Author's Notes: Enjoy! This was gonna be longer, but I think I'll keep you waiting to see What happens a little while longer...

---

Lyra quickened her pace as Octavia's apartment building came into sight, grateful to soon have shelter from the rain. Hurrying into the lobby, Lyra hastened up the stairs with a swift apology as the desk clerk gave her a scowl at the water she was dripping all over the floor. As the mint unicorn was galloping up the staircase, she neglected to look where she was running and as a result collided with somepony who lost their balance and tumbled down the stairs as Lyra used her magic to regain her own balance.

"By Celestia! I'm so sor-" Lyra cut herself off as she turned to the pony she had so rudely bumped into. At the bottom of the stairs, and wincing as she got up and flexed the wing she landed roughly on, was Gabe. "Oh, Gabe! I didn't see you, I'm sorry for-"

Lyra fell silent as Gabe waved a hoof dismissively before speaking up, "I'm fine. You seem in a hurry, so tarry not and continue on your way." The pegasus spoke with a chuckle as she moved to continue on her way, wincing slightly as she did so.

"M-maybe you should go rest, Gabe. That looked like it hurt," Lyra said as she started to move towards the albino pegasus. Gabe waved her hoof once more, pausing in her movements to keep from tipping over once more. Lyra froze as she frowned slightly, "Gabe..."

"Don't worry 'bout me, Lyra," Gabe grunted as she walked out into the mane hallway Lyra had just departed from only moments ago. Lyra stared after Gabe and bit her lip slightly as she briefly wondered whether she should follow after Gabe or not. Unconvinced by the pegasus' claims, Lyra darted back down the stairs and followed Gabe.

"Why're you followin' me?" Gabe grumbled as she sped up her pace slightly, scowling over her shoulder at the mint green unicorn that was tagging along. Lyra simply shrugged as best she could while keeping pace with the pegasus.

"I'm not following you, you just happen to be going the same direction as me," Lyra said with a grin that Gabe found annoying. Gabe simply snorted in reply before quickening her pace once more, causing the mint unicorn tailing her to break into a gallop.

"Yeah? An' just where are you goin'? If I recall correctly you ran into me as you were going upthe stairs, not down," Gabe growled as she slowed to a quick trot in the lobby as the desk clerk looked up and scowled at the two. Lyra simply kept grinning at Gabe with that odd grin she had, which only annoyed Gabe more.

"Oh, you know," said Lyra with a chuckle at Gabe as she glared at the unicorn before storming out of the building into the downpour outside. Lyra paused at the door for only a brief moment, causing Gabe to think she was rid of the unicorn and puff her chest out proudly. Until the very same unicorn trotted outside thus making Gabe deflate slightly as she sighed heavily.

"You're not gonna leave me the buck alone are ya?" grumbled the pegasus as she stared out of the corner of her eye at the open street behind her. Gabe was tempted to just take to the air and fly off, leaving the unicorn far behind and unable to follow. However, the thought of Hope's fury if she found out that Gabe had broken her vow not to fly was more powerful than the urge to flee.

"Nope!" Lyra stated with a broader grin that drew another sigh out of the pegasus before she flexed her wings, wincing once more as she did so. Lyra noticed this and frowned slightly, "Are you okay, Gabe? I noticed that look when you moved your wings."

"I'm just fine, I think I when I landed on my wing I musta done somethin' to it. I mighta pulled a muscle but it doesn't really matter though. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking my leave to Livewire," Gabe stated in a curt tone as she turned and trotted away, Lyra tagging along behind her much to Gabe's continued annoyance.

"Well, that just happens to be where I'm going!" Lyra said cheerfully, forgetting momentarily that Livewire was Vinyl's club. Gabe glowered at Lyra before sighing heavily once more and simply turning away, trotting down the sidewalk and towards the glow that was the domain of the city's night life.

"Didn't know you went to Vinyl's club; ain't never seen ya there," Gabe said as she trotted through the rain at a casual pace, something that was irking Lyra slightly. However, Lyra forgot all about the rain as she felt her blood run cold at the mention of Vinyl; maybe she should go back inside and talk to Octavia about staying with her. Gabe noted the hesitation in Lyra's steps and immediately played off that. "What's wrong? You and Vinny have a lover's spat?" Gabe teased as Lyra scowled.

"Vinyl and I are NOT together, nor will we EVER be together!" Lyra growled as she stomped a hoof into a puddle while trying to make a point. Gabe burst out in raucous laughter as Lyra scowled at the mud that now covered part of her chest and forelegs. "Not funny, Gabe," Lyra hissed, her eyes narrowing at the pegasus.

"Aw, chill out, Lyra. I meant ya no harm," Gabe said with a bright smile as she turned to continue trotting to Vinyl's club, "besides, I don't see why you're so upset about a joke."

Lyra frowned slightly as she trotted along behind Gabe and pondered the best way to answer the pegasus' question without setting her off; Bon Bon hadwarned her that Gabe was one of Vinyl's oldest friends. However, as Lyra had observed the pegasus, she had noticed that Gabe didn't seem to get involved into the business of other ponies unless it somehow affected her. Coming to this realization, Lyra decided to try testing the waters and tell Gabe a small snippet of what happened and gauge how much more to reveal on her reaction.

"Well, I accused of Bon Bon and Vinyl of some things they may, or may not, have been doing and I guess I got so carried away thinking I was right and they were wrong that I ended up hurting both of them in one way or another," Lyra said, giving Gabe only the most basic of the facts. Lyra quickened her pace and quietly watched Gabe out of the corner of her eye as she waited for the pegasus to reply.

"Hmm," was all Gabe said, her expression unreadable as she looked straight ahead at the road that stretched before them. The rain had started coming down a little harder; and while Lyra didn't much fancy the walk in the rain that she had taken earlier, the unicorn had to admit that she was glad to have found somepony other than Octavia she could talk to. Bon Bon's warning rang clear in her mind, but she had to hope that Gabe wouldn't tell Vinyl everything Lyra tells her.

"What do you think?" Lyra asked cautiously, not wanting to incite any kind of negative reaction from the soldier as they ducked under an awning that covered the entrance to a casual dining restaurant as the rain started coming down too hard to be walking in; Lyra could've sworn that there was hail mixed in with the rain.

"I can't really ascertain anything from that vague description ya gave me; but, I think I understand. If Vinny's upset with ya, then the best thing to do with her is to confront her before it has time to sit in the back of her mind and gestate like I'm guessin' you did with whatever you were thinkin'. As for B-Squared, she's always been a bit more on the calmer side; it takes a lot to rile her up. Which, I'm guessing you did, so here's what I would suggest. Just let things cool down and give her some time to think things over," Gabe said as she rubbed an eye with her hoof before looking over her shoulder at the restaurant whose awning they were taking cover under. "Want some dinner? I'm buying," Gabe asked as she felt her stomach rumble slightly.

Lyra bit her lip slightly; on the one hoof she did need to go talk to Octavia, on the other she was being offered free food. Deciding not to be rude, and because she didn't feel like walking back in the downpour at the moment, Lyra nodded, "I'd love to get something to eat with you; but you don't havet-" Lyra cut herself off as she remembered that she did leave the apartment without anything, including her bits and keys. Gabe simply chuckled and ushered the unicorn towards the doors.

"Just don't tell Vinny I'm doing this. I love the kid to death, but she's so foalish sometimes when she gets into these little grudges with other ponies. Honestly, I think you seem rather decent. I mean, yeah sure you might have made some stupid mistakes or whatever, but it couldn't have been thatbad, right?" Gabe suggested as they waited patiently to be seated.

"Uhm... I'll explain once we sit down," Lyra mumbled as the host gathered up some menus before leading them to the table. Once they were seated and their drink orders filled, Gabe looked at Lyra expectantly. The mint unicorn quietly stirred her drink with the straw she grasped in a aura of pink and blue as she pondered the best way to start the conversation.

"Okay well, it started at the bar last night. I noticed that Bon Bon and Vinyl were getting pretty close, and as I started drinking more these thoughts kept popping up about how they might have been... Well, screwing around behind my back," Lyra noticed Gabe's eyebrow raise as she started to open her mouth to speak; but Lyra quickly held up a hoof and the pegasus waited for her to resume. "It was foalish of me to start assuming, but I was always kind of insecure around the two of them. Anyway, this morning I woke up with a massive hangover and did one of the dumbest things I've ever done."

Lyra fell silent as the waiter approached and asked for their orders. Gabe ordered a hayburger with extra fries and another shake while Lyra merely ordered a salad. Gabe refused to let her have only a salad and ordered a side of fries for her, something that Lyra was amused by. Once the waiter departed to put their orders in, Lyra cleared her throat after taking a sip of water from her glass and spoke once more.

"As I was saying, I did something that I regret and I wish I could take it back. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about the past but learn from it," Lyra said as she took another sip from her water. Gabe nodded as she drank more of her shake and thanked the waiter as he brought her a new one for when she was finished with the first.

"Everypony does stupid things, Lyra. If you ever have a day with nothing to do just ask Hope about some of the stupid things I've done. I'm sure what you did isn't nearly as stupid as dragging home some of the things and ponies I've dragged home while intoxicated. I think I brought home a potted plant once and kept calling it my uncle..." Gabe trailed off as she tapped her chin in thought, Lyra couldn't help but to chuckle at the thought of the pegasus doing such a thing.

"Yeah, you've got a point there, Gabe," Lyra said with a laugh as she stirred her water with her straw once more before continuing her story. "Well, anyway, I sort of broke into Bon Bon's office, destroyed her door in the process, then I dug through all her belongings for 'evidence'. After I had finished snooping through her desk, I discovered she had a safe behind a picture and somehow figured out the combination. Of course, after going through that and discovering her real identity, I turned to leave and found an old letterman jacket with the name 'Staccato' on it."

Gabe choked on her shake for a brief moment, startling the mint unicorn and causing her to panic slightly. Gabe hit herself in the chest a few times as she finally cleared her throat and stared at Lyra, who was frozen to her spot with her eyes as wide as dinner plates and jaw hanging open in terror. "Uh... Lyra? You're freaking me out..." Gabe mumbled as she shifted in her chair slightly, clearing her throat and looking around to keep from staring at the odd expression on her dinner companion's face.

Lyra blinked several times and shook her head before rubbing the back of her neck. "Erm, sorry. But, I was freaking YOU out? You were the one choking!" Lyra squealed in a slightly high-pitched voice from the fear that had been gripping her only seconds before.

"Only because I didn't realize you knew! I wasn't aware anypony outside myself, Hope, and B-Squared knew about that," Gabe whispered as the other patrons stared at the duo for a few more seconds before returning to whatever they had been doing previously.

Lyra blinked in confusion before frowning slightly and leaning forward as she whispered back, "What are you talking about, Gabe? You didn't know I knew what?"

Before Gabe could reply, however, their order arrived and the two were forced to return to their normal positions. No sooner had the waiter set Gabe's burger down did she immediately snatch it up and start eating it, scaring the waiter into snatching his hoof away as if she might start munching on that next. Lyra couldn't help but to giggle as the waiter set her salad and side order of fries down with a little more haste than what was deemed appropriate.

"Anyway, as I was saying, you didn't know about B-Squared and Vinny?" Gabe asked as she took another massive bite out of her burger. Lyra stared at the pegasus' already half-eaten sandwich for a moment before mentally shaking herself as she grasped her fork in her pink and blue aura as she started eating her own dinner.

"Oh, I knew about that, I just didn't know that Bon Bon had Staccato's jacket; or that she even knew the Staccato heir," Lyra said as she munched on a fry. By the time Lyra had finished talking Gabe had already finished most of her burger and was working her way through her fries. 'By Celestia, she eats like she hasn't had food in years,'Lyra thought to herself as she watched the pegasus for a few moments.

"Well, obviously if she was dating Vinny she knew Staccato," Gabe said with a slight frown as she paused in the process of shoveling more fries into her mouth. Lyra simply looked confused, what did Vinyl have to do with the Staccato heir, or vice versa?

"What do Vinyl and the Staccato heir have in common?" Lyra asked, her confusion evident in her tone. Something in Gabe's mind clicked at that point and she realized she was at a point of no-return by now. Giving a sigh and shifting slightly in her seat, Gabe quickly swallowed the mouthful of fries she had before whispering quietly as Lyra leaned forward to hear.

"Vinyl is the Staccato heir," Gabe whispered as quietly as she could, and she was glad that Lyra had enough sense not to scream it out loud like most others would've done. However, the mint unicorn didlean back in her chair and stare at Gabe in shock, which still drew quite a few stares and murmurs from the other tables.

"What?!"

---

Bon Bon quietly trotted out of her apartment building and down the sidewalk towards the glow of downtown Trotlanta. The rain had let up considerably by this point and she was grateful for that, although she did feel bad for making Lyra walk in it. Pushing the thought of Lyra out of her mind and focusing on the road that stretched ahead of her, Bon Bon soon found herself lost in thought about what she should do with her day off work.

After about 20 minutes or so, Bon Bon found herself outside of Livewire and she quickly cleared her mind of all previous thoughts and trotted up to one of the bouncers. A smirk slid across Bon Bon's face as the bouncer recognized her as one of the V.I.P.s and immediately moved aside to let her through causing all the other ponies in line to scowl and mumble as they watched the cream mare trot inside.

A chuckle escaped the cream mare as she weaved around various drunken ponies trying to get outside and the random party goers simply mingling in the hallway. Once she was in the mane area, it didn't take the cream mare long to find the white unicorn she had been wanting to see. Vinyl sat at the bar sipping some of her lemonade and Tank was keeping her full on shots of Vodka, much to Vinyl's delight and Tank's annoyance.

"Vinyl!" Bon Bon called as she approached the unicorn who looked up and smiled immediately upon recognizing her friend.

"Bonsie!" Vinyl called back, waving to her friend and motioning for her to join her on a stool to her right. Bon Bon sat down and ordered a shot of whiskey before turning to Vinyl once more as the unicorn spoke up. "Out celebrating your rekindled love life with Lyra or perhaps you're single again and seeking the company of your favorite DJ?" Vinyl couldn't keep the hopeful tone out of her voice as she asked the last half of her question before coughing slightly as Bon Bon raised an eyebrow at her.

"Neither, actually," Bon Bon said in a cool tone that made Vinyl shrink back slightly as she bit her lip, worried that she had offended her friend. Bon Bon took a sip of her whiskey as she quietly watched Vinyl shift uncomfortably under the cream mare's piercing gaze. After a few tense seconds, which felt like hours to Vinyl, Bon Bon let out a soft chuckle and shook her head, "We're just spending a few days away from each other to clear our heads."

Vinyl nodded slowly as she stared at her drink, "Makes sense. I'm just glad you guys aren't actually breaking up."

"Me too," stated Bon Bon as she took another sip of her whiskey, "Although from your tone it would seem as if you almost wanted us to split up. Is that fair to say, Sticky?" Bon Bon looked over to her friend curiously as the unicorn fell silent and simply stared into her drink, worrying Bon Bon with her sudden change in mood and behavior.

"I suppose that is fair to say, Bons," Vinyl whispered so softly that the cream earth pony almost missed it. Bon Bon's brow furrowed as she continued watching her friend patiently, something Tankard had to commend the mare for; Vinyl wasn't known for being open about things worrying or bothering her. "I'm sorry, Bonsie, but I can't do this anymore," Vinyl whispered before rising off her stool and making her way unsteadily to the door by the bar.

Tank quietly moved to her side as she whispered softly that he was in charge for the rest of the night and to put all of Bon Bon's drinks on her tab to pay in the morning. Returning to the cream mare, Tank sighed as he pressed a hoof to her temple and removed Vinyl's empty shot glass and half finished lemonade. "Was she always like this, Bon Bon? Even before all that drama in high school?" Tank asked the earth pony as he mixed a pina colada for a rather buff looking pegasus who kept insisting, to no pony in particular, that it was for his 'fillyfriend'.

Bon Bon studied her whiskey for a moment as she thought back to when she and Vinyl had been younger fillies. "Yes and no, she was pretty quiet until we got into the last year of middle school, after that she became the rambunctious mare that so famously crippled the entire school system over a hoofball match. A great composition and her cutie mark did come out of it though."

Tank nodded slowly as he listened, "I remember that, took 'em ages to straighten everything out didn't it?" Bon Bon took a sip from her drink before nodding in reply to Tank's question.

"Yeah, it did. I don't think they ever fully recovered from it, actually," Bon Bon stated as she watched a few of the ponies on the dance floor. Tank refilled Bon bon's shot glass as he moved to usher a rather inebriated pegasus from the bar as she tried leaning over to take a bottle of whiskey. After a few moments of shooing her away only to have her return again, Tank called for one of the bouncers to escort her out.

"Sorry about that, Bon Bon. Anyway, whatever happened to Lax after that?" Tank inquired as he started washing a few glasses while waiting on another drink order.

"I'm... Not really sure. I heard that she left town with her husband... Oh, what was his name?" Bon Bon frowned in thought as she took another sip of her whiskey. "Common! That's what he was called. Common Sense and his wife was Lax Sense. Great name right? I actually think they reproduced and named their kid Noh. Kinda feel bad for him... Her... It... Whatever," Bon Bon said waving a hoof dismissively as Tank chuckled while polishing a glass he had finished washing and drying.

"Yeah. Anyway, Vinny was telling me earlier Lyra ripped her jacket and you two were having some troubles. Sorry to hear that an' I hope things get ironed out soon," Tank said as he refilled Bon bon's shot glass once more.

"They will," said Bon Bon with a slight frown as she stared into her drink, not really wanting to talk about it with anypony other than Vinyl. Tank inclined his head in acknowledgment of her words before moving off to fill drink orders once more, leaving Bon Bon to her whiskey and thoughts.

---

Lyra's brow was furrowed as she studied the pegasus across from her, unsure of what to make of what she had been told. Gabriel, for her part, seemed rather worried and was tapping her forehooves together as she nervously waited for a reply, maybe she shouldn't have revealed Vinyl's identity to Lyra like that.

"I'm not sure how to react to this," Lyra finally whispered, taking another bite of her salad as she pondered over Gabe's words. She wasn't sure she even believed the pegasus, for all Lyra knew Gabe could simply be saying that just to mess with her for what she did to Vinyl's jacket.

"Well, it's not exactly something easy to react to I s'pose," Gabe stated as she scarfed down her fries. Lyra inclined her head at Gabe's words as she levitated a few of her own fries and munched on them as she thought about the situation at hoof. She now had something on Vinyl that she could use against the DJ, although Lyra would never do such a thing no matter how annoyed at somepony she was. Tapping a hoof to her chin as she thought about what she could do, Lyra watched Gabe closely for any signs that the pegasus was lying to her.

"Tell me, Stalwart," Gabe's head snapped up at that, her eyes narrowing at Lyra as she used the pegasus' real name. "Why should I believe what you have told me? This could all be some elaborate scheme to try to get me back for what I did to Bon Bon and, by extension, Vinyl," Lyra stated as she continued to watch Gabe's reactions. The albino's nostrils flared slightly as she drew back from the food she had her muzzle buried in before licking off the salt and grease on her lips.

"Okay, first of all; I've told ya to call me Gabe or Gabriel. Secondly, I can't really tell ya whether ya should believe me or not because no matter what I say you're gonna draw yer own conclusions. So all I can really suggest to learn to trust me a little," Gabe snapped before shoving more fries into her mouth and scowling at Lyra.

Lyra blinked slightly and stared down at her half eaten salad, there was that 'trust' word again, it seemed like everypony liked throwing it at her these days. The mint unicorn poked at her dinner with her fork before looking up at Gabe once more and decided to make an effort in trying to over-analyse everything.

"You're right, Gabe. I shouldn't be so paranoid, but can I be honest with you?" Lyra spoke in a hushed tone as she looked over at the other patrons as if worried they might overhear what she had to say. Gabe inclined her head as she gave an encouraging smile to Lyra as she listened to what the mint unicorn had to say. "It's just, I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm new to this whole relationship thingy and I keep making stupid mistakes," Lyra mumbled as she jabbed her fork into her salad.

"Ah, that explains a lot! Well, Lyra, you crashed into the right mare earlier! I'd be more than happy to give ya a hoof with relationship advice," Gabe said proudly as she puffed her chest out, causing Lyra to raise an eyebrow at the pegasus. Lyra started to say that she highly doubted Gabe could understand the situation she was in and have anything helpful to say, but thought better of it when remembering that the pegasuswas paying for her dinner. "First thing ya gotta do is sweep B-Squared off her hooves again, ya know. Take her out on a romantic date or somethin', ya know that kinda mushy stuff. Mares dig mushy stuff. Then ya gotta sweep her off her hooves again, or just drag her to the bedroom, whichever," Gabe said with a sagely nod making Lyra snicker lightly.

"I'll, uh, be sure to remember that, Gabe," Lyra stated as Gabe started to wind up for what was most likely going to be a long speech. However before the pegasus could speak up, the waiter trotted up to their table with the check and Gabe ordered a shake to go as well as a slice of pie for Lyra, stating that Lyra needed a little more meat on her bones. Lyra wasn't sure whether she should take that as a compliment or an insult and so she simply forced a smile and hoped that Gabe meant well.

Once the check was paid and Gabe had left a tip for the waiter, the two trotted outside and Gabe gave a sigh as she stared out into the rain that was stilling falling from the sky. She was grateful that it had lightened up considerably, but she did hate that her flight jacket was soaked. Turning to Lyra, Gabe spoke up, "You know the way back to my apartment building, Hope an' I live on the top floor, room number two fifty. If Hope asks just tell her I sent ya and that I'll be home in a few hours."

Lyra gave a sharp nod and trotted off into the rain pausing only for a moment to look back at Gabe as the pegasus trotted off in the direction of Vinyl's club, part of Lyra wanted to tag along. She had to admit the pegasus was a rather interesting character, even if she did have a few screws loose. Turning back towards where Gabe and Hope lived, Lyra trudged off once more, her steps quickened by the downpour and thought of a warm place to rest for the night.

---

Vinyl had called for Tank to allow Bon Bon entrance back to her office, and after much struggle with a few ponies eager to see the backrooms for no explainable reason, Bon Bon found herself sitting in Vinyl's rather plain looking office. Vinyl was twirling a glass of lemonade slowly in her blue aura of magic as she studied the cream mare before her. Bon Bon, for her part, was still sipping on her third shot of whiskey.

"Soooooo," said Vinyl unsure of what to say to her friend. Bon Bon, for her part, was sitting silently and watching Vinyl with an oddly glazed look in her eyes. However, as Vinyl waved hoof in front of her face, Bon Bon snapped out of her daze and focused on Vinyl once more. "You had something to say to me?" Vinyl inquired as she took a sip of lemonade.

"I just wanted to talk to you for a bit about what you said earlier," Bon Bon stated as she stared into her whiskey and pondered how to approach the subject. Vinyl chewed on her bottom lip slightly as she glanced around her office for something to distract Bon Bon off the subject with.

"Which subject might that be, Bonsie?" Vinyl asked, stalling for time as she tried to find something, anything, to talk about. Unfortunately, Bon bon was not easily dissuaded when it came to topics that piqued her interest.

"You know what I'm referring to, Vinyl. That little stunt in the bar, saying you couldn't 'do this' anymore. What exactly can't you do anymore?" Bon Bon inquired as she looked up at Vinyl as she took a sip of whiskey. Vinyl stayed quiet as she pondered over how to reply to Bon Bon without actually telling her the truth.

"I just... uh... I don't really wanna talk about it right now, Bonsie," Vinyl muttered as she stared into her lemonade before sighing and pressing a hoof to her temple. Bon Bon was tempted to push the topic and even started to open her mouth to object to Vinyl's silence. However, she decided against it for the time being, Bon Bon knew how to get the answer she wanted out of Vinyl.

"Mmm, fine but I did want to ask you what you think I should do about Lyra," Bon Bon stated, quietly watching Vinyl out of the corner of her eyes. Bon Bon noted the way Vinyl's ears pulled back slightly, although being unable to see Vinyl's eyes she didn't see Vinyl narrow her eyes as her lip curled up slightly.

"You don't want my opinion on that," Vinyl said in a curt tone. Bon Bon's brow raised as she gave a sigh and placed a hoof over Vinyl's, staring intently at Vinyl. "Bons, I'm serious. This is a conversation we don't need to have," Vinyl grumbled as she moved her hoof.

"Alright, Sticky, I understand," Bon bon sighed as she leaned back in her chair before suddenly lighting up. "How long until you have to leave and lock up?" she asked with a sly grin crossing her face.

Vinyl glanced at the clock on the wall, "About another two more hours. Why?" Bon Bon's grin grew wider as she stared intently in Vinyl's direction.

"I just had a great idea!" The cream mare stated as she finished the last of her whiskey causing Vinyl to arch an eyebrow as she levitated the glass away from Bon Bon. "Would you be able to leave early and have Tank lock up tonight?" Bon Bon asked with that same sly grin on her muzzle.

"Probably, but I don't want to keep skipping out on work. Otherwise I'll have to write myself up, ya know?" Vinyl said with a laugh as she took a swig from her lemonade glass. Bon Bon didn't seem to hear the last bit as she grinned widely at Vinyl's words. "Let me go talk to Tank and we'll leave shortly, alright?" Bon bon nodded as Vinyl trotted out of the room carrying the glasses in her blue aura of magic.

Once Vinyl returned, she and Bon Bon departed and headed in the direction of Bon bon and Lyra's apartment. Bon Bon was wearing Vinyl's jacket once more and insisted to Vinyl that the rip was fixable and that she'd take care of it.

"Bonsie, you shouldn't have to pay to fix that. Let me do it, it's my jacket after all!" Vinyl grumbled as she kicked at a random pebble on the ground, her aim a little off due to the alcohol she had consumed.

"Vinyl, I've told you not to worry about it," Bon Bon stated as she trotted unsteadily alongside the white unicorn. Vinyl rolled her eyes and sighed slightly as she gazed up at the moon through her purple tinted glasses.

"If you say so, Bonsie. Whatever happens with you and Lyra, just know I'll still be there for you if you ever need me," Vinyl mumbled as she looked back down at the pavement. Bon Bon glanced over at Vinyl before nudging her with a shoulder, nearly losing her already shaky balance. Vinyl quickly caught her with a burst of magic and helped her steady herself before they continued trotting to their destination.

"I know, Vinyl, and I thank you for it," The cream earth pony stated with a warm smile as she looked up at a street sign they were passing by. After ten minutes the duo arrived to Bon Bon's apartment and Bon Bon had ushered a rather reluctant Vinyl inside. Bon Bon closed the door and locked it with a grin as she glanced over her shoulder to Vinyl, who felt her blood run cold at what Bon Bon said next, "Shall we?