Vinyl Scratch strode along the cobblestone road winding past her house, her lips pursed. Donning her trademark shades, her eyes nevertheless darted around the small garden surrounding her. There were evergreen trees stretching toward the sky, chirping birds fluttering about as they sang, and the occasional rocks jutting out of the earth. Every ten seconds, she would glance down and scan the headphones wrapped around her neck. Such a routine was repeated along her walk without fail. She'd crack the slightest of smiles afterward without fail, also coupled with a sigh of relief.
She had her reasons for constantly checking where her headphones were. Farther down the winding path, a gray mare named Octavia would be waiting for Vinyl. Ever since they first moved in together in the once plain cottage they called home, one rule stuck out most of all in when it came to living and talking with Octavia.
Vinyl, please don't wear those headphones while I'm talking to you. It's distasteful since nopony can talk to you with those things on. Look, if it upsets you that much, take them off only for me. Deal?
The deep scowl Octavia wore was imprinted in her mind ever since, Vinyl's breath turning cold whenever such an image returned to her. However, as time passed, such a routine became second nature.
The headphones go off first, then she can trot inside the house or say hello to Octavia.
Continuing her trek, a soft whistling reached Vinyl's ears. With widened eyes, she increased her pace. Such a serene voice had to belong to Octavia, Vinyl's heartbeat picking up the closer she got. A nearby river whipping about joined Octavia's little cadence, Vinyl unable to resist bopping her head to the tune. Freezing upon reaching the bench, Vinyl noticed a silky smooth mane adorning the top of a mare. With a deep breath, she cleared her throat.
"Hey there, Tavi," Vinyl said. Octavia turned to face Vinyl, their eyes locked to each other. "'Sup?"
Ceasing her whistling, Octavia then exhaled. "A lot," she replied. "Take a seat, please. There's much we have to discuss."
Vinyl sat down next to Octavia as instructed, the former's face taut. "What's wrong, Tavi?" Vinyl glanced to her left and right, then back to Octavia. Her chest tightened. "Don't tell me it's about the kitchen again." A chuckle left Vinyl's lips, fading away soon after. "I promise I'll help out with that more, even if doing the dishes is totally lame."
Octavia arced an eyebrow. "No. I know my pleas to get you to help out with chores more often will fall on deaf ears."
"C'mon, Tavi. My headphones don't hurt my hearing that much." Vinyl's eyes bounced around once more, her throat rather dry. A tingling sensation at the back of her mind knew where this was headed. "Right?"
Shaking her head, Octavia sighed. "No, Vinyl. It's about yesterday."
"But the wedding went off without a hitch!" Vinyl paused. Massaging her muzzle, she then shrugged and muttered, "Sorta."
"Well, do you mind if we discuss some of the less—pleasant parts of that day?" Octavia twirled her black scarf with the tip of her hoof. "First off, there's the incident with your—"
"Don't tell me." Vinyl focused on Octavia's blank stare, a chill coursing down her spine. "This is about the Wub Wagon, isn't it?"
"That's correct, Vinyl." Octavia paused, bringing her hooves back to her chest. "Your—" Octavia rolled her eyes and sighed "—Wub Wagon."
"Hey, it got us and everypony else to the wedding on time. It went way better than planned!" Vinyl adjusted her shades. "Plus, isn't it awesome?" Her shoulders perked up, a bright smile across her face. "We were flying across the ground in that thing and rockin' some awesome tunes!"
"I know, Vinyl. The music was quite pleasant."
"And remember when you used your bow so the Wub Wagon could do a ninety degree turn?" Vinyl's jaw dropped, her grin preserved. "You were so awesome back there! How could you be so upset about it?" Vinyl feigned a chuckle, waving her hoof in front of Octavia. "You're such a grump, Tavi."
"You do realize I suffered a concussion due to our accident, right?" Octavia rubbed the back of her head, wincing for the briefest of moments. "My head is still a little sore after we tumbled and flew."
Vinyl cocked her head. "Seriously? You could've told me 'bout that before, Tavi." A small inkling of guilt materialized within her heart, aching somewhat in response. However, such a feeling was paltry to her constricting muscles. Avoiding a verbal lashing from Octavia was at the top of her mind.
There was just the problem of knowing what to say.
"Are you okay?" Vinyl asked, her eyes widened. While such a question would get her on the right track, she also hoped her friend wasn't too beat up.
"I'll be fine," Octavia replied. "Also, there's no reason for me to lie to you, Vinyl." Octavia crossed her forelegs, her muzzle scrunched. "We've lived with each other for the past six months, remember?"
"Of course I do, Tavi." Vinyl exhaled, cracking a crooked smile. "Those were memorable days—right?"
"They were, Vinyl." Octavia placed her hooves atop Vinyl's the pair making eye contact. "They truly were, and we've grown a lot together. I enjoy spending time with you."
"Aw, shucks!" Blushing, Vinyl's lips then curled into a slight smirk. "That's awesome of you to say, Tavi." Sulking a little, Vinyl then rubbed her muzzle. "Though all of this talk about our crash isn't what I'd call cool." She placed her hooves to her chest and, with her head hung low, sighed. "It's makin' me—you know—" Vinyl raised her head "—what's the word, Tavi?"
"Embarrassed?"
"Yeah. You know what I mean, right?"
"Of course I do, Vinyl, but such topics must be addressed. The consequences of our joyride were rough on not just us, by the way."
"Oh boy." Vinyl sighed, fondling the headphones around her neck. "I know where this is going, Tavi, and I don't like it one bit."
"But we need to discuss these issues, Vinyl." Octavia paused. With shimmering eyes, she then grasped Vinyl's hooves. "We can make this problem not a mountain, but a molehill. And we're not going to trot over it if we aren't making compromises and working together. Now then, can you promise me you won't be too distraught and discuss these topics with me?" She tightened her grip. "For me, Vinyl."
Lighting her horn a light blue, Vinyl lifted her shades up. With her shimmering, violet eyes exposed, she then nodded. "Okay, I'll listen." Her ears twitched. There was little doubt in her mind Octavia had a few choice words nestled in her mind, some of them vulgar and perhaps unfitting with her soft tone. Gulping, Vinyl bobbed her head once more. "Now then, what else is bugging you, Tavi? Don't hold back on me!"
"If you insist." Octavia cleared her throat. "Now then, you know who Thunderlane is, right?"
"The speedy stallion, right? His mane is rockin', I think."
"You're going to have to be more specific, Vinyl. A lot more specific."
Vinyl rubbed the top of her head. Her hoof brushed against her mane, surprising herself with its smooth texture. She didn't even use shampoo much from what she recalled while Octavia must have used gallons of the thing. Perhaps it was something her orchestras required. "Well, he has a dark gray coat and a light, bluish mane."
Nodding, Octavia then curled her mane around once more, her face slightly paler than before. "Yes, that's him. And remember how he was one of the ponies you—well—" Octavia cringed "—collected?"
Biting her lip, Vinyl shivered as though a current of cold air swept past, though the leaves fluttering past suggested such was the case. "He was furious, wasn't he?"
"Yes."
"What a surprise." Vinyl sighed. She pressed her weight against the back of the bench. "Of course somepony wasn't awestruck by the Wub Wagon."
Raising her brow, Octavia formed a bemused expression on her face. "That's not exactly why he's upset, Vinyl. I have no idea what he thinks about your fancy wagon as a method of transportation." She straightened her face. "I doubt he's happy about it as that after what happened."
"So what happened? What caused him to get his knickers in a twist?" Vinyl nudged closer to Octavia. Her body leaned somewhat forward. "Can you cut to the chase?"
Octavia raised an eyebrow again. A slight scowl was painted across her face, though wasn't as twisted as past instances of such a look. Vinyl could take some solace in knowing Octavia wasn't too distressed, though pressing the issue further risked pushing it too far. Even the slightest form of irritation from Octavia constricted Vinyl's muscles. As she recalled Octavia's glum visage from the headphones incident, she nodded and straightened her seating posture.
"Can you cut to the chase, please?" she asked.
"That's more like it, Vinyl," Octavia responded. "Politeness goes a long way, you know."
"I know."
"Speaking of which, how come you were so silent yesterday?" Tapping her hoof against the wooden bench, clacks filling the air, Octavia then raised her shoulders. "Sometimes you're so talkative, other times you're as quiet as a mouse."
"Tavi, sometimes a mare doesn't have anything cool or important to say." A smirk formed across Vinyl's face. "Besides, it makes me look even cooler at times, y'know?"
Octavia cocked her head to the left. "I-I guess?"
"You don't guess, you know."
"Right." With a perplexed visage, Octavia then rolled her eyes. A sigh left her lips. "As I was saying, Thunderlane was upset because your thing almost collected Rumble in the mess."
Vinyl titled her head. "Rumble?"
"He's Thunderlane's little brother, Vinyl."
Oh!" Nodding, Vinyl then adjusted her shades. "Gotcha!"
"See, even though our little adventure didn't end horribly, the possibility it could have sat with Thunderlane as he was swept along for the ride. You missed Rumble, but almost hurting him by accident is enough to set Thunderlane off."
"So it's like his berserk button?"
Shrugging, Octavia slowly nodded. "Um—yes, Vinyl. It's his—berserk button."
"It's cool he cares a lot about his little bro, though." Vinyl rubbed the back of her neck. A faint, slow chuckle left her lips. "Though now that you mention it—" Vinyl sensed a chill coursing through her body, freezing her to the bone "—I guess that was a mistake on my part." Sighing, Vinyl hung her head low. The words she uttered pricked her body. Twitching a little, she then raised her head and locked gazes with Octavia. The latter had a somewhat warm smile painted on her. It soothed her muscles a tad to see such a face, Vinyl's brightening in response. "Yeah, maybe I could've been more careful."
"That's what I was hoping to hear from you, Vinyl." Octavia clasped her hooves together and nodded. "I knew you could get to the right answer eventually."
"Well, you had to pry it out of me first." Vinyl snickered. "Just saying, Tavi."
Octavia brought a hoof toward Vinyl's lips. "Also, I do have one more thing I must tell you."
"Why?" With sagged shoulders, Vinyl's face twisted back into a glum frown. "C'mon, Tavi. I couldn't have done anything else bad, right?"
"You were playing your headphones with the volume up high when somepony needed to ask you for help, didn't you?"
Quivering in surprise, Vinyl then nudged a few inches away from Octavia. "H-how did you figure that out? There's no way you could've known! You weren't in the area I was at the time, so you've—" Vinyl paused, then took a deep breath. "What I meant to say was that I think you're mistaken, Tavi."
Octavia raised her brow and quipped, "Very funny, Vinyl." However, not a giggle left her mouth.
"Okay, so maybe I did do that, but it was just someone asking for directions or something, right?"
"No." Octavia shook her head. "It was somepony searching to have his suit tailored in time for the wedding yesterday."
Vinyl arced an eyebrow, her lips pursed. "And you know this how?"
"A friend of mine told me about the story she saw, mentioning you by name." Twisting her mane around her hoof once again, Octavia then took a deep breath. "She thought it was humorous, though given how I've warned you plenty of times about your headphones, I was of a differing opinion."
Vinyl groaned. "Okay, Tavi." She paused, her mind knowing Octavia was right about her headphone usage. Arguing about it would only waste time, after all. "I'll lower the volume of my headphones. Happy?"
"I wouldn't call it that, but I'm content with your suggestion." Stretching her forelegs, Octavia then pushed herself out of the bench. "But do you promise me you'll stick to your word?"
Vinyl bobbed her head, her face taut. "Of course I promise!"
Not a word was muttered for a few seconds, Octavia sitting as still as a statue. Breaking the silence with a deep breath, Octavia replied, "Good. Let's have a walk, Vinyl. There's nothing else I need to pester you about, so don't worry too much about it."
Without muttering a word, Vinyl leaped out of the bench. Landing on all fours, she then orated, "Lead the way, Tavi!"
Octavia trotted to her left, Vinyl close behind. The latter's hooves felt rather soft as she traversed over something once more, her left hind leg stiff at first from sitting down for so long. However, all returned to normal a few seconds later. Even Vinyl had to admit it was nice to move around again, even if being stationary was preferable.
Glancing to her right, Vinyl studied the clear lake encompassing much of the garden. Its bright blue surface flowed and ebbed, fishes leaping out of it and into the air as though they were shot out of a cannon. She was captivated by the fishes' graceful movements as they seemed to float for a brief second, then plop back down into the water below. The rustling of leaves as the breeze swirled past reached her ears, joined by the crunching of leaves beneath her hooves. As she surveyed the garden more and more, her mind realized why Octavia adored such a place. They were the only two ponies here at the moment and the sights and smells got the mind working. Maybe Vinyl could follow suit one day with a song inspired by such observations.
"Vinyl?" Octavia asked.
Vinyl turned toward Octavia, the pair making eye contact. "What is it, Tavi?" she asked. "Did I do something wrong again?" She paused. "I hope I didn't."
"I assure you I have nothing else to ask you regarding such matters." Wrapping a foreleg around Vinyl, a slight grin adorned Octavia's visage. "I just wanted to just say how brave it was for you to come out and have this discussion. You're learning a lot, Vinyl." Octavia paused. "And so am I."
"Thank you, but what did you learn, Tavi?"
"I learned about how fascinating communities outside your social circle can be." Octavia's smile widened. She then let out a faint giggle. "The posh ponies I commonly associate myself with can be rather—well—"
"Dull? Boring? Tedious?"
Octavia chuckled again, only louder than before. "All three fit, Vinyl." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I'm glad I got to experience Ponyville with my own eyes. I'm even happier I got to meet you."
"Y-you are? Seriously?" Vinyl's mouth hung agape. "But all those rules and those complaints and everything—"
Octavia placed a hoof on Vinyl's lips, the feeling a tad ticklish. "Calm."
Vinyl took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm calm, Tavi."
"We have our differences, and we certainly make tons of mistakes, but such features make us more interesting. They can make us more fun to be around when we complement each other."
"I guess I can see that."
"Vinyl, you're my friend, and even if we argue at times, it'll stay that way."
Rubbing her eyes, Vinyl sensed teardrops raining down her cheeks. It wasn't like her to cry, but such tears trickling down weren't those of sadness. Tears of sadness had a harsh bitterness to them, something Vinyl knew well.
These tears were sweet. They were tears of joy.
"Vinyl, are you crying?" Octavia wiped some of the tears away from Vinyl. "Are you okay?"
"Totally! I'm just so glad to have you as a friend, Tavi. It's so radical!"
Less than a second later, the two embraced each other in a warm hug. Mile-wide smiles covered their faces, their eyes shimmering like the lake next to them.
And while the scenery around Vinyl touched her heart, it couldn't hold a candle to her friendship with Octavia.
Tavi and I are like peanut butter and jelly. We're awesome on our own, but perfect when we're there for each other.
