Moonlight's Sonata

Chapters

A Whimsical Performance
Enter the DJ
The Moon's Infatuation
An Interesting Night
Sunglasses and Bow Ties

A Whimsical Performance

It was a beautiful, and pleasant, fall evening in Canterlot. The night sky was clear of clouds and full of stars. The moon was as full and as bright as one could remember. There was just enough of a breeze to keep the night from being too calm and too still, yet it wasn't enough to give a pony a slight shiver. It was the perfect night for an outdoor concert. The Royal Amphitheater was proudly opened to the public an hour ago and after the opening ceremony, a backstage tour, and a speech given by Celestia herself, it was finally time to being the first show of the grand theater’s existence.

The lucky ensemble chosen to start this new era of entertainment consisted of four ponies: Frederic Forte on the piano, Harpo Clef on the harp, Beauty Brass on the sousaphone, and Octavia Melody on the cello. “Lucky” was a good way to describe the ensemble, although it didn't always necessarily meant good luck. After all, this was the ensemble during the Grand Galloping Gala fiasco that also involved an out of place rendition of the “Pony Pokey”. And then there was the annual garden party that Octavia and Harpo were a part of. Anypony that had witnessed either event would have assumed that inviting the ensemble to be the first act in the theatre’s history was some sort of compensation. That wasn't to say that the group had no talent. In fact, it was quite the contrary. These four ponies were already well known and accomplished musicians before being invited to the Gala. And tonight, they were going to show the audience just how good they were and prove the doubters that they were more than just the ensemble that played when the Grand Galloping Gala gaffe. One pony in particular wanted to use this performance to not only make others forget about the past, but also give her sense of validation.

That pony, Octavia, now stood center stage in front of the hushed crowd. This would be her moment, her time to prove that her dedication to her craft would pay off. All the days and nights spent practicing, writing music, dissecting the music of others were going to pay off for her. Those solitary days…those lonely nights…soon it would all be worth it. Equestria will know the fruits of her sacrifice and labor and they will love it. With her fellow ensemble members positioned and at the ready on both ends of the stage, she drew in a deep breath and took one last look at the crowd. That was when she saw her.

Princess Luna would stand out in any crowd. The fact that the princess was even sitting in the crowd, and not in the balcony with her sister, was rather peculiar. Stranger still was how nopony took notice of her being there. However, Octavia found something else strange about the princess being out there; those eyes. Those deep blue regal eyes that were locked onto Octavia’s location seemed to hold some sort of familiarity to the cellist. Octavia must have been staring back at the princess longer than she thought, as she heard a cough come Frederic letting her know it was time for her to start off the concert. Octavia took another deep breath, closed her eyes, and put her bow to string. The next hour was a complete blur to Octavia as the next thing she could recall was the sound of the collective clopping of the audience in appreciation hitting her ears. She opened her eyes and glanced to her fellow musicians that flanked her sides. They had soft smiles on their faces and were ready to give a bow to the crowd.

Octavia found it strange that she didn't feel the least bit tired, as she normally did after every performance, but chalked it up to adrenaline still being in her system. As the curtain closed and everypony was packing up their instruments and preparing to leave, a stage hand came up to Octavia with a message that somepony of great importance wished to speak to her in the dressing room. Before any discussion could be had, Beauty Brass decided to gather Octavia’s cello, while giving her encouragement to go meet this pony.

Normally, Octavia would have tried to back out or at the very least try to bring somepony along with her. But on this night, she was different. Octavia was energized and full of confidence, thanks to the apparent success of the performance. This mystery pony was obviously here to give Octavia and her ensemble praise and congratulations. Maybe even an offer to do more performances, or a tour. Octavia’s entire swagger quickly evaporated once she opened the door to the dressing room and saw what was waiting behind it. It was eyes. Beautiful blue eyes. The same pair of blue eyes, which caught and held her attention before the start of the concert. However, it was no longer just the eyes that was holding Octavia’s attention. The entire being of Princess Luna had captivated Octavia: her ethereal mane that looked like it was made with the stars themselves, the soft midnight blue of her body that could easily blend with the night sky, the white crescent moon that was resting on that patch of black that was located on her…

“Good evening, Octavia,” the princess greeted the cellist. Octavia was snapped back to her senses before she allowed her eyes to wander where they weren't allowed.

“G-good evening, y-your hign-ness.” Octavia tried to bow but she was now so full of nerves that she only succeeded in face planting herself to the floor. Octavia expected to hear the princess make a sound of disgust for her clumsiness, but instead she heard Luna make a different sound. She was laughing, and not in a way that would make a pony feel embarrassed. This laugh was gentle and affectionate and it took away most of the embarrassment that Octavia should have felt. Instead, it made the earth pony feel something else. Something Octavia couldn't quite put a hoof on.

“I believe you have already bowed to me from up on stage,” Luna said as she made her way to help Octavia stand back up, “There is no need for anymore formalities. After all, this night belongs to you and your ensemble.” Luna slid a hoof under Octavia’s chin and guided her back up. A simple thank you was all Octavia could manage out as she was once again lost in the deep blue of the princess’s eyes. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks when she realized that Luna’s hoof was still holding her chin. That blush only intensified when the princess moved her face to within a breath’s width of her own.
“Your music has filled me with such passion, Octavia,” whispered Luna, who was now blushing herself. “Please, forgive me for indulging myself so.”

Octavia knew what was about to happen, yet she dared not stop it. In fact a part of her yearned for it. She felt herself lean into Luna’s hoof in anticipation of the coming kiss, when she suddenly felt the hoof slip away and her chin came crashing back to the floor.

“Ohhh, that time that hurt,” Octavia said groggily. When she tried to gather herself back up she found herself unable to do so. “What on earth?” She looked about her surroundings and took note of where she was. She was wrapped in sheets…On the floor next to the bed…Inside her hotel room…With the morning sun gleaming through her windows.
And with a throbbing pain in her chin and jaw and a confused and cloudy mind, Octavia wondered out loud, “What in the world happened?”

Author's Note

And with that, I set hoof into the land of fan fiction. This was originally going to be for the Octavia X Luna shipping competition for the the Random Romance group. But the four year old computer crashed and by the time I was able to get a new one, the contest was too close to being over. Which was OK for me, as it gave me a chance to further flush this story out and make it a bit longer and the romance a bit more believable. I hope you all enjoy this first venture and I welcome any and all criticism. Can't get better as a writer if I only listen to the positives, right? If this chapter got you hooked, then be ready next week for chapter two.

Enter the DJ

"It is perfectly normal for a pony to have dreams," Octavia thought to herself as she began cleaning her room. "It is perfectly normal for a pony to have dreams involving elements of a romantic fantasy." Once she had the bed made, she proceeded to the bathroom to freshen up for the day. She grabbed her mane comb off of the sink and stood in front of the mirror. "And anypony," she mentally continued to herself, "can have said dream about anypony." Once her mane was back under control, Octavia set the comb down and reached for her tooth brush and tooth paste. "It doesn't matter if it happens to be a pony of royalty, does it? Certainly not. Nor does it matter that the royal pony has been rumored to be able to patrol the dreams of others. I'm sure she has ponies who dream of her all the time, in such a way." Octavia finished brushing her teeth, spat in the sink (in a ladylike manner, of course), washed her face and stared into the vanity mirror that was in front of her.

"Yes, Octavia. You have a problem on your hooves."

Octavia sighed and turned to leave the bathroom. She wasn't going to figure things out in there. "I need somepony to talk to," she thought to herself, "but it couldn't just be anypony." Octavia walked out of her hotel room and down the hallway to the stairs. "The pony has to have an open mind about matters like this. Somepony who wouldn't treat it like some scandalous affair...Even though it might be."

Before she knew it, Octavia had made it down the stairs to the lobby and was at the front desk. There didn't seem to be a lot of ponies in the lobby; there was a couple on the other side of the area chit chatting, a stallion that was resting comfortably on a recliner in the lobby's lounge area, and a well dressed mare on her way to the revolving door. Octavia looked at the clock behind the front desk and sighed., it was still rather early for most of her acquaintances to be up yet. Or so she thought.

Octavia's thoughts, and that of everypony in the area, were interrupted by a crash at the entrance and the appearance of a white unicorn mare with a wild blue mane and purple tinted sunglasses. Wearing a grin on her face that would make the Chesire cat proud and with a slight breeze going through her mane (from the rapid spinning of the revolving door she burst through) the unicorn opened her mouth to announce her presence.

"GOOOOOOD MORNING, MAREOTT HOTEL! THE GOLDEN GODDESS OF THE NIGHT HAS RETURNED HOME! Conqueror of raves and queen of the wubs, Vinyl Scratch is back from another all nighter of epicness!" The unicorn took a quick glance around the room before focusing her attention on the mortified grey pony with the treble clef cutie mark. "OCTY! What's up? I can't believe you are already awake! What, did you stay up the whole night worrying about little old me?"

"Vinyl Scratch, will you keep it down?" Octavia hissed as she made her way over to the brash pony, "there are still ponies who appreciate sleeping in at this hour."

"Oh lighten up, Octy," said a quieter Vinyl Scratch. "I doubt I disturbed anypony's beauty sleep. Even if I did, they are probably thanking Celestia that they were woken up by my awesome voice instead of some annoying alarm clock."

"I am pretty sure they would welcome the clock. And even if by chance ponies did appreciate the wake-up call, you can't just barge into an establishment like this acting like some drunk Minotaur. " Octavia pointed to the still spinning revolving door at the entrance while giving Vinyl a stern look. "You could have broken the door, not to mention the pony you ran over coming in here."

Vinyl's grin disappeared at the last part and she tilted her head in slight confusion. "Wait...what pony?" As if on cue, a groan came from under Vinyl, causing her to look down at the semiconscious pony on the floor between her legs. "Whoops."

Octavia placed a hoof on Vinyl's chest and pushed her into backing off of the mare. "I swear sometimes I wonder why I hang around you."

Vinyl's grin was back on her face as she looked Octavia in the eye. "Well that's easy to figure out," she wrapped a leg around Octavia and pulled her in close, "because I am absolutely great to be around and I am nothing like the normals that live in this city!"

Octavia let out an exasperating sigh and placed a hoof to her face. "I have to agree with you there, you are definitely unlike anypony that I know here in Canter...!" Octavia's ears perked up and her eyes lit up as a thought occurred to her. "That's it! Vinyl, you are perfect!"

Vinyl laughed and released Octavia from her grip to give her a light bump on the shoulder. "Why Octy, I am surprised. I know I am excellent and all, but perfect? Now you are just embarrassing me."

Octavia completely ignored Vinyl's comment as she began to physically push her friend out the hotel. "Come on, there is something serious I have to discuss with you. I'll even treat you to breakfast if you like. Anyplace in town."

"Ohhh, you really know how to treat a lady. Alright, if you stop pushing me I'll go talk with ya. And I know just the place to go, too! A very classy place."

Octavia backed off from pushing Vinyl and gave her a look of disbelief. "A classy place? That you go to? And you haven't been kicked out of it yet?"

"Yep! Has a real retro vibe to it. You will love it! Plus, at this time of day, we can get a booth."

As the pair left the hotel, Octavia continued to give Vinyl a look of incredulity. "What exactly is the name of this classy place?"
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
"Donut Joe's...Really, Vinyl?" Octavia was looking up at the neon sign that flickered on the small trailer styled building. "A doughnut shop is your idea of a classy eatery?"

"Hey now, it is more than just a doughnut shop," Vinyl began as she walked towards the door, "it is the doughnut shop. Plus he just expanded the menu so it is technically a diner now." Vinyl held the door open with her magic so as to allow Octavia to enter. "And it is home to the best coffee in Equestria, which is what I am going to need if you want to have a sit down with me after work."

"That reminds me. Why didn't you get back to the hotel earlier? I thought your..."gigs" only lasted until 3am?"

"Well, things got a little out of hoof last night and a couple of trouble makers decided to wreck the club. I decided to stay late after the show and help the owner clean up the place. Figured it was the least I could do since the guy did help me get started working as a dj." Vinyl became quiet for a moment, as if she was reliving some memory. The silence was brief as she then asked Octavia what she wanted to talk about.

Before Octavia could answer, the two were led to a booth table at the back of the diner by a waitress. Once they ordered their coffees and the waitress had left them alone with a couple of menus, Octavia was able to give Vinyl her story.

"I had a dream last night," she began while staring at the menu absently, "and honestly I am not sure what to make of it."

"A dream huh?" Vinyl asked from behind the menu that she was holding up. "Was it a wet dream?"

"No Vinyl, it wasn't a wet dream," Octavia blushed slightly at the comment and looked away from table altogether. Vinyl peeked out from behind her menu with a slight look of worry.

"Well whatever type of dream it was, it must have left an impression on you if that is the best reaction I can get out of you after making that suggestion." She placed her menu on the table and was now fully attentive to her friend. "So what happened to you in this dream?"

"Well you know about the knew amphitheater that is suppose to be completed at the end of the month right?"

"Of course, I actually have a few gigs lined up for it a couple months from now. You are writing a concert piece for it right?"

"Yes, I am writing a concerto to commemorate the grand opening. Actually, in the dream it was already finished and my ensemble and I were about to perform it."

"Wait this ain't one of those dreams were you realize you are naked in front of a large crowd, is it? Because I have news for you Octy, we are almost always naked in public."

"No Vinyl," said Octavia with a sigh,"I know its hard, but can you please try and be serious about this? I am having a hard enough time as it is."

At that moment the waitress arrived with the musical pair's coffee and was prepared to take their meal order. Octavia passed the choice over to Vinyl, who ordered two "Classic Joe plates." Octavia continued once the waitress had left.

"I was a little bit nervous during the preparations and warm ups. At the time I was remembering all the bad luck my friends and I have been through up to that point." Octavia paused as she felt a blush beginning to form within her cheeks. "That was when I saw her in the balcony. A mare with beautiful eyes."

"Ohhh, I know where this is going," Vinyl said with a grin that could be considered predatory. "Let me guess, after you saw her you got over your doubts and fears and the performance went without a hitch and you got a standing ovation?"

"Well...yes, exactly. I must say, that was very intuitive of you."

Vinyl took a gulp of her coffee and chuckled. "Yeah I read something like that in a romance book once."

"You read romance novels?"

"Hey I have a girly side, too. So what happened after the concert? Did you have a private meeting with your muse?"

"Ummm, well yes...but before you ask, no nothing happened. I woke up before it was about to go that route."
Vinyl gave a pout and a huff. "Awww, that is no fun. So if that is all that happened in the dream, whats the problem?"

"The problem involves the identity of the mare I saw."

"Oh? Ohhhh I get it now. No need to say any more."

Octavia raised an eyebrow at her friend. "I don't?"

"Nope. It is all clear to me now. Treating me out the breakfast was just a way to make it easier for you to tell me, as well as make it harder for me to give you a negative response."

"A negative response to what, Detective Scratch?"

"Why your undying love for me, of course! Obviously you I was the mare with the gorgeous hypnotic eyes in your dream. And while I am intrigued, I have to pass on you. No offense, Octy, but someone else has already caught my attention."

"OK, first it isn't you. And second, when did you develope a crush on anypony?"

"Again, contrary to popular belief I do have female interests," if Octavia could see through the sunglasses lense, she would have seen Vinyl try to avoid eye contact. She was however able to see the blush on her friend's cheeks. "Anyway, this isn't about me it's about you. Who is the mare in question then?"
Octavia once again became nervous as it was now the time to tell Vinyl about the pony in question. Instead of telling her who it was, however, she just let out what could best be described as a multi-syllable mumble.

"I didn't quite catch that, Octy."

"...Princess Luna," she muttered.

"Mistress Woona? I don't know who that is, but she sounds kinky!"

"Darn it Vinyl, I swear that hearing of yours... It was Princess Luna, OK? Mare of my dream is Princess Luna."

"...Whoah," for once it appeared that Vinyl was at a loss for words. But appearances can be deceiving, "I knew you aimed high, Octy, but wow going after the Princess takes a lot of guts."

Octavia's eyes light up and she became a little bit flustered. "Wait, I am not going after anyone! It was just a dream!"

"A dream that nearly had you becoming intimate with her after becoming enchanted by her, and I quote, "beautiful eyes.""

"That doesn't mean I am going to chase after one of the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria and ask her out on a date!"

"Why not?"

"Why not? Why not?! Because, she is a princess and I am just...me. Besides, would you have any idea how creepy that would be if I were to do it? "Hello your majesty, I had a dream that involved us nearly kissing each other. Would you like to go on a date with me?" Sorry, Vinyl I don't think she would react to that very well."

Vinyl leaned back against her seat and merely shrugged. "Oh I don't now about that. I bet she is more comfortable with it than you think. In fact I bet she has seen enough dreams like that to not be fazed by it anymore. Where is that waitress with our food? I am getting hungry. Not to mention my mug is empty."

"Wait, what did you say?"

"That I am hungry and the waitress might have forgotten about us. Are you going to finish that mug of coffee? I need more caffeine in my system at the moment."

"No, before that. You said Luna has seen enough dreams. Are you telling me she can do that?" Octavia was now becoming increasingly flustered.

"Oh yeah, she walks through a pony's dream to patrol for nightmares and such. Most pony's don't see her unless she wants them to. She can even interact with the dream, if the need calls for it. One of her night guards told me this when he was hanging around a club and was off duty." Vinyl looked out from around the booth and eyed the kitchen window. "By Celestia's beard, is the cook having to harvest the corn for the oil or something?"

Octavia's mind was too busy processing the new information about Princess Luna to comment. Luna visits the dreams of ponies. Luna can be seen by the dreamer and get herself physically involved if she wanted to. So if she wanted to she could step in to any dream and become physically involved with the dreamer's fantasy. She could talk to them, touch them, hold them, even...

"Oh my sweet aunt, I nearly kissed Princess Luna!" The entire diner went quiet as everypony was now looking at the booth were the cellist sat. Her face became an impressive shade of crimson and she sunk down as far as she could into the seat. "I said that a little loud, didn't I?"

Vinyl lifted her glasses off and looked at Octavia with surprise. "Wow, you have it bad. Now, you really have to ask her out."

"I am not going to ask her out on date. She would only say no, anyway. Besides, I have to finish the concerto before the grand opening."

Vinyl gave her a shrug and grasped the untouched mug of coffee in front of Octavia. "Well, if that is what you want to do that is fine by me. Although, I think you are selling yourself a bit short. I bet Luna would find you adorable."

Octavia met Vinyl's grin with a deadpan stare. "Whatever. I doubt it was the real Luna, anyway. Even if it was this whole dream thing is probably some passing fancy. A mere over reaction on my part. I bet by the end of the week I will have moved on and everything will be back to normal."

"Sure it will..." muttered Vinyl.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Vinyl quickly replied with a bit of chipperness in her voice. "Nothing at all, lover girl. Now if you excuse me, I have a cook and a waitress to rundown." With that, Vinyl Scratch left the booth to either bring back food or the heads of the staff.

Author's Note

I always wanted to do a diner scene.

Oy, this had quite a few rewrites to it. The dialogue never seemed quite right to me, while I was doing this. FrankIy, it still doesn't feel quite right. Oh well, moving on to the next chapter. The third chapter will take the focus away from Octavia for a bit and onto the other main character, Princess Luna.

The Moon's Infatuation

Another day has ended in Equestria.

Celestia let out a sigh as the last rays of the sun disappeared beyond the horizon. Right beside her on the look out balcony was Luna, lifting up the moon to take over where the sun left off. Luna couldnt help but chuckle when she heard her older sister let out a yawn. "Long day, Tia?" she asked with a grin on her face.

Celestia gave her little sister a glare through her half closed eyelids. "One night you will feel the wrath of paperwork, sister. Then you will know just how long my days can be."

Luna reached over and gave her sister a loving nuzzle. "Go and get some rest, sister. The villanous documents shall not reach you while you are under your covers."

Celestia returned the nuzzle and sighed, "One can only hope. Have a pleasant night, Lulu."

"You as well, Tia."

Celestia went to walk inside when she stopped and turned back to her sister, "Will you be patrolling the dream realm again, tonight?"

Luna paused, a slight blush appearing in her cheeks, "Perhaps..." she quietly answered.

"Perhaps?" Celestia took a step closer toward her sister. The hesitancy in her little sister's voice was enough to draw her attention away from the bed that was calling her name. "Is something the matter, Lu?"

"Nothing is wrong, per say." Luna allowed herself to smile as she thought about what she witnessed the previous night. A smile that did not go unnoticed by her older sister.

"Did something interesting occur last night?" Celestia walked up to Luna's side and looked at her sister in the face. She was now noticing the blush too. "Something that involves a pony's dream, perchance?"

Luna hummed to herself, as her mind continued to replay the dream, "Maybe..." she said quietly.

Celestia leaned in close to her sister, a smirk beginning to form on her face. It had been a while since she had seen her sister act like this, and the elder princess' mischief making nature was threatening to show. "Holding secrets from your big sister, hmm?" Celestia glided to the front of her sister, that mischievous smile growing slightly bigger. "And here I thought we were beyond that...unless," Celestia leaned her head in close, that smile becoming almost fox like in appearance. Luna had seen that smile too many times to take it for granted.

"Unless what?" Luna took a half step back from her sister.

"Unless it was one of those dreams. And I have to say you of all ponies should know how natural it is to have such desires." Celestia sat back on her haunches and looked up to the sky in reminiscence, "In fact I distinctly remember the one time you told me about the dream you witnessed that involved teenager..."

"WHAT!?! NO! NO, NO, NO!" Luna's face turned a brillant shade of purple, "It was nothing like that. And I thought you promised never to bring that up?" Celestia merely shrugged, that predatory grin still on her face. "This dream," Luna continued, "was something different. It was filled with such strong emotion and such pure passion..."

"So it was one of those dreams!"

"Sister!" Luna scrunched her face up and was glaring at her older sister.

It was all Celestia could do to stop herself from giggling at the sight of her sister being so flustered. "I'm sorry Luna," she apologized, "please continue. No more unnecessary interuptions." She held up a hoof in an honorable gesture.

"Hmph," Luna wasn't sure if she believed Celestia or not but she continued anyway. "It was a musician's dream. In fact, I believe it was one of the ponies who will be performing at the amphitheater's grand opening next month." Luna paused for a moment to think to herself. "Hmm, to be more specific it was the pony that volunteered to compose a piece for the occasion."

"You are referring to Octavia, the cellist," Celestia said with a slight nod. "She is indeed very talented, but she can be rather old fashioned and serious in her habits." Celestia smirked and gave her sister a sideways glance. "Much like a certain somepony that I know."

Luna either did not hear the last part of her sister's comment, or chose not to acknowledge it. "She is very skilled at her craft," she said with an air of dreaminess in her tone. "I have never witnessed music performed like that in over a millennium."

"How do you know," Celestia began, "it was really her performing naturally, and not something that resulted from her wishing for a performance like that to occur?"

"It is...hard to explain. I guess after all this time, I can just tell when the dream is controlling the pony and when the pony is controlling the dream. In this case, the dream was controlling her and she honestly thought she was doing a real performance." Luna sighed and smiled. "And what a performance it was. Oh sister, I wish you could have been there!" Without realizing it, Luna had begun to take flight above the balcony and was now doing her own aerial dance to the music that filled her head as she recounted what she experienced in Octavia's dream.

"I can not even describe it with words, it was so beautiful!" Luna twirled in the air much to Celestia's amusement. "It just poured out of her body through those deep purple eyes of hers and..."

"Purple eyes?" Celestia inquired.

"Yes! Deep purple eyes that were filled with passion and song, Tia! I know this from when she and I locked eyes on one another!"

"I see," Celestia gave her little sister a soft smile. "It seems Miss Octavia has an admirer." Celestia knew she should be going to bed, but she enjoyed seeing her sister this way. Besides, something about the way Luna was acting had peaked her curiosity about something. "So, I am correct in saying that she was able to see you in the dream?"

Luna stopped her solo flying ballet and looked at her sister. "She was, yes."

"And did you wish for her to see you?"

Luna blinked a few times as she realized that she didn't wish for herself to be seen by anypony in the dream. Even in a situation where under normal circumstances she would have been in plain sight, when Luna wants to remain an unknown in a pony's dream she remains an unknown. So the fact that this Octavia was able to pick her out so easily...

"Luna?"

Her sister's voice had knocked Luna off of her train of thought and back into the conversation at hoof.

"Sorry, Tia," Luna spoke with a little bit more reserve in her voice. "I was thinking about what you asked. No I did not wish for her to see me, but..." Luna paused.

"But?" Celestia leaned ever so slightly forward in her spot. She had a feeling where this was headed, but she needed a little bit more information to be sure.

"I can't help but feel glad she did," Luna looked away, a slight blush beginning to come back to her face.

Celestia gave her sister a motherly all knowing type smile and stood up. "I am happy for you, Lu. However, it is getting late. I have a bed that is calling me, and you still have a few stars to call forth."

"Oh basket willows!"

In her excitement she had forgotten that she still had her duties to perform for the night sky. She quickly said her goodnight to her sister and flew straight up into her night sky. Celestia shook her head and chuckled as she watched her sister take flight.

"Perhaps, I should make arrangements for a different princess to be present for the opening of the theatre. It is going to occur at night, after all." With a yawn, Celestia turned to leave the balcony and made her way to her bedchambers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luna flew past what little clouds were in the sky, and into the stratosphere. She stopped and hovered in mid air for a bit before deciding that her position was the perfect spot to do her work. Although, treating the night sky like a giant canvas was hardly work. Luna loved to fill her night sky with the stars and since returning from her banishment and learning of all the ponies who use her stars for so many different reasons, she has found the task more enjoyable than ever.

Luna closed her eyes and summoned the magic in her horn. As she did so, she kept an image in her mind. An image that has been close to heart for as long as anypony could remember. This image contained the blue print of her night: the constellations both their design and locations, the levels of brightness each individual star should have, the blue and red in Orion, the faint orange in Taurus, the near white in Canis Major. As she kept the image in her mind's eye, it was becoming more than a picture in her head. Soon, the night sky itself was coming to life and was being filled with the stars Luna has taken such pride and joy in.

As she was putting the finishing touches on her work of art, Luna couldn't help but wonder why she never used any other colors for her stars. Why not a purple star or two? This stray thought was accompanied with the music of the dream she experienced last night. And just like earlier, it made Luna want to soar higher and express the emotions that it stirred up in her. Her thoughts continued to drift as she began to think about the mare who created the music. The feeling of intense dedication and love for her craft was similar to how Luna felt every night when she filled the sky with her stars. The hesitation and sense of doubt that Octavia felt before she began to play was the same that Luna use to feel for nights leading up to her "change." The sense that her hard work would be for naught. Fear of under appreciation, of rejection. Luna knew what the cellist was going through in that moment. Maybe that was why she seemed to connect with her so.

Yes, there certainly is a kindred soul inside that mare and it made Luna want to see her again. "Perhaps I will visit her dreams again at the end of the night," she thought to herself. "Maybe I should make the bold move and start a conversation with her."

Luna suddenly realized that she still had her spell going, and promptly ended it. When she opened her eyes to view her hoofwork, she gasped and blushed. In the sky, was a new constellation. It was vague, but if a pony was looking closely enough they could see the outline of an earth pony. And at that pony's head, two light purple stars were visible where the eyes would have been. After the initial shock had passed, Luna began to laugh to herself. "She is, rather cute to look at," she thought out loud to herself. Luna stared at her accidental work of art for a few moments before she spoke again, "I better remove this, before somepony has a fit." With a shake of her head and a bit of regret, Luna made the constellation disappear as the stars spread out from where they came from. "I am leaving the purple ones, though," she thought to herself as she proceeded to back to the castle balcony to do her first hour of night watch.

Author's Note

Hopefully, a certain lavender unicorn wasn't stargazing on this night. And with that, my unplanned hiatus is over and i am back in the writing groove. For Luna and Celestia, I wanted to show that they are sisters and as such can lower their guard a bit around each other. I also wanted to have Luna come across as someone who doesn't quite know that she has a crush on someone as she may not have ever experienced something like that in her life before.

I need to stop writing at night, but I do so much better when the sun is down. The next chapter may involve Luna and Octavia meeting...or maybe not. I may change how it turns out. ~looks at his story notebook~ This thing is slowly becoming pointless to keep.

As always, let me know what you think and I hope you all continue to enjoy!

An Interesting Night

"Ugh! I can't believe this!" she shouted before placing her face into her hooves. After spending the entire day with her friend, Octavia returned to her hotel room just as the sun was setting and had been sitting at her work desk staring at a stack of blank paper for the past several hours. She came home believing that she could remember at least a little bit of the music that she played during her dream, but so far no memory from the performance itself was recalled and it was starting to get to the prideful cellist.

"How is it that I, a pony whose natural talent involves music, can have a dream about a full on concert and not remember one single solitary note, from a single solitary line, from a single solitary concerto, that lasted a single solitary hour!?!" Octavia slammed a hoof onto the table and cleared the table top with a swipe. The papers flew up into the air while the inkwell that was sitting above the papers flew onto the floor, spreading ink all over the desk and floor in the process. Octavia groaned and began to rub her temples between her hooves.

"I can't believe I am letting this get to me," she said punctuating her own self disappointment with a sigh. "What would my friends say if they saw me like this?" Octavia got out of her chair and began to clean up her mess. "I am being foalish. After all it is only the first night I am attempting this and it isn't as if it is due the next day." Octavia managed to gather up all the papers and stacked them neatly on her work desk. She then proceeded to her kitchen to fetch some cleaning supplies to clean up the ink on the table and the floor. "I guess I would not be so flustered if it weren't for the fact that the only thing I can remember from the dream is..." she stopped herself and shook her head. "If I stop mentioning it, it will go away sooner. Now, what happened to my quill?"

Almost right on cue, as she was finishing up the stain that was at the bottom of the table leg, she stepped on the quill with her back hoof. Octavia closed her eyes and gave an exasperated groan. The last quill and she had to crush it. "Well, it wasn't like I was making much progress before..." she said to herself through gritted teeth. She turned to give her clock an angry look over and sighed. "Midnight," she spoke softly to herself, "a whole night wasted." Octavia thought about resigning herself to bed, but found that she wasn't really that tired. Normally, she would have gone out and spend time around town. But she didn't feel like going to a bar or a club. In fact she felt like being alone tonight.

"Well, if somepony were to arrive I might not complain much," she absentmindedly thought to herself. Octavia quickly shook her head and began to internally berate herself. "No, no, no Octavia Melody! This is precisely why you can't think straight and remember anything. Being hung up on a dream that only happened once, that involves somepony who you have never actually met, and is way out of your league,and not remember the music which is the important thing about it although she is very beautiful and seemed genuinely interested in your performance, and you know full well you would leap at the opportunity to take her out or be taken out by her and and...is causing you to ramble to yourself internally while you stand in the middle of the room like an idiot."

Octavia let out a sigh and decided that the best thing to do at the moment, was fix herself a pot of hot water fro some nice tea. Maybe, after a cup or two something would come to her to help her with her music. Or it would knock her unconcious so she could try again the next day. Of course, once she set the pot on the stove and sat down at her kitchen table to wait, Octavia found her mind had calmed down enough for her to doze right off in her chair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a perfect night. Not a single cloud in the sky to obstruct the view of the stars above. The moon was brilliant and full of light, shining down on her as if it were some sort of stage light. The breeze was nice and refreshing as it blew through her mane. The grass was nice and soft under her hooves. And she was completely alone. Yes, it was the perfect night for Octavia to practice the cello. After taking a deep breath, she took up her bow and began to play. It was nothing special, just a slow relaxing tune to go with what she felt fit the mood of the night. The music piece was actually one of her little "warm up tunes" that she would play to help set her up for the rest of her solo rehearsals, as it was only two minutes long. But when she finished, somepony was applauding behind her as if she had performed a perfect rendition of one of Baythoven's cello sonatas.

When Octavia turned herself, the pony that she saw nearly made her drop her cello and did make her drop her bow. Standing before her, with a child like grin on her muzzle, was none other than Princess Luna. "Good evening, Miss Melody. I hope you do not mind, but I could not help myself. I have always been a connoisseur of the musical arts, and after the show you performed the other night I simply had to seek you out again."

Octavia was usually a rather quick minded pony, but at the moment her mind was running rather slow. So slow in fact that the only response it could come up with was, "Buwah?"

Luna tilted her head slightly, a small frown forming on her face. "I fear I may have overstepped my boundaries. If you wish for me to leave then..."

"NO!" Octavia shouted, before throwing a hoof over her mouth. "I mean, you are more than welcomed to stay. I was just caught off guard by your appearance. I thought I was alone out here." That seemed to have comforted Luna, as she was smiling again. "Oh dear, what do I say now?" Octavia thought to herself. "She is right here, smiling at me. I have to say something." "So...you like cello music?" "Good show, Octavia. Such a way with words."

Luna gave a small nod of her head and spoke with a voice that to Octavia sounded as beautiful as any note that could have come from her instrument, "I adore the cello, yes." Luna was staring into Octavia's eyes and it made the cellist want to faint. Actually, it was the fact that the princess was walking towards her that was making her want to faint. Or maybe it was the fact that the princess was virtually pressing her body against her's as they were now face to face. Wait, when did that happen?

As Luna moved her muzzle in close, Octavia thought she might have heard a sound coming from behind the princess. She also thought she saw a glimpse of something shimmering in a bush near the source of the noise. When did a bush get there? Those thoughts quickly went out of her mind when she felt the princess' warm breath in her ear as she began to whisper. "I actually have a request of you. If you take requests, that is."

"I am willing," was all Octavia was able to say. She felt lost among the presence of Luna, and she welcomed the feeling completely. "What kind of request did you have in mind?"

"A simple tune," Luna replied, her lips just barely brushing up against the smaller mare's ears. "I know not the name, but I remember the notes perfectly. Would you like to hear it?" A sound of affirmation from Octavia made Luna chuckle. "Alright, the first bit of music begins as such..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The whistle of the tea kettle jostled Octavia from her impromptu nap. After gathering her senses and going over to turn off the stove, Octavia stared at the kettle and sighed. "This issue isn't going to go away at the end of the week is it?"

Author's Note

Chapters three and four were originally one long chapter. But I decided to take some filler out and cut into two parts. I may go back and put some of the filler back in, since now that the chapter is split it feels like it is missing some emotion. Of course that could just be the lack of sleep effecting me too. The next chapter will involve more interaction between Octavia and Vinyl, with a little more focus on our favorite DJ. Was that the real Luna in this new dream? Maybe, maybe not. The next chapter will go into that as well.

Random note, Baythoven is a horsepun. A bad horsepun, but a horsepun nonetheless.

Sunglasses and Bow Ties

If there was a downside to having a nightlife and being able to stay up as late as possible, it is the fact that there is a very good chance that sleep will get interrupted by those whose lifestyle is the opposite. Vinyl Scratch was about to experience that consequence, first hoof. A few hard knocks on the hotel room door was enough to rouse her from her slumber and pull her from her couch. Unfortunately, it pulled her from the couch to the floor with her muzzle as the lead. This was also unfortunate as it reminded Vinyl of the one thing that usually comes from her partying the way she did last night, the hangover. Vinyl's groaning and moaning was followed by another round of knocks, this time the knocking was coming with more urgency. The night pony was able to get herself off the floor and with one hoof rubbing her sore nose she made her way to the door, grumbling and swearing under her breath as she did so. Keep in mind that lack of sleep (and booze tainted blood) can cause anypony to be disoriented in the morning, so Vinyl was unable to recognize who it was that was standing at her door when she opened it.

"I am terribly sorry, Vinyl," said the grey pony in the hall, "but I have to talk to you again. It's urgent and you already know about the issue." Vinyl squinted at the disturber of dreams for a moment before grunting and stepping off to the side to let it inside. "Thank you, Vinyl. I know it is probably a little early for you, but you are the only pony I know that I can trust with this." Vinyl gave the chatty grey blur another grunt as the two made their way back to the couch. A growl escaped the DJ's throat, when she noticed that the pony had bypassed the couch and was headed for the window shades. "Oh be quiet," the increasingly familiar pony said to her, "a little sun won't kill you."

As the shades were pulled up, one by one, Vinyl became aware that she was missing something. Something that she would have normally forgotten to take off after a night like yesterday. Something that would have kept the demonic sunlight from reaching her eyes and increasing the pain of her hangover.

"You know," the grey pony began, "as often as you were those gaudy sunglasses of your's, I forget that you have purple eyes."

Vinyl stiffened the moment she heard the word sunglasses mentioned. Her specs, her image, it was gone! Lost in the blur that was yesterday night. Before she had a chance to react, however, something else was said that caused the usually unflappable DJ to panic a bit.

"Is that a...bow tie and collar around your neck?"

Vinyl's eyes went wide and she quickly, albeit awkwardly, ran past her morning intruder and into her bathroom to look herself over. Sure enough, around her neck was a white collar and a red bow tie. Combined with the lack of her specs, Vinyl was begging to look...classy. She was horrified.

"AGGGHHHHHOOOOWWWWWW," Vinyl instantly regretted allowing her shock to get the best of her, as her scream instantly set off the throbbing pain in her skull. She crumbled to the floor in pain, where the grey pony (whom she swears she knows but was too hungover to recall at the moment) found her. She looked down at Vinyl and shook her head. "I'll go fetch you some aspirin and start a cup of coffee." She sounded like somepony who has done this before. Many times, actually. The pony turned around and left, leaving Vinyl rolling around on the cold bathroom tile in pain. It was actually one of Vinyl's better starts to her day.

A few cups of black coffee and a cold shower later, Vinyl was close to her normal self. She was still a little slowed down, but at least the hangover demon was vanquished. Plus she was able to recognize things beyond shapes and blurs, like the grey pony blob that was still hanging around and giving her weird look.

"Octy? Why are you looking at me like that?" Vinyl asked, her head was resting on one hoof while the other was wrapped around her fourth mug of coffee. Across from her sat Octavia with a look of curiosity on her face.

"I am just wondering why you have that collar and bow tie back around your neck?" she asked while pointing at Vinyl's neck. "You seemed to be quite muddled about it earlier."

"Hey, I made sure to keep out of mud last night. At least, I think I did." Vinyl was about to get herself lost in her thoughts if it wasn't for the groan coming from her friend across from her.

"Vinyl, just tell me why you are still wearing the collar."

Vinyl grew quiet, a rarity, and smiled at the internal memories that began to creep into her mind. She must have been quiet for a while because Octavia was calling her name.

"Vinyl!"

"Muwuh?"

Octavia gave her friend another weird look. This look also had a touch of worry to it. "Are you still ill? Should I come back at another time?"

"Uhhh..." Vinyl was about to tell Octavia that she was fine, but an idea came into her head that caused her to do a 180. "If she thinks I am still hungover and decides to leave,"she thought to herself, "I can go out and retrieve my specs...and the stud that they are likely attached to. " Scratch let began a short coughing fit before she spoke. "Yeah, Octy, later would be good. Ya know me, once the party starts I can't stop myself." She placed a hoof onto her forehead and let out a groan. "I think I'll go back to sleep for a while. When I feel better, I'll drop by your place. Sound cool?"

Octavia sighed and gave her friend a nod. "Sure thing, Vinyl. I wouldn't want to talk to you about this if you weren't all there."

Vinyl couldn't help but laugh. "And when have I been all there?" she asked, before quickly following up with another groan to keep up with her hangover act.

"Touche. I will probably be in my suite," Octavia turned towards the door to leave. "It was a rough night for me, so I will probably try and get some sleep."

Vinyl had made her way back to her couch and was already stretched out. "Rough night, eh? Did your moon goddess come sweep ya off your hooves?"

Octavia sighed and lowered her head a bit. "No, although I did have another dream," she answered, her voice sounding slightly disappointed and a little sad. "But I'll tell you about it later. Rest well, Vinyl." Octavia left before she could hear what Vinyl would respond with and began to walk to the stairs that would lead her to her suite.

"Sweep me off my hooves," she mocked, "that will be the day. A day when a dream comes true maybe." She allowed her head to sink as she made her way back to her suite. "Maybe I should give it the old college try, and set up a meeting with her." Her head rose up a little, as she was beginning to show some confidence. "I will set up am appointment, march right up to her, give a nice regal bow," Octavia knelt down as she was absently acting out her idea, "rise up, hold my head up high, look her in the eye and..." Octavia let out a sigh as suddenly all of her confidence deflated out of her. "Oh who am I kidding. I could never do something like that."

Octavia had since reached her door, but instead of going in she just stood there in place as she was still having an argument with herself. "What is the matter with me? I should be figuring out a way to write the music for the grand opening, not pine over some pony I only met in a dream. A couple of dreams." She groaned out of frustration and slammed her head against the door. "All I wanted was to create the finest piece of music in Equestria and show it off at the concert, so that me and my friends can get the attention and accolades we deserve. To get better opportunities and to move up in life. Not to have weird distracting dreams about a princess!" She stopped and sighed, "I am just over reacting again. Two dreams in two nights does not mean anything. I have to stop thinking about it, stop talking to myself, maybe take a shot of wine, and get back to work." Octavia took her head off of the door and was about to open it, when she heard a pony clear their throat behind her. She turned around and gasped. Standing before her were what looked to be two royal guards. These two guards, however, were not clad in gold armor. These two were covered in armor that was the same color as the night sky and had a more sinister otherworldly design to it . And instead of the typical white coat of hair, these ponies were grey. But what really caught Octavia's eye and had her in a bit of fright were the eyes of the guards. With a pale yellow iris and slit pupils, they resembled something that some predatory creature would have. Like a serpent, a cat...or a bat.

"We wish to meet with Octavia Melody. Is this her hotel suite?" The pony that spoke had a deep voice that matched the fearful appearance and sent chills down Octavia's spine. While her instincts told her to lie, her upbringing and manners overruled them and she answered.

"Y-yes it is. A-and I-I am Miss Melody." Octavia had pushed herself against the door and was standing stock still, the intimidating sight of the two stallions had paralyzed her on the spot.

The other guard stepped forward and spoke, his voice just as deep as the others. "We have come to escort you to the palace. Her majesty, Princess Luna wishes to speak with you, immediately." The guard narrowed his eyes at Octavia before adding, "Know that this is not a request, Miss Melody."

Vinyl decided an hour was long enough to wait before deciding to head out into the open and onto the streets of Canterlot. She had since taken off the collar and left it back in her suite and was now on her way towards the place where she would find the pony that was holding her glasses. As she walked the memories of last night relived themselves in her mind. It didn't start out well, but she couldn't argue with the results. Not this early in the game, at least. She chuckled as she allowed her thoughts to go further back in time. "Good thing I was chilling in that restaurant, last month," she thought to herself, "else last night wouldn't have happened."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The whole thing started a month ago. Vinyl was relaxing at a restaurant after a gig. A fairly classy place, it was out of Vinyl's usual comfort zone, but it had a bar which was all she cared about at the time. She remembered that she ordered an apple ale and it took a good five minutes before she got it. Vinyl seemed to have bad luck when it came to service in Canterlot. Her magic had just wrapped itself around the bottle when she heard a familiar voice intermingled with a collection of pony laughter.

"Octy?" she thought to herself, as she turned towards the source. Sure enough there was her friend sitting at a nearby table, telling a story of some sort to three other ponies that seemed to share her cellist friend's taste for style. "Wouldn't be caught dead with a bow on any part of me," she thought, "let alone the neck. Little pretty nooses waiting to choke the life out of ya. That's what they are."

Vinyl's thoughts about the evil conspiracy of the bow tie was interrupted, when she heard Octavia mention her name in a conversation. And no pony can invoke the name of Vinyl Scratch and not expect something to happen as a result. With a grin on her face and her bottle still being held tight in her magic, Vinyl slips herself off of her bar stool and crouches herself low onto the floor. However, just before she begins to stalk her prey, a nearby waitress stops her. The waitress has seen her share of drunk ponies and probably assumed that Vinyl was another one to add to her list.

"Miss? Are you alright, down there?" she asked.

"Shhh," Vinyl hushed the waitress, "Be very very quiet. I'm hunting cellists."

Before the confused waitress could react, Vinyl began to crawl along the restaurant floor towards Octavia and her group of friends. The table they were sitting at had a tablecloth and looked large enough for a pony to hide under. Octavia apparently made another joke when Vinyl got to the table, because there was another round of laughter. "Perfect," she thought to herself. She thought that she had managed to get herself underneath the table unnoticed and was about to plan out out her dramatic entrance. Unfortunately, one of the ponies did noticed her and peeked under the table cloth to see address the intruder.

"Excuse me, miss," the pony asked in a calm sophisticated voice, "Are you lost?"

Vinyl turned to face the stallion and, once she got over the fact that he called her miss, she noticed that the guy was kind of cute. Champagne colored body, white mane, green eyes, nope he wasn't bad at all. And judging from the look she was getting in return, he seemed to like what he saw too. They must have been looking at each other a bit too long because they were soon joined by three more pairs of eyes. They weren't as attractive. In fact, the one pair of lavender eyes were downright frightening. It was only made worse when the owner of those eyes spoke.

"Vinyl Scratch, what are you doing here?"

"Ummm," Vinyl panicked for a bit before smiling and floating her bottle of ale over to Octavia. "Thirsty?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vinyl's trip down memory lane ended when her real world trip brought her to her destination. The neighborhood was fairly nice: the townhouses were in good shape, the sidewalks were clear of debris and leaves, the trees were perfectly cut trimmed, the fences around said trees looked as if they were polished, it seemed like the perfect neighborhood to live in. In short, its the type of place one wouldn't normally find a pony like Vinyl. However, it wasn't the first time Vinyl has been in this part of Canterlot. She has actually been here off and on for close to a month now, although usually at night. Specifically, she has been at this townhouse address.

She looks around her to make sure no one is around and uses her magic to unlock the door. Vinyl quickly enters the door and closes it behind her. "Phase one, infiltrate the hangout is complete," she thought to herself, "Now for phase two, retrieve the goods." Vinyl searched around most of the two story residence. The first floor search began with her passing the first two rooms and going straight into the kitchen and the refrigerator. "Fuel for the search!" she said to herself as she began to root around the A thorough search through the bread, lettuce, olives, and a bag of hay chips later, Vinyl had deemed the kitchen all clear.

Vinyl left the kitchen through the way she came and did a quick walk through of the dining room. There wasn't much to it: a table with six seats, an ornate glass door cabinet that held the fine china, a floor rug that was sitting perfectly flat under the table and chairs, and a few wall paintings that hid nothing behind them but wallpaper. Vinyl headed back towards the other room that she ran through; the living room. It was fairly large, for a town house living room, which meant a more thorough search was in order. Vinyl checked the love seat first, looking both in between the cushions and under the love seat itself. She then checked the matching chairs, before going over to the large piece of furniture in the room. The upright piano.

"Well I wouldn't be surprised if I find my specs with you," she said to the piano. More memories entered her mind as she made her way to the piano.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite the awkward introduction, Vinyl was able to hit it off with Octavia band that night. The five of them spent the night laughing and drinking, telling stories about how everyone met, and talking about music. At the end of the night after every one had said their goodbyes and Vinyl was all ready to carry herself (and an unconscious Octavia) home for the night. Frederic, the pony that caught her under the table, had stayed behind to help carry their friend to the hotel. He had been the one to ask Vinyl the most questions about herself and seemed interested in getting to know her even more. Not that Vinyl minded.

"I think you made a good first impression, tonight," commented Frederic as the two exited through the door. He had Octavia draped across his back.

"Right?" Vinyl answered. It wasn't the relaxing night she had planned, but it still turned out alright. Any night that ended in creating new friends and carrying your drunk best friend home was a good one.

"I haven't heard Harpo talk like that with anypony in quite a few days," Frederic continued, his voice had a bit of admiration in it. "Do you always cause such a spark in ponies you meet for the first time?"

Vinyl merely shrugged and smirked. "What can I say, I have a natural talent for lighting up the party. Besides, I bet Harpo speaks plenty when it is just him and BB."

Frederic rose an eyebrow at Vinyl. "So you've noticed?"

Vinyl slid herself up close to Frederic, the sudden warmth on his shoulder causing him to blush slightly. It was also the first time he noticed that he was about the same height as her. Vinyl used her magic to lower her glasses down her nose a bit and peered at the stallion over the top. "Nothing escapes these eyes, Freddy. It was plain to see how those two were looking at each other and know what was going on between them." Vinyl grinned at the way Frederic was squirming and blushing next to her, she seemed to have gotten her desired reaction. "In fact, they were staring at each other the same way you were staring at me."

"Me?" Frederic's voice seemed to had gone up an octave. It was cute.

Vinyl wouldn't let up. "Yeah you. You only thought you were getting away with it unnoticed." She rubbed her shoulder against Frederic's again, this time it nearly made him stumble. "Not that I think it's a bad thing. Shows that you have good taste." Vinyl gave Frederic a wink and slid her glasses back up to cover her eyes.

Frederic cleared his throat and tried to regain his composure, but there was no getting rid of that red tinge on his face. "Well then, since there is no hiding things from you, I have to ask you something."

"Ask away."

Frederic paused for a second to gather his courage then spoke, "Are you, seeing anypony?"

"Cutting straight to the chase, aren't we?" Vinyl asked with a smirk on her face.

"Well you have made it clear that you have noticed me staring at you. And you seemed to understand that it meant that I am attracted to you. So i might as well ask and see if I have a chance."

Vinyl gave a slight huff and turned her head forward. "Well that isn't any fun."

Frederic went from slightly nervous to very confused as he looked at Vinyl with disbelief. "Fun?"

"Yeah, fun." Vinyl repeated in a matte of fact tone. "You can't just come right out and ask, it's boring."

"What should I do instead?" Frederic asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I dunno, that is for you to figure out. But you are suppose to make it more interesting and dramatic." Vinyl sighed and shook her head. "I'll just have to deduct points from ya."

Frederic furrowed his brow. "Points? There is a point system in all of this?"

It took everything Vinyl had to keep a straight face. Frederic was proving to be a naive and gullible one, which made him all the more fun in her opinion. "Yep. Didn't ya know? Every girl has one. It is how we know whether or not a stallion is worth the chance or not."

"I see..." Frederic thought to himself for a moment, not noticing Vinyl chuckling under her breath beside him. By the time he turned his head towards her, she had already settled herself down. "If that is the case, how is my rating?" he asked in a calm and serious tone.

"Hmmm," Vinyl pretended to think about it for a bit while she looked him over. "You have enough points to earn the right to buy me another drink sometime."

Frederic's face showed a bit of hope. "As in a date?"

"Of course a date," she thought . "Maybe," she answered which only confused and frustrated Frederic more. It was fun stringing him along like this.

It wasn't long after that exchange that they reached the hotel where Vinyl and Octavia stayed at. It was late enough that there wasn't a doorpony to greet them as they entered. As they walked up to the front desk, the clerk that was there saw Octavia on Frederic's back and gave a worried look. Frederic merely shrugged, while Vinyl merely made a drinking motion with her hoof. The clerk rolled her eyes and asked if Frederic would be staying overnight. He shook his head, stating that he was only here to help bring his friend home and then he would leave.

The two were given a spare key to Octavia's suite where, once they got there, they placed her on her bed for the night. Once they left the suite, Vinyl had a thought.

"Say Freddy," she started, "how about I walk home with you?"

Frederic smiled and gave Vinyl a slight nod, "I would be honored."

"Since you had to carry Octy the whole trip, maybe I can work on your back and help you relax?"

Frederic tilted his head at Vinyl, "That would be nice, but have you ever done a back massage before?"

Vinyl shrugged, "Eh, I work on turn tables for a living. Same thing, right?"

"I guess?" Frederic suddenly became a bit unsure about the results of the incoming back massage, but he figured it would be worth it in the end.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vinyl checked the inside of the piano bench, under the piano, behind the piano, on top of the piano, and the inside of the piano, and they all yielded the same results as before.

"Ugh, they're not here either," the frustrated DJ thought to herself. She was about to leave the room, when she decided to look at the piano in a different way. "Ya know, I have been here...five times over the past few weeks since that night," she mused, "and he hasn't played on this thing once since I have been here." Vinyl pulled the bench up with her magic and sat down to looked over the keys. "How in the hay does he even play this thing?" Vinyl decided to give the piano a try, figuring that if Frederic was here he would have heard the commotion she had caused earlier. She hovered a hoof over the keys for a moment before placing the tip of her hoof down on a note. It ended up hitting a couple of keys and it sounded awful. "Seriously, he has to have a trick to playing this thing without unicorn magic." Vinyl studied the keys then studied her hoof for a while. She decided to try using the side edge of her hoof this time. This time a produced a much more satisfying sound. "Well that makes a little bit more sense. Still..." Vinyl looked at the sheet of music that was resting above the keys. "It's still impossible to play music this complicated with hooves alone," she said out loud to herself.

"Its earth pony magic."

"Ack!" the sudden appearance of another voice caused Vinyl to swing a hoof back out of reflex. She connected with a crack and heard the owner of the voice fall to the floor with a thud. She knew she would dread the decision when she decided to turn around and look over who she clocked. Sure enough, there on the floor was Frederic. Unconscious. Wearing Vinyl's now broken sunglasses. Vinyl's ears drooped as she face hoofed and mumbled to herself. "Fussy useless clothed kittens..."

Author's Note

Sorry it took a while, my work shifts were a little out of the ordinary. Serves me right for working in sales. Any who, this was the other shipping pair that I thought of for this story. A straight ship for Vinyl with Frederic Horseshoepin (or as he is called in the story Frederic Forte). How did that come about? A random thought, really. I knew I wanted Vinyl shipped. I knew I wanted it to be different. And I knew it wanted to be a stallion. And he had to be musical. Which narrowed it down to Neon Lights, Harpo, and Frederic. I knew Neon was shipped with Vinyl already, so I dropped him rather quick. So how did I decide between Harpo and Fred? Well, the "Pony Pokey" song helped with that decision.

During the song, for a small moment, Frederic was smiling while he was playing the song on the piano. Even after the smile disappeared, he was still bouncing to the beat of the song. That led to the train of thought that while he enjoys playing classical music and performing for high class ponies, he seems to have even more enjoyment when he gets to play music that "didn't put ponies to sleep and didn't require the performer to be as rigid as rusty pipes." The pianist that wants to be free and the naturally free spirited DJ. Ships have been built on far less.

Still, it is a secondary ship so don't expect many chapters dedicated to following these two like this chapter was. Also, don't worry about Octy. The guards are only escorting her to see Luna. The real Luna. That may or may not have witnessed that last dream and may or may not be thrilled about it...she'll be fine. Maybe. You'll have to wait and see next chapter.