“One hour left…” Vinyl had her dress on, her wallet tucked away in the convenient pocket Rarity had placed inside the breast area, and her mane was slicked back and free of any blue coloring. The unicorn paced back and forth next to the phone sitting on the desk, which currently had Berry Punch on speaker. “I’m freaking out here, Ber…I’m running a rut into my floor! What if I can’t do this?”

“Didn’t your cousin talk to you about this already?”

“Well, yeah, but-“

“But nothing, Vi, you’re gonna be fine! If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times…” Vinyl took a deep breath as Berry continued. “Nothing good will come of panicking. I know you better than you know yourself, so I know you’ve got this. You’ve always trusted me before…even when I broke that trust. You’re an awesome mare, and anypony would be lucky to have you. And I know Octavia won’t screw it up like I did.”

“…Ber…”

Vinyl could hear Berry start to choke up, but she managed to hold it back and continue speaking. “I’ve gotta go. Good luck, Vi. Just be yourself, and everything’s gonna be all right.” The phone clicked and let out a deep tone. Vinyl continued her pacing, but now with added weight. After everything that had happened between them, Berry was still her best friend and had the utmost faith in her.

‘I only wish I could have that much faith in myself.’ Vinyl stared at the phone for half a minute before shifting her gaze ever so to the left to see her notepad, and the first phone number on the page sparked an idea. ‘I…guess I could give him a call.’ Vinyl focused her magic and dialed the number. The phone rang for several seconds as she impatiently tapped her hoof against the floor. “C’mon, answer, please…”

The phone clicked and an older stallion spoke. “Platinum Record Industries, this is Live Wire, how can I help you today?”

“Hey, Wire, it’s Vinyl.”

“Whoa, Vinyl? Jeez, haven’t heard from you in years. How’s it been?”

“Been okay, Wire…hey, not to just call you up and drop ya, but is my dad available right now? Kinda have some important stuff to talk about with him.”

“You wanna talk to Mister Record? Let me see…” Vinyl could hear papers shuffling and Live Wire mumbling something under his breath. “Ah, here we are! Employee schedules, let’s take a look. Seems the boss man should be available right now. You want me to try and patch you through?”

“If it’s not too much trouble, Wire, I’d appreciate that.” The call shifted through layers of static to a muzak loop where it stayed for several minutes. Vinyl waited…she would wait on that line as long as she could. She continued to glance back at the clock that shone in red on the phone’s display: ‘Five forty-five.’ Less than an hour remained, and she was still so unsure of so many things. Finally, the muzak faded out and another stallion’s voice graced the speaker.

“Vinyl, sweetheart, is that you?”

“H-hey, dad…”

“I must admit, I was a bit surprised when Live Wire told me you’d called…I mean, it’s been…almost a year since we last talked.”

Vinyl chuckled. “Yeah, sorry about that…got busy and stuff…”

Silence. Neither party opted to speak for another minute. Platinum Record broke the uncomfortable silence first. “So, uh…did you and Berry get that bar off the ground?”

“Yeah, it’s going pretty okay…even hired a new bassist recently with a lot of potential…and I’ve actually got something really important to talk to you about.”

“Vinyl, you know you can talk to me about anything. So what’s the issue?”

“I, uh…have this ‘friend’-“

“Vinyl, you never could trick me with that.”

“Okay, it’s me. I’ve sorta-kinda got a new marefriend, and I don’t wanna screw it up, and I’m panicking, and my first date is in less than an hour and-“

“Whoa, Vinyl, sweetheart, calm down a bit…don’t you think you’re overreacting just a tiny bit?”

“Um...maybe?”

Platinum laughed a bit. “Have you already talked to your other friends about this?”

“I talked to Berry…and she seems to think that me being myself will go perfectly fine.”

“Then why is that a problem?”

“This time, it’s different! This mare’s classy, refined, dignified, and-“

“Everything you think you’re not?”

“Exac-wait, everything I think I’m not?”

Platinum sighed. “Vinyl, you are fully capable of being any kind of mare you want to be…but what you need to ask yourself is, what kind of mare did this one ask out on a date?”

Vinyl took a moment, even though the answer was clear as day. “She…she asked me out…and she knows me, the real me. The club owner, the DJ, the guitarist…in all of two weeks, she saw the side of me nopony other than Berry had ever seen before…why? Why did I-“

“Call it fate, if you want…but I feel like somewhere deep down, you wanted her to see the real you. And since she knows it, just keep being it. There’s no point in trying to fix what ain’t broken, is there?”

Vinyl shook her head, despite the fact that her father wouldn’t see it. “I guess you’re right. She asked out Vinyl Scratch…and being anything else would just ruin it, right? I’ll be the best damn me I could possibly be.”

“That’s my girl! Now, much as I’d love to keep talking, you’ve got your date, and I’ve got another meeting with these stuck-up execs that keep trying to tell me ‘trance isn’t real music’. Looks like it’s time to bust out the old slides again. Talk to you later, Vinyl. And hold onto that positive attitude…it’ll really get you places.”

The dial tone droned on again, but this time to a far more confident Vinyl Scratch. She examined the clock once more: ‘Six o’clock’. “Just a half hour left. You can do this, Scratch. She asked you out for you, not some fake pony you could just make up. And besides, she’s probably not even panicking about this at all.”

“Fredrick, I am panicking. I am in full panic mode, and I have no idea why.”

Octavia paced back and forth in her room. A far cry from Vinyl’s tiny apartment, Octavia’s bedroom was the equivalent size of the bar, if not a bit smaller. Her bed was extravagant and lined with frilly, likely expensive lace, the room was lit up like a birthday cake with no more than twelve lamps and a chandelier, and even the carpet looked soft enough to double as a blanket. Still, all this comfort could not keep Octavia’s nerves at minimal levels. The groove she’d walked into the carpet could rival that of Vinyl’s.

Through the phone, Octavia could hear Fredrick sigh. “Take a moment to compose yourself, Octavia.” Octavia took a few deep breaths as she tried to calm down. Then out of nowhere, she began to giggle. “Oh dear…she’s lost it.”

“N-no, not at all, it’s just…you said ‘compose’.”

It took Fredrick a few seconds, but his own laughter came in turn. “Oh…oh my, I didn’t even realize. That is terrible.”

“I suppose Vinyl is rubbing off on me…I wouldn’t have noticed such a horribly accidental play-on-words like that without her influence.”

“Yes, that mare does have a tendency to share her unique qualities with her friends. That is why I am absolutely certain that this date of yours will go off without a hitch. You wouldn’t have asked her out if you knew deep down that this wouldn’t go well, Octavia.”

“I wish I had your confidence right now, Fredrick. I am absolutely terrified…”

“Then let’s get to the root of the problem.” Octavia stared at the phone, confused. “What exactly are you afraid of? Is it a fear of what Vinyl might do…or what you might?”

“I…what exactly are you insinuating, Fredrick?”

“Nothing at all…just that you might be worried that you yourself are not right for Vinyl.”

Octavia could feel the heat of her rage rising off of herself in waves. “How dare you! I could be just as right for Vinyl as you yourself thought you were! I will be taking her out to a wonderful dinner, and no matter how she behaves, I will love her all the same!” Octavia took several deep breaths before she realized what she had just said and heard Fredrick chuckling on the other side of the call.

“Well, I’d say you’re ready for your date, Octavia.”

“I…but you…” Octavia sighed and took another deep breath. She smiled and looked back at the phone again. “Thank you, Fredrick. You are always there for me when I need you. You truly are the best adoptive brother a mare like me could ask for.”

“I’m glad I could be of assistance, little sister. Now, you’d better hurry. You’ve got to pick up Vinyl in half an hour, correct?”

Octavia glanced at the clock on the wall to see that it read ‘six o’clock’. “Oh, my, you’re right! I need my dress, my purse…” Octavia flew into such a frenzy she didn’t even realize Fredrick had hung up.

“Go get her, Octavia.”

Vinyl heard three knocks on her door. She jumped in a panic at first, but then she quickly rushed to answer. “Hold on, I’m coming!” She threw the door open suddenly and smiled. “Hey, Tavi, I’m-“

Nothing could prepare her for what she saw. Octavia had her mane tied back with a bow and wore the most extravagant yet simply-designed dress Vinyl had ever seen. It was rather similar to hers, but long enough to cover all but Octavia’s hooves, and designed with rows of measures flowing like waves and decorated with a variety of music notes. “Um…I…wow, Tavi, you look…great…”

“Why thank you, Vinyl…as do you, to my slight surprise. Where did you get such a beautiful dress?”

“Oh, my cousin made it for me. She’s kinda really good at this stuff.”

Octavia eyed her date from head to hoof. “If I might ask…your cousin wouldn’t happen to be Rarity, would it?”

“Yeah, that’s her!” Vinyl stared blankly for a moment before realizing how Octavia could have guessed that. “Wait, don’t tell me…“

Octavia nodded. “This dress is one of Rarity’s works as well. I commissioned it a few years ago for special occasions.” She motioned out the door. “Now, shall we get going? I have reservations for us at seven, and it shouldn’t take us too long to get there.”

Vinyl nodded and the two set out. Octavia knew it wouldn’t be a long walk, so she didn’t immediately think to spark up a conversation with Vinyl. Of course, that didn’t stop the unicorn mare herself from starting one. “So, uh, Tavi…I hope you don’t mind if I ask kind of a personal question.”

“That all depends…what is the question?”

“Well, I’ve told you a little bit about my parents.”

“Only that your mother is a noble of some degree and your father is associated with the music business just as you are.”

“Well, my question is…what are your parents like?” Octavia stopped short. Vinyl almost stumbled trying to turn back to her. “Um…sorry, I didn’t think-“

“No, it’s quite all right…I just wasn’t expecting it. My mother and I are not on speaking terms, as far as I am concerned, and my father…” Octavia’s gaze shifted to the ground. “I’ve never even met him. He left before I was even born.”

“Oh, jeez…” Vinyl pulled herself closer to Octavia and wrapped her forelegs around her neck. “I’m sorry, Tavi, I didn’t know.”

“It’s…it’s fine, Vinyl, I…” She looked back up toward the path. “Let’s keep going, all right? We’ll talk a bit more in the restaurant.” Vinyl nodded and broke the hug. The couple continued walking until they arrived at an extravagantly large building, at least twice the size of the restaurant from the other day, and nearly six times larger than Vinyl’s own bar. The DJ marveled at the structure, unsure of what wonders would await inside such a place.

“Uh…Tavi, this isn’t gonna cost too much, is it? I mean, I’ve got the bits, but this place look-“

Octavia’s giggling cut Vinyl off. “Trust me…it might look impressive, but honestly the most expensive part of this date was the reservations. I paid almost one hundred bits apiece for each of us.”

Vinyl’s eyes widened. “Whoa, seriously, Tavi? You didn’t have to spend that kind of money on me, I-“

Vinyl found herself stopped again, this time by Octavia’s hoof in front of her mouth. “I won’t hear another word of it, Vinyl. This night is from me to you…not just as a date, but to thank you for everything you’ve done for me these past few weeks.” Vinyl flushed and smiled awkwardly as they casually sauntered on into the building and stopped at the front door where a stallion stood at a wooden pedestal with a book of names. “Hello, I have a reservation for two under ‘Octavia Philharmonica’.”

The stallion standing at the pedestal flipped through his book, scanning the list of names for the evening. He murmured something, causing Octavia to look very worried. The stallion glanced back through a second time to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, and when he reached the bottom, he sighed. “My deepest apologies, Miss Philharmonica, but we do not have a reservation under your name for this evening.”

Octavia stared daggers at the stallion as he cowered behind his pedestal. “What do you MEAN, you have no reservations under my name?! I came here eight hours ago and paid for it! You have my two hundred bits already, there must be a reservation! Try ‘Vinyl Scratch’, maybe I put it under hers instead of mine.” The stallion fearfully looked through the book again, and after shaking his head, hid back behind the podium. “How in the…oh, I will certainly be speaking to your manager about this!”

“The manager isn’t here today, but you can come back tomorrow and-“

“I MOST DEFINITELY WILL!” Octavia stormed out the door leaving a trail of dust and rage in her wake. Even Vinyl could feel the tension in the room. She chuckled nervously and waved off the stallion.

“Sorry about that, buddy…uh, here.” Vinyl set a few coins on the podium. “A few bits for your trouble, and uh…again, sorry.” Vinyl quickly followed Octavia out to see here standing in the street, head hung low and a quiet sob breaking the silence of the city. “H-hey, Tavi, don’t cry, everything’s gonna be fine. You can get your bits back and it’ll all be okay.”

“I don’t care about the bits, Vinyl…” she wiped her eyes and looked at the DJ, her face showing she was ready to break out into tears again. “I wanted this to be perfect…I wanted to show you how much this meant to me, how much you meant to me, and now it’s ruined…”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that.”

“W-what do you mean, Vinyl?”

“Well, I had an idea for something we could’ve done after dinner, but since that isn’t happening, we could skip right to it if you’d like.”

Octavia sniffled and smiled a bit. “Well…that all depends. What is it?”

“How would you, Octavia Philharmonica, like to take a stroll with me through the Royal Gardens?”

Octavia stared blankly at Vinyl, obviously in disbelief. “Vinyl…you have to be royalty to enter the royal gardens.”

“Well, normally, yeah…” Vinyl reached into the lining of her dress and pulled out two cards bearing the insignia of the Royal Sisters. “But Princess Luna had me do a show one night at the palace and invited a whole bunch of night-life-type ponies. It was an absolute hit, and she granted me semi-royal access. Normally, we’d be able to tour the castle as well, but it would be closed to anypony, even ones with these passes, at this time. But all I need to do is flash these babies, and we can walk through the gardens, and nopony can bother us.”

Octavia felt herself almost brought to tears again, but ones of joy as opposed to sorrow. She tossed herself at Vinyl and wrapped the mare in a tight hug. “I would love that, Vinyl.” She giggled slightly. “So I guess this means now you are asking me out.”

“And on the same date, too…we must be breaking some kind of law of inception here or something.”

The two shared a laugh and made their way to the Royal Palace. It took no more than ten minutes, and neither said much of anything as they walked. The two strode down the street in a close embrace; one foreleg over the other’s back as they somehow maintained balance while walking. Nothing needed to be said anymore. It was the safest either of them would admit they’d felt in a long time. The two arrived and looked upon their destination in awe. As always, the palace was the most impressive building in all of Canterlot. With its golden gates, pillars and towers that could touch the stars and the fact alone that Princess Celestia and Luna called the place home, it was a sight to behold. “Well, shall we, milady?” Vinyl pulled out of the embrace carefully and gave a graceful bow, offering her hoof to Octavia.

“Oh, my…such manners from such a wild filly, I never would have expected this.”

“Trust me, Tavi. I’m just full of surprises.”

Side by side, the two approached the guard standing before the gate into the gardens. Vinyl smiled and waved frantically. “Hey, Silver Sigil, what’s up?”

The guardspony blinked twice, trying to make sure he knew what he was seeing. “Vinyl Scratch, what are you doing here? Princess Luna isn’t having another party for several moons.”

“Yeah, well, I’m actually here on a date.” Vinyl brought her leg around Octavia again, pulling her close. “I’m gonna take this lovely lady here on a tour of the gardens, if you don’t mind, old buddy o’ mine.”

“Oh…you wanted to walk through the…” Sigil glanced back through the gate and sighed. “Sorry, Vinyl, that’s not gonna be possible tonight.”

Vinyl looked the guard right in the eyes, completely baffled. “What?”

“The gardens…they just started renovations this morning. They tore up a lot of the paths and removed a bunch of the flowers so they could replace the walkways safely. The gardens won’t be available for access for a month.”

A downcast look that could have rivaled Octavia’s from earlier spread across Vinyl’s face. “Oh…okay. Guess we’ll just…go do something else, Tavi. Thanks anyway, Sig.”

The guardspony waved them off as they began to walk away. He almost shared Vinyl’s expression, obviously wishing he could have done more for them. As soon as they were far enough away, Vinyl felt herself unwillingly slow down. Her body tried to move forward, but her mind told her there was no point, and right now, her mind was winning. ‘Some marefriend I turned out to be…that was my ace in the hole, and it fell apart in seconds…now what?’

“Vinyl…if I might offer a suggestion…”

“Huh?” Octavia’s call snapped Vinyl back to reality. She looked back at her mare and nodded absentmindedly. “What’s your plan, Tavi?”

“We could-“

Before Octavia could propose her idea, something rumbled overhead as storm clouds moved into position. The heavens raged with booming thunder and flashing lightning as the light trickle of rain came forth to hail the downpour to come. “Vinyl, we need to move, NOW.” Octavia fell into a full gallop, moving as quickly as she could down the street. Vinyl followed at top speed right behind her as the clouds above prepared to unleash their torrential fury. Octavia stopped in front of a sizeable estate and rummaged through her dress for something. Vinyl skidded to a halt mere inches behind her as she pulled forth a key, quickly unlocked the door in front of her and rushed inside. Wordlessly, Vinyl followed her through and slammed the door behind her. The two sat there for a few minutes, panting heavily and letting the little water that soaked their dresses drip to the floor.

“Where…in Tartarus…did that come from?”

“I have absolutely no idea…though I suppose neglecting to check the weather report for this evening might have been a folly on my part…”

“I never even think to check the weather…I don’t normally go out that often, so it just didn’t occur to me.”

“Well…this is one place we don’t need a reservation. Vinyl, I would like to welcome you to my humble home.”

Vinyl finally managed to take a look around to see that she was in a foyer of sorts. Two spiral staircases led upstairs to other rooms, and beyond the foyer was a sitting room with a soft, dry, comfortable-looking couch set right before a fireplace just begging to be lit. Her only reply was that of an impressed whistle. “Nice place…way better than my run-down little shack of an apartment.” Octavia didn’t reply, and Vinyl looked back to her to make sure she was okay.

She was not okay.

Octavia had walked over to the couch in the sitting room and collapsed onto it, burying her face into a pillow. “Tavi…?” Vinyl followed her steps and as she grew closer, she could hear Octavia’s quiet sobs through the cloth cushion. “Tavi, what’s wrong?”

“What’s…what’s wrong?” She looked up from the pillow, staring at Vinyl with tear-filled eyes. “Everything is wrong! This entire night has just fallen apart, and nothing worked out like either of us planned it! The reservations, the gardens, this blasted storm…and now we’re stuck here with nothing to do. The date is ruined, and it’s my fault…” Octavia broke down again, shoving her muzzle back into the pillow and continuing to cry.

“Tavi…what makes you think the date’s ruined?”

The grey mare’s head shot up. Her eyes met Vinyl’s and her face was plastered with an expression of pure shock. “What?”

Vinyl pulled herself onto the couch and made herself comfortable next to Octavia. “The date isn’t ruined…it just hasn’t gone according to plan so far.”

Octavia chuckled bitterly. “Thanks for the reminder, Vinyl.”

“No, no, what I mean is…you were trying to set the whole thing up according to the plan. What you needed to do was just make it up as you went along.”

“What do you mean? Like…improvise everything?”

“Yeah, basically, that’s what you gotta do. You can’t just plan love; you gotta let it happen on its own.”

Octavia sighed and let her head fall back onto the pillow. “Then I suppose I messed up this relationship already.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

Octavia rose back up and looked to her date. “What do you me-“

Vinyl moved forward and locked lips with Octavia. It took a few seconds before the grey mare realized what was happening, but she soon allowed herself to melt into the kiss. It wasn’t nearly as heated or intense as Vinyl was used to, nor was it merely as simple as a kiss on the cheek exchanged by friends like Octavia would know. It was relaxing yet fueled with enough passion to show its true meaning. After a minute, the kiss broke and the two stared into the depths of each other’s eyes.

“Vi-“
“Oct-“

“AHEM!”

Vinyl and Octavia threw their gazes to the door, where now another pony stood, and glaring daggers at them. Octavia shuddered with a fear she’d felt very rarely these days. It was a fear that reminded her of her childhood in the worst ways. Standing under the archway between the staircases, shaking rainwater from her umbrella, was a dark-red-maned grey mare Octavia never would have expected to see again. She calmed herself mentally and addressed the entity.

“Hello, Mother.”

Author's Note

Time to publish a chapter earlier than intended and leave everyone on a climactic cliffhanger until the end of the week! Next chapter will likely be up Saturday, if not, expect it as the usual Thursday post next week. I've got some side-projects I've been working on and they're FINALLY almost done!