“Vinyl, love, where are you?” Octavia asked, pushing the door of the dressing room open and popping her head inside. The sounds of a crowd boomed outside of the room and near the front of large venue that Octavia and Vinyl had been commissioned to perform at. In truth, it was their first proper duet together. Octavia had her own feelings about how the performance was going to go, but she’d learned from a young age how to approach each performance with total confidence and determination, as if they were a challenge, really. As for her Scratchie, well…
“Over here.” Vinyl spoke out, at the far side of the room on the loveseat the pair of musicians had requested, the DJ simply twiddling her thumbs, gazing at the floor. Octavia frowned at the sight of it, walking over to Vinyl and sitting herself down, wrapping an arm around the pony’s waist, and tugging her against Octavia’s own side. Vinyl gave out a soft sigh, leaning into Octavia.
“So, tell me my beloved, what seems to be the issue?” Octavia questioned the other mare, giving her a good squeeze to the side. Vinyl gave another sigh, poking her index fingers together while observing the intricate design which rested upon the carpet of the dressing room, avoiding looking into the eyes of the cellist.
“Anxiety. Just...I regret even taking on this whole commission deal. I’m not used to this kinda thing! I’ve never done a duet, or performed in front of so many ponies! I’m used to underground stuff. Ya know, smallish. Like, Rarity’s fashion shows, those were always filled with only the elite ponies. The kind that were there for everything but the music... The amount of ponies out there...I can’t do it, Tavi. I just can’t! You should go tell them that we’re gonna have to call the whole thing off! That’d be a lot easier.” Vinyl sputtered out, before tugging her legs up onto the seat, knees pulling against her chest. “I should have stuck to small stuff. I’m not ready for the big games. I don’t think I ever will be.” Vinyl sighed, closing her eyes.
Octavia frowned softly, considering the words that her unicorn companion was saying. The grey mare had to admit, she’d expected Vinyl to be a little iffy about performing, but she hadn’t expected it to run so deeply, either. The alabaster mare was well and truly fearful of the thought of performing in front of all those ponies. Octavia took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Going out and telling all those ponies that they weren’t going to perform wasn’t an option. The hit to both of their reputations, along with all the saddened ponies...No, Octavia was going to have to finally crack the shell Vinyl had been living in ever since they met back in Canterlot’s Academy of Music. Hooboy.
“Well, what’s the worst that you think can happen, Vinyl?” Octavia asked, cocking her head towards the other mare, slowly rubbing up and down the DJ’s side, resting her head on top of Vinyl’s own. Vinyl leaned more against Octavia, the cellist raising her other arm to pull the unicorn into a hug proper. Vinyl sighed once more, before meekly shrugging. “Okay, well, I’ll go first. I’d say...If a dragon suddenly showed up, and ripped the ceiling off of the club, before gobbling up all the guests! Now, that’d be pretty horrid, right? You’re turn.” Octavia suggested.
“Um...If the entire crowd turns out to be changelings, dead set on conquering the town? And us, too?” Vinyl suggested with a weak smile, before Octavia simply gave a soft laugh at the idea.
“Oh, that would be dreadful. Simply dreadful. After the whole debacle in Canterlot during Princess Cadance’s wedding, I think I could go through the rest of my life without seeing another of those rancid little buggers. Hmhmhm...Oh dear! Imagine if the entire crowd was simply that draconequus creature, Discord! Nothing but him, screwing with our music! Good heavens, even one of him in the crowd is an unappealing thought. Do you remember what he did to that place in Ponyville we were staying at before those element of harmony mares did him in?” Octavia inquired, Vinyl beginning to smile more genuinely, giggling softly as the memory came to her.
“Hehehe, yeah. He turned it into half giant cello, half giant stereo system, and sent it spinning through the air, and, and...ehehehe, he made you a rocker! Not that the place looked bad, or you.” Vinyl snickered, the memories beginning to tumble forth in her head.
“Yes, and he made you a hoity toity violinist. Rather fetching, if I do say so myself...But, there’s nopony I’d rather have than my Scratchie, the remixing DJ.” Octavia nodded, offering Vinyl a wide smile, the DJ only smiling just as wide. Octavia let the moment hang in the air, but she knew that she still had the problem of the present to deal with. So, with a soft sigh, she gave Vinyl a squeeze, before getting up to her hooves. “I wanted to save this for our anniversary, but I suppose this is just as good.” Octavia mused, Vinyl straightening up in her seat, watching after Octavia as the other mare went for the trunk she’d left in the corner.
Octavia dug through the contents of the trunk, before finally tugging out a shoebox sized container, which Vinyl eyed curiously. Octavia pulled the lid off, revealing the contents within. A pair of long scarves rested inside. One purple, one blue, the purple one with a treble clef clinch attached to it, while the blue one had a double quarter note instead. Vinyl released a coo of amazement, horn lighting up to lift them both out.
“Where’d ya get these…?” Vinyl asked, looking them both over.
“I had them made while we were in town. I wanted to get you something unexpected, that we could both wear and share for our anniversary, especially since winter is on the way. The purple one is yours. Here.” Octavia said, snatching the purple scarf out of the air, before she wrapped it around Vinyl’s neck. She tied it specifically, before using the treble cleft clinch to lock the whole thing in place. “Lovely, just lovely. The perfect accessory, almost as much as your shades, without the sacrifice of hiding your eyes.” Octavia smiled, pulling Vinyl’s shades down just slightly to gaze into those magenta eyes.
Vinyl stared back into Octavia’s own purple spheres, finding herself at a loss for words. Slowly, Vinyl took the blue scarf out of the air, and tied it around Octavia’s own neck, locking it in place with the clinch which mimicked her cutie mark. Octavia gave a sweet sounding laugh, leaning in to kiss the mare right on the lips, before leaning back.
“That crowd outside isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, Vinyl.” Octavia spoke, Vinyl’s ears drooping, the DJ giving a soft sigh. “But, I have an idea.” Octavia added, Vinyl’s ears perking up, eyes filling with hope. Octavia had a habit of knowing what to do. “Just...focus on me, okay? Focus on me, and let the music flow, just like when we’re alone. Okay?” Octavia asked, taking Vinyl’s head into her hands, ensuring Vinyl had nowhere else to look but at her.
“...Okay. Let’s do this.”
Author's Note
I've been dealing with some anxiety of my own, over a lot of things, so...this was a nice change of pace. Something to ease my mind. Also, yes, this is linked to the Wubtub story, the tale of the scarves I like so much.