Chapter 8

Time was such a minute thing for many ponies, some found it moved too fast whereas others found it moved too slow; and for Vinyl, this was one of those slow times. She stared at Bon Bon as the earth pony slowly poured her fourth, or maybe it was her fifth, glass of wine before topping Vinyl's off as well. Vinyl's heart was still hammering in her chest from their rather brief encounter only moments ago, which had been interrupted by the loud chiming of a grandfather clock Vinyl had never realized Bon Bon owned. Bon Bon herself was having a hard time meeting Vinyl's eyes and seemed content on simply staring into her glass.

"Erm, Bonsie?" Vinyl ventured carefully, noting how Bon Bon glanced momentarily at her before quickly returning her gaze to her wine glass. "D-do you wanna talk about-"

"No," Bon Bon said curtly, cutting Vinyl off before she could fully form her sentence. Vinyl fell silent and stared at Bon Bon's rather intricately made clock instead. The overall design reminded Vinyl of something, though at the present time she couldn't place her hoof on what exactly that might be.

Vinyl quietly sipped on her wine and looked over to her friend, a frown still visible on the earth pony's face as she continued studying her wine glass. "It's not healthy to let stuff like this sit in your mind, Bons," Vinyl said quietly.

Bon Bon inclined her head to acknowledge Vinyl's words but otherwise said nothing as she continued to study her wine glass. Vinyl heaved a sigh as she rubbed her hooves together and pondered what she could say that wouldn't escalate the situation worse than it already was.

It was bad enough that she and Bon Bon had found themselves almost muzzle-to-muzzle, but the fact that they refused to move for roughly a minute afterwards was weighing heavily on Vinyl's mind. The unicorn could tell that Bon Bon was feeling just as bad, or worse, than Vinyl and the unicorn scolded herself mentally for not reacting sooner than she had.

"Vinyl?" The sound of Bon Bon's voice drew Vinyl from her musings to look up at the concerned look on Bon Bon's face. "Maybe it is better if we talk about this..."

Vinyl's mind was slow on the uptake and the confusion was evident on her face as she tilted her head to the side and took a sip of wine, "About what?"

"This whole... thing going on with you, Lyra, and me," Bon Bon half-whispered as she took another sip from her own wine glass. Bon Bon's eyes kept darting around the room then to Vinyl before looking away once more as if unable to look at her friend. Vinyl's brow furrowed as she patiently waited for her friend to speak her mind more clearly. "What is going on here, Vinyl? Lately you've been acting rather cold to Lyra, granted I'm acting no better. I forced her to leave only a few hours ago in order to give us a few days away from each other to work out our differences."

Vinyl stared into her wine with a guilty feeling settling into her stomach as she pondered over what to say. "Why are you even with her, Bonsie? You could do so... SO much better than her. Look at what you and I had in the old days. Don't you miss that? Wouldn't you give anything to have something like that again?" Vinyl asked softly, glancing up at Bon Bon.

"Vinyl," Bon Bon started to speak but found her voice catching in her throat. Clearing it and looking up at the unicorn once more, Bon Bon attempted to speak once more, "Vinyl, I'm with her because I love her. I know she drives me insane a lot of times and that we're at odds right now, but she does mean something to me. Why can't you just let go of the past? You and I aren't together and we will never get back together!"

Vinyl swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat at Bon Bon's words, "I see. So that's all this is to you then? A bucking game? Bonsie, I loved you; buck, I still do! Why can't you see what you're doing to me!" Vinyl's voice was strained slightly from fighting back her emotions.

"Listen to yourself, Vinyl! You sound like a foal whining about not getting their way!" Bon Bon snapped as she glared at Vinyl.

In turn the unicorn bristled at her friend and scowled deeply, "You're one to talk, Cadbury. All of this is because you were never grown up enough to end things with me. You did to me what you're doing to Lyra this very moment! Remember that stupid fight we had? Celestia, I don't even remember what the buck we were fighting about now, but look what it did to us! You wanted a 'break for a while' and next thing I knew you were trotting up to me a few weeks later with Lyra. You told me how she helped you get over what happened between us. The truth of the matter is, Bonsie, you never did end the relationship we had. I bided my time in hopes that it was just a phase, but look at you. Just... I give up." Vinyl slammed her wine glass down and struggled to her hooves, Bon Bon simply stared at her with her jaw hanging slack and a dazed expression.

"Vinyl, wait!" Bon Bon shouted at her friend as she stumbled out of the apartment. The sound of the front door closing softly caused Bon Bon to wince as if Vinyl had slammed it in her face, "I'm sorry..." All Bon Bon got in response was the sound of the rain hitting the window and sound of a pendulum ticking time away in an old grandfather clock.

---

Lyra hummed to herself as she trotted into the lobby of the apartment building that Gabe and Hope lived in. In the back of her mind Lyra pondered over whether or not she should try to see if Octavia was still up, and a quick glance at the clock behind the front desk revealed it to be nearing ten at night. 'Yeah, Octavia is most likely asleep by now. I bet Hope is too, then again Gabe did mention that Hope was often up waiting for her...'

Lyra shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked up at the numbers on the doors as she passed by them. As Lyra passed by Octavia's door, she resisted the urge to knock and see if perhaps the cellist was still up by some circumstance. The mint unicorn continued on, her mind still swirling with all of what Gabe had said at dinner, and she found herself wondering if Gabe had been right in that Vinyl was the Staccato heir. It seemed so very unreal to hear such a thing about the pony Lyra thought she knew; then again the same could be said for Bon Bon.

Lyra grimaced as she thought back to the fight they had had earlier in the day, was it really so wrong of her to be worried about Bon Bon hiding such a massive part of her life from her? 'Of course not, Bon Bon would have reacted the same way!' she tried to counter herself. Deep down Lyra wondered if that were true, would Bon Bon have acted the same as Lyra or would she simply have shrugged it off like she did everything else Lyra had ever told her.

It was in this very mire of thoughts that Lyra was lost in that caused her to smash, once more, into a pony who was walking through the hallways. Lyra gave a yelp as she rubbed her forehead, and looked around for the pony she had so rudely bumped into. Upon seeing no pony, Lyra blinked in confusion, surely there was somepony around? After a second or two, she realized she had walked into a floating sack of trash behind which an elderly pony was leaning around to see whom she had hit.

"Oh, excuse me, Deary, I didn't see you there," said the maroon colored unicorn as she carefully stepped around Lyra and continued on her way with her trash floating beside her, "I always forget to carry my trash behind me so I don't hit ponies with it."

Lyra watched the mare walk off without waiting for a reply, causing Lyra to simply sigh and shrug as she started off once more. Falling back into her thoughts once more, Lyra pondered over how to approach Vinyl with that new tidbit she had about her. A sinister idea then formed that caused a wicked grin to slide across the unicorn's face; blackmail. She could easily get what she wanted from Vinyl if she used her identity as blackmail to get her to back off Bon Bon!

'No... No, that's a bad idea and would only cause more trouble between us... There's gotta be a way to get what I want from Vinyl without bringing harm to either side.' Lyra found herself staring into the bright green eyes of a white unicorn who looked vaguely familiar.

"Good evening there, Lyra. What brings you out to this side of town so late?" asked the white unicorn as she pulled her black robe tighter around her shoulders. Lyra blinked before realizing that while her body was on auto-pilot she had already arrived to Gabe and Hope's apartment. Blushing in embarrassment of not realizing she was there sooner, Lyra slipped inside as Hope moved to allow her entrance.

"S-sorry to come over so late and unannounced, but Gabe-" Lyra was cut off by Hope as she raised a hoof to silence her mint counterpart. The kind understanding smile was all Lyra needed to calm down before she was escorted to the living room where Hope leapt onto a chair and gestured for Lyra to sit on the sofa.

"It's quite alright, Lyra. I'm sure Gabe had a reason for sending you here," Hope said as she levitated a book off the arm of her chair and began reading as she levitated a pair of glasses from a side table. "So what brings you around?"

Lyra shifted into a comfortable position as she looked around at the room, taking in the various awards and certificates hanging on the walls. She also took note of a large bookcase filled with various books on survival and combat techniques as well as more awards and a few trophies. Feeling at ease with the white unicorn, Lyra spoke up once more, "Some stuff happened with me and Bons that ended in her kickin' me out for a few days for a break or something."

Hope blinked and looked over the top of her book at Lyra, "Bon Bon kicked you out? Why would she do that?" Hope asked in concern as she lowered her book to better look at Lyra. The mint unicorn shifted once more as she stared at the floor for a moment.

"We ended up getting into an argument, like I mentioned earlier and things sort of blew up from there. Next thing I knew she was telling me that she needed time to think and shoved me out," Lyra stated as she looked up at the white unicorn. Hope inclined her head slightly as she pondered over what to say to Lyra, noting the slight exaggeration with which she spoke.

"I'm sure things will work out between the two of you, just don't push things with her and apologize for any wrongs you committed," Hope flashed a kind smile to Lyra before levitating her book up once more and starting to read once more. "If you want anything to eat we have some food in the fridge, help yourself."

"Thank you, but Gabe and I had dinner together downtown," Lyra replied as she looked at a few photos of Gabe and Hope from their foalhood. Hope quirked an eyebrow as she glanced over her book a smirk tugging on her lips, unseen by the mint unicorn stretched out on the sofa.

"Better be careful with ol' Gabe; she's quite the heartbreaker you know," Hope teased as she went back to her book, "Where'd she take you?"

Lyra blinked, "How did you know she took me and not the other way around?" Lyra felt a bit of a blush creep across her face at Hope's words, "And I'm not interested in Gabe; we're just friends and nothing more!"

"She's my friend too," Hope winked as she looked at Lyra over the top of her book once more. "To answer your question, you sort of did arrive to my door with nothing in your possession, so unless you know a way to get out of paying or have your bits stored elsewhere..." Hope trailed off as she set her book down once more and grinned at the still blushing mint unicorn.

Lyra huffed, attempting to feign offense at Hope's words by placing a hoof to her chest as she replied, "Why I never!" Hope simply giggled at Lyra's failed attempt and shook her head as the mint unicorn sighed in defeat. "Actually, I guess it makes sense when you put it that way. I did sorta wander up here without anything, shoulda realized that beforehoof."

Hope gave a light chuckle before stretching and rising off her chair, "Either way, I'm glad you found our apartment alright and I hope things work out between you two soon. If you ever feel the need to talk about it, I'm here to listen." With that, Hope trotted into the kitchen to get herself a drink, "Would you like anything to drink, Lyra?"

While Hope was getting a drink, Lyra was looking around the living room and admiring the various trophies. "Uh, I'll just take some water," Lyra called over her shoulder as she studied a particularly interesting looking trophy.

When Hope trotted back into the room with two glasses gripped in her magic, Lyra pointed to the trophy, "What is this?" Hope set the glasses down as she moved beside the mint unicorn to see what she was pointing to.

"Ah, that would be Stalwart's award for services to the crown," Hope replied staring at the golden shield with crossed wings and a unicorn horn cast in silver resting in the center. The area around the wings and horn appeared to be made out of sapphire, it was clearly more for show than actual use.

"'Services to the Crown'?" Lyra repeated in confusion, as Hope lifted the glass to gently pull out the shield and hoof it to Lyra who handled it as gently as somepony would a newborn foal. "What kind of 'Services' would entail getting such a marvelous thing as this?" Lyra asked in awe, before realizing exactly how she worded the sentence.

"Ah, now that's a story for another day," Hope said simply with a smile as she placed the shield back into the case once Lyra hoofed it back to her.

"I want to thank you, Hope, for allowing me to stay here. You don't even know me, Gabe knows me somewhat. But instead of turning me away and telling me I was lying when I showed up at your door; you took me in with no questions asked really... Thank you," Lyra mumbled as she looked up at the other with a smile. Hope canted her head as she listened to Lyra speak before smiling softly.

"Lyra, you don't have to thank me for doing this. It's nothing really, like I said I'm sure everything'll work out. Just... If Gabe gives you ANY sort of advice on relationships, the best thing to do is the exact opposite of what she says to do," Hope leaned forward and whispered, "She's not the best pony to take relationship advice from. Just look what happened to me!" With that Hope leaned back and winked at Lyra who couldn't help the laugh that escaped her.

"Sounds like good advice to me!" Lyra giggled as she moved back to the sofa and levitated the glass of water Hope had brought for her to her lips as she took a sip. "I dunno, though; I think you and Gabe fit well together," Lyra stated before looking over at Hope and noticing her raised eyebrow.

"Whatever the case, just be careful about advice Gabe gives you; sometimes it really can have disastrous results," Hope warned with a serious expression. Lyra nodded before settign her glass down and looking around once more.

"Can I ask you a question? Other than the one I just did I mean," Lyra said before Hope could make a smart remark. Hope simply chuckled as she nodded. "Is it true that Vinyl is the Staccato heir?"

---

A chill wind blew through the streets of Trotlanta as Vinyl walked along the sidewalk, not paying any mind to where her hooves were taking her. The rain had long stopped and now only small flecks of snow swirled down to the ground, though Vinyl paid them little mind as well. IF she was honest with herself, she'd say she knew long ago that things were done between Bon Bon and herself. But if she were truly honest with herself, she'd say there was no way she'd ever be able to compete with Lyra for Bon Bon's heart.

Vinyl suddenly became acutely aware of the fact that she was shivering, that she could see plumes of vapor from her breath, and that there seemed to be snow falling. Sighing in defeat, Vinyl looked around at her surroundings to best determine her way home.

A frown tugged on her face as she stared around the area, not immediately recognizing it, 'Great, this is just what I need; to be lost in my own city, cold, and I probably just lost my best friend over something stupid.' Vinyl scowled causing a stallion passing by to hurry away in fear, which only annoyed Vinyl more.

Pressing a hoof to her temple and forcing herself to remain calm, Vinyl let out a long sigh before finally turning back the way she had came. Scanning the area around her through her purple shades, Vinyl recognized one of the buildings as a fancy clothing shop that had opened up a few weeks ago. Some unicorn from Ponyville had bought the place and now it sold custom fitted fancy dresses and suits, Vinyl cringed at the thought of wearing a dress.

Turning away from the store and looking around at the street names, Vinyl realized she had somehow wandered into her parent's old district. Remembering that her fathers had wanted to talk to her about something with the Symphony hall, Vinyl pondered over visiting them before remembering that it was well after 10 pm. Giving a sigh and running a hoof through her blue mane, something in Vinyl's mind clicked; she couldn't show as to meet her fathers looking like she did!

Vinyl quickly took off at a gallop as she followed the signs, using her magic to keep her glasses dry and clean from the snowflakes hitting them at the speed she was travelling. Her teeth chattered against each other as she shivered uncontrollably, but she pushed herself onward towards her apartment in the upper-crust area of Trotlanta. As much as she complained about having to live up there sometimes, she was rather grateful for once that her trip was shorter than it would have been had to gone back to her 'middle-class' abode near the club district.

Vinyl was panting hard and sweat rolled down her face by the time she arrived to her apartment building, several ponies huffed as she shoved past and quickly trotted through the lobby and up the stairs. Vinyl quickened her pace as she got closer to her floor, grateful that she hadn't had any encounters with anypony that could slow her down. Before long, her door was in sight and she had her keys out and in the lock. Her door swung open just as she reached it, her keys levitating to her side at once before the door slammed shut and locked itself.

Dumping the keys on a table beside the door without a second thought, Vinyl hurried into her bathroom and opened her medicine cabinet, pulling out a bottle marked 'Colour Remover- Works on manes and tails only, not designed for foals'. Quickly leaping into her shower and setting her glasses on the counter as she lowered the lights to a comfortable level, Vinyl turned on the hot water as she squirted some of the liquid on her hoof and set to work scrubbing the blue dye into her mane.

It was going to be a long night and the meeting took place early in the morning, so if Vinyl was lucky she would be in bed by 1 am. Thoughts of her meeting and her previous encounter with Bon Bon swirled through the unicorn's mind, just as clouded as the blue tinted water currently swirling around the drain. Vinyl sighed heavily through her nose, pressing a hoof to her temple as she set the other on the floor; she hated that showers caused her to start thinking about everything in life from the most minute detail to the grand scheme of where ponies went at the end of their life.

Letting out a frustrated snarl, Vinyl slammed her hoof into the wall, before she turned the water up and continued scrubbing the blue coloring out of her mane. Once all the blue dye was out of her mane, Vinyl began working on her tail. A sigh escaped the pony as she worked the foam through her tail, returning it to it's normal blonde color trying her hardest not to think about anything but the task at hoof.

"Damnit, Bons... Why'd ya have to go and fall for Lyra?!" Vinyl hissed to herself as she finally rinsed the last of the color out of her tail and set to washing her body. "What does she have that I don't? I know she makes you happy, but I used to be able to do the same." Vinyl slumped against the back of her shower and simply let the water roll down her sides and stomach as she stared up at the steam swirling around the ceiling.

"One pony's opinion; as well as the opinion of a board of numbskulls hardly counts as validation to one's skill. Your cutie mark is a clear sign of your talent; much like mine is a mark of my own talent. However, that does not mean that we are the best of our colleagues. No, in fact; I think Lyra has more than you and I could ever hope to have if we focus more on our careers. Where is the happiness in having materialistic awards that can only fill you with hollow fulfillment when you could have somepony special to fill you with a lifetime of happiness without sitting on a shelf collecting dust?

I guess what I am asking is if you are truly happy with all your awards and nopony to share them with? Truly, the value of one's life, isn't in the awards they earn, but in whom they share their life and happiness with; just a little something to think about."

Vinyl blinked as she shook her head, remembering what she had told Octavia not more than three days ago about what Lyra had that they didn't. Of course, Lyra didn't put material things before Bon Bon. Lyra would prefer to play to crowds in the street and be able to go home to Bon Bon every night where Vinyl would gladly travel the country if it meant she got to see others and experience more than she could ever get here. Bon Bon was a simple pony despite her heritage, it was part of why she left her parents when she was of age and started her own business after working in a candy store for years; simply saving up until she had enough to open her own store.

Vinyl quickly scrambled to her hooves and shut the water off, using her magic to quick-dry as she clambered out of the shower and to the sink, where she stared into the mirror at her magenta colored eyes before levitating her glasses into a case and brushing her teeth as she contemplated further what to do.

Trotting down the hallway to her bedroom, Vinyl felt a smile growing across her muzzle. Climbing into bed, Vinyl felt the smile growing more; she had the perfect idea for how she was going to solve this problem, and nothing was going to stop her, not even Lyra or Bon Bon. Finally satisfied with how things were starting to go, Vinyl curled up under her blankets and turned the lights off with a pulse of magic, soon falling into a somewhat peaceful sleep.