Time stood still as the two mares sat on the couch, neither moving nor speaking. For a short span of time that felt like an eternity, the only audible noises were that of the gale-force winds outside and the barrage of rain on the walls of the estate. It took nearly a minute for anypony to say anything, and Octavia was the first.

“Mother, what brings you all the way out here?”

Concerto Philharmonica was known for many things but topmost being her ownership of most of the record companies in Canterlot, and her spiteful attitude towards anything but perfection. She sneered as she tossed aside her umbrella and walked slowly toward the two. “I had come out after I’d heard about your foolishness at the Golden String Concert Hall, and I’d figured you needed my help. And then I come into my own home to find the rumors to be true, that you’re traipsing about with this…this…” The venom in her voice built until she practically spat the last word like acid. “Degenerate…”

“Mother, I hardly believe you have any say in my life at this point.”

Concerto glared at her daughter. “And what gives you any right to speak to your mother that way? Obviously, this hooligan has been rubbing off on you in all the wrong ways.”

“Get to the point, mother. Why are you really here?”

“I came to pull you out of the miserable rut you let yourself fall into with your failure.” Octavia winced at that, ready to hide her face in the pillow again. “And with all the work I put into your career, you turn against me like this…no doubt thanks to this wretched mare filling your head with stupid notions.” Octavia sank lower and lower, feeling her spirit crumble under the weight of her mother’s words. “And today would have turned out just lovely if you hadn’t taken this path. Perhaps you and I would have been able to talk at that restaurant you had your reservations at, or maybe it wouldn’t have stormed like this if you’d just obeyed me as you always had. And just maybe-“

“HOLD ON A SECOND!”

Octavia glanced up at a positively fuming Vinyl Scratch, who glared at Concerto with more hate than she ever had in her body before. “How did you know Octavia had reservations at that restaurant? And what was that comment about the rain?”

“W-what are you talking about you delinquent? I said nothing of the-“

“You did it, didn’t you?” Concerto’s eyes showed a glimmer of fear for a split second. “You canceled Tavi’s reservations at that restaurant! You paid off the Canterlot weather team to make it storm today! I bet you even commissioned the renovations of the Palace Gardens!”

“Well, how else was I going to convince my beloved daughter that a self-indulgent harlot like you is no good for her?”

Vinyl scoffed. “Yeah, right, she’s beloved to you. If that’s the case, then tell me this.” Concerto smirked, awaiting the DJs half-baked detective question. “How long ago was Octavia’s concert at the Golden Strings Concert Hall?”

“What kind of a stupid question is that? It was a week ago, obviously.”

Vinyl chuckled bitterly. “You dense, ignorant snob, how stupid can you be?”

“How DARE-“

“It was a month ago!” Concerto and Vinyl jumped slightly as Octavia rose back up, hopped off the couch and began to approach her mother. “That concert was over a month ago, and you have the nerve to show up now of all times, right when I’m finally happy with my life?” Her mother motioned to speak, but Octavia would not allow her to. “I finally realized what it was that I was missing…it was love, mother. Father was gone, and you had your head buried so deep in your work that you didn’t even care what happened to me after you sent me on my way, so long as everything I did was approved of by you without my consent. You built my life for me, never letting me live it on my own, and now Vinyl has shown me that I can live it on my own!”

“Octavia, think about what you’re doing! Are you really just going to pass your life, the life I worked so hard to give you, over to some two-bit hack who claims to be a musician?”

“It would be a far better place for it than in your greedy hooves. With you, I could only do what you wanted me to do. But now, I call the shots on my own life. I chose my life’s direction. I choose who I love! And I love Vinyl Scratch!”

Once again, all but a voice was heard throughout the room. The rain had let up, but the wind still howled with intensity as Octavia and Concerto stared each other down. The red-maned mare finally let out a defeated sigh. “Very well, then. I suppose I cannot control you anymore.”

“Thank you-“

“But this is my house, not yours. If you want your freedom, you’ll get nothing from me. Leave, and never come back.”

Vinyl gasped as Octavia and her mother stared each other down before the mare beside Vinyl stepped forth and began walking towards the door. “Good luck with the rest of your miserable life, mother. Don’t expect me to come crawling back.”

“Believe me, I don’t,” Concerto spat, glaring at Vinyl who took a bit longer to take the hint. She flushed and quickly followed Octavia out, the grey mare slamming the door behind her as she walked.

The two continued to walk down the street. Vinyl knew the bar wasn’t too far, but the heavy rain and slight fog made for a near-impossible line of sight. Vinyl sighed as she conjured a small disc and curved it into a magic umbrella. Octavia continued to aimlessly wander ahead, not even aware of the fact that her coat and mane were completely soaked through. She had a smile on her face and Vinyl couldn’t tell why.

“I…I can’t believe I just did that.”

“If you didn’t, we wouldn’t be walking out in the rain right now, Tavi.”

“I’m…I’m finally free, Vinyl…”

Vinyl glanced over, her expression showing confusion. “Didn’t you usually do your own thing anyway?”

“Well, yes, of course.” Octavia stopped for a moment to allow Vinyl to catch up. “But I was always watched by my mother. She was obsessive, deranged…she wanted everything I did to be by her standards at all times. After the show a month ago, I was terribly upset at first, but after the party and your job offer, I realized that I didn’t need to follow her every whim for the rest of my life. That wasn’t my choice, it was hers!” Octavia flung herself at Vinyl, wrapping her forelegs around the mare in a tight hug, soaking her in rainwater in the process. “But now I’ve finally got my life to myself, and it’s all thanks to you, Vinyl Scratch!”

Vinyl flushed through a smile and ignored her now-sopping-wet coat. “I-I’m glad I could have helped you, Tavi…but I’ve got a question.” Octavia pulled back and looked Vinyl in the eyes. “When…when you said you loved me back there…that wasn’t just something to get your mom off your back, was it? I mean, we’ve only known each other for, like, three weeks or something, and-“ Octavia forced her lips against Vinyl’s, effectively silencing her as the magic umbrella dissipated and their tongues battled for dominance before surrendering to one another. The draw ended when they split after a minute, the two sharing a deep blush. “You know…you’re kinda hot when you’re all wet.”

Octavia puncher her shoulder playfully and kept walking. “Just keep walking, Scratchie.” she said with an airy giggle. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“W-what’s with the sudden nickname?”

“I thought you liked nicknames, Scratchie.”

Vinyl could practically hear the purr in Octavia’s voice and felt a chill down her spine. “Oh, jeez, Tavi, when did you get all…y’know, seductive and stuff?”

“Oh, just following your example, Vinyl…and playing it by ear.”

Vinyl and Octavia sat once again at an empty bar with Berry. The three had apple ciders in front of them and were discussing a variety of things.

“So, this whole club thing of ours isn’t turning out too well, is it, Vi?”

“Not exactly, Ber…I kinda figured a little place like this wouldn’t do too well in Canterlot…a mare can dream, can’t she?”

Octavia took a small sip of her cider. “So, why did you do it, then? If you knew it wouldn’t turn out well, why didn’t you build it somewhere else?”

“I put it here because this property was prime real estate, Tavi.” Vinyl chugged half of her drink and slammed the mug back down, releasing it from her magic. “See, it only cost me a thousand bits to take this old building and refurbish it ever so slightly. And it wasn’t too bad at first, but as the high-society clubs and parties started to kick off again, business started to fall. Plus with all the band members quitting, stealing or drinking on the clock and getting canned for it, we barely ever had any live music playing in here.”

“But that still doesn’t answer my question. Even before you hired me, business was obviously dwindling down. Why didn’t you just close shop?”

“Golden Strings.”

Octavia set her drink down mid-sip. “Golden…Strings? What about-“

“Golden Strings was my mother. The concert hall you performed at was named in her honor after she passed a few years ago.” Octavia fell into silence. She tried to speak, but something kept her words from forming. “Sorry I didn’t tell you about that sooner…but, anyway, when I told her what I wanted to do with my life after I got out of high school, she was so happy for me. Most parents would never have supported such a wild, over-the-top ambition, but my parents were certainly not ‘most parents.’ Dad gave me a bit of funding to start off with, and mom spent a lot of time trying to find the perfect spot for my bar while I played my shows at night. They both did so much…but mom did a bit too much. She stressed herself out and pushed herself too hard; even though she knew it wouldn’t be healthy after all she’d done in her life. Hard as it may be to believe, my mom had a pretty adventurous streak when she was a filly, and she ended up doing a lot of stupid things that kinda got her hurt sometimes.”

“Vinyl, with you being her daughter, I wouldn’t have imagined anything less than ‘rowdy’ from anypony in your family.”

Vinyl chuckled and blushed. “Thanks, Tavi. Anyway, with all the pressure she was putting on herself, she got sick…they couldn’t figure out what it was that she had, but she didn’t have long. The last thing she gave me before she passed was the ad for the building we’re standing in right now. It used to be a salt bar ten years ago, but it went out of business and the building never got used again. They didn’t bother tearing it down because it was barely worth anything and it was small. Nothing else could have gone here. So, a few years after she passed, I’d finally collected enough cash and I bought the place. I did exactly what I told my parents I would do, and…” Vinyl had done all she could to hold back her tears, but they finally began to break through and drop to the floor of the club. “I just didn’t wanna give up on this place so soon…”

“Oh, Vinyl…” Once again, the two mares found themselves sharing a hug, this time Octavia comforting Vinyl. “Do you…do you still want to keep it?”

Vinyl thought for a moment, then shook her head as they parted from the hug. “I wanted to at first, but…after talking about it; it’s not really the club itself that holds the memories…but everything behind me getting it that does. I want to be able to move on and try this somewhere else.”

“How about Ponyville?” asked Berry, drawing the mares’ attention to her. “There aren’t nearly as many ponies there as there are here in Canterlot, but you can bet they’d love a traditional bar setting like this in such a rural town. Besides, my sister lives there and she’s told me that a ton of ponies love the local cider.”

Vinyl and Octavia looked at Berry, then to each other, then back at the barmare. “You know…that might actually be a wonderful idea. Ponyville is a nice, quiet place, away from all the ignorant nobles of Canterlot, and even if either of us had to come back here, it’s only a two-hour train ride.”

Vinyl glanced around the bar, seeing only the usual single pony sitting in the corner. “Hey, Harpo, you think moving the show to Ponyville is a good idea?”

“I don’t see why not…but I won’t be able to sneak in unnoticed anymore. You’ll miss me.”

Vinyl chuckled. “I think I’ll manage, Harpy.” She turned back to the bar and chugged the remainder of her cider. “All righty then, Ponyville it is! I’ll start crunching the numbers and finding buyers for this old place, and if I can’t find anypony who wants to take it off our hooves, I’ll find something else to do with it.” Vinyl’s gaze fell to Octavia again. “Oh, uh…I didn’t even think about this…you kinda don’t, uh…I mean, you’re not living in…uh…” Octavia stared, awaiting the question she knew Vinyl was struggling to ask. “Taviyouwannamoveinwithme?”

Octavia giggled and smiled. “That sounds like a fantastic idea, Vinyl Scratch.”

Author's Note

No notes for this one, as both this and the epilogue are being posted at the same time!