Second Cello

Octavia smiled to herself as she brushed her mane for a last time. She was feeling quite elegant for once, her black saddlebags contrasting her grey body, and the violet in her mane matching her cutie mark. She flipped her hair one final time, then glanced over at the clock.

"Horsefeathers!" She exclaimed loudly, dashing out of the house. She had ten minutes to get there, so she really had to book it. Her hooves pounded the smooth sidewalks in an even thud, and many ponies turned in confusion or shock towards her. The bits in her saddlebags jangled in time with her hoofsteps, and her mane's careful work was nearly destroyed. She finally arrived at the large white house moments before the clock began dinging, and she knocked carefully on the beautifully painted door, afraid of chipping the paint off.

Her home was nothing compared to this... this mansion. She lived in a simple flat, her bed in a far corner and her music in another. There were no rooms except the bathroom, divided off by a few wooden roll-out dividers. She loved it, but compared to this, she had nothing.

The door swung open, and Vinyl Scratch hopped on to the doorstep, her mane and tail bouncing as she hopped around. She seemed so... overly energetic. Octavia began laughing, her laughter like bells in the wind. The sun was just starting to set as they left, giggling and chatting like old friends. They quickly arrived at Melody's, and the maitre'd quickly led them to a table in the far corner, a window letting them look out at the city lights.

"Hey Octavia, what's cham-pag-nee?" Vinyl Scratch stumbled over the word, and Octavia smiled as though speaking to a young child.

"Champagne is an alcoholic drink usually used to celebrate any sort of event. In fact, I propose we order some to start the night off." She expertly signaled a waiter, who was clearly new here.

"What can I get you lady-er, two ladies this nigh-evening?"

"We'll start of with a bottle of champagne. Choose a good bottle, will ya?" Octavia batted her eyelashes at him, and the waiter stumbled away, his cheeks red. Vinyl let out a kindhearted laugh, then turned her head to the menu. Octavia did the same, reading through it carefully. Finally deciding on the rose-and-violet salad, she turned to Vinyl, who was mouthing out one of the words confusedly.

"Octavia, what should I get?" Vinyl whined, and Octavia turned to her own menu.

"Try the daisy salad and hay fries, with herb sauce," said Octavia, just as the waiter approached them. "We'll have a daisy salad and hay fries, as well as a rose-and-violet salad. Oh, and some herb sauce on those hay fries please." The waiter nodded and turned away, scrawling on his notepad as he left.

"So Octavia, what do you do in your free time?" Vinyl seemed sincerely curious, and Octavia was more than glad to engage in conversation.

"Well, I mostly practice my cello until my hooves nearly fall off, but I do go out to eat a lot, and the spa twice a month. I go to this great place in Ponyville, I bet you'd love it. What about you?"

"Well I'm pretty great at most instruments, but DJing has been a big hobby of mine. I do it unprofessionally, but I did play at Princess Cadance's wedding last month."

"Wow, really? You're so lucky! Hey, do you want to join me this weekend at the spa? I have a train pass, so we won't need to pay."

"I'd love to!" Vinyl's eyes lit up through the sunglasses, and you caught a small glimpse of them as though the sunglasses had disappeared. The waiter brought over their food, and the champagne, carefully arranging it on the tablecloth.

"A toast!" Declared Octavia, lifting her glass.

"A toast!" Agreed Vinyl, lifting it with her magic.

"To great friendships and more!" They clinked their glasses and sipped at them gracefully, though Vinyl quickly spit hers out.

"What's in this stuff?! It's terrible!"

"Not terrible-just requiring adjustment, as my mum used to say."

"Whatever happened to your parents anyways?" Vinyl tried a smaller sip of the champagne this time, and managed to swallow it.

"My dad died in a carriage crash when I was pretty small. My mum lives in Ponyville, so I always visit her when I go to the spa. She's great. Beautiful, artistic..." her voice trailed off wistfully, and she began eating the salad as Vinyl watched her in caring silence.

"What's in champagne anyways?" Inquired Vinyl, glancing at it warily.

"Like I said, alcohol," Octavia replied, sighing at repeating herself at a bit of her annoyance at doing so leaking through.

"Not what's in it, per se, but what's the point of it?"

"Oh! Sorry," Octavia blushed, then began to explain. "It's usually to celebrate, but sometimes, ponies will drink alcohol simply to get drunk. Getting drunk is when you drink so much wine, champagne, or beer that you basically lose your senses and begin acting crazy. Everypony acts different when they drink it, some becoming wild and crazy, while others become incredibly quiet and shy," like Pinkie, she added mentally.

"Can I get drunk?"

"Well... yeah, I guess," responded Octavia, a bit taken aback by the question. "But like I said, you'll lose your senses, plus you'll end up with a hangover. Basically, you'll feel miserable and wish you could crawl in a hole and not come out. While your drunk it's great, but afterwards..." she shuddered, remembering when she had gotten drunk with Pinkie and they had gotten lost outside of Ponyville.

"I want to try it. To new beginnings!" Vinyl exclaimed, raising her glass and clinking it with Octavia's. Octavia smiled, then rolled her eyes. This was going to be a long night.

"Oh, and by the way-I won't be getting drunk. We need someone with a level head to get you home, and asking that waiter would be a terrible mistake." She giggled, then began sipping at her glass elegantly. "When you're done with that, let me know and I'll-" she stopped, seeing Vinyl's glass was already empty. This was going to be a very long night indeed.