The house looked more like a storage unit than a home. Packed boxes were stacked on top of each other against the barren walls; all the pictures, art, and various decorations had been taken down. Vinyl and Derpy finished by placing a large cover sheet over the grand piano at the front of the home, closing the blinds to the window that it sat against.

“I think that’s it,” Vinyl said, rubbing the sweat off her forehead. She took a swig of water from her bottle and passed it.

“You're tired already? We only worked for half an hour.” Derpy stopped for a sip anyway.

“You know I was never fit compared to you.”

“I think running deliveries for the post office helped a bit.”

“Yeah.”

Vinyl walked to the center of the living room and looked around, picturing how the home was before it became filled with packed boxes and covered furniture.

“I wish I didn't have to leave.”

“I know this place has a lot of importance to you Vinyl, but you know we will have to have meetings at their headquarters. What are you going to do, commute every day? Not to mention, they're giving us free housing.”

“Even though I already own this place.”

“I'm sure you'll like it in Manehattan. The city has a lot more to do than Ponyville.”

Vinyl sighed. She knew Manehattan was a big place with more opportunities, but it wasn’t Ponyville. It wasn't her home.

“Can we say goodbye to my mother before we go, Derpy?”

“We still haven't gotten our tickets, so its best we go straight to the train station. You talked to her yesterday, didn't you?”

“I did, but I just wanted to say—” Vinyl was cut off by Derpy.

“Look Vinyl, we have a meeting with them tomorrow and even if we leave now, we won't be there until tomorrow morning.”

“All right, fine.” Vinyl sighed. “Can I just have a moment?”

“Sure, I'll be outside.” Derpy walked out and left her alone. Vinyl walked over to the large covered piano by the window and placed her hoof on it.

“Goodbye.” Lifting her hoof away, Vinyl turned to join Derpy outside.

“Hon, what’s wrong?” Octavia trotted up to Vinyl’s side. Vinyl said nothing, so she wrapped a hoof around his shoulders. “Did… they not like it?”

“The meeting didn't go well.” Vinyl shrugged out of Octavia’s embrace and walked over to the living room, collapsing onto the sofa. Octavia followed and sat next to him.

“What happened?”

Vinyl groaned. Octavia’s caring gaze only made the words harder to say. How could he tell her that he'd just thrown everything away?

He wanted to tell her that he was just kidding. That everything went great - so great in fact that he'd be bringing home more money than ever before. But when he looked up into Octavia’s eyes, Vinyl found himself blurting out the truth.

“Things didn't go well with my boss. Derpy and I got into an argument.” He stopped, taking in a breath of air and letting it out slowly. “And I quit my job today.”

Octavia’s mouth dropped.

“You what!?” she yelled, making Vinyl flinch.

“Things were not going well, so I quit.”

“And you didn’t even talk to me about quitting your job!? Vinyl, you coming out to me last week was unexpected, but at least it was something I could handle.” Octavia slumped back in her seat. Refusing to look at Vinyl, she stared daggers at the ottoman.

“Octavia, I’m sorry I did this without talking to you about it, but—”

“But what? You couldn't take a five minute break to tell me that you felt like throwing away our future?”

“No, I—” Vinyl squeaked.

“Do they not have phones at Manehattan Records?”

“No, I couldn't take it anymore!” Vinyl screamed. “I just couldn't, okay?”

Octavia sighed, halfheartedly punching the armrest before resting her head in her hooves. “Vinyl… I know you’re under tremendous stress at work, but this is really big. Not ‘I’m sorry I smoked in the apartment and set off the fire alarm’ big, I mean this is going to change our whole lives.” Octavia sniffled, wiping her face. “You can't just go and do these things on your own, because it’s not just you who has to deal with the consequences— it’s us.”

Vinyl tried to respond, to tell her how sorry he was, but no words escaped as he fell into Octavia’s lap and sobbed. Despite her anger, Octavia found herself stroking a hoof through his mane softly. Eventually, Vinyl quieted down and they were left unsure of what to say.

“So... what now?”

Vinyl groaned and stretched. “Since this place and a good chunk of its possessions are lent by my company, we have to move.”

“I figured,” Octavia sat next to Vinyl. “I know some ponies in the real-estate business, actually. You'd be surprised how many high society parties are just for new buildings opening. I’m sure if we explained our situation to them, they'd give us a deal on some nice places nearby. I know we have enough money in the savings to—”

“We're not staying here.” Vinyl said, cutting off Octavia.

“Excuse me?”

“In Manehattan, I mean.”

“You can't be serious. I know you are unemployed, Vinyl, but I still have work here.”

“Has anyone hired you as a full-time cellist since we've been together?”

“You're not turning this around on me,” Octavia snorted. “You're still the one in trouble here.”

“No, I don't mean it like that. Seriously, has anyone even offered you a full-time position?”

Octavia closed her eyes, thinking hard. Other than a few temp positions with some fairly popular groups, she didn't have a particularly steady income, and the prospect of being first chair in a symphony seemed no closer than when she started. “No.”

“Why do you think that is? You know you're a better cellist than anyone else.”

“Well, I-I simply haven't had my big breakthrough like you have. Not everyone is lucky enough to strike gold on their first try like you.”

“No, they're not giving you your big breakthrough. And they won’t. Because you're not one of them. And that’s what made me want to get to know you at that party all those years ago. They snapped me up because I was some young stupid DJ they could exploit. You deserve to do better than being stuck temping because you're not a snobby asshole like the rest of them.

“Manehattan is overcrowded anyway. I can make my music anywhere, and I just need to find an independent label somewhere in Equestria to get by. And in any other city but this one, you’d be the biggest cellist for miles!”

“You’re right,” Octavia said with a sigh. “I've lived here for a majority of my life and if something was going to happen in my career, it would have by now. The thought of leaving is just… frightening. Do you know what I mean?”

“So… you want to stick with me?” Vinyl asked.

“What? Of course I do,” Octavia laid her head on Vinyl’s shoulder. “I told you I would stick with you no matter what, didn't I?” She smirked a little as she waved a hoof in front of Vinyl’s face, showing off her gold band. “What did you think I meant when I said yes, silly?”

“Thanks.” Vinyl rubbed Octavia’s back.

“But where are we going to go?”

“Ponyville.”

“Pony…Ville?”

“It’s a small town below Canterlot. I, um, own a house there.”

“Oh, that’s good—wait, what?”

“I own a house there,” Vinyl said sheepishly.

Octavia’s blinked. “You own a house?”

“Um, yeah.”

“And you never bothered to tell me?”

“Yes?” Octavia’s eyes narrowed, and Vinyl immediately knew he’d made a mistake. “It’s just, I lived there since I was a child. Derpy actually lived with me there for a short time as well. Once I got the music deal we moved and have lived here since, but you can't just get rid of your home.”

“But why didn't you tell me?”

“I still pay insurance and property taxes on the house. It’s only a fraction of my paycheck, but money’s been tight, so I was worried you would tell me to sell it off.”

“I see,” Octavia said, still struggling to process it all. “I really wish you had told me, but at least you didn't temper tantrum us into homelessness.” Octavia shook her head, reaching out to stroke Vinyl’s cheek. “You'll still be sleeping on the couch for a while, though. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” Vinyl smiled.

“So, when do we have to move out?”

“Before the end of the week.”

Over the next few days Octavia and Vinyl spent their time loading a few personal items into cardboard boxes, leaving the rest of the items lent by Vinyl’s record label behind. By the end of the week, the apartment only contained a few bare necessities, almost as empty as the day he had moved in.

Vinyl haphazardly tossed a few last possessions into his saddlebags: his cassettes, Octavia’s books, and a folder containing important documents. Putting on his jacket, he checked the pockets to make sure he had his cigarettes and cassette player, then placed his saddlebags on his back.

“I think that’s it. Are you taking anything else?” Vinyl asked, looking over at Octavia.

“I already packed my clothes in those boxes we shipped.” She picked up her cello and bow, placing them carefully into a soft travel case, then swung the large bag onto her back and smiled. “This is all I need with me.”

Vinyl nodded and took one more walk through the apartment, scanning the rooms to be sure nothing was left behind and finishing at the front door.

“Ready to leave?”

Octavia stood in the living room, looking around the apartment one last time. She knew Vinyl didn’t like the apartment much, but it was where she had spent a majority of her time with him. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the door. “Let’s go.”

They both left the apartment behind and took the elevator down to the first floor. As the doors opened, a stallion at the reception desk spotted them and trotted over to head them off.

“Excuse me, but there is a large crowd of ponies with cameras outside the building. I think they may be here for you.” He said pointing to Vinyl.

“Paparazzi?” Octavia asked. The stallion nodded.

“Figures they only show up when things are not going well. You have a back door?”

“This way,” he said, opening the door behind his desk and walking through a back room. Unlike the entrance to the apartment complex, the floors and walls were mostly stained concrete. The three walked through a small, dusty break room with nothing but a table and vending machine.

They stopped at a door at the back of the room and the stallion pulled back a rather imposing looking deadbolt and swung the door open, presenting an even dirtier alleyway nestled between the apartment buildings.

“Thanks,” Vinyl said, giving the stallion a small tip and exiting through the back door. Octavia nodded to him and stuck close to Vinyl, the two walking through an alley between the tall buildings, where only the gaps in the rooftops provided a small opening for sunlight.

“Have you had to deal with ponies like that before?” Octavia said, sticking close behind Vinyl.

“Yeah, you can say they are one of the reasons I want to stay out of stardom.” Stopping at a large opening, Vinyl looked both ways before crossing an intersecting alleyway. “That and the screaming fans.”

The two spent another few minutes walking to the end of the alley, keeping their distance from the paparazzi at Vinyl’s apartment. Reaching the end, they found themselves on a street corner. Vinyl called out a taxi. One immediately stopped for them, and they both climbed on.

“Where to?” the stallion driving the taxi grumbled.

“Outer Manehattan Station.”

Arriving at the station, Vinyl gave a few bits to the driver while Octavia stepped off and looked around, taking in the city one last time.

“Are you going to miss it here?” Vinyl said, standing next to her.

“No… no, I've been here most of my life and am open to a change really.” She looked at Vinyl. “I just hope we don't run into any more trouble.”

“I'll make sure that doesn't happen.”

They both walked inside the station and got in line for tickets. The station was, like most days, packed full of both regular commuters and tourists.

“Next!” a mare said from behind the counter, and Vinyl and Octavia walked up to her.

“Two tickets for Ponyville, coach class please,” Vinyl said.

"One minute please—wait, did you say coach?"

"Yeah. Is something wrong?"

"Oh no, no," the mare said, waving a hoof dismissively. "It's just that you two look more like the kind who like to ride first class. Aren't you that famous DJ?"

"Yes..." Vinyl shuffled back and forth a bit. "I just... wanted to try something different." He fumbled with his saddlebag, which contained what was left of his earnings. There was easily enough to afford first class tickets, but who knew how long they'd have to coast on it?

The mare behind the counter processed the tickets and handed them to Vinyl. “Have a nice day.”

“Thanks,” Vinyl grabbed the tickets and passed one to Octavia.

“Next,” the mare behind the counter said again, while they both walked toward their train platform.

Arriving, a few ponies were standing around while others sat on nearby benches. Vinyl and Octavia remained standing as they waited for their train.

“So we're really doing this, leaving everything behind and starting anew,” Octavia said.

“Not everything,” Vinyl said, nuzzling her cheek. “I still have you.”

“That’s sweet.” Octavia smiled. “But you know what I mean.”

“If it means anything, Ponyville is beautiful town. I’m looking forward to seeing if anyone I know is still there, not to mention our wedding, once we settle.” Vinyl pulled out a cigarette and lit it up to have a smoke.

“I had to call that dressmaker. She thought we were cancelling our wedding when I wanted to cancel my dress order. I... hadn't realized crying could be so loud over the phone. However, when I told her about Ponyville, she said she had a friend there who specialized in dresses: a mare by the name of Rarity.”

“Rarity? I know her a little. My mother would visit her shop often for custom orders and would drag me along.”

Octavia’s ears perked. “You never mentioned your mother much.”

“It’s not like I don't love her or anything. I just… I don't like talking about it.” Vinyl saw the train coming, right on time. He quickly took another hard pull on his cigarette, trying to burn what he could before the train arrived.

“I understand.”

The train came to a stop, and on boarding, they found their seats adjacent. Vinyl took the window side and placed his bags underneath the seat in front of him, while Octavia sat on the outside, and kept her cello case in between the two.

“Why coach and not first class?” Octavia asked.

“Less attention, and you have to remember we are not going to be able to live a life of luxury like we did in Manehattan.”

“I see…”

The intercom rang across the train that it was about to depart, soon afterwards it began to move, departing the station and soon, the city. By then the sun had begun to set, the world transitioning from late afternoon into evening. Vinyl and Octavia looked out the window, watching the scenery pass from cityscape to countryside.

For the rest of the ride, Octavia read one of her books while Vinyl listened to his cassettes, the two holding each other’s hooves while they waited.

Once it got late, Octavia yawned and closed her book, setting her head on Vinyl’s shoulders, closing her eyes whispering to him.

“Let me know when we get there.”

“All right.”

Vinyl kept his headphones on, looking at the passing dark countryside. He was looking forward to heading back to his hometown, but how his past friends and acquaintances would take his new presentation felt uncertain, especially since he was returning without giving them a call or any other kind of notice. Will they recognize me? How will they feel about my new identity?