Vinyl Scratch gazed up through the high windows of the cleared-out Manehattan warehouse, raising her glasses for a moment, and soaking up the sight of the rising sun. She grinned, feeling the surge of adrenaline that dawn always brought her, which in this case was augmented by whatever had been circulating in the pungent haze the club goers had left behind. She then turned to watch as a few straggling ponies still staggered their way toward the warehouse’s exit. Her eyes turned back to her turntables and mixers, and she frowned. “Hey bro,” she called to a black-shirted worker dodging among the nearby cables and amplifiers. The earth pony looked back at her. “Do you need me to clean up, or…?” He shrugged. “We’re closed ‘til mid-week. You can pack it up or leave it for your next show; I don’t think management cares.” “Sweet,” Vinyl said, giving him a toothy grin. She stepped off the platform and tailed the last few ravers at a distance. She hoofed on her headphones, then hoofed through her music player, choosing something with an airy, sweet, pulsing intro. The bass dropped right as she stepped through the door. Her head bobbed with it on instinct, and the corners of her mouth tightened into a half-smile. Light hit her coat, warming her from without, even as the sick beats of the music warmed her from within. “Dang, hungry,” she said to nopony. Vinyl turned down an alley that led back out to the main street. She could see hoof traffic and taxi-carts rolling by, even at such an early hour. But as she watched, and let the music move her, she envisioned the tall buildings of the city rise and fall around her like thick waveforms, dwarfing her, and leaving her to gaze in wonder. A muffled sound intruded through her music. Vinyl paused, finding herself at the intersection of another alley. There, in the middle of the alley, lay a unicorn. Vinyl blinked, raised her glasses, and looked closer. By size and mouth-shape, she guessed it was a stallion. His singed and dirtied coat had probably once been light blue. His long mane and mass of facial hair were in even worse condition, likely having started as white, but now looking scorched, dingy, and bedraggled. After a moment of staring, she realized that his eyes were open and his mouth was moving. She fumbled as she hoofed the headphones off. “—me, please,” he breathed. His voice was weak, but deep, and sounded heavy with age. Vinyl fidgeted. “Dude… are you all right?” He tried to raise himself on his forelegs, but they gave out, and his teeth clacked as his jaw hit the ground again. “Please… it's terribly important…” She looked toward the end of the alley. “Uh… do you want me to… hail you a cab or something?” “No!” He looked at her with intense golden eyes, and a firm set to his jaw. Then he winced again, and hoofed at his head. “No, I don’t remember who, but I need to find… someone.” Vinyl took a single tentative step away from him. “Okay, well… good luck with that?” “Wait, please.” He struggled to his hooves, this time succeeding, and staggered toward her slowly. Vinyl drew back a few steps, but then paused as she noticed the scorch marks on the spot where he had lain. She looked from side to side in the alley, noticing how the trash cans, bits of rubble, and other junk, had all pushed away from the scorched spot. She pointed a hoof toward some of the nearby stuff. “Were you… like, doing something in here?” The stallion slowed his advance, and held a hoof to his temple. “I remember casting a spell.” He panted with exertion. “I’m sorry, that’s all I remember.” Vinyl tensed, but forced herself to laugh. “Bad trip, eh?” He closed his eyes and stiffened, faltering on one of his legs. “I need…” He gritted his teeth. “I need somewhere to rest, to think things through…” Vinyl noticed as the music coming from her headphones changed, even though they were just hanging around her neck. The sound was harsh and full of modulation, but the bass thudded hard enough to make the coat on the back of her neck bristle with excitement. Vinyl smiled. “Hey, why not, the night’s been epic, and my place ain’t far. I got couch space if you wanna crash!” [hr] Vinyl jolted awake to the sight of hot, burning sunlight trying to blast its way through her eyelids. She squinted her still-closed eyes and tried to bat it away, eventually hoofing toward her nightstand for her glasses. They weren’t there. She muttered a curse, and hoofed around the bed, growing more frustrated… before touching her head, and realizing they were there. She cursed again as she lowered them into place, then sat up, blinking. Her tiny bedroom was disheveled chaos, just as she liked it; she noticed the clock, and figured she was waking with sundown, also just as she liked it; but something was wrong. She couldn’t place the feeling, but down deep, she knew things weren’t as they should be. A scent wafted by, intense and savory. She sniffed. Her mouth watered, and she dimly recalled forgetting to grab something to eat after work the previous night— That was when she noticed the chair she'd propped-up underneath her doorknob, and the night’s details came back to her. [hr] Vinyl stepped down the short, bare hallway slowly, wincing at every strange clink and scrape she heard coming from the front room of her apartment. As she made her way past the bathroom, she jumped at the sound of a loud bang. It was followed by a muffled curse, and then the faint sparkling sound of a unicorn’s horn coming alight. She peeked around the corner to her tiny kitchen, and saw the stallion. He was bent over and wiping at a large spill on the red, tiled floor. He looked different, though; Vinyl noticed he was free of dirt, his mane and tail were cut much shorter, and his facial hair had been groomed down into a trim goatee. She took a long breath, trying not to think of him as handsome, and trying instead to think of what she was going to do with the weird street pony who she’d taken into her home. He looked up, spotted her, and smiled. The corners of his eyes crinkled a bit with age, but there was warmth in them. “And I thought I was tired,” he said, his deep voice carrying a sense of amusement. Vinyl blushed as she stepped out from around the corner. “Heh. Yeah, I work nights.” He nodded, then looked down at the mess at his hooves. “Well, for my sake, I’m glad you do, miss—?” “Vinyl Scratch,” she said, striking a pose. “Also known as DJ-P0N3, also known as the sickest DJ ever to lay waste to a Manehattan dance floor!” “I see.” He started mopping things up again, working the hoof towel back and forth in his magic. “And what exactly are you sick with, if you don’t mind my asking?” She blinked at him. “Oh, sorry bro. No, it’s just a figure of speech. It’s…” She looked over at the small bar-top next to the kitchen, and her eyes settled on a plate of cooked haybacon sandwiches between two glasses of dark wine. Then she spotted the open bottle, and her pulse quickened as she stared at the simple lettering on its brown label. The stallion smiled again. “I thought that making you a meal was the least I could do, to thank you for helping me in when I was so… lost. And for the use of your grooming implements, as well as your quite remarkable in-home showering device…” “Dude,” she interrupted. “Why’d you open Octy’s bottle?!” He cocked his head, then looked over at the bar. “Oh, I’m sorry… I thought wine would be appropriate, considering?” Vinyl stomped toward him. “Well you thought wrong, dipstick! Octy’s bottle is…” She glanced at the bar, and cringed. “...Was… important. Maybe the most important thing I have! ...Or, had.” He took a step back. “I’m sorry. I… don’t understand.” She hung her head for a moment, then took one of the glasses in her magic, and drained it in a single gulp. A moment later, she stuck her tongue out, gagging. “Celestia’s beard, it’s just like her! Disgusting, awful… blech!” “This ‘Octy’ must be quite the interesting pony,” he said slowly. “What? No! I don’t mean that she’s disgusting, I just… have you tried this stuff?” His lips pursed into a smile. “I’ll confess to giving it a tiny sip. I thought it wasn’t bad.” Vinyl shook her head, then lit her horn, refilled her glass, and drained it again. The bitter taste made her shiver. “Ugh. Yeah, she gave it to me when… I moved here. Said that I should drink it if I ever… wanted to.” He furrowed his brow. “I suppose one does wish to have some wine from time to time…” She threw her head back in frustration. “Yeah, but that wasn’t what she meant! It never was the words she said; it was the way she said them.” Vinyl poured from the bottle again, this time only managing to get a half-glass out of it. She stared for a moment at the dark liquid, rendered darker by her violet sunglasses. “All right, well, now you know who I am, and you know what Octy’s bottle was; but I don’t know who you are. Who are you, bro?” The stallion’s smile turned sad, and he sighed. “I wish I could tell you.” “What, you on the lam or something?” “I don’t remember who I am,” he said, his tone exasperated. “In fact, I don’t remember much of anything from before you found me.” Vinyl clacked her teeth together, shrugged, and finished off her wine. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, but with all due respect, how can you just do that?” “How can I not,” she said, hanging her head again. “It’s Octy’s bottle. Now it’s open, and I have to drink it, before it’s all just… gone.” “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said. His tone seemed genuine, even though the words themselves sounded dull and overplayed to her ears. “Mmm. Yeah.” She shook her head. “So what do you think you were on if you ended up in a burned-out alley and forgot your name? More than wine, if you ask me.” He chuckled. “I told you, I think it was a spell. I was looking for something. Something important.” “Must not be that important if you forgot about it.” “Yes, but forgetting who I am, on top of it?” He paused, then gestured toward his flank. “What do you make of this?” She looked, and blushed, and levitated her empty glass back over to the bar. “I’d give it a five, maybe a six, tops. I dunno. I could go seven, if it’s just that you look kinda old, but you’re not actually, like super-old.” His jaw worked its way open. “...Excuse me?” Vinyl rolled her eyes. “Five, then; obviously way too old.” “...I meant the cutie mark.” “Oh.” Her blush intensified, and her eyes refocused on the sinuous line of grey that spiraled over a field of twinkling lights. “Heh, kinda looks the way a song does on a visualizer. Like stars going nova while you ride out on the beat.” A look of concern touched his eyes. “The stars… going nova?” “Yeah.” She shrugged. “How ‘bout we call you ‘Nova’ ‘til you remember more?” He nodded. “Sure. Just… something that you said there…” She raised his glass in her magic. “Uh, you gonna finish this, bro?” He laughed. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” [hr] It wasn’t long before Vinyl’s stomach asserted its need for food in no uncertain terms. The better part of an hour was lost to Nova fussing in the kitchen, either preparing food from Vinyl’s dubious reserves, or cleaning up after another of the succession of items she craved. For her part, when she wasn’t devouring his latest creation, she was sitting heavily upon the stool, sprawling her forelegs across the bar, and staring off into nothing. “I drank the bottle,” Vinyl said, dropping the statement like a beat into the silence. “I noticed,” Nova said, scrubbing at a plate in the sink. She raised her head and tried to fix her gaze on him. “You don’t get it. With the bottle gone, it’s over. Now I can’t go back. Not even if I wanted to.” She snorted. “Like I’d want to.” Nova looked at her. “You seem to say things like that quite a lot. If I didn’t know better, which I don’t, I’d say you were trying to convince yourself of it, more than me.” “Why should I go back? I’ve got…” She raised her hooves, gesturing indistinctly. “You know… the job of my dreams, this sweet apartment…” A laugh broke out in her midsection, but it faltered, and she started coughing. “Random old dudes crashing in my pad...“ “I know you keep saying that, but I’m not that old,” Nova said, first smiling, then frowning. “At least, I’m pretty sure I’m not.” Vinyl shrugged. “Hey, whatever, bro. You seem all right. Last dude I had over was more of a jerk, and didn't make me any food.” Nova’s frown deepened. “I’m sure this won’t make me sound any less old, but… I hope you're being careful with the company you keep? Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for your hospitality, but not everypony is who they seem to be.” “Pssh, now you even sound like Octy; boringness personified.” She waved a hoof at him. “Go on, tell me something interesting about yourself. Anything you can remember. Doesn’t matter what.” He set a plate down in the sink, then washed and dried his forehooves, visibly stalling for time. He looked at her with uncertainty. “I think I came here to look for somepony. I think… I’m mad at them. I mean, I don’t just feel mad sitting here, of course, but I think they did something worth being mad about.” Vinyl grinned. “So you’re some kinda private investigator, eh? Maybe you got too close to someone you were tailing, and they jumped you.” He shook his head. “That doesn’t sound right. Not that I can’t pick out the wrong bits, of course. Just… whoever it is, they’re powerful. Dangerous, even. And… I have to stop them.” Silence fell upon the conversation. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking away from her. “Whatever I’m mixed up in, it doesn’t have to be your problem. I can just go.” “No way, bro. You opened the bottle. This is bigger than both of us now.” Nova chuckled. “You can be a bit impulsive, you know.” Vinyl shrugged. “I don’t see you complaining.” He gave her a warm smile. “I suppose not. No, I’m very, very lucky that you found me, and that you’ve taken me even a little bit seriously.” He laughed. “And that you didn’t try to kill me when I opened your bottle.” “Octy’s bottle,” Vinyl said automatically. “Of course.” [hr] The wine wore off sometime in the early morning hours. Vinyl slumped even harder in her seat, cradling her head and groaning. “That can happen when you overdo it, you know,” Nova said. Vinyl gave him an obscene gesture with her forelegs. “Thanks for the advice, dad.” She felt pressure on the sides of her head. Confusion overtook her as Nova used his forehooves to bring her head up to his eye level. She studied his eyes, and blushed a bit from the close distance. They were nice eyes, she decided; maybe she could go as high as a seven just for those. He tilted his head back and forth, looking deep into her eyes. “I don’t remember much, but I do think I was pretty good with magic, and I think I know something to help with this, if you trust me.” “Lay it on me,” she said, grinning. Nova rolled his eyes, but smiled. He lit his horn. Sparks of power surged and danced around it. Vinyl’s mouth went slack from surprise. “Uh, bro… what are you—?” He leaned his head forward, and an arc of white light jumped between their horns. Vinyl jerked back, going rigid. A sensation like cold fire danced across her brain. She overbalanced on her seat, but Nova’s grip on her head kept her from falling. When it ended, she slumped forward again, panting. She looked up at him, prepared to tell him off, but paused, realizing that she could think clearly. Instead, she smiled, and cuffed him with a forehoof. “Dude, that’s awesome! You gotta teach me that one. I could use that!” Nova laughed and set his forehooves down. “Well, don’t get too impressed; I’m pretty sure the effects of that spell are temporary. The real cure for too much wine is a mix of getting some food—which you’ve done—and some water, followed by a lot of coffee. Which I don’t think that you have? Or at least, I couldn’t find any.” Vinyl stuck her tongue out. “I used to make it myself, but it never came out how I like it. I figure, why bother trying when I can just buy it at the place a few streets over, and they’re open all night anyway, and it always tastes good?” “It probably won’t make me sound less old if I guess it costs a lot more to go buy it each time than to make it yourself, will it?” “Not even a chance,” she said, laughing. [hr] They set out for the coffee shop amid the morning’s early street-lit hours. Vinyl led them on a well-known route, which let her focus on watching Nova’s reaction to the city around them. He stared upward with wide eyes and a muzzle that was scrunched tight. “First time in the city, pops?” He blinked, shaking his head. “I’ve seen cities before, but this... “ She laughed. “Heh, some private investigator. You must be from someplace like Ponyville if you ain’t seen a big city before.” Nova stopped. “What did you say?” Vinyl stopped as well, and turned to face him. “I said you must be from some nowhere town if you—” “No. No, the name you said.” She furrowed her brow. “What, do you mean Ponyville?” An unreadable look crossed his face. “That name sounds familiar.” “Well, yeah, how couldn’t it? Everything these last few years with Nightmare Moon, and Princess Twilight, and the Elements, and bugbears, and even the new girl… I tell ya, Octy said that I was crazy to leave, but I think she’s the crazy one, staying.” Nova’s eyes narrowed. “New girl?” “Twilight’s student, Starlight Glimmer.” Vinyl shook her head. “Real piece of work, that one.” Nova blinked. His breathing deepened. His stance widened, and he looked down at the ground, eventually holding a hoof up to his head. “What’d I say?” Vinyl asked. “It’s all right,” Nova said, wincing. “I just... “ He met Vinyl’s eyes, and his hard expression softened. “Don’t we still need to get you some coffee?” She pointed a hoof at him. “Don’t do that.” “What?” “That.” She frowned. “Not telling me. Just looking at me like I’m some doofus who can’t handle whatever it is. Because I can!” “I’m sorry.” He raised a hoof toward her shoulder, but stopped and set it back down. “There’s still so much I don’t remember, but I’m quite sure it’s a lead.” He frowned. “Please, let’s get some coffee. I need to clear my head.” They walked in silence for a few moments, but then Vinyl groaned in frustration. “Bro, whatever’s going on, you need to relax and open up about it.” She lit her horn, raised her headphones from her neck, and floated them over to him. “Here, put this on. I’ll play ya some sick stuff I like with when things are down.” Nova looked at the headphones with uncertainty, but then lit his horn and put them on. “All right, what do I—” She flicked them on with her magic, and he startled. Vinyl grinned, and bobbed her head instinctively, reliving in her mind the experience of listening to the track she’d put on for him. It started out with rapid-fire chugs on a guitar before a heavy, funky beat kicked in. Nova looked at her with furrowed brows. “Is it supposed to be this loud?” he shouted. Vinyl nodded, and set off toward the coffee shop again. Nova started to bob his head a little. “This is interesting,” he said, following her. “It’s so… chaotic. Powerful. Destructive.” Vinyl laughed. “I like listening to stuff that amplifies my feeling, even when I’m on the down and out. Just feel it to the full, you know?” Nova stopped. He stared at seemingly nothing. Vinyl came up next to him, studying the hardness in his eyes, and the way his nostrils flared. He started sweating. Vinyl lit her horn and turned the headphones off. He slowly raised a hoof, removed them, and gave them back to her. “Sorry, Vinyl. I don’t think that’s my kind of music.” “Yeah right,” she said, setting the headphones back down around her neck. “You remembered something.” He nodded. “Something… big?” “Not everything.” He looked at her, and gave her a small smile. “Just bits and pieces. Bigger ones, though.” “Okay, cool…” He looked her in the eyes. “I think I have to go now.” Vinyl’s jaw fell. “Wait, you… what?” He said, looked away. “I need to go somewhere, and…” He shook his head. “I don’t think you’d want to follow.” “No.” She stamped a hoof and frowned at him. “No, no, you don’t just get to drop into my life, and open Octy’s bottle, and then run out, and leave me wondering what it was all about.” A look of sadness came over him. “I agree,” he said. “It’s not the way that you deserve to be paid back for your kindness. Especially if I've opened up old wounds.” He looked down the street toward the one lit-up building. “The life you have here is… amazing, though. You don’t deserve to have that jeopardized.” “What in the actual buck are you talking about?!” “I need to get to Ponyville.” Vinyl took a step back. “Why Ponyville?” He sighed. “I’m working on that, but one of the pieces I saw… something unthinkable is going to happen, and I think the only way to stop it is to find Starlight Glimmer.” “And when you find her, what are you going to do?” Nova’s look was equal parts determined and plaintive. “I don’t know.” Vinyl poked him with a hoof. “How come you think I wouldn’t want to go?” He shrugged. “From everything you’ve said about this ‘Octy,’ I assumed…” “You don’t know anything.” She frowned. “The bottle’s gone now. It’s not gonna sit there staring at me when I get home too late, or if I forget to clean stuff up, or…” She waved her hoof, wracking her brain for another example. “I dunno. It’s really over now! Like, really for real!" She shrugged. "I can do whatever I want now.” Nova raised a hoof toward her, but hesitated. “I’m so sorry…” She grimaced. “Would you just bucking touch me if you’re going to?!” He drew back with momentary surprise, but then composed himself, and draped a foreleg over her shoulder. “All right, then, Vinyl. I’m sorry.” “Yeah, me too,” she said, savoring his warmth for a moment before rising up and grabbing him in a vise-like hug. [hr] They caught a cab that took them to the train station, where they bought tickets for the first train in the morning. Grey dawn had only just begun to creep over Manehattan as they boarded. Vinyl sprung for a good sleeping car, which cleared out most of the bits she had on her, but which neither of them regretted as they slept through the whole day-long trip to Ponyville. Dusk was thick upon the town as the pair stepped off the train. Nova looked out at it with a mix of curiosity and trepidation. “And you’re sure that you can get us a meeting with Starlight Glimmer?” Vinyl smiled. “I know a friend of hers. Used to call me up at odd hours to book gigs at the last minute, and paid in candy half the time. I figure she owes me one.” “Sounds like a plan. And… ‘Octy?’” “No,” Vinyl said quickly. “One pony’s damage at a time, and you're up first.” [hr] Vinyl knew a good inn with a second floor overlook that gave a view of the town square, and she left Nova sitting staring out at it as she made a brief trip over to Sugarcube Corner. It took some persuading to keep Pinkie from throwing her a “Welcome-back-a-versary” party on the spot, but Vinyl eventually got through to her. “Sure, no problem!” Pinkie beamed. She leaned in for a cartoonishly conspiratorial wink. “So I guess you’re coming back to patch things up with you-know-who, eh?” “No, and if you tell her that I’m here, I swear I’m suddenly not going to have an open spot on my gig schedule for the next year.” “Well played Scratchie. Well played.” Pinkie gave her a narrow-eyed look, then raised a hoof to her eyes, and pointed back at Vinyl. “I’ll go talk to Starlight now. She’ll see you bright and early!” [hr] Nova was still there when she returned, just sitting on his haunches, staring over the inn’s wooden railing railing at the dark, lamp-lit town. “Did it go well?” “Yeah.” She sat down at his side, and draped a hoof around him. “But I know that look. You had another memory come back.” He closed his eyes. “I did.” She followed his gaze out over the town, unsure what he was really looking at. “So, does that mean you remember what you’re here for?” “No.” She frowned. “Okay then… do you remember how you got here?” He took a deep breath. “I can make an educated guess.” Vinyl raised her other forehoof to his muzzle, and turned him toward her gently. “No more twenty-questions, Nova. If it’s that big, why don’t—” “It was my name. Well, really… who I am.” Vinyl’s heart thumped harder than a bass drop. She let go of his muzzle. “Yeah?” He shook his head. She huffed, then slugged him in the chest. “You jagweed! After all this, you just roll in and drop something like that, but you still won’t level with me?” “It would change things,” he said, rubbing the spot where she hit him. “That’s right, it would! And what’s so bad about that?” He took another breath. “It’s possible that you would recognize it.” She sighed, then groaned, and took her sunglasses off. “Look, ‘Nova,’ I don’t care. Whatever it is, whoever you really are… I already see somepony I like. You’re intense. Life doesn’t just happen to you; you go happen to it. And I dig that about you.” She touched a hoof to his goatee. He looked at her with a wan smile. “I would never want you to stop wearing the glasses entirely,” he said. “But you have lovely eyes. They’re warm, and clever, just like you. And they twinkle when you’re thinking about doing something mad.” He laughed. “Which does seem to be most of the time.” Heat rose in Vinyl’s cheeks. “Are they doing it now?” Nova smiled. Her eyes searched his. “Tell me your name,” she said, tightening her grip on his goatee. “Because I wanna do something, but I don’t wanna do it if you won’t even give me that. Know what I mean?” He signed. “Vinyl, if I could—” She pushed him away. “No! That means you’re either going to make me ride this feeling that you’re giving me on faith—blind faith—or it means you’re going to make me stop here, where I am. And I don’t like stopping!” “I’m not making you do anything,” he said quietly. “Not true. You’ve dangled this whole big, mysterious, sexy… thing all out in front of me, and now you’re asking whether I really want to know where it’s going? Pssh, like that’s some kind of choice.” His eyebrows climbed above a smile. “You think I’m sexy?” Vinyl pointed a hoof at him. “Don’t change the subject. You’re maybe a six out here in the lamplight. More like a four, when you’re being a pain in the flank. Which is most of the time!” Nova’s features softened. “Vinyl, do you trust me?” She threw her forelegs out wide. “I came with you to Ponyville, didn’t I? I went and got you your stupid meeting with Starbad Glimglam, right?” She shook her head. “And yeah, I didn’t kill you when you opened Octy’s bottle. I mean, that would’ve been the time to do it.” He placed his forehooves on her shoulders. “You’ve been far better to me than I deserve, for what I’ve offered in return. And so I’d ask you to believe me now… because the truth, the real truth… is that it’s better if you don’t know who I am.” Vinyl swatted his forehooves away, and headed for the door. “Definitely a four,” she called back toward him. “Maybe even a two or three!” “I promise that you’ll know after the meeting,” he said. She froze for a moment, but then continued stomping off. [hr] They met outside the inn early the next morning. A chill wind raised the hairs on the back of Vinyl’s neck as she waited for him. It was nearly as chilly as the look that Vinyl gave “Nova” as he approached her. “Good morning,” he said. “Is it?” He looked at the ground. The expression on his face seemed uncertain; maybe a little bit sad. “Did you sleep well?” She fixed him with a glare. “And what would you know about how I slept last night?” “Okay,” he said, meeting her eyes. “I deserved that.” Vinyl shook her head. “This all better be worth it.” He hesitated. “I hope so, too.” [hr] They found Pinkie waiting for them at the entrance to the Crystal Castle. Vinyl took pains to deflect her myriad questions about Nova, eventually resorting to more threats about her availability. Pinkie relented, and led them through its gates, and down its great central corridor. Every surface glinted in the light of the still-rising sun. Vinyl kept her eyes fixed on Nova, whose slack-jawed expression was unflattering. “Have you really not seen pictures of this?” she asked, as they ascended a staircase. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said. “The amount of latent magical energy flowing through this place is unprecedented, outside of the Elements themselves. I mean, this surface looks like crystal, but if you cast a spell to take a closer look at its refractive index…” She gave him a withering look. He quieted. “Sorry. Force of habit.” “Here we are, you two!” Pinkie shouted. “Have a good meeting!” Vinyl watched her bounce off, then glanced at Nova. “Look, before we go in there… are you gonna tell me what this is all about?” He hesitated, but then shook his head. “But you’re remembering it, aren’t you?” He gave her the most intense stare she’d yet seen from him. “You should go, now.” He raised a hoof and knocked at the door. “I will protect you if you don’t, but it would be safest—” The door opened, and Starlight’s pale pink head poked out. The effect on Nova was electric. Literally, as his horn began to spark. Vinyl looked at him. “Dude…” His horn-glow grew more intense. “I’m sorry,” he said, magically amplifying his voice. A breeze began to stir the room as he focused on the other mare. “Starlight Glimmer, through the magic of time-scrying, I have witnessed your destabilization of all space-time.” Starlight drew back with surprise and fear. “Excuse me?! Who are you?!” Vinyl put a hoof on his shoulder. “Nova, please…” He looked at her with glowing eyes. “I promised I would tell you, and the time has come.” He looked back at Starlight, and his horn surged with power. “My name is Starswirl the Bearded, and Starlight Glimmer, I have come to stop you. Vinyl—run!” [hr] What happened next was largely a blur to Vinyl’s overstimulated mind. She remembered a huge barrier of force rising all around her. She remembered seeing—sometimes feeling—massive bolts of power that shot back and forth across the Crystal Castle. At one point, she remembered seeing Nova—Starswirl—stop firing, and start listening, as Princess Twilight descended on the fray. But she stood as if concussed, just watching it all, and trying to process what she’d heard. Starswirl the Bearded, an ancient wizard, in her apartment. Sharing a train car with her. Now surrendering himself to the Princess, and letting himself be arrested. And still—maybe—earning a nine while doing it. [hr] A week passed before Vinyl heard a knock on her apartment door. She looked up from her makeshift breakfast of chips and cheap beer, and glanced at the clock. It was late by any other pony’s standards, and almost time for her to get ready for her next gig. “Vinyl?” called a voice that made her stomach wobble. With a deep breath, she heaved herself up from the bar stool, walked to the door… and paused. Her heart, mind, and stomach warred against each other, like some kind of sick remix gone wrong. Long moments passed in silence. Then another few knocks told her he was still there. She squeezed her eyes shut, undid the chain, and opened the door. “Hello, Vinyl.” When she opened her eyes, the flowers were the first thing that she noticed. It was a nice bouquet; big enough, but not too big; full of variety, but still showcasing a few well-placed red roses. Then she looked up at his face, studying the gentle smile on his muzzle, and the faint lines at the corners of his eyes, and the way his goatee seemed a fair bit longer than she would expect for only a week of growth. He chuckled, and raised a hoof to his jaw. “‘The Bearded,’ you know. Never have been able to get rid of it.” An awkward silence fell over them. The only sounds were of their breathing, and of the crinkling cellophane that the flowers were wrapped in. “Well… come on in,” Vinyl said at length. “You’re looking… pretty good, for a walking, talking historical figure.” He smiled, and entered, setting the flowers down on the bar. “Thanks?” She shut the door, and took a breath. “The guards went easy on me. I told them what you told me, and they cast something to make sure that I hadn’t left anything out. I just… didn’t know how long they’d keep you.” Starswirl nodded. “Understandable. I’m sure this sort of thing doesn’t come up all that often.” Vinyl shrugged. “I dunno, there was more than one reason why I left Ponyville.” She took another long, deep breath. “And before you ask, you ought to know: I did end up talking to Octy.” “Oh.” Starswirl’s smile stayed fixed, but his expression became heavy with unspoken questions. Vinyl nodded. “Yeah, I told her I was taking up with homeless old dudes now. She said that my life choices were ‘disappointing, but not surprising.’” Starswirl snorted, then broke out into a laugh. “Okay, you had me for a second there.” She grinned, but only for a moment. “I actually told her about the bottle. How I kept it, and I never, ever thought of opening it, until some doofus came and opened it for me. Octy seemed down with that. She’s doing good. And for the record, she was glad to see me spending time with somepony who was ‘mature, albeit a bit murder-y.’” Vinyl paused. “She actually did say that one.” He smiled. “I’m glad that you could talk with her again.” Vinyl shrugged. “Eh, things are never gonna be perfect with an ex, I guess. I got to say some things I needed to, though. I told her she was right; I move way too fast when I move, and I don’t always think things through enough. And that I regretted letting that… do what it did to us.” “Self-reflection is a hard thing,” Starswirl said. “But you’re a mare of many good qualities. Generous, warm-hearted—” “Says the guy who nearly killed somepony.” Starswirl sighed. “Yes, well, it turns out that time travel can be hazardous and inexact when applied over long distances. I couldn’t have known that what my time-scrying showed me was just one possible future of many that Starlight Glimmer’s actions could have created.” Their eyes met. “I regret the way things turned out. I overshot the time when I could have made any real difference… and I lost my memories from the intensity of the jump… and I threatened somepony who’s already become a positive influence in Equestria.” “You don’t really regret it, though,” Vinyl said. “I don’t regret trying to stop the end of the world, no. And I don’t regret meeting you. Though I do regret the way you looked at me when I…” She rolled her eyes. “Pssh, come on, I get it. You went off half-cocked. You straightened it out before you did any real damage though, right?” “Something like that.” “And now it’s all done, isn’t it?” She looked over at the flowers. “Don’t get me wrong, those look tasty, and it’s good of you to come back to tie up loose ends. But… you’ll probably be moving on now, right? I mean, you’ve gotta do your whole… legendary-historical-figure thing.” He gave her a deep smile. “Yes, well, that’s the great thing about being a time-travelling legendary-historical-figure, isn’t it? I don’t have to go back today; I just have to go back eventually.” Vinyl’s pulse pounded. “You’re serious.” Starswirl shrugged. “I liked the music that you played me. Maybe you can show me how you… ‘lay waste to a dance floor’ sometime?” She smiled. “You sound like an idiot when you say that.” “Come on, go easy on me. None of this exists, where I’m from.” “....I still think you’re kinda sexy,” she blurted. The two of them blushed, and Vinyl looked away. “I mean… I dunno…” She felt a gentle touch on her chin, and looked up into his eyes. “I feel the same,” he breathed. Vinyl stole a glance at the clock, frowning. “Aw, dude, this timing sucks… I’ve got a gig…” He moved his hoof over her lips, and smiled. “Yes, but time travel is pretty safe over short distances, remember?” Vinyl stood still for a moment, blinking. Then a tingling sensation began to work its way through her chest, and a huge grin plastered itself across her face. Any further thoughts were soon lost in a warm, insistent kiss, which both of them committed to with passion. [hr] [quote][b][u]Author's note:[/u][/b] [i][url=https://writeoff.me/fic/3839-Time-Enough-For-Love]With apologies and credit to horizon[/url][/i][/quote]