Vinyl walked home slowly, tracing the route from memory. She didn’t bother watching where she was going. Why would it matter? Everything was over anyway. And her day had going well until Bon Bon...

“I don’t think this is working. You just seem… different.”

Who are you calling different, you… you… Whatever the word was, it wouldn’t come. Vinyl’s home loomed in front of her like a prison. She wanted nothing more than to collapse in her mother’s lap and feel her run her hooves through her mane like she always would. But will she even want to hold me if she finds out I like mares?

Vinyl took a breath, then pushed the door open and walked inside. Her mother was playing the piano. Claret gave her daughter a smile, immediately noticing her glum expression.

“Hello, dear. How was school?” Claret stopped playing and turned to focus on Vinyl.

“It was –” Vinyl paused “– fine. Just fine.” She slumped onto the sofa.

“Are you sure?” Claret got up from her piano bench and sat next to Vinyl.

“I told you, I’m fine.”

Claret shook her head slowly. “You don’t sound fine.”

Vinyl snorted, crossing her forelegs.

“Vinyl, I’m your mother. You know you can tell me anything.” She placed her hoof on Vinyl’s shoulder.

“Mom, I already told you, I’m…” Vinyl shuddered, her heart pounding. “I’m not fine.”

“What’s wrong, dear?”

Vinyl sat there in silence; she knew that her mother was onto her, and would have to tell her.

“You’d love me no matter what, right mom?”

“Of course I would,” Claret replied hastily, her eyes wide.

“Even if I was different?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, see I have this friend, and she told me today that she’s… well, attracted to mares. And I’m trying to figure out what to think about it. I mean, she’s still herself, so it shouldn’t be a big deal, right? I mean, If I was–you know–too,” Vinyl broke off, looking out the window and rubbing her foreleg, “you wouldn’t look at me differently. Would you?”

“Well,” Claret said, thinking for a moment. Vinyl had always been different from her: the way she talked, the way she dressed herself, but she had always been content to dismiss it as the generational gap. “I wouldn’t think of you any differently. What’s important to me is that my daughter gets to have a long, happy life.”

“I—” Vinyl stopped, taking a deep breath to prepare herself for whatever her mother had to say. “I think I like mares then, mom.”

“That’s—” Claret paused. “How long have you known you liked mares?”

“A long time, I think. It just wasn’t until the last two years I realized what it was I was feeling about other mares. I wanted to tell you sooner or later, but I was afraid you would hate me.”

“Of course not, Vinyl. You are my daughter; I would never hate you over something like that.” Claret smiled. “Come here.” She pulled Vinyl into a hug.

“Thanks, mom,” Vinyl said, wiping her eyes.

“Is there anything else you wanted to tell me?”

“My girlfriend broke up with me,” Vinyl whimpered. Despite her best efforts, tears formed and rolled down her cheeks.

“Oh, poor baby,” Claret said, running a hoof through her daughter’s mane. “Do you want to talk about it?” Vinyl shrugged, so Claret asked anyway. “How long were you two together?”

“Only 2 months—and she was my first,” Vinyl added hastily. “When she left, she said it was because I was different from other mares.”

“How so?”

“I wish I knew! She said I don’t do things like other mares do. I dunno. Because I don’t get makeovers? O-or wear fancy dresses?” Vinyl cried into her mother’s shoulder. “What’s so wrong with me being me?”

“Vinyl, you shouldn’t be ashamed of being yourself. Anyone who doesn’t like who my daughter is inside doesn’t deserve her.” She patted Vinyl’s back.

“I know,” Vinyl tried her best to talk, sniffling.

“She was only one mare among many others. I am sure you will find someone else that fits you like a glove.”

The two sat there in silence for a moment. Vinyl cried into her mother’s shoulder, and Claret held her tightly until she calmed down.

“Thanks, mom.”

Vinyl opened his eyes. It was the middle of the night, and he was lying next to Octavia in their newly-arranged bedroom. He glanced over to the clock on the bedside table, which showed it was only 4AM. With the thoughts of his mother still at the back of his mind, he got up out of bed and headed downstairs.

Using a spell to emit a dim light, he walked downstairs into the dark living room and turned on a single lamp to dimly light the inside of the home. He then walked into the kitchen and opened the door to the fridge looking at anything he could snack on late in the evening.

He raised an eyebrow, surprised to find that Octavia bought a case of beer at the convenience store. But there it was, right in the center of the top shelf of the fridge and covered in inviting red print. He took a can, closed the fridge again, and moved to the kitchen table, popping the tab of his beer and taking a few sips.

He then heard someone walking down the stairs slowly. A moment later, Octavia shuffled into the living room. She looked around and saw Vinyl sitting in the kitchen, blinked the sleep from her eyes, and moved to join him.

“Something bothering you?” she asked. Vinyl drinking her beer couldn’t be a good sign.

“Just thinking about my mother again. The good times, nothing bad.”

“I wish I had good memories of my own family.” Octavia walked over to the fridge and grabbed another drink for herself, then sat at the opposite end to drink with Vinyl.

"Well, that's dark."

"You're marrying an artist, hon. We're not exactly famous for being happy or well-adjusted."

"Fair point. So, since when do you drink beer? I thought you only liked the fancy stuff."

“I did go to college.” Octavia took a sip of her beer, and grimaced at the taste. Vinyl chuckled and levitated his beer over to Octavia’s, tapping it.

“Cheers, to our successful move.”

“Cheers.” Octavia took another sip, and seemed to find it more to her taste the second time around. After the toast, they both sat in silence for a minute, taking in the sound of insects chirping outside. Octavia was the first to interrupt the silence.

“So Vinyl, you told me about your mother, but you’ve never said much of your father. I don’t mean to pry; I just assumed there would be a picture of him or something. Where is he now?”

“He bailed on my mother when I was born, so I don’t really know anything about him. Mom never felt like talking about him.”

“Oh.” Octavia took a sip of her beer, then sat fidgeting with the tab as she tried to think of something to say. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Nah, it’s not really some huge emotional thing. I just don’t have anything to be emotional about. Sometimes I wonder, but after all the crazy sex I’ve seen at my own shows, I’d rather not think about it.”

“I doubt your mother would be the type to conceive you in a bathroom stall.”

"No, of course not. It was probably very normal, loving—actually, can we not talk about my mom and dad doing it?"

"Fair enough."

“And I know your family is more or less a bunch of jerks, right?”

“My mother, yes, but my father still paid for my college even after rejecting me. My mother was enraged, but he said he still wanted me to pursue my dreams.”

“I’m sorry you had to grow up with bad parents.”

“You’re sorry?” Octavia raised an eyebrow.

“I lost my parents. You were rejected by yours.” He took down the rest of his beer. “In a way, I’d say that’s worse.”

“I see your point,” Octavia said with a nod. She tipped back her can and downed the rest of her beer.

“You think my mother would still accept me? After this transition?”

“Of course. You yourself said you loved your mother, and I imagine she loved you in return. Why would she throw that away?”

“You’re right.” Vinyl paused. “I don’t know about my friends, though.”

“We’ll worry about that tomorrow; why don’t we head back to bed?”

“Yeah.”

Both ponies left the kitchen and walked upstairs back into the bedroom. Vinyl tore back the sheets and hopped in, while Octavia slid in gracefully.

“I love you, Vinyl.”

“I love you too.”

The sun shone through the curtains into the bedroom while birds chirped outside. Vinyl woke again to the peaceful Ponyville morning with which he had once been so familiar, and smiled as he let the the chirping of birds and chattering of occasional passers-by draw him the rest of the way out of sleep. It felt like ages since he'd woken up to such a quiet and beautiful morning.

After a few minutes, he couldn't lie still anymore, and turned to look over to Octavia. She was still asleep. Moving over to her side of the bed, he leaned over her and nibbled on her neck. Octavia groaned and opened her eyes.

"Well, you're certainly amorous this morning."

"Ahm ha hampihre," Vinyl said through a mouthful of neck.

Octavia smiled, then looked over at the clock. "It's too early. Sleepy blood's no good for you anyway," she said with a yawn.

"How about a nice hot shower to help wake you up?"

"Mmm... sounds nice, but gimme five more minutes." Octavia rolled over, pulling the covers up over herself.

“Okay.” Vinyl got out of bed and immediately opened the blinds, letting the full morning light into the room.

“Noooo…” Octavia mumbled, trying to cover her eyes with a sheet.

“I’m going to heat up the shower. Not sure how well the water heater works.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll be up soon.”

Vinyl walked into the bathroom. Turning on the lights, he stepped into the shower, and turned the water on. It took a minute, but the water heated up soon enough and steam started to fill the room. Octavia trudged in behind him.

“I’m up.”

“Good. Water just heated up.”

Octavia stepped in first and her coat began to get wet, taking in the fresh water for herself. “Is there any soap in here?”

“Nope.”

Vinyl immediately jumped in and held onto Octavia, kissing her from the neck down.

“Vinyl—! Ah!” Octavia squealed. “Don’t make me jump when I’m in the shower,” she groused as Vinyl kept kissing further down. “Ninety percent of accidents happen in—oh. Oh my. Okay, this is a good start to the morning.”

After their morning kickstart, Vinyl and Octavia were in the kitchen. Vinyl stood at the stove, making scrambled eggs while Octavia sat at the kitchen table sipping her coffee.

“Other than what happened late last night, did you sleep okay?”

“Never better.” Vinyl removed the pan from the heat and split the scrambled eggs onto separate plates. “It’s nice waking up to peace and quiet compared to the chaos of Manehattan.”

“I’ve grown used to waking up to street noise every morning. This is a nice change, though.”

“Wait until you meet my friends.” Vinyl placed a plate of scrambled egg in front of Octavia, then sat down at the opposite end of the table with his.

“Are you going to introduce them to me today?” Octavia broke up her eggs with a fork and began eating.

“Yeah.” Vinyl chewed a large mouthful of egg. “At least my friends Pinkie and Rarity. They knew both my mom and I pretty well. I think they will be surprised to see me.”

“I hope they will be all right with the ‘new you’.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. There will be ignorant ponies everywhere, but Rarity and Pinkie are probably the nicest ponies I know here.”

After breakfast, Vinyl and Octavia left the house and walked outside.

“Vinyl, I liked your eggs, but I think I’m still hungry.”

“No worries.” Vinyl pulled out a cigarette and had his first smoke of the morning. “We’re actually headed to a bakery to visit one of my old friends. If she still works there, that is. Her name’s Pinkie Pie.”

“That sounds delightful.”

The two passed by a few ponies along the way, some giving a nod or the occasional "morning" along their walk. Octavia followed Vinyl as they cut through the business district to the main street, where shops and restaurants were thriving. They soon came upon a building that looked for all the world like a gingerbread house, complete with a cookie-tiled roof, candy-cane pillars, and frosting trim.

“This is it—Sugarcube Corner.”

“It looks... nice. Er, do gumdrops and gingerbread meet current fire safety standards?"

"Oh, I'm sure everything's fine." Vinyl grinned, leaning in and bumping noses with Octavia. "All that worrying's gonna give you wrinkles,” he teased in a sing-song. “Just don’t try to eat the place. All that color is actually paint."

As Vinyl and Octavia opened the door and stepped inside, a small bell rang above them. The storefront was empty, with no one in sight.

“Um, hello?” Vinyl said.

“Just a second!” a mare yelled from the back kitchen. “Oh! Jelly belly! Must be someone familiar!”

“What did she say?” Octavia raised her eyebrow.

“Don’t think too much of it,” Vinyl said. “It’s just kinda something she does.” Soon a pink mare with a super curly mane sprang from the kitchen and began circling Vinyl.

“Hmmm…” she said, prodding his side. “You look familiar and I know I’ve seen you before, but something is different.” She placed her hooves and looked deeply into Vinyl’s mane. “Especially with this mane color—very familiar. And very blue.”

“Excuse me, ah, Miss,” Octavia interjected. “I understand that you are excited, but release my fiancé at once. He’s not a toy.”

“He? Oh, it’s even more confusing now! See, you reminded me of someone except she was a filly and you’re not a mare and I’m sorry but you just seem so familiar, but...” she said, starting to sweat.

Vinyl sighed and stepped in.

“Pinkie, it’s me. Vinyl, Claret’s—”

“OH MY GOSH! VINYL!” the pink mare immediately screamed, hugging him tightly and lifting him up.

“Hi, Pinkie,” Vinyl said, with a flush of embarrassment. “You can put me down now.”

“Oh, sorry!” She let go of Vinyl. “You just look so different!”

“Yeah. To make things simple, I am sort of a stallion now.”

“Oohhhhh. I don’t exactly get it, but I’ll pretend to understand.” Pinkie turned to Octavia with a big smile. “And what’s your name?”

“Octavia. Octavia Melody.” Pinkie raised her eyebrow at Octavia’s accent.

“Heh. Always going for the fancy ones, eh Vinyl?” Pinkie nudged his side.

“Uhhh—”

“Vinyl?” a voice called from the back of the kitchen. A moment later, another mare with a crème coat and a multi-colored mane appeared in the doorway, then froze.

“Bon Bon!?” Vinyl yelled, blinking and rubbing his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“Wow,” she said, looking at Vinyl. “I couldn’t help but overhear, and I can see why Pinkie was confused.”

“Vinyl, who is this?” Octavia said, staring at Bon Bon.

“Just an old ex of mine, way back from high school.”

“Oh.”

Bon Bon giggled. “I can see you two are doing well.”

“Mostly, yeah. Octavia and I moved here just yesterday, so I’m showing her around.”

“Vinyl, I’m still hungry.” Octavia rubbed her stomach for emphasis.

“Oh yeah. Do you serve anything for breakfast, Pinkie?”

“Yes indeedy! A full load of carbs and sugar is the best way to start your day, I always say!” Pinkie cheered, then giggled. “Oh, that rhymes! Anyway, why don’t we chat for a bit? We don’t get much business until the afternoon.”

“Hey Lyra!” Bon Bon yelled across the store.

“Yeah, baby?” said a mint green mare, popping her head out of the kitchen.

“Can you handle things for a little while I catch up with my old friend?”

“Sure thing!”

“Who was that?” Vinyl asked Bon Bon.

“My wife.”

A few minutes later, the four ponies sat together at a corner table with coffee and bagels. Octavia nibbled and sipped her way through hers while Vinyl caught up with his old friends.

“So where are the Cakes? Took the day off?” Vinyl took a sip from his coffee.

“They retired about three years ago and sold the business to me. Can you believe it? It’s been hard, but we have been doing very well,” Pinkie said cheerily.

“And what about your business, Bon Bon? I thought your family owned a candy shop.”

“Well, we were doing all right, and things were going pretty well for the first few years that I took over, but ponies started to lose interest after Sugarcube Corner started getting big. The year I married my wife, we had to close shop.” She looked over at Pinkie. “Thanks to Pinkie, however, we managed to merge our businesses and are now both a bakery and a sweets shop. Lyra and I have been working here for the past two years and love it here.”

“Glad to hear things are going okay.”

“Well, having to close down wasn’t exactly great, but now that we’re together, we’re an unstoppable team. That feels pretty good. So anyway, what about you? What exactly happened?” Bon Bon asked.

“What do you mean?” Vinyl raised his eyebrow

“Well, you. The entire stallion thing?”

“I’m a stallion.” Vinyl shrugged. “I’m not really sure what there is to explain; I just kinda am.”

“Well, how long has it been going on?”

“I’ve only started with the short hair and such for the past two weeks, if that’s what you mean, but I’ve known for at least a year. It’s always kinda been there at the back of my mind, though. Something never felt right.” Vinyl laughed nervously. “I guess you were right. I’m different.”

Bon Bon smiled, but covered it with a cough. “And how long have you and Octavia been together?”

“Three years,” Octavia said, setting her mug down resting her hooves on the table.

“And you are okay with Vinyl doing this?” Bon Bon asked.

“Yes. I may have proposed to my fiancé when he was a mare, but I like him for who he is.”

Octavia sipped her coffee. “These past two weeks have not been easy, but I will never leave Vinyl. Ever.”

Vinyl kissed Octavia, who blushed and nuzzled his cheek.

“Wow.” Bon Bon took a sip of her coffee. “I feel the same way about Lyra. It’s hard to believe we’ve been married for four years already. Four years and still going strong,” she cooed.

Octavia coughed, fidgeting with her knife and fork. “Anyway, we are getting married once we are settled in. Actually,” Octavia said, a smile slowly spreading across her face, “Vinyl and I were wondering—can we hire you three for catering?”

Bon Bon opened her mouth to reply, but Lyra called for her from the kitchen. “Sure, but Pinkie’s the one to ask.”

“Of course!” Pinkie cried immediately.

“Before that however, I was actually wondering if you could help us, Pinkie.” Vinyl said.

“Anything! Well, almost anything!”

“Since we just moved here, both my fiancée and I are sort of unemployed. I have my own plans, but Octavia’s looking to make a name for herself as a cellist. Do you know of any jobs or gigs in the area that would suit her?”

“Hmm.” Pinkie placed her hoof over her chin. “Lyra plays the lyre during her spare time, and you will find jam sessions at the coffee shop during the evening. That’s about it.”

“Not what I was hoping for.” Vinyl sighed. “Do you know any places where she can play?”

“I know! How about Octavia play here? This part of town is silent and could use some activity! It’s not the biggest money maker, but she can enjoy what she does.”

“You mean be a street performer? Vinyl, that’s what poor ponies do.”

“Aw, come on; it’s not a bad idea. We all need to start somewhere.” Vinyl smiled.

“But I’ve already started. At galas, garden parties and the like. Not on some street corner, like I’m one step away from jingling a tin cup.”

Vinyl shook his head, holding in a laugh. “Things work differently in small towns like this, hon. There aren’t homeless ponies, or any classes to speak of, really.”

“You wouldn’t be playing out on the street, silly,” Pinkie chimed in. “You’d be here. Bon Bon’s actually been trying to give this place a bit more of a cafe vibe, so we were thinking of adding a small stage area near the doors.”

Vinyl nodded. “You’d be an integral part of a successful local business, adding color to everyone’s day. Isn’t that what art’s for?”

Octavia sighed. “I suppose I could give it a try. It’s going to take some time to get used to how different everything is here.” She stood up, stretching out her back and sighing, then turned her focus back to Pinkie. “Would tomorrow be a good time? I’ve hardly found time to practice over the past few weeks, and I fear I’ll get rusty if I delay any longer.”

“Sure! You can play here any time!”

Vinyl and Octavia waved to Pinkie, Bon Bon, and Lyra as they left the bakery.

“I’m glad you got to see your old friends again. And it was nice meeting Pinkie Pie. She seems… lively,” Octavia said, kissing Vinyl.

“That’s one way to put it.” Vinyl giggled. “So, mind telling me what all that tension was about in there?”

Octavia suddenly found a tree they were passing to be extremely fascinating. “Tension? I’ve no idea what you mean.”

“You were jealous in there, weren’t you?” Vinyl poked Octavia’s side and grinned.

“Nonsense. Why should I ever be jealous of an old high school sweetheart… who’s happily married, and living her dream with a little country house and a white picket fence?”

“I wasn’t expecting to see Bon Bon either. But seriously, I thought you might deck her.” He laughed.

“You know I’d never do such a thing unless it became necessary. It’s just… meeting exes is always awkward. I don’t quite know how to handle it.”

“Well, she did break my heart in high school and made me write awful, angsty music.” Vinyl shrugged. “It’s not like you don’t have any exes of your own, right?”

“I do. Ten, actually.”

Vinyl stopped, hooves scuffing the dirt road. “Ten?”

“I believe so.”

“You believe so?”

“Yes. I have excised them from my life with a vengeance, so I may have forgotten some of them.”

“Excised?”

“I don’t break up with anyone to ‘still be friends.’ If they’re out of my life, that’s that.”

“Damn, filly.”

“Do not worry; I have no plans to get rid of you.” Octavia stuck out her tongue. “At least not until I’m famous enough to marry Celestia.”

“You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

“Possibly.”

Vinyl stared at Octavia blankly, with her returning a smirk. She continued walking, and he had to trot to catch up.

“At any rate, didn’t you say we are going to meet someone else?” Octavia asked.

“Yeah, my friend Rarity.” Vinyl pulled out another cigarette and lit up while they walked past a few businesses.

“The one your mother bought dresses from?”

“Yeah.”

“Bit of an age gap, isn’t it?”

“Oh, she’s not as old as my mother. About halfway between me and her, I think.”

“I suppose the more time you spend together, the less things like age seem to matter.”

As the pair stopped at a tall building, Octavia’s mouth dropped at the size of the shop. Three stories tall, it looked like a cross between a fairground carousel and a small castle keep: octagonal and spotlessly white, with streamers fluttering in the light breeze.

“Wow, I didn’t expect a dress shop to be so… grandiose.”

“She lives here as well. She’ll pull all-nighters sometimes, so it helps having her home and business in the same building.”

“I see.”

Inside, a mare with a snow white coat and an elegantly styled purple mane was adjusting the dresses she had on display.

“Hello and welcome to Carousel Boutique,” she said without even a glance. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Hey, Rarity.” Vinyl said, waving a hoof casually.

“That voice—Vinyl?” Rarity immediately turned around. “Darling, you’ve grown!” She blinked a few times, staring at his hair and manner of dress. “And you look different.”

“Yeah. I guess to keep it simple, I am a stallion now.”

“Oh?” Rarity paused for a moment. “Oh! I understand what you mean.”

“You do?”

“I have clients across Equestria, and that includes all kinds, including one client in town who used to be a stallion. She is a beautiful mare.”

Vinyl nodded.

“And who is this?” Rarity looked at Octavia, taking notice of her formal appearance.

“Octavia Melody.” She lifted her hoof and shook Rarity’s. “I am Vinyl’s fiancée.”

“Fiancée!?” Rarity gasped. “Congratulations then!”

“Thank you,” Octavia said.

“We still need to get settled here in Ponyville. Jobs, getting to know everyone, that stuff. But once we are done with that, we were hoping to celebrate our new lives by getting married. No set date, really, but would you be able to make a dress for Octavia?”

“I’d be proud to make a dress for your beloved, Vinyl. And not to put too fine a point on it, but shall I assume that you would like something other than a dress?”

“Yeah, I was kind of thinking of going with a tux. Do you know where I can get one?”

“My husband can take care of that, actually.”

“Your husband?” Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “I had no idea.”

“We haven’t been in contact for years, darling. How could you have? His name is Braeburn. I met him in a desert town called Appleloosa a few years back. We have known each other for a long while, but more recently one thing lead to another and we have been together for two years now.”

“Well, congrats.”

“Thank you.”

“So are you in the tuxedo business now, too?”

“Oh no; I am too used to making dresses to get into that. Male fashion really isn’t my… ‘thing’, as you say. It’s the waistlines, mostly. However, we do take measurements, send an order to a shop in Canterlot, and they ship it here; it’s a lovely little arrangement that really helps bring in the extra bits.”

“Always a business lady.”

“So, are you looking to place an order today?”

“We’ve still got a few details to hash out before we commit to anything.”

“I’m not a big fan of lace,” Octavia chimed in. “Vinyl likes how I look in it, but I’d rather be comfortable.”

“Soon, though.”

“Of course. Glad to see you are back in town, Vinyl.” As the couple left, Rarity turned and seated herself at her sewing machine, humming to herself as she worked the pedal.

“She seems like a hard-working mare,” Octavia commented as they strolled down the dirt road towards their new home.

“She certainly is,” Vinyl said with a nod. "I honestly don’t know how Rarity was able to start her business here, but somehow she’s ended up becoming a huge success. Even then, she’s always stayed here and never expanded.”

“Maybe the city life wasn’t for her, like you.”

“Probably.”

“I’m glad to see you being so open about your transition here.”

“Mhm. It feels pretty good. Like I can just start again here without worrying too hard about what they’ll think.”

“But it does raise a question in my mind. When are you going to call a doctor here?”

“What?”

“Surely you still want to proceed with the medications et al, like you explained to me when you first came out.”

“Well...” Vinyl bit his lip. “Yes. Of course I do, but, you know, I’m not sure I want to go through that again.”

“I know your appointment with that doctor in Manehattan wasn’t the best, but we’re in Ponyville now. I think we have both agreed on how different this place is, and we’ve had nothing but good experiences with ponies since we arrived.”

“Well, sure my friends are just fine with it, but a doctor’s different. What if he just calls me a freak or something and stops me from ever getting my medications?”

Octavia sighed, stopping and putting a hoof around Vinyl. “Do you honestly think that’s going to happen?”

“No, but—”

“But nothing. Sweetie, I know being able to fully be yourself will help you be happy. Just look how much this little bit has done for you already. Sure, the doctor might be… unhelpful, but unless you try, then you’re guaranteed to not get your medications. You can never win if you don’t try.”

“You’re right.” Vinyl sniffled and wiped his face. “There’s… dust in my eye,” he said when Octavia smiled.

“You need to do this.”

“All right. I’ll make an appointment tonight. Why wait, right?”