Second Chances: Between the Lines

Second Chances: Between the Lines
By Hero541
The Parents

Josh sat next to Vinyl on the train weaving its way up through the mountains towards the glistening, snow laden city of Canterlot, his stomach turning over again and again as he imagined what he was in for. Unbeknownst to him, Vinyl communicated with her parents on a near constant basis, and after she’d mentioned to the two of them that she had found herself a coltfriend, they’d insisted that she come home and introduce them to him. Vinyl was insistent that it wasn’t a problem and that her folks were very nice and understanding ponies, but Josh couldn’t help but be a bit more than nervous. This was the first time in his life that he’d ever been out to visit the parents of whoever he was dating, and in his experience in Equestria, the sight of a six foot tall human was extremely intimidating to any pony who met him. The last thing he wanted to do was frighten the parents of his marefriend as soon as they met him and potentially sour he and Vinyl’s relationship in the process.

“Hey baby,” Vinyl said suddenly, causing Josh to start a little as he was pulled from his nervous reverie, “we’re almost there. You doing okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Josh said, every note in his voice clearly indicating that he was anything but.

“You’re not still nervous to meet them, are you?” Vinyl asked, one eyebrow raised at her coltfriend, “I already told you that they’ll love you. They’re both extremely open-minded, so I doubt they’ll be to worried that you’re not a pony.”

“Maybe so,” Josh said, feeling his stomach do yet another backflip, “but it’s not like there’s a hundred other humans running around Equestria. I’m the only one of my kind here, Vinyl. And to be honest, my species is pretty far removed from yours.”

“Oh please.” Vinyl said, rolling her eyes, “They won’t care about that. Just relax, Josh. Everything will be just fine. I promise.”

Vinyl smiled at him and leaned in close, exchanging a quick kiss with him before pulling back and glancing out the window towards the bright city in the distance.

“Approaching Canterlot train station.” a voice called out over the train’s loudspeaker, “Please wait till we’ve come to a complete stop before removing your luggage and preparing to leave.”

Only a few moments later, the train screeched to a halt directly in front of a large, bustling train station. Josh reached up and grabbed their things from the overhead luggage rack, putting on a heavy coat for himself and handing Vinyl down her own coat and scarf, which she promptly put on as they both prepared to disembark out into the cold, snowy city. Together, the two of them shuffled out of the train and onto the platform, watching as ponies filed onto the now departing train headed for who knows where. Making their way off the platform and out into the busy street beyond, Vinyl gestured for Josh to follow her and together, the two of them began making their way through Canterlot.

Due to Josh’s size and the popularity of the two of them, they would occasionally be stopped by a passerby for an autograph or a picture. Although it was Josh’s usual instinct to ignore such things, Vinyl was always kind enough to at least acknowledge a fan who approached them, although she made it clear that both she and her partner were in a bit of a hurry. Thankfully, most ponies were understanding enough and allowed both Josh and Vinyl to proceed without any further harassment. After what seemed like an inordinately short amount of time, Josh and Vinyl made their way out and onto a nearby side street on the edge of Canterlot, walking side by side down the cobblestone road.

On either side of them rose two long rows of tall, close-set apartments. Together, Josh and Vinyl made their way past home after home, their steps crunching in the soft snow underfoot as more large, puffy flakes fluttered down all around them. Above nearly every home down the street, smoke billowed from a tiny chimney, their inhabitants undoubtedly hoping to stave off the biting cold outside. Josh couldn’t help but think of San Francisco as he passed by these colorful buildings, each one pressed right up against one another in as straight a line as possible.

“Here we are.” Vinyl said after a short time of walking, stopping and turning to face a tall, sky blue building to the right.

Josh turned as well and looked up to the home, the nervous feeling in his stomach intensifying as he looked upon it. Never before had he been so intimidated by a brightly colored building in all his life, but the thought of what may await him inside only heightened his feelings of anticipation.

“Well, let’s go then.” Vinyl said, making it halfway up the steps before turning back to Josh to see he was still standing there, “Aren’t you coming?”

Josh said nothing, fearing that if he opened his mouth he may just be sick. Vinyl rolled her eyes and descended the steps, walking back behind her coltfriend and giving him a gentle poke in the back with her horn. When she got no response from this, she instead pressed her head into the small of his back and began to push him, forcing him towards the stairs.

“Come… on… Josh!” Vinyl grunted, straining as she attempted to force her human coltfriend into moving, “You’ve already… come this far! Stop… worrying so much.”

Again, Josh said nothing. Upon noticing his continued silence, Vinyl gave into her last resort and reared back slightly, prodding Josh hard in the back with her horn. The human let out a yelp of pain and scrambled up the stairs, massaging the spot in the back where his marefriend had jabbed him and wincing as a sharp pain shot up from it. He turned and glared down at Vinyl who was rubbing her own horn and groaning slightly, clearly having hurt herself in her attempt to get Josh to move.

“The fuck was that for?” Josh asked annoyedly as Vinyl ascended the stairs to stand next to him, “You didn’t have to poke so hard!”

“Sorry.” Vinyl replied, shaking her head slightly as her own pain subsided, “I forgot my own strength. But, I’m not gonna let you skip out on this. I promise you, you’re worrying about this for nothing, Josh. My parents are gonna really love you. I know it.”

With that, Vinyl reached out her hoof and knocked on the door three times. From inside, Josh immediately heard the muffled voice of a mare calling out excitedly followed by a much deeper voice who he assumed must be Vinyl’s father. Upon hearing the sound of hoofsteps approaching the door, he suddenly forgot all about the pain still throbbing in his back. In only a matter of seconds, the front door to the building swung open, revealing a small, gray coated unicorn mare with bright yellow eyes and long blue hair, as well as a tall, teal stallion with a short, silver mane-cut and deep crimson-magenta eyes. Both had wide, beaming smiles painted across their faces at the sight of the visitors standing before them.

“Vinyl, dear!” the mare called out excitedly, rushing forward and embracing Vinyl in a tight hug, “It’s so good to see you again! We were worried that you may not be able to make it with the weather.”

“Hey, Mom.” Vinyl said, pulling away from her mother and giving her a peck on the cheek, “Sorry we’re late. The train was delayed for a bit today. We didn’t have a whole lot of snow in Ponyville, but I think they were worried about what it’d be like once we got up into the mountains.”

“Better safe than sorry.” the stallion said, now taking his own turn to hug his daughter, “So long as you were able to make it, that’s all anypony can ask for.”

“Hi, Daddy.” Vinyl said cheerfully, giving her father a small kiss on the cheek as well.

Once Vinyl broke off the embrace with her father, she stepped back and stood right next to Josh, causing both ponies in front of them to turn their attention towards the tall human before them.

“Guys, this is my coltfriend. Josh.” Vinyl said happily, beaming up at him as he stared towards Vinyl’s parents.

Much to his surprise, Vinyl’s mother’s smile never faltered as she was introduced to the human. Her father, however, wore an expression that was beyond unreadable. It was as though he’d been turned into a statue on the spot, staring up at the human that towered above him.

“Hello Josh.” Vinyl’s mother said, approaching the human and jumping up to wrap her forelegs around his midsection in a gentle hug, “It’s so nice to meet you finally. Our Vinyl here has told us much about you! My name is Silica, and this is my husband, Flint.”

“It’s… nice to meet you both.” Josh said as Silica returned to her four legs and stepped back from him to stand beside her husband.

“Well then, let’s not stand out here all day then. It’s freezing.” Vinyl’s mother said, taking a step back and gesturing behind her, “Please, both of you come in. I’ll fix us some tea and we can sit in the living room and chat.”

Vinyl followed after her mother, Josh trailing close behind her, ducking down so as to avoid hitting his head on the doorframe. As soon as both had entered, Flint shut the door behind them before turning and making his way down the hallway directly in front of them. Josh and Vinyl removed their warm coats and hung them on a nearby rack, following Flint down the hall and into a rather large living room area with a crackling fire burning in the grate on the far end. Glancing all around, Josh saw many pictures adorning the walls, some depicting a young, cream colored filly with her parents while others contained beautiful, abstract paintings placed in ornate frames. Looking towards the center of the room, Josh saw a long, mahogany stained coffee table, a deep crimson couch and two identical, puffy armchairs surrounding it.

Flint had positioned himself in one armchair while Vinyl had jumped up onto the couch, settling herself upon it and patting the cushion next to her, signaling to Josh where he ought to sit. The human walked over and plopped down beside his marefriend, feeling the soft cushion give way as he did so. Vinyl placed her hoof on his hand as he took his place next to her, smiling at him in what she undoubtedly felt was a reassuring way. And indeed it would have been had Josh not taken a moment to glance at Flint who was still silently staring at him with that stoic, unreadable expression.

“Here you go, dears.” Silica said from the nearby doorway, walking through a moment later with a tray laden with a steaming teapot and matching ornate cups in her magical grip.

As Vinyl’s mother sat the tray down, Vinyl immediately reached out with her own magic and grabbed up two cups for she and Josh, pouring them both a generous amount of tea as she did so. A small, steaming cup soon soared over to Josh who scooped it up out of the air and held it for a second, allowing the heat to warm up his freezing hands. Across from him, Silica poured out two cups for both she and her husband, floating one over to him which he grabbed up immediately and began to sip. Josh felt his stomach lurch yet again as he witnessed this, knowing that the tea was still boiling hot by this point. Clearly, this is a guy who doesn’t fuck around… he thought.

“So,” Vinyl’s mother said cheerily, placing her own teacup down onto a coaster on the coffee table, “how are things between you both?”

“Things are really good.” Vinyl replied, lifting a lump of sugar from the dish on the tea tray and adding it to her cup, “We’ve both been pretty busy for the last few weeks though. Preparing for a couple of upcoming shows we’re set to do in Manehatten and Las Pegasus.”

“Really? That sounds wonderful!” Silica said, her beaming smile never seeming to falter as she addressed the couple, “It’s so nice to see that the both of you can share a successful career with one another.”

“Well, if it weren’t for Josh, I don’t know that I would have had a career like this to begin with.” Vinyl said, laying her hoof atop Josh’s hand resting on his knee and smiling sweetly up at him.

“By the way, Josh. I would love to know how exactly it is that you became so interested in music in the first place.” Silica said, turning her sickeningly sweet gaze upon the human, “From what Vinyl has told me, your work in your own world predates anything you’ve done here by quite a wide margin.”

“Uh... “ Josh stammered, unable to come up with anything to say right away.

Between Flint and Silica, he couldn’t decide which one’s attitude towards him seemed more disconcerting. While Vinyl’s father’s continued staring at him with the blankest expression already made him uneasy, her mother’s extreme sweetness and exuberant mannerisms was even more off-putting as he wasn’t sure if she was always like this or if this was a sort of facade to mask her true nature. He wracked his brains for something, anything to answer the mare with, not wanting to sit there like an idiot and give them the wrong impression of him. Beside him, he felt Vinyl give him a small nudge in the ribs, her sweet smile replaced by a look of skepticism.

“You’re nervous to meet us, aren’t you Dear?” Silica suddenly said, interrupting Josh’s frantic search for his own voice, “Well, I can assure you there’s no need to be. My husband and I are actually very excited to finally have the chance to meet you. Our little girl here has said nothing but wonderful things about you, and we have no reason to disbelieve her. So please, don’t be worried.”

“Okay…” Josh said, still unsure but at least somewhat eased by Silica’s words, “Well, back in my world, I used to work at a rave club not far away from where I lived. I spent the first six months or so there just kind of being everyone’s errand boy before, finally, the head DJ agreed to let me play a set for the crowd one night. It went extremely well, and I fell in love with the music so much after that that I started saving up a bunch of money so I could buy all the equipment I’d need to start making my own songs. From there I just began producing whatever I could and worked my way up from the bottom.”

“Josh ended up becoming really famous back in his own world.” Vinyl interjected, causing Josh to blush a little.

“Well then, it’s no wonder why you were able to be such a successful teacher for Vinyl.” Silica said, her voice cheerier than ever, “You’re no stranger to being a big time star, are you?”

“I guess so…” Josh said, glancing around the room in an effort to find some way, any way to change the subject away from his past career, “Hey, you mind if I ask you something?”

“Oh by all means please do.” Silica replied, leaning in closer in clear anticipation.

“What is it that you guys do for a living?”

“Well, I’ve been a stay-at-home mother ever since Vinyl was born.” Silica began, beaming at her daughter across the coffee table, “And Flint here continues to run a rather lucrative business of his own, don’t you honey?”

Flint merely nodded at his wife, his gaze continuing to be fixed upon Josh before him.

“Daddy runs a private consulting firm that helps to set up mergers and acquisitions for other companies.” Vinyl added, receiving yet another nod from her father.

“That sounds… very interesting.” Josh said, realizing all too late that he sounded anything but interested in Flint’s line of work.

“It does give him quite a bit of freedom to travel.” Silica added happily, “He’s been all over Equestria in his line of work. There’s always another company out there that needs his firm’s help at some point.”

“Is that where all of these photos and paintings come from?” Josh asked, gesturing to indicate all the frames hung on the walls, “Picked them up on your travels?”

“A few of the photos are.” Silica replied, using her magic to float a small framed picture down towards Josh, “This one, for instance, was taken when we were able to accompany Flint on his trip to Hawinni’i.”

Josh grabbed the photo out of the air and began to glance over it. Present and standing before a beautiful blue lagoon were both Silica and Flint, each wearing a pair of dark sunglasses, as well as a young, cream colored filly who Josh recognized right away as a much younger Vinyl. While her parents were both smiling wide, the filly Vinyl had her eyes shut tight, a grimace on her face.

“What happened with this one, babe?” he asked, passing her the photo, a smirk forming on his face as he saw the look of embarrassment on hers, “You get sand in your eyes or something?”

“That and the sun.” Vinyl said heavily, the grimace on her own face nearly mirroring the one of her much younger self in the picture, “The camera pony insisted on getting a shot of us in the brightest spot possible. I had forgotten my glasses back in our hotel room that day. Other than that, it was a really nice trip.”

“As for the paintings you see,” Silica continued, grabbing the picture back from Vinyl and hanging it back in its previous spot, “I actually painted those myself.”

“For real?” Josh blurted, glancing up at a few pictures in amazement.

“Why yes, Dear.” Vinyl’s mother replied, “You see, with my husband away on business quite often and Vinyl gone from the house, it was really easy for me to get bored. So, I took up painting as a bit of a hobby to occupy my time. I’d taken a few art courses as a filly, and I finally was able to put them to good use.”

“Good use indeed.” Josh stated, looking from piece to piece hanging on the wall, each one more interesting and well done than the last, “You ever consider maybe selling a few of your paintings?”

“Selling them?”

“Yeah.” Josh said, “I’m not exactly an expert when it comes to art, but these are all good enough that you may be able to fetch a fair number of bits for them.”

“Hmm.” Silica pondered, placing a hoof to her chin as she considered his words, “Perhaps you have something there. I’d never really considered putting them up for sale myself. Mostly, I just give them to family members if ever we run out of room here to display them. Besides, I don’t necessarily know that these are the kinds of pieces that art critics are looking for.”

“You never know.” Josh replied, giving Silica what he hoped was an encouraging smile.

“I’ll definitely keep that idea in mind. Thank you very much, dear.” Silica said sweetly.

From beside Vinyl’s mother, Flint suddenly made a loud throat clearing sound, drawing the attention of his wife. For the first time since he’d seen her, Josh watched Silica’s sweet smile falter for just an instant before returning once again as she nodded towards her husband and jumped down from her chair, heading for the kitchen.

“Vinyl, Dear,” she said, turning back to face her daughter, “Would you mind helping me in the kitchen for a spell? I’m in the process of making lemon custard tarts for us all and I could use an extra set of hooves.”

“Um... “ Vinyl hesitated, giving her mother a look of confusion, “Sure, if you really need me that bad, I guess I can help out…”

“It’ll only take a minute, Dear.” Silica said in a rather sing-song voice, “Plus, it’ll give Josh and your father time to get to know one another!”

Vinyl shot her coltfriend a regretful look as he felt his stomach drop.

“You’re not seriously just gonna leave me here, are you?” he whispered to her, taking a moment to glance at Flint who continued to stare at him.

“Sorry.” Vinyl said pleadingly, “But… she’s really insistent. I promise, I won’t be long. Just try and talk to him. He looks rough, but my dad’s actually really sweet. You’ll see.”

With that, Vinyl gave Josh a quick kiss and then jumped down, following after her mother into the kitchen. Josh, his stomach now back to doing its usual flips, looked back up towards Flint, all words he may have been able to muster before now seemingly impossible to even so much as utter under his breath. The stallion’s nigh unreadable expression had not faltered once in the entire time he’d been looking at Josh, and that didn’t seem to be changing any time soon. At this point, Josh almost wished that Vinyl’s father was up in his face screaming obscenities and threats at him rather than continuing to gaze at him with that blank, unsettling look.

“It seems my daughter does really care for you quite a bit.” he finally said, at last ending a silence that seemed would never go away.

“Um… yeah, she does.” Josh said slowly, not entirely sure how he was supposed to answer something like that.

“And you feel the same about her?” Flint asked.

“Yeah… I mean, yes. I do.”

“I just figured I’d make sure.” Flint said, “Not to say that I doubt you, but I must admit, I’ve often found myself wondering about you since I realized that you and Vinyl were seeing one another.”

“You have?”

“Indeed. You see, Josh, I’m not a biased stallion in any way. In fact, I’d say that my wife and I are actually very open minded about many things. But, you’ll understand my… apprehension towards you since I’ve never seen or interacted with a creature of your species before. Dragons and griffins I’ve worked with in the past, but never humans.”

Josh wasn’t exactly sure where Flint intended to go with this conversation, but he at least was put slightly more at ease now that he was hearing the stallion speak to him as opposed to boring into him with his usual gaze.

“Well, we’re not exactly a dime-a-dozen here.” Josh said, hoping that he didn’t sound sarcastic with that statement.

“No, you’re not.” Flint replied simply, “So, color me surprised when I began to see you and Vinyl next to one another in the newspapers, performing onstage for thousands all across Equestria. I’ll admit that even with my more open minded thoughts, I wasn’t sure about you. It wasn’t until I actually spoke to Vinyl and she told me about you that I was able to understand what you meant to one another. At this juncture, I just have a question I’d like to ask you, and I would like you to provide me with the most honest answer you can. Do you think you can do that?”

Josh nodded, silently wondering exactly what it was that this intimidating pony could possibly ask him.

“What exactly are your intentions for my daughter?”

In an instant, Josh’s brain came to a screeching halt as the words left Flint’s mouth.

“My… intentions?” he asked confusedly.

“Yes.” Flint said, now raising an eyebrow at Josh, “I think that’s a more than reasonable question for a father to ask of his daughter’s coltfriend. Clearly, you seem to care for her, but I would like to know what it is that you intend for her. Are you looking to commit to her, or will somepony else be sitting in your same spot this time a few years from now, introducing themselves to me as Vinyl’s new coltfriend?”

Josh began pondering those words, wondering exactly what he could say in answer to them. Flint had asked for his honest answer, and Josh had no intention of lying to the stallion, but he found the phrasing of his question to be a bit strange to say the least.

“To be honest, sir,” Josh stated slowly, hoping that this would be an answer that could satisfy Flint’s request, “I don’t really think it’s that simple.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Because when it comes to Vinyl, I don’t really have any intentions per se.”

Flint raised his eyebrow even further and Josh realized that maybe his phrasing was now the one to be called into question.

“I mean… I didn’t mean it like that…” he stammered, trying hard to think of a way in which he could rectify the situation he now found himself in, “It’s just… I… Can I start over?”

“By all means.”

“You see, I was brought here because I was so out of control in my own world.” Josh began, “I’d let the fame I’d managed to acquire get to my head and I was headed down a really really destructive path. Princess Celestia brought me here to… give me a second chance, an opportunity to get myself right. I really didn’t wanna be here, and it certainly showed in my actions. I began taking advantage of the ponies here to try and get my way, to get them to send me home, back to the life I thought was perfect for me. Unfortunately, Vinyl was caught up in my stupidity, and I hurt her really badly because I couldn’t let go of my stupid ego.”

“I ended up getting in some trouble and was forced to stay here in order to repay a debt that I’d wracked up, and Octavia was the only one who was willing to help me, provided that I could teach Vinyl how to produce music. Believe me when I say that I definitely didn’t want to do it at first. I just wanted to help her out as little as I could, get my stuff paid off, and go back home. But, over time, as I worked with her more and more and saw her grow, I came to realize that… I had feelings for her. Eventually, I decided that this was the life for me, not the one I’d left back home, and I opted to stay and be with your daughter.”

“Vinyl and Octavia and the rest of our friends… they’re the whole reason I love it here, why I was so comfortable leaving behind my life on Earth. They’ve shown me a love and kindness I didn’t think I’d ever get to experience, and one that probably won’t be matched any time soon. And when it comes to your daughter, well... “

Josh suddenly couldn’t help but smile wide now, his thoughts drifting to the beautiful, kind, incredible mare in the next room.

“She’s so unbelievably special to me. I know that we’re entirely different species and that what we have technically shouldn’t be okay to either of us but… that’s not even a factor at this point and never will be. Vinyl means more to me than I can ever hope to express. So, in answer to your question of what my intentions for her are… I’d say that they’d be to love her till the day I die.”

A silence filled the room as Josh finished his speech, broken only by the light crackling of the fire in the nearby fireplace. Human and pony stared at one another, with the former wondering exactly what would happen now that he’d told Vinyl’s father exactly what had happened and how he felt about the cream colored mare. For a second, Josh began to wonder if he’d shared too much. Then, out of nowhere, Flint’s mouth broke into a wide smile and he began to chuckle a little at the human. Josh’s panic was now replaced by thorough confusion at this reaction, one that he never in a million years could have expected to come from the stallion seated before him.

“I have to say, that’s pretty good.” Flint said, causing Josh to shoot him an even more puzzled look, “You were incredibly honest with me just now, Josh. I appreciate that.”

“You… appreciate it?”

“Very much so. You see, I honestly had no idea what to expect from you when you came in here. You’re not the first companion that my daughter has brought home to meet us, but you are definitely the most unique, and I’m not just saying that because you’re a human.”

“What exactly do you mean then?” Josh asked, trying not to sound confrontational.

“Over the years, my daughter has introduced us to both stallions and mares alike that she’s taken a liking to. Not many, mind you, but enough. Some of them I thought were extremely nice and others… I didn’t exactly approve of. But, out of all of them, you have one thing that they never really did.”

“I do? What is it?”

“Whenever Vinyl is around you, she gets this look on her face that I can only describe as the highest level of nirvana. It’s as if she’s at peace with the world, and believe me when I say that for her, that’s a blessing. I’m sure you’re well aware by now that she tends to have… emotional problems.”

Josh thought for a second about that. It was true that Vinyl tended to be a bit more emotional than most mares he ran across, but it had never seemed to him like she was unstable or anything like that.

“It’s not her fault, honestly.” Flint continued, “She’s been like that since she was a little filly. Her mother and I always wondered if it was something that would just pass on, but sadly it’s plagued her all her life. However, when she’s with you, I don’t see any sign of those problems. All I see is my daughter, happy and healthy and full of hope for her future. As her parents, we’ve done our best to ensure that she’s stayed safe, maybe even taking it a bit too far at times. But, because of you, she’s so much more confident in herself and willing to step outside of her comfort zone. You have given her the knowledge and tools necessary to finally allow her to be successful, and I can’t thank you enough for that.”

Flint was now positively beaming at Josh, his crimson-magenta eyes sparkling as he gazed upon the human. Josh couldn’t believe the change he’d just witnessed in Flint, both in his actions towards him and in how he spoke about him. Internally, his heart was leaping in his chest at the realization that Vinyl’s own father was lauding him with praise that he didn’t really feel he himself deserved.

“Quite frankly, it’s been an honor to help her.” Josh said, feeling his own lips begin to form a wide smile as he spoke.

“And it’s an honor to see my daughter with somepony as fantastic as you.”

Flint and Josh continued to gaze at one another now, a very companionable silence falling between them for a time.

“I’ve gotta say, it’s… really good to hear that.” Josh said after awhile, “Because I was nervous as all hell coming over here. Plus… you’re kinda hard to get a read on, to be honest.”

“Sorry about that.” Flint chuckled, lifting his teacup and taking a sip off it, “All my years working as a business pony has given me a poker face that would stump even the greatest mind readers in Equestria. I can assure you, I didn’t mean to intimidate you or anything like that. If anything, I wanted to see how you’d react to my staring at you.”

“Well, it certainly was intimidating in its own right.” Josh said, any feelings of nervousness he’d once felt evaporating on the spot as he spoke candidly to Flint.

“You know, I’ve got something that I think may interest you.” Flint said, “In my travels around Equestria, I’ve managed to amass a rather large record collection. Vinyl always loved being able to listen to them with me, and it’s probably how she became so interested in music herself. I’d love it if you’d be willing to take a listen to a few with me.”

“Sure, I don’t see why we couldn’t.” Josh said, standing up from the couch, “Who knows? May even give me the inspiration for a new song or something.”

“That’s the spirit!” Flint said, jumping down from his own chair and beginning to make his way towards the staircase, “Well then, follow me and I’ll show you where I keep them all nowadays.”

Josh nodded and followed Flint upstairs, a wide smile on his face as he trailed after the stallion. Meanwhile, from around the corner leading to the kitchen, both Vinyl and Silica watched their respective companions ascend the stairs, smiling at the sight of them at last taking the time to bond with one another.

“That went rather well.” Silica said sweetly, turning and making he way back to the kitchen, Vinyl following behind her, “It’s nice to see the two of them finally being able to get together.”

“Yeah.” Vinyl said, grabbing up a pastry bag filled with custard and squeezing some out onto a small, star shaped cookie on a pan, “I just wish Dad wouldn’t have kept staring at Josh like that. He was nervous enough already without that.”

“Your father was just doing what he knows best, Dear.” Silica said, grabbing out another tray of finished cookies from the oven with her magic, “You should have heard him before you two even got here. He was so excited to be able to meet Josh.”

“Really?”

“Of course! With how highly you spoke of him, how could he not be? It became clear to us immediately just how special he is to you, Vinyl.”

“He certainly is.” Vinyl said quietly, her thoughts drifting upstairs to her coltfriend and her father, the both of them undoubtedly engaged in a conversation about music by now, “And I’m probably the luckiest mare in Equestria to have him.”