“Let's see...I think we have time for one last question. Ah yes, tea or coffee, Mrs. Scratch? Oh, and of course you too Mrs. Philharmonica”
Vinyl Laverne Scratch sat in, what she thought was, a very comfy chair. Like, it was probably a solid eight out of ten. She currently was at an interview, which was a slight promotional venture for the new album she and her best friend Octavia had coming out.
The interviewer had been droning on with simple questions for the most part. Stuff like: Are you excited for the release? How long have you been making music? When did you decide to include classical in some songs? The whole thing hadn't been that fun. Vinyl was glad she finally got to bring Octavia along, as the album was her first collab with the Royal Canterlot Orchestra musician.
Vinyl was slightly disappointed in herself for not asking Octavia to do a collaboration, after all they had known each other as long as she could remember and Vinyl was pretty sure their parents had just hung out all the time and used them as an excuse to do so.
The interviewer repeated the question.
Vinyl shook her head, tuning back into the interview. “Uh, well, I guess I'd have to say coffee. I mean, after that incident with all those energy drinks coffee is the strongest thing that Octy will let me have. Don't get me wrong, Camomile is great for sore throats and colds, tastes good and all that too. And sweet tea’s the bomb, like, have you tasted the Apple’s sweet tea?”
The interviewer shook her head and continued to scribble on her notepad. Octavia listened intently, ever the most mannered one in the room. The interviewer stopped scribbling, “So, tell me about this incident with the energy drinks.”
Vinyl grinned in excitement, “Well, you see…”
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Vinyl looked at the ingredients she had gathered for her concoction. She stood in the kitchen of her and her best friend’s house, a large mug and various energy drinks stood on the counter. Her plan was to create the greatest energy drink known to Equestria, and maybe Djibouti. She wouldn't mind if they knew about it.
She poured the first drink in, it's yellow color served as the base color, then the second drink was slightly blue, giving the concoction a green tinge. She gradually poured in a few more drinks, careful not to have the mug overflow. Vinyl grabbed the spoon she had next to the mug and stirred the concoction.
“Huh.” Vinyl had expected the concoction to turn black or some dark variation, yet it had become some kind of rainbow mix. Somehow, it even glowed slightly and swirled around even without her doing anything.
Vinyl decided she should most likely obey one of the rules of the household: If unsure what to do, ask Octavia. She looked to the ceiling, as Octavia was most likely in her room doing whatever Octavia’s do. “HEY OCTY, IF I WANNA DRINK SOMETHING, BUT I'M NOT SURE WHAT EXACTLY IT IS, SHOULD I?!”
A few seconds passed, “HOW, PER SAY, HAS THAT EVER STOPPED YOU?!”
Vinyl nodded in agreement, good call me. Octavia always knows best. “TOUCHÉ”
Vinyl returned to the glass mug filled with the interesting concoction. She wasn't necessarily worried about what was in the mug, since it was just a large amount of assorted energy drinks. While it may overload a regular person, Vinyl had gained a tolerance over time for energy drinks.
All the late nights of partying, playing in gigs, and all-night cram sessions for college had honed her ability to withstand deadly amounts of sugar and all the other stuff in energy drinks. Though it sounded cliché, Vinyl herself wasn't too sure about the mixture she had made. If it gave her a horn with magical powers, she probably wouldn't mind. It'd be so much easier to do things, really a better excuse to be lazy.
Vinyl shrugged, ah, what the heck, it's not like Equestria will implode or anything. She chugged the whole glass.
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CRASH!
Octavia sighed. She'd been sighing quite often, mostly from the antics of her (somehow) best friend Vinyl. Over time she’d figured it was best to ignore it unless it sounded urgent. But when there's the possibility of broken fine china she couldn't leave it alone and hope Vinyl would fix it. Especially fine china, as last the last time it had been broken Vinyl had tried to use duct tape to try and repair the damage.
The creaking of the wooden boards covering the steps she traversed reminded Octavia of the other problems she had to fix. But currently, she had to deal with whatever awaited her. Once she arrived at the first floor she made her way to the kitchen, assuming that it was the first place Vinyl would be. And lo and behold, there was Vinyl behind the island. As Octavia got closer, she realized that Vinyl was…
Vibrating?
“Vinyl?”
Vinyl looked at Octavia, taking her eyes from the glass on the floor, “HeyOctaviaIdrankthethingandnowIcanseeeverythingandit’sallcardboard.” She poked Octavia. “Whyiseverythingcardboard?!”
“That's most definitely not cardboard, Scratch.”
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“Oh.”
In response to the interviewer, Vinyl shrugged, “Yeah, I'm not really sure what happened after I drank it. Octavia filled me in once I calmed down. And sadly I haven't had an energy drink since then. But I'm pretty glad that Equestria didn't implode.” She paused, taking a moment to consider what she'd said. “Yet.”
The interviewer chuckled nervously, “Well, uh, how about you Miss Philharmonica? Tea or coffee?”
“Oh, tea for sure.” Octavia answered immediately.
The sound of a pencil scribbling followed, “Any reason behind that?”
Octavia tapped her cheek in thought, “Well I'd have to say that the only tea I seem to enjoy would be Chamomile and sweet tea. As for the reason, don't think I have a nearly as interesting story compared to Vinyl’s.”
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Octavia was sick. Not sick in the sense that she was, say, a little coo-coo. Not sick, like sick of Vinyl’s shenanigans. But feeling horrible, kind of sick. Being sick in of itself was bad, but Octavia didn't really mind it. She was just unrated over how inconvenient it could be.
Sniffles would equal a headache over how much she had to blow her nose. Along with feeling like she was in an airplane. Then her sore throat was quite the annoyance, as anytime she swapped a liquid it was painful. She predicted her nose would not fare well as time went on.
Currently she was stuck on the living room couch, trying to enjoy a little dose of television. Sadly, it was interrupted by the ever rambunctious Vinyl. Who seemed to want to do something helpful for once.
“So, Tavi?”
Octavia broke her gaze from the TV to look at Vinyl, “Yes, Scratch?”
Vinyl gave a slightly nervous smile, which was an unusual site for Octavia. “So, uh, I can see that you're a little busy. Being sick and all. But, I think I have something that may help.”
A simple, “Hmm.” Was uttered in response. Not very ladylike for someone of Octavia’s standards, but at the moment she couldn't care enough to give a proper response. She had already directed her head back toward the TV, as the strain on her neck was too much.
A few seconds later Octavia heard clinking and a clatter as something was set on the glass table in front of her. “What is this?”
“It's tea.” Octavia scowled in response. “Okay, specifically it's Chamomile tea with honey. Go on, try it. That's like the one thing I know how to make without requiring a fire extinguisher near by.”
Octavia sighed and took a sip from the steaming cup. Immediately afterward, her eyes widened in surprise. The hot liquid felt amazing on her throat, and the honey gave just an added sweetness that made her want another sip. And another. Really the whole cup.
Vinyl chuckled, “I'm glad you like it. My Ma always gave me that whenever I had a bad cold. The trick is the honey, but it's pretty great ‘cause it's like a multi-tool for making you better.”
Octavia raised an eyebrow in question, too busy to answer since she was occupied sipping the tea.
Vinyl sat on the chair on the other side of the table, “Ya see, the tea is usually so hot that you don't really wanna drink it ‘cause it'll burn your tongue. But the steam that comes off from it is great for clearing your nose, pretty much a quick getaway from all that sniffling and clogged stuff. Plus, it'll clear up your headache some, kinda like sitting next to a hot shower for the steam. Same concept, yeah?”
Octavia nodded, signaling for her friend to continue.
“So then the honey gives your sore throat,” Vinyl paused. “Like a massage. It's super awesome with that. Plus it just gives that extra flavoryness. And overall the tea just tastes good, way better than that coffee crap you drink. So, yeah. Hope you feel better Octy. Don't die and that.”
Octavia smiled at Vinyl’s attempt at ‘goey’ thoughtfulness and whispered, “Thanks.”
Author's Note
So, here's a little something for you all. I could've put it as another chapter/one-shot in OctaScratch Drabbles, but I already have something else planned for that and I felt like this worked better on it's own. I do have to apologize about the amount of scene skips. I didn't want to spend two hundred words and a few paragraphs describing a room, so that took away a lot of the bulk that would have made them less noticeable. I wanted to focus on the story itself and not so much on the building of their surroundings. Only enough for you to get what was needed, and the rest you're able to imagine on your own.
If you liked the story, throw a comment in, I like feedback. If you disliked the story, well, tell me in the comments why. I'll try to work on improving whatever made you dislike it in my future works.
So, what do you like more? Tea or coffee?
-Till the next one
