Chapter 11

The inside of the store was illuminated by the incandescence of rows of lights on the ceiling. There was a produce section in one corner and the other small portion of the store left was refrigerators full of stuff. It was late in the afternoon so most of the cashiers were on break and the store was mostly desolate except for vinyl and octavia, and a few other ponies scattered here and there. It was quiet except for the sprinkler systems for the fruits and vegetables, and the fans of the refrigerators.

I pointed out some of my friends who were looking at the celery. One was a light teal unicorn. Her mane was a sky-blue with white streaks in it, the only thing that didn't match her color blend was her golden eyes. The other was a sand brown earth-pony. Her curled hair was Dark blue and pink, and her eyes were blue. We walked up to them.

"Hey Lyra! Hey Bon-Bon!" I said when i was only a few feet behind them. They turned around and smiled. "What you guys doing here?" I asked them.

"Oh isnt it obvious we are just doin' some grocery shopping. Bon-Bon here needs some more ingredients for her… well bon-bons." Lyra nudged Bon-Bon as she said bon-bon the second time, Bon-Bon blushed.

"oh I forgot to introduce you to my marefriend girls." I grabbed octavia and pulled her next to me. "Her name is octavia. she took me in when i had no place to live-"

"Vinyl i didn't have much of a choice now did I? I couldent just let you be homeless." She butted in.

"Oh. well thats nice our friend Vinyl Scratch finally found her special somepony. We have to have a double date sometime don't we Lyra?" Lyra was looking at the celery but she nodded.

"Wait you two are going out with each other?" It was kind of a shock to me they were always close friends but i never thought that, either way they did make a cute couple.

"What!" Lyra turned around and dropped the lettuce she was looking at. "I thought we told you vinyl. Bon-Bon and I have been marefriends for a few years now. We plan on having a wedding but we're kinda low on bits though."

"That is a good idea vinyl maybe we should plan one for us." She nudged me.

"Maybe tavi we need a bit of money first."

"Yes! you two do make an adorable couple Lyra and I would love to attend your wedding. Come on lyra we have to head out there's still alot to do." Lyra Put the carrots in the basket she was levitating. "Sorry to cut our conversation short vinyl but Lyra and I have a few other stores to visit."

"Oh its no problem Bon-Bon we have some stuff to do ourselves." The two walked away and waved.

"They are nice, it was nice to know we aren't the only fillyfoolers in ponyville." What she said surprised me. We walked through the aisles quietly for a while.

At home, after putting away everything tavi sat on the couch. I joined her and sat right next to her.

"What did you mean by that we were the only fillyfoolers in ponyville?" She looked at me a bit startled.

"I didn't mean it was abnormal vinyl i just thought there weren't many two mare couples out there, that doesn't mean i love you any less." She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and went into the kitchen. "Lunch?"

"Yes please. What do we have?"

"Oh come on you were there with me…. ugh, we have some salad….. and... yeah we'll have salad for lunch." She took out the bag of lettuce and some other vegetables we bought and put them on the table. I got off the couch and telekinetically opened the cabinets and grabbed two bowls, then some silverware. I placed the bowls in front of tavi then me. Tavi sat down as i cut up some of the vegetables and put them in our bowls. "so. where do you know lyra and bon-bon from?"

"Oh. I know bon-bon from her shop near sugarcube corner, i used to get sweets there alot. Then i know lyra from a wonderbolt show. she was waving a neon foam finger or something and i asked her what it was after the show. She said it was a hand or somethin. Anyways while i was talking to lyra bon-bon came to her with some popcorn. so from then on i hung out with them here and there." Tavi was listening intently. she noticed i stopped talking and started eating again.

"Well thats cute, do you have any other friends vinyl?" She was in the middle of chewing so it was a bit tough to tell what she was saying.

"do i have any more friends?" She nodded with her cheeks full. "well… not really. Friends were never really a priority of mine. why do you ask?" When she stopped chewing I. started eating while i listened.

"Well i would expect a mare as lively as you to have plenty of friends." I recognized that she had a good point. I am pretty lively and some pony like me would have a whole bunch of friends. I wonder if some pony like her would have friends... Well if she was in a canterlot symphony then she would more than likely be good friends with other ponies there too.

"Well how bout you tavi you should have plenty of friends too, I mean you were in a symphony before you came to ponyville." She looked at me for awhile then at the ceiling the out the window for a while. She turned back and looked at me. she was trying to hide her emotions but, I've known tavi long enough to tell what feelings she tries to concede from me. It was a mixture of sadness, regret, and fear. I don't know how I could have caused her to feel this way.

"In truth vinyl I really never had any friends. As a little filly I was quite socially awkward. I was teased by the other fillies and colts. I was never invited to anything. I was always alone at the lunch table. It was horrible. Being isolated so long made me try to find something that suppressed all the neglection. Even at home my parents were always busy." The tears fell from her eyes and bounced off her cheek as she quivered and sobbed. "I was alone almost every day. Then one hearth's warming eve, when I was 9, I got my first present. The box was wrapped in old newspaper. I tore through it to find a cello. It was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen. The oak wood was clear coated and it glistened in the light. So every time I was alone I slowly taught myself how to play. At first it was very strange but after awhile I got it. At home when I was in my room and I played, as I cried silently to myself, my tears would roll down the body smoothly not leaving any bit on the cello before they hit the ground in a small puddle. In that puddle I saw a flash and what would appear in the reflection was my cutie mark. I was so excited but alas I had nopony to share my joy with. Even after I got my cutie mark I was still tormented. My classmates showed no magnanimity. I thought of just offing myself like every pony wanted... But... I..." She was emotional. Her salad was submersed in her tears. She was wailing out loud. I walked over to her and put my arm around her. She grabbed it and put in front of her face. We held each other close for quite some time. Her crying eventually subdued and she loosened her squeeze and looked up at me.

"You're not alone anymore tavi. Now I'm here for you. Im here forever." She smiled and wiped her tears. She went into the bathroom to wash her face and clean up. I emptied our bowls and stacked them in the sink. The table and floor had some of tavi's tears still on it. I grabbed the paper towels and started drying it up. As I was doing that I heard some ruckus from the hallway. When I finished I went into the hallway. Tavi didn't notice me and she walked right into my room. I walked in to find her trying to move my mattress. "Tavi! What are you doing?"

"Oh vinyl perfect timing. Could you be a dear and help me move this mattress down to the basement. Oh and afterwards you really should clean this room up before I help you move your stuff."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look at this floor. Papers. Cords, cans. I hear of a pegasus named fluttershy and she keeps her house cleaner than this and she has a handful of woodland creatures."

"No no not that. But, why do you want to move all my stuff, and more so to where?" She giggled and dropped a few papers and cans in a trash bin, which I totally knew was there.

"Why into my room of course. Now enough with 20 queries help me bring this downstairs." This was extremely unexpected of her but, I was excited to sleep in a real bed.