Second Chances II: Love and Courage

Chapters

Chapter 2: Showtime
Chapter 3: Back In Ponyville
Chapter 4: Show and Tell
Chapter 5: A Nice Little Chat
Chapter 6: Guilty Consciences (Mature)
Chapter 6: Guilty Consciences (Clean)
Chapter 7: Las Pegasus, Here We Come
Chapter 8: The Art of Messing Up
Chapter 9: Foalsitting and Flowers
Chapter 10: Houston...
Chapter 11: Root of the Problem
Chapter 13: Boiling Over
Chapter 14: Going Peacefully
Chapter 15: Breaking the News
Chapter 16: Visiting Hours
Chapter 17: The Master Plan
Chapter 18: Explanations
Chapter 19: Why so Hateful?
Chapter 20: Frustration and Friends
Chapter 21: The Hearing
Chapter 22: The Best Night in a Long Time (Mature)
Chapter 22: The Best Night in a Long Time (Clean)
Chapter 23: Don't Back Down
Chapter 24: Trial and Error
Chapter 25: Everything Will Be Alright
Chapter 1: Everything Is Perfect
Chapter 12: Fanning the Flames

Chapter 2: Showtime

Second Chances II: Love and Courage
By Hero541
Chapter 2: Showtime

Josh wandered around the stage setup the next day, making sure everything was as it should be for their performance tomorrow. He walked over to the soundboard and began checking to make sure everything was still set up as it should be.

“Which one of you wired this?” he called, making everypony stop what they were doing.

“Uh… I d-did, sir.” said a green unicorn mare with a black mane, raising her hoof hesitantly.

All eyes fell on her as Josh stood to address the problem.

“Come on over here for a second.” he said, smiling and gesturing for her to come closer, “I wanna show you something.”

The unicorn pressed her ears flat against her skull and walked over to Josh, mentally cringing at whatever mistake she could have made. As she approached, Josh saw she was pretty apprehensive, so he knelt down and spoke softly.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“E-Emerald.” she stammered.

“Well, Emerald, you’ve done a pretty good job wiring the board here.” he began, standing up and looking to the device, “But, you messed up a little.”

“What did I do wrong?” asked Emerald, jumping up on her hind legs and looking at the wires.

“This wire here is supposed to go in that port as opposed to the one you have it in.” said Josh , pointing to each wire in question, “We don’t need these ports for anything. They aren’t hooked up to any of the equipment anyway.”

“Oh.” said Emerald, blushing a little at her mistake, “Sorry.”

“It’s not a big deal, Emerald.” said Josh turning and smiling at her, “This is why I come in and check everything before the show, so we can fix mistakes like this.”

Emerald smiled back at Josh, relieved that he wasn’t too upset. As she went to fixing the board, six ponies made their way up to see Josh.

“Joshie!” yelled the pink pony, running up and launching herself at the human.

Before Josh had any time to react, she collided with him, sitting on her haunches atop of his chest as he hit the ground.

“Hey P-Pinkie Pie.” said Josh, struggling to breathe from both the weight of the pony atop his chest as well as the impact from hitting the ground.

Pinkie smiled down at Josh as the other five ponies made their way up the stage. A bright pink aura surrounded Pinkie and lifted her off Josh, placing her next to the other ponies.

“Thanks, Twilight.” said Josh, rubbing the back of his head.

“How are you, darling?” asked the white unicorn, walking up and hugging her friend as he lay on the ground.

“Well enough.” he said, returning her hug and standing up, “Just doing some last minute checks before it’s time to rehearse for tomorrow.”

“When’re you guys gonna do that?” asked a cyan pegasus with a long, rainbow colored mane.

“Whenever Vinyl gets here.” he replied.

“Where is that mare, anyway?” asked an orange earth pony in a brown Stetson, Applejack.

“She’s in the back taking a nap.” said Josh, rolling his eyes a little, “She likes to be nice and rested before we start rehearsing.”

“Ah can hardly blame her.” said the earth pony, “Ah’ve seen you two durin’ your rehearsals. Ya’ll can get into it and go pretty crazy. Wouldn’t wanna be tired for that.”

“I suppose…” said Josh.

“What time should we show up tomorrow?” asked the yellow pegasus, Fluttershy.

“Probably around 7 or so.” said Josh, “Just show the guys at the front your passes and they’ll let you all back here so you can join us onstage.”

“I’m so excited! I should throw a party before the show! Then I can throw a party after the show! Maybe I’ll just make the whole entire thing just one big huge fantastical crazy party!” shouted Pinkie, attracting attention from all around.

“Maybe we’d better leave that up to Josh and Vinyl.” said the purple unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, “It is their show after all.”

Pinkie hung her head a little at Twilight’s words. Josh laughed a little at her sudden change in expression.

“Tell you what, Pinks,” he began, kneeling down and patting her on the head, “After the show, you can be in charge of the after-party. How’s that sound?”

Pinkie smiled wide, the squeaky noise sounding as she did so. Josh smiled back, ignoring the annoying sound that seemed to plague him everywhere he went.

“Ah thought ya’ll had somepony else who planned that kinda stuff.” whispered Applejack into Josh’s ear as Pinkie began to ramble all about her plans to the gathered ponies.

“I think I can pull some strings for that.” he whispered back, “After all, who am I to keep Pinkie from throwing a party?”

Applejack chuckled a little as Vinyl walked out from backstage, yawning as she did so.

“You ready for rehearsal, baby?” she asked as she walked towards her coltfriend.

“Sure. Did you sleep well?” he asked, kneeling down and giving her a kiss.

“Well enough.” she replied, smiling at him, “I’m ready to go crazy now though.”

“We’ll just head out then.” said Twilight, looking to the white unicorn examining the curtains, “Come on, Rarity.”

“I can’t believe they’re using a black curtain for this!” she exclaimed, looking at the fabric in disgust, “It totally doesn’t match the overall color scheme.”

Everypony said their goodbyes and left Josh and Vinyl to rehearse for tomorrow.

“It’s so awesome that we’ve got friends like them to come and support us.” said Vinyl, taking her place at the board.

“Yeah.” said Josh simply, grabbing his headphones and preparing to get to work, “You ready?”

Vinyl smiled devilishly at him and nodded. Josh smiled back and pressed a few buttons, beginning the music and allowing the two producers to become lost in the hypnotic beat.

*****

Ponies in the crowd screamed and danced as Josh and Vinyl stood onstage, both rocking and moving to the beat they were making. Behind them, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Twilight were also all losing themselves in the music. Off to the side, Princess Celestia merely stood along with her sister, Princess Luna, both of them smiling at the crowd all enjoying the music.

Josh felt wave after wave of ecstasy hit him as the beat flowed through his very soul, causing him to lose himself. Next to him, Vinyl had a wide smile on her face as she turned knobs and moved sliders, manipulating the music to her heart’s content. Both of them were completely entranced at this point, feeling the drop come closer and closer as the song built up. Josh threw his hands up on the air, gesturing for more from the crowd. The bass drop came, and he threw his hands down in perfect time, feeling another wave of pleasure overtake his mind.

The song ended and Josh looked to Vinyl. Both were smiling and drenched in sweat, both also thinking about how far they had come in less than a year. They embraced on the stage before Josh pulled over the microphone to address the still ecstatic crowd.

“Thank you, Canterlot!” he yelled, peering out and seeing a few ponies on the backs of others, all cheering and going crazy, “You guys have been absolutely incredible tonight. Thank you so much for allowing us to perform here tonight.”

Vinyl walked up next to Josh, moving her sunglasses so they were perched on her forehead just above her horn.

“And, of course, thank you to my lovely marefriend here, DJ Pon-3!” he said, making the crowd roar in response.

Vinyl blushed a little, but still waved to the assembled ponies, making them erupt in ecstatic cheers once more. Josh looked out once more and waved as well, hearing the sound of cheers and stomping hooves all around. As he stood there, Vinyl at his side, the crowd began to chant, “Kiss her! Kiss her!” He looked to Vinyl, both of them smiling.

“We’ve gotta please the crowd.” he said over the din as Vinyl jumped up on her hind legs and put her forelegs on his chest.

“Don’t mind if I do.” she replied, drawing him into a long, passionate kiss that made the crowd erupt once more.

They broke apart after several seconds and waved once more before heading backstage.

“That was so awesome!” said Rainbow Dash, beaming at Josh and Vinyl as she floated up to them, a few glow rings around her neck and one in her hair.

“Ah’ve gotta say, that was pretty great.” said Applejack, who had some glow sticks on her hooves and hat.

“Absolutely wonderful, darling. You both were.” said Rarity, smiling and hugging both Josh and Vinyl.

“Where’d Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie go?” asked Twilight, looking all around for their friends.

As they looked, somepony on the stage yelled, “STAGE DIVE! WHEEE!”

Everypony and Josh all peered out to the crowd and saw the familiar forms of a yellow pegasus with a long pink mane and the premier party pony of Equestria floating along the top of the crowd. Pinkie was wearing her signature “Rave party dress” and had made a similar one for Fluttershy, except it was blue and pink instead. Josh and the others all laughed as they watched the two mares bob up and down in the crowd. The human felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around.

“Hello there, Josh.” said Princess Celestia, smiling at Josh.

“Hey, Princess.” said Josh, bowing a little to the alicorn, “What’d you think of the show?”

“That was a fantastic show!” she exclaimed, beaming at Josh, “You may have just made me a fan of this, what’s it called, dubstep.”

“I’m flattered to hear you say that, Princess.”

The two stared at each other for awhile longer before Vinyl rushed up to Josh and jumped into his arms. Josh caught her and leaned in, giving her a kiss. She smiled at him as they broke apart, wrapping her forelegs around his neck and holding him close.

“You two can stay in the castle suite for another night, if you’d like.” said Celestia, smiling at the two producers.

“I won’t complain about that.” said Josh, setting Vinyl back down on the ground.

Celestia nodded and said goodbye to Josh and Vinyl, heading back to her castle. Human and unicorn looked back at each other, adrenaline still flowing through their veins from their recent performance.

“They’re wanting us to go out and sign some more autographs, babe.” said Vinyl, gesturing back to the stage.

“I think we can manage that.” said Josh, smiling and making his way back towards the crowd.

He thought all about the past year of his life. He’d given up everything he had back home, yet he couldn’t possibly ask for anything to make him happier. Here, he was madly in love with someone, had friends who genuinely cared about him, and could still live out his passion as a producer. Nothing in the entire universe could be better. Everything was perfect, and he couldn’t think of a single thing that could change that.

Chapter 3: Back In Ponyville

Second Chances II: Love and Courage
By Hero541
Chapter 3: Back In Ponyville

The cleanup for the show in Canterlot had taken a little longer than he had hoped, but after two days, Josh had finally gotten everything back to Ponyville. He stood on the train station platform, watching as a few unicorns offloaded the sound equipment.

“Careful with that board.” he said, pointing to the soundboard in a yellow unicorn stallion’s magical grip, “It’s already been banged into a wall once. I’d prefer we not have to have that happen again.”

“Couldn’t we just teleport all this stuff back to your studio?” asked one mare who had just set down a mixer.

“Afraid I don’t trust teleportation, otherwise we would.” said Josh simply, “Don’t worry though. Applejack and Twilight are gonna drop by and help move all this stuff back. You’re all off the hook once it’s all out of the train.”

His words made them work a little faster, and in no time at all, every piece of equipment they used in the Canterlot show was on the train platform. Just as they finished, Applejack pulled up one of her larger apple carts, setting it next to the platform so Twilight could set it all in the back.

“Howdy, Josh.” she said, waving to a few of the unicorns at they departed, “Is this everything we’re takin’ back to your place?”

“Yup.” Josh peered around, “Where’s Twilight?”

“Ah don’t know.” said Applejack, loosening herself from the cart and looking all around for the purple unicorn, “She was right behind me when Ah last checked.”

Almost on cue, Twilight ran up to the two of them, panting and sweating. She stopped just short of Josh and Applejack, collapsing to the ground.

“Sorry… I’m… late.” she panted, peering up at Josh and Applejack from the ground.

“Where’d ya go?” asked Applejack, walking over to help Twilight up.

“I… forgot to… grab the… instruction manual… for the… equipment…” she replied, still struggling for air.

“You don’t need that, Twi.” said Josh, smiling at the unicorn sympathetically, “Vinyl and I are gonna get everything set up once we get back to the house. I just need you to help load and offload it all.”

Twilight just stared at Josh, her mouth agape. The human smiled sheepishly back at Twilight and shrugged.

“Speakin’ of which, where’s Vinyl anyway?” asked Applejack, breaking the now awkward silence that had settled.

“She’s back at the house right now.” he replied, “I got up earlier than here this morning, and I didn’t want to disturb her. She’ll help offload all this once we get it back to our house.”

“Works for me.” said Applejack, “So, what’re we movin’ first?”

“Just get as much as you can in the back.” replied Josh, walking over and grabbing his own controller and soundboard, “Twi, you okay to help out?”

Twilight still had her mouth open in shock as Josh addressed her. Upon hearing his voice, she snapped back to reality, shaking her head.

“Oh. Yeah, I’m alright.”

Together, Josh and Twilight loaded everything in the back of the cart in only twenty minutes. Applejack hooked herself up to the cart once they were ready and together, the three friends made their way back across town towards Josh and Vinyl’s home. Along the way, Josh talked about the next show they were supposed to do in Las Pegasus in two weeks.

“I’ve only been to Las Pegasus once.” said Twilight, “My mom and dad took my brother and I there once when we were little.”

“We did a show there not too long ago.” said Josh, thinking back to the event, “Vinyl ended up drinking a little too much before the show and got kinda drunk.”

Both Twilight and Applejack burst out laughing at that. They both knew full well how technical the job was that Josh and Vinyl did, and the idea of the unicorn trying to work a soundboard drunk was unbelievably hilarious to them.

“Surprisingly, she wasn’t that bad.” finished Josh, earning another loud roar of laughter from the two ponies.

“H-how did she use the board or mixer?” asked Twilight, wiping a tear from her eye.

“That’s a mystery I have yet to solve.” said Josh as his home came into view.

Vinyl, who had heard the approaching cart, stood outside with Sweetie Belle, both of them smiling at Josh and the others as they approached.

“Hey there, sexy.” she said, walking out to Josh and jumping up on her hind legs to give him a kiss.

“Hey sweetheart.” said Josh, hugging Vinyl and feeling a tug on his pants leg, “And hello to you, my other sweetheart.”

Vinyl jumped down from her coltfriend and allowed him to bend down and pick up Sweetie Belle. She giggled loudly as Josh cradled her and tickled her little white belly. The cream colored unicorn mare smiled at the cute sight. Josh would make an unbelievable father she thought.

“What brings you around here, Sweets?” asked Josh, placing the little white filly back on the ground.

“I came over to see if you were here because I wanted to ask you something,” she began, almost jumping up and down with excitement, “but Vinyl said you were at the train station getting all your stuff.”

“She was gonna go get you, but I told her she ought to wait for you here.” finished Vinyl, making her way over to the cart to help offload its contents, “So, I helped her with her magic a little.”

“That’s awesome! Can you show me what you learned so far?”

Sweetie Belle nodded, then turned to a small rock nearby and closed her eyes in concentration. Her horn was enveloped in a jade colored aura as she focused on the rock. It took a little while, but eventually the rock was surrounded in the same aura and began to levitate a few inches off the ground.

“That’s amazing, Sweets!” exclaimed Josh as Sweetie broke her concentration, “You’re really making progress.”

Sweetie Belle beamed up at Josh, who knelt down and patted her head.

“So, Sweetie,” said Vinyl, setting a speaker down nearby and turning to address the unicorn filly, “do you want to ask Joshie your question now?”

“Oh. Yeah!” she replied, remembering the original reason for her visit, “We’re having show and tell tomorrow at school, and I was wondering if you’d wanna be what I bring in to show everypony!”

“Well, I don’t know Sweets.” said Josh, looking back to the cart full of equipment, “We’ve got a lot of stuff to do with all this.”

Sweetie suddenly changed her face to be the most adorable thing in all of Equestria. Her lower lip trembled in a pouty way and her eyes became huge. It was a look that Josh had failed to ignore the first time Apple Bloom had used it on him, and he still fell for its cuteness every time. He looked to Vinyl, who simply smiled back at him.

“I’d love to, Sweetie Belle.” he finally said, unable to resist the little filly any longer, “I’ll be there bright and early, just for you.”

“Yay!” said Sweetie, bouncing up and down around Josh like Pinkie Pie would have, “Thank you, Joshie!”

“Anything for you, Sweets.” he said, chuckling a little as she encircled him once more.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.” she called, bouncing off in the direction of Carousel Boutique and waving to Josh behind her.

“That’s hardly fair.” said Josh, walking over to help Vinyl and Twilight offload the cart.

“What’s that?” asked Vinyl, picking up a mixer.

“She knows I can’t resist that face. It’s just too goddamn adorable.”

“I couldn’t resist it either.”

“She used it on you?”

“Yup. Once she got here and I said you weren’t here.” she replied, setting the mixer down, “I couldn’t fight that look, so I invited her in and helped her with her magic.”

“That’s real sweet of you, baby.” said Josh, placing his own controller down before walking over to Vinyl to hold her, “She’s a fast learner. Just like you were.”

Vinyl blushed at that, remembering back to when Josh first started helping her become a successful producer. She remembered their first “date” they ever went on to the lake. She remembered the first time he helped her make her own solo mix, which also lead to their first kiss…

“I guess I just rubbed off on her a little.” she replied, a little short of breath at the memories flooding her mind.

Josh smiled at her blush and leaned to kiss her once more.

“I love you so much, Vinyl.” he said as they broke apart, “I don’t know what I’d ever do without you anymore.”

“I love you too, Josh.” she replied, nuzzling his neck as they held each other.

After a few moments of standing there, Josh broke the silence.

“We’d probably better get this stuff back into the studio.”

“If you insist.” Vinyl chuckled, jumping down from her coltfriend and grabbing several things in her magic to take inside.

Chapter 4: Show and Tell

Second Chances II: Love and Courage
By Hero541
Chapter 4: Show and Tell

Josh passed through Ponyville on his way to the schoolhouse and Sweetie Belle, being greeted by all kinds of ponies as he walked. Almost all the ponies in Ponyville knew him by now, and they were consistently friendly to him. Much like Vinyl, the fact he was a completely different species than all of them didn’t seem to be an issue in the slightest. They always would wave to him, or stop and chat, always asking about how he and Vinyl were doing or about where their next tour stop was. Another plus was that they almost never asked for autographs, most of them already having one anyway.

Josh passed by Sugarcube Corner and smelled the sweet scent of Pinkie Pie’s breakfast cookies. Maybe she made a batch without coffee in them he thought, remembering back to when he first tried one of them. Caffeine didn’t agree with his body at all, and his friends all learned that when he made the mistake of eating one of her cookies containing coffee. Pinkie had felt awful about giving him something that would hurt him like that, so she developed a special recipe that tasted the same, but it didn’t have any coffee in it. Josh loved those cookies, and would stock up on them whenever he could.

This was one of the reasons he’d left as early as he did. He made his way towards the confectionary shop and stepped inside, the bell ringing as he did so. Almost immediately, Pinkie Pie rushed out from the kitchen and stood at the counter, awaiting her first customer.

“Hello and welcome to… Oh. Hey Joshie!” she said, abandoning her usual shop greeting as soon as she saw the human.

“Morning, Pinks.” he said, smiling at the ever exuberant pony behind the counter, “How’re you doing?”

“I’m fantastic!” she began, bouncing in place, “When I got up this morning, I couldn’t find Gummy, so I got really worried. Then, I remembered he likes to crawl under my bed, but when I checked he wasn’t there…”

Josh simply smiled down at Pinkie as she continued her rant about her toothless baby alligator. Occasionally, he’d throw in a nod of the head or a, “that’s interesting” to at least keep up the illusion that he was still following what the pink pony was saying.

“… so, I ended up finding him in the kitchen, hidden in a mixing bowl behind a tin of oatmeal. Isn’t that crazy?” she finished after about ten minutes.

“That’s incredible, Pinkie.” Josh said, trying to feign interest in the story.

“Oopsie. I got so into my story, I forgot to take your order!” she realized, taking out her pencil and notepad, “What can I get you, Joshie?”

“I’ll have two of your breakfast cookies and a glass of milk.” he said, pulling out his bag of bits, “And, could I get a box of those sent home as well? Vinyl’s taken a liking to them too, and I wanna surprise her a little.”

“I can do that!” said Pinkie, opening up the cash register, “That’ll be 14 bits please!”

Josh handed over 14 little gold coins from his bag and watched as Pinkie ran into the back and returned with two cookies and a glass of milk on a platter. She laid it on the counter and smiled back at Josh, who thanked her and picked up the plate so he could go sit elsewhere and eat his breakfast.

“My, those look good.” said a familiar voice next to the human as he took a seat at a nearby table in the shop.

Josh looked and saw the Ponyville schoolteacher, Miss Cheerilee.

“Fancy meeting you here this morning.” he said, standing back up before kneeling to give her a quick hug, “I was headed on my way to the schoolhouse today anyway.”

“Oh really? Why’s that?” asked the mulberry mare.

“Sweets wants to show me off to all her friends for show and tell today.” he replied, smiling at the thought of Sweetie Belle hopping up and down around him yesterday.

“Oh. I remember her mentioning that at some point.” said Cheerilee, putting a hoof to her chin, “I’ll bet she’s very excited.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Well, I’m just here to grab my morning coffee.” said Cheerilee, pointing towards the counter, “How about after I’m done here, you join me and we go to the schoolhouse together?”

“Works for me.”

With that, Cheerilee headed for the counter, paid for her coffee, and came back to sit with Josh. Together, the two sat and talked for awhile, Cheerilee about her coltfriend, Big Macintosh, and Josh about Vinyl.

“Have you and Vinyl thought about having a foal together?” asked Cheerilee, making Josh put his half-eaten cookie down and think.

“Well, it’s crossed our minds before…” he trailed off, thinking about that conversation.

Indeed, he and Vinyl had talked about maybe having a child together. Vinyl was all for it, and Josh was as well, so, they said together, what was stopping them? The answer to that question was simple and readily apparent: their jobs. They didn’t want to have their child raised by a foalsitter while they were off to all corners of Equestria performing. However, they also couldn’t have the foal travel with them everywhere, in case an emergency came up and they needed to be in Ponyville. Maybe some other time he thought.

“Well, Celestia knows I’ve tried to convince Big Mac.” said Cheerilee, rolling her eyes.

“Really?” asked Josh through a mouthful of cookie, “What’s holdin’ you back?”

“He says that with our jobs, we’d have to get a full time foalsitter for the baby, and we’d hardly ever see it.” she said, taking a sip of her coffee.

“That can be a bit of a problem.” said Josh, Vinyl crossing his mind.

“Yes, it can.” continued Cheerilee, her voice becoming stern, “However, that doesn’t mean it has to be a constant roadblock.”

Josh simply nodded in agreement, finishing his cookie and milk as he did so.

“You all ready to go?” asked Cheerilee, taking one final swig of her coffee.

“Sure.”

Together, Josh and Cheerilee gave their empty containers to Pinkie and thanked the pink pony for the treats.

“No problem, guys!” she said, waving them off, “I’ll deliver those cookies to your house right now, Joshie.”

Josh thanked her once more, then followed Cheerilee back out the door as Pinkie disappeared into the back. Together, Josh and Cheerilee made their way through town, talking about the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Cheerilee told Josh all about their talent show performance the year before, a story which, by the end of it, Josh could hardly breathe for laughing so hard.

“S-so they s-smashed the entire stage?” he asked, a mirthful tear falling from his eye.

“Yes. They did.” Cheerilee said, frowning at the memory, “I thought they were going to kill themselves. Thank Celestia they didn’t get hurt in all that. They certainly could have used you just then to help them.”

“I can only do so much, Cheery.” he said, regaining his composure enough to talk once more, “You’ve gotta have the potential for me to be able to work with. I can tell you for a fact that the only one of them capable of performing onstage like that would be Sweets.”

“Oh well…” sighed Cheerilee.

They talked for a little while longer till the schoolhouse came into view. A few foals were standing outside, awaiting Cheerilee. Josh saw Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom among the group and made his way towards them while Cheerilee opened up the school.

“Joshie!” they all squealed in excitement, running up and jumping on Josh, who had knelt down to greet them.

He felt all three of them wrap their tiny hooves around his body, embracing him tightly. Josh smiled and returned their gesture.

“I’m so excited for my turn now!” said Sweetie Belle, jumping down from Josh and peering up at him with her beautiful, jade colored eyes.

“You’re gonna do great, Sweets.” he said, patting her head, “Now, I think you girls had better get inside so you’re not late for class.”

All three nodded at him and made their way inside the schoolhouse. Josh jumped up, wiping some dust off his pants as he did so. Turning, he saw Cheerilee standing in the doorway smiling at him.

“There’s a nice seat in the back for you to wait.” she said, watching as he made his way towards the schoolhouse door.

“Thanks, Cheery.” he said, making his way into the schoolhouse.

As he walked in, he saw foals all around, playing, chatting, and just being kids in general. A few of them noticed him and waved to him or ran up to talk to him. They would always comment on how big he was compared to them, or how their parents always talked about he and Vinyl and how cute they were together. All the while, Josh would just smile down at them and respond if they ever asked him any questions. Even when he was back home, he always had a fondness for kids, a trait which paid off here in Equestria.

“Alright, class,” said Cheerilee, taking her spot at the front of the room, “it’s time to get started with show and tell. If you’ll all take your seats, we can begin.”

Every foal rushed to their seat while Josh took a place at the back of the room. They all listened to Cheerilee explain how show and tell was going to work, a few of the kids occasionally looking back to Josh, who would smile and wave at them. After her explanation, Cheerilee chose the first student, and show and tell was underway.

Josh sat in the back patiently, watching each foal come up and present whatever they had brought to show. Scootaloo had brought in her scooter, and explained how she did some tricks. Apple Bloom brought in a small Stetson hat she had been given by Applejack and talked about how she always wore it when she helped outside. Dinky Hooves, Derpy’s ever-adorable unicorn daughter, brought in a mail badge she had gotten from her mother and talked about how her mom delivered the mail to everypony in Ponyville. After about an hour, Cheerilee called on Sweetie Belle, who hopped up from her chair excitedly.

“Come on, Joshie.” she said, taking her place at the head of the room.

Josh got up and made his way forward, all eyes following him as he approached the front. He stood next to his favorite little filly, smiling down at her as he did so.

“Okay, Sweetie Belle. Tell us about who you’ve brought in today.” said Cheerilee, sitting behind her desk and smiling at the excited little unicorn.

“Everypony,” she began, “this is my friend Josh.”

Every foal simply stared at Josh, who waved to the little crowd before him.

“Josh came here last year and lived with my sister, Rarity, for a little while.” she continued.

As she did so, a little pink pegasus filly in the back raised her hoof high in the air.

“Cotton Cloudy,” said Cheerilee, taking notice of the foal, “we’re supposed to save our questions for after the presentation.”

Cotton Cloudy lowered her hoof and blushed, a little pouty that she didn’t get her question answered. Josh simply smiled at her and all the other foals, who were obviously holding back on asking their own questions.

“I’ll answer any questions you might have after Sweetie Belle’s done talking, okay?” he announced to the room, “Does that sound good?”

Every foal nodded in agreement, to which Josh smiled down at Sweetie Belle and nodded, allowing her to continue. She talked all about how he’d taught Vinyl how to make music like him and how they’d put on a big concert last year. A huge smile spread across her face when she talked about how Josh had taken her up on the stage and let her dance around and have fun with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo while Josh and Vinyl performed. She finished by telling about how he’d left Equestria to return home, but had come back because he missed everypony.

“And that’s everything about my friend, Joshie.” she finished.

Every foal cheered and clapped their hooves. Josh bent down and picked up Sweetie Belle, placing her on his back so her hind legs rested on his shoulders and her rump sat on his neck. She wrapped her forelegs around his head to stabilize herself, a wide smile on her face.

“Any questions?” she asked from her perch.

Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, a torrent of questions burst from every foal. Everything from, “Can you play some music for us?” to, “Are you and Vinyl gonna get married?” was asked, and Josh stood there patiently, answering every question.

After a few minutes, the questions began to die down, and Josh placed Sweetie Belle back on the ground.

“One more, then we’ll have to move on.” said Cheerilee, looking all around for any more raised hooves, “Diamond Tiara, what’s your question for Josh?”

“Why are you here?” asked a little pink filly in front, who had a tiny diamond encrusted tiara perched on her purple and white mane.

“Well…” said Josh, thinking about how to answer that, “I’m here because I wanted to stay here.”

“My father says you don’t belong here.” said the little filly, glaring at Josh, “He says that Equestria is only supposed to be for ponies and other creatures that were here before.”

Josh was taken aback by the comments Diamond Tiara made. Nopony had ever had a problem with him before. At least, not any he could think of.

“Well, your father is entitled to his own opinions,” he began, trying to quell the sudden anger he felt rising in his chest, “but I’ve never even met him. He doesn’t really know me, so I hardly think he has the right to judge me outright.”

“He says he doesn’t have to know you to know you don’t belong here.” she continued, pointing an emphatic hoof at Josh, “Your relationship with Vinyl Scratch is wrong! Only ponies should be together.”

“Diamond Tiara!” said Cheerilee, speaking up before Josh had the chance to, “That’s quite enough! Josh is our guest, and you must…”

Josh raised a hand, stopping Cheerilee mid-sentence.

“Perhaps, Diamond Tiara,” he began, somehow managing to keep his voice level with the anger flooding him, “your father should be a big boy and come to me with these issues rather than spouting his hate speech for his own kid to repeat. That would be a nice alternative to what we’re doing right now, wouldn’t you agree?”

“How dare you!” shouted the filly, standing up and glaring daggers at Josh, “My father is one of the most respected ponies in this pathetic town! He’s three times the stallion you’ll ever be!”

Josh was about to respond when Cheerilee spoke up once more.

“Diamond Tiara! That’s enough.” she said, rising from her desk and glaring at the filly, “For this, you will stay in for lunch and recess. I’ll also be telling your father about your behavior and we’ll have a conference to discuss this little issue.”

She looked to Josh, concern etched across her face.

“I-I’m so sorry about this, Josh.” she began, “I’m sorry you have to deal with this. And here, of all places.”

Josh said nothing, instead looking down to Sweetie Belle. She stared back up at him, her little eyes beginning to water as he looked to her, a saddened expression painting her face at Diamond Tiara’s words towards her friend. Josh’s heart broke at her sad expression, and he bent down and hugged her. Every foal in the room was completely silent, save for Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, who had jumped up from their own seats and joined Josh and Sweetie Belle in the hug.

“Say whatever you want, Diamond Tiara.” said Josh after awhile, releasing the three fillies and sending them back to their seats, “But, don’t go around and spew your father’s hate speech. Or, at least have the decency to not say it in front of my friends.”

Diamond Tiara looked as if she wanted to continue her tirade, but stopped herself. Josh turned to Cheerilee.

“That conference you’re gonna have with her father. When are you gonna do that?”

“Probably some time later today.” replied the teacher, “Why?”

“I think I have a few things I need to say to him myself.” said Josh simply.

Cheerilee nodded, then thanked Josh for coming in. Josh made his way out of the schoolhouse, still unable to believe that somepony here was bigoted towards him. Well he thought as he made his way back across town towards his home I guess it’s not perfect anywhere.

Chapter 5: A Nice Little Chat

Second Chances II: Love and Courage
By Hero541
Chapter 5: A Nice Little Chat

Josh and Vinyl sat in the now empty classroom with Cheerilee. Vinyl was silently seething with anger at what Diamond Tiara had said about her coltfriend, while Josh was taking a much more stoic approach to the whole thing. When he told her about the conference Cheerilee would hold to talk to Diamond Tiara's father, she insisted on showing up herself. She had claimed it would be to keep Josh level if things got heated, but the human had a feeling he'd be the one who had to keep her off both the filly and her father in that kind of scenario.

"Where is he?" asked Cheerilee, looking to the clock on the wall, "He's usually more poignant than this."

"He'll come." said Josh, looking to the door, "I insulted him. If he has any kind of pride, he'll show up."

As soon as the words left the human's mouth, the door opened and Diamond Tiara sauntered in. Behind her was a brown stallion with a black slicked back mane. Around his neck was a collar from a business suit complete with a red tie that had a dollar sign on it. He wore a stern look as he entered the schoolhouse.

"Filthy Rich," said Cheerilee, standing to greet the stallion, "I'm glad you could make it. Please, take a seat."

Filthy Rich sat on his haunches in front of Cheerilee's desk, his daughter next to him. Cheerilee returned to her seat and looked towards Josh and Vinyl nearby before speaking.

"Mr. Rich," she began, placing her hooves together in front of her on her desk, "We had a bit of an... issue with Diamond Tiara today."

"What exactly happened?" he asked, peering down at his daughter, "I only got her side of the story."

"One of our students brought Josh here in for her show and tell project." said Cheerilee, gesturing to Josh, "Everything was going fairly well till I called on your daughter to ask her question. She then proceeded to mention how you've been saying that Josh doesn't deserve to be here and be in a relationship with Vinyl Scratch."

"Well, I apologize for any sort of disturbance she may have caused in your class, Miss Cheerilee." he said, scowling at his daughter, "I should watch what I say around her a little more. It's a well known fact that children can be quite... easily influenced."

"Well, I appreciate your apology," said the teacher, glancing uneasily towards Josh once more, "however, I must admit, I'm sort of disturbed that you would say such things around her. Is that what you really feel about Josh?"

Filthy said nothing to that, instead looking to Josh, who glared back at him.

"I'm afraid that is how I feel." he replied simply, looking back to Cheerilee.

"What did I ever do to you?" asked Josh finally, unable to remain quiet anymore.

"Not a thing." said Filthy, looking back to the human, "However, I am entitled to my own opinions."

"That may be true," said Josh, standing up and walking over to the stallion, "but you barely even know me! How can you say that I don't belong here?"

"Equestria was founded by ponies, for ponies." said Filthy, standing as well and glaring up at Josh, "Any other creatures that happen to be here are simply a coincidence."

"You worthless bigot!" shouted Vinyl from her seat, jumping up and standing next to her coltfriend, "Just because Josh isn't a pony, you think he doesn't have the right to be happy?"

"I never said that." he replied, glancing at the enraged unicorn, "He's more than entitled to happiness. In his own world, where he can't taint the purity of ours."

"So that's it." said Josh, continuing to glare at Filthy as anger rose up in his chest, "You think I'm some kind of pockmark here?"

"I know for a fact that the princess chose you for some kind of divine experiment she concocted." replied Filthy, "To take somepony whose life was so far down the tubes and see if the 'magic of friendship' could change them."

"How could you possibly know that?" asked Josh, now worried about what this stallion might know.

"I have powerful connections even in the royal court." he replied, smirking at Josh, "They overheard the princesses talking about bringing somepony from another world here for their test." he looked to Vinyl, "Do you have any idea of the things he did before he came here, my dear?"

"Of course I do!" she spat, venom coating her words, "Josh told me everything. How could I judge him for something he did before he met me that he hasn't done since?"

"If I recall, didn't he just up and abandon you one day?"

Vinyl was taken aback, remembering the day Josh left Equestria and her in tears. She remembered the feeling of hopelessness she'd had as she cried that entire day, thinking she was never going to see the one thing she loved more than anything in the world.

"He came back, didn't he?" she shot back, "He loved me too much to stay gone for long."

"That may be true," said Filthy, pacing back and forth in front of Josh and Vinyl now, "but how long till he tires of you once again and he decides to leave once more?"

"How dare you!" shouted Josh, advancing on the stallion, "I love Vinyl more than anything! Who're you to say that I'd ever leave her again?"

Josh stood over the stallion now, glaring down at him. Though Josh was three feet taller than him and probably outweighed him by about 50 pounds, Filthy didn't flinch at his sudden movement towards him. Instead, he smirked back up at the human.

"You may be able to intimidate everpony else here with your size," he said, glaring into Josh's eyes, "but don't plan on me being one of those whose scared of you."

"You ought to be." said Josh simply.

"If you say so."

"Filthy," said Cheerilee, drawing the attention of both Josh and the stallion, "I would appreciate it if you not say such things around Diamond Tiara again. If she hears it, more than likely, she will repeat it here."

"I'm most sorry for that, Miss Cheerilee." he said once more, "I'll make sure to watch myself more closely."

"What about us?" said Josh, watching as Filthy turned to leave, "You're not gonna apologize to us for spreading hate speech about me?"

Filthy turned back to Josh, another smirk on his face.

"I'm sorry you were so smitten with this place that you decided to pretend you're one of us and stick around here."

Vinyl prepared to launch herself at Filthy, rage consuming her every thought. Josh grabbed her as she began her advance, however, holding her back.

"Lemme go, Josh!" she shouted, trying to wriggle her way out of his grasp without hurting him, "This jackass needs to be taught a lesson!"

"Vinyl, baby," said Josh, struggling to contain his enraged marefriend, "calm down. It's not gonna do us any good to attack him."

"How can you just stand there and do nothing?!" shouted Vinyl, her voice beginning to shake as tears formed in her eyes.

"Because it's not worth it." replied Josh, finally letting her go as Filthy made his way out the door with Diamond Tiara in tow.

Vinyl turned back to look at Josh, tears in her eyes. Josh held out his arms wide, inviting her to come into their comforting grasp. She shook her head and turned back to the door, rushing out as she began to cry. Josh felt his heart sink as he watched her cream colored form angrily sprinting away from him and the schoolhouse.

"Are you gonna be alright, Josh?" asked Cheerilee finally as Josh got up from the floor.

"Eventually." he replied, preparing to follow Vinyl out the door, "But, I don't know about Vinyl."

"I'm so sorry, Josh." said the teacher, stepping out from behind her desk and approaching the human, "You deserve better than to have to deal with all this."

"I know." he said, heading out the door.

He had to get home soon. Vinyl would undoubtedly be upset a him for his seeming lack of care for what Filthy said to them, and he needed to be there to comfort her. That, and he had a show to prepare for in two weeks.

Chapter 6: Guilty Consciences (Mature)

Second Chances II: Love and Courage
By Hero541
Chapter 6: Guilty Consciences

Josh stood in the production studio, his headphones to one ear as he began to manipulate the music. Vinyl was still upset with him for not doing anything to Filthy for what he said. She avoided him once he got home, choosing to lock herself in the bedroom and take a nap. Josh knew her well enough by now to know that nothing he said or did right now would help her feel any better. He simply told her that he loved her and then headed to the studio to begin getting the set list ready for the show in Los Pegasus.

He worked with a little less vigor than normal, his mind distracted by thoughts of his angry marefriend upstairs in the bedroom. What was I supposed to do? he thought, trying and failing to focus on the music Punch him in the face and accomplish nothing? Josh was never the one to be violent with anyone, even back home. He knew better than any that violence accomplished nothing except to make someone seem like a jackass.

“Goddamn.” he finally said, unable to continue and turning off all the equipment, “I can’t do this right now.”

Slowly, he made his way back up the stairs and onto the main floor. Maybe Vinyl’s feeling better he thought, praying that he was right. Unfortunately, his prayers were in vain. The house was still as silent and uneasy as it had been before he headed down into the studio. Sighing with a mix of exhaustion and exasperation, he sat in his chair next to the fireplace and buried his face in his hands.

As he sat there, a knock came from the front door.

“It’s open.” called Josh simply, not lifting his head from his hands.

A second later, the door opened and a gray mare wearing a pink bowtie around her neck walked in, nudging the door shut as she entered the home.

“Good evening, Josh.” she said, trying to sound cheerful and bouncy, “How’re you?”

Josh simply looked up at her, his face completely blank. The smile the mare was wearing vanished at his gaze.

“I heard about what happened from Cheery.” she said, jumping up on the nearby couch and laying down so her head was close to his chair, “Vinyl’s still upset?”

“Just a little.” said Josh, sitting back and sighing, “What would you have done, Tavi?”

The mare put a hoof to her chin in contemplation.

“Probably the same as you.” replied Octavia.

Josh said nothing once more. At least someone around here’s on my side.

“What was Vinyl expecting you to do? Just lash out and hit him or something?” she asked, breaking the silence that had fallen.

“I guess.” replied Josh, thinking back to Vinyl preparing to rush Filthy and do God-knows-what, “That’s certainly what she aimed to do at the time.”

“Cheery told me you held her back.”

“I had to! She was gonna tear him to shreds!”

Octavia shrank a little as Josh raised his voice slightly. Josh immediately took notice of this and calmed himself down.

“I’m not gonna let her get arrested because she beat the living shit out of some guy.” he said, Octavia returning to her normal state, “Even if he is biased towards me, that’s no reason for me to just let her loose on him. And it’s certainly no reason for me to take him down myself.”

“I’m proud of you, Josh.” said the gray cellist, placing a hoof on his hand, “However, I’m not sure how you can still be so cool about this.”

“I’ve had many a person in my life tell me how much they hate me.” he said, thinking back to his life at home, “If I just punched everyone who I had a disagreement with, there’d be a lot of people on earth who have a black eye or a broken nose right now.”

“Maybe you ought to let me take him on.” joked the mare, causing Josh to chuckle as the memory of his first encounter with Octavia came to his mind.

He had upset Vinyl by upstaging her at her own show, and then received a visit from a very upset Octavia the next morning. She had rushed right into Rarity’s home, shot down the stairs to her dining room, and punched Josh right in the jaw.

“Maybe.” replied Josh, smiling a little at Octavia.

“I never did apologize for that first time we met…” she trailed off, her ears flattening against her skull.

“You have no reason to be sorry.” said Josh, “You were defending your friend. I can’t say I’d have done the same, but that doesn’t mean you were in the wrong.”

“I’m still sorry at least.” she said, staring at Josh with her beautiful violet eyes.

“I accept your apology, Tavi.”

Octavia smiled at the human, who returned her look. The gray mare’s smile faltered though as her eyes were drawn to the top of the stairs behind Josh. Josh noticed her gaze and turned to see what she was looking at. Vinyl was slowly making her way down the stairs, her crimson-magenta eyes red and puffy. She cautiously made her way into the living room, her ears pressed flat against her head.

“Hello, Vinyl dear.” said Octavia, smiling sweetly at her friend as she approached.

Vinyl simply looked to her, a sad expression painting her face. Octavia took that as her cue to leave and allow Josh and Vinyl to talk.

“I’ll see you later, Josh.” she said, crawling down from the couch and heading for the door.

“See ya, Tavi.” he said as she exited the house.

The house became filled with an uneasy silence, neither Josh nor Vinyl looking at each other. The pony made her way to the couch where Octavia had once been and lay down the same way the gray mare had, though she avoided looking at her coltfriend. They simply sat there, both trying their best to phrase what they wanted to say next.

“I’m sorry.” they both said at the same time, breaking the long silent streak that had taken hold.

“You first.” said Vinyl, peering at Josh from behind her blue mane.

“No, you first.” he replied.

Again, silence fell hard. They merely glanced at each other cautiously, till both noticed the other’s glance and they locked eyes for the first time in hours.

“I’m sorry, Vinyl.” said Josh finally, staring deep into his marefriend’s eyes and placing a hand on her hoof as it rested on the arm of the couch, “I should have done something about Filthy. If not for me, then at least for you.”

Vinyl’s eyes began to tear up once more as she looked at Josh. Guilt covered her face as she watched him.

“No. You were fine.” she said, placing her other hoof over his hand, “You were doing the right thing by not knocking him out and holding me back from doing the same. Hurting him right in front of his kid would have hardly been the right thing to do in this case.”

The two lovers simply stared at each other awhile longer, glad they were at least speaking to one another again.

“J-Josh,” said Vinyl, her voice shaking as she addressed him, “y-you still love me, r-right?”

“Baby, of course.” he said, rising from his chair and kneeling in front of Vinyl on the couch, “Why would you think I don’t love you anymore?”

“I… I don’t know.” she said, looking away from him for a second, “I just know you value that nopony here judges you like that. I just was so worried that if…”

Josh placed his hand on her chin and pulled her head so she was looking him in the eyes. He smiled sweetly at her, causing her to do the same.

“Vinyl,” he began, staring into her eyes, “one guy being a jackass isn’t ever going to make me leave you. I don’t care what Filthy Rich may think of me. Nothing he says or does could ever make me stop loving you.”

Vinyl smiled wider at his words. Slowly, she reached out a hoof and caressed his cheek lovingly.

“I love you so much, Josh.” she said, her eyes beginning to tear up once again, “I was just so worried I’d lose you. I don’t ever wanna be without you again.”

Josh placed his hands on her cheeks, leaned in, and passionately kissed Vinyl, probing her mouth with his tongue and feeling her melt into him. She wrapped her hooves around his neck and kissed him back. They soon broke, smiling lovingly at each other.

“You’ll never have to worry about that, baby.” he said, placing his forehead against her own.

Vinyl smiled at him, holding him as close as she possibly could. Josh returned to kissing her, this time more vigorously. She eagerly returned his affection, feeling herself become aroused as his hand travelled to her flank. All she wanted was to be close to him, and what better a time than now, when they were so happy to be around each other once more?

Josh broke the kiss slowly, beginning to plant smaller kisses all over her neck, making his way down her chest and to her stomach. Vinyl felt a tingle in her loins as he began to approach her marehood. She placed her hooves on his head, aching for him to reach her nethers and make her feel wave after wave of ecstasy. Normally, Josh would have teased the mare and made his return trip back to her mouth, but he wanted to show her the love she deserved. Vinyl received her wish as Josh’s tongue entered her aching marehood, making her lose all ability to think.

She moaned with pleasure as his tongue swirled around inside her, causing her mind to melt. He wrapped his arms around her flanks, burying his mouth even deeper into her lips, causing her to squeak and moan with delight. She could feel herself getting closer and closer to the edge. With one final moan of pleasure, her body convulsed, and she finally released, splashing Josh’s face with her juices.

The human looked up from his vantage point and saw a huge smile cover his marefriend’s face. Wiping her juices from his face, he returned to her mouth and kissed her like never before. She clumsily undid his shorts with her hooves as their mouths were connected, exposing his erect member. She backed off from the kiss and dived onto his erection, swirling her tongue on the top and causing Josh to now moan with pleasure.

“Ya like that, big boy?” she asked, smiling up at him.

As he nodded his head, she descended once more onto his throbbing member, beginning to envelope the piece of flesh in her mouth. Her head moved back and forth over its length, causing Josh to moan with pleasure himself. Once she felt he was ready, she removed her mouth from his appendage and lay back down on the couch, spreading her hind legs apart wide, preparing for what was to come next. Josh descended on his lover, inserting his member slowly into her marehood. She gave a small squeak as she felt him enter her.

The human began to thrust into his lover, slow at first, but picking up speed as he felt more comfortable. Vinyl continued to moan and cry out as wave after wave of pleasure flooded her body. Josh felt her insides tighten around his appendage as he began to thrust faster and harder. She continued to cry out in ecstasy, feeling herself near the edge once again. Josh also was nearing his limit and felt something make its way through his body. With one final ecstatic cry from Vinyl, they finished simultaneously, both feeling the other do so.

Josh lay down behind his marefriend, his body and mind exhausted from the day’s events. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, never wanting to let her go. Together, they lay there, feeling the love between them grow one thousandfold.

“I love you, Joshie.” said Vinyl, drifting off to sleep in his warm embrace.

Josh smiled and gave her one last sweet little kiss on her neck before he felt himself being overtaken by the force of sleep. They both fell into their own peaceful dreams, huge smiles on their faces at knowing they had each other. As far as they were concerned, that was all they needed right now.

Chapter 6: Guilty Consciences (Clean)