Rhythm and Harmony: The Octascratch Prompt Collab

Chapters

1 Wub by palaikai
2 Jingle by Knight of Cerebus
4 Orchestra by Cobalt Ravenscroft
5 Cleaning by TaviPlaysTheBass
6 Scratch 2 by Lyra_lover777
7 Derpy by Ratsenkio
8 Golden by Cobalt Ravenscroft
9 Vibrations by Divine Path
10 Mouse by Michelle Twistaloo
12 Dye by Ratsenkio
13 Rick Rolled by bahatumay
15 Sinner by Michelle Twistaloo
16 Parents by Cobalt Ravenscroft
17 Awkward by TaviPlaysTheBass
18 Equestria Girls by jellybeanwubs
19 Treble by Michelle Twistaloo
20 Mail by Lyra_lover777
21 Snare by bahatumay
23 Swap by Michelle Twistaloo
24 Heart by Ratsenkio
25 Party by TaviPlaysTheBass
26 Wedding by lyra_lover777
27 Rain by Divine Path
29 Tirek by palaikai
31 Distant by Michelle Twistaloo
33 Prompt Special: The 7 Deadly Sins
34 Sleep by jellybeanwubs
35 Scherzo by Divine Path
36 Staccato by Cobalt Ravenscroft
37 Time by TaviPlaysTheBass
40 Tea by lyra_lover777
41 Sparkle by bahatumay
42 Dance of Sadness by lyra_lover777
44 Strings by lyra_lover777
45 Duo by Treblemaker
47 Moonlight by lyra_lover777
48 Spike by Treblemaker
49 Waltz by jellybeanwubs
50th Prompt Special
51 Leap by Cobalt Ravenscroft
53 Sonata by lyra_lover777
55 Hero by lyra_lover777
58 3rd Date by Ratsenkio
59 Question by Michelle Twistaloo
60 Dinner by Treblemaker
61 Stars by Cobalt Ravenscroft
62 Island by Ratsenkio
63 Power by palaikai
64 Scorch by lyra_lover777
65 Gatekeeper by bahatumay
66 Knowledge by BuckingPonderous
68 Derailed by Treblemaker
71 Luck by Michelle Twistaloo
72 Runaway by Arctic Inferno
75 Jump by palaikai
76 Run by Cobalt Ravenscroft
77 Relinquish by Ratsenkio
78 Nightmare Night by Ratsenkio
80 Shady by Michelle Twistaloo
81 Review by Cobalt Ravenscroft
82 Finale by Arctic Inferno
83 Falling by lyra_lover777
84 City by Arctic Inferno
85 Bored by Treblemaker
88 Diarchy by Michelle Twistaloo
89 Soul by lyra_lover777
90 Bon Bon by MathChomp
91 Brain Freeze by lyra_lover777
92 Turkey by Michelle Twistaloo
52 Syntax by Michelle Twistaloo
3 Scratch by River Road
11 Record by Lyra_lover777
14 Stolen by TaviPlaysTheBass
22 Changeling by Cobalt Ravenscroft
28 Chord by Michelle Twistaloo
30 Daybreak by TaviPlaysTheBass
32 Vampire by lyra_lover777
38 Blue by TaviPlaysTheBass
39 Identity by Michelle Twistaloo
43 Flimsy by Michelle Twistaloo
46 Streak by lyra_lover777
54 Eons by Michelle Twistaloo
56 Atrocity by lyra_lover777
57 Daughter by Ratsenkio
67 Registered by Michelle Twistaloo
69 Water by lyra_lover777
70 Socks by Michelle Twsitaloo
73 Rainbow by Arctic Inferno
74 Oracle by Ratsenkio
79 Silliness by Michelle Twistaloo
86 Love Potion by lyra_lover777
87 Mi Amore Cadenza by Treblemaker
93 Sniffles by TaviPlaysTheBass

1 Wub by palaikai

Author's Note

The first of (hopefully) many! Feel free to contribute. None of these stories are edited for grammar or such, so there might be a few mistakes throughout. Enjoy!

1 Wub by palaikai

Prompt: Wub by palaikai

It's been her and me for as long as I can remember now; it doesn't even seem strange any more, and no one in my laughably small social circle events comments on the unusualness. My life is one of routine, and I'm happy with that. My hoof slides down her body slowly, tracing every delicate curve of that smooth, silky shape.
The need overwhelms me and I reach for my bow; ribbon meets string, and music forms in the quiet apartment. It is amorphous and crude. My eyes are half-closed, I am lost in thought, and I let my hooves do what they will. Sad, sonorous notes sing out. I balance the cello against my chest while I fumble around for a piece of paper and a quill. The task would be much simpler were I a unicorn, but alas, I'm just an ordinary earth pony.

I quickly jot down the notes I am playing, the scratching sound of tip on parchment almost a tune in itself; the composition is rough, but it's something I can later refine. Like an author redrafting their stories. Music is another way of spinning a tale, and it has to be treated with just as much care.
Time passes and I realise that I am tiring; the cello leans heavily against me, though the cold wood is an odd comfort. Perhaps it's just the satisfaction of the familiar? I sleep, dreaming of my passion.

Wake up. Practice. Eat. Practice. Socialise. Practice. Run errands. Practice. Come home. Practice. This cello is my life and it dominates every waking thought I have … at least, it did, until this moment. A pony I've never seen before. Beautiful, wild, untamed. An electric blue mane contrasts sharply with an alabaster coat; I can't see her eyes, covered as they are by a gaudy pair of sunglasses.

The feeling is similar to the one I had when I received my cello, only more intense. I find it strange that I can feel this way about something that isn't a musical instrument. Her cutie mark is two bridged eighth notes, and I wonder … does she embody something that has been missing from my life up until now? Should I … talk to her? How do you talk to somepony who can do this to you without even realising it? What would my friends say?

“Play it cool.”

“Just be yourself.”

“The worst that can happen is that she'll say no.”

I approach her, words – stupid, pathetic words that mean so little due to overuse – being discarded as I try to find an opening gambit that won't make me appear foolish. I'm literally two feet away when my vision goes swimmy; it doesn't take me long to figure out that I've managed to trip over something, probably my own uncoordinated hooves, and am now sailing through the air.

With a thud, I collide with the gorgeous alabaster pony and she turns to look at me sharply. At least, I assume so, though her eyes remain hidden from me. “Careful,” she admonishes me bitingly, “you almost broke my stereo.”

My eyes flit to the ground and I see a rather expensive looking sound system that she's presumably just acquired, given how shiny it is. Her anger causes me to recoil and I can barely even stammer an apology.

I beat a hasty retreat back home, embarrassment etched across my muzzle. I feel sick to my stomach, so much so that I can't even muster the energy to go to my one true love. I collapse into bed, sobbing pitifully, wishing that I could take back the previous day and do things properly. Safely, boringly. Ponies like me are married to their work; they don't go on dates, or fall in love, or find a Special Somepony. Yet we're expected to write music about that stuff? What's that sound?

Somepony is knocking at the door. At this time of night, it's probably Lyra after having had another drunken fight with Sweetie Drops looking for somewhere to crash.

“Oh,” I say, opening the door, and I can only imagine the ridiculous expression on my face at seeing the last pony I ever expected standing there looking abashed.

“Hi,” she says. “Um, I hope you don't mind me turning up like this, but uh, a mutual friend told me where you lived and I wanted to apologise for my behaviour earlier. I'd had kind of a crappy day after a long gig and I just wanted to get home, but that's no excuse for my rudeness.”

“M-Mutual friend?” I asked.

“Lyra. I told her that somepony almost trampled my new stereo today, and when I described them to her, she said, Hey, that sounds like Octavia. Name's Vinyl Scratch, by the way.”

“Well, I appreciate you coming all this way to apologise, Miss Scratch. Um.” Don't screw this up now. “Uh, would you like to come in for a drink?”

“I'd appreciate that,” she says, tilting her sunglasses slightly so I can see her exquisite cerise eyes, stepping past me and into my small apartment. “Cosy. Nice cello,” she adds, spotting it lying astride the bed. “We should totally rock out one day.” She grins suggestively at me. “If you love the wubs, that is.”

My eyes darted between the beautiful pony and the cello. “I think I could learn to,” I say.

2 Jingle by Knight of Cerebus

Prompt: Jingle by Knight of Cerebus

"I cannot believe they asked me to do this." Octavia pressed her face against the desk a second time, wishing that her forehead had the ability to vaporize commissions for not the seventh time that day.

"Twenty minutes ago you were telling me how good it'll be to have money for a new couch. And the time before that it was a tuning on your viol--chello. And before that it was a new computer for me." Vinyl Scratch lay draped against a saggy, moth-eaten sofa, a ping pong paddle happily dribbling the ball it was bound to by a light string within her magical grasp.

"Yes, and in between all of those times I have remembered how gravely advertising for a half-rate scam of a magician will compromise my artistic integrity! I have played the Grand Galloping Gala. I made Celestia herself weep with my duet of the two sisters! I can do better than making showtunes for some, some--" Octavia sighed. "I don't even know what to call her."

"And yet, here we are." Vinyl said with a smirk, continuing to hit the ball against the flat of the paddle. Both to challenge her talent at the game and to further her point, she shot the ball first in the direction of the grimy, mildewed window sill, then to the dimly lit bulbs of the crooked ceiling fan, and then to her own crummy laptop upon which her precious music mixes were stored.

Octavia pressed her head against the desk. "And yet here we are."

"We could always make it a collab, you know."

Octavia turned her head to stare at Vinyl as if she had grown another head. "I beg your pardon?"

"A collab. It's a stupid jingle and the pony paying you doesn't seem to have an ear for music any more than she did an eye for fashion, if the tacky cape and the depressing trumpets she played were any indication. I'll help you design a slightly-less terribad jingle and we'll split the cash like you were planning anyway."

"Yes, but Vinyl, you know I am capable of writing it on my own."

"Yes, but Tavi, you and I both know it's driving you up the wall that you're gonna have to make a stinker of a song for this crazy pony telling everyone she's saved a town she never visited from a giant bear monster. If you write it with me we can claim you added some class to a terrible jingle I came up with and you'll look good for helping me instead of bad for taking money from some floozy."

Octavia paused, staring at Vinyl in a mixture of disbelief and guilt. "You'd really do that for me?"

"'Course I would! Nopony up top likes my jams anyway, so what do I care what they judge me for? 'Sides, I've been meaning to get us a real tree for Hearth's Warming this year and we both could lose the bits. And what are--" Vinyl paused, rubbing her chin for the right word. The ghost of a dopey smile passed her face for a minute, but just as abruptly it was gone. "Buddies for?"

Octavia's disbelief evaporated, and in its place a warm, touched smile took over her face. She placed a grateful hoof on Vinyl's shoulder, and before she could blink she'd been squeezed in a quick, rough hug. She pulled back in surprise, but her smile returned quickly. "Quite." She said happily.

Vinyl realized what she had just done in an instant. "Well, uh, lemme know what you need when you need it. I'll be on the couch. Yeah, the one...right in front of you." She brushed invisible dust from the front of her coat. Octavia raised an eyebrow, but decided not to pursue the issue. Vinyl staggered back to the sofa awkwardly, and Octavia turned back to the cheesy music with a renewed vigour. "Buddies indeed." She said to herself.

4 Orchestra by Cobalt Ravenscroft

Orchestra by Cobalt Ravenscroft

Nerves. That’s good, nerves show you’re excited. But why now? This is my first night as First Chair and I have nerves.

Calm yourself, Octavia, I tell myself, she said she’d watch you, just focus on her.

Just as I pull myself out of my reverie the curtain raises, the stage of 50 performers suddenly exposed to the waiting eyes of the Canterlot elite. Full house, I notice as the applause begins quietly, reserved as always.

I quickly scan the gathered ponies, looking for my one beacon of calm, when I spot her with the rest of her Ponyville friends just off to the left of the stage a few rows back. They don’t matter, even if they are making more noise than anypony else here. No, all that matters is that my little ruffian came along to watch me. And she wore a suit, I giggled inside, I’ll enjoy taking that off later. She left her glasses at home, but her electric blue hair was enough for me to find her amongst the uniform blacks and greys of the orchestra’s usual audience.

Silence fell, and the conductor raised his baton in his magic, tapping it against his stand twice before the first note was played signalled to play. My first note. It was long, drawn out and sombre, the start of a true classic from Buck, centuries old but still able to draw a tear to my eye every time.

I played for a few minutes by myself, other sections slowly adding to the piece until everypony on stage was playing to the same slow tempo. It may not have been Vinyl’s cup of tea, or even her energy drink, but she was still swaying in her seat, lost to the timeless classic, maybe I could even take her to another orchestra, one I don’t have to perform in.

Back on track, muscle memory helping me to keep my composure while I zoned out, the first of our many songs was finishing. There was light applause from most but a loud cheer from Vinyl’s section, Was her name Pinkie? It would certainly fit.

Four hours later and the orchestra’s last song finished, everypony on stage rising from their seats to the gentle vibrations of an auditorium full of emotional ponies clapping against the floor. The last piece was a personal favourite and the first piece I ever played to Vinyl, so I asked if that could be our finale, and since I was first chair the conductor agreed. I’m pretty sure I even saw a tear in Vinyl’s beautiful magenta eyes.

I was so happy that my apartment was so close to the auditorium, and even happier that Vinyl offered to carry my cello in its case in her magic. My muscles were so sore from the repetitive motion but it was pleasant, letting me know I had earned the applause and adoration.

But all I needed right now was Vinyl, now lying on my bed still in her suit. I’d soon change that.

5 Cleaning by TaviPlaysTheBass

Cleaning by TaviPlaysTheBass

Octavia pushed open the door, and was met with a disaster zone.

Vinyl Scratch’s apartment was downright filthy. Pizza boxes littered the table and surrounding floor. Her music collection was scattered all across the apartment, along with extra pairs of sunglasses. In the kitchen, dishes piled high in the sink, looking like they hadn’t been cleaned for weeks.

“Vinyl? Are you in here?” Octavia asked, looking around.

She walked around the living room, tripping over a haphazard pile of magazines.

“Vinyl? We were supposed to meet for breakfast, are you still sleeping?”

A pile of chinese take out boxes stirred in the corner, and Vinyl sleepily poked her head out, rubbing her eyes.

“Tavi? What are you doing here?” She looked at her marefriend confusedly for a second, and then comprehension dawned on her face. “Aw crap, Tavi. I forgot about breakfast didn’t I?”

Vinyl shot up out of her makeshift bed, and levitated a pair of her trademark sunglasses on.

“I’m ready to go!” She raced out the door, only to look behind her and see that Octavia was still standing inside her apartment.

“Vinyl, it’s one PM.”

“Aw, shoot. Really? Vinyl looked downtrodden at that piece of information. “I guess I really screwed up our date for today.”

“Yes, I suppose you did.” Octavia frowned for a second, but the corners of her mouth slowly turned upwards as a brilliant idea came to her. “I can think of something else for us to do, though.” She said, grinning slyly.

Octavia walked over to Vinyl’s overfilled cabinet, reached inside, and pulled out a broom.

“It looks like this place could use a bit of cleaning.”

6 Scratch 2 by Lyra_lover777

Scratch 2 by Lyra_lover777(me!)

Drunk.

Everyone gets drunk.

And everyone who's been drunk knows that, well, once you're to far gone, there's no coming back until the morning with a lousy hangover.

But anyways, Octavia and Vinyl Scratch were in the deepest depths of the word drunk. The were barely able to trot home, much less steer there bodies so they didn't hit anything.

Right?

Well, anyways, a drunken Vinyl, who was sloppily kissing Octavia on the neck, stumbled over a loose cobblestone in the road. She feel sideways and her horn dug deep into the side of a small carriage that was well over the amount of money Vinyl would make in a year.

Or possibly her life, since it all went down the drain every time she got drunk.

Stuff happens.

Anyways, with her horn stuck in the expensive carriage's caboose, she pulled and began trotting along. She trotted until her horn popped free of the screeching metal of the vehicle.

She and Octavia looked behind themselves to see the carriage split in half, the top landing several feet away from its matching half.

And it's owner, the richest pony in Canterlot, Fancy Pants, had decided it was time to go home at that very moment.

In his new car.

But when he got outside, he saw two drunk mares standing next to his wrecked carriage. His face controted in anger as he set off after them. But being in a state of drunkenness himself, he tripped over a carriage part that had sprung free when it had become wrecked.
He toppled and rolled around the street. He was bowling quickly down the street, unable to control his movements. Octavia and Vinyl were in front of him, but barely, as their failed attempts at galloping left them wiping out across the whole road.

But soon the rolling ball of white fur that was Fancy Pants hit two mares, and all three were rolling down the road together like a giant white and gray snowball.

Soon, a manhole appeared. It stunk of filth and urine. It had been left open by the construction ponies so they could work on it in the morning.

The pony snowball barreled towards the stinking hole, screaming louder.

Suddenly they plopped into the whole.

Screams of disgust and cries for help could be heard throughout the Canterlot night as the three ponies began to partially drown in feces.

7 Derpy by Ratsenkio

Derpy by Ratsenkio

Five hours ago she was watching TV with her wife.

Two hours ago she left the house to go to the weekly lesson of Sweetie belle.

Three minutes ago she reached her house to see something disturbingly shocking

“What the hay are the two of you doing!” screamed Octavia at the top of her lungs.

On entrance’s floor of the house was none other than her wife, Vinyl Scratch, and the local mailmare, Derpy Hooves. But that wasn’t the shocking part, what was though was seeing them kiss.

“Wait Tavi, I can explain!” Vinyl shouted as she scrambled her legs to stand up.

“One moment Misses Philharmonica, It’s all my…” Derpy started but,

“Right, I’m sure you have a really good excuse for having the mailmare kissing you on the floor” Octavia angrily interrupted.

“I really do Tavi, you know that I love you and that you’re the only one for me” Vinyl pleaded.

“She is saying the tru...” Derpy started again but, “Look Derpy, right now I want to know why my wife was kissing another mare in the entrance of our house. I’ll ki-talk to you later” Octavia commanded in a tone that ALMOST concealed her fury.

“Yes, sir! Good luck, Misses Scratch” Derpy said as she started to walk outside of the house.

“Now, Vinyl my dea-mmh” Octavia started, but Derpy being a little bit herself, tripped on the door mat and ended up on top of Octavia with their lips touching.

To them it was clear it was an accident, but if another pony would have, let’s say, walked by and looked, It would have seemed as if they were kissing.

“I told you I had a good explanation!” said Vinyl as she helped her wife up.

8 Golden by Cobalt Ravenscroft

Golden by Cobalt Ravenscroft

As it always was when she came here, it was raining. At least ponies couldn’t see her crying, that wouldn’t be cool.

And at least she wasn’t alone. No, that was wrong, she was never alone, but this time she was joined by a grey mare she loved deeply.

They made it to their destination, most of the journey having been silent, as was fitting. The two mares; one old and white with a faded blue mane, and the other young and grey with a softer blue mane.

“Hi babe,” Vinyl spoke to the stone in front of her, her age not showing in her voice, “it would have been 50 years today, y’know?”

Silence responded, as it had for the past four and a half years.

The younger mare wrapped a hoof around Vinyl’s withers, pulling her close, “It’s okay, mum,” Vinyl’s daughter spoke softly, her own motherly experience showing through her own grief.

“Thanks, Arpeggio,” the aged mare said between sobs.

“Wow, my full name this time, you must be sad,” Arpeggio teased, a habit she picked up from the mare she was embracing.

Vinyl chuckled, thinking before she spoke, a habit her late wife had taught her, “Octi chose it, only seems right to use it around her.”

Silence fell over the mares again. The only sound around them was the pattering of rain on their black umbrella, but neither mare cared at that point. Vinyl was just glad she could spend time with her wife with nopony interrupting her. Arpeggio was glad her mother was smiling; it had been so long since she’d done anything to make her happy.

After what seemed to be the longest time Vinyl had ever been silent, her daughter broke the embrace and spoke up, “Hey, mum,” she started quietly so as not to startle the reminiscing mare, “you’ll never guess what the twins found this morning.”

This got Vinyl’s attention, her grandfoals always managed to do something to brighten her day, “What was it sweetie?” She turned to face her daughter who brought something out of her saddle bags with her rose coloured magic. Floating in front of Vinyl’s bare face was a small plastic case, inside which was a CD.

“Do you remember this one, mum?”

“Of course, Arppy,” Vinyl smiled softly, “it was my first track with our favourite mare. Look babe,” she turned with the disk now in her magic, now facing her wife’s headstone, “our track.”

More silence followed, but Vinyl felt her wife smiling down at her as the clouds began to part above their heads.

“Arpeggio,” Vinyl addressed her daughter, suddenly sounding serious.

“Yes, mother,” she replied, almost hesitantly, “what is it?”

“Just mum with me sweetie,” the older unicorn corrected sweetly, “Do you know your mother’s part?”

This took the younger unicorn by surprise. She had inherited Octavia’s skill with the cello, following in her footsteps as much as she could, even down to learning her own songs, “O-of co-course, mum, why do you ask?” She had an idea, but the very thought made her eyes well up with tears.

“What do you say we play it later? At the party?” the DJ asked.

“M-mum, thank you,” Arpeggio was crying freely now, “I’d be honoured.”

“And it would be an honour for me to play with you too,” Vinyl hugged her daughter tight, “I think I need to remind my friends how cool I still am.”

Arpeggio giggled, her tears of joy slowly tracing along her muzzle as she completed the embrace, “Maybe even get your glasses off the mantle?”

“You bet.”

They held their embrace for some time until the grey mare broke it, “She really loved you, mum,” she said with a half-smile on her face.

“And I never loved anything more, not even my music,” Vinyl was still smiling, but fresh tears were forming in her eyes, “And I made it very clear.”

“And there’s the Vinyl she fell in love with,” her daughter teased.

Vinyl chuckled, the only thing that defined her age, “Come on, let’s let my babe sleep. Bye Octavia, I’ll see you soon.”

“I love you, mother, I’ll come back soon.”

Author's Note

:fluttercry: :raritycry:

9 Vibrations by Divine Path

Vibrations byDivine Path

Octavia was trotting away. The music simply stopped following her, abruptly. She didn't like it when the music stopped. Not when it always felt so lonely without. Everypony had a music. A song. When she looked at ponies, she could feel them, hear them, hear their music as they trotted about carelessly. Perhaps with a purpose. Vinyl felt lost in the darkness, cold in the darkness where she stood. She could no longer tell where she was. Her sense of time dwindled away with the rest of the song trailing behind the mare.

"If you're so sure of yourself, then go. You don't need me. You never did need me."

She wanted to gallop after her. She wished to chase that black tail and the immaculate grey mare it belonged to. No doubt, the mare would laugh if she learned that Vinyl Scratch would ever use such a formal word. The pristine white DJ was, after all, anything but formal. Vinyl often described herself as a beast. A beast of beats, somepony to bring a more profound livelihood to festivities and to other celebrations.

"That's what you wanted, right?"

And now, here she stood; lost, no longer a beast as she stared hopelessly after the cellist. Suddenly, Vinyl sang, the notes dancing about in her throat and in her chest, as if they were about to rip themselves out of her body. The singing didn't stop. Vinyl continued to sing as more and more notes fled from her song and intertwined with the mare's as they both faded into the distance. Her throat felt dry, yet she continued to sing. Her song become a melodious screech, and a pain started to form softly around her heart, in her lungs. Her throat hurt so much.

"I'll let you do what you want. You're strong enough to handle yourself on your own."

The mare didn't look back. She teased her, she was still perceivable where she trotted in her slow, careless gait. The world started getting darker. The mare trotted on without a care. The song was sung, enveloping her. Vinyl could feel it too. The song was taken from her. She fed her, after all. That mare. She...

With that, the song stopped.

Vinyl awoke sobbing. She gasped, her gaze fearful as she looked about the unfamiliar room, tears were streaming down her eyes with her labored breathing. It was still dark.

She candidly dried her tears with her hoof, noisily blowing her nose on the side of her foreleg. A little "ahem," and she felt almost cool once more.

She realized now that she wasn't in a stranger's home. Last night finally came to mind. Vinyl had always been that kind of filly. Walking about in the dead of night, catching notes and beats, sometimes a little rest. When not gathering, she enjoyed attending parties or performing in them. There were sufficient with beats there.
Vinyl particularly enjoyed beat over note. They seemed much more clear and rememberable. Not like an old lullaby, a transient capriccio, or a distant sonata...

Then there was Octavia. Proud, strong, kind and the little arrogant Octavia. She was the complete opposite of the profound and clear. She was timeless, beautiful, vivid, yet like a dream, and Vinyl couldn't help losing herself just a little in her eyes whenever they would meet hers.
Of course, she knew it was wrong. Not to feel this way, naturally. Vinyl didn't give a dam or hay what any mule of a pony had to say of their relationship. They had been together now for almost six months. What plagued Vinyl so was simply the incessant mind of hers, playing tricks on her, making her lose her cool.

Finally, she could think straight. The darkness was still annoying, but it was at least bearable. Vinyl stepped out of bed, and gazed into the hallway beyond her door. Trotting outside, she could sense the song coming from downstairs, and she could smell something delicious in the same area. Vinyl licked her lips, and promptly made her way down the stairs; "Good morning, Vinyl. Have we slept well?" The comment was accompanied with a little smile, no doubt. Vinyl trotted into the kitchen, abruptly assaulted with a myriad of various smells. Octavia's cooking was something to look forward to, Vinyl recalled swiftly. "Yeah, Octy! I've been just peachy all night long. Particularly during my sleep." The obligatory joke. "Although now that you you mention it, I've been feeling a bit under the weather. I have been yearning for a few octaves to play through my dreams now and then..."

"In your dreams indeed." Octavia rolled her eyes and gave the DJ a peck on the cheek. "Do find yourself a chair, princess charming." And on the horn, Vinyl giggling. "I fear you may contract a dreadful case of baboonitis should you stand about as you are. We must quarantine you to the dining room for now." Octavia turned around and resumed making breakfast. Obediently, Vinyl entered the adjutant space, and found herself a chair on which to wait.

Vinyl sighed. Sometimes, it felt so easy to just pretend. It was difficult, no doubt, but at least she wouldn't feel so bad that she kept it secret. The notes were far more tranquil now. She could keep them somewhat apart. She felt as though she could finally get back into being herself.

"...Are you going to talk about what's wrong?"

Vinyl started. She didn't recognize that note.

"Vinyl, please tell me me what's troubling you."

Everything was wrong. Why was everything wrong? It had been completely fine just a moment earlier.

Vinyl panicked. It was dark. It was dark, again. Vinyl felt a chill travel her spine, her horn itching, her eyes drying up. Nothing made sense. The darkness erased.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?!"

A shocked silence followed. She realized she had made a mistake. "Vinyl? Are you... quite all right?"

"Octy?"

Sweet Celestia, she had ruined everything. It was all over.

An image of a wide-eyed mare blurred into existence. Her coat was grey, her mane black as darkness.
"I-I....O-o-octy?"

Tears streamed both both of their eyes. They streamed down all four. There were no words. Only sadness.
Wordlessly, the song continued. Octavia lunged. Vinyl almost sang with it. Hooves came swiftly, fast and merciless. Suddenly they were around her. The song went on, then—

Vinyl wrapped her hooves around her marefriend. They shared warmth. Vinyl felt she was returning.

The food starting overcooking. Octavia placed a kiss on her marefriend's lips, and the two locked tight their sorrow. It was only them that moment. Octavia, Vinyl, and the ruined breakfast. For now, Vinyl thought, they could sing one song at a time, at a faster pace.

She wept just a little, too.

10 Mouse by Michelle Twistaloo

Mouse by Michelle Twistaloo

Vinyl couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. The mare she so loved was standing on the tip of her hooves, trying her best not to touch the ground, her forelegs wrapped around her pelvis.

“C’mon” – Vinyl couldn’t help but let her amusement pass through her voice, the situation was just that funny. – “It’s just a mouse, what are you so afraid of?”

She could feel the irregular heartbeat of the other mare, as well as her shaky hooves running through her body. The mare wanted comfort, and while Vinyl wouldn't mind, and in fact, would appreciate the closeness, she couldn’t see why a mouse, a creature dozens of times smaller than Octavia, would scare her like that.

“They just.....oh” – Vinyl once again felt the closeness and the way she stumbled into her words, and the sharp breath she had taken, she could see the small pearly tears starting to form, and she didn’t like it one bit. She might not have been the best mare friend, or friend, or just the best person who Octavia would like to spend some time with (though, for some semblance of a miracle it was her she had chosen), but she could see she was shaken.

It was due to that circumstance that her voice, previously tainted with the sound of amusement, went down to a whisper and she sounded worried, her next line was one spoken with the utmost care.

“They just what? What’s wrong Octavia? Is there anything....?”

The responses was a desperate and whinny no, and Vinyl, careful not to let the mare that had buried her head in her fur see, rolled her eyes.

“I just don’t like them! They’re filthy, they spread disease, and they’re very very very bad!”

Vinyl felt the urge to roll her eyes again, but something stopped her, she could see those bright eyes looking at her, and even obscured by some salty water, she still could see how much she loved them.

She started slowly stroking the back of Octavia’s mane, going further down and down into her back before returning upwards, she wasn’t very good at that, but she had least had to try.

Octavia smiled at the effort, and though it was a shaky one, Vinyl beamed with happiness when she saw the smile of her mare-friend.

“Look....” Vinyl had a slightly slurred speech, she had been drinking and partying, and she had just stumbled home in the early crack of dawn, only to be awakened by that high pierced scream. She wasn’t annoyed though, she just.....

“I know I’m not the most clean of ponies, or heck, there are probably sewer ponies who stink less than my house, and me, do.” – She took a tantalizing sniff at herself, she had just stumbled into bed, not even bothering with a shower. – “And, yeah, I’ve got a rat or two in here, I call them Mickey and Minnie”

Her crass attempt at a joke wasn’t really that funny, and Octavia winced at that particular joke. – “But if it means so much to you, I’ll throw them out, they don’t pay rent anyway.” – This joke caused her to give a small chuckle, and Vinyl loved that smile.

“Th...thanks” – She could see it, the wet fur of Octavia’s face was starting to get less and less soaked, as the smile passed through the sadness.

And, more than anything she loved the feeling that it gave her, making the other mare happy. Mice or no mice.

12 Dye by Ratsenkio

Dye by Ratsenkio

“What is this!?” cried Octavia from the bathroom.

“Octi, I can explain! Those magazines are not mine! I’m holding them for a friend! I don’t know how they got there! What magazines?” screamed Vinyl as she came running from the bed.

“Vinyl, what are you talking about?” asked Octavia with a bemused look.

“Emm, what are you talking about?” asked Vinyl.

“I’m talking about this!” Said Octavia while pointing at her mane. ”I woke up and started my grooming routine as always, even with this massive headache, mind you. And I found my mane like this”

On the mirror of the bathroom were reflected two mares, the first one was a white coated unicorn with a blue mane, next to her was a gray coated earth pony with a mostly black mane but for one lock of blue hair that started right at the top of her mane.

“Wow Octi, I love the new look” exclaimed Vinyl.

“Could you explain why… Wait, really?” asked a confused Octavia.

“Yes, It makes you more beautiful, and sexy. It makes you look sexiful” claimed a smirking Vinyl.

“Well, thank you. But would you be kind enough to explain why my mane now has blue in it?” asked Octavia.

“Well do you remember that yesterday night we went on a date to that new bar” said Vinyl.

“Yes, go on” said Octavia.

“We kind of got drunk and ended up betting that whoever couldn’t drink more than the other had to dye their mane the color of the winner” Explained Vinyl. “So you lost and when we returned home I went to bed and you went to the bathroom, after a while you came out but it was too dark to see anything” She ended.

“Ugh, I’m never drinking again… For a while” lamented Octavia.

“Soo, are you going to keep it?” asked Vinyl.

“I don’t know, I’ll test it for a few days, How does that sound?” said a smiling Octavia.

“Cool!” S\said Vinyl, “As I said, It makes you look more sexiful”

“Yeah. Now Vinyl, my dear. You were saying something about some magazines?” said Octavia.

“Buck” Was all that Vinyl could mutter under the gaze of her marefriend.

13 Rick Rolled by bahatumay

Rick Rolled by bahatumay

Vinyl tapped her hooves impatiently. She leaned in towards Octavia and whispered, "If that waiter doesn't come back in two minutes with my salad, I'm seriously going to not tip him."

Octavia sipped her glass tastefully and then set it down. "Vinyl, this isn't that kind of restaurant, nor is it that kind of gathering," she said. "Or did the fancy attire I had you put on not give that away?"

Vinyl rested her head against her forehooves on the table, much to Octavia's chagrin. "Yeah, but you actually pull the look off," she pointed out. "Me? I'm just wondering how much gel I'm going to have to wash out of my mane tonight."

"Stop," Octavia said firmly. "You look lovely. Now sit up."

Vinyl halfheartedly obeyed. She glanced up at the ceiling and grumbled. "Maybe if they played music ponies could dance to, there'd be ponies on the floor and I'd have something to do besides starving to death."

Octavia shook her head, bringing a hoof up to hide her smile. "I'm sure you'll survive," she said.

Vinyl narrowed her eyes. "Is that a fat joke?" she demanded.

"Vinyl, you're slimmer than I am," Octavia pointed out dryly. "But the fact remains that this is not that kind of party."

Vinyl dropped her napkin on the floor as she pushed her chair back. "Well, either way, I'm going to hit up the little fillies' room. Unless that's not this kind of party, either?"

Octavia snorted and rolled her eyes. "Oh, Vinyl, what am I to do with you?"

"Mount me?" Vinyl suggested.

"Just go," Octavia hissed.

Vinyl exaggeratedly rolled her eyes back and trotted away from the table, her borrowed pearl necklace bouncing with every step.

Octavia sighed and rearranged her silverware. Vinyl really was a good mare; but sometimes she didn't know how to sit still. Still, this was a good exercise for her. This was a low-key gathering, with many ponies she would not have met otherwise, and if she did manage to bungle something up (as she was wont to do), her reputation would not suffer too badly as a result.

As these thoughts roamed through her mind, something suddenly changed. It took Octavia a couple seconds to realize that the background music had stopped playing. But no sooner had she realized this than it started again; but this time, it was faster, catchier. Very out of place, really. Somepony was about to be fired.

Then the lyrics began. As soon as she heard the first phrase, her eyes widened, and then narrowed. "We're no strangers to lo- Vinyl!" She turned over and glared as Vinyl returned to the table with a noticeable spring in her step that certainly hadn't been there before.

"Yes?"

"You did this," Octavia growled, "didn't you?"

"What makes you so sure it was me?" Vinyl asked, tilting her head, blinking her eyes, and pouting slightly to look as innocent as possible.

"Oh, I really couldn't say," Octavia seethed. "Besides that smirk on your face, that is? You look like the cat that ate the canary."

Vinyl shuddered. "Eating birds is bleh," she said, sticking her tongue out in disgust. "You say the weirdest things, Octi."

Octavia closed her eyes and shook her head. "You are incorrigible," she said.

"Thanks!" Vinyl grinned.

"That wasn't a compliment."

"I didn't take it as one," Vinyl said, still grinning. She held out her hoof in invitation. "Come on," she invited. "This we can dance to."

Octavia looked behind her and realized that a few couples had indeed begun dancing. She sighed and placed her napkin neatly on the table. "Well, if we must," she said, a tiny smile playing at the edge of her lips.

15 Sinner by Michelle Twistaloo

Sinner by Michelle Twistaloo

“I don’t care”

Those were the words that prompted the whole thing to blow up on her face. Those three simple words. She recognized the inherent danger of the situation when she saw the wrinkles showing up on the muzzle of the other mare. Unlike the ones that appeared at the corner of Octavia’s bright eyes, when she smiled, those were worrying her.

Octavia inhaled, and counted to ten in her head, she loved Vinyl, she really did, but sometimes she could be......and she struggled to think of a word, “daft”? That was far too low key. “Irresponsible”, that suited her better.

Vinyl tensed up as she looked at the small start of the folding in Octavia’s muzzle. The air around them was loaded, and if somehow a spark were to show up, it’d ignite everything over.

As the seconds passed, Octavia’s tension threatened to not go down, Vinyl was just....and then instead of apologizing she had simply told her she didn’t care.....while it wasn’t a big deal, mostly, she still had given the wrong impression.

“You know how my fellow orchestra members are” - And she grinded her teeth as she pronounced the last word of the sentence - “Vinyl.”

“Yeah a bunch of uptight bow tie wearing bores”

The creases in Octavia’s muzzle increased, and her eyes hardened up.

“You’re not helping.”

“Do I need to?” – Vinyl shrugged, as if she truly didn’t have an idea of what she had done wrong. – “I keep telling you, babe, I’m a party mare, and your friends are just so....so....”

Seeing the look in Tavi’s eyes, Vinyl decided to back down a little bit, maybe insulting her friends wasn’t a good idea after all. – “....not like me” – She finished, hoping to have dodged a bullet.

Octavia’s wrinkles were slightly reduced, and a shadow (but just a shadow) of a smile appeared, though she tried hard not to show it, she was clearly amused by the situation.

But she had to look tough, or Vinyl would repeat the same mistake, she was like a dog, in need of training.....of course a dog that could fill every need she had – and she blushed slightly – but still a excitable little dog. Only cuter, and smarter, and greater in every way.

Seeing the slight blush in Octavia’s fur, Vinyl attacked, she wasn’t going to fight for words, she wasn’t really that good with other words other than “More” “Drink” “Please” and “Babe”, but she knew Octavia and knew exactly what she liked.

She tickled her, no small feat considering her lack of fingers, in a spot where Octavia was particularly jumpy, and the other mare couldn’t keep her facade for long, soon enough she was laughing and attacking her back.

“C’mon, admit it, you think they were wrong....”

Octavia’s smile and laughter paused, though small giggles were still had from the incessant attack on Vinyl’s part.

“I don’t know, I mean, you are a sinner”

It was Vinyl’s turn to frown. Tickling stopped as they stared at one another, serious looks upon their faces.

“You commit a sin against good music, with all your wubs, and electronic gizmos.”

Vinyl was slightly mad, but this was one discussion they had had dozens of times. And Octavia was slowly coming over, well, that and Vinyl also started liking some of her music, being dragged all over for hours to hear it, and all.

“But I still like it” – Octavia half whispered, but Vinyl, whose ears were used to detect even the smallest incongruence in a bass line, heard her. She turned over to Octavia and tickled her in her belly, just making her flinch as she tried to escape the laughter, that echoed from her mouth.

“Told ya” Vinyl smiled, the words against her music but those uptight morons forgotten. – “Babe.” - She finished, though Octavia, that had collapsed in bed, to escape, was already asleep.

Vinyl wasn’t much of a night sleeper, but, sinner or not, she could go for a cuddle right now, so she lied down next to Octavia. A smile upon her face, mirroring Octavia’s own.

16 Parents by Cobalt Ravenscroft

Parents by Cobalt Ravenscroft

Hospitals were rarely places you wanted to spend your life, but for Vinyl and Octavia it had been their home more and more over the past few months. By now, Vinyl had memorized the route to Octi’s room, right, right, straight on, left, right, up a staircase and third room on the left.

Her wife had been in here for the past week, and several times before that in the months before, but soon they’d be home again, together.

As Vinyl got to the top of the stairs, she could hear cries of pain from the other ponies in the ward, but none of them were her babe, she knew that. She also knew that Octi would slap her if she called her that in here, so she thought for a while – a new skill she had learned from Octavia – before going into her ward.

Sat three beds in on the right was her wife, in all her pregnant glory. Her belly bulged out to the side with their unborn foal, their little gift of nature (and a bit of magic). She was awake right now, and currently very annoyed at the grapes on her bedside table, sitting just out of her reach. Vinyl didn’t exactly enjoy seeing her wife like this, but she couldn’t hide her giggles for too long so she decided to levitate the offending fruit over to Octavia.

“I could have got them myself,” she grumbled through a mouthful.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, Octi,” Vinyl teased, sitting beside her bed on the floor.

The grey mare shot her a hateful glare, one that she had had to get used to but she knew it wasn’t – always – her fault.

“How long then?” Vinyl eventually asked.

“Any time,” Octavia groaned, “the nurses keep coming back to check on meee-AHHH!” She suddenly cried out in pain as a contraction tore through her.

“Octi!” Vinyl shouted, jumping up to check on her wife, “What’s wrong? Shall I get somepony?”

“Button!” was all the screaming mare could shout between wails of pain, pointing at the wall by her bed where a large red button was built into the wall. The unicorn flared up her magic, pushing the button multiple times, hoping that would make a nurse come quicker.

She calmed herself enough to hold Octavia’s hooves between hers, hoping to calm her slightly. But, with Octi being an earth pony, her grip was much stronger than Vinyl had expected. Both mares cried in pain, one for a much better reason than the other.

Nurses soon ran into the ward and over to the couple, a variety of medical equipment floating in various magical hues. One nurse, the lead midwife as Vinyl remembered, rolled Octavia on to her back so she could get a clear look. The older mare only had three words for the waiting ponies, “The baby’s coming.”

Two hours later and the ward was once again quiet, save for the low chatter of other couples in the room. Sat with the curtain drawn around the bed area, Octavia had her foal wrapped in her hooves in a pink blanket with her wife now joining her on the bed.

“We did it, Vinyl,” Octavia spoke softly so as not to wake their filly, “we’ve had a foal. We’re… we’re…”

“We’re parents, babe,” Vinyl finished, “we’ve got a little mare, the most beautiful I could have hoped for.”

Said mare had a soft grey coat, a bit lighter than her birth-mother, and a powder blue mane, which now gave Octavia a question.

“Why is her mane blue? I thought yours was dyed?”

“Only the electric blue, the dark’s all natural,” Vinyl clarified with a flick of her mane.

Silence now fell over the three of them, the soft breathing of their daughter soothing the two new parents. But the foal still didn’t have one important thing.

“Vinyl,” Octi started quietly, “what shall we call her?”

“I think you should choose,” Vinyl said as she hugged her wife close with a hoof, “she was living in you for months, didn’t even pay rent.” They shared a small laugh before returning to the matter at hoof.

“I like Arpeggio,” Octavia announced cheerily, “Arpeggio Melody.”

“It’s beautiful, just like her,” Vinyl smiled and hugged her new-born with her free hoof.

They were silent once more, but an idea soon came to Vinyl’s mind.

“We need to have a party for her,” the unicorn gasped happily, acting like the filly she was at heart.

“No wubs, dear,” Octavia calmed her wife’s next idea before it surfaced, “Arpeggio is going to play classical.”

“She’s trying electro,” Vinyl argued, “whether you like it or not.”

Turns out there would be one thing they wouldn’t agree on, even if both mares were starting to appreciate each other’s tastes.

17 Awkward by TaviPlaysTheBass

Awkward by TaviPlaysTheBass

“So, can I get you two anything to drink?” The waiter stood expectantly at their table, levitating a notepad in front of him, waiting to take their orders.

Shoot, a beer sounds like it would hit the spot right now.

Vinyl looked across the table at her classy date, perfectly neat mane, little pink bowtie.

But what would Octavia order? I need to make a good impression on this mare.

“Yes, I’ll take your finest chordonneigh, please,” Vinyl said, feeling accomplished.

“Oh, just a soda for me, thanks.” Octavia smiled up at the waiter.

A soda? I wish I had a soda. That’d be hitting the spot way better than some fancy wine. I ordered that stupid drink just cause I thought Octavia would approve, then she goes and orders a freakin’ soda!?

Vinyl looked up, only to see Octavia gazing at her expectantly.

Shoot! I think she wants me to talk to her or something. Quick, think of something!

“Sooo…” Vinyl started, “you play the cello, huh? How’s that going?”

Octavia smiled at the fresh conversation topic, looking visibly relieved for the reprieve from the awkward silence. “It’s going quite well. In fact I’ve just been accepted into a new quartet, and I’m the youngest cellist they’ve ever had. It’s really quite an honor.”

Oh man, she’s so awesome. Play it cool, Scratch.

“Wow, that’s really great!”

“Yeah, it is…” Octavia paused uncomfortably, searching for something to talk about. “How is DJing going for you, Vinyl?”

“It’s been treatin’ me pretty well. I just landed a gig at the Ministry of Sound, it’s fun to be playing such a huge gig.”

Octava looked confused. “The Ministry of Sounds? I can’t say I know what you’re talking about.”

“Um, yeah, you’ve probably never heard of it. It’s this huge club downtown.”

“Huge? It must be nice for you to work such sizeable venues.”

Vinyl fidgeted nervously in her seat. “Yeah its a lot of fun, and it seriously racks in the bits.”

“Hmmm… fascinating.” Octavia looked down into her lap and played with her hooves.

“Yeah.”

Oh buck! What do I say!

18 Equestria Girls by jellybeanwubs

Equestria Girls by jellybeanwubs

Vinyl didn’t understand.

One day she’d been listening to Octavia’s piece for the Musical Showcase, and the next she was having the door slammed in her face, with accusations that she would aid the enemy.

Vinyl didn’t even know what that would mean…?

But even so, she was willing (and ready to) see her girlfriend perform at the showcase, despite their jam session being cut short just a few days shy of the performance itself.

That is, until Octavia came storming into Sugarcube Corner one afternoon yelling about how The Rainbooms were filthy cheaters, bringing magic into the competition to help them win.

Now Vinyl was even more confused than she was before. What was this about magic? Cheating? When did the performance even become a competition??

Octavia continued to ramble on, completely oblivious to Vinyl’s attempts to get her to calm down.

Vinyl signed, waved, she even tried to spin the cellist around—which mind you, was an awful idea because it just sent Octavia into a rampage about a bruise that had formed when Apple Jack’s bass nearly knocked her off the stage?!

With a last ditch effort, Vinyl sighed and opened her laptop, pulling a speaker out of seemingly nowhere. She quickly attached the two and with the press of a button a giant WUB sounded from the tiny speaker. She cut it short as Octavia’s hands shot up to shield her ears.

"Vinyl Scratch!!" she scolded. "Was that absolutely necessary?!"

While Vinyl knew that No, it probably wasn't (and the Cakes probably didn't appreciate loud noises waking up their kids during what was probably nap time), there were more pressing issues at hand.

Babe, what the hell is going on with the school showcase?! Vinyl signed, a worried look on her face.

Octavia turned her body away from Vinyl and frowned. “It’s a Battle of the Bands, Vinyl. You would know that if you actually bothered to turn up.”

Vinyl’s eyes grew wide and angry, as she gestured with an open mouth. When did this happen? You haven’t spoken to me for the past day and a half!

Proving her point, Vinyl pulled her phone out of her pocket and motioned to the many, MANY texts she’d sent to Octavia, with no reply.

"If you knew how badly I wanted this, then maybe you would understand."

The DJ stared at her girlfriend for a moment before she decided something was definitely not right. Sure, Tavi got competitive, but this was just downright odd.

She tried to think of something to say, but no matter what she thought of, Vinyl could not put her head around what had changed within just a few days time. Maybe if she could just--

"I have to go."

Vinyl's head whipped toward the door to Octavia, who was standing there with an intense expression on her face.

Why don't we just split a milkshake and talk about this? Vinyl suggested, gently tugging on Octavia's sleeve and hoping she could buy some time to figure this...whatever 'this' was out.

"No. I have to prove I'm the best. If I'm right there's still time..."

Octavia pulled her arm out of Vinyl's gentle grip, and barely paid any notice as she pulled her phone out and began walking away.

"Lyra? I have an idea..."

And just like that, Vinyl was left alone in Sugarcube Corner. Alone in a place that was normally packed with other CHS kids this time of day. Alone in a place where getting your hands on a muffin was rare (especially if Derpy was around), and yet they were untouched. Alone in a place that was way too quiet for Vinyl's taste.

She didn't know what was going on with Octavia, or the school's new Battle of the Bands, but what she did know was that it would take some sick bass drops to help her figure it out. And with a switch of a cord and headphones over her ears, that's exactly what she planned to do.

19 Treble by Michelle Twistaloo

Treble by Michelle Twistaloo

“I told you! I had this”

“Well obviously you didn’t, or there wouldn’t be such a mess over here, now would there?”

Vinyl looked around, as if noticing the huge amount of flour, eggs and more covering the walls, floor and somehow even the ceiling, making walking on them a sticky prospect. She smiled, embarrassed, but Octavia didn’t find it funny.

“What do you know? I told you that I had it, no to come in, I would give you breakfast in bed and you, you....”

“And I what?” – Octavia inquired with a sharp tone of voice – “Don’t try to pin this whole mess on me!”

“You startled me!” – She also screamed.This whole thing was frustrating and it was making her flustered and sweaty, and the combination of white and yolk with sweat was not appetizing in the slightest. – “I was doing well until you came here and told me to stop!”

“If by doing well you mean throwing the eggs up in the air and making them stick” – She pointed a hoof at the slowly dripping oil and eggs, glued to the ceiling as if by magic. – “Honestly, haven’t you ever learned how to cook?”

“I did!” – Vinyl lied, the few things she knew how to do weren’t, by far, high cuisine, but she at least tried. – “Ok, I totally didn’t, but I should be able to make breakfast, I’m not just a musician!”

“Well you’re lousy at that” – Octavia smiled, and took a pinch of flour that had stuck to her fur into her hoof, analyzing it. – “I reckon you should keep to deafening me and everyone else, so I don’t have to clean!”

“You won’t! I will”

“Sure you will, you said the same thing after that party.....”

“You promised you wouldn’t mention that, ever again!”

The party had been an early event in their relationship, which almost had finished it, but now they had both vowed to leave it behind, or, at least, Vinyl had, apparently Octavia’s promises didn’t hold that much weight.

Octavia gulped as she looked at the red in Vinyl’s eyes. This wasn’t good, nor was it funny. She was about to be hit by the full fury of the wub machine, when Vinyl started laughing.

At first, Octavia didn’t understand why, she felt miserable, and Vinyl laughing at her wasn’t helping her much. But then she noticed the reflection in the kitchen counter. She had a treble shaped mark on her fur.

How did that even get in there? - She pondered as she turned around to examine it.

Vinyl was still laughing, and Octavia looked at her stained coat, it was yellow and white, but it was definitively a treble .

“Did you do this on purpose?”

Vinyl was still out of breath so it took some seconds for her to be able to answer.

“N...no, it was a surprise, I was making treble shaped items of food for you, you know, because of your big butt?”

Octavia smiled with modesty as she covered herself.

“My butt is not that big....” – She lied, even though she had one of the biggest, Princess non withstanding. – “But thank you.”

They say actions speak louder than words, and while harsh actions had been swapped, the treble had fixed them up. That, and their actions, they embraced and found themselves uncomfortable, as they stuck together.

“Shower?” – Octavia asked. Vinyl nodded.

And they went. Ready for cleaning themselves and, later, the house.

20 Mail by Lyra_lover777

Author's Note

Beware-I'm totally not proud of this-this thing. Just read it. And get it done with.

20 Mail by Lyra_lover777

Mail by Lyra_lover777 (me!)

"But momma, we can't leave yet! The MAIL hasn't come yet!" The auburn coated filly with the blond mane then dug her muzzle in the shoulder of an older mare, who had an ice blue coat and an icy glare set upon her face.

"I do not care for any mail, Pippy. No, get get! Me must make haste!"

The mare then pushed the filly, Pippy, out the door, which was just really a cut out in the props.

The mare inched towards the table and picked up a glass of water and sipped it perfectly while a black coated pegasus stallion walked in. His burnt orange mane was shaggy and short, and he kissed the mare on the cheek.

"The mail here yet, Hon?" he asked the ice mare.

"NO!" she shouted, and bucked the stallion out of the "house."

More and more ponies appeared, asking about mail and getting bucked away by old ice mare.

Vinyl groaned into Octavia's shoulder.

"What is this crap?"

"Shh, just be quiet. Derpy's the ninety seventh one to ask about mail, so were just going to have to wait." Octavia replied.

"Well, I'm going to the bathroom,"

Vinyl pushed her way through the aisle, which was made mostly out of bored or sleeping ponies.

Octavia was forced to wait by herself while the play went on.

Soon the only noises in the theater were from the performance, and the crowd, which came in the sound of loud snores and sniffs while ponies slept fitfully.

Octavia was counting. They were nearing the eighty mark. She believed herself to be the only non actor awake now. Even several of the ponies working props must have fallen asleep because at one point a giant light fell form the ceiling, almost crushing a lime green unicorn.

Finally they reached the end of the act, the ninety seventh. The other three actor ponies had fallen asleep waiting to go on stage and had been escorted out by a barely awake assistant.

Suddenly Derpy came out, smiling like the sun.

She asked the ice mare about mail, but the ice mare herself had fallen asleep and was drooling on the tile floor.

Derpy then counted to ten and then sang out a loud note that supposedly her fellow actors and actresses were supposed to sing with her.

"MAILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!" she squeaked, breaking light bulbs everywhere and Vinyl's glasses. Vinyl had just returned from the bathroom, which had really been her hiding outside the building until she thought the show was over.

Derpy flew up to them form the stage, knocking into a seat or two on her way.

"Did ya see it?" Derpy asked Vinyl.

"Well, I was in the bathroom for the most part..."

"Well we'll just do it again then!" Derpy squealed, pointing to the passed out ponies on stage behind her, who were snoring and drooling.

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" every awake pony in the building screeched before promptly making an exit.

"Wow," Derpy said. "It must have been so good that everypony remembered every moment, so they don't need to see it again!"

She then flew out the door, or more like bumped into the door frame repeatedly before ripping it off the wall and flying away haphazardly.

21 Snare by bahatumay

Snare by bahatumay

Octavia sighed as she knocked on the door again. “Come now, Vinyl,” she reasoned. “The landlord is coming for his monthly inspection tomorrow, and I won't be fined again, so your room had better be clean this time.”

There was no answer.

Octavia sighed and went to retrieve the apartment's skeleton key. It was hidden over the lintel of the bathroom door, since more than once Vinyl had locked herself out of the bathroom.

It was a good thing she was so cute, really; otherwise she might have been forced to seek a new place of residence.

Octavia turned the key and unlocked the door. Inside Vinyl's room, as expected, was organized chaos. Records that were meticulously ordered were sitting in boxes in random places. Though everything was labeled, the labels were often crossed out and rewritten. Octavia lifted the lid to a pizza box and was pleasantly surprised to find it greasy but empty.

She took another step, wondering when or even if Vinyl would clean this up, when suddenly something snapped on her rear right leg. The next thing she knew, she was dangling upside down from a rope which had wrapped around her hind hoof.

“Viiinyyyll!”
***

Vinyl came sprinting inside. “Ha! Caught you in my snare…” Her voice trailed off as she recognized the gray earth pony who hung there. Her forelegs were crossed and her eyes were narrow.

“You're not Neon Lights,” she said dumbly

“And you're very observant,” Octavia snarled. “Just what is the meaning of this?”

“Well, you see, Neon said he was going to steal my new single before I could release it. He might have been joking, but I wasn't sure, so I set up this little snare thingie just in case.” She grinned nervously. “It worked! Yay…”

“Good,” Octavia groused. “Now get me down from here!”

“I dunno,” Vinyl said slowly. “You being there like that gives me an idea.” She turned and trotted out of the room.

Octavia desperately called after her. “Vinyl! Vinyl!”

Vinyl quickly returned, bearing a tub of ice cream in her magic. She grinned mischievously. “So as long as you're there…”

“Vinyl Scratch!”

“Hey, I'll share! Look!” And Vinyl scooped out a spoonful and held it out in front of Octavia's mouth. “Open up! Here comes the choo choo!”

“Vinyl Scratch, if you do not get me down from here this instant I swear I will-”

But Vinyl never found out what Octavia would do; the hook holding the rope against the ceiling suddenly pulled itself out of the drywall, sending Octavia crashing down on top of Vinyl.

“Th- that wasn't so bad, right?” Vinyl asked hopefully, extending her tongue to get some of the splattered ice cream off. “I'm sure in a couple hours we'll look back at this and laugh, eh?”

“Vinyl?”

“Yes, Octi?”

“You're sleeping on the couch tonight. You know this, right?”

Vinyl exhaled in defeat. “Yes, Octi…”

23 Swap by Michelle Twistaloo

Swap by Michelle Twsitaloo

Mane on fire, cheeks flustered, tongue out, heavy breathing, kind of like a dog, Octavia dared to look at the face of Vinyl.

She was pulling one of those “I’m innocent, like a lil’ angel” looks, she had perfected, but she wasn’t expecting to stick and indeed, it didn’t.

Octavia would have berated her, if she could control her tongue, but no amount of trying could get rid of the burning sensation, it looked like a volcano, and drool was erupting all around.

Vinyl couldn’t help but laugh, tears coming to her eyes, and she couldn’t breath. Octavia also had small tears in her eyes, and her respiration was shifty.
´

“w....water” – Octavia managed to whisper, between the deep breathes, she quickly rushed to the kitchen and pushed her mouth to under the tap, before filling her mouth with water. Despite that it helped little to nothing.

“Milk?” – Vinyl smiled, she was well aware that milk was best for the burning sensation than that water.

Octavia jugged down the whole bottle of milk and let out a sigh of relief as the sensation passed, but she still could feel the lingering after taste.

Vinyl covered her ears as she prepared for Octavia’s explosion of mood, not that she wasn’t right.

In fact she didn’t have to wait long as Octavia lunged into a deep hard scream that shattered windows, and used some bad words she didn’t normally use.

"What the heck were you thinking, replacing my tomato in my tomato sandwich with Pepper? I’m going to whoop you!”

But Vinyl was already well out of range, leaving Octavia to give chase only to the nearest street.

24 Heart by Ratsenkio

Heart by Ratsenkio

The date had gone really good.

Since leaving the house they had a picnic on the park under the shade of a big tree, spend the afternoon walking through the park smiling and laughing with each other, took a nap under the same tree they ate their lunch and now, they were dining in that little restaurant that opened a few weeks ago.

Now, while it wasn’t strange seeing them spending time together, this was a very special occasion for them. This was their second dating anniversary.

“It’s been really good so far” Thought Vinyl, “I even got reservations in the restaurant that Tavi wanted to go”

“So, how do you like this date so far?” Asked Vinyl.

“Oh, it’s been wonderful, dear” Said Octavia, “The picnic was wonderful, the walk was really nice, the nap with you under that tree was really refreshing, and now you surprise me with a reservation to this restaurant. I must say, you outdid yourself with this”

“I’m glad you liked it” Said Vinyl.

When they finished dining and Octavia was getting ready to go, Vinyl stopped her and said there was a little surprise that she had for her.

Vinyl stood from the chair and walked right next to the still sitting Octavia.

“Octavia” Vinyl started, “It’s been two years since we started dating, you supported me, you stood right beside me, you made me laugh, you made me happy, you made me better”

Octavia’s eyes started to water, having a little suspicion were this was going.

“I know I’m not that smart, I know I’m obnoxious at times, I know I’m not that nice when I’m under stress. But one thing I am is grateful towards the things you continuously do for me.”

Vinyl sat on her haunches and extracted a little black box for her saddlebags.

“I don’t have a lot to give you. In fact there’s only one thing that I can truly give you” Vinyl opened the box and inside was a necklace with a trebleclef and a reversed double eighth note entwined. Much like their cutiemarks.

“All I can really give you is my heart and all the love that comes with it, for all of eternity” Vinyl said.

By now Octavia’s eyes were covered in tears, and every single head in the restaurant was turned towards them in sheer expectancy.

“Octavia Treble Philharmonica, Will you marry me?” Finally asked Vinyl.

Even while soaked in tears Octavia jumped from her seat towards Vinyl and almost shouted “Of course I will!”.

To that, everypony in the restaurant forgot their dinner and started to cheer in congratulations for the two embracing mares and the new part of their life that the were starting.

Together.

25 Party by TaviPlaysTheBass

Party by TaviPlaysTheBass

"Happy birthday to you

happy birthday to you

happy birthday dear Lyra

happy birthday to you!"

The table erupted in cheers as Lyra blew out her candles. The mint green unicorn looked around and smiled, seeing all the ponies sitting around the table, having a fantastic time. Everypony but two.

Vinyl and Octavia were both looking down angrily into their cups, pretending not to notice each other.

A palpable tension radiated from both, so strong that even Lyra could feel it.

I wonder if those two will ever be able to interact normally again. She doubted it after the way things had ended between them.

It was hard being friends with the two ponies on either side of a bad breakup. Both expected you to take their side, both expected you to hate the other just as much as they did.

She had been a shoulder for them both to cry on, and a listener whenever either just needed to vent. In fact, she had gotten much closer with both ponies since the breakup, a fact that had made planning her birthday party very difficult.

In the end, she had elected to invite both, but she regretted that in retrospect. As much as she loved them both, they were being huge downers.

Vinyl had sat at one end of her living room the entire time, and Octavia had sat in another. Both unwilling to get up and join the games with everyone else in the fear that the other might have the same idea.

Lyra sighed, and remembered a time when the three of them had been a trio. Back in the conservatory, they had done everything together.

Then when Vinyl and Octavia started dating, she had become a bit isolated from the two. She had been really happy for them, and yet she saw less and less of her best friends.

After the split, they had both reached out for her, desperately in need of a good friend, something she had been happy to be.

Her bonds with both had grown stronger again, and yet the trio was dysfunctional. They’d never all stay up till four in the morning, watching horror movies, or spend lazy Sunday afternoons walking through the park.

Lyra sighed again, more deeply this time, and took a long drink of whiskey.

26 Wedding by lyra_lover777

Wedding by lyra_lover777(me)

You have been invited to Vinyl Scratch and Neon Lights's wedding.

It is at three PM sharp, on Sunday at the Canterlot Castle.

We would enjoy if you came!

"Humph," Octavia grunted.

"I know me and Neon are cousins, but barely!" she whined.

"Why are you so worked up?!" asked one of Octavia's best friends, Carrot Top. Carrot wasn't that bad, she just didn't get the emotional side of things sometimes.

"Well, she can't just go and barge in there! They used to date!" Colgate, another one of Octavia's best friends, replied.

"Thank you, Colgy. I just feel...unsure."

"About what?" Amethyst Star, the last of Octavia's best friends, said.

"Well, just...I don't know if I ever got over her."

"Really!?" Carrot replied. "But you broke up, like, two years ago!"

"Shush, Carrot. Let the ponies who actually have feelings and aren't virgin handle this," Colgate snapped.

"Oh, be easy on her," Amethyst said. "It's hard to find straight colts in Ponyville."

"Actually I'm not virgin anymore," Carrot piped up. "You see, I was delivering some carrots to Gizmo Pointdexter..."

"You did it with Gizmo Pointdexter!?" Colgate screeched, horrified.

"Oh, you girls are no help at all." With that, Octavia downed the last of her wine and left the room, which was Colgate's bedroom.

She could hear Amethyst following her, along with the other two farther back, still bickering.

Amethyst appeared and leaned in close to Octavia.

"Go," was all she whispered before pushing Octy out the front door.

Octavia was clad in a lacy dark gray number that floated around her like ethereal smoke. She was trotting up the steps of the castle into the church where the wedding was to take place.

Amethyst and her other two friends had also joined her after Octavia's inquiry. She couldn't go without them.

Amethyst strode next to her, wearing a tight, light purple cocktail dress. Her body was laden with pounds of jewelry of her own making.

Carrot wore a simple light yellow dress. The simplicity was what made it nice and unique.

Colgate wore a light blue dress with several white stripes zig zagging across it. She also wore a simple gold necklace, made by Amethyst.

The quartet entered the church. Most of the guests were already there.

They sat down towards the back with Octavia's brother, Arpeggio.

Soon the service started. Princess Cadence was overseeing the affair, having traveled all the way from The Crystal Empire to head such a wonderful union.

Yeah, Wonderful. Sure. Octavia thought, snorting.

The two ponies to be married were dressed at the edge of dressed up. Neon Lights wore a leather tux, and Vinyl, oh sweet Vinyl, wore a tight white cocktail dress that hugged her curves perfectly. She even kept her trademark glasses on.

Octavia was lost in thought but was brought out from it when Cadence shouted "Any objections? Speak now, or forever hold your peace."

Octavia fidgeted with her hooves. No pony said or did anything, only kept perfectly still.

Cadence was about to continue when Octavia slowly rose to her hooves.

"What are you doing?!" Colgate, Carrot, and Arpeggio whispered harshly at the same time.

And Amethyst smiled triumphantly like she had just won an important battle or argument.

"I do!" Octavia shouted, her voice ringing through the giant room.

27 Rain by Divine Path

Rain by Divine Path

Cumulus. Tiny droplets fell casually from a height one thousand eight hundred and twenty eight point eight meters. Water stained my windows, a wind blew unrelenting toward the house. A silent roar permeated through the building as the trees outside shook agonizingly. I believe I should thank Vinyl when next I see her for having the foresight to request help for repairing the leaky bits. Droplets hit and beat against every surface outside; 'plip, plop' and a 'plp.' Were I of the simpler sort, I would perhaps have found the sounds they made charming, melodious.

It seems I must be brief. I am Stradivari-Philharmonica Octavia Melody, although the full title has since lost its charm. You may call me Octavia. Octavia Melody. This is the name my friends would know. I am a cellist, I perform before the Canterlot elite beside my friends and colleagues within the Royal Canterlot Symphony. Very recently did I obtain the position of first chair cellist. It is still such a shock to me that I now perform before the noble blood, and at occasion, the regal sisters themselves. But enough about that. I imagine you came for a rather different story, did you not?

I began with Rain. It possesses a rather sentimental value to me, I admit. Of course, there have been a multitude of explanations for the phenomenon's less prosaic presence. These including the cleansing of souls, a premature grieving for the nearly departed and the sign that those have indeed reached their enlightenment or haven in the afterlife. Naturally, the pegasi hold power of the skies themselves. They, and the apt spellcasters may bend the tempests and winds to form the weather they desire. That including clouds. Rain. An arbitrary and minor orkan was apparently scheduled for today, which would be the stormy weather I saw outside where it is stronger. I felt a pleasant wistfulness gazing at the distinct blue, the colour of vitality, youth. But, enough about that. We have much to discuss, and oh so little time. I hope to bring just a little clarity to the situation.

Vinyl Scratch is a DJ, an operator of the musical medium 'turntable' as it is used for playing the "modern" form of music found in private celebrations in recent years. Unlike myself, she is a unicorn, donning a pair of violet shades and always with an electric blue mane resulting from a less than fortunate choice of dye. I still cannot enjoy this...music to the extent that she adores it.

We met once at the doors of the Sélection de Masque, my choice of 'diner' during my time in school, and even now. It is a fantastic space with excellent food. Hence the name, the establishment is also known for entertaining their guests with various form of dance, play and music. I have performed on this stage a few times in the past. I cherish those moments, for they were witnessed by my friends and family. I was more childlike then, I assume, standing by the doors that evening. I recall vividly the eyes which perplexed me as I had gazed further into them, scrying for something I could recognize. An enigma, she was. She was out of place, of course. I could tell.

The visible contempt of a noble of the unicorn house, the self-centricity of the privileged, the confidence of a prominent spell caster, assured of their own skill; these qualities were not in her eyes that day. Although, she did return my gaze.

Confidence was something she never lacked, I suppose. Do forgive the slight mistake. That might have been the reason why she, immediately upon being ushered in with me, suggested I sit by her over the course of our meal. "It would have been, totally awesome— I mean, it would be most kind of you to sit by me for this meal. I would be honored to say a few words." Says she, the white disc jockey who breaks walls with her music. I will never let her live that down.

Let me briefly break pace with the following warning; Vinyl Scratch. As much as I love you, Vinyl, I will be forced to withdraw your allowance and banish you to your room should you continue to correct any instances of my typical Canterlot syntax. I'll see you shortly, "honey."

Now, where were we? Ah, yes. The de Masque. "Certainly." I suppose the name of the diner inadvertently came to form significance in my life, as the Rain. Curiously enough, there were few available seats, so we found ourselves a tighter spot to sit in. There was only a booth at a wall where we could sit together, so we had to share it, in close proximity. Back then, I had felt something that could be described as almost amorous. I have little doubt this meeting was what possessed me to ever consider dating a disc jockey, much less a mare. Yes, you did not misread. I, Stradivari-Philharmonica Octavia Melody, came to fall for a pony of the same sex. "Thank you very much for your offer. My name is Stradivari- Philharmonica Octavia Melody. I play the cello in the Canterlot Symphony." For it was our name at the time, unknown to the general public as we were. "It is a pleasure to meet you." A blush, I recall, had festered on both of our cheeks. Mine was accompanied by a teensy smile. Hmhm. Ah, how lovely it was. "Who could you be, my lady?" I have her a pleasant smile, further raising the level of pheromones in the air. Ah, forgive me. I feel so amorous with the current melancholy of the Rain.

"Right. Uh, sorry." You wouldn't believe this poor girl was the famous DJ PON3, who even then was a popular character within the modern music scene. I feel nostalgic, recalling how cute she was as she struggled to maintain the charade of a noblemare. All...the night...long. I believe she introduced herself as 'Vinyl Richter Percussio-Laud Scratch.' I commend her for putting together such a ridiculous name within three seconds of my question.

We spent an hour eating in silence, save the compliments to the cook. I myself felt uneasy. As we continued, I tried my best to introduce a topic, anything at all to disperse the hints of tension lingering about our space. I hated that I never learnt the finer point of conversing. I felt a vast despair looking at the mare. This was supposed to be a nice evening with a prospective friend. Why had she lied about her rank? Why was she acting this way? I felt insecure, foolish and scared.

We kissed.

It wasn't intentional. We simply happened to, in our awkwardness, look at one another a bit too swiftly, a bit too closely. The kiss was brief, though it stuck for a moment. I cannot possibly describe the emotions that had surged through our heads that moment. A blush formed on my cheeks. Vinyl galloped. The doors closed, and suddenly I was alone.

I ran too, swiftly throwing the appropriate amount of bits on the table, and rushed outside. The mare fled, and I pursued. Like a twisted game of tag, mirrored by the playing of foals in the background, I chased the snowy white mare, tarnished by her own tears and the despair. I couldn't make sense of anything. I hunted her across the town, dodging nobility and rambunctious foals, gallop did I, flee did she, continuing into an unrestrained fear I could not comprehend.

Finally, she stopped, and she looked at me. A sob surfaced, and I no longer thought. I embraced the foolish girl earnestly. She sobbed into my hooves. I felt my own eyes burning with salt. I couldn't understand why.

Vinyl Scratch threw her lips unto mine. The more wet, the colder we became, it all fueled our struggle to hold on tight. Her mane tickled my cheeks, and I wept as I felt an uncanny euphoria with my muzzle plastered to hers. The coldness didn't exist. All that was, were the mysterious mare, and I. The fact we were strangers were of no importance. I immediately loved her for showing me this. It was selfish, perhaps, but it did blossom into something genuine.

Finally, the spell was broken. I was shivering. She too, likely felt the elements hard against her coat. She gazed intently into my eyes.

"Tavi...I think...I think I'm in love with you."

It was only then that I noticed it was raining.

Author's Note

Still amazes me every time.

29 Tirek by palaikai

Tirek by palaikai

Thousands of years ago, a wise and much-loved king was lying on his death bed; before passing on to the next world, he had his son and heir brought to him to impart one last piece of insight before his elevation:

“Rule with love,” he said, “not fear.”

The son, as is so often the way, ignored his father and chose a different path. A darker path. Everything and everyone in his new kingdom, even the animals, was terrorised into submission. They lived in harmony of a sort, obeying the whims of their lord lest they risk his … displeasure. Despite this, the king was not content. There were still those that chose to defy his wishes.

The elements were brought to heel; the wind, the waves, even the passage of time were in his grasp. Controlled, enslaved, made to serve his own ends.

But there was one force that refused his summons, one aspect that would not allow itself to be controlled. Music. It could not be constrained, and it could not be reasoned with, so the king had it exiled to the dark places beyond his dominion. Without music, life's sweet harmonies and rhythms died away, becoming a drab, squalid thing with no purpose.

The people could not sing away their troubles; the king's guards were haunted by silence, even in the midst of their many, many battles. With no way to express their love, the king was driven to madness by the haughty silence of his many wives. What little joy remained had been robbed from his world and he sought to put things right.

When his messengers did not return, when his calls went unheeded, it was left for the king himself to make that journey into the darkness which lay beyond the known. Somewhere between life and death, between madness and reason, the king found the music and begged, wept, until it agreed to return to his land.

He awoke from a long slumber, tired and weakened from his experiences, to find that the music had indeed returned … discordant, violent, malevolent. His subjects' every word caused them untold agony. Birds fell from the sky, their songs catching in their throats. Waves crashed and died against the shore.

Before the king died, the music explained:

“In the darkness to which you cast me, I learned the meaning of fear.”
*

“Octavia?”

“Yes?”

“It's a little … grim, don't you think?” said Vinyl Scratch, struggling to comprehend exactly what it was she had just read. Despite Princess Twilight Sparkle's victory, a lot of the wounds Tirek had caused were still raw and bloody, and it seemed that they were getting to her marefriend in particular. As of late, compositions of this sort had been almost the norm. They were such a marked contrast to her usual, beautiful melodies that Vinyl was beginning to worry about Octavia's mental state.

Octavia inclined her head slightly, surrendering herself to Vinyl's embrace, snuggling close to her warm chest for comfort. “I'm still having nightmares. Without my cutie mark, without the ability to create music, I felt so … lost. Your purpose, your entire sense of being, stolen from you in an instant.”

Vinyl's hoof stroked Octavia's mane. “I know. I felt the same way. I imagine everypony did. But things worked themselves out.”

“But what if they hadn't?”

“There's no point worrying about that,” Vinyl replied with a shake of her head. It had scared her to find her talent taken away so easily; there were many ponies who were looking to the princesses for answers, for assurances that it could never happen again, but of course, they couldn't. Tirek was still alive. Imprisoned, but alive. There were many who felt that he deserved a harsher punishment. It was not the Equestrian way to seek vengeance, however.

“Vinyl-” Octavia hesitated.

“Mm?”

“Would you still love me if I wasn't a musician.”

“What sort of question is that?”

“One that I'd rather you didn't try to deflect.”

Vinyl Scratch took off her sunglasses, looked Octavia in the eyes and said, “I adore you for your talent, but I love you for the pony you are inside. Nothing, not even Tirek's magic, can ever take that away.”

“Thank you,” Octavia said, kissing Vinyl softly on the cheek. Tears spilled down her eyes. “Sorry, I know I'm just being silly, but I really needed to hear that.”

31 Distant by Michelle Twistaloo

Distant by Michelle Twistaloo

Her eyes locked in the distance, she was the perfect image of contemplation.

The reason of that contemplation? Vinyl “Dj Pon3” scratch. The white unicorn with a electric blue mane was in her thoughts, and had been for the better part of the afternoon.

She didn’t exactly consider herself “pooch”, sure she had high-class mannerisms, but the insult, it was uncalled for, she knew how to have fun! She wasn’t just a boring old arse!

Then again....and that was the reason of the contemplation.....she wasn’t as wild or as crazy as Vinyl. And though they were similar in age, their personalities couldn’t be any less opposed.

The way she smiled.....the smell of liquor on her breath, the way she shook hear mane widly, as opposed to her perfectly combed one....it all seemed like a dream, a distant place where she couldn’t get to.

Not without leaving behind her morals, at least, but she could go that distance, one night wouldn’t really hurt her, would it?

The distance......a non specific point where her eyes centered, a big great blue, like the ocean, or the sky....

As if taken by a totally different mare she decided to go the distance, it didn’t matter if she wasn’t wearing any makeup, the strong night-club lights would melt them, or combed, she would dance until it wasn’t anyway....

She just had to cross it.

33 Prompt Special: The 7 Deadly Sins

Author's Note

Woo hoo! Our first special!

33 Prompt Special: The 7 Deadly Sins

Wrath by BuckingPonderous

The door was unlocked.

She had locked it tight when she had left yet when she gripped the doorknob now, it revealed itself as being unlocked. That meant someone had entered her home while she was away and given her associates, there was no telling what was waiting for her inside. Years of practice made it excessively easy to mask her realization as she turned from the door to the mare she had invited home.

"Hey Octy," she began, weaving what she hoped was a wonderful lie that would stall her friend long enough to deal with the intruder. "I just realized I left my bag in the carriage. Could you go grab it for me before they leave?"

Octavia rose her eyebrows before sighing. "Really Vinyl? It's late. Can we not just call the company tomorrow?"

"But Octy!" She whined, hitting just the right octave to make Octavia facehoof. "I have some really personal stuff in there!"

The earth pony sighed again but agreed, making Vinyl promise not to make this a habit. Vinyl cheerfully agreed, giving her a big hug to make her smile before watching her go. The second she was out of sight, Vinyl turned and went inside; making sure to lock the door behind her in case Octavia came back before she was done.

"Okay." She turned and looked into the darkness of her apartment, frowning deeply. "You have until the count of three to come out of the shadows before I come over there and drag you out."

"Touchy." A snide voice answered her. Sure enough, there were three stallions who stepped out from around the corner of the hall. Even in the darkness, their eyes revealed them for what they were: Vampires. "Good evening, Lady-"

"Spare me the pleasantries." Vinyl interrupted the first, her shades reflecting the faint light from the open window. "Why are you in my home?"

The stallions seemed taken aback but her rudeness but the second began answering as she approached the table. "The Vampire Court wishes-"

"I already told them that they can kiss my tail." She snapped, pointing at the window. "Leave me. I have a meal waiting outside."

The third smiled in what he probably thought was a threatening manner. "Well, why don't we share her? I've always wanted to dine on someone high class." The words had barely left the stallion's mouth before Vinyl was upon him; faster than he or his compatriots could react she had leaped onto him as was raining blows that would break the bones of mortals. Her opponent was completely unprepared for the onslaught of violence that was being brought against him and could do little more than curl himself up to try and protect himself.

Reflecting on it later, she would be no doubt surprised with herself. Violence wasn't in her nature. Not to say she was a stranger to it, of course. You don't live for over a thousand years without getting caught up in a fight or two; especially when you're a creature who actively feeds on blood. But she wasn't inherently violent. She loved peaceful solutions, adored clever plans, and admired those special cases where everypony got what they wanted with hardly a shout. Violence was the way of the brute, the thug, and the pony who was left with no chance to reason her way out of a situation.

But the thought of this cretin feeding on Octavia? Absolutely unequivocally unacceptable.

The other two stallions rushed to try to help their ally, but they were no more prepared to face her wrath than he was. With a final punch to the throat to keep him silent, she turned on the other two, her horn glowing brightly. The table behind them tipped over as she pulled all four of the legs out from it, revealing them as stakes that were prepared for just this sort of situation.

Their hooves had barely touched her before the table legs speared them both from behind, staking them in their hearts and throats. They screamed, but no sound escaped as they turned to ashes in front of her.

Taking a deep breath, she turned her gaze on the last remaining vampire, who was still clutching his throat and trying to breathe. She spoke in a growl, the quiet fury still present in her expression. "Now you listen well, you filth." Her horn lit up again as she lifted him up and brought him to the side window away from the street. "You're going to run home and tell your masters to heed my warning: Come into my home uninvited again and I will burn your life and every person in it like the Sun Demon during a tea shortage."

With a flick of her head she sent the stallion through the window, letting him fall the three stories down to crash in the alley below. The fall wouldn't kill him, vampires were notoriously hardy in her experience, but the message would be clear enough that she was not to be trifled with.

It was only then that she became aware of the persistent knocking at her door. Uncertain of how long she had left Octavia to wait; she returned her glasses to her nose. Walking towards the door, she used her magic to quickly sweep the ashes up under the furniture and rug as well as put the table legs back together. With a final cleansing breath, she opened the door and smiled cheerfully at the annoyed earth pony in front of her. "Hey Octy. Did you find my bag?"

She frowned at her. "No, I didn't. We finished looking about ten minutes ago. Where were you?" Taking in her appearance, Octavia's expression changed, looking a bit more concerned now than annoyed. "Is something wrong Vinyl? You seem...perturbed."

Vinyl just smiled, sweeping back her mane. "Ah, it's nothing Octy...Truth is I sent you away because I realized right as we arrived that the place was a mess and I wanted to get it cleaned up for you."

Octavia rolled her eyes. "Vinyl, I've seen your apartment before. A little mess isn't going to frighten me away."

Vinyl chuckled as she stood aside to let her in. "If you say so, lover mine. Come on in, I promised you dinner." She shut the door behind her, making doubly sure to lock it this time.

Greed by lyra_lover777

Octavia clutched the large case of her cello by the handle in her mouth. It swung a little back and forth as she trotted along. Vinyl was back at home, relaxing while Octavia, her marefriend, went to practice with the orchestra.

The concert was in a week, and they had barely been given parts. But they were all expert musicians, and would be able to handle it.

She reached the theater, mounting the stage with ease. She signed her name on a sheet to tell others that she had come, and then walked to center stage.

Currently, most of the others were there. It was made out of entirely string instruments.

In the lyre section, which had the most members, was led by Lyra, and included Lyrica Lilac.

There were several other lyre players that Octavia had never seen, along with one mare who played a giant harp.

Then in her section, a leader had yet to be determined. There were a few unrecognizable ponies.

Then the last one came, the amazing violin player Fiddlesticks.

They all sat down. The conductor came onto the stage. He gave Lyra the opening piece. She would also be playing through the whole song with one other, one from Octavia's section.

She and Fiddlesticks both jumped at the opportunity. They both wanted to have the main part, to have the most glory.

"Maybe we could split it!" Fiddlesticks said, exuberant.

But Octavia glared at her.

"You'll probably just want to steal all the glory for yourself." she said, sneering.

"No I d-" Fiddlesticks began.

But Octavia took the piece, leaving Fiddlesticks to play in the backround.

As it went on, Lyra split her main part with Lyrica and two other lyre players.

But Octavia kept it all to herself.

===

It was the night. The small string orchestra would begin their performance in only moments. Vinyl waited in the crowd, eager to see her Octy take the lead.

The curtain lifted, and the crowd became silent.

Then Octavia, along with Lyrica, who would take the first fourth of the lead for the lyres, played.

The notes were soft and held long, and began to increase in volume and pitch and come faster and faster.

Soon one of the other lyres took Lyrica's place, noting that the second fourth of the performance had started.

The music was now speeding along.

Before anypony knew it, Lyra took hold of the main piece, signaling that the third fourth had begun.

Octavia's forelegs began to tire. Soon she could barely keep up with the tempo.

Octy's legs were on fire by the time the last fourth of the piece came along.

Then all of the sudden Octavia's legs gave out, and she collapsed, her bow shrieking across the strings, making a dissonant note.

The whole crowd, and the rest of the orchestra became silent.

Then boos rose up from everypony in the crowd except Vinyl.

The curtain fell. They had decided to end it early, before the crowd started throwing tomatoes.

Fiddlesticks looked down at Octavia, who was horrified by her failure.

"This is all your fault," she said before turning away and disappearing back stage.

And the sad thing was, well-

-That Fiddlesticks was right.

Lust by BuckingPonderous

Vinyl hissed softly as she was slammed into the wall, the warm body that contrasted her own making her hum despite the discomfort. Her opponent - if she could call her that - pressed up against her and growled in a way that combined with her cultured accent made her melt. "Die monster." she nuzzled her throat. "You don't belong in this world."

Vinyl's face split into a grin as she shoved Octavia back. Not enough to harm her, but enough that she could effectively reverse their positions and make the shelf in the other room rattle. She extended her fangs as she slithered up to the mare, nibbling at her ear as she replied. "T'was not by my hoof that I am once again given flesh. I was brought here by ponies, who wish to pay me tribute."

With physical strength that would have gone unexpected by anypony who didn't know her, Octavia countered, pirouetted around Vinyl and pushed her chest up against the wall. Vinyl squirmed in minor discomfort before Octavia wrapped a foreleg around her neck in a chokehold. "Tribute?" she laughed, a playful sneer on her face. "You steal mares' souls and make them your slaves!"

"Mmm," Vinyl hummed, and used her own vampiric strength to push back against Octavia before turning and judo flipping her to the ground in front of her. Octavia gasped as Vinyl advanced, her red eyes shining with hunger. "Perhaps the same could be said of all religions."

Returning to her feet, Octavia pounced; wrestling with Vinyl but neither of them gaining any ground. Pressing their heads together Vinyl was able to position her near their bedroom door. "Your words are as empty as your soul. Ponykind ill needs a savior such as you."

Vinyl just laughed, her horn glowing bright red as she seized Octavia and lifted her into the air. "What is a pony?!" With a flick of her head, she tossed Octavia through the entryway to their bed. Octavia could only watch in mock horror as Vinyl followed after her. "A miserable little pile of friendship!" She slammed the door behind her and locked it with an audible click. "But enough talk; have at you!" And with an inhuman snarl, she pounced onto Octavia.
xxx

Vinyl hummed softly as Octavia nuzzled her neck and cuddled with her. "You know, I think this fetish of yours is getting a bit out of hand."

Octavia met her gaze with a raised brow. "You disapprove, my love?"

Vinyl feigned considering it, but with a smile gave her a kiss. "Not at all, lover mine." she winked. "But we're running out of decorative vases."

Pride by Ratsenkio

It was a night like any other. The moon was high in the sky, there was not a pony in the streets and the little foals were getting ready for bed.
On one of those nights, in a house of Ponyville, a gray coated unicorn filly with her curly light blue mane was being put to bed by it’s parents, a grey coated earth pony mare with her straight black mane and her wife a white coated unicorn mare with her messy electric blue mane.

“Mommy?” Said the filly.

“What is it Symphony?” Asked Octavia in a tender voice.

“Today I was playing with Minty on the resses and our teacher said to Twilight Spectrum that it was good that she was proud of her cutiemark but being too proud was bad. Why is that?" Asked a confused Symphony.

“Shall we tell her that history?” Asked Vinyl to her wife.

“Sure, I think it is the perfect opportunity” Said Octavia as they tucked in their daughter.

Once there were two stallions, the both of them prided themselves on their music.

The only problem was that one of them played classical music and the other one played electrical music.

The first time they met was in college, they assisted some of the same classes and they seemed to be getting along really good. At least until the day they discovered the type of music the other enjoyed. On that day, the stallions fought over which was the better music and the good friendship that could had been was destroyed beyond repair.

The years passed and the two stallions eventually forgot each other. They moved on with their lives, got married and eventually both of them got blessed with a filly each.

“That’s sad. Why couldn’t they be friends like mom and mommy? You sometimes fight but you still love each other very much” Asked Symphony with a sad tone.

“That’s right” Said Vinyl, “Mommy and I love each other very, very much”

“But those stallions were too stubborn and prided too much on their own music to even care about the others opinion” Said Octavia.

“So that’s it, the stallions were never friends again?” Asked Symphony.

“We never said the story was over” Said Octavia and Vinyl at the same time.

As the fillies grew up, they learned to love the music that their fathers played and they took great pride and joy to be a part it. But they always thought that their music lacked something.

And so, as it was their turn to go to college, like by destiny, they, pretty much like their parents, ended up meeting and sharing some of their classes.

As they started talking they became friends really fast, but unlike their fathers, they didn’t care that the other liked other type of music. If fact, they shared their thought about all kinds of music, even their respective owns.

As time passed the two mares started to play music together and actually fell in love with each other.

“Aww!” Cooed Symphony. “But what happened with their parents?” She asked in between yawns.

“Well, at first they were against their love” Said Vinyl.

“Part of it was because of them being two mares, as they didn’t understand it and were afraid for their daughters” Continued Octavia.

“The other part was because they remembered what happened between them, and they didn't want their daughters ‘contaminated’ by the others music” Finished Vinyl.

With time they convinced their fathers to listen to the music they created.

To say that they were taken aback was an understatement. While both styles of music complemented each other. What surprised them the most was how they could fell the love their daughters had for the other. And so, they decided to makes amends for the sake of them.

“And they lived happily ever after” Finished Octavia.

“Now. The good fillies must go to bed” Said Vinyl.

“Oww -yawn- Already? Asked Symphony.

“Yes, honey” Said Octavia “There will be more time for stories tomorrow”.

“Mommy” Asked Symphony “What are you proud of?”.

Octavia shared a look with her wife and fondly said “Me and your mom are proud of you and your little sister on the way” while looking at their daughter and feeling her wife’s swollen belly.

They each gave her a good night kiss just below her little horn and said“Good night Symph. Sleep well”. After that, they turned off the little lamp in her bedside table and made their way to their own bedroom.

Gluttony by Cobalt Ravenscroft

The Philharmonica/Scratch residence was divided. On one side of the bedroom door, inside the room, was Octavia, while Vinyl sat on the outside trying to talk to her.

“I didn’t mean it, babe,” she pleaded for the thousandth time that week, “you know I’ll always love you, no matter what you look like!”

“You called me FAT!” Octavia screamed, unwrapping a family sized bar of chocolate, “I’m not!”

“I only said you looked chubby, Octi,” Vinyl tried to reason with the brick wall that was her wife.

“You admit it!” Octavia cried scandalously, “Then I guess this,” she took her first mouthful of chocolate, “won’t make a difference,” she finished through full cheeks.

She had been like this for three weeks and she was now six months into her pregnancy. The foal was starting to show in her stomach and, as Vinyl so delicately pointed out, so were her curves.

“Come on, babe, all mares put on weight when they’re pregnant,” she tried to calm Octavia down, but she was losing her will to fight, “you look good, honest.”

Sounds of chewing loudly and swallowing for emphasis followed, “There you go again, and don’t you dare lie to me, Vinyl!” More eating of the delicious, sinful treat could be heard beyond the bedroom door.

“I could never lie to you, Tavi,” Vinyl almost whispered against the door as she slid down it, her back now facing the bedroom with her front hooves propping her up so her back was flat against the door.

Now, silence reigned in the small house. For Vinyl, it felt like hours passed before anything happened. For Octavia, the sound of Vinyl’s defeated voice tore through her self-inflicted anger almost instantly, but being the mare not to waste anything, she put the last small piece of chocolate in her waiting maw before trotting over to the door, throwing the wrapper over with its countless relatives near the bin.

The door opened behind Vinyl who fell on to her back, only to be greeted by the teary eyes of her beloved, “Do you mean it, Vinyl?”

Vinyl stood up slowly, but not before a single tear landed on her cheek. She looked at Octavia, seeing the once toned musician jiggle a bit from her soft sobbing and lack of her usual exercises. Her flank had got bigger too, but it had always been something Vinyl adored about her even before the added plumpness. The foal was beginning to force Octavia’s back legs apart slightly, so that wasn’t exactly helping the pregnant mare’s case. Finally, Vinyl took notice of her now wet cheeks. They had filled out, not by much, but enough so most of their close friends could tell the difference.

There was only one way Vinyl could respond truthfully. She moved forward and their muzzles met, briefly but full of honest love. After pulling back, Vinyl licked her wife’s muzzle, tasting the remaining chocolate.

“No matter how much you change, no matter how big or old you get, and no matter how many of my snacks you eat, you’ll always be my Octavia,” Vinyl leaned in close to her wife and nuzzled her, cherishing the ever-silky touch of her mane and fur.

They nuzzled each other, but Octavia broke the peace soon while still nuzzling Vinyl, “I’m sorry, sweetie, I’ve been a real madmare recently.”

“You’re allowed, babe,” Vinyl replied softly, “besides, you’re cute when you’re mad.”

“I thought I was always cute, Vinyl?” Octavia pulled away from her wife, showing her the faux hurt look in her eyes.

“Touché, Tavi.”

Envy by lyra_lover777

Pinkie Pie watched from the shadows, her mane completely straight. Her pupils were tiny pinpoints of blue, and a maniacal grin was plastered to her face.
It wasn't really Pinkie Pie, just her opposite.

Pinkamena Diane Pie.

She was watching a couple sitting at a table in their manicured backyard. They gray earth pony clutched a glass of red wine while the white unicorn guzzled a beer. And then another beer.

Pinkamena crept from her hiding place, which was under a large evergreen. She clutched a large, gruesomely sharpened stick.

Pinkie had watched everyday as the Octascratch couple slid in and out of Sugarcube Corner. She soon became obsessed with their perfect romance, wanting it for her own. It lead her on a rampage that left Cheese Sandwich in the hospital.

They tried to capture her and put her in an asylum, but she escaped, and made it free. Now her target was in sight. Take down that perfect little cello player and that bass banging beauty was hers.

Or so her crazy mind thought.

She leaped from her spot, which was only feet from the table.

Her wooden stake landed directly on Octy's right hoof.

Octy crumpled to the ground, her blood curdling screams sounding throughout the peaceful little Ponyville neighborhood.

Vinyl jumped backwards. She looked up and down Pinkamena. Suddenly Pinkamena made a move for Octy again, her smile even more insane.

Vinyl tackled Pinkamena into a bush, where they wrestled.

Vinyl was on top, and she punched Pinkamena in the face.

Suddenly screams ripped through the air, this time from Vinyl.

Pinkamena emerged from the bush, her stake dripping with blood, cackling crazily.

Octavia broke down in tears, nursing her wounded hoof.

Pinkamena slowly approached the weeping mare, raising her acute stick in the air.

"Ju-just end it! N-now! There's-s no-o point in li-living if she's not here-here." Octavia cried, tears freely flowing down her face.

Suddenly that brought Pinkamena back to reality. Suddenly her mane poofed back up, and she became Pinkie.

PInkie laughed, happily this time.

But then she looked down at the bleeding, weeping Octavia, who was curled in a fetal position.

She then looked back at the bushes, seeing a bloody white leg sticking out.

And then she looked down at the bloody stake clutched in her hooves.

Her face welled up with tears and she scampered out of the yard, leaving Octy to mourn alone.

Sloth by Michelle Twistaloo

“Honestly Vinyl you’re such a sloth!”

“What?” – She tried standing up, but her own belly, bulged outwards, stood in the way, the words, sounding more like a flat “Wut”, had come out, and Vinyl blinked once or twice, trying to get the sudden light out of her eyes.

“It’s 3 pm! Get up already!”

“Huh?” – Vinyl looked through her lenses and, indeed, there was a luminosity not fit to the early dawn or night. She blinked again, and tried moving, but, found herself unable to. She groaned.

“Well?” – She demanded, and Vinyl tried to focus her fuzzy vision on the face of the other mare. –“Aren’t you going to stand up and clean after yourself?” – Octavia shock her head and Vinyl tasted the cardboard like feeling in her dry mouth.

“Come here” – She tried saying, though it came off more as a “c’m ‘ere”. Octavia gently dropped down, Vinyl took the chance and grabbed her.

“It’s daytime, and I only have work at night time, so, lay down and enjoy.”

There wasn’t anything particularly romantic about the dangling light bulb, but the mare enjoyed the other mare’s company nonetheless. And together they stood.

34 Sleep by jellybeanwubs

Sleep by jellybeanwubs

Octavia frowned, as for the third time she rang Vinyl's doorbell with no answer. She'd tried calling, she'd tried texting. She's even resorted to walking over to Vinyl's bedroom window and banging on the glass. And yet, nothing.

She was supposed to meet her girlfriend for lunch and yet thirty minutes after their scheduled time, still no sign of the blue haired DJ. And sure, Vinyl scratch was known to be late (fashionably or not), Octavia was still in a bit of panic.

She had no idea what would would have happened to Vinyl, but she was NOT taking any chances. The first place she looked was Vinyl's house, and so far she had no luck.

Leaning against the door, Octavia willed herself to stop breathing so erratically, and to get her mind out from its darkest parts. Vinyl would be okay, she just had to think. Where would she be if not at their date, and not at home?

...Although it would be easier to think without the heavy thumps of overblown bass subtly playing in the background.

"She's in there!"

Octavia's first instinct was to reach for her keys, but with a small huff she remembered that her girlfriend hadn't given her the spare.

"Typical Vinyl, afraid of commitment so much she wouldn't even give me the damn key. Took her long enough to give us an official title as it is..."

The cellist mumbled to herself as she pulled two bobby pins from her hair, and took a quick glance around the neighborhood. It wouldn't be good for one of Canterlot's orchestral members to be seen picking a lock, nevertheless the first chair cellist.

"Which someone would know if they showed up to lunch..." Octavia fiddled with the lock for a few seconds before hearing a tiny click and having the door fall slightly open.

"Can't believe she didn't do the deadbolt. Vinyl Scratch, you will be the death of me, I swear..."

Unless something had already happened to Vinyl.

No, she's fine. Calm yourself, Octavia. She's fine probably just...really into her music. So into her music that she forgot today was the day you were finding out positions in Canterlot's Orchestra and may or may not have news about it at lunch.

Making her way down the small hallway and toward Vinyl's music room, Octavia continued to mutter as the muffled wubs grew louder. She prepared herself to give Vinyl a verbal lashing, and threw open the door without hesitation.

What Octavia sure didn't expect to see was Vinyl fast asleep on her soundboard, glasses askew and hair waving softly from the air from the speakers.

"I...hm."

A small smile grew on Octavia's face as she pulled out her phone to document this moment forever. Even the great DJ PON-3 had a weakness, and that weakness was sleep.

Octavia flipped the power switch and without the gentle vibrations of the bass, Vinyl woke up.

Vinyl lifted her head slowly, not completely awake, and pushed her glasses to the top of her head. She rubbed her eyes and squinted; was she still dreaming? All she saw was the most gorgeous sight in front of her: a girl with long dark locks holding her hand out to Vinyl.

"Are you an angel? Am I dead?"

Octavia stifled a giggle at her girlfriend and helped her to her feet. She walked them out the door to Vinyl's bedroom and helped the DJ into her bed. "No, you're not dead dear. But you'd better have a very good explanation as to why you missed our date, or you might as well be..."

Vinyl let herself be lead into bed and sleepily replied, "Huh?"
`Tucking her in, Octavia removed Vinyl's glasses and kissed her forehead. "Get some rest. I'll be in the kitchen when you wake."

It wasn't until much later that afternoon that Vinyl shot up from her sleep and realized exactly what had gone down, and that she was in for a long, loooong talk about her sleep habits.

35 Scherzo by Divine Path

Scherzo by Divine Path

Vinyl surreptitiously looked towards the door. Octavia wasn't home yet. Perfect.

Vinyl gave a viciously foul and evil laugh, echoing through the house. "Oooh, spooky!" Adjusting each peg, she tested each string. Each note was entirely off-key. Grabbing the cello in her magic aura, Vinyl placed the cello lovingly back into its case, returning it to its almost sacred space within Octavia's chambers.

"Revenge is sweet, my dear Octavia!" said the white unicorn. She raised her hooves dramatically and guffawed; "What's up?!" Vinyl laughed on until her throat punitively gave out, and she screeched like a banshee. Coughing, Vinyl swiftly trotted into the kitchen, obtained a glass, filled it with water and drank vigorously of the divine liquid. Sputtering into the sink, her throat was relieved. She panted. "This is so gonna be worth it." Vinyl was, of course, referring to avenging her ruined pride from that particular event a few days past. Vinyl had been keeping her marefriend up for the night with her lovely music, and so, the earth pony noble had responded by hiding one of her massive speakers within the Golden Oaks Library. Vinyl had panicked once she found the speaker was not present in their home. She had frantically searched the town, with no help from the cellist, of course. Vinyl remembered the smug grin she had been met with upon finally locating the missing speaker and magically transporting it back into its rightful place in her music room.

She opened the case, and observed the instrument just a little longer. It meant the world to Octavia, of course. She felt almost guilty subjecting Octavia to this terror. Could she really be so cruel as to scare the poor mare this way with the apparent loss of her most beloved possession? "Nah, she can take it. It's just a harmless prank." Her countenance was broken by a rather disturbing imitation of a smile. "It'll just be a little scare, that's all." She hadn't heard the hoofsteps behind her.

"Vinyl? What exactly are you doing with my cello?" The grey cellist and marefriend uttered sharply an objection. A smile followed.

Vinyl shuddered. "Uh, nothing. I was just... observing the beauty your cello is!" Vinyl nervously grinned and shuffled in discomfort. "I admit it! I can't get over how awesome, and immaculate it is!" The mare's eyes bore into her. Vinyl barely managed to keep a straight face, looking down on the cello with faux admiration. Returning it to the case would be suspicious, of course. Silence reigned until with a sigh, the tension was dispelled at once.

"Fine, I'll buy it. I don't have time to linger about anyway." She trotted to Vinyl and abruptly kissed her lovingly. The alabaster unicorn returned it in earnest. Moments passed within an eternal bliss. An instant of eternity. Vinyl knew Octavia was a fan of budding romance, though she'd never admit it. It was ironic, no that she thought about it, that the most romantic of the two would be the least sophisticated in love. Or something like that.

With that, the moment was over, and Octavia broke the kiss.

"It's nice to see you again today, Vinyl, but I have to go."

Vinyl couldn't move. A chill travelled up her spine, and a sense of dread snaked its way over her withers. "What do you mean...you have to go?" Vinyl stammered, her eyes widening. Her heart suddenly started beating faster. "Where are you going, Tavi?"

Octavia placed the case on her back. Vinyl couldn't move.

It was just a harmless prank.

"You haven't forgotten, have you?" She frowned. "I have a concert I need to attend today. I volunteered to help a student group of musicians perform before the Canterlot public as an addition to their ensemble. It's only the single most important day for the group!" Pain struck swift. "I returned to swiftly get my cello." She sighed, and placed her muzzle into her hoof. "Sometimes, Vinyl. You frustrate me, if I dare be honest."

Vinyl grabbed the case with her hooves. "Tavi, I really don't think you should go." She tried to smile. Her mouth didn't budge. Neither did the case which was hold firmly in place by the earth pony's superior strength. She grunted, trying to rip the case out of the mare's hold. It didn't budge.

"Please cease your antics. I really don't have time for this, Vinyl." Vinyl panicked.

"You can't go!" She embraced Octavia and grabbed at the violin case. She pulled. She had to open it and fix this. If she could hold it long enough to re-adjust the pegs, then everything would be fine! She just had to take it from that wonderful mare. She had to claim it before she could break the heart of that beautiful mare!

The struggle was brief. Octavia swiftly claimed the case and gave the unicorn a kiss on the horn. Vinyl fell unceremoniously onto her flank.

Vinyl felt weak.

"You can stare at this beauty later. For now, I have a train to catch." A small smile, and she turned to exit the door.

Vinyl heard herself wish her goodbye. She saw through somepony else's eyes her friend cantering away towards the train station. There were no tears. She just felt empty. She had messed up.

Vinyl trotted slowly toward a vacant chair. Each step felt as though they were laden with thick iron. Every muscle felt heavy as she sat down agonizingly. Her throat burnt but her eyes refused to comply. Vinyl leaned back and gazed at the ceiling. Her eyes fell shut. Moisture formed around her closed eyelids, finally.

"Is this a joke...?" Sobs echoed through the little house. Vinyl didn't move.

She stopped herself in time. Drinking some water from the machine, she was able to curb her panting. She was nervous. Octavia found herself looking at her cello's case. She longed to play. She wanted to prove yet again she was a prodigy. She knew she was. She was an excellent cellist.

"Featuring Stradivari-Philharmonica Octavia Melody, please give the student ensemble of Miss Elegy's Musical Academy a warm applause!"

Take deep breaths. Everything would be fine. She had everything under control. The student ensemble was skilled. They were adept, and so was she, Octavia. She could handle this, like she had always handled it. It's just a concert, right?

Octavia played the Walts of Stars.

Octavia felt empty. Her eyes were clouded over. She could hear the distinct sound of something shattering beside her. In the distance, she heard angry shouts. She could hear screams of frustration, but they were so far away, they weren't of this world. She didn't understand. She didn't understand. She didn't understand. She couldn't understand. It was painful. She felt something wet impact her head. Yet, she kept playing. She didn't understand. She heard a beautiful symphony, she immersed herself in it. Nothing was. Octavia continued to play. It's beautiful, like always.

They were laughing together. Vinyl had a little mishap that morning. The silly filly couldn't cook! She shouldn't be allowed in the kitchen, period. She's a friend, but nopony deserved to eat that!

Something was loud in front of her. She didn't care for it. It wasn't of the symphony, therefore irrelevant. There was just a little noise around her. Her muzzle felt a bit wet. That isn't an issue. Something was, of course, trying to lead the symphony astray. Still, it was beautiful. The symphony was, nothing else.

She opened the box. Inside, there was a ring. She looked up to meet Vinyl's eyes, and gasped.

She felt something move her. It felt odd. Something was pulling at her bow. She held strong, and instead continued to play her beautiful song of her beautiful symphony.

Why don't the others hear it?

She awkwardly moved to the strange beat. Octavia really didn't understand the workings of modern music. She felt silly moving to such *profound* and heavy beat. Suddenly, Vinyl gripped her.She felt light as the DJ swung her around, violently yet with a purpose, with control. Swirling about the room, she gave a tiny squeak and giggled. She felt safe in those hooves. She felt at ease.

She was happy.

Her eyes felt moist. That something was pulling at her again. She continued to play her beautiful song.

Why don't they hear? Isn't it beautiful?

36 Staccato by Cobalt Ravenscroft

Staccato by Cobalt Ravenscroft

Today had been a perfect day for Octavia; the house was silent leaving just her and her cello to make sweet music together. Vinyl, for the first time in weeks, was up before noon and off running errands, this time without leaving her music playing and locked on full volume. Arpeggio was at school, hard to believe she’s already 6 years old, Octavia thought as she hit a long note in the piece she was practicing. She would be back soon, but that filly was always happy after seeing her friends and the ‘best teacher in all of Equestria’.

Except today. As usual, the sound of the school carriage outside the house caught Octavia’s attention, but instead of a quiet opening of the front door, it slammed open and shut again with just as much force. Before she could reprimand her daughter, the sound of sobbing slowly made its way towards the classical music room of the house.
Arpeggio walked through the door into her mother’s practice room, tears staining her grey muzzle and her magenta eyes tinged red by her crying. Octavia had never moved quicker in all her life, but she managed to place her cello on its stand and sweep her daughter into her hooves quicker than Vinyl could drop bass in a club.
`“Sweetie,” Octi began as she stroked Arpeggio’s powder blue mane, “whatever is the matter?”

It took a few moments of sobbing before the young filly could respond, but she eventually composed herself, “T-the… other girls…” she attempted to speak between her sobs, “they said… they said… they-“

“Hush, dear,” her mother tried to calm her down by holding her tighter to her chest, “take a deep breath and we can try again in a minute.”

The two mares sat together while Arpeggio composed herself again, though this time she stopped her crying almost completely, “They said you and mum weren’t proud of me,” she forced out before bursting into tears again.

“Now why would anypony say that kind of thing to you?” Octavia held in her anger enough for Arpeggio not to notice.

“Because I don’t have a cutie mark!” the young mare screamed through her tears, “And none of us have the same name, why do I have to be different!?”

“Who said all this to you!?” Octavia couldn’t hide her frustration anymore.

“…Amethyst Sparkle,” Arpeggio hissed.

“Twilight’s… your teacher’s own daughter!?” I am going to have serious words with that mare, “Does Miss Sparkle know this?”

“N-no, no one else knows,” the filly’s voice was getting weaker now.

“Well then I’ll speak to her tomorrow,” the cellist responded very matter-of-factly.

“No!” Arpeggio shot up, looking her mother straight in the eyes.

“I must, this is how grown mares deal with their problems,” Octavia almost stopped there, but an idea came into her head, “Let me tell you a story, so you know how special you really are.”

Arpeggio climbed back into her mother’s hooves, snuggling against her chest, “O-ok mother.”

Clearing her throat before she began, Octavia put on her most motherly tone, “Once upon a time, there was a mare who lived in Canterlot. Her name, my dear, was Staccato Melody.”

This caught Arpeggio’s attention.

“This mare had the most beautiful voice anypony had ever heard, and she was known all across Equestria, even performing for Princess Celestia at the Grand Galloping Gala several times in her life. Now, for the first 13 years of her life, she didn’t have a cutie mark, or even a home to call her own, but never did she stop singing and bringing joy to all who heard her, until one day, outside Canterlot palace, a certain Princess heard her sing, and she asked her to sing again for her.

“Staccato was thrilled, never had somepony taken this much notice of her, let alone royalty. So she did. She sang her own song, one she called New World, in hopes that this meeting would be the start of her own new world.

“Before long into the song, more ponies were listening, a crowd was forming. When she stopped, the first to applaud was none other than Princess Celestia, quickly followed by every other pony who had gathered. Never before had Staccato been so happy, she cried tears of unbridled joy as a cutie mark of three eighth notes appeared on her flank.

“Being the kind and compassionate mare that she is, Celestia took Staccato into the castle and allowed her to live there until she was old enough to go out into Equestria and find a house and job for herself. On one condition: that she sing for the Princess at her evening meal that night after she had eaten.

“Staccato accepted. Never had anypony been so kind to her, most nobles of Canterlot just walking past the brown earth pony, not thinking anything of her life. She eventually left the castle at 16, easily finding a singing job with the recently reformed Canterlot Orchestra upon recommendation from Celestia herself, and a house too.”

“That’s a really nice story, mother,” Arpeggio yawned into her mother’s coat, “but why did you tell me? Was it a real story?”

“Very real, sweetie,” Octavia smiled, “that mare was my grandmother, and your great-grandmother.”

The realisation snuck up on Arpeggio, but it hit her like a freight train, but Octavia cut her off before she could say anything, “And that, Arpeggio Melody, is why you’re called what you are, because I could never love anypony more than the mare who taught me that no matter who you are, or when you get your cutie mark, that everypony is special.
“With that name, you have the greatest gift I could give anypony,” Octavia hugged her daughter even tighter, “and that is why I will always be proud of you, and your mummy too.”

As if on cue, Vinyl walked through the door and noticed the two of them sat together, “Hey, let me join in!”

37 Time by TaviPlaysTheBass

Time by TaviPlaysTheBass

Well, that was certainly something.

Octavia stood in Ponyville Park as the Foal and Filly Fair disassembled itself around her. The young ponies she had been playing for waved goodbye to her as they grabbed their belongs and left, and she waved politely back as they disappeared in the distance.

Her head throbbed faintly. She was still quite disoriented by the rapid series of events she had been through. First, she had been enjoying a nice stroll through downtown Canterlot, when a bright flash of green light had blinded her. The next thing she knew, she was playing her bass for a bunch of little foals in Ponyville of all places along with her bandmates. On top of that, there had been those spontaneous transformations happening to things all around her, the streets had even turned to gold. Once it had stopped, three princesses had shown up in town to deal with cleaning up the mess.

Octavia still wasn’t sure what had caused all this, but the strange day had left her absolutely exhausted. Nothing sounded better to her than heading home, pouring herself a nice glass of chardonneigh, and curling up in her nice warm bed.

Unfortunately her bed was miles away in Canterlot, and she had a two hour train ride to look forward to before she could do any relaxing. Heaving a long, tired sigh, Octavia turned and started walking slowly toward downtown Ponyville. She wasn’t quite sure where the train station was, so she hoped that she might meet someone on the way who could direct her.

How quaint, she thought as she looked around at the small shops and cottages that lined the streets of Ponyville. She was so used to the glamour and large buildings of Canterlot, that it was rather refreshing to see smell the clean air and to hear the sounds of ponies laughing together.

Time moved differently here. Days weren't just made up by a series of appointments. Ponies didn't spend all their time going between point A and point B. She saw friends sitting together in cafés, and lovers embracing each other in the street.

It wouldn’t be all that bad to live somewhere like this. Octavia knew this was impossible though, no matter how appealing the idea was. Her bass kept her firmly rooted on Canterlot with all the orchestras and smaller ensembles she was involved in. And though she loved her music dearly, she wasn’t too attached to the other parts of Canterlot life.
She was annoyed by all the self-entitled stuck up ponies who felt as if her music was their right. She was annoyed at the way they constantly looked down on everything around them. Most of all, she was annoyed that no one in Canterlot was willing to say what was really on their mind. The high society ponies functioned as a hive mind, only ever liking things that their peers liked; basing all of their opinions on what was “in fashion”.

If her orchestra performed a new piece, all of Canterlot would decide what they thought of it based on the reviews of one or two critics. Works that had negative reviews rarely had any viewers at all after the first week. Everypony was vain and insincere, and Octavia was just sick of it.

That’s not to say that everything about Canterlot bothered her. She had been raised as a high society pony, and shared some of their high society sensibilities. A nice glass of wine, tea and biscuits, or the sharing of small talk around the hors d'oeuvres table were all things she quite enjoyed.

Overall, she just felt confused.

Looking up, she noticed a small music shop nestled in between a music shop and a flower stand.

The F Hole, read big bold letters over the door. Approaching the window, Octavia could see what looked like a large selection of CD’s and vinyls, as well as a good selection of musical instruments. She even saw a beautiful, old bass standing in the corner.

This looks like an… interesting spot, she mused to herself. It couldn't hurt to just take a look inside. As she pushed through the opaque glass double doors, a bell overhead heralded her arrival.

The place was quiet, dusty, and empty as far as she could tell. As she looked around, her eyes fell on the antique bass in the corner, and she walked toward it, it certainly looked like quite an instrument of quality.

“Hey, what’s happening? Can I help you with anything?” A white-coated unicorn with a shock of electric blue hair appeared from behind a towering shelf of old CD’s.

“Aahh!” Octavia jumped, startled. Then, when she realized it had just been a friendly employee, she blushed lightly. “ Oh, I apologize, you startled me.”

“It’s totally fine. Is there particular in here you were looking at?” The strange pony asked.

“Well, that is a beautiful bass you have there. Might I ask where you got it?”

“That old thing? I’m not really sure. I sorta just inherited this place. I’d normally tell you to ask my dad, but he’s… well…”

Octavia caught on quickly. “ Oh, you poor thing. It must be hard to have to run a shop that isn’t yours.”

The employee looked downtrodden. “Yeah, it’s tough. But I’m glad I’m doing it, y’know? The shop’s always been in the family and now it’s my turn to take the lead.” She said. “It’s just hard because sometimes I don’t know everything the customers ask. I’m learning though.”

“Yes, well I’m sure you’ll catch on quickly. Do you play anything yourself?”

“Me? I’m a DJ,” The unicorn announced, some of her former enthusiasm returning. “I make electronic music. What about you? I’m guessing you play the bass.”

“However did you know?” Octavia responded sarcastically.

“You wanna check it out? You can play it if you like.” Octavia felt herself being led over to the corner. She looked at the clock on the wall.

“Oh no, that’s fine. I should be heading out anyway.” She started walking towards the door. “Thank you for your time… what was your name?”

“I’m Vinyl.”

"I’m Octavia. Thanks for your time Vinyl, I hope all goes well with your father’s shop.”

“Thanks. Bye Octavia.”

Octavia pushed out the door and back into the streets of Ponyville. She was once again shocked by the crisp, clean air.

I do hope Vinyl does alright with her business.

40 Tea by lyra_lover777

Tea by lyra_lover777

Baroness Falsetto Lyrica Philiharmonica strode down the streets of Canterlot. She was baroness of a large plot of land several hours away from the royal city of Canterlot called Trottingham.

She was wife of Baron Legatto Stacatto Philiharmonica. She was traveling to the kingdom of Canterlot to present her two eldest daughters for marriage to two princes of this kingdom, as well as take home Princess Lyra Heartstrings Hapricord to wed her son, Prince Arpeggio Rythmic Philiharmonica.

The baroness, clad in her maroon best, looked behind her at her two eldest daughters.

The closest to her, the younger of the two, was bounding across the road, a smile adorning her face. Her name was Princess Chordicia Mezzo Philiharmonica..

The light breeze ruffled the baroness' gray hair. It was the same shad eas her eldest daughter's mane.

This daughter was down in the dumps, her form sagging.

It brought Baroness Falsetto to remember what she had discovered her daughter doing.

The baroness gave one last glance at Princess Octavia Forte Philiharmonica before looking upon the road once again.

The three had been brought here by carriage, but had been dropped off by the front gates of the castle. They were now twisting and turning through the cobblestone road that lead to the front doors of the towering castle.

Soon they reached the giant doors, a servant quickly escorted them to the throne room, where the Two Sisters sat.

The two were the only alicorns in the whole world, at least known to the Twelve Kingdoms. Their kingdom was by far the most powerful of the Twelve, with Trottingham clocking in at second.

A large table was set up before the thrones of the Sisters. They were seated at the head of the table with Princess Lyra, who was busy gobbling down a piece of cake.

Princess Lyra noticed them and sat erect, flawlessly wiping her mouth, nothing like she had been a moment before.

The three said their greetings and sat down. Only two seats were left. They were for the two princes.

Octavia accepted a cup of tea, and sipped it quietly while idle chatter broke out between her mother and the Two Sisters and her sister and Princess Lyra.

Ocatvia was wearing a gray coat over her teal dress. Her sister had been wearing a matching coat, but had removed it, showing her sleek lavender dress for all to see.

Soon the Princes were announced to come inside. While their hooves could be heard clopping down the hall towards them, Ocatvia drew out a picture of her love that she had been forced to leave behind.

The unicorn's sleek white form, her bright blue mane, her precious red eyes...

But she needed to leave that behind.

She dropped the picture in her tea cup. The picture faded and swirled in the cup until it was nothing but an inky mess.

The princes entered.

"Octavia, you will be marrying Prince Blueblood." her mother proclaimed.

Octavia cried inside as she got to her hooves to meet her to be husband.

41 Sparkle by bahatumay

Sparkle by bahatumay

Octavia exhaled in relief as her apartment came into view. Not that she had any fear she wouldn't make it home, of course; but being home after a long rehearsal and an even longer walk home through snow and slush just felt good. She already had plans of lounging gracefully in front of a pleasant fire in fireplace.

That pleasant feeling evaporated as soon as she neared her door. Her door had been opened recently.

She set down her cello case and quietly opened the door, preparing to attack if necessary to defend her house and her honor.

Her hoof crushed something, and she looked down. To her surprise, rose petals littered the floor, laid down in a path deeper into her apartment. Her eyes widened, then narrowed. Now fearless (but with a wry smile on her face), she pulled her cello inside, shut (and locked) the door behind her, and followed the rose petal road.

It wound around through the kitchen, where a lovely dinner with sparkling cider (she hadn't had a good experience with alcohol) sat, waiting. Smiling, she shook her head and continued to follow the path. It ended at the door to her bedroom. She leaned down and pushed it open with her head.

There on her bed lay a beautiful white unicorn, her very own Vinyl Scratch. She had brushed her coat until it quite literally sparkled, and she had pulled her mane back. Though it was still large and for the most part uncontrollable, it had been tied back out of her face, revealing both of her light eyes sparkling in the darkness. Her tail had been similarly attended to, and had been brushed until it, too, shone in the candlelight. She wore the striped socks Octavia had given her as a gag gift for last Hearth's Warming, though the effect seemed to work well in the flickering light.

"Tavi!" she shouted excitedly, her loud voice a stark contrast from the sensuality of the setup. She jumped off the bed and bounded over. She grabbed Octavia's face and began peppering it with kisses. Then, as if remembering her manners, she stopped, took a tiny step back, and began kissing her slowly, more tenderly. She started at her forehead, then trailed down to the tip of her nose. She brushed against Octavia's cheek.

Octavia had been enjoying this attention, but she had to speak. "Vinyl?"

"Mhm... What?" Vinyl asked, ducking her head and switching sides so she could kiss Octavia's other cheek before heading down towards her neck.

"Our anniversary is tomorrow, Vinyl."

Vinyl pulled back and squinted. "No..." she said. Then she cracked a smile and chuckled. "Oh, good one. You almost had me going there, Octi," she laughed, nudging her with a sock-covered foreleg.

"It's true," Octavia said with a half-smile. "You work nights, Vinyl. Your mental calendar is always one day behind, remember?"

"No. No way. It's..." Vinyl sat down and mentally began running through her days. Her eyes widened. "Oh, no," she whispered.

Octavia nodded regretfully.

Vinyl exhaled in defeat. She slowly pushed herself to her hooves, but was unable to bring herself to face Octavia. "I really thought it was tonight," she said. "I've got something booked tomorrow and I don't think I can back out now."

"It's fine," Octavia said, coming up and nuzzling her cheek from behind. "I promise."

"Are you sure?" Vinyl asked. "I know how much you like everything to be done on time, and this is... well... it's early, which I guess is better than being late, but..."

"I promise, it's fine," Octavia repeated.

Vinyl lit her horn and took a step forward. "Because I could totally put this away and I could try and put it back out tomorr-"

She was cut off as Octavia grabbed her tail and gave it a forceful tug. "Don't you dare," she growled.

Vinyl grinned and pulled her tail out of Octavia's mouth, flicking it higher and keeping it there a bit longer than strictly necessary. "Whatever you say, Tavi," she said. "So... where was I?"

Octavia undid her bow tie and let it fall to the floor. She raised a hoof and brushed against a spot on her neck. "Right about here," she said.

Vinyl grinned. This she could work with.

42 Dance of Sadness by lyra_lover777

Dance of Sadness by lyra_lover777

Octavia was curled in a fetal position on the bed. The sheets were spread out around her like white angel wings. A small golden pillow rested above her head.

Tears streaked down her face, dripping down her soft cheeks, soaking into her sheet wings.

The door creaked open slowly.

Vinyl slowly made her way to Octavia's side.

"Babe..."

"Vinyl...." Octavia croaked, tears still flowing down her face. Vinyl softly lifted her up into her arms. She buried her head in Vinyl's electric mane.

"I'd watch out if I were you."

Octavia lifted her face from Vinyl's mane. Her muzzle was all dyed blue.

"Freshly dyed," Vinyl whispered.

Octavia gave a croaking laugh before beginning to cry again.

Octavia was once again weeping. She wore all black gown, while Vinyl, who shed a single tear of her own, wore a black suit, a white rose sticking out of the pocket.

Her brother, Arpeggio, clamped her shoulder, a grimace set on his face.

"Let's go say goodbye," he said, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

The three, the only ponies there besides a withering priest, approached the coffin.

Their father had left before they were born. Octy and Arpeggio were twins.

Octavia could barely walk as they approached the oak coffin. Now Arpeggio was also openly crying, and Vinyl was holding back tears for their sakes.

The priest, solemn, turned on a dusty gramaphone.

The music the flowed from it twisted through the air while the trio reached the lip of the coffin.

Vinyl wrapped her forelegs around Octy's waist while she whimpered at the sight of her dead mother.

The mare wore a simple white gown. In her hooves was a picture of the twins.

"Goodbye mother," Octavia whispered, her voice coarse and throaty.

The old, scratchy music met their ears as the began to turn away from the coffin.

Vinyl grabbed Octy's forelegs, and twirled her slowly around her in a circle.

And so they continued down the aisle, dancing in slow motion to the mournful music, a trail of tears in their wake.

44 Strings by lyra_lover777

Strings by lyra_lover777

Octavia's hoof slowly stroked the golden harp, dissonant sounds emitting from it.

She tweaked something, and she ran her hoof over the strings once again. A low B Minor chord flew from the harp.

"Lyra-" Octavia started, but then just swallowed, wiping a single tear from her cheek.

"Lyra-a."

"Come back."

Suddenly something struck in Octavia's head, and she carefully put the harp in its case before drawing her cello from its own case.

She drew out a collapsible music stand, a pencil, and an empty sheet of staff paper.

Vinyl slowly took the stage. She scanned the crowd. It was made up of Lyra's friends and family, here to mourn.

She then took the microphone that stood in front of her on a stand.

"This song is dedicated to our dear, passed away friend Lyra Harpicord Heartstrings."

Sniffles and nose blowing could be heard from the crowd as the couple began to play.

Vinyl sang softly while Octy played her cello.

"Lyraaaaaaaa, come home-"

45 Duo by Treblemaker

Duo by Treblemaker

Hoofsteps echoed throughout the empty hallway, followed shortly by the sound of a rather heavy object hitting the ground. After this beat went on for a few paces, the hoofsteps ended, ending with a flourishing “thud” lowering a case to the floor. If somepony were to listen, a distinct accent floated through space, marking its bearer as one of Canterlot’s elite.

“I know it’s around here somewhere.” the pony said, and the unmistakable sound of keys were heard outside a particular door.

After gaining admission, and the pony stepped inside, the door was shut to block off all chances that the hallway had to receive a break from its monotonous drum. If anypony had the power to hear beyond walls, which was entire possible as the walls were thin, they would hear the tired greeting of the returning pony. Which was returned by the more ecstatic welcome from the second pony previously residing in the apartment.

After a charade of silverware atop china, running water, and the practical conversations of the two inhabitants, one might get lucky and hear the click of a carrying case lock being opened. The voices of maple and string rang out, softly, but dominating the quite night beyond the confines of this building. Soft hoof stomps protruded from one, while the other audibly blushes. The wood placed to the side, a much faster melody takes it’s place as the two switch from bystander to performer. Coupled with drums, and assorted sound effects, it creates a much more clashing aria. Yet pleasing to the ear nonetheless.

As it appears to close, the beginning starts once more, but with a purpose other than its original. Bow is laid across string, replacing the melody, and adding a new idea to the existing rhythms.

The song doesn’t end however, but merely gateways into more creative realms. It’s clear to anypony with the patience to stop and listen that this is merely improvisation, but experienced talent manages to piece together a new tune. The notes continue through the night, the musicians losing themselves in the curious duet referred to as love.

47 Moonlight by lyra_lover777

Author's Note

Sorry that there's been a lot of my work on here lately- I just went on a writing rampage about a week ago! :twilightblush:

47 Moonlight by lyra_lover777

Moonlight by lyra_lover777

"WHAT?!" Vinyl screeched, the cup of coffee that had been clutched in her hooves now resting on the ground, its contents swirling at her hooves.

"What?' asked Octavia, slinking into the room to eat breakfast.

Vinyl stumbled on her words for a few seconds before jabbing at an article in the paper.

It read " 'Moonlight' romance confirmed! Sorry, 'Chrylight' shippers!"

"What's Moonlight?" asked Octavia.

Vinyl wordlessly jabbed her hoof at a picture next to the article.

It showcased the Princess of Friendship heartily making out with Princess Luna's alter ego within the Canterlot Gardens.

Octavia's hoof flew up to her mouth to cover it in horror.

"I-i never thought this could happen!" Octavia squeaked.

"I know! I was all for TwiDash!" Vinyl exclaimed.

48 Spike by Treblemaker

Spike by Treblemaker

He slipped the weight of his shoulder bag to the other side in an attempt to alleviate the strain. “Why do books have to weigh so much?” the assistant librarian pondered.

“No, wait, why do Twilight’s books have to weigh so much?” he revised his earlier question. The purple dragon had picked up a shipment of reading materials from the local mailmare, and is now on his way back to the tree-brary. A sudden sonic boom nearly topples the poor guy, to his surprise. Before he can start on his trip again, a streak of white crashes through the same house where the sound originated from.

“Hoofston, we’ve got a problem!” yelled the frantic mare, as a similar streak of grey charged her prey. “Tavi doesn’t like pranks!” came the voice again. Amused by the spectacle, Spike brushed off the books and returned them to their satchel. He had only taken a few steps when the sound of wood on flank echoed through the mostly empty street. Turning around at the sight, Spike saw a mostly broken cello relinquished to the dirt besides the fallen two figures. Who were busy fervently kissing one another at the moment to care.

“Mares, who can understand ‘em?” he shrugged.

49 Waltz by jellybeanwubs

Author's Note

Anthro, Octavia and Vinyl from age 9 to 11, and Vinyl is mute.

49 Waltz by jellybeanwubs

Waltz by jellybeanwubs

Octavia paced outside the door to her cello teacher's office. He had asked to speak to her parents before beginning her lesson today, and that could either be a very good thing, or a very bad thing.

She wasn't sure which one scared her more.

The prospect of doing horrible in her lessons scared her to death, she was so passionate about her music that she simply couldn't see herself taking any other path. But on the other hand, doing so well that she succeeded her teacher and would be placed in an entirely new lesson bracket?

Well.

Octavia Melody was not very good with change.

Glancing at her watch, Octavia noticed that only five minutes had gone by. She couldn't stand out here and pace forever, but unfortunately Octavia had left her cello inside the room. So a before-practice practice was definitely out of the question.

Then again, this was partially a music school. There had to be a spare cello around here somewhere! Of course, it would probably need tuning, and she'd have to be lucky enough to find a bow and resin...

Octavia was down the hall faster than you could say Canterlot Academy for Gifted Students.

Her music was her getaway. Anytime Octavia was overcome with any troubles, needed to clear her head, or had a problem she couldn't solve, she'd turn to her cello. Sure, it didn't give her all the answers, but it definitely let her release all her emotions to start thinking clearly.

And right now, that's exactly what she needed.

She peered into the door's windows as she passed, itching to get her hands on the strings. Door after door gave her nothing, and the one that DID at least have a bow was locked. Great. She huffed and continued her search, although now more so to kill time; hey, even the thought of playing had helped her for a bit, why not a little longer?

As Octavia made her way through the long halls, she heard the faintest tinkering of a piano. She paused to listen for just a moment and noted the pattern.

'A waltz,' she thought to herself, resuming her steps. 'A very sad one at that...'

Octavia continued down the hall, searching now for the room where this beautiful sound was coming from. She racked her brain for what waltz this was; was it possible that she hadn't heard this particular piece before?

It took Octavia less than three doors to find the room. She quietly entered, not wanting to interrupt whomever was playing, but also very curious to learn the name of this piece. As she stood, Octavia noted there was no second person in this room, so perhaps a teacher was playing? Even better! She'd be able to name this piece AND get some more information about it!

She smiled as the waltz grew softer, deconstructed minor chords going higher and higher up the scales. It was a haunting, almost music box tinkering sound, but still flowed with the same emotion Octavia had heard from the halls.

With a soft hand to the keys, the waltz grew slower, and had Octavia on her toes as each note passed. It slowed down almost painfully, but enough to keep the listener craving the final notes. And as they came, a deep low dissonant chord ended the waltz.

Octavia fought the urge to clap, but knowing how much she lost herself to the music, she could only assume this person was the same. Instead she waited, and with the scrape of the piano bench she eagerly awaited to meet them.

The cellist did not expect to see a girl not much taller than her, and by the looks of it younger of all things, step from behind the piano and put her hand to her chest as she was startled.

"Oh! I'm very sorry for scaring you!" Octavia played with the ends of her long hair. "Your waltz just sounded so lovely that I had to find out the composer. I've never heard it before..."

Octavia didn't wait for an answer before continuing.

"You're a very skilled pianist! The emotions throughout it were so amazing, and truth be told," she said with a nervous chuckle. "I thought you were a professor here...oh but! I'm sorry, here I am rambling and I haven't even let you speak...mom says I need to work on that, heh."

Octavia paused for a brief moment as the girl in front of her passed her a notebook, and gave her a weak smile before tucking her short blue hair behind her ears.

[You've never heard it cause I wrote it!]

Was the only thing written on the page.

Octavia looked from the sentence to the girl for what must have been a solid thirty seconds. She couldn't believe the words that were written in the page. This girl composed a waltz that could potentially rival Blue Danube?!

"You...you're remarkable!"

The girl shrugged and smiled, motioning for Octavia to hand back her notebook. Octavia did so without a second thought, and as the girl was scribbling something down, she asked, "Lose your voice?"

The girl shook her head no and turned the notebook back to Octavia.

[I can't speak. Never have, never will.]

Octavia felt her face flush as she let out a soft 'oh.' Now she knew why the girl had let her ramble on for so long. Just as soon as she was about to apologize, she heard a huff of air from the other girl, who had a big smile on her face. If there was sound, Octavia was sure there would be laughter.

"You get that a lot, huh?"

The girl nodded and pointed to her notebook again.

[My name is Vinyl. What's yours?]

Octavia smiled in return, and was about to speak when she said, "Do you...do you sign?"

Vinyl's eyes lit up and she tossed the notebook on the piano, hands becoming a flurry as she said something to Octavia. The only problem was, Octavia didn't sign.

She didn't know how to stop her without being rude so she slowly raised her right hand, signing out the letters to her name.

Vinyl's hands slowed down as she watched Octavia, and it suddenly clicked.

"I only know the alphabet..." Octavia sheepishly spoke. "Learned it from a poster in the nurse's office...I'm sorry."

Vinyl put her hand on Octavia's shoulder and raised her hand to give her a thumbs up.

Octavia's face lit back up and she exclaimed, "It's okay? Really?"

Vinyl nodded and gave her a small smile back.

"I'm really sorry I don't know more..." Octavia played with the ends of her hair again before grabbing Vinyl's hands in her own. "I have an idea! Would you teach me?"

Vinyl's eyes grew wide at the proposition. She'd met loads of kids at Canterlot's Academy for Gifted Students, but when most learned she was mute, they usually just passed her a note if they wanted to talk. And here this girl was, fresh out of the blue, wanting to learn to sign?

Who was she to say no?

She furiously nodded her head yes, and Octavia smiled, throwing her arms around Vinyl in a big hug.

"Oh this is going to be so cool! We should exchange phone numbers--er, would emails work? Oh! I could ask my parents to talk to yours! And we could set up days to learn! Maybe before practice here? Not that you need any practice, that waltz was incredible-"

Vinyl stopped Octavia from speaking by taking her hands and opening her pointer fingers, while closing the rest into a fist. She mimicked the motion with her own hands, and held them up to Octavia's eyes. Hooking the two pointer fingers together, with one hand above the other, she quickly reversed the motion and signaled for Octavia to do the same.

Octavia mimicked the motion easily, and Vinyl gave her a double thumbs up. She was glad she was already learning, but she had one question.

"What does it mean?"

And with the biggest smile that afternoon, Vinyl spun her notebook around to Octavia.

[Friends.]

50th Prompt Special

Author's Note

These stories describe the author's thoughts on how either Octy and Vinyl fell in love or first confessed their love for each other.

50th Prompt Special

By CT

“I’m telling you Vinyl, if you just give it a chance, you’ll realize the beauty of classical music.”

Vinyl gave a disdained look to Octavia as the grey earth pony tried to make the unicorn listen to another CD of some classical composer.

“Octi, for the hundredth time, that stuff bores me to death, I’d rather listen to some tunes that won’t put me to sleep.”

Octavia rolled her eyes at that statement.

“You mean you would rather listen to that ear-splitting noise you play at various clubs every night rather than try to expand your musical palette.”

“You’ve never even heard me play at any clubs. If anyone should expand their musical…whatever it was you said…it should be you. That classical stuff you try to shove down my throat all sounds the same. You should mix it up once in a while.”

“I’ve heard you play those ‘tunes’ you so affectionately call them, and frankly I’d rather spare myself the headaches.”

They both stared at each other for a long time until Octavia broke eye contact and sighed. This was a regular argument for the two roommates, each trying to convince the other that their styles of music were valid. Since they had moved in together, the cellist had tried to share her interests with the DJ in order to be closer, but the white unicorn remained adamant to keeping her own personal tastes.

“I give up.” said Octavia as she started walking to her room.

“You are so stubborn.” She closed to the door and lay back on her bed staring up at the ceiling. All she wanted was to try and get closer to Vinyl, even if just a little bit. Octavia couldn’t help but be drawn to the unicorn ever since the two had met, despite them having their differences. The mare couldn’t understand why she wanted to be closer to the DJ, she just felt that she needed to be, and that feeling became a little stronger after they started living together.

After what seemed like hours, Octavia heard a knock on her door and glanced over to see it open and a blue haired head poke in.

“Hey Octi, can I come in?”

She sat up on her bed, and nodded towards the unicorn.

“Yes, you may Vinyl.”

Blue magic opened the door the rest of the way and Vinyl walked in, along with a blank CD floating behind her. Octavia didn’t notice this as she looked down at the floor.

“Vinyl, I should apologize for what I said, I shouldn’t have…”

“Octi, would you listen to something for just a second?”

Octavia looked up to see Vinyl use her magic to put the CD in the player located on the grey pony’s nightstand. The unicorn looked back at her.

“I’d like you to listen to this mix I made, if you don’t like it, I promise I won’t bother you with my music anymore, deal?”

Octavia wanted to protest, but seeing the look in Vinyl’s eyes, held back and simply nodded as Vinyl used her magic to press play. It started out with the sound of a cello being played. Octavia recognized the composition right away. It was one she had written. A few more bars played until the notes started rising and were soon joined by some electronic sounds. Instead of the usual louds beats she knew from the genre, Octavia listened as they were more subtle and blended in well with the sounds of her cello. She found herself closing her eyes and letting the whole thing wash over her as it played.

Once the song was over, the unicorn waited until Octavia had opened her eyes again to get a response.

“So, what do you think?”

Octavia looked at Vinyl, trying to think of what to say. She wanted to tell Vinyl how amazing it was, how incredible it sounded to her, but there was a lingering question that nagged at her.

“How did you get my playing in the song?”

Vinyl couldn’t help but look down at that, a slight tint growing on her cheeks that matched the shade of her eyes.

“I…recorded you playing once… and used that as the base for the mix.”

Octavia got up and moved closer to Vinyl.

“Why?” Vinyl’s blush grew.

“I thought that if I made something from your playing…you might like electronic music a little better…plusIreallylikeitwhenyouplayyourcello…”

“What was that?”

“I said…’I really like it when you play your cello’…” If it was possible, Vinyl’s blush grew in intensity.

“I-I like it when you play your own songs, not something other ponies wrote. All that other classical stuff puts me to sleep, but when you play…I like listening to you.”

The earth pony stood there looking at the unicorn astonished at the revelation, and also astonished at the warmth she was feeling from hearing those words. It was the familiar warmth she had felt whenever the two had spent time together, only this time it was stronger. Her eyes widened when she realized what it was she was feeling, and it was confirmed more when Vinyl spoke her next words.

“I like you Octi. I love you”

Vinyl bowed her head in shame after that admitting her feelings, not wanting to look the other mare in the eyes for fear of seeing rejection or anger or disgust from the other mare. Octavia, however, wanted to look into Vinyl’s eyes and see the caring and compassion the unicorn felt for her. She moved just a little closer to the DJ.

“Vinyl, look at me”

The unicorn shook her head, not wanting to face rejection just yet. Octavia knew she was going to have to do something to make Vinyl look up; only on thought came to her mind. Octavia leaned towards Vinyl and gently placed a kiss on her cheek, making the unicorns head shoot up to look at her. Finally having the other mare’s attention, Octavia smiled.

“I love you too, Vinyl”

Vinyl stood there stunned for a few seconds until tears started forming in her eyes. Octavia grew worried for a moment until she saw smile also grace the unicorns face, and then leap forward to embrace her. They held each other close for what seemed like forever until Vinyl pulled back, her eyes still wet, to look at Octavia, and then as if silently communicating, they both leaned towards each other and shared a sweet kiss. It lasted a minute, or maybe an hour, neither one knew as they were both simply enjoying the moment in each other’s embrace, knowing that they both shared feelings for each other and that neither wanted to be anywhere else than with each other, sharing in their passions for music and in the life that both would have together from now on.

By Ratsenkio

It was the Winter Moon Celebration, the first to be celebrated after the return of Princess Luna, and thus, she had decided that she would make a party worthy of being remembered.

"Come on, Lyra! You know I don't really like classical music." whined Vinyl.

"Yes, I know. But my friend Octavia is different. I'm pretty sure you'll like her music," said Lyra, "She is one of the greatest cellist in Equestria. You could say it's the you of classical music."

"If you say so." said an unconvinced Vinyl.

"Besides, with Bonnie stuck in the kitchen, what can I do that could be more interesting than presenting my best friend to my other best friend." said a Lyra with a silly smile in her muzzle.

Vinyl had been selected to be the dj of the party.

That being said, the party was divided in several themes. One of them was where Vinyl had been playing for several hours now.

Vinyl, at the moment, was walking with Lyra through the party. It was finally Vinyl’s rest and Lyra had been bothering her with meeting this celllist friend of hers. While she didn’t have anything against classical, she hadn’t found any redeeming qualities to it either.

To her, it always felt like reading out loud from a school book. That is to say, boring and without any kind of passion.

“So, what’s so great about this friend of yours?” asked Vinyl.

“Oh, you’ll see.” replied Lyra with a knowing smile, “You won’t have to wait much more. We’re already here.”

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFx-5PGLgb4 It’s more of a joke, but it goes perfect with it!
Leave it or take it as you wish.)

There on the stage was Octavia, playing by herself.

To Vinyl, time seemed to have stopped completely and the crowd, even Lyra herself, had vanished. It was a world for Vinyl and Octavia.

“That’s not a mare,” though Vinyl, “is an angel creating music. And what music, I never heard something so alive, so full of passion.”

“So what do you think?” asked Lyra to an open-mouth Vinyl.

“I think I’m in love.” was all Vinyl could whisper.

Regretfully, Octavia’s song ended and that put Vinyl out of her trance.

Vinyl seeing that a hour was already gone alone with her rest, she did the only thing a sensible pony would do in her situation.

“Buck! I’m late.” She cried as she run to resume playing. Leaving a confused Lyra by herself.

Thankfully for Lyra, appeared by her side a few minutes later.

“So! Where’s Vinyl?” asked a happy Octavia.

“You just missed her, she had to return to her music.” said Lyra, “Don’t worry though, you can still see her after the party.”

“You didn’t say anything weird did you?” asked a suspecting Octavia, “Like I have a crush on her or something like that?”

“I knew it!” exclaimed Lyra, “when I took you to her show you keep blabbering about her through and after the show.”

“That’s beside the point.” said a red-cheeked, “Besides, she would never like me back. It’s just a silly crush.” finished now a sad Octavia.

“Oh, you would be surprised!” said a grinning Lyra.

By palaikai

Soft violet eyes stared out at the myriad puddles formed in the cracks of the train station's one and only platform; the soft hiss of steam was the only sound, and it wouldn't be long before … “Mares and gentlecolts,” the chirpy announcement began, “we apologise for the delay. The train from Ponyville to Canterlot is now ready for boarding.”

The conductor made one final inspection of the boiler's innards before nodding to the mechanic, who swiftly sealed it up. “Miss,” he said to Octavia, who was lost in her own little world. “Are you all right?”

“Hm?” replied Octavia, shaking her head. No amount of bobbing could pry free those dark thoughts which had become lodged in there as of late. “Yes, sorry.”

“The train is ready.”

“Thank you.”

Octavia sighed, pulling herself unwillingly to her hooves and pushing the trolley containing her one and only possession in the direction of the locomotive. To be the best at something meant making a few sacrifices.

The grey mare paid no heed to the clusters of ponies making their way to the passenger compartment as she headed toward the luggage carriage; a burly earth pony was there to help with the more awkward baggage, and Octavia thanked him as they manoeuvred the bulky case into position.

Just as she was about to place a hoof on the step leading to the passenger section, a shrill cry broke through the oppressive silence. She perked up her ears, and soon enough, the sound repeated itself. “OCTAVIA! WAIT!” She'd been expecting this, but hadn't looked forward to it. Not once during the trip from home to the station had she looked back, but now, she was being given no choice in the matter.

Making sure her face was perfectly neutral, she turned to greet the white unicorn mare with the wild blue mane who was pushing her way through the milling ponies to get to the train. “Vinyl.” She isn't wearing her glasses.

“Just a sec',” Vinyl replied, holding up a foreleg to ward of any chatter while she tried to get her breath back. Long nights partying and drinking weren't conducive to good health, and the mad sprint across Ponyville had left her winded. In one long stream, she blurted, “Howcouldyouleavemewithoutsayinganything.”

Octavia looked at her blankly. “I'm sorry?”

“So you should be,” Vinyl said darkly, panting now from anger rather than breathlessness. “Just a note. Not even … am I not even worth a proper goodbye to you? Did our time together mean so little? Was I just another notch on the bedpost?”

This was something that Octavia had been hoping to avoid. This was the one thing stopping her from going to Canterlot and fulfilling her heart's desire. This was why she'd written a blasted note and snuck out of the house in the early hours of the morning. If only the train hadn't been under maintenance, she would've been halfway to Canterlot and its fabulous orchestra by now. Her old life a fading memory in the distance. But no such luck.

“You don't have to go back there,” said Vinyl, her cool demeanour all but destroyed in a flood of tears.

“Yes, I do,” Octavia replied, trying to maintain a degree of stoicism. She understood now why Vinyl hadn't worn her trademark sunglasses: she'd wanted her to see this. The raw emotion on her face. The side of herself no one but Octavia was privy to.

A pair of hooves latched on to her waist as Octavia attempted to board the train. The conductor was looking at them with an icy expression and he tapped his fetlock despite there being no watch there. Vinyl wasn't all that strong, and Octavia could break her grip easily enough … but something other than the desperate DJ was holding her back. “Vinyl, I'm sorry. I know it was cowardly of me to break up with you in this way, but … I have to go. Please, let me go.”

“I don't want to.”

The wail broke Octavia's heart, but her spirit refused to be bowed; with everything she had, she tore herself away from Vinyl's grasp and boarded the train.

Glass separated the two. Octavia refused to look, not wanting to see those impossibly-confident eyes reduced to abject despair.

She looked.

Vinyl mouthed three words as the train began to pull away from the station.

A solitary tear slid down Octavia's cheek as she repeated them.

By Cobalt Ravenscroft

“Come oooon, Octi,” the mint green unicorn begged.

“Please don’t call me ‘Octi’, Lyra,” Octavia calmly scolded her friend, “you know I don’t like it.”

“Sorry, but just one night,” Lyra got down on her hind legs, her fore hooves raised towards the grey earth pony, “my friend’s playing at this new club, and I really don’t want to go alone.”

“Why not just ask Bon Bon?” Octavia asked, almost encouragingly.

“She’s ill, she said she wouldn’t be much fun,” Lyra sank to her haunches, defeated.

Seeing her friend like that softened Octavia, just enough for her to give in to the, quite frankly, ludicrous request, “Uhh, fine, I’ll do it.”

“Yes!” Lyra cheered, forgetting her brief sadness.

This is going to be a long night, Octavia thought to herself as Lyra skipped around her in circles, repeating the word “yes” over and over again.

“Are you sure that’s what you’re wearing, Octavia?” Lyra questioned as the mares were about to leave.

“Of course, what’s wrong with my bow?” Octavia was wearing her signature white collar and pink bow and nothing else, save for some subtle makeup. Her charcoal mane had also been straightened as much as the natural flick in it would allow. Lyra, on the other hoof, wore garish yellow neon stockings on her forehooves and had done seemingly nothing to her mane, except made it messier.

“It’s just…” Lyra struggled to find the right words, “not that kind of place.”

“I’m well aware, Lyra, but it doesn’t mean I have to lower my standards,” Octavia retorted.

“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The outside had read “The Cosy Mare”. The inside screamed lots of ponies getting very cosy with one another on what appeared to be a dance floor, but there was no order to the movements, every mare and stallion choosing their own way to move and grind from the cacophony of noise emitting from far too many speakers. At least that’s what Octavia saw. The music, if you could call it that, held no obvious rhythm or clear indication of when one song ended or another started, at least to Octavia’s classically trained ears.

Lyra saw her friend wasn’t moving on her own, too busy being overwhelmed by Canterlot’s latest up-and-coming nightclub, so she nudged her in the direction of the nearest booth, Octavia’s autopilot doing the rest.

When she was sat down and no longer staring wide-eyed at everything with her mouth agape, Lyra broke the ‘silence’ between them, “DO YOU WANT A DRINK?!” she tried to shout over the music, somehow succeeding.

“Yes please,” Octavia tried to speak at her usual volume, but the club drowned her out. Her nod, though, was enough for Lyra who disappeared into the crowd of ponies, who all seemed to be dressed in a similar fashion to the unicorn.

While she was alone and hidden away in the small cushioned booth, Octavia attempted to take in her surroundings again: lots of sweaty ponies all rubbing against each other, a strange dance she couldn’t identify though she doubted any of it was practiced beforehoof, a distinct smell of alcohol in the air and something else she couldn’t identify, it smelled herbal though, maybe somepony else had spruced themselves up. And then there was that music, that noise, that was both unpleasant yet strangely intoxicating. It made Octavia’s body want to move on its own but her mind told her hooves “no!”.

Before she could investigate further, Lyra came back with two fruity-looking drinks floating in her magic, both smelling of alcohol, Octavia noticed. The music seemed to lower to a more acceptable level, allowing ponies to engage in conversation briefly.

“Here you go,” Lyra offered one of the drinks to grey mare, who accepted nervously.

Octavia took a sip, but immediately removed the drink from her face, pulling a very childish face showing her disliking of the flavour, “What even is this?!” she held the offending glass at a comfortable distance from her face so none would try and get back in her mouth.

“I think the mare behind the bar called it a Berrypolitan, not sure what’s in it though,” Lyra sheepishly replied, “go on, have another taste.”

Because she was such a good friend, Octavia did. And another. It seemed the drink got more acceptable over time as more and more of the fruity flavour came through.

“That’s the spirit,” Lyra cheered as the drink slowly disappeared from Octavia’s glass.

As the mares sat and enjoyed their drinks, a voice came over the top of the music, “Okay ponies,” a mare’s voice, but with a very odd tone, “DJ-PON3 is gonna take a break now, but wub on and I’ll be back later!” Cheers rose from the crowd as the music went back up to the original level from earlier.

“COME ON!” Lyra once again shouted over the music, leaving her drink on the table and motioning for Octavia to follow her. She put her now empty glass on the table before slowly making her way out of the booth after Lyra. They made their way through countless ponies, each at a different level of drunk and disorderly, drunk being very common in the crowd. At one point, Octavia felt a hoof stroking along her flank, but before she could turn around to reprimand the culprit Lyra had dragged her into a side room.

The room was much quieter than the main room with much nicer furnishings. Sat on a red sofa was a white unicorn mare with the most unkempt mane and tail Octavia had ever seen. It was two tones of blue, one dark and the other electric, and it stuck out like spikes from the mare’s head. Even though they were inside and it was dark out, the white unicorn wore large purple sunglasses over her eyes, making it impossible for anypony to know where she was looking, but Octavia thought she was looking right back at her, observing her in the same way.

“Who’s your friend, LyLy?” the mare asked in that same voice that had come out of the speakers a minute earlier.

“This is Octavia,” Lyra gestured with her hoof, “she’s in the orchestra with me.”

“Oh,” she replied as she rose from the sofa, “I like a classy mare. Name’s Vinyl Scratch, babe.” Vinyl offered her hoof to the new mare, assuming she knew what a hoof bump was.

Octavia shook the offered hoof, as was how she was taught to greet somepony, “A pleasure, Miss Scratch, though I would prefer it if you didn’t call me ‘babe’.”

“No sweat, Tavi,” the DJ flashed a cocky grin.

“My real name is just fine.”

“But it’s so formal,” Vinyl complained, “what about Octi?”

“N-,” was all Octavia could force out before her brain went into a mild shutdown, her usual pet hate sounding so sweet coming from the arrogant, abrasive and obnoxious mare. How dare she even try and use that name!

Lyra, watching on from a few feet away, began to back away as she noticed the tell-tale signs that Octavia was about to lose her cool: the little twitch of her ears, the distant look slowly focusing on Vinyl, and most of all, her smile completely fading from her face. This is going to get messy, she thought as her rump made it to Vinyl’s red sofa.

“Can you not get it through your thick skull, mare?!” she was off, and very little could stop Octavia once she started, “My name is Octavia Treble Philharmonica, one of the greatest classical musicians of this generation and you will do well to respect that, Vinyl, the disk jockey of some club who will probably be replaced by the month’s end!” There was now a small hole in the wooden floor where Octavia had stamped her hoof multiple times during her outburst.

After some time to comprehend what she’d just seen and heard, a new smile found its way onto Vinyl’s face, “You know, Octavia Treble Philharmonica, you’re cute when you’re mad.”

Lyra was now sat behind the sofa with a large bucket of popcorn she had found from somewhere, watching the storm brew between the two mares, her two oldest friends. No matter how much she wanted to stop this, she couldn’t resist watching just to see the outcome.

“You are such a… such a…” Octavia paused to find the right insult, “such an ass.”

“Name calling?” Vinyl raised an eyebrow, “Not very ‘proper’ of you, but I can work with that, you snob.”

“Charlatan.”

“Boring cellist.”

“Scum.”

“Upper-class witch.”

“That doesn’t even make sense!”

Vinyl just shrugged, making Octavia think she had won. The cellist turned around to leave on her current high note, but then Vinyl found something else to call her, “Sexy flank.”

51 Leap by Cobalt Ravenscroft

Leap by Cobalt Ravenscroft

Canterlot. Home of the Royal Sisters and Canterlot castle. Like most days, it was exceptionally sunny with a pleasant breeze blowing through the streets between the tall buildings. Nothing unusual was happening here, especially not two mares standing on top of one of the taller buildings of the south district wearing body-concealing white robes, nope, nothing strange here.

“Are you sure this is absolutely necessary, Vinyl?” one of the mares said to the other.

“If you want to be an Assassin, Octi,” Vinyl replied, “you gotta do it.” She was enjoying this far too much for how much her friend was suffering.

“But couldn’t we, I don’t know, not try to leap from the top of our apartment block into the swimming pool across the road?!” Octavia screamed at her marefriend and her insane idea of an initiation.

Vinyl put a hoof to her chin in thought, “When you put it like that, it does sound a bit nuts,” she mused, “but that just makes it all the more fun!” At any over point in time, Octavia would love to see Vinyl smiling, but right now it made this whole experience all the more terrifying.

“But… but what if… what if I,” the thought was now at the forefront of the grey mare’s mind, “what if I die, Vinyl?” Her eyes were filled with tears, but Vinyl knew exactly what to do for her.

“Come her, babe,” Vinyl motioned for Octavia to come closer for a hug and she couldn’t have accepted quicker.

The two of them sat there for a few minutes, Vinyl slowly stroking Octavia’s smoky mane as she openly sobbed into the white mare’s coat.

Still in their embrace, Vinyl spoke up softly, “I’ve done this jump plenty of times, Octi,” she attempted to soothe Octi’s worrying mind, “and besides, it ain’t called a leap of faith for nothing.”

“I know, I have watched you, dear,” Octavia’s voice was muffled by Vinyl’s robes, “I’m just scared.”

“Believe me, I was scared my first time, too,” Vinyl reassured her, “but it gets better each time until you stop noticing the fear.”

They sat there for a few minutes more until Octavia broke the hug, “I think I’m ready, Vinyl.”

“Atta girl,” she half cheered, not wanting to scare Octavia any more than she already was, “the jump zone’s all marked ready, just take your time, line up the jump then take a run up, you’ll do just fine.”

“Can we do something special tonight?” Octi asked hopefully.

“Already got the table booked.”

“I love you, Vinyl,” Octavia embraced Vinyl again.

“Love you too, Tavi,” Vinyl said, completing the embrace.

“Okay, I can do this,” Octavia said to herself quietly as she looked over the edge and at the swimming pool below, “for Vinyl.”

She moved to the opposite end of the roof, took a deep breath, and ran. She leapt off the edge, feeling the wind rush through her mane as her hood came off. Time slowed as the pool came into view, closer and closer.

Splash.

53 Sonata by lyra_lover777

Sonata by lyra_lover777

Sonata Dusk waded through the tall, golden grass, whistling quietly to herself.

After the three's amulets had been destroyed, they had moved far away from Canterlot High , setting up shop in a rural town in the Northwest.

The three were currently on a camping trip. Aria was back at the campfire, twisting her hair while she roasted marshmallows. Meanwhile, Adagio was in the trailer with her newest boyfriend, a ripped, cream skinned quarterback.

Sonata's eyes finally caught her prize.

A shining light, reflecting the moon's glow, was stuffed in the long, wavering grass.

She picked it up slowly.

It was a little orb. Red, orange, and pink light swam around in its center, contained by its cool glass surface.

She touched it softly.

Suddenly the light rushed to her fingertip. She screeched, her finger burning, as she blacked out and disappeared in a flash of blinding light.

She groaned, rubbing her head while she staggered to her feet.

She fell against a cold trash can, several rats scurrying out from under the metal bin.

Sonata shook visibly, and then attempted to walk once more.

She looked down at her legs to see that she had none.

She gasped. She was once again a Siren.

She peeked out from behind the graffiti filled brick wall. Pastel colored ponies passed by, laughing and enjoying the happiness the wretched magic of friendship brought to their land.

Suddenly she felt her skin start to flake.

She needed water.

Now.

She saw a couple, a alabaster unicorn and a mare with a coat like a rumbling thunder cloud. They were headed towards...

Sonata gasped.

A water park.

She looked for something to hide herself.

There was a big cardboard box, and some old, smelly jackets resided within it.

She carefully pushed herself into the box, and then she draped the coats over her to hide her dolphin like form.

She then scooted out of the alleyway, hiding behind a bulky pegasus that looked crazily like Adagio's current boyfriend.

She hid behind him until they reached the front gate of the water park.

She peeked from under the musty coats to see sparkling pools of refreshing, bluish water.

She leapt from the box, jumping over the fence with ease.

She flopped wildly on the ground, knocking a lost filly into the bushes.

Her skin was unbearably dry, and the concrete ground wasn't helping her case.

She gave one last whinny and plopped into the nearest pool.

Right on top of the couple she had seen earlier.

The one with the shocking blue mane screamed, her screams of "SHARK!!!" sounding through the park.

And the gray one fainted, falling limp in the calm pool.

Sonata gasped, enjoying the feel.

Then ponies swarmed around her.

This is gonna be fun she thought as she slapped the first attacker with her scaly tail.

55 Hero by lyra_lover777

Hero by lyra_lover777

"What do you mean?!" Vinyl screeched, her earbuds that had been stringed around her neck slipping and clattering to the floor.

"I-i'm sick of it!" Octavia said, collapsing on the old, worn couch.

"But why?" Vinyl said. She realized her outburst hadn't helped one bit, and she calmed down, ponied up, and snuggled against Octavia.

"Hmm?"

"It's just, well-" Octavia started before getting to her hooves, making Vinyl fall off the couch.

"Oww!" Vinyl whined, but Octavia was already gone, gone in her mind, as she kept talking.

"-Well, I hate the publicity! I may be a noble, but all these innumerable dinners and galas and art openings and auctions and-and it's just to much!"

"But ponies look up to you! You're like their-their role model, their-"

Vinyl was ready to keep talking, but Octavia had already left.

"Real mature, Octy!" Vinyl shouted, pursuing her marefriend into their bedroom.

Octy had locked the door. Vinyl pounded on it insistently, anger coursing though he rveins as she heard Octavia unlock her cello case.

The bow struck the strings, a harsh whisper emitting.

But then it became a tearing noise, and splitting wood.

Now Vinyl was scared. She raced through the house, retrieving a tarnished key from under the sink, and rushed back to the door, unlocking it with a click.

Octy lay on the ground, the remains of her cello only shreds around her.

She was balling, tears rolling down her face.

All the anger left Vinyl, and she picked her way across the valley of wooden shreds to her weeping love.

She nuzzled against Octy, breathing in her smell.

"I-i just couldn't take it," Octavia whimpered.

Vinyl nodded solemnly.

"-You were their hero, Octy, Their hero."

58 3rd Date by Ratsenkio

3rd Date by Ratseknio

“Coming” said Rarity at the pony on the other side.

Rarity opened the front door of the boutique to find Octavia on the other side.

“Why hello Octavia, darling.”

“Hello Rarity. I’m sorry for this unannounced visit. I need help with a little problem of mine.” said Octavia.

“Don’t worry about it. Now, what seems to be the problem?” asked Rarity. “Come, take a seat. Tea?”

“No, thank you. I’ll try to be out of your mane as quick as possible.” said Octavia, “The problem is, do you remember Vinyl?”

“If you mean the mare that you were having lunch with the other day, then yes. Can’t say I talked much with her though.”

“Well, you see. Tonight is our third date.” said a red faced Octavia.

“And what is the problem then? To me it seems like you are doing well on your own.”

“I’ll repeat myself. It’s our third date” said Octavia again, making emphasis in third date.

“So, you need a dress? I’m afraid I don’t follow, darling” replied Rarity.

“Isn’t one supposed to have semhmmhm” tried to speak Octavia but found impossible because of a pink hoof in her mouth.

“Hi dashie! Want can I do for you today?” asked Pinkie Pie behind the counter of Sugarcube Corner.

“For me the usual and for Twi… Pinkie?” asked a confused Rainbow. All that was left of Pinkie was a little folded paper saying “Be right back!”

“Pinkie Pie! What did I said about appearing out of nowhere?” asked Rarity in a stern voice.

“That is wrong and sometimes it scares ponies.” said Pinkie with a little frown. “Either way, Tavi you can’t say that! There are kids watching!”

“What? What kids? Pinkie?” asked Octavia to the air. Pinkie Pie was already gone.

Pinkie appeared from behind the counter.

“There you are Pinkie! Where were you?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Sorry! I was preventing a disaster” said Pinkie with a grin.

“Sure… Either way, I want the usual and Twi… Oh come on!” cried Dash. Pinkie once again ducking behind the counter and disappearing.

“That was weird” said Octavia.
“No, that was just Pinkie. You were saying?” said Rarity.

“Oh, yes. Tomorrow is our third date and isn’t it supposed to be when you *looks left and right* do it?” finished in a whisper.

“Not really, it depends on each couple. I mean look at Twilight and Rain… Forget that last part, please.” said Rarity.

“Alright... I mean, I like her a lot, I’m even willing to say that I love her. And we’ve known each other for a long time even before dating. But I’m not sure I’m ready.” said a red cheeked Octavia.

“Look darling. As much as I would love to help you, that’s something that I really can’t help you with.” said Rarity, “this is something that you should talk with her. The only thing I can really say is that I’m happy for you and I hope everything goes well with her.” finished with a smile.

“Thank you, and don’t you think you didn’t help. Just talking to you has done wonders for my nerves.” Octavia said as they stood and trotted to the door, “Thank you for your time. Now I got a date to get ready for. Goodbye Rarity.” finished Octavia as she left the boutique.

“Goodbye, Octavia darling. Hope everything goes well.”

Rarity closed the door.

“Now Pinkie, I swear that I didn’t intend to break that Pinkie Promise with Rainbow.” said a frightened.

“I hope so...” And with that Pinkie vanished in the shadows.

59 Question by Michelle Twistaloo

Question by Michelle Twistaloo

“You like her don’t you?”

The reaction was instantaneous, and not totally controlled by the pony to whom the question was directed to. A splurging of juices, sugar, and anything else that had went into the milkshake, mixed not 10 minutes earlier, hung now not in her stomach, but on the face of the questioner.

“O...kay, I’ll ignore that.” – The questioner, named Lyra, said as she used some of her magic to try and clean her face, before it dried out and stuck to her fur. – “But the fact remains, if you like her, you got to ask her out...”

Octavia wasn’t one to have such extremes reactions to anything but tardiness, certainly not to one innocent question, yet her body had betrayed her feelings, and those had shown via a milkshake coming out in rapid sucession. Yet, despite that, she was sure she could hide away the truth, if she could get calm.

“I certainly don’t!” – And her speech, which for a human would be affected by a monotone equivalent to a British one, came out loud, and clear, certainly not contrived and awkward, or tinted by emotion, for the most part. – “I may spend some quality time with her, but that doesn’t mean I have romantic feelings for her.”

“But you need to!” – And Lyra, which had mostly found success in removing the spit and juices out her face brought out a hoof from under the table, placed there due to the peculiar she sat.

“Well, I’m not going to, so...”

It was a subject Lyra brought out an awful lot, too many times for Octavia’s liking. She had taken Lyra for what she was - a peculiar mare, with peculiar interests and fantasies – but she would never have thought her a matchmaker. Either way she wouldn’t fall to her intense questioning and admit her feelings, that most certainly weren’t there, for the other mare.

As routines went, that one wasn’t too bad, Lyra would bring out the subject, almost religiously, to the point of annoyance, Octavia would dismiss it, despite the bubbling feeling in her rib cage, Lyra would press and push, trying to let her give something up, Octavia wouldn’t falter, and Lyra would eventually give it up and they could finally spend some quality time discussing gossips or the like. It was after that that Octavia would return to her empty house, and mostly just either play the Cello or read one of her romantic novels, where the dashing and well built stallion would take the heroine in a magic fueled carpet ride dream sequence, or something like that.
Because she wasn’t going to bring out the question, not now, not never.

Because she didn’t feel it, and even if she did, she wasn’t raised to love, she was raised to be a high society mare. And those don’t go around dating someone they meet on a secluded bar somewhere, no matter what Lyra said.

She just had to forget the question,“Want to go out?”.

60 Dinner by Treblemaker

Dinner by Treblemaker

Once upon a time, there was a door. This door had lived a full life, and had seen many interesting things and ponies through it. Carved from oak, and finished with a red mahogany resin this door was once considered beautiful when it was first made. That was a long time ago, and now it’s lackluster shine, and slightly creaking hinges told a story of it’s own. Nothing in the door’s life had prepared it for this.
　　A swift buck, it’s hinges squealed in protest, and the poor door flew open. In charged a grey earth pony, practically dancing at high velocity. With a sing song voice she sang out to no one in particular, “She does! She does! She wants to go to dinner!” Another impromptu dance led her further into the house. “Scratchie is going on a date with me! Oh, wait, are nicknames weird before the first date? Buck it, I don’t care. I’m going on a date with Scratchie! We’re going to a formal resteraunt, and she’s going to wear makeup and I’m going to wear.... Wait, what am I going to wear!”
　　Having collected itself after such an entrance, the door felt itself slam open again, with the pony charging at nearly sonic rainboom speeds, yelling down the street, “RARITY!!!!!”

61 Stars by Cobalt Ravenscroft

Stars by Cobalt Ravenscroft

A camping trip. What a pleasant idea for a weekend. A nice change of pace was exactly what Octavia needed, and even Vinyl seemed to be enjoying herself, a good thing too, since this was her idea.

There was one rule, though. Only one item that wasn’t deemed ‘necessary’ each. For Octavia, it was obviously going to be her cello and her earth pony strength meant it didn’t bother her too much. It wasn’t such an easy choice for Vinyl, since she couldn’t choose between her glasses and portable mixing decks, but once Octi had pointed out that there was no electricity in the countryside the decks had stayed at home.

They had chosen a small spot just outside Ponyville, a quaint town with very different ideals than what Octavia was used to with Canterlot but Vinyl had always spoke highly of the rural beauty spot. Dinner had gone well, for beans on toast, that is, and Octavia had treated the warm summer evening to some of her more uplifting cello pieces.
Both mares soon grew tired and before thinking about going to sleep, they lay back on the grass, shoulder to shoulder and gazed up at the stars.

“I love the stars, Octi,” Vinyl spoke up quietly, “they remind me that no matter how bad Princess Luna felt before she returned she still wants to make her night as beautiful as she can, for all ponies like me who enjoy her night as much as she does.”

Vinyl was being oddly philosophical, but she spoke up again before Octavia could tell her so, “It also reminds me of how happy I make ponies with what I do, since nopony wants to rave in the day, and how happy I can make you after you’ve had a bad day, or when Harpo’s been himself again. That’s what I think when I see the stars, babe. What do you think about?” She rolled over to face her marefriend.

Octavia thought long and hard before she answered, and Vinyl loved it when she made her adorable, scrunched up face, especially when Octi didn’t know she was doing it.

“I think, Vinyl,” she started thoughtfully, “that somepony forgot our BUCKING TENT!” She turned to face Vinyl with an angry glare, muzzles inches apart, waiting for a response.

“Uhh…” not the best start Vinyl, she thought to herself, “I didn’t think it was necessary?”

The joke was in bad taste and she knew it, but Octavia was a reasonable mare, “Fine then, you are keeping me warm tonight.” She snuggled into her marefriend’s hooves, curling herself into as small a ball as she could manage, but being the bigger of the two made it a little difficult.

Ha, knew it wasn’t necessary, Vinyl thought as the two of them fell asleep slowly as the small campfire flickered down to embers.

62 Island by Ratsenkio

Island by Ratsenkio

“I’m sick of your high and mighty attitude!” screamed Vinyl to a crying Octavia,

“This is it Octavia, I don’t even know how I put up with you. It’s over.” and with that final phrase Vinyl turned around and went away.

“Vinyl!” cried Octavia to no avail, Vinyl was already gone never to be seen again.

“You’re just too out of control!” screamed Octavia to a crying Vinyl.

“I’m sick of it, I don’t even know how I could like a low life DJ like you. Farewell Vinyl.” and with that final phrase Octavia turned around and went away.

“Octavia!” cried Vinyl to no avail, Octavia was already gone never to be seen again.

“Well, it seems this has gone long enough.” said a mysterious voice.

“Who is that?” asked Octavia, still not lifting her head while tears streamed her cheeks.

“It’s us. Princess Luna, my dear pony. We have come to realize that you have been having nightmares for a few night now”.

“I did, but why and how are you in it?” asked Vinyl while drying the last of her tears. Her cheeks still porting the obscured lines that only comes with wet fur.

“That's easy, my little pony. As the princess of the night we also guard the dreams of our subjects. Protecting them from the terrors of the night, such as nightmares.” responded Luna.

“You see, when ponies fear or have insecurities about something, they tend to have nightmares.”

“It makes sense, I’ve been insecure for a few days now.” said Octavia.

“Care to share?” asked Luna “Maybe we can be of help. It is our duty after all.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it your highness. Its just a silly problem” responded Octavia.

“It may not be as silly as you think. It does seem to be the root of your nightmares. Please tell me about it.” said Luna.

“It’s only that I started living with my marefriend a few days ago and I’m really scared that she comes to dislike me if she stays with me all day long.” said Octavia and Vinyl at the same time. Much to the surprise of each other.

“Vinyl, what are you doing in my dream?” asked a baffled Octavia.

“What are you doing in my dream? I was talking with Princess Luna,” asked an equally surprised Vinyl.

“What? I was talking with her too!” Exclaimed Octavia.

While that little exchange was taking place, Luna’s face had been morphing from a knowing smile to a full grin, to the point that she could no longer contain her laughter.

“How is this possible?” asked both Octavia and Vinyl at the same time to the laughing Luna.

“You see, my little ponies. Dreams are not isolated from the dreams of others. It’s more like an ocean of infinite dimensions with the dreams of each being being like a little island in it surface.” explained Luna, “Sometimes when two ponies say that they had the same dreams, means that one of them unconsciously ended up in the other’s island. And the dream is shaped at the imagination of both of them.”

“Then why are we both with you right now if we didn’t share the same dream.” asked Octavia.

“Please, We are the princess of the night. To move one pony from his dream to another one's is mere foal’s play if one knows where to look.” explained Luna.

“Now, if you excuse us. We still have to watch other ponies dreams. Furthermore, we are sure you need to speak with each other.” said Luna before taking flight. Right before they were out of view, she turned around to see the two mares kissing.

“Ah, young love.”

63 Power by palaikai

Power by palaikai

All Octavia wanted to do was rehearse; the performance was only a couple of days away now, and she wanted to be at her absolute best. And it wasn't because she wanted to impress a bunch of moronic Canterlot snobs who couldn't tell the difference between a violin and a viola, but for her own sense of self-satisfaction. Making music was more than just a talent, it was the very core of her existence.

It was understood by all within the household that, when she was practicing, the basement studio was off-limits to all; even if Ponyville should come under attack by a shape-shifting demonic entity from beyond the ninth dimension, NO PONY WAS TO DISTURB THE SANCTITY OF HER LAIR. True, such things were few and far between – and mostly handled by the Elements of Harmony – but it held fast as a general rule for domestic bliss.

The desk in front of her, bathed in the relaxing beige glow of a work-lamp, was strewn with white; sheet music that had been annotated, scribbled, scrawled, balled-up, tossed, unfurled … all sorts of abuse had been visited upon the poor, innocent sheaves of paper, but they were necessary casualties in Octavia's war against mediocrity. She would accept nothing less than her best, even if it meant pushing her tired, tense body through one more sleepless night.
One more night without warmth and comfort. One more night without a tangle of limbs, working up a sweat, a soft gasp puncturing the silent darkness ...
Listlessly, the greyish earth pony strummed the bow against the strings of her cello. “No,” she said barely a moment later, hefting a sigh of irritation skywards. All of her music as of late had been sounding … same-y. She needed something new, something unexpected. She hastily made a few alterations. A diminished fifth here, a major third there, and soon Octavia was playing something with a bit more life to it.

A creaking noise cut through her sensitive ears, making her wince. Somepony had just opened the door to her practice chamber. Octavia decided not to turn around; logically, she knew that there was only one pony in all of Equestria who could be so brazen as to ignore repeated warnings – repeated threats of grevious bodily harm inflicted with a ten kilogram cello case – so she felt no need to actually confirm her suspicions. Instead, Octavia decided to silently stew. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
The battle was already over, anyway. As soon as you gave your opponent the power to make you mad, you'd already lost. It was just a question of how you chose to accept defeat. You could either be graceful, or you could go down fighting.

A white unicorn with a mane of wild blue hair sat opposite her, appraising Octavia with a sly grin. The earth pony sensed that Vinyl's eyes were going to be laden with mischief, but it was impossible to tell for certain with her trademark sunglasses in place.

Operation: Annoy Octavia was clearly a go.

Resting her head on a hoof, Vinyl was content to watch her marefriend at work; Octavia still wasn't acknowledging her existence, instead she continued to pluck tunelessly and occasionally make small corrections to her notes. In fact, if Vinyl hadn't known better, she would've assumed that Octavia was doing a pretty good job of pretending that she wasn't there at all.

Poke.

The gesture is nothing more than a light tap with the pointed tip of her hoof, but it provoked no reaction whatsoever from Octavia. Vinyl furrowed her brow in confusion. Maybe I was TOO gentle?

POKE.
This time, the blow was enough to compress the soft, yielding flesh of Octavia's shoulder. There was no way she didn't feel that one.

Still no response. Maybe she's in The Zone and won't do anything no matter WHAT I do to her?

A series of pokes that became too legion to number later, and still nothing from Octavia, Vinyl began to pout. The attention that she was failing to get from the earth pony was only serving to fuel her desire to elicit some type of reaction form her. Clenching her jaw, her foreleg snaked out until the flat of her hoof was pressed against Octavia's cheek.

“What?” demanded Octavia sternly, turning to face Vinyl with an expression of anger masking her normally beautiful, classically elegant features. Her eyes were narrowed and dangerous, and she clutched the bow as if wondering where best to deploy it against Vinyl's body to cause maximum damage.

“Nothing,” Vinyl replied, the unicorn maintaining a steadfast calm under the circumstances. She tilted her sunglasses slightly so that Octavia could get a good look at the humour in her eyes. “Just wanted to make sure you were still alive in there, that's all.”

Her eyebrow twitching slightly, Octavia returned to her work. There were very few things in Equestria that could get under her skin in this way, but Vinyl Scratch was one of them. She often found herself torn between wanting to smack her upside the head for her boorish mannerims and ravaging her in a senseless, passionate fury because she was just so damned sexy.

“Have you ever thought about playing a smaller instrument?” asked Vinyl, an edge of light flirtation creeping into her tone as her eyes widened suggestively. “Something a bit more portable, perhaps? I mean, lugging that big, ol' case around with you everywhere you go has got to get pretty tiring.”

“At the moment,” Octavia said, forcing a calmness into her voice that she wasn't really feeling, “all I'm thinking about is how much of a mess it would be if I murdered you in cold blood right now.”

“That's not very nice,” replied the unicorn with a smirk tugging at the corner of her muzzle. Octavia's so cute when she gets nasty. Must be why I love winding her up so much.

Octavia shot her a look that was a mixture of irritation and pleading.

“All right, all right,” Vinyl finally said after a moment's hesitation, “I get it. You're working. You don't want to be bothered. I'll go.” She finished her little spiel with a grin so wide that you could practically hear the squee.

“Thank you,” the earth pony said quietly, releasing a breath she didn't even realise she was holding.

Vinyl waited. Waited for the glassy-eyed focus to return to Octavia's mien. Now. She poked her in the cheek and this time the reaction was instantaneous. Octavia turned, her lips parted to offer some barb, and Vinyl pressed her muzzle against hers, letting her forelegs envelope the cellist's sinewy, sensual waist.

“Mmff,” Octavia said protestingly, feeling something squishy and warm enter her mouth, too stunned to either resist the kiss or return it. Vinyl finally pulled away, though a thin trail of saliva connected their mouths still. “What-?”

“What? You thought I was gonna leave without getting a kiss?” Vinyl got on to all four hooves and walked smartly off with a slight shake of her tail to further fluster her marefriend. “See you later.”

With Vinyl gone for good, Octavia got back to work … only to find that she could no longer concentrate. “Damn her,” she said under her breath and stormed out of the room in order to find the unicorn for some … payback.

64 Scorch by lyra_lover777

Scorch by lyra_lover777

The heat. The unbearable heat.

It beat against her back, made her mane cling to her neck in a sweaty mess, and made her legs so tired that every step was an accomplishment.

The sand whipped at her eyes, though thankfully they were guarded by twin sheets of purple glass.

Her tongue was sandpaper, a thick, dry husky thing that took up the volume of her mouth. Its dryness made her want to choke and swallow at the same time, but from the clouds of dust and her nausea, she could do neither.

A little pebble, picked up in a gust of arid wind, flew towards her. It collided with the left sheet of tinted glass. The lens shattered, the chunks of glass, along with the smooth, hellish pebble, falling into her left eye.
She cried out, her mouth opening. The wind whisked the sound away, and sand billowed up from the ground, filling her gaping mouth.
She closed her muzzle, accidentally swallowing the sand. She coughed, clutching her chest and throat as more sand filled her mouth until she was lying on her side, a mound covered in tan, gritty sand.

She was Vinyl Scratch, a resident of Canterlot. The rowdy daughter of a noble, forced to embark on a journey far from home, into distant lands at the far corners of ponydom.

Her mother, a baroness, had thought this trip would straighten her out, whip her into shape before her coronation as next Baroness since her mother was beginning to become well into her years.

Now, her she lay, withering away under an ever growing pile of sand, so tired that she could barely struggle.

The dumb plane, run by that zebra. Vinyl should have totally recognized that he was on something or other, and was, no way in hell, certified to fly a cargo plane.

But either way she had hoofed over thirty bits, boarding the plane that would lead her to her doom.

After the first ten minutes, the engine gave out. There was only one parachute, and the pilot, of course, smacked her to the ground, making her bleed, before twisting the parachute on and jumping out the window.

Vinyl had latched onto his leg, being pulled down with him.

When they hit the ground, the white sheet billowing behind them lazily, the pilot slapped her once again before quickly disappearing in the direction of where they had come.

But Vinyl soon became heavily misguided, and lost her sense of direction, along with her state of mind, only able to execute small commands such as "walk" and "breathe."

Vinyl stuck a leg out, somehow gaining enough strength from the angry memory to power the motion. But all her leg hit was sand upon more sand upon more sand.

Her slowly failing cranium realized that a sand dune could easily be forming over her.

She tried to shriek, but when her jaw snapped open, her mouth's interior was once again filled with sand. And there was no where to spit the gritty stuff out.

She felt like a pony hourglass, slowly filling up with sand until she would blow.. She could feel the sand leaking into her nostrils and snaking down her throat.

She gave on last cry, swallowing a load of sand, before going still, her mind slack and blank.

The sand surged through the air. She was happy for her tan robes that blocked the vicious, skin biting substance out. She peered out from behind the mesh veil that fell over her eyes.

She had seen, from her makeshift hut, a trail of smoke twisting across the sky. She had went out to investigate, and hopefully scavenge some valuables, despite the warnings of an imminent sandstorm from her brother, Arpeggio.

The two had been young and both the two first chairs in the Canterlot Orchestra, and strived to meet their parents' excellence.

But when they had traveled out on a train to Zebrica to hear a Zebrician cellist for Appregio's birthday, the train had crashed, and they and a few zebras were the only survivors.

None of the small band of survivors was rescued, as the rescuers did not take the time to look around the location of the crash. If they had, they would have found ten adult zebras and two very frightened earth pony foals.

After two years, all the zebras had left to try and make it back to their homes, but she found all their bodies sometime later in her life. She remembered what they looked like, even if they were bloated and dead. After all, it was hard to forget the faces of torturers and ones who whipped her daily, along with other scarring activities.

Tears blurred her vision at these memories. If it was real sadness or the biting wind, it may never be known.

But suddenly, after stepping onto a new dune, she fell through it, right onto the cushy limbs of another pony.

She shrieked, but sand fell and covered her up.

She bucked at it, and a hole opened up in the hill.

She whinnied, and dragged the limp alabaster body of her find out onto the blistering sands.

Prodigious burns covered the mare's body.

She hauled the weak, possibly dead mare over her shoulder, feeling her soft, blue mane against her gray jacket covered hide.

She smiled for the first time in years as she hiked home.

65 Gatekeeper by bahatumay

Gatekeeper by bahatumay

Vinyl exhaled in relief as the red and black brick wall came into view. She had been hiking through this desert for days now, and she had finally arrived at her destination.

The gates of Tartarus.

She began the descent down the sand dune towards the metal gates. Thick, twisted metal spiraled around itself, forming the bars. It was truly a foreboding sight.

Then again, Vinyl had been desperate enough to come this far. It wouldn't do any good to back down now.

She peeked inside, but saw nothing. The shadowy gates made it impossible to see past five paces.

"Hey!" Vinyl shouted, looking around for movement of some kind. "Anypony home?"

"If I didn't know what you were here for..."

Vinyl spun back. There behind the gates stood a filly. Something was off about her, but Vinyl wasn't sure what.

"...I'd wonder if you were trying to wake the dead." A tiny smile played across her lips.

Vinyl squinted. "Did you just crack a joke?"

The filly grinned. "The dead laugh, too, you know."

Vinyl stared. "So... you're dead?" she asked. She seemed quite chipper for a dead pony.

The filly giggled. "I'm not sure I can answer that, as I've never technically lived," she said.

Vinyl glared. "You're messing with me, aren't you?" she demanded. She had trekked through the desert for all this time and she was not about to put up with this nonsense.

The filly looked up and met Vinyl's eyes. Her eyes... they seemed older, more weathered, than her actual body looked. She stared unblinkingly back at Vinyl. "I will not lie to you."

A chill ran up Vinyl's back, and somehow she knew this to be true. She licked her lips and spoke. "Is Octavia here?"

The filly nodded. "Yes."

"Can I speak with her?"

The filly shook her head.

"May I speak with her?" Vinyl tried.

"I cannot allow you to reunite with your dead," she said sadly. "Not while you are on opposite sides of the gates."

This wasn't entirely unexpected. But Vinyl wasn't about to give up that easily. "But I could come on that side, right?"

The filly exhaled, but dutifully replied, "That is an option."

"And the only way to get there is what I'm thinking of, right?"

The filly hesitated, and then nodded.

Vinyl pondered this. "I wonder what Octavia would say," she murmured.

"She'd say you're an absolute idiot."

Vinyl's ears pricked straight up.

Octavia stood there in the shadows. Though she didn't have on her bow tie, it was definitely her.

"Octi?"

Octavia nodded and took a step forward, but hit an impassable barrier and had to remain where she was. Vinyl reached her hoof through the gates, but she was too far away.

"Rules are rules," the filly said simply. "No reuniting."

Octavia continued, "You weren't actually thinking what I think you were thinking, did you?" she asked.

"No," Vinyl said quickly.

Octavia cracked a smile. "Good," she said. "What was the first thing I said to you when we first started going out?"

Vinyl paused to think. "Was it about my mane?" she asked.

Octavia's smile grew a bit wider. "After that," she said.

"You said..." Vinyl struggled to remember. "You said there was a symphony in me. Music inside of me. Beautiful music."

"And I still believe it," Octavia said. "There's music in there, still. Don't quench it before its time. Don't you dare."

Vinyl nodded. "I won't. I just... I just wanted to see you again," she said.

"But Vinyl," Octavia said with a smile as she turned away, "I'm always with you. Always." Her voice seemed to echo slightly as she walked away, her body dissolving into the shadows.

Vinyl exhaled and brusquely ran a hoof over her eyes. That was all she needed. She was at peace again.

"We shall meet again," the filly said.

"Yeah," Vinyl said, turning herself, "but that'll be a long time coming."

66 Knowledge by BuckingPonderous

Knowledge by BuckingPonderous

Vinyl sighed, lying on her couch and staring at the unconscious mare at her feet. She really should have known better. Octavia had a stronger will than her previous mates. She wasn't somepony that Vinyl could just cow into obeying her through force of personality. Octavia was intelligent, rational, and for the most part very calm and patient. It was honestly rather refreshing having a mate that didn't coo whenever she so much as glanced at her. Somepony who she'd have to be careful around if she wished to hide her true nature until the right moment.

Clearly she hadn't been careful enough. Somehow Octavia had been able to see through all her carefully rehearsed "personality quirks". Her shades to hide her telltale eyes. Her apparent phobia of blood to hide her hunger for it. Her skin condition to hide her discomfort in the sun. She saw through it all and even went beyond, discovering her original mortal name.

"White Ice." She echoed the mare with a tiny smirk. Nightmare, that wasn't a name she'd heard spoken in a very long time. That had to reach back over a thousand years at least. Just how long had she suspected her? When exactly did she slip up and hint at her true nature? Where in the hay did she ever find the link between her and that name?

She shook her head, looking over the unconscious mare again. The bleeding was superficial at most, tripping and falling backwards into a glass coffee table tended to cut a pony open. You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you Octy? Now you've left me in a predicament. You discovered my secret long before I was prepared to tell you and I can't just have you running off to tell everypony that my kind still exists.

She extended her fangs, able to smell the earth pony's blood over the broken glass. She knew she could feed on her right now without encountering any resistance. She knew she could drain her dry and dispose of her body and belongings, weave a story about how they had a big fight and Octavia packed her things and moved. She knew there would be questions certainly, but nothing she couldn't evade with some false anger, tears, and distance from everyone. It would be quick, clean, and much less painful than anything the vampire hunters would do to her if she were discovered. She knew that for certain.

Still, she found herself hesitating. Octavia was fun, hay, she was a lot of fun. She didn't indulge in the pleasures of life the way Vinyl did, but her poise and restraint were charming and it made those moments when it melted away and she "let her mane down" as the expression went, all the more special. There were days where they'd just relax together and talk. Just the two of them talking about their craft or what was going on in their lives.

It was silly to think about all those pleasant times when she was in such trouble, but it felt oddly appropriate when weighing her safety against Octavia's life. All those fun times, all those memories. It felt strange to think that they'd never occur again, that she'd never be able to have those talks again or see that soft glow on her face when she drank a bit too much. Now that her secret was out, Octavia might have to die so that the knowledge of Vinyl's secret would remain just that.

"I don't want to lose you." She admitted, and she realized she meant it. She didn't want to have to kill Octavia just to keep herself safe. She didn't want to have to lie and erase every trace of her from her life. But really, what was the alternative? Let her run off and try to make her escape? The Hunters would go on high alert and look for her. It would be another century before she could reenter the world of ponies, and that was being generous.

Perhaps she could get on her knees and beg Octavia not to reveal her nature to the world? Ha! As if. She had seen the primal terror in her eyes when she took off her glasses. As soon as she woke up and realized she was still alive, she'd start running and screaming., And even if she were wiling to listen; after all the lies she had no doubt unraveled to find out the truth Vinyl had no way to know if her pleas would fall on deaf ears.

She supposed she could put her under a compulsion to make her forget what she'd learned, but Vinyl had never been particularly good at that sort of thing and Octavia had a fairly strong will and memory which would make it even more difficult. There was no way to know what might trigger her memory either, since how exactly she had discovered the truth was a mystery.

Vinyl sighed again and stood, going over to her room. After some fishing through a drawer she found what she was looking for: an old coin. Polished silver, out of print and probably worth a fortune to a collector somewhere. A long time ago, one of her previous mates had told her that if you are ever in doubt, then simply flip a coin or roll some dice. No matter the outcome, you'll find out what it is you actually want. That advice had never let her down and whenever she was faced with an unsolvable problem, the coin always helped her pick.
"Hello old friend." She whispered, and let the coin spin on her hoof as she went back into the room where Octavia remained unconscious. Round and round it went, glittering in the moonlit window. "Tell me, what do I want this time?" She tossed the coin into the air. "Heads; I play it safe. Tails; I live dangerously."
The coin fell back into her hoof and she smiled at her answer.

68 Derailed by Treblemaker

Derailed by Treblemaker

This was a train wreck. Vinyl had never screwed anything up this bad before. It was more of a derailing, a careening off the track. There probably wasn’t even rails to start with, and now that she was thinking of it, there probably wasn’t even a train either. These thoughts crossed her mind at sonic rainboom speeds, seeing as she didn’t have much time to think anyway.

SPLAT.

Pinkie’s latest creation, which fell from the heavens, rested upon Vinyl’s mane. The frosting temporarily coating what once was a shade of electric blue to a shade of pink. Snapped out of her trance by the sound of a certain pony laughing beside her, she wiped off the cake, leaving globs of icing stuck to her coat and mane.

“How sweet of you Vinyl.” Came the inevitable pun from the gray earth mare. Earning only a glare from her caked companion, Octavia mused at the sight before her. “Would you look at that, it was like a Rube Hoofberg of destruction! I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it.” Her clipped Canterlot accent shown through as she laughed. Turning around as she realized that the DJ wasn’t laughing along with her, Octavia was struck dumbfounded. What could only be explained as tears were evident in the eyes of the mare, leaving Tavi with no idea how to control the situation. (Mind you, Vinyl isn’t one to cry.)

“Vinyl? Vinyl, what’s wrong?” asked Tavi, thoroughly confused.

“I messed it up. I messed it up big time.” stammered the alabaster pony.

“Now, I wouldn’t say this was a mess up.” Canterlot’s leading cellist comforted. Looking back at the scene, Tavi was wrong.

The last of the fires were being controlled at the Carousel Boutique, the clock tower was being repositioned by a team of Pegasi, and the Friendship Train was being hauled out of the river. “On second thought, at least you didn’t destroy the eastern side of town.” mused Octavia.

“You don’t understand.” Vinyl choked out. “Out of all the things to screw up, of course it had to be this one.”

“This one what? What exactly was this that you screwed up?” inquired Octavia. The frosted pony muttered something under her breath. “I didn’t quite catch that.” said Tavi.

“A...A proposal.”

71 Luck by Michelle Twistaloo

Luck by Michelle Twistaloo

“I don’t know Vinyl it seems every time we meet you do something incredibly dumb, and then I scream, and then we make up and end up kissing.”

Vinyl blinked, once, twice, and looked at her. She didn’t really know how to deny the accusations, since she was guilty of it as charged.

“Pretty much, yeah.” – She finally admitted , it was certainly intriguing, how their lives could be broken down into patterns. – “But those kissing
sessions after I do something incredibly dumb and stupid are pretty much the highlight of my life.”

It was true, Vinyl may have loved the stages and the singing of digitized voices, but she loved Octavia even more than that.

Octavia smiled, touched by the mare’s words, but the truth was it was like the twelfth or thirteenth time something like this happened, and it was getting old.

“Can’t you do an effort? Or just stop being such a dummy?”

“I can try”

“Good, because you should count yourself lucky to have me, as much as I count myself lucky to have you”

The two mares looked at one another and stared at their lips, they kissed, and hooves flew through silky fur up and down, grabbing and pushing and pulling.

“I love you Tavi”

“And I love you too.Vinyl”

72 Runaway by Arctic Inferno

Runaway by Arctic Inferno

Vinyl turned and looked behind her, back at the little home she had been sharing with her marefriend for the past few months. Her time there had been awesome, and she very much appreciated that, but she had gotten a little too comfortable.

On the one hoof, Octavia was a good roommate. Despite her very precious and sombre voice and affiliation with classical music, she wasn't exactly the sort of mare one would expect. Sure, she was often a little snobby to others without as much social etiquette as herself, but when she wanted to she could really have fun. A weak smile found Vinyl's lips, fond memories of parties and past times in which Tavi had had a little too much to drink.

But then the good times had diminished a little when both their careers had gotten busy. Vinyl was constantly working at nights and Octavia through the day with little-to-no breaks at weekends, so the couple rarely got a chance to sit alone and talk, let alone go out to movies or dinner like so many others did. Over this time Vinyl had honestly feared that she wasn't doing enough to keep the esteemed mare interested, but the pony in question had assured her that their love would last, even through difficult times.
It was only until a lot later in the year that Vinyl had come home from a gig in the early hours of the morning to find a stallion in bed with her marefriend. At first the shock of it stunned her and she stumbled back, incapable of speech. Then bewilderment hit her like a raging flood, followed shortly by sadness.

Vinyl had run around the house and gathered all her belongings, throwing them into a suitcase and leaving through the door. What was the point in staying, she thought, if Tavi was happy with somepony else? A single tear escaped from her eye and rolled down her cheek, staining the white fur. The DJ turned sadly and walked down the pavement, suitcase trailing behind her with a shimmering blue veil of magic.

Over the horizon the sun started to rise. The sun leaked into the room and met the closed eyelids of a sleeping mare, causing them to open groggily. Octavia stood up and looked out of the window at the rising dawn.

The road was empty.

75 Jump by palaikai

Jump by palaikai

It was one of those days in Ponyville: Celestia's sun was shining that bit brighter, the birds were singing in open harmony now that they'd been properly drilled by Fluttershy, and Sugarcube Corner was filled to the brim with happy ponies taking merciless advantage of the friendship discount Pinkie Pie offered to practically the entire town.

The only dark cloud Rainbow Dash couldn't buck into oblivion, it seemed, was the one that had been hanging over the head of Vinyl Scratch for the past few days; ever since she had returned from a gig in Canterlot, Octavia had noticed a subtle change in her demeanour. The DJ had been reticent to talk about it, though, and Octavia wanted to respect her privacy … even if she was burning with curiosity. They didn't get to spend all that much time together due to their respective careers taking them all over Equestria, but even when they were both in the same room it was beginning to feel like they were still apart.

Meeting at the bakery like this, it wasn't really a date; Vinyl was too cool and unconventional for that sort of thing, and she preferred to think of their little get-togethers as hook-ups. Mostly, they just talked, learning about each other's pasts. Neither of them had been in serious relationships before – although Octavia was learning that Vinyl was party to plenty of unserious ones – and at the forefront of their minds was the notion, “Don't screw this up.”

They received their snacks from Pinkie Pie who offered them a cheery, knowing smile in addition to the pastries (as she did every customer), but it seemed just that much wider to them. Perhaps she was getting a vicarious thrill from watching two ponies fall in love? Or it was merely a side-effect of the gorgeous day buoying her already suitably positive mood.

Any chance of it rubbing off on Vinyl, however, seemed doomed to failure.

“So.” Octavia looked at Vinyl, her hoof idly prodding at the fudge doughnut before her without really focusing on it. “D'you want to … talk?”

“Sure,” replied Vinyl distractedly. “What did you want to be when you grew up?”

Octavia snorted in response. “Can you be serious for a moment?”

“I can, but I choose not to.”

“Why are you being like this?” asked Octavia, a trace of anger beginning to seep into her voice as she regarded the white unicorn before her. “You've been distant with me since you got back from Canterlot, won't tell me what's up with you, yet you still insist on dragging me to places like this.” She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked away. “Are you breaking up with me?”

The question caught the DJ off guard and she looked perplexed. “Do you want to?”

“No.”

“Good. I don't want to either,” said Vinyl, poking her doughnut until the creamy filling began to dribble out of the sides and on to the napkin under it.

“Vinyl ...” Octavia's eyes began to involuntarily water. “Tell me. Please?”
*

She ran. She knew not where; the city's architecture was beginning to blur together, and frankly she'd consumed enough that even without the frenetic pace navigation would've been difficult at best.

Running wasn't cool, but neither was getting your flank kicked in some back alley gutter in one of Canterlot's rougher districts (well, the best parties were held there). If she could just make it to the hotel, or even the train station, before they caught up …

No such luck.

They were mad, and why shouldn't they be after what she'd pulled? They were keeping level with her through sheer will-power; a lung-bursting effort that she could only grimly envy, even as they circled her. Cloying breath mingling. Brawny hooves at the ready.

In the cold night air, their blows felt twice as hard. Her forelegs went around her head, but to seemingly no effect; every inch of her ached, but still the flurry of kicks continued.

They weren't content with simply breaking her body …

There was the sound of something shattering, followed by something wet oozing down her face.

“Don't show yourself around here again,” one of them said to her. He wasn't even angry or out of breath. It was as though he were simply issuing a command to a subordinate, one that he expected to be obeyed without question. The note of Or Else was left to linger.

She crawled back to the hotel room, patched up her wounds and looked herself in the mirror.

Her sunglasses were beyond repair. Somehow, that bothered her more than the damage done to her eyes.
*

“Vinyl, take off your glasses.”

“Why?”

“I've never seen your eyes before.”

Hesitantly, Vinyl removed the sunglasses that she wore practically all the time. It was something of a jump for her to reveal herself in this way, especially in public, and her cheeks turned a shade of crimson as she did so. For a long moment, nothing was said until the DJ felt the need to break the silence. “Well, d'you think I'm ugly now?”

“What? Why would I?” Octavia was mortified by the suggestion. While Vinyl's fetching claret eyes would probably have stood out on their own, what was startling was how red the whites of her eyes were. Probably because of so many shards of glass getting into them, Octavia guessed.

The DJ was beginning to feel uncomfortable and she put her shades back on. She couldn't quite meet Octavia's gaze. “Because,” a hoof gestured roughly in the direction of her ruined eyes, “this is … hideous.”

“What's hideous is that this happened to you,” Octavia said firmly, wishing she could get her hooves on whoever had done this to Vinyl. “You don't have to hide yourself away from me. No matter what, I'll always be there for you.”

Vinyl's hoof reached out to Octavia's and grasped it firmly. “Thank you. That … just thank you.” She let out a breath that she didn't even realise she was holding; there were so few ponies in her life that she felt that she could rely on utterly, and she was glad that one of them was here now.

Octavia walked around the table and pulled the DJ into a loving embrace; she'd seen another side to her marefriend today, and it was one she was glad to have had the chance to witness: one who was capable of naked displays of vulnerability, of softness, in stark contrast to the nonchalant air she liked to give off. “You're welcome.”

76 Run by Cobalt Ravenscroft

Run by Cobalt Ravenscroft

Not for the first time this week, Octavia wasn’t happy. The first time, Lyra had suggested she did exercise to get rid of some of her ‘pregnancy pudge’. The second, Vinyl had agreed, reminding Octavia of how she used to be the one needing to work out. The third, today, she was in the park with Vinyl, feeling ridiculous.

“Is this really necessary, dear?” Octavia whined into her sweatbands on her front hooves, “What if Harpo or Beauty sees me? I’ll never live that down. Or what if Arpeggio needs me?”

“She’s in good hooves, Octi,” Vinyl reassured her, stretching her legs while definitely not trying to tease her wife, “Bon Bon knows what she’s doing and Lyra’s there in case her magic plays up. And remember, I’m here to protect you from the bullies,” she winked.

Their daughter, Arpeggio, was only two months old and had very rarely been without one of her mother’s around, especially Octavia. Since Vinyl had been doing all the house work and shopping, Octavia had been free to relax with her new foal. This, however, meant she hadn’t been able to get rid of the weight she’d put on over her pregnancy. Vinyl hadn’t minded, always saying it meant there was more of Octavia to love but Octavia wanted to be back to how she was before, mostly so she could play her cello without getting out of breath.

Vinyl had suggested running, since Octavia used to do daily runs around the local park when they started going out but she had stopped quite some time ago. It also meant Vinyl had to exercise too, but seeing Octi in a sweaty mess was incentive enough for the unicorn. The only problem was getting her started. Luckily, Vinyl had a plan.

“Hey, Octi?” Vinyl asked.

"Hmm, what is it, dear?” Octavia looked up expectantly.

“How about if you can break a sweat now, I’ll help you wash it off when we get back?” It had been a while since they’d been able to do something like this, and since Arpeggio was staying with Lyra and Bon Bon until Octavia picked her up then the two of them had as much time as they wanted.

“No, you will not trick me into exercising like that, Vinyl,” Octavia harrumphed and sat on her haunches, crossing her forelegs as she did.

There goes plan A, Vinyl thought, Oh well, that’s what plan B’s are for. “Fine then, I guess I’ll just have to get home before you then, maybe eat those sweets you aren’t hiding under our bed,” she teased.

“No! You wouldn’t dare, not my bonbons…” she looked on in terror as Vinyl’s grin grew to super-villain standards.

“See ya, Tavi!” the white unicorn called as she began running in the direction of their house.

Octavia was stunned for a moment, but she quickly gave pursuit to her retreating wife, “Vinyl Scratch, you come back right now!” the mare screamed as she chased Vinyl down.

“Sorry, Octi,” Vinyl called over her shoulder, slowing down a little so Octavia could catch up a little bit, “but I can’t hear you over the sound of the ground shaking,” she joked, causing Octavia to run harder just so she could punish her wife there and then.

The pursuit lasted all the way to the front door which Vinyl managed to open with her magic before she reached it. She was still ahead of Octavia but had let her catch up at some points so she hadn’t given up yet. Vinyl had managed to make it to the back of the house and towards their bedroom before her wife caught up.

When the earth pony made it into the bedroom, she was both thankful she had made it and outraged at her wife. There she was, lying on her side on the bed, a bonbon floating out of the bag at her side towards her open mouth, and all the while she was looking straight at Octavia, taunting her.

Before she knew what she was doing, her body used its last ounce of energy to jump up onto the bed to ‘save’ the poor sweet from Vinyl. But her body had a bit more energy than she thought and she managed to leap past the sweet, landing with two legs either side of Vinyl on the sheets. Both mares were sweating and breathing heavily from the three mile run home, and the sight of Octavia’s rage above her made Vinyl act like the joking filly she still was at heart.

What she wanted to say was ‘I think you need a shower’, but as soon as her mouth was open it was forced shut by her wife collapsing on top of her, exhaustion finally catching up with her.

Octavia was fast asleep and, since she hadn’t been working out, too heavy for Vinyl or her delicate magic to move, so she accepted her fate as pillow was grace, wrapping her sweaty hooves around her wife’s sweaty barrel and falling asleep herself, but not before thinking ‘I could get used to these workouts.

77 Relinquish by Ratsenkio

Relinquish by Ratsenkio

“I can’t do this anymore!” cried Vinyl to Lyra. Both were sitting at a table at the little establishment, they had been having a friendly lunch until Octavia appeared through the door with her date.

Now they were watching their friend smiling with her partner and Vinyl had been dying over the course of their meal. The only ones that knew of Vinyl’s love for the grey mare were her friends Lyra and her marefriend BonBon. The only problem with her little crush on her roommate was that Octavia wasn’t into mares at all, which in turn only served to cause the biggest pain in Vinyl’s chest.

“Why can’t I be something more to her than a friend. Something more passionate than a sister!” Vinyl couldn’t contain the pain in her voice and in her face. The only part of her face that didn’t show it being her eyes as they were covered by her purple tinted glasses. “She should be looking at me, she should be smiling at me. She should be blushing at my compliments! I do everything for her. I would drop everything just to be by her side. I love her more than everypony in the whole Equestria combined. And yet I’m still her friend...” Vinyl spat the last word with all the hatred in Tartarus.

“I give up!” she finally cried when she saw Octavia with her eyes closed kissing her date, “I can’t watch this anymore! I hate this! I hate not being able to kiss her, to touch her, to make her feel like the most important mare in all of Equestria, to ravish her after one of her cello practices that makes her look like an angel came down to Equestria! I hate this...” Vinyl started crying, “I don’t want to feel this anymore. To hate her for what she does and love her for what she is.”

“Will you be okay?” asked Lyra in a timid voice even though she already knew the answer.

“No, I’ll never be okay… Not without Octavia. But I love her too much to make her feel bad about this. I just want to see her smile, even if it not at me.” Vinyl said and with that, they paid their bill and left the establishment.

They left Octavia alone in her date.

The courtines opened again to show all of the actors and actresses. Vinyl and Octavia were together in the middle of the long line, being them the protagonists of the story.

“That was incredible, Vinyl. Why didn’t you told me that you were such a good actress?” asked Octavia to Vinyl.

“That, my dear Octavia, is because I’m not!” she said with a smile, “I was just saying almost all the truth.”

“And what would be the little lie be?” asked Octavia with a curious face.

“That would be that like hell I would let anypony else have you!” said Vinyl with a confident smirk.

“Aww, come here you sappy mare!” said Octavia before grabbing Vinyl’s cheeks and dragging her to a big, sloppy kiss while ignoring the cheers and few cat-calls directed to them, clearly more than a few stallion and even mares enjoying the show both were putting. After they parted Octavia said “And like you said, like hell I would choose another pony to love!”

78 Nightmare Night by Ratsenkio

Nightmare Night by Ratsenkio

“I think they are not home.” said BonBon to her marefriend.

“But Bonnie, they said that we should come get them when we were ready.” said Lyra.

“Do you think something happened?” asked BonBon.

“Maybe we should enter with the spare key.” answered Lyra.

“Fine, but if they are doing something for adults then I’ll say it was your idea.”

Lyra took the spare key and introduced it in the keyhole. She twisted it and after hearing the soft click they entered the house of their friends. The first thing they noticed was that the house was in almost complete darkness save for the few moonlight rays that entered through the windows.

“I don’t think they’re home” said BonBon, the spooky atmosphere making them stay close to each other.

“Wait, did you hear that?” asked Lyra “it’s like somepony is crying.”

“Stop it Ly, you’re not going to *sniff* o-o-okay, I believe you now.”

They reached the sound and asked if someone was there, only to recive the same sniffle they heard before. They saw a figure in the corner and got closer to it. it seemed like their friend Octavia.

“‘Tavi, you okay?” asked Lyra with concern.

“I didn’t mean to do it. *sniff*” said Octavia.

“What happened?” asked BonBon now seeing their friend made them feel more at ease.

“I just hit her like we always do. *sniff* She makes me angry I get my cello and hit her in the head. *sniff* She always does it, she feigns that she is crying and that it hurts but I know it’s not truth. *sniff* but then she really started crying but I knew it was all an act, then she started screaming and then she stopped all together. *sniff* I love her, I would never do something to hurt her.”

“What happened Octavia?” asked Lyra with authority and fear. Mostly fear.

The storm started howling outside and with the thunders came a little more lightning to the room. In her forelegs Octavia was cradling Vinyl who wasn’t moving and had what looked like blood dribbling from her head, staining Octavia and the floor below. At the side of the room, rested Octavia's cello with a few spots of the same red liquid in it’s body.

“I love her, but I also love my job. I can’t afford to lose it.” Octavia looked up as she grabbed her cello by the neck. Once her eyes reached the viewpoint of Lyra and BonBon, they saw her eyes were dilated and bloody. But what really did it was when Octavia spoke again. “I’m sorry” was all that she said.

With a shriek both mare started running and once they were out of the house, they ran even more.
***********************

Octavia and Vinyl laughed. they joke had been perfect. Vinyl almost couldn’t contain the laughter during their acting, but she had managed and now the results were evident.

“Did you saw the look on their faces!” asked Vinyl.

“and how they ran!” said Octavia, both still if gleeful laughter.

“I hope we didn’t go too far” she said after having composed for the moment.

“Nah, I don’t think so. Once they remember you never hit me they’ll come back.”

“Yeah, they know I would never do anything to hurt my beautiful cello” said Octavia with a smirk.

“Oh, come on, say it, you would never hurt me because you love me!” said Vinyl while making faces.

“That’s right. I love you too much for my own good.” said Octavia, after which she dragged Vinyl into a passionate kiss.

“But in all seriousness ‘Tavi, The way you acted was so hot. I don’t think all of that in the floor is fake blood, if you know what I mean!” said Vinyl with a playful smile while pointing to the puddle.

“Oh shush you, you silly mare. Don’t make me get my cello.”

80 Shady by Michelle Twistaloo

Shady by Michelle Twistaloo

The warm bright sunlight ticked her eyebrows, lighting the room around her, and even her view, despite her close ways. Fluttering open her magenta colored eyes, she opened them and noticed her localization. A room, not much bigger than her bed and some computer equipment, for which she had paid more than the crummy one bedroom flat, and some clothing, mindlessly dropped all over the floor. She got herself up, flinging her weight into a vertical stance, and looked at the air around her.

She would have liked it to have smelled of minced perfumes and roses, something pleasant to the nose.

Instead it reeked of sweat, smoke, and, though she couldn’t be sure of which exactly, some sort of alcoholic beverage, cider maybe.

She remembered last night, and her eyes grew distant as she remembered just what had happened, a couple of hours earlier. Well, not a couple, she looked at the digital watch, it was already late afternoon, but her routine was set deep inside, nights were for having fun, days were for sleep, especially now that she had no obligations, except to herself.

She had been having a drink, but it wasn’t her first, it could be maybe her third? Fourth? It didn’t really matter, she was groggy, half stumbling, as the world around her swiveled with colors and shades, from the ground. She was quite enjoying the music too, not her style of song, but it worked for her, she wasn’t really listening to it anyway.

Then, in one of the shades, a shadowy figure, in the shady zone, came to her, or she came to the shady figure, one or the other, what mattered was that when those four eyes met (Vinyl’s slightly obscured by her trademark pair of sunglasses, which she wore even , and especially at night), they danced.

And though in reminiscence she couldn’t see herself, through the clarity of a well rested day, she could imagine she looked ridiculous, specially when in mind she had drunk, at the moment it was quite fun, even if she had ended up not conducing the dance.

Now who , she questioned herself, was the other girl?

81 Review by Cobalt Ravenscroft

Review by Cobalt Ravenscroft

A peaceful mid-morning lie in was just what Octavia needed. Vinyl had been on edge for the past week and, subsequently, Octavia had been too. It’s not that she wanted to be, but whenever her marefriend worried about something, it was usually serious. Vinyl usually, in her words, ‘didn’t give a flying buck’ about anything.

Sadly, today threw something at her that was anything but usual for the unicorn. As soon as the mailmare arrived with this morning’s paper, Vinyl had left the bed and shot straight into the kitchen to start reading, lulling Octavia into the false security of a luxury lie in, but life rarely let her have such indulgences.

“AHHHHHHH!” Octavia sat bolt upright in bed after the unmistakable sound of Vinyl’s scream. It took a moment for her to notice but her body was moving on its own, speeding towards the kitchen.

When she arrived, she didn’t expect to see Vinyl’s face lit up with a smile bright enough to rival that of Celestia’s sun just above their house. The newspaper lay on the table, open towards the back pages.

“Vinyl, sweetie,” Octavia began as soon as she had caught her breath, “why did you scream?”

It took a while for the white mare to notice Octavia, but when she looked up all that could be seen in her uncovered, magenta eyes was unbridled euphoria, “I made it!” she cheered, “I’m in the top 40!”

The grey mare took another look at the paper and, sure enough, it was open to the music chart pages.

“That’s brilliant, Vinyl,” Octavia galloped around the table to embrace her marefriend, “I’m so proud of you.”

“I know, it’s awesome!” the joy never leaving her voice, “I even got a review.”

True to her word, on the following page were several small reviews regarding the artists and tracks in the charts. Near the bottom was one titled ‘Vinylicious’:

Vinylicious by DJ PON-3

The up-and-coming DJ and producer DJ PON-3, or Vinyl Scratch to her friends, has made her Equestria top 40 debut at number 37 with her first original track, Vinylicious. The track features the DJ’s vocals and a compulsive beat that ponies have been, quite literally, raving about for the past week since its release. It may be her first time in the charts but don’t forget the name DJ PON-3, I predict great things for this young mare in the future.

Octavia read and re-read the review, her smile growing at the little piece dedicated to her special somepony, “This is fantastic, Vinyl,” she beamed, “I propose we do something special tonight.”

“My choice, my choice!” Vinyl clapped her hooves together like a school filly.

“Okay, Vinyl, what would you like to do?”

“Me. You. That new club in town,” Vinyl said as she inched closer to Octavia, “then maybe we come back here for a ‘private performance’.”

“I think I can live with that,” Octavia replied as she closed the gap between their muzzles, kissing Vinyl gently.

82 Finale by Arctic Inferno

Finale by Arctic Inferno

The curtains rose gracefully and the crowd was greeted with the full ensemble of musicians; a group of trumpets on the left, a number of rows of violinists on the right and, of course, the centerpiece; a beautiful earth pony with a mane like silky chocolate and a large, antiquated cello carved from smooth, glossy wood.

There was a short round of welcoming applause from the sea of Canterlot ponies, but it quickly died down and silence filled the room. Said silence was split by a wonderfully performed low note from the cello, its owner skilfully holding the bow across the string and pinning a fret down with her hoof. Then, as quickly as it had started, the rest of the instruments took their parts; first a number of the violins, followed by a few trumpets. The piece built higher and higher, pitch building, before breaking into a glorious series of chords and vibrant explosions of orchestral sounds.

From one of the higher booths a white unicorn sighed irritably and placed her head in her hoof, bored entirely with the performance. She didn't like classical music at all. It wasn't terrible, just old-fashioned and boring. Nothing like the beats and wubs that she blasted out of her speaker system at numerous gigs and concerts she enjoyed performing at. With a roll of her eyes she turned to her friend alongside her, another unicorn.

"Tell me again, Lyra..." She said, voice barely audible over the loud orchestral piece being played from the stage, "Why did you think I would like this? You know classical isn't my thing."

"I already explained this, Vinyl," Lyra said with a slight groan, "We're here to see my friend perform. She's the cellist."

"Then... Then why didn't we just visit her another time?"

"Because, y'know, isn't it nice to listen to her play? And besides, we had a table booked for three at a restaurant right afterwards."

Vinyl had to admit, for someone who didn't like classical music, the cellist wasn't terrible to her ears. Something about the music she was playing was most peaceful, almost serene. If the unicorn wasn't so stubborn with her arguments she might even have been swaying to the sound of it.

"And besides..." Lyra said slowly, "She told me the other day she was feeling lonely, and I know how you feel for other mares..." The white unicorn once again turned her attention to the mare on-stage. It was true, she was very beautiful. Dainty yet refined movements, a flowing mane like a river of silk. Lyra giggled quietly at the blush which started to twinge on her friend's cheeks, then perked up a little.

"Oh, we'd best be quiet now," She said to nopony in particular, "The finale is coming up."

83 Falling by lyra_lover777

Falling by lyra_lover777, a sequel to Wedding

Weightless. That's how she felt. Her dress flapped around her as everypony in the vincity stared at her, digging into her, asking her why she had stood up, declaring a statement to a question that should never be answered.

The silence attempted to swallow her in its hollowness. It had to have been at least a minute, and her legs were starting to ache. No one had moved yet except her brother, who was preparing to scold her harshly. Carrot Top had fainted in shock, along with several others in attendance. Colgate was among the many that was absolutely silent, still processing the words that had come forth from her friend's mouth.

And Amethyst sat there, the cocky smile still tugging the sides of her mouth up.

The silence was broken by a solemn pink alicorn, who murmured, "What have you said?"

'I do," Octavia yelled, the sound echoing throughout the cathedral.

Arpeggio attempted to tug his sister down into her seat, but Amethyst knocked his hoof out of the way. She glared at him, and he backed off despite the uneasiness he still had towards the situation.

Princess Cadence looked around at the assembled group, who were starting to come around.

"That's not fair!" somepony yelped.

"Yeah! They love each other! They should be together!" another pony shouted.

Exactly. Me and her. Octavia thought.

Princess Cadence scanned the crowd thoughtfully.

"I'm sorry, but it is in accordance to the ancient rules of our land. She has objected, and so she has ten days to prove to both that their marriage is not supposed to be. NO magic allowed."

Collective groans from the crowd hinted at their disgust with the law. But they understood it.

Everypony began to file out, displeased that they would probably have to travel back out here in only ten days time.

Soon only Octavia, the to be married couple, and the medics, who were picking up the last of the fainted ponies, were left.

Vinyl stormed down the steps of the altar, rushing towards Octavia.

She swung her hoof, barely missing as Octavia ducked under the pew.

"Ya-you!" Vinyl whimpered.

She sat on her rump, tears running down her face.

"Why?" she murmured. "WHY?!"

"Because I love you."

"Then if you really did, then why did you stand up? Why not be happy for me?"

"Because I can't live without you. Look at the wreck I've become without you. Out of the orchestra, not even on the top five hundred most influential musicians of the year since you've been gone! When we were together, I used to place on top. Every. Single. Time!"

Both quieted, breathing rapidly.

Octavia looked up at Vinyl, who had scrunched herself up into a ball.

"I need you Vinyl. You're my inspiration, my lifebloo-"

But she was cut off when Neon Lights swooped down from above, picking Vinyl up and kissing her gently, forcing a few weak giggles from the alabaster unicorn.

The DJ was put down softly on a pew a few rows in front of Octavia, who had become distracted by Vinyl's swooping curves.

"Hey, you," Neon chuckled, his cheeks flushed. He was obviously very annoyed with the gray earth pony before him.

"You don't get to talk to her. You just had your chance. Scram, earthie."

"Ah, you don't need to even make the effort, Neo! There's no chance she'll convince me!"

"I know Vins, but better safe than sorry, ya know?"

"I know."

The two lovers shared a moment of passionate kissing while Octavia recoiled slightly.

"I was so ready for a post wedding night tonight..." Neon whispered lustfully in Vinyl's ear.

"Sto-op! She's still here!" Vinyl giggled as her stallion tackled her, nuzzling her gently.

How am I ever going to compete with that? Octavia thought. Her hope plummeted into a dark, swirling abyss of depression as she slunk away as the couple continued their heated makeout session.

84 City by Arctic Inferno

City by Arctic Inferno

Octavia held her head in one of her hooves and gazed out of the carriage window as it was pulled swiftly through the streets of the big city of Canterlot by two stallions up front. Canterlot; her home, the place where she had been born and grew up. She knew this district well from her foalhood, perhaps even better than the back of her hoof. The bakery, the nightclub where her marefriend worked. Octavia smiled at the mere thought of her marefriend; a white unicorn DJ named Vinyl Scratch. She constantly did nightshifts and this was one of those. She was possibly in there using her gizmos and gadgets to make music now, but she had promised to Octavia not to let it get too loud and disrupt her concert. A few shops and houses followed and then her destination stood towering over her.

Said destination wasn't any normal building. It was the Grand Hall, possibly the most prestigious of Canterlot's performance halls. The outside was a beautifully carved structure of archaic design and the inside was a stage surrounded by thousands and thousands of seats for the audience. Only the most gifted and worthy musicians were permitted to play there, and Octavia and her band had been honoured when the royal seal came and confirmed their place amongst the countless famous ensembles and orchestras that had performed in the past. Her fellow band members were seated alongside her and broke into an excited chatter as the carriage pulled to a stop, breaking the previously silent atmosphere.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! Came the silence-breaker from the harpist, an aquamarine unicorn with a grayish cyan mane and sparkling golden eyes, matching the colour of her beloved harp that lay in her lap, "I still can't believe we were selected to play here!"

"I know, dear," Came the more subtle response from the band's singer, Lyrica, an earth pony with a light violet coat and frilly yellow hair tied into an eye-catching bun. "It is quite an honour for her majesty to select us of all possibilities."

Octavia merely smiled at their ensuing conversation as the carriage door opened. Some ponies were waiting outside and clapped for them as they entered, causing her to blush and Lyra to cover her face a little in embarrassment. The trio may have been an aspiring group but had no experience at all with any kind of crowd attention, especially not at such a high-class event.

It was later that the three gave each other nervous smiles and hugs for luck before entering the main hall. Octavia carried with her her prized possession; her cello, built out of smooth, glossy mahogany, gifted to her by her mother at a young age. Lyra carried her golden harp, same as always as she seemed to be reluctant putting it down. Lyrica had an enchanted earpiece to broadcast her voice so the audience could hear properly, and she fiddled with her necklace nervously as the group were greeted with a sea of esteemed ponies, all clapping to celebrate their arrival. Octavia tried to occupy her mind with the thought of Vinyl and how she was probably cheering for her right now and sighed contently, calming down a little. The trio prepared to play on the stage as the audience made as much noise as was deemed socially acceptable, but said noise quickly died down as Octavia placed a bow against the strings of her cello, ready to play a long note.

She was interrupted in her action by a loud noise; it was deafening and reverberated through the room, long and unstable. Recognisable as music, but certainly not produced by any sort of instrument. A large amount of Canterlot ponies in the crowd looked around in confusion and distaste. Some of the mares fainted.

Octavia merely gritted her teeth and turned to Lyra, who nodded in agreement before they spoke in unison, the venom clear in both of the mares' voices.

"Vinyl."

Octavia had never left a building to enter another so quickly in her whole life, and soon a heated argument was echoing through the streets of the great city.

85 Bored by Treblemaker

Bored by Treblemaker

“I’m bored!” exclaimed the unicorn.
　　
　　“I’m very well aware; so is everyone in a 5 mile radius from here,” floated the sarcastic reply from the living room.
　　
　　 “But this time I mean it! There’s nothing to do, nowhere to do, no one to ---”
　　
　　“Vinyl!” heaved the exasperated pony.
　　
　　“What? It’s true.” The one addressed as Vinyl trotted into the room.
　　
　　“You’re a DJ, go break some records or something.”
　　
　　“Hey! It’s scratching, it’s not breaking, and it’s an art form.” Vinyl huffed.
　　
　　Giggling, Octavia replied. “Sure it is. So is six year old crayon drawings.”
　　
　　“Octy! Wait, what are you even doing?” Vinyl inquired, after noticing Octavia was buried flank high in sheet music.
　　
　　 “Nothing much, just memorizing the longest concerto piece in existence.” With no reply to that, the unicorn backed out of the room, only to walk back after a few minutes had passed.
　　
　　“Wait a minute, you’re bored too!” Vinyl concluded.
　　
　　 “What would ever give you that impression?” Again with the sarcasm.
　　
　　“Because nopony could even pretend that this was fun.” The DJ pointed toward the music.
　　
　　“Yes, you’re a regular Sherclop, I’m bored.”
　　
　　“Well, you’re bored, and I’m bored --”
　　
　　“No.”
　　
　　“Wha--”
　　
　　“No.”
　　
　　“Why--”
　　
　　“No.”
　　“But --”
　　
　　“No.”
　　
　　“Fine.” The alabaster pony sulked back to her room. Silence followed for a few short minutes, with Octavia reveling in the stillness of her ears.
　　
　　“Octy! I’m bored!” came the familiar words from the DJ’s room. With a sigh, the cellist jotted down another tally mark on a separate piece of paper.
　　
　　“That’s 279, by my count,” the mare chuckled.

88 Diarchy by Michelle Twistaloo

Diarchy by Michelle Twistaloo

The mare intertwined her neck with the neck of her marefriend. She loved the smell of her mane, and she gladly took a whiff as she stared at the pages the other mare was reading. Vinyl had no idea of how Octavia could keep her focus, specially on such a boric topic as that. She wrinkled her muzzle at the title of the topic.

“Diarchy?”

“Yes Vinyl” – Octavia didn’t even look back, so focused she was on reading. – “It’s what we have, two princesses, or rulers, ruling together, hence dia, duo, two.”

“And that is important because...” – Vinyl didn’t understand the reason that was important or why Octavia, who had a guaranteed career on an orchestra somewhere, was reading up on politics. She certainly didn’t, though her wave was more artistic than social (at least in studies).

“Because someone decided to put it on my list of readings...” – Vinyl softly kissed Octavia, throwing her concentration away, and she couldn’t let the other mare get the best of her. – “Seriously Vinyl, stop!”

But Vinyl didn’t stop and soon enough diarchy was replaced with “oh goodness” and “I love you so much”.

89 Soul by lyra_lover777

Soul by lyra_lover777, a sequel toFalling, which in turn is a sequel to Wedding.

The shattering effect that overcame Octavia's entire being made her quiver, made her tremble and want to die.

And she realized she could very easily end it. With a knife, a noose, jumping off of her apartment...

But before those things became options she had to at least try once more to get Vinyl back to her.

"Oh, Vinyl...."

But it was hopeless. She had tried to pick herself up constantly for the past two days. She had barely been able to wobble back to apartment before she had become to cracked, to shattered.

Octavia, on the third day of uncontrollable shaking, finally coaxed herself out of bed for just something to eat. She ate a decent meal, a few pieces of wheat toast with butter. At least it was better than the few small morsels she had been scavenging from around her room for the past few days.

She put on a crisp bow tie, looking outside. Twilight was approaching. The perfect time for a serenade.

She picked up her cello, its case as black as the steadily darkening night. She knew it was either run or stay, for her heart pounded to fast and hard for her to idly make her way to the abode of "Vins", quote of "Neo."

Ugh. The nicknames.

Octavia did a quick sweep through with her comb, but taming her wild bedhead was impossible without a proper wetting, Without the time or drive to go in the shower(she probably stank as well), Octavia proceeded down the steps of her apartment and out into the cobblestone streets, where she fled into a full out gallop.

After a few minutes of twisting through the streets, she found the home of her former fillyfriend and her current significant other. They lived rather close due to the fact that they both wanted to live in the rather compact Canterlot Music District, for all three were musicians through and through,

She saw the balcony, where Vinyl sat, distracted as she spun a record on her hoof absentmindedly. Neon Lights seemed to be gone for the moment, and Octavia took this opportunity.

She pulled out her cello, its glossy wood a bit dusty from its lack of use in the previous days.

Her bow struck the strings, and Vinyl's head instinctively turned towards the melody that wafted to her ears on the light breeze.

Octavia, a single tear rolling down her face, began to sing, to sing a song that came from the bottom of her heart. It poured out of her, totally unexpected.

"We could've had it alllllll, ah alllllllllll, rollin' in the deeeeeeeeeeeee-e-ep."

Vinyl, her mouth wide open. watched as Octavia began to break down in front of her, tears rolling down her face.

"You had my heart insiiiiiiiiiiiide of your ho-o-oof, but you played it, but you played it, to the beat."

Vinyl was obviously experiencing mixed emotions from the performance. She looked as though she wanted to cry, scream, and forgive all at the same time.

Octavia struck the bow wildly, her voice breaking as her bow frayed, a few of the strings snapping. Soon Octavia was a puddle of sadness seeping into the ground, the wreckage of a once elegant cello splayed around her.

Vinyl had a single tear running down her cheek. Both of their souls had cracked, cracked in half. They had broken each others, and no matter how much they wanted, there wasn't a plausible solution of how to fix them.

Vinyl whispered one word, one single word.

"Love."

Octavia looked up, her countenance one of pure grief.

"You."

90 Bon Bon by MathChomp

This prompt was published by the author as a short story on their account. Instead of copying out the whole story on this page, I have decided to provide a link to you, the readers. The link is provided below. Goodbye, Happy Turkey Day!

LINK

91 Brain Freeze by lyra_lover777

Brain Freeze by lyra_lover777

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Vinyl shrieked as she pulled her head away from the bottle, clutching her head in pain.

"What?" Octavia asked her marefriend. The two sat at a mahogany table in one corner of the Cake establishment known as Sugarcube Corner.

"C-cold," Vinyl muttered as she massaged her head. Vinyl pushed the empty drink cup to the far corner of the table

"Yeah, well that's why you don't drink a Freezie in one gulp." Octy answered, a smug smile adorning her face.

"Oh, shush you. Do you want me to bring up the Cyan Pepper incident? Huh?"

"We vowed never to speak of that again!"

"Maybe I crossed my hooves."

"VINYLLLLLLLLLLLL!"

92 Turkey by Michelle Twistaloo

Turkey by Michelle Twistaloo

“That is a crazy idea”

Vinyl grinned, she knew the plan to be crazy, but through the oil spots in her cheeks and mane, the crazy grin in her face, and the shine on her eyes, she looked like a beautiful pony, at least to Octavia.

“Vinyl...”

But the contraption was done, with a “Pluck” it stood up, giving Vinyl room to breathe, and it flew up in the air. Turkeys didn’t fly, but Vinyl had reckoned it’d be pretty cool if they did, so she fetched up a metal plate, and stuffed some wiring in there. She didn’t know how it worked, but it worked, the few parts of mechanical knowledge she had aqquired, in order to build her own set of speakers, had been applied.

A deep, thick smoke began to rise, before the heat also appeared. Octavia ran, and Vinyl followed.

“It’s gonna go boom”

And so it did. It went boom and stinged the two mares.

Octavia (whose hair was already gray) pushed some of the dust and soot away before looking at the other mare, who still had that crazy look.

“Vinyl...”

52 Syntax by Michelle Twistaloo

Syntax by Michelle Twistaloo

“Now now, it’s called a a Quaver”

Vinyl looked at her friend and soon to be more, they had been hanging around with one another for some time now, and they could deal with one or another more or less as long as no one brought the issue of what music was better, or kind of movie, or books.....

But Vinyl had no idea of what in the world a “Quaver” was.

“I realize you may claim it as an eight note, but everyone calls it a Quaver, it’s how it’s supposed to be mentioned.”

Once again, Vinyl rolled her eyes, were they seriously having that argument? She just liked the beats, she didn’t care for linguistic details.

“Don’t you roll your eyes at me!” – Octavia said, and Vinyl stopped, mid roll, eyes like a slot machine, dislocated from the center of her eyeball, she pounded her head with a hoof and it came back into place.

“It’s a quaver!”

Vinyl, unable to roll her eyes merely put up a hoof to her mouth to conceal a yawn, Octavia was passionate, passionate about a lot of things, really, music was just....the most passionate of things she was passionate about.

“I never said it wasn’t.”

“No, but you’d call it a eight note”

Vinyl shrugged, eight note, quaver, it didn’t matter to her, it was just a matter of syntax.

“Tomatoe, Tomato” – Vinyl replied. – “I know what you’re referring to, and I don’t compose into paper like you do, so this is new news to me, but if you want me to, I’ll change my notes to quaver.”

Octavia’s lower lip trembled, she was clearly touched, she pulled herself up and threw her weight at Vinyl. If Vinyl weren’t sitting they’d both have fallen, Vinyl could feel the heat of the other mare against herself and she was suddenly very glad this syntax issue had come about.

3 Scratch by River Road

Prompt: Scratch by River Road

Okay Vinyl, take it cool. Her ear is twitching, but we can work with that. That doesn’t mean anything, her ear twitches all the time… It does whenever she talks to me, at least.

“Uhm… Tavi?” Vinyl slowly took a step towards her roommate, then very quickly took two steps back.

Okay, eye twitch. Eye twitch is bad, but we’ve seen it before. It’s nothing new.
…Maybe she won’t beat me up too much.

“Sooo… I guess I should probably have asked you before I took your stuff. But ponies do it all the time. It’s really not that big of a dea–“

Wrong choice of words! ALWAYS the wrong choice of words! Backtrack, abandon ship, do something!

“Okay, I understand that you are mad now. I mean, I took your stuff, and I’ll admit that there is a tiny… miniscule… practically non-existant chance that there is a little, unnoticeable indention in your Cartner record, but, uhm…”

Oh wow, I didn’t know her face could even look like that. Whatever you do, don’t look her in the eyes or you’ll–

Aaand there we are… Like a deer in the spotlights. It was nice knowing me. Try not to make a mess on the carpet when she kills us, or she might try to kill us a second time.

Vinyl instinctively ducked down, nervously grinning up at the other mare. “So, uhm… Do I get a headstart?”

Octavia took a deep breath, glaring past her nose at the unicorn. “You have two seconds. One…“

Vinyl was already out of the room and halfway through the house when she heard the ‘two’, followed by the sounds of hoofsteps in pursuit and the furious scream of a very angry Octavia Philharmonica.
“What kind of imbecile, braindead idiot would get the idea to forcibly drag a needle over a record just to spin the song back and forth?!”

11 Record by Lyra_lover777

Record by Lyra_lover777(me)

Octavia struggled to stand upright as she aimed the video camera at Vinyl's face, who was quickly mixing a few beats together. The product was a loud clashing of instruments that made you want to dance.

Octavia watched as the camera wobble din her hooves. Vinyl began to crank up the sound until it was blasting the most decibels it could.

Octavia watched as the camera shook, moving around frantically like a foal doing the potty dance. Soon the camera launched itself from her hooves when a strong blast of snare drum emitted from Vinyl's disc scratching and tune mixing.

Octavia juggled the camera in her hooves for several seconds before tripping over a stray cord that connected to Vinyl's sound board. She fell and yanked the cord out of its socket.

The loud blasting music ceased instantly. The quiet seemed to have a sound as Octavia groaned, rolling onto her back, rubbing her ears slowly to ease the pain.

Vinyl leaned over her, smiling ecstatically.

"Did ya get it?" she inquired.

Octavia groaned and held up the wretched video camera. Vinyl swooped it up with her levitation, clicking the buttons, trying to bring up the video.

"Tavi, it didn't even record!"

Octavia groaned before collapsing in a heap.

"Want to do it again?"

"NO!"

14 Stolen by TaviPlaysTheBass

Stolen by TaviPlaysTheBass

Vinyl hadn’t expected the pain to be so intense.

It had been three months since she had last see Octavia, and she had thought herself over it for the most part, but chancing upon her in that cafe proved her horribly wrong.

Seeing her laughing and smiling with someone else, seeing her make her trademark adorable googly eyes at him, seeing how the two held hooves over the table while sipping coffee, she felt her heart break all over again.

That could have been her sitting with Octavia, so lost in those gorgeous peuple eyes that the world stopped around her. That could have been her talking to Octavia about anything and everything. That could have been her listening to Octavia gush over the newest piece her quartet was covering.

But instead of that, she was sitting alone at a table, feeling so incredibly empty as she watched Octavia so clearly fulfilled

It wasn’t fair. The best part of her life had been stolen from her. Stolen by that stupid stallion sitting across from Octavia.

What did he have that she didn’t? Some class? A viola? Vinyl wanted to scream.

She had to get out of there. She pushed up out of her seat and strode quickly for the door.

Just as she was leaving, she turned for one last glance at Octavia, and found the grey mare looking straight at her.

Vinyl froze, and for the first time in months, found herself staring into Octavia’s eyes. She saw sympathy there, but felt no warmth in the gaze.

Octavia didn’t care about her anymore. She had moved on with someone new, forgotten about their time together. And Vinyl was the one who had been reduced to awkward stares in a cafe. She was the one who had hardly left the apartment since the break up. Who still dreamed about their relationship every night.

Octavia had clearly moved on, so why couldn’t she?

22 Changeling by Cobalt Ravenscroft

Changeling by Cobalt Ravenscroft

CRASH

Both mares in the quiet house leapt to their feet at the sound coming from the garden. Vinyl rushed towards the back door to see a smoking crater at the bottom of Octavia’s garden. At least it missed her rose bush, Vinyl thought sarcastically. Octavia soon joined her friend – after straightening her mane, of course – and the two mares went to investigate.

“So… what is it?” Vinyl asked, looking down on the small pony shaped thing at her hooves.

“Were you living in a cave last week, Vinyl?!” Octavia practically screamed at the DJ, “These… things… almost ruined the royal wedding!” She pointed an accusatory hoof at the creature, which shrunk further under the cellist’s gaze, hiding its face behind its apparently broken legs.

“Really?” Vinyl questioned, tilting her head to the side, “But it’s so cute.”

“Great,” Octavia flung her hooves in the air in annoyance, “now Vinyl ‘Greatest-DJ-in-Equestria’ Scratch thinks it’s cute!”

“Full name, I like it Tavi,” the now massive-headed Vinyl punched Octavia’s shoulder gently, much to the surprise of the Changeling.

“You hit her,” it began in a very weak, feminine voice, “but you love her.”

This stopped both mares, the garden they were in falling into silence, not even the birds in the trees chirped. The two mares looked between each other with blushes starting to form on both muzzles.

“What did you just say?” Octavia asked, too calmly for Vinyl who had never heard that tone before.

“I can feel the love she has for you, it tastes very nice,” the Changeling copied Octavia’s tone but her voice still sounded like it had gone through Vinyl’s remix machine.

“That’s it,” Octavia shouted and turned towards the house, hiding her blush with her mane, “Vinyl. Inside. Now!”

Vinyl and the stunned Changeling looked between one another, the unicorn shrugging at the bug. Still on the floor, the Changeling copied the gesture, making Vinyl giggle at it.

“So cute,” she said before following the grey mare inside, leaving a rather confused Changeling laying in the small crater it made in the grass.
The last sound heard from the house was the back door being slammed shut after Octavia pulled Vinyl inside, but no one knows, or will ever know, what happened to the Changeling.

Author's Note

AN by Cobalt: Probably opened a brothel or something. That's what those guys do, right?

28 Chord by Michelle Twistaloo

Chord by Michelle Twistaloo

In musical terms a chord only existed when two notes or more were playing at the same time. That was one of the few, old “boring music” things Vinyl knew.

Theoretically, at least, she had always sort of dealt with it by ear, or by copying the motions of someone until she could do it on her own.

No, in her terms a chord was what had stricken her and Tavi. The sound of their two heart-beats beating as one making a regular old chord, a “tum tum tum tum”, sort of deal.

Not to mention the way their hoofs interlined and the way they snuggled, spent, after a well practiced day.

She briefly reflected on the events that had brought them that close. They had been literally been pushed together, and that was not an euphemism. The big behind of someone pushed her into the back of a posh mare, that had a drink in hand.

Pretty unusual of a position to be in, two legs, but Vinyl was accustomed to it, she had to reach the mixing tables anyway....

That was when the chords aligned, when they looked at one another, and her bright and dark blue mane made a perfect contrast to her red cheeks, and Tavi (at that moment just Octavia), smiled.

30 Daybreak by TaviPlaysTheBass

Daybreak by TaviPlaysTheBass

As day broke, light shone through the large windows of Vinyl Scratch’s apartment, rousing the groggy mare from her slumber.

She felt the warmth of another pony curled up in front of her, and smiled. Octavia looked so peaceful lying there in front of her without a care in the world, her face free of all the tension it usually carried.

Her love was there with her, and nothing else mattered.

Screw her styling appointments later that afternoon, and screw the gig that she had lined up for tonight. She had Octavia, and in that moment, she wasn’t going to let anything pull her away from her beautiful charcoal marefriend.

So often life got in the way of their time together. They were both full time musicians, careers that took up a lot of time. Unfortunately, lazy mornings spent cuddling, waking up slowly and giggling together, had taken a backseat.

On any regular morning, they’d both be out of bed early in the morning, rushing to get dressed and stuff some breakfast down their throats on the way out the door. Stopping just for a quick kiss and an “I love you”.

Today though, neither had anything scheduled till later in the day, and Vinyl had no intention of letting this rare moment get away from her.

She took a deep breath, and snuggled up closer to her marefriend, wrapping her forelegs around Octavia’s barrel. She closed her eyes, and inhaled the intoxicating scent of Octavia’s mane. Here she was, cuddling with her love. A happiness blossomed in her chest as she enjoyed a much needed respite from the stresses and pressures of her everyday life.

Today was going to be a perfect morning, and Vinyl Scratch wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of that.

She floated her magical aura over to the curtains, and slowly slid them shut.

32 Vampire by lyra_lover777

Vampire by lyra_lover777

The mare slunk through the hallways, her frantic gaze flitting over dark shadow and corners. Her electric blue mane was fizzy and knotted.

Her once alabaster coat was now splotched with mud, and in all a light brown hue. Her trademark purple glasses were crooked, and had spiderweb cracks across them.

A scream sounded throughout the old, crumbling castle.

Suddenly a whoosh could be heard above her. She looked above herself, to the ceiling, sweat pouring off her brow.

But there was only a wispy spiderweb.

She kept moving down the cold and cracking corridors. Her wary gaze rested on a small crack in the wall.

Suddenly the crack burst open. Vinyl screamed, falling to the floor and becoming covered in rubble.

She lay there petrified, unable to move since she was pinned under a large boulder.

Suddenly the boulder was whipped off of her.

Vinyl looked up into the gaze of-

-Of her.

The gray mare bared her fangs, which dripped with maroon blood.

Lyra's blood. Vinyl thought.

Then Octavia plunged, viciously ripping at Vinyl's body while her screams echoed throughout the cave.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Octavia screamed.

Vinyl had been waiting for this moment. They were watching a movie that both of them and Lyra had acted in. But since Lyra had broken her leg and was in the hospital, only the two of them watched it.

But, either way, Vinyl had been hiding a bag of fake blood and guts.

At the exact time that she was killed in the movie, Vinyl thrust the blood and guts all over Octavia and herself.

Octavia's squeals of disgust and Vinyl's giggles sounded through their large penthouse.

38 Blue by TaviPlaysTheBass

Blue by TaviPlaysTheBass

Dating Vinyl Scratch had never been easy.

The mare was lazy, uncouth, and spontaneous, qualities that Octavia loved in her, but nevertheless they were qualities caused difficulties.

And fights.

Vinyl always meant well, but sometimes her eccentricities just became too much and Octavia just needed some time for herself, Now was one of those times.

For her birthday, Vinyl had written Octavia a song. This was a gesture she usually would have appreciated, but to come home after quartet rehearsal exhausted and find her apartment shaking with wubs the moment she opened the door was a little overwhelming, to say the least. Once again, Vinyl had had the best of intentions, but loud dubstep on her birthday had done nothing but upset her.

All she had wanted was a nice dinner and a bottle of scotch, so when she found out the Vinyl had neglected making dinner all together, she had yelled in anger at her marefriend and left the apartment angry, off in search of her own food. Perhaps it had just been the effects of a stressful day, but Octavia regretted more than anything that she had exploded at Vinyl like that.

Poor Vinyl, that silly, clueless mare.

Octavia had felt bad as soon as she left the apartment building, and she hadn’t enjoyed a single bite of the expensive salad she had ordered herself.

She hadn’t enjoyed a single part of her evening without Vinyl.

Sighing, she walked up the stairs towards their apartment, mentally preparing herself to make up with Vinyl.

The lights were all off when she entered the room.

Shoot, she must have already gone to bed.

Octavia took off her bow tie and sat down on the couch, relaxing as she sank into the soft cushions. She noticed a piece of paper lying on the coffee table in front of her.

Curious, she picked it up.

Hey Tavi,
I’m sorry I upset you on your birthday, and I’m sorry you didn’t like your song.
I ruined your special day.
I know sorry isn’t enough to make up for it, but maybe these will be.
Love,
Vinyl

Taped to the bottom of the letter, barely visible in the soft light, were two tickets to the Canterlot Royal Symphony.

Neightoven Five, my favorite symphony! Octavia let out a fangirl giggle as she looked over the tickets again and again.

Dating Vinyl Scratch had never been easy, but loving her came as effortlessly as breathing.

39 Identity by Michelle Twistaloo

Identity by Michelle Twistaloo

This was a case of mistaken identity. It had to be, who would have thought the mare with class, member of the nobility, cello player, fan of musicals, and so on, would have gone out with Vinyl Scratch, Dj, medium low class, played the wubs?

No, surely Vinyl had met with someone who looked like Octavia, ate like Octavia, behaved like Octavia and even sounded like Octavia but....in reality, wasn’t Octavia.

Because Octavia wouldn’t be caught dead near another mare in a romantic setting, even less so one with so low....charm. And the place they had met in? It was a disaster, no buffet, no service, no tips! Surely that was a clone of Octavia, an evil doppelganger.

The identity of the mysterious mare wouldn’t, surely it couldn’t, be the one whom she looked like. Right?

Lyra had her hooves in stitches as she fought for the chance to ask her out, it wasn’t such a bright idea, it would be akin to spying, but she had to know, and if she didn’t know, or made a believable attempt at not knowing, they could hunt down the doppelganger. The only thing missing on her evil twin was the goatee.

Lyra was restless, she couldn’t find a way to be comfortable, not even her trademark, Lyra registered, way to sit, helped her. She had to know, she got up, looked up, as if imagining the great beyond, where she’d probably end up if Octavia whacked her with the big heavy cello (again), cleaned her throat and asked her.

Octavia was startled by the question, she had agreed to meet with the Dj on the account nobody would know, but she was sure. So she nodded. She just wasn’t expecting Lyra to gasp and scream “HEY GUYS, GUESS WHAT!”

Maybe she should grow a goatee and change identity.

43 Flimsy by Michelle Twistaloo

Flimsy by Michelle Twistaloo

“How the heck was I supposed to know? I thought it was cushioned to avoid this kind of thing!”

Octavia glared at Vinyl, the fires, burning harder than the pits of hell, lighting her eyes. Vinyl had been sloppy, she had played pranks on her, she had laughed at her but she had never, never, never done something like this.

“It was worth thousands! It was an original piece, a 200 year old family heirloom, a cello that is worth more than your flimsy house!”

“And now it’s a pile of rubble that you can use to burn, see the upside, at least now you won’t have to go out and buy firewood”

That didn’t help. The joke was tasteless and Vinyl knew it as soon as she read Octavia’s expression. She moved backwards, actually kind of cautious of what Octavia’s intentions were.

“You are so....so, going to sleep on the couch tonight”

Vinyl dropped to her knees, she lifted one of her hooves in a dramatic gesture, her face conrtorted in a also dramatic gesture, she put the other hoof to her head.

“You maniac, you blew it all up! NOT the couch!”

Octavia didn’t smile, she stood firm on her decision.

“Movie references won’t help, I’ll admit the whole thing could be ....flimsy as you put it, but that doesn’t mean it’s ok to destroy it!”

Octavia turned and went away, leaving Vinyl on her knees, she thought of the best reference ever, to an awful awful movie.´

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

She shouted. And Octavia facepalmed particularly hard at that.

46 Streak by lyra_lover777

Streak by lyra_lover777

We were a world away. She was gone, as far away as could be. She, riding to the moon, quite literally, to explore her highest dreams and hopes, head banging to the sound of wubs while she soared through interstellar space.

And here I sat. Plucking the strings of my cello softly while I dreamed of her return.

I quietly loaded my instrument into her case, and carried her onto the balcony. The high tech door beeped at me, greeting me.

I sighed, rolling my eyes. Then I stepped out onto the sculpted balcony. It looked over the now robot filled streets of Canterlot, and began to play.

The cool breeze played with my hair, flipping and twirling it around like a string puppet amid a dance.

The wind and I settled down, and I extracted my instrument, my extension of my body, out of her lovely velvet case.

A second before I struck the bow to the strings of my cello, I looked up at the sky.

A blazing comet streaked across the sky, its light, quite figuratively and literally, an explosion across my vision.

I wondered if she was seeing this right along with me. How romantic....

I screamed for the millionth time. My purple shades had been lost in the fray, and now I felt as if I had lost my soul as well.

I looked out the thick glass windows, They were streaked with fire. It rippled over its cool surface, making it blazing hot.

The engine had exploded when the spacecraft had reached a certain speed. The scientists who had approved the vessel would hopefully pay for my demise.

The world was hurtling towards us. Soon we would either bun to a crisp when we reached the atmosphere, or hit the ground at the fast paced speed we were at, which would also surely mean death.

I watched as one frantic unicorn tried to teleport out.

She disappeared in a flash of light.

I was about to try myself when several ponies gasped, pointing out the fire claimed windows.

The lime body of the mare floated, almost effortlessly, in space a few kilometers in front of us.

Her body struggled, but soon she went slack, and she floated away to become solar dust while we felt the heat of the flames start to penetrate the metal vessel.

I looked down at beautiful Equus, our planet, our home.

"I love you," I whispered, imagining Octavia could hear.

Then one of the walls exploded several corridors down, bathing the inside of the craft in flames.

54 Eons by Michelle Twistaloo

Eons by Michelle Twistaloo

I guess I sort of admired Octavia. Even more so when her skills began growing up, as well as her body. She had a body to kill for, and I was actually sort of jealous. The way she kept it? I’m not sure, probably running around over here and over there, freaking out over a smudge of ink, the usual stuff – It probably burned a lot of calories.
That was eons ago, of course. And Octavia isn’t here to correct me with the correct meaning of Eons, not 10, 20, some years, but millions and millions. I don’t care though, eons ago, ages ago, to me it’s probably going to be the same thing.

Well, Tavi was always a tad odd, really, while we were all freaking out, with the new teachers, new school, new place where to be, she was simply looking, she gave the impression of controlled calm, but not two days later she was having the biggest meltdown since....well, since a big thing melted down, a volcano or something, because she had forgotten her favorite pen.

And then came music class, at the time, of course, as young fillies and colts, none of us could do more than shake the triangles, or drum the bongos, unsure of ourselves, but she picked up the biggest instrument there was, twice her size, a Cello, and she played it.

And here’s the thing about it, even though it was double her size and she had to stand up just to reach it....

She actually played it well!

(...)

Well a snooty, still one colored mane Vinyl, and a young filly, too, named Octavia, I had no musical talent at the time, computers still not hot enough to handle all my heat of music, that was a weird comparison, sorry. And she was....just that, excelled at music, freaked out at everything.

Did I pass the idea that Tavi was a bit of a drama queen?

As her Cello skills developed (no doubt helped out by her body growth) and I discovered the early chip tunes (and now I sound like an old hag), I found myself more and more fascinated by her, and the thing is....

Eons may pass, millions of years (or, just like 10 in my case), but that first kiss with the drama queen you secretly had a crush on since that first day in music class?

Timeless, or at least, to me it is.

I don’t know about the rest of the world.

56 Atrocity by lyra_lover777

Atrocity by lyra_lover777

No one wants me. They'll never want me.

Well, at least I thought that.

I was so ugly.

I am ugly.

I can't take it.

I wanted to die.

Wanted.

But now I have her.

But she doesn't know me.

She may have held me.

She may thinks she knows me.

I may think she knows me.

But she doesn't.

She doesn't see who I really am, deep, deep inside.

A monstrosity.

A twisted, crooked, burnt, blackened, hairless, cold monster.

A beast.

She doesn't know what happened all those years ago.

On that cold rainy night.

I know, every night, she cries about her mother.

And it's my fault.

Cause it is.

I had gone in that house, the home, and stolen some money cause my mommy told me so.

And her momma was there.

She saw me.

I looked down at the gun Mommy had given me, just in case.

BLAM.

I ran, scared, crying.

Weeping.

I watched what I had become.

My heart shriveled, became the beast that is twisted, disgusting, non huggable.

I brought the gun.

I saw her, that night.

She saw her Momma die.

By me.

Thank goddess I was disguised then, or I wouldn't be here now.

But then, so many years later, she found the gun in my possession.

She looked at me, finally saw the monster, the beast, that I really was.

And she ran.

Like she ought to.

And now I'm alone, alone to lurk in the deepest depths of me.

Alone.

Alone with the monster.

57 Daughter by Ratsenkio

Daughter by Ratsenkio

*ding dong* Went the bell in the OctaScratch household.

A little colt was standing by the door as he waited for it to be opened.

His dark violet coat was shining in the moonlight and his rainbow mane and tail were well groomed. He was dressed in a nice black tuxedo, clearly tailored for the young stallion.

*ding dong* Went again the bell.

“Comin’.” said a raspy masculine voice. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal Vinyl Scratch.

“Oh. It’s you Dusk Blitz” said Vinyl to the young colt “Viola’s with her mother, she’ll be down in a moment.”

“It’s okay mister Vinyl.” responded Dusk.

“So how are Rainbow and Twilight?” asked Vinyl trying to make small talk while they waited his daughter’s descent,

“They’re fine. Dad complaining about some recruit as always and mom obsessed with her studies.” said Dusk.

“Great, it’s been a while since we’ve seen them. Maybe we could have dinner some time.”

“I’m sure mom and dad would…” started Dusk, but as he saw the beautiful filly that appeared behind Vinyl, he lost all ability of speech.

Viola Scratch had a white dress with a few touches of blue. Said dress went really well with her light gray coat and her blue curly mane.

“Hey dad, how do I look? Oh… Hi Dusk...” Viola said. Sounding more nervous as she spoke. With every word the blush on her cheeks keep darkening to the point of resembling a tomato.

“Hi Vi’.” responded the colt, who, like his date, was now sporting a blush much like his date.

“Well hello, Dusk.” saluted Octavia from the stairs having followed her daughter to the first floor.

“Now kids, what’s the plan for the night?” she finished.

“Hi, misses Octavia,” returned the colt with a little nod of his head, “first we are going to a see a movie and then we’ll go to have dinner at Sugarcube Corner.” he finally said.

“Well then, run along. Have fun you two.” said Vinyl, “Be home by nine and no funny business. Heard me?” finished as he shot Dusk a half serious half mocking glare.

“Yes, sir!” said Dusk as he and his date started to walk away from the house.

“Oh, she grows so fast” said Octavia in a soft voice, most certainly remembering her baby daughter while seeing her go on her first date,

“Well, we are not old ourselves… We could always make another one you know…” said Vinyl with half lidded eyes.

“Oh, come here you!” said Octavia grabbing her husband and closing the door with a soft kick.

67 Registered by Michelle Twistaloo

Registered by Michelle Twistaloo

“Vinyl, come here please”

The girl with the dark, grayish hair called forth the one with the blue hair, artificially dyed into the perfect tone, so as to look as if electricity were coursing through it.

“What is it Octavia?”

The girl with the hair in blue, whose named was Vinyl, approached, and stared at the screen of the computer the other girl had on her lap. She was on her email, and there was a new e-mail, asking for the confirmation on the registration on that website.

Vinyl grinned, despite the fact that Octavia wasn’t the biggest fan of that kind of thing, she had apparently registered for it, or rather, Vinyl had registered her, by herself.

“What is this?” – Octavia peeked at the email with the mouse, half afraid to click and open it, afraid of the things Vinyl would have registered her into, she had, in the past, registered her for free radios, and the like, but this email was different, for one it looked way more colorful, and for two it was....

“Just something I thought you should see...after all, we’re dating, we got to share interests” – Vinyl put a hand over the slightly smaller hands of Octavia, and clicked.

The whole email unraveled beneath her eyes, she could see from the quick shifting that Octavia was reading what it contained, and she, herself, was delighted, though the expression in Octavia was at best, neutral, and, at worse, slightly annoyed.

“Vinyl...”

“Yes, Tavi?” – She played her role of little angel perfectly, though with the things she had registered Octavia for, it was in vain. The thing she had registered her for...and Octavia winced, if someone were to have access to her personal e-mail, they’d laugh their butts off, or be grossed out.

“I’m all for trying new things...but really?”

“Hey, it’s closer to me than to you, but you can’t deny it’s hip and popular”

Octavia stared again at the screen, repulsion building up inside of her.

“A free rock lesson, with Rainbow Dash?”

“Why not? She won that whole talent show, well her band did, and I helped her out, we are friends, it’s free, you’ll have fun...just go”

Octavia clicked on the little “X” and deleted the email, Vinyl looked on, dejected.

“Sorry, Vinyl, but you should know it better than anyone. “ – While Vinyl looked dejected, Octavia looked rather amused with herself. – “I don’t do rock...or anything other than classic, really.”

Vinyl looked at the e-mail address, the e-mail deleted.

“I’m sure she’ll understand, after all, you’re already a master at your craft.”

Vinyl locked eyes with Octavia and approached her lips from the grayish haired girl, before closing in and kissing her.

69 Water by lyra_lover777

Author's Note

Don't worry about the lack of updates yesterday; we're not out of stories to post. It was just that my rigid writing and updating schedule was rudely interrupted by my everyday, unpredictable life.

69 Water by lyra_lover777

Water by lyra_lover777, Part I of Project Aqua

The five of us hiked over the endless valleys and plains of pure dust and sand. We were on a mission, a mission to save the wor-

"You started it wrong!" Lyra screamed at Bon Bon, frowning at her.

"Well you go, then!" Bon Bon cried.

The world was in desperate need of water, the driving force of life-

"You're buckin' jackin' it up as well!" Vinyl screeched.

Five ponies almost died a lot as they got wa-

"WHAT THE BUCK!?" Derpy yelled.

When five ponies went out to help save their home from dehydration and lack of muffins-

"There wasn't a lack of muffins!" Lyra exclaimed.

"Let me give it a try!" Octy said, snuggling up against Vinyl, her new wife.

Everypony fell silent as Octy began.

Once upon a time, five friends set out on a quest across the barren wastelands, a husk, a shell, of what their world had once been. Wars had racked Equus once to many, and the rivers, the lakes, even most of the oceans and seas dried up. These five, unqualified to go unto this mission to bring water to their homeland, began their journey by riding by train to the outer edges of the Griffonian Empire.

Now, they looked out across the flat, dusty wasteland that had once been the sea floor.

Octavia, by far the leader, and the smartest and strongest as well-

"Oh, somepony's totally not vain-" Lyra began.

"Oh, be quiet, you," Octavia murmured before starting from where she had left off.
These five, along with hundreds of other groups of five, had been exploited by the Kingdoms of Equus to search the planet of water, to drill to the planet's fiery core if they had to.

The endeavor was named "Project Aqua."

Either way, Vinyl, the hot yet basically mute unicorn began to drill into the ground.

"Why are you drilling all over the place, Vinyl?! What about this thing that helps us locate good spots to dig?" Octavia yelled, holding up a beeping metal contraption.

"Ah, I don't think that'll help," Vinyl replied. "I'll trust my instincts."

Octy huffed, trotting over to Vinyl's side to force her to stop.

Suddenly the device beeped loudly, its metallic sound screeching across the barren desert.

"Told you so," Vinyl smirked as she continued to excavate the spot.

The five then began to dig together.

By the end of the day, they had filled a pack of canteens by the little spring that resided in that spot. They had drained it, and it had only provided enough for a family of four ponies to last two weeks.

Lyra and Vinyl set up a portal with their magic while the other three prepped the water canteens for transport.

When the metal stakes had been planted in the ground and the two unicorns had powered up a portal in between the poles, Octy, Derpy, and Lyra inserted the bottles of clear, crystalline water into the portal. They would soon be sitting in a warehouse just outside the Canterlot Castle, freshly zapped from the wastelands on the borders of the Griffonian Empire.

"Oh, this is getting good! I'm gonna go get some muffins!" Derpy cried, flapping haphazardly into the kitchen.

"I'll get some popcorn," Bon Bon murmured, also entering the kitchen.

TO BE CONTINUED.

70 Socks by Michelle Twsitaloo

Socks by Michelle Twistaloo

Her nose wrinkled as the smell of sweat and smoke, as well as general feet smell came out of the socks of the other girl.

“Vinyl…”

This was old news to Vinyl, they had had this fight many times, the fact that when she arrived home at the crack of dawn, she threw her socks and other undergarments into the air to land wherever, so she could relax and sleep, slightly disturbed Octavia. Seeing them wasn’t so bad but the smell…

“I know, I know” she quickly bent down to catch one of the socks. Octavia held the other, in one of her hands, the other hand she was using to cover up her nose.

“Slob.” – The voice came weird with the hand in her nose, slightly tinted, but Vinyl didn’t care, this one fight, she was certain, she had lost.

“Sorry, babe, I just…”

But there was no excuse and she knew it, she grabbed the other sock, and, holding the two in her hands, she quickly moved downstairs, where the washing machine was.

When she got there, however, she found much of the same, socks, some stripped some dotted, and other filthy clothing, of her assortment of night wearing, she had forgotten to put it to wash.

“Ugh.” – She put some in the growing pile, and throughout the blinding light of sunlight, that passed through the window, she tried fitting all of it inside the machine. It worked, somewhat, if she kept herself on top of it to push it down.

“Are you finished?” – Octavia asked as Vinyl put the final clothing item down there.

“Pretty much” – She got up and went to get to Octavia, who wrinkled her nose once more.

“Shower first, then sweet sweet cuddling.”

Vinyl fist thrusted into the air. She loved the cuddling.

73 Rainbow by Arctic Inferno

Rainbow by Arctic Inferno

No, Vinyl thought. There is no way that can be possible.

And yet, as blurry and unbelieving as her eyes were, there was indeed another mare standing across the ballroom, returning her unfaltering gaze. She was beautiful by every definition of the word; her mane curved in a gorgeous stream down her shoulders, her onyx dress flowed in a veil behind her and her steps were delicate and well-mannered.

This can't be real, Vinyl repeated over and over in her head, this can't be real, no way in heaven...
`The other mare approached the speechless Dj, speaking in a smoothly angelic voice seldom heard from anything other than a celestial body. Her dress was seemingly designed in a way to make her curves as visible as possible to Vinyl but nopony else.

"Hello," She said calmly, "I saw you looking at me from over there."

"U-Uh, yeah, about that," Vinyl responded nervously, "You, uhm, just look really nice is all."

The eloquent mare responded to the rushed and nervous statement with a simple giggle.

Vinyl and the new mare spoke for a long time before the latter took a sudden turn and invited the Dj up the large stairs at the far end of the ballroom. She followed, a strange mixture of excited and petrified, mainly because she was finding it increasingly difficult to hide the scarlet blush that had spread like a forest fire over her muzzle.

The two stood in the rich sunlight that soaked the great balcony, talking and exchanging compliments. This was so until Vinyl realised her companion had directed her gaze to the sky, a content smile on her face. The Dj followed her gaze to a large milky rainbow of shimmering colours that shone down above them and both were captivated, too stunned to speak.

Vinyl managed to scoot a little closer to her, though.

74 Oracle by Ratsenkio

Oracle by Ratsenkio

“Come... enter the chamber of Madame Pinkie Pie... For the answers you seek, let us consult the mystical orb of fate's destiny...” said Pinkie Pie in a spooky tone.

“Lyra, come on. This is stupid. You know I don’t believe in this things,” said Octavia while looking through the curtains back outside, after a low mumble from the other mare, Octavia’s head came back inside and she walked to the cushion and sat down.

“Look deep into the crystal ball... for soon it will reveal all! Ah yes, I see something... It's a vision of the future... I see you, Octavia. You are at an altar and have a wedding dress on, but you are not alone. I see white and there’s blue too, but that’s no everything, I see that is a mare too.“

“Oh, come on Pinkie, really? You know I don’t like mares that way.” said Octavia feeling like she had been at the end of a bad joke.

Octavia stood up and walked to the entrance of the tent. But as she tried to step outside, a white mare bumped into her. “Sorry ‘bout that. Are you okay?” said the mare, her blue mane still covering some of her face.

“Yeah, sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.” said Octavia, her face showing surpise.

“I’m Vinyl. Say, how do you feel about a coffee? You know, as a I’m-sorry gesture.” said Vinyl with a small grin on her face.

Octavia’s mouth dropped to the floor and she had to shake her head to clear her thoughts. She then looked back a Pinkie with an incredulous look and turned to address Vinyl- “I’m Octavia by the way. And sure, I would like that very much.”

And Lyra stood there looking at where Octavia had been just seconds ago before leaving with the white mare. The seconds turned to minutes till BonBon returned and looked at her marefriend. “I’m back. Did I miss something?”

“Octavia… mare… coffee...” Lyra said before being dragged by Bon Bon to a nearby bench.

79 Silliness by Michelle Twistaloo

Silliness by Michelle Twistaloo

A very silly, silly filly she was. I remember the first time she dyed her mane, of course, now she gets to go to the mane stylist, which does it for her (and it actually looks sort of nice, even if I claim I don’t like it, because it’s not proper), and is part of her trademark style, but the first time she tried to do it on her own. And it came out horribly.

Just imagine if you will, blue, pink, white, all in a random mesh of colors, like polka or diamonds, but not intertwined into patterns, really she looked like a modern art exhibit. No sense, just, weird.

She looked all offended when I laughed at her, but then again, she looked offended at pretty much anything, she was that quiet sort of filly who, when spoke, said the meanest things. On the verge of offensiveness though, we switched sides, nowadays it’s her that gets on my nerves….

But I’m derailing, it was when I saw the mesh, mishmash of random colors that I knew one thing.

That filly, that made me laugh, cry, smile, and ponder? I had to go on with her on a date.

And the rest, is history, a silly one at that.

86 Love Potion by lyra_lover777

Love Potion by lyra_lover777

Lyra chuckled softly as she trotted in front of her friends, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Harmonica. The three ponies were making their way through the Everfree Forest, Octavia jumping and squealing adorkably at every sound and movement.

Smoke could be seen curling above the trees, and Lyra sped up her gait in intent to reach the smoke's causer in a shorter amount of time.

Octavia and Vinyl were a bit wary, and the slight awkwardness was not helping matters. The two had only met in several, short instances at one of Lyra or Bon Bon's parties.

Lyra, the little scheming matchmaker that she was, could see how perfect they were for each other, but she required a special brew to get their love up and running...

Zecora's hut soon came into view. The garish masks and oddly tinted smoke pouring out the door scared the wits out of the two, but Lyra told them to wait outside while she ventured in.

Zecora noticed the mint colored pony the second she stepped in.

"Hello Lyra, how is Guyra?"

"We're not supposed to talk about that, remember?"

"Ah, I do. Now, what can I do for you?"

"I need a love potion. Stat."

"This isn't another scheme of yours, I hope. Because if it is, my services for you are a nope."

"Nah, its just to liven up things with Bon Bon..."

"Oh, I see. Some birds and the bees?"

"That's personal."

"Never mind. I shall make your brew, starting with orange rinds."

The zebra then proceeded to quickly put together the potion in her bubbling cauldron. It was soon ready, and Zecora bottled the shimmering potion.

"Goobye. I hope you did not lie!"

"Don't worry, I didn't!"

Lyra quickly sped outside and instructed Vinyl and Octy to open their mouths.

They both did so willingly, and Lyra chucked the potion down their throats.

The two mares stared at each other for a moment before tackling each other into the bushes where smooching noises could be heard.

"Oh, fiesty..." Lyra murmured as she trotted away.

87 Mi Amore Cadenza by Treblemaker

Mi Amore Cadenza by Treblemaker

Cheerful humming rang across the palace, due to the fact that crystal walls had some great acoustics. It was a particular habit of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza while she worked. Currently located in her private chambers, she sat at the low sitting table, presiding over a rather large crystal ball. Horn aglow, her magic was wrapped around a few knick knacks which were in orbit around the ball at the time. Having an idea, tendrils of magic wrapped around another oddity and it started to spin along with it’s brethren. Her cadence was heard as her husband trotted into the room.

“Playing goddess again, are we?” The unicorn’s eyebrow raised.

“Sorry, old habits are hard to break.” She giggled. Putting down her playthings she walked over to Shining and gave him a small peck. Turning back to the contraption, she resumed the orbits.

“Just don’t do anything to extraordinary.” He smiled. “Like that one guard and my sister thing you were trying to get going.” All too well remembering young Flash.

“Don’t worry, this one is actually going to be really good, one of my best works.” She mused, focused on her intent. Shining took a glance over her mane at the ball.

“Wait, you’re attempting to work a Canterlot elite with a DJ? Let me know how well that turns out.”

“Silly, they’re already together, I’m just, ah, sprucing it up a bit.” Her laugh rang true to her name, as their chiming could very well be mistaken for music.

“I swear I don’t get this love stuff at all.” He facehoofed as he started back out of the room.

“That’s not entirely true,” the mare said, “Just look at who you tied yourself with.”

“You know Vinyl, you’re rather mushy today.” said one Octavia Philharmonica from her position on the couch.

“I know right? I don’t know why.” replied the unicorn, getting up to look at her compatriot. To which the cellist protested.

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way.” She complained. “Can we go back to cuddling?”

“Duh.” Came the response.

93 Sniffles by TaviPlaysTheBass

Sniffles by TaviPlaysTheBass

Octavia sneezed, and shook violently underneath her blanket.

“You okay in there, Octy?” A voice called in from the kitchen.

“Yes, I’m fine Vinyl.” Octavia said, sniffling loudly.

“Alright, your soup is almost ready.” Vinyl called enthusiastically.

“Thanks.” Octavia curled into a ball beneath her blankets, trying to escape her throbbing headache.

She was absolutely miserable. The grey mare hadn’t been sick in almost five years, and the sudden onset of her cold had come as a shock. Congested noses, sore throats, pounding headaches, aching bodies, these were all completely alien concepts to Octavia Melody, and she didn’t like them one bit.

Bedridden for three days so far, it had been up to her marefriend to keep her comfortable and healthy. Vinyl had been running herself ragged trying to keep her in good care, reading her bedtime stories, cooking soup every night, and forcing disgusting cough medicines down her throat.

Octavia smiled thinking about it. She was lucky to have such a loving caretaker, somepony who was willing to give their all to make sure she stayed healthy.

Vinyl walked into the room, levitating a bowl of soup on a tray behind her.

“Here you are, Octy.” She said, lowering the tray to rest beside Octavia on her bed.

The delicious aroma was overpowering, and Octavia dug in, unable to hold herself back.

Like all of Vinyl’s soups, it was marvelous. Warm and flavorful, Octavia could feel herself getting better as the hot liquid heated her extremities.

Her marefriend had proven a much better cook than Octavia could have ever anticipated, displaying a level of proficiency in the kitchen that most ponies would be surprised to see in the energetic, carefree DJ.

It was a side of Vinyl that Octavia had never seen before, but one that she appreciated deeply in her time of need.

In no time, Octavia was nursing an empty bowl, and she found that her headache had receded, replaced by a warm sensation throughout her entire body.

“Thank you Vinyl, that was divine.” She said, handing her bowl back to the DJ, who floated it back to the kitchen.

“Anytime, Tavi,” Vinyl said, mussing Octavia’s mane with a hoof. “You know I’ve always got your back.”

Octavia smiled, and laid back on her pillow, completely exhausted.

“Are you tired?” Vinyl asked. “I can go grab Daring Do from the living room and read to you a bit before bedtime.”

“That sounds marvelous.”