Amore Obbligato
Chapter 12: Pesante
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Chapter 12: Pesante
When performing mindless, mundane tasks, it was not hard to lose oneself in the moment. It was one of the attractions such activity held for Twilight. If she wanted to not think for a while, she could just re-sort the shelves (and in the process, try out a new, possibly more efficient system). Other times, she just wanted to let her hands go on autopilot, so her mind could wander. She had found that free form thought was often the best way to find new ways to look at a problem. However, there were times where such activity just let her mind dwell on something unpleasant, not matter how much she tried otherwise.
This was definitely a case of the latter. Everything she did reminded her of Octavia. The rhythm into which she fell as she replaced the books back on the shelf made her think of a metronome. She found herself humming a musical scale. When she realized that the book in her hand through which she had been leafing was a treatise on musical theory, the unicorn knew she had enough. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she set the book back down on the pile and her horn lit up. A similar glow surrounded the many stacks of books that she and Spike had been sorting and they all flew back into the spaces they had vacated less than a half hour prior, including the book in Spike's hand. “I- I'm sorry, Spike. I just can't do this right now.”
Spike regarded her with a worried expression. “Something wrong, Twilight? You've been acting... odd since yesterday.”
Twilight downed her cup of tea, noting that it did nothing to soothe her mind. She ruffled his head spines, a sad smile on her face. “Sorry again. It's just... it's not something that's easy for me to talk about, you know?”
Realization seemed to dawn on the dragon's face, and he suddenly looked nervous. “Ooohhh... Mare stuff. Say no more.”
With that, the baby dragon darted out of the room, making a lame excuse about sorting through his comic collection. Twilight smirked at his retreating form, feeling bad about letting him leave with the wrong idea, but relieved at not having to try to explain her feelings to him. After all, at the end of the day, not only was he still a child, he was male and a dragon, and worked on a different wavelength entirely.
“I think I'll go for a walk... On second thought, nevermind. Not really in the mood to run into anypony right now.” Twilight thought hard for a moment before deciding to do something she hardly ever did. Pulling on a jacket, she walked out of the library, not bothering to lock up in case Spike returned before she did. She only took a few steps before disappearing in a bright flash of light, reappearing in front of the tiny Ponyville movie theater. Laying down a handful of bits on the counter, she said, “One, please.”
(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)
Vinyl stepped off the train, breathing deeply the chill, foreign air. She looked around at the aganippe dressed in their funny clothes, scurrying about their way, going on with the business of their lives and oblivious to the newcomer unicorn and her problems. Releasing her deep breath in a sigh, she shouldered her backpack and zipped up her hoodie to ward off the cool afternoon air. She walked up to the ticket booth and said, “Excuse me, do you know where I can find the Galliard Conservatory?”
The old stallion behind the counter looked at her in confusion and said something in a language she didn't understand.
“I'm sorry, what?” she asked, leaning forward a little.
“He said that he doesn't speak Equish,” answered a mare behind her.
Vinyl turned to see a white Royal Guard leaning against a column. “I don't suppose you could tell me where to find it, could you?” she asked, just happy to see another unicorn.
The mare made no move aside from chewing on the toothpick hanging from the corner of her mouth. “I might.” She looked over the deejay with a critical eye, obviously not liking what she was seeing. After almost a minute of silence, she asked, “A bit late to register for class, innit?”
Not one to take attitude from anyone, let alone strangers, Vinyl crossed her arms under her breasts and cocked her hips to one side. “It would be, if that was why I was here. Are you going to make yourself useful, or are you too busy holding up the wall?”
With a grin, the mare pushed off from the wall and started for the train station's exit. “Well, come on, then. They have an early curfew for visitors and tourists; they hate their students to be disturbed, what with all the money paid to attend.”
Vinyl ran to catch up, then slowed to an easy canter beside her guide. She glanced at the strange architecture of the partially underground city, trying not to gawk like a green tourist, but seeing so many aganippe in one place was something new to her. Back in Canterlot, the only bat-winged ponies around were all in Princess Luna's personal guard, and there were absolutely none to be found in Ponyville. With her signature shades, she was able to let her eyes linger on them without fear of being rude, but still tried not to stare. Aganippe foals ran and flew through the streets just like any other ponies in any other city, but with a noticeable lack of diversity, and adults flew or walked about their business, paying no mind to the two land-bound unicorns.
The deejay was staring up at some stalactites which had been hollowed out to make them into homes when the guard asked, “So, which is it? Visitor or tourist?”
“Are you always this rude, or do you just not have a name?” Vinyl replied, not taking her eyes from the strange buildings.
The guard lightly slapped her forehead and grinned. “Silly me. I keep forgetting. Being one of only a handful of unicorns living in the city, I'm used to ponies instantly recognizing me. Name's Bardiche.” She held out her hand, which Vinyl took.
“Vinyl Scratch,” she said, shaking the hard, calloused hand. “I'm here visiting a friend in the college, Octavia Melody.”
Bardiche's eyes went wide. “You know Octavia? The Octavia Melody?”
“Well, she doesn't come in six-packs,” she replied, muttering under her breath, “More's the pity.”
“No offense,” Bardiche said cautiously, “but you don't strike me as the kind of pony to befriend someone like her.”
Vinyl rolled her eyes. “Why is it that whenever someone says, 'no offense,' offensive words are all that follows?” She pulled out her wallet which dangled from a chain and extracted her favorite picture from it. A much younger trio of Octavia, Twilight and herself smiled back at her. “Yeah, you could say that we've known each other for a while now.”
Bardiche looked down at the photo and gasped. “You know Lady Sparkle as well?”
The deejay quickly put the photo away, a light blush forming on her cheeks. “Whatever; I'm here for Octavia.” Though the visit has more to do with our little lawbreaker than just a plain social call.
They continued on in silence for a bit, Bardiche leading the way, a sullen Vinyl following behind. “Um, look. I'm sorry about earlier. My parents tried to teach me manners, but it never really took. I guess that's why I went into the military; I don't really get along well with civilians, and it's a bit easier to hide a gruff attitude in the corps, you know?” She put a finger to her chin in thought, adding, “Come to think of it, that may be why they shipped me all the way out here. Even my CO here is a bit of an odd duck.”
Vinyl nodded, then shrugged. “S'alright. I'm not going to win any awards in manners, myself. You said, 'The Octavia Melody' earlier. Does that mean you know about her?”
Bardiche gave a helpless gesture. “Kinda hard not to know about her in a music town like this. Rumor has it that she's being courted by the Duchess herself, as well as a sundry of other mares and stallions, not to mention other creatures as well. And then, of course, there's all the orchestras who-”
“Courting?” Vinyl asked, her throat suddenly going dry. “As in...”
With a chuckle, Bardiche replied, “Like I said, that's the rumor. I myself, don't put much stock in rumors, but it is a fun way to pass a long shift, listening to all the gossiping hens that pass through the train station. I suppose it started around her second year here, when the school played for the Duchess' yearly Grand Ball. All the nobles saw Her Grace staring at the stage during Octavia's solo piece, and it sorta took off from there. Doesn't help any that she receives about a dozen deliveries a day; mostly flower bouquets, but a coworker who sometimes drops by the school said that she once saw her receiving a rather large jewelry case; the kind that holds expensive necklaces.”
The bottom fell out of Vinyl's heart just then. A sharp, aching void opened up in her chest, and she just knew that it could never be filled again. I knew that she would eventually move on, but to actually hear about it...
They continued walking in silence, Bardiche sensing that she had unintentionally trod on dangerous ground. It wasn't too long before the school hove into view, and Vinyl couldn't help but think that it fit Octavia perfectly. The Gothic architecture harkened back to a socially sophisticated time where ponies wore too many layers of clothes, stood on too much ceremony, and were focused far too much on one's station. The tall spires almost touched the cavern's ceiling, as if they meant to tie the sky to the ground, and the leering gargoyles clinging to the exterior told any who saw them that this place was not to be taken lightly. It's like the building equivalent of Octy, she thought with a wry smile.
“Well, this is the place,” Bardiche said, stopping at the open gate. “I wish you luck. Trying to get in to see students is pretty tough, what with their schedule and all. Galliard takes education very seriously.”
Vinyl nodded and gave her a small smile. “Thanks. Listen, sorry about the 'tude earlier. I'm just going through some stuff right now. If you feel up to it later tonight, I'm going to be guest deejaying over at Club 404. You should come see it.” She pulled out a pair of comp tickets the club had sent her as enticement earlier in the week.
Bardiche gingerly took the tickets as if they were something fragile. “Whoa, you're deejaying at 404? That's a pretty exclusive club. I've only been in there once, and that was because the bouncer at the door was intimidated by me. Drinks were a pretty bit, too. You must really be something to get invited there.”
With a shrug, Vinyl replied, “Meh, I do alright.” Normally, she would have been really talking her talent up, but was too distracted by what she was going to say to Octavia to really think about it. As she turned away, she gave a half-hearted wave and walked through the open gate. “See you there. And bring a friend.”
Bardiche watched her walk up to the building, scratching the back of her head. “Odd mare.”
(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)
With a flourish, Octavia plucked the last few notes of the piece she was practicing and set down the bow on a chair in the common room. She had just picked up a towel to wipe off the chin rest of the violin, when the phone rang. With a grumble, the walked over to it and set the instrument down and proceeded to wipe it down one handed while picking up the receiver on the fourth ring. “Si? Qui Octavia, dite pure,” she said.
“Octy, my girl! Would you be a dear and come down to the front office and let these stuffed shirts know that I'm not a terrorist here to kidnap you? They keep threatening to call the police... I think. I dunno, I don't speak their language, and their accent is just horri-”
“Vinyl?” the cellist practically yelled.
As the earth pony took several deep breaths, the deejay took the opportunity to head off her rant before it could get started. “Yeah, just come on down. I got some stuff to talk to you about. Chop, chop, now.” With that, the line went dead, leaving a shocked mare holding onto the phone receiver dumbly.
(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)
Vinyl was having a great time doing everything she could think of to annoy the mare behind the desk. As she sat on the corner of the furniture, picking her teeth with a business card she had taken from a stack, she hummed one of Octavia's favorite classical songs, purposely going out of tune and tapped a hoof against the desk in what could be construed as an attempt to keep time, but was about half a beat too slow. Just as the old agganippe was about to curse her out, Octavia walked in and went straight to her, ignoring her old friend who stood and held out her arms for a hug.
“” she said in fluid Itailion. Before any of them could say another word, Octavia had already dragged Vinyl out of the office.
It wasn't until they were halfway down the hall that Vinyl's protests finally got through to the enraged mare. “Octy, you're hurting my arm! Leggo!”
Rather than complying with her request, the stronger mare instead roughly shoved her against the wall, smothering all protests with a kiss. Despite not wanting to cheat on Watermelody, Vinyl couldn't help but return the kiss with equal fervor. This was something the both of them had been suppressing since the day Octavia moved away. It was several minutes before the deejay returned to her senses and gently, but firmly pushed her ex-fillyfriend away. “Octy, I'm sorry, but I can't.”
For her part, Octavia looked surprised, though more at her own actions, rather than Vinyl's protests. “Oh... You... you've...”
With a nod, Vinyl replied, “Yeah. She's a nice filly. No Octavia Melody, but she still deserves better than me cheating on her with my...”
“Your ex,” Octavia finished. “I understand.” Reluctantly, she slowly backed away from the unicorn, giving them both some much needed space. “So, what brings you all the way out here?”
Vinyl gently rapped Octavia on the head with her knuckles. “You, dummy. You said you'd call, but here it is almost three weeks later, and I haven't heard a peep from you. You didn't even give me a satisfactory answer about our outlaw.”
Octavia had the grace to look chagrinned. “Ah. I do apologize, but I... er...”
“Kinda blindsided you, huh?”
A moment of silence passed before she replied, “Yes.” The gray mare looked down at the floor, a storm of raw, conflicting emotions running the gamut through her. “I just...”
Vinyl drapped an arm over her shoulders and guided her out the door to sit on one of the park benches outside. “Yeah, I know how you feel Babe, believe me. The only reason I don't think she's snubbing me, is that she genuinely didn't see me at the turntable. Standing in the spotlight like she was, we know from personal experience how blinding the lights can be. Plus, it's been what, five, almost six years now? Even if she saw me, she might not have recognized me.”
The earth pony still couldn't meet her gaze directly, instead focusing her eyes on the twiddling thumbs in her lap. “I... there is something I need to tell you, Vinyl. You... you are not the only one to have seen her from afar. Last year, at the Grand Galloping Gala, Princess Celestia invited the school to send its best quartet, and I... I was among those sent. I too, saw her from the stage. She spent much of the gala by the Princess's side, but I had a clear view of her most of that time. She... she actually looked happy,” Octavia said quietly. She sat there silently for a moment, before continuing. “I do not think she noticed me either, so I hesitated to go up to her. You remember I told you about the disaster into which the evening turned, do you not?” She looked up long enough to see her friend's nod, then continued. “Well, when that pink mare all but stole my bow, I of course, had to go look for it, and by the time I had returned, Twilight was gone, along with half the guests, who had left in disgust.”
She heaved a sigh and slumped in the seat. She held up her calloused hands as if inspecting them for flaws. “My one chance to reconnect, and I blew it; all because I let some... random mare catch me offguard. I haven't even been back to Canterlot since that day, I was so ashamed.” He hands clenched into fists so tight, her knuckles turned white.
Vinyl gently placed her hands over her friend's, easing the fingers open. “Easy there, Octy. That wasn't your fault. From what I've heard of that year's gala, the ponies that started that brouhaha were banned from ever coming back by the nobles. If anything, they're the ones to blame for it.”
Octavia suddenly stood and began angrily pacing in front of the unicorn, slowly building a head of steam. “But I could have gone back! I should have gone back! Instead, I buried myself in my studies here, all but cutting all ties back in Canterlot, except for an occasional call to Mother, and because of what? A single bad experience? What kind of friend does that, I ask you!” By now, Octavia's anger had swelled to a fury which even showed on her normally placid face as she literally stomped along the dirt path. “I've just been using it as a sad excuse, I tell you! If I loved Twilight half as much as I say I do, I should never have let such a paltry experience keep me from reconnecting! Just thinking about it makes me so... so... RRRAAAGGGHHH!!!” Vinyl just barely got out of the way in time as the earth pony violently brought her hoof down on the wooden bench where she had just been sitting, stomping through the thick wooden seat with such savage ferocity, that the cacophonous CRACK echoed throughout the cavern like thunder.
Vinyl gaped at the mare from her place on the ground, glasses askew, revealing the shocked expression on her face. “Daaayuuummm, 'Tavi! Take it down a notch, filly!”
The gray mare fell onto the grass-like lichen that comprised the cavern's “greens” with an “Oof.” She stretched out her long legs and leaned back on her hands. “I believe I shall, as I seem to have injured my ankle.”
“Sprained it?” Vinyl asked.
“Most likely,” Octavia replied.
“Hurts?”
“Like the dickens.” There was a beat of silence before they both burst out laughing. Octavia wiped away a tear as she said, “Oh, dear. It has been too long since I laughed like that. One does not realize how much one missed the simple things in life until they are reintroduced to them.”
Vinyl chuckled at her. “You know, most ponies would just say, 'I forgot how good it feels to laugh.' You still haven't stopped using ten words where one will do?”
Giving her head a haughty tilt and a sniff, she replied, “Of course not. I cannot help it if most ponies just don't appreciate what a wondrous language, Equish truly is.”
Vinyl quirked an eyebrow at her incredulously. “What was it our Language Arts teacher back in high school used to say about Equish?” she asked.
“Mr. Flowing Script used to say a great many things about the language, but the one to which I think you are referring is, 'Equish is a cutpurse. It follows other languages down dark alleys, clubs them upside the head, and goes through their pockets for loose grammar,' you cynic,” she answered with a grin. She held out an arm and asked, “Little help?”
The unicorn stood, dusting off her clothes before grabbing the hand and struggling to pull her friend up to a semi-standing position, then pulled that same arm over her shoulders to support her. “I suppose we better get that looked at. Does this fancy shmancy school of yours have a nurse on duty, or do we need to go to the hospital?”
Again, the earth pony gave a haughty sniff. “I shall have you know that Galliard employs a doctor full time, specializing in orthopedics. Any music school worth its salt would do the same, given the nature of injuries likely to occur in our profession.”
Vinyl gave her a sideways grin, and said, “Really? SSU had a full time doctor, too. Ours was a specialist in communicable diseases, though. Specifically, venereal diseases.”
Octavia rolled her eyes, but still smiled. “I might have guessed.”
(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)
Octavia watched Vinyl “work the crowd” as she liked to call it. The earth pony likened it more to a form of mind control; or to be more accurate, mood control. The unicorn's facile skill at getting a crowd of ponies to act and react they way she wanted never ceased to amaze her. Even now, she managed the ponies' moods as if they were a row of ducklings following their mother. They all moved to her beat, even those who looked as if they would be a disaster on the dance floor.
Thinking that brought to mind the one time Octavia tried to teach Twilight a simple box step, which had ended up with bruises on her shins, and those took weeks to heal. A sad smile appeared, which she covered by taking a sip of the drink Vinyl had bought for her. The mystery drink brought a grimace to her face, causing her to shake her head violently, as if she were trying to clear her head. Thinking of her abused shins reminded her of her more recent injury, causing her to run her hand down her svelte leg until it encountered her still wrapped ankle. The doctor had told her that she was just a gnat's width from fracturing it, and ordered her to stay off it for a couple of days, even though he had used a rather powerful healing spell on it, and she intended to follow that order as closely as feasible, regardless of her own wishes.
From her spot on a chair behind the turntables, Octavia had a marvelous view of the crowd, which was happily eating out of Vinyl's hand. However, this could not compare to the view she had of Vinyl's backside as she worked. Her eyes kept returning to that skirt-clad, bouncing rump, those long, swaying legs, and her disheveled, swishing tail, beckoning her like a pony in the desert spotting an oasis. Why, oh why did I ever give her up? We didn't even try to make it work! The cellist sighed and looked away toward the crowd to distract her from her thoughts, fruitless, though it was. Who am I fooling? Even if we hadn't had physical distance as an excuse, something else would have cropped up. We may have a common bond through music, but we are just too different; want different things from life, want different things from each other.
She was startled from her thoughts by Vinyl collapsing in the chair beside her, still wiping the sweat from her face with a small towel. “Phew! This town really has some great feedback! I hardly had to direct them, and they just went for it!” The unicorn took a long pull from her bottle of chilled water and breathed an exaggerated sigh of delight when she took it away. “Woo!”
Octavia was thankful for the shadows in the darkened nook where their table was secreted, which hid her blush. Dear Celestia, how I've missed the sight and smell of her sweat! “I notice that you still cannot sit like a lady,” she said with a haughty sniff. “Or are you advertising for companionship tonight?” She nodded towards the other mare's legs, which were spread wide on the chair as if she were a stallion.
Vinyl leaned towards the earth pony, her eyes half-lidded seductively. “Why? You looking to answer the call?”
With a roll of her eyes, Octavia took the towel resting on the bistro table, and threw it over her friend's head. “Perhaps you need to take a cold shower? Or should I call your fillyfriend to talk you down? What was her name again?”
“Watermelody,” the unicorn replied, pulling the towel off. With a sly grin, she added, “You know, she had a major crush on you back in high school. She was just a freshy during our senior year, but she even joined the classical band instead of her first choice when she saw you. I bet it wouldn't take much convincing to get a little three-way if we asked ni-”
She was shut down as Octavia took the bottle from her hands, and squeezed it, spraying the unicorn's face with ice cold water. “Is your ardor sufficiently cooled now, or should I fetch another bottle?” she asked, her voice making the temperature of liquid helium seem warm in comparison.
Vinyl wiped her face with the towel again, looking sheepish. “I was just joking, Octy. Sheesh. Forgot how rabid you are about cheating.”
“Fidelity is no joking matter, Vinyl Scratch. You would do well to remember that.” The cellist glared at her for a moment before softening her expression. “I apologize. I should have known you were joking, but...”
Vinyl rested a hand on Octavia's arm. “Hey, you don't have to explain to me. I was there when you caught that jerk in the janitor closet with Little Miss I-Can't-Keep-My-Legs-Together-To-Save-My-Life.”
Octavia smirked at her. “As I recall, you were the one who forced me to stake out the closet during lunch to catch them.” She shook her head sadly. “Honestly, I do not know what I saw in Irresistible Charm.”
“Hey, she almost lured me into her bed, and I was aware of her reputation. I can't really blame you for wanting to date her,” Vinyl replied sympathetically. They sat in silence for a moment, before she said, “You know, we still haven't decided what we want to do about our little criminale. “
Arching an eyebrow at her, Octavia asked, “What do you have in mind?”
Vinyl leaned down and took another bottle of water out of the small cooler kept under the table for performers and drank deeply before wiping her mouth on her arm and smiled. “I say we pay her a visit. She'll have to notice us if we're on her doorstep like a couple of Celestia's Witnesses.”
“Oh, there is a pleasant connotation,” Octavia replied with a roll of her eyes.
Vinyl waved her off dismissively. “Fine, Filly Scouts selling cookies, if you prefer. The analogy doesn't matter. What counts is that she won't be able to help but notice us. What do you say?”
Octavia didn't even have to consider for very long before replying. “I would say that it is the height of rudeness to drop by somepony unannounced, even if you believe they would be happy to see you.”
Again, Vinyl waved off her concerns dismissively. “Oh, please. I'm sure she's so bored in Ponyville. Have you ever been there? It's what they were thinking of when they coined the term, 'one-cart town'. If it weren't for Pinkie Pie, I doubt that anything exciting would happen there.”
“Well, I do not know who this 'Pinkie Pie' pony is, but if you know her, then it is a fair bet that you met at a party, and is suitably uncouth like a certain pony I could name,” Octavia said after thinking a moment. “I suppose that it would not hurt to take some time off, perhaps a three or four day weekend. I would have to clear it with the school, of course, and I would like to stop and see mother before going to this... Ponyville, but yes, I believe I shall accompany you on this quest to reconnect with dear Twilight.
Vinyl's grin threatened to take in her whole head.
Author's Note
Wow. It's been a while, huh? I know I keep saying that I won't disappear without letting you know if I'm quitting, but time just keeps slipping through my fingers. Let me just reaffirm that I am still writing, and I am going to do my best to finish the stories I started here. I really love this community here, and how supportive it has been to me in the past. I truly consider you all my people. 