“Good morning, Miss Scratch! Good morning, Miss Philarmonica!” String greeted the mares cheerfully as soon as they opened the door. “How’s Gliss?”

“Glissando is still ill,” Octavia remarked, observing an unfamiliar white colt who was standing next to the very familiar Golden String and looking at them calmly. “I don’t know if she should be making new acquaintances, given the circumstances.”

“Ma’am,” Silver Chord stepped up, looking into Octavia’s eyes with that bluey gaze of his. “My name is Silver Chord. I am a transfer student from the Crystal Empire-”

“Explains the accent,” Vinyl muttered.

“-and I have heard a lot about your daughter.” Silver smiled. “A guitar prodigy, a talented songwriter, a progressive thinker.”

“That’s all our Slidey?” Vinyl blinked, receiving an invisible slap from her wife. “Ouch.”

“I would be honoured to meet her,” Silver concluded humbly, “especially now that I see who she draws her qualities from.”

Vinyl leaned in to Octavia and whispered, “Who’s that?”

Octavia facehoofed. “Us. Now,” she addressed the two young ponies, “Please, do come in. Glissando is in the bedroom. Don’t be loud, her concussion is still severe.”

String led Silver through Gliss’s room, which was both the living room and the room that led to the kitchen (on the left) and the bedroom (straight ahead). She opened the door without knocking and ushered the young stallion in.

Gliss was lying in bed, snoozing peacefully. “Isn’t she cute?” String whispered to the new colt, who managed to blush such a tiny shade of pink that she didn’t notice. “Gliiiiiiiiss~” she cooed over the sleeping mare, nudging her slightly.

“Go away,” Gliss called out without opening her eyes and rolled over. Golden String tried to snatch the blanket from her telekinetically but Gliss crushed it in her grip.

“Let me try,” Silver whispered and took a hesitant step towards the bed. “Miss Philarmonica? Um, Gliss?”

Hearing an unfamiliar (and male) voice, Gliss opened her eyes and looked over the room curiously. She registered the presence of Golden String, and then her gaze fixed on the white, handsome figure a little away from the bed. She blinked sleepily. That. That must be Silver. She added the white coat, and yesterday’s promise, and her concussed brain estimated that yes, indeed, it must be Silver.

“My name is Silver Chord,” the colt said with a tiny bow. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Gliss.” He took another tiny bow and a step towards the bed. Gliss extended her hoof automatically, which Silver kissed slightly and took a step back with a polite bow. Gliss turned fiercely red. Oh my Celestia. He kissed my hoof. Like those knights from stories. “Very pleased to meet you,” Silver added with a tiny smile that Gliss wanted to take and keep on the wall as a picture.

Say something, brain, she ordered. “Uuuuhm.” Not that good… Gliss tried again, striving to keep her embarrassment and concussion at bay. “Uhm. You’re pretty.” Ugh! What the hay, brain?!

String roared with laughter, almost collapsing on the floor, leaning against the wall as she heaved with barking laughs. Silver, on the contrary, fell very silent, the pink evident on his white face - and the rest of his body. "Um," Gliss tried to rectify. "Pleased to meet you too." Celestia, please let the ground swallow me right now.

“I hear you are a very talented guitarist,” Silver spoke gently, his deep voice rumbling about the room. “A true prodigy.”

“Aahheeee…” Gliss rubbed the back of her head. Come on. Please. Form at least some semblance of thought, brain! “I… I’m just good at playing the guitar is all,” she tried humbly, her legs kicking excitedly beneath the blanket for some reason.

“Mmm…” Silver rumbled, and Gliss mused, momentarily, if this was what losing ear virginity felt like. “I’ve also been informed you’re a good lyricist?”

Gliss blinked. “I’m a what?” Uhmhm. She took a brief glance around the room as she heard a door opening and closing. Must be Lyra and Bon-Bon dropping by. Sure, their neighbours had a trend of dropping at the most inconvenient times. Hope they don’t check on me till I’ve talked with the sexy stu- ssssssssSilver Chord here, I mean. She sighed. Boy, String is right. I need to get laid.

“You write very fine verses?” Silver tried, slower. “Lyrics? I’m sorry, it must be my accent-”

“No,” Gliss interrupted, blushing. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Golden String grinning slyly. Damn you, you... shshcchhinkly... cchshshchchshinkler. “Y-your accent is very beautiful. I-I… I did write some lyrics,” she admitted, battling the headache. “Would you like to hear them out?” She smiled.

“Go for the balls, filly!” Golden String whispered to her a little too audibly.

Silver flushed, but, instead of averting his eyes in embarrassment, pierced Gliss with his bluey gaze. “With pleasure.”

***

Lyra smiled at the jingling laughter that reached her ears from the bedroom. She put off her cigarette in the ‘tray, nudging Vinyl. “Gliss’s having a fun time with her marefriend?”

Vinyl laughed, exchanging indulging looks with Octavia, who merely smiled. She wrapped her hoof around Lyra’s neck, showing her other front hoof about the kitchen. “Just a friend, Lyra. Golden String’s just Slidey’s friend.”

“Though,” Octavia chimed in, “I personally would be glad if they started dating. She’s such a nice, mannered mare.” She looked at Bon-Bon knowingly and remarked, “Any relationship needs at least one reasonable pony, to keep an eye on her… less reasonable counterpart.”

“Exactly.” Vinyl nodded solemnly. “I always have to keep an eye on Tavi’s unreasonable…” She paused. “Counter what?”

Octavia facehoofed. “Vinyl, counterpart means a pony. You. In this case.” Bon-Bon chimed with deep, low laughter. From the bedroom, another spur of fun resonated. Octavia smiled and nodded. “A nice, mannered mare.”

***

“And then I said, ‘Professor, the only A this song needs is in ‘Anus’!”

String roared at her joke, accompanied by the high embarrassed laughs from Gliss, who remembered the experience, and nervous chuckles from the blushing Silver, who was, no doubt, wondering what level of hell would he burn in for laughing at such attempts at humour. But, he noted, Gliss seemed nice; despite her concussion, she kept up a friendly discussion, had an interesting, non-jazz, non-blues, approach to music; it was almost as if… as if she were trying to come up with an entirely new genre. And he liked it. He didn’t like her of course… well, not like that, at least… But he definitely felt his vocal cords explode with excitement at an opportunity to try out a new genre; for in blues he just had to sing a range of five notes, and jazz felt like a lyricless moan, where the voice was not the lead, but just another instrument. He wanted the words to shine. And, upon hearing some of the lyrics that Gliss had written, he knew her words would definitely shine.

"So, may I attend a rehearsal?" Silver enquired politely.

"What rehearsal?" Gliss shifted in place, butterflies biting up her stomach from the inside. Maybe we could rehearse deep kissing, just you and me? Mm?

"A rehearsal of your band, of course!" the young stallion clarified. "The next one scheduled?"

Just as Gliss opened up her mouth, Golden String interrupted: "Oh, we don't schedule those." She laughed. "Usually, it's just the four of us telling bawdy jokes and playing a couple songs and Gliss complaining about how imperfect our songs are." She nudged the reddening filly.

"Quite the contrary!" Gliss parried indignantly. "We do have a fine band, and our next rehearsal's scheduled for..." Sunday? Saturday? Tomorrow? Right now if you kiss me.

"For whenever you've recovered," String wrapped up. "Come on." She nudged Silver. "Let's give her some rest. As the two turned away, String took a brief glance over her shoulder and mouthed, Go for the balls. Gliss waved her hoof and laughed.

When the door closed, Gliss released the breath she'd been holding for a while. Then, she thought about Silver for a moment, and her stomach once more filled with butterflies. Then she laughed, grabbing the pillow, and laughed, despite the pain, laughed until her mothers - and neighbours - burst into the room to enquire what was going on.

"Nothing," Gliss replied, smiling widely. "It's just such a nice day, isn't it?"