A little teasing should help
“So, you finally decided to stop living in a hovel.” Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts, joked as she walked alongside Vinyl toward the DJ’s new abode.
“Hey, it wasn’t that bad! Besides, what was the point of looking for a better place if I was going to move as soon as I got this deal in Canterlot?” Vinyl defended, shoving Spitfire playfully.
“And how long will you be staying here?” Spitfire, noticing which hotel they were approaching, couldn’t help the soft smile that overtook her face.
“This contract’s gonna last a while, guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other now...huh, what’s with the cheesy smile?” Vinyl’s confused expression switched into a sly one as she pressed herself to Spitfire. “Does having me close by make you that happy?”
“Huh?” Noticing Vinyl’s rather aggressive invasion of her personal space, Spitfire took flight, making Vinyl lose her balance and fall with a most gracious flailing of limbs. “He he, easy girl, I was just remembering somepony I haven’t seen in a while.” Spitfire’s visage took on a forlorn expression. “Maybe we should pay her a visit, I’m sure you’ll like her.”
Once inside the hotel, Vinyl and Spitfire walked to the elevator, and Vinyl pressed the button for the fifth floor, which made Spitfire giggle.
“What is it now?” Vinyl asked.
“Hm, what’s your room number?” Spitfire countered with a glint in her eyes.
“506.” Vinyl became worried when Spitfire started laughing. “You are acting a bit creepy Spits, what’s up?”
The elevator chimed and opened its doors to the fifth floor, letting the pair out, and giving Spitfire enough time to control herself enough to appease Vinyl’s worries. “Remember the pony we’ll visit? It looks like you’ll be neighbours.”
As they walked closer to Vinyl’s apartment, the faint sound of an instrument being played could be heard, and, sure enough, the smile and glint of the eyes adorned Spitfire’s visage once more; Vinyl, who was paying close attention to Spitfire’s odd behaviours, raised an eyebrow and smirked. “You guys a couple or something?”
“W-Wha?!”This snapped Spitfire out of her reverie rather forcefully, causing her to halt completely. “N-No way, she’s just a friend!” Spitfire’s retort might have had a bit more of an impact had her face not been beet red and her wings fighting to pop at her sides.
Vinyl’s raucous laughter only helped make Spitfire even more flustered, her every threat and retort a jumbled mess of babbling and mumbling. This one-sided argument distracted them from the background music, which had suspiciously stopped.
“Seriously Vinyl, stop, it’s really not-”
“Will you please be quiet, I’m trying to practice my…Spitfire?” A grey coated mare with a slight accent’s admonishment was cut short, and her indignation quickly replaced by surprise and just as quickly by what can only be described as childlike glee.
Before either of the reprimanded ponies could react, the mare rushed to and hugged Spitfire tightly. “Spitfire! we haven’t seen each other in so long. I feared this friendship was vanishing...” The mare punctuated her fear by tightening her grip even more, coming dangerously close to a literal bone crushing hug.
The mare’s words completely cleared Spitfire’s mind, gone was the embarrassment from Vinyl’s teasing, gone was the shock of seeing a pony she had unintentionally neglected seeing for some dumb reason she couldn’t even name. A close friend required comfort and she would be damned if she didn’t respond.
“Come on Octavia, you know I’ll never let that happen, I’m sorry I haven’t visited as often as I could.” Spitfire spoke softly as she returned Octavia’s hug.
“It’s okay, your job keeps you moving around, I’m just being selfish.” Octavia, sighed as she softened her hug and rested her head on Spitfire’s breast.
“Ahem, sorry to break your moment fillies, but I’m feeling a bit out of the loop here.” Vinyl said sheepishly. The sudden reminder of their audience caused both mares to release their hold and separate to a more proper distance, blushing furiously.
“Sorry Vinyl--”
“Where are my manners--”
Both mares immediately stopped talking when the other spoke; they did this a few times before Vinyl started laughing, almost falling to the floor.
“Okay *snicker* okay, how about I do the talking while you recover. I’m Vinyl, Spits’ friend and your neighbour for the foreseeable future” Vinyl extended her hoof which Octavia shook politely.
“It’s nice to meet you Vinyl, my name is Octavia, I look forward to getting to know you better.” Octavia answered guilelessly.
Vinyl was about to take advantage of Octavia’s easily misinterpreted answer, her expression turning to a predatory playfulness which was quickly noticed and countered by Spitfire.
“So yeah, that’s Vinyl, I’m sure you’ll like having her as a neighbour; anyway, we should get to fixing your apartment.” Spitfire interjected, smoothly cutting Vinyl’s impending teasing and fixing her with a slightly annoyed glare.
“It’s okay, the moving ponies said they would put all the heavy stuff in place, I only need to organize my personal things. We can make the visit you proposed, that is if Octavia is fine with it.”
“What visit are you talking about?” Octavia asked, slightly confused.
“We were planning on visiting you once Vinyl had settled in; if you are free right now we could hang out and let you know each other better...we can also catch up.” Spitfire explained, mostly mumbling the final part.
“I’d love that! I was planning on practicing until I had to leave for tonight’s recital, but we can use that time.” Octavia responded excitedly, running to her apartment and turning to her guests. “Come in and make yourselves comfortable, I’ll prepare you something to drink.” And with that, Octavia vanished into her apartment.
“Your girl sure is energetic.” Vinyl commented as the pair entered the apartment.
Spitfire chuckled. “I keep telling you she’s not my girl… but you’re right, she’s the happy type.”
“So, how did you two met? You’re not exactly in the same line of work.” Vinyl asked after sipping from the tea Octavia had prepared. Maybe they hadn’t noticed but Spitfire had sat beside Octavia; both of them across from Vinyl, making look like Vinyl was the only guest here. It took an incredible amount of restraint to not tease them about it, but Vinyl was sure it was for the best, they were enjoying themselves after all.
“Ha ha ha, I haven’t told you this, and you are not gonna believe this but I made it to college through a music scholarship.” Spitfire answered with a smirk, which widened and was accompanied by Octavia’s giggling when Vinyl’s gaped.
“Really?! Miss athlete extraordinaire, captain of The Wonderbolts started off as a musician?” Vinyl asked incredulously.
Octavia regained her composure. “Indeed, Spitfire wasn’t aware of her own abilities until she was scouted by our PE teacher. He asked her if she had any idea of how far she could go with just her raw, let alone with proper training with the Wonderbolts.” She looked mirthfully at Spitfire’s flushed face.
“Yeah, when I got my cutie mark, I thought it just meant I enjoyed flying; it never crossed my mind that I could live off of it. I had this dream of becoming a famous musician and worked hard toward it. It was until our teacher scouted me and I got to train with professionals, that I understood the difference between flying as a hobby and flying as a way of life; needless to say, I fell in love with it and continued to where I am now.” Spitfire sighed contentedly. “Wouldn’t change any of my decisions though, Octavia and I wouldn’t have become friends otherwise.” Octavia met Spitfire’s eyes and both smiled.
Vinyl couldn’t help but smile serenely. These two meant so much to each other it almost felt like a crime that they weren’t an item. This would have to be fixed, but there was no need to rush things.
“And how exactly did you two become friends?” Vinyl asked, finishing the last of her tea.
“The instrument I play is the cello, just like Octavia. One day I was practicing etudes after classes and Octavia simply showed up saying ‘You’re doing it wrong, you’ll hurt yourself or damage the cello’. She completely stomped on my self confidence that day”. Spitfire chuckled.
“Was I really that inconsiderate?” Octavia suddenly looked quite upset, playing with her hooves, and looking at the floor.
“It was for the best, Octavia; I needed a reality check on my skill at the time. Besides, you helped me improve more than any of my teachers ever did.” Spitfire soothed Octavia, placing a hoof on her fetlock to keep her from fidgeting.
“I see… you’re welcome then, he he...” Octavia relaxed and looked at the clock. “Oh, it’s about time for me to go, sorry to cut this visit short; I would love if we did this again soon… You know, I’m allowed to bring guests to the recital, if you’d like you can come with me.” Octavia offered her guests, her excited energy returning.
“That would be great, what do you say Vinyl, can you come too?” Spitfire asked, infected by Octavia’s excitement.
If a chance so precious presents itself, not taking it would be an insult. “How about I go with you to the next one, I’ve got to make sure all my stuff is where it should be” Vinyl answered, walking to the exit of the apartment, stopping in the threshold. “Besides, you two haven’t had time to catch up right? Go have a nice dinner after the recital” She added playfully, getting a blush out of the two mares. “Have fun, you two! And tell me everything tomorrow!”. She finished as she closed the door behind her and walking to her apartment door.
Yes. These two would figure it out.
A little push at a time.
A little step at a time.
