A week had passed since the night Vinyl had dubbed ‘The Greatest Drinking Contest Ever’, and Octavia’s progress with Berry’s bartending lessons had definitely begun to pay off. After learning the different methods of weight management, holding the guitar on her shoulders was just as easy as using her bass as an extension of herself on stage. Vinyl’s bass had become just that, and all that remained was learning how to play it properly. As she strode down the street toward the club with the intent of doing just that today, she found herself sporting a more confident attitude than she’d felt in a long time. Even the ponies she passed by seemed to acknowledge it, and not one of them appeared to recognize her for the debacle she was involved in only half a month ago. One such passerby proceeded to approach her on the street: a mint-green unicorn which Octavia herself was already well familiarized with.

“Octavia, is that you?”

Octavia directed her attention to the mare, and smiled. “Lyra Heartstrings, I thought that was you. I haven’t seen you in a while. Not since you left the academy, anyway. How is the ‘solo artist’ thing going, by the way?”

Lyra grinned. “Better than I expected! Sure, it didn’t start off that well, but I traveled to Ponyville and started small with a few stage shows in a little park out there. And then, one thing led to another, and I moved there. This is my first time back to Canterlot in a few years.”

“It must have taken something pretty impressive to get you to move away from your home.”

Lyra chuckled and flushed. “Well, somepony, anyway…”

“Oh? And when were you going to tell one of your best friends you found a stallion?”

“I wasn’t, but I’ll gladly tell you I found a mare.”

Octavia gasped, but her face maintained a surprised expression. “And coming out without telling me first, Lyra Heartstrings, I am disappointed in you.”

“Wait, you mean…you don’t hate me or anything? Because that’s been happening a lot since I got back here.”

Octavia giggled slightly. “Let’s just say my recent employment has found me in an interesting predicament myself.”

“Ooh, gossip! Give me the details!”

“I can’t right now, Lyra. I’m late for work. But you’re welcome to join me and stick around. It’s a rather nice club.”

Lyra’s jaw dropped. “Wait. You work at a club now?” Octavia nodded. “Sweet, what kind of place is it?”

“It’s this lovely little jazz club run by a friend of Fredrick’s, actually.” Octavia began walking and Lyra followed next to her. “It doesn’t have nearly as much exposure as the owner wants, but she hired me on the premise of my musical talent…although it turns out I’m to be playing a different kind of ‘bass’ this time around.”

The two continued their idle conversation for the next few minutes until arriving at the club. Lyra whistled as she got a good look at the place. “Fancy, Octavia. You sure you don’t mind me sticking around?”

“If you’re willing to put up with my cringe-worthy attempts at playing a bass guitar, by all means, the bar is always open.”

The two entered and Berry gave them a friendly wave. “Morning, Octavia. Who’s your friend?”

Lyra wasted no time introducing herself, bolting up to the bar and grabbing Berry’s hoof in hers and shaking it up and down. “Lyra Heartstrings, pleasure to meet ya!”

Berry reacted quicker than Octavia expected, smiling and returning the energetic handshake. “Berry Punch, nice to meet you too! Boy, you’ve certainly got a friendly friend here, Octavia.”

“That’s Lyra all right.” Octavia gave a light chuckle. “She was always taking the first step in making new friends. That’s how she got me out of my shell freshman year of the academy.” Octavia proceeded to the door to Vinyl’s office. “I’ll be back out later, Lyra. Try not to kill Berry with your kindness.”

Lyra and Berry continued their conversation as Octavia knocked on the door. “Vinyl, can I come in, or are you playing with your toys again?”

“You can come in, Octy, it’s all good.” Octavia entered and Vinyl sat behind her desk with a completely different guitar hovering before her. “I was just practicing a bit myself.”

“You were?” Octavia closed the door behind her and looked around. “But I didn’t hear anything.”

Vinyl tapped her horn twice with her hoof. “Because I soundproofed the room, so nothing gets out, and only a knock on the door gets in. If you’d just asked if I was in here, I wouldn’t have heard you.”

“So you counted on my manners being the only thing to allow me into the room.”

Vinyl pointed at Octavia and winked. “Bingo. Now, let’s get you started on the basics of a bass guitar. First, you need to learn the-“

In the midst of her rambling, Octavia had already picked up the guitar and carefully slipped the strap over her shoulders. She stood with near-perfect balance and, using the pick Vinyl had informed her of prior, began to play a basic scale from as low as possible to as high. Vinyl stopped speaking as Octavia was halfway through the full scale, and her jaw practically hit the desk. “Uh, Octy, this is like…the first time you’ve ever played a bass, right?”

“The scales are only a bit different…I suppose I just let the stress cause me to panic. As it turns out, I do know what I’m doing.”

“Um…well…that sorta cuts the lesson short by…the entire day.”

“…Oh.” Octavia’s eyes shot around the room absent-mindedly. “So…what else is there to do today?”

“I dunno…it’s almost noon, wanna grab lunch?”

The thought of a nice meal crossed her mind, and immediately after she recalled her rather limited breakfast at Vinyl’s that morning. “I could certainly go for something to eat.”

“All right, then. I’ll tell Berry to close us up for a bit and she can come with.”

“Could I invite my friend Lyra Heartstrings along as well? She’s just in Canterlot for a little while and-“

“NO WAY! Lyra’s here?!” Vinyl flew out the door, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake. Octavia blinked and stood silently for a few seconds while she allowed her brain to catch up. She followed the DJ out to see her and Lyra already chatting up a storm. “…Yeah, this place is mine! Bought the building not too long ago, and…Hey, Octy, when were you gonna tell me you knew Lyra?”

“I…but you…seriously, Vinyl, how many of my friends do you actually know?”

Lyra placed her hoof on her chin and began tapping the bar with the other one as she counted. “Let’s see; she knows me, dated Fred, knows Beauty Brass, Noteworthy, Harpo…”

“Wait, Octy knows Harpy? Seriously? Okay, how many times did he hit on you before you punched him?”

Octavia stared in confusion for several seconds before replying, “Vinyl, how in the world-three, by the way-how in the world do you know all of my friends?”

“Well, while you knew them all from your fancy music academy, I knew them back when we were all still fillies and colts at Eighth Note Elementary School for Musically-Inclined Ponies.”

“It was kinda like the one you went to, Octavia,” Lyra added. “Except the Academy of Young Musical Talent was way too expensive for the rest of us, even with scholarships, so we ended up at the next best thing.”

“And you already know how I met Freddy.”

“But I…” Octavia sighed and decided to let her confusion go for now. “I’ll chalk it up to fate, I suppose.”

Vinyl grinned. “Yep! I knew Lyra, you knew Lyra, and now we both know each other, and here we all are! So, Harpbutt, you nail Bonnie yet?”

Octavia’s face turned a deep red. “Vinyl! Old friend or not, that’s hardly an appropriate question to ask!”

“Nah, it’s okay, Octavia, I don’t mind.” Lyra smiled. “But the answer is no, Vinyl…not yet, anyway. We’re waiting until we get hitched, just like we planned.”

“So, living together for now, huh?” Lyra nodded. “I can dig that. Anyway, Berry, we’re locking the place up and we’re all going to lunch. Lyra, you can come along too if you’d like.”

The mint-green unicorn smiled. “Sure, I’ve got some free time! It’d be nice to catch up with both of you before I’ve gotta head back to Ponyville.”

“Wait, Vinyl, what about the ponies still in here? Doesn’t somepony need to stay and watch the place?”

“Nope.” Vinyl looked around the room to see that there was literally a single pony sitting in the room. “Hey, dude, you don’t mind clearing out for an hour, do you?”

The blue earth pony stood up and stepped forward, allowing the group to see his harp cutie mark. “No, but would you mind if I accompanied you instead?”

Lyra, Octavia and Vinyl stared, baffled by the fact that not only had he been sitting there this whole time, not one of the three even recognized him until just now. Octavia was the first to vocally reveal his identity. “HARPO?!”

The stallion gave a mock bow. “In the flesh, ladies.”

“And speaking of flesh-“

“Vinyl, NO.”

“But Lyra-“

“NO.”

Vinyl grumbled. “Never let me have any fun…”

“Somepony has to keep a leash on you.”

“Kinky.”

“NOT HELPING, BERRY!”

“Are you ladies quite finished?” The mares looked to Harpo, who had already advanced to the door. “I know this place just a few blocks from here that has the most phenomenal sangria, and it isn’t a particularly expensive place either.” The four mares looked among one another and simply nodded, following Harpo out the door. Vinyl locked the building with her spell and they progressed down the street. “So, Octavia, it would seem you’re doing rather well these days.”

Octavia nodded, thankful Harpo didn’t specifically mention the incident. “As best I can, Harpo…and what about you? What have you been up to since our quartet went their separate ways after Academy?”

“Actually, I’ve got myself a little job playing evening concerts in the lobbies of five-star hotels in Canterlot. It earns me enough to get by, and I’ve met a number of celebrities along the way. You’ve heard of that rising starlet Sweetie Belle? She sang along to a few of my songs one evening and gave me an autographed photo.”

“Impressive.”

Harpo bowed again. “Thank you, thank you. And how about you two?” he asked, looking to Lyra and Vinyl. “What mischief have you gotten into lately?”

“I own a bar, duh, and I DJ at nights.”

“I play my lyre in a small park in Ponyville and I have a girlfriend now.”

“I always pegged you as playing for the other team, Lyra. Actually, I guessed that all three of you would end up finding some lovely ladies to call your own.”

Vinyl and Lyra chuckled, but Octavia flushed and fumed ever so slightly. “And what, pray tell, made you think that of me, dear Mister Nadermane?”

Vinyl laughed loudly. “Aw, snap, Harpy! You got Octy mad!”

“I-I didn’t mean anything by it, Octavia! I just figured, you know…you never really hit it off with Fredrick…or me, or Sharp Note, or even Grand Ivory, who even by my standards was one of the most attractive, well-mannered and sexy stallions in-I mean, what? I don’t know, I’m so tired.”

Octavia had never really thought about it before, but back in her Academy days, stallions just never seemed to ‘click’ for her. They were all wonderful friends, but somehow, that’s all she ever saw them as. But Lyra and Beauty Brass, her only two female friends at the Academy, hadn’t sparked a single feeling whatsoever, but that was probably due to Octavia having her head buried in her studies most of the time. As she continued to walk, she drifted away from the conversation going on and delved into her own thoughts. Did she like mares? She hadn’t even considered dating after beginning her professional career. It was always just a ‘high school’ thing.

“Hey, Tavi, you okay in there?” Octavia snapped back to reality to find Vinyl practically hovering in front of her face. She realized just how far behind she had gotten and that the DJ had gone back just to make sure she was okay. “Equestria to Octavia, come back to us!”

Octavia picked up her stride again and rejoined the group. “I’m sorry, everypony. I spaced out for a moment, I suppose.”

“No prob, Tavi. We’re almost there anyway, so you can space as much as you want after we order our food!”

The bassist rolled her eyes. “Never a censor on you, Vinyl.”

Vinyl scoffed and laughed. “Censors are boring. All music and TV is best uncensored, so real life shouldn’t need them either.”

The group continued casual conversation for the next few minutes before arriving at the restaurant just at the corner. Harpo’s description was particularly accurate, as it was a nice little place and didn’t seem like much of a nobility hotspot. They entered the building and were immediately approached by one of the wait staff, a crimson-coated Earth pony stallion who bore a genuine smile. “Hi there, my name’s Firebuster, and I’ll be taking care of you today! How many are you?”

Octavia looked back to her group just to make certain. “Five, Firebuster.”

“All righty, then, come with me!”

One hour and a hundred twenty bits later, the group found themselves patting their full stomachs as they walked back to the bar, content with their perfect meals. “Oh, wow, that was amazing.” Vinyl gave Harpo a pat on the back. “Great find there, Harpy. We’ll all have to go back there again sometime.”

“Oh, I agree. But not any time soon. That was a lot of food.”

While Vinyl and Harpo continued their conversation, and Berry and Lyra talked about something or other, Octavia was left alone with her thoughts. Harpo’s earlier words bothered her a bit, and she still wondered why. Was it simply because it was an off-color comment that shouldn’t have been made, or was he right? Did she like mares and not even consider it? Aside from the obvious physical implications, what more could she gain from a relationship that a friendship doesn’t already provide emotionally? And more importantly…did this all tie in with her confusing ‘feelings’ for Vinyl? Octavia decided it for herself right then and there. ‘I suppose I could try…for my own sake, anyway.’

Lyra and Harpo parted ways and the bar trio got right back to work. It was only close to closing time that Octavia found a free moment to speak to the mulberry barmare. “Berry, do you have a moment? I wish to ask you something important.”

Berry finished cleaning out a glass and set it amongst the others. “What’s on your mind, Octavia?”

“What is Vinyl really like? I mean, from the standpoint of somepony who has, well…um…”

“Who’s what, known her for as long as I have?”

“Well, yes, but also…” Octavia found herself struggling with the words she knew she wanted to say. ‘Just give it a chance, Octavia. You never know what might happen.’ “One who has been in a relationship with her before?”

If Berry had still been holding that glass, it would be shattered on the ground. Her face was plastered with shock as she stared at Octavia. “Y-you…you wanna…are you serious?”

Octavia suddenly felt as if she shouldn’t have asked the question. She prepared to turn away from the barmare. “I’m sorry, Berry, I’ll just get back to-“

“N-no, no, it’s not how you think!” Octavia stopped in her tracks and turned back. “I was just…a bit shocked, y’know? I mean, Vinyl hasn’t dated in a few years, and I guess I was just…worried about the next mare to ask me for advice on her. I was the one they all came to. They knew that I knew Vinyl best, so I was the best source.”

“O-oh…I see.”

“So…yeah, I’m perfectly fine with you asking me about this, I just…I didn’t expect it to be you of all ponies.” Octavia gave her a flat stare. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re great and all! But you only just got to know Vinyl…most ponies only try to ask her out if they, y’know…are already into the crazy party stuff she usually does. Not a high-class Canterlot mare like yourself.”

“Well, I don’t really understand these…feelings myself. But I’m willing to explore them, to see if they go anywhere.”

“Well, that’s also rule number one, and pretty much the only rule.” Octavia listened intently. “If it turns out they don’t go anywhere and you have to break up with her, you need to let her down as gently as possible. That was the big mistake that cost me my best friend for three years.” Berry stared down at the bar. “I wasn’t kind about it, at all. I got with the wrong crowd and started acting like even more of a punk than Vinyl was, and I broke her heart hardcore.” Berry slammed her hoof on the table. “I pretended I didn’t even know her, because they made me. I never even told her about it, and she hated me for it. And I regret it every day I’m here. The fact that she even allowed me to be her friend again is a miracle.”

Octavia gasped lightly and placed her hoof atop Berry’s. “I’m so sorry…I know you said secrets were a big issue between you two, but I had no idea…”

“You couldn’t have…secrets and all, y’know?”

Octavia nodded. “Was…was that it?”

Berry looked back up and shook her head. “Only one other thing I need to ask you to do.” Octavia nodded. “Regardless of whether or not you think this’ll work out…please treat her right. She’s my best friend, whether I think I deserve to be or not. I don’t want to see her suffer again.”

Octavia smiled and stood up. “I promise…thank you, Berry.”

Berry simply gave a nod and returned to her cleaning. Octavia approached Vinyl’s door and rapped it with her hoof three times. “Vinyl, I need to talk to you about something.”

“Come on in, Tavi!” Octavia walked in to see Vinyl simply sitting at her desk doing absolutely nothing. “So what’s up? It’d probably be a bad idea to practice right now…wouldn’t want to risk an upchuck incident on my guitars, you know?”

“Actually, I wanted to ask you a very important question.” Octavia could see Vinyl’s expression change, and for the second time since she met her, Vinyl looked like she would take it seriously. “I was wondering if…perhaps, maybe…you would like to…accompany me to dinner sometime this week? Just the two of us?”

Vinyl’s expression dropped from serious to utterly confused. Octavia could cut the tension with a knife as she waited for the DJ’s reply. After a minute of solid silence, Vinyl finally spoke again. “Are…Tavi, are you asking me out on a date? Like, a real date?”

Octavia nodded, flushing slightly. “Yes, a real date, Vinyl.”

“Um…wow, I, uh…I haven’t gone on a real date in…what, four years?” Vinyl could see Octavia’s expression begin to fall. “I’m not saying no, Tavi! Just…give me a minute…” Octavia sat waiting patiently. “I mean…the last pony I went out with was Berry, and…stuff didn’t go all too well in the end. So you’ll have to forgive me for being just a bit aper…appa…apple something?”

“Apprehensive?”

“Yeah, that’s the word. But…”

“If it makes you feel any better, this is all rather new to me. I’ve never dated a mare before, only stallions.”

“Then we’re both pretty much beginners here, eh?” Vinyl sighed and looked to Octavia with a smile. “Sure, Tavi. I’d love to go out with you.”

Octavia beamed. “I have the perfect place. It’s a bit classier than where we went today, but I’m confident you’ll like it. How does tomorrow evening sound?”

Vinyl thought for a moment and pushed a few things off her desk, revealing the calendar mat sitting in the center. “Tomorrow…Sunday…Berry could hold the fort, considering the happy-hour specials on Sundays are her thing, and the other club is closed Sunday nights. Yeah, my schedule’s clear for tomorrow.”

Octavia clapped excitedly. “Wonderful! I’ll need the day to get ready, and I assume you will as well, so I’ll pick you up around six-thirty, all right?” Vinyl began to speak, but Octavia’s chipper mood repressed whatever it was she’d wanted to say. “And remember to dress nicely!” The earth pony mare exited the room, leaving Vinyl alone to think about what just happened. Only one thought ran through her mind.

‘Uh…how do I date again?’

Author's Note

CONSISTENCY!!!

Anyway, shameless self-promotion, two things I'm about to start working on soon are important projects not related to ponies, in case anyone is interested.

1. I'm gonna start a Lets-Play channel on Youtube and play mostly Touhou fan games and other games that most LPers don't play. I'm gonna hit the more obscure and retro titles that the big popular Lets Players don't really do, and I'll do my best to thoroughly analyze every part of the game and find any little secrets about it that might be interesting to some of my viewers.

2. I am creating my own d20 role-playing system based on a fusion of Borderlands' randomized loot-attainment system and Dragon Age's class-skill-specialization setup, and sticking it in an original world I have spent this past half a year developing. It won't be ready for play for a good month, two months or so if you're interested in joining it when it's done, let me know.