Music of Reverence

Vinyl groaned as she rubbed her chest. The stitches were gone but it still felt odd. It didn't really hurt just a little itchy. Her manager had scheduled a press meeting using her recent hospital stay as an explanation for her prior moodiness. He really was playing down the truth trying to preserve her image. Vinyl didn't feel right letting him lie like that and it was clear even after this she would still be on vacation. "Yeah, yeah, yeah I know don't admit to anything. It still don't feel right just saying I was sick."

"Addiction is being sick Vinyl. You are not lying about that," Neon Lights said. He was there more to give the white mare support. Vinyl would have much rather it had been Octavia instead. Neon continued, "Look Vinyl. I saw some of the things you did remember? Your manager wants you to play down the half drowning yourself in booze." Vinyl winced at Neon's words, but she had to admit to herself that was just what she had done. She hadn't even looked at a booze bottle since being released for Tavi's sake.

"I still miss her. I never got to tell her how sorry I am for everything. I... I... I need... I need to see her again," Vinyl spoke softer than was normal for her. Neon placed a hoof on her back. She was still in the wheelchair but now was starting to walk a little. The doctors had told her she would have to stay in the chair most of the time but she would need to walk a little each day to regain her strength. That didn't help her feel any better as her legs felt like they were made of lead after first her stay in bed at the hospital. Then again on returning to her apartment.

"Now don't start this again Vinyl. We all miss her, but that won't bring her back," Neon was growing increasingly more frustrated as he tried to get Vinyl to focus. "Look I'm sorry for your loss. We just have to keep moving on. You can find another anytime you want," Neon blurted out then slapped a hoof to his face not seeing the glare the white mare shot him. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm gonna step outside and let the um... Others help you get ready."

"Fine but I'm gonna visit Tavi on the way back. I don't care if those photoponies get a picture of it either." Vinyl had given up on trying to talk her way out of the press meeting, but she hadn't given up her desire for Octavia. Neon shrugged as he walked out of the room. Several mares pressed in around Vinyl going about cleaning her mane and tail. What she really needed was a bath but given the time of the meeting a quick mane and tail style was the best they could do. True they had sponged her off as best as they could before the stitches were removed, but fur made for less than effective baths done this way.

The press conference went mostly uneventful aside from one reporter trying to get a scoop on some strange conspiracy theory involving some sort of weird creatures. Mostly her manager did the talking with Vinyl agreeing when needed. Very few questions had actually been answered by her not that any pony noticed that over the healing scar on her chest and her sitting in a wheelchair. She had kept the nonchalant smile on her face as much as possible. Once out of public view she allowed her true emotion show. Now she was looking down at the dirt mound under which Octavia rested. "I wish you were here. Tavi, it hurts so much. I know you wanted me to live even if it meant you would die. Somehow I feel like part of me died too. I love you. I've loved you for a long time. I... I never stopped loving you. I'm so sorry I got so jealous." Tears welled up in Vinyl's eyes. Her sunglasses rested above her horn allowing her eyes to be seen as they watered. "But hey. My manager said the press conference we had today might boost my record sales. I couldn't tell him I didn't want the money. I want you."

The scene had grown hazy. Octavia stepped out from the mist ignoring the grave. Tavi's grave was gone replaced by a tree. "Vinyl it so good to see you again. I do say you are looking better now." Vinyl's face seemed to brighten but was somewhat confused at the lack of a grave marker where it had once been. "So Vinyl, are you going to retire or get back on stage?" This made Vinyl blink in surprise. She hadn't thought about it but hearing Octavia ask that question made her reconsider. "Listen to me Vinyl. If you retire then the music will die. Your music will die. No, that's not quite right. Our music will die. Do you honestly want that to happen?" Vinyl thought for a moment as the gray earth mare watched her intently.

"No I don't Tavi, but I can't hear it anymore," Vinyl said as a sad expression crossed her face. Octavia would wrap her hooves around Vinyl in a tender hug. "All I can think about is how much I miss you." She closed her eyes returning the embrace. It was then she heard it. The sound of a cello playing. It wasn't just any cello player it was how Octavia used to play. She opened her eyes to see her turn tables in front of her as Octavia drew the bow over the strings of the cello. When had she released hug Vinyl didn't know. Watching Tavi play awakened something inside her. It was faint but it was there. She could hear it but it wasn't very loud yet she only had to turn up the volume.

Vinyl awoke jerking upright which she instantly regretted from the cramps in her muscles. She seethed wondering how she had gotten in her bed. She dismissed the question as she rolled out of bed and staggered to the bathroom. She had barely managed to get inside and plop on the toilet when she heard voices in her bedroom. She groaned trying to ignore the stabbing pain in her legs. Her horn ignited as she turned on the hot water in the tub. Hoof steps neared the bathroom door. "Hey! I know I'm sexy and all but no free shows." A rather embarrassed Lyra poked her head inside. "Oh. Lyra. Um... I was about to take a bath, but I don't think my legs want to work with me." She grunted as she pushed off the toilet and half stumbled to the tub. She turned the water off stepping into the basin and easing herself into the steaming pool. "Are you just going to stand there or help me get cleaned up. I smell like I just woke up from a week long bender rave." Lyra hurried in getting a brush and began to scrub Vinyl's now dull coat getting the built up dirt, which no sponge could ever remove, out and revealing the true white of the DJ's fur.

Over the course of the next few days Vinyl spent considerable time in her study. Octavia's cello was no longer in the corner of the living room and instead been placed in the study. Vinyl had insisted it would help her relax. Sometimes they'd hear the sound of the cello playing with an undertone of the electronic bass that was the signature of DJ Pon3. No pony had expected what would happen next. Vinyl finally emerged wearing her sunglasses. Her head bobbed in time to a beat still playing in her ears. She was walking with more ease though she was still stiff and needed to rest regularly. "Yo! I'm starved. Any pony up for take out?" Every pony looked at Vinyl not because of her cheery mood but because of the disk that was balanced on her horn. "What? You think I'm not gonna make new tracks even if I'm on vacation?" That comment made the other ponies laugh.

Sleep came faster to Vinyl this night. She was again with Octavia basking in the closeness. "I'm tell ya Tavi, I don't play cello. Every pony keeps saying that I do, but I don't." Vinyl sighed not sure how to say it. "I just like to look at and hold your cello when I'm working. It helps me to relax. I can hear the music when it's near me."

"Then perhaps we aren't so different. It is the music that drives us Vinyl. You can't just ignore it," Octavia said in a soft tone. Vinyl smiled gazing at the lovely gray mare. "It's the harmony that binds us." Vinyl opened her mouth to speak only to be stopped with a kiss. Vinyl could only nod and return the kiss. Vinyl felt a warmth flow through her body. Octavia's last words echo and fade on the air, "The love that surrounds us..."