My name is Octavia Melody. I live in Canterlot with my fiancé and I work as the lead cellist for a small time orchestra. I get up every morning, make breakfast for me and Vinyl, my fiancé, I head to work, then head back at about seven at night. What happens after that is dependent on a variety of factors. Vinyl works as a DJ for a local pub, using the stage name "DJ Pon-3", and because of this, she often is out to the darkest hours of Luna's night, but on the rare occasions our schedules allow, we prove to each other just how much we love each other.
The funny thing about Vinyl is that most ponies would assume she acts just like she does when she's on the stage. Rocking her head, "Dropping mad beats" as they say. What they don't know is that without her glasses, Vinyl is nervous wreck. Seriously! I think I'm the only pony who can get her to talk when she's not wearing her glasses without her locking up and having a panic attack.
For the most part, it's actually kind of cute. Watching her go from a clumsy mare afraid of any social interaction to a wild, head banging DJ who has no concept of "Low Volume". But recently, it's become kind of worrying. Vinyl is becoming more and more nervous and sometimes flat-out refuses to do anything without her glasses. Normally, I would chalk it up to premarital jitters... That is... until a couple weeks ago.
The night those few weeks back was one where Vinyl and I were allowed to be together for the evening. As rare as an occurrence that was, we wanted to celebrate in our usual way. We got the early steps out of the way just fine. Some gossip, a romantic dinner, a couple shots of champagne, but when it was time to...Ahem... get intimate, Vinyl pulled out her shades, looked me dead in the eye and said, "I don't think I can tonight, Tavi... Mind if I put on the glasses?"
The way she said it just took me off guard. The bedroom is one of the few places Vinyl isn't a shy mess. From the tone of her voice, she sound... disappointed in herself. I told her it was alright and we went through with it, but it still just didn't sit right with me. Something was bothering Vinyl, and I wanted to know what it was.
The next morning I woke up and stretched underneath my sheets. The air was cool in a way that only the early morning air can be. A pleasant kind of cool that seemed to want to put you back to sleep as much as it wanted you to wake up. I sat up and looked to my left, expecting to see one very unconscious albino mare snoring in the cute way she does the mornings after our "Bonding Sessions", but she wasn't there, and her glasses weren't on her night stand. Confused, I kicked off the covers covers as I heard the shower running.
Strange, I thought. Vinyl was not by any stretch of the imagination a morning pony. After living with her for three months, I had come to recognize a set of behavioral patterns from Vinyl. Waking up before me and showering meant she was either A: Completely drunk, or B: Bawling her eyes out and using the shower to drown out the sound.
Slowly, I got up from the bed and approached the door to the bathroom. It was faint, but I could definitely make out the sounds of soft sobbing. I gently lifted my hoof and knocked on the door, calling "Vinyl, dear? Is everything alright?"
A gasp sounded from inside the bathroom as Vinyl attempted to sound as calm as possible. "Y-Yeah, Tavi! J-Just taking a shower!"
I sighed and leaned against the door, placing my hoof on my face. I love that mare, but as shy as she was, she drove me absolutely insane whenever she got these sudden bursts of pride.
"Well, if you like, I could come in and join you", I responded.
While my response may have seemed just a playful tease, it was actually a calculated phrase that would bring me to one of two outcomes depending on what Vinyl was upset about. If I had done something wrong and upset her, she would nervously wave me off and continue sobbing. If she was upset with herself about something, she would be wearing the glasses and respond in a volatile manner.
"For bucks sake, Octavia!" Vinyl called from behind the door. "We just had sex last night!"
Like I said, behavioral patterns.
Sighing, I placed my hoof on the doorknob and gave a warning to Vinyl in case she really was in the shower. "I'm coming in, Vinyl".
Before she had a chance to protest, I opened the door and forced my way in. Sure enough, there she was. Outside the shower with her glasses on.
I sighed and trotted to the shower, turning off the water before facing my fiancé. "Vinyl, what's wrong?"
Trying to hold back a sob, Vinyl started, "Nothing's wrong, Octa-"
"Don't give me that", I said sternly. "I can see the tear stains on your fur".
Vinyl sniffed and took off her glasses with her magic, gently placing them in her hooves. "I-It's the glasses..." She whimpered.
I sat down next to her and wrapped my hoof around her withers, pulling her closer to me. "What about them, Vinyl?" I asked.
"Tavi... Are you happy with our situation?" Vinyl asked as she wiped tears from her face.
I smiled gently and laid my head upon Vinyl's shoulder. "Vinyl, if I wasn't happy, do you think I would marry you?"
Vinyl sniffled and looked up at me. "Would you be happier if I was more like... Y'know... Her?" She made a quick glance at the glasses in her hooves and blinked some errant tears from her eyes.
"Who, dear?"
"Y'know... Pon-3?" She said through a sob. "Do you wish I was more like DJ Pon-3?"
Giggling, I moved Vinyl's head to face me as I spoke calmly. "Vinyl, I'm marrying the mare, not the glasses being worn by the mare".
"That didn't answer my question, Octavia..."
"Would I be happier if you were a loud, obnoxious, profanity spewing mare one hundred percent of the time? Heavens no. The thirty percent right now is more than enough", I replied.
Vinyl looked down at the floor, placing the glasses to her side. "Vinyl?" I asked. "Where did all this come from?"
With a sob, my fiancé looked up at me. "Well... I was thinking last night after you fell asleep".
"No..." I said sarcastically. "You? Thinking? Things must be serious!"
Vinyl giggled and gently slapped me on the shoulder. "Shut up, Tavi!" She said. "Anyway, I thought about how I always seem more confident when I wear my glasses... And it worried me".
I remained silent and nodded, letting Vinyl continue on.
"I thought 'I'm not really me when I wear the glasses', and what with that whole thing last night, I was scared you might have thought that I wasn't confident enough in myself to make love to you..."
"Vinyl..." I began. "I'm fine with whatever we do in the bedroom".
Upon seeing the mischievous grin growing on Vinyl's face, I instantly added an addendum to my statement. "Within reason".
Vinyl turned to me, seemingly waiting for me to say something more. "...But?"
"But what?" I asked.
Vinyl sighed. "It wasn't me loving you last night! It was Pon-3!"
"Vinyl, this is really bothering you. Isn't it?"
She merely shook her head.
"Well then, how about this?" I began. "How about I schedule us an appointment with a psychiatrist who can help you?"
Vinyl looked away, thinking about my offer. "Sure... I guess".
I clapped my hooves together excitedly as I kissed Vinyl on the cheek, making her blush slightly. "Excellent", I said. "I have the next Friday off work. We can go then".
Slowly, Vinyl stood up. She turned to me and said "So... About that shower..."
The week passed by slowly. Nothing interesting happening. Vinyl had to work every night for the whole week, meaning I only got to see her in the mornings. Her plush, curvy body and soft, sleepy face is always such an adorable sight to wake up to. Normally she's awake by the time I've finished making breakfast for the two of us, usually scrambled eggs with a side of hay bacon and toast, with a cup of coffee for me and a glass of milk for Vinyl. On the off chance Vinyl isn't awake by the time breakfast is ready, then I'd open the door to our bedroom and waft the aroma towards Vinyl. Few things motivate that mare like my cooking.
Eventually, Friday came about. We went through our normal morning routine and each took a shower. After we dried off, Vinyl put on her lime green scarf and I donned my black winter coat.
Before we left the house, Vinyl tapped me on the shoulder. "What is it?" I asked.
Vinyl took off her glasses and levitated them in front of me. "Do you think you could hold on to 'em, Tavi?" She requested. "I don't wanna be tempted to put 'em on when we're talking".
Gently, I took the glasses in my mouth and placed them in a pocket on the inside of my coat.
It was a long walk to the office. The weather pegasi out did themselves making this one of the coldest winters in recent years. A pony wouldn't be able to take a single step without setting their hooves in a pile of slush.
Vinyl was quiet all the way there, as expected. Her eyes darted around, scanning her surroundings for anypony that might approach us. I could of sworn she was about to run all the way home when one stallion passed us on the street.
After about forty five minutes of walking, we came across the office building where I had scheduled the appointment. The building itself was a simple three-story brick office building. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Vinyl held the door open for me as we walked into the building. The interior was a beige color and the flooring was a polished hardwood. On the wall to my left was a sign listing the various doctors and where they were located in the building. I scanned the sign and found our psychiatrist was on the second floor.
I beckoned Vinyl forward and climbed up the stairs. The second floor had six doors and another set of steps leading to the third floor. I looked around the doors until I found the one that read "Doctor Shrink: Reception".
To my dismay, I practically had push Vinyl into the room, which had a carpet floor. Four seats were lined up against the wall, opposite was a receptionist mare wearing a very friendly and welcoming smile. "Welcome" , she said. "Do you have an appointment?"
I approached the mare and said, "Yes. We're here to see Doctor Shrink".
"Names?"
"Octavia Melody and Vinyl Scratch", I replied.
"First time?" She asked.
I nodded and she handed me two forms and a pen. "In that case we just need you two to fill out these forms".
I took the form and filled it out before handing it to Vinyl, who was shifted nervously on her seat. As she took the pen in her magic, I could feel myself burning up under my coat. I took it off and pulled Vinyl's glasses out of the pocket, just in case Vinyl need them.
Not that I expected Vinyl to just break down without her glasses. As long as I was there she should have been fine, but it never hurts to cautious.
I hung my coat on the coat rack near the door and asked Vinyl, "Want me to take your scarf?"
"Sure. Thanks Tavi". Vinyl unwrapped the scarf around her neck and handed it to me with her magic. I then proceeded to hang the scarf on the coat rack and sit down next to my beloved. As I did, Vinyl finished filling out her form.
I took her form and handed it back to the receptionist who said, "Thank you. The doctor will see you shortly".
Time passed by slowly in the reception area. I could feel Vinyl next to me, trembling with anxiety. I did my best to keep her calm by wrapping my hoof around her shoulder and pulling her into a comforting embrace. Vinyl's tremors died down and she relaxed, wrapping her hooves around me and laying her head upon my shoulder.
Another funny thing about Vinyl is her mane. It looks shaggy and rough at first glance, but when somepony actually touches it, it feels almost like velvet.
We sat like that for almost five minutes before Vinyl pulled away. A small blush and grin working it's way onto her face. "Thanks, Tavi" She said. "I needed that".
I grinned and kissed her on the cheek, making her blush even more.
Another five minutes passed before the door to the actual office opened. Out of it stepped a teal unicorn stallion dressed in business attire. He seemed young, probably somewhere in his late twenties or early thirties, and he had a well trimmed beard growing on his muzzle.
"Ah!" The stallion said upon seeing us. "You two must be Miss Melody and Miss Scratch. I'm Doctor Shrink".
Shrink held out his hoof for me to shake. I took it and said. "Nice to meet you, Doctor. Yes, I'm Octavia Melody and this is my fiancé, Vinyl".
Vinyl shrunk back in her seat, trying to avoid eye contact. "H-Hi..." She stuttered out quietly.
The doctor looked at Vinyl for a moment with a gentle smile. As young as he was, he seemed to know what he was doing. "Good to meet you two. If you would please step into my office".
I nodded and pulled Vinyl from her seat and into the office. Inside was a medium sized mahogany desk, and a couch that could easily seat three ponies. Behind the desk was an assortment of various PHDs and diplomas. I sat down on the side of the couch closest to the window and forced Vinyl down next to me. I leaned into her ear and whispered, "Hey now. It's going to be okay. He's here to help you".
Nervously, Vinyl nodded and smiled.
The door to the office closed and Doctor Shrink sat down at his desk. "So", He said. "How can help you two?"
I look to Vinyl to see if she wants to speak for herself, but alas, she just hung her head, not eager to open her mouth in front of the stranger.
Taking the hint, I turned to Doctor Shrink and cleared my throat. "Well", I began. "It seems that Vinyl here has a bit of a multiple personality complex".
"Multiple Personalities, hmm?" The Doctor said.
"Yes", I continued. "Vinyl seems to be worried that she's not herself whenever she puts on these glasses". I said, holding up the glasses for the doctor to see.
Shrink looked down and scribbled something on a notepad before readdressing me. "Tell me, Miss Melody", He said. "Do you think she's not herself whenever she puts those on?"
"I would say she does undergo a very noticeable change" I said. "Normally , she's just like this, quiet and shy, but when she puts on the glasses she becomes much louder and more boisterous".
Again, the doctor wrote something down, but this time instead of addressing me, he asked Vinyl, "Why do you think that is, Miss Scratch?"
"M-Me?" Vinyl asked pointing to herself nervously. "Um... I guess it has something to do with... my eyes..."
"Your eyes?" Shrink asked.
Recognizing where Vinyl was going with this train of thought, I laid my hoof on her shoulder as the first of a few tears leaked from her eyes. "Vinyl... Do you want me to take over from here?" Vinyl nodded and I looked to the doctor.
"Vinyl was bullied a lot as filly. For being albino in grade school and for being gay in high school".
"Stop it!" Vinyl cried as a larger filly took her journal from her. "Give it back!"
The larger filly looked down at Vinyl with a sadistic grin on her face. "Aw, what's the matter, you little vampony?"
"I'm not a vampony! I'm just albino!" Vinyl cried.
"You're a freak", the bully said. "That's what you are. Fillies are supposed to like colts, you gay little vampony".
Vinyl couldn't hold back the tears welling in her eyes. "Daddy says theres nothing wrong with me liking fillies!" She sobbed.
The bully smirked as she flipped through the pages, scanning through Vinyl's most personal thoughts. After a few minutes of flipping through the pages, the bully groaned in disappointment. "So you're gay, a vampony AND boring?" She said before tossing the journal to the floor and picking Vinyl up by her uniform's collar. "Tell anypony and I'll smear you across the pavement".
Vinyl sobbed as the bully dropped her to the floor and turned away from her, leaving her alone, dirty and weeping.
"Okay", the Doctor said. "I think I understand. Miss Vinyl was bullied because of her white coat and red eyes, so she wore the glasses to cover her eyes up. Is that fair to say?"
Vinyl nodded solemnly as she held back her tears.
The doctor turned to his notepad and reviewed everything that he wrote. "So Vinyl, you feel more confident if ponies can't see your eyes, and this all stems back to a bullying experience. Are still bullied now, by say, coworkers?"
"N-No..." Vinyl squeaked out.
"If that's the case, why don't you just get rid of the glasses?"
Vinyl looked up at the doctor. "I can't..."
Shrink tilted his head to the side. "Why not?"
"They're precious to me. Octavia gave them to me when we first met".
"I didn't actually wear the glasses to avoid bullying. At least, not at first", Vinyl explained. "You see, my mother died when I was eight. When I was twelve, my dad decide to remarry this one mare he'd been seeing for a couple months. She was a BITCH! She was controlling, abusive, greedy and a whole bunch of other stuff. Practically the only two thing she had going for her were her looks and the fact that she wasn't a homophobe".
I smiled as Vinyl spoke. Whenever the topic of her stepmother came up, Vinyl would get furious. She would be too angry to act shy.
Sensing that Vinyl would go off on a tangent and forget the question I placed my hooves on her shoulders. "Thank you, Vinyl. I'll take it from here".
Octavia trotted through Canterlot's shopping district on her way back from band practice. Her umbrella protecting her from the torrential downpour cascading over the city.
As she trotted along, Octavia could feel her saddlebags begin to slide off. As she leaned against the wall of a convenience store and redid the straps, Octavia became aware of a faint sobbing sound coming from the alley next to the building. "What's that?" She whispered to herself as she began to walk towards the source of the sound.
As the noise grew louder, Octavia could see something poking out from behind a dumpster. "H-Hello?" Octavia called out, not wanting to alarm anypony that might be there.
A gasp was heard and the object from behind the dumpster retreated.
Octavia continued walking slowly until she came to the dumpster. Slowly she turned the corner and found the source of the sound; A weeping albino unicorn filly with one nasty black eye.
"Oh my goodness!" Octavia cried out. "A-Are you okay?"
"Go away..." The sobbing filly said.
Octavia dropped down and pressed a hoof to the filly's face. The injury was recent, within the last few hours at most.
The filly blushed as the hoof made contact with her. "Um... Could you please take your hoof off of me?"
"Oh!" Octavia said as she retracted her hoof. "Sorry about that... What happened to you?"
The filly looked confused. Nervously, she shifted her weight and looked at Octavia, than her eyes widened in realization. "Hey! You're that filly in my musical theory class! Um... Octavia was it?"
Confused, Octavia gazed down at the bruised filly. "Oh yeah!" She said. "You're Vinyl, Right? The... um... Fillyfooler..."
Vinyl felt her ears fall flat against her head. She looked away from Octavia, ready for the barrage of insults that were sure to come. "Please... Just leave me alone..." Vinyl pleaded.
"B-But your eye..."
Vinyl kicked frantically. "I don't care! Just leave me alone!" She screamed.
Gently, Octavia placed a hoof on the screaming filly's shoulder and said, "It's alright. I'm not here to hurt you".
"...Liar..."
"I swear, I'm not", Octavia assured. "I think it's deplorable what the other fillies put you through".
Vinyl looked up slowly. "R-Really?"
The grey filly nodded. "Yes. Now why don't you tell me what's wrong".
Unsure how to respond, VInyl looked at Octavia with a confused expression. Most other ponies would have tossed a few insults at her by now then ran away. Yet, here Octavia was, asking why Vinyl was hiding behind a dumpster and crying her eyes out, unperturbed by Vinyl's sexuality.
Raising a hoof to her damaged eye, Vinyl said, "M-My stepmom did this..."
"Your stepmum?!"
"Y-Yes..." Vinyl replied.
Octavia, baffled, asked, "Why in Equestria would your own step mother do this?"
"I-I got a C on my report card..." Vinyl answered.
"Your step mother beat you this bad because of one C?!" The grey filly cried out. Octavia stood up and stretched her hoof down towards Vinyl "Come on. I'm calling the police".
"My dad already did".
"Oh?" Octavia said. "Then why are you all alone out here?"
Holding back a sob, Vinyl explained, "I'm scared she's still going to be there..."
"That's rubbish", Octavia exclaimed. "Come on. Where do you live? I'll help you home".
Vinyl tilted her head to the side and stood up and pointed east. "My house is about a fifteen minute walk that way".
"Excellent! My house is in that direction as well", Octavia said. Suddenly, the grey filly reached into her saddlebag and pulled something out. Turning back towards Vinyl, Octavia presented the bruised filly with a pair of large sunglasses. "Take these. I know you probably don't want ponies staring at your eye".
Tentatively, Vinyl reached outwards and grasped the glasses, placing them gently on her snout.
"Continue..." The doctor said.
I cleared my throat and did as asked. "Well, after that Vinyl and I walked home. The police had already arrested her stepmother for foal abuse. Vinyl's father thanked me and invited me in for dinner, an offer that I humbly accepted. I let Vinyl keep the glasses and we started spending time with each other after school".
"Yeah", Vinyl said. "Then five years later was that Fall Out Colt concert".
I smiled at the memory. For Vinyl's seventeenth birthday, I got us a pair of tickets to a concert of our favorite band; Fall Out Colt. That was a night of many revelations for me. I realized I was gay that night, had my first kiss at the concert, and even lost my virginity at the hotel.
Of course, the next day I came out to my parents. My parents were, and still are to this day, homophobes. They kept crying drivel along the lines of "It's just a phase" and "You're too young to know what you want", and the one that really set me off "You just haven't found the right stallion". I couldn't take it, and I ran away later that night. Vinyl's father was kind enough to let me with under his roof, rent free. There I stayed throughout college until Vinyl and I had made enough bits to buy our own place. Not once did my parents ever come looking for me.
I tried to patch things up with them of course. I wrote letters and called them numerous times. They never once responded. I doubted they'd even show up at the wedding(Which they didn't).
I'll never forget how angry Vinyl was when I explained all that to her. "Y'know what?" She shouted. "Buck those... Those... Uhg. What do you brits say instead of cloppers? I-It starts with a W... WANKERS! Yeah. Buck those wankers!"
I felt a hoof fall upon my shoulder, snapping me out of my reverie. "Tavi", Vinyl began. "The doc wanted to see the glasses".
"Oh!" I shouted, startled. "Sorry about that. Here you are, doctor".
The doctor examined the lenses closely. "Is there anything else worth noting about these glasses?" Shrink asked.
I tried to recall about how I came to possess the glasses, but nothing unusual came to mind. I merely bought them on a bright summer day to protect my eyes. "Nothing that comes to mind", I said.
Doctor Shrink levitated the glasses back to me. "Here's an idea that could help you, Vinyl", He began. "Octavia, what if you took the glasses and hid them. That way Vinyl would be forced to cope without them. Once you feel that Vinyl is confident enough without them, you can give them back to her".
I looked to Vinyl, who seemed to be considering the idea. "What do you think, Vinyl?" I asked.
Vinyl looked up at me and said, "It sounds like a good idea. Kinda like getting a smoker to quit".
I smiled at my beloved's metaphor. "Okay then. I'll hide them someplace super secret" I turned back to Doctor Shrink. "Thank you for your time, Doctor. How much do we owe you?"
The doctor smiled gently. "The first appointment's free", He explained. "Feel free to come back at anytime".
We thanked the doctor and left his office. After we arrived home, I hid Vinyl's glasses in a shoebox at the back of our closet.
Over the next few months, I could notice Vinyl become more and more confident, while still remaining the sweet mare I was to be wed to.
When the wedding finally came, I watched Vinyl walk down the aisle... With no glasses.
