Josh peered out the window of the limousine as it passed through the arid landscape of Nevada, Liam sitting across from him doing the same. They had been on the road for a little over five hours now, occasionally engaging in some polite banter to pass the time. Liam had stopped by to grab Josh that morning and took him back to his and Samantha's villa so the excitable woman could see them off on their trip. All the time they'd been sitting there that morning, enjoying their breakfast, Samantha kept up an insatiable stream of questions about Josh and his time with Liam touring. Josh answered each and every one as best he could, all the while making sure to hold off on any details that would be detrimental to his or Liam's reputation, of which there was a lot.

"She's practically in love with you, mate." Liam had said as their ride pulled up that would take them to Vegas, "I've never seen her react to anyone like that in the entire time I've known her."

Josh was far from new to reactions like that, especially from women he'd met. In all his time of being a producer, he'd had more girls fawning over him than a newborn baby at a church service. Even a few times in Equestria, he'd found himself the center of attention for a few mares, only to have each and every one of them shot down by Vinyl. The young producer smiled upon remembering when one female attempted to advance upon him before a performance, only to have Vinyl practically beat her off the human. Josh had needed to do a lot of explaining that time, and the show was almost ruined because Vinyl had refused to go out on stage.

"Can you believe this fucking place?" Liam asked, drawing Josh's attention to him, "Why would anyone want to live in a bloody desert like this?"

"Hard to say." Josh said, glancing back out the window to the tan, practically barren area before his eyes, "It's definitely not a place I'd like to live."

Silence fell between them both again as Josh's full attention returned to looking out the window to the scenery speeding past his vision.

"I know this may not be the best time to ask something like this," Liam began, again forcing Josh's attention away from the window, "but, well, let's face it... In the matter of a year and a half, you've disappeared literally off the face of the earth. Twice. I need to know, Josh... Where did you go?"

Josh merely stared at Liam for a time. Part of him wanted to continue keeping the truth away from his former manager, to let remain what little information he'd actually managed to acquire from Josh. However, Liam had been there when it all had happened, when Princess Celestia and Vinyl had come to Earth to take Josh back to his home in Equestria. There was no point in trying to hide anymore, and Josh saw no reason to keep Liam in the dark on this any longer.

"L... do you believe in other worlds or dimensions?" he asked, looking back to Liam.

Liam stared back at him for a short time, one eyebrow raised slightly.

"I didn't before." he replied, "But, after what I saw last year, I'd be hard pressed not to think there are other worlds out there."

"Well, that's where I went." Josh said, "I was taken to another world called Equestria."

"Rather fitting name, don't you think?"

Josh nodded as another silence pervaded their short conversation. The two stared at one another for what seemed like the thousandth time since Josh had come back to see Liam, neither one able to find any sort of words to say.

"What was it like there?" asked Liam after some time.

"It was... one of the most beautiful places I think I've ever been." Josh said, a small smile forming on his lips as he thought back to Equestria and all the incredible sights he'd ever seen there, "Everything's so... vibrant and colorful. Everywhere you look, there's always something that you can't help but marvel at."

"What're their homes like?" Liam asked, leaning in towards Josh as he continued to ask him about Equestria, "I mean, they can't just all live in stables or anything like that, can they?"

"They have a decent mix of areas." Josh said, "There're some huge places like Manehatten or Seaddle or Las Pegasus. Then there are quaint little places like Ponyville, where I lived. As for housing, everyone lives in their own home. I never really saw any type of stables when I was there."

"That is absolutely fascinating." Liam said, a huge smile on his face as he pressed on, "What about the ponies themselves? I know you lived with a unicorn, but what about others? Didn't that one who came here have wings and a horn?"

"Yeah, she did. That was Princess Celestia. She's an alicorn, one of the rare ponies that exemplifies all three races."

"There are others?"

"Yeah, like pegasi ponies or earth ponies. There's griffons and dragons there too."

"Really?!" Liam said, practically throwing himself back in his seat, "That's... wow... Griffons and dragons as well as talking ponies?!"

"You sound like you don't believe me." Josh said, smirking a little at Liam's reaction to discovering that dragons and griffons did, in some way, exist.

"I can't not believe you, Josh." Liam said, still smiling a little as he processed the information given to him, "I mean... I've seen them myself. But... the way you describe these things... Magical pony princesses, unicorns, mythical beasts that walk and talk like humans... it seems like something out of a children's TV show or something."

"Well, believe me." Josh said, suddenly growing a little more somber as he thought more about the memories he had of Equestria, "It was very very real."

Liam stopped smiling as he noticed Josh's demeanor change so rapidly. Another round of silence fell hard and heavy between the two old friends.

"And Vinyl..." he said, rather hesitant as he spoke, not wanting to upset Josh, "What... what was she like?"

Josh felt his heart sink a little at those words. He'd been able to tell Liam all about Equestria with no trouble at all so far, even laughing along with him a little as he realized the ridiculousness of what he was saying. However, he still didn't know if he was ready to talk about Vinyl and all the wonderful times he'd experienced with the cream colored unicorn.

"If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to." Liam suddenly said, shrinking away a little as Josh's gaze fell back to him, "It's obviously not the right time to discuss that. Sorry I brought it up at all."

"It's alright, L." Josh said, trying his best to speak in a reassuring tone, "One day, I'll tell you all about her. I'm just... not ready to talk about her yet."

"Not a problem, mate." Liam said, breathing a sigh of relief that he hadn't upset Josh, "We can talk about it whenever you’re ready."

Josh nodded, causing Liam to smile at him once again. The two shared a companionable bout of quiet as the sound of the limousine engine continued to hum, carrying them down the highway towards Las Vegas.

"So," Josh asked, finally breaking the silence and sitting up in his seat, "Who're we meeting in Vegas, exactly? You never really did tell me anything about this guy."

"Well, words don't really do Syd much justice." Liam said, smirking as he turned back to the window, watching all the passing scenery once more.

Josh stepped out of the limousine right behind Liam, looking all around the bright, arid landscape at the city of Las Vegas. All around the area were different types of desert flora, all painting the scene in different shades of green and tan. People bustled all about, some admiring the scenery, some heading to and from the casino, and even more chatting idly as they made their way past Josh and Liam on the sidewalk.

Josh looked up to the large structure before him, somewhat awed by the sight. Even the largest hotels in Equestria couldn't even come close to the size of this one, and it had been a very long time since he'd ever seen a structure this size, save for maybe Canterlot Castle.

"Hey, Josh!" Liam called, breaking Josh's attention away from the grand structure, "You coming, or are you going to stand out here all day and stare at the place?"

Josh rushed over to Liam, taking his place right next to his old friend as they made their way into the resort. Inside the lobby, people were milling about even more, some chatting and laughing while others were making their way around the place. Together, Josh and Liam made their way up to the front counter where a young man stood, smiling as they approached him.

"Hello and welcome to the Red Rock Hotel and Casino." he said, "How may I help you two gentlemen today?"

"Hello there." Liam greeted, leaning on the counter slightly with Josh beside him, "I need the keys to two rooms I called on about an hour or so ago."

"I see." said the young man, typing something into his computer, "And what was your last name, sir?"

"Kensington."

The man typed in something to the computer as Josh and Liam just stood there, waiting for him to address them again. After finishing his typing, he stepped back and pulled out a drawer from below the desk. He rummaged around for a second before pulling out two cards and placing them into separate pamphlets.

“Here’s your key cards, sir.” he said, handing them over the counter to Liam.

Liam grabbed the two pamphlets and thanked the man.

"Not a problem, sir." he said, his smile returning, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"If we could get someone to take our luggage to my room, that'd be lovely." Liam said.

"Not a problem, sir." the young man replied, looking back and forth between Josh and Liam, "Will that be all?"

"I believe so."

"Very well. Enjoy your stay here!"

With that, Liam handed Josh his room key and together, the two made their way down the nearby hall, passing by all sorts of guests and workers along the way. Upon reaching the elevators, they headed up to the fifteenth floor, getting off once they arrived and making their way towards their respective rooms. After a short walk, they found their place and made their way inside. Josh looked all around his room, to the neatly made bed in the center, the large television on the nearby wall, the huge desk and drawers there wrapped all around one corner. As he looked out the window, he noticed the entire Las Vegas strip in the distance, its bright signage and colorful places sticking out in the mostly suburban areas surrounding it.

"Well," Liam said from his door, causing Josh to turn and look at him once more, "what do you think?"

"It's awesome." Josh said, looking back out the window towards the strip, "It's been a long time since I've stayed in a place like this. Even the hotels I stayed at in Equestria weren't this nice. Then again, they were a lot smaller in scale than this one."

"Is everything there smaller?" asked Liam, showing genuine curiosity about the scale of things in a world filled with little ponies.

"Absolutely." Josh said, stepping away from the window and back towards his friend, "I always had to duck before entering anywhere. I can't even begin to tell you how many fucking times I hit my head on a doorframe there. And it's not just the doors either. Even the beds and other furniture are smaller. Thank God Vinyl knew how to use her magic to alter the size of things..."

"She could do magic?" he asked in almost the same disbelievingly amused tone he'd had on the way there.

"All unicorns can do magic." Josh said simply, "It's so commonplace there. It'd be no different than you or I learning how to use our hands for everyday tasks. It's their one way around the fact that they only have hooves."

"So, if only unicorns can use magic, then how do the other races of ponies do things like write, or open doors, or anything like that?"

"They usually use their mouths for that..."

"That's disgusting!" Liam said, a revolted look forming on his face at the thought of touching an object that someone had in their mouth, "Didn't that bother you at all?"

"A little, at first." Josh said, shrugging a little, "You just get used to it. Besides, it's not like they were sucking on the doorknob whenever they used it or anything like that."

"Well, it's still unsanitary." Liam said, looking at the doorknob with a sour look on his face, "We'd better go check on Syd real quick. Come on."

Josh nodded and followed after Liam as the two made their way down the hall a little farther. Upon reaching the room they'd been looking for, Liam stopped Josh and turned to look him in the face once more.

"Now, there's something you may want to know about Syd..." Liam said, stalling as he tried to think of how to phrase his next statement, "He's... Well, to put it frankly, he's a lot like you. At least, like what you used to be."

"That why you chose him to be your next hit?" Josh asked, smirking a little, "You couldn't have me, so you just went for the next best thing?"

"I guess that may have been a factor..." Liam said, trailing off a little, "But, don't be surprised if he seems a little... rough around the edges."

"Come on, L." Josh said, opening up the door to the room, "How bad could he be?"

"GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!"

Josh turned just in time to see a lamp impact the far wall and shatter. He jumped from fright and nearly collapsed as he felt his heart skip a few beats. Liam followed Josh into the room, smirking a little.

"That bad." Liam said, quickly turning back to quell the angry ranting from around the corner.

Josh watched as a young man with shoulder length, black hair stepped out from behind the wall, his phone to his ear as he continued his enraged tirade.

"Listen, Frank," he yelled into the receiver, pointing emphatically as he did so, "if that stupid fuck broke that sub, I'm taking it out on you, got it?!"

"Syd," Liam said, making his way towards the young man, "what's the issue here?"

Syd gestured towards Liam, silently telling him to wait for his response. Josh heard an indistinguishable voice from the other end speaking before Syd lashed out once more.

"I don't care if he's been doing this for almost five years, dipshit." he said, scowling heavily, "That motherfucker almost broke my controller getting it on the transport out here. He's not gonna touch another piece of equipment without some sort of supervision, otherwise I'm gonna break his fucking kneecaps. Now, just finish getting all that shit out of the trailer, and if I get another call about equipment being dropped, there's gonna be some unhappy motherfuckers around here, including me!"

Syd angrily hung up the phone and turned away from Josh and Liam, still swearing and fuming. Josh, finally able to breathe again, stood up and made his way past the nearby wall, standing just behind Liam as he began to address Syd again.

"What was all that about?" Liam asked, causing Syd to turn around.

"Frank said that Dom dropped a sub as he was getting it out of the fucking trailer." Syd angrily responded, throwing his phone back into his pocket, "I'm tired of that idiot almost breaking my shit! That's the last time he's handling any sort of equipment anymore."

"Did he actually break it, or did Frank just say he thought it was broken?" Liam asked, stepping farther into the room.

"It's Dom, L." Syd said simply, "If he dropped it, odds are it's busted all to hell. You know what a stupid fuck he is."

"Right..." Liam said, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Well, if all else fails... I'm sure we can go out and find another sub to replace that one. I hope."

"I can probably fix it." Josh said, causing Liam and Syd to direct their attention towards him.

"You can fix the sub?" Syd asked skeptically, raising one eyebrow, "How're you gonna do that, exactly?"

"If he only dropped it a short distance then the least that'll have happened is it's scratched and maybe a few wires got jostled out of place." Josh replied, looking between Syd and Liam as he spoke, "Just give me a few minutes to pop it open and check it for any damage. I guarantee you that I can fix it up, good as new."

"You really think you can do that?" Liam asked.

Josh nodded in response.

"Well, alright then." Liam said, smiling a little at Josh, "If you think you can do it, then go for it."

Josh returned Liam's smile and nodded once more.

"Who exactly are you again?" Syd asked suddenly, walking closer to Josh and looking up at him.

"Oh. I forgot to introduce him, didn't I?" Liam said, gesturing towards Josh, "Syd, this is my new assistant, Josh. Josh, this is Sydney Hamilton."

"That's Sydeous." Syd corrected, not taking his gaze off Josh's face.

"Nice to meet you." Josh replied somewhat jovially, holding out his hand to Syd.

The young man looking him over didn't take Josh's hand in his own, instead choosing to simply continue staring at Josh. Eventually, Josh dropped his hand and just stood there, not taking his eyes off Syd either, hoping that at some point the younger producer would make some sort of verbal acknowledgement of Josh's existence. After some time, Syd backed off from Josh, still staring at him.

"You... look really familiar." Syd said finally, causing Liam to go pale and Josh's heart to plummet a little.

He hadn't ever expected anyone to actually recognize him now that he was back beside Liam. After all, as a producer, he never relied on his own visage to sell his music. Now, however, he realized just how foolish a notion it had been to assume that nobody could possibly tell who he was by looking at him. He knew he needed to keep a low profile and find a way to convince Syd that he wasn't who he thought he was. His mind raced as he quickly thought up the best excuse he could to tell the young man.

"I've been a roadie for a long time." he said simply, trying to keep his voice level so as to not raise any sort of suspicion, "You've probably seen me in pictures with other producers or something. I only just recently became Liam's assistant."

Josh looked back to Liam to see the Brit was still somewhat pale, but that he looked slightly relieved. Turning his gaze back to Syd, he saw the young producer's eyes narrow slightly as he contemplated Josh's words.

"Since when has L needed an assistant?" Syd asked matter of factly, "He never had one before."

"From what he told me, he just needs someone to help keep an eye on show prep whenever he can't be there." Josh stated, managing a glance back to Liam, who was nodding slowly, "He's got a lot of stuff on his plate to take care of at the moment, and he's been needing someone to fill in for him from time to time."

Syd's intense glare softened a little as he took in Josh's words. Slowly, he turned to look at Liam, who immediately stopped his nodding.

"Is that true?" he asked incredulously.

"For the most part." Liam responded, shrugging a little as he spoke, "Things have been pretty hectic in my life, and I realized that I'd probably not always be able to come around to help when you'll need me. Josh has been a roadie for long enough, I figured he'd know all the ins and outs of putting on a show like these ones."

Josh let out an internal sigh of relief upon hearing Liam's words backing up his story. Syd turned back around to Josh and glanced at him for a few seconds more.

"Alright then." he said after a short time, "I guess that makes sense. Just don't let yourself become L's bitch."

Syd extended his hand, a smirk covering his face. Josh flashed a grin and grasped Syd’s hand firmly, giving it a quick shake.

"I'll keep that in mind.”

Together, the three men stood in the hotel room for a short time, a rather heavy silence falling between them all. Josh realized that he and Liam had just successfully dodged their first of what they expected to be many bullets when it came to Josh's identity. From here on out, they'd have to really monitor things around them, to make sure no one caught on to who Josh really was. Easier said than done, though...

"Well," Liam said, clapping his hands together, drawing Josh and Syd's attention back to him, "that's enough chit chat, let’s head out to the stadium to check on prep for the show. And Josh, you can fix the sub once we get there."

"Sounds good to me." Syd replied, making his way towards the door.

"Can I talk to you real quick before we get too far ahead of ourselves, L?" Josh asked.

"Sure thing." Liam said, making his way out to the hall, "Syd, stay here for a sec, alright? I'd prefer if we head out together."

Syd nodded, and Liam headed out the entryway, followed by Josh. The young man partially closed the door on his way out, leaving it open just enough to see Syd still inside.

"That was the quickest I've ever seen anyone make up a story in my entire life." Liam said, chuckling a little at the thought of what had just transpired in the hotel room, "To be honest, I hadn't even thought about him recognizing you. Sorry about that..."

"I didn't think he would either." Josh replied, rubbing the back of his head, "Looking back on it, you'd think that'd be the number one thing we'd have thought about to begin with."

Liam nodded as a short silence settled between the two men once again.

"So, what do you think of him?" Liam asked, leaning against the wall, a smirk painting his face.

"Well... he certainly does seem a lot like me." Josh said, peering back into the room for a second to see Syd pulling out something from his pocket, "Maybe a little too much like me, now that you mention it."

"He certainly does have his moments." Liam said, "I don't remember you getting pissed off and throwing shit across the room, though."

Josh chuckled at that as he turned his attention back to Liam. His friend's face held a heavy look of concern as he peered into Josh's eyes.

"You know... you don't have to go back to this." Liam said, "You know better than anyone what this life is like. All the moving around, the stress of getting equipment set up and taken down, the temptations all around... If it's not for you, then I'd be more than willing to give you a better job, something simpler."

"L," Josh said, placing his hand on Liam's shoulder and giving him a small reassuring smile, "I need to do this. I can't just keep sitting around, feeling sorry for myself. I've spent too much time doing that as it is. I just... I need this, alright?"

Liam sighed, a small smile forming on his face. He glanced back into Josh's eyes, searching for and finding the sincerity behind his words.

"I know." he said simply, "You've gotta do what you've gotta do. I get it, I really do. But, if it gets to be too much for you, don't be afraid to tell me, okay?"

"Not to worry L." Josh said, glancing back into the room, "I'm sure everything'll work out just fine."

He looked back inside the room just in time to see Syd sit up from bending over onto the nearby dresser, holding his nose and wincing in pain.

"At least... I hope it will."

Octavia peered out the window of the train as it moved down the mountain from Canterlot, making its way back towards Ponyville. She had just finished with her latest rehearsal with the Canterlot Royal Symphony, which had also been her first time back in a little over a week. The gray mare had been so concerned for Vinyl over the course of the last week that she hadn't left the house except to grab the occasional necessity from around town. Vinyl had been showing some improvement, however, so Tavi thought it would finally be alright for her to head out and go to Canterlot for her rehearsal. That being said, she had been almost completely unable to focus due to a lack of sleep and her mind being centered on concern for her distraught best friend who was all alone at home, save for the occasional visit from Twilight or somepony else to make sure she was safe.

As the gray cellist continued to stare out the glass before her to the scenery flying by, which was painted in a golden hue from the setting of Celestia's sun, she let out a sigh of absolute exhaustion. Sleep had proven to be quite elusive recently, but she was finally getting back to where she needed to be. Despite that fact, she was still almost always tired, and her ability to do much more than just help Vinyl and stay at the house had been severely diminished. Even walking around town seemed like a challenge anymore, though Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity were quite a help to her there. Even as I'm taking care of Vinyl, those three are having to take care of me she thought as she sat there, ruminating on everything from the last week.

"Good evening, my dear." a voice said from right behind her.

Tavi's attention on the window broke away after what had seemed like an eternity and she turned to address whoever was speaking to her. There stood Dr. Whooves, one of her oldest friends from when she used to live in Canterlot. He looked into her tired face with a small smile gracing his own vibrant one.

"Oh," Tavi said, somewhat quietly, "hello there, Doctor. How are you?"

"I'm quite alright." he said with his usual calming intelligence, walking over to the seat in front of her and taking his place there, "And how are you? Are things any better with you and Vinyl?"

"It's been a very, very slow process of healing, and not everything is alright just yet, but things have been improving." Tavi replied, "Vinyl's still getting sick almost every morning though... Poor girl."

"He really meant a lot to her, didn't he?"

"He was her whole world." Tavi said, trying to maintain a steady voice as she spoke, "I've never seen her so close to anypony in the entire time I've known her. And he loved her at least as much as she loved him."

"Well, he was a rather nice chap." Dr. Whooves said simply, "Definitely a good man. I'll admit, though, I did judge him rather harshly myself when he first came here."

"You, Doctor?" Octavia exclaimed, a little more forcefully than was necessary, "Of all ponies to judge, you?! Don't tell me you subscribed to Filthy Rich's insane notions that Josh was some sort of monster."

"Of course not." the Doctor said, raising his hooves in defense, "I would never sink that low. But, you have to admit, Octavia, Josh was a bit of a wild card. Nopony really knew him, and he was fairly intimidating. It wasn't until he began to really be helpful to the town that a lot of ponies took to him. I, myself, thought he was quite the upstanding individual once I got to interact with him a little more."

"And what about when Filthy spouted his little hate speech about Josh's past?" Tavi said, still rather sharply, "What did you do then?"

"Well, everypony has something that they're not proud of, I suppose." Dr. Whooves said hesitantly, "I mean, if anypony truly knew of the skeletons in the closets of others, they may not look upon them so favorably."

"The mistakes that he made in his past are absolutely not grounds for hatred." Octavia said somberly.

"And I agree." Dr. Whooves stated, "Nopony like him deserves to be forced out of his own home like some sort of common pest."

"If only everypony in town could see it that way..."

Silence fell between the two of them as the train continued to roll down the tracks towards its destination. Octavia turned her attention back to the window and the scenery outside as she her thoughts diverted back to Josh. He had been such a blessing to those he was close to, had left such a huge impression on everypony. Octavia still couldn't wrap her mind around why somepony could go from being so loved to being so hated in almost no time at all.

"I know how special he was to you all, Octavia." Dr. Whooves said gently, "I've never seen anypony who can impact those around him like Josh could all my life. I'm confident in saying that, wherever he is, whatever he's doing, he wants to come home as badly as you all want him to return. And I know he couldn’t bear resting until he can see you all again."

Tavi smiled and looked back towards the Doctor, who returned her gesture.

"Thank you very much, Doctor." she said softly.

"Anytime, Tavi."

Together, Octavia and Dr. Whooves sat and chatted idly as the train continued towards Ponyville. By the time that they had arrived at their destination, Tavi felt worlds better, despite still having been fairly deprived of sleep. She and the Doctor stepped off the train and onto the platform, both preparing to head off towards their respective homes.

"Well, Octavia," Dr. Whooves said, stopping to address Tavi for a second, "I guess this is where we part ways."

"I suppose so." she said, grinning back at the Doctor, "Thank you for keeping me company, Doctor."

"It was a pleasure, Octavia." he said, turning around and heading off the platform, "Give my best regards to Vinyl, would you?"

"I'll be sure to do that."

With that, Dr. Whooves disappeared behind the train station, undoubtedly heading back to his home for the night. Tavi followed soon after, making her way through town towards the other end of town and her own house. As she walked, shops began to shut down for the night, market vendors wandering all around, making sure that they'd closed up everything they needed to. The gray mare passed by one stall that smelled fiercely of fresh fruit, and her stomach suddenly began to rumble, reminding her that she had to do something for dinner for her and Vinyl. She was far too tired to cook anything tonight, and she didn't feel like really going out to get something for the two of them, not to mention that Vinyl probably wouldn't want to leave the house anyway...

It was then that she spotted Sugarcube Corner a short way away, its windows still lit and a few ponies exiting the shop. It wouldn't really be healthy for us to have sweets for a meal Tavi thought, placing a hoof to her chin in contemplation. But... maybe a cake would help to make us both feel a little better. That, and a nice bottle of wine... The cellist slowly made her way to the confectionery, heading in through the door and causing the bell to jingle. As she approached the counter, Mr. Cake appeared out of the back room and stood behind the counter, ready to service his latest customer.

"Good evening, Octavia." he said amiably, smiling at the gray mare as she approached the counter, "How're you?"

"I'm a little tired, but doing alright." she replied, stopping short as she reached the stallion, "And yourself?"

"I'm not doing too bad." he replied, "Cup Cake's upstairs putting the foals to bed, so it's just me getting the shop closed up for the night. Speaking of which, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I needed to get dinner for Vinyl and I, and I thought we could have something a little different tonight." she said, "Could I trouble you for a small cake?"

"Not a problem." Mr. Cake said, turning and making his way back into the kitchen, "It may be a little bit, but I'll have it right out for you when it’s done."

Octavia nodded and took a seat next to the counter, patiently waiting for her order to be ready. As she sat there, the sound of a door being opened and closed upstairs rang out, followed by two familiar voices talking as they made their way down the hall. In a few seconds, two mares made their way down the stairs and into the main room of the shop. They stopped upon seeing Octavia sitting there, both falling silent almost immediately.

"Hello Twilight, Fluttershy." Octavia greeted, smiling at both mares.

"H-hello, Octavia." Fluttershy said in her usual shy mannerism.

"Hey there, Tavi." Twilight said, walking towards Octavia, "What're you up to?"

"I needed to grab something for Vinyl and I to eat, so I thought I'd stop in here and pick something up." Tavi replied, "What about you two?"

"Well, Fluttershy here needed to return Gummy to Pinkie, and I needed to talk to them both, so we just came together." Twilight said, Fluttershy nodding behind her.

"How is Pinkie?" Tavi inquired, "I haven't seen her in some time."

"She's getting better, but still not doing all that great." Twilight said.

"Sort of sounds like the way Vinyl is right now..." Tavi said, her thoughts wandering back to her friend at home.

"Applejack told me that she was doing fairly well today." Fluttershy said softly, causing both Tavi and Twilight to turn their attention towards the yellow pegasus, "She said that she actually was able to sit and talk to her for a little while."

"That's good." Octavia said, relieved that her friend had been doing alright so far that day, "At least she's doing a little better now..."

As Octavia finished her sentence, Mr. Cake came back out from the kitchen, a pink box tied up with some twine in his teeth.

"Here you go, Octavia." he said after setting the box down on the counter.

"Thank you very much." Tavi said, approaching the counter and pulling her bag of bits out, "How much do I owe you for it?"

"Tell you what," Mr. Cake said, glancing around the shop, "I'll cover you for this one."

"Are you certain?" Octavia asked, setting her wallet on the counter, "I can pay for it. It's not like I'm short on money or anything."

"I know." Mr. Cake replied, smiling a little, "If it's to help you and Vinyl out, then you don't need to pay for it. Take this one on the house."

Octavia smiled back at Mr. Cake, who winked at her.

"Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Cake." she said, grabbing the cake and placing it on her back.

"Not a problem, Tavi." he said, waving at her as she turned around and began to make for the door, Twilight and Fluttershy following close behind, "Have a good night you three!"

As they made their way out of the shop, they all noticed the sun had completed its descent for the night, giving way for Luna's moon and stars to grace the skies, bathing everything in a bright silvery light.

"Well, I'd better get back home." Fluttershy said, taking to the air and hovering just above the ground, "It's getting late, and my animals need to be tended to for the night. I'll talk to you girls later."

Tavi and Twilight said goodbye to the pegasus as she made her way back to her own home. Together, the two mares made their way back through town, chatting as they walked.

"... and so, Sweetie Belle said that she and her parents had been in a little fight at the boutique, so she just ran out into the rainstorm." Twilight recanted, telling Octavia all about how she'd found the little white filly the day before, "She refuses to talk to Rarity or her parents right now, and she doesn't want to go home, so I'm keeping her at the library."

"Rarity came to check up on her though, right?" Octavia inquired.

"She did. But, Sweetie hid once she heard Rarity's voice. Nothing I did could convince her to come out and see her sister." Twilight said, a look of concern painting her face, "With as upset as Rarity's been this last week, that can't be helping..."

"I'm sure Sweetie will get over this eventually." Octavia said, "She's just dealing with the grief in her own way. We all are."

"It just pains me to see those two like this." Twilight stated, looking up to see her library before her, "Hopefully this'll get resolved soon."

The two mares stopped as they arrived at the front door to the tree. Twilight turned back to Octavia, biting her lip a little in a nervous fashion.

"Tavi, I'm..." Twilight said hesitantly, staring into Octavia's violet eyes with her own, "I'm so sorry all this happened... If I'd known that... that they'd send him back..."

"Twilight, don't do this to yourself." Octavia said firmly, "It's not your fault. You had no idea that he'd be able to do what he did. You did everything you thought was right. It's just... sometimes things don't work out the way we think they ought to..."

"It certainly seems so..."

Octavia moved towards Twilight, wrapping her forelegs around her and hugging her lightly. Twilight returned the gesture, holding Octavia close and lightly rubbing her back. After a short time, the two mares broke the embrace and stepped back, both with smiles on their faces.

"Have a good night, Octavia." Twilight said.

"Same to you, dear." Octavia replied, turning around and heading away, "Make sure to say hello to Sweetie for me."

Octavia made her way back to her own home, walking through the now fairly empty streets of Ponyville. As she reached her destination, she noticed all the lights upstairs were off. Perhaps she's downstairs waiting for me or something Tavi thought as she approached her front door. She looked down towards the entry mat to see the local paper, the Ponyville Express, glaring up at her, a large picture of Filthy Rich on the cover. Octavia scoffed at the sight before opening the door and making her way inside the house.

"Vinyl, dear," she called, looking all around for any sight of her cream colored friend, "I'm home and I got us something to eat."

Silence answered the gray mare. She made her way further into the room, heading towards the kitchen and placing the cake on the table.

"Vinyl? Where are you?"

Again, no answer came. Octavia walked back out into the living room, looking everywhere she could for any sign of the unicorn. As she reached the center of the room, she noticed a bright, beautiful bouquet of all different types of flowers laying on the ground, a puddle of water below them and pieces of a colorful, broken vase sitting amidst the greenery.

"Flowers?" Octavia mused, making her way over to examine the scene, "Where in the world..."

Looking at the sight before her, she felt a hint of worry for Vinyl enter her mind. It wasn't like Vinyl to just leave a mess like this lying around, even if she was upset. Perhaps she's not here Octavia thought, suddenly imagining her friend wandering the streets of Ponyville alone and in a compromised emotional state. However, she remembered seeing that the lights upstairs were off, more often than not an indication that Vinyl was asleep in her room. Making her way up the stairs, she made for Vinyl's room, seeing the door cracked open slightly.

"Vinyl, are you in here?" she asked softly, opening the door all the way and stepping inside.

Vinyl sat in a chair in front of her window, her back to Octavia as she stared out at the night sky. Tavi breathed a small sigh of relief to see that her friend was still home and looked to be alright. Slowly, the gray mare approached her friend in the chair.

"Vinyl," she said as she came up to the chair, "I have dinner for us if you're hungry."

"Thanks Tavi." Vinyl said rather dreamily, "I'll be down in a minute... The moon's so pretty tonight, isn't it? Luna did a good job raising it."

"I suppose she did." Octavia said confusedly, stepping closer to Vinyl.

"You know, I still remember the first time Josh and I sat and watched the sunset together..." Vinyl said, swaying a little in her seat, "It was the most romantic thing I'd ever experienced... When's he coming back anyway?"

"Vinyl..." Tavi said, now truly concerned for her friend, "He's..."

Octavia stopped mid sentence as she stepped in something cold and wet. She looked down to see a large, dark puddle underneath Vinyl, along with what looked like a shard of colorful glass. Every now and then, the pool would ripple, as if something was dropping into it from above.

"Vinyl..." the gray mare said, looking back up to her friend.

The unicorn turned around suddenly, revealing herself to Octavia, who put a hoof over her mouth in shock. Vinyl's coat was extremely pale, her eyes bloodshot, making them almost completely red. Tavi stepped back in horror as she noticed the mare before her was trembling violently as well.

"Tavi," Vinyl said slowly, raising her forelegs to examine them, "my fetlocks hurt a little bit."

Tavi’s frightened stare moved to Vinyl’s fetlocks where two huge gashes were present, painting the cream colored fur a dark, shiny crimson. Blood continued to flow from the grotesque wounds, joining the small pool already on the floor. Octavia was frozen in terror as she looked upon her hurt friend, who slid off the chair and onto the floor, shaking with the effort of trying to hold up her weakened body.

"Vinyl!" Octavia said, rushing over to the mare and attempting to help steady her, "What... how..."

"I'm gonna take a nap now, Tavi..." Vinyl said, her eyelids falling closed, "Wake me up when Josh gets home..."

With that, Vinyl collapsed to the floor and slipped into unconsciousness, Octavia calling her name loudly as darkness overtook her mind.