The night went by in a quick blur after that, Octavia and Berry slinking off the dance floor to lounge at their booth, quickly going through the shots. But Octavia needed a fun, long night to let loose, so they were quick slamming down more, laughing while exchanging jokes and kisses, snuggled up right against one another, seeing who could drink the most, both nearly passing out in the process. It was so unlike her to be like this, to be so party like, drinking even. She NEVER drank, but the warm feeling tingling down her throat, the laughter of her marefriend and the stallions remark fading away all made up for it. When her twentieth glass hit the table, she slumped back, everything was spinning, she felt dazed, wobbly, grabbing for things that were far away. She was seeing two Berry's next to her, everything was doubling, spinning. For a mare who had drank once in her life before this, she had handled the drinking well. But she was tired, eyelids feeling heavy, her head found itself in Berry's lap, falling asleep quickly. When she was nudged, all that she gave was a loud groan, rolling closer into Berry. Letting her head rest against her stomach, the soft, sweet smelling fur soothed her back into her dreams. There was no way anything was waking her now, Octavia was needing the sleep.

When she did wake, Octavia was back in her bed, the curtains closed, door shut, the room covered in darkness, the early morning sun hidden from her. A loud groan left the musician. Rolling over, Octavia sat up in her bed, yawning loud, bringing a hoof up to rub her messy mane, bow-tie on the ground close to the door. She could barely remember anything from last night besides the kiss, which kept running through her mind, making her heart race a bit.. But what else had happened? She couldn't recall any of it, her mind groggy, body feeling exhausted, a horrid taste lingering in her mouth. Berry was passed out besides her, chest rising and falling slowly, still deep asleep. Closing her eyes to let out another yawn, Octavia groaned. Practice today, hopefully Vinyl would have showed up.. Thank Celestia too she didn't drink as much as Berry, or she'd be having quite the hangover! Forcing herself out of bed, she squinted, making herself rip open the blind, shielding her eyes to hide them from the sun as morning sunlight poured into the room. It was a bit late in the morning, not too late to go to practice, hopefully getting Berry to tag along! If she was disappointed by Vinyl again then she'd have some-pony to be with, if not, then she could see how well the two were doing. Running her hoof through her ruined mane again, Octavia headed for the door, picking up her bowtie to set it on her desk. She could still taste whatever she'd ate last in her mouth, lingering there, some water from the sink to splash on her face and a shower would make it all better- She could easily grab a few gulps! Maybe Berry would even wake up to join her in the shower.

The hotels bathroom was.. Decent. It was nothing compared to ones in Canterlot or in her own home, but it was still nice, small, cozy looking. Her hooves met the soft rug, the white tiles hidden under it. A few towels were on a rack, the tubs glass door shut tight. Dimming the lights to fit her eyes more, Octavia yawned again, wanting more sleep but knowing she'd never get it today. Forgetting about splashing her face already, she tumbled into the bathtub, closing the glass door behind her, the white, duck covered curtains hiding her from view. Gently turning the nob for hot and cold up, hot a lot more, Octavia sighed in relief as the hot, slightly cool water rained down on her exhausted body, though the feel of water was quick to wake. Steam rose up, quickly filling the bathroom, the mares relieved sighs echoing out, the soap running over her body, mane and tail drenched with water, the nasty taste replaced with water, fur being scrubbed clean, messy mane being washed clean with the cinnamon scented shampoo. After a night light that, a hot, long shower was a dream to Octavia. Still a bit fuzzy with the details, Tavi could clearly make out they got hammered before coming back home to pass out on her bed. Vinyl, thankfully, had probably been partying, that mare would have never let her live down getting drunk like that! The bitter taste must have been her puke, the very thought made her want to retch.

The sound of the bathroom door opening made her perk up her ears, a smile quickly forming on her lips as the glass door opened to reveal Berry, her mare-friend stepping into the soothing water. "Mmm.. Quite a night huh, Berry? You really got me drunk.." She said with a little giggle, leaning over to kiss her lovers lips, tasting the sweet taste of Berry, making her want to push deeper but knowing she had to pull away, Tavi did. "I have to leave soon for practice, I'm sorry, I was hoping you could come with me though? Vinyl is probably dying to see you with me, and it's better then staying cooped up in here!" The grey mare exclaimed, rushing, obviously. She, or they, had somewhere to be! HER, missing practice, Vinyl would tease her about that every day- Or worse yet use it as an excuse against her!

"Heh, yeah, sorry 'bout that.. Shoulda let you drink a little less, but you looked like you were having such a good time! Next time I'll let you get what you want, but sometimes Tavi ya' gotta let loose!" Berry chuckled and leaned down, kissing her smaller mare-friend, taking a soft sniff at her mane. "Mm.. What is that.. Cinnamon? Smells great~!"

Octavia's cheeks flushed red, nodding as if she was a filly almost, Berry's words just seemed to spin her heart and make her want to say yes over and over! She was so far in love with her, so wanting, so needy, all she wanted was to hold her love close and never let go, to just listen to her heartbeat, feeling soft kisses on her mane, strong fore hooves around her, drifting off to the soothing sound of Berry's laughter. "Mm.. Let's do.. Strawberry for yours!" Shampoo was spurted onto her hooves a moment later, then quickly ran through Berry's dipped head, her soft giggles bringing a smile on her face again. "You have such a beautiful laugh.."

About an hour later, the two were washed, dried, teeth brushed, fed, and ready to go. Octavia's bow-tie was on, Cello strapped onto her back. The practice was taking place where the concert was, Ponyville Town Hall. Not inside, since there was no way every-pony attending would fit it there. Outside, right in-front, with the backstage area located in the town hall, where Vinyl and Octavia would get ready then meet the lucky few, if any, who won backstage tickets. Usually they held a contest, ponies entered their names and a few lucky ones were chosen, though sometimes a blank slot of the many that are input are chosen! It was still quite early, stopping just around six hours or so before noon. The sun was still up though, an early rise this morning, sending soft sunlight down on the land, a cool breeze blowing over the two ponies. Ponyville was quiet at this team, no school today, ponies still sleeping inside, the roads barren as they trotted down them,a lazy Saturday.

It wasn't a long walk from the building out to the town hall, the keys given to her from the mayor to unlock it jingling from her mouth, muffled a bit though by the two's soft talking as they walked side by side. Unlocking the doors to the town-hall, she shut and locked them behind her, turning around to see.. No-pony. Not a huge surprise, Vinyl was no where to be seen, her equipment not set up. She was probably over at some-ponies house still hung over, partying, maybe playing a game or giving a private show. Sighing in disappointment, Octavia headed up onto the wooden stage, easy enough to fit her and Vinyl, but not enough room for every-pony, maybe half if most of the Pegasus stayed in the air- Which was asking a little too much. "I should have known she wouldn't come, always missing our practices, should be here right now, that equipment of hers takes at least a hal-" A knock on the door made them both jump a bit, Octavia's frown turning into a light smile. "Oh look.. Guess who is here.. Minutes late but nonetheless at least.. Here." She mumbled, unlocking the door for her to let her in. A few speakers covered with a magical glow floated themselves in, followed by cords and headphones, a mass of equipment that should have been here already. "Good to see you Vinyl.. I believe you two have already met?"

Vinyl's carefree laugh filled the empty building, the DJ mare stepping inside, using a hing leg to kick the door shut, yawning. "Come onnn Octavia, it's only like five minutes late, barely anything! I'll get this all set up while you practice, no biggie! Oooh.. Heh.. it worked? A.. Awesome!" Vinyl's eyes lit with joy, a gentle nuzzle to Octavia's cheek causing a jealous look on Berry's face and a happy one on Vinyl's. "Hold yourself, I'm not trying anything~ Just glad it worked, Octavia already seems better with you- Before she would have bit my head off for missing!" A grin was on her face again at the light teasing she was getting. "Hey, try not to rut her while I set this up, alright?" With that, she turned and trotted off, giggling a bit, leaving a dark blushing Octavia.

Coughing into her hoof after her partner left, Octavia gathered herself together from the little teasing remark. "A-Alright! Um.. While.. She.. Hooks up all her equipment, I'll give you a little example of our new song. I'll be singing a few lines in this one unless we come up with something new, but it's more focused on her music being the beat to mine to make it "wub-tastic?" Basically I'll be playing louder, her shorter." Even being a small pony, years of lugging around such a large thing had given her quite the strong hooves, taking it out was almost nothing to her! With a bow in one hoof and the Cello set up in the right position, with Berry watching, Octavia began to play.

~About a half hour later~

Octavia bowed her head as her hoof stopped, the bow playing out one last long note as Vinyl's woop of joy upon finishing setting up all her equipment. Berry began stomping her hooves, making her cheeks flush red, the bow running down her mane a bit as her hoof went up to nervously fiddle with it. It was quite a habit of hers, toying with her mane when nervous, or starting to shake as her nerves got the best of her. "T-Thank you Berry.. I.. I'm delighted you enjoyed it so!" Leaning forward, their lips met in a quick kiss before Octavia had to pick up her cello again, putting it back in its case to carry it up on stage, setting it down a little away from Vinyl's speakers and such.

"Soo.. How's it goin' with Berry? Sorry 'bout that little comment, but EVERYPONY has seen the paper of that! I.. I never suspected Berry had.. THAT, but hey, I don't mind her, not gonna tell any-pony! But of course alot think that she... You know. It's kinda obvious, there were no other ponies in the house, who else could it have been, huh? You two make a cute couple thou-" Her speaking stop as she noticed Octavia staring down at the stage fumbling for words with dark-red cheeks at the topic of fucking again, making her roll her eyes. "Well, Er.. Uhm, sorry, anyways. Sorry about being really late, had a kick-ass party last night.. Mighta drank a little too much! I fell asleep on the mares couch, had to run out carrying everything before racing over here, y'know I'd never just ditch on you! Let's get this started right?” Vinyl flipped on her glasses before heading over to her DJ station, headphones over her ears in a flash, her usual cocky grin on her face. Octavia, even though they had a deep, loving friendship, always had a.. Thing for Vinyl. Not anymore of course, well, maybe a tiny bit, but it was pushed so far down under Berry it wouldn’t be noticeable in the glance she gave to her. She was just.. So carefree, so playful, such a party-hard animal that loved to dance and blare music, to stay up late, not to follow rules and… Do well, everything Tavi was 100% against! That was why she had grown that loving feeling so long ago for her, but it was nothing now, but as she glanced at her, memories of when those feelings had come up filled her mind from her recent experiences with love. Perhaps that was the reason Vinyl had set her up, after the.. “Incident” Octavia’s stress had risen, she’d become a bit more hostile, work, work, work, nothing else, Vinyl was late, a big argument followed by Tavi storming out at the slightest mistake. All because of four words, four words that had shattered her at the time but turned her into a stronger mare, a better working mare, one who put love far aside.

It was a cold, snowy day in mid-winter, the campus, where two mares legendary in music, where staying. One, a prim proper mare from Canterlot, the other a wild DJ mare from Fillydelphia. Usually, they’d be out practicing new songs which would be on the lips of every other pony out there on campus, humming the beat of the DJ, Vinyl, or singing out the proper, classical mare, Octavia’s words. But not tonight. Every-pony was huddled together inside their dorms, the freezing temperature outside accompanied by the blizzard outside with wonder-bolt fast winds! This went to the two mares at the time, both wrapped in each-others fore-hooves, their bodies held close.. Octavia was filled with joy, her heart beating in her chest.. From filly friends to this, sharing a room together, playing daily with one another, to the point of finishing each-others sentences, to sleeping in each-others bed. It was love, her first ever love, spent with a mare so opposite to her she was sure mother would have a heart attack! But none of that mattered, their muzzles were pressed together, chests close, she was sure Vinyl could hear her rampaging heartbeat, her mouth struggling to form words to say, to get out the right ones, the ones that needed to be heard, to be said after all this time together, to how close they had been..

The scene flashed back, her bow dancing across the strings, her sorrow of that time escaping into now, breathing out into her words now, crackling with emotion as Vinyl quickly switched her beat to something more.. Sad. Octavia did it almost naturally, the music taking a turn for the kind that plucked at some-ponies heart.

“Vinyl.. Vi.. Vinyl I’v.. We've just become so close.. I.. I.. I love you Vinyl Scratch, I don’t ever want to let you go!” Pushing up, their lips pressed together, she held her close.. But it was pushed back, her first kiss shoved away, the look on Vinyl’s face shame, sorrow.. Guilt.

Her voice cracked a bit, she was a mare used to signing, of course she could easily change her tone to more sad, to show real emotion.. But would either of them know? She closed her eyes, not caring as she sang out once more, the music going slower, a tear forming in her eyes.

Octavia could feel her pushing away, the look all enough to break her heart, making her start to whimper a bit, not knowing what the problem was. “V.. Vinyl?”

“T.. Tavi I’m not… Into mares..”

She couldn't do it anymore, she was going to cry at the memory, cry because she had a new love, at how it picked at her strings, made her remember how she had become after that, only being saved from Vinyl’s apology.. So why was she remembering it in that glance? Was it because she had found some pony else? She wanted to get rid of the memory, she had Berry now.. Berry would never do that to her, they loved eachother, Vinyl had made her mistake, it wasn't going to get to her now! The memory broke off as she forced it down, not wanting to remember those times, voice singing out through the empty space of the town hall, hanging on one last note before it stopped, her hoof coming to a rest, the mare panting a bit.

“Tavi That.. Was.. AWESOME!!”

Berry’s stomping filled her ears, Octavia was grinning at the sight. That glance had brought up such an old memory, a mistake of her past, she never should have acted so much.. But she needed to talk with Vinyl about it, something like that from a few witty remarks about sex and her and Berry? She had to confront the problem.. But not now, not here.. Another time.

“T.. Thanks! Uh.. Pick a beat, let’s go again!”

Author's Note

Hope it's enjoyable