Playing it by Ear

“BERRY, HELP ME! How do I date ponies again?”

“So, you said yes, huh?”

“Of course I said yes! Have you seen her? Octavia is the most phenomenal mare I’ve ever met! Why wouldn’t I-“Vinyl’s rant cut off as she rolled the conversation back in her head. “How did you know she asked me out?”

“Same reason I knew about every other mare that asked you out. They all come to me practically asking for my blessing…among other forms of advice, if you recall.”

Vinyl flushed, knowing exactly what Berry was talking about. “Yeah, Moondancer was interesting, all right. But I don’t want this to be anything like that. Tavi’s classy, refined, and-“

“Everything you’re not?”

“EXACTLY!” Vinyl slammed her head against the bar. “The date’s TONIGHT, Berry! I don’t know what to do! She wants to take me to some fancy place that she knows, and I barely maintain basic table manners!”

“Then how did you do so well at the restaurant yesterday?”

“That was a bar-and-grill kinda place, Ber. Places like that are where half my paychecks went every week back in college. It’s a commoner’s eatery. Tavi wants me to dress up all nice for this place. I don’t think I even have any nice clothes…or ever did!”

Berry pondered the precarious predicament Vinyl found herself in. “Actually…there might be one way you could get a nice outfit.”

Vinyl’s eyes widened, already aware of what Berry hinted at. “No. No, not her, anything but that.”

“Vinyl, I hate to say it-“

“Then please don’t! I can’t stand spending time with her! Not even you can stand spending time with her!”

“You might not have a choice, Vinyl. She’s the only one that has the eye for high fashion you need.”

“Ber, you know why this can’t possibly go well. Unlike a lot of my other cousins, she is obsessive-compulsive, completely overdramatic, and excessively tidy! She is my polar opposite in every way.”

“One might say the same about Octavia, dear Vinyl.” Vinyl turned suddenly as Harpo walked forth from the table closest to the stage. “She is classy and refined, while you are wild and free. And yet, when the two of you spent the better half of an hour putting away more drinks than a gaggle of hoofball fans, you found more in common with one another than you thought. So wouldn’t you say it might be worth going to see R-“

“Okay, first off, Harpo, how do you keep getting in here without either me or Berry noticing?”

“Why, Vinyl, I thought you knew. I am clearly a ninja.”

Vinyl deadpanned. “Yeah, okay. And two, how much do you know about my cousin that could tell you anything other than how completely opposite I am from her?”

“Nothing, really…but she’s in Canterlot for the next four hours only, so if you want something nice to wear and you want it soon, I would consider finding her if I were you…unless, of course, you can suddenly teleport about a hundred miles to Ponyville and back and not destroy your horn in the process.”

Vinyl turned back to the bar, slammed her head on the table and groaned. “Yeah, you’re right…nopony else would even give me a chance if I told them what it was for…at least I know my cousin won’t be so judgmental.”

“Vinyl, darling, it’s been far too long!” Vinyl walked into the Canterlot branch of Rarity’s clothing shop. “But…how did you know I’d be in Canterlot today?”

“Actually, I had no idea, Rares. An old friend of mine told me you’d be here for only a little while and I kinda needed a favor.”

Rarity stared at her, slightly confused. “You…need a favor…from moi? For what reason could you possibly need a dress?” Vinyl muttered her reply. “I’m sorry; could you repeat that, dearie?”

“For…my date…”

Rarity gasped and rushed her cousin, pulling her into a tight hug. “Oh, my little cousin is dating again! How wonderful! So, who’s the lucky mare?”

“Wait, how do you…Oh, right. You were the first one I told about me being into mares. Now I remember why I knew you’d be cool about it.”

“Well, stop stalling!” Rarity broke the hug. “Who is it?”

“Her name’s Octavia, and she-“

“Octavia? Surely you’re not speaking of THE Octavia Philharmonica, who fled her stage in tears no more than a month ago?”

“Yeah, that’s…wait, what?”

“You didn’t hear about that? It was all over the news, Vinyl. Octavia Philharmonica was playing one of the most difficult songs on an upright bass, and being an Earth Pony, it was far more stressful for her, as this song was one the nobles of the music industry had the highest regard for. All but one of her strings snapped at once in the middle of a crescendo, and as she tried to play again, the final one broke and she fled the stage. Most of the nobility reviled her for her failure to complete the song, while others simply shrugged it off, but she took the hit much harder. None of the owners of any reputable theater would ever allow her to play after such a debacle…I can only imagine how dreadful it must have been, not able to do the thing you love most.”

Vinyl found herself almost drawn to tears. She struggled to push back her sadness for the time being. “I…I had no idea. I only knew about what happened at the Gala a few years back with Pinks. When I offered her this job, I didn’t know what she’d just gone through…”

“Well, I’m at least glad to hear things are looking up for her. You’ve given her a chance to work again, and you’re taking her out for a night to remember!” Rarity swooned as she fell back, a couch levitating forward to catch her. Vinyl rolled her eyes and sighed. “Oh, how romantic…where exactly are you two going?”

Vinyl shrugged. “Beats me…Tavi told me she’d pick me up at six thirty, though.”

Rarity’s eyes darted to the clock. The time read ’12:30’ and she suddenly bolted to her fabric table. “Oh, then there’s no time to waste! I need measurements, Vinyl, and fast!” Rarity soon found herself staring at a sticky note now placed on the table before her. “What is this, dear?”

“These are my measurements. I always bring my notes with me whenever I come to visit you, cuz.”

“Oh, you know me too well, Vinyl dear. Now, give me just a few hours, and I’ll have something spectacular ready for you!”

“It’s READY!”

Vinyl would be lying if she’d said she wasn’t excited, but her nerves felt the need to make her forget that for a moment as she lifted her head up to see her cousin’s work. “All right, Rares, let’s see what you’ve-“

Vinyl found herself more pleased with what she saw than she had expected. The dress was particularly short, almost like a skirt of sorts, and from a first glance would be a comfortable fit, but it was the design itself that had her astounded. The base fabric was electric blue like her mane and the pattern across its surface was a series of interlocking music notes that wove into a beautiful, almost mesmerizing pattern. “Rarity…this is…I mean, wow…”

“Oh, I know, isn’t it just fantastic? I mean, I had such a short amount of time, and still, it came out so well.” Rarity stopped gushing over her creation long enough to walk over to Vinyl and pull her into a hug. “I really want this to work out for you, Vinyl. So I’m wishing you the best of luck, and the dress is yours to keep, no charge.” Vinyl prepared to argue it, but Rarity cut her off. “No, no…you’ll just owe me another favor in the future. And besides, the dress is only half your ticket. The rest has to be all you, so if it’s being yourself that attracted her to begin with, keep it up. I believe in you.”

Vinyl returned the hug. “Thanks, cuz. I know you always say you believe in me, but it really means a lot right now.”

The two broke the hug and Rarity walked over to the dress, carefully lifting it up in her magic. With a bit of effort between the two of them, Vinyl managed to secure the outfit on her body. It felt soft to the touch and was incredibly comfortable. “You know, I’ve gotta give you props for this, Rares. You definitely know how to make a dress for ponies that don’t like dresses.”

“Well, what kind of dressmaker would I be if I couldn’t? Now, was there anything else you needed my help with?”

“Well, one more thing actually…” Rarity eyed her curiously as Vinyl chuckled nervously. “What do you know about table manners?”