A Heartfelt Symphonyby ABurningWolfChaptersChapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter SevenChapter EightChapter NineChapter OneChapter One The grey mare began walking to the other side of the club during a slight lull in the song, the crowd around her dancing to a beat unseen or unheard by herself. She looked around, examining the brightly coloured dance floor and stage, both of which were covered with flashing, neon lights. How did I end up in here? Octavia thought to herself as she finally reached the VIP area where a large bouncer pulled back the red rope for her. Octavia brushed back her mane and sat down on one of the plush couches next to the clubs new owner, a mare by the name of Vinyl Scratch. The white and blue mare gave the newcomer a quick glance through her purple shades before resuming her own conversation with the talent scout. “He’s pretty sweet ain’t he?” The scout looked up at the DJ who was currently preforming on a huge, cube shaped stage customized to fit any soundboards, turntables, and mixers that a DJ might bring. Lights and screens on the cube responded in time with the music, making it look alive. “He’s okay I suppose...my agency would prefer your name on the record label though.” “Dude, we’ve already gone over this, I will not switch labels,” Vinyl shouted in reply as the songs volume picked up. “And why not? This club is as big as you’ll ever get with your current contract. If you join us, you could get huge!” “I don’t care about getting huge if it means being an asshole and leaving my friends in the dust,” She replied with an annoyed look. “Now, if you want the new kid, let me know. Otherwise, get out of my club.” “Fine, we’ll take him. But this is our last offer for you Vinyl” “Oh thank Celestia, you’ve finally given up! I’ll let the kid know after he’s done here tonight.” The talent agent sighed and stood up, “Alright, thanks I suppose.” Vinyl finally relaxed back onto the couch after the agent had gone before turning to the grey mare sitting beside her. “Sup?” Octavia wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead as the temperature in the club continued to rise. “Umm…hello. I am Octavia Melody” Vinyl gave her a blank stare through the purple lenses of her glasses. “Okay, so?” “Have you not heard of me?” She thought for a minute before answering, “Nope, was I supposed to?” Octavia looked surprised at first but then looked at the club around her before, taking in the so called “music” and lights before answering, “No, I suppose a ‘musician’ such as yourself would not have.” Vinyl’s eyes narrowed, “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Oh nothing” The DJ decided to let it go and find out exactly why she was here, “I haven’t seen you in any of the other clubs before, what brings you to mine?” “Well…” The grey mare looked a little embarrassed. “I’ve been out of work for a while, ever since the Gala, and I was wo-” “Wait, hold up. Don’t tell me it was you who played the Pony Pokey at the Grand Galloping Gala!” Vinyl interrupted, only barely trying to hide her laugh when Octavia didn’t respond. “It was! Ha! That’s awesome!” She managed to stifle her laughs. “Okay, I’m done. You were saying?” “How is that ‘awesome’? My career is ruined because of that stupid song. Nopony will take me seriously as a musician now!” She took a moment to collect herself before continuing. “Anyway…I was hoping that you would have a job opening here. Maybe one night a week where I could perform and I could serve food the rest of the time” “Girl, I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet, but this is a nightclub. We don’t really do…what do you do again?” “I play the cello and I sing”, Octavia replied. “Exactly. This place does dubstep and techno. Not classical. You should go find some mall or museum if you want to play your stuff. Now about you being a server, yea, normally I’d hire you but I’m closing this place soon. It costs me more to keep it open than I make from it. If I hire you now, not only would I be losing more money, but you’d be out of work anyway in like a month”. “You’re closing your club?” “I just answered that” “I saw some public records that read that your club is one of the most successful in all of Manehattan. How are you losing money?” Octavia asked, a little shocked. Vinyl gave the cellist a strange look, “Most successful? How? The guy who does most of the accounting stuff…oh…well shit…” She stood up and walked over to the office section of her building. After a few minutes, a brown stallion carrying a box of random office supplies was shoved roughly out the door. A couple of pencils dropped from the box as he rushed through the crowd towards the door, a faint smirk on his face. Vinyl ran burst through the door soon after, her face making her anger obvious. “You are soo fired Cole!” The whole club stopped and stared at Vinyl, causing her to blush and shrink back down onto the couch next to Octavia. After a minute, they resumed their dancing which allowed Vinyl to relax a little, the anger slowly ebbing out of her. “What was that about?” Octavia asked, giving the still frustrated DJ a questioning glance. “Asshole was only recording half of my profits and keeping the rest…” She replied, shaking her head a little. Vinyl glanced up at the grey mare beside her and smiled a little. “Well it looks like I need a new accountant; think you’re up for it?” Octavia grinned. Chapter TwoChapter Two Vinyl smiled as the deep, resonating tone of the cello echoed through the nightclub. She stepped out of her office onto soft carpet floor of the VIP area. Her gaze shifted around the room, looking at the surprising amount of ponies that actually showed up to listen to the cellist play before falling on the grey mare herself who was currently on the stage that was normally reserverd for live bands. It had been nearly two weeks since the incident with the former accountant and her profits were at an all-time high so, in reward for doing so well with the financial details, she finally agreed to let Octavia preform on one of the less busy nights. Octavia had her eyes closed as she guided the bow along the strings of her instrument, lost in the music. It had been so long since she had played in front of an audience and she had forgotten how much she enjoyed preforming. She smiled and opened her eyes as she finished the song, blushing a bit as she saw a white mare watching and smiling at her from the VIP area. As the applause faded, Octavia stepped down the stages stairs, leaving her cello on stage to put away later, after the audience had gone. Vinyl approached her as she reached the floor below, a smile on her face. “Oh, hey Vinyl” “That was great Octy!” Vinyl pulled the surprised grey mare into a hug, making Octavia blush a little. “It wasn’t that great; I haven’t practiced in a while so I-” “Nope! None of that! You were awesome. It’s not easy to get an entire club of ponies to actually enjoy any music other than dubstep. And you even got a standing ovation!” Vinyl interrupted, tightening the hug briefly before pulling back. Octavia looked at the DJ pony and smiled. “Thanks Vinyl. That means a lot.” “You’re welcome. Now I have a question for ya…” She said. “Okay, what is it Vinyl?” “The other day, you mentioned that you had to move out of your old apartment so I was wondering…where are you staying now?” Vinyl asked. “Oh I’ve just been staying in a hotel. Don’t worry about it.” “You could come stay with me if you wanted to. That way you wouldn’t have to pay for rent” Octavia shook her head slightly, “No, no. I wouldn’t want to be a burden” “You wouldn’t be a burden Octy. I promise” “Are you sure Vinyl?” “Yup!” Vinyl grinned at her. “I insist” Octavia pulled Vinyl into another hug and smiled. “Thank you Vinyl, I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you” The pair stepped into Vinyl’s small apartment, both of them exhausted from the last night’s events. Later into the evening, there had been an unexpected amount of ponies show up and, since Wednesdays were usually slower, they had been completely understaffed. Vinyl had been able to put some of her music on the DJ table but had to quickly rush back to help work at the bar after she had put on the new song but she also had to rush back to put on a new song whenever the old one ended. Octavia, being new to the job, had been mixing drinks for the customers when the new crowd had come in. She was only able to keep up once Vinyl had come to help her and even then it was difficult. Vinyl took a deep breath and smiled at Octavia, “Quite a night, huh?” “Yea, I am utterly exhausted,” she dropped her small bag of stuff onto the floor next to the couch. Vinyl raised her eyebrow at her, “What are you doing?” “I am about to go to sleep. Is it not obvious?” “On the couch?” “Of course, unless you have a bedroom other than your own that is.” Vinyl shook her head, “No, I don’t but you can have my bedroom, I’ll sleep on the couch. You’re my guest.” “That will not be necessary Vinyl, I will be perfectly content here,” She sat down. “Maybe you will but I’ll feel weird with you sleeping here”. “Well what do you suggest we do?” the cellist asked, bringing a faint blush from Vinyl. “What? Why are you blushing?” “Oh, um…no reason…” Vinyl turned her head a little to hide her face. “I just had a stupid idea.” “Well what was it?” Octavia asked. “Nothing, it’s dumb. Please just take the bed Octavia,” The white mare replied. “I hate to intrude but if you insist, I shall take the bed,” Octavia relented. She picked up her bags again and walked into the bedroom where she dropped them onto the dresser. She unpacked a few small items such as her brush and bowties before returning to the living room where vinyl was laying a blanket out onto the couch. “We should probably go to sleep. It’s been a long night and we have to be back at the club tonight”. “Yea, you’re probably right. I guess I’ll see you when you get up,” Vinyl said as she sat down on the end of the couch. “I’ll probably be up before you anyway.” “Okay. I’ll see you later then,” Octavia said before trotting back into the bedroom and lying down. Why is that mare so nervous around me? She doesn’t act that way when she’s with anypony else. I’ll have to ask her later I suppose, Octavia thought to herself as she pulled the covers over her. A few minutes later, all that could be heard was her breath as she slept. Even after Octavia had fallen asleep, Vinyl Scratch was still wide awake on the couch. She was on her back staring at the ceiling, her thoughts always drifting back to a certain grey mare. Finally, she sat up, “Ugghh! Why can’t I stop thinking about her?!” You like her, a voice said softly. “Do not! And even if I did like her that way, she’s a cellist and I’m just a DJ; she’d never go for me.” Is that true or are you just telling yourself that? The voice continued. “I-I don’t know…I don’t think she would. She’s so…perfect and I’m so, well…me.” Why don’t you just tell her that you have feelings for her? “I don’t have feelings for her!” Vinyl nearly shouted but kept it to just a loud whisper. The voice persisted; you just admitted that you thought that she’s perfect. It’s pretty obvious actually. “Shut up…who are you anyway?” Vinyl snapped. When Vinyl got no response, she sighed, lay back down, and fell asleep a few minutes later. Chapter ThreeChapter Three Octavia’s eyes slowly adjusted to the soft, afternoon light that filled the room. She sat up in her bed and stretched, looking around at the room before her. The walls were full posters of other DJs and musicians such as Deadpon-3, who was obviously one of her favorites. Octavia stood up and walked over to a desk that stood next to a window. She looked at her reflection for a second in one of the three monitors before looking down at the contents of the desk itself. There were multiple CDs and a large electronic device with a large number of knobs and buttons which she left alone before trotting over to the bathroom door, still groggy from the hours of sleep that she’d gotten. I haven’t slept that well in weeks, she thought to herself as she opened the door, releasing a wall of warm air and steam. What in the-?! “Oh! H-hey Octavia. Do ya think you could knock next time you hear the shower running?” Vinyl said from behind the glass door of the shower, her face turning a deep shade of red. Octavia blushed as well before looking away. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t hear it, I just woke up and I…sorry…” She stammered out before turning to leave the bathroom. “It’s okay Octy, you just surprised me,” Vinyl said before turning off the shower and stepping out, her face back to its normal color. “Can you hand me that towel over there?” “Y-yea, sure,” the grey mare said, walking over to the towel and picking it up. She tossed it over to Vinyl who started to dry off. “I made breakfast if you want some; it's over on the table,” Vinyl said as she shook out her mane, allowing it to go back to its usual, wild state. Octavia regained her usual composure, “Thank you Vinyl. I apologize for walking in on your shower. I'll be in the other room.” She stepped back out into the bedroom and took a deep breath before continuing on into the kitchen. She found the plate of food sitting on the table just where Vinyl had said it was. Vinyl came out of the bedroom, completely dried off, wearing her trademark purple glasses, just as Octavia finished cleaning up her plate. “Morning Octy” “Good morning Vinyl. Did you sleep well?” the cellist replied. “Yep. Did you?” Vinyl asked her. “Yes” A few moments went by in silence. “Soo…Octavia…” Vinyl trailed off. “Yes Vinyl? What is it? “Nothing…never mind, it’s stupid” Vinyl blushed a bit and appeared to be very interested in a small discoloring in the wall. “Okay. Vinyl, can I ask you something?” “Sure Octy” “Okay, well I was wondering why you have been so nervous around me lately. Have I done something wrong?” Octavia asked. Vinyl’s face turned red as she spoke, “I umm…no, you haven’t done anything I just…yea…” “What?” Octavia asked, confused. “It-it’s no big deal, don’t worry about it,” Vinyl forced a smile and tried to change the subject. “So…how are you liking working at the club so far?” “The customers can get very loud and annoying when they’ve had a few too many ciders. Other than that I’m enjoying it well enough.” Octavia replied, deciding to drop the previous conversation. “How’s the number stuff coming along?” “Number stuff? Oh you mean the accounting. That’s going very well; you’re turning an average profit of seven thousand bits per night after purchases, paychecks, mortgages and taxes.” Vinyl whistled. “Wow, I didn’t realize I was making that much”. “Well you are the most successful club in Manehatten right now. I looked into it the other day. Your numbers nearly double all of your competitor’s.” The DJ’s jaw dropped. “Are…are you serious?” “Why wouldn’t I be?” Vinyl was on her in a second, hugging her tightly. “Omygoshohmygoshohmygosh! You’re the best!” “I am simply doing what you hired me to do. There is no need to thank me”. Vinyl let Octavia go and stepped back. “I know but…seven thousand bits! After payments! That’s incredible!” “Well we had better get to the club, my shift starts in an hour and I want to be there before most of the customers arrive.” “Yea okay. I’ll wait here for you to get ready.” “I am ready.” “Umm…what about that tie thing you always have on?” Octavia looked down and realized that she had not put on her signature pink bowtie. “Oh yes, of course. Thank you Vinyl”. She walked back into the bedroom and picked one up, revealing a small piece of paper underneath. She paused and picked up the paper as well. "Oh wow..." she said softly as she looked at the drawing that filled the paper. It showed a mare sitting at a desk, concentrating on whatever she was doing in a record book that looked very similar to the one at Vinyl's club. Whoever had drawn the picture had gotten everything just right, from the way the mares mane fell across her shoulder to the shadows on the desk. It was only then that Octavia noticed that the mare in the picture had a small bowtie around her neck. "Octy? You comin'?" Vinyl called from the other room. She quickly put the picture back and covered it with her bag before returning to Vinyl. “Okay, I think I’m ready to go now.” They left Vinyl's apartment and started walking towards the club. After a couple of minutes spent in silence, Vinyl glanced over at the mare beside her. “Soo...Octy...Where are you from?” She asked, wanting to find out more about the cellist. “I was born in Canterlot where I studied music but I moved to Manehatten to work, until that pink pony appeared at the Grand Galloping Gala that is.” She replied. “Oh you're one of those Canterlot ponies. I knew it. Anyway...what else do you do other than play that cello of yours?” “I study classical music and compose my own works.” “Is that it? No clubbing, no parties, no drinking or anything like that?” Vinyl asked. Octavia looked at her, a little confused, “Why in Equestria would I partake in such activities?” “Oh I don't know, maybe because its fun” “Fun? How can blacking out and waking up with a headache possibly be fun?” Vinyl stopped walking and turned to her before speaking, “Hold up, you're telling me that, throughout your entire time at high school, you never once went to a real party?” “No, I have never been to what you would call a 'real party'.” Vinyl just grinned a little. “What's that look for?” The grey mare asked, not sure where this was going. “Oh nothing” Vinyl turned and trotted in the other direction, away from the club. “Vinyl! Where are you going? We have to go to work!” Octavia ran to catch up. “You just said that you've never been to a party right?” “Yes” Vinyl gave her a sly smile, “Well I guess we'll have to fix that, won't we? Chapter FourChapter Four “Vinyl, I don’t think that this is a good idea...” Octavia said nervously as they approached a large house, just outside the city. “Oh come on Octy; you can’t back out now. We’re already here,” Vinyl replied, determined to get Octavia to the party. Octavia glanced back at the house, which was alive with lights flashing different colours. “I’m just nervous, I suppose. When is this party scheduled to end?” Vinyl laughed a little. “What’s so funny?” The cellist asked with a small frown. “It’s not scheduled to end at all. For all I know, this party could go on for a couple of days. It is a Pinkie Pie party after all,” Vinyl replied. “A couple of days?!” “Oh don’t worry, we won’t stay that long. We’ll just be here for a few hours” Octavia sighed in relief, “Well alright, that’s fine then. I thought Pinkie Pie lived in Ponyville.” Vinyl nodded, “She does but she comes up here every now and again to throw parties like this one.” “She can’t have parties like this in Ponyville?” “Well she can but it’s a small town and the turnout wouldn’t be nearly as big as this.” She motioned to the crowd. They approached the door and Vinyl reached for the doorbell. Suddenly she stopped. “Hey Octy, one more thing before we go in: this is Lyra’s house and she tends to go a little overboard on the cider. If you meet her when she’s like that and Bon Bon isn’t around, find me.” “Why is that? And who’s Bon Bon?” “She tends to get a bit…flirty when she’s drunk around other mares and Bon Bon is her marefriend. She’s also the only one who can keep her a little restrained…kind of…” She rang the doorbell. “What do you mean by ‘kind of’?” Vinyl was about to answer when the door was opened by a light blue pegasus with a rainbow coloured mane. “Vinyl! You made it!” The pegasus shouted over the music, giving a hoof-bump to the DJ Vinyl grinned at her, “Of course I did! You really think I’m gonna miss one of Pinkie’s parties?” “Well with your new club I just thought…whatever,” She looked to Octavia, “And who’s this?” Octavia shifted nervously under the mares questioning gaze. “Oh yea! Octavia, Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, Octavia. She’s one of my employees at the club.” Octavia smiled and held out her hoof, “It’s very nice to meet you Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow shook the other mare’s hoof before turning back to Vinyl, “You brought an employee to a party?” “Well she’s also been staying at my place lately and I thought this’d be fun” Rainbow smirked a little, “Oh well come on in, we’re just getting started” The two mares stepped into the house, which wasn’t as crowded as the yard but still had quite a few ponies in it. Rainbow pulled Vinyl to the side, away from Octavia before leaning in close to her. “So…is she just staying with you or is there something else going on?” Vinyl blushed a little but quickly covered it up. “There’s nothing going on between us. She just needed a little help getting back on her hooves.” “Come on Vinyl…there’s got to be something going on. I mean-” Rainbow persisted then stopped, giving Vinyl a grin. “What? Why are you smiling like that?” “She doesn’t know does she?” Vinyl’s face grew red once again, “What are you talking about? Know what?” “Oh come on Vinyl, you know exactly what I’m talking about,” The pegasus said before taking a drink of the cider she’d been holding. Vinyl tried changing the subject, “Where did Octavia go anyway?” “Don’t change the…actually, I have no idea. Where is she? She was here a second ago wasn’t she?” The DJ looked around the room, peering through her glasses, “I thought she was…maybe we should go find her.” “Yea okay...and don’t think I’m just gonna drop that other thing. We’ll get back to that.” Vinyl sighed softly as they began their search. Octavia stood by the two mares as they talked for a few minutes before wandering off to explore the rest of the house. Just as she entered the living room, a pale green pony came stumbling into the room, her manner clearly telling just how much alcohol she’d had already. Octavia looked to her flank and, seeing her lyre shaped cutie mark, assumed that this must be the mare that Vinyl had mentioned earlier. She quickly headed for the closest door to avoid an encounter with the drunken mare. Lyra spotted the unfamiliar grey mare from across the room and stumbled towards the door, blocking Octavia’s path. She stood in front of the new mare and looked her up and down, examining her in her drunken state. “Wh-whu ur yu?” Octavia replied calmly, attempting to end their conversation before Lyra did anything, “My name is Octavia.” “Whu brought yu too mah party?” She asked, still curious. “A mare named Vinyl Scratch.” Lyra walked around Octavia, still looking closely at her before giving a drunken smile, “Ah know Vinyl,” She said with a small giggle. Octavia started towards the door again, only to be stopped again by the green mare. “Excuse me, I’m trying to get through” She said, her patience wearing thin. Lyra leaned close to Octavia, giving her the same drunken smile as before, “Soo…whut ‘ave you ‘nd Vinyl do together?” “She hired me at her nightclub.” “Is that all?” Octavia nodded. Lyra leaned in a little closer and Octavia took a step back. “Soo…no marefriend then huh?” The cellist shook her head. “No no, our relationship is purely professional. But I do hear that you have one. Am I correct?” Lyra opened her mouth to answer when a beige pony with a blue and pink mane walked through the door. “Yes. Yes she does.” The new pony trotted over and pulled Lyra back a few paces. “I’m sorry about her, she gets weird when she’s drunk. I’m Bon Bon.” She held out her hoof and Octavia shook it. “I’m Octavia. It’s nice to meet you.” “And you as well. Are you new in town? I haven’t seen you at any of the other parties before.” “This is my first party.” “Oh. Well how did you find out about this one?” Bon Bon asked. Lyra poked Bon Bon’s nose and giggled, “Vinyl brought ‘er.” Bon Bon smiled, “Vinyl brought you?” Octavia nodded, “Yes.” “Are you that new mare she hired at the club?” Again, she nodded. “I am.” “She mentioned you a few days ago when I stopped by to tell her about the party.” She mentioned me?, the cellist thought to herself. “What did she say?” Bon Bon smiled again, “Nothing bad, she did seem pretty excited that you were going to stay with her. How is that going by the way? I know Vinyl’s apartment is a little small.” “It’s going well. I’ve only spent one night there. Lyra tugged on her marefriend’s ear, “Ah’m gonna go over there.” She stumbled off without waiting for a response. ”Where’s she going now?” Octavia asked as Lyra left the room. Bon Bon shrugged, “I don’t know. Probably to get more booze.” They both turned towards another door as Rainbowdash and Vinyl entered the room. “Hey Vinyl, good to see you,” Bon Bon said as the other mare approached. Vinyl grinned at her, “Hey Bonnie! I see you already met Octy.” She stood next to Octavia. “Yea, she just met Lyra,” Bon Bon said, laughing a little. The mares talked for a minute before Bon Bon offered them a drink Rainbow declined, motioning to the drink she already had and said that she was going to see if Pinkie was still at the party. She trottted off as Octavia and Vinyl followed Bon Bon into a large room where a bar had been set up along one wall with a large bucket of ice and drinks on top of it and a television on the other. There were about ten other ponies in the room, most of which were watching the Cloudsdale games that were playing on the TV. The music was much quieter in the room, allowing them to speak normally and without raising their voices. Two of the mares took a bottle out of the bucket, leaving only the cellist without a drink. “Hey Octy, ya gonna get a drink or what?” Vinyl asked , taking a sip of her own. Octavia shook her head slightly, “No thank you. I don’t drink alcohol.” The DJ grabbed another bottle and held it out to her. “Come on Octy, it’s a party. You’re supposed to make exceptions.” “I believe one of us must be sober to help the other home.” Bon Bon laughed a little, watching the mares argue over the drink before interrupting, “Octavia, Vinyl isn’t going to give up so you might as well take it, you’ll be fine.” Vinyl smiled and nodded eagerly, moving the bottle just a bit closer to the cellist. “Yea, what she said!” Octavia looked back and forth at the two mares before gingerly taking the bottle from Vinyl. She examined it for a couple of seconds before twisting off the cap and, after another moment of hesitation, took a small sip. It’s not as bad as I had imagined…It’s actually quite good, she thought to herself as the cool, citrusy liquid ran over her tongue and down her throat. “Sooo…what d’ ya think?” Vinyl asked. “It’s surprisingly good.” She took another sip, the alcohol making her feel warm on the inside. Bon Bon chuckled, “See? It’s not so bad now is it?” Octavia shook her head, “No, not at all. It’s actually quite nice. Vinyl downed the rest of her bottle and grabbed another. “Now how about we go see the real party out back?” The grey mare tilted her head a bit, confused, “This isn’t the real party?” Vinyl laughed a little, “You can’t have a real Pinkie Pie party inside.” “And why is that?” “Cause there’s no room for the cannons.” Octavia gulped, “Cannons…?” Octavia stepped through the door into the backyard, following Bon Bon and Vinyl. She took a second to look around, shocked at just how many ponies had shown up to the party. Near the fence on the far side of the yard, a DJ was blasting music through the large speakers on each side. There were lasers and flashing lights set up all around the yard and there was even an electronic dance floor that was flashing to the beat of the music. Vinyl clapped her hooves together in front of Octavia's face. "Hellooo...Earth to Octy!" Octavia blinked, "Hm? Oh, yes. I was listening". "No you weren't. I just asked what you think and you were just gazing off into the distance", Vinyl said. "So, again, What do ya think? Pretty awesome right?" Octavia nodded, "Yes, it's 'pretty awesome'." A glass bottle flew over her head, thrown by a pony to their left. "Though it does seem to be a bit out of control..." Octavia continued. Vinyl glared at the bottle thrower before answering, "It's not really out of control. You'd know if it was out of control". Bon Bon laughed, "Yea, I've seen some pretty ridiculous parties. But Pinkie usually calms it down before it gets to that point." They walked around for a few minutes before someone called Bon Bon away to deal with Lyra, who was currently yelling at everyone in the living room for no apparent reason. "So...what did you say earlier about cannons?" Octavia asked. "Oh yea! They're..." Vinyl trailed off, noticing the surprising lack off cannons. "I actually have no idea where they are. They're usually over there" She motions to the space on either side of the DJ Booth. "Hmm...well that kinda sucks. It's not a real Pinkie Pie party without the-" BOOM Two loud booms echo through the yard, making both Vinyl and Octavia jump as confetti rains down. The rest of the ponies in the backyard turn around towards the house and cheer just as two more booms erupt from the cannons that have been mounted in the second story windows, sending confetti raining down around them again. Vinyl looks over at Octavia, jumps as the cannons continue to fire and laughs, "You should've seen the look on your face!" The cellist frowns at her, "As i recall, you were scared too." "What? Me? Nahh, I was just just pretending to be scared so you wouldn't feel bad" Octaiva shook her head and chuckled, "My hero." She went to take a sip of her drink and stopped, realizing that it was empty. "Hey Vinyl, do you think you could get me another drink?" Vinyl grinned, "Sure, but this time, how about something a little stronger?" Chapter FiveChapter Five Octavia stumbled into the apartment (with Vinyl's support) just as the sun began to rise over the horizon. Neither of them were completely drunk although Octavia did need a little help on the stairs. They made their way over to the couch and sat down beside each other. Octavia smiled and gently leaned against Vinyl who blushed softly but made no effort to move her away. "Thank you for taking me to the party Vinyl, I had a really good time." "No problem. I had a good time too", Vinyl said. The cellist looked up at her, "But I'm so boring compared to you or Bon Bon." Vinyl looked back at her and smiled, "No you're not. I would've just gotten drunk again if you weren't there. I actually really enjoyed hanging out with you." Dear Celestia, I'm so cheesy, She thought to herself. Octavia giggled softly, "You're so sweet. I can't believe that you don't have a coltfriend already." "Yea, uhh...me neither. I mean, I can't believe you don't have one either", Vinyl's blush darkened. Smooth Vinyl...real smooth, she thought. Octavia looked away from the white unicorn with a soft sigh, "Have I told you why I moved to Manehatten?" Vinyl frowned a little, confused by the sudden change in mood. "Didn't you wanna get big or something? This is the place to do it after all." "No, I used to live in Los Pegasus with my mom and dad. I used to take cello lessons with a private tutor every Saturday and Sunday, each one lasting for a few hours. Then, when my cutie mark showed up, they decided it was time for me to start preforming at their parties for the guests. Why they were so insistent on the cello, I don't know." She paused for a moment. "But, what does that have to do with you moving here? And why are you telling me all this now?" "I'm getting to that and I don't know why I'm telling you this now, I just feel like I need to do it." Vinyl shut up as the other mare continued. "My parents are very contemporary. They do not approve of modern, electronic music and most definetly not approve of where I live now. That being said, I was always told that I had to be a perfect gentlepony. Perfect manners, perfect posture, perfect preformances, etcetera. After a while, I just got tired of it; and so I left." "You just left? But what about that thing in Canterlot with the Pony Pokey? Wasn't that like a year and a half ago?" Vinyl asked, surpried that Octavia was telling her all of this. "I went back after a couple of weeks when I realized that I had no idea what I was doing in the real world. I had no money or connections to get me anywhere. Of course, my parents were furious. They didn't allow me to leave the house for weeks. Then, on my nineteeth birthday, my father told me that I was to get married to a stallion from another family. The only problem was that I didnt like him, much less love him." "Well why didn't you tell him that you didn't love him?" Vinyl asked. "Believe me, I did. But it wasn't just that. He told me that if i could find any other noble pony for me to marry, then it would be arranged. That was when I told him that there was no stallion at all..." Octavia trailed off. Vinyl tilted her head a little, "What do you mean?" She can't mean...no, there's no way I'd be that lucky. Octavia shook her head softly, "Goddesses you're so thick sometimes Vinyl. I'm saying that I dont like stallions." Oh Celestia, she did mean that. Vinyl stayed quiet, waiting for Octiavia to continue. "When I told him that, he 'freaked', as you say. I was forced to stay in my room, 'Until I make the right choice and decide to be their daughter again.' This was about eight months ago. After that, I realized that they would never consider me their daughter and so I left again. I tried to make it on my own but, because of my Pony Pokey reputation, I couldn't get a job anywhere. So I finally gave up on finding a job like I used to get and applied for a job at a new nightclub", Octavia stopped talking and looked up at Vinyl, waiting for a reaction. Vinyl stared at the musician for a moment, releasing a breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Wow...I-I don't know what to say. I just...wow..." The unicorn said, still unsure of why Octavia had revealed all of this now. "And I have a confession to make..." Octavia said slowly. There's more?!, Vinyl thought. "I've had enough money to move out for a while now." "Wait...what? Wasn't that your goal? To move out when you had the money?" Octavia nodded, "Yes, it was my goal. I wanted to move out for the first couple of nights but, when I'd gotten to know you a little more, I realized that I wanted to stay. I didn't want to just see you at work..." Her blush was visible even through her grey coat. "If you want me to leave now, I understand." Vinyl stared at her for the seventh time that day. "No, you don't have to move out. I like having you here with me. I also kinda...ya know. I like you." Why. Am. I. So. Awkward?! Octavia smiled, relieved and a little surprised. "I'm so glad you'll let me stay. I..." Her eyes widen as she realizes what Vinyl said. "Y-you do?!" The white pony nodded, her electric blue mane falling in front of her face. "Yea." Octavia smiled again, much wider this time and brushed Vinyl's mane out of her face. She leaned back against the other mare and nuzzled into her neck softly. Vinyl nuzzled back and slowly wrapped an arm around the cellist. "Does this mean that you and me...?" Vinyl asked nervously. Octavia giggled and nodded, "If you want it to." She rested her head on the DJ's shoulder softly, snuggling into her embrace, "Oh, and it's 'you and I.'" Chapter SixSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter SevenSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter EightSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter NineSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter OneChapter One The grey mare began walking to the other side of the club during a slight lull in the song, the crowd around her dancing to a beat unseen or unheard by herself. She looked around, examining the brightly coloured dance floor and stage, both of which were covered with flashing, neon lights. How did I end up in here? Octavia thought to herself as she finally reached the VIP area where a large bouncer pulled back the red rope for her. Octavia brushed back her mane and sat down on one of the plush couches next to the clubs new owner, a mare by the name of Vinyl Scratch. The white and blue mare gave the newcomer a quick glance through her purple shades before resuming her own conversation with the talent scout. “He’s pretty sweet ain’t he?” The scout looked up at the DJ who was currently preforming on a huge, cube shaped stage customized to fit any soundboards, turntables, and mixers that a DJ might bring. Lights and screens on the cube responded in time with the music, making it look alive. “He’s okay I suppose...my agency would prefer your name on the record label though.” “Dude, we’ve already gone over this, I will not switch labels,” Vinyl shouted in reply as the songs volume picked up. “And why not? This club is as big as you’ll ever get with your current contract. If you join us, you could get huge!” “I don’t care about getting huge if it means being an asshole and leaving my friends in the dust,” She replied with an annoyed look. “Now, if you want the new kid, let me know. Otherwise, get out of my club.” “Fine, we’ll take him. But this is our last offer for you Vinyl” “Oh thank Celestia, you’ve finally given up! I’ll let the kid know after he’s done here tonight.” The talent agent sighed and stood up, “Alright, thanks I suppose.” Vinyl finally relaxed back onto the couch after the agent had gone before turning to the grey mare sitting beside her. “Sup?” Octavia wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead as the temperature in the club continued to rise. “Umm…hello. I am Octavia Melody” Vinyl gave her a blank stare through the purple lenses of her glasses. “Okay, so?” “Have you not heard of me?” She thought for a minute before answering, “Nope, was I supposed to?” Octavia looked surprised at first but then looked at the club around her before, taking in the so called “music” and lights before answering, “No, I suppose a ‘musician’ such as yourself would not have.” Vinyl’s eyes narrowed, “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Oh nothing” The DJ decided to let it go and find out exactly why she was here, “I haven’t seen you in any of the other clubs before, what brings you to mine?” “Well…” The grey mare looked a little embarrassed. “I’ve been out of work for a while, ever since the Gala, and I was wo-” “Wait, hold up. Don’t tell me it was you who played the Pony Pokey at the Grand Galloping Gala!” Vinyl interrupted, only barely trying to hide her laugh when Octavia didn’t respond. “It was! Ha! That’s awesome!” She managed to stifle her laughs. “Okay, I’m done. You were saying?” “How is that ‘awesome’? My career is ruined because of that stupid song. Nopony will take me seriously as a musician now!” She took a moment to collect herself before continuing. “Anyway…I was hoping that you would have a job opening here. Maybe one night a week where I could perform and I could serve food the rest of the time” “Girl, I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet, but this is a nightclub. We don’t really do…what do you do again?” “I play the cello and I sing”, Octavia replied. “Exactly. This place does dubstep and techno. Not classical. You should go find some mall or museum if you want to play your stuff. Now about you being a server, yea, normally I’d hire you but I’m closing this place soon. It costs me more to keep it open than I make from it. If I hire you now, not only would I be losing more money, but you’d be out of work anyway in like a month”. “You’re closing your club?” “I just answered that” “I saw some public records that read that your club is one of the most successful in all of Manehattan. How are you losing money?” Octavia asked, a little shocked. Vinyl gave the cellist a strange look, “Most successful? How? The guy who does most of the accounting stuff…oh…well shit…” She stood up and walked over to the office section of her building. After a few minutes, a brown stallion carrying a box of random office supplies was shoved roughly out the door. A couple of pencils dropped from the box as he rushed through the crowd towards the door, a faint smirk on his face. Vinyl ran burst through the door soon after, her face making her anger obvious. “You are soo fired Cole!” The whole club stopped and stared at Vinyl, causing her to blush and shrink back down onto the couch next to Octavia. After a minute, they resumed their dancing which allowed Vinyl to relax a little, the anger slowly ebbing out of her. “What was that about?” Octavia asked, giving the still frustrated DJ a questioning glance. “Asshole was only recording half of my profits and keeping the rest…” She replied, shaking her head a little. Vinyl glanced up at the grey mare beside her and smiled a little. “Well it looks like I need a new accountant; think you’re up for it?” Octavia grinned.
Chapter TwoChapter Two Vinyl smiled as the deep, resonating tone of the cello echoed through the nightclub. She stepped out of her office onto soft carpet floor of the VIP area. Her gaze shifted around the room, looking at the surprising amount of ponies that actually showed up to listen to the cellist play before falling on the grey mare herself who was currently on the stage that was normally reserverd for live bands. It had been nearly two weeks since the incident with the former accountant and her profits were at an all-time high so, in reward for doing so well with the financial details, she finally agreed to let Octavia preform on one of the less busy nights. Octavia had her eyes closed as she guided the bow along the strings of her instrument, lost in the music. It had been so long since she had played in front of an audience and she had forgotten how much she enjoyed preforming. She smiled and opened her eyes as she finished the song, blushing a bit as she saw a white mare watching and smiling at her from the VIP area. As the applause faded, Octavia stepped down the stages stairs, leaving her cello on stage to put away later, after the audience had gone. Vinyl approached her as she reached the floor below, a smile on her face. “Oh, hey Vinyl” “That was great Octy!” Vinyl pulled the surprised grey mare into a hug, making Octavia blush a little. “It wasn’t that great; I haven’t practiced in a while so I-” “Nope! None of that! You were awesome. It’s not easy to get an entire club of ponies to actually enjoy any music other than dubstep. And you even got a standing ovation!” Vinyl interrupted, tightening the hug briefly before pulling back. Octavia looked at the DJ pony and smiled. “Thanks Vinyl. That means a lot.” “You’re welcome. Now I have a question for ya…” She said. “Okay, what is it Vinyl?” “The other day, you mentioned that you had to move out of your old apartment so I was wondering…where are you staying now?” Vinyl asked. “Oh I’ve just been staying in a hotel. Don’t worry about it.” “You could come stay with me if you wanted to. That way you wouldn’t have to pay for rent” Octavia shook her head slightly, “No, no. I wouldn’t want to be a burden” “You wouldn’t be a burden Octy. I promise” “Are you sure Vinyl?” “Yup!” Vinyl grinned at her. “I insist” Octavia pulled Vinyl into another hug and smiled. “Thank you Vinyl, I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you” The pair stepped into Vinyl’s small apartment, both of them exhausted from the last night’s events. Later into the evening, there had been an unexpected amount of ponies show up and, since Wednesdays were usually slower, they had been completely understaffed. Vinyl had been able to put some of her music on the DJ table but had to quickly rush back to help work at the bar after she had put on the new song but she also had to rush back to put on a new song whenever the old one ended. Octavia, being new to the job, had been mixing drinks for the customers when the new crowd had come in. She was only able to keep up once Vinyl had come to help her and even then it was difficult. Vinyl took a deep breath and smiled at Octavia, “Quite a night, huh?” “Yea, I am utterly exhausted,” she dropped her small bag of stuff onto the floor next to the couch. Vinyl raised her eyebrow at her, “What are you doing?” “I am about to go to sleep. Is it not obvious?” “On the couch?” “Of course, unless you have a bedroom other than your own that is.” Vinyl shook her head, “No, I don’t but you can have my bedroom, I’ll sleep on the couch. You’re my guest.” “That will not be necessary Vinyl, I will be perfectly content here,” She sat down. “Maybe you will but I’ll feel weird with you sleeping here”. “Well what do you suggest we do?” the cellist asked, bringing a faint blush from Vinyl. “What? Why are you blushing?” “Oh, um…no reason…” Vinyl turned her head a little to hide her face. “I just had a stupid idea.” “Well what was it?” Octavia asked. “Nothing, it’s dumb. Please just take the bed Octavia,” The white mare replied. “I hate to intrude but if you insist, I shall take the bed,” Octavia relented. She picked up her bags again and walked into the bedroom where she dropped them onto the dresser. She unpacked a few small items such as her brush and bowties before returning to the living room where vinyl was laying a blanket out onto the couch. “We should probably go to sleep. It’s been a long night and we have to be back at the club tonight”. “Yea, you’re probably right. I guess I’ll see you when you get up,” Vinyl said as she sat down on the end of the couch. “I’ll probably be up before you anyway.” “Okay. I’ll see you later then,” Octavia said before trotting back into the bedroom and lying down. Why is that mare so nervous around me? She doesn’t act that way when she’s with anypony else. I’ll have to ask her later I suppose, Octavia thought to herself as she pulled the covers over her. A few minutes later, all that could be heard was her breath as she slept. Even after Octavia had fallen asleep, Vinyl Scratch was still wide awake on the couch. She was on her back staring at the ceiling, her thoughts always drifting back to a certain grey mare. Finally, she sat up, “Ugghh! Why can’t I stop thinking about her?!” You like her, a voice said softly. “Do not! And even if I did like her that way, she’s a cellist and I’m just a DJ; she’d never go for me.” Is that true or are you just telling yourself that? The voice continued. “I-I don’t know…I don’t think she would. She’s so…perfect and I’m so, well…me.” Why don’t you just tell her that you have feelings for her? “I don’t have feelings for her!” Vinyl nearly shouted but kept it to just a loud whisper. The voice persisted; you just admitted that you thought that she’s perfect. It’s pretty obvious actually. “Shut up…who are you anyway?” Vinyl snapped. When Vinyl got no response, she sighed, lay back down, and fell asleep a few minutes later.
Chapter ThreeChapter Three Octavia’s eyes slowly adjusted to the soft, afternoon light that filled the room. She sat up in her bed and stretched, looking around at the room before her. The walls were full posters of other DJs and musicians such as Deadpon-3, who was obviously one of her favorites. Octavia stood up and walked over to a desk that stood next to a window. She looked at her reflection for a second in one of the three monitors before looking down at the contents of the desk itself. There were multiple CDs and a large electronic device with a large number of knobs and buttons which she left alone before trotting over to the bathroom door, still groggy from the hours of sleep that she’d gotten. I haven’t slept that well in weeks, she thought to herself as she opened the door, releasing a wall of warm air and steam. What in the-?! “Oh! H-hey Octavia. Do ya think you could knock next time you hear the shower running?” Vinyl said from behind the glass door of the shower, her face turning a deep shade of red. Octavia blushed as well before looking away. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t hear it, I just woke up and I…sorry…” She stammered out before turning to leave the bathroom. “It’s okay Octy, you just surprised me,” Vinyl said before turning off the shower and stepping out, her face back to its normal color. “Can you hand me that towel over there?” “Y-yea, sure,” the grey mare said, walking over to the towel and picking it up. She tossed it over to Vinyl who started to dry off. “I made breakfast if you want some; it's over on the table,” Vinyl said as she shook out her mane, allowing it to go back to its usual, wild state. Octavia regained her usual composure, “Thank you Vinyl. I apologize for walking in on your shower. I'll be in the other room.” She stepped back out into the bedroom and took a deep breath before continuing on into the kitchen. She found the plate of food sitting on the table just where Vinyl had said it was. Vinyl came out of the bedroom, completely dried off, wearing her trademark purple glasses, just as Octavia finished cleaning up her plate. “Morning Octy” “Good morning Vinyl. Did you sleep well?” the cellist replied. “Yep. Did you?” Vinyl asked her. “Yes” A few moments went by in silence. “Soo…Octavia…” Vinyl trailed off. “Yes Vinyl? What is it? “Nothing…never mind, it’s stupid” Vinyl blushed a bit and appeared to be very interested in a small discoloring in the wall. “Okay. Vinyl, can I ask you something?” “Sure Octy” “Okay, well I was wondering why you have been so nervous around me lately. Have I done something wrong?” Octavia asked. Vinyl’s face turned red as she spoke, “I umm…no, you haven’t done anything I just…yea…” “What?” Octavia asked, confused. “It-it’s no big deal, don’t worry about it,” Vinyl forced a smile and tried to change the subject. “So…how are you liking working at the club so far?” “The customers can get very loud and annoying when they’ve had a few too many ciders. Other than that I’m enjoying it well enough.” Octavia replied, deciding to drop the previous conversation. “How’s the number stuff coming along?” “Number stuff? Oh you mean the accounting. That’s going very well; you’re turning an average profit of seven thousand bits per night after purchases, paychecks, mortgages and taxes.” Vinyl whistled. “Wow, I didn’t realize I was making that much”. “Well you are the most successful club in Manehatten right now. I looked into it the other day. Your numbers nearly double all of your competitor’s.” The DJ’s jaw dropped. “Are…are you serious?” “Why wouldn’t I be?” Vinyl was on her in a second, hugging her tightly. “Omygoshohmygoshohmygosh! You’re the best!” “I am simply doing what you hired me to do. There is no need to thank me”. Vinyl let Octavia go and stepped back. “I know but…seven thousand bits! After payments! That’s incredible!” “Well we had better get to the club, my shift starts in an hour and I want to be there before most of the customers arrive.” “Yea okay. I’ll wait here for you to get ready.” “I am ready.” “Umm…what about that tie thing you always have on?” Octavia looked down and realized that she had not put on her signature pink bowtie. “Oh yes, of course. Thank you Vinyl”. She walked back into the bedroom and picked one up, revealing a small piece of paper underneath. She paused and picked up the paper as well. "Oh wow..." she said softly as she looked at the drawing that filled the paper. It showed a mare sitting at a desk, concentrating on whatever she was doing in a record book that looked very similar to the one at Vinyl's club. Whoever had drawn the picture had gotten everything just right, from the way the mares mane fell across her shoulder to the shadows on the desk. It was only then that Octavia noticed that the mare in the picture had a small bowtie around her neck. "Octy? You comin'?" Vinyl called from the other room. She quickly put the picture back and covered it with her bag before returning to Vinyl. “Okay, I think I’m ready to go now.” They left Vinyl's apartment and started walking towards the club. After a couple of minutes spent in silence, Vinyl glanced over at the mare beside her. “Soo...Octy...Where are you from?” She asked, wanting to find out more about the cellist. “I was born in Canterlot where I studied music but I moved to Manehatten to work, until that pink pony appeared at the Grand Galloping Gala that is.” She replied. “Oh you're one of those Canterlot ponies. I knew it. Anyway...what else do you do other than play that cello of yours?” “I study classical music and compose my own works.” “Is that it? No clubbing, no parties, no drinking or anything like that?” Vinyl asked. Octavia looked at her, a little confused, “Why in Equestria would I partake in such activities?” “Oh I don't know, maybe because its fun” “Fun? How can blacking out and waking up with a headache possibly be fun?” Vinyl stopped walking and turned to her before speaking, “Hold up, you're telling me that, throughout your entire time at high school, you never once went to a real party?” “No, I have never been to what you would call a 'real party'.” Vinyl just grinned a little. “What's that look for?” The grey mare asked, not sure where this was going. “Oh nothing” Vinyl turned and trotted in the other direction, away from the club. “Vinyl! Where are you going? We have to go to work!” Octavia ran to catch up. “You just said that you've never been to a party right?” “Yes” Vinyl gave her a sly smile, “Well I guess we'll have to fix that, won't we?
Chapter FourChapter Four “Vinyl, I don’t think that this is a good idea...” Octavia said nervously as they approached a large house, just outside the city. “Oh come on Octy; you can’t back out now. We’re already here,” Vinyl replied, determined to get Octavia to the party. Octavia glanced back at the house, which was alive with lights flashing different colours. “I’m just nervous, I suppose. When is this party scheduled to end?” Vinyl laughed a little. “What’s so funny?” The cellist asked with a small frown. “It’s not scheduled to end at all. For all I know, this party could go on for a couple of days. It is a Pinkie Pie party after all,” Vinyl replied. “A couple of days?!” “Oh don’t worry, we won’t stay that long. We’ll just be here for a few hours” Octavia sighed in relief, “Well alright, that’s fine then. I thought Pinkie Pie lived in Ponyville.” Vinyl nodded, “She does but she comes up here every now and again to throw parties like this one.” “She can’t have parties like this in Ponyville?” “Well she can but it’s a small town and the turnout wouldn’t be nearly as big as this.” She motioned to the crowd. They approached the door and Vinyl reached for the doorbell. Suddenly she stopped. “Hey Octy, one more thing before we go in: this is Lyra’s house and she tends to go a little overboard on the cider. If you meet her when she’s like that and Bon Bon isn’t around, find me.” “Why is that? And who’s Bon Bon?” “She tends to get a bit…flirty when she’s drunk around other mares and Bon Bon is her marefriend. She’s also the only one who can keep her a little restrained…kind of…” She rang the doorbell. “What do you mean by ‘kind of’?” Vinyl was about to answer when the door was opened by a light blue pegasus with a rainbow coloured mane. “Vinyl! You made it!” The pegasus shouted over the music, giving a hoof-bump to the DJ Vinyl grinned at her, “Of course I did! You really think I’m gonna miss one of Pinkie’s parties?” “Well with your new club I just thought…whatever,” She looked to Octavia, “And who’s this?” Octavia shifted nervously under the mares questioning gaze. “Oh yea! Octavia, Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, Octavia. She’s one of my employees at the club.” Octavia smiled and held out her hoof, “It’s very nice to meet you Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow shook the other mare’s hoof before turning back to Vinyl, “You brought an employee to a party?” “Well she’s also been staying at my place lately and I thought this’d be fun” Rainbow smirked a little, “Oh well come on in, we’re just getting started” The two mares stepped into the house, which wasn’t as crowded as the yard but still had quite a few ponies in it. Rainbow pulled Vinyl to the side, away from Octavia before leaning in close to her. “So…is she just staying with you or is there something else going on?” Vinyl blushed a little but quickly covered it up. “There’s nothing going on between us. She just needed a little help getting back on her hooves.” “Come on Vinyl…there’s got to be something going on. I mean-” Rainbow persisted then stopped, giving Vinyl a grin. “What? Why are you smiling like that?” “She doesn’t know does she?” Vinyl’s face grew red once again, “What are you talking about? Know what?” “Oh come on Vinyl, you know exactly what I’m talking about,” The pegasus said before taking a drink of the cider she’d been holding. Vinyl tried changing the subject, “Where did Octavia go anyway?” “Don’t change the…actually, I have no idea. Where is she? She was here a second ago wasn’t she?” The DJ looked around the room, peering through her glasses, “I thought she was…maybe we should go find her.” “Yea okay...and don’t think I’m just gonna drop that other thing. We’ll get back to that.” Vinyl sighed softly as they began their search. Octavia stood by the two mares as they talked for a few minutes before wandering off to explore the rest of the house. Just as she entered the living room, a pale green pony came stumbling into the room, her manner clearly telling just how much alcohol she’d had already. Octavia looked to her flank and, seeing her lyre shaped cutie mark, assumed that this must be the mare that Vinyl had mentioned earlier. She quickly headed for the closest door to avoid an encounter with the drunken mare. Lyra spotted the unfamiliar grey mare from across the room and stumbled towards the door, blocking Octavia’s path. She stood in front of the new mare and looked her up and down, examining her in her drunken state. “Wh-whu ur yu?” Octavia replied calmly, attempting to end their conversation before Lyra did anything, “My name is Octavia.” “Whu brought yu too mah party?” She asked, still curious. “A mare named Vinyl Scratch.” Lyra walked around Octavia, still looking closely at her before giving a drunken smile, “Ah know Vinyl,” She said with a small giggle. Octavia started towards the door again, only to be stopped again by the green mare. “Excuse me, I’m trying to get through” She said, her patience wearing thin. Lyra leaned close to Octavia, giving her the same drunken smile as before, “Soo…whut ‘ave you ‘nd Vinyl do together?” “She hired me at her nightclub.” “Is that all?” Octavia nodded. Lyra leaned in a little closer and Octavia took a step back. “Soo…no marefriend then huh?” The cellist shook her head. “No no, our relationship is purely professional. But I do hear that you have one. Am I correct?” Lyra opened her mouth to answer when a beige pony with a blue and pink mane walked through the door. “Yes. Yes she does.” The new pony trotted over and pulled Lyra back a few paces. “I’m sorry about her, she gets weird when she’s drunk. I’m Bon Bon.” She held out her hoof and Octavia shook it. “I’m Octavia. It’s nice to meet you.” “And you as well. Are you new in town? I haven’t seen you at any of the other parties before.” “This is my first party.” “Oh. Well how did you find out about this one?” Bon Bon asked. Lyra poked Bon Bon’s nose and giggled, “Vinyl brought ‘er.” Bon Bon smiled, “Vinyl brought you?” Octavia nodded, “Yes.” “Are you that new mare she hired at the club?” Again, she nodded. “I am.” “She mentioned you a few days ago when I stopped by to tell her about the party.” She mentioned me?, the cellist thought to herself. “What did she say?” Bon Bon smiled again, “Nothing bad, she did seem pretty excited that you were going to stay with her. How is that going by the way? I know Vinyl’s apartment is a little small.” “It’s going well. I’ve only spent one night there. Lyra tugged on her marefriend’s ear, “Ah’m gonna go over there.” She stumbled off without waiting for a response. ”Where’s she going now?” Octavia asked as Lyra left the room. Bon Bon shrugged, “I don’t know. Probably to get more booze.” They both turned towards another door as Rainbowdash and Vinyl entered the room. “Hey Vinyl, good to see you,” Bon Bon said as the other mare approached. Vinyl grinned at her, “Hey Bonnie! I see you already met Octy.” She stood next to Octavia. “Yea, she just met Lyra,” Bon Bon said, laughing a little. The mares talked for a minute before Bon Bon offered them a drink Rainbow declined, motioning to the drink she already had and said that she was going to see if Pinkie was still at the party. She trottted off as Octavia and Vinyl followed Bon Bon into a large room where a bar had been set up along one wall with a large bucket of ice and drinks on top of it and a television on the other. There were about ten other ponies in the room, most of which were watching the Cloudsdale games that were playing on the TV. The music was much quieter in the room, allowing them to speak normally and without raising their voices. Two of the mares took a bottle out of the bucket, leaving only the cellist without a drink. “Hey Octy, ya gonna get a drink or what?” Vinyl asked , taking a sip of her own. Octavia shook her head slightly, “No thank you. I don’t drink alcohol.” The DJ grabbed another bottle and held it out to her. “Come on Octy, it’s a party. You’re supposed to make exceptions.” “I believe one of us must be sober to help the other home.” Bon Bon laughed a little, watching the mares argue over the drink before interrupting, “Octavia, Vinyl isn’t going to give up so you might as well take it, you’ll be fine.” Vinyl smiled and nodded eagerly, moving the bottle just a bit closer to the cellist. “Yea, what she said!” Octavia looked back and forth at the two mares before gingerly taking the bottle from Vinyl. She examined it for a couple of seconds before twisting off the cap and, after another moment of hesitation, took a small sip. It’s not as bad as I had imagined…It’s actually quite good, she thought to herself as the cool, citrusy liquid ran over her tongue and down her throat. “Sooo…what d’ ya think?” Vinyl asked. “It’s surprisingly good.” She took another sip, the alcohol making her feel warm on the inside. Bon Bon chuckled, “See? It’s not so bad now is it?” Octavia shook her head, “No, not at all. It’s actually quite nice. Vinyl downed the rest of her bottle and grabbed another. “Now how about we go see the real party out back?” The grey mare tilted her head a bit, confused, “This isn’t the real party?” Vinyl laughed a little, “You can’t have a real Pinkie Pie party inside.” “And why is that?” “Cause there’s no room for the cannons.” Octavia gulped, “Cannons…?” Octavia stepped through the door into the backyard, following Bon Bon and Vinyl. She took a second to look around, shocked at just how many ponies had shown up to the party. Near the fence on the far side of the yard, a DJ was blasting music through the large speakers on each side. There were lasers and flashing lights set up all around the yard and there was even an electronic dance floor that was flashing to the beat of the music. Vinyl clapped her hooves together in front of Octavia's face. "Hellooo...Earth to Octy!" Octavia blinked, "Hm? Oh, yes. I was listening". "No you weren't. I just asked what you think and you were just gazing off into the distance", Vinyl said. "So, again, What do ya think? Pretty awesome right?" Octavia nodded, "Yes, it's 'pretty awesome'." A glass bottle flew over her head, thrown by a pony to their left. "Though it does seem to be a bit out of control..." Octavia continued. Vinyl glared at the bottle thrower before answering, "It's not really out of control. You'd know if it was out of control". Bon Bon laughed, "Yea, I've seen some pretty ridiculous parties. But Pinkie usually calms it down before it gets to that point." They walked around for a few minutes before someone called Bon Bon away to deal with Lyra, who was currently yelling at everyone in the living room for no apparent reason. "So...what did you say earlier about cannons?" Octavia asked. "Oh yea! They're..." Vinyl trailed off, noticing the surprising lack off cannons. "I actually have no idea where they are. They're usually over there" She motions to the space on either side of the DJ Booth. "Hmm...well that kinda sucks. It's not a real Pinkie Pie party without the-" BOOM Two loud booms echo through the yard, making both Vinyl and Octavia jump as confetti rains down. The rest of the ponies in the backyard turn around towards the house and cheer just as two more booms erupt from the cannons that have been mounted in the second story windows, sending confetti raining down around them again. Vinyl looks over at Octavia, jumps as the cannons continue to fire and laughs, "You should've seen the look on your face!" The cellist frowns at her, "As i recall, you were scared too." "What? Me? Nahh, I was just just pretending to be scared so you wouldn't feel bad" Octaiva shook her head and chuckled, "My hero." She went to take a sip of her drink and stopped, realizing that it was empty. "Hey Vinyl, do you think you could get me another drink?" Vinyl grinned, "Sure, but this time, how about something a little stronger?"
Chapter FiveChapter Five Octavia stumbled into the apartment (with Vinyl's support) just as the sun began to rise over the horizon. Neither of them were completely drunk although Octavia did need a little help on the stairs. They made their way over to the couch and sat down beside each other. Octavia smiled and gently leaned against Vinyl who blushed softly but made no effort to move her away. "Thank you for taking me to the party Vinyl, I had a really good time." "No problem. I had a good time too", Vinyl said. The cellist looked up at her, "But I'm so boring compared to you or Bon Bon." Vinyl looked back at her and smiled, "No you're not. I would've just gotten drunk again if you weren't there. I actually really enjoyed hanging out with you." Dear Celestia, I'm so cheesy, She thought to herself. Octavia giggled softly, "You're so sweet. I can't believe that you don't have a coltfriend already." "Yea, uhh...me neither. I mean, I can't believe you don't have one either", Vinyl's blush darkened. Smooth Vinyl...real smooth, she thought. Octavia looked away from the white unicorn with a soft sigh, "Have I told you why I moved to Manehatten?" Vinyl frowned a little, confused by the sudden change in mood. "Didn't you wanna get big or something? This is the place to do it after all." "No, I used to live in Los Pegasus with my mom and dad. I used to take cello lessons with a private tutor every Saturday and Sunday, each one lasting for a few hours. Then, when my cutie mark showed up, they decided it was time for me to start preforming at their parties for the guests. Why they were so insistent on the cello, I don't know." She paused for a moment. "But, what does that have to do with you moving here? And why are you telling me all this now?" "I'm getting to that and I don't know why I'm telling you this now, I just feel like I need to do it." Vinyl shut up as the other mare continued. "My parents are very contemporary. They do not approve of modern, electronic music and most definetly not approve of where I live now. That being said, I was always told that I had to be a perfect gentlepony. Perfect manners, perfect posture, perfect preformances, etcetera. After a while, I just got tired of it; and so I left." "You just left? But what about that thing in Canterlot with the Pony Pokey? Wasn't that like a year and a half ago?" Vinyl asked, surpried that Octavia was telling her all of this. "I went back after a couple of weeks when I realized that I had no idea what I was doing in the real world. I had no money or connections to get me anywhere. Of course, my parents were furious. They didn't allow me to leave the house for weeks. Then, on my nineteeth birthday, my father told me that I was to get married to a stallion from another family. The only problem was that I didnt like him, much less love him." "Well why didn't you tell him that you didn't love him?" Vinyl asked. "Believe me, I did. But it wasn't just that. He told me that if i could find any other noble pony for me to marry, then it would be arranged. That was when I told him that there was no stallion at all..." Octavia trailed off. Vinyl tilted her head a little, "What do you mean?" She can't mean...no, there's no way I'd be that lucky. Octavia shook her head softly, "Goddesses you're so thick sometimes Vinyl. I'm saying that I dont like stallions." Oh Celestia, she did mean that. Vinyl stayed quiet, waiting for Octiavia to continue. "When I told him that, he 'freaked', as you say. I was forced to stay in my room, 'Until I make the right choice and decide to be their daughter again.' This was about eight months ago. After that, I realized that they would never consider me their daughter and so I left again. I tried to make it on my own but, because of my Pony Pokey reputation, I couldn't get a job anywhere. So I finally gave up on finding a job like I used to get and applied for a job at a new nightclub", Octavia stopped talking and looked up at Vinyl, waiting for a reaction. Vinyl stared at the musician for a moment, releasing a breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Wow...I-I don't know what to say. I just...wow..." The unicorn said, still unsure of why Octavia had revealed all of this now. "And I have a confession to make..." Octavia said slowly. There's more?!, Vinyl thought. "I've had enough money to move out for a while now." "Wait...what? Wasn't that your goal? To move out when you had the money?" Octavia nodded, "Yes, it was my goal. I wanted to move out for the first couple of nights but, when I'd gotten to know you a little more, I realized that I wanted to stay. I didn't want to just see you at work..." Her blush was visible even through her grey coat. "If you want me to leave now, I understand." Vinyl stared at her for the seventh time that day. "No, you don't have to move out. I like having you here with me. I also kinda...ya know. I like you." Why. Am. I. So. Awkward?! Octavia smiled, relieved and a little surprised. "I'm so glad you'll let me stay. I..." Her eyes widen as she realizes what Vinyl said. "Y-you do?!" The white pony nodded, her electric blue mane falling in front of her face. "Yea." Octavia smiled again, much wider this time and brushed Vinyl's mane out of her face. She leaned back against the other mare and nuzzled into her neck softly. Vinyl nuzzled back and slowly wrapped an arm around the cellist. "Does this mean that you and me...?" Vinyl asked nervously. Octavia giggled and nodded, "If you want it to." She rested her head on the DJ's shoulder softly, snuggling into her embrace, "Oh, and it's 'you and I.'"
