Second Chances II: Love and Courage

Second Chances II: Love and Courage
By Hero541
Chapter 7: Las Pegasus, Here We Come

Life for Josh and Vinyl returned to normal pretty quickly. They almost immediately made the transition back into production, getting their setlist ready for the next show. Over the course of the next two weeks, Octavia or one of their other friends would stop by and see how they were doing, all of them glad that the situation with Filthy Rich didn’t tear apart the two lovers. As was before, neither Josh or Vinyl saw or heard anything about the bigoted stallion, a fact they both rejoiced in.

Josh and Vinyl were now on a train, headed for Las Pegasus and their next show. Vinyl lay her head on her coltfriend’s chest, sleeping peacefully as he stroked her mane. The human peered out the window, trying and failing to not think about Filthy Rich and the things he said to Josh and Vinyl.

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

Those words haunted Josh for some reason. I’m hardly pretending to be anyone he thought as he watched the scenery speed past his train car Why is he the only one who has a problem with me? Vinyl stirred in her sleep a little, readjusting her head on Josh’s chest. The human peered down at the beautiful unicorn. She knew he wasn’t pretending to be anything.

After several hours, they arrived in Las Pegasus and found their crew awaiting them there.

“You the guys who’re supposed to move all our stuff to the pavilion?” asked Josh as he stepped off the train, Vinyl close behind him.

“Yes sir!” said the leader, an orange unicorn mare, “We’ll take all your equipment to the stage and get it set up for you so you two can relax till the show.”

“Good.” said Vinyl, smiling and yawning, “I think we could use a day or two to ourselves.”

“Just make sure you get it set up properly.” said Josh, watching as several unicorns made their way onto the train to offload their equipment, “I’ll come by the day before and inspect everything. I don’t wanna have to lecture anybody on how to wire the speakers.”

The unicorn mare saluted before heading off to help her peers. Josh turned to Vinyl, who smiled up at him with tired eyes.

“You get a good rest?” he asked, smirking at her as she yawned once more.

“We’ve been so busy the last few days.” she replied, “Sleep is hard to come by when you’re producing as much as we are.”

“You wanna go find a hotel so you can relax for a bit?”

“We can…”

Josh smiled at his tired marefriend. She’s unbelievably cute when she’s tired like that he thought, watching as her head dipped and she began to nod off. She caught herself just in time, jerking her head back up before it began to sink again. Josh looked around and saw a nice hotel nearby they could stay at for a little while.

“Come here, sleepyhead.” he said, kneeling down and grabbing her under her forelegs before hoisting her up and holding her close.

She wrapped her forelegs around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder as he placed his hands under her rump and made his way to the hotel. Vinyl wasn’t too heavy, though she also was no Sweetie Belle, which made it a little awkward to hold her as he walked. However, he had no trouble carrying her to the hotel and getting a room for her to stay in. The concierge at the desk, a gray pegasus stallion, smiled at him as he walked in.

“Welcome to the Equestria Grand Hotel.” he whispered upon seeing the tall human carrying a sleeping unicorn, “I’ll just get you a room key.”

The stallion stepped back and took a key from the rack before handing it to a bellhop nearby.

“If you want to upgrade at any point, just let me know when she’s awake.” he said before resuming his duties.

Josh nodded and thanked the stallion before following the bellhop back to he and Vinyl’s room. As they entered, Josh placed his sleeping marefriend onto the bed, pulling back the covers so they covered her sleeping form.

“Thank you, baby…” she mumbled before turning over and resuming her sleep.

Josh smiled before turning back to the bellhop and giving her a nice tip. The bellhop thanked him and returned back to the front desk to await further command.

“Sleep tight, my sweet little pony.” Josh whispered, kissing her on the top of her head before turning and heading back out the door.

He went to the front desk and paid for four nights in the hotel. The concierge thanked him and asked if there was anything else they could to for him.

“Actually, I kinda left our luggage at the train station…” he said, wincing a little at the sudden realization.

“Not to worry, sir.” said the clerk, waving his hoof dismissively, “They won’t just throw out your things there. As long as you give us the name your tags are under on the bags, we can send somepony out to go get them and take them to your room for you.”

Josh felt relief wash over him as he gave the concierge the name and watched a few bellhop’s leave to go get the bags.

“And, make sure their careful when they go in.” he said, making for the door, “Vinyl’s still asleep in the room.”

“I’ll make sure they don’t make a sound, sir.” the concierge said, smiling at Josh.

Josh nodded, then made for the door. He wanted to go and see the pavilion they’d be playing at in a few days. Maybe after that, he’d hit up a bar and get a drink or something. Just so long as he got back to Vinyl at some point...

*****

Vinyl awoke in the hotel room, still drowsy from her four and a half hour nap she’d just taken. As she looked around, Josh was nowhere to be found. She grimaced a little, hoping he’d have stuck around. What’s he gonna do while I’m asleep though? she mused as she rose from the bed and stretched Just sit there and watch me? Looking to her left, she saw all their luggage set neatly next to the bed.

She made her way out to the lobby of the hotel and looked around. Its walls were adorned with all sorts of beautiful art and photographs, and Vinyl couldn’t help but notice a poster behind a glass case. As she approached it, she smiled as she recognized it as one of their tour posters. After she finished admiring the poster, she walked up to the front desk and the concierge behind it.

“Excuse me,” she said, gaining his attention, “but did you happen to see a tall guy on two legs come through here recently?”

“Actually, he left about four hours ago.” replied the concierge, turning to face Vinyl, “Said something about maybe getting a drink.”

It’s not like Josh to be gone this long she thought. Vinyl thanked the concierge before heading back to her room. She wondered what happened to make Josh stay out so long, praying that everything was alright. As she entered her room, a bellhop rushed in behind her, panting heavily.

“M-Miss… Scratch…” he said through frantic breaths, “You… have a message… in the front lobby…”

Vinyl rushed to the front lobby, hoping that whatever it could be, it wasn’t anything bad involving her coltfriend. As she entered, the concierge called her over and handed her a message.

“This arrived a few minutes ago.” he said, before turning back to his work.

Vinyl unrolled the message. It was in Josh’s handwriting. She slowly began to read.

Vinyl,
I kinda need your help. It’s nothing too big, but I sort of dropped the ball here. Don’t panic or be too upset with me, but I may have lost all our money to get home. Just come to the Casino del Caballo and help me out. If there’s anyone who I need right now, it’s you. I love you.
Josh

Vinyl dropped the letter and let out an exasperated sigh.

“I warned him about gambling last time we were here.” she said, making her way out the door and heading to the Casino del Caballo.