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Starlight in a Broken Vessel

by the-pieman

Chapter 55

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Chapter 55

Vinyl sauntered back towards me, a trio of drinks in her grip, and a little placard with a number on it.

“Here ya go... wait, what’s up with your face, dude?” She looks at me, an eyebrow quirked. It looks like she’s trying to hold back laughter.

I realize the facepalm must have left a coal-dust imprint on me. “Aw, it’s nothing.” I hold up my hand and pull the dust away from my face and into my hand, and told it to go back in my coal pouch.

Vinyl shakes her head mirthfully. “Ha, well, you should put it back on. That face-paint look was gnarly. Anyways, here’s your drink, these two are mine.”

I take the milkshake and take a sip. Chocolate, awesome.

“Oh, yeah, I ordered a fish platter to split, Maestro’s working his magic in the back. Said he’ll bring it out for us. Oh, that reminds me, you got any plans for the party itself, when you’re not performing? I’m planning to hit the dry bar. Pinkie never brings anything with alcohol, but I’m fine with the punches she usually brings in. I hear they’re local-brewed.”

“Huh, I kinda passed up the chance during my Ponyville Initiation party a while back. As for ideas, not really. Though I do wonder, how well would most ponies take dark music?”

Vinyl shrugged, then gulped down part of her first drink. “I guess it depends on the pony. Around here, I have no idea, but I think there’ll be foals around. Still, most ponies should be fine, as long as it isn’t too negative. Harmonic Magics and all, y’know.”

“Well, I had one planned, but now that you mention foals... I think I have a better one. No less intense though.” The mention of Harmonic Magics intrigues me, but I’ll just ask Twilight later about it.

“Well, if it’s good and has a strong beat, ponies will like it just fine.” Vinyl throws back another gulp of her drink, finishing it off. Wait, two gulps for a drink that size? Huh.

“Oh trust me, it’s good. At least it is if you ask me. You a fan of hard rock? It’s real popular in my world.”

“Hard rock? Sounds like farm music to me. You got lotsa lithoculturalists where you come from?” What’s a lithoculturalist?

“Uh, what?”

“Y’know, rock farmers. Like Pinkie’s folks.”

“...I’ll ask later. Anyway, no, we don’t have rock farmers. In this case, it refers to Rock and Roll that’s a bit heavier than typical. I’ll give you a chance to hear it at the party.”

“Rock and Roll? Weird name for a type of music. Anyways, We should-” she’s cut off as a large platter of fish, with seven beautifully cooked and presented fish, is set in front of us. I look over, and stop for a second. Then, I look up, and am now staring at a very large, imposing gryphon. The gryphon’s silvery-white feathers fade to a golden-brown past his head and neck, and he’s wearing a white chef’s smock, with a bandoleer of cooking implements over one shoulder. At least three types of cleaver are visible.

“Maestro! That was prompt, you’re getting faster, dude.” Vinyl held out a hoof, to which the gryphon - apparently Maestro - gave a stern, serious bump with his claw, held in a fist.

“I am always seeking to improof myself, Mezz Scratch. And you, mezzer Anthony. Your fighting is very beeindruckend, ah, impressive. Mezz Scratch, she take good care of me when I needed help, I am sure that that she vill take good care uff hyu too.” his accent seemed to get thicker the more he spoke. It was a touch curious, but what had my real attention was the fact that he was a bit taller than Cadence, and might have been a contender for Celestia.

“I don’t really know what you mean by her taking care of me, but if Vinyl’s telling the truth, this is gonna be some great fish.”

“I vould not let it be less for ze one who sayffed my Gaststätte, my humble place uff food. She takes good care uff her friends, she is good pony to haff, as zey say, ‘on hoof’, ja? Good to haff around.”

“I think I’d agree with that.” I turn to Vinyl. “Never pegged you for a hero. You got a costume stashed in with your equipment back there?”

“Oh, I’ve got costumes, but they aren’t public appropriate, if you catch my drift.” Vinyl’s smile grew a little wider. “What Maestro here is talking about is when he first started this place up, all the ponies around here were terrified of him. I didn’t really care, so I start coming here. Once ponies saw I wasn’t being attacked and devoured whenever I went in, they started showing up, too. Saved his place from having to be shut down from lack of income.”

“Wait, devoured? Unless what I know of gryphons is wrong, they don’t eat ponies.” I turn to the chef beside me for clarification.

“Though it is not prepared any more, the recipe for tartar, pony steak, is still passed down the generations. And I doubt my frau, my wife, would appreciate if I did not... ‘eat her’ at least once a night. Would be bad for relationship, ja?”

“Heh, yeah, I keep hearing tartar be mentioned. This place must be different, because at home, the stuff is made with cow.”

“Would just be steak then, would it not?” Maestro points out, quirking a feathered eyebrow.

“We have tons of words for other words, it’s kind of annoying. But yeah, I’m looking forward to this fish. It certainly smells really good.”

My stomach rumbles, and I look down to see that, while I’ve been talking, Vinyl has already dug into the fish on the other side. In fact, she’s almost done, and I scramble to catch up, tearing into the delicious, delicious fish.

A near-overload of tastes hits me like a wall, spices and and herbs riding the flavor of the fish across my senses. It’s like eating a piscine piece of heaven. The fish is slightly flaky, and just juicy enough to practically melt in my mouth.

Before too long, I’ve finished three fish, and Vinyl has done the same, the last fish sitting between us. Maestro has gone back to the kitchen already, preparing food for the other patrons of the restaurant. I take the moment to look around, and see that it’s mostly pegasi and earth ponies. In fact, Scratch is the only unicorn in the joint. Makes sense. Flutters said that most unicorns don’t eat fish. No surprises here. I look at the last fish, then at Vinyl.

“I could fight you for it, but I’m not in the mood.” I pull out some coal and, making a solid, sharp cleaver blade, chop it in half as best I can. “Neat trick, huh?”

Vinyl, already looking a bit tubby from the three large fish in her rather small belly, scoffs. “You’re just avoiding a fight with me ‘cuz I’d win from sheer awesomeness.” One half of the fish levitates over to her side of the wide platter.

I sigh. “Why can’t more of these ponies be like you? The place would be at least eight times less lame.”

Vinyl waved a hoof and swallowed the mouthful of fish she’d gotten. “Mmph, if everypony were as awesome as I, the universe would explode. It’s strained already from the League of DJs, anyhow.”

I just give her a grin and grab my half of the fish. “Yeah, that would be bad. I wouldn’t have any more adoring fans.” I then take a big bite out of the fish. It looks kind of like salmon of some kind.

The two of us eat the remainders of our fish, trading quips and well-intentioned insults back and forth the entire time. Afterwards, Vinyl gives a loud, table-rattling belch, then thumps herself on the chest. “Drat, didn’t get it at full force. What about you, man?” I hear the gryphon in the back call out a gruff ‘you’re welcome!’ as I prepare my own.

Guess I don’t have to hold back. I haven’t done this in a while, but I’m gonna give it a shot anyway. A strong, windy belch echoes forth, but I can’t seem to get the volume I wanted, nor the timber I needed. Still, Maestro calls out another ‘you’re welcome!’, so I must’ve done alright.

“Ah, so much better.” Vinyl slumps back in her seat. “By the way, dude, never do that in Canterlot. It’s polite around gryphons, pegasi, and earth ponies, but most unicorns are a bunch of uptight snobs. ‘Specially in the big C.”

“Yeah, when I was around there, the most fun I had was at the club, in the mall’s toy section, and chatting with the princesses. How do they not keel over from boredom?”

“‘Cuz they have art museums, where the artwork they paid for or made themselves gets cooed over by their sycophants and allies, or boo’d at by their enemies and detractors.” Vinyl’s response was cool in tone, and I could see her brows furrow behind her glasses.

“Yeah, not really my thing. I prefer parties... which we should probably attend, considering guests might have started arriving by now. You know Pinkie’s parties. Early arrivals are the norm.”

“Pfft, the party don’t start ‘till I trot in. ‘Sides, we’ve gotta work off this food somehow, or I’m gonna pass out in the DJ booth.”

“So what? We run laps around town?”

“Nah, we’ll just jog to the party in a few minutes. First, though, lets get one more milkshake each.”

“Sounds good. I really can’t wait to show you and all these ponies what music I listen to.”

“Heh.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 56 Estimated time remaining: 27 Hours, 35 Minutes

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