12: That Visitor
Starshadow awoke the next morning back in her room at Vinyl's house. Yawning and stretching her legs, she looked out the window at the sun already part way into the sky and thought back on yesterday. She smiled as she recalled the threesome with Applejack and Big Mac, and while she didn't get a chance to cum herself she still managed to fix her relationship with Applejack and also helped bring the two siblings much, much closer. Thankfully, Big Mac had woken them both up just as the rest of his family returned home, and before leaving Starshadow managed to apologize for her outburst to both Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell as they had come over with Apple Bloom for yet another sleepover.
Trotting happily downstairs, Starshadow was surprised to see Vinyl sitting at the kitchen table sipping on a cup of coffee. The DJ looked over at her and smiled at her. "Yo, about time you're awake. Thought you were gonna sleep through the entire day." Vinyl said.
"Good morning to you, too." Starshadow replied. "When did you get back in town?"
"Just now. Finished up my tour last night and got back into town just a few hours ago." Vinyl said.
Starshadow walked over and sat down across from Vinyl who poured them both fresh cups of coffee. "I thought you would be still sleeping off all the fun from your after-party." Starshadow commented.
Vinyl turned slightly red. "I, uh, heh... normally would, but I couldn't wait to come back and hear how... well, how you and Big Mac have been getting along." the DJ admitted.
Starshadow laughed at her friend. "Are... are you serious?" she asked in disbelief.
Vinyl became more flustered. "Hey, come on! I was at least honest, so spill! How many times have you done it so far? Did you manage to get more of him in you? Oh Luna, you didn't do it with him on my bed, did you? I told you that you can only do it there if I get to join!"
"Woah, calm down, we didn't do that!" Starshadow said quickly. Vinyl's intent look of interest caused Starshadow to break down and she told Vinyl of the rutting Big Mac had given her in the orchard her first day in Ponyville, as well as the extremely romantic night by the pond.
After she was done, Vinyl sat back with a far-away look in her eyes. "Oh... my... Celestia." she said slowly. "That was SO romantic! You lucky mare, it's too bad he has that violent sister of his. Otherwise this would be the perfect love story."
Starshadow let out a small laugh. "Heh, actually, I met Applejack already and..." she paused, unsure if she should be talking to the other mare about Big Mac and Applejack's relationship with one another. "Well, we managed to set aside our differences."
Even without all the details, Vinyl was rendered speechless. "Wha... you mean.... she... you..." Vinyl stuttered. She stopped talking to take a large swig of coffee and then tried talking again. "Wait. So you're telling me that not only did you meet Applejack and live, but she's okay with you seeing her brother? Even though you're a pegasus?"
Starshadow nodded. "Yeah. She wasn't against him dating a pegasus or unicorn ever, she was just watching out for her family and was a little over protective." she explained.
Vinyl groaned and buried her head in her hooves. "It's not fair, some mares get all the luck!" she complained, then raised her head back up to look at her friend. "You know that if it weren't for me you would have never met him. You better at least hire me to DJ your wedding, and also let me watch a few times if you're going to hog him to yourself."
Starshadow thought about what Vinyl had just said and realized that she was right; had Vinyl not extended the invitation to come play with her in Ponyville, she would still be living in Cloudsdale and never would have even known that Big Mac existed. Plus, there was that letter from Polaris... if he had been able to send a letter to her, who knows how long it would be before he or his servants showed up at her door?
Starshadow did her best to push the disturbing thought out of her mind and turned her attention back to Vinyl. "Yeah, you're right. It is all thanks to you." she gladly admitted. However, the mere mention of her getting married was something that had actually never crossed her mind before. She tried imagining herself walking down the aisle and meeting Big Mac at the altar, but quickly let the though slip away as she couldn't even imagine it.
"Oh, I almost forgot, Derpy dropped off a letter for you earlier... Well, I think it was for you anyway."
"You think?" Starshadow asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend. "How is it not clear who it's addressed to?"
"Well, remember I said Derpy dropped it off here? I meant that literally. She dropped it down the chimney." Vinyl said, pushing a soot-covered envelope towards Starshadow.
Starshadow sighed, looking at the dirty envelope and saw that the soot had completely covered who it was from. She could barely make out an 'A' on the envelope where the addressee's name went, evidence that the letter was most likely for her, but the return address was completely obscured. She knew that she wouldn't know who it was from unless she opened it to read the letter, and for a brief moment she worried that it was another letter from Polaris. However, she reasoned that there was no way that he could track her to this small village so quickly. Hoping that she wasn't about to accidentally open somepony else's mail, she carefully opened the envelope. She saw that it was indeed for her and from her sister and began reading it, happy that the soot didn't damage the paper.
My dear sister,
I am happy to hear you have moved out of Cloudsdale because now I can actually come visit you, and especially after hearing that Father may have found where you lived there. I have absolutely no idea how he managed to find you, but there's no way he'll find you where you are now. I don't think he even knows that Ponyville exists. I know I didn't hear of it until I met Octavia, but that's only because she used to live there.
The orchestra last performance for this season is later tonight and afterwards I'll have the next few weeks free, so I was thinking of coming down to Ponyville to come see you. Don't worry, if Father finds out I will tell him that I'm simply taking a short vacation with Octavia, since she's accompanying me. She has some business to attend to there, so it works out well for both of us. We'll be staying at one of the small inns in town that is close by to where you now live. I can't wait to see you!
Your loving sister, Starsong
Starshadow's heart leaped with joy as she reread most of the last paragraph. Vinyl looked at her roommate's smiling face, never having seen Starshadow look this happy before. "What's up? Princess Celestia choose you as the next ruler of Equestria or something?" she asked.
Starshadow couldn't stop smiling as she shook her head. "Even better! My sister is coming to Ponyville! Dear Celestia, it's been forever since I've seen her...!" she said.
"Really? That's awesome!" Vinyl said. "Hey, since you'll be busy showing her around town and catching up, maybe I can look after Big Mac for ya since you'll be busy."
Starshadow stuck her tongue out at Vinyl. "Nice try, but he's the one who will be showing us around town." she said. "Besides, you'll have somepony to keep you company. My sister said that your friend Octavia is coming with her."
There was a very long, awkward pause at this as Vinyl went very quiet at the mention of her old roommate. While she struggled not to let on that she was upset, it was painfully obvious to Starshadow. "O-Octavia's coming?" Vinyl finally said after almost two minutes of silence.
Starshadow nodded, her smile gone by then. "Y-yeah, they didn't say exactly when but I would think very soon." She answered. The mirth that had been in her voice was gone, replaced with concern for her friend. "Aren't you happy to see her?"
"Um... y-yeah, sure. Hey, uh, I gotta go do... something. I'll be back in a bit." Vinyl said, excusing herself from the table without another word and leaving the house.
Starshadow wasn't sure what had made Vinyl so upset and tried to think of what may have caused her to leave so suddenly. In all the time she had known the DJ she had never seen her so down like this. Finally, she reasoned that it must have something to do with her old roommate, Octavia. She had no idea what had happened between her and Vinyl, in fact she'd never even heard the name before Starsong mentioned her in her previous letter, but whatever it was had clearly left a major sore spot on the DJ...
Hoping that Vinyl wouldn't be upset for too long, Starshadow decided to go and make sure she had everything for her first solo show later that night. During the past week of excitement and drama, she had almost forgotten that the weekend was once again here. Thankfully, she still had everything packed up from her show last week with Vinyl, plus the DJ had managed to convince the club owner to have two stagehoofs coming to her house to bring the heavy equipment to the club and set it all up for her so Starshadow didn't have to by herself. She was a little disappointed that Vinyl wouldn't be joining her for her performance tonight and tomorrow night, but she needed to take some time off after the tour she just ended. Plus, after learning that Octavia was coming back to town, she was probably in no mood to play...
While not as crowded as her first concert with Vinyl Scratch, the turnout for Starshadow's concerts was still impressive. That one night playing with Vinyl had earned her some very good publicity as well as a solid fan base. The ponies loved her music, and after the second night the owner came by and handed her a pouch of extra bits. He had been a little unsure if a lone keyboardist could keep the crowds entertained for the three hour slot Starshadow had to fill each night, but Vinyl had secretly made a bet with him saying that she would have no problem. The club owner apologized for doubting her talents and told her that he was happy to lose this bet and confirmed that he wanted her playing every weekend at his club.
Starshadow was elated to hear such praise, and when she got home after the second night she couldn't help but kiss Vinyl in thanks for helping her land such a sweet gig. Under normal circumstances things would have definitely heated up and both mares would have wound up in Vinyl's bed, but the unicorn was still feeling depressed and retired to her room alone for the night. Starshadow followed suit, somewhat exhausted by the two nights of playing and dancing. She loved to perform, of course, as well as everything that had happened to her recently. The only thing she was somewhat saddened by was that her sister hadn't arrived in town yet, but there was always tomorrow.
The next morning, Starshadow heard a knock on her door just as she was walking to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. She didn't want to admit it but having coffee every morning was starting to become a routine, along with a walk through the quiet morning streets of the small town, and the sound of somepony knocking somewhat annoyed her. She sighed, hoping that her coffee wouldn't have to wait too long and sluggishly trudged over to the door. "Derpy better not be stuck in another tree." she muttered to herself. She finally reached the door and opened it, but her look of annoyance immediately changed to pure happiness as the pony outside was who she had been waiting for.
Standing in front of Starshadow was a yellow unicorn who had the same silvery mane and tail color as her. She looked absolutely perfect, she had an elegance about her that would make even Fleur Dis Lee look like a common pony, yet at the same time there was a youthful innocence about her. Her cutie mark had the same aurora background as Starshadow's, but the foreground was a string of triplet notes. The unicorn gazed at Starshadow with her deep blue eyes and her lips curled up in a smile. "Hello, little sister." she said.
"Starsong!" Starshadow exclaimed with excitement. Without a moment's hesitation, she leaped forward and hugged her older sister tightly. It had been far too long since she had seen her older sister, not since she'd moved out of Starsong's home all those years ago...
Starsong hugged her sister back tightly. "It's so good to see you again, Starshadow. I've missed you so, so much." The two siblings finally broke apart, though both were slightly teary-eyed. "I'm sorry we didn't show up sooner, we got stuck in Canterlot due to the paparazzi. We can't stay too long as our director booked us for a surprise performance in Los Pegasus, but I had to uphold my promise and come see you before we left."
A soft *ahem* from behind Starsong made the unicorn remember that she didn't come alone. "Oh yes, where are my manners...? Starshadow, this is Octavia." she said, gesturing to the earth pony standing behind her.
"A pleasure to finally meet you." Octavia said, stepping forward and shaking Starshadow's hoof. "Your sister here talks about you all the time. She tells us you're quite the talented pianist."
"Keyboardist, actually." Starshadow corrected her.
"Ah, my mistake. But still it's impressive none the less, especially since you're completely self-taught." Octavia said. "We're actually looking for somepony to replace our pianist since he's retiring in a few months. Maybe you would be interested in coming back to Canterlot with Starsong and me?"
Starsong knew that there was absolutely no way Starshadow would ever return to that city as long as Polaris was alive. Thankfully, Starshadow was able to calmly turn down the offer. "I'm sorry, I can't. I couldn't leave my special somepony for so long." she said.
Starsong was unable to believe what she just heard. "Wait, you have a special somepony?" she asked in disbelief, praying that it wasn't a lie. Starshadow still wasn't quite sure what Big Mac was to her, but he had called her his 'special somepony' multiple times, so she nodded yes.
"Seriously? Oh my gosh, I'm so happy to hear that!" Starsong exclaimed jubilantly. Starsong knew all about her sister's past and old 'relationships', but hearing that she was able to call somepony her 'special somepony' was a huge step. "Who is he? Does he live nearby?"
Starshadow blushed as she saw just how much of an interest her sister was taking in her new relationship. "Well, I was actually going to go over to his farm and see him today, since he has the day off. Do you want to come meet him?"
"Absolutely!" Starsong said excitedly. She normally would be slightly more hesitant in meeting one of her sister's partners, but on the train ride to Ponyville Octavia had reassured her that the small town was one of the safest places to live in all of Equestria. Almost no crime ever took place, not to mention that the bearers of the Elements of Harmony called this town home.
Starshadow turned back to Octavia. "Do you want to come with us? He has a new batch of Apple Cider he said he'd let us try." she offered.
Octavia shook her head no. "No thank you, I have some business to attend to before we leave tomorrow." she said, seeming to eye Vinyl's house with some sadness. "Starsong, I'll meet you back at the inn later tonight."
Starsong and Starshadow nodded. "Well, if you change your mind, we'll be at Sweet Apple Acres." Starshadow said before walking off. Though she still hadn't gotten her coffee, it was no longer needed. Seeing her beloved big sister was more than enough to energize the excited pegasus for days.
Octavia watched the two siblings walk off, weakly smiling before turning her attention back to the house in front of her. She thought back to the last time she had spoken to her old roommate; it wasn't even face to face, but over the phone. After ending her friendship, Octavia had asked a few friends to go to Ponyville to collect her things to avoid seeing Vinyl, and since then the two hadn't spoken to each other. Slowly walking up to the door, she sighed and knocked on the door. Hopefully this thing she had to do would be done quickly...