"Hello? Is there anypony in there?"
Octavia suddenly jumped at the question voiced by the mint green unicorn. Her mind drifted elsewhere as she watched an angry Sweetie Belle galloping outside. She probably knew why she ran, though: Except for herself, Sweetie was the only pony on the stage who was worth playing with.
"Uh... yes, I'm sorry Lyra." Octavia said but kept her gaze fixed at the door Sweetie just burst through in her rush.
"Are you... alright? You seem a little distracted." Lyra said in a friendly tone; Celestia knew Octavia didn't take critics very well.
"Yes... that I am... So, did you enjoy the piece tonight?" Octavia didn't seem to bother with the unicorn's comment about her sudden lack of attention.
"That I did!" The mint unicorn said bearing a wide grin. "It's such a shame it came to an end so soon, though. I'm sure Bon Bon would love it! Speaking of which; I am going with her to this new place called F.F.F. that just opened in town. They say that it's a nice place to relax and that the music is great too!" Lyra said as she intentionally bumped her rump with Octavia's. "You should come too! It will be fun to... you know, get off of the stress for a moment."
Octavia rolled her eyes, she didn't like to hang out with both Lyra and Bon Bon. Separately, both were fun mares to be around, but together... Octavia would often excuse herself from near the pair; things often took a quick turn from casual to intimate.
"I'm dearly sorry, Lyra, but I can't. I have some rehearsals to do and also some pieces that I must continue to compose." Octavia's lie was quick, but came out much more smoothly than the mare herself anticipated. While it was true that Octavia had some rehearsals and compositions to finish, Lyra seemed to forget that Octavia was a virtuosa; she could learn most pieces by ear on the very first time she would hear them. Not to mention that she had mastered five instruments already: the violin, the cello, the double bass -- her all-time favorite -- the viola and the piano. All it took to rehearse was to play the music twice, and she would already have it tattooed on her brain. The one exception to the two-rule was a little piece by the talented Sander Colthen. That one took Octavia an entire afternoon to get through.
"Oh no, that's quite alright Octavia, I know how one can get tangled up in this line of work... But should you change your mind, it's at the 13th street, near that restaurant you like, the Bon Boardeaux." Lyra gave Octavia a friendly wink and trotted off to whatever that F.F.F. place was.
Octavia left out a long, tired sigh; she had a very stressful day today. Rehearsing with other ponies was always a pain for her; playing the song over and over and over again until they could fully grasp just a mere part of it bothered her. ‘How can someponies be slow?’ Not to mention the hours of backstage make-up that she had to endure for tonight's performance. The gray mare opened her case then tucked her instrument and its bow in. The music sheets could suffer the wrath of her messy saddlebags, but the cello was to be spared at all costs.
Octavia elegantly walked out of the auditorium on almost full-automatic mode. She let her brain take care of the walking while her mind began to drift about the day's happenings and all sorts of other things... that happens quite often when one had a busy day.
* * *
Octavia came to a halt when she acknowledged her surroundings. 'This isn't home!' She thought while she looked around. To her right was a building that looked like some sort of storehouse. Three giant “F”s glimmered brightly with a neon-pink tone.
"Legs, why did you bring me here?!" Octavia said as she glared menacingly towards her front limbs like it was their fault. A familiar voice made her ears perk up slightly.
"Octavia! I thought you were going home for the night! I'm glad you came, though." Lyra said happily as she saw the prestigious pony looking quite shocked. "Come here." She said, waving frantically at her.
Octavia blushed a bit. ‘Does she think I’m blind? I can see her standing there.’ With a weary sigh, she started to trot towards her mint colored friend just when she caught sight of the huge stallion working as a bouncer at the club's doors, a slight hint of annoyance on his face. Octavia stopped in mid-step and after a small, embarrassed chuckle, turned to face Lyra. "Oh no, that's quite alright... I'll... I'll just go to the end of the line... there. I- I wouldn't want to impose."
"Don't be silly, you're with me. I am a VIP!" Lyra said a bit louder, much to Octavia's dismay. She didn't want any attention brought to herself. "We're gonna have so much fun!"
Octavia then gave in. It wasn't her legs that brought her here, something deep down on her wanted to come... to be carefree, even for just one night. With a small sigh, Octavia jumped the rope separating the line from the sidewalk. The bouncer gave a quiet but audible huff, but just eyed both mares as they entered the clubhouse. Both mares found themselves in a strange looking room where everything was black except for the white pieces of clothing of most ponies, which glimmered in a deep purple due to the ceiling’s black lamp. On the opposite direction from where the ponies entered, there was a single door with yet another bouncer standing next to it.
Lyra suddenly gave a high-pitched scream as she saw her cream colored marefriend inside. She ran up to Bon Bon and tackled the mare with a passionate kiss... too much passionate for Octavia's liking. As Octavia walked towards the pair, both seemed far too distracted with each other to notice the gray mare shyly approaching.
"Oh, I missed you today, B." Lyra said and gave her marefriend another kiss that took longer than what Octavia wished.
After the long kiss broke, Bon Bon said between breaths: "You've taken your sweet time. You'll have to make it up to me, you know?" She said giving her marefriend a tempting wink. Suddenly Bon Bon turned around and darted towards the real entrance of the club, where the party really was. She stopped by the door and shook her tail flirtatiously at Lyra. The mint unicorn's grin widened even more and she galloped, following the cream earth pony to whatever unoccupied corner they could find in there.
"And... I am alone. Again..." Octavia said to nopony in particular as she walked towards the door. Sudden thoughts about what Bon Bon and Lyra could be doing made her blush and realize that it was probably for the best that they left her there. "Well, here goes nothing..."
As Octavia opened the club doors and crossed them, she was greeted by the obnoxious music that was now playing. She tried to pay no attention to the music whatsoever, but that was helpless as the banging bass and rhythm made her mind lock itself. Octavia was now asking herself what the hay was she doing there, the music was awful, the ponies were mostly sexual deviants or drunk degenerates and to top it off, the pony who asked her to come just left her alone to screw with her marefriend in this Celestia-forsaken place.
Octavia sighted, she decided that since she was already there, she would at least try to enjoy herself a bit. While she was looking for the bar, she started to pay more attention to her surroundings. The club itself was much better tended on the inside than it was on the outside. While almost every wall was black, the real show was the dance floor: below the dancing ponies lay a series of wires with little lights attached to them and, as the music changed its pace or rhythm, the lights would go on and off, creating various kinds of multi-neon-colored amorphous drawings on the floor. Circling the DJ's stand were more of these lights, but these were programmed and installed to simulate a musical spectrum analyzer. They were installed on a rotating platform that stood vertically behind the DJ's pickup, leaving the center hollow, as if it was directing all the attention from the partying ponies towards the DJ; who played omnipotently while the simulated spectrum analyzer rotated behind it in a slow, but constant movement.
The club's bar was also nicely adorned. Some tables and chairs were scattered around a given area, giving one the impression of a multitude of different ambient, even though there were no walls separating the bar from the dance floor. The chairs fixed by the counter were rotational, a major point in making Octavia chose one of those instead of a table and a chair; whilst drinking, Octavia could easily turn around without getting up, checking for Lyra and Bon Bon.
The prospect of having fun quickly died within Octavia. Instead she just made her mind in drinking something; wait for a chance to speak with her friends; drink some more; go home. With a settled mental checklist, Octavia was quick to order a drink for herself, asking the barmare for the drink with the most alcoholic content in it. ‘The faster you get drunk, the faster time passes by...’
"One Hell's Flame it is. Do you know how to drink it?" The barmare asked eyeing Octavia and stifled a snicker. Octavia's attire made it clear that she understood almost nothing about party drinks.
"Wait, there is a way to drink it?" Octavia asked blushing a little at her cluelessness. The only drinks a mare of prestige like herself drunk were those classy wines. "Couldn't you just... I dunno, take the glass and sip it?"
"Yeah... no. Tell you what, let me make one for myself too and I'll show you how it's done." The barmare said with a small content grin. It was nice having somepony new to teach about stylish drinking, for a change.
Octavia just watched as the barmare took two unlabeled bottles, one with a green liquid and the other with what appeared to be water and threw both in the air behind her back. Octavia’s mouth opened in an amazed “O” shape as the barmare expertly caught the bottles with her front hooves before pouring the contents of each bottle on two separate cups. When the barmare thought it was enough, she crossed her forehooves and poured more liquid; pouring on each cup what the other already had. When both cups were four fifths full, the barmare stopped and tucked away both bottles back in the refrigerator.
"Sorry, I don't mean to be rude but... I asked for the drink with the most alcohol in it. You... You added water to both our drinks!"
"Water?" The barmare eyed Octavia seriously, as if the mare was telling her some kind of joke. When the barmare saw Octavia’s perplexed appearance, she snickered. "This isn't no water! The drink is a mix of Vodka and Absinthe." Giggling, the barmare picked up two small metal cups and placed them over the cups holding the beverages. The metal cups had a long metal straw transfixing it on both sides and, on the front it had a smaller, but thicker metal straw, forming the letter “T”. The barmare proceeded to dip the contents of a third unlabeled bottle on both metal cups, filling them up and letting a small quantity of the liquid pour on the mixture below. When the drink cups were nearly filled, the barmare turned to face Octavia with a happy expression.
"Now, you might wanna let it burn for a little bit, makes it easier on the way down, y'know? But not too much though, you may actually burn your hoof a bit."
"B... Burn?" Octavia was dumbstruck. 'This crazy mare is about to set both drinks on fire! And what does my hoof has to do with any of this!?' She thought, not believing what she just heard. "You're g- going to set f- f- fire... on my drink?!"
"That's the plan! But enough talk, my throat is dry. Watch closely." The barmare said eying hungrily to her drink.
She lit her own metal cup on fire with a spark from her horn. The fire burned a fierce blue as the barmare took the larger handle of the metal cup and poured its contents on top of her own drink. The fire became a mix of orange, green and blue. Octavia eyed the dancing flames, mesmerized, until the barmare brought her own hoof quickly at the top of the drink, sealing it of all air and extinguishing the flames, it also created a vacuum that made the cup stuck to her hoof. The barmare, single hoofedly shook her drink a few times before levitating it and drinking all its contents in one gulp. After she was done, she shook her head a bit, lifted her forehooves in the air and yelled, "Woooo!" Some colts and mares looked at the barmare and yelled encouraging words back to her.
“Nice one!”
“Yeah!”
"So, did you get it all or shall I repeat the dose?" The barmare said and gave Octavia a wink which she had trouble distinguishing if it was friendly or suggestive.
"No... no. I think I still remember it." Octavia grasped her cup with a hoof.
"Alright. Just tell me when to light it and you're all set, sugar. Again; don't let it burn for too long." The barmare was slightly dismal... Octavia surely was a slow pony and still haven't picked up the barmare's intentions. But a dose of alcohol was prone to make her more... friendly.
Octavia inhaled deeply and released some of the air. She turned to the barmare and spoke in a confident voice. "Light it." Sparks formed from the tip of the barmare's horn and, soon Octavia's metal cup was bearing the same fiery blue flame that engulfed the barmare's in moments ago. Now she only had to dip the flaming liquid into the actual drink and tap it with her hoof. Octavia inhaled deeply one more time and, with a doubtful face said: "Here goes nothing..."
* * *
Needless to say that Octavia made a foal of herself... Luckily she didn't catch fire. What happened is that Octavia waited too long, making the glass hot and when she used her hoof to extinguish, the sudden temperature change made her jolt her foreleg backwards, spilling the drink all over herself. The barmare stifled her laugh and tried her best to comfort the annoyed earth pony and, free of charge, another drink was served. “Just... no fire this time.” To which the barmare joyfully chuckled before nodding.
The drink hit Octavia the way she hoped it'd do; she felt relaxed. Maybe Lyra was right after all: even with no company, a break in the habit was sure to relax anypony. Octavia sat alone for a few more moments, just observing the other ponies dancing, talking, making out and whatnot before Lyra and Bon Bon came to meet her. They stopped by, chatted and had some drinks of their own. Time seemed to go even faster with the company, but Bon Bon's lustful advances soon took the pair away from Octavia once again.
With nothing else to do again, she began paying greater attention to some dancing ponies. ‘Most of them are rough: a style that matches the music, yes; but they all seem like robots who are in the brink of falling apart.’ She thought, a bit annoyed. ‘Humph... probably few could dance to real music.’ It was then that one particular pony caught her attention: The party DJ. She was a bluish-white unicorn with a bluish-cyan double-colored mane; her cutie mark consisted of two inverted eighth notes, purple glasses adorning her face, concealing her eyes. Even though Octavia regarded herself as a high-classed citizen and not some common alley filly-fooler, she couldn't help but watch in awe as the DJ danced to her own beats; her movement was almost... intoxicating. Mane all scrambled. Head bobbling to the music's beat in a carefree way. How did those headphones managed to stay put?! So peaceful, but so chaotic at the same time. The goddess of grace in her true form.
Unbeknownst to Octavia, the DJ had her eyes on the mare for a long time now. She chuckled so hard when the gray mare spilled her drink, that she almost lost control of the mixing track and the beat. White Noise found that gray mare particularly cute; she often counted for the 'sexyness' factor, but the cuteness in that mare's clumsy ways really caught her attention in a good way. ‘Hmmm... not that she isn't sexy too.’ White wasn't inhibited when it came to sexual preference: both mares and stallions were fine to her; her body was her own temple. Life was too short to waste it with options; if something is good, then it's good. Suddenly, a thought made its way into White's head. She grinned mischievously when she saw the gray mare looking curiously and wide-eyed at her; she now had a perfect opener.
"Hey y'all! Thanks for coming tonight! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!" A giant cacophony of hove-clapping, whistles and cheers erupted, prompting Octavia to cover her sensible ears.
"Pon-3! Pon-3! Pon-3!" They shouted in unison, it was like the DJ was their god for the night. Octavia couldn't understand why the DJ was so praised: to her, only one long music has been playing the whole night!
The DJ lifted her hooves in the air, prompting the party ponies to allow her a turn to speak. "No, seriously, you guys rock! But I'm very sorry to announce to you that this pony's gotta rest a bit now." Some boos were heard from the audience while others simply grunted in frustration.
“Awwww...”
"But we love you, White Noise!" An eager and probably drunk stallion from the crowd screamed.
"Yeah, don't leave us, Whitey!" This time was a mare's turn to scream towards the DJ.
“WHITE NOISE, YOU’RE AWESOME!”
"So that's her name..." Octavia said to herself as she took another sip from her drink, eyes never leaving the unicorn DJ. "White..."
White Noise chuckled a bit by the mixed feeling that her announcement gave the party ponies. "I love you too, my bronies, but you guys seriously need to calm down. I promise you guys that I'll leave the magic-maker in good hooves!" White signaled towards her pickup and then turned her head towards where Octavia was rested; the latter couldn't help but to cough her drink a little bit. Octavia now knew that White was well aware of her constant gaze, even though she couldn't see beyond the DJ's glasses.
White Noise blushed a little before continuing. "Alright guys, this next song goes to the gray mare with the funny looking bow tie down by the bar." Octavia choked on her own drink once more. Cheeks began to burn a fiery crimson as she was now coughing uncontrollably. "Yes folks, the one with a coughing fit, let her hear you, my bronies!" Just as those words penetrated Octavia's brain, she quickly turned around to face the bar and held her left hoof in front of her face, trying desperately to conceal herself from any and everypony. She wanted Celestia so smite her there and then so badly. Some ponies bearing enormous grins, total strangers to the mare, came and circled Octavia, some hugged her, and some congratulated her, to which she instantly faked a giant grin. For what she was being congratulated, she didn't know; which only helped in making her already crimson cheeks even redder.
As White oise descended from the DJ's stand, another one was quick to take her place. Soon the music was flowing again, but the new DJ had clear instructions to only start her own mixing after the music that White chose ended. Octavia paid no attention whatsoever to that think that clearly isn’t music that the unicorn DJ dedicated to her. She just folded her hooves on top of the counter and laid her head upon them 'Celestia, please banish me to the moon...'
"Hey there, mind if I sit down?" A voice from behind Octavia startled her. She turned around and felt surprised to find the DJ pony smiling at her. "Sorry about that earlier..." She said, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof.
"I'll live through it.” Octavia replied coldly. “But why did you do it?"
"Ehhh.... I dunno. I saw you over there, all alone and I've wanted to make you feel more welcome. Heh heh..." White said, trying to sound as apologetically as possible.
"I have to inform you that I'm very well accompanied, thank you very much." Octavia then turned back to face the counter. White was quick to sit and turn her body to face the gray mare.
"Well... where are your friends?" White was a bit worried about the mare, even though both just met; she knew that being left alone was always uncool. But auntie White always knew how to turn frowns upside down.
Octavia sighted: "I guess they're... around here somewhere. Enjoying each other."
"Oh... Ohh!" White said, biting her lower lip. Even though Octavia didn’t seem like the type who would enjoy it, White decided that she was going to risk it. She placed her hoof on top of Octavia's and looked into her eyes: "And why aren't you enjoying yourself?" She said, slowly leaning closer to the mare.
Octavia was startled by the way the pony acted, she wasn't even trying to be subtle about it. Octavia backed away a bit as her mind rushed. 'This is too fast!' 'What should I do?' 'I am not kissing a mare.' 'Not even this beautiful mare?' 'I... no!' 'Then why don't you stop her?!' ‘Because... because...’
"I... I..." Octavia stuttered.
"Shhhhhh..." Was the last thing she heard before the DJ pressed her lips onto the gray mare's. Soon after both lips were planted together, White was quick to stand up and embrace the other mare in a passionate hug. Much to the DJ pony's surprise, the mare she was now kissing didn't fight back: on the contrary, it was her that opened her mouth first and probed White's lips with her tongue. The DJ was more than happy to allow the mare's tongue inside her own mouth and, was quick to repay the favor and started massaging Octavia's tongue with her own. Octavia took one of her hooves from the counter and gently placed it in the DJ’s body, massaging the back of her head. The kiss took it's time, neither mare wanting it to break the other's embrace, each ferociously tasting the other's scent and flavor, feeling the warmth of another being pressed against their own body, smelling that alluring scent...
The kiss, came to an end and both mares slowly backed away slowly, a thin fillet of saliva connecting the mare's lips finally tore, the distance between the mares being too much. The DJ pony gave a little nervous cough and turned to face the dance floor. An awkward silence suddenly took place, the only audible noise was the new DJ's musical selection; a much more energetic beat than her previous choices. Octavia turned to face the counter again and ordered another drink to herself. The barmare frowned a bit, visibly disappointed to lose her to White Noise. But she was quick to mix and pour her another Hell's Flame... again, with no fire.
The drink arrived and Octavia sipped it quietly, lost in her thoughts. 'I, the prestigious and renowned musician from Canterlot just kissed a mare... and I liked it.’
"Wanna hit the floor?" White asked while giving a shyly smile. She couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous; even though she always hooked up with a bunch of mares and stallions each night, this gray pony in particular made her feel something different.
"Hit the... what?"
White couldn't help but giggle a little bit at Octavia’s naivety. "Dance, silly filly. Come on!" White didn't wait for Octavia's answer as she grabbed her by the hoof and pulled her all the way from the bar to the dance floor.
The barmare couldn’t help but feel sad at the loss of a potential date for the night. She picked Octavia’s half-empty cup and sighed warily. "Oh well, back to work." She said, before drowning the cup’s contents. She watched the pair until both disappeared in the crowd of party ponies. Resuming her work, she was just done drying some cups with a white piece of white cloth when an earth pony approached the counter. She was light-plum coated pony with a mulberry mane; cutie mark consisted of a bunch of grapes and a strawberry.
"One bottle of Jura," She simply said, hitting the counter with her forehoof.
"Wow, you're gonna drink a whole bottle all by yourself?" The barmare playfully taunted the earth pony, eyeing her hungrily the mare; taking her time to observe her voluptuous rump.
"Why? You wanna join me?" The mulberry-maned pony said, giving an insinuating wink; letting the barmare know that she caught her on the act. The barmare's mind rushed as those words reached her brain. ‘Maybe the night isn’t going to be a lost cause after all...’ It was clear to her that this mare knew how a good party should be spent.
The barmare took the hint and got out from behind the counter with a bottle of Jura on her hooves. She leaned dangerously closer to the earth pony and asked: "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch your name, miss...?"
The mare pressed herself against the barmare, her hooves were now rubbing at places they should only go when invited to. Leaning herself closer, the earth pony whispered sensually her answer in the barmare's ear.
"Berry Punch."
* * *
The dance floor was ecstatic; White Noise surely kept her promise in leaving those party ponies in good hooves when she came down from the DJ's stand. While White had little trouble to maneuver herself through the crowd, Octavia bumped in almost everypony that came somewhat near her. Fortunately for her, everypony were having such a good time that they cared not for simple accidents like that. Whilst White danced majestically, body fluidly accompanying the music and its beat, all Octavia could do was shake her body in a clumsy way while tapping her hooves to the ground, always loosing herself with the forever-shifting rhythm of the music. Even though this was not Octavia's kind of music, she did took Lyra's suggestion and let herself go: the night is a mare and the days are young.
Octavia suddenly caught glimpse of two ponies looking at her from the distance. She furrowed her brows, trying to make out their faces when she gasped. There was Lyra, sitting in her awkward pose on a couch and Bon Bon, sitting on her lap. Both mares were pointing hooves at Octavia and laughing at the clumsy way Octavia danced. She, angry at always being made fun of by them, embraced an idea that popped into her head; she knew how to get back at them for leaving her alone for almost the entire night. She was just a bit confused at herself, not knowing it she wanted to do it just get back at the two or if she was going to do it just to be closer to White once more. Octavia shot a glance at White and she then embraced herself; she began to accept that she had feelings for that DJ even though both just had met. With her mind set, Octavia began to act according to her plan.
She first pretended that she didn't acknowledge Lyra's and Bon Bon's staring eyes and just danced facing White. She then started to move slowly towards a wall that was right in front of her friends' line of sight. It took some time before White’s ‘dancing circle’ was near enough the wall; she needed to surprise them by making it all seem natural and therefore, she couldn't rush things. White was so caught up on dancing, that she didn't notice that the duo was moved steadily towards the wall. Caught up on the beat, White suddenly bumped into the wall Octavia had been carefully directing her to. White looked at Octavia and noticed that she was getting nearer and nearer, a smug smile plastered on her face.
"W- what are you doing?" White asked, clearly confused. She knew what the pony was doing, she just didn't understand why she took so long to do it.
Octavia decided to mimic the DJ and held her hoof at White's mouth, effectively silencing her. "Shhhhhh..." Octavia quickly grabbed both White's forehooves, forcing both mares to stand on their rear legs. She held both White's hooves up with one of her own and pinned both White's body and her lifted hooves on the wall behind her. The hoof that wasn't holding White's was now drifting through the unicorn DJ's body, teasing her. White didn't know that the earth pony had spunk, but she was enjoying every second of it. Octavia then pressed her whole body against White's and looked towards where Lyra and Bon Bon were standing. Both ponies were wide-eyed and with jaws nearly hitting the floor at the sudden change of behavior that came from the always-so-centered musician. White Noise shot a glance towards were Octavia was looking and saw both ponies with dumbstruck expressions on their faces. She looked back at Octavia and chuckled.
"Oh, I see... kinky. I like it." She said biting her lower lip in excitement. Octavia's answer was to turn her head back to White and give the unicorn a lascivious kiss, much more aggressive than their first one. If one could see Lyra and Bon Bon's faces, they would mistake both for statues. Their faces still stood with that astonished look, eyes never leaving the kissing pair.
Time seemed to slow down for White. She acknowledged that what she felt different about this pony was love. Even though both just met, she was willing to give the mare a chance with her; after all, she showed herself to be more than just one of those Canterlot snobs. Once the kiss was broken, both ponies were panting; their hearts and souls were burning for each other. White’s glasses had fallen to the floor, showing Octavia the most beautiful eyes she ever saw. The crimson irises burned a ruby red as if they were alive. Octavia broke out of mesmerizing Vinyl as she heard the pony saying something.
"I think I like you... uhm..." White Noise said lowering her head a bit and blushing.
"Octavia." She replied, prompting White’s eyes to widen. ‘Such a beautiful name... fits an equally beautiful mare.’ White thought, lost in bliss. Octavia surprised her when she lifted White’s head with her forehoof and looked deeply into her eyes. "... and I think I like you too, White Noise." Octavia said, pulling White into another passionate kiss.
