wasn’t scared. She didn’t even flinch. “But you regret what you did, right?”

The alicorn took a step back. “What?”

“Upper Crust never would. She’s never regretted anything she’s done to anypony. What she did to me.” Vinyl sucked in her lips as she pushed through the memories. “She never admits when she’s wrong or that she ever hurt me. She will never say she was sorry because she believes she has nothing to apologize for. That’s a real monster.”

“I was like that until I was caught.” Celestia’s face fell under the weight of her shame until she could no longer bear it and looked away. “I would still be doing so for my sister’s sake if I wasn’t.”

“Yeah. But at least you’re trying to make up for it now. I’ll…” She fiddled with her hooves as her mind went back to her session. “I’ll never get anything like that from Upper Crust or Jet Set for as long as I live. That makes you better than them, at least to me. I think that’s worth something.

“Please, Celestia. Even after everything you’ve done, I don’t think Summers would want you to be miserable.”

After a moment, Celestia walked back into the room, quietly closing the door behind her. She gently sat back down on her cushion as tears filled her eyes. She looked up and took a deep breath through her nose, trying to rein it all back in, but it was too much for her to bear as they rolled down the side of her face and down her neck.

“You’re right.” She choked back a sob as she laughed. “You’re absolutely right. She never wanted anypony to be sad if she could help it. Even in the dead of winter, she’d fill any room she walked into with her summery warmth. It was one of the things I loved most about her.”

“I think so too. Even in the recordings, she always tried to make as many ponies as possible happy. I wish I could’ve met her.”

Celestia nodded. “The world is a much dimmer place without her.”

“And that’s why I want to share her story. She inspired me to be a better pony just from what she wrote down and recorded. Everypony deserves to know who she was. Not this ‘Queen of Disco’ stuff, but the real Sauna Summers.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea, Vinyl Scratch.”

For the first time in Vinyl’s life, despite the former princess’ diminished state—her broken wing resting within its dirty sling, her short, pink mane a mere shell of its former aetherial glory, and her creamy white fur matted with fresh tears—Celestia’s smile shined brighter and more brilliantly than the sun setting over her shoulder. The sunny mare’s eyes shimmered with a long, forgotten hope as she opened her mouth to speak.

“So, what would you like to know?”

Author's Note

This story is dedicated to the ever important "Audience of One". The one whose life may be made better with a momentary escape from reality. Whoever that one happens to be, I hope you enjoyed this story. I did my best to tell it. - Lord Regulus

P.S. Thank you for reading my crackship. :heart:
P.S.S. Wants some more fun? Here's the Wrap-up Blog for this story!

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section.

Chapter 23: Back Here for Trouble Again

It’d been a while since Fancy had walked this far down the bedroom hallway. Usually, there was no reason to continue past the master he slept in, as the only things further down were a few spare bedrooms. However, the morning’s unexpected events necessitated leading an entourage of ponies down the unused halls.

“And here we are.” he announced as he opened the door for everypony to take a peek inside. “Fleur’s room.”

“It’s… really pink.” Vinyl entered with Fancy following closely behind.

The stallion sighed as he took in the old room, regretting having left it alone for so long. The cleaning crew had done a bang-up job as expected, keeping the overtly girly room clean as a whistle, but it certainly didn’t reflect the owner.

“Seriously, Pantsy?” Fleur complained as she stepped inside to look around her old home away from home.

The stallion cursed his lack of preparation. Still, the last thing he ever expected during his morning coffee was Fleur showing up out of the blue, luggage in tow, to announce that she was staying over and there was nothing he could do about it; not that he would’ve stopped her. She and Éclair both had keys and could come and go as they pleased. They simply never took advantage of his hospitality.

“This is absolutely adorable!” Fluffer Duster squealed as she stepped past Fancy. She quickly set the suitcase she was carrying down and fluttered around to admire the childish decor. It was a perfectly workshopped room, right down to the pink and purple toy box resting at the foot of the bed. Said bed bore a flowery comforter covered with shooting stars that would fill most any five-year-old filly with delight. “I’ve never cleaned in here before. It’s all so precious!”

Fleur’s glowering bemusement failed to agree with the maid’s assessment.

“To be fair, your parents stopped asking me to watch you during the day, so keeping your room up to date slipped my mind,” Fancy remarked as he took in the woefully out of touch decor.

“When you can forget you even have a room in your house, you know your place is too big. I didn’t even like any of this stuff to begin with.” Fleur huffed as she tossed her tote bag on the tiny bed. Lowering her head to take a look at herself in her little vanity mirror for old time’s sake, she brightened at the sight of an old friend.

“Well, except you, Moldred Fireclaw,” she amended with an apology. She wrapped the faithfully evil black dragon in her magic and hovered it over for a hug.

Seeing Fleur cuddle the dragon that used to match her height washed a wave of nostalgia over Fancy’s eyes. His thoughts drifted along with them, past the stereotypical girly decor and furniture, settling on one particular toy. An ornate dollhouse Fancy commissioned for Fleur before he had gotten to know her sat in the corner of the room, though it had never been used to play house. In her own Fleur-y reasoning, it wound up serving as a makeshift dragon’s lair for many valiant adventurers to challenge back in the day. It just lacked a few additional papier-mâché defense towers and a pillow cave surrounding it to complete the look. Many a playdate was spent storming the Totally-Not-a-Cottage Castle of Dreaded Despair to save a royal or two. Suede really should’ve been clearer about what playing with dolls actually meant.

“He’s a little on the darker side,” the maid noted as she compared the mean-looking dragon with the rest of the painfully pink room.

“Well no duh he is. Dastardly villains help our plucky heroes shine all the brighter! Dunno if this is genuine love or the captive’s syndrome talking, but you were always the best imaginary enemy one could hope for.” Fleur gave the evil creature a loving nuzzle before turning it on Fluffer Duster. She made it scratch its felt claws at the unsuspecting mare, who laughed at the tickling touch. “He was always imprisoning Lady Faire, at least until she learned proper fencing, and Pantsy was even good for a passable evil voice. Dark posh can be very properly menacing.”

“I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not,” Fancy considered aloud, only getting a wry smile from Fleur in response.

“I thought his name was Blackwing the Ravenous?” Vinyl asked while dodging some swipes from her sudden foe. Looking over it, she noticed a poor, patchwork sewing job marring the malicious, obsidian creature. “And what’s wrong with the tail?”

“Just a little battle damage. And no, Blackwing is this one,” Fleur corrected as she reached into a tote bag with her mouth and pulled out another black dragon plushie, but with crimson eyes instead of Moldred’s yellow ones. “I didn’t come over here a lot, so he’s one of the rarer encounters in my O&O stories. Blackwing is trouble for sure, but if you find yourself going up against Moldred, you’re really in for it. He serves up dragonfire death—” Fleur reached over to the dollhouse, cracked it open with her magic, and removed a small tray with round stickers out of the miniature oven, “—and cookies! Evil cookies!”

Fluffer Duster giggled as the little plushie waved his felt claws menacingly at his victims. “I know I’m the smallest one here, and I know I can’t squeeze into that adorable bed. Should I go find a more suitable room for Fleur to stay in, Sir Fancy Pants?”

“What? No! This is my room and I intend to keep it that way!” Fleur announced as she boldly leapt onto the bed, only for whatever she was going to say next to be interrupted by the frame collapsing under the sudden force of a full-grown mare. Fancy’s heart skipped a beat from the crash, but from Fleur’s flush face and grumbling, the only thing that splintered along with the wooden frame was her pride.

“Might wanna lay off the gelato there, Schlurr,” Vinyl snickered as the grumpy actress extracted herself from the mess of bedding.

“Taller mares just weigh more, Vy.” Fleur coughed, trying to swallow her embarrassment as she shook away the bed skirt like a loose piece of toilet paper. “I might have to move a mattress in here…”

“Then I will seek out a good bed from one of the unused guest rooms,” Dapper Dandy announced from the hallway. He levitated the final suitcase and stacked it in the corner with the others without stepping inside. “Would you lend me a hoof, Miss Fluffer Duster?”

“Right away, sir! I’ll just wash these and store them for you.” Fluffer Duster said as she gathered up the sheets and blankets from the remains of the bed. Fancy thanked her as the maid expertly folded the bedding into squares in mere seconds and rested them on her back and wings. She offered a polite curtsy and followed after the older butler.

After a few moments, Fancy turned to his sudden house guest with a small frown. “It would be easier if you simply slept in one of the guest rooms. I don’t mind it at all, but just how long were you intending to stay if it warrants pilfering a bed?”

“I dunno. As long as it takes, right Vy?” Fleur threw a foreleg around her friend, giving Vinyl a knowing look. When met with silence, Fleur lightly shook the mare, forcing a sigh out of her.

“Right. Operation Friend Ship is a-go and everything,” the DJ cheered halfheartedly.

Fancy blinked. “Operation Friendship?” Fancy puzzled at the name.

“No-no. Three words: Operation, friend, and ship!” Fleur shouted with enough enthusiasm to cover the missing half. Fleur brushed a hoof over an unseen canvas before her with the large sway tossing some of her mane onto Vinyl’s face. “Setting sails on the winds of camaraderie! Boldly going where lots of ponies with more friends than Vy have already gone before!”

Fancy looked between the two mares showing very different levels of enthusiasm towards the idea. “If you don’t mind my saying, your shipmate seems a little hesitant to embark,” he remarked as Vinyl blew some of Fleur’s errant mane out of her face.

“I didn’t say it was necessarily a very large vessel. It just needs to be seaworthy, and not solely crewed by yours truly.” Fleur flashed a model smile and flourished her mane, allowing even more to fall on her shorter friend’s face. “And I am here to make sure this little sea turtle comes out of her shell just enough to make a few friends other than me.”

“I thought you were going for navy puns. Since when did I get switched to a turtle?” Vinyl asked from behind Fleur’s muffling mane of hair.

“Because a ‘salty sea dog’ would be way more excited,” she stated matter-of-factly, earning a suffering groan of regret at asking in the first place. At the rate Vinyl’s mood was sinking, they’d have to bring a submarine to drudge her back up to the surface.

While it was all out of left field, Fancy certainly wasn’t against Fleur’s presence in the mansion. Anypony else that could help Vinyl feel more at home was a welcome addition in his eyes.

“Well, I better get settled in. You two mind lending me a hoof?” Fleur asked, looking down to her follicle-covered friend.

“Not at all,” Fancy responded with a quick salute. “Just point me in the direction you want, captain.”

“Get your mane out of my face, and I’ll consider it.”

“Done!” Fleur released her friend from her grip and began digging through her tote bag. After a moment, a scowl crossed her face as she rattled around it, looking for something. “Oh great. I thought I triple-checked that before I left…”

“What?” Vinyl asked as she popped open a suitcase herself.

“There aren’t any blank storage crystals in that suitcase, are there Vy?”

“Nope. Fancy?”

Fancy eyed the edges of the suitcase trying to find evidence of anything besides clothes. “What do storage crystals look like?”

“Just, you know... Crystals? Gems? Shiny rocks?”

“Hmm. Rather obvious when you say it like that,” Fancy thought aloud as he poked around the pockets for anything solid or sharp. “Unless they are parka-shaped, all I see in this one is winter wear.”

“Well, there aren’t any here either.” Fleur sighed as she closed the tote on the remains of the bed. “Vy, could you please check to see if you have any small ones I could have? I know you probably have plenty from the ESPA, but I won’t need your chunky archiving ones.”

“I might, or at least have a few candidates I can cut. What type are you looking for?”

“Emeralds would be good enough, but I don’t think you’ll have those lying around.” Fleur tapped her chin until a thought occurred to her. “I usually use citrines at home.”

“Citrines? You know the ESPA uses orange garnets for storage, right? Why would I have citrines?”

“Again, garnets are overkill. I need swift and elegant for the Showcases, not storage out the flank. I remember you had a few of those at your apartment before, right? Could you go check?”

“Like, right now?”

“If I need to go home, I’d rather do it while it’s still light outside.” Fleur turned to her friend, fluttering her eyelashes and plastering on an aggravating pout. “Pweety pweese? I’ll pway you bwack.”

Vinyl hissed through gritted teeth in disgust, cringing from the cutesy talk. “Fine. Just stop doing whatever that is. It’s somehow worse than your puns.”

“Thank you so much, Vinyle!” Fleur, as Lady Faire, thanked her friend with cheek kisses. “Take all the time you need, as long as it is not, how you say, overly excess?”

“Right away, m’lady.” Vinyl trotted out, Fleur waving goodbye as if Vinyl was leaving on an airship. After a parting air kiss and another audible groan from Vinyl, Fleur shut the door, satisfied with her performance.

“If it’s that important, Fleur, I can start unpacking while you look for the gemstones,” Fancy offered as he began unfurling Fleur’s carefully stowed cold weather clothes.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I actually have plenty of them right in here.” Fleur moved a black sheet in her tote bag, revealing a small dragon’s hoard of orange gemstones nestled underneath. Opening a side pocket, she produced another citrine with a glyph inscribed in it. “Including this one. It has a sound dampening ward on it. Pretty neat, huh?”

Fancy’s brow furrowed at the puzzling sight. “I suppose? But why would you—” Fancy began to ask, but stopped when Fleur placed the ward on the door. It activated, covering it from top to bottom in a yellow flash before becoming translucent. The only sign that there was anything magical was a slight warbling blanket of distorted pulses in the surrounding air.

“For a little privacy, Fancy Pants.” Fleur quickly rapped on the door, hearing no audible knocks sound from the wood. “There, perfect!”

At once, Fleur wheeled around, her face crumpling in rage as she grabbed a pillow from the bed remains next to her and smacked him across the face. The force of the blow knocked Fancy off of his hooves and sent his monocle sailing across the room. Before he could shake the stars from his vision, a barrage of pillowy blows came, showering the room in feathers.

“Why. Didn’t. You. Tell. Me?” Fleur screamed as she furiously pelted him over and over again.

“Fleur de Lis! What in blazes is—” Fleur cut him off by swiftly shoving a pillow into his mouth.

“Don’t you ‘Fleur de Lis’ me! You’re lucky we’re related or I’d be beating you with that bag filled with a hundred citrines right now!” Fleur cried as her nose flared from her heavy breathing. “I’m so mad at you, but then you realized what was wrong and saved her from being on the streets when I was too scared to ask her about it and… I’m so sick of this!”

Dislodging the pillow from his mouth, Fancy quickly deduced that Vinyl had revealed her situation to Fleur. “How much did she tell you?”

“Everything. Ev-er-y-thing! And you know what? She blames herself for it all! She wasn’t careful enough or she shouldn’t have opened up about her problems. Why didn’t I know? I’m her best friend! She’s the sister I never had! I just… I-I just—” Fleur’s anger gave way to sorrow as she collapsed under the weight of her tangled emotions.

Fancy tapped his nose, ensuring that the pain wasn’t from a nosebleed and turned over to attempt comforting the distraught mare sobbing at his side. “I’m sorry, Fleur. I’m so sorry. It wasn’t my place to say.”

“No! You should’ve told me!” the mare wailed and slammed her leg on the floor in frustration. “I know you hate it, but you’re supposed to be my brother! I thought you were better than this!”

“Fleur, that’s—”

“Don’t lie to me!” Fleur roared with fire in her eyes. She flinched from her own words momentarily before doubling down on her anger. “And don’t give me that ‘it’s complicated’ horseapples either! It doesn’t matter! You don’t keep things like this from me!”

“Yes I do, Fleur! I had to!” Fancy gritted his teeth at the memory of all the ponies he talked to over the weeks after the Festival of Flakes. He felt the oppressive vice of responsibility fall around him, or fate weaving as Luna called it, as it yoked him to the poor mare. “I tried, Fleur. I tried. I tried and tried and I tried so bloody hard to help her! To get them off her back. For heaven’s sake, I was trying to get them to shift the blame to you by the end of it!

“But those jackals wouldn’t hear any of it! It was so easy to pass the blame onto a ‘miscreant’ like DJ Pon-3 than to blame the Kingmaker of Canterlot or the up-and-coming Fleur de Lis. Then, after I found out just how dire the situation was, I realized the last thing she wanted to do was get anypony involved. When I ran out of options, I did the only thing I could think of and confronted her. She didn’t confide in me willingly, so I chose to respect her desire for secrecy, even if I thought it was a grave mistake.”

“So you knew it was a bad call and you still let it happen?” Fleur seethed as she slammed a hoof down on the floor.

“Yes. Yes I did.”

“You told me you always make the best calls, Fancy! What are those cheap crowns on your flank for anyway? How could you let this—”

“The best call was to let her make the mistake, Fleur!” Fancy shouted over her, silencing the mare with kingly authority. “Do you think I wanted this? If she told you everything, then you know that she feels as if she has no agency around me! That I stripped her of her rights like some indentured servant after making an offer she couldn’t refuse…” Fancy nearly choked on the words as they left his mouth. “If I told anypony, I’d be playing right into her expectations. I couldn’t breach her confidence, so what was I supposed to do? She wouldn’t accept any help otherwise. If you know her so well, then tell me, what would she have said if I tried to give her anything?”

Fleur opened her mouth to roar back only to bite down on her tongue and snort derisively. “No hoof-outs…” she finally mumbled in defeat.

“Precisely!” Fancy spat, mentally rebuking himself for losing his temper.

After catching his breath with a cough, Fancy scanned the floor for his trusty monocle. Spotting it against the wall, he shakily reached out with his magic, struggling to get a firm grip on the cord. Cursing his feeble horn under his breath, he shambled to his hooves and swiped it from the floor. He pulled his polishing cloth from his coat jacket after sitting back down, but dropped the lens. A pink aura caught it before it could hit the floor again. Looking back to Fleur, she offered a troubled smile as she held out the monocle.

“This is really getting to you, isn’t it, clumsicorn?” Fleur ruefully joked as she levitated the lens in front of Fancy.

Fancy took a deep breath to calm his nerves and took his faithful monocle in his hooves to begin polishing it. “Despite what you may think otherwise, yes I am. I haven’t felt this out of my element since your aunt died.”

“She was your mom, Fancy.”

“Yes, but around you, the word ‘mother’ can be… confused. I love her deeply, just like how I love you, Fleur.”

The mare forced a laugh and sighed. “You have a strange way of showing it for somepony so against being called brother,” Fleur complained as she dragged a hoof along the carpet.

After another pause, Fancy sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.”

Another awkward pause sat in the room, the only sound was the quiet pulse of the noise suppression field and Fancy’s frustrated breathing as he worked on his monocle.

“Fine. Come here you big lug.” Fleur jerked Fancy closer with her magic and leaned against his back. For a moment, he stopped and craned his neck to get a better look at his half-sister before returning to his work. The stallion hunched over his monocle, cleaning every speck of dirt and minute streak from the lens, as the lonely mare savored any wisps of familial closeness she could glean.

“You know that she’s scared, right?” Fleur whispered.

Fancy paused his work. “And I suppose you’re here to protect her from me?”

Fleur shifted her weight, trying to find a more comfortable position to rest her head on. “Do I need to?”

“Don’t even joke about such things, Fleur. I promised your mother I would help her in any way I could.”

“Why?”

Fancy took a shuddering breath and looked up from his monocle at nothing in particular. His thoughts drifted to Luna and the path she asked him to walk. “Frankly, I don’t know why anymore. I thought it was because it was the right thing to do, but maybe it’s ultimately just my self-serving guilty conscience. What I know for absolute certain is that Vinyl doesn’t deserve any of this. She’s a wonderful and talented mare who I am thankful is your friend.”

“I know. She’s like a sister to me, Fancy. She’s been a better sibling to me than you ever have.”

Fancy closed his eyes as the old knife twisted inside. There was no room for an apology, only bitter acceptance of reality. Fleur pressed harder against his back, only for Fancy to keep looking away as he placed his monocle back on his face.

“You want to know one of the reasons she didn’t want to say anything? She was worried that if she told me what was going on, it’d drive a wedge between us.” Fleur chuckled as she nuzzled Fancy’s back. “So stupid.”

Fancy licked his drying lips before asking the obvious. “Was she right?”

Fleur sighed as she drew herself from the floor. “I’m gonna figure that out. Even if it did, you’re always so distant anyway, it’ll have just fallen right through the rift,” she answered with a sad smile. She extended Fancy a hoof and helped him from the floor. “I meant what I said. I’m going to help her make all the friends she needs. Whether you end up being one of them or not doesn’t matter to me.”

“That’s wonderful to hear, Fleur.” Fancy grinned softly with genuine relief at the news. “She deserves all the friends she wants.”

The young mare grimaced and shook her head as new tears began to form. “Why are you like this? You can be one too, just like anypony else!” she pleaded as she gripped his hoof tighter. “I want you to have friends! Real ones! Not that noble trash you put up with, but ponies that care about you instead of what they can take from you. I want us to be family! I want my brother!”

“I know you do.”

Fleur clenched her teeth and threw Fancy’s hoof out of hers in disgust, and used it to wipe away the tears she bothered shedding on his account. She stomped over to the door and began dispelling the ward with her magic. “If it comes down to it, Fancy, I will choose her. I won’t give it a second thought.”

“I understand, Fleur. That’s probably a wise decision.”

Clopping the sides of her face with her forehooves, the voice actress wiped the anguish from her face and bubbled back with a smile. “Great! Now that we’ve got that out of the way, why don’t you start hanging up those clothes in here?” She pulled open the closet’s folding door, only to see several filly dresses and a vest hanging. “Oh! Maman was wondering where my junior Season Scout vest got to. Could’ve sworn I’d gotten more badges than this.”

Taking the opportunity, Fancy followed suit with diplomatic decorum. “If memory serves right, I believe you fashioned some fake ones out of the cushions of the dollhouse’s couch.”

“Oh yeah. Moldred was too big for that thing anyway.”

“Fleur, he was too big for the entire living room you shoved him into,” Fancy noted with a chuckle. “I had to stitch his tail back together after it tore on the doorframe to the dining room when you were pulling him out of his lair before bed.”

“Dapper would’ve done a better job at fixing it,” Fleur complained as she rolled her eyes.

“Agreed, but he was already asleep, so you were stuck with my woefully inadequate magical needlework.”

Fancy looked at the dragon plushie and the patchy scar ran down the side of his tail. He was surprised he’d managed to maintain a magical grasp on the needle at all at the time. Though it was only a little stuffing, the filly was crying harder than she had when she’d sprained her leg. Even when she had gotten older and good enough to mend it properly, she never fixed it.

“Speaking of dragons,” Fancy remarked as he turned to Fleur. “You might want to let Vinyl know you found Blackwing’s citrine trove there before she wastes too much time digging around for unnecessary gemstones.”

“Oh, ponyfeathers, you’re right! I need to wash up!” Fleur grabbed a few citrines out of the bag and quickly searched the room for a good spot as she stammered to herself for a good excuse. “Here! Just start putting the rest into that little desk’s drawers. I’ll figure out what to do with them once we get a workspace I can actually use in here.”

“A new bed and a desk? My my, how demanding of you, your ladyship. Anything else I should procure for you while you're away?”

“Qu’est-ce que c’est, Sir Pantsy?” Fleur gasped as Lady Faire at the incredible insult. “I trouble myself, gracing you with my presence in your humble little mansion, and this is how you thank me? Non non! This is tribute owed to saving your sorry flank with Vinyle, yes?”

Fancy laughed as he levitated the tote over to the desk and began putting them away. “Of course. I apologize for speaking out of turn and will ensure it is done, posthaste.”

“That is what I was in the thinking you should be saying!” Fleur stomped and harrumphed before striding out of the room. With her nose held high, the noblemare daintily slammed the door behind her for dramatic effect.

Fancy chuckled at her antics as he busied himself with stashing the lady’s contraband into the desk before they returned. “Love you too.”

At some point, Vinyl was going to have to stop living out of boxes. After opening several, still unpacked cardboard eyesores, she had finally stumbled across her enchanting collection. She had tossed all of her crystals and gemstones inside a single box while scrambling to meet her move-out date to nowhere. Not that they had been sorted much before the move, usually scattered about the floor with the unfolded laundry for her to trip over. Regardless, it was irritating going through all of them. Part of her was tempted to let Fluffer Duster sort them for her, but that wouldn’t be right.

“Huh. I actually do have some emeralds in here,” she said as she extracted three small gemstones. Two of them were uncut, but that could easily be sorted if Fleur needed a specific design to maximize the manaflow. There were no citrines to be found. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she could swear she gave Fleur anything citrine that she had lying around the apartment to get rid of them.

“Hey Vy!” Fleur interrupted, popping her head around the doorframe to Vinyl’s room. “Guess who found a couple of citrines lying around her bag?”

“You did?” the DJ guessed flatly.

“I did!” Fleur trilled as she held a selection of small, cut, and vaguely familiar orange gemstones in front of her.

“Are these the ones I gave you a few months ago?”

“These are the ones you gave me a few months ago!”

“So, what you’re saying is,” Vinyl slowly turned to meet her friend’s stupid grinning face. “I wasted the past thirty minutes searching through boxes and trying to find gemstones I already gave you?”

“It was more like forty-five,” Fleur corrected without missing a beat. “Oh, hey! Are those emeralds?”

Vinyl smacked her face with her hoof in exasperation while she stepped back to let Fleur get a better look at the gems. Borrowing Vinyl’s jeweler’s loupe, she began inspecting the emeralds more deeply, giving the DJ a better look at the back of her friend’s head. “Have a run-in with Fluffs?”

“On my way here? No.”

“Then what’s with the feathers?”

Fleur blinked as Vinyl plucked and presented one of the feathers to her friend. “Oh that? Just a little pillow fight with Pantsy. No big deal.”

“What the—You were supposed to be unpacking!”

“We unpacked a lot of stuff, actually. More than you have at least,” the larger mare bragged as she noted the stacks of boxes. “But I also wasn’t going to let a couple of old, perfectly good filly pillows go to waste. Broke the bed, so might as well finish the job, right?”

Vinyl gave up and chuckled while shaking her head. “Never change, Fleur.”

“I wouldn’t dare!” the actress countered with palpable indignation. “Why change perfection?”

“Let’s not get carried away,” Vinyl said as she twirled the loose feather in her magic. “Did you win at least?”

“Good question.” Fleur hummed for a second as she pondered it for a few moments, bobbing her head back and forth in what must’ve been a raging, internal debate. “I think we both lost.”

“Really? How’d you swing that?”

“With copious amounts of violence, as you can see,” Fleur answered as she tussled her mane to shake loose any feathers still caught in it. “Made a mess of things that we’ll have to pick up later.”

“You could always have Fluffs clean it up.”

“Nah. I think this is one I’ll need to do myself if I can. But now that you mention it, we should totally hang out with her!”

“It’s the middle of the day. She’s working…” Vinyl trailed as her eyes slowly drifted towards her friend with an iron glare, “… kinda like we should be doing?”

“But it’s the middle of Saturday! I don’t wanna do anything now.”

Vinyl took a sharp breath while staring at the crystals she had been digging through. “The whole point of me finding these stupid crystals for you in the first place was so you could work on your ESPA thing before it gets too late!”

“But the pillow fight was so exhausting! I wanna relax and start Operation Friend Ship,” Fleur whined while clopping her hooves together like a filly begging for just one more cookie.

“You know what? Fine,” the DJ surrendered, closing the box and hovering it back against the wall. “I haven’t had lunch yet anyway. Let’s go see if she’s up for grabbing a pizza or something.”

“Yay, pizza! The perfect siege weapon for busting down the first gates to friendship!”

“I think you’re mixing metaphors there, Fleur. Also, you’re better off with a birthday cake being shot out of a party cannon,” Vinyl corrected, but instantly regretted mentioning it, seeing the “O” widening on Fleur’s excited face like the owner of said festive weapon.

“Oh my gosh, that sounds awesome! Can we—”

“No,” Vinyl interrupted as she scooped up the blank crystals with her magic and put them in a small sack for her friend to take. “You can get into more than enough trouble by yourself without ballistic party favors.”

“You’re no fun, you know that?” Fleur rolled her eyes as she took the gem bag in her magic.

Vinyl smirked as she shrugged her shoulders. “One of us has to be. We’d never get anything done, otherwise.”

“I guess that’s true,” Fleur agreed, and quickly wrapped her hooves around her friend and pulled her into a deep hug. “I love you, you spoil sport!”

“Enough, Fleur! C’mon, I’m actually hungry!” Vinyl complained while trying to wriggle free, but the larger mare wasn’t having any of it. It was at times like this she wished she had a better understanding of teleportation to escape Fleur’s vice grip. Vinyl placed a hoof onto Fleur’s chest to push off, but stopped struggling as she felt the unsteady breath of her friend at the back of her head and a desperation in her embrace. “Fleur?”

The mare cleared her throat trying to regain control. “Just, give me a moment, okay?” Fleur forced herself to say through her cracking voice, not letting Vinyl see her face. She gripped tighter still as Vinyl felt her shoulder dampen. “I’m just… really excited for pizza.”

Author's Note

And again, special thanks to Falkenlied for some excellent Electro Swing musical recommendations.

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 42: When the Heart Comes Calling

Gimme, gimme, gimme,
Gimme more of it.
I refuse to quit.
All your magic keeps me spellbound, baby!

Do it, do it, do it,
Do it all night long.
There’s no way that it’s wrong.
We’re gonna keep dancing until all our starlight’s gone!

The beat stopped as the practice session for the bridge of “Starlit Sunrise” came to a close. It was the third time they’d run through the verse to tweak the details. Luckily, it was the first Sauna Summers song that Vinyl really enjoyed. The singer was quickly growing into her famous role as the Queen of Disco with each passing record, but that was part of the problem.

“Sensational everypony!” Summers announced loudly to the group. “I’m feeling real good about the flow we got going on. I’m think if we get some of the brass to jump up an octave—”

As Summers cut out, Vinyl hoped against hope, but if the pattern held, she knew what was coming. “And there will be another pop in three. Two. One…”

“Okay, let’s take it from the top! Everypony ready? Alright! One-two-three-four!” Summers counted before the horns roared to life once more to play “Starlit Sunrise” again.

Vinyl threw her headphones off and slammed her hooves on the table, jostling the crystals scattered about her workspace. “Why?”

Every time. Every. Single. Time. Just as the songs finished and they were going to take a break, the recording cut off. The best part of the collection was just listening to them talk, but they’d just stopped doing it. With each passing record, Summers’ history was fading further and further into obscurity. Vinyl’s best reference to measure how much time was passing was lining up the songs with the albums’ releases, and it was disheartening to say the least. She’d skimmed through records all week with months of history passing in a blink of an eye, leaving Vinyl starving to hear from the real Summers again.

There was no way to know the reason behind the sudden change, but she couldn’t help but speculate. Maybe the higher-ups had told them to stop going through so many records to cut costs, or perhaps Suede Shoes had suggested they streamline their process. She’d probably never know. Whatever the reason, it meant Vinyl had skipped past arguably the most critical point in Sauna’s career when taking on the CMS head-on. It was all just… missing.

Still, there were at least a few clues Vinyl could pick out just from listening to the music, but they weren’t good. She couldn’t hear Springstep, Autumn Aria, or Sunny anymore. They’d been replaced by nameless backup singers with the occasional guest appearance of Suede Shoes for a duet. Meanwhile, Summers had finally found her famous golden voice alongside the band settling into their unmistakable funky disco beat. The quality of the music had undoubtedly improved with the ascension of the Queen of Disco, but it came at the cost of her friends' absence. Vinyl wondered how Summers felt about that.

It was absolutely maddening. Summers’ breakout story had been building up for so long, but now the climax had just passed in the dark. There were only bits and pieces to pick up anymore in the brief moments she could catch a word or two before silence swept it all away. Vinyl kicked off her stool and stomped her hooves on the ground. She wanted to break something, to scream, and to cry. The archive was more than just a job now. There was so much more to learn about Summers beyond the queen’s shadow. It wasn’t fair!

Above everything, it hurt. Vinyl hadn’t expected that. She’d been spoiled by the sheer depth of the collection. It had allowed her to get to know Summers so well in the little moments. Her passion, her kindness, her tenacity, it was not only inspiring, but comforting. There was a pony she could look up to, model herself after, one that maintained who she was despite all the fame, riches, and power that fell around her hooves. Vinyl wanted to be like the Summers she hoped she was. To be strong enough to resist the influence of others, and stay true to herself and what she believed. Unwavering in the face of infinite temptation. If Summers could live her values, maybe Vinyl still had a chance to be the pony she wanted to be with the pony she wanted to be with.

But if the record stopped, Vinyl would never know how it really played out. She’d never find out if Summers finally gave into the pressure, if she changed after marrying Suede, if she became the queen history remembered her as. Vinyl wasn’t stronger than Summers. If she fell, the same thing would happen to her if she stayed with Fancy Pants. She’d start taking one little step after the other, a cheat here, an exception there. There’d be a string of excuses to justify her actions until she’d lose sight of herself and become somepony else. Somepony she hated. A monster.

Looking at the reflection in the observation window, she could already see the results of her myriad of compromises. The DJ from the same time last year wouldn’t even recognize Vinyl anymore. Thanks to regular, balanced meals, the stubborn junk food flab around her barrel was vanishing while she was putting on healthier weight across her body. Her electrified coat shined brighter than ever thanks to said diet, along with better fur care products she could never afford on her own. She was also having the best sleep of her life thanks to a bed that put her apartment’s cheap cot to shame.

Beyond the physical improvements, her mind hadn’t felt so liberated in years. She could pursue what she wanted, whenever she wanted without survival stress gnawing at her. The muses of music came easier, her studies flowed faster since her basics were covered ten-fold. She could actually say no to a gig for the sake of her research without worrying about next month’s food budget. She had time to enjoy the things around her. She’d never even noticed the park Fancy took her to last week when she tagged along on his jog. It was visible from Celestia’s school, for heaven's sake!

She didn't have to worry about staying afloat. She was thriving in her pursuits. So why did she still feel absolutely terrible?

It was stupid. She was being stupid. Decadence surrounded her constantly. A gracious stallion bankrolled all of it without a second thought, and she wasn’t abusing it. Despite the riches constantly around her, she still tried to hold on to some sense of modest living, but even then, modest living was a moving target these days. Vinyl had no clue how much the so-called basics cost, but she knew the brands were far beyond her previous means. It didn’t matter. Doing the opposite wouldn’t affect Fancy. If she did give into pure hedonism by succumbing to every little desire she had using his money, his pocket book wouldn’t even flinch. She’d be little more than an itchy mosquito bite or a wart to be removed. Vinyl could burn the rest of her life away in a superstar spree of debauchery, and all of the lavish spending would amount to little more than a rounding error on his balance sheet.

So, what was the point of worrying? It didn’t matter how much or how little she used, frugality was a performance. Theater. Pantomiming a sense of morality Vinyl clung to for dear life. But why fight it, or give into it? Either way, she had changed so much, and was still changing no matter what she did. Vinyl just wanted to know they were really for the better. There were answers that she wanted, but they were lost to time, unwritten and unrecorded. Without them, she was adrift on the open sea. She could easily bask in the warmth around her, but one wrong step and she’d plunge back into the static below.

Vinyl liked being warm. She didn’t want to be cold anymore, but at least the cold preserved who she was. A frozen pony submerged in suffering stillness, ignorant to how painful the static felt. There was no way to return to it, and deep down she knew she never wanted to go back. There was too much to sacrifice now, not just the comforts of a richness, but the relationships that warmed her heart. It was a sweet poison she never wanted to be without again, and the dependence scared her.

The desperate mare cried out in frustration as she swept all of the useless crystals and implements off the table, letting them rain down on the wooden floorboards. There was no need to care if they were broken or not anyway. Fancy could replace all of it. He could easily fix it like he’d fixed her turntable. If he felt like it, he could just as easily replace her as well. Order now to get the new DJ Hoar-C, a smarter, stabler, normal-er Vinyl Scratch with none of the glaring downsides and a 30-day, money-back guarantee!

Vinyl slammed her head on the table as her throat burned from the strain of holding back the tears she wanted to shed. There was no reason to cry, or at least she didn’t have a good one. Crying because she couldn’t listen to a record that didn’t exist would be the epitome of pettiness. Nopony else in the world had unlimited access to the Summers-Suede Collection like she did. She might as well be complaining that her pool filled with ice cream didn’t come with sprinkles. Vinyl wasn’t suffering at all. It wasn't real, just the performance of a spoiled, entitled mare.

A soft knock came at the door, snapping the DJ to attention. Vinyl quickly snatched her shades from their place above the soundboard and shielded her eyes from whoever would come in. There was no reason to bring somepony else down over something so stupid.

“Vinyl? Are you okay?” Fluffer Duster asked carefully as the meek pegasus slowly opened the door. “I heard a crash.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that. It’s nothing,” Vinyl said coolly, trying to play her mood off.

“It’s fine, Vinyl. I know you’ve been having a rough time lately.”

Vinyl blinked and tilted her head in confusion. “You did? But… how?”

“Oh!” Fluffs said as she rolled her feather duster nervously between her hooves. “Well, you’ve just looked down at dinner recently… and in the hallway… and a bunch of other times.”

Vinyl sighed into her hooves. Of course she’d been spreading her petty woes with her mere presence. She was Vinyl Scratch. Leaking misery everywhere she went was just what she did. “Sorry, Fluffs.”

“No, no! You don’t have to apologize.”

Hearing the distress in Fluffer Duster’s timid timbre, Vinyl sank lower as she groaned in frustration. She was worrying everypony again.

The pegasus trotted to Vinyl’s side and lightly draped a wing over her back. “It’ll be okay, Vinyl. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

“Unless I find a time traveling spell, I don’t think I will. The records have been slim on the details, and I haven’t found anything useful in forever.”

“Oh. That’s not good.”

“Yeah, it’s just been song after song with nothing worthwhile to add.”

“But isn’t that what you’re archiving?”

“No—well yes, but not…” Vinyl trailed off as she let her brain catch up to her mouth. She didn’t want to let anything unnecessary slip out. “The interesting stuff is hearing Summers talk to her friends. Outside of that, it’s just coming up with music and getting the performance working right. Sure, that stuff is important, but it’s not interesting. Who cares about music you can hear anywhere when you can meet the pony behind the mic?”

Fluffs nodded along in understanding. “So it’s like juicy gossip?”

“It’s not gossip!” Vinyl fired back before she could check her temper. Guilt wracked her as her friend took a step back, fanning out a wing to shield herself on instinct while holding back the one Vinyl had injured before in her blind panic. “Sorry, there’s gossip sometimes, but that’s not…” Vinyl grunted in her hooves, trying to calm down enough to think straight. “She wasn’t a larger-than-life disco queen, but a pony. A real pony. Everypony remembers her for the glitz and glamor, but really she just wanted to make ponies happy with her talents. Her insights were just… she was something else.”

“It almost sounds like you're friends with her.”

Vinyl forced a hollow laugh, not allowing herself to cry over nothing. “I know, right? She died a month before I was even born, but I still feel like I know her. It’s so stupid.”

“It’ll be okay, Vinyl.”

“Unless I can find some more stuff about her, it won’t.” Vinyl lifted the master record from the player with her magic and slipped it into its sleeve. She trotted towards the archive closet to put some distance between herself and Fluffs.

“Wait!” Fluffs fluttered her defenses away and hovered over to Vinyl’s side, not letting her run away. “What about asking somepony else?”

“Yeah? Like who? I have no idea where any of the others are. If I did, I wouldn’t even be having this problem in the first place.”

“Are you sure? Have you tried asking Mister Dapper or Sir—I mean Mister Fancy Pants?”

“No. Fancy wasn’t born yet, and Dapper was—” Vinyl stopped as her eyes widened. She’d tabled the butler’s perspective for so long that she’d forgotten that he’d eventually enter into Summers’ life. The performers were in a relationship at this point, so Dapper might actually have something to tell her now. “Fluffs! You’re a genius!”

“Thanks for noticing,” the pegasus bragged, straightening her stance and puffing her chest out. “Come on, let’s go find him!”

“You want to go too?”

Fluffs bobbed her head enthusiastically. “Mister Dapper always tells the most interesting stories. Did you know he’s been engaged to a griffon for over a decade now?”

“Wait, what?” Vinyl’s ear flicked, unsure if she’d heard the pegasus correctly. “Is that why he keeps mentioning an old bird?”

“It’s true! Her name is Julia Razorwind. Her family makes all of the Griffonstone Brandy Mister Fancy Pants likes so much.”

“Huh. Why is Dapper always so low-key cool?”

A small grin grew on the pegasus. “Because he’s just Dandy.”

Vinyl smacked her forehead, having walked right into that one. She nearly groaned in exasperation, but it was hard to be sour hearing Fluffs descend into a fit of cute giggles. Her joy was so infectious. Vinyl pushed her shades down to look over the rim at her friend. “Really, Fluffs? I would’ve expected that low level pun from Steeplechase.”

“I know!” the pegasus said between snickers into her foreleg. “That’s because it was!”

Vinyl chuckled and shook her head. “You really shouldn’t take material from him. They’re not good jokes.”

“So? You’re still smiling,” Fluffs countered proudly.

The DJ paused to note the slight pull at the corner of her lips. The warm feeling grew, forcing the sensation to spread further as her smile broadened. “I guess you’re right.”

“Mister Steeplechase says that if you don’t find the joke funny, you shouldn’t be laughing. If it makes others happy, they can’t be all bad.”

“Of course he’d say it stupid like that,” Vinyl complained as she pictured the stallion’s self-satisfied grin. Knowing Steeplechase, he’d strike a pose too, at least until Octavia had enough and playfully smacked him on the back of his head.

You want to see them again, Desire chimed in. You haven’t been to the ESPA all week.

That was true, but she hadn’t found anything to archive all week thanks to the constant cuts in the recordings. She didn’t have any justification for going.

Do you need a reason? They’re your friends. They make you warm and happy.

But—

“Maybe you haven’t done something you feel is worthwhile, but friendship isn’t a black and white transaction. It’s true that all relationships have some level of give and take, that’s a given. You don’t need to earn it, though. You’re a great pony that anypony should be glad to have in their lives.” Octavia smiled softly as she leaned over, trying to catch Vinyl’s face. “Even if you don’t believe me, I know it’s true. I’ll believe it for the both of us until you can, okay?”

“Fine. You win,” Vinyl whispered to herself.

I always do.

“It’s not about winning. It’s about making everypony happy,” Fluffs assured as she patted Vinyl on the withers. “Now, come on. The last time I saw Mister Dapper, he was heading towards the bedrooms. Let’s check there after we clean up this mess.”

Before Fluffer Duster could get close, Vinyl scooped up all the accouterments and crystals in her magic and spread it neatly across the table. Nothing seemed broken, but she’d still check it for damage later. She gave Fluffs a friendly nod and the maid then ushered Vinyl out of the studio, shutting the lights off behind them.

Dapper wasn’t too difficult to find with Fluff’s help. It was common practice for maids and butlers of Canterlot to always leave the door open in the rooms they were cleaning alone. Usually it was to make sure servants never stole from their masters, but in the Suede Shoes Estate, Fluffs and Dapper used it for finding each other. Fancy did the same if he was in a room he didn’t normally use. Despite living in an enormous mansion, he was almost always in the same four rooms: the study, the kitchen, the dining room, or the room Dapper was in now.

“I think I’ll just wait here, Fluffs,” Vinyl said as she shrank away from the open door.

“Why? It’s just the master bedroom.”

“I get that, but… it’s Fancy’s bedroom.”

Fluffer Duster hummed to herself. “I don’t think he’d mind. I go in there all the time to clean.”

Sure, that was easy for Fluffs to say. She wasn’t the one with the crush on him!

“It’s quite alright, Miss Fluffer Duster. Miss Vinyl is simply choosing to observe decorum in this instance. Please give me one moment,” the old stallion called back from inside. With calm haste, he strode to the door, shutting it behind him as he approached the two waiting for him and bowed. “Good day to you both. How may I be of service?”

Fluffs curtsied back. “Sorry to bother you, Mister Dapper.”

“It’s never a bother to see either of you two,” he said as he smiled behind his bushy mustache. “Now, is there something you need?”

Vinyl scratched the back of her head, feeling a bit guilty for interrupting his work. “Well, it’s more something that I was hoping you’d know.”

“Ah, so a question about archiving again. Have you run into something else during your research beyond that Sunny pegasus you asked about?”

Vinyl nodded weakly. “And I ran straight into another wall.”

“Most vexing indeed! Perhaps I can be a little more helpful with the pesky barrier this time around,” he chipperly replied with an exaggerated wink.

Even though he was clearly playing his reactions up to raise her spirits, it didn’t make them any less effective. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling, and she didn’t want to. “I hope so. Do you remember when Suede Shoes and Sauna Summers took on the Canterlot Musical Society?”

Dapper’s dandyism diminished as he assumed his usual, dapper self. “How could I forget? It was such a bold action against the powers that be. I must admit that even I was against them at first.”

Vinyl balked. “You mean you supported the CMS?”

“Without question,” Dapper stated matter-of-factly. “It brings me no joy to admit that I once referred to the good lady as a corrupting influence.”

The fur bristled on Vinyl’s neck at the admission. “What? But—but she never did anything to any of you!”

“At the time, I was far more caught up with the gilded trappings of high society; an elite butler with the foppish ideals of ‘Proper Harmony’ drilled into me from birth. There was a natural order to be followed determined by your status and talents, and her mere presence was challenging that bedrock belief. A common spa pony stepping into the limelight to become one of the most popular singers was unthinkable. When I noticed the change in Master Suede, I took him aside and… oh, how did I put it again?”

The old stallion swept a hoof in front of him as he tilted his head up and away, framing his face in profile. He dusted off an old smolder that burned from behind his copious eyebrows and mustache with an unmistakable charm. The only thing missing was a wine glass to swirl around as he showed off the thick of his neck.

“‘If I may, Master Suede, a flower, no matter how beautiful, wilts into nothingness when plucked from its proper place. And I find the Sensational Sauna Summers to be exceptionally beautiful.’” He finished the act with a pompous smile that likely swooned many hearts in his prime.

Fluffer Duster covered her mouth in shock. “That’s horrible.”

“Yes it is,” Dapper agreed firmly as he popped his neck and back. A grunt escaped him as he returned to all fours. “It goes to show how easy it is for high society to forget the lessons of Hearth’s Warming. Why worry about the common laypony when her highness is there to maintain the nation? The nobles serve a higher cause by maintaining Proper Harmony amongst those who orbit the closest to the undying sun.” Dapper paused, a sad smile waxing his face as he laughed to himself. “Come to think of it, Lady Summers did prove me right in the end. She absolutely corrupted my Canterlot sensibilities, and I couldn’t be happier that she did.”

“Nopony’s perfect, I guess,” Vinyl admitted, swallowing the bile rising into her mouth.

“Oh, I am far from it, I assure you. And I apologize if I offended you. I don’t hold such noble nonsense in my head anymore. I’ve long replaced it with much better, egalitarian nonsense,” he said with pride.

Fluffs giggled in relief. “Good. You were like a different pony there for a moment.”

“That’s who I was before. Remember, we are all constantly changing. Even an old pony like me. But I’m sure you’ve heard enough about that. You were asking about the CMS?”

Vinyl cleared her throat. “Yeah. I hit a snag around the time that all the CMS stuff came to a head. Were you there for any of Suede’s or Summers’ recording sessions when that was going on?”

“Very briefly, and only if my duties included going by one of the studios. Unlike Master Fancy Pants, Master Suede Shoes didn’t drag me with him all over the world as his personal assistant.”

That was not the answer she wanted to hear. Vinyl bit back a flurry of curses as she stamped a hoof in frustration. It was just dead end after dead end with this obscure history.

“Now, now, don’t give up before you’ve even tried, Miss Scratch. What was your question?”

“I don't know anymore! The problem is the stupid records keep getting cut every time, and I’m missing out on some of the most important moments of Summers’ life! I don’t know anything about what was going on around then, and if you weren’t there to see if, what the hay am I supposed to do?”

“Oh. That is quite a predicament. What exactly were you looking for?”

“That’s, uh, well….”

Inspiration? Comfort? Desire suggested in the back of Vinyl’s head. Maybe a little dating advice?

“I guess, ‘why?’” Vinyl quickly deflected before her desires could seep through. “She was trying so hard to fit in and play by the rules for so long, but then she winds up protesting the CMS with Suede? What gives?”

The stallion hummed to himself in thought as he reflected on the past. “It was a strange turn of events, even to me. I wouldn’t be able to tell you when their relationship began. Their engagement came out of the blue to everypony. I never saw her at the old estate before they announced it publically. High society was thrown into absolute chaos.”

“All because of a stupid engagement?”

“It was what their engagement said about Proper Harmony that became the problem. If Lady Summers was just a simple spa pony plucked from obscurity, their marriage would've been frowned upon, but likely unremarkable. No, the issue was who she'd become: a talented singer who went beyond the call of her servile cutie mark to succeed more than the naturally gifted Suede Shoes, a noble. She was an invading outsider that flew in the face of everything they held dear, and the aristocracy wouldn’t stand for it.”

“But wait, I thought Princess Celestia was a fan of Summers,” Fluffs recalled. “Why didn’t she just give Summers a noble title and make all of this go away?”

“You’d have to ask Princess Celestia about that, but knowing who the good lady was, I don’t believe she would’ve accepted one.”

“Why not?”

“Because everypony is supposed to be welcome in Canterlot,” Vinyl answered aloud as she realized it herself. “She was set on staying in Canterlot, despite almost all of her friends saying they should give up and leave.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth, Miss Vinyl,” Dapper agreed with pleasant delight. “It would’ve undermined what she was trying to prove in the first place. On top of that, it probably wouldn’t have helped. Their minds had already been made up about her long before then, thanks to the favor she’d garnered with Princess Celestia. I recall several ideas bouncing around that Summers had somehow tricked her highness into liking her.”

Vinyl knew from the earlier records that Sauna Summers was fighting an uphill battle to perform in Canterlot, but she never really got just how stacked the deck was against her. No wonder Springstep was so adamant about them leaving for better venues. Summers really was being played for a fool by acting in good faith. The thought made Vinyl’s stomach churn. And the worst part was, none of it was helping. It was just reinforcing how screwed up everything was.

Vinyl took a calming breath through her nose. “Look, all of this snob stuff is just getting me angrier and angrier instead of getting the answer I actually need! Could we shut up about stupid nobles and just focus on Summers and Suede? Please?”

“My apologies, Miss Vinyl. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I know that!” Vinyl yelled, her voice cracking from stress. “Sorry, sorry. I know you didn’t, and it’s tied to it, but—” She tried to get a grip on her anxiety, but slowing down wasn’t working. Everything was beating in her head, ratcheting up an endless crescendo that would never drop. She fell back on her haunches to ruffle her mane with her forehooves, trying to shake the overwhelming frustration from her head. “Please! I need something to work from. They’re all gone now, and I don’t know what to do!”

Dapper stepped forward and leaned his head down to catch Vinyl’s eyes behind her sunglasses. “Who is gone?”

“Everypony!” she cried as she slammed her forelegs on the tiled floor. “Springstep, Autumn Aria, Sunny! If it got so bad that Summers broke down the doors of the CMS, why didn’t anything change in the way she wanted? She just wanted to sing with her friends, to make ponies happy, but all she got was loneliness! Why? She deserved better! It’s not fair!”

Petulant and pathetic. That’s all she was. Vinyl couldn’t decide if she was more embarrassed or angry at throwing a temper tantrum in a hallway. It wouldn’t matter in the long run anyway. All she was supposed to do was find interesting records in a closet and preserve them. She didn’t need to be so obsessed with finding answers to a story that already ended before she was born.

Dapper chuckled to himself. “You really care about Lady Summers, don’t you?”

She looked down at her useless hooves and bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I know it’s stupid, but I can’t help it. Summers deserved better than she got. Better than what ponies remember her for.”

“That’s just the kind of pony she was, too. She cared deeply about the ponies around her. To a fault if you asked me. Anypony that looked beyond the popular narrative saw somepony truly special. You remind me a lot of her.”

“What, did she get fixated on stupid stuff and go crazy too?”

“Fixated, yes. But, I’d never denigrate passion with such language. Much like you, she never stopped working towards her goals, even if her priorities shifted over time.” Dapper straightened up and offered Vinyl a hoof off the floor. “I think I might know something that could help after all.”

Vinyl’s ears flicked up as a spark of hope shot through her system. “What? What is it?”

“Stand up and I’ll show you.”

Taking the offered hoof, Dapper helped Vinyl to her hooves before he dug into his suit pocket for an old key ring. He began to flick through keys with his magic, trying to determine which one was correct as he walked past the mares. Vinyl and Fluffs quickly fell in behind him, following him until the end of the hallway. He stopped at the last door which stood before a large window looking out towards the peaks of Mount Canterhorn. Cycling through the final keys, he chose an ornate one with an inlaid pink gemstone and opened the door.

As they entered the room, he pulled open the curtains with his magic to reveal a large bedroom. Like the recording studio before it, the room’s furniture bore a distinct vintage groove from decades ago. Rounded, oblong edges of polished wooden edges flowed with the overly plush cushions and bedding, all with deep and warm colors. It came with all the staples of Vinyl’s own room with a bed, dresser, vanity, and desk, but also had chairs and a sofa around a table, perfect for intimate meetings.

“Wow! I’ve never been in here before,” Fluffs said as she fluttered into the air to get a better look.

“You haven’t?” Vinyl asked.

“Most of these rooms are cleaned monthly by a cleaning company,” Dapper answered as he approached the desk. “Miss Fluffer Duster and I only clean these rooms if they are added to the rotation. I can’t rightly recall the last time I was in here either.”

She looked back at the door behind them. “So, why the special lock and key?”

“Like the Ambassador Suite you’re staying in, every bedroom has a key to give guests of the mansion some control over their privacy. These last three are the only guest rooms on this floor, and the largest: the Emerald, Garnet, and lastly, the Pink Sapphire Suites—the one we’re in right now.” Dapper pulled open the drawers of the desk, searching through them. “This one is unique as all of the furniture here was swapped with the Ambassador’s, formerly known as the Studio Suite.”

“Okay?” Vinyl said absently as she joined Dapper at the desk. “So what’s so special about that?”

As she drew closer, the butler pulled out several notebooks and papers from the desk and laid them on top. He looked back at Vinyl with a smile and stepped aside, giving her room to look over them herself. Curiously, she popped open one to a random page and began to skim.

Dear Diary,

Sorry to be gone so long but, for real, I gotta ask—

Vinyl slammed the notebook shut before she could read anymore.

“Is something the matter, Miss Vinyl?”

“You can’t be serious. I can’t read these!”

“Really?” Dapper picked up one of the loose sheets and looked over it pensively. “The prose doesn’t seem that dense, and the hoof-writing is perfectly legible to me.”

“You know what I mean!” Vinyl scolded, ripping the sheet from his magic before shoving it in one of the notebooks. “These are all diaries!”

“Not all of them. That one appeared to be a draft for a song,” he said, dipping his horn towards the stowed page. “If you mean to say that you are breaching her privacy, then no, I don’t think you are. At least not any more than you would be in your research into the collection.”

“But that’s totally different!”

“Are you so sure? You are reliving snippets of her life without her permission.”

“But anypony could just go in there and listen to it.”

“Not entirely accurate. Only those who had access do, such as yourself. And now you have access to this. I’m not saying you should archive these; rather, if you need to ask Lady Summers a pressing question, you might find the answer here.”

Vinyl placed a hoof on the cover of the notebook, feeling the temptation of cracking it open to pour through it. Desire was screaming at her to buy a six-pack of energy drinks and binge read everything until her brain turned to mush. She recorded every little thing and took pictures all the time, so there was no telling how many stories were contained within them. If she was lucky, Summers might’ve even written Sunny’s full name somewhere!

But diaries were books of secrets. They were all the outlets for ideas and embarrassment that she might have had good reason to keep to herself. Vinyl knew that she wouldn’t want anypony reading anything she ever wrote in one. She wasn’t even comfortable keeping a written record of her innermost thoughts to begin with. Those were all too sensitive even for her to commit to anywhere but memory, and most of them she’d rather forget entirely.

Vinyl sighed and withdrew her hoof. “I want to, like really, really want to, but it just feels wrong, you know?”

“I understand your respect for the privacy of the departed. However, I cannot agree with the notion. Diaries are biographies of those that have gone before us. If we ignore their history, we risk losing their accounts forever, along with the lessons we could learn. Who knows? Perhaps it was such respect that led to us losing our history during the Silent Era.”

“But Fancy Pants…”

“Has said to ensure everything in this estate is properly maintained, which includes you. You were given access to all that you needed, so if you need answers now, please seek them here from Lady Summers herself. If you wish to check as a formality, then I will ask Master Fancy Pants, but I’m certain you know what he would tell you. He trusts you. We all do.”

Her thoughts wound all the way back to the day in the study next to the fireplace as they looked through Fancy’s old family albums together. He recounted as much as he could with little stories and anecdotes from the past. As far as she could tell, he struggled more with trying to recall the information rather than withholding anything. Fancy was an open book when it came to trying to help Vinyl learn about Summers. Of course, he thought he was just being helpful with her research while she was enjoying the whole experience listening to him and his stories. Another time spent together under false pretenses.

Vinyl pushed the nagging thought into the back of her head, and flipped the diary open again with her magic to the page they were reading. She swallowed any misgivings and yielded to her desires. “If it gets too personal, I’m gonna stop.”

“Of course, Miss Vinyl.”

With one final, sharp breath, she braced herself to dive in. As Vinyl opened it again the other two joined to read along.

Dear Diary,

Sorry to be gone so long but, for real, I gotta ask you something right off the bat. How the hay do mares have more than one foal? For real, this just keeps getting worse. One night in heaven gets you eleven months of pain, and I’m still in for at least two months.

Okay. This was personal, but not in the way she was expecting to read about Summers when she was expecting.

It’s not that bad… Desire noted, urging Vinyl to keep going.

Makes me wonder if the princess ever had one and keeps to herself to avoid having another. Bunch of the nobles say they can trace their lines back to her, but Tia says that’s all nonsense. Think she ever had a kid? Would they be alicorns too?

Tia? Vinyl knew Summers was close to the princess, but not nickname close. She’d only heard that Princess Luna calls her sister "Tia" from Fleur. They must’ve gotten a lot closer after Suede and Summers got married.

I’m sorry, momma, for everything I ever said to you. I can’t believe every stupid stereotype is truer than true, and then some. I feel sick all the time, want the trippiest food combinations, and heaven knows my temper’s so bad, even I don’t want to be around me half the time. I made Suede run to the store for me just so I didn’t have to see him for a spell. I love him to death, and I know he’s trying his best, but sometimes he says the stupidest things, and I feel like I gotta throw a horseshoe at him. Maybe I’ll strap a couple watermelons to his barrel, see how he likes it.

Vinyl couldn’t help but laugh to herself, knowing exactly how the mare would say it aloud. Her sass would sneak her intention under the radar. Maybe if she looked through the photo albums, she’d see if Summers actually went through with it. There was no way there wouldn’t be a picture.

Still, I can’t wait to meet you, whoever you are. I’ve been avoiding the doctors spoiling the surprise. No gender, no species, no nothing. I don’t care who you are, I just wanna be a good momma to you. Feels weird to think about. Never thought somepony like me would ever be one. Am I gonna take you on your first cloud walk or is your daddy gonna teach you how to do magic? Maybe you’ll throw a curveball and be an earth pony. That’s right, diary! Some of these uppity yuppies say they’re pure Unicornians, but there’s always a chance for anything. Far out, right?

Given the songs in The Aristocrats, Vinyl wasn’t surprised to read that there were Neo-Unicornians mixed in with the gentry at that time. As if the idea of Proper Harmony wasn’t enough to drive the point home for her, there was always extreme tribalism to cement their long-standing bigotry.

Just think about that for a sec, diary. An earth pony. Maybe we could use all this land for growing something like they used to. Keep this on the down low, diary, but I’ll be hoping they get a strawberry cutie mark if so. Chocolate strawberries are dy-no-mite! Come to think of it, chocolate hayburgers with hot sauce sounds good too right about now, but that’s not just me talking. Gotta go and see a stallion about some cooking experimenting again.

“I recall that request,” Dapper said as he tapped his chin in thought. A smile crossed his face as he laughed. “I’m not sure if I wound up trying to drizzle the hay with chocolate sauce while I was cooking it, or if I melted a block of chocolate over the patty afterwards. I was too distracted by her dousing the whole thing in red pepper sauce.”

Vinyl scrunched her face in disgust. A quick glance at Fluffs, who had turned slightly green too, told her she wasn't alone in thinking it. "And how did that turn out?" she asked warily.

"She asked for seconds halfway through the first."

Fluffs grimaced and shook her head at the thought of such food. "Pregnancy is weird.”

“Indeed, but it's what we're stuck with as a species. It’s not like other creatures have it any easier. Griffons get to leave their eggs at home, but according to Julia, their nesting instincts can be quite mentally taxing. It varies, but the old bird told me she'd suffer intense separation anxiety and even panic attacks if she left an egg alone for too long, even though she knew it was perfectly safe at home. It sometimes made working her vineyard next to impossible.”

“I didn’t know that. I always thought nesting would be easier.”

"Just like everything in life, it’s a trade-off. Part of me somewhat regrets not having any myself, but watching over Master Fancy Pants all of these years has kept me busy enough. It also warms my heart seeing Julia’s little Lara anytime she makes a delivery to the estate.” The stallion smiled as he pulled away from the book to look at the young mares with him. “What about you two? Think you might want foals of your own one day?”

Vinyl’s mind screeched to a halt. It was the first time she’d ever seen Dapper blindly step on a blatantly explosive question. She couldn’t help but weigh if it was more him being from a different generation or just a clueless stallion stumbling into an awkwardly personal question.

“I played pretend as a filly, but I never thought about it for real,” Fluffs admitted as she pondered the question while nervously tapping her forehooves. “I don’t even have a special somepony. Kids are nice, but…”

Dapper nodded. “A very prudent answer, Miss Fluffer Duster. No need to rush into such things.” Before Vinyl could even think of why Fluffs was going along with the question, the butler turned his bumbling curiosity towards her. “What about you, Miss Vinyl?”

Vinyl backed up defensively. “Why are you even asking me? I’m not a good pony for the job.”

Dapper’s brow furrowed in concern. “Why not? I’m tempted to throw out the ‘nopony is ever ready to be a parent’ cliché, but I can’t speak from experience either. I for one think you’d make a great mother.”

The DJ laughed and shook her head. “No, I’d be absolutely terrible at it.”

“Now why would you say that? If Lady Summers could do it, I don’t see why somepony cut from the same cloth as her would be a bad choice.”

“Thanks, but no. I can’t be a—” The forbidden word died on Vinyl’s lips. She felt its unspoken whisper strangling her throat from the inside.

Fluffs hovered closer. Too close for comfort. “Vinyl? Are you okay?”

Vinyl was glad she had her shades on. Even though it was healed, she couldn’t take her eyes off of Fluffer Duster’s wing. Even if she wanted kids, she’d just wind up hurting them. She’d want to give them a better upbringing than she had. To have a good family. To have a warm home. Support and affirm them, like she never was.

You know, Fancy said—

“I just know, okay? It’s none of your business!” Seeing the other two back away made Vinyl regret her words as quickly as she’d spat them out.

After clearing his throat, Dapper bowed deeply. “My sincerest apologies Miss Scratch. I didn’t mean to pry.”

She waved her hoof, trying to wipe away her words and salvage what little she could from the train wreck. “No-No! It’s—I mean, it’s what we just read about, right? We were just having a conversation.”

“Ah, I see. Well, still. No excuse is a good excuse, so let’s drop it, shall we?” The stallion powered through any embarrassment he may have felt and placed a firm hoof on top of the rest of the writings. “Do you believe these will help you, Miss Vinyl?”

The whiplash from his forcible subject change was welcome. Vinyl tried to push her discomfort aside to refocus her thoughts, but her mind was still reeling from foal-talk. She lifted the diary with her magic, looking over the cover and wishing she could get Summers’ permission to look into her life so intimately. Though, if she could do that, she wouldn’t even be here in the first place. At the end of the day, Vinyl was here to archive the collection, and she needed all the context she could get. Summers had already helped her so much, and her diaries could be the key to setting the record straight in return.

“Let’s ask Fancy first. I’d feel better if he said I could.”

“Of course, Miss Vinyl. Right away.”

“I believe that’s everything I recall in the study,” the ever-helpful Fancy Pants said as he placed the last photo album on the towering stack of books, boxes, and binders. As she expected, the generous stallion was more than happy to offer any assistance he could, which proved to be several rooms worth of help. “If I remember anything else, I’ll be sure to bring it around.”

“Thanks, Fancy.” Vinyl said as she left the closet after slipping into something more cozy. Fancy chuckled to himself, earning a frown from her. “What?”

“Nothing at all. I’m just trying to determine if Athena would be able to fit in that sweater or not.”

“It’s not that big,” Vinyl complained. She’d blow some errant mane out of her face for added effect, but she’d already pulled it into a ponytail. Instead, she opted for an eye roll as she began sorting through the haul with her magic.

“Either way, you look enviably comfortable.”

Vinyl took the compliment, hoping it wasn’t a roundabout way of saying ugly. “We’ve only got a little bit more winter before wrap-up, so gotta enjoy it while it’s still cold enough for fireside sweaters.”

“I completely agree.” Fancy looked over himself in his black turtleneck. “The only thing missing would be a hot drink. I think chai is in order. Shall I ask Dapper to brew you some tea?”

Chai sounded awesome, but she usually went for chai lattes when she had the chance. There was nothing better than sipping something spicy and sweet next to a roaring—

Vinyl froze in place. What was she thinking? Dapper had already spent enough time of his day helping collect the diaries, and now she was considering having him make her a latte. She smacked her head, chastising herself for even entertaining the idea for even a moment. Rich thoughts were seeping into her head again. If she wanted a drink, she should make it herself rather than force somepony else to do it.

“Actually, I’m not doing anything. I’ll make you some if you’d like,” Fancy offered instead.

She sighed to herself. Vinyl hadn’t even been looking at him, and he’d read her mind like a book. “No, it’s fine. Sorry.”

Fancy hummed to himself in thought. “Perhaps that was the wrong question as well. Let me ask in a different way: do you want some chai?”

“I mean, yeah. That’d be nice,” she said with a shrug.

“Would you let me make some for you?”

Vinyl turned around, leveling a flat glare at Fancy. “Do you actually want to do that?”

“If it’d make you happy, yes.”

Vinyl quickly looked away again, bit her lip to try to stop her blushing, and cursed his sweet answers making her heart skip. She reminded herself that was supposed to accept gifts now. It’d be fine. “Okay.”

“Wonderful. It’s the least I can do for all the hard work you’re putting into the archive. I’ll be right back with it.”

The sparking in her heart was smothered slightly by him couching the gesture in gratitude for her work. Fancy was already providing her so much, yet he still felt like giving more. Looking back over the material she was about to pour through, she could see how somepony would think she was just doing a job. Vinyl wondered what Fancy would say if he knew she was doing this more for herself than anypony. It was those answers that she wanted more than anything she’d add to a library. It was all for her under the guise of research to satisfy her needs. Really, her wants, if she was being completely honest.

After sparking the fireplace to life, Vinyl began to shuffle the stacks of material with her magic. There were a few spells she could use to physically sort the material by size or shape, but figuring out the best way to tackle the order of information would still be tricky. Unlike the studio’s chronological archive, this sprawling mess was an interwoven story of photos, journals, and other documents that she’d have to somehow structure herself.

Her eyes drifted down the stacks of aging cardboard boxes. She popped the first open and lifted a smattering of notebooks and unknown keepsakes out of it. Just a month ago, she had stacks of boxes filled with her things from the apartment sitting around the “Ambassador Suite.” Now, they were unpacked and folded in the closet after both Dapper and Fluffs had pleaded for her to do so. It had been the right call. Even Vinyl had to admit that dusting cardboard boxes seemed wrong on some level.

Looking around the room, though most of her posters were still packed away along with anything she’d hang on the wall, she’d set out several picture frames, books, and a few other personal effects she’d amassed over the years. It wasn’t a lot, but it was hers. It made her feel more comfortable, made her feel…

Feel at home? Desire offered.

Vinyl grabbed the album in her magic and smacked herself on the face over and over again. “Nope-nope-nope! Stop! Thinking! Stupid! Things!” She was starting to really hate being alone. It gave herself ample time to come up with something to plague her mind.

Hey, if you start dating Fancy—

She cranked up the force behind her bludgeons to derail her train of thought. That last thing Vinyl wanted on her mind was the benefits of that sweet stallion’s—

Vinyl beat down the creeping desires infecting her brain. “Stop it!”

Seriously? You know the whole reason you’re doing this research is—

“Because I want answers!”

… About?

“I said stop it!”

You want to make sure that it’s okay to like Fancy Pants.

“So? What’s wrong with that?”

What’s wrong with… Desire groaned in exasperation and grabbed Vinyl by the heart. She turned herself towards the vanity mirror so she could give her a piece of her mind. Why can’t you just like Fancy Pants? You went on a date with him for peat’s sake!

“He didn’t see it that way! And if he comes back and sees me yelling at my reflection, he’s going to think I’m insane!” Vinyl’s heart dropped as the words left her mouth. “And he’d be right! You’re not even real!”

But what you want is. You want to try, but you’re scared. You can’t even talk about foals because they’d be his.

“I don’t want kids!”

But you do want a family. You would want to give somepony else the home you never had. You’re not exactly against the idea.

“Look, I can’t, alright? Stop thinking about it already! I’d just mess it up! I can’t be a—”

A mother?

“What?” Vinyl asked herself as she shrank away from the mirror, seeing the looming visage of somepony that wasn’t supposed to be there, standing behind her.

This constant back and forth, back and forth. It’s absolutely exhausting! Not to mention a bit on the overdramatic side, Mother chided as she snaked her foreleg around the trembling mare. You’ve been around your little performer society far too much.

Vinyl shook her head in disbelief. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. Her life was getting better. She was supposed to be getting better. Why was her mother’s voice back now? Why hadn’t Desire warned her?

Mother tutted as she lowered her head next to Vinyl’s. Do you really think you could give a foal a better life than the one you had, dear? The one you rejected?

Vinyl wanted to look away, but she was too scared to take her eyes off the reflection. She’d only ever had memories of her mother flash through her mind, never speaking directly to her now.

Was it even that bad? Here you are, combing through a dead mare’s hoard, and for what? To see if it’s okay to be with a rich pony? To see if you can be better?

The words were a paralyzing poison, coursing through her blood and locking Vinyl in place as she stared at her useless self as the image of her mother circled around her with an aloof smile.

It makes sense. You like being here, and now, you want even more. All it took was a little stint of rebellious poverty tourism for somepony to finally take pity on you. The taunting mare clapped her hooves slowly with a saccharine smile. Mommy would just be so proud of your grifting.

“I just want to be me.”

Oh, give the moral high ground act a rest already! Say it anyway you want, but it doesn’t matter. You’re comfortable. Secure. Healthy. Maybe a little too healthy? She laughed as she admired Vinyl’s firmer flank. All of this, delivered on a silver platter, just for you, you precious little gold digger. Simply seduce one lonely stallion, pop out a couple heirs for leverage, and you’ll never have to worry again. After all, why do you think you’re here?

Her mother’s cackling turned the warmth in her heart into a toxic firestorm, burning her from the inside with guilt. She gasped for breath as she tried to regain control of her thoughts. “It’s all in my head,” Vinyl whispered to herself, trying to make the throbbing pain stop. “You’re not real.”

Exactly my point. This is all in your head, you absolutely crazy mare. It’s not real. None of it. Not even you.

Vinyl knew that. She knew that deeply, and it just made it worse. Her rampaging thoughts just wouldn’t stop.

The best part is, no matter how you actually feel about him, it won’t change anything. The result will be the same, and the only thing that will change is you, mommy’s little girl.

Vinyl stumbled back, gripping her aching heart as she tried to glare at the tortuous visage of her mother, but was blinded by her own, pathetic sobbing. “I. Hate. You.”

Mother knickered softly as she approached the fallen little pony. Oh Sweetie, I know. After all… she leaned down and placed her lips next to Vinyl’s ear to whisper a secret.

… I’m you, too.

No. That wasn’t right. This wasn’t right. She wasn’t right.

Vinyl’s head was throbbing as her toxic heart pounded into overdrive. Trapped with herself, herself, and her thoughts. She tried to think of Maman, Tavi, Fleur, Athena, anypony else, but there was only mother’s laughter as the world turned upside down.

Circling, spinning, twisting, spiraling, repeating.
Tripping, tumbling, falling, breaking, collapsing.
Hurting, crashing, cutting, bludgeoning, weakening.
Sinking, freezing, drowning, popping, crackling.
Creaking, shattering, galloping, shaking, calling.
Vinyl, Vinyl, Vinyl, Vinyl—

“Vinyl!"

Vinyl needed air, but everything was blurred, erratically static, and sideways. Vinyl was choking on noise. Her head hurt. It hurt so badly.

“I know it does, Vinyl. Please, focus on the sound of my voice and breathe.”

No. She couldn’t focus. Especially not on Fancy. Not now. He’d see her again. Low. Pathetic. Weak. Not again.

“You’re not—Curse my blasted magic! Listen, Vinyl. You’re bleeding a little, but it’s all right. Everything will be fine.”

No. It wasn’t fine. He’d see her. She had to stop. Make it stop!

“I will. Just give us a little time. What do you need me to do?”

What she needed. What did she need? What did anypony need?

“Blasted horn! Dapper! Fluffer Duster!”

There was a piercing ringing amid the assault of static.
She’d scream, but there was no oxygen.
Nopony would hear her.
A firm hoof tugged at her leg.

“..rry! Sor…! I …uldn’t have done that. Stay with me, Vinyl. You’re alright. Stay here. Stay with me.”

Why would he say that? She wasn’t worth keeping. She was searching for the impossible.

“Oh my gosh! Vinyl!”

“Stay calm, Fluffer Duster. Get the first aid kit out of the closet, quickly.”

“Right away, sir.”

There was no point. Trying to fix what was beyond repair. Broken, worthless, trash. It was hurting her head.

“None of that now. You’re fine. You just hit your head a little.”

The static began to slip away slowly. Things became more comprehensible. Fancy was kneeling over her. When had he gotten there? Why did he always have to see her like this?

“Don’t worry about that now, Vinyl,” Fancy whispered softly. “Just focus on my voice, okay?”

A few moments later, Fluffs fluttered down from above with a kit in her hooves. “I’m here, Vinyl. We both are.”

Why was Fluffs there? Vinyl deserved this. She was a bad pony. She’d hurt her wing.

Fluff’s eyes bulged as she shot a quick glance towards Fancy Pants. “V-Vinyl? Please just focus on breathing, okay? My wing is fine, see?” Fluffs unfolded her wing, revealing a perfectly pristine wingspan and feathers.

“I’m… sorry…” Vinyl choked out between dry heaves.

Fluffs shushed her gently. “I know, I forgave you already, remember?”

Vinyl nodded and did as she was asked. Her lungs burned from the lingering venom in her system. She could finally feel again, which wasn’t good. Her head was throbbing and the top of it felt wet and warm. They said something about bleeding. Was she bleeding? She was lying on her side, but she felt pressure on her barrel from both sides. She tried to tilt her head up to see what it was, but Fancy held his hoof firm.

“Try not to move,” he urged gently. “You might have a concussion.”

“What’s on me?” Vinyl mumbled. She felt absolutely exhausted for some reason.

“A few boxes and notebooks. I tried to move them with magic, but…” Fancy chuckled and tapped his fluctuating horn. “Just a useless clumsicorn when it counts. Does it hurt?”

She shook her head “no” as much as she could manage. “I don’t like it.”

“Okay. We’ll get it all off of you after we address your head.”

“Is it bad?”

“I’ve seen worse bleeding, but it’s under your mane. You may need stitches.”

Vinyl looked Fancy in the eyes. The worry on his face over her. She didn’t want to see it. Not again. Not because of her. “I’m sorry. I messed up.”

Fancy shook his head. “You don’t need to apologize, Vinyl. It was an accident.”

She didn’t want his pity, but Vinyl couldn’t help it as her vision began misting. “I’m so sorry.”

“Vinyl, please. There's no need—”

“I’m sorry!” she pleaded.

“It’s okay!” he relented. “It’s okay. I forgive you.”

“R-really?”

“Of course. It was an accident.”

Vinyl focused on the stallion’s kind eyes, staring into it as things began to blur again. “Yeah. I didn’t mean to. It just happened.”

“Exactly, Vinyl.”

“I’ll figure it out. I promise.”

“I know you will. I trust you.”

Her heart surged with relief as she leaned into Fancy’s supportive hoof. “I trust you too.”

Fancy’s eyes widened slightly before he averted them. “Good. I’m glad. Let’s just get you cleaned up first.”

“Okay...”

Despite the throbbing in Vinyl’s head, she smiled at his gentle touch. Fancy’s assuring presence was an enveloping security blanket that she didn’t deserve. She didn't know if it was right or wrong, but she was too tired to care. She shut her eyes, and as the world faded away, Vinyl savored the feeling of his warmth again.

Author's Note

Chapter 59: Electro Swing

Vinyl laid still, staring at nothing in particular as the minutes slowly ticked by. A roiling anger consumed her thoughts, so much so that it was making her sick to her stomach. She just wanted this to be over, but there were another fifteen before the hour was up and her session along with it, if the clock was right.

Part of her had hoped the silent treatment would work, but Doctor Whisperwillow was a patient pony. The steadfast mare simply sat in her chair, waiting for Vinyl to say anything from underneath her curly canopy of mane. The earth pony kept a bespeckled eye on her notepad, sitting at the ready for her patient to say anything. Vinyl knew the psychiatrist was there to help. They got along so well until she had to do her job. Then, a session would start and become a gradual descent into darkness.

On the table between them was a newspaper, its front page article sitting, staring, and taunting Vinyl with the “good news” of Upper Crust’s decline. It should’ve been a euphoric, triumphant moment, but it just rang hollow in Vinyl’s heart, making her regret bringing it up at all.

“Why aren’t I happier about this?” Vinyl asked a fourth time.

Whisperwillow smiled hearing her patient again. “Why do you want to be happier about this?”

“Because I should be! Obviously!” the fuming mare fired back.

The psychiatrist nodded along, the beads of her glasses’ chain rattling as she considered the answer. The light clacking was grinding against Vinyl’s last nerve. She thought therapy was supposed to feel good, but every session dredged up the worst things to look at. She thought bringing something obviously good would be a nice break from looking at her own sludge constantly, but nothing was ever easy.

“Could you expand more on why it’s obvious?” Whisperwillow finally asked.

“I said it was obvious,” Vinyl said in a huff. “Why don’t you tell me?”

The psychiatrist shook her head. “I can make a guess and empathize, but I can never know the full depth and breadth of your thoughts.”

“Isn’t getting in my head your whole job?”

“I am here to help you process how you feel.” Whisperwillow looked at Vinyl with gentle understanding. “I told you before that this would be tough at times, but I promise that I’m listening.”

“But it’s not tough! Look!” Vinyl yelled as she picked up the stupid paper. “‘Loveless Crust Goes Bust’ on the front page! She finally got exactly what she deserves for everything she did to me! It’s icing on the cake that she did it herself in front of everypony! I should feel amazing about this!”

“The last time we talked about that evening, you told me you felt very differently. What made you change your mind?”

“This, obviously. It all worked out in the end.” Vinyl pointed at one of the large quotes from the article. “It says right here that they ‘unanimously voted her out to salvage our Imperial contracts.’ Everypony turned their backs on her to save their hides! Wealth and power was all she ever cared about and now it’s gone! This should be the best news I’ve heard all year!”

“Do you really believe that?” Whisperwillow confirmed.

“Yes!” Vinyl spat without a second thought.

The doctor flipped back through her pages of notes. “But so many other good things have happened this year. For instance, are you sure it was better than receiving your doctorate and title?”

Vinyl frowned. “Well, she was the one that made me go to school in the first place instead of pursuing music full-time. I couldn’t rub the public spellbook entry in her face, so this is the next best thing.”

“So, are you saying your entire educational journey—your hard work, your dedication, your accolades, your working relationships—this was all done to get back at Upper Crust?”

“Well, no. It kinda was originally. But just because I started it all out of spite doesn’t mean I can’t like it too,” the recent graduate argued weakly.

“And I’m glad that you are doing what you enjoy. You know, I would say plenty of other good things have happened this year too. Your new home, your new family, your new coltfriend; would you agree that all of those good things pale in comparison to what is written in this article?”

The answer didn’t come nearly as quickly, but she still muttered, “Yes.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because…” Vinyl began, only for any obvious reason to evaporate in front of her. She closed her eyes and tried to focus. “Because she’s bad. I should be happy when bad things happen to bad ponies like her. She deserves it.”

“And I don’t necessarily disagree with allowing yourself to feel a little schadenfreude, given what happened, but I guess my question would be whether you want more bad things to happen to Upper Crust or not. Do you want her to suffer defeat, constantly and consistently, until there’s nothing left for her to lose?”

“I…” Vinyl felt a sinking feeling in her heart. Even if it was her, even if she wanted to just scream yes, it still felt wrong to actively wish endless misery upon anypony. “But, I mean, I shouldn’t want good things to happen to her, right?”

“There’s an interesting thought,” Whisperwillow remarked like she usually did when she heard something Vinyl was going to regret digging into. “What if they do?”

Vinyl paused and blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“What if good things happen to her?” Whisperwillow reached for the newspaper and held it up, running her hooves up and down the text. “What if all of this right here is just a minor setback before she recovers?”

“But she won’t. S-she can’t! The only thing ponies wanted from her was her connections to the Crystal Empire, and all of those are gone.” Vinyl leaned back on the couch and crossed her forelegs, turning as far away as she could from the paper. “Turns out a place running on love doesn’t want to let an evil, abusive, narcissistic pony messing with their business stuff. Who woulda thunk it?”

“Please, Vinyl. Let's tease this out just a little bit. I’m not asking about the likelihood, I am asking if it were to happen at all. Let’s say, hypothetically, that everything in this article is a lie, or that it gets reversed and then some. In this reality, Upper Crust is not only reinstated as CEO, but Horst Holdings goes on to become the biggest player in international business and finance. How would that make you feel?”

The suggestion evoked images of the victorious Upper Crust standing tall among the nobles. A joyous sneer wrapped around her face as she tossed bags of bits around for fun, the adoration of everypony around her showering her endless ego. The mare would flaunt her power far and wide, getting revenge on everypony that had ever gotten on her bad side.

Vinyl gritted her teeth at the mere notion. She had to remind herself that it wasn’t real just to stop her eyes from burning with rage. “I’d… I’d absolutely lose it. I wouldn’t even know what to do. I’d get so angry that I wouldn’t see straight.”

“I can understand that. But it’s true that you were already upset by the article as it is now.”

“Because you won’t tell me how I should feel about it!” Vinyl screamed.

“Do you want to give me that power over you?”

Vinyl’s flaring temper fizzled slightly at the question. “What power?”

“The power to tell you how you should feel about something,” Whisperwillow asked pointedly. “You just accused me of not telling you how you should feel about this news. Should I be able to tell you what to think or feel about something?”

“Well, it’s not like…” Vinyl wrestled with the question. “Wouldn't you know?”

Whisperwillow shook her head, making the beads rattle once more. “You are the only you in the world, Vinyl. I could spend the rest of my life studying exactly who you are, but no matter how much I try, I will always be limited by my perspective. Asking me to tell you how to feel about something is granting me the control over your perception of reality, potentially discounting what you think or have observed.”

Vinyl winced and shrank back on her couch. “But, it’s not—I’m not… I don’t want that.”

“I know you don’t, Vinyl. You want to be happy and live life on your own terms. You told me as much during our first session together.” Whisperwillow leaned a little closer to catch Vinyl’s evasive eyes. “I know I don’t want that level of control over you either, but do you know anypony that would?”

Vinyl nodded, finally catching on to what Whisperwillow was talking about. “Upper Crust would.”

“Do you want to give Upper Crust that kind of power over your feelings?”

“No,” Vinyl whispered as she curled up a little more, gripping herself tightly. “N-no. But I still want to be happy when she gets what she deserves! She should for what she put me through! I hate her!”

“You may be right, Vinyl. Maybe she deserves every bad thing in the world to happen to her and more. However, we both know that something good will eventually happen to her in the future.” Whisperwillow held up a hoof, rolling it as she counted possibilities. “Maybe she’ll recover by building a new company, maybe she’ll try another venture and find success, or maybe tomorrow she’ll eat the best daisy sandwich she’s ever eaten in her life. Who knows?”

Vinyl’s lips quivered as she tried to stay calm. “So what? I just give up? Let her win?”

The doctor raised an eyebrow at the question. “What does ‘giving up’ and ‘letting her win’ mean to you?”

“I don’t know.”

Whisperwillow tapped her chin with her pen as she thought to herself. “‘Letting her win’ means that you are permitting the outcome in some way. Since she is losing in this article, then winning must mean good things happening to her, right?”

Vinyl shrugged. “I guess.”

“Alright, so using that logic, you should be doing things to undermine her success. Using the silliest for our example, you could stand guard and slap every sandwich she tries to eat out of her hooves so she never has the chance to eat the best daisy sandwich in Equestria.”

Vinyl furrowed her brow as she thought more about the situation. “But that’s so stupid!”

“But if you didn’t, she’d be winning, which means you’d be losing. If there is the chance that it is the best daisy sandwich in the world, then eating it would be a good thing happening to her. You should prevent that possibility from occurring.”

“But you’re the one who said she’d be winning when it’s just a stupid sandwich!”

“Yes, but ‘it’s just a sandwich’ could also be ‘it's just a business deal’ or ‘it’s just a newspaper article.’ Why should anything good or bad happening in her life affect yours?”

Vinyl looked down at her hooves and then back at the article on the table. “Because I don’t want her coming back. I just want her to go away.”

“And she is gone, Vinyl. She is out of your life as long as you maintain that distance from her. Going ‘no contact’ is not a single decision, it’s a series of life-long decisions to not engage. Remember, the narcissist wants control over everything in your life, good and bad. They want to be able to project their insecurity onto you so they can say ‘at least I’m not as bad as he is, or she is.’ This here?” Whisperwillow said as she tapped the article. “You engaging emotionally with this article is giving her that power without her even knowing about it. If you fall when she rises or vice-versa, she is still in control. You don’t have to do that.

“You have your own life, Vinyl. It’s a good one, with family and friends who are there to support you. They understand you. They love you. It shouldn’t matter what happens in Upper Crust’s life, be it good or bad, because that’s her life. I can’t tell you how to feel about this article.” Whisperwillow took the newspaper and turned the page, hiding the pictures and articles from view. “But I will tell you this has no bearing on any of your success. This headline won't hold any power over you if you don't let it.”

Vinyl sucked in her lips as she sat up and leaned over the rest of the news. There was something about a new diet trend, an opinion piece about former Princess Celestia, and various other things that didn’t matter to Vinyl. She flipped the page back to the front, looking at the picture of the Horst Holding building cut next to a picture of the Imperial Palace.

“Dr. Whisperwillow?”

“Yes, Vinyl?”

“Is it bad that I want to feel good about this?”

The mare smiled softly, putting her hoof on the page over the “Crust” of the headline, “I would say it’s better for us when we don’t revel in the suffering of others, even if they have wronged us. I think rather than saying it’s bad that you want to, it’s good that you can’t. You’re a good pony, Vinyl Scratch.”

The simple affirmation struck Vinyl’s heart harder than she felt it should’ve. The familiar, prickling tightness caught in her throat again like it had nearly every week since she started going to therapy. The ugly scars hung off her like hoof calluses, ready to be picked at until they burst open, revealing the infected ichor rotting behind them. It was disgusting, always making her feel wretched in the moment. There were so many. Many more than Vinyl ever knew she had or thought possible.

The work left Vinyl exhausted every time, but after the suffering and turmoil, the burden on her withers felt just a bit lighter. Still, she hated it in the moment at every single moment. It was just an hour that dragged on for an eternity.

“Is it over yet?” Vinyl croaked as she sank into the couch.

“Almost. We still have five minutes.”

“I-I’m sorry I shut down again, Doctor—” Vinyl took a sharp breath as she swallowed. “Doctor Whisperwillow.”

“It’s always alright, Vinyl. The important thing is that you started back up. I’m glad I was here to help you.”

Vinyl turned to the psychiatrist, nodding as she wrestled with her breathing. Her eyes stung from the tears that wanted to come out, but she didn’t want to cry. Not again. Not when she was almost free from her weekly tour through her nightmares.

“Do you want me to hold your hoof again, Vinyl?” Whisperwillow asked.

Without hesitation, Vinyl thrust her hoof out, silently begging to be caught before she tumbled off the cliff again. The other mare wrapped her fetlock around it and drew closer to keep a close, understanding eye on her patient as she recovered from fighting the demons once again.

After downing one last cup of berry tea and saying goodbye, Vinyl shuffled out the door of Doctor Whisperwillow’s practice into the bright and busy streets of Canterlot’s middle district. A river of colors flowed in front of her filled with ponies milling about. Vinyl looked up at the sky, seeing the sun still shining its mid-morning light in defiance of her exhaustion. Maybe if she asked nicely, Luna would put the moon up nine hours early.

“Vinyl!”

A small surge of warming energy revitalized her weary spirit at hearing Fancy Pants call from across the street. The stallion dutifully cantered through the colorful current, dashing over to his lover to let her fall on his shoulder.

“That bad?” Fancy guessed.

“It was the normal amount of bad, which is good, but sucks.”

“You know, we can always try to find somepony else with her qualifications if you feel this isn’t working out.”

Vinyl shook her head. “Nah. I hate it, but that’s because we talk about the things I need somepony like her for in the first place.”

The supportive stallion nuzzled his marefriend to her quiet delight. “Do you think you’ll be up for going to the lab today?”

“I don’t want to miss another day again,” she complained.

“The school knows you might not be in on therapy days. They’ll understand, especially considering the work you do.”

She grunted half-heartedly. “Lemme just lay down for a bit first to think.”

Fancy kept both of their steps to the sidewalk, walking down the cobblestones towards their usual spot after her visits to Doctor Whisperwillow. They stepped off the major street and followed a smaller path through the alleys to reach a small green space bordering the middle and lower districts. It wasn’t the nicest park in Canterlot, but it was good enough to sit down and take a breather.

Their favorite spot was a little circle of trees on a grassy hilltop. It was far enough away from the greenbelt paths for the two to have a little privacy while offering a relaxing view of the lower district’s residential quarter sprawling below them. They took their usual places, Fancy settling against a tree while Vinyl laid on his barrel to rest her eyes.

“I wish these sessions didn’t always hit me like a train.”

“Well, I for one think it’s very brave of you.” Fancy stroked her mane with his hoof. “I’m just sorry you have to go through it in the first place.”

Vinyl opened her eyes and looked up at her coltfriend with a smile. “At least I got somepony like you to lean on.” She shimmied slightly, trying to find a more comfortable spot on the stallion’s firm barrel. “Though you could stand to be a little cozier.”

“Sorry, but the extra padding was a necessary casualty of my workout sessions. Haven’t had much to do but self-improvement since I stepped back from high society.”

“I guess. You know I don’t care about that stuff, right?”

Fancy chuckled. “I know you don’t. I’m just doing my best to keep up with you, my dear.”

“Says the stallion in better shape than me,” Vinyl complained as she poked at her own, squishier belly. “I haven’t had to pull my equipment anywhere since The Festival of Flakes. Forgot how much of a workout going from gig to gig was.” She blew some of her mane out of the way. “Also, ‘my dear?’ Let’s not just skip past that one.”

Fancy’s smile strained slightly. “No good either?”

The mare bobbed her head back and forth as she thought about it. “I dunno. It kinda sounds nice the way you say it, if a little posh.”

“I’m cut from the Canterlotian nobility. ‘Posh’ comes with the territory.”

“Totally passed up the opportunity to take after Sauna Summers.”

The wind picked up as a comfortable quiet fell upon the couple. The rustle of the trees above and the sway of grass filled the warming mountain air. Vinyl tilted her head to gaze out towards the horizon, the blue skies above and a thick layer of rain clouds blanketing the lower lying lands of Equestria around them. Vinyl’s ear pressed against Fancy, hearing the warm sounds of his gentle rising and falling breath. In other words, it was a perfect day.

Fancy had found the little park during Vinyl’s first visit to Doctor Whisperwillow five or so weeks ago. It’d been a lifesaver after that first session to be somewhere far away from everything, made better by her special somepony’s calming presence. Sometimes she’d pop her headphones on and listen to something while Fancy read a book; others, she’d cry into his shoulder as he simply held on. Either way, he always made it a point to come get her after every session and make sure she was okay.

Vinyl breathed in deeply, mingling the smells of nature with her stallion’s scent. “I love you, Fancy.”

“I love you too, Vinyl.” Heeding the potential call, Fancy leaned down to catch her eyes. “Did you want to talk about your session?”

“Not really,” she half-lied. “I’m just trying to work my way up to thinking.”

“About what, if I may?”

“My homework assignment for the week.” She turned her head back up to face the canopy above them. “Five things that make me feel good and five things that make me feel bad.”

“That sounds easy enough.”

“The kicker is that it needs to be specific. It can’t just be a thing like a concept or creature. Gotta go into detail and really think about it. Probably for the best too, since I wouldn't have gotten off the couch before filling up the bad side.”

“I see,” Fancy said ponderously. “Then I suppose that means the article wasn’t one of the good ones?”

“Not by a mile.”

“Alright then. So, I suppose we can get some of the easier stuff out of the way first.”

Vinyl picked herself up and looked back at Fancy. “We?”

“But of course. We’ve only been dating for a couple of months, but I think I can throw out a few ideas to get you started,” he suggested cordially. “Only if you want, that is.”

“Sure. Why not? Whisperwillow didn’t say I couldn’t ask anypony else.” Vinyl smirked as she sidled up next to Fancy. “Let’s see how well you think you know me.”

“The pressure’s on, eh?” The former kingmaker tapped his chin as he tried to muster up an idea. “Well, I suppose pet names would go in the bad feeling category.”

Vinyl playfully shoved the stupid stallion. “Fancy!”

“You’ve shot down every single one I’ve attempted.”

“That’s because they’re awful! Especially the list Fleur gave you! You should’ve known she was just messing with you. I mean seriously, who wants to be called peach fuzz?”

“Fair enough. Then perhaps my kisses instead?”

“Aww, but I love your kisses, even if they are terri-bad.”

“But you’re always getting the short end of the stick,” Fancy grumbled. “I find yours to be simply electrifying, while I believe I’m averaging a numerical rating of two out of ten on your end.”

“You know that it’s actually super adorable, right?” She couldn’t help but giggle at the disparity as she reeled him back in. “Who would’ve thought that ‘Canterlot’s Most Eligible Bachelor’ had a 50-50 chance of completely botching a kiss?”

Fancy shrugged, trying to play off his nerves. “Sorry I don’t live up to the media’s mythology about me. I was never a fan of that particular moniker anyway.”

“Don’t be so embarrassed about it,” she said as she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him closer. “You just need to practice a little to get better at it.”

On cue, Vinyl started to lean in towards the shy stallion, closing her eyes they drew closer. She felt a breath from his nose and stole a quick peek before her nose became another victim of a frontal crash. Before contact, she put her hoof to his lips and gently pushed him back.

“Not like that.” She slid her hoof under his nerve-riddled jaw. “Remember, it’s not a race. We’ll get there when we get there.”

Fancy nodded, dutifully readying himself for further instruction.

Vinyl giggled seeing her stallion suddenly go on guard duty. She shifted her hoof to the side of his face, unable to stop herself from smiling. “And relax! This is supposed to be fun.”

His rigidness melted away at her touch as he began to smile herself.

“Much better. Now remember, tilt your head slightly right, alright?”

Following her instruction Fancy leaned onto her hoof until he met resistance. “Now slow up a little.”

Fancy nodded as his eyes darted as if a strenuous series of calculations were running through his mind. Gently, Vinyl ushered him forward until their lips met for a few precious moments.

“See? That was a four. You’re getting better.” She bopped him playfully on the nose, pushing him back. “You get to go in the ‘feel good’ column at number five.”

“Ah, so I’m in last place,” he noted.

“It’s supposed to be in no particular order, but yes,” she said while sticking out her tongue. “Now come on, I need some serious answers here.”

“Alright. I think an obvious one is when you’re working on something you enjoy. You shine so brilliantly whenever I see you performing.”

“A lot of that is seeing you enjoying my performances, but I do feel great when I’m following my cutie mark.” Vinyl pictured herself in a recording room behind her turntable. At home or at school, it didn’t matter, it was one of the few constants she’d always had. “It just feels so amazing to make music. Vindicating. Validating. It’s something nopony could take away from me no matter how hard they tried.”

“Don’t I know it,” Fancy remarked with a knowing chuckle. “I made that mistake before.”

“When?”

“‘If you could have any special talent in the world, what would it be?’ Remember?”

“Ah. Right. That.” Vinyl shrank back a little, shuddering at how fiercely she’d reacted to it. “I still think I was a little too harsh.”

“Perhaps, but I don’t regret it. It was the first time I’d ever questioned how unfulfilled I was as the Kingmaker of Canterlot.”

She thought back to that day where she stupidly chugged the spiked cocoa in the kitchen. The memory was a bit hazier thanks to the head injury, but she could still see Fancy’s distraught face from that day. “Do you still sometimes want a different cutie mark?”

Fancy hummed to himself in thought. “In hindsight, I can see why I wanted to do something different, given what I was doing with it. Now, I just want to find what else I can do with it.” He perked up and turned to Vinyl with a spark in his eyes. “On that note, I think I’ve actually come up with an idea. Would you like to hear it?”

Vinyl smiled and wiggled in anticipation. “Lay it on me.”

“Well,” Fancy cleared his throat and straightened up. “What would you say to a Mister Fancy Pants, Academic Advisor at CSGU?”

Vinyl blinked in surprise. “You’re not just saying that because I work there, right?”

“To say you weren’t a factor would be a lie. Truly though, I haven’t been able to get the spectacular feats of magic I saw on display at that Practical Defense exhibition out of my head. Seeing the brightest minds of the school showing off their talents? Quite frankly, I was enthralled. I might not be able to do anything close to what you’re capable of, my dear, but if I can use my talents to help others do the same? Why, it’d give my time spent as the Royal Ambassador a run for its money.”

“I think that’s great!” Vinyl agreed with an excited swish of her tail. A brief flash of seeing Fancy in his own office at the school popped into her head before another thought occurred to her. “But, wait. How would that work? I’m pretty sure you give them more than they could ever pay you.”

“The money I give goes towards various scholarships and financial aid programs. Any earnings I’d receive wouldn’t come out of that pool.”

“I guess? But it still feels weird to work someplace you put more into than you’re paid out. I can’t believe I’m actually saying this—but aren’t you pretty much the definition of overqualified?”

“I hadn’t quite thought about it from that angle.” Fancy pensively paused as chewed on the idea for a moment. “Perhaps it is a few steps down for me, but I do at least want to try it out. I feel like I could do some good there.”

“As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”

Fancy smiled warmly. “Is that another for the ‘feel good’ column?”

“Maybe. But they can’t all be related to you.”

Fancy nodded in agreement. “That would be rather odd considering I don’t want to be on the bad side.”

“Trust me, you’re definitely not.”

“Are you sure? I’m not flawless. There should be something that I do that makes you feel bad,” Fancy urged more seriously. “And if there is, I’d like to know if it’s something I can deal with.”

Vinyl chuckled as her nerves rattled a little. “What? You’re just gonna put me on the spot like that?”

“Would you rather I say something that bothers me about our relationship?”

“Wait, seriously?”

“It’s nothing that you’re doing or that is in our control, but it is something that constantly weighs on my mind.”

Vinyl leaned in closer to her coltfriend, already knowing where it was going. “Fancy Pants, if it’s about our age difference, you know that doesn’t bother me.”

“I know it doesn’t. And I know it shouldn’t bother me. It’s just…” Fancy turned, filled with apprehension. “I feel it sometimes. I look in the mirror in the morning, seeing the last vestiges of my youth wrinkle away while you’re just starting to mature into a stunningly beautiful mare. When you turn thirty-six, I’ll be turning fifty-one. It’s a distance that will never be closed, and every time I think about it, I—”

Vinyl rushed in, sealing his trembling lips with another kiss. She poured her passion for Fancy, not letting anything silly like age or beauty stand between them. As their kiss ended, she tilted her head, meeting her horn with his as they leaned into each other.

“You’re not going anywhere anytime soon, and neither am I, okay?” Vinyl promised. “I just like being with you and that’s that.”

“And I cherish our moments together as well. I just want there to be as many as possible for as long as I can manage to keep going.”

“You’re galloping out the gate a little early there, aren’t you?” Vinyl teased as she snuck another kiss into the mix before backing off. “We’ve only been dating for a couple months.”

“You’re right. I apologize. I believe that’s what they call ‘getting ahead of one’s self.’”

“It’s okay, Fancy. But I think I’ll add all of that to my bad column under, ‘When my coltfriend stresses about his age.’”

“That’s more than fair. I’ll try to be better about that.”

Vinyl stretched her forelegs before falling back into the warm grass. “I think two is good for now. Let’s just enjoy ourselves for a bit so I can get out of therapy mode for a while before I go to the lab.”

“Whatever you want, dearest.”

Vinyl winced at the sound of that one. “You know, maybe let’s work on your kisses before diving into pet names.”

Fancy kissed the back of her head. “Whatever you want, Vinyl.”

“Initiating interfacing test number sixteen,” Vinyl announced for the recording.

She flipped her keyboard on and waited, staring at the digital display for any reading. Her hooves ran over the keys, trying to make a sound, but all she heard was the clacking of plastic. Undeterred, she began making minute adjustments to the echo focus suspended in the experimental crystalarium, just trying to make something happen.

“Come on… you’re not even going to get a reading this time?”

As the musician waged her careful battle with the crystals, Fleur gazed listlessly through the control room’s glass, watching with unbated breath to see what wouldn’t happen next. A few more seconds passed before the silence was too unbearably boring for her. “Did the piano remember to be a piano yet?”

“It’s trying. Might be getting too much interference from the shielding this time.”

The larger mare sighed into the mic in frustration to Vinyl’s annoyance. “Can we blow something up already? I miss it.”

“You know the recording can hear you too, right?”

“One hundred percent, and it could use a little pizzazz. I liked it better when all the nothing was punctuated by random blast. Is that too much to ask?”

“If you want explosions, you could always go to the Evocation and Destruction Department.”

“But they’re trying to blow stuff up. It’s so much better when it’s a total accident. It’s like they say, spontaneous explosions are the spice of life.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes and turned to her bored-out-of-her-mind sister. “Nopony says that. Also, are you trying to get me in trouble?”

“But of course!” Fleur purred as she ran a hoof through her flowing mane. She fluttered her eyelashes as she dove into Lady Faire’s role. “We are always with the messing of the teachers. But now you have joining them and, how you say, turning your back around? Swapping the sides? Betraitoring me?”

“I’m not a teacher. Adepts just sometimes have more teacher-like responsibilities.”

“C'est tellement terrible!” Faire lamented, falling back in her chair as she spun it around. She laid her head on the console upside down. “I weep for toi, Adept Vinyle.”

“Hey! At least I’m getting paid instead of paying out the flank, right?” Vinyl shrugged as she turned her attention back to her testing. “Besides, they aren’t gonna throw me in front of a class or anything. Just gotta help the others check assignments sometimes. Putting that doctorate to work.”

“Boring on top of boring? Such is the pain of successfulness.”

“It’s not all bad. You know I can totally pull rank on you as an Adept of the Institution and boss you around now, right?”

Fleur blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I’m a fellow conducting my own research, meaning I’m under no obligation to help Professor Arpeggio anymore if I’m busy with my own stuff. You, on the other hoof, are the only research student in a department that now has two researchers.” Vinyl fired a fiendish grin towards her sister.

The mare gasped, placing her hoof over her still upside-down mouth. “Ça alors! You would not dare!”

“Don’t worry. I am a merciful taskmaster as long as you obey my every command.” Vinyl cackled maniacally, letting the newfound power course through her veins.

“And that’s a textbook example of power abuse on the record,” Fleur noted as she rolled back over and drew herself up to her haunches. “Anything else you want to add for the disciplinary committee, DJ Tyrann-3?”

The mad doctorate’s laughter died on her lips as she slunk over her keyboard. “Curses. Foiled again!” She struck a deep minor chord on the keys, but no sound came out. “And double foiled.”

“What a shame. How’s the focus?”

Vinyl checked the paired orbs. “Unresponsive, but still completely stable along with the cacophony crystal.”

“Boo…”

“I think it’s back to the drawing board with this one.” Vinyl shut down the equipment and carefully fed a disabling spell into the focus and activated it to seal both crystals before extracting them. “Looks like I gotta schedule another brainstorming meeting with the artificers.”

Fleur leaned on her cheek against her foreleg, looking with an unexploded longing in her eyes. “I love-hate that you figured that little trick out. Don’t even get to set off the used crystals anymore.”

Vinyl looked back to her sister and smirked as she erased the runes on both crystals, causing the magic to simply evaporate. “Hey. If you want to spend hours sanding a pair of crystals down to as close to perfectly spherical as possible, be my guest.”

“Pass.”

Fleur hopped up from her seat and fired a bolt of pink magic at the brand new equipment. Responding to the surge of magic, various knobs, buttons, and dials of the consoles glowed brightly, resetting their original positions as they shut themselves down, leaving Fleur free to join Vinyl.

“We can try blowing up a few of yours tomorrow,” Vinyl offered as she packed the keyboard and crystal balls up.

“Might be fun. Gotta test the new dampening wards somehow,” Fleur said as she kicked the wall foam. “We’re not blowing anything up of yours anytime soon at this rate.”

“Hopefully not.”

Vinyl took another look around the renovated audio lab. The equipment that had been replaced was more or less the same, but the foam and carpet was a much darker shade of gray with a single strip of dark blue running around the center. It was a welcome and well-reasoned change considering how many blast marks they’d made before. Before she could start thinking too deeply about why everything had been replaced, Fleur grabbed Vinyl around her neck and pulled her close for a surprise hug.

“Just getting my hugs in for the day.” Fleur squeezed tighter and sighed as she let go. “I missed a few this morning.”

“I spent a little time unwinding at the park again.”

“I figured as much. You dove right into the work again when you got here, so guessing it stressed you out?”

Vinyl sighed. “Yeah. But it’s helpful, I think. My psychiatrist did warn me that it was going to be awful for a while. Didn’t even say it was likely, just that it would. And that was putting it mildly.”

“As long as you think it’s good for you, that’s all that matters to me.” Fleur let go of the smaller pony so they could see each other’s eyes. “And as long as that oafish brother of mine is taking good care of you.”

“He is!” Vinyl swore quickly, feeling the other mare’s eyes bore into her. “Don’t worry. He’s being the best coltfriend a mare could ask for.”

Fleur narrowed her gaze, searching Vinyl for any signs of lies. “Are you sure there’s no crusty thoughts running amok in there?”

“Oh, come on!” Vinyl cried with rising irritation. “You put me on the spot! No worries, anxieties, or whatever!”

“I know.” Fleur softened. “Every time he comes over, he’s been happier than I’ve ever seen in my life, and I know it’s because of you. And I’ve never seen you so… just you, you know? You’re both finally just how you should’ve been for ages.” Fleur’s head drooped as she looked away. “I guess I kinda feel left out being the one that’s not okay for once.”

“I forgave him, Fleur. I know he hurt me—”

“He’s hurt all of us, Vy,” Fleur fired back. “He kept Maman and me at leg’s length for years, but now he’s trying to make up for it, and I’m just not ready.” She laughed sardonically. “Just don’t tie your tails too quickly, okay? Take things as slow as you can so I’ll be ready to be happy at your wedding.”

Vinyl’s face flushed bright red. “Fleur!”

Fleur’s laughter turned more genuine seeing her sister suddenly acting embarrassed. “Hey! I still want to maximize our sisterhood status! You marrying my half-brother will make it official.”

“For crying out loud, Fleur, I haven’t even slept with him yet!” Vinyl cried without thinking. The admission made her face flare even brighter.

Fleur blinked and tilted her head. “Okay. Weird flex trending towards T.M.I., but okay.”

“I-I don’t mean it like that, I just…” Vinyl trailed off. Since she’d moved back in, the thought to sleep with Fancy had never occurred to her. “I don’t know why.”

Fleur sucked in a breath and put her hoof on Vinyl’s shoulder. “Hey, Vy? I know I said you could talk to me about anything, but that was before ‘dating my brother’ was in the cards.” The mare’s smile fractured as her mind wandered further. “Sweet Celestia, calling you ‘sister’ is really messing with my head right now.”

Vinyl chuckled nervously. “Don’t worry about it, Fleur. I think it’s probably better if I figure this out with Fancy anyway.”

Fleur nodded fervently in agreement. “Right. And you should get back to him and talk all about this privately. And maybe let’s put the familial terms aside so I don’t have to think about brother-sister no-no stuff. Is that alright?”

“It flows better with our motto anyway, right, best of the best?” Vinyl winked.

“Better than the rest!” Fleur hopped in.

Vinyl reached out for a hug. “Ain’t no contest!”

“Friends!” they shouted in unison.

The two shared a deep hug, Fleur laughing in relief as Vinyl held her best friend close for strength as the DJ’s mind wandered elsewhere.

Good or bad: that was the question weighing on Vinyl’s mind. Was the thought of sleeping with Fancy making her feel good or bad?

For the first time in her life, she was in love with a pony. Really, truly in love. It was a wonderful feeling that made the word sing to her soul rather than tear it to shreds. So, she felt as if she should be wanting to share “the ultimate expression of love” as she’d heard it called before. It was why she’d done it in the past. She’d experimented plenty of times, but they’d all ended in unmitigated disasters. Thinking back to them, Vinyl couldn’t even remember if she’d enjoyed it or not in the moment. The deep melancholy afterwards always overshadowed the memories, leaving her sick, empty, and heartbroken.

“Vinyl?”

The mare popped up at the sound of her name. “Wazza-huh?”

“I asked if you were alright,” Fancy said as he leaned over the kitchen island. “You’ve barely touched your cocoa.”

Vinyl blinked. Was she alright? Ever since she’d parted ways with Fleur, her mind had been fixated on a single question for hours now, scrambling for an answer. She’d even forgotten they were in the middle of their nightly ritual of sharing a drink before bed. Fancy would go to the master bedroom and she’d return to her room. Did she want that? Better yet, did he want that? Oh heavens, maybe he did and she wasn’t being a good partner by not realizing it.

“Do you want to sleep together?” Vinyl blurted out.

Fancy’s eyes bulged from the sudden proposition out of nowhere. “I-I beg your pardon?”

“Do you want to sleep together?” she repeated nervously. “Like right now?”

Fancy’s face fell in shock. He tried to reply, but all that came out was a flailing “Bwuh?”

“You’re a stallion, right? That’s gotta be on your mind, right? Right?”

Said stallion’s mind stumbled over his words, trying to formulate something somewhere near coherency. “I—yes. Of course, but, I’ve never even…” His words trailed as he shook his inexperience out of his head. “I-Is it on yours?”

“It is,” Vinyl shrank back, feeling a creeping anxiety clawing at her. “But not in a good way.”

Fancy’s ears pinned back. “Wait, there’s a bad way? What way is the bad way?”

“I dunno!” Vinyl cried. “I’m… I just figured you’d want to!”

Fancy took a moment to calm himself from the offer still ringing in his head. “Well, from what I know, it’d be nice, but the far more important question is do you want to?”

Vinyl looked into Fancy’s eyes filled with concern. “I-I love you, so…”

“I love you too, Vinyl,” he said softly. “But the last thing I want you to be is scared. If anything is wrong, I want to know if I can help. You can tell me anything.”

“I know.” The mare squirmed in her stool before reaching out to grab her coltfriend’s hoof. “I just don’t want you to be disappointed.”

“Why would I ever be disappointed in you? If anything, It would be me disappointing you. I’m already struggling to kiss you properly, after all.”

Vinyl nodded as she scratched the back of her head. “You know I’ve had sex with other ponies before, right?”

“Well, I do now,” Fancy said with a strained chuckle. “But that’s rather normal, I think. If anypony’s the deviation from the norm here, it’s me for abstaining for so long.”

“The thing is, it was always the final straw before we broke up,” Vinyl admitted.

“I see.” Fancy paused to consider the idea. “Are you worried that we’d break up if we did?”

“N-no!” Vinyl’s eyes fell away, unable to look at Fancy as she thought more about it. “But I’m scared. It always felt bad afterwards, like it was my fault it didn’t work out.”

Fancy brought both hooves up to grab hers, his warm gaze filled with tender understanding. “Vinyl, rest assured that I would never want to pressure you into doing something you didn’t want to do. I love you too much to do that.”

The soft reassurance brought a smile back to Vinyl’s face, cutting through the fear. She wanted to say something, but she wasn’t sure what.

“Do you feel uncomfortable when we cuddle or lie together in places?” Fancy asked.

“No no! Of course not!” Vinyl adamantly denied, shaking her head. “Cuddling next to you is one of my favorite things ever!”

“I enjoy you next to me as well. Feeling you lean against me brings an almost indescribable warmth to my heart. Then when you grace me with one of your brilliant smiles, brighter and more beautiful than any sunrise I’d ever seen, it’s pure bliss. I don’t need any more than that.” Fancy leaned in closer to meet Vinyl’s eyes, glistening with love for his tender words. “So, why don’t we just do that?”

The sudden question brought a confused frown to Vinyl’s face. “Do what?”

“Just be together in bed. You lay next to me. Nothing more than enjoying each other’s warmth until morning.”

Vinyl’s mouth nearly dropped at the simple offer. “Y-you wouldn’t mind?”

Fancy smiled warmly. “Of course not. I’d love to share a bed with you.”

“Can—can it be in my bed?” Vinyl asked, growing more and more excited by the idea by the second.

“Sure. Anywhere you want, Vinyl. We’ve got entirely too many beds in this mansion anyway.”

Vinyl giggled as she grabbed onto Fancy’s hooves. “Ain’t that the truth.” She leaned in and stole a kiss from her stallion to his delighted surprise.

“Well, my d—Vinyl,” the smooth-ish stallion stuttered, trying to regain control after the unexpected kiss. “I will see you in a few minutes then?”

“Don’t forget to brush your teeth.”

For some reason, Vinyl was just as excited as she was nervous. She paced around her room, waiting for her coltfriend to come knocking at her door. She’d brushed her teeth and tongue twice for good measure, though nothing would likely stave off her horrible morning breath outside of casting a preservation spell on her mouth.

This was entirely new for her. Sure she’d taken both stallions and mares to bed, but those were in a vain attempt to force herself to fall in love, to become the normal pony she wanted to be for them. Fleur and Princess Cadance would have her head for even suggesting she wasn’t normal, but she couldn’t help it. Fancy had offered to meet her at her weird level and suggested something she hadn’t even thought of that absolutely thrilled her.

Still, this was going to be the ultimate test of trust. Vinyl was going to sleep with Fancy. Just sleep. It was so weird to essentially have a sleepover with a coltfriend. She was almost tempted to bust out a board game or two for a laugh, but she was working at the lab tomorrow as well as playing a set at Cantrips afterwards. There was no time to while away the evening hours.

A knock came at the door, snapping her out of her musings. “Come in.”

Instead of some show of love or suggestive gesture, the stallion on the other side of the door covered his yawning mouth as he walked inside. A couple of trusty pillows were laid across his back and he was wearing a light silk robe she'd never seen before. “Ready for bed, Vinyl?”

“Umm… yeah,” she said as she eyed him curiously. “I didn’t know you had another robe besides your winter one.”

“Oh, yes. I haven’t worn this one in a few years. It was usually reserved for overnight stays abroad while on mission or a business trip. I figured wearing a full-body covering would make you more comfortable.”

“Won’t you get really hot in that?”

“Not at all. I’ve slept plenty of times in this, even during the summer.”

“But not with someone else in the bed with you, right?” Vinyl added.

Fancy opened his mouth to argue, but his trepidation conceded the point. “I suppose it’s possible. While I wouldn’t mind it, I don’t want to start sweating you out of the bed. Shall I take it off?”

Vinyl gave it a second thought, but eventually nodded. Fancy replied by tossing his pillows on the bed and levitating a hanger out of the closet to stow his nightwear. Being more in line with Canterlot’s expectations, it wasn’t often that Vinyl saw Fancy completely bare. She especially hadn’t seen him wearing nothing since he’d been on his health kick. It wasn’t some miraculous change that he’d undergone, but he was starting to look a lot more toned all around.

“Well then. Ready for bed?” Fancy asked.

The mare nodded, her eyes drifting back and forth between the bed and Fancy’s more defined chest. Part of her thought she was supposed to be more attracted to it, but she just felt self-conscious about her much softer self, having lost a lot after taking it easy for almost half a year.

Fancy flicked the lights off with his magic and the two crawled into bed on either side. They pulled the covers over themselves as they inched closer to each other. When their forelegs met in the middle, Vinyl wasn’t sure what to do. She’d been in this position more times than she cared to remember, struggling to find meaning in a meaningless relationship. She placed a hoof to Fancy’s bare chest, feeling its strength again with his heart beating underneath. Vinyl reminded herself that she was safe, that Fancy loved her.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Vinyl?”

“I don’t know.”

“How about this?” Fancy flopped over, turning his back to her and began scooching away to give her plenty of space. “All the… erm… equipment is on this side.”

Vinyl timidly inched closer, catching his shoulder by the hoof to stop his retreat. Pressing herself against his backside, she reached around and grabbed onto Fancy, wrapping her forelegs around him. As she dug into his fur, she could feel his gentle breathing again and savor his comforting scent. It was just like their time at the park, but more intimate, more loving. She squeezed tightly, pulling his warmth closer to hers.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

“A lot better.” Vinyl kissed him on the withers as she clung tightly to him. “I love you so much, Fancy Pants.”

“I love you more than anything, Vinyl Scratch.” Fancy shuffled a little, trying to get comfortable while not putting too much weight on the leg under him. “Would you mind if we tried one more kiss before bed?”

Realizing that he’d been so accommodating that he hadn’t even tried to kiss her goodnight, she giggled to herself and pulled her leg out from under him. “Okay.”

She leaned over him, getting ready to help him along, but to the DJ’s surprise, Fancy met her in the middle. His hoof caressed her cheek, guiding her closer to him in the dark. Their lips met, though a little more roughly than she would’ve done herself. They settled into each other, his strong peppermint mixed with her sweet spearmint in a medley of light love that she felt would only grow stronger with time. After savoring every last moment, they broke apart with her sliding into the safety of his neck.

Fancy’s small smile shined in the darkness. “I hope that was better than my earlier attempt.”

“It was perfect, Fancy.”

And it was perfect. He was perfect. The perfect gentlestallion that loved and cared for her. Vinyl cuddled up to Fancy, knowing that both of their thoughts were overflowing with the love they felt for each other. As they slowly drifted off together, she nuzzled his back one last time to show her appreciation. She had no need to worry, no need to feel alone. Fancy was here for her. He wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Vinyl breathed easy, knowing that she was finally safe.

Finally home.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Jymbroni for helping me keep this chapter romantic!

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 1: The Needle Drop

A crisp chill blew through the evening air in Canterlot. Cloudsdale’s weather pegasi were making their final preparations to release their winter stockpile upon the mountaintop, ensuring this year’s Festival of Flakes would be particularly frosty. Despite the cold, noble mares and stallions of the Canterlot gentry intended to be the first to witness the new winter’s first snowfall before heading back to their warm homes. More importantly, they wanted to make sure they were seen watching the festivities.

Every pony that everypony should know suppressed their shivers under lavish bundles of chic apparel. Half of the attendees' ensembles proved less than effective insulation, but sacrifices had to be made to ensure the unspared expenses were readily apparent. Pleasantries were shared, laughs were kept at a respectable volume, and copious amounts of wine flowed like rivers to maintain an illusion of warmth among the cold and calculating upper class.

In the midst of the many, one stallion stood out, the epitome of the Equestrian elite. Dressed to the nines in his hallmark tuxedo vest under a dapper winter business coat, he carried on various conversations with each participant hanging on to his every golden word. Despite the predictable frivolity of those around him waiting to receive his attention, the ever-model gentlecolt Fancy Pants maintained his prestigious decorum while playing among the hollow platitudes.

Unfortunately, his politeness had cornered him near the open bar with Upper Crust, along with several other ponies spaced just close enough to lock him in place. He’d maintained a slow walk throughout the night to keep warm, but now he wished he'd lived up to his namesake and had actually worn trousers. The sudden star in the finance world regaled her rapt audience with her most recent fiscal victories, though Fancy Pants was certain they were more interested in his listening than her bragging.

“And that was when I secured forty percent,” Upper Crust recounted with domineering glee.

Several chaste ooh’s and aah’s sounded with a smattering of genteel applauses, bringing a prideful smirk to the mare. She tossed her streaked indigo mane she’d had done just for this occasion back, briefly flashing a set of Imperial aquamarine earrings, which topped the rest of her luxurious, brand-new Crystal Empire ensemble. Upper Crust was on the rise, and she wanted everypony to know it.

“No, no. I do appreciate the sentiment, but please! It was the least I could do for all of our dedicated shareholders at Horst Holdings,” she politely assured as she pretended to wave off their devoted attention.

Upper Crust stole a glance towards Fancy Pants. Their glint bore that same expectation he’d seen a million times from a million different ponies silently fishing for praise from Fancy Pants, the Kingmaker of Canterlot. Being among those dedicated shareholders, his shining endorsement would surely make more than a splash in the papers tomorrow, adding to her already growing acclaim.

Of course, any story of her illustrious gains would fail to mention the loser in the deal, Regal Cents, who was notably missing from tonight's festivities. His invitation hadn’t been canceled—the stallion had paid handsomely for his plate months ago. Knowing Regal, he’d rather suffer the humiliation of absence than plaster a grin on his face throughout the entire event while his competition blatantly wore his demise on the hem of her new victory dress.

Still, Regal was a good pony, or at least as good as you could find in the cutthroat Equestrian financial sector. Fancy appreciated the stallion’s transparency with his business associates and partners, and even considered Regal to be a friend for what it was worth. True friendship was a rare and fleeting commodity to find at the top.

But this was the reality of high society. Behind the veneer of Equestrian splendor waged a savage war for bragging rights. It was a foalish back-and-forth played by ponies constantly battling one another to gain an upper hoof for even the smallest success. Anything and everything was fair game to be traded, exploited, and tossed aside when no longer useful.

Fancy Pants had simply grown accustomed to the proverbial bloodsport over the years, though he found the predatory glimmer of entitlement in Upper Crust’s eye irksome. His word would be the final nail in the coffin, and Upper Crust was chomping at the bit to dance on Regal’s grave. This called for a splendid word salad to spare Regal any further misfortune. He had almost settled on his spin when he was bumped, quite literally, out of his thoughts.

“There you are, Fancy Pants! I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Hearing the familiarly posh, Prench accent, Fancy heaved a mental sigh of relief. He adjusted his monocle and raised his neglected drink with his magic to welcome the opportune arrival of Fleur de Lis.

The tall mare strode through the swath of ponies without a care in Equestria. The perfect model of a pony, she parted them like the curtain of a fashion show walkway, showcasing her puffy white and pink Stalliongrad wool coat and bomber hat. A host of curious whispers followed in her wake since the fashion world was all currently abuzz with Germaney tube scarves, but it made no difference. Anything looked in-season on Fleur de Lis.

“Ah, Fleur. What a pleasant surprise.” Fancy bowed as Fleur curtsied for all to see. “I hope this evening finds you well.”

“But of course, my dear Fancy. I have always found your parties to treat everypony well enough,” Fleur answered with a soft smile. She kept her face locked onto his, but her eyes perused the surrounding ponies. She didn’t ask for anything, but her intrusion demanded a response.

“Was there something you needed in particular?”

Her sparkling smile widened. “Oui! A small matter has come to my attention regarding the evening’s musical entertainment, but...” Fleur gazed out over the other ponies in the small crowd. Her wandering eyes stopped at Upper Crust, seeing her frazzle slightly from her stolen spotlight. “I hoped that we could speak more privately.”

Fancy nodded in agreement and Upper Crust’s victorious smile sagged immediately.

“Of course, my dear.” The gentlestallion quickly joined the mare’s side. “Terribly sorry, but if you will excuse me, everypony. Please do enjoy the rest of tonight’s festivities if I do not see you again.”

Upper Crust snapped down on her tongue before she could scream. Seeing her headline slipping from her grasp, she floundered to find any objection to raise. Anything to get just the smallest of comments from Fancy would cement her victory in the eyes of the elite. She stepped forward, but a flash of Fleur’s flowing mane across her path cut her off from reaching her goal.

“Ah, Madame Crust. It is so good to see you again, but I’m afraid we will have to do the catch-up talking later.” Upper Crust tried to reply, but Fleur quickly turned her attention to the others before the banker had a chance to respond. “I do hope you will enjoy the snow tonight. Au revoir, tout le poney!”

With that, Fancy and Fleur trotted away in tandem, leaving the fuming star of the show without her desired endorsement. With the main attraction gone, the other ponies dispersed to more important gossip. The irritation boiling under the surface of Upper Crust found release in a less-than-subtle eye twitch. She turned her attention to the bar and ordered the strongest top-shelf wine to extend her patience.

Fancy Pants followed Fleur de Lis as she led him away from the bustling party. Several ponies tried to follow, but the pair’s longer stride ensured they kept up their quick pace to ward off any interruptions. They ended their journey at the far end of the castle grounds near the entrance to the royal hedge maze. Fleur paused to look at the statue of Discord, admiring the recently remarbled spirit of chaos.

“So, I do believe I am owed a favor, mon cher Fancy Pants,” Fleur purred.

Fancy simply rolled his eyes. “While I do appreciate your timely arrival, there was no need for you to interject on my behalf with Lady Faire.”

Fleur smiled softly and lifted her pristine hoof to suppress a dainty laugh. She fluttered her lashes and trotted quietly to Fancy’s side.

“Qu’est-ce que c’est, are you saying you truly enjoyed listening to their…” she turned a hoof in the air, searching for the correct word, “prattlings on?” the Prench mare inquired innocently.

“It is only a matter of time until you run into someone familiar with your penchant for pushing your luck.”

“Ah! I see what is going on here, cher. Perhaps you would’ve preferred the rambunctious rowdiness of mademoiselle Corn Acopia to, how you say, ‘save your sorry flank?'"

Fleur plucked a long piece of grass, stuck it in her mouth, and tipped the brim of her bomber hat like it had seven more gallons. In the same motion, she casually crossed a foreleg in front of the other while leaning against the carefully trimmed hedges like they were the walls of the seedy Saltlick Spitoon.

“‘Cuz I’ve tried getting through to your high-falutin’ friends out there before. Every last one of ‘em thinking they’re something special just ‘cuz of this here fancy-schmancy shindig going down in the Princesses’ backyard. I don’t think they’d stand a second of talking to an actual pony,” Fleur complained in Corn’s deep, country-fried drawl.

“Now, now. That’s more than enough method for me, Fleur. Was there something you truly needed, or did you simply whisk me away on a whim?”

Fleur chewed the grass for a moment more, and decided to swallow the blade before filing her two characters away and shrugging noncommittally. She vaulted over the back of the bench and plopped down on the other side, resting on her back and giving less than a damn about decorum.

“Meh. Little bit of columns A and B. And C. Might’ve looked into D more, but I’m less into that one. Club D gets all sorts of bad.” She shivered while wincing. The mare shifted around slightly on the bench before flipping over like a cat, causing her hat to shift askew on her head. “But, seriously. Did you see the look on Crusty’s face when I swooped in front of her? Priceless!”

Fancy sighed in both relief and exasperation, finally hearing the real Fleur. Two decades of life had done little to tame her foalish temperament despite having the full body of an adult five years her senior. The beautifully immature Fleur de Lis always enjoyed using and abusing her talents, natural and otherwise, to prey upon the naïvete of nobles who looked for nothing past her assumed pedigree.

“Seriously, Pantsy, I don’t know how you can stand these so-called ‘parties.’” She threw her hooves up to add the necessary quotation marks for emphasis. “A real party would have to at least be bordering on enjoyable. This is just a bunch of unbearable brags with sticks stuck up their flanks trying to see who can pogo the highest.”

Fancy wished he was more offended at her crassness. It didn’t help that her lovely mother’s frankness had fostered it, or that a small part of him agreed with the analogy. Shaking off the unfortunate imagery, he refocused on the matter at hoof.

“Speaking of parties, I am greatly surprised to see you here, Fleur. Not that it is unwelcome—quite the opposite actually—but I thought you were seeing the first snow with your classmates at Celestia’s school.”

“I was, but then we ran into Mr. Melody. He wanted to pass something along.” She clapped her hooves together. “So! Wanna hear the good news or the bad news first?”

“From Steeplechase?” Fancy pondered what it could be for a brief moment and then grimaced at the family name, noting the absence of his usual live musicians from the Equestrian Society for the Performing Arts. After making a few mental connections, he hazarded a question. “Did he have any news regarding Octavia’s whereabouts?”

“Bad news first it is!” Fleur exclaimed and clopped her forehooves together. “He said something about the quartet getting stuck in Manehattan after a winterized cloud accident. Long story short, there’s an avalanche on the railway between us and the Manehattan Musician Matchup. Your go-tos are no-shows.”

Fancy sighed in dismay. That meant his usual backups from the ESPA were, in all likelihood, stuck on the wrong end of the tracks alongside Octavia. All the other musically gifted ponies he could think of were attending his event as guests, and it would be highly inappropriate to request their services. Besides, the likelihood that any of them brought their instruments on a whim was farcical at best.

With no other contingencies prepared, Fancy would simply have to settle for no music. Damage control wouldn’t be too difficult, only tedious. Canterlot nobles had mastered the art of complaining about trivialities for weeks on end if everything wasn’t just so. The worst would be several days of backhoof compliments and talks about the scandalous silence at the most important party of the season. All would be forgotten within a month or two after another inconsequential matter took the nobles by storm, but it was a minor annoyance that Fancy would prefer to avoid.

“Hey! Equestria to Pantsy, you in there?”

An accompanying spread of nearby pebbles managed to snap Fancy from his deep internal musings. Seeing she had his undivided attention, she threw another shot partially for good measure, but mostly for fun. “Can you hear the good news?”

“Oh, of course Fleur. Go on.”

Fancy waited for Fleur to say something, all the while Fleur regarded him impatiently.

“No, I said, can you hear the good news?”

“Yes. And I likewise asked you to continue with what you were saying,” he reiterated cordially.

She flicked her right ear and furrowed her brow, growing annoyed at the continued silence. She finally gave Fancy an expectant look, emphasizing her ears by lifting a hoof up to it and leaning towards the party.

“Fleur!” Fancy shouted, his patience running thin with the party’s success hanging in the balance. “Would you stop messing around and tell me already?”

“You’re seriously telling me you can’t hear that.”

Fancy raised an eyebrow. “Hear what?”

Fleur groaned before hoof-springing up from her comfortable bench. She then gripped his head with her hooves and forcefully turned Fancy’s head towards the direction of the party, cupping her hooves around his ear for maximum reception.

“Can. You. Hear. It. Now?” Fleur enunciated slowly to make sure Fancy Pants could make out every word. Fancy was about to scold Fleur until his focus was taken by beautiful music in the distance coming from the party. It was not just any music, but his usual quartet from the ESPA.

Following the audio trail, he drew closer wondering who was playing the usual set. He rounded the corner to the party and gasped at a sight he hadn’t seen since the royal wedding.

Atop his classical performer’s stage stood a towering amalgamation of modern magitechnological engineering on wheels. Its black and neon blue stood in stark contrast to the carefully crafted Winter Rollout decor around the matching pearly white grand piano. He had seen contraptions like it often at fashion shows and less formal events, but unlike those more upbeat affairs, blaring pop music had been replaced by recordings of the classics by the Society’s best.

“See? I totally gotcha covered, Pantsy.” Fleur proudly puffed out her chest and assumed a strict, imposing stance with her hooves firmly planted on the ground.

“Behold!” Fleur boomed with a much deeper, commanding tone that perfectly matched her Stalliongradian style garb. “I provide musik to fine ponies of Equestria,” she proclaimed, adding a few more v’s and syllables than necessary to “Equestria.”

“A DJ?” Fancy questioned warily.

“Vernyy!” which Fancy Pants assumed meant yes as Fleur saluted firmly. “With best tunes in all your pastel land of fairies and good humor. As you ponies say, ‘am I goot, or am I goot?’”

Seeing his hesitancy, Fleur slowly lowered her hoof as Fancy passed by, shaking his head as he approached the stage. Looking around, there was seemingly nopony operating the device.

“Oh, what now?” Fleur moaned, dropping the act entirely.

“It’s rather impressive equipment, but I highly doubt that records will be an adequate substitute to satisfy the attendees.”

“That’s because you always need to overcomplicate everything. And it’s not as simple as putting a record on.”

Fleur pointed to the turntable as the quartet’s song drew to a close and an electric blue aura enveloped the turntable and a nearby trunk. The needle withdrew from the record and the disk hovered from the mat and was replaced by a different record flying from the trunk. The glimmer faded and the Royal Canterlot Philharmonic began with the first movement of a well-known symphony.

“A classic curated shuffle spell.” Fleur waggled her eyebrows to punctuate the sheer awesomeness before them, but it did little to assuage the stallion’s misgivings. The mare threw a hoof up in the air and scoffed. “Seriously?”

“I apologize, Fleur. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the effort, but there really needs to be live performers to play at such events, or at the very least somepony managing the station.”

“Who said there wasn’t?” Fleur cleared her throat for her Lady Faire voice and prettied up her posture, daintily beckoning towards the crowd with her hoof. “Oh, Miss de Jay? Could you come here for a moment?”

Turning away from the stage, Fancy’s attention joined the many other ponies who were already gawking at the performer currently raiding the buffet tables. A spherical mishmash of hors d'oeuvres floated next to her, enveloped in the same electric blue magic of the shuffle spell.

‘Miss de Jay’ was wearing her signature dark amethyst shades and a well-worn black wool hoodie with the word “Pon-3” stitched in white across the sleeves. Her two-toned blue mane and tail were unkempt, matching precisely the amount of effort she had put into the rest of her appearance. Fancy wondered if the slight shock of yellow hue to her fur was her natural color or evidence that she had skipped a few baths.

Heeding the call to attention, she hastily devoured several random selections from the globe of salad and pastries, cramming a smorgasbord of conflicting flavors into her mouth all at once. She wiped away a slight dribble of drool escaping her stuffed cheeks and forced the rest of her food down in a big gulp, punctuated with a satisfied sigh. Her disgusted onlookers didn’t share in her contentment.

“I skipped dinner for this. Sue me,” she griped under her breath.

The DJ joined the ponies on stage prompting Fleur to introduce the artist of the evening. “I present to you tonight’s entertainment: the mystical mistress of melodious mixing, DJ Pon-3, otherwise known as Vinyl Scratch!”

Despite her uncouth exterior, the young mare was still a lady, and at least to Fancy, should be treated as such. He offered a polite bow to formally greet her that was promptly ignored as she passed him by. Vinyl Scratch kept on her way towards her equipment without even acknowledging the gesture, or at least he thought she ignored it. It was difficult to get a good read on her from behind her obfuscating shades and tightly-drawn hoodie. Regardless, the slight was not lost on the other attendees, and murmurs broke out immediately among the onlookers.

Fleur tittered nervously and leaned into Fancy’s ear. “She’s just a little bitter about missing out on the pizza at the school. Vinyl had to rush back to her apartment to get her stuff and I sorta forgot to snag her a slice on the way out.”

Fancy regarded the ruffian somewhere between curiosity and acute irritation. He hoped his silent reproval would at least catch her attention, but she was far more caught up in finding a place to put her spoils from the buffet. Fancy turned back to Fleur with a hint of incredulity creeping into his rising eyebrow.

“Trust me. Vy’s the absolute best at what she does. Why do you think she’s always contracted for fashion shows?” Fleur offered quietly with a wink.

Fancy’s gaze bounced back to Vinyl who was now lounging on a matching black and blue folding chair. She flipped open some sort of tech magazine while munching on nothing in particular from her wad of food. Fancy gave Fleur one last pleading grimace.

“Hey! Don’t take my word for it. What does your butt say?” she asked, pointing to his kingly cutie mark.

“A discerning eye for talent doesn’t mean that I can simply look at a pony and divine their potential.”

“L’habit ne fait pas le moine.” Fleur clicked her tongue and shrugged, leaving Fancy to his own devices. She commandeered a cushion from one of the tables for herself and joined Vinyl on stage. Immediately, the two students struck up a conversation with laughter and gossip while the records continued to play themselves.

Despite Fancy’s misgivings about the DJ, he conceded the fact that there was music playing now. While it lacked the spectacle and classiness of the live musicians, the technology in Vinyl’s crisp sound system was probably the closest thing he could get on short notice. The shuffling spell bounced from album to album, playing orchestral ambiance present enough to be heard, but not distract from idle conversation. Perhaps this wouldn’t prove more egregious to the nobles' sensibilities than the sound of silence.

With the scheduled snowfall drawing closer and closer, Fancy continued making his rounds about the festival. It mostly amounted to listening to ponies make themselves sound far more impressive and important than they really were, but at least there were no complaints so far. He made a point not to strike up another conversation near Upper Crust. She’d already burned through her social capital for the evening, and any further calls for a host’s attention would be seen as a breach of decorum.

In other words, the festival was shaping up to be another perfectly uneventful event.

Despite Fancy’s initial misgivings, Fleur’s unapproved substitution hadn’t drawn much attention aside from a few curious glances and mumbles from the guests. As for Fleur herself, she didn’t bat an eye at any of it. While she didn’t care much for gentry games, she knew the rules and played them exceedingly well. Her endearingly ditzy Prenchmare persona expertly deflected any would-be criticisms by playing up the DJ’s popularity outside of the upper class. When that wasn’t enough, she was not above using her bewitching beauty to placate them with a wink or a smile.

If Fleur de Lis ever decided to play her hoof seriously, she’d undoubtedly become a tour de force among the elite circles. However, there was no chance of that. Fleur made it clear where her priorities lay by regularly returning to the DJ’s side rather than schmoozing the influential ponies around them.

As for said DJ, Fancy was at least vaguely familiar with her notoriety in certain circles. When the performer finally appeared in his orbit, she’d already amassed a sizable following. Her budding popularity with the masses made her a go-to DJ for Photo Finish and Hoity Toity. Surprisingly, that wasn’t where Fleur had met the young mare. Unbeknownst to him, the two had been best friends for years, having first met at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Not only that, but they were also in the same postgraduate research program.

Fancy recalled the times seeing the DJ playing at big-name events around Canterlot. Even if a show called for a more subdued ambiance, she never seemed to fail to beam an electrifying smile while bobbing her head to the beat of any musical genre she played. He’d even seen her blare traditional Yakyakistani yovidaphone music with ear-bleeding enthusiasm.

However, tonight was completely different. If Fleur wasn’t at her side, Vinyl just barely went through the motions, stiffly sliding the audio levels with a hoof or lazily looking through her record collection. There was no flair or fun to her presence. Sure, the Festival of Flakes didn’t call for anything more, but her utter lack of warmth worried him. When she was alone, Vinyl never smiled. Not even once.

Not content to see such a sour face, he excused himself from his rounds to bring two glasses of Maris chardonnay on stage. A flick from Vinyl’s ear showed she’d heard his approach, but her mood was unreadable as ever behind her various layers. When he got close, she put her magazine down and nonchalantly dove under her turntable.

Fancy took the hint, but pushed it aside and walked around to Vinyl’s side of her turntable. The DJ was hunched close to the ground, her face locked firmly away from his direction. He peered around, trying to catch the mare’s attention, but instead caught sight of several crystals spinning in place alongside other electric gizmos he could never hope to identify. She looked busy, but that didn’t mean she was actually busy. Either way, he pressed on.

“Pardon me, Miss Scratch.”

If Vinyl heard him, she didn’t show it. She poked her head deeper into the underbelly of the machine, causing her hindquarters to rise higher in the air along with her tail.

“Miss Scratch!” Fancy exclaimed as he turned away politely. “Please have some decency!”

A startled yelp as scratchy as her name accompanied the sharp ping of a unicorn horn striking metal. Fancy winced as Vinyl flopped out from the inner workings of her sound system with a pained moan, rubbing the sore spot from the impact.

“What the hay is your problem?” Vinyl sneered, her face burning bright red from either anger, embarrassment, or a mix of both. After another moment, she gave up on ignoring him and sighed. “What’d you want?”

“I apologize for not welcoming you earlier, Miss Scratch. I appreciate you coming on such short notice.” As he tried to mend the rift, a record extracted itself from the box next to him and rolled over to the turntable, swapping places with another that bounced back into its sleeve. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Not really. Just busy staying out of everypony’s mane and hoping they do the same for me.”

Ignoring the obvious hostility, he levitated one of the chardonnays towards the DJ. “I simply wanted to offer you a refreshment and give you my thanks, Miss Scratch.” Fancy hoped the peace offering would melt some of the permafrost around the cold mare, but she wasn’t biting. “I admit I had some misgivings at first, since these ponies were expecting a classical quartet, but I believe your musical presence has been invaluable tonight. I am terribly sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.”

“Uh huh,” she replied with suspicion. Vinyl ignored the liquor and tore the wine closer to Fancy from his magical grasp. She turned her attention towards the wineglass and lit another spell, scanning it from top to bottom. Apparently satisfied with the result, she knocked the entire glass back in one swift sip and deposited the remains next to the box of records.

Slightly taken aback by the young mare’s gumption, Fancy took a sip from his own drink for some liquid strength. “I couldn’t help but notice you’ve been a bit dour this evening, Miss Scratch.”

“Sorry.” she grumbled, turning her attention to the sliders and switches dotting her equipment. “I’ll try to be more invisible then.”

“That’s not quite the point of my observation, Miss Scratch. I simply want to ensure the Festival of Flakes is enjoyable for everypony.”

Vinyl briefly tilted her head up and checked the crowd. “Everypony seems to be fine.”

“What about you?”

That got Vinyl’s attention. She stopped dead in her work and turned to Fancy Pants, pulling back her hood and lifting her sunglasses to reveal a pair of brilliant, cerise eyes glaring back at him. “What about me?”

The aggressive escalation caught Fancy by surprise. “I was simply wondering if there are any accommodations that would make you more comfortable.”

“‘More comfortable accommodations,’ huh?”

“Why yes. Whatever you’d like. After all, I pride myself on ensuring everypony, my staff included, are comfortable.”

“Wow. I wonder what that could possibly mean.”

“Maybe some more food? Another drink perhaps?” Fancy Pants pressed, ignoring the mare’s strange ire. “I personally recommend the confections myself. The griffe de la crème, as it were, was all claw-made by my good friend Gustave le Grand.”

Vinyl blinked twice and tilted her head. “Claw-made?”

“Precisely!” Fancy directed her confused stare towards what was indeed a beautifully enticing dessert buffet covered with a rainbow array of delicious cakes, crêpes, and fruits surrounding an ever-flowing chocolate fountain. “The white one near the center is Fleur’s favorite, though you didn’t hear that from me,” he added with a conspiratorial smirk.

Vinyl arched her eyebrow, seemingly waiting for another horseshoe to drop. “Wait. You’re serious?”

“Of course. You might think you’re full after sampling every hors d'oeuvre on the menu, but I have it on good authority that there is always room for dessert. It may not be as savory as a fresh slice of Manehattan-style pizza, but there are plenty of other flavors to explore. I’d highly recommend giving it a go!”

Vinyl slowly lowered her shades back over her face. “Uhh yeah… that’s okay. I’m, you know, busy with all of this, you know?”

“It’s really no trouble at all if you need to take a break. In fact, Gustave would likely split me straight down the middle if he found out I had allowed a young mare like yourself to go without even a small slice.”

“No! I mean, no thank you. It’s all cool. I’m good. Need to get back to work anyway,” Vinyl quickly deflected. Without missing a beat, she refocused on her music and did her best to ignore the obtrusive pony in her space.

“Ah, I see.” Fancy deflated slightly. “If you do change your mind, please help yourself or let me know if there is anything I can do for you. Nopony should be miserable on such a lovely evening.”

Vinyl peeked up from her mostly unnecessary spellcasting as Fancy trotted away with both wine glasses in tow. He passed Vinyl’s empty one off to a nearby server before continuing to mingle again. Fleur had vouched for him, but Vinyl was no stranger to ponies like him "getting too close to the talent.” She knew her fair share of paragons of sophistication that had spiked a drink or two to help somepony "relax."

There were the occasional rich ponies at these high-brow events that were too drunk or too dumb to know not to make a pass at her. Tonight’s host had been following the creeper script right down the double entendres until claws got involved. Vinyl had never had the flow reverse course so quickly from highroller harassment to birthday party innocence, and she wasn’t sure if she should raise or lower her guard more around the stallion.

The DJ closed the bottom panel of her turntables, no longer interested in distracting herself with fake work. For once, she was far more interested in posh party pony watching. She watched Fancy work his way around the party From behind her tinted shades. The stallion was a constant presence at rich pony gatherings, but beyond his triple A-lister status, she’d never retained much about him.

Seeing everypony vying for his attention, he likely held more sway over the public than the ever-reclusive Princess Luna. With that much power at his hooves, she’d assumed Fancy Pants would be completely insufferable. The Kingmaker of Canterlot had to be a Frankensaddle’s monster of foppishness, a terrifying amalgamation of everything she hated about the nobility, distilled and perfected into one stallion of her nightmares. Fleur said he wasn’t that bad if you got to know him, but there was absolutely no way a pony of his station could possibly be pleasant company.

Vinyl kept an eye on him as he navigated the party, waiting for his true colors to leak through. Ten minutes later, not only had he worked his way through three different conversations, he’d also checked in on every server and guard he passed. The gentlestallion had even taken a drink tray from an exhausted server, letting him catch his breath while he brought guests their liquor. He even collected their empty dishes to take to the kitchen. It was almost like he was being nice just to spite her.

Vinyl was born and raised in Canterlot, but in all her years, she’d never seen anypony with boatloads of bits treating ponies like… well, ponies.

“Vinyl Scratch!”

Of course, there were always exceptions like her best friend, Fleur de Lis. While Fleur may have been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she was far more interested in using said spoon to fling peas at passers-by. A little anarchy went a long way in Vinyl’s book.

“Please welcome back to the stage, Fleur de Lis,” DJ Pon-3 announced for an audience of nopony. Her smile faltered seeing her friend storm the stage at full gallop. Something had set her off into one of her moods. She hadn’t even bothered keeping up appearances as she thundered ahead.

“Don’t give me those horseapples!”

“What?” The smaller unicorn shrank back as Fleur leapt over the turntable and pressed her face into Vinyl’s.

“Pantsy just told me you turned down cake! Le Grand cake!” Fleur snorted angrily. “What the hay is wrong with you?”

“‘Pantsy?’” Shaking her head, Vinyl refocused her attention on the matter at hoof. “Wait! Your mom’s like a patty-serve-Prench-whatever, right? You get to eat cake every day.”

“Non, non! Maîtresse pâtissière! And that’s totally not the point! It’s cake! Cake, Vy!” Fleur roared with terrifying conviction.

“I’m pretty sure ‘because cake’ isn’t a good excuse,” Vinyl replied. “At least outside of Ponyville,” she amended under her breath.

Ignoring her friend, Fleur produced a large plate with two pieces of the cake Fancy had pointed to earlier. She stood tall, holding the plate of sweets aloft in her magic and pointed two forks skyward like Lady Faire’s dual sabres in Ogres and Oubliettes.

“Behold! Gâteau à la Crème Légère de Gustave le Grand!” she proudly proclaimed with a dramatic flourish of her flatware.

Fleur’s grandstanding put the plate of cake in the path of Vinyl’s shuffling spell. A passing record nudged the cake plate over towards the turntable rather than the dining table. A moment later, Fleur swirled the forks around, flipping and twirling them in a mesmerizing dance before reading to strike down her foe.

“Wait! Fleur, no!”

But it was too late. A second later, Fleur plunged the plate down in a cakey coup de grâce upon the unoccupied turntable. The impact knocked the second needle loose which caught itself between the grooves of the spinning plate.

SCREEEECH!

A shrill scrape blared over the speakers with the tortuous intensity of a thousand dragon claws dragged over every chalkboard in Equestria at once. The speakers could barely contain the piercing wail of needles on ceramic as it resounded throughout the party with deafening ferocity. Its echoing cry forced every ear to flop closed as ponies desperately shielded them with their hooves.

Through the terrible shaking of the speakers, Vinyl managed to telekinetically flick the offending needle away from the plate, locking it down, and silencing the cavalcade of sound. The classical record was barely a whisper of a melody above the ringing in everypony’s ears. She pulled herself up to her hooves alongside Fleur to survey the damage.

Overturned plates, spilled drinks, and prone ponies littered the ground. At this point, it looked more like a gentrified food fight gone wrong than a highbrow party. As everypony slowly stood to their hooves, all eyes were locked onto the offending duo. The DJ glowered at Fleur, who at least had the decency to be embarrassed. She scooped a little cake off the offending plate and offered Vinyl a forkful with a sheepish smile.

“I see our substitute symphony couldn’t even handle running her little record player without crashing and burning,” one of the party-goers coldly interjected.

The unbearably posh voice sent a familiar bolt of anger through Vinyl’s fetlocks as Upper Crust stepped forward. The businessmare was doing her best to hide the healthy serving of red wine splotched all over the front of her brand new crystal blue dress, but failing royally. Vinyl might’ve considered almost showing a tiny, microscopic mote of sympathy if not for the utter contempt smoldering behind the other mare’s eyes.

“Why am I not surprised to see you at the center of this? You’re the only pony that could ever give that dreadful draconequus a run for his money.”

Nudging Fleur to the side, Vinyl walked around to meet Upper Crust face-to-face.

“I think we both know that you don’t belong here,” Upper Crust spat in contempt.

“Same to you,” Vinyl growled. “I guess you finally destroyed enough ponies to steal a place at the big pony’s table.”

An invasive glow sparked under the turntable. With fluid precision, Upper Crust tore the turntable’s main power crystal with one flash of a levitation spell, tearing a hole through the front of the chassis.

“H-hey! You can’t just—”

Ignoring Vinyl’s protests, Upper Crust tossed the irritant over her shoulder like garbage towards the fountain before Vinyl had a chance to react with her own magic. The DJ leaned forward trying to catch the crystal before it could take a ruinous dip in the pool, but she couldn’t quite reach in time. Luckily, a pink aura enveloped the sapphire just above the water, leaving a single ripple on its surface.

“Now now, Miss Crust,” Fleur interjected with Lady Faire’s Prench grace as she effortlessly inserted herself into the conversation. “Let’s temper our tempers. It was my mistake for putting my clumsy hooves where I shouldn’t, much like you marehandling such a beautiful gem.”

Upper Crust paused for a moment to clear her throat. “I was dealing with a problem accordingly.”

“Oh! In that case...” Fleur held a hoof over her mouth to hide a dainty laugh as she drew closer to Vinyl and slipped the crystal safely into Vinyl’s bag for safekeeping. “I am afraid you must deal with me too, as we two are a package deal.” Fleur hugged Vinyl, pulling her close to her barrel. “I am sure you know it was I who asked her to come this evening.”

“So I’ve heard.” Upper Crust arched an eyebrow at the affectionate display. “A commendable stance, but unnecessary for a pony such as yourself. It is the ultimate responsibility of those who know better to maintain proper control of their station to prevent such disasters from happening in the first place. Don’t concern yourself with her negligence.”

“Perish the thought!” Fleur pulled Vinyl even closer to her side, smushing Vinyl’s cheek into her chest with a complete lack of regard for personal space. Fleur turned her head skyward with a melodramatic sparkle in her starlit eyes. “Why, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if my mistake would reflect poorly on my dearest friend!”

Surprise flashed across Upper Crust’s face at the bold claim. Before Vinyl could savor her shock, the older mare’s eyes cast a frigid, calculating glower down her nose at the DJ before turning her attention back at Fleur.

“Trust me, she's not worth it.”

Not a sliver of anger or hint of hostility tinged Upper Crust’s voice. Her valuation of Vinyl passed her lips matter-of-factly, deeming the DJ amounting to little more than a nuisance in her eyes. If Upper Crust was disappointed in anything, it was Fleur for not keeping better company. Out of all the things she'd gotten used to hearing from her detractors, one would always hit too close to home.

Worthless…

Vinyl’s breath hitched. Her blood ran cold. The old whisper of a memory wormed its way through her heart. Thankfully, her ensemble was just enough to mask the damage from everypony’s eyes. Unfortunately, Fleur had felt the flinch.

All at once, Faire’s elegance evaporated off of Fleur’s face. She straightened up to her full height, staring daggers at the crusty mare across from her. “Excuse you?”

The acute turn took the crowd by surprise, Upper Crust most of all. Any sense of grace was gone with the mare storming forward with the refinement of an enraged Yak. She leaned down close, with clenched teeth, sneering at the little mare with every ounce of contempt that she could muster. “I swear to Celestia, I will buck your sorry flank so hard that you’ll leave sequins in the stratosphere!”

Upper Crust appeared to hold her ground, but the furtive movement of her eyes betrayed her fear. For once, Vinyl was grateful that Fleur enjoyed playing airhead Prenchmare at fancy parties. It made it all the more impactful when somepony was faced with pure, unbridled Fleur de Lis.

“What in the world is going on here?” Fancy called out as he cut through the crowd of gawkers.

Upper Crust cleared her throat to try and seize control of the quickly devolving situation. “It is a simple misunderstanding, Sir Fancy Pants. One that will hopefully be resolved with your presence.”

“Non, non, monsieur! Cette chienne incrustée de pyrite—” Fleur shouted bitterly over the mare.

“Fleur! Behave yourself!” Fancy chided sharply, stopping Fleur’s Prench tirade in its tracks. Vinyl had never seen anything like it.

With the wind stolen from Fleur’s sails, Upper Crust politely cleared her throat. “As I was saying, I will admit I lost my temper, but I simply wanted to ensure Fleur’s choice of ‘entertainment’ wouldn’t be causing any more needless damage. While everypony appreciates Fleur’s kind gesture to give her 'friend' the chance to prove herself, she simply lacks your discerning eye for excellence. Had I known the need was this dire, I would gladly have offered my meager record collection to avoid such a disaster in the first place.”

A murmur of agreement arose from the other attendees.

“She is a corrupting influence on our dear Miss de Lis!”
“Did you see how she treated our host earlier? Reprehensible if you ask me.”
“What a terrible waste of a musical cutie mark.”

Vinyl’s stomach churned with a torrent of emotions. Hatred, embarrassment, sadness, worthlessness; she wanted nothing more than to lash out with her magic and burn the entire castle to the ground. But she refused them the pleasure of breaking down. She ripped her hoodie off and strode across the stage. Several ponies moved out of the way to make room for her expected departure, but she instead stopped in front of the grand piano meant for Frederick Horseshoepin.

They wanted music? She’d give them some damn music.

Vinyl expertly adjusted the instrument’s bench to a comfortable height before sitting down and ran a hoof over the ivory keys. After savoring its perfect tuning, she shook the tension in her hooves before straightening herself into a posture proper enough to fulfill her audience’s expectations. With a gentle touch, she began to play a song from memory.

The piece started out slow with echoing notes drifting gently over the audience. She plucked each simple, but impactful tone like a harp, its depth belying an almost foalish simplicity. Vinyl’s playing steadily picked up, weaving more complicated sounds together, melding them into a flurrying crescendo. Ponies gaped in awe as the lowly DJ wove a wondrous tapestry of sound before them. Some even double-checked the speakers to ensure the sounds weren’t being played by a record.

A few minutes into the performance, a cold breeze arose and ponies began feeling the chill of fresh snowflakes in the air. The wind sparkled with a winter-kissed, diamond shimmer that swirled around Canterlot, ushering in the first snow of the season. Couples cuddled together for warmth and watched the flakes fall. Vinyl’s piano gave life to the spectacle with flakes dancing together in the air. No two flakes were the same as they spun and twirled in their grand, icy ball to the music whisking them together in harmony.

For the first time in a very long time, Vinyl felt just a little thankful for the classical source of her cutie mark.

Fancy Pants smiled warmly as he listened to the impromptu live performance. Apparently the young DJ was full of pleasant surprises. The piece was a seasonal song intended for the spring solstice called “A Stroll Through the Secret Garden”. However, with each note falling as gently as the snow around them, it seemed perfectly suited for this occasion as well.

Fancy backed away from the stage. While obviously not a perfect fix after the ear-shattering sound earlier, the soothing music was enough to stem the guests’ anger with unexpected spectacle. The resulting fallout would be taken care of easily enough later anyway. He rejoined the others on the garden grass, but couldn’t keep his wandering eyes from the captivating piano solo echoing from the stage surrounded by silver snowfall.

“Beautiful, isn’t it, Pantsy?” Fleur sighed.

Fancy suppressed a discomforted grunt as Fleur reared up to her usual spot on Fancy’s back, using him as a table. She rested her knees on the small of his back and cradled her head in her forehooves like a daydreaming schoolfilly. Matching her gaze, he wasn’t sure if she was looking at the snow or Upper Crust trotting off the stage.

“Indeed, and dare I say, suspiciously convenient.” Fancy noted the time with a quick look at his pocket watch. Tonight’s forecasted weather wasn’t supposed to start for another hour and a half. “Would you happen to know anything about the early snowfall considering you vanished right after Miss Vinyl sat at the piano?”

Fleur shrugged and lolled her tongue out to catch several flakes, savoring the crisp chill. Her silence was unconvincing. Fancy cleared his throat, expecting a better response from the young mare.

“Apparently, Princess Luna requested the weather be bumped up immediately for royal scheduling reasons,” she finally answered.

“And from where did you hear that?” Fancy pressed further, looking over his shoulder. Fleur’s eyes wandered ever further from his gaze.

“Nowhere in particular,” Fleur answered with a remarkably convincing Princess Luna impression.

“You know impersonating government officials is a criminal offense, especially a princess.”

“Is it my fault if a guard happens to overhear me practicing and just so happens to get the wrong idea?” If not for the ghost of a grin working its way up her cheek, Fancy would say Fleur wore her undue innocence rather well. “Besides, after that foul, this party was clearly over.”

“I do not believe that was your call to make, Fleur,” Fancy said while looking over his shoulder. “Should I make your mother aware of this?”

“Are you sure you want to do that? Maman knows who’s judgment to trust more.” Fleur radiated with familial pride while Fancy remained unconvinced. “Plus, she’s probably still mad at you for having the gall to invite her instead of asking her to cater the event.”

“Fair point. Éclair always prefers working these events than attending.”

Fleur ran a hoof through her mane. “Always the hard working mare, Maman.”

“And I’m sure she wouldn’t be at all upset regarding your traitorous cake preferences.”

“Oh hoh, no!” she remarked with a swift jab of her knee into his shoulder. “If you even breathe a word about that, I’ll make sure I take you down with me!”

Fancy and Fleur shared a good laugh. It had been a long time since they simply talked, and it felt good to reconnect. Meanwhile, she adjusted her forelegs, kneading Fancy’s back like a cat to find a more comfortable position before leaning further into her favorite perch.

“Fleur? Could you perhaps remove yourself from my back? You’re not five anymore.”

“Mmm…” she pondered aloud for all of two seconds. “Not a chance.”

The light flakes had yielded to thicker snow drifts as Fleur helped Vinyl push the bulky mobile sound system towards Vinyl’s dorm. The DJ pulled at her hoodie’s strings to shun the cold. She wished she had worn leggings or at least a heavier coat like Fleur’s. Despite growing up in Canterlot, Vinyl never liked the cold mountain air, especially during winter. She usually relied on spellwork to warm herself up, but her magic was currently occupied with protecting her damaged sound system from the snow.

After Vinyl had closed out the evening with her snowfall piano solo lovingly called “Shut Up Juice in F Major,” she bolted from the garden party with Fleur before doing anything else she’d regret. Clobbering any one of those self-righteous nobles would’ve done wonders for her attitude, but she couldn’t risk upsetting potential clients anymore than she already had. She didn’t give much thought to their opinion of her, but a mare’s gotta eat.

Fleur had kept uncharacteristically quiet on their trip back. While the silence was somewhat of a welcome novelty, it was tumultuous at best. Vinyl knew better than to let it continue, with the cavalcade of emotions shuffling across Fleur’s face.

“Chill, Fleur. I told you I’m not angry,” Vinyl insisted, trying to convince herself more than Fleur.

The mare sniffed as the pressure finally cracked her. “Yes, you are!” Fleur cried bitterly. “You are and it’s totally my fault! If I hadn’t forced you to help out with Pantsy’s stupid festival...”

“He’d be up a river without a paddle, right?” Vinyl noted with a knowing smile.

Fleur opened her mouth to protest, again running through a procession of emotions. She sniffed, coming up short.

“Besides, it was for cake, right?” Vinyl added.

“Oh sure. Because cake.”

“Hey, your words, not mine. And you could always throw an apology party with an apology cake.”

“Really? Fighting fire with fire?” Fleur asked behind a half-hearted chuckle.

“More like frosting with frosting. It’s not the first time I’ve heard it.”

A small smile graced Fleur’s lips before slinking back down. She kicked a loose stone and watched it skip down the road a ways ahead of them. “I know how much you hate all that ‘high society’ stuff, Vy. Heaven knows I can barely stand going to those boring parties either.”

“That’s Canterlot for you. But, if I couldn’t handle a few critics, I’d be in the wrong business. Besides, the night wasn’t all terrible.”

Fleur arched an inquisitive eyebrow. “I blundered my way into framing you for ruining a premier event in front of the most influential ponies in Canterlot. How is that not the worst?”

“Well, before that, you were right about Fancy Pants,” Vinyl admitted, thinking back to the gentlestallion’s unexpected demeanor. “Kinda renewed my faith in ponykind here in Canterlot. Sure, he was kinda weird, but at least he didn’t seem like a total jerk.”

A small smile crossed Fleur’s face. “Not a total jerk, but still kind of a jerk?”

“What I mean is, I can see why you and Mr. Melody wanted to help him out,” Vinyl offered while dodging the question. “And, you two seemed... oddly close.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, you called him Pantsy for one thing and were all over him towards the end of the night. You wrapped yourself around him like a monkey.”

Fleur waved a dismissive hoof, articulating the finer points of her response by blowing a raspberry like a four-year-old. “It’s not my fault Pantsy is the best fancy table, hoof-rest, and bunk bed, all rolled into one.”

“Bunk bed?”

Fleur nodded confidently in reply until she noticed the growing concern across Vinyl’s face.

“Don’t get all weird on me, Vy,” said the pot to the kettle.

“You're the weird one here! I don't think you’ve ever talked about being that close to anypony. Besides, you’re the one who’s putting the images of beds and stallions in my head.”

“Ugh! Bleck! No! Pantsy’s like my—” Fleur stopped to cringe and desperately tried to physically shake her head enough to derail her train of thought. “Do you even know how old he is?”

Vinyl pursed her lower lip trying to piece a theory together. His voice didn't sound too old and facial fur always made a stallion look older than he was, but she ultimately gave up with a shrug before bothering to guess.

“Thirty. Six. Four years younger than Maman! When I was little, he used to play with me and carry me on his back all the time after my dad died.”

The picture of a tiny, nerdy Fleur de Lis riding the back of a random multimillionaire with no apparent connection seemed decidedly fishy. “So, like what, he’s your godfather, uncle, or something?”

Fleur stopped and thought about her response longer than Vinyl would deem necessary for someone so apparently close. “You’ll have to ask him.”

Before Vinyl could raise an objection, they arrived at her apartment complex. Fleur fished out the spare key from Vinyl's saddlebag and shoved it into the lock. “And we’re here! Thanks again for helping out, even if it turned into a slight total disaster at the end there.”

“Meh, I’ve had worse, like my debut performance at Cantrips.”

“Yeah, I know. I was there.” Fleur shuddered at the memory. “So. Many. Shots.”

“Exactly. And you know what? You’ve always been there to have my back, or to hold my mane back while I puke liquid failure for an hour.”

“Of course! It’s gonna take a whole lot more than a few knocks upside the head and a herd of angry aristocrats to break up ‘SchlurrVivyl!’” Fleur proudly declared with the same slobbery passion during her braces phase.

“Right. Cause we’re the best of the best…” Vinyl started.

“Better than the rest…” Fleur continued.

Vinyl leaned in close. “Ain’t no contest…”

“Friends!” they both said together with their painfully cheesy preteen lines.

Fleur pulled Vinyl close into one of her crushing bear hugs. Though she was used to it, Vinyl swore Fleur always used a bit of magic to make them particularly strong. Either that, or she had more of her mother’s earth pony strength in her than they knew.

Still, to Vinyl, it was good to know that even after a terrible night, she had Fleur as a friend through thick and thin. After saying their goodbyes, Vinyl shuffled her things into her cramped studio apartment. She tossed her hoodie next to the overflowing hamper and collapsed onto her bed to sleep the night off like a bad headache.

Author's Note

This story is dedicated to the ever important "Audience of One". The one whose life may be made better with a momentary escape from reality. Whoever that one happens to be, I hope you enjoy this story. I will do my best to tell it. - Lord Regulus

The song that inspired the piano piece is called “Rakuen~Secret Garden from Wolf’s Rain” by Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts. The video might be region locked, but if you can, give it a listen or find it on Spotify. It’s definitely one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve ever heard. I found it on the Space Bio Charge album.

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section.

Chapter 4: Time for Tea

Rose congou had never tasted so refreshing. Fancy Pants wondered if it was due to better ingredients or the simple fact he was taking a moment to breathe. Most of his day had been lost to fruitless meeting after fruitless meeting with nobles all over the city. He hadn’t expected to be met with such stubborn resistance. The Vinyl Screech had captured the attention of every one of them, even the ponies who weren’t even at the festival. It was a comfortably familiar scandal that they were wrapping their hooves around and weren’t about to let go. He hated that he could understand why.

The last few months had been a nonstop flurry of world-shattering events and paradigm shifts. Seemingly, the moment anypony thought they could catch their breath, something else would shake the mountaintop from settling into a new norm. At least, historians would be spoiled for choice in terms of naming potential for the new era whenever things finally calmed down.

However, it wouldn’t be fair to ignore the more noble of the nobles’ sensibilities. It was true the racket had interrupted royal proceedings. Some nocturnes had suffered headaches or minor injuries from short falls. Those parts of their argument did bear some merit, at least for those responding in good faith. Unfortunately, most were just latching onto half-remembered factoids in order to bolster their own narratives.

Not that any of it mattered much right now. Presently, the only thing on Fancy’s mind was savoring the floral taste of expertly brewed rose petals dancing in his mouth. After running around half of Canterlot, he was content in resting his hooves for a spell. If Princess Celestia could take a moment away from ruling a country for an afternoon tea, then he would do the same and check his problems at the door.

“Tea has a way of lifting the weight of the world off one’s shoulders, doesn’t it?” Princess Celestia remarked.

“Coming from you, I suppose you mean it more literally, your highness.”

The princess didn’t answer, but judging by the ancient, knowing glint in her eyes, a timely cup of tea might very well have saved the nation once or twice. Instead, she picked up a scone and spread jam over it before adding a healthy dollop of cream. She bit into her gooey treat, her eyes lighting up like a foal on Hearth’s Warming.

The princess sighed in heavenly bliss. “I wish we could enjoy such divine treats more often.”

Fancy regarded the Princess’ selections for the day: Apple family zap apple jam, nimbostratus Cloudsdale cream, apple cinnamon scones, and the tea blended with sunkissed roses from the royal garden. Even for Celestia’s devotion to sugar, the spread was a bit excessive. Not only that, but it was slightly too familiar for his tastes.

“Is something the matter with the food, Fancy?” Celestia asked innocently enough.

“No, Princess. It’s more that the offerings are a tad more elaborate than normal. Is there a special event I am forgetting?”

“Beyond the pleasures of good company? No. But I think that alone is worth celebrating. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Fancy Pants looked back at the alicorn from across the breakfast table. Her eyes had wandered towards the large sunroom windows overlooking the expansive royal garden. Though her favorite garden flowers were under piles of snow, the winter landscape provided its own colorful beauty with sunlight refracting through the icicles and frost, casting rainbows across the blank white mounds. Be it at the height of spring or the dead of winter, the garden never ceased to be breathtaking.

That wasn’t to say the princess’ personal tea room wasn’t something to be admired as well. While many places around the castle shined with the wondrous might of Equestria and her history in all its regal splendor, the princess’ private and cozy retreat was a simpler affair. It was far smaller than one would expect from a princess anything, fitting only a hoof-full of ponies comfortably by design.

The walls were sparsely decorated with only a few shelves for storage and sconces for days where the sun or moon didn’t provide enough light. It was almost purely utilitarian in design, as to not distract the eyes of anypony from the wall of windows framing the idyllic garden scenery backdropped by the natural beauty of the waterfalls cascading down the mountainside.

Fancy took another drink from his cup while he mused. “I would. Though it would be remiss of me if I didn’t note that it is not everyday that your hostess lavishes you with your mother’s favorite flavors.”

Celestia turned back to Fancy Pants with a warm smile. “So you finally noticed. But are they not your favorites as well?”

“I would be a fool to turn down such decadence.” Fancy lifted a jam-dipped knife to his scone and spread a tepid amount before scraping the excess back into the jar. “However, I always found zap apples a bit too sweet for my liking.”

Celestia hummed to herself. “Perhaps I have misremembered,” she wondered as she scraped Fancy’s excess from the jar’s rim to enjoy herself. “But I distinctly remember Summers swearing up and down that you loved it. She always talked about you when I visited her spa.”

A small nostalgic smile crossed Fancy’s lips. “I suppose mother always knew what to leverage to get what she wanted.”

The princess blinked once, twice, and snickered before the dams broke. She laughed wholeheartedly, just as she had after the last ruinous gala. Fancy Pants was one of the few ponies she could relax around, mostly a carryover from his family having been friends with her royal highness years before he was born. It didn’t hurt that he’d done his best to maintain the historical relationship and foster one of his own as a second generation noble.

“Even after all these years, she still somehow manages to get the better of me,” the princess chuckled as Fancy poured her another cup of tea. She watched as the loose tea leaves and petals flowed around the edges like a spinning clock. A quiet lull sank into the conversation as Fancy prepared the tea.

“Still, you have failed to explain yourself, dear princess,” Fancy reminded his present company. “Would you care for some more sugar?”

“Yes, please. And I beg your pardon?” she replied with all the grace befitting her station resumed.

Fancy placed three cubes of sugar into the tea and gently stirred. “For being the one who brings the light of day, you take a strange satisfaction from keeping the ponies around you in the dark.”

“In relation to what?” The princess’ smile didn’t move one iota. While most would be lost in her serene grace, Fancy’s long years of service to Equestria had taught him better.

Her smiles were masks. Ones of renowned, impenetrable beauty that never failed to move the hearts of creatures across the world. There was no way to break through without privileged information, and the mysterious mare rarely shared her secrets. After all, the Age of Silence was not named after the stories lost to time, but rather the one the silent princess refused to tell.

“Alright then. Keep your secrets.” He levitated the freshly poured tea to the princess.

“Thank you.” She wrapped her magical aura over the cup as he retreated. “And I could say the same to you.”

“The key difference being that you already know all of mine if our menu for today is any indication.”

“Back on that are we?” The princess’ serenity grew even calmer. “What makes you think there’s an agenda to begin with?”

A silent alarm rang in his head. Agenda was a rather leading word, and they both knew it. “There would be no reason to play a coy pony more than half your age.”

“I assure you, it is far more than half.”

“So is this the point where I am supposed to take the bait and grab onto the single grain of truth to deduce that you have a secret, yes?” Fancy took a tame bite out of his lightly covered pastry.

The princess’ smile grew ever more serene. “You’re no fun today, Fancy Pants.”

Fancy added her use of his full name to the growing pile of red flags. She had stopped, but wasn’t going to let him get away that easily. “I humbly apologize, your highness. I am too tired to entertain this game for long,”

“I see.” Princess Celestia poured Fancy Pants another cup of tea. Without asking, she dropped two sugars into his cup. “Then I'm glad your mother’s favorites are so reinvigorating. I find them perfect after a stressful day. I assure you, it has been a long one for us both.”

“There’s no hiding anything from you, is there?” Fancy Pants chuckled lightly and gladly took his overly sweetened tea. “So, this is equal parts for the both of us?”

“Very much so. Last night caused quite a commotion just when she was trying to resume her Night Court. My sister is still getting used to modern affairs and the sudden appearance of angry petitioners proved to be…” The princess pursed her lips trying to find the words. “A bit much to manage. She has not yet grown accustomed to today’s media frenzy after such events. A millennium ago, she would’ve shouted them out of court with one word using the Royal Canterlot Voice.”

“Oh my.” Fancy Pants shuddered slightly, knowing the younger princess’ dated temperament. “What did her highness do?”

“Why, she shouted them out of the court with one word using the Royal Canterlot Voice, of course.” Celestia did her best to obscure a delighted smirk behind her cup. “There are a few words that my sister and I know that carry a bit more weight than others.”

“So, that part of the tale wasn’t an embellishment,” he thought aloud, recalling some of the more over-the-top reactions to last night’s event. “Remind me to never get on diarchy’s bad side.”

“Many have forgotten its true power. Luna told me she was surprised by the fear it instilled during Nightmare Night. Its more forceful use has become exceedingly rare in our age of peace, though I won’t pretend that I haven’t entertained the thought of shouting down the press in the same way. It can be quite exhausting when you need a moment of privacy, as you should know very well.”

Fancy nodded. There had been a time when his family’s day-to-day lives made the front page of every tabloid and newspaper, but that was years ago. While his current quiet bachelor lifestyle left the paparazzi with very little to sensationalize, his popstar parents, Sauna Summers and Suede Shoes, had lived on the complete opposite end of the spectrum.

They were the Queen of Disco and the Velvet Voice of Canterlot, never knowing a moment’s peace at the height of their musical popularity. Many of Fancy’s first memories were polluted by blinding camera flashes. When he was a little older, he’d always hated dodging the media when he was sneaking out. Back then it was always ponies trying to get the latest news about the stars living there, not so much their obscure delinquent son.

Fancy Pants absentmindedly removed his monocle and produced his polishing cloth. He began rubbing the lens methodically to remove any blotches that might’ve accumulated over the course of the day. A flash emitted from the cloth and then his coat pocket. He followed the sparkling trail to the source and withdrew a pristinely clean monocle.

“That’s one way to get a stallion’s attention.”

“Just bringing you back to the present, Fancy Pants,” she remarked with motherly concern. “Besides, you don’t seem like yourself without it. ‘One must always look their part,’ right, Sir Fancy Pants?” Celestia joked and gently tapped her tiara with her golden shod hoof.

“Of course, your royal highness, Princess Celestia, Sovereign of Sol.” Fancy Pants stood from his cushion and raised his voice as if he was announcing Celestia’s presence to an entire kingdom. He swept a hoof at the imaginary crowd, letting an old flame burn in his eyes. “The Harbinger of Harmony! Dismantler of Discord! Vanquisher of villains far and wide such as the mighty—”

“Enough, enough! Goodness, you always made me sound so intimidating. I believe most of those ‘vanquishings’ were ended through diplomacy, not violence.” Celestia shooed the overly ceremonious titles and pageantry away like an annoying fly.

“True, but the griffons didn’t need to know that.” Fancy Pants flashed a winning smile. “‘Ferocity, tenacity, victory’ as they say. And the warrior’s embellishment is par for the course in Griffonstone.”

“And you knew just the right stories to retell. I have always admired the way you can connect to anyone and everyone.”

“It was my job to know, just like it always is to know the very best from the rest of the best,” he stated with no pomp or pride as it was simply a fact. Fancy Pants retook his seat from across the table.

“And using your talents for the betterment of all Equestria rather than your own personal gain is one of the many reasons I knighted you in the first place,” Celestia said while smiling the same way she had during the ceremony. “I do miss your hoof at my side.”

“And here I thought I had found a moment’s peace,” Fancy joked half-heartedly as he readied his defenses once again. “While I appreciate my time as an Ambassador, I must once again reiterate that I still very much enjoy my current local life here in the capitol. My tenure as Sir Fancy Pants of the Equestrian Embassy is done, and gladly so.”

The princess glanced to the side with a slight pout drawn on her lips. “And here I was hoping to ask a small favor of you.”

Fancy Pants took a sip of tea for strength, but the sweetness bit back. “I apologize, but I told you upfront that I wasn’t playing this game, Princess Celestia,” he countered. “And, with all due respect, it will take more than buttering me up with my mother’s favorites, my monocle, and my ego to have me traipse halfway across the world when there's plenty needing done right here.”

“I couldn't agree more,” Celestia nodded, knocking Fancy off balance with a ceding parry. “I need somepony I can trust who bears a deep knowledge of Canterlot to be an ambassador of today in Canterlot, tonight. And I can’t think of anypony better suited to the task than you.”

“And what need is there in a retired ambassador like myself on such short notice?”

“I would like you to serve as an escort for my sister this evening.”

Fancy’s eyes widened in surprise. “An escort? Tonight?”

“Yes. You have done so plenty of times in the past for foreign dignitaries. This world is barely recognizable to Luna now, and I would very much like her to get out of the castle for a while and explore.”

Normally he wouldn’t decline such a request, especially from the princess, but time was of the essence with the fallout from the festival. He needed to spend what little of the day remained trying to lessen the blow to DJ Pon-3’s reputation. There were so powerful ponies lining up against the young mare to take a shot at her simply to be seen doing so. The last thing Fancy wanted was for her career to be ruined by an accident.

“I’m not sure, your highness. Wouldn’t she be more comfortable with the friends she's made in Ponyville?”

“While my student and her friends have my eternal thanks, this is not their part to play in her life. Besides, she is rather… resistant to getting along with the nobles in this modern era.” The princess pointed a hoof towards Fancy. “But you are an exception, my most capable envoy.”

“While I appreciate your confidence in me, I’m not sure I share it. Perhaps I could help find somepony more suited for the task?” Fancy offered as she quietly reached for the Cloudsdale cream and methodically prepared another cinnamon scone.

“There is nopony else I trust more than you in this matter, unless, of course, you have an issue with spending time with my beloved Lulu.” A heated edge emerged from behind Celestia’s smiling eyes.

“Not at all!” Fancy quickly deflected. “It’s simply that I am rather busy with some things regarding the Festival of Flakes today—”

“I am more than happy to lend Raven or Kibitz to help handle any truly pressing matters you might still have.” She paused to take a crumbless bite out of her impeccable scone, closing her eyes to savor the overly sweet flavor. “I’m sure you could use a night off just as much as Lulu could after what happened with that dreadful noise last night.”

“You know that I would normally both agree and would gladly accept such a generous offer, but I’d rather not take them away from their important duties at the castle.” Fancy took another quick sip of the overly sweet tea to buy himself a moment to think. “Furthermore, I was the host that evening, so the responsibility ultimately falls to my hooves.”

“I see.” She swallowed and sighed, content with her perfectly delicious creation. Her eyelids slowly drew open like a curtain as her ancient eyes pierced Fancy’s soul. “By the way, did you happen to notice that the first snow of the year fell almost two hours earlier than expected?”

Fancy nearly choked on the burning sugar stabbed like thorns in the back of Fancy’s throat.

“After looking into the matter, it appears that an order to begin the first snowfall had come from Princess Luna directly. Rather harshly too if the guard’s report is to be believed. The weather officials' feathers were rather ruffled by the sudden change in schedule.” Celestia hummed to herself in thought as she rocked her head back and forth. “It’s so strange too given she has no memory of giving such a command. I take such matters very seriously, so I looked into it myself just in case there was foul play.”

Fancy opened his mouth, but nothing but empty retorts came to mind.

“I intend to share the details that I found with Luna when she wakes up for dinner tonight. However, if for some reason she were to be too busy, a few of the details might’ve slipped my mind by tomorrow morning.” Princess Celestia smiled upon Fancy Pants with the heavenly serenity of Elysium. “Are you sure you won’t reconsider, ‘Pantsy?’”

After ripping out the rest of the day’s itinerary and tossing it into the royal waiting room’s fireplace, Fancy Pants faced the familiar vanity mirror to check himself. The vanity was made of whitetail poplar, crafted to resemble the marble columns of the castle halls. It had been a trusty companion during his ambassadorial days as his last-minute prep station before meeting any foreign dignitary.

Old habits kicked in and he opened the drawers for his trusty grooming kit. Before he could scoff at his muscle memory leading him astray, he was met with a curiously weighty resistance. He pulled the drawer out further to reveal his supplies were still there. He lifted the various bottles, combs, and fragrances eyeing them curiously.

“Brand new,” he noted to himself after sniffing the cologne. It wasn’t a scent he had used before, but it was certainly high quality. Before he could pass it off as somepony else’s, he noticed the mustache combs suspended in barbicide next to an unopened tin of his favorite brand of beard wax. On top of that, everything had been meticulously placed exactly how Fancy always organized it back in the day.

Fancy chuckled to himself. “Well played, your highness. Well played.”

The seasoned diplomat went to work and grabbed the tools of his trade by hoof. Perhaps it was his mother’s pegasus side getting into him, but there was a certain tactile pleasure to the process. A little wax here, a brush stroke there; it was the simple rituals that focused him before any meeting. He finished his preparations by trotting through two spritzes of cologne, dispersing it lightly over his body, just in time for the double doors to open.

With no announcement or ceremony, two armored nocturnes stepped through and held the doors open for Princess Luna. She stepped through the portal with long, commanding, yet graceful strides that barely made a click upon the tiled floor. The night blue alicorn was dressed as she always was, adorned with the same beautifully mysterious regalia of silverlight and ebony. Her ethereal mane and tail sparkled much like Celestia’s, but with the intensity of a cluster of stars. She couldn’t be any more different and similar to her elder sister.

While the younger princess was no stranger to Fancy, they were little more than acquaintances. Any meetings between them had been completely coincidental since her return from the moon. Despite always sending invitations, the ever reclusive alicorn hadn’t attended a single event in Canterlot outside of musical performances and he wasn’t sure why. He deeply bowed as the lunar princess approached.

“Sir Fancy Pants,” Princess Luna addressed coldly.

“I hope this evening has found you well, Your Majesty,” he replied, head still bowed.

“Rise so we may look upon thee.”

At her command, Fancy Pants rose to meet the princess’ gaze. Despite only being slightly taller than him, her galactic presence filled the entire room. Her countenance was locked in a steely, almost contemptuous aloofness as she regarded him. While Princess Celestia usually kept her alicorn power closer to the hip, it seemed the younger princess wore her celestial heritage on her withers. The merest glance bore down upon mortals with the blinding might of a supernova.

“Our sister believes we should ‘get out more’ if we are using the proper vernacular,” she announced sternly. She opened her mouth to continue, but one of the sentries quickly appeared at her side and whispered something into her ear. She nodded along thoughtfully for a few moments until a stark realization sent her rigid, her eyes widening for the briefest moment. Her pupils shot back to Fancy Pants for a brief moment before returning to the night guard.

The guard nodded silently and darted back to the doorway just as quickly as he had arrived. The princess coughed to the side to clear her throat. “We—I meant to say, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Sister has said much in regard to your deeds for Equestria and our ponies.”

“You are too kind, your highness. The pleasure is all mine,” Fancy replied with another short bow.

“Yes, of course.” Luna’s eyes wandered the room. “Sister also tells that you are well-versed in the goings-on of Canterlot and would be an invaluable boon to my… assimilation of modern society.” Luna’s brief survey of the room ended on her guard, who quickly nodded approvingly, prompting a tiny smile of her own.

He paused, running the sentence through his head again for good measure. “I suppose that is one way to put it.”

“Oh, most joyous news! Long have we desired to explore this new ‘nightlife’ our sister has spoken of and would be most pleased to partake in its wonder as well!”

Princess Luna’s overwhelming power was only second to her radiance as her elation sent her skyward. She twirled above with the stars in her mane dancing around her. Her delightful display came to a sudden stop as her eyes shrank with realization. She bit her lip and quickly grounded herself with a powerful thud on all four hooves.

“I! We meant I! I mean, I have wanted to uhh…” She slammed a hoof down in frustration and turned away in a huff. “Oh, this manner of speaking is utterly vexing, Fluttershy!” she cursed to herself. Fancy Pants pretended not to hear as the frazzled pony began muttering “‘I’ before ‘We’ except when it’s not just ‘Me,'” repeatedly as her nebula of hair seemed to somehow fray from stress.

Out of all the possibilities that were to come of Princess Celestia’s firm request to escort her sister for the evening, the last thing he’d expected was for her sister to be a nervous wreck. Her curious absence from royal and elite affairs was far less mysterious now. Princess Luna had gone from a dauntless lunar diarch to an awkwardly stuttering introvert in the span of fifteen seconds.

“I beg your pardon, your highness—” Fancy was interrupted by a flash of interstellar space as Luna spun sharply to face him and whipped him with her tail.

“It is granted!” she responded far too quickly.

The words momentarily died on Fancy’s lips at the official pardon he’d just received. He cleared his throat, pushing past the princess’ awkwardness. “There is no need to be nervous around a simple pony such as myself.”

“Tis a lie! We are not nervous,” she lied nervously.

“Of course, Princess Luna. What I meant to say is that I would be more than happy to show you around Canterlot this evening.”

Her eyes lit up like the stars. “We thank thee for thy kindness, Sir Fancy Pants.” The one night guard coughed politely, which Luna responded to with a withering glare before returning to Fancy. “I mean, thank you, Sir Fancy Pants,” Luna corrected, pulling her hoof through her mane. She clicked her tongue absently and looked at the position of the low lying sun. “When did you last eat?”

“Only a small snack during afternoon tea with Princess Celestia, your highness.”

“I see. Knowing her penchant for filling sweets, it may be some time before you are hungry once more,” the princess pondered aloud. She stared at nothing in particular while finishing unspoken calculations in her head. “You are the expert, so I will defer to your judgment. What shall we do while we wait?”

While he had only eaten a lightly dressed scone with the princess, he didn’t want to correct her assumption. “Would you be against eating somewhere in the city proper?”

“Far from it. It was my intention to dine outside the castle this evening. With your guidance, of course.”

“Then, if it pleases you, we could walk to our destination. It is shaping up to be a splendid evening, and a walk through the crisp winter air is sure to work up our appetites, Princess Luna.”

For the first time, the princess beamed a brilliant smile, relaxed and bright as starlight. “An evening stroll would be most splendid, Sir Fancy Pants. I will raise the moon early and return shortly.”

She motioned to her night guard and started down the hallway towards the lunar dias. Before she shut the door, she turned back to her host for the evening.

“Oh, and please. Call me Luna.”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 10: Wonderful Moonlight

From the moment they’d opened Pâte de Lune, the normally subdued earthy tones of the bistro had been completely subsumed by a veritable painter’s palette of ponies. Within ten minutes, the line started flowing out the door after the last tables had been filled with the lucky ponies early enough to secure a seat. The others would have to make due with to-go orders or wait patiently for a space to open up.

While many were disappointed by the absence of the famous Gustav le Grande, they were equally surprised to have Sir Fancy Pants taking down their orders. The stallion had assumed his best served duties and trotted down the line of ponies to keep the overflow company. When word spread that the Kingmaker of Canterlot was working at a random bakery on Mane Street, the store’s clientele began trending noticeably upperwards towards ponies that would rather be seen talking to Fancy than eating fattening pastries. Unfortunately for them, pedigree was not permission for them to cut the line in front of the lower classes who had gotten there first.

“Just to confirm, Miss Luminary, it is four waxing croissants and a chocolate éclair?” Fancy asked the frosty noblemare.

“Yes, Sir Fancy Pants,” the shining unicorn replied while suppressing her shivers. She pulled at her coat tighter, trying to keep the cold out while looking over de Lune’s storefront with eyes greedy for the warmth inside. “It’s hard for me to believe that you are helping such a… modest establishment. Working as a common servant, no less!”

“There is no better Prench bakery in the whole of Canterlot.”

“While I accept the claim coming from you, it does make one wonder why Gustav is such a prevalent provider of your parties’ dessert buffets if this overlooked gem of yours is as good as you say it is.”

“Oui, I agree, ma Lumière,” an overly-saturated Prench accent agreed from behind Fancy Pants. “It pains me to think Monsieur Fancy Pants does not use ma mère pâtisserie more often.”

“Miss de Lis! You are here as well?” Luminary gasped at the sudden appearance of the up-and-coming lady of Canterlot.

“But of course! I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

“And to think that a little commoner bread shop could attract ponies such as yourselves. And such quaint little uniforms. You can make anything look good, Miss de Lis.”

Fancy stepped back slightly as Fleur excitedly clapped her hooves together at the back-hoofed compliment. “Why, thank you, Lumière! It is so nice to hear you think my home is good enough for your refined tastes.”

“Your home?” Luminary’s teeth suddenly began to clatter from a sudden drop in temperature. “Y-you mean, you live here?”

“Oui! And I help ma mère, or my ‘dear mother’ as you may say, keep it running when I have time.” Fleur smiled sweetly despite the bitter edge to her words.

“A-and what a fine and beautiful bakery this Del-Luneigh is!” Luminary forced a smile at the intimidating Lady Faire.

“Thank you. Ma mère works very hard to make the best for the ponies of Canterlot. I do so enjoy spending time with her on days like this at Pâte de loon,” she sighed happily while stressing the correct pronunciation of the store. “I assure you that the flavor will, how you say, be making you come back for seconds, no?”

“Of course, Miss de Lis!”

“C'est magnifique! Then we will be putting you down for double your order for you to share with all of your friends, yes?” Before Fancy could object, she subtly bucked him in the back leg.

“Make that a dozen of both please, please,” Luminary quickly corrected, looking between Fancy and Fleur for approval.

“Excellent! We will take your order without hésitation! Come, Fancy. I must speak with you.” Fleur tore the order sheet from Fancy’s notepad and strode away with the noblest of gaits. Fancy Pants sighed and joined her as they headed to the alleyway door.

“Was all of that necessary?” Fancy asked.

“Hey, nopony insults my home and gets away with it,” Fleur chuckled quietly as she shed Faire’s flair away and waved her victorious tall order in front of Fancy. Fancy shook his head as she quietly opened the door for him.

Fancy considered objecting, but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. “So, what was it that you needed?”

“Me? Nothing. Maman just told me to relieve you so you could warm up a bit.” Fleur plucked Fancy’s notepad and pencil out of his apron and ushered him inside.

“I am quite fine outside, Fleur. I’m more worried about you going out like that in this weather.” He motioned over the less-than-warming maid dress she wore.

“Don’t worry, Fancy. A lady always has her ways.” With a flash of magic, Fleur’s body gained a reddish aura that flowed from her horn and pulsated slowly from head to tail. With a deep breath, she rolled her head to pop her neck and raised it slightly to resume Lady Faire’s mannerisms. “Ta ta for now, Pantsy.”

The warmth of the kitchen was a welcome change even with the noise of the ponies inside clamoring to claim their orders. Peeking through the serving window to the main floor, the congestion indoors was just as heavy as it was outside. Several tables and stools had been moved to make room for the snaking line of ponies waiting to claim their sweet treats. Just before the counter, the line split into two with Éclair and Vinyl both taking to-go orders while a smattering of ponies sat near the kitchen entrance waiting to claim the next available table.

Knowing the line stretched down the block, Fancy decided it’d be best to forgo any rest and warm himself up with some work instead. After washing his hooves, Fancy entered from the back to the counter next to Éclair and grabbed a pair of serving tongs with his magic.

~What do you think you are doing, Fancy?~ Éclair asked as she passed an order of muffins to a customer.

~Helping you fulfill these orders, of course.~ He clacked the tongs and moved to grab some bread from the display.

~No, no, no. You are relieved, as in, you need to take a break. Fifteen minutes at least.~

~I’m fine, Éclair,~ Fancy insisted, but the small earth pony blocked his way as she passed orders to customers. ~I’ve been doing nothing but talk to ponies all morning while you and Fleur have been working the ovens nonstop.~

~Nonsense! You’ve been out there In the bitter cold taking orders and keeping ponies happy! Everypony else has taken a break already, so it is now your turn, Frosty Pants. Now, sit!~ Seeing as how his refusal was distracting her from fulfilling more orders, he capitulated and began trotting back to the kitchen.

~Not back there. Right there, where I can keep an eye on you.~ She pointed to a stool in the corner next to the door to the kitchen. She knew him too well to let him scamper back outside on his break to help Fleur. Fancy grumbled and took a seat in what felt more like a timeout corner than a break spot.

~There. Now we talk in private.~

Fancy scanned the vast swath of ponies lined up on the other side of the display and arched his brow. ~I fail to see how this would constitute as private in any sense of the word.~

~Why do you think I chose Fleur to go outside? Nopony else but us speaks Prench.~ she asked while passing an order to the next customer. She flowed almost effortlessly between talking to Fancy and exchanging pleasantries with the next in line. ~Isn’t that right, sir?~

“Umm, no thank you? I’m fine with just this,” the confused stallion answered. Éclair shot a smirk back to Fancy.

~Fair enough. So what did you want to talk about on my ‘break?’~

~Vinyl,~ she whispered, not wanting to attract the attention of said mare, busying herself behind the register at the far side of the pastry display counter.

Fancy took a patient breath. The news about the DJ Pon-3 had died down considerably since the Vinyl Screech, but he suspected that was mostly due to the damage already being done. The nobles around the castle district held Vinyl in utter contempt after the Festival of Flakes fiasco. Hopefully she’d be able to weather the bad publicity until the sensationalism died down. She could try to win back their favor with an apology, but knowing what little he did about the DJ, she wouldn’t be keen on making amends with them over something so petty.

~Please, Fancy. I am terribly worried for her.~ Éclair kept her voice level in front of the customers as she continued to take orders and serve, but Fancy could see she was barely keeping her emotions locked down.

~I’ve done all I can for her, Éclair.~ Though true, it felt like a hollow platitude with how much good it had done. ~I don’t know if you noticed, but she isn’t exactly comfortable around me.~

~She is uncomfortable around anypony she doesn’t trust. You may not have noticed, but she hasn’t said a word since those noble friends of yours started showing up out of the blue.~

His curiosity piqued, Fancy leaned his head to look over at Vinyl working the opposite side of the display. Sure enough, her lips weren’t moving, but the customers’ were. She would wait for the customer to say something, nod politely, and exchange pastries for bits. The next customer came up and began speaking immediately, to which she cocked her head to the side with an ear flop. The earth pony blinked and then repeated whatever he said, which earned a pleasant smile and a pair of chocolate baguettes.

Éclair glanced back at Fancy Pants after fulfilling another order of sweet breads. ~I think she is pretending to be mute, but I don’t know why.~

Seeing as how she was almost unrecognizable to Fancy even before she was dressed appropriately, he could hazard a guess to her silence, considering her scratchy cadence might be the only thing to give her identity away. While being outed might hurt her public persona, the upper class wouldn’t take well to being served by the notorious DJ Pon-3 at de Lune. If it was the latter reason, Vinyl was far more considerate than he gave her credit for initially.

~I suppose unspoken communication would be useful when you work in a place that blares music constantly,~ he answered with practiced diplomacy.

~I suppose you’re right, but the manner in which she works is not important here, Fancy. The way she refuses any help worries me. Do you know why she is working here today?~

~I had assumed Fleur begged for her help.~

~Oh, my dear Fancy Pants. It is clear you need to get to know our little Vinyl better. She wouldn’t be caught dead in a dress if she could help it.~ Éclair painted a smile on her face and passed a box of assorted muffins to a wall-eyed pegasus before turning to give Fancy her full attention. ~No, she showed up at the store a few days ago asking to work here herself. I even told her about the special uniforms we’d be using today and she shrugged it off.~

~Strange. There are plenty of opportunities for a musician of her status around the Drive.~

~I thought so too. Of course I said yes, since I could always use the help from somepony I trust, but when I asked why, she was so evasive. As much as I love having you and her here today, she would only say that she needed something. What was it? A Proof with Income I think. I wasn’t sure what she meant.~

“A proof of income?” Fancy corrected as he pensively tapped a hoof on his chin. ~Usually you need one to show such a document to investors or bankers to prove how profitable your business is. Why would she need to show…~

Fancy felt something pulling at the back of his mind. He was asking the wrong question. If Fancy was going to make an investment in a random pony off the street, one of his go-to documents would be something to show a business’ viability. Of course Vinyl wouldn’t need proof of income from a bakery if she was a worker. Anything from Éclair would be verifying a salary such as a paystub.

Proof. Why would she need proof with something like a paystub? Gig work on the Drive when available would be more profitable, but much harder to prove as a regular income quickly. Putting the horseshoe on the other hoof, he would want to show proof of an idea or a business venture to score a lucrative contract with investors.

A contract. He closed his eyes and tried to recall the last time he had heard the word.

Fancy levitated the missive he’d received from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns to Vinyl, who took it in her magic and began glancing over it. Her eyes started slowly, but as she continued reading, they darted more frantically as she poured over the lines.

“It’s a little jargony,” Fancy warned. “But simply put, it appears the board of trustees and several donor partners are reviewing financial aid allocation for research students. At the end of the semester, the allocation of grant money will be suspended until they are done. Knowing the reason behind it, I find it unlikely you will maintain your aid at this point.”

“Along with any contracts being fulfilled exclusively via financial aid…” Vinyl finished reading. The mare bit her lip in worry.

Along with any contracts being fulfilled exclusively via financial aid…
Contract being fulfilled exclusively via financial aid…
Financial aid…

Fancy’s blood ran colder than the chill he still had from working outside. Would the nobles really take it that far? He hadn’t even considered that the school might be paying entirely for her room and board. If she was struggling to make enough bits to afford where she lived, or worse, if the school was the name on the lease, then she could easily be evicted on the grounds of having insufficient income to afford her rent as a tuition-paying student. It all added up to one conclusion in his mind.

Homeless. Vinyl Scratch was likely at risk of becoming homeless.

~What? What is it, Fancy? Say something!~

His attention snapped back to reality. He hoped his face hadn’t shown more than he meant as his prolonged silence was already deafening.

~She might be trying to make her freelancing more official. A proof of income is useful for getting a loan, but I’d imagine a few ponies would still resent her after the party.~ He hoped she would buy the line. The baker didn’t need such a monumental distraction on the busiest day of the year for her.

~This is all thanks to your so-called friends, isn’t it?~ Éclair stepped away from the register. She couldn’t keep the facade up and walked over to Fancy’s ear with tears threatening to stream down her face. ~Heaven forbid they let an honest mare like her try to make the most of her talents after they tried kicking her out of Celestia’s school!~ She looked around the room, noting how many nobles were in line or sitting in their comfortable seats without a care in the world. ~And now she is forced to serve those same ponies? How dare they! Don’t they have enough things to do in their petty lives without attacking my precious Vinyl? Foals! The whole lot of them!~

Seeing her edge towards a full breakdown, Fancy reached for his kerchief only to find his magic already contained a well-polished monocle. He chided himself, putting his polishing cloth back in his pocket and offered the proper cloth to Éclair.

~Of course she doesn’t,~ Fancy agreed, trying to console her. ~Miss Scratch is a wonderfully gifted young mare that anypony should be happy to have in their lives. I will do everything I can to help her, but she is not one to take something for free. Especially from somepony like me.~

~Then get her a job somewhere! If she refuses your charity, why not hire her as a maid? You have far too much space in the estate. She can already look the part. Such a beautiful young mare shouldn’t have to worry about such a thing!~

Fancy chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. ~Do you honestly think she would take a job working for me cleaning my home?~

~I don’t care!~ Éclair’s agitation broke through her whispers as she began breaking down in front of the customers. Even Vinyl was looking towards them, hearing the despair in the baker’s voice. ~I will not let a filly I love be ruined by uncaring idiots with too much money in their hooves!~

Tears flowed freely down Éclair’s face as the last shreds of her composure were torn away by worry. ~Do something! Anything! Please, I am begging you! Don’t let them smother her light!~

Fancy wished he could take her into his embrace and tell her everything would be alright, but it wasn’t his place. He looked outside to Fleur who gave him the strength to harden his resolve. He stood up and took Éclair by the hoof.

~I will. I’ll think of something.~ he assured her while leading her into the kitchen. He led her to the bottom of the stairs.

~That’s all I ask.~ She rubbed the tears from her eyes and noticed a black splotch streak across her pastel peach fur. ~Oh, my makeup is probably a mess!~

~You’re still as beautiful as ever,~ he risked saying. Before he could say or do anything else he would later regret, Fancy retreated back to the door. ~Don’t worry. I can manage the front for a while. My fifteen minutes are up anyway.~

A small smile broke through Éclair’s tears. She gently raised her hoof and blew a kiss towards Fancy before heading upstairs to clean herself up. The friendliness burned on Fancy’s cheek. He turned away and slumped behind the counter. It was all he could do to keep his emotions in check. Drawing a deep and patient breath, he plastered a diplomatic smile on his face and readied his tongs to help the next customer. Today, Sir Fancy Pants was helping with a bake sale. His job was to help sell pastries, and nothing else.

“Welcome to Pâte de Lune. How may I help you today?”

The day sped by in a dragging blur for Vinyl. The chaos of insufferable customers demanding their confectioneries kept the DJ preoccupied enough to ignore the time, but there were brief instances where she remembered what she was making herself do, causing the seconds to slow to a crawl. Thankfully, Fleur mentioned today’s special hours and de Lune would be closing early.

“Pardonnez-moi, everypony!” an exhausted and flour covered Fleur politely called out from behind the ransacked display counter. “The sun is almost set, so please pack your pastries away and depart. We close soon at sundown!”

A few amiable ponies were gathering themselves at a snail’s pace at the lady’s last call, but most ignored Fleur’s Lady Faire persona and continued on with their conversations. Fleur sighed and promptly strode out into the kitchen with her nose held high in disgust. Fancy began moving towards the tables for a more hooves-on approach when a loud hoof slam sounded from the kitchen.

“Y’all heard the lady! Get your tails in gear and get’a move on, ya varmints!” Corn Acopia roared from out of sight. “I got a kitchen to clean and if y’all haven’t mosied on outta here before the sun sets, I swear the first pony I get my hooves on is gettin’ tied to a stick so I can use their mane as a mop!”

Vinyl suppressed a snicker as the panicked ponies quickly assembled their pastries into stacks and bolted for the front door. A few customers still in line slammed their bits on the counter and grabbed a pastry of their own before scrambling behind the others. Nopony wanted to tango with whatever cowgirl made that threatening ruckus. Vinyl took advantage of the situation and dashed to the front door and flipped the front door’s sign from open to closed.

“Finally. It’s over,” Vinyl rasped in exhaustion.

“Not exactly. While Fleur may have been a bit excessive with her tone,” Fancy huffed while shaking his head while Fleur popped her head through the kitchen window with a cheesy giggle, “we do need to clean up a bit before we can continue on with the rest of the evening.”

“The rest of the evening?” Vinyl tilted her head.

“Oh, did Éclair not tell you?” Fancy hummed as he bobbed his head back and forth in thought. “Well, I suppose it is more of a private affair.”

At the suggestion said mare rushed out to stop her, “Oh, non-non-non, Fancy! She is as much part of the family as dear Gustav is. Please stay, Vinyle. You are most welcome.”

“I guess, but what am I staying for?” Vinyl asked.

Fancy chewed his lip briefly before forcing it away with a pleasant smile tinged with a pitiful acceptance. “The Moondance.”

An unsettling pit fell into Vinyl’s stomach. This was starting to sound more and more like the start of one of Fleur’s Ogres and Oubliettes encounters. On one hoof, she wasn't sure if she wanted to stay or not. On the other, the conflict scrawled across his face piqued Vinyl’s curiosity enough to wonder what was bothering him about it. More importantly, she hadn’t gotten the income statement to show her landmare, so no reason to duck out now.

“Why don’t you go upstairs and change out of that uniform? I’m sure you are chomping at the bit to be rid of the thing,” he chuckled as he undid his apron. He gave Vinyl another glance and gave a more earnest grin. “I must say, you impressed me today, Vinyl. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I wasn’t expecting somepony who presents herself as a ruffian to know proper decorum. You are just full of surprises.”

Fancy turned towards the kitchen to begin helping with the cleanup efforts. Vinyl was glad he did as she bristled at the compliment. The whole ordeal had taken her back to her fillyhood. She might’ve been rusty, classy Canterlot nonsense never left. It had burrowed into her skull, a prissy parasite that she could never entirely forget. There was no denying that “manner mode” proved useful at times, but it was so exhausting to act so fake.

Vinyl shook the creeping uncomfortability away, but not before catching her reflection in the window. While it was difficult to see in the darkened glass, she could see a ghost looking back. Vinyl knew her all too well and held nothing but contempt for that weak, broken mare. She was too naïve to understand how the world worked, too soft. It took all of her remaining willpower to not rip the maid dress off right then and there, toss it to the ground, and burn the infernal thing to ashes. Maybe she could find a cheap corset somewhere and destroy that instead. She was about to turn away to make a b-line to the stairs to free herself from her Prench bindings in Fleur’s room when there was a gentle knock on the door.

“For the love of Cel—” The disguised DJ’s mumblings were cut short when she saw the royal pony in question standing at the door with her sister close behind.

Vinyl’s mind screamed protocol over and over as it scrambled to dust off royal etiquette. She barely pulled the memory out as she opened the door and bowed to the exact proper length.

“Hello, my little pony. You seemed to be in a hurry to close, but would you mind if my sister and I came in?” the princess asked.

“Princess Celestia? And Luna as well?” Fancy paused for a moment and smiled diplomatically. “What a surprise!”

Celestia kept her smile but looked off to the side. “My presence this evening shouldn’t be a surprise at all. I haven’t been keeping my word as well as I should have.”

“Guilty as charged as well, your highness. Please, come in.”

Vinyl raised her head and stepped aside while holding the door open for the royal sisters. Two guards followed close behind, but turned and assumed their posts at either side of the door outside. Not wanting to bother with it, Vinyl turned to resume her trek to the upstairs, but was stopped by coming face-to-face with Luna who was eying her curiously. The DJ retreated slightly under the ponderous gaze of the lunar princess. After a moment, her eyes sparkled.

“Ah. It is you, Miss Deejay Pawn-Three,” Luna addressed the young mare with regal authority.

Ignoring the princess’ butchering of her stage name, she shuddered at the royal’s recognition. “H-how did you know? I’ve never even met you before.”

The princess laughed haughtily and shook her head. “No, but I have met you. I hope you are feeling better after your unfortunate brush with the distillery and have partaken in the indulgences of the night more responsibly.”

Vinyl nodded lightly, trying to keep herself from getting on the royal pain’s bad side.

Luna recoiled slightly and rubbed her foreleg while looking away. “We apologize if we offended thee. T’was meant as a harmless jape.”

“W-what?” Vinyl stammered back.

Luna quickly calmed herself with a practiced hoof motion and resumed her more intimidating manner. “Whatever words you’ve kept in your heart, you wear upon your withers, fair Deejay.”

Vinyl looked at the princess’ warily, her eyes wandering between her horn and wings. She wondered if mind-reading was an alicorn thing.

“I assure you, it has nothing to do with my birthright. You simply bear the most expressive eyes,” Luna answered the unspoken question with a smile, bringing absolutely zero comfort to the unicorn in question.

“Okay, you can stop that right now,” Vinyl grumbled. “Uhh, please,” she quickly added with a nervous grin.

The princess breathed deeply through her nose and complied with a nod. The small frown she wore grew more despondent as she turned away to join her sister at Fancy Pant’s side. Vinyl kicked herself. If she wasn’t on Luna’s bad side after the Screech, she probably was now.

The DJ retreated to the stairs, only to realize they now had customers again. She wanted to curse the heavens, but that’d be a huge mistake with the ones who controlled them now in the restaurant. She tightened her apron and went to resume her duties, only to see Fleur had already changed into a sweater and joined Fancy and the princesses at a table.

Éclair giggled. “I see you are still enjoying the formidable dress, Vinyle.”

“Hardly,” Vinyl scoffed.

“Then go get change, silly filly!”

Vinyl looked up and down the still-dolled up prenchmare. “What about you?”

Éclair smiled sadly and shook her head. “No. I want to look good for le mari.” After a moment, Éclair spoke up. “Do you need help, Vinyle?”

“Nah. I am way better at getting this stuff off than on.” Éclair laughed louder than Vinyl would’ve expected.

The baker’s eyes started watering. She sniffed and rubbed the errant tears from her eyes. “I am so glad you are here tonight, Vinyle. You are always welcome, you know?”

“Y-yeah. I know.” Vinyl smiled chipperly, only slightly put off by the mare’s words. “I guess I’ll be right back after I change for this moon dance thing, right?”

Éclair wrapped Vinyl up in a big hug. There was a slight tremor in the earth pony’s embrace and she placed a quick la blise on the young mare. The DJ hoped Éclair hadn’t caught onto her housing predicament. This was her problem, and she didn’t need to drag them into this any more than they already were. Not after all those jerkwads showed up today.

“You are loved, mon précieux Vinyle.”

“Thanks…” Vinyl replied, unsure of what else to say at the L-word.

Vinyl quickly fled upstairs to free herself from the confines of her dress. Against her more violent desires, she took the pieces off one after the other and gently placed each part of the uniform in the laundry basket rather than tearing it to shreds for a dumpster fire’s kindling. As she cleaned all the makeup off her face, her ears perked as they picked up the familiar popping of a needle striking vinyl.

She quickly wet her hair to return it to its normal messy self and threw on her hoodie for warmth. With the princesses there, she put her shades on for extra safety despite the sun having set a while ago. There wasn’t much point hiding her identity since Princess Luna somehow guessed who she was. She hoped the extra obfuscation would protect against that piercing gaze of hers.

“What the hay are those two doing here anyway?” Vinyl mumbled bitterly to herself.

A big swinging beat kicked up with brass and strings downstairs. She checked herself one last time in the mirror before trotting back down the spiral staircase. Coming to the door to the main dining room, Vinyl peered over the rim of her shades to make sure she was seeing things correctly.

The curtains had been drawn, save for one window casting a moonbeam into the store. The lights were turned low, but it wasn’t difficult to see that the floor had been cleared of most every table and chair. The three that remained had been pushed together, forming one long table in front of a large, open space. The song was in full swing with Fleur and Éclair dancing together in front of a captivated audience.

The two mares skillfully balanced on their hind legs while supporting each other by their forehooves. Fleur led as she spun and twirled her mother around and about the makeshift dance floor. They kicked wildly, but in rhythm, as their hooves clacked across the hard marble tiles. Vinyl couldn’t believe that Éclair could dance so liberally while wearing that stuffy maid dress.

Vinyl quietly made her way around to the tables, but was unsure where she was supposed to sit. Her skulking hadn’t gone unnoticed. Fancy subtly pulled the seat nearest to her, which happened to be next to him, out with his magic and lightly motioned with his hoof to have a seat. She made herself as comfortable as she could with her present company, which wasn’t very comfortable at all with two princesses and the kingmaker all at one table.

“They are quite skillful at this dance of theirs, are they not, sister?” Luna whispered to her elder sister.

“It is called ‘swing dancing,’ Lulu. Quite a popular dance form several decades ago.”

“I can see why you wished for us to come. It is quite the spectacle!”

Celestia’s face fell slightly as she watched the duo. “This isn’t why we are here, dear sister. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying it.”

Celestia didn’t explain further to Vinyl’s annoyance and simply opted to watch the mother and daughter dance like a well-practiced pair. She looked to Fancy for answers who observed the two, solemnly and unblinkingly. The first song ended and Fleur quickly flicked the record player off with her magic. Celestia and Fancy offered a light applause while Luna was more passionate with her praise.

“Whew! I need to be practicing more often,” Éclair remarked between breaths as she went behind the counter and retrieved a platter of éclairs. Vinyl furrowed her brow seeing that the cream was sparkling with silvery light. For a moment, she thought it was glowing on its own, but it was the moonlight catching sugar crystals.

“Here you are, everypony. Éclairs de minuit au clair de lune,” the baker introduced. Fleur passed plates around as her mother served each pony with her trusty tongs. With plenty of pastries still remaining, she set the platter on a nearby counter and went over to turn the music back on.

The DJ carefully looked over the red and fudge black dessert before taking her first bite. It was a wondrous, sugary sweet with rich red strawberry bread the color of velvet cake. The crystals melted in her mouth in a rapture of creamy bliss. She’d never tasted anything quite like it, which was incredibly odd to her with each bite she took. How Vinyl had never eaten these particular pastries in the store after knowing Fleur for years was a complete mystery. Whatever this was would be a smash hit.

The swing burst back on with the big band starting another song. However, this time, the music was accompanied by a singer. A stallion with a velvety smooth voice caressed everypony’s ears. Celestia took a small bite of her treat and smiled wistfully at the familiar voice. She extended a wing around Éclair who had taken a seat next to her and pulled the Prenchmare closer. Vinyl watched out of the corner of her eye as Celestia quietly struck up a conversation in Prench with the baker. She sounded apologetic while Éclair simply replied with “non’s” and a string of words Vinyl didn’t understand. Luna also seemed lost at their conversation and leaned over towards Fancy Pants.

“It appears I will need to add modern Prench to my study material. What is it my sister is apologizing for, if I may ask?” Luna whispered.

“Nothing,” Fancy answered. After a moment, he chuckled mirthlessly at her concern. “But I suppose that would be part of the problem, though. If you will excuse me for a moment.”

Luna nodded as he pushed himself up from his seat. Celestia followed him with her eyes as he trotted as naturally as he could to Éclair’s side. She removed her wing, revealing the lovely peach face marred by tears as her late husband serenaded her from the record player. Even after all these years, his music could still move her to tears. It was why she only listened to it once a year.

~May I have this dance, milady?~ Fancy asked with a bow. She nodded silently with a sad smile and offered her hoof. He gently lifted her from her seat and led her to the record player. ~I haven’t kept up with my dance lessons as much as I should have. Might we dance to a slower song?~

Éclair choked a bit with a sobbing laugh. “Yes, Fancy. I know a good song for us.”

With well-practiced precision, Éclair carefully lifted the record to the B side and found the space in its grooves before the final track. Despite it never being released to the public, Fancy knew the record well enough to guess the selection. The soft strums of a guitar confirmed it: “Wonderful Moonlight”, the last song dedicated to the lovely little Éclair.

~A perfect choice,~ he affirmed with a winning smile. Fancy would never tell Éclair how much he hated this song.

Fancy took Éclair in his forelegs and held closely, guiding her gently around the dancefloor. Their dance was smooth, almost sensual, as he imitated the dance stylings of the stallion of her dreams. Fancy knew them all too well.

“Thank you for staying, Fancy,” Éclair said softly as the two danced in the moonlight.

~Of course. Anything for you, Éclair.~

“Anything you say?”

Offered a laugh of his own, but worrying about Éclair’s unspoken refusal to use Prench. “Of course. I am yours for the evening. It has been a while—”

“A while?” she interrupted. “Fancy, it has been ages since you come to Pâte de Lune! Even longer for coming for the anniversary. You make time for Fleur. You make time for princess. But none for me? I have missed you so dearly!” Tears started streaming down Éclair’s face. “Why has it been so long? D-did I do something?”

“No, no! Of course not, Éclair! I could never…”

“Then why? We are family, no? Why have you not come? Why!” Éclair screamed. Fancy pulled her into a tight embrace as she cried into his chest. He bit his lip and stroked Éclair’s mane as the two continued a steady sway back and forth to the music.

“I’m sorry, Éclair. Some wounds take more time to heal.”

“Suede wished for us to be family, Fancy. Families share the pain.”

Fancy’s brow furrowed. He took another calming breath through his nose and pushed Éclair back to look into her eyes.

“Then, let’s share.”

“Suede?” Vinyl asked nopony in particular. “From the ESPA endowment? That Suede?”

“Yes, my little pony,” Princess Celestia answered sadly as she watched Fancy guide Éclair around the shimmering moonlit floor. “Suede Shoes, ‘The King of Swing’ and a dear friend.”

That made sense. After reviewing what financial aid she still had left, she stumbled upon the name when reviewing what she was getting from the ESPA. However, Suede she knew was accompanied by another name: Summers.

“He was a founding member of the Equestrian Society for the Performing Arts. He and Sauna Summers helped change it from the Equestrian Society of Music back forty or fifty years ago when the society was more… limited in its definition of art.”

“Sauna Summers? Another performer?” Luna asked.

Celestia closed her eyes and smiled warmly. “Why yes. She was the Disco Queen of the Dancefloor and Suede’s first wife. The two made quite the star couple back in the day. Never knew a moment's peace because of it.”

Luna nodded at the music history lesson, but then stopped as her ear flicked. “First wife?”

“Yeah, Daddy was Maman’s second wife after Aunty Summers died,” Fleur clarified.

Luna nodded sagely, but then stopped as even more confusion struck the younger alicorn. “Doesn’t Fancy Pants live in a mansion on the Suede Shoes Estate?”

“Yup! That’s Daddy’s and Aunty’s old house.”

She tilted her head. “Then I clearly don’t understand something. Unless I am mistaken, shouldn’t you and your mother live there as part of your inheritance?”

“Oh, no way. Pantsy took over that oversized house while we live here in the place Daddy and Maman built together. He has a better handle on money anyway, so he manages that old fortune while we live off the de Lune’s sales and royalties from Daddy’s music.”

Vinyl blinked as she recalled something that bothered her from the night of the festival. If Fancy inherited the Suede Shoes Estate while Éclair and Fleur held Suede Shoe’s royalties…

“Is Fancy Pants your brother?” Vinyl asked.

“Shh! Don’t use the b-word. Pantsy doesn’t like it,” Fleur hushed the other unicorn with a sardonic grin. Her forced smile faltered as she glared back at her step-brother dancing with her mother. “It’s so stupid. It’s not like it’s a big secret or anything. Anypony who remembers Daddy could probably put two and two together.

“I guess only one of us likes being related,” she complained as she crossed her hooves and stared the two dancers down in a deeper frown.

As the two danced to the sound of his father’s voice, Fancy’s thoughts turned back to their first meeting in Prance. The wound from Sauna’s death still burned in the minds of Fancy and his father. He had taken Suede on the pretenses of a diplomatic mission and moved into a hotel near Maris for some peace and quiet.

One morning, the pair had ducked into an inconspicuous pâtisserie in the countryside owned, by all creatures, a griffon to see if they could get a decent cup of coffee. They were greeted by a sweet petite peach working behind the counter. Her name was Éclair de Lune, a more fitting name for a pastry chef than Gustav le Grande in Fancy’s eyes.

It was so nice to not be recognized. In fact, Éclair didn’t know either stallion, which was expected for Fancy. He was simply known as Suede’s son back in those days, but it was much more surprising to not know the world famous crooner. In months away from his home, the unicorn’s glory had faded with the passing of his more famous pegasus wife who had revolutionized the music scene of Canterlot forever. Suede was just the last of his smooth singing breed, but that didn’t matter to Éclair. She treated both guests with kindness like any other, even after finding out they were famous.

Months flew by and the three grew closer. The stallions became regulars and even became friends with the abrasive Gustav who was increasingly worried about Éclair’s future at his store with the ponies getting close to his assistant. His fears would be proven right when Éclair finally admitted her feelings. It was a blissful whirlwind of pure love that nopony or griffon could deny. There was only one small problem.

She fell for the wrong stallion.

As the song drew to a close, Fancy spun Éclair out of his hooves, releasing her to spin away from his grasp. Applause rose from their audience as Éclair beamed a kind smile. Her innocent familial love struck Fancy in the heart like a knife. He took a deep breath and took strength from looking at Fleur for a reminder of the present. Fleur de Lis was his step-sister. He hardened his heart and returned her favor with a patient smile of his own.

“As brilliant as always, Éclair,” Fancy complimented as the record fell silent.

“You sell yourself too low, my dear. You were a wonderful dancer too!”

Fancy forced another chuckle and turned off the record player. “You are too kind. I was simply following your movements.”

“Non, non, Fancy Pants,” she admonished with a motherly wag of her hoof. “You were supposed to be leading me.”

“How could I ever lead a stubborn mare like you, Éclair?” She laughed loudly and wiped a tear from her eye. He hoped it’d be the last one she shed for the evening on either stallion’s behalf.

The two turned back to the table and joined the other ponies. He took a bit of his cold, neglected éclair and savored the flavor as best he could, but he knew he couldn’t indulge for long. After all, it wouldn’t be right. None of this was right. But, right wasn’t the order of the Moondance. Sir Fancy Pants had a duty to uphold and the former diplomat would do his best to follow it. He’d protect the smile on Éclair’s face all night, no matter the cost.

Even if her precious smile wasn’t meant for him.

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

I Just Want One More Moondance With You...
Art Commissioned by me from Doodle-Mark