Drop Itby FakeKeysChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 1CHAPTER 1 Vinyl looked down at her mug and sighed. The thing was still half-full of the liberating beverage and yet, its subtle smell of fermented pears made the mare nauseous. She pushed the mug away a couple of inches, putting her snout out of reach of the odor her breath no doubt shared as of now. The unicorn certainly was used to drinking. She had spent the vast majority of her legal years - and a few more before that - out in the clubs, either as a performer or simple customer. She certainly enjoyed a mug of hard cider as much as the next pony, but apparently four was going to be the hard limit tonight. The mind just wasn't into it it seemed. Vinyl struggled a bit and lifted her head to look back at her very quiet surroundings. Between the worn out benches and the old frosted bar, only a couple of ponies were drinking to the lame background music that played during the late afternoon. Most of them were early regulars, or ponies spending their welfare bits; Maybe one of them was in the same situation as her. In what situation was she anyway? The mare closed her eyes slowly, rubbing her neck and lifting her mane a bit, trying to let some air cool her neck. The summer weather was not doing any good in small closed places like these and the mix of cider and hot temperature seemed to particularly ruin her natural cooling system. Maybe she should go back home, lay down a bit in the basement. Canterlot was mainly built on rocky foundations and those lucky enough to own a basement could benefit from very dry and cool living spaces. Tempting prospects during those days, especially since nopony - beside the princesses, of course - owned a large enough lot to get any sort of decent pool. Vinyl grunted at the thought. As tempting as it was, she obviously couldn't go back now. It hadn't even been two hours yet; Octavia was certainly still mad at her - or crying, or both - and getting home drunk not even a quarter past six wouldn't help anypony's case. She had to give her marefriend a couple more hours, and she could use sobering up a bit before having to have any form of serious talk with the gray pony. The thought made the unicorn pull the mug closer to her. Reluctantly breathing the smell, Vinyl swiftly brought the container to her lips and finished the remaining alcohol; no point in wasting a drink she had paid for. The bartender looked in her direction, having noticed the sound of an empty mug, but Vinyl absent-mindedly signaled the colt her lack of intentions to pursue the drinking; she had better plans forming out in her foggy brain. *** A couple of miles further down the road, far away from the old downtown Canterlot, a small midtown apartment was being filled with a melodic array of warm sounds as experienced hooves danced along the strings of a cello. Anypony lucky enough to be within earshot of the masterwork would be graced by the sounds of a chilling melody, no doubt played from deep within the heart. Normally, the notes would only land in the delighted ears of the two mares residing in the small building - when it was not thousands of paying spectators - but today, Octavia was playing only for herself. Tears spotted the otherwise immaculate gray coat of the pony as she kept playing her favorite song, drawing each note longer than necessary, savoring the escape music provided to her soul. A couple of minutes later, the last note resonated deep within the pony as she finally lay down her bow beside her. Her cello was ever so gently placed back in its case before the pony allowed herself to fall unceremoniously on the couch, sighing heavily. As silence was finally allowed back in the tiny room, Octavia contemplated the empty wall, her mind racing. How could she have been so cruel? That was not like her at all. She was not royalty, or even remotely high born. She was not even that rich, but the mare had always made a point of being as civilized as possible. She could count on her hooves the number of times she had willfully used curse words, but somehow, this afternoon it had come to this. The mare clenched her head in her front hooves, her back shivering as she let out another round of tears. In two years of living together, never had she and Vinyl had a real fight. To most ponies, this would probably be hard to imagine, seeing how different the two mares were - both in character and tastes - but after a while they had grown used to letting each other's quirks and manners slide. It became sort of an acquired habit to be very open minded when they were together. Sure, it had not been easy at first, but either by some kind of miracle - or maybe it was destiny - they got through their relationship completely unscathed until now, never going past the harmless – although admittedly numerous - tongue-in-cheek insults. Two whole years. But the thing was, during those happy two years, the couple never needed to take anything seriously. It was the adult equivalent of high-school romance. Both of them had very permissive jobs in the musical field, and even though Octavia's was the only lucrative of the two, between the two of them, the subventions for young artists and especially the free apartment courtesy of Octavia's parents, life was very easy. Maybe a little bit too easy. As much as it was the ideal setup to focus on their respective careers and mutual relationship, it was not a good stress test on said relationship. It's never very hard to agree when nothing is really at stake. So maybe, just maybe, it wasn't quite the ideal setup after all. Chapter 2CHAPTER 2 After all these years, Octavia knew that silence was bound to be a rarity when a house lodged two musicians. Especially when one of them liked giant subwoofers. Unfortunately for her, silence is a crucial component of many of the activities the she liked to do, like reading, meditating, or even more common yet; sleeping. It is, in fact, very hard to sleep when not in silence. Well, Octavia had a hard time doing it anyway. So she couldn't help it. No matter how hard she tried, her brain refused to shut off the incoming sensory inputs from her ears. No matter how flat on her head they were, no matter how hard she pressed on her pillow-shield, she kept hearing the overwhelming bass-lines filling her apartment. After rolling around in her bed, the ex-sleeping mare finally removed the pillow from over her snout and violently opened her eyes, glaring at the roof, not waiting for any particular event. She just lay there, trying to ease her waking as much as she could; taking deep breaths and convincing herself that a quarter past eight was late anyway, and that she should have been awake already. Octavia rolled out of bed, landing on the hard wooden planks of the floor. Or at least they were usually hard; right now they were vibrating. In the small basement, a white unicorn was lazily bobbing her head to the thumps, in unison with the walls and furniture. She had worked on this piece for a couple of days now. The bass-lines were already perfect, but she woke up this morning with a way to finally complete her second riff and possibly bridge the finale correctly. It simply couldn't wait. Still half sleepy, Octavia straddled the minuscule hallway separating the couple's room from the kitchen and living area, unconsciously trotting along with what she could hear of the music. Just the bass really, everything else was absorbed by the floor. The DJ's craft was certainly an annoyance when trying to sleep, but Celestia bless her they actually had a separate basement to spare her dignified ears from hearing the multitude of weird electronic sounds and wubs her marefriend composed her music of. Octavia chuckled at her own thoughts. Not so long ago, she would have argued hooves and teeth that DJs didn't actually compose anything, and that whatever they were producing certainly couldn't be considered music. Not that she would admit she was thinking otherwise, but she did respect her marefriend's craft slightly more than two years ago. Two years. Already, she thought. Well, less than a month short of two years in fact, but they were never really clear on the definite start of their relationship. Vinyl argued it was when the shared the same bed (In total abstinence, of course, with the unicorn passed out drunk, and the earth pony reconsidering her whole life) while Octavia preferred thinking it was when they first kissed. All in all, almost two years. The pony rummaged for some time through the cabinet looking for coffee, reluctantly abandoning the search after the second unsuccessful pass. She'd have to contend with orange juice and take a note to buy more as soon as possible. As Octavia finally sat down from her search, fruitful beverage in hoof, she heard a joyful knock on the front door. *** "Hey Octavia! How is it going?" "Well enough Swift, thank you." Octavia paused a moment in the doorway, looking at her mailcolt with a hint of confusion. "I don't mean to sound rude, but why exactly are you here?" She issued a soft chuckle to stress out the lack of malice in her words, the stallion before her smiled in return. "Mail! What else?" he joyfully answered. Octavia frowned slightly. "Mail? On a Sunday?" "We do the priority mail on weekends sometimes when there isn't much work back at triage," the stallion reached inside his saddlebag while talking, muffling the sound of his voice to a slightly confused Octavia. "Here you go, judging from the name I'd bet its from your mother. Your last name is Philarmonica, right?" Octavia cringed a bit. "I never actually use it. It sounds way too snobby and complicated." The two ponies looked at each other for a moment. "Even for me, I mean," the mare added, provoking a small laugh from the mailcolt. "Alright, Octavia. Have a nice day!" Swift replied with a smile before turning away and trotting down the balcony stairs. The cellist saluted her mailcolt before bending to pick up the letter, getting a closer look at the return address. It was indeed her mother's. The mare suddenly grew excited to the prospect of receiving news from her family, but joy got immediately replaced by doubt. As much as she loved her family, her relationship with Vinyl never quite passed the rank of reluctant acceptance to her mother, and her father never cared for anything else than Octavia's career. So family relations were always awkward when they talked about it. And since between her career, her relationship and the activities related to the latter, Octavia didn't live a very anecdotal life, they always ended up talking about it. And it usually ended up with at least somepony yelling or mistreating a door. Nevertheless, Octavia bit the envelope and carried it back to the living room. Depositing it on the coffee table before unceremoniously ripping off the top with both her hooves and extracting the note, revealing her mother's refined calligraphy. The mare sat back lazily on the couch, her eyes slowly narrowing as she kept reading her mother's words. A small hint of panic made the pony jump up. Re-reading the letter to make sure she didn't hallucinate, Octavia cursed silently. *** "Meh... This isn't right." Vinyl stopped the recording and put her earphones back on her head, sampling through what she had put together, trying to find what was unwanted or lacking in her composition. When she had thought about it earlier, everything fit together so well, but now that she had put it into actual sounds, it clashed horribly. She ran the loop for what seemed like the hundredth time - through her headphones, this time - toying a bit with the filters on her main riff, trying to get it to sync better with the bass-lines. Octavia paused in front of the basement door for a moment, searching for a way to actually bring the news without it sounding off. Vinyl didn't usually need to be handled with caution, even when talking about more serious or personal matters, but there were so many ways this particular conversation could go in the wrong direction - she wanted to be sure it wouldn't. After what felt like an hour, the pony finally knocked timidly on the door. She was not hearing sounds anymore, which probably meant her marefriend was using headphones or was simply between takes. In the latter case she would answer to her knock, else Octavia would know to be very silent when entering the room. After a couple of seconds she tentatively pushed the door open, slipping inside the cool room filled with posters and electronic equipments. "The Teenage Room" they called it. Part for the actual look of it, part for the temper of its primary occupant. Octavia smirked to herself. Truth be told, she never had quite the "normal" adolescence per say. Ironically enough, she only started feeling like a teenager when she started dating the unicorn. So as much as she hated to admit it, her marefriend was more likely to be growing out of said phase sooner than her, everything put in perspective. The mare then remembered her purpose and, taking a deep breath, approached the mixing tables, central focus of all the wiring and consequently the whole room, taking great care in not tripping any loose cable or kicking a stray speaker or piece of equipment. After navigating the unusual minefield, she finally reached Vinyl, whose closed eyes and bobbing head suggested the earth pony had been successful in her subtle approach. Octavia waited a few moments, trying to gauge when would be the best time to interrupt. As she was finally going to bluntly notify her presence to the unicorn, Vinyl seemed to suddenly take notice on her own. She opened her eyes and turned towards the cellist, startling both ponies but most notably herself, somehow out of her chair and onto the floor in a disgraceful fall accompanied by a short shriek and a loud thump. "For Celestia's sake Tavi, don't sneak up on ponies like that!" the unicorn clamored dramatically, exaggerating her words and movements in a very typical Vinyl Scratch fashion. "Oh my. Sweetheart are you okay?" Octavia inquired as she circled the chair to help her marefriend get back on her hooves. "I didn't mean to startle you, I just didn't want to interrupt." "Well, I guess it's the intention that counts." The DJ smirked, getting back up with Octavia's help. She looked back at her setup, noticing she managed to yank a couple of cables when falling. "You should really get that wheel replaced, this chair is dangerous." Octavia pointed at the missing wheel on the computer chair, effectively depriving it from one of its support points. "Meh, it's no trouble usually, when I'm not being startled to death by my marefriend." Vinyl stuck out her tongue jokingly. Octavia sighed softly, the corner of her mouth rising at the unicorn's carelessness. There was a short moment of silence, only deranged by the music escaping from Vinyl strayed earphones. Octavia opened her mouth reluctantly, trying to form her next sentence in her head. "I.. um.. I got mail from my mother. I think we'll need to talk a bit about the next couple of months," she finally stuttered, not even looking at her interlocutor. Vinyl's expression immediately hardened. "What do you mean? Is everything alright. She's not pitching a fuss again about us two now is she? Because if she is I'm goin- "No she's not, Vinyl," Octavia cut her off. "Well, not directly." The unicorn sighed loudly and rounded back her equipment, taking care of saving her work and putting relative order in her setup, for the next time. "Alright, I was done for today anyway. This damn track just doesn't want to work." Vinyl jabbed at the gray pony. "Kinda like your mother with our relationship, I think I'll name the song after her once its finished, for all the troubles it will have given me." "I already told you she got over it Vinyl, kind of. Stop being so aggressive towards my parents," Octavia replied dryly. "Not your parents, only your mother. Your father don't care for me, I don't care for him in return." Octavia glared at her friend. Usually she would play along with the mare's teasing, but the mix of bad news after her rude awakening was doing marvels at completely ruining her patience. She decided it was best not to fuel Vinyl further. Both mares finished climbing the stairs leading back to the living room and both took place on their respective reading chairs in silence. After a moment of waiting, Vinyl shrugged. "Uh.. Well?" she simply asked, raising an eyebrow. Octavia considered for a moment summarizing the information but decided to simply nod towards the open letter on the coffee table and let Vinyl grasp the situation herself. It was usually the best way to go when the Cellist wanted her other half to take things seriously on the first try; let her get worked up over it. Vinyl bent over and levitated the letter to her eye level, squinting heavily as soon as she started reading. A couple of seconds later she violently threw the letter aside, looking at nothing in particular. "Oh the bitch!" Octavia cringed for an instant but remembered it was more or less what she had though, too, after reading the letter herself. Vinyl paused a moment then looked directly at the earth pony. "Seriously what the hay?! Did you know she was about to do that?" Vinyl's expression was slightly more angry than Octavia was previously panicked, but she did have a shorter temper. "I swear I didn't Vinyl" she pleaded. "I was probably as... as ticked off as you were when reading this." She waved a hoof around. Vinyl brought back the letter before her. "Well, I don't know about that. At least she's not insulting you in it. Apparently I need to find a real job, like DJing is not a real job!" Vinyl motioned to throw the letter back on the floor somewhere but remembered she was likely to have to reference it again - if only to fuel her rage more - so she simply let it fall on the table. "Look, Vinyl. I don't want to defend my mother in this, but she is right on some points regarding our long term future. My younger sister is entering college next year. We should have known they wouldn't be able to pay for this apartment forever." The earth pony mustered her most calming voice, almost rivaling Celestia's in order to mark her point as pacifically as possible. Vinyl looked back at the letter. "Still, she is only telling us a week in advance, by mail, while insulting me in the process. She is still pretty much a bitc-" "Yes, I got that the first time Vinyl." Octavia cut off once again. The two mares looked at eachother for a moment. Vinyl finally bit her lip and calmed down, letting herself fall in her chair. "So, what now? Can't you like negotiate a grace period of some sort? Get us at least some time to get our game together," the unicorn finally asked, her voice hinted with slightly more worry and less hate. "I highly doubt it. My parents have money, but they are not that rich. They can't put Bemol through college and give us an apartment at the same time," Octavia replied, relieved to see her marefriend somewhat calming down. "Uhg.. Couldn't she get a scholarship or something? Like, you know, both of us did?" "Back then, I was talented and you were incredibly lucky." Octavia replied cynically before continuing. "Besides, you're circling the issue. We may have never really though about it, but like I said, we knew this day would eventually come and now you're not ready for it." Vinyl opened her mouth to begin a new sentence but stopped short, just realizing Octavia's last words. The unicorn frowned deeply. "Wait, what do you mean 'I'm not ready'? Last time I checked the two of us pretty much sailed the same boat Tavi..." "Yes, of course sweetheart, I'm not saying otherwise," the other mare replied. "But as far as I'm concerned, my income is enough to cover my eventual part of the rent and then some. The same cannot be said about yours." The pony tried to avoid taking too much of an attitude saying that, but old habits die hard. Vinyl waved a hoof around. "Oh pff, come on. Its not my fault if all your stuck up pony friends like paying way too much to listen to boring music." "No, indeed, but it isn't mine either. Some career paths are more lucrative than others, that's all." Vinyl rolled her eyes. Octavia ignored her, running short on patience. "And it doesn't change much in the end. If we want to keep this apartment, you'll have to get a job." Vinyl sighed violently at Octavia's last words. "I already have a job, Octy." she deadpanned. "I mean a job that will earn you more than barely enough for drinking money." "Hey! I can't help it if I need my two mugs to get the show going, sweetie." Octavia lifted a stern hoof, prompting her friend to stop. "Look, Vinyl. We've lived together for almost two years now. There are things you do I've grown used to or at least stopped caring about." "Likewise." Octavia ignored the stab. "Wasting the slim amount of bits you earn is one of those things I stopped caring about." Vinyl grinned victoriously as Octavia continued. "But for right now - and probably the rest of our lives for that matter - we need to get ourselves a plan. Because as it is, with our combined salaries - and that's assuming you will be able to spare some - I've saved barely enough to get us going for a year." "Wait, you actually saved up some money?" the unicorn half-jokingly replied. "There is only so much food a pony can eat. I pretty much put away all the rest." Vinyl's eyes grew wider "Octavia, you are my idol. I love you." "Oh, quit the melodrama. I'm trying to make you understand how serious our situation is Vinyl. That's our future we're talking about, our whole lives. You need to get another job, or at least actually try to sign some contracts instead of crawling from club to club." "Never, record companies are evil. I like my soul thank you very much." "Well, there is only one other option left then." "Yeah about that, I could just - I dunno - stop wasting my money, like, you know, actually take time to make insurance claims for the speakers drunken dudes break at my shows instead of just buying new ones," Vinyl tentatively proposed. "Knowing how much you despise actually having to take time to write stuff and talk to those boring insurance ponies, I highly doubt it's likely to happen." "I am hurt, Tavi. Deeply hurt by your lack of faith in your marefriend." "Cut it out will you." She waved a hoof at the unicorn. "I don't get why you've always been reluctant to get another job, even now that you don't really have the choice anymore. At least something part time. Why don't you ask your parents for a job at their record store for a couple of weeks? That would give us some breathing room." "They kicked me out Tavi, we're not exactly in the best of terms," the unicorn deadpanned. "Come on Vinyl, its been more than 5 years now, I'm pretty sure that is enough time for ponies to get a shot at a fresh start. Besides, I would like to meet them, yo-" "Yeah can we just get my parents out of this? Okay, thanks." Vinyl dryly cut off. The genuine anger in her voice startled Octavia. "Yeesh, sorry. Its just sad to know that if we ever have kids they won't get to meet their grandparents because one of their mothers is an egotistical rancorous pr-" "Uh-hun, no." Vinyl stabbed a hoof at Octavia, cutting her off. "You're not going to get the cutesy 'sad kids' emotional response out of me. You're lucky I didn't straight out refused to even have foals eventually, don't make me regret this choice." The two mares stared at each other with somewhat of an uncomfortable animosity. After a long pause Vinyl sighed loudly, releasing the tension in her neck and shoulders, slightly putting Octavia at ease. "Look I'm sorry, forget what I just said. It's not what we need to be talking about right now." "Yes, indeed. Sorry I brought it up." Octavia's ears flattened as she looked down at the floor. "Now, I love you very, very much, but you cannot just ask me to give up on my life's aspirations just because they aren't lucrative enough." Vinyl's tone was almost pleading. Octavia nodded slightly. "I mean, how much is our rent anyway? I'm sure we can work things out." Octavia shifted her eyes, looking at the wall and lowering her voice as if she was afraid somepony might hear them. "According to the letter, its just shy of twelve hundred bits per month..." Vinyl jumped out of her chair "Holy bucking sh-" She stopped at Octavia's accusing glare. "For a three rooms apartment?" "Three rooms with running water and magic taps, in midtown Canterlot, with a basement and no adjacent neighbors... that's actually pretty cheap all things considered," the other mare noted. "Pretty che- ung.." The unicorn sighed loudly and interrupted herself before continuing. "And now that I think about it, why exactly did we need a place in midtown Canterlot in the first place?" Octavia knew the question was very much rhetorical, and she also knew where this stab was going to bring them, but there was no way to dodge it now that the subject has been brought up. "We got it, because it was a great apartment, close to commodities and both of our jobs." The mare tried to muster her most convincing tone, knowing too well it was a lost cause. "Aha, no," Vinyl replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "We got it because it was closer to your job, not mine, and because you didn't want to have to walk through the downtown streets everyday." "I'm very sorry I have a serious, pathological and documented fear of crowds and being mugged." "Oh that's bullshit. I work in clubs dammit. I cope with crowds and potential muggers almost every damn night and I'm still pretty much alive." "Look Vinyl, we already talked about this..." Octavia pleaded. "That was before we actually had to pay for the damned thing Tavi." "I am not moving downtown Vinyl. It's either safe neighbors or the countryside, and there aren't jobs for either of us in the countryside." "Well I'm not fucking changing jobs, so I guess we're running out of options now aren't we?" "Vinyl, language, please." Vinyl's eyes narrowed. "What, I can't swear in my own house now? Is there some kind of unwritten rule stating that you can't fucking swear in overpriced apartments or what?" The unicorn tone was getting more and more angry by the second. Octavia sat up in her chair, trying to fight the discomfort brought by the tone of her marefriend. "Well if it was actually your apartment maybe I wouldn't pitch such a fuss about it, but since I paid for most of the furniture here..." "Wait, are you really planning on going there? Because if you are just tell me and I'll pack my stuff and leave." She angrily pointed at the door. "Oh come on Vinyl, that's not even remotely what I meant. Stop acting like such a filly will you?" Vinyl buried her face in her hooves, sighing loudly. Trying to regain composure somewhat, she took a couple of deep breaths before looking back at Octavia. "I make enough money as it is now. There are great downtown studios for rent at less than three hundred bits a month. You're the one who needs to lower your standards, princess, that's always been your problem." Octavia cringed and broke eye contact, feeling a bit ashamed, but mostly enraged. Vinyl was right in a way. Twelve hundred bits was well over what most ponies could ever afford, but now her patience was completely exhausted. This conversation was deteriorating way too much way too fast and for the first time in a long time, she felt completely helpless about it. "Vinyl, please. We can afford it here, we just need to work a little harder." Her tone was unequally shifting between annoyed and pleading. Octavia wasn't sure which one she was even trying to muster. The unicorn sighed again. "Listen to me Octy; twelve hundred bits is an insane amount of cash. I know we weren't raised in the same way, and we probably have different notions about money, but back home, even with the four of us busting our flanks at full time jobs we couldn't even remotely afford to live like this. This is insane to think we'll be able to make it." Octavia turned to look Vinyl straight in the eyes. In retrospect, she couldn't remember why she decided to stab again - effectively sending the conversation straight downhill - when she could have done anything else. Her words slipped right through every single drop of common sense and inhibitions she had. She just told what ran thought her fatigued brain. "Oh, because you are able to have a real full time job? I would have never guessed," she replied in an unusually sarcastic tone. The kind of sarcastic that is not meant to be teasing or funny, the kind that is meant to hurt somepony. Vinyl's mouth hung wide open at her friend's words. "E-Excuse me?" the unicorn muttered, confused at the gratuitous stab. Sure, they were throwing each other insults since the beginning of this conversation, but this one was not only uncalled for and totally out of character for Octavia, it was an incredible regression in the already weak argument-to-fussing ratio of the conversation. Taking advantage of Vinyl's confusion, Octavia carried on. No use turning back now. "Well, I mean it's not like you had one for all the years I've known you. As far as I'm concerned you never actually needed to work for anything." Octavia continued, "Even now that you don't even have a choice you're still clinging to your little hobby you want so bucking hard to get me to think is real work." The earth pony was looking straight at Vinyl, her face sporting the same snob and cocky expression she used to fake when they first met, except this time it was very much real. Octavia, for the first time in her life, had willfully insulted another pony with the cruel and clear intent of hurting them. Vinyl sat down on the floor in disbelief, her eyes wide open. The silence that ensued might as well have been made of lead for all the weight it brought down on both the ponies. After a couple of seconds, Vinyl finally looked away, nodding slightly while biting her lower lip, apparently trying very hard to contain her rage. Octavia looked down at her marefriend, slowly realizing what she just said. "What. The. Fuck, is it with you damn stuck up ponies NEVER recognizing what I do as real work? What do you think I was doing this morning in the basement? Having some private time and drinking?" Vinyl paused. She slowly stood up and brought her snout within inches of Octavia's, pointing an accusative hoof at the earth pony's forehead. Octavia was terrified, she had never seen Vinyl this enraged before. For a moment, she thought the unicorn was going to hit her, but the white hoof just barely poked her head. "I'd have you know, 'princess', that I work as fucking much as you do. And very probably more. And it's not because you actually have what other stuck up bitches call a 'decent' or 'respectable' career that it's any better than mine. You only play one instrument for Celestia's sake. I juggle with dozens of them. And sounds. And voices. I work hours upon hours to get my equipment in shape and take said equipment from club to club, by myself. Every. Fucking. Time." The unicorn's voice was getting harsher and louder at every word. Octavia was feeling the tears coming up as her marefriend yelled at her. Vinyl took in a small breath before continuing. "Then, once I'm there, I must deal with the most lowlife of ponies drinking their problems to death and not actually giving a shit about the music playing as long as its loud. And everytime I need to walk through the crowd, I'm absolutely terrified at the idea that one of those colt could just knock me upside the head and rape me right there for how much anypony else would care. Yet, I still work whole days preparing those damn tracks, for those damn shows, because its my job, and I love my job, and my job is the only other thing in life that gives me meaning beside you and your sorry stuck up flank." Vinyl's voice was slowly breaking as tears started to fill her own eyes, Octavia was already sobbing and trying to bury herself in the couch, unable to bear the sheer amount of pain and rage getting thrown at her. Vinyl finally backed off, taking a deep breath while she looked through the living room window. "And all that for a ridiculous amount of money, which is usually way less that was first promised by the way, because club owners are fucking whores. When they're not straight up pimps offering me other kinds of jobs." She turned back to Octavia. "And you have the guts to tell me this isn't hard work?" Vinyl hit the floor with her front hoof, closing her eyes in a vain effort to refrain her tears. The small apartment filled once again with the distant sound of foals' laughter and carriages riding the stone streets complementing Octavia's sobbing. Vinyl finally walked to the door, putting on her signature glasses. "I'm going out." "Vinyl, wait..." Octavia whispered. "I just need to vent this out, you should too. Don't wait for me to come back, okay." The two mares looked at each other for a brief moment before Vinyl closed the door quietly. Chapter 3CHAPTER 3 "Hey, watch were you're going moron!" Vinyl grunted an excuse and stumbled left and right a moment before recovering her balance. After a quick look over her shoulder to confirm the stallion she had bumped into didn't plan on going past harsh words, she looked back down at her front hooves, concentrating on the pavement lines to walk as straight as possible. Getting all swervy at this time of the day would get her some attention she preferred avoiding. As the mare walked mindlessly towards the town park, she ran back the last couple of hours through her brain, not for any particular reasons beside the sake of understanding. She didn't quite remember the exact words that she and Octavia used - she didn't even remember how it truly had come to that point - but she had clear bits of it circling her mind; reading the letter, the comments about her parents and having foals, learning how much the rent was... The terrified look on Octavia's face... Vinyl shivered. She remembered clearly her eyes, those beautiful eyes, so wide open and yet so deeply narrowed by sheer fear. Not any fear mind you, the fear of herself, Vinyl, her marefriend. The thought almost brought back the tears to the unicorn's eyes, but she quickly rubbed it off and kept on walking, her head as low as she could. After what felt like a hundred miles, Vinyl's hooves finally came in contact with the soft and lush grass of Canterlot's peripheral parks. Sure, the inner city had some landscaped green spots, but it was often just one big tree and a pond. The outer gardens were really something else, sporting a couple of acres of grassy fields and hills spotted by the occasional trees. The perfect place to hang out with friends away from the buzzing city, or when you wanted guaranteed fresh air for you and you alone. The unicorn looked slightly upward at the sun slowly setting. It was probably close to seven now, and since they were still fairly close to the summer equinox she'd probably get one hour or so of light before being politely hustled inside the walls by guardponies. which should be fairly enough to sober up a bit, considering she would still have to walk back home afterwards. With a little luck she would also manage to find some words to bring back with her, hopefully. The pony sighed at the thought. As much as Octavia had of a part in their fight, Vinyl couldn't stop wondering about how the other mare felt right now, unable to shake off the image of the love of her life bursting into tears as she spat out her little raging monologue at her. After pondering for a couple of minutes, Vinyl decided to stop thinking about it. Regardless of how much she would try to guess, she would probably end up wrong anyway. Maybe Octavia would still be crying when she got back, maybe she would be enraged in her turn, prompting Vinyl out of the house. Only time would tell, and Vinyl would have to suck everything up and try to be as sincere as possible in her excuses. Because if Vinyl had learned one thing from living with Octavia, it was that taking the blame was always the easiest solution. Because even though Octavia acted all stoic and untouched by anything most of the time, Vinyl had slowly learned during their common years at university that Octavia was just a mare that never got to be a filly. Because of the pressure of her parents and their self-imposed social class, she never really had any real friends or fun of any kind before they met. And not-so-deeply hidden beneath the gray coat of seriousness, Vinyl knew there was a very fragile, naive and sweet filly living in a body that was forced to grow too soon. So whenever she had the chance, the unicorn took all the flack, because, of the two, she was by far the one that was the most used to it, and truly, she didn't care. So if she came back home and Octavia was to blame herself in any way, the solution was already all warmed up and ready. "Its my fault honey, don't blame yourself," she whispered, like some sort of surreal rehearsal. "Aha, excuse me?" a voice merrily asked. Vinyl's eyes opened wide as her head shot straight back up. Taking a moment to analyze what just happened in her slowed down brain, she finally looked back at where the sound came from, immediately falling face to face with a very recognizable mint unicorn. "I knew that you were completely nuts for a long time, but I never heard yourself ask forgiveness to grass before." The other unicorn walked the gap separating them, stopping aside her friend, staring intensively at the ground before them. Vinyl raised an eyebrow. "Or was it the ants? Maybe you asked forgiveness to the ants? I can't really tell. You were never a grass pony were you?" She looked back up at the confused unicorn, bursting out in laughter, shortly followed by said unicorn. "Nah, it was indeed the grass Lyra," she answered, still chuckling. The mint unicorn raised an eyebrow in her turn. "Indeed? Since when do you say 'indeed'?" "Meh, I guess Tavi is rubbing off on me." Vinyl's expression hardened at the mention of her marefriend but she quickly shook off the thought. She hadn't seen Lyra in months, this would be a great occasion to catch up a bit and clear her mind as well. "So, how are you doing nowadays?" Vinyl finally asked. "I'm the one who should be asking, you smell like you just had a concert in a pear orchard. A very old orchard. Full of fermented pears." Vinyl blushed a bit. She certainly was not in an optimal socializing state by any stretch of the imagination. "Yeah, that's a long story, I'd rather not talk about it. I just came here to sober up a bit and get some fresh air." "I see..." Lyra chuckled. "What are you doing in Canterlot anyway?" Vinyl sat down unceremoniously, prompting her friend to do the same. "They were out of lyre strings in Ponyville, so I decided to do the distance. Walking is good for the health." "That's still, like, four walking hours, no? Quite the trek." "Yeah, it is..." Lyra's expression darkened a bit as her ears flattened on her head. After a short pause she perked back up at her friend. "To be honest...I also needed to get away from Bonbon a bit." Vinyl raised an eyebrow. "Why?" Lyra sighed and briefly buried her face in her hooves. "Meh, I dunno. She's acting all weird lately. I've been hanging out a lot with Cherilee, since she broke up with Big Mac, and I think Bonbon is getting a bit jealous or something." "That sucks," Vinyl stated simply. "Yeah, it does... I mean, I'm pretty good at getting over exes by now you know. Bonbon should be a little more trustful." "It took you quite sometime to get over me.." remarked Vinyl, granting her a violent nudge right in the ribs. "I hate you Scratch, you know that right?" "Yeah, sure. As much as I hate you!" Both mares chuckled. There was a long pause, the two friends simply looking absently at the sun getting lower and lower. "Speaking of which, I stopped by your house earlier." Vinyl eyes narrowed as she tried to ignore Lyra's subtle accusing tone. The white unicorn looked slightly away from her friend, just in case she suddenly gained the power to see through reflective lenses. "I damn well hope you'd come by while being in Canterlot," she joked tentatively. "Yeah well you weren't there, obviously." Lyra continued. "And even though I don't know her as much as I would like, I'm pretty sure Octavia is not usually crying alone in her house for no reason." Vinyl flattened her ears in shame and looked down at the ground, sighing deeply. "No, she isn't." She paused a moment, considering telling Lyra the truth. She clumsily removed her glasses, revealing her full expression. "We kinda had a fight." Lyra simply nodded, Vinyl took a deep breath. "Like, the 'yelling a lot and crying' kind of fight." "That sucks." Vinyl chuckled at the irony of her friend's response. But it was not enough to refrain her eyes from watering. Lyra put a hoof around the other unicorn, shaking her slightly. "Hey there now, don't let it get to you. Everypony fights sometimes. Beside, you two must be used to it by now." She squeezed Vinyl a bit closer, trying to comfort her friend. "Yeah, well, no, that's the thing. We've never had any real fights until now... It feels so strange." Lyra's eyes widened. "Wait, are you telling me that in what, two years of living together?" Vinyl nodded silently. "Holy cow. Two years and you never fought?" "Not like that, no." Lyra started laughing out loud, much to Vinyl's confusion. "And you're getting drunk over it? Wow, if Bonbon and I fought only once in two whole damn years, I'd probably have grown wings by now." Vinyl looked up at the mint unicorn, frowning slightly. "Yeah, I guess I see your point." All around the fields ponies were starting to scramble around, packing whatever stuff they had brought with them as Celestia's sun was going down more and more by the minute. Guardponies started reaching out to the stragglers, proposing they got inside the main walls while it was still easy to see where you put your hooves. Lyra stood up, extending a hoof to her friend. Vinyl magically swooped her glasses back up and grabbed Lyra's foreleg, clumsily getting up. The dizziness came back as soon as the mare stood back on her four hooves. "Dammit, I'm still tipsy." Lyra leaned against the unicorn, helping her regain her balance. "It's not that bad, you can talk correctly enough." Vinyl chuckled while the green unicorn patted her jokingly on the back. "Come on, I'll walk you home." "And how exactly did you plan on going back to Ponyville?" The other mare asked. "I didn't, really. It took me more time than I had expected to get here." Lyra waved a hoof around. "I'll just go crash at Dawn's place, it's not like Bonbon will die from one little night alone. She's got toys for that." She winked at Vinyl, smiling a bit too much. The white unicorn rolled her eyes. "Gosh Lye, too much unwanted information, please." Both mares laughed as they started walking towards the main gates. Vinyl's mood was definitively getting better, thanks to Lyra's strange caring carelessness, if that made any sense. They walked silently towards Vinyl's apartment, only talking when the mare accidentally bumped into random ponies. By the time they came in sight of the well-kept building Vinyl lived in, it was already night. Gas employees were going around, lightning up the streetlights that were not magically linked yet, bringing a warm, soothing light to the streets of Canterlot. As the two mares approached the luxurious wooden door, Lyra felt her friend slowing down. "Something wrong Scratch?" she asked half-jokingly. "I, uh. I guess I'm nervous, that's all." Lyra turned Vinyl's head towards her with a front hoof, forcing the white unicorn's eyes - or at least her glasses - to meet her own stare. "Hey, it'll be alright okay? Whatever this fight was about, it's something you can work out." She nudged Vinyl's chest, prompting the unicorn to straighten up. Vinyl's ears fell slightly again as she turned back towards the door. "Yeah... I guess." Lyra nudged the other unicorn again. "Oh come on Scratch, if you managed not to fight for two whole years it must be because you found some sort of mystical way of solving problems or something." Lyra pushed Vinyl towards the door with a chuckle. "I'll drop by tomorrow so we can hang out a bit before I head back to Ponyville, 'kay?" Vinyl turned back towards her friend, a slight smile gracing her lips. "Yeah, okay." Lyra nodded and turned back in the direction of old Canterlot. "Hey, Lye." The unicorn stopped, looking back at the DJ. "Thank you." Lyra laughed out loud, waving a hoof at Vinyl. "Remember, if all else fails, try sexy time. It always works with Bonbon!" Vinyl laughed in turn and waved her friend goodbye, turning confidently back at the door. She tried the knob reticently, fearing it would be locked, but to her surprise the door opened silently. As she made her way inside she looked at the kitchen clock; it was barely half an hour past eight, surely Tavi wouldn't be asleep yet. "Hey..." Vinyl froze at the voice she recognized too well. It was coming from the living room, but she couldn't see the owner of the from the doorway. "Hey." she told back. The unicorn slowly closed the door and made her way towards the center of the room, looking for a familiar spot of gray fur. All the lights were out, except for what looked like a lantern in the middle of the room, partially obstructed by the couch. Vinyl moved forward, finally noticing her marefriend, lying down on the floor, reading. As she approached, the cellist looked up from her book. Her eyes were still red and her coat was ruffled and spotted by tears. The sight broke Vinyl's heart. "I..." both mare started in unison before interrupting themselves. Octavia spoke first. "I'm so sorry Vinyl.. I.." the mare couldn't finish her sentence before breaking down in tears. Taking a deep breath to restrain her own tears, Vinyl slowly laid down beside her marefriend, running a comforting hoof through her unkempt mane while the earth pony quietly sobbed for long minutes. "Shhh.. it's alright Tavi. It's not your fault." The other mare nodded slightly, interrupting her sobbing a moment before turning towards Vinyl, her eyes smiling amidst the tears. The unicorn removed her glasses, returning the smile and the two mares stared at each other for some time, both failing to find something to say, getting closer and closer each second, until Octavia finally leaned in, kissing Vinyl passionately. Surprised at first the unicorn soon returned the attention, squeezing against the earth pony even more as they continued their embrace. When they finally parted their lips, the couple looked longingly at each other in silence. The love in their respective stares making them forget all about their fight for an instant. Lyra was right, Vinyl thought, it was not a coincidence they never fought for two whole years. They truly were meant for each other. Octavia finally broke the silence. "You taste like very old pears." she said, issuing a chuckle that completely faded away the sadness in her eyes for a moment. "Do I?" the other mare simply replied. "I know I really could use a shower." "I could tell you that much." Octavia replied. The two mares chuckled, breaking their stare to lay back down against one another, Octavia's snout buried inside the electric blue mane of the unicorn. "I love you, Vinyl Scratch." "I love you too, Octavia." she replied. "And I'm sorry I yelled at you." "And called my mother a bitch." Vinyl nodded. "And called your mother a bitch." The mare paused a moment. "Although it seemed very appropriate at the time," she added. Octavia chuckled. "It still is, I just wanted to verify how docile you were." Vinyl raised her head from the floor, her mouth hanging open in faked disbelief. "You are an evil pony, miss, I hope you know that." "Guilty as charged." The two mares let their respective heads fall down to their original position while smiling from ear to ear. This was what they were used to. This was what made their relationship possible. This was the couple they really were. And no rent or bitchy mother should ever be allowed to disturb that. "You really do need a shower though if you want to sleep in the bed tonight, you smell horrible." Octavia remarked. "But I like it heeere... It's comfy." Vinyl replied, mimicking a foal's plea. Octavia playfully nibbled Vinyl's ear before standing up, softly kicking her flank. "Come on gal, I'll help you scrub your back." Octavia added with a wink, using a tone Vinyl immediately recognized. She looked up at her marefriend. "Only my back?" "It does get very slippery in there doesn't it? I might just miss once or twice." Vinyl grinned widely and immediately stood back on her hooves, following her marefriend into the small bathroom. "You truly are an evil pony." Chapter 4CHAPTER 4 - For as much as it could, the city of Fillydelphia was slowly going to sleep. Its inhabitants leaving the streets to regain the comfort of their homes, far from the stress of their day job and the agitation of the city, some scrambling to catch the last items on their groceries list or running to catch the last trains leading out of the main city. In a renowned neighborhood near the south entrance, the tall, luxurious houses were lightning off one by one, leaving only the street lamps to spot the dark night. At merely a quarter past ten, all but one of them still emitted light. Viola liked living there, in the tranquility of the suburb areas, were they were safe from the nightly agitation of the city and still only a short car ride from most of the services. Sure, if somepony was poor or insane enough they could also use the very well designed city trains, but that was not Viola's style. She was a pony of grace and style, she had high social standards, and the simple though of having to squeeze between a plumber and a street artist on the way back home sent shivers down her spine. The tan mare looked back at the book she was reading, leaving the starry skies for somepony else to admire. At her side, silently scribbling on a impressive pile of parchments was her husband, Revision. The couple was completely silent, only disturbed by the humming of Revision's magic and the occasional turning of a page. ''Is it any good?'' The stallion asked in a tone lacking any real interest. ''It is slowly boring me to sleep, honey. You know this is why I read your books'' the earth pony replied without any hint of subtlety. The stallion kept writing without any change in his expression, as if the conversation was only a formality he knew how to go through by heart. ''And yet, I still sell them.'' Revision paused an instant before raising an eyebrow. ''I will never understand this society.'' ''You don't have to. I'm here for that'' the mare remarked instantly. A long pause followed. The kind of uneasy silence that would make anypony feel awkward. But the Philamornica were used to it, it was this silence that reigned over their house, only being broken for important matter or mandatory casual talk at set moments. It was almost ironic that a musician could enjoy silence as much as to command it in their house but truth be told, it was only a matter of control. Variables were something Viola feared more than everything else, she didn't like to be unable to predict what would happen and when, she liked order, pacing - control. Her stress level was directly linked to the number of unknown she had to deal with. Right now it was pretty low, but one in particular was bugging her, a small buzzing in her ear, denying her absolute peace. ''Have we received any news from Octavia yet?'' The mare took her eyes off her book a moment, directing them towards her husband. She could never quite tell what the gray unicorn was thinking. He was always so focused, so stoic, undisturbed by his surroundings. Getting any kind of reaction from him was quite the task. So much that Viola couldn't remember how they first fell in love for all the bits in the world. Revision himself was not quite sure. ''Its Sunday, love, mail isn't delivered on Sundays'' the stallion casually replied. ''Beside, we sent it Tuesday, she'll probably only get it tomorrow.'' The mare snapped her eyes back at her book. ''I though you had paid for priority postage.'' ''I did dear'' he replied, going back to writing. ''That extra bit isn't going to get the letter teleported you know.'' The mare chuckled dryly. ''That would be a great idea, teleporting mail. Get some use of all those waste-of-a-horn lying around in the streets.'' Viola paused a moment before slapping her book on the sheets, turning towards her husband. ''Like this Vinyl Scratch.'' She pronounced the name with discernible disgust. ''I can't believe its going to be two years now, can you believe it ? I really though our little Octavia was more intellige- ''You're getting worked up and rambling again, honey'' Revision cut off, clearly used to this kind of reaction from his wife. Viola only stopped for a moment before continuing ''And I should'' she replied. ''And so should you. It's our daughter we're talking about, she deserves more than that.'' Revision sighed. ''As far as I'm concerned, our little girl have a job in the royal orchestra and a steady marefriend. At twenty-three that is pretty much as good as it could get.'' ''A job offer, in the royal orchestra'' Viola corrected. ''And her having a steady marefriend is precisely what I'm worried about. Especially since it had to be this particular individual.'' Viola was going downhill, again, Revision knew these conversations too well. So much that he didn't know why he even bothered arguing anymore. Maybe that deep within himself he still had a hint of hope his wife would eventually let go of her grudge. The stallion took a deep breath. ''Homosexuality has been officially recognized and accepted for well over five hundred years Viola'' he simply noted, his eyes still directed at the manuscript. ''It doesn't mean I have to like it.'' the mare replied, putting her book back on her nightstand. ''Besides, if it had been anypony else, maybe I would not have cared so much.'' The mare's voice trailed off before becoming completely silent, noticing she was now speaking to herself. After all this time she couldn't really blame Revision for ignoring her rambling against Vinyl, but she simply couldn't accept it. It was not only because Vinyl was a mare, it was a question of standards, ethics, principles. Sure, the relationship between her daughter and the unicorn was going well for now, but who knows what that wretched DJ would end up transforming Octavia into? Her poor girl had already started cussing. Admittedly in a very tame manner - only once or twice when Viola and her were fighting - but cussing nonetheless. She had to do something about it, even if it meant having to intercede directly in her daughter's live, she wouldn't let anypony destroy the social standing she took so long to establish for her family. ''What was in this letter that was so important anyway?'' VIola bit her lips. She wasn't feeling bad about what she did -she never did- but she did forget to talk to her husband about it. Now was as good a time as any, she though. ''I told her we were cutting off the bits.'' she dryly said, looking straight at the wall. Revision detached his eyes from his manuscript, raising an eyebrow. ''You did what now?'' Viola kept avoiding her husband's stare. ''I told them... I told them we were not going to pay for their apartment anymore.'' The stallion frowned in confusion, trying to grasp his wife's logic. ''Why? We don't need those bits don't we?'' ''Officially, they are to put Bemol through college.'' Revision frowned even more. ''And since Bemol scored a scholarship I assume the real reason is slightly different now is it? Viola shifted uncomfortably, trying to find a way of putting her twisted plan under a light that would make it seem logical; It was harder than she though. ''I just wanted them to realize that life may not always be that easy and that they needed to grow up to survive in this world.'' She turned slowly to her husband as her tone gained in confidence. ''They need to find good jobs and get a routine going, get a stable life.'' Revision chuckled sarcastically. ''It's funny how every time you say 'They' or 'Them' I keep hearing 'Vinyl Scratch' and 'That damned pony'.'' ''And why is that funny?'' she replied, slightly insulted. Revision sighed and levitated his work back on his study, turning back towards Viola.''You're right, it's not. Are you so hellbent on hating that unicorn that you are ready to make both of their lives miserable?'' His tone was slightly accusative, but mainly confused. He knew his wife could be pretty obsessive about some things, but never he saw her so focused on somepony else's life, even her daughter's. ''You're exaggerating hon, I'm not making their lives miserable by forcing them to work a bit harder, everypony needs to work for what they have. That's how life works.'' Viola straightened up to sit properly as she spoke, her ears perked forward. She knew her arguments were generic and flawed, but she couldn't let it show. ''This, again.'' Revision shook his head slightly and sat up to be level with his wife. ''You and I both know Octavia is working very hard on her professional career. That little scheme of yours is clearly directed towards Vinyl, not both of them.'' The stallion's tone was still neutral, but slowly hardening ''What if they just decide to move downtown? Or completely away from Canterlot?'' ''They can't, that's what leases are for and we just renewed theirs a couple of weeks ago.'' Viola replied with a smirk of victory. The stallion sighed at the ceiling, shocked by his wife's malice. ''I really don't get you. There are so many ways this could go wrong. They could easily end up breaking up because of this.'' After a second his eyes widened as he saw his wife's reaction to his last sentence; she smiled. A subtle, wicked grin. Revision shook his head in disappointment. ''That's exactly the point isn't it?'' Viola reacted violently to the her husband accusing stare, throwing a hoof in the air. ''You talk like this would be a bad thing!'' ''Yes, it would!'' Viola shrunk a bit at her husband's tone, Revision continued ''I never really liked Vinyl either, but I can respect her because she makes our little girl happy. In case you haven't noticed, this is something that did not happen very often in her life.'' Viola immediately stood down, frowning slightly. ''W- What do you mean by that?'' ''I mean that Octavia was not a happy child, and it was painfully obvious. Don't tell me you never picked on it, we both did'' The stallion's ears lowered in shame as did Viola's. They never really talked about it, but somehow they knew they haven't been the parents they could have been - the child psychologist told them that much. They never quite listened, being too preoccupied by their respective careers and aspiration to sit down and make sure their foals were happy. ''I only want the best for our child. You know that. I want Octavia to be successful, to live a decent life'' Viola stuttered, visibly trying to convince herself as much as her husband. ''And what about what she wants?'' Revision calmly asked, regaining his usual tone. Viola shook her head, regaining her composure. ''She don't know what she want, she's too young for that! Her little... fillyfooling phase is proving that.'' She waved a hoof around, prompting her husband to sigh in disappointment one last time. Preferring to end the conversation when it was still manageable Revision turned off his reading light and slipped back into his sheets. ''No wonder she hates us...'' he mumbled before turning away from his wife and closing his eyes. Viola stared at her husband's back for a moment before turning to the window. Octavia didn't hate them, she just didn't understand her parent's motives. Viola understood life, and if she learned anything from it, it was that you should never expect to be happy all the time. Problems happen, ponies do bad things, events don't turn out how they are supposed to. Sacrificing happiness for stability was the only logical way lo go through life. When you are not happy you cannot be sad; you stay neutral. You live a neutral, easy life and you try and make great things with it. The mare looked longingly at the moon. Rehearsing her little theory in her head, convincing herself it was flawless, logical. She had control over her own life, she couldn't let Octavia lose control over hers because she had feelings for another mare, as simple as that. Viola slipped back into her sheets and turned off her own reading lamp, her gaze still focused on the moon. As simple as that, she though. AUTHOR'S NOTE - Hey! I know it's been a long time, this -admittedly short- chapter have been sitting on my desktop for a couple of weeks now but I haven't heard from my pre-readers, so I'll just release it as it is right now as some sort of kick start to put me back into writing the rest. Feel free to point out the mistakes I made but most importantly, if you have comments about the actual story please do write them! I'll work on my English grammar, but I don't have any notions in creative writing, I need those if I am to keep going!
Chapter 1CHAPTER 1 Vinyl looked down at her mug and sighed. The thing was still half-full of the liberating beverage and yet, its subtle smell of fermented pears made the mare nauseous. She pushed the mug away a couple of inches, putting her snout out of reach of the odor her breath no doubt shared as of now. The unicorn certainly was used to drinking. She had spent the vast majority of her legal years - and a few more before that - out in the clubs, either as a performer or simple customer. She certainly enjoyed a mug of hard cider as much as the next pony, but apparently four was going to be the hard limit tonight. The mind just wasn't into it it seemed. Vinyl struggled a bit and lifted her head to look back at her very quiet surroundings. Between the worn out benches and the old frosted bar, only a couple of ponies were drinking to the lame background music that played during the late afternoon. Most of them were early regulars, or ponies spending their welfare bits; Maybe one of them was in the same situation as her. In what situation was she anyway? The mare closed her eyes slowly, rubbing her neck and lifting her mane a bit, trying to let some air cool her neck. The summer weather was not doing any good in small closed places like these and the mix of cider and hot temperature seemed to particularly ruin her natural cooling system. Maybe she should go back home, lay down a bit in the basement. Canterlot was mainly built on rocky foundations and those lucky enough to own a basement could benefit from very dry and cool living spaces. Tempting prospects during those days, especially since nopony - beside the princesses, of course - owned a large enough lot to get any sort of decent pool. Vinyl grunted at the thought. As tempting as it was, she obviously couldn't go back now. It hadn't even been two hours yet; Octavia was certainly still mad at her - or crying, or both - and getting home drunk not even a quarter past six wouldn't help anypony's case. She had to give her marefriend a couple more hours, and she could use sobering up a bit before having to have any form of serious talk with the gray pony. The thought made the unicorn pull the mug closer to her. Reluctantly breathing the smell, Vinyl swiftly brought the container to her lips and finished the remaining alcohol; no point in wasting a drink she had paid for. The bartender looked in her direction, having noticed the sound of an empty mug, but Vinyl absent-mindedly signaled the colt her lack of intentions to pursue the drinking; she had better plans forming out in her foggy brain. *** A couple of miles further down the road, far away from the old downtown Canterlot, a small midtown apartment was being filled with a melodic array of warm sounds as experienced hooves danced along the strings of a cello. Anypony lucky enough to be within earshot of the masterwork would be graced by the sounds of a chilling melody, no doubt played from deep within the heart. Normally, the notes would only land in the delighted ears of the two mares residing in the small building - when it was not thousands of paying spectators - but today, Octavia was playing only for herself. Tears spotted the otherwise immaculate gray coat of the pony as she kept playing her favorite song, drawing each note longer than necessary, savoring the escape music provided to her soul. A couple of minutes later, the last note resonated deep within the pony as she finally lay down her bow beside her. Her cello was ever so gently placed back in its case before the pony allowed herself to fall unceremoniously on the couch, sighing heavily. As silence was finally allowed back in the tiny room, Octavia contemplated the empty wall, her mind racing. How could she have been so cruel? That was not like her at all. She was not royalty, or even remotely high born. She was not even that rich, but the mare had always made a point of being as civilized as possible. She could count on her hooves the number of times she had willfully used curse words, but somehow, this afternoon it had come to this. The mare clenched her head in her front hooves, her back shivering as she let out another round of tears. In two years of living together, never had she and Vinyl had a real fight. To most ponies, this would probably be hard to imagine, seeing how different the two mares were - both in character and tastes - but after a while they had grown used to letting each other's quirks and manners slide. It became sort of an acquired habit to be very open minded when they were together. Sure, it had not been easy at first, but either by some kind of miracle - or maybe it was destiny - they got through their relationship completely unscathed until now, never going past the harmless – although admittedly numerous - tongue-in-cheek insults. Two whole years. But the thing was, during those happy two years, the couple never needed to take anything seriously. It was the adult equivalent of high-school romance. Both of them had very permissive jobs in the musical field, and even though Octavia's was the only lucrative of the two, between the two of them, the subventions for young artists and especially the free apartment courtesy of Octavia's parents, life was very easy. Maybe a little bit too easy. As much as it was the ideal setup to focus on their respective careers and mutual relationship, it was not a good stress test on said relationship. It's never very hard to agree when nothing is really at stake. So maybe, just maybe, it wasn't quite the ideal setup after all.
Chapter 2CHAPTER 2 After all these years, Octavia knew that silence was bound to be a rarity when a house lodged two musicians. Especially when one of them liked giant subwoofers. Unfortunately for her, silence is a crucial component of many of the activities the she liked to do, like reading, meditating, or even more common yet; sleeping. It is, in fact, very hard to sleep when not in silence. Well, Octavia had a hard time doing it anyway. So she couldn't help it. No matter how hard she tried, her brain refused to shut off the incoming sensory inputs from her ears. No matter how flat on her head they were, no matter how hard she pressed on her pillow-shield, she kept hearing the overwhelming bass-lines filling her apartment. After rolling around in her bed, the ex-sleeping mare finally removed the pillow from over her snout and violently opened her eyes, glaring at the roof, not waiting for any particular event. She just lay there, trying to ease her waking as much as she could; taking deep breaths and convincing herself that a quarter past eight was late anyway, and that she should have been awake already. Octavia rolled out of bed, landing on the hard wooden planks of the floor. Or at least they were usually hard; right now they were vibrating. In the small basement, a white unicorn was lazily bobbing her head to the thumps, in unison with the walls and furniture. She had worked on this piece for a couple of days now. The bass-lines were already perfect, but she woke up this morning with a way to finally complete her second riff and possibly bridge the finale correctly. It simply couldn't wait. Still half sleepy, Octavia straddled the minuscule hallway separating the couple's room from the kitchen and living area, unconsciously trotting along with what she could hear of the music. Just the bass really, everything else was absorbed by the floor. The DJ's craft was certainly an annoyance when trying to sleep, but Celestia bless her they actually had a separate basement to spare her dignified ears from hearing the multitude of weird electronic sounds and wubs her marefriend composed her music of. Octavia chuckled at her own thoughts. Not so long ago, she would have argued hooves and teeth that DJs didn't actually compose anything, and that whatever they were producing certainly couldn't be considered music. Not that she would admit she was thinking otherwise, but she did respect her marefriend's craft slightly more than two years ago. Two years. Already, she thought. Well, less than a month short of two years in fact, but they were never really clear on the definite start of their relationship. Vinyl argued it was when the shared the same bed (In total abstinence, of course, with the unicorn passed out drunk, and the earth pony reconsidering her whole life) while Octavia preferred thinking it was when they first kissed. All in all, almost two years. The pony rummaged for some time through the cabinet looking for coffee, reluctantly abandoning the search after the second unsuccessful pass. She'd have to contend with orange juice and take a note to buy more as soon as possible. As Octavia finally sat down from her search, fruitful beverage in hoof, she heard a joyful knock on the front door. *** "Hey Octavia! How is it going?" "Well enough Swift, thank you." Octavia paused a moment in the doorway, looking at her mailcolt with a hint of confusion. "I don't mean to sound rude, but why exactly are you here?" She issued a soft chuckle to stress out the lack of malice in her words, the stallion before her smiled in return. "Mail! What else?" he joyfully answered. Octavia frowned slightly. "Mail? On a Sunday?" "We do the priority mail on weekends sometimes when there isn't much work back at triage," the stallion reached inside his saddlebag while talking, muffling the sound of his voice to a slightly confused Octavia. "Here you go, judging from the name I'd bet its from your mother. Your last name is Philarmonica, right?" Octavia cringed a bit. "I never actually use it. It sounds way too snobby and complicated." The two ponies looked at each other for a moment. "Even for me, I mean," the mare added, provoking a small laugh from the mailcolt. "Alright, Octavia. Have a nice day!" Swift replied with a smile before turning away and trotting down the balcony stairs. The cellist saluted her mailcolt before bending to pick up the letter, getting a closer look at the return address. It was indeed her mother's. The mare suddenly grew excited to the prospect of receiving news from her family, but joy got immediately replaced by doubt. As much as she loved her family, her relationship with Vinyl never quite passed the rank of reluctant acceptance to her mother, and her father never cared for anything else than Octavia's career. So family relations were always awkward when they talked about it. And since between her career, her relationship and the activities related to the latter, Octavia didn't live a very anecdotal life, they always ended up talking about it. And it usually ended up with at least somepony yelling or mistreating a door. Nevertheless, Octavia bit the envelope and carried it back to the living room. Depositing it on the coffee table before unceremoniously ripping off the top with both her hooves and extracting the note, revealing her mother's refined calligraphy. The mare sat back lazily on the couch, her eyes slowly narrowing as she kept reading her mother's words. A small hint of panic made the pony jump up. Re-reading the letter to make sure she didn't hallucinate, Octavia cursed silently. *** "Meh... This isn't right." Vinyl stopped the recording and put her earphones back on her head, sampling through what she had put together, trying to find what was unwanted or lacking in her composition. When she had thought about it earlier, everything fit together so well, but now that she had put it into actual sounds, it clashed horribly. She ran the loop for what seemed like the hundredth time - through her headphones, this time - toying a bit with the filters on her main riff, trying to get it to sync better with the bass-lines. Octavia paused in front of the basement door for a moment, searching for a way to actually bring the news without it sounding off. Vinyl didn't usually need to be handled with caution, even when talking about more serious or personal matters, but there were so many ways this particular conversation could go in the wrong direction - she wanted to be sure it wouldn't. After what felt like an hour, the pony finally knocked timidly on the door. She was not hearing sounds anymore, which probably meant her marefriend was using headphones or was simply between takes. In the latter case she would answer to her knock, else Octavia would know to be very silent when entering the room. After a couple of seconds she tentatively pushed the door open, slipping inside the cool room filled with posters and electronic equipments. "The Teenage Room" they called it. Part for the actual look of it, part for the temper of its primary occupant. Octavia smirked to herself. Truth be told, she never had quite the "normal" adolescence per say. Ironically enough, she only started feeling like a teenager when she started dating the unicorn. So as much as she hated to admit it, her marefriend was more likely to be growing out of said phase sooner than her, everything put in perspective. The mare then remembered her purpose and, taking a deep breath, approached the mixing tables, central focus of all the wiring and consequently the whole room, taking great care in not tripping any loose cable or kicking a stray speaker or piece of equipment. After navigating the unusual minefield, she finally reached Vinyl, whose closed eyes and bobbing head suggested the earth pony had been successful in her subtle approach. Octavia waited a few moments, trying to gauge when would be the best time to interrupt. As she was finally going to bluntly notify her presence to the unicorn, Vinyl seemed to suddenly take notice on her own. She opened her eyes and turned towards the cellist, startling both ponies but most notably herself, somehow out of her chair and onto the floor in a disgraceful fall accompanied by a short shriek and a loud thump. "For Celestia's sake Tavi, don't sneak up on ponies like that!" the unicorn clamored dramatically, exaggerating her words and movements in a very typical Vinyl Scratch fashion. "Oh my. Sweetheart are you okay?" Octavia inquired as she circled the chair to help her marefriend get back on her hooves. "I didn't mean to startle you, I just didn't want to interrupt." "Well, I guess it's the intention that counts." The DJ smirked, getting back up with Octavia's help. She looked back at her setup, noticing she managed to yank a couple of cables when falling. "You should really get that wheel replaced, this chair is dangerous." Octavia pointed at the missing wheel on the computer chair, effectively depriving it from one of its support points. "Meh, it's no trouble usually, when I'm not being startled to death by my marefriend." Vinyl stuck out her tongue jokingly. Octavia sighed softly, the corner of her mouth rising at the unicorn's carelessness. There was a short moment of silence, only deranged by the music escaping from Vinyl strayed earphones. Octavia opened her mouth reluctantly, trying to form her next sentence in her head. "I.. um.. I got mail from my mother. I think we'll need to talk a bit about the next couple of months," she finally stuttered, not even looking at her interlocutor. Vinyl's expression immediately hardened. "What do you mean? Is everything alright. She's not pitching a fuss again about us two now is she? Because if she is I'm goin- "No she's not, Vinyl," Octavia cut her off. "Well, not directly." The unicorn sighed loudly and rounded back her equipment, taking care of saving her work and putting relative order in her setup, for the next time. "Alright, I was done for today anyway. This damn track just doesn't want to work." Vinyl jabbed at the gray pony. "Kinda like your mother with our relationship, I think I'll name the song after her once its finished, for all the troubles it will have given me." "I already told you she got over it Vinyl, kind of. Stop being so aggressive towards my parents," Octavia replied dryly. "Not your parents, only your mother. Your father don't care for me, I don't care for him in return." Octavia glared at her friend. Usually she would play along with the mare's teasing, but the mix of bad news after her rude awakening was doing marvels at completely ruining her patience. She decided it was best not to fuel Vinyl further. Both mares finished climbing the stairs leading back to the living room and both took place on their respective reading chairs in silence. After a moment of waiting, Vinyl shrugged. "Uh.. Well?" she simply asked, raising an eyebrow. Octavia considered for a moment summarizing the information but decided to simply nod towards the open letter on the coffee table and let Vinyl grasp the situation herself. It was usually the best way to go when the Cellist wanted her other half to take things seriously on the first try; let her get worked up over it. Vinyl bent over and levitated the letter to her eye level, squinting heavily as soon as she started reading. A couple of seconds later she violently threw the letter aside, looking at nothing in particular. "Oh the bitch!" Octavia cringed for an instant but remembered it was more or less what she had though, too, after reading the letter herself. Vinyl paused a moment then looked directly at the earth pony. "Seriously what the hay?! Did you know she was about to do that?" Vinyl's expression was slightly more angry than Octavia was previously panicked, but she did have a shorter temper. "I swear I didn't Vinyl" she pleaded. "I was probably as... as ticked off as you were when reading this." She waved a hoof around. Vinyl brought back the letter before her. "Well, I don't know about that. At least she's not insulting you in it. Apparently I need to find a real job, like DJing is not a real job!" Vinyl motioned to throw the letter back on the floor somewhere but remembered she was likely to have to reference it again - if only to fuel her rage more - so she simply let it fall on the table. "Look, Vinyl. I don't want to defend my mother in this, but she is right on some points regarding our long term future. My younger sister is entering college next year. We should have known they wouldn't be able to pay for this apartment forever." The earth pony mustered her most calming voice, almost rivaling Celestia's in order to mark her point as pacifically as possible. Vinyl looked back at the letter. "Still, she is only telling us a week in advance, by mail, while insulting me in the process. She is still pretty much a bitc-" "Yes, I got that the first time Vinyl." Octavia cut off once again. The two mares looked at eachother for a moment. Vinyl finally bit her lip and calmed down, letting herself fall in her chair. "So, what now? Can't you like negotiate a grace period of some sort? Get us at least some time to get our game together," the unicorn finally asked, her voice hinted with slightly more worry and less hate. "I highly doubt it. My parents have money, but they are not that rich. They can't put Bemol through college and give us an apartment at the same time," Octavia replied, relieved to see her marefriend somewhat calming down. "Uhg.. Couldn't she get a scholarship or something? Like, you know, both of us did?" "Back then, I was talented and you were incredibly lucky." Octavia replied cynically before continuing. "Besides, you're circling the issue. We may have never really though about it, but like I said, we knew this day would eventually come and now you're not ready for it." Vinyl opened her mouth to begin a new sentence but stopped short, just realizing Octavia's last words. The unicorn frowned deeply. "Wait, what do you mean 'I'm not ready'? Last time I checked the two of us pretty much sailed the same boat Tavi..." "Yes, of course sweetheart, I'm not saying otherwise," the other mare replied. "But as far as I'm concerned, my income is enough to cover my eventual part of the rent and then some. The same cannot be said about yours." The pony tried to avoid taking too much of an attitude saying that, but old habits die hard. Vinyl waved a hoof around. "Oh pff, come on. Its not my fault if all your stuck up pony friends like paying way too much to listen to boring music." "No, indeed, but it isn't mine either. Some career paths are more lucrative than others, that's all." Vinyl rolled her eyes. Octavia ignored her, running short on patience. "And it doesn't change much in the end. If we want to keep this apartment, you'll have to get a job." Vinyl sighed violently at Octavia's last words. "I already have a job, Octy." she deadpanned. "I mean a job that will earn you more than barely enough for drinking money." "Hey! I can't help it if I need my two mugs to get the show going, sweetie." Octavia lifted a stern hoof, prompting her friend to stop. "Look, Vinyl. We've lived together for almost two years now. There are things you do I've grown used to or at least stopped caring about." "Likewise." Octavia ignored the stab. "Wasting the slim amount of bits you earn is one of those things I stopped caring about." Vinyl grinned victoriously as Octavia continued. "But for right now - and probably the rest of our lives for that matter - we need to get ourselves a plan. Because as it is, with our combined salaries - and that's assuming you will be able to spare some - I've saved barely enough to get us going for a year." "Wait, you actually saved up some money?" the unicorn half-jokingly replied. "There is only so much food a pony can eat. I pretty much put away all the rest." Vinyl's eyes grew wider "Octavia, you are my idol. I love you." "Oh, quit the melodrama. I'm trying to make you understand how serious our situation is Vinyl. That's our future we're talking about, our whole lives. You need to get another job, or at least actually try to sign some contracts instead of crawling from club to club." "Never, record companies are evil. I like my soul thank you very much." "Well, there is only one other option left then." "Yeah about that, I could just - I dunno - stop wasting my money, like, you know, actually take time to make insurance claims for the speakers drunken dudes break at my shows instead of just buying new ones," Vinyl tentatively proposed. "Knowing how much you despise actually having to take time to write stuff and talk to those boring insurance ponies, I highly doubt it's likely to happen." "I am hurt, Tavi. Deeply hurt by your lack of faith in your marefriend." "Cut it out will you." She waved a hoof at the unicorn. "I don't get why you've always been reluctant to get another job, even now that you don't really have the choice anymore. At least something part time. Why don't you ask your parents for a job at their record store for a couple of weeks? That would give us some breathing room." "They kicked me out Tavi, we're not exactly in the best of terms," the unicorn deadpanned. "Come on Vinyl, its been more than 5 years now, I'm pretty sure that is enough time for ponies to get a shot at a fresh start. Besides, I would like to meet them, yo-" "Yeah can we just get my parents out of this? Okay, thanks." Vinyl dryly cut off. The genuine anger in her voice startled Octavia. "Yeesh, sorry. Its just sad to know that if we ever have kids they won't get to meet their grandparents because one of their mothers is an egotistical rancorous pr-" "Uh-hun, no." Vinyl stabbed a hoof at Octavia, cutting her off. "You're not going to get the cutesy 'sad kids' emotional response out of me. You're lucky I didn't straight out refused to even have foals eventually, don't make me regret this choice." The two mares stared at each other with somewhat of an uncomfortable animosity. After a long pause Vinyl sighed loudly, releasing the tension in her neck and shoulders, slightly putting Octavia at ease. "Look I'm sorry, forget what I just said. It's not what we need to be talking about right now." "Yes, indeed. Sorry I brought it up." Octavia's ears flattened as she looked down at the floor. "Now, I love you very, very much, but you cannot just ask me to give up on my life's aspirations just because they aren't lucrative enough." Vinyl's tone was almost pleading. Octavia nodded slightly. "I mean, how much is our rent anyway? I'm sure we can work things out." Octavia shifted her eyes, looking at the wall and lowering her voice as if she was afraid somepony might hear them. "According to the letter, its just shy of twelve hundred bits per month..." Vinyl jumped out of her chair "Holy bucking sh-" She stopped at Octavia's accusing glare. "For a three rooms apartment?" "Three rooms with running water and magic taps, in midtown Canterlot, with a basement and no adjacent neighbors... that's actually pretty cheap all things considered," the other mare noted. "Pretty che- ung.." The unicorn sighed loudly and interrupted herself before continuing. "And now that I think about it, why exactly did we need a place in midtown Canterlot in the first place?" Octavia knew the question was very much rhetorical, and she also knew where this stab was going to bring them, but there was no way to dodge it now that the subject has been brought up. "We got it, because it was a great apartment, close to commodities and both of our jobs." The mare tried to muster her most convincing tone, knowing too well it was a lost cause. "Aha, no," Vinyl replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "We got it because it was closer to your job, not mine, and because you didn't want to have to walk through the downtown streets everyday." "I'm very sorry I have a serious, pathological and documented fear of crowds and being mugged." "Oh that's bullshit. I work in clubs dammit. I cope with crowds and potential muggers almost every damn night and I'm still pretty much alive." "Look Vinyl, we already talked about this..." Octavia pleaded. "That was before we actually had to pay for the damned thing Tavi." "I am not moving downtown Vinyl. It's either safe neighbors or the countryside, and there aren't jobs for either of us in the countryside." "Well I'm not fucking changing jobs, so I guess we're running out of options now aren't we?" "Vinyl, language, please." Vinyl's eyes narrowed. "What, I can't swear in my own house now? Is there some kind of unwritten rule stating that you can't fucking swear in overpriced apartments or what?" The unicorn tone was getting more and more angry by the second. Octavia sat up in her chair, trying to fight the discomfort brought by the tone of her marefriend. "Well if it was actually your apartment maybe I wouldn't pitch such a fuss about it, but since I paid for most of the furniture here..." "Wait, are you really planning on going there? Because if you are just tell me and I'll pack my stuff and leave." She angrily pointed at the door. "Oh come on Vinyl, that's not even remotely what I meant. Stop acting like such a filly will you?" Vinyl buried her face in her hooves, sighing loudly. Trying to regain composure somewhat, she took a couple of deep breaths before looking back at Octavia. "I make enough money as it is now. There are great downtown studios for rent at less than three hundred bits a month. You're the one who needs to lower your standards, princess, that's always been your problem." Octavia cringed and broke eye contact, feeling a bit ashamed, but mostly enraged. Vinyl was right in a way. Twelve hundred bits was well over what most ponies could ever afford, but now her patience was completely exhausted. This conversation was deteriorating way too much way too fast and for the first time in a long time, she felt completely helpless about it. "Vinyl, please. We can afford it here, we just need to work a little harder." Her tone was unequally shifting between annoyed and pleading. Octavia wasn't sure which one she was even trying to muster. The unicorn sighed again. "Listen to me Octy; twelve hundred bits is an insane amount of cash. I know we weren't raised in the same way, and we probably have different notions about money, but back home, even with the four of us busting our flanks at full time jobs we couldn't even remotely afford to live like this. This is insane to think we'll be able to make it." Octavia turned to look Vinyl straight in the eyes. In retrospect, she couldn't remember why she decided to stab again - effectively sending the conversation straight downhill - when she could have done anything else. Her words slipped right through every single drop of common sense and inhibitions she had. She just told what ran thought her fatigued brain. "Oh, because you are able to have a real full time job? I would have never guessed," she replied in an unusually sarcastic tone. The kind of sarcastic that is not meant to be teasing or funny, the kind that is meant to hurt somepony. Vinyl's mouth hung wide open at her friend's words. "E-Excuse me?" the unicorn muttered, confused at the gratuitous stab. Sure, they were throwing each other insults since the beginning of this conversation, but this one was not only uncalled for and totally out of character for Octavia, it was an incredible regression in the already weak argument-to-fussing ratio of the conversation. Taking advantage of Vinyl's confusion, Octavia carried on. No use turning back now. "Well, I mean it's not like you had one for all the years I've known you. As far as I'm concerned you never actually needed to work for anything." Octavia continued, "Even now that you don't even have a choice you're still clinging to your little hobby you want so bucking hard to get me to think is real work." The earth pony was looking straight at Vinyl, her face sporting the same snob and cocky expression she used to fake when they first met, except this time it was very much real. Octavia, for the first time in her life, had willfully insulted another pony with the cruel and clear intent of hurting them. Vinyl sat down on the floor in disbelief, her eyes wide open. The silence that ensued might as well have been made of lead for all the weight it brought down on both the ponies. After a couple of seconds, Vinyl finally looked away, nodding slightly while biting her lower lip, apparently trying very hard to contain her rage. Octavia looked down at her marefriend, slowly realizing what she just said. "What. The. Fuck, is it with you damn stuck up ponies NEVER recognizing what I do as real work? What do you think I was doing this morning in the basement? Having some private time and drinking?" Vinyl paused. She slowly stood up and brought her snout within inches of Octavia's, pointing an accusative hoof at the earth pony's forehead. Octavia was terrified, she had never seen Vinyl this enraged before. For a moment, she thought the unicorn was going to hit her, but the white hoof just barely poked her head. "I'd have you know, 'princess', that I work as fucking much as you do. And very probably more. And it's not because you actually have what other stuck up bitches call a 'decent' or 'respectable' career that it's any better than mine. You only play one instrument for Celestia's sake. I juggle with dozens of them. And sounds. And voices. I work hours upon hours to get my equipment in shape and take said equipment from club to club, by myself. Every. Fucking. Time." The unicorn's voice was getting harsher and louder at every word. Octavia was feeling the tears coming up as her marefriend yelled at her. Vinyl took in a small breath before continuing. "Then, once I'm there, I must deal with the most lowlife of ponies drinking their problems to death and not actually giving a shit about the music playing as long as its loud. And everytime I need to walk through the crowd, I'm absolutely terrified at the idea that one of those colt could just knock me upside the head and rape me right there for how much anypony else would care. Yet, I still work whole days preparing those damn tracks, for those damn shows, because its my job, and I love my job, and my job is the only other thing in life that gives me meaning beside you and your sorry stuck up flank." Vinyl's voice was slowly breaking as tears started to fill her own eyes, Octavia was already sobbing and trying to bury herself in the couch, unable to bear the sheer amount of pain and rage getting thrown at her. Vinyl finally backed off, taking a deep breath while she looked through the living room window. "And all that for a ridiculous amount of money, which is usually way less that was first promised by the way, because club owners are fucking whores. When they're not straight up pimps offering me other kinds of jobs." She turned back to Octavia. "And you have the guts to tell me this isn't hard work?" Vinyl hit the floor with her front hoof, closing her eyes in a vain effort to refrain her tears. The small apartment filled once again with the distant sound of foals' laughter and carriages riding the stone streets complementing Octavia's sobbing. Vinyl finally walked to the door, putting on her signature glasses. "I'm going out." "Vinyl, wait..." Octavia whispered. "I just need to vent this out, you should too. Don't wait for me to come back, okay." The two mares looked at each other for a brief moment before Vinyl closed the door quietly.
Chapter 3CHAPTER 3 "Hey, watch were you're going moron!" Vinyl grunted an excuse and stumbled left and right a moment before recovering her balance. After a quick look over her shoulder to confirm the stallion she had bumped into didn't plan on going past harsh words, she looked back down at her front hooves, concentrating on the pavement lines to walk as straight as possible. Getting all swervy at this time of the day would get her some attention she preferred avoiding. As the mare walked mindlessly towards the town park, she ran back the last couple of hours through her brain, not for any particular reasons beside the sake of understanding. She didn't quite remember the exact words that she and Octavia used - she didn't even remember how it truly had come to that point - but she had clear bits of it circling her mind; reading the letter, the comments about her parents and having foals, learning how much the rent was... The terrified look on Octavia's face... Vinyl shivered. She remembered clearly her eyes, those beautiful eyes, so wide open and yet so deeply narrowed by sheer fear. Not any fear mind you, the fear of herself, Vinyl, her marefriend. The thought almost brought back the tears to the unicorn's eyes, but she quickly rubbed it off and kept on walking, her head as low as she could. After what felt like a hundred miles, Vinyl's hooves finally came in contact with the soft and lush grass of Canterlot's peripheral parks. Sure, the inner city had some landscaped green spots, but it was often just one big tree and a pond. The outer gardens were really something else, sporting a couple of acres of grassy fields and hills spotted by the occasional trees. The perfect place to hang out with friends away from the buzzing city, or when you wanted guaranteed fresh air for you and you alone. The unicorn looked slightly upward at the sun slowly setting. It was probably close to seven now, and since they were still fairly close to the summer equinox she'd probably get one hour or so of light before being politely hustled inside the walls by guardponies. which should be fairly enough to sober up a bit, considering she would still have to walk back home afterwards. With a little luck she would also manage to find some words to bring back with her, hopefully. The pony sighed at the thought. As much as Octavia had of a part in their fight, Vinyl couldn't stop wondering about how the other mare felt right now, unable to shake off the image of the love of her life bursting into tears as she spat out her little raging monologue at her. After pondering for a couple of minutes, Vinyl decided to stop thinking about it. Regardless of how much she would try to guess, she would probably end up wrong anyway. Maybe Octavia would still be crying when she got back, maybe she would be enraged in her turn, prompting Vinyl out of the house. Only time would tell, and Vinyl would have to suck everything up and try to be as sincere as possible in her excuses. Because if Vinyl had learned one thing from living with Octavia, it was that taking the blame was always the easiest solution. Because even though Octavia acted all stoic and untouched by anything most of the time, Vinyl had slowly learned during their common years at university that Octavia was just a mare that never got to be a filly. Because of the pressure of her parents and their self-imposed social class, she never really had any real friends or fun of any kind before they met. And not-so-deeply hidden beneath the gray coat of seriousness, Vinyl knew there was a very fragile, naive and sweet filly living in a body that was forced to grow too soon. So whenever she had the chance, the unicorn took all the flack, because, of the two, she was by far the one that was the most used to it, and truly, she didn't care. So if she came back home and Octavia was to blame herself in any way, the solution was already all warmed up and ready. "Its my fault honey, don't blame yourself," she whispered, like some sort of surreal rehearsal. "Aha, excuse me?" a voice merrily asked. Vinyl's eyes opened wide as her head shot straight back up. Taking a moment to analyze what just happened in her slowed down brain, she finally looked back at where the sound came from, immediately falling face to face with a very recognizable mint unicorn. "I knew that you were completely nuts for a long time, but I never heard yourself ask forgiveness to grass before." The other unicorn walked the gap separating them, stopping aside her friend, staring intensively at the ground before them. Vinyl raised an eyebrow. "Or was it the ants? Maybe you asked forgiveness to the ants? I can't really tell. You were never a grass pony were you?" She looked back up at the confused unicorn, bursting out in laughter, shortly followed by said unicorn. "Nah, it was indeed the grass Lyra," she answered, still chuckling. The mint unicorn raised an eyebrow in her turn. "Indeed? Since when do you say 'indeed'?" "Meh, I guess Tavi is rubbing off on me." Vinyl's expression hardened at the mention of her marefriend but she quickly shook off the thought. She hadn't seen Lyra in months, this would be a great occasion to catch up a bit and clear her mind as well. "So, how are you doing nowadays?" Vinyl finally asked. "I'm the one who should be asking, you smell like you just had a concert in a pear orchard. A very old orchard. Full of fermented pears." Vinyl blushed a bit. She certainly was not in an optimal socializing state by any stretch of the imagination. "Yeah, that's a long story, I'd rather not talk about it. I just came here to sober up a bit and get some fresh air." "I see..." Lyra chuckled. "What are you doing in Canterlot anyway?" Vinyl sat down unceremoniously, prompting her friend to do the same. "They were out of lyre strings in Ponyville, so I decided to do the distance. Walking is good for the health." "That's still, like, four walking hours, no? Quite the trek." "Yeah, it is..." Lyra's expression darkened a bit as her ears flattened on her head. After a short pause she perked back up at her friend. "To be honest...I also needed to get away from Bonbon a bit." Vinyl raised an eyebrow. "Why?" Lyra sighed and briefly buried her face in her hooves. "Meh, I dunno. She's acting all weird lately. I've been hanging out a lot with Cherilee, since she broke up with Big Mac, and I think Bonbon is getting a bit jealous or something." "That sucks," Vinyl stated simply. "Yeah, it does... I mean, I'm pretty good at getting over exes by now you know. Bonbon should be a little more trustful." "It took you quite sometime to get over me.." remarked Vinyl, granting her a violent nudge right in the ribs. "I hate you Scratch, you know that right?" "Yeah, sure. As much as I hate you!" Both mares chuckled. There was a long pause, the two friends simply looking absently at the sun getting lower and lower. "Speaking of which, I stopped by your house earlier." Vinyl eyes narrowed as she tried to ignore Lyra's subtle accusing tone. The white unicorn looked slightly away from her friend, just in case she suddenly gained the power to see through reflective lenses. "I damn well hope you'd come by while being in Canterlot," she joked tentatively. "Yeah well you weren't there, obviously." Lyra continued. "And even though I don't know her as much as I would like, I'm pretty sure Octavia is not usually crying alone in her house for no reason." Vinyl flattened her ears in shame and looked down at the ground, sighing deeply. "No, she isn't." She paused a moment, considering telling Lyra the truth. She clumsily removed her glasses, revealing her full expression. "We kinda had a fight." Lyra simply nodded, Vinyl took a deep breath. "Like, the 'yelling a lot and crying' kind of fight." "That sucks." Vinyl chuckled at the irony of her friend's response. But it was not enough to refrain her eyes from watering. Lyra put a hoof around the other unicorn, shaking her slightly. "Hey there now, don't let it get to you. Everypony fights sometimes. Beside, you two must be used to it by now." She squeezed Vinyl a bit closer, trying to comfort her friend. "Yeah, well, no, that's the thing. We've never had any real fights until now... It feels so strange." Lyra's eyes widened. "Wait, are you telling me that in what, two years of living together?" Vinyl nodded silently. "Holy cow. Two years and you never fought?" "Not like that, no." Lyra started laughing out loud, much to Vinyl's confusion. "And you're getting drunk over it? Wow, if Bonbon and I fought only once in two whole damn years, I'd probably have grown wings by now." Vinyl looked up at the mint unicorn, frowning slightly. "Yeah, I guess I see your point." All around the fields ponies were starting to scramble around, packing whatever stuff they had brought with them as Celestia's sun was going down more and more by the minute. Guardponies started reaching out to the stragglers, proposing they got inside the main walls while it was still easy to see where you put your hooves. Lyra stood up, extending a hoof to her friend. Vinyl magically swooped her glasses back up and grabbed Lyra's foreleg, clumsily getting up. The dizziness came back as soon as the mare stood back on her four hooves. "Dammit, I'm still tipsy." Lyra leaned against the unicorn, helping her regain her balance. "It's not that bad, you can talk correctly enough." Vinyl chuckled while the green unicorn patted her jokingly on the back. "Come on, I'll walk you home." "And how exactly did you plan on going back to Ponyville?" The other mare asked. "I didn't, really. It took me more time than I had expected to get here." Lyra waved a hoof around. "I'll just go crash at Dawn's place, it's not like Bonbon will die from one little night alone. She's got toys for that." She winked at Vinyl, smiling a bit too much. The white unicorn rolled her eyes. "Gosh Lye, too much unwanted information, please." Both mares laughed as they started walking towards the main gates. Vinyl's mood was definitively getting better, thanks to Lyra's strange caring carelessness, if that made any sense. They walked silently towards Vinyl's apartment, only talking when the mare accidentally bumped into random ponies. By the time they came in sight of the well-kept building Vinyl lived in, it was already night. Gas employees were going around, lightning up the streetlights that were not magically linked yet, bringing a warm, soothing light to the streets of Canterlot. As the two mares approached the luxurious wooden door, Lyra felt her friend slowing down. "Something wrong Scratch?" she asked half-jokingly. "I, uh. I guess I'm nervous, that's all." Lyra turned Vinyl's head towards her with a front hoof, forcing the white unicorn's eyes - or at least her glasses - to meet her own stare. "Hey, it'll be alright okay? Whatever this fight was about, it's something you can work out." She nudged Vinyl's chest, prompting the unicorn to straighten up. Vinyl's ears fell slightly again as she turned back towards the door. "Yeah... I guess." Lyra nudged the other unicorn again. "Oh come on Scratch, if you managed not to fight for two whole years it must be because you found some sort of mystical way of solving problems or something." Lyra pushed Vinyl towards the door with a chuckle. "I'll drop by tomorrow so we can hang out a bit before I head back to Ponyville, 'kay?" Vinyl turned back towards her friend, a slight smile gracing her lips. "Yeah, okay." Lyra nodded and turned back in the direction of old Canterlot. "Hey, Lye." The unicorn stopped, looking back at the DJ. "Thank you." Lyra laughed out loud, waving a hoof at Vinyl. "Remember, if all else fails, try sexy time. It always works with Bonbon!" Vinyl laughed in turn and waved her friend goodbye, turning confidently back at the door. She tried the knob reticently, fearing it would be locked, but to her surprise the door opened silently. As she made her way inside she looked at the kitchen clock; it was barely half an hour past eight, surely Tavi wouldn't be asleep yet. "Hey..." Vinyl froze at the voice she recognized too well. It was coming from the living room, but she couldn't see the owner of the from the doorway. "Hey." she told back. The unicorn slowly closed the door and made her way towards the center of the room, looking for a familiar spot of gray fur. All the lights were out, except for what looked like a lantern in the middle of the room, partially obstructed by the couch. Vinyl moved forward, finally noticing her marefriend, lying down on the floor, reading. As she approached, the cellist looked up from her book. Her eyes were still red and her coat was ruffled and spotted by tears. The sight broke Vinyl's heart. "I..." both mare started in unison before interrupting themselves. Octavia spoke first. "I'm so sorry Vinyl.. I.." the mare couldn't finish her sentence before breaking down in tears. Taking a deep breath to restrain her own tears, Vinyl slowly laid down beside her marefriend, running a comforting hoof through her unkempt mane while the earth pony quietly sobbed for long minutes. "Shhh.. it's alright Tavi. It's not your fault." The other mare nodded slightly, interrupting her sobbing a moment before turning towards Vinyl, her eyes smiling amidst the tears. The unicorn removed her glasses, returning the smile and the two mares stared at each other for some time, both failing to find something to say, getting closer and closer each second, until Octavia finally leaned in, kissing Vinyl passionately. Surprised at first the unicorn soon returned the attention, squeezing against the earth pony even more as they continued their embrace. When they finally parted their lips, the couple looked longingly at each other in silence. The love in their respective stares making them forget all about their fight for an instant. Lyra was right, Vinyl thought, it was not a coincidence they never fought for two whole years. They truly were meant for each other. Octavia finally broke the silence. "You taste like very old pears." she said, issuing a chuckle that completely faded away the sadness in her eyes for a moment. "Do I?" the other mare simply replied. "I know I really could use a shower." "I could tell you that much." Octavia replied. The two mares chuckled, breaking their stare to lay back down against one another, Octavia's snout buried inside the electric blue mane of the unicorn. "I love you, Vinyl Scratch." "I love you too, Octavia." she replied. "And I'm sorry I yelled at you." "And called my mother a bitch." Vinyl nodded. "And called your mother a bitch." The mare paused a moment. "Although it seemed very appropriate at the time," she added. Octavia chuckled. "It still is, I just wanted to verify how docile you were." Vinyl raised her head from the floor, her mouth hanging open in faked disbelief. "You are an evil pony, miss, I hope you know that." "Guilty as charged." The two mares let their respective heads fall down to their original position while smiling from ear to ear. This was what they were used to. This was what made their relationship possible. This was the couple they really were. And no rent or bitchy mother should ever be allowed to disturb that. "You really do need a shower though if you want to sleep in the bed tonight, you smell horrible." Octavia remarked. "But I like it heeere... It's comfy." Vinyl replied, mimicking a foal's plea. Octavia playfully nibbled Vinyl's ear before standing up, softly kicking her flank. "Come on gal, I'll help you scrub your back." Octavia added with a wink, using a tone Vinyl immediately recognized. She looked up at her marefriend. "Only my back?" "It does get very slippery in there doesn't it? I might just miss once or twice." Vinyl grinned widely and immediately stood back on her hooves, following her marefriend into the small bathroom. "You truly are an evil pony."
Chapter 4CHAPTER 4 - For as much as it could, the city of Fillydelphia was slowly going to sleep. Its inhabitants leaving the streets to regain the comfort of their homes, far from the stress of their day job and the agitation of the city, some scrambling to catch the last items on their groceries list or running to catch the last trains leading out of the main city. In a renowned neighborhood near the south entrance, the tall, luxurious houses were lightning off one by one, leaving only the street lamps to spot the dark night. At merely a quarter past ten, all but one of them still emitted light. Viola liked living there, in the tranquility of the suburb areas, were they were safe from the nightly agitation of the city and still only a short car ride from most of the services. Sure, if somepony was poor or insane enough they could also use the very well designed city trains, but that was not Viola's style. She was a pony of grace and style, she had high social standards, and the simple though of having to squeeze between a plumber and a street artist on the way back home sent shivers down her spine. The tan mare looked back at the book she was reading, leaving the starry skies for somepony else to admire. At her side, silently scribbling on a impressive pile of parchments was her husband, Revision. The couple was completely silent, only disturbed by the humming of Revision's magic and the occasional turning of a page. ''Is it any good?'' The stallion asked in a tone lacking any real interest. ''It is slowly boring me to sleep, honey. You know this is why I read your books'' the earth pony replied without any hint of subtlety. The stallion kept writing without any change in his expression, as if the conversation was only a formality he knew how to go through by heart. ''And yet, I still sell them.'' Revision paused an instant before raising an eyebrow. ''I will never understand this society.'' ''You don't have to. I'm here for that'' the mare remarked instantly. A long pause followed. The kind of uneasy silence that would make anypony feel awkward. But the Philamornica were used to it, it was this silence that reigned over their house, only being broken for important matter or mandatory casual talk at set moments. It was almost ironic that a musician could enjoy silence as much as to command it in their house but truth be told, it was only a matter of control. Variables were something Viola feared more than everything else, she didn't like to be unable to predict what would happen and when, she liked order, pacing - control. Her stress level was directly linked to the number of unknown she had to deal with. Right now it was pretty low, but one in particular was bugging her, a small buzzing in her ear, denying her absolute peace. ''Have we received any news from Octavia yet?'' The mare took her eyes off her book a moment, directing them towards her husband. She could never quite tell what the gray unicorn was thinking. He was always so focused, so stoic, undisturbed by his surroundings. Getting any kind of reaction from him was quite the task. So much that Viola couldn't remember how they first fell in love for all the bits in the world. Revision himself was not quite sure. ''Its Sunday, love, mail isn't delivered on Sundays'' the stallion casually replied. ''Beside, we sent it Tuesday, she'll probably only get it tomorrow.'' The mare snapped her eyes back at her book. ''I though you had paid for priority postage.'' ''I did dear'' he replied, going back to writing. ''That extra bit isn't going to get the letter teleported you know.'' The mare chuckled dryly. ''That would be a great idea, teleporting mail. Get some use of all those waste-of-a-horn lying around in the streets.'' Viola paused a moment before slapping her book on the sheets, turning towards her husband. ''Like this Vinyl Scratch.'' She pronounced the name with discernible disgust. ''I can't believe its going to be two years now, can you believe it ? I really though our little Octavia was more intellige- ''You're getting worked up and rambling again, honey'' Revision cut off, clearly used to this kind of reaction from his wife. Viola only stopped for a moment before continuing ''And I should'' she replied. ''And so should you. It's our daughter we're talking about, she deserves more than that.'' Revision sighed. ''As far as I'm concerned, our little girl have a job in the royal orchestra and a steady marefriend. At twenty-three that is pretty much as good as it could get.'' ''A job offer, in the royal orchestra'' Viola corrected. ''And her having a steady marefriend is precisely what I'm worried about. Especially since it had to be this particular individual.'' Viola was going downhill, again, Revision knew these conversations too well. So much that he didn't know why he even bothered arguing anymore. Maybe that deep within himself he still had a hint of hope his wife would eventually let go of her grudge. The stallion took a deep breath. ''Homosexuality has been officially recognized and accepted for well over five hundred years Viola'' he simply noted, his eyes still directed at the manuscript. ''It doesn't mean I have to like it.'' the mare replied, putting her book back on her nightstand. ''Besides, if it had been anypony else, maybe I would not have cared so much.'' The mare's voice trailed off before becoming completely silent, noticing she was now speaking to herself. After all this time she couldn't really blame Revision for ignoring her rambling against Vinyl, but she simply couldn't accept it. It was not only because Vinyl was a mare, it was a question of standards, ethics, principles. Sure, the relationship between her daughter and the unicorn was going well for now, but who knows what that wretched DJ would end up transforming Octavia into? Her poor girl had already started cussing. Admittedly in a very tame manner - only once or twice when Viola and her were fighting - but cussing nonetheless. She had to do something about it, even if it meant having to intercede directly in her daughter's live, she wouldn't let anypony destroy the social standing she took so long to establish for her family. ''What was in this letter that was so important anyway?'' VIola bit her lips. She wasn't feeling bad about what she did -she never did- but she did forget to talk to her husband about it. Now was as good a time as any, she though. ''I told her we were cutting off the bits.'' she dryly said, looking straight at the wall. Revision detached his eyes from his manuscript, raising an eyebrow. ''You did what now?'' Viola kept avoiding her husband's stare. ''I told them... I told them we were not going to pay for their apartment anymore.'' The stallion frowned in confusion, trying to grasp his wife's logic. ''Why? We don't need those bits don't we?'' ''Officially, they are to put Bemol through college.'' Revision frowned even more. ''And since Bemol scored a scholarship I assume the real reason is slightly different now is it? Viola shifted uncomfortably, trying to find a way of putting her twisted plan under a light that would make it seem logical; It was harder than she though. ''I just wanted them to realize that life may not always be that easy and that they needed to grow up to survive in this world.'' She turned slowly to her husband as her tone gained in confidence. ''They need to find good jobs and get a routine going, get a stable life.'' Revision chuckled sarcastically. ''It's funny how every time you say 'They' or 'Them' I keep hearing 'Vinyl Scratch' and 'That damned pony'.'' ''And why is that funny?'' she replied, slightly insulted. Revision sighed and levitated his work back on his study, turning back towards Viola.''You're right, it's not. Are you so hellbent on hating that unicorn that you are ready to make both of their lives miserable?'' His tone was slightly accusative, but mainly confused. He knew his wife could be pretty obsessive about some things, but never he saw her so focused on somepony else's life, even her daughter's. ''You're exaggerating hon, I'm not making their lives miserable by forcing them to work a bit harder, everypony needs to work for what they have. That's how life works.'' Viola straightened up to sit properly as she spoke, her ears perked forward. She knew her arguments were generic and flawed, but she couldn't let it show. ''This, again.'' Revision shook his head slightly and sat up to be level with his wife. ''You and I both know Octavia is working very hard on her professional career. That little scheme of yours is clearly directed towards Vinyl, not both of them.'' The stallion's tone was still neutral, but slowly hardening ''What if they just decide to move downtown? Or completely away from Canterlot?'' ''They can't, that's what leases are for and we just renewed theirs a couple of weeks ago.'' Viola replied with a smirk of victory. The stallion sighed at the ceiling, shocked by his wife's malice. ''I really don't get you. There are so many ways this could go wrong. They could easily end up breaking up because of this.'' After a second his eyes widened as he saw his wife's reaction to his last sentence; she smiled. A subtle, wicked grin. Revision shook his head in disappointment. ''That's exactly the point isn't it?'' Viola reacted violently to the her husband accusing stare, throwing a hoof in the air. ''You talk like this would be a bad thing!'' ''Yes, it would!'' Viola shrunk a bit at her husband's tone, Revision continued ''I never really liked Vinyl either, but I can respect her because she makes our little girl happy. In case you haven't noticed, this is something that did not happen very often in her life.'' Viola immediately stood down, frowning slightly. ''W- What do you mean by that?'' ''I mean that Octavia was not a happy child, and it was painfully obvious. Don't tell me you never picked on it, we both did'' The stallion's ears lowered in shame as did Viola's. They never really talked about it, but somehow they knew they haven't been the parents they could have been - the child psychologist told them that much. They never quite listened, being too preoccupied by their respective careers and aspiration to sit down and make sure their foals were happy. ''I only want the best for our child. You know that. I want Octavia to be successful, to live a decent life'' Viola stuttered, visibly trying to convince herself as much as her husband. ''And what about what she wants?'' Revision calmly asked, regaining his usual tone. Viola shook her head, regaining her composure. ''She don't know what she want, she's too young for that! Her little... fillyfooling phase is proving that.'' She waved a hoof around, prompting her husband to sigh in disappointment one last time. Preferring to end the conversation when it was still manageable Revision turned off his reading light and slipped back into his sheets. ''No wonder she hates us...'' he mumbled before turning away from his wife and closing his eyes. Viola stared at her husband's back for a moment before turning to the window. Octavia didn't hate them, she just didn't understand her parent's motives. Viola understood life, and if she learned anything from it, it was that you should never expect to be happy all the time. Problems happen, ponies do bad things, events don't turn out how they are supposed to. Sacrificing happiness for stability was the only logical way lo go through life. When you are not happy you cannot be sad; you stay neutral. You live a neutral, easy life and you try and make great things with it. The mare looked longingly at the moon. Rehearsing her little theory in her head, convincing herself it was flawless, logical. She had control over her own life, she couldn't let Octavia lose control over hers because she had feelings for another mare, as simple as that. Viola slipped back into her sheets and turned off her own reading lamp, her gaze still focused on the moon. As simple as that, she though. AUTHOR'S NOTE - Hey! I know it's been a long time, this -admittedly short- chapter have been sitting on my desktop for a couple of weeks now but I haven't heard from my pre-readers, so I'll just release it as it is right now as some sort of kick start to put me back into writing the rest. Feel free to point out the mistakes I made but most importantly, if you have comments about the actual story please do write them! I'll work on my English grammar, but I don't have any notions in creative writing, I need those if I am to keep going!
