The Sun Will Shine Again

Vinyl’s flat, Saturday April 20th, 2013 - 16 months after the accident…

Vinyl awoke with a start to the bass beat of her cellphone on the nightstand on the left side of her bed. With a groan, she lifted her head and looked at the clock, to see that it was about half past noon. With an aggravated growl she grabbed her phone and looked at the screen to see who she was going to be shouting at for waking her. She slid her thumb across the screen to unlock it and hit the green “answer” button. “What the bloody hell do you want, Heartstrings?” she snarled, irritation heavy in her voice.

“I want you to open your front door!” Lyra responded, impatience heavy in her voice.

“Ugh, what are you even doing here?! You know what? Nevermind; I’ll be right there.” The annoyed DJ ended the call with a vexed sigh and slipped out of her bed, instantly missing the caress of the satin sheets against her bare skin. She pulled a pair of running shorts and a sports bra from her dresser to throw on before leaving her bedroom and heading to the door of her high-rise flat. She opened it and gave a half-hearted glare at her mint-green and white haired friend.

“Forgot your key, again?”

“Maybe…” Lyra replied in a sheepish tone.

Vinyl moved aside and held the door open so Lyra could enter. She closed the door and followed her friend into the living area. Lyra looked across the expansive flat to the open kitchen area and saw an empty whiskey bottle and several empty beer bottles on the counter next to the sink. She knew that if she went into Vinyl’s room she’d find a bottle of painkillers, likely beside another empty bottle of beer. With a sigh she turned back to her friend.

“You look like hell, Vinyl. Did you drink yourself silly again last night?”

Vinyl looked away, the guilt making her unable to meet her friend’s gaze and the concern she knew she’d see. “So what if I did?” she responded lamely.

Lyra stepped closer and reached up to place her hands on either side of her friend’s face affectionately. “Look at me,” she said, causing Vinyl to turn and look at Lyra in her golden eyes. “I love you, dumbass, and I worry about you. I know you still hurt, but this isn’t helping you! It’s a bandaid on bullet wound, and a poor one at that! And if you pull a stunt like you did last year, I’ll kill you myself, so help me,” Lyra finished with a patient smile.

“Don’t worry, Lyr; that’s not going to happen again,” Vinyl said consolingly, reaching up and removing Lyra’s hands from her face. She let them drop and wrapped her arms around the younger woman. Lyra returned the embrace, breathing a sigh of relief as she reaffirmed her trust in her friend.

After a while, Vinyl released her hold on the woman. “So, what are you doing here anyway?”

“I wanted to invite you to lunch with Bon Bon, Spitfire, Rainbow Dash and myself. We’re going to Jamie’s diner and I know how much you like the burgers and shakes there.”

“Well, I’m awake now, and could use some food, so I might as well. Besides, I haven’t seen Spitfire in months. The Wonderbolts are taking a break from training, I take it?” Vinyl asked.

“Yep. Their summer tour starts at the Summer Sun Celebration, so they have a little time off,” Lyra replied.

The DJ headed off toward her room and called over her shoulder. “Alright, just let me throw some actual clothes on and we can get going.”

While Vinyl was making herself presentable, Lyra thought about what she could do to help her best friend get over the loss of her parents and kick her drug and alcohol addiction.

What Vinyl reallyneeds is a good girlfriend. However, Lyra knew that after what Lightning Dust had done to Vinyl, getting her to open up and get to know someone enough to lead to a date was going to be difficult.

Vinyl’s problems didn’t simply begin and end with the sudden and tragic death of her parents. When Vinyl needed her the most, the one person Vinyl was closest to and cared about the most had abused and completely abandoned her. Lightning Dust couldn’t be bothered to answer the phone when Vinyl called her the night her parents died. Then, after only a week of “dealing” with the distraught and grieving woman, during which she had been uncaring and unsympathetic at best and psychologically abusive at worst, she had said it was too much to deal with, that Vinyl was a lost cause, and left her. Her girlfriend abusing and abandoning her at her most vulnerable time was more than Vinyl could take, and it truly broke her, leading her down a very dark path for a while.

Lyra was bloody well going to try to get Vinyl to open up and date again, though, and she thought she had just the right girl in mind. Even if that girl didn’t yet have any experience with women, Lyra was sure that after spending some time with the sexy, confident, and enigmatic Vinyl Scratch, the girl wouldn’t be able to help but be attracted to her. And maybe Vinyl could help the cellist with a problem of her own.

About the time Lyra finished her thoughts, Vinyl came walking down the hallway dressed in a long sleeved shirt, a pair of blue jeans, athletic shoes and her signature, purple sunglasses, pulling a brush through her wild, two-tone, blue hair.

Even though it was pretty warm outside, the DJ still needed to wear long clothing, as she had a rare condition known as Albinism that left her with unusually pale skin, which was very sensitive to sunlight, and vibrant, ruby-red eyes.

“Ready?” Lyra asked.

Vinyl walked over to the table in the living area, grabbing her wallet and her keys as she passed it. “Yep!”

Lyra headed down the hallway ahead of Vinyl, opened the door and stepped out--Vinyl right behind her. The DJ locked and closed the door, and the two women headed towards the lift. The ride down to the parking garage was silent, both women lost in their own thoughts. The elevator reached the parking garage and the women headed towards Lyra’s blue coupé. They got into the car and Lyra pulled out, heading toward the exit of the parking garage.

After they had left the garage and were on the main thoroughfare, Lyra broke the silence. “So are you spinning at the Pony tonight?” Since it was a Saturday, she knew there was a good chance that the DJ would be, but she wanted to be certain.

“Yeah, I’m playing a set tonight. Why do you ask?”

“Well,” Lyra began, “the Orchestra has been putting in long hours and a lot of effort preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration concert at the palace, and I think it would be good for some of us to let off a little steam and enjoy a night out. I’m going to invite a few of my friends from the Orchestra to come out tonight after practice and I thought that a night out at the Prancing Pony would be a perfect way to unwind. Will you have some time at the end of the night to socialise?”

“Sure; Neon has been wanting to play a set, so I’ll have him take over about halfway through. Who all are you going to invite?”

“Bonny, Harpo, his girlfriend Beauty Brass, and Octavia,” the lyrist replied.

“Octavia Melody? The cellist I keep hearing about?” Vinyl asked with interest.

Lyra nodded. “The same. She’s been having trouble with her music for some time now, and I think she could use a change of pace. She’s a sweetheart and deserves the opportunity to let loose.”

“Yeah, bring ‘em all down! I’ll be sure to have a good set ready and one of the VIP sections reserved for you.”

Lyra smiled at her best friend. “Thanks, love.”

“Don’t mention it,” Vinyl said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “How is that girlfriend of yours doing, anyway? I should stop by the candy shop; I’ve been craving some of her dark chocolate orange stuff.”

“She’s doing fine. Business has picked up at the shop so she’s been busy. I try to help her out whenever I can, but I’ve been pretty preoccupied with the Orchestra lately. I’ll make sure she has some dark chocolate orange waiting for you,” the lyrist said with a smile.

They arrived at the diner and Lyra turned into the driveway, parking next to a familiar black sports car behind the diner. The two women got out and made their way to the front of the diner. Vinyl opened the door for Lyra, who stepped through and started walking toward the back of the diner where Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and Bon Bon sat at a table.

As Lyra and Vinyl approached, the three women at the table got up. Lyra went first to Spitfire, pulling the fiery orange-haired woman into a tight hug. “It’s so great to see you both! I’m glad you could take some time off from training.”

Spitfire returned the hug with equal enthusiasm. “Yeah, we needed some time off before we start the summer tour.”

“It’s good to see you all again, too,” the short, but very athletically built Rainbow Dash said in her somewhat boyish voice, moving to embrace the marginally taller Lyra next.

“And look what the cat dragged in! I’ve missed you, dork,” Spitfire said as she hugged Vinyl warmly.

“I missed you, too, featherbrain,” The DJ said affectionately. She stepped back and took a look at her second oldest friend; the bronze skinned woman was in at least as good shape as Rainbow Dash. “You look good, Spit; I see Dash is keeping you in shape.” She threw a wink and a smirk in Dash’s direction, moving to hug the rainbow-haired fighter jockey.

Meanwhile, Lyra greeted her girlfriend with a warm, but publicly appropriate, kiss. “How’s work today, love?”

Bon Bon gave the top of her shorter girlfriend’s head an affectionate nuzzle. “Busy, but that’s good. With summer on the way and the temperature rising, adding the ice cream bar was brilliant and it’s been a hit.”

“See? I told you it was a good idea!” Lyra smiled and nestled into her lover's neck.

“And I’m glad I let you talk me into doing it.” Bon Bon released her girlfriend with some reluctance and turned to the spinner, grasping her in a fond hug. “It’s good to see you, Scratch; you haven’t been by, lately,” she said sadly. “I have a fresh batch of the dark chocolate orange that you love, maybe that’ll get you to stop by?”

“Hey, pretty lady. I know, I’ve been,” Vinyl paused and looked away, biting her lip, then continued with a tinge of regret in her voice, “preoccupied lately. It’s funny you mention the chocolate, though. On the way here, Lyra and I were talking about just that and how I mean to stop by the shop soon.”

The candy maker smiled and laughed, a sound that was bright and cheerful like the rays of Celestia’s sun. “Good, you’d better!”

With the greetings complete, the five women sat down, with Vinyl sitting next to the two fighter jockeys and Lyra & Bon Bon across from them. Not long after they all sat down, Jamie, the owner of the establishment, came to take their orders.

“Hello, girls! It’s great to see you all again,” the middle-aged woman said. “What’ll you have?”

“The usual for me,” Vinyl replied with a smirk.

“So, a bacon and blue cheese burger, well done with a Ruby ale milkshake. Spit?” Jamie turned her gaze to the flame-haired Wonderbolt next.

“I’ll have a buffalo chicken wrap, hold the ranch, and an iced tea,” the Wonderbolt Captain said.

WIth haste, Jamie jotted down the order and looked over at Rainbow Dash.

“I’ll have a chicken caesar salad and a pint of Ruby ale.” The rainbow-haired woman closed her menu and handed it to the waitress.

“Okay…” Jamie said, writing it down, and bringing her attention to Bon Bon next.  “And how about you, deary?”

“I’ll have the mushroom swiss burger and a regular chocolate shake,” Bon Bon responded.

“Mmkay, and you, Lyra?”

“I’ll have the same, except I’d like a pint of Terminator stout,” the lyrist said.

“Alrighty then, girls; I’ll have your drinks by in a couple minutes and your food not long after.”

“Thanks, Jamie!” they said as she walked away.

“So, what have you lovely ladies been up to since we were last together?” Spitfire asked.

“Well, I’ve been busy with the Orchestra, getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration. We were very busy with concerts between December and March, though the concert schedule has thinned out since then, only to be replaced by practice five days a week for the show at the palace,” Lyra replied.

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing the Orchestra at the Celebration. You all are going to rock it!” Spitfire said.

“Lame,” Dash retorted. “No offense, of course, Lyra; it’s just a little slow for my taste.”

“Come on, babe,” Spitfire said to her girlfriend. “Have you ever actually been to a symphony?”

“Well, no. Like I said, it’s not my style,” the smaller pilot said.

“Well, you’re coming with me, then. You need to give them a chance, I think you’ll actually like it after you hear them play.”

“What?! Come on, you’re not actually going to make me…” Rainbow began, then trailed off after her flame-haired girlfriend gave her the ‘do it for me’ look. “Fine,” Rainbow finished, giving in.

“Yay!” Lyra said, happy that another one of her friends would be there to see her play.

Spitfire turned her gaze to the DJ. “You’re going to be there, right, Scratch?”

“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

“Awesome!” the honey-eyed pilot said. About this time Jamie came back with their drinks and milkshakes, passing them out to the appropriate woman.

“Thanks, Jamie!” Vinyl said.

Jamie smiled and nodded, and walked back the way she came.

The Wonderbolt Captain took a drink of her iced tea then turned toward the blue and pink haired confectioner. “What have you been up to, Bonny?”

“Well,” she began, “I’ve been terribly busy with the store, which I shouldn’t complain about, because business is good. I did a small expansion and added an ice cream bar and it’s been very popular, especially now that it’s starting to get warm.”

“That’s great!” Spitfire said. “I’m glad things are going so well. You two still have time for each other though, right?”

“Oh, yeah,” responded Lyra.

Bon Bon nodded. “We make sure to make time for each other, usually on the weekends. Plus, now that we live together, it’s not so hard.”

“Good,” the pilot said. Turning to the DJ on her right, she asked “What about you, Scratch? What have you been up to?”

Vinyl’s countenance lost its carefree expression and clouded a bit as she processed the question. “Well, the record company is doing well, but I still don’t want any part of running the day-to-day operations. Besides, Platinum Record does a better job running the company than I ever could. I did take full control of the club a couple months ago, though, and I’m happy with just running the club and spinning. I’m playing a set there tonight, actually; you and Rainbow should come. I think Lyra is trying to get a group together to go out and I promised her one of the VIP sections.”

Lyra’s face lit up with excitement. “Yeah! You both should come out with us!”

“That sounds great!” Spitfire said. “What do you think, Dash?”

“A night on the town sounds awesome!”

“That’s settled, then. I’m only going to play a short set then Neon Lights will take over so I can come be social.” The DJ turned to Spitfire’s pale-skinned girlfriend. “So, how are Rarity and the rest of the girls doing?”

Rainbow perked up. “They’re all doing awesome. Rarity is the most popular thing in fasion, so she’s busy filling orders from all over Equestria. She had to add an expansion to the Boutique and hire an assistant, a pretty talented girl from Manehatten, I guess. Twilight is busy being princess-y and eggheaded as usual. I guess she’s made some crazy discovery about something she called the theory of relati… relatives…”

“Relativity?” Vinyl suggested, having seen something about it on the ‘net.

“Yeah, that’s it! Relativity. Has something to do with space travel, I guess? She tried explaining it to me, but she lost me after she said ‘theory’. Beyond air speed, thrust, lift, drag and aerodynamics, I don’t get all that egghead stuff she’s so good at. I’m sure she’ll be at the Celebration in a couple months. Anyway, Applejack is doing what she always does; running the family orchard, and making damn fine cider. Matter of fact, she just came up with a new one where she added rhubarb to the hard apple cider, and it’s awesome! Fluttershy has her own vet clinic in Ponyville now, so she’s pretty busy with that, but she loves it. Pinkie Pie is, well, still defying the laws of physics and reality as we know it. Aside from that, she’s taking a bigger part in the operation of Sugarcube Corner; she and the Cakes are thinking about expanding to Canterlot, giving Pinkie her own shop here.

“Sounds like they’re all doing great; I’m glad to hear it,” the two-tone blue haired woman said.

They all turned their attention to Jamie as she brought out a big, round tray with all of their food on it, set it on a folding stand and began passing out the plates. Vinyl took a deep breath through her nose and smiled. “Mmm, it smells delicious as always, Jamie!”

Jamie finished passing out the plates of food. “Can I get you girls anything else?” When they all replied in the negative, she said “Alright then, let me know if you change your minds! Enjoy.” She picked up the tray & stand and walked away, leaving the women to their food.

After waiting a minute so they all could start digging into their food, Spitfire turned her attention back to Vinyl. “So, you still living in the flat?” she asked, referring to the high-rise flat Vinyl owned in downtown Canterlot, wondering if maybe Vinyl had come to terms enough with her parents’ passing to move into the inherited manor on the outskirts of the upper west side of Canterlot.

“Yep,” Vinyl replied in a clipped tone, making it clear she didn’t want to get into that particular topic.

Spitfire decided to let it go and went back to her food.

They ate in companionable silence for a while. The couple in one of the booths adjacent to theirs got up and left, while not long after the other adjacent booth was occupied by a trio that appeared to be university students.

They continued to eat in silence until Lyra looked over at the two fighter pilots. “Your summer tour still starts with the show at the Summer Sun Celebration, right?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow replied for her girlfriend, who had just taken a bite of her wrap. “The show at the Summer Sun Celebration is our biggest of the year; the best way to kick off our tour.”

“Sounds like it’s going to be a pretty busy day for just about all of us,” Lyra said, jerking her head towards Vinyl. “I think Vinyl will be the only one who’ll be able to enjoy all of the festivities unhindered.”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to sleeping in a bit then heading to the airshow,” Vinyl said with a triumphant grin. “Then the concert at the palace in the evening and whatever the hell I want to do in between! It’s going to be great.”

The women finished the last of their food in silence. Jamie came around one more time to see if they wanted anything else and when they all said no, she passed out the cheques. She collected up all of their dishes and took them to the kitchen while the women gathered together their respective forms of payment to settle the bills. Spitfire paid for her and Rainbow Dash’s meals, earning the Wonderbolt Captain a kiss on the cheek and a promise to make it up to her, accompanied by a sultry look.

Bon Bon likewise paid for her and Lyra’s meals, getting a kiss, an adoring smile, and a “Thanks, love” in return. Vinyl laid out her payment with her cheque and as Jamie came back, the women handed it all off to her, who promised to be back soon with their change or cards.

They idly chatted until she came back and handed the change, cards, and receipts back. “Thanks for coming in, girls; it was nice to see you all. Don’t be strangers!”

They all replied with a mix of “Thanks, Jamie” or “See you again soon!” and the waitress headed back towards the front of the diner. Bon Bon looked at her watch and frowned. “Well, I better get back to the shop and make sure my assistant hasn’t been overwhelmed.” She looked over at the two stunt plots. “It was great seeing you girls; I’m glad you have some time off to relax and spend some time with us,” she said with a smile. “I guess I’ll see you all tonight!”

They all stood up, Lyra giving her girlfriend a quick kiss and thanking her for lunch again while Vinyl gave Spitfire a soft punch to the shoulder and a smile. “I’m glad you’re back for a while; I missed you, punk.”

Spitfire grinned at the DJ. “The feeling’s mutual. See you tonight, then?”

“Yep!” Vinyl said, as she moved to hug Dash.

Bon Bon took her turn embracing the two pilots and the DJ. “See you all tonight!” With a wave she headed to the door. Lyra also hugged the two fighter jockeys before they all walked to the door. Leaving the diner last, Vinyl held the door open for an elderly couple to enter then continued around the back to the parking lot. Spitfire and Rainbow Dash got into the Wonderbolt Captain’s black sports car, backed out of the parking space and, with a wave, pulled onto the busy street.

Vinyl and Lyra got into the latter’s blue luxury coupé, left the parking lot and started heading back towards the Mandarin Oriental and Vinyl’s high-rise flat. They spent the drive mostly in silence, Vinyl thinking about what tracks to include in her set for that evening while Lyra resumed thinking about getting Vinyl to open up and start dating again.

It wasn’t long before they arrived at the Mandarin Oriental. Instead of heading to the underground garage, Lyra pulled up to the front of the building to drop Vinyl off, as the lyrist had to go get ready for practice with the Orchestra.

As the doorman walked toward the car to open the door for Vinyl, she turned toward her best friend. “Thanks for taking me out to lunch; it was nice to see Bonny and the other girls for a bit. I’ll start my set at 10:00 tonight, and be done by midnight so I can come be social.”

“Alright; that sounds good,” Lyra said. “See you later!”

“Later, Heartstrings,” the DJ said with a wave as she got out of the car and thanked Alastair, the doorman. Lyra pulled back out into traffic as Vinyl went into the building. She pushed the button to call the lift and, when it arrived, she stepped in and took it to the 75th floor. On the way up to her flat, Vinyl thought about some of the things that were said during lunch with her friends and it brought up dark, unwanted memories and feelings.

The elevator dinged as it reached her floor and the door opened. She stepped out and turned right towards her flat, one of only four on that floor, due to the lavish size of the abodes. She pulled her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the door.

Entering the flat, she tossed her keys and wallet on the table that sat against the wall in the modest foyer, and made her way to the large, open kitchen. She pulled a tumbler from the cupboard that held the glasses and went to the liquor cabinet in the dining area, retrieving a bottle of Jameson whiskey. She poured about three fingers worth of the amber liquid into the tumbler and returned the bottle to the cabinet.

She took her tumbler and walked into her bedroom. Setting the glass on her dresser, Vinyl stripped down to her underwear, a pair of dark blue boyshorts and a matching sports bra, and kicked the discarded clothes against a wall. She stepped up to the nightstand on the right side of her bed and took a bottle of Vicodin out of the drawer. The previous spring, while on one of her many rides attempting to escape her troubles, a careless driver had turned left onto the street in front of Vinyl without looking. With very little time to react, the DJ had done the best she could to avoid the car but still hit the rear of the vehicle and tumbled end over end across it.

As far as motorcycle accidents went, Vinyl was very lucky, coming away with only a hairline fracture of her right radius, dislocated left shoulder, and minor road rash. Nonetheless, her injuries were enough to warrant pain medication and she had been prescribed Vicodin. The medication had done its job and her injuries had long since healed; however, she discovered that, with a little alcohol, it was useful for dulling the pain of a different kind of injury, that of her broken heart and abused emotions.

With it, she could escape the pain, the nightmares, and the voice of despair, if only for a short while. She knew it wasn’t good for her, that she was descending into dependency and abuse, but the agony of her memories was too much for the DJ to bear. And so it was with a sigh of despondent resignation that she opened the bottle of pills and shook two tablets into the palm of her hand, recapped the bottle, and put it back in the nightstand.

Vinyl walked back to her dresser and picked up the tumbler of whiskey. She looked at the pills in her hand for a moment, one last shred of resistance as she was torn between the need to numb the pain & forget the traumatic memories, and the desire to stop relying on the painkillers to deal with her issues.

In the end, the darkness won. The DJ popped the vicodin into her mouth, and emptied half of the glass of whiskey to wash them down. She walked out of her bedroom and into her studio to work on her set for that evening. With the tumbler of whiskey still in her hand, she waited for the numbness to set in.

♫♫♫♫♫♫♫

Octavia Melody sighed, letting her bow hand drop to her side with her amethyst coloured eyes closing in frustration. She just couldn’t feel the connection to the music; the passion and emotion she normally felt was gone, and had been for some time. The 22 year old cellist began having problems with her music since the Hearth’s Warming holiday the previous year, when she had begun feeling like something-- or someone --was missing in her life, and the debacle at the Gala certainly hadn’t helped, marking a low point for the musical prodigy.

Her fellow musicians assured her that her music was as masterful as ever, but she knew the truth of the matter; it sounded nothing short of lackluster to her practiced ears. On top of her emotional turmoil, Octavia couldn’t help but feel like no one took her seriously after playing the Hokey Pokey at the Gala.

She hadn’t been asked to play a private party since. Granted, it had been less than a month since the Gala, but she was still certain that it had forever tarnished her reputation among the nobles of Canterlot. She had to figure out how to get her performance back up to it’s usual masterful level, but she couldn’t just take time off from the Orchestra, not with the Summer Sun Celebration concert at the palace coming up soon. She would just have to endure being mediocre until she could figure it out.

She checked the wall clock hanging in the dining room, on the far side of the flat, and noted that it was almost 2:00 in the afternoon. I have about an hour before practice with the Orchestra, just enough time for a late lunch and tea at the café across from the concert hall. Yes, a nice cup of Earl Grey is just what I need. Octavia packed away her beloved cello in its case, set it by the door of her flat and went to her bedroom to get ready.

Moving to her closet, she pulled out a short sleeve, white dress shirt, a charcoal grey skirt that was just long enough to be proper, but short enough to show off her shapely, olive-coloured legs, and her signature pink bowtie. She took off her jeans and white t-shirt and tossed them into the clothes hamper next to the entrance to her closet, leaving her clad only in simple but cute lavender cotton briefs and matching bra.

She went to the bathroom to reapply her deodorant, then back to her bedroom and put on her dress shirt and buttoned it up to the neck, followed by her skirt. She took a pair of socks from her dresser and pulled them on, then grabbed the hair brush from on top of her dresser and pulled it through her long, charcoal-grey tresses as she looked in the mirror above her dresser.

Last, but certainly not least, she popped up the collar on her dress shirt, draped her bowtie around her neck and tied it, then folded the collar back down over the bowtie. Finished dressing, she walked to the entrance of her flat, put on her black dress shoes, grabbed her purse and her cello, and left the flat, locking the door behind her.

Octavia took the lift down to the building’s lobby where the doorman, Reginald, noticed her and moved to open the door for her as she exited the building, thanking the man as he followed her out. She walked to the curb to hail a cab; when it pulled to the curb the driver got out, took her cello and placed it in the boot as Reginald opened the rear door of the cab for her. “Thank you, Reginald,” she said in her sophisticated, upper Canterlot accent. “I should be back in a few hours.”

“Very well; have a nice afternoon, Miss Octavia,” the older man said, closing the door and walking back to stand in front of the building.

The cab driver climbed back into the front of the cab. “Where to, miss?” he asked in a rough, but kind voice.

“Merkin Concert Hall, please.”

“Certainly, ma’am,” The driver said, pulling out into the, at that time, light afternoon traffic.

Octavia lived fairly close to the concert hall, so it wasn’t more than five minutes with the light traffic, and they arrived. The driver pulled over in front of the concert hall and parked, getting out and retrieving the cello from the boot while Octavia climbed out of the back. She paid and thanked the man, then took her cello into the concert hall and dropped it off on the stage before heading across the street to the café.

She sat down at one of the tables on the front patio and checked her watch, seeing that it was only twenty minutes past two and that she had forty minutes before practice, more than enough time. She picked up a menu and began to look it over. Not more than a minute passed before a waiter came to her table to take her order.

“Can I start you off with something to drink, miss?” the young man asked.

“Yes; I’d like a cup of Earl Grey, please.”

“Certainly, ma’am; I’ll have that right out for you.” The waiter inclined his head and walked inside to place the order.

Octavia continued to peruse the menu, deciding on a grilled turkey and cheese on ciabatta bread sandwich. She put the menu down and thought about her musical predicament. What do I need to do to fix this? Do I need a holiday? Or perhaps I need to see a therapist? I have been feeling rather down lately, maybe I do need help of a professional nature. Before she could explore that line of thought further, the waiter arrived with the tea and took her order for food, then left her again with her tea and her thoughts.

Rather than returning to her previous train of thought, she began people watching. There were many people out at that time, moving here and there, taking care of mundane errands or heading to important meetings. It wasn’t long before some of her fellow musicians began to arrive at the concert hall. She was usually one of the early ones as well, preferring to arrive early rather than risk getting caught in traffic or falling victim to some other unforeseen circumstance and being late.

The first person she saw arrive was Symphony, which wasn’t at all unusual as she was one of the oft-early arrivals. She got out of her cab, her violin case in hand, and went right into the concert hall. At that time the waiter arrived with her sandwich; Octavia thanked him and he left after inquiring whether there was anything else she needed.

The cellist continued to people-watch as she began eating her sandwich with some voracity, as she was quite hungry, but not so much as to completely abandon the strict manners which she had been brought up with from an early age.

A young couple sat down at the table just to her left and began discussing the meeting they were to have with a realtor after their lunch. A yellow cab pulled up outside the concert hall, from which Frederic emerged, which was a bit odd; as the pianist didn’t have an instrument to move around or maintain, because the concert hall staff took care of it, he would usually just stroll in a few minutes before practice started.I wonder why he’s here early?

She watched him as he conversed with his cab driver for a moment, then turned around and walked into the concert hall. Hmm, Frederic is handsome, I suppose. He certainly seems to attract the attention of most of the other ladies in the Orchestra. I just can’t seem to imagine being with him, though. Come to think of it, after the disaster that was my last relationship, I can’t imagine myself with any of the men I’m acquainted with.Maybe I would have a better experience with a nice woman, but how would that affect my life? What would my parents think? The Orchestra? Although, Lyra is with a woman and still in the Orchestra, so maybe it wouldn’t affect my career very much. But my family...

Deciding to save that line of thought for another time, Octavia finished her sandwich and downed the last of her tea. The waiter came by and asked one last time if she desired anything else, then dropped off the cheque after he received another polite reply in the negative. She looked at her watch. Ten minutes until practice starts; I suppose I should make way across the street. She left enough money to cover the bill with enough left over for a generous tip, got up and made her way across the street to the concert hall. As she was approaching the front door a short, mint-green and white haired woman came up and fell into step beside her.

“Hey, Octavia!” Lyra said brightly.

“Hello, Lyra; how are you this afternoon?”

“I’m doing great, thanks! How are you?”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Octavia smiled, then let it drop into a frown. “I’ve been better, actually.”

“Still having trouble with your music?” Lyra frowned in sympathy, knowing, as a fellow musician, what it was like to have trouble with the music.

“Yes. Nothing has helped; I just don’t know what to do,” Octavia said with a sigh, her voice tinged with despair.

“Well, I have an idea!” the shorter woman said as they entered the concert hall, a smile on her face. “I’m getting a group of friends together to go to the Prancing Pony tonight; you should come! I think a night out on the town will do us some good.”

“Go out to a club?” Octavia sounded doubtful. “I don’t know; clubs aren’t really my cup of tea, so to speak. Who else is going?”

“So far it’s myself, Bon Bon, Spitfire, and Rainbow Dash; I’m going to invite Beauty and Harpo as well. I mentioned the idea to Beauty a couple days ago and she seemed on board, so I think they will come. Also, my best friend is spinning there tonight, and she will join us after her set is done.”

“Spitfire and Rainbow Dash? As in the Wonderbolts and friends of Princess Twilight?” Octavia asked, slightly surprised.

“Yep, that’s them!”

“I had no idea you were friends with such famous and important people. Why haven’t you ever mentioned them?” the cellist asked.

“Well, they aren’t around much, what with all of the training and touring they have to do, so I guess I’ve just never had occasion to talk about them.”

“I see.” Octavia’s eyes became distant as she debated whether or not to go. “Well, if Beauty and Harpo are going to go, I suppose I’ll go as well. I agree that a night out may do me some good.”

“Wonderful! I’ll go confirm things with Beauty and Harpo, then.”

The two women continued up onto the stage and Octavia went to retrieve and set up her cello while Lyra went to talk to Beauty Brass and Harpo Nandermane, who were bent over their own respective instruments. As Octavia was fine tuning her cello, she heard someone walk up behind her and turned around to see Frederic standing there.

“Good afternoon, Octavia.” The white haired man smiled pleasantly.

“Hello, Frederic; how are you today?”

“I am quite well today, thank you,” he replied in his slightly smug Manehatten accent, as he reached up and brushed a lock of his white hair aside. “And how do you fare on this beautiful, spring day?”

“I’m doing fine, thank you,” she lied, not wanting to talk to him about her troubles.

“I’m happy to hear that, my dear. Octavia, would you care to join me for dinner and a trip to the museum this evening? There is an exhibit on pre-Celestial and Lunar Equestrian history that I’ve heard many good things about.”

Oh no, is he asking me out on a date? Awkward… How do I handle this? Searching for a way out, she looked up towards Lyra, still standing with Beauty and Harpo, and received a thumbs up that signified that the couple would indeed be going to the club that night. Brilliant timing, Lyra!

With an apologetic smile, Octavia looked back up at the man. “I’m very flattered, Frederic; but I’m afraid I must decline as I have already made plans to go to the Prancing Pony with Lyra, Beauty, and Harpo tonight.”

“Ah, I see,” Frederic said a bit awkwardly and looked down at the stage, a little put off. “Perhaps some other time, then.”

“Perhaps,” Octavia said, with only a little hesitance.

Before things could get any more awkward, Noteworthy, the orchestra's conductor, came to the rescue.

“Alright, everyone; take your places, please, and we’ll get started.”

The musicians all moved to their respective places; as principal cellist and concertmaster, Octavia took her place at the front of the strings section. She could tell that Frederic was not very happy with the turn of events, and got the impression that he was not expecting to be turned down. Octavia was just happy that she had dodged the proverbial bullet.

She settled in for what would be a prosaic, uneventful practice. As she packed up her cello afterwards, Lyra walked up beside her. “So, Beauty and Harpo are in. We are going to meet at the Pony at 9:30 tonight; does that work for you?”

“That should be just fine. I’ll meet you there, then?”

“Yes; that will be perfect. See you tonight, then!” Lyra replied with a happy smile, bouncing away with joyous energy at the prospect of a night out with her friends.

“See you tonight,” Octavia replied with a thoughtful smile. For some reason, she had a good feeling about going out that night.

Lyra picked up her lyre and headed towards the door, her cellphone held up to her ear as she called Vinyl to let her know who to add to the club’s guest list. WIth a little bit of luck, tonight will be the beginning of something new and amazing for my best friend.