Leap of Faith: Octavia Vs. Rave

Chapters

Chapter One - The Mare they call Octavia
Chapter Two - The Best, Possible, THING!!!
Chapter Three - The Eyes of Brightest Rubies
Chapter Four - The Mare they call Vinyl Scratch
Chapter Five - Ruby and Amethyst Tears
Chapter Six - Octavia's Triumph
Chapter Seven - A Musical Leap of Faith
Chapter Eight - DJ-0CT4VIA
Chapter Ten - Vinyl Scratch Vs. Octavia
Chapter Eleven - At the end of the Another Day
The Crossover Afterparty!!!
Chapter Nine - Vinyl's Got Us Fallin' In Love!(The Musical!)

Chapter One - The Mare they call Octavia

It was a beautiful Sunday morning in Hoofington, the rays of Celestia's sun lighting up the sky with a gorgeous mixture of orange and red color. The birds in their nests were only just beginning to stir, their happy tweeting filling the air as a light breeze blew through the empty streets of the town. The flapping of wings could be heard up in the sky as Ditzy Doo soared overhead, flying upside down with her loopy eyes looking in every direction, a collection of twenty letters stuffed in her mouth. Down the street, a few sleepy looking shop-keepers exchanged hello's and greetings to one another as they trudged into their shops, flipping closed signs to 'Open', and taking care to get their shops ready and presentable for the day. Young school fillies emerged from their houses, saddlebags on their back and cheerful expressions plastered on their faces as they eagerly awaited the school day to begin. All was calm and peaceful in Hoofington...at least you would think so if you were to stand in the streets and watch as Hoofington gently came to life. Everypony in town however...all frowned in unison, turning their heads to stare at clocks nearby. 6:59 A.M. was the time that the hands of the clocks said, with only a few seconds left to spare until the stroke of the seventh bell.

One of the shop keepers sighed and muttered to herself "5...4...3...2...1..........."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

On the edge of town, in a beautiful two story house of luscious oak and classical design, a grayish colored pony with a jet black mane and the purple cutie-mark of a treble clef sat up in bed and screamed. Her hooves slapped up to the sides of her head as she screamed "OH NOOOOOOOOOO!!! I'M LATE!!! OH GRACIOUS ME!!!!! NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!" She flew from the bed so fast her whole bed nearly tipped over from the force of her fleeing. She rushed into the bathroom, squealing in horror as she stared at her tangled, poofy mess of a mane in the mirror. She started hyperventilating, hopping into her shower and turning the right knob, lifting her hooves up and down rapidly, trotting in place out of impatience. It was only then she realized she had turned...the RIGHT knob...the one labeled 'C'.

"HORSEAPP-AAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Down the street, a purple Pegasus and a yellow unicorn mare were enjoying a quiet game of chess...well, mostly quiet. The screams of the gray mare were heard echoing all the way down the street. The unicorn sighed, muttering as she moved the Queen to A4

"Honestly...who needs a rooster when we have her?" The Pegasus giggled and moved a Pawn to D5, looking up and shaking her head

"Oh come now darling, she's under a lot of pressure, we all know it. With the work she does it's quite understandable." The unicorn frowned, looking up as she realized her knight was effectively trapped. She magicked her Queen three spaces over and said

"Still, you think she'd learn to manage her time a lot better. I mean, how many rehearsals does she attend daily? Like what...forty?" The Pegasus frowned at the Queen's movement, moving her Rook over to back up her Bishop in case of an attack and sighed, answering her friend

"Forty-five, the point is, she's a high-class pony. Those kinds of people are used to those kinds of massive obligations." The unicorn rolled her eyes as she thought about her next move, Queen, or Knight?

"You know, I MIGHT just believe that if we didn't have to listen to Spaz-Tavia every bucking morning..." she said, pulling her Knight back to avoid her friend's Queen.

Back at the house, the Gray mare started gagging up a foamy mixture, crying out in horror as she realized she had accidentally mixed up her shower bottles...managing to brush her teeth with shampoo and wash her hair with toothpaste.

"WHY!?!?!" She screamed, banging her head against the wall "WHY OF ALL DAYS, DID I HAVE TO BE LATE TODAY!?!?"

Further in town, a baker colt quickly prepared a raisin toast muffin, specially made with no access crust and baked to the size that allowed a pony to take four, equal bites in one sitting. A customer of his, a mare, huffed impatiently and shouted

"What's taking so LONG!?" The colt rushed towards the front of the store, a bag in his teeth as she muttered in apology, pushing open the door and throwing the bag outside. As it started to come down, a gray blur shot past with a speed that would make many pro-athlete pony's jaws drop, snatching the bag out of mid-air and flying down the street. The colt sighed and looked down, the total amount of five bits scattered about his porch from a quickly timed and aimed throw.

"That pony...I swear" he muttered, quickly collecting his pay and returning to his customer inside.

Near the edge of town, the carriage service was picking up business as usual, a good portion of them already gone. A brown colored colt sighed as he tried to tune out the mare shouting at him from his right, trying to get comfortable in the harness he was hooked up to.

"What do you mean this is RESERVED!?" the cream-colored mare shouted, making the colt respond simply

"I mean Reserved when I say RESERVED! Find another cart miss...this one's already taken." The mare grimaced in anger and shouted

"RESERVED BY WHO!?" Before the colt could answer, the same gray blur that shot past the baker colt's shop flew through the window of the carriage, nearly tipping it over as the mare jumped back in surprise.

"Her..." the colt sighed, pulling the carriage forward slowly and quickly tuning out the gray mare's shouts of

"DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE!!! Oh please hurry!!! PLEASE?!"

This is how the morning's of Hoofington have gone since the Gray Mare had moved in, bringing along her own unique wake-up call. They had heard many things about her, but she was always so busy and frantic in her business that noone could really get many answers out of her. What they DID know however, was that she performed for the Equestrian Symphony of Orchestrated Canterlotian Harmonics. She carried a large cello-shaped case on her back at all times, she looked like she rarely ate, and barely slept. Every morning she was nearly late, every morning she was panicked, and every day she wouldn't be seen for hours upon hours, only coming home in the late hours of the night, exhausted and dragging herself along the streets towards her home.

She was a performer

A musician

A royal pain in the flank in the mornings.

She was, without any reason of a doubt

The Mare they call Octavia.

Chapter Two - The Best, Possible, THING!!!

"WHAT?! What do you mean there's no rehearsal today!?" Octavia screamed in horror at her conductor, a sheepish grin on his face as he rubbed the back of his head with his hoof, sitting in his comfy office chair.

"I mean there's no rehearsal today Miss Sharpe, we cancelled it remember?" he said, a sympathetic look in his eyes as Octavia face-hoofed.

"Ugh...it figures! The one day I'm REALLY late is the day I go into a rush over nothing!" she whined, slumping in the seat in front of the conductor's desk as he shook his head, looking at the bags under her eyes and pushing a cup of hot tea across the desk towards her. She took it gingerly and sipped it as her conductor gave her a worried look and asked

"Are you ok Octavia? You look like you haven't been sleeping that much..." At this Octavia laughed and waved a hoof about in an over-dramatic fashion, shouting

"Of course I'm alright! Trust me sir, I haven't felt better in ages!" Her conductor grimaced at this, looking at her with great uncertainty as she laughed a bit louder then one would deem appropriate.

It had been about twenty minutes since Octavia had been brought by carriage to the Ponyville Harmonics Center, a large octagon shaped building near the edge of town. It was here that Octavia and the rest of the symphony had been practicing for a giant concert that was going to be held in Canterlot this year. All the details were hush-hush however, the symphony set on a strictly 'need-to-know' basis when it concerned information. Octavia cleared her throat as the Conductor gave her another worrying glance. Catching this, Octavia raised an eyebrow and asked "What, is something wrong sir?" The conductor put his face in his hooves, sighing loudly and lowering them to speak quickly

"Ok Miss Sharpe, let's face it...your performance lately has been....lacking..." Octavia scoffed, sitting up in her seat with an angry expression on her face and shouting

"Lacking!? How can I be lacking!? I make it to EVERY performance, EVERY rehearsal! I practice at least six to eight hours a day with my music and you say I'm LACKING!?" Her conductor nodded as he banged his hoof on his desk, shouting back

"Exactly! Octavia you spend so much time with MUSIC you barely spend anytime with YOURSELF! Your notes are met perfectly as you play and the quality is good, but that's just it! It's just good. I'm looking for splendor, grace, a rich pitch! I'm looking for beautiful, not good! The last four rehearsal's you were falling ASLEEP Octavia! The only thing that's, and yes I'll say it, creepy about that is the fact that you were playing the piece perfectly in your sleep! Octavia I need you wide-awake and vibrant! Pouring your soul into those notes and into this music! I can't have a dead-weight cello-ist slowing the rest of the symphony down Octavia!"

Octavia's jaw dropped as her eyes filled with tears, her whimpers making the conductor groan with frustration and face-hoof

"I...I'm...dead weight!? Sir you don't mean to s..say...that I'm fired!?" The conductor shook his head and sighed, muttering

"No Miss Sharpe...you're not fired...but mark my words when I say you need to seriously get your priorities straight! Don't get me wrong Miss Sharpe, you're a wonderful, beautiful cello player...it's just that we need you as a pony to be wonderful and beautiful, do you understand?" Octavia looked diagonally up, thinking for a moment before shaking her head and muttering

"Not really, no..." The conductor face-hoofed again and half shouted

"Attend to yourself for a change Miss Sharpe! Take the next week off, go see a movie, get a hoof-icure at the spa, take a walk on the beach, just do someth-" he was cut off by Octavia's sudden scream of protest

"A WEEK!? With all due respect sir but are you OUT OF YOUR MIND!? I can't be away from practice for a week!!! How will I EVER be up to speed on the sheet music we're practicing for the concert?! A week is simply too long!" The conductor shook his head, slamming his hoof on the desk and shouting

"NO! I've said my piece and you WILL adhere to it Miss Sharpe! One week and that's FINAL! If I even catch a rumor of you practicing and not relaxing, I WILL be giving the lead strings section seat to Vallon!" Octavia gasped loudly, her hooves flying up over her mouth as she whispered with horror

"You wouldn't dare!!!" The conductor raised an eyebrow and said

"Try me, good day Miss Sharpe."

~~~

"Relax he says, take the week off he says. Is he an IDIOT!? Does he even know what a week of untrained physique and practice will do to a high-class performer like myself!?" Octavia grumbled, trudging through the northern streets of Ponyville. "Relax? How does one even?! I have no time for lazing about when I have a performance to prepare for! Oh, I'm nowhere NEAR ready to perform! I'll have to find a place to stay for the week...perhaps an inn or something." She trotted up towards the local restaurant, sighing as she seated herself at a table outside and put her head on the table. "How am I going to last a whole week without my hooves on my cello?" she whimpered, a menu being brought out to her by a waiter who casually flicked his eyes up and down, scanning them over Octavia's body and flank. Being a musician, Octavia learned at an early age to use her peripheral vision so she could keep an eye on her sheet music and the conductor at the same time. It also worked pretty well for spotty snooty waiters whose dirty eyes were traveling all over them.

Octavia looked over with a menacing glare and hissed "If you're QUITE done observing my elegant physical stature, perhaps you'll put your flank in gear and go about getting me a fresh-cut salad with Italimare dressing and a glass of water with a quarter-slice lemon?" The waiter blushed and nodded, heading inside the building to place her order. Octavia sighed, frowning as she stared down at the table. When her dish was finally brought out to her she smiled, her belly grumbling for attention. Just as she was about to take the first bite however, a high-pitch squeal from behind her had her flying up out of her chair. She landed and spun around, holding her hooves up like she was being arrested, her chest heaving for air. A gorgeous mare with a dazzling white coat and deep purple mane was standing nearby, her sapphire eyes twinkling and her mouth set in the widest smile a pony could ever have imagined. She squealed with delight as the white mare got a good look at her face and half-screamed with delight

"Sweet Celestia! My dear, you wouldn't happen to be the Octavia Cavallero Sharpe would you!?" Octavia lowered her hooves, a small smile forming on her lips as she partially blushed and chuckled, muttering

"Why...yes, Octavia C. Sharpe, that is me, how do you d-" she was cut off by the white mare screaming with delight and rushing up towards her, taking Octavia's hoof in her own two and shaking it rapidly

"Oh this has got to be the best, possible, THING to have ever to have happened to me!!! Oh darling you must tell me what brings you to Ponyville!" Octavia chuckled and looked back at her sandwich with a look of longing and asked

"Um...well miss....miss...?"

"Rarity." She answered with a whip of her mane and a batting of her eyelashes. Octavia raised an eyebrow and nodded

"Rarity...well, um, would you mind joining me for lunch, I'll be able to-" She was interrupted again by Rarity screaming again with such delight she thought her head would explode

"HAVING LUNCH WITH OCTAVIA C. SHARPE!!!!!! OH, MY, GOSH!!!!"

"-to...explain why I'm here..." Octavia finished quietly, sighing and shaking her head.

~~~

"Oh I've listened to HUNDREDS of your ensembles while I've worked. You're such an inspiration to many of us fashion designers darling!" Rarity said, taking a polite bite out of her own Italimare salad and carefully dabbing her lips with a napkin. Octavia blushed as she took a bite out of her own and mumbled

"Nice to have a fan..." Rarity looked up and asked after finishing her salad

"So darling, what brings you to Ponyville? Surely a pony of your talents, your grace, beauty even, belongs in the high-class, prestigious country-clubs of Canterlot!" Octavia blushed like mad at all of the praise and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof and chuckled sheepishly

"W...well...actually I'm on...um...paid vacation right now..." Rarity blinked and suddenly frowned, a sympathetic look in her eyes as she laid a gentle hoof on Octavia's and whispered

"Your boss said you were going crazy didn't he?" Octavia blinked in surprise as she asked

"How...did you...?" Rarity smiled and gave her hoof a comforting pat

"It happens to all of us artists dear. We tend to get a little ahead of ourselves and overwork constantly. How long will you be staying in town?" Octavia sighed and looked down at her empty dish

"About a week...I suppose..." Rarity smiled with glee and held her hoof up, half-shouting in a proclaiming manner

"Then I, Rarity of Ponyville, shall see to it that the Midnight Mare Inn will supply you with their private, first-class suite!" Octavia shook her head rapidly, holding a hoof out to Rarity and shouting

"But Miss Rarity I don't know if I could afford-" She was cut off by Rarity sticking a hoof in her mouth and shouting

"Oh DARLING, you didn't think I was going to just let you pay for it did you!? It's all on my tab dear!" Octavia blushed like mad as she drooled all over Rarity's hoof, mumbling as she tried to talk past the blockage of her mouth

"Mmphpmhmmmh!!!" She squeaked as Rarity shook her head

"No buts darling! This is the least I could do for the great Octavia C. Sharpe of The Equestrian Symphony of Orchestrated Canterlotian Harmonics!!!"

"MMMPPHHHH!!!!" Octavia screamed through Rarity's hoof, her face a deep red as she tried desperately to protest. Rarity sighed and looked up at the sky, the sun moving just past the mark of 'noon'. She looked at Octavia and smiled as she pulled her hoof out with a slight 'pop' and stood up, giving a wave with her drool covered hoof and trotting away

"Well darling I must be off! Lunch break is over! If the innkeeper asks say 'Miss Rarity has reserved the 'Mareifique Suite for one Octavia C. Sharpe!' Ta ta!!!"

~~~

Octavia face-hoofed as she mumbled for the sixth time

"I told you, for the LAST TIME, Miss Rarity said it would be on her tab! You can ask her yourself!!!" The Inn-keeper gave her a weird, untrustworthy look as he slowly slid the key over the counter, muttering

"Alright...but I swear if you're lying to me...there's gonna be hell to pay Missy!" Octavia scoffed and took the key up in her mouth, walking by with a low

"Why I never!"

Once she had found the room on the third floor (Which was aggravating to get to with all the stairs...), she took the key and unlocked the door, pushing through it with a gentle shove of her shoulder. Once inside, the key dropped to the ground with a loud clatter as she gasped, her eyes widening. The room was massive, a gigantic Royalty-Sized bed adorning the far end of the room with red-velvet curtains and rose pedals adorning its surface. Scented candles were lit around the room that let forth the fragrance of sweet, delicious roses. A large, wooden tub rested in one corner of the room and was filled with steaming hot water, a large variety of shower bottles lining the walls next to it. A study desk was set up on the right side of the room and in the middle...in the middle was a small, circular stage, complete with music stand and chair. Octavia looked at this room and felt her jaw drop, the realization of it all hitting her like a ton of a bricks. This room looked as if Rarity had gotten to it before she made it to the inn...it looked like it had been prepared specifically for a musician...and for a lover as well. A mad blush set across her face as she slowly made her way to the stage, pulling her cello case off her back and gently laying it down on the chair. She backed up quietly, closing the door with a low creak and her blush intensifying as she took once last look at the rose-colored bed.

~~~

"What do you mean 'what is there to do in this town'? Don't you like your room well enough?" The inn-keeper asked, an annoyed expression on his face. Octavia grinned sheepishly and muttered

"Well...yes, the room is lovely it's just...I haven't been to Ponyville in awhile...not since Nightmare Night. I'd just like somewhere to go...get off my hooves for a bit...get a sweeter taste on my tongue if you know what I mean..." The shop-keeper raised an eyebrow and muttered

"A...bar?" Octavia blushed and waved her hoof about, shouting

"N...no! Just a nice place to...get my mind off things, relax, get a good drink and all..."

"A bar." The inn-keeper stated, rolling his eyes as Octavia frowned at him. "Hold on" he sighed, flipping over the local directory catalog on his desk and looking down a list of bars. Only three were in the local vicinity and he knew two of them were known to take advantage of mares like Octavia: Dumb, pompous, and full of themselves. He smiled at the last one, knowing that this particular 'bar' would give this mare the kick in the flank she probably deserved. He looked up and smiled, making Octavia uncomfortable as he whispered menacingly "I know of one...it's located eight doors down from the Ponyville Library, just across the street from Bon-Bon's Coffee and Sweets Shop. Just look for a really big Stallion wearing all black and guarding a set of stairs going downwards. If you see a line of Pony's outside, just go up to the stallion and whisper 'Scratch me Vinyl, I'm ready to party!'. He'll see you in." Octavia's eyes widened as she frowned, stuttering with a squeak as she asked

"W...what's the name...of t..this place?" The inn-keeper smiled and whispered right in her face

"Vinyl's Cage Corral, enjoy!"

Chapter Three - The Eyes of Brightest Rubies

Octavia sighed and trotted down the street that held this...bar or whatever, still trying to convince herself that it was a good idea to go. "Oh...the way that inn-keeper talked about this place...it really unnerved me." she muttered to herself, frowning as the sun started to slip behind the trees, Luna's moon rising up from the horizon and bringing a soft glow to the sky. She looked to her left, seeing the large sign above the shop that read "Bon-Bon's Coffee And Sweets Emporium!" Looking across the street, she gasped, her eyes widening. Standing at the top of the staircase the inn-keeper mentioned was the BIGGEST stallion she had EVER laid eyes on! Massive muscles, a brown cut mane, and a pissed-off expression on his face, this rust colored pony didn't look one you wanted to buck with. A black beanie rested on the top of his head, along with a black sort of body coat that read 'SECURITY' on the side and hid a portion of his cutie mark, which to Octavia looked like a green lump of some kind. His green eyes flicked over towards her, making Octavia freeze before a moment before he looked away.

She gulped, looking over to his left and spotting the large line of ponies that was beginning to form. She grimaced at the sight of all the ponies in line, seeing them covered with black leather, spike boots, insane-styled manes with spikes and grotesque curls. They all had what looked like to be forty pounds of make-up on and had at least two to three piercings each. Octavia gulped and took a step back, muttering rapidly to herself "Oh gracious look at these...hooligans! What am I doing here?! Maybe I should just go back to the inn..." She was just about to turn around when she heard a voice shout out behind her

"WELL HOWDY!" Octavia screamed and jumped at least ten feet into the air, landing and sticking her front two hooves up in the air as if she was being arrested. "What in tarnation? Easy now, ah ain't gonna hurt ya or nothin'!" Octavia turned her head to see who it was that scared her and gave her a quick look up and down. She was a bright orange earth-pony, a mare, with a cowboy-looking hat on her head and a cutie-mark of three apples. Her straw-colored mane bounced as she trotted up to Octavia and held a hoof up, smiling and shouting "Sorry bout' that! Name's Applejack, how ya'll doing ta-night?" Octavia gently lowered her hooves, turning and weakly shaking the country-mare's hoof, muttering

"Just...fine I guess..." Applejack smiled and tipped her hat backwards, peering over towards the line and asking

"You uh...you goin' to Vinyl's?" Octavia looked over towards the staircase and the rust-colored bouncer and frowned, muttering

"I'm...not too sure, it doesn't really seem like my kind of establishment..." Applejack gave Octavia a quick look up and down just like she did to her and nodded a little

"Ah, you must be one o' them froo froo richy rich ponies ain't ya?" Octavia frowned and turned back to Applejack, looking offended. Applejack caught this and smiled, waving a hoof about and saying "Now don't go uh takin' offense now miss, ah don't think there's anythin' wrong with havin' a bit of weight in the pouch if ya know what ah mean! Well trust me when ah say that this place has some o' the best cider in all of Ponyville! It's where ah got me the two bottles ah had on the mountain." Octavia nodded a little as she talked, taking another glance back at the stairs and then back at Applejack, a questioning tone escaping her lips

"Um...so what brings you out here anyway? Were you going to this bar?" Applejack smiled and shook her head

"Nah, actually waitin' on Rainbow, she went in ta go get us a couple bottles o' cider. That bouncer pony there? He's mah brother, Big Macintosh. He let Rainbow in right quick and SHOULD be out here soon...sometimes ah don't know with her..." She sighed, Octavia's eyes widening as she heard the name Rainbow. She pointed a hoof at Applejack and gasped

"Wait, you're the Applejack?! The one who was caught on the mountain in the Everfree Forest with the Junior-Flyers Competition Champion Rainbow Dash?" Applejack blushed a little, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof and mumbling with a small smile

"Eeyup...that was me..." Octavia smiled warmly and said

"Oh darling that was such a romantic story! I read all about it in the Hoofington Herald. You two are still together aren't you?" Applejack blushed a deeper shade of red and gave a sigh of relief as she spotted a Rainbow maned Pegasus trot up the stairs and onto the street towards them. She shouted WAY louder then she needed be

"Hey AJ! I scored the bottles! Oh man we're going to have a blast to- hey, who's this?" Rainbow Dash asked, trotting up to Applejack and giving her a soft kiss on her cheek. Applejack blushed as Octavia smiled, the apple-mare holding up a hoof and saying quietly

"This here's um...erm...well I didn't get her name but she's on her way to Vinyl's." Rainbow Dash looked over and smiled, giving her a tiny salute and shouting "HI! My names Rainbow Dash!!!! Sorry if I'm yelling but the bass in that place is OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! What's your name!!!?" Octavia blinked a little and said

"Um...I'm Octavia Sharpe..." Rainbow Dash blinked and shouted

"WHAT?!"

"My name's Octavia..."

"WHAT NOW!?"

"OCTAVIA!!!! MY, NAME, IS, OCTAVIA!!!"

"OLAVIA!? THAT'S KIND OF A FUNNY NA-"

"NO!!! OCTAVIA, OCTAVIA , OCT,TAV,IA!!!!"

"OCTAVIA!? THAT'S AN EVEN FUNNIER NAME!!!"

Applejack was practically in tears from laughing so hard at the two of them shouting at one another. She shook her head and spoke loudly in Rainbow's ear

"Come on silly, let's leave this one alone so she can go enjoy her night!" She turned to Octavia who looked flustered and red-faced and chuckled a little "Sorry about that...Rainbow's a one of a kind pony..." Octavia sighed and shook her head, muttering

"That's quite alright...I suppose I'll see you all around then?" Applejack nodded and gave a friendly wave, shouting as they turned to leave

"Shore thing! Night Octavia!" Octavia waved, sighing and turning back towards the club.

"Well..." she muttered, taking her first steps towards the place and feeling a cold wave of fear wash over her "Might as well give it a try..." She trotted up towards the pony Applejack had named 'Big Macintosh' and gulped. He stood still as a statue, his eyes the only thing moving as they slowly moved to look down at her. When he spoke, his voice made Octavia shiver a little out of fright. It was very deep and carried a 'Mess with me and I'll break your face' kind of tone with it

"Can ah help you miss?" Octavia nodded slowly, her eyes wide and filled to fright as she squeaked

"I...I'm here to get into the bar?" Big Macintosh narrowed his eyes and pointed a hoof towards the line. Octavia cleared her throat and started to shake a little, hoping she wasn't making him mad.

"Um..." she squeaked "The inn-keeper at the Midnight-Mare Inn wanted me to tell yo-"

"Whisper it ma'am, it's a VIP password." He leaned his giant head down to her level, Octavia whispering with a slight shake in her voice

"U..um...'Scratch me V..Vinyl...I'm ready to Party..." Big Macintosh nodded and took a single step to his right, allowing her entry. Octavia smiled a little and shakily made her way past him, stuttering "Um..t..thank you..." Big Macintosh sighed, regaining his tough stature and staring straight ahead with his narrowed, angry eyes

"Eeyup."

Octavia headed down the stairs, which descended towards a heavy-iron door with a red light hanging above it. As she trotted down, a soft melody of piano music wafted upwards towards her, making her smile. "Well...perhaps this place will be to my liking after....all." She suddenly frowned as she finished her sentence, the piano being replaced by a heavy thudding sound and something that sounded...electric.

It was weird, foreign to Octavia, and that made her very uncomfortable as she put her hooves up on the door, listening to a small portion of the song that played through the door.

The sounds of thudding and the electric mess nearly blew Octavia backwards as the sound intensified by at least four hundred! She had to shield her eyes as lights flashed rapidly inside, changing colors and moving about in erratic patterns. She slowly made her way inside as a deep, electronic voice rang out from above

"She's living in the past so you won't last without the proper care! With a royal farewell and an animate spell you won't have long to pre-pa-a-a-are!"

All around the deep thuds of the bass were making Octavia's head hurt, her eyes squinting through the smoke that wafted through the air as she tried to make her way over towards the bar on the far left side of the establishment. All around her, ponies dressed in the same dress as the line outside were dancing about wildly, throwing glow sticks around and screaming along to the lyrics of the song. She blushed as she passed two mares lavishly kissing, licking each other's lips and going at it like rabbits. She felt her hoof step on something soft and when she looked down she squeaked with fright. A colt was on the ground, trying to sluggishly crawl through the crowd, his plastic cup stuck on his horn and his mane wet with his drink. Octavia grimaced as she quickly pushed her way through the crowd and found an empty stool by the bar. Heaving herself up onto it, she waved over the barkeep, who in Octavia's eyes was a pretty sexy stallion, with a tall muscular build and beautiful blue eyes. The stallion smiled as he walked over, cleaning a glass in mid-air with magic and said

"Well hi there! Haven't seen you around before!!! What's your name!?" He shouted over the music, making Octavia shout back

"Octavia!!! Is it always this loud in here!?" The stallion laughed and shook his head, levitating the glass back to its place on the shelf and levitating another one over to her.

"You newbies are so fun!!! Loud in here?! It ain't loud ENOUGH baby!!! What'll ya have!? First Drink's on the house for new-comers!" Octavia though about it for a moment, trying to think past the massive headache she was getting from the thudding of the base and shouting

"COLT-7 please! 3 cubes and a lemon!!!" The stallion's eyes twinkled as he shouted

"Coming right up! You actually made it just in time newbie!!" Octavia blinked in confusion and shouted back

"WHY!?" The stallion slid over her freshly poured drink and pointed towards the stage

"Because it's the end of the first hour! At that time the default tracks stop playing and SHE arrives!" Just as Octavia was about to ask what he meant, the music stopped abruptly and was replaced by a loud electronic throbbing.

She didn't know why...but everypony seemed to get even more excited at this song, the stage lighting up with dazzling lights

Octavia blinked as the song suddenly dipped into a melodic tune, looking up towards the speakers as lyrics were sung out

"Vinyl Scratch knows how to get the feeling alright

We are going to dance and party tonight

Tonight is the night that we're gonna lose it

So spin that record Vinyl Scratch, and never stop the music!"

Octavia jumped a little as a much louder voice shouted through the speakers, the ponies all screaming at a dazzling white mare who walked out on stage, a set of purple shades over her eyes and large headphones covering her ears. She had a beamed eighth-note for a cutie mark and an atrocious looking shade of light and dark blue color mixed into her wild mane. Her horn sparkled with blue magic, Octavia listening to her wild screaming

"WELCOME TO MY CAGE CORAL EVERYPONY!? YOU READY TO PARTY HARD!?" The screams of all the pony's on the dance floor made the white mare smile, standing up on her hind legs and throwing one of her front hooves up into the air, screaming "THEN LET'S GET BUMPING!"

Octavia stared towards the white mare, the large screen behind her flashing the words "DJ-PON3" over and over again. The mare smiled as she magicked two records up into the air, catching them on her hooves and spinning them rapidly, bringing cheers out from the crowd and loud sounds of clapping. She flipped the records onto her turntable and shook her head violently up and down to the beat of the music. Octavia in a way was mesmerized by the way the mare was losing herself to her own music. She suddenly yelped however as a pair of pink hooves grabbed her from the crowd and a voice shouted out

"WHEE!!! LET'S GO!!!" She was dragged into the crowd as she spun around, a pink mare with a curly mane and a pink glow-stick in her mouth rushing up to her and dancing wildly, shouting "HIYA! HOW YOU DOING WHAT YOU DOING WHY YOU DOING IT!?" Octavia took a step back and stuttered

"I...um...what!?" The pink mare stopped for a moment, laughing as she held up a hoof

"Oh, silly me, you must not speak PARTAY! I'm Pinkie Pie! What brings a silly-willy-fancy-filly down into the dark-dark-party-park!?" Octavia frowned as her eyes flicked over towards DJ-PON3, her words a bit forced

"Just...trying to deal with the...noise...that this ruffian insists on blasting through her poor speakers..." At this Pinkie Pie simply laughed, picking the beat back up and starting to dance

"Oh don't be a spoiled-sport! Scratchie's an AWESOME DJ! WOOOHOOOO!!!!" Octavia looked over towards the white mare and muttered to herself

"Scratchie?" It was strange...as if the way Octavia asked and called out that name had got the attention of the DJ. DJ-PON3 snapped her head over, staring directly at Octavia through the crowd and smiling from above. Octavia's eyes widened and she gulped, growing a bit uncomfortable by the way the DJ was smiling at her. For a moment, all the noise around Octavia seemed to be muffled, her breath catching as the DJ lifted a hoof up to her face and tilted her glasses down, eyes the color of rubies penetrating Octavia's.

Octavia felt like she being mesmerized, her eyes softening a little as DJ-PON3 glared at her with a mischievous smile, licking hers lips teasingly and flipping her glasses back up. It was only after her glasses went back up that Octavia could feel her legs start to move, her hoof tapping to the beat of the music.

"SO, wanna dance?!" Pinkie Pie screamed, grabbing Octavia and forcing her up on her rear hooves. Octavia stuttered, her mind going a mile a minute as she screamed

"Wait! I don't know how to da- OH SWEET CELESTIA!"

It was at this point that she was VERY gracious that the rest of her ensemble wasn't here to see this kind of dancing. She reminded herself to take a six hour shower if she ever made it out of here alive.

Chapter Four - The Mare they call Vinyl Scratch

Octavia whimpered as she held her glass tightly in her hoof, her body shaking a little as she tried to drink her Colt-7. The bartender laughed as he looked towards her, heading over and shouting "First time dancing with Pinkie?! Don't worry, you'll get used to it!!!" Octavia looked up with venom in her eyes as she hissed

"That was socially unacceptable! Ugh, the way she had her hooves on me! It was disgusting, nopony should EVER have to get used to that!" The barkeep only laughed and shook his head, going back to cleaning a few glasses. Octavia dropped her glass and covered her ears, another song blaring over the speakers. She shouted as the thudding of the bass racked her brain "And why must it be so LOUD!? I don't understand!!!!" The barkeep sighed and suddenly yelped as he brought a glass over quickly, filling it with several different liquids. Octavia watched this with a confused expression but suddenly jumped at a silky voice that shouted from beside her

"Relax Shake, you're gonna give yourself a heart attack!" The barkeep, Shake, smiled as he slid over the drink combination towards a white hoof, shouting over the music

"Says you! All this bass is going to make your head explode someday! Got to keep the drinks flowing and tasting nice for the DJ otherwise my head's coming off!" Octavia looked to her right slowly and squeaked as she saw DJ-PON3 herself hop up on the stool next to her. Her head was still bobbing to the beat of the song as she took a small sip out of her drink. She shivered as she swallowed, letting out a loud whooping noise and shouting

"DAMN Shake! You sure know how to make a P0N3-Pocolypse taste AWESOME! How do you do it!?" Shake shrugged and smiled, winking at her

"Trade secret baby, you know how it is!" DJ-PON3 laughed and turned her head towards Octavia, giving a curt nod upwards with her head and shouting

"Sup?!" Octavia grimaced a little and gave a tiny wave with her hoof, trying her best not to notice the sweat flying off the DJ's mane with every shake of her bobbing head. At this the DJ smiled and shouted "So, first time at a club!? You made a good pick for your first one! I'm DJ-P0N3, the mare they call Vinyl Scratch! What's your name!?" Octavia swallowed her drink painfully and shouted back

"Octavia!" Vinyl smiled and looked back towards her own drink, taking a heavy gulp out of it and shaking her head back and forth faster, shouting

"That's a pretty sexy name!!! So what brings you to the cage corral?! You don't look like much of a party goer!!!" Octavia rolled her eyes at the mare's annoyingly loud voice and downed her drink, placing the glass on the table and praying she wouldn't have to endure anymore of this dirty scoundrel. She turned and shouted

"I'll have you know there is nothing, ugh, sexy, about my name you brute! I was TRYING to look for a quiet bar and instead I found this place...how can you all stand this loud garbage, it's atrocious!!!" Any other pony might have been offended by this outburst, but Vinyl simply smiled her wide, pearly smile, dipping her glasses to look at Octavia with her ruby eyes. Once again Octavia felt as if she was being hypnotized by those gleaming red irises, Vinyl's voice cooing out to her

"That's not what your hooves were saying once I gave you a good look over. It's ok, I know my eyes are beautiful, you don't need to stare!" Octavia scoffed and held up her glass, shouting before she took a swig

"Oh please! You think I actually enjoy this rubbish? It's a miracle you're not shut down from disturbing the peace and keeping all of Ponyville awake all night!" She swallowed but immediately felt like something was wrong. Her head started to feel a bit woozy and she swayed in her seat, holding onto the bar for support. Vinyl noticed this and held out a hoof, shouting

"Hey, you alright?!" Octavia slapped her hoof away and shouted, her words slurring and her toungue hanging out of her mouth lazily

"I'm fine!!! Donsshh tousssh me ye brute! I'm leaving thissshh shhtupid place!" She stumbled off her stool, trying to make her way to the crowds. A firm pair of hooves grasped her sides and Vinyl's voice shouted to her from behind

"Whoa, hold on! Stop!" Octavia tried to break free of Vinyl's grip, but the world had begun to spin rapidly, her touch with reality crashing all around her. Her vision swam with the colors of rainbows and soon enough, she was on the ground, twitching. She thought she could hear screaming but at this point all the noise in the club was muffled and drowned out by what she thought was cello music. It wasn't long after that until Octavia's world was plunged into blackness, and all the sounds of the club were abruptly cut off.

~~~

"God dammit Vinyl!"

"What!? How's this my fault?!"

"You should have been paying attention to the asshole on her left!"

"It's a CLUB, people are bound to get drugged!"

"Yeah but on OUR watch!? Vinyl for buck's sakes, she could have easily been raped, stop taking it so lightly!"

"Lightly!? You think I'm taking this lightly!?

Two voices, Shake's and Vinyl's, were shouting back and forth at one another. It was enough to wake Octavia up, whose head was still pounding to the bass of the music that she couldn't hear anymore. She held up a hoof and groaned, whining loudly

"Can you two...please...shut, up? My head's killing me!" Vinyl snapped her head over towards Octavia and trotted over to her, helping her sit up on the yellow couch she had been thrown on.

"Whoa...easy now, you alright?" Vinyl whispered, her shades propped up on her head and her eyes tilted in concern. She yelped as Octavia slapped her hooves away and shouted

"What do you mean, am I alright!? I was drugged, or WORSE, you brute of a pony you! What kind of establishment do you think you're running here, drugging ponies and driving their ears to bleed!?" Vinyl narrowed her eyes at this and shouted back, making Octavia's head throb even worse

"Hey, I made sure you weren't RAPED, and Shake here helped me bring your fat flank into our sound-proof guest room upstairs so you wouldn't have to listen to our, ugh, 'garbage'!" Octavia scoffed and slowly stood up, her legs a big shaky but it was enough to keep her stable. She looked at Vinyl with immense fury in her eyes, making the white mare cringe for a moment. She shouted loudly, making Shake cringe

"I shouldn't have even come here in the first place!!! It's smelly, it's dark, it's disgusting! Nothing but hooligans and ruffians and downright trash dancing about like sex-addicted maniacs trying to get somewhere in a dead-end life! They SHOULD be studying or pursuing a hobby, for Celestia's sake maybe even a CAREER! Do your parents even know where you are at this hour?! They ought to be ashamed of you for depriving ponies of their hearing and forcing them to listen to this senseless pile of horse manure!" Shake hung his mouth open in shock, his eyes flicking over to Vinyl to see her reaction. She kept a moderately blank face, blinking for a few moments before she turned to Shake and said, quite calmly

"Get on the mic, tell everypony there's been an emergency and we need to close early. Have Macintosh rout out the ones who're going to be difficult." Shake frowned and stuttered, raising a hoof

"B...but Vinyl, shouldn't we-"

"NOW!!!!!!!!!!" She shouted, making the stallion fly from the room so fast you'd think a Manticore was after him. Octavia took a step back, actually blinking in surprise from how harsh Vinyl was on Shake. She felt her breath catch as Vinyl turned her head back around, her red eyes gleaming and her body partially shaking "Follow me" she spat, turning and heading out of the room. Octavia followed cautiously, stepping out of the room and wincing as she heard, once again, the thudding bass of the club's music. It was cut off suddenly as she heard Shake explain the situation on the microphone. A collective groan from the audience made Octavia wince even worse then the bass did. She muttered towards Vinyl

"You didn't have to make them all leave you know..." Vinyl didn't say anything, simply trotting down a staircase towards an iron door with a few deadbolts and a red 'Exit' sign hanging from above. She undid the deadbolts and pushed the door open, exposing a back alley-street and the lingering smell of rotten food. Octavia grimaced and looked towards Vinyl, who stared back with equal disgust and muttered

"Get out..." Octavia huffed and muttered

"Fine..." before trotting outside and turning her head "You know...you don't have to be so-" The sound of the iron door slamming shut with a thunder 'BANG!' made her ears ring as she finished "-rude...." She rolled her eyes and trotted towards the entrance to the alley, hoping to get out of the general area before she had to run into the street trash Vinyl was kicking out of the club. The faster she got back to the Inn, the better. That shower was calling to her louder then she could stand.

~~~

The next morning saw little activity, with store owners opening up their shops and stalls, and the local fillies and foals heading for school. Applejack yawned as she trudged down the dirt path, a weary Bon Bon beside her.

"Ugh...sometimes ah wonder why Granny Smith makes me wake up this durn early in the morn', honestly. 'Early ta bed, early ta rise, makes an Apple Mare healthy n' strong to buck all day long!'. That's why she says but ah don't believe a word of it!" Bon Bon nodded and sighed

"True, I wish I could set my own store hours by Lyra won't have any of it. Times are already hard and we're hard pressed to keep bits in the pouch and food on the table. How's the Apple sales doing?" Applejack sighed and shook her head

"Not so good...the winter months are approaching and most ponies wanna stay inside n' stay warm. All the food they need they've gone and already stocked." Bon Bon nodded and looked down the road, smiling a little as she said

"Well there's some hope for you Applejack, look! You've got your first customer of the day!" Applejack looked over, raising an eyebrow as she looked towards her Apple Cart which was situated near Bon Bon's shop. Octavia was sitting in front of the stall, glancing down at her hoof watch every few seconds and holding her stomach tightly. Applejack smiled and shouted

"Well howdy Octavia! What brings you to mah stall this early in the morn'?" Octavia looked over and smiled, sighing in relief

"Oh thank goodness Applejack...I was told by a passing colt you'd be by soon and I was getting rather hungry..." Applejack nodded but sort of frowned, muttering

"Well truth be told I was just gonna say 'To hay!' with the sales today and maybe go help Bon Bon around her store...if that's alright with you Bon...?" Bon Bon nodded and smiled, waving a hoof over to her store and beckoning them to follow

"Of course!" Bon Bon said with a smile "I'll get you two a fresh round of coffee and some Daisy sandwiches, on the house!" Octavia frowned as she held up a hoof and said with worry

"Oh Bon Bon you really don't have to do that! I couldn't impose!" Bon Bon shook her head, smiling and trotting up behind Octavia, pushing her gently towards the shop and saying

"Nonsense, it's the least I can do for a friend of Applejack's! Come, let's get you warmed up!" The three of them went into Bon Bon's shop, the cream colored pony flipping her 'Closed' sign so that is said 'Open'. Octavia took a seat at a small circular table as Applejack sat across form her, Bon Bon heading into the back kitchen to brew up the coffee and treats. Octavia held her head for a moment and winced, sighing as Applejack looked over at her with concern and asked

"You alright Sugarcube? You done looked like a horse kicked ya in the head." Octavia nodded and smiled at Applejack, muttering back to her

"Oh yes...just a late night, one I will NOT be repeating!" Applejack nodded and smiled as Bon Bon brought over a coffee pot, three mugs, and three donuts on a circular tray that rested on her back. She gently slid it onto the table and took a seat, smiling as she poured them each a mug, Octavia sighing "Thank you so much for this Bon Bon, it's really generous of you!" Bon Bon smiled and set the pot down, taking a bite of her donut and saying through stuffed cheeks

"Oh, it's nothing really, everypony deserves a roof over their head and warm food!" Octavia smiled but suddenly turned her head towards the door, hearing the entrance bell ring overhead. A teal-green, unicorn mare walked in, her cutie-mark of a lyre making Octavia gasp and shout

"Lyra?!" The unicorn, Lyra, looked over and gasped as well, whispering

"O...Octavia!? What are you doing here?!" Octavia blinked in surprise and said

"What are YOU doing here!?" Bon Bon looked between them both in surprise, muttering

"You two...know each other?" Lyra nodded and smiled, heading over and giving Octavia a big hug which she returned with a smile on her face, the unicorn exclaiming

"Of course I do sweetie! This is Octavia Sharpe, she's one of the pony's in the Orchestra, you know, the Cello player?" Bon Bon thought for a moment and suddenly gasped, squealing with excitement as she took Octavia's hoof in her own

"Oh my goodness! I should have recognized you before! Lyra's told me so much about you and the others in the Orchestra! Your solo in 'Beauty On Ocean Skies' had me in tears!" Octavia blushed as Lyra gave her a tiny pat on her back, whispering

"See? I told you that you had fans! How you been Octavia, you going to rehearsal today?" Octavia frowned and shook her head sadly, whimpering

"N...no...the conductor wanted me to take a weeks paid vacation...so..." Lyra frowned at this and sighed

"Well...a week's not too long, I can maybe sneak you some of the sheet music so that you'll be at least a little prepared and caught up when you come back." Octavia smiled and gave Lyra a small hug, whispering

"Oh thank you Lyra...that would mean so much to me." Applejack smiled at their embrace and turned to Bon Bon

"Hey Bon, do ya'll have any cider? Coffee's good n' all but ah like to start mah mornin's with a bit o' kick, if ya'll know what ah mean!" Bon Bon smiled and was about to stand when Lyra said

"Speaking of cider...you know Vinyl's Cage Coral?" Octavia's breath caught at the mention of the club and she nervously took a bite out of her donut. Bon Bon nodded and whispered

"Of course...oh don't tell me Vinyl's had another theft of cider! That poor mare...it'll be the fifth time this month..." Lyra shook her head and said

"No...not theft...something worse." Octavia looked up, generally interested as Bon Bon waited for Lyra to go on. Lyra looked a bit nervous as she leaned over the table, waving a hoof for them to do the same. The other three mares leaned in as Lyra whispered "They closed down for awhile, and neither Vinyl nor Shake wouldn't say why...but I talked to Macintosh as he was getting off security duty...and I think I know why they're taking a short leave..." She paused for dramatic effect, the three mare's holding their breath, waiting for her to speak. Lyra sighed and muttered "Someone brought up Vinyl's parents..." Bon Bon gasped and Applejack leaned back slowly in her seat, an angry expression on her face as she hissed

"Who in their right minds would do a hateful thing like that to the poor mare...what happened?!" Lyra sighed, not noticing the horrified look on Octavia's face as she went on

"I don't know...from what I got out of Shake later on in the day, some mare got drugged or something and when she woke up, started dumping all sorts of hateful words on Vinyl...told her that her parents ought to be ashamed of her for her music and things like that." Bon Bon was in tears as Applejack's mouth hung open in shock. Octavia cleared her throat and whispered, her voice cracking a little as she squeaked

"Um...Lyra...what's wrong with Vinyl's parents? You know I live out in Hoofington so...I don't really hear much about what happens here in Ponyville..." Lyra nodded in understanding and said with a sad tone in her voice, sitting next to Applejack and muttering

"Well...it happened when Vinyl was just a little filly...and it was around Hearth's Warming Eve...Vinyl was just starting to get into the whole music thing because her parents were DJ's as well. They ran this radio station down town, and for awhile it was a big hit. Vinyl told me about them once...how her father had always told her the one thing that could make her smile...

~*~

"Vinyl?" A white colt whispered, smiling as a tiny Vinyl poked her head out of a cardboard box that held a tiny record player, her gift for Hearth's Warming.

"Yes Daddy?" She squeaked, jumping out of the box and running up to her father. He smiled and scooped her up in his arms, whispering as he gently tickled her tummy with a hoof

"Always remember...no matter what, that there's various forms of art in the world...there's the art of magic, the art of fashion...but also the art of music. Music is the one thing that pony's can smile, and cry at. They can dance, and sing along to lyrics and notes that tell a tale of adventure or sadness. It's our art Vinyl, and I want you to remember that no matter what anypony says...there's nothing wrong with pursuing it...ok?" Vinyl nodded and giggled as her father gave her a small peck on her cheek, setting her down and letting her run around their living room, excited about the sledding her and her parents would be doing later on.

~*~

"There was a late-show they needed her parents to do, the mother needed to set up a good track loop for the radio and the father needed to send out a broadcast making sure everypony knew about the blizzard that was supposed to come down in a few days. Well...on their way out, the heavy winds tore out the support cables and sent the whole radio tower over...you can guess what happened then..." Lyra sighed, shaking her head as Octavia felt tears build up in her eyes. She whispered, her heart throbbing in pain

"She's...an orphan?" Lyra nodded sadly, whispering back

"Yeah...and with the blizzard coming in...noone could get in to tell Vinyl what had happened...she was stuck in the house, trapped in by snow, for three whole days....wondering why her parents hadn't come home, wondering when she was going to be able to eat...and why they hadn't gone sledding yet." The sound of the door crashing open made Bon Bon, Applejack, and Lyra jump, the three of them snapping their heads over towards the sudden sound. Octavia had run from the building faster then anypony could have ever thought possible. Tears were streaming down her face as she tore down the street, her heart aching with guilt as she felt regret rack her body violently.

She realized now why Vinyl had acted the way she did...how she was so cruel to her even though she had potentially saved her from being attacked and taken advantage of. She had to find the DJ soon, before it got any colder and the snow started to fall.

She had to find the DJ,

The Techno Pony,

The Orphan,

...The mare they called Vinyl Scratch.

Chapter Five - Ruby and Amethyst Tears

Octavia had already rushed across the street towards the club, seeing the closed sign and letting out a small whimper. A short moment later, Applejack's voice called out to her from Bon Bon's shop "What in tarnation has gotten into ya Octavia?" Lyra and Bon Bon joined Applejack at the door and shared equally concerned faces, the gray mare dropping down on her haunches and crying

"O..oh I'm horrible!!! I couldn't...I didn't k..know! Oh Celestia forgive me!!!" Lyra galloped over to her and put a hoof on her shoulder, whispering

"Octavia what's wrong? What happened?!" The other two mares joined them as Octavia sniffed loudly

"I...I'm sorry! I didn't know about Vinyl's parents...I...I didn't mean to upset her and I-" Applejack gasped as Lyra's jaw dropped, Bon Bon whispering loudly

"The mare...that was you!?" Octavia broke out into heavy sobs, burying her face in her hooves and half-screaming

"I'm sorry!!! I'm so sorry! I didn't know I swear!!! I didn't knoooow!!!!" She buried her face in Lyra's coat and wailed, the teal-green mare holding her gently and stroking her mane, whispering

"Shhh...Octavia it's ok...you didn't know...it's alright..." Octavia shouted in Lyra's chest, her sobbing wails muffled

"How can it be ok!? Vinyl's an orphan and the way I just...shouted at her like that about her parents! Oh I'm just plain awful!!!" Bon Bon sighed and hugged Ocatvia from behind, Applejack coming up as well and joining in on the group hug. The three of them gently held the weeping mare until she quieted, a few loud sniffles coming from the guilt-ridden mare. Lyra whispered quietly to her

"Octavia, you couldn't have known...but you do need to find Vinyl and apologize to her...ok?" Octavia nodded, wiping her eyes with her hoof and sniffling

"I know...d...do you know where she might be? Like an apartment or a house she stays at?" At this Applejack spoke up

"Ah think ah do, Macintosh mentioned it once when he came home from guard duty, says had to escort her home cause some loony colt was hittin' on her too much. Ah could go and ask him right quick if ya like." Octavia nodded and smiled, leaving Applejack to tip her hat back and nod, galloping back in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

~~~

"You're sure this is the place Big Macintosh?" Octavia whispered, her eyes going over the shambling apartment building that was situated in Ponyville's downtown area. Macintosh nodded and let out his signature

"Eeyup!" Looking up with a bored expression towards the third floor "Be careful with the land lord now...he's a mighty bit stubborn...sure ya'll will be alright?" Octavia nodded and gave him a small pat on his shoulder and said

"I think I'll be alright, thank you Macintosh" The red stallion turned, and with another

"Eeyup..." he walked away down the street.

Octavia took in a gulp of air and stared at the ruined building once again, a shingle falling off the roof and sailing down past the dirty, blackened windows of the building. She trotted forward towards the front door and pushed it open gently, nearly retching at the foul smell that reached her nose. The front lobby looked like somepony had started a bar fight and that there were casualties. The chairs that were situated in the lobby were all torn and chewed up, smelling like pets and piss. The T.V. in a high corner of the room was smashed in, and the magazines that littered one of the coffee tables looked like it might be Play-Colt Editions. Grimacing, Octavia carefully trotted up to the front counter and rang the small bell situated in the center. Almost immediately an old colt jumped up from behind the counter, a shotgun in his hooves and his eyes insane with anger. He shouted as Octavia screamed in fright

"WHAT DO YOU WANT!?" Octavia threw her hands up like she was being arrested and squealed

"I'm looking for a mare named Vinyl Scratch I don't want any trouble please don't shoot me oh my gosh oh my gosh OH MY GOSH!" The colt blinked for a second and cocked his head in confusion, muttering

"You're not robbing me?" Octavia shook her head so fast she could have sworn her neck had popped and the colt sighed

"Sorry...friggin' hooligans lately, thinking they can rough me up just cause ah'm old..." Octavia slowly lowered her hooves and put one hoof over her heart, her chest still beating rapidly from her adrenaline rush. The colt dropped the shotgun behind the counter and sighed, muttering "Who're ya'll lookin' for again?" Octavia took in a few deep breaths, calming herself down as she stuttered

"V...Vinyl Scratch...I heard she l..lives here" The colt blinked for a moment and suddenly grew furious, his eyes narrowing and his voice raising a few decibils as he shouted

"That no-good sumbitch! You know that sleazy punk!? She's up in room 3-D, and when you see her, tell her she better pay the buckin' rent she owes in three days or ah'm kickin' her stupid flank outta here!" Octavia was about to shout back in protest at how rude he was being but saw his hooves reaching again for the shotgun. She quickly let out a frightened yelp and galloped up the stairs nearby, rushing up to the second floor. Halfway up to the third floor she stopped and sat on one of the steps, taking in a deep breath and collecting her thoughts.

She knew where Vinyl lived, so that was out of the way. The next part would be what exactly she was going to say to Vinyl once she found her. Knowing her, she probably wasn't going to be in the best of moods, and that Octavia was probably the last pony she wanted to see right now. She thought over a dozen scenarios in her mind, each a bit more tragic then the last. Her self-confidence diminished the more she thought about it until the point where she entertained the idea of just leaving. She shook her head though, deciding that running away from her problems wasn't going to help solve them anytime soon. Getting up, she trotted up the last set of stairs and onto the third floor. The walls were faded and the wallpaper peeling, giving off a sense of dread and foreboding as Octavia trotted down the hall towards the door labeled '3-D'. She took a deep breath and whispered to herself before knocking lightly

"Here we go..."

At first there was no sound from the other side of the door, and for a moment Octavia thought that perhaps Vinyl wasn't even home. It wasn't until the loud crashing sound on the other side of the door that Octavia quickly threw that idea out the window. About a minute later, the sounds of several deadbolts sliding and clicking open were heard, and when the door finally opened, Octavia nearly burst into tears. Vinyl Scratch looked like she had seen better days, her mane a ruffled mess and heavy bags under her eyes. Her eyes themselves were puffy and swollen, bloodshot even with multiple tear stains lining her face and cheeks. Her red eyes took only a short glimpse of Octavia before she started to shut the door. Octavia moved quickly however, shoving a hoof into the crack of the door and shouting "Wait! Please Vinyl, hear me out! I promise I'll go away once I've said what I needed to!"

Vinyl opened the door back up and scoffed, sniffing as she spoke with a hoarse, accusing voice

"What, here to spout some more bullshit about my parents? Turns out they weren't wondering where I was, you have to be ALIVE to do that...asshole." Octavia winced at the harsh statement and whispered

"Vinyl I...I didn't know...believe me when I say I would NEVER have said that if I knew...I didn't want to hurt you at all that night. I was upset...I had been drugged and I wasn't thinking very clearly...I didn't really give you a chance and I was only really thinking of myself and not others..." Vinyl blinked at this and held the door open a little more, listening to Octavia's words. Noticing this, confidence crept back into Octavia's mind and she held out a comforting hoof, placing it gently on Vinyl's shoulder and whispering "I just...I wanted to say I'm sorry.....I never wanted to hurt you like that...nopony deserves to hear what I said to you...and to be honest I'm awfully ashamed of myself because of it...it's actually a bit ironic because-" she was cut off by Vinyl's scoffing and her hoarse voice croaking out

"Really? You're just going to spout some horseshit and play the 'Oh I didn't know I'm innocent' card, expecting me to just accept your apology outright? The world doesn't work like that Octavia, you should know better. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just throw this door in your face right now!" Octavia bowed her head and sniffed, feeling tears in her eyes as she tried her best not to cry, her voice cracking as she spoke

"B...because I know how it feels..." Vinyl laughed at this, looking her up and down and shouting, tears forming in her eyes

"How the hay would you know how I feel...you don't know sh-" Octavia looked up, tears streaming down her face as she screamed

"I'm an orphan too, ok!? Does that make you feel better?! My parents died six years ago from a disease, does that make you happy, knowing you're not the only one who's suffered in the world?! I felt so awful after I said those words to you, even before I knew what happened to your parents! It was vile and wrong of me and I wish I could take it back but I can't! So here I am, crying on your stupid, dirty front porch, pouring my heart out to you in hopes you'll forgive me, ok!?" Vinyl blinked in utter surprise as she stared at Octavia, tears flowing from her amethyst colored eyes. She quietly stepped aside and opened the door, beckoning her in

"Come on in..." Octavia sniffed and nodded, walking inside, Vinyl shutting the door behind her. Octavia couldn't help but grimace, not out of disgust but out of sympathy. Vinyl's apartment looked like someone had dropped a nuke inside of it. Clothes and plates were strewn about everywhere, the sink overloaded with dishes and electrical wires and cords strung up everywhere. At least four different computers were powered on and had what looked like some kind of audio-mixing software running and downloading music. "If you tell me my apartment looks nice, I'll kick you in the throat" Vinyl mumbled, stopping Octavia as she took in a breath to say 'Well this is...nice'. Vinyl lit up her horn with magic and cleared off her couch, dumping the massive pile of clothes and dishes into the kitchen with a loud crash. Octavia took the hint and carefully stepped around all the wires, sitting on the couch and watching Vinyl. The DJ moved over towards one of the computers, muttering to Octavia as she did "Disease huh...? What kind?" Octavia stared towards the ground as she whispered, a pained tone in her voice

"H...Horn Rot and Mare...Marekemia..." Vinyl Scratch stopped, turning her head towards Octavia and whispering

"I'm so sorry..." Octavia bowed her head and sniffed, mouthing the words 'Thank you'. Vinyl moved towards her computer and lit up her horn again, the keys on the keyboard pressing down rapidly. After a moment Vinyl turned and headed over towards the couch, sitting down on it and sighing. She put a hoof to her head and looked over towards Octavia, muttering "Well shit...sorry about your parents...guess we're in the same boat huh...?" Octavia nodded and sniffed, a fresh set of tears sparkling in her eyes as Vinyl went on "This is really not something I can just forgive you for...it's going to take a bit more then that..." Octavia looked over with a questioning look on her face. Vinyl let out a small yawn and said

"I want you to come to the club later on today. You think the music's garbage? I'll show you it isn't." Octavia shifted uncomfortably on the couch as she muttered

"That sort of music doesn't...it doesn't really appeal to me Vinyl" At this, the DJ sighed and softly face-hoofed, saying with a partially impatient voice

"Let me finish. The club's not gonna open for another few days, and we've got our own recording studio in the back. You play cello right?" Octavia nodded, and was about to ask how she knew that, but was cut off yet again by the DJ "Well bring your cello...I'm going to show you the music I run and play isn't as bad as you think it is, alright?" Octavia frowned and gave a tiny whine, whimpering

"I...I don't know Vinyl..." Vinyl put a hoof on Octavia's shoulder and gave her a small smile, whispering

"Relax...it's just music. Open your mind and forget about the music you heard a few nights ago. That's just the common tracks we run, you didn't even get to hear the GOOD stuff yet! Come on Octavia..." Octavia thought about it for a moment, but still looked a bit apprehensive about the whole thing. Vinyl gently tilted her head up via her chin and whispered "Come on...I already heard from Shake that you're only here for a week, so why not at least try something new while you're out and about? Just...take a Leap of Faith for me, ok? I promise...you won't be dissapointed." She didn't know what it was, but Octavia felt her body tingle with excitement as Vinyl stared into her Amethyst eyes with her Ruby ones. She felt like she could trust Vinyl, even though she barely knew the mare. Vinyl smiled as Octavia did, letting out a soft

"Ok..." The DJ pulled the gray mare into her hooves, giving her a friendly hug and whispering

"Alright then...I forgive you. Now come on, let's get to the club."

Chapter Six - Octavia's Triumph

Octavia sighed "Vinyl I'm just not sure about this...if my boss catches me with my cello I'll be done for!" They were walking down the street towards the club, the chilly air making them both shiver slightly.

Vinyl rolled her eyes and turned her head back towards Octavia, laughing as she said "You ever think that maybe you're overreacting Tavi'? Come on, why don't you live a little?" Octavia rolled her eyes and they moved up the street. As they approached the staircase to the club, Bon Bon looked up from her place on the porch, halting her sweeping for a moment to smile at the two walking together.

She called out, "Hey! It looks like everything went over smoothly after all!"

Octavia nodded, blushing a little as she shouted back, "Now all I have to do is introduce her to my good friend Mr. Vacuum!!!" Vinyl stopped for a moment, a confused expression on her face as she heard that name.

Turning her head towards Octavia, she muttered "You know a guy named Mr. Vacuum?" At this Octavia gave Vinyl a sly smile and giggled, making the white mare suddenly piece two and two together. She rolled her eyes and sighed "Ha ha...very funny..."

They descended the staircase after a quick goodbye wave to Bon Bon, Vinyl pointing her horn towards the door and lighting it up with her magic. Octavia blinked in wonder as she heard at least a hundred clicks ticking away inside the door before eventually swinging open with a loud groan.

She whispered "Vinyl...why do you have so many locks in the door? Don't you think that's a bit....um....overkill?" Vinyl simply laughed, shaking her head as she ushered Octavia inside and shut the door after her. Octavia blinked in surprise at the look of the club, unused and lit up so that she could see perfectly. The walls were all painted black, but the floor was still hard wood. Speakers and wires were strung up in massive metal labyrinth of bars and cages on the ceiling, running along the walls and down to speakers near the ground.

Vinyl whispered to her as she nudged her along towards the back "Surround sound, that way no matter what you hear, it'll be like what I hear through headphones. Music's a funny thing like that, you never EVER want to miss a beat!" Octavia sort of nodded at this, but still her own grasp on the matter. Vinyl led her to an iron door even bigger then the last one, the only difference is this one had no locks. Swinging it open slowly with her magic Octavia took a gentle step inside and gasped so loudly it made her ears hurt. Her gasp echoed off the walls of the gigantic, circular shaped room that held a lone, circular stage in the middle. Vinyl hissed as she stepped inside "Easy! This room's specially modified for acoustics and sound vibration...you have to be careful or you could seriously hurt your ears!"

Octavia shot a glance towards Vinyl and whispered angrily "Well sorry! Maybe a little warning next time?!" Vinyl simply rolled her eyes as she closed the door behind them, turning and pointing over to the small stage in the center.

She whispered quietly "Go set up over there, tune, get ready, do whatever you have to, and don't be alarmed if your cello sounds a lot louder then it should. This room's weird, keep that in mind." Octavia nodded and started to head over to the stage, her cello case bouncing on her back.

She stopped however, turning and whispering loudly "Wait...I thought you were supposed to show me your music, not the other way around!" Vinyl giggled and flicked down her purple shades, waving her away with her hoof.

She pushed her way into some sort of glass booth containing all manners of large and massive electronic equipment and said "Don't worry about it, trust me alright?"

Octavia sighed and shook her head, heading over towards the stage and hopping up onto it. The thud of her hooves hitting the stage echoed around the room, creeping her out slightly as she shifted the cello case off her back. She unbuckled the clasps of her case and as she opened it, smiled widely. Her eyes fell upon her true love, her glistening cello of purest oak, the instrument that brought her to tears, and brought her spirits up from the darkest of places, inspiring her to works and wonders she never thought were possible. She picked up the long, slender bow and ran a gentle hoof over the darkened wood.

She smiled, whispering to her instrument "Good morning old friend...shall we work wonders yet again my darling?" She placed a gentle hoof under the neck of the Cello and hoisted it up into its upright position. She nudged the case out of her way and stood herself up right on her rear hooves, getting a good balance and twirling the bow in her other hoof for a moment, practicing her grip and balancing for her hoof. She heard a snicker from nearby and looked over towards the recording booth, frowning as Vinyl tried not burst out laughing at Octavia's stance. Rolling her eyes she set her bow along the strings of the cello and slid it across gently, bringing a flat, basic tune into the air. She was still shocked, despite Vinyl's warnings, about the volume of her cello without orchestral accompaniment. She reached up, turning one of the knobs at the top of the cello with a soft hoof, dragging her bow across the strings again and bringing a new sound to the room. She did this for at least four minutes, and even went as far as to play a small fragment of a piece she performed at a rehearsal a few weeks ago.

Octavia looked over to the booth, satisfied and giving Vinyl a curt nod. Seeing this, Vinyl closed a small pamphlet on her desk and picked it up in her mouth, heading out of the booth and trotting over towards the stage. Looking over to her right, she levitated a large, metal pedestal towards her and set it on the stage, dropping the pamphlet on top of it. Octavia blinked in confusion as she read the top of the small booklet, reading the words 's Triumph. Just as she was about to open her mouth, the pamphlet flapped open from Vinyl's magic and displayed sheet music that Octavia instantly focused her eyes on and began reading it rapidly. She immediately frowned and whispered to Vinyl "Um...Vinyl...these notes...the rhythm and just their placement...its'..."

Vinyl put a gentle hoof to her mouth and whispered "I know, trust me. This is what you do, ok? Each line is a segment, and it stops at a double bar line, which means 'stop', right?" Octavia nodded and she went on "Alright then, when I tell you to, play a line to its double bar line and stop, and wait until I tell you to start the next line, got it?" Octavia had a nervous look on her face but nodded all the same, making Vinyl smile and whisper "Great!" before trotting back to the booth. Octavia looked down at the sheet music again, going over the first line in her head and stroking the bow through the air, away from the strings and moving her hoof up and down the neck. She played it over in practice a few more times and looked up towards Vinyl, giving her a wave with her bow hoof. Vinyl ran about the booth, flicking on switches, turning dials, and pushing small tabs up and down a large panel of buttons that took up half the booth. She slipped her headphones on and turned a dial delicately on the side, tapping it and nodding. She looked towards Octavia and held a hoof up in the air, signaling her to get ready. Octavia readied herself, getting a comfortable position and setting her bow and neck hooves in their appropriate places.

Double checking her equipment with an affirmative nod, Vinyl lowered her hoof sharply and pointed it at Octavia, signaling her to start. Immediately she flicked her eyes down and began playing the first line. A short melody of rising and lowering volume and intensity, nothing too hard. She stopped at the double bar line and looked up, watching as Vinyl bobbed her head slightly and smiled, holding her hoof up and dropping it again. Octavia set onto the next set of lines...and the next...and the next. The process repeating over and over again, Octavia content that she was getting cello practice in and Vinyl...getting something out of this. Octavia was still pondering as to what Vinyl was doing, and why she was making her do this, and as she hit the final double bar line, Vinyl looked ecstatic. Vinyl poked her out of the booth and whispered loudly enough for the sound to carry over to Octavia "Give me a second!" Octavia nodded and sighed, gently placing her Cello on the folding stand she kept in her case and resting her bow against it. She dropped to her hooves and groaned, sitting back on her haunches and rubbing her rear hooves. No matter how many times she assumed this stance, it still hurt her back hooves if she stayed that way for too long.

After several long minutes, Vinyl came out of the booth, a gigantic smile on her face and levitating what looked like a T.V. remote. She hopped up on stage and sat behind Octavia, pushing her back against hers and whispering "You ready?"

Octavia turned her head and whispered nervously "For what?" Vinyl brought her shades up and set them on top of her head, dropping the remote next to Octavia's hoof.

She whispered, "For your Triumph!" putting her hooves behind her head and relaxing, getting comfortable against Octavia. Octavia nervously looked down towards the remote, knowing she needed to press the big 'PLAY' button. She gingerly lifted her hoof and pressed it, a low hum echoing out from the speakers lined up around the room. At first, silence wafted through the room, but a few seconds later, Octavia's cello blasted through the speakers.

Octavia sat in stunned silence as she listened, heard her cello music overlapping itself and forming an intense, dramatic piece of desperation and splendor. The piece continued on, Vinyl bobbing her head to the subtle beats of the music and smiling as she felt Octavia shiver against her. In truth, Octavia felt tears building up in her eyes as she heard self play, as if she were three or four mares and not one. When the music finally ended, she was about ready to bawl her eyes out.

She turned and whispered with a cracking voice "T...that's m..me?" Vinyl got up and repositioned herself to sit next to Octavia, draping her arm over her shoulder and nodding.

She smiled and whispered "You never listen to yourself play?" Octavia shook her head, sniffing as Vinyl gave her a comforting pat on her back and said "Beautiful, isn't it? What things you're capable of that you didn't were possible. It's called Audio Editing. I can take music and overlap it, change it, warp it, give it an entirely different tune. Artists can go as far as the finishing of the painting Octavia, but I....I can change the paint even when it's dried." Octavia couldn't hold it any longer, hearing Vinyl's beautiful words about music and letting out a choked sob, crying and dipping her head. Vinyl pulled her into a hug and gently rocked her back and forth. When the waterworks were done, Vinyl held Octavia back and whispered "Hey, I got a meeting soon with Shake, but if you want, you can come by sometime after lunch. I got something else I want to show you, alright?" Octavia sniffed and nodded, getting up and packing up her cello. Once she slid the large case on her back, the two of them headed towards the entrance of the club. Opening the door for her, Vinyl gave her a soft pat on the back and watched her go. Just before Octavia made it to the top of the stairs, she heard Vinyl shout up to her "Hey! Wait! You forgot this!" Octavia blinked in confusion as she saw the pamphlet float up to her, the door closing right after it slipped through. She held up a hoof and stared down at it, blinking in confusion before she gasped loudly.

Tears once again filled Octavia's eyes as she saw that Vinyl had written in a word at the top of the sheet, completing the title that now read

Octavia's Triumph

Chapter Seven - A Musical Leap of Faith

Octavia sighed happily, sipping her tea and enjoying the light breeze that gently blew through the town. She was sitting outside the local eatery in the north side of town, enjoying a daisy sandwich and going over in her mind the events that took place at the club earlier. She had to admit, her opinion of Vinyl had greatly changed since she had given her Octavia's Triumph, the piece she could still hear in her head. She hadn't pegged Vinyl for a mare of taste, but then again she hadn't really given herself a chance to get to know her either. She took a bite out of her daisy sandwich, gently patting her lips with a napkin as she closed her eyes, savoring the sweet taste each munching of her teeth delivered to her.

"HEY TAVI'!!!" A voice shouted out loudly behind her, making Octavia gasp and suck back a large portion of her sandwich back into her throat. She gacked loudly, punching herself in the stomach and taking in heavy gulps of water from her glass nearby, trying to prevent herself from choking. A hoof patted her on the back as her throat cleared and a heaving breath of air was sucked in and out of her lungs. "Whoa..." the voice said, "Easy there, you alright?" Octavia's head snapped towards the voice and her jaw dropped, her eyes widening and an angry glare settling on her face.

She shouted loudly, making several ponies nearby turn their heads "VINYL!!! Are you out of your crazy little mind?! You could have made me choke! Is that your idea of greeting someone you ruffian!?"

Vinyl Scratch smiled, her purple shades glowing in the light of the sun and her headphones draped around her neck. Smiling, she gave a small shrug and said "Well you're still alive aren't you? What's the big issue?" She yelped in surprise as Octavia splashed what was left of her glass of water right into her face, sputtering "Hey, watch it! These headphones weren't cheap you know!"

Octavia scoffed and shouted "Well they're worth less then my LIFE, thank you very much! I was just trying to enjoy my lunch, and the nice, wonderful afternoon. But no, I can't even be given that!!!" Vinyl rolled her eyes and levitated a napkin over, wiping off her face and grumbling, making sure her headphones hadn't suffered any water damage. Octavia hopped off her chair, shaking her head and leaving a tip of four bits on the table. As she started to leave however, another voice called out to her...a voice which made her heart stop and her eyes widen.

It said "Ah, Miss Sharpe...good to see you out and about. Your vacation is going well I suppose?" Octavia's head turned slowly as she spotted The Conductor sitting down at a table nearby, opening the small menu in front of him but still looking at her.

Octavia gulped, chuckling nervously and giving a small wave. She exclaimed as Vinyl looked over towards the Conductor "Mr. Conductor! How...how lovely it is to see you! What brings you to this side of Ponyville today?" The nervousness in Octavia's voice wasn't hidden from Vinyl, her eyes narrowing and shifting over towards the Conductor who replied "Oh, I'm just taking a casual stroll...preparing to enjoy a nice salad...wondering why your cello isn't in the Orchestral Storage down at the office...."

Octavia let out a small squeak and was about to mutter an excuse when she heard Vinyl whisper in her ear "Hey...just follow my lead, alright?" Octavia blinked in confusion but suddenly yelped in surprise as Vinyl gasped, an over-dramatic tinge in her voice as she shouted "Oh, OCTAVIA!!! I do believe you have left the stove on from earlier!!! Do be a dear and go turn that off before the house goes up in flames!!!" For a moment, Octavia was stunned into silence, her eyes wide and an amazed look etched onto her face.

It wasn't until Vinyl punched her in the flank that she yelped "Oh my! THE STOVE, of course!!! Do excuse me Mr. Conductor, but I mustn't delay!" She quickly galloped away, leaving Vinyl to smile and stare at the conductor's dumbfounded look.

She smiled and continued to speak with her over-dramatic tone "Oh no...I think she forgot to tell you something Mr. Conductor! It's too bad she left before she said anything!" The conductor raised an eyebrow and she went on "Well...you see, I have this establishment down town, just across from Bon Bon's sweet shop, and she was just so ANXIOUS to tell you about something she wanted you to see later on today! I do hope your schedule isn't so full that you wouldn't be able to adhere to her request!" The conductor narrowed his eyes for a moment, but the small twitch out of the corner of his mouth confirmed it for Vinyl.

"Ha!" she thought, "Hook, line, and sinker"

~~~

"Vinyl that was much too close for comfort! How can I even be here when the conductor is on this side of town!?" Octavia breathed, standing on the stage in the recording studio, her cello propped up against her shoulder and her eyes wide and fearful.

Vinyl scoffed, dropping another piece of sheet music on the music stand and muttering "Oh for Celestia's sake, you big sissy you. Can't you go thirty seconds without worrying about your silly career or what some fat-flank colt has to say about you? He doesn't own you Octy', so quit acting like his slave." Octavia grimaced at the way she spoke, shaking her head and shifting her weight as she stood on her rear hooves.

She muttered "He doesn't own me Vinyl...I work for him. I've spent a good part of my career at his establishment, and I don't need anything ruining that for me now, especially with the Grand Canterlotian Performance coming up at the end of the month!" Vinyl looked up at her, frowning and making Octavia whisper "What...it's true! I have to be ready for that performance Vinyl, it means the world to me!" Vinyl sighed and shook her head, gently face-hoofing and pulling her glasses off.

Her red eyes gleamed in the light of the studio as she said "Octavia...would you just listen to yourself for a moment? Music isn't something you just play to have judged, or play just for fancy, snobby ponies at their stuck-up parties. Music is life, it's freedom! Can't you see that it's not something you stress over, and that it's something you're supposed to enjoy without having to worry about your stupid career?" Octavia thought about it for a moment, frowning and staring at the ground as Vinyl glared at her.

The gray mare sighed and shook her head regardless, muttering "I'm sorry Vinyl...but it's just too important for me to-"

She was cut off as Vinyl scoffed loudly and walked slowly back to the booth, muttering "Whatever...just wait for me to signal you." Octavia frowned at this, sighing sadly and nodding towards the ground. She shifted her Cello into its upright position and waited, bow in hoof for Vinyl to give her the signal. Vinyl pushed her way into the booth, an annoyed look on her face. She suddenly stopped however, as she heard the sound of a door opening somewhere inside the club. Her frown was replaced by a wide smile, and she quickly made her way towards one of the electronic music-boards, holding a hoof up to signal Octavia.

Octavia waited, and once she saw Vinyl's hoof drop, she began to play the first lines of the sheet. The process was relatively the same: Play, stop, signal, play. It had all taken about maybe three quick minutes to do, and once she had finished the last line, she looked up to see Vinyl galloping quickly towards her with another sheet of music. She placed it over top of the other sheet and quickly muttered "Quick, place this the moment you see my hoof press the 'Play' button, ok?" Octavia nodded slowly as Vinyl levitated her T.V. remote over, placing it on the stage and putting a hoof over the button. With her peripheral vision, Octavia kept an eye on the sheet music and the remote as well, her hooves ready to begin. Vinyl nodded and pressed the button, signaling Octavia to begin playing the piece of music.

Immediately the song she heard of course consisted of her own cello's music melded together by Vinyl's editing, but now...it was Octavia herself who was playing the dramatic melody for the piece. She played flawlessly, her eyes closing as she got the grasp of how the notes were supposed to sound, her hooves moving across her cello elegantly, like a ballet-dancer moving about a stage. Vinyl, during this time, turned her head towards the entrance of the recording studio and smiled her widest smile, dipping her glasses down to show her eyes to the conductor, who had walked in with a stunned expression on his face.

Octavia finished with a happy sigh, muttering as she opened her eyes "Well...I have to say Vinyl that was actually pretty ref- OH SWEET CELESTIA!!!" Her voice had turned into a frightened squeal, her cry of panic echoing across the walls of the studio. The conductor glared at her, his head slowly shaking as Octavia stuttered, trying to find the words to explain the situation to him.

His voice was the first to be heard however, clear disappointment dripping in his words "Octavia Sharpe...I thought I told you no practicing, no playing! A week's vacation to yourself, that's what I said!"

Octavia gently set her Cello down, hopping off the stage and holding up a hoof in protest "C...conductor please let me explain, I-"

The Conductor cut her off, raising his voice and making the gray mare wince as Vinyl stepped out of the way of the two "I told you, very clearly, what would happen if I caught wind of you playing when you were supposed to be relaxing! I'm sorry Octavia...but I'm considering this you're resignation." Octavia's gasp echoed across the room as the conductor turned and started to leave.

Octavia's weak voice called out to him as he pushed his way out the door "W...wait! No! Please, you can't fire me!!! Mr. Conductor, wait!!!" She started to gallop after him, tears forming in her eyes as she made her way to the exit.

However, a firm voice shouting towards her back made her stop dead in her tracks "Tavi', STOP!"

Octavia's eyes were still focused on the door, but Vinyl's voice continued to echo through her ears "Don't you take another hoof-step...you hear me? I don't care what he says, I don't care what he thinks about your playing habits. What I just heard from you, out of your cello and your hooves, was magic. That was downright beautiful, and I don't care what some stupid conductor says about it. Just because he has his horn up his own rump and he can't see true music when it's right in front of his stupid face, doesn't mean you have to suffer for it! You want to know something Octy'? I'm the one who told that conductor punk to come here, to walk in on your playing."

Octavia turned her head sharply to Vinyl and whimpered, tears gently falling down her cheeks "Y...you told him?!"

Vinyl nodded and glared at her, muttering as she walked slowly over towards the gray mare "Yes, I did. Wanna know why? Because I'm tired of you taking your music for granted, and I'm sick of you treating your talent like it's some sort of lifeless sticker you slap on some bucking resume'! I asked you one thing last time you were in here, and what was that?!"

Octavia fell back on her haunches, sniffing and whimpering quietly "Y...you told me to take a l..leap of faith..."

Vinyl nodded, walking up and sitting on her haunches next to her and whispering "That's right...and I'm still asking you to take it. You've seen here that there's a lot more to music then just symphony's and orchestra's and performance's and all that other crap. You said you still want to go to that performance, right?" Octavia nodded and watched as Vinyl held out a hoof in front of them, whispering "Then take my hoof...take a leap. I promise...if you jump I'll jump with you. We can show that old punk what music really is about!"

Octavia sniffed, looking at her hoof for a long moment, going over the idea in her head and whimpering. Her life's work, gone. Her career, over. Even if she wanted to try and salvage what she could of her own life...it was pretty much gone now. She gently lifted a hoof towards Vinyl's, placing it gently in hers and smiling a little, sniffing and whispering "Ok...let's leap."

At this Vinyl smiled, getting up and bringing Octavia to her hooves and exclaiming "Yeah! Now we're talking!!! Come on, let's get you back up on stage!" Octavia smiled a little, heading back towards the stage with a new feeling rising in her heart. She felt...calm, at ease, but above all...she felt free. Free of stress, of the daunting concept of laborious rehearsals, and never-ending criticism for how her music sounded at times. She got up on stage and smiled as Vinyl levitated her cello into her hooves, hopping off the stage and heading towards a door on the other side of the booth. Confused, she watched as Vinyl opened the door and levitated a large, rectangular black case out of the room, bringing it over towards the stage. She gently placed it beside Octavia and hopped up on stage, popping open the clasps and opening the case. The gray mare gasped as Vinyl gently lifted an Maple-wood cello out of the case and levitated her T.V remote and a second music stand over.

Octavia stuttered as Vinyl reared back on her rear hooves and balanced herself against the instrument "Y...you play a cello too!?!? When were you going to tell me this?!" Vinyl simply smiled and whipped her head to the left, flinging her glasses off and letting them clatter away across the wooden floor.

She smiled and winked at her, her ruby eyes gleaming as she whispered "Just because I love electronic, dub-step, and techno, doesn't mean that's the only thing I can play!"

Octavia blinked in surprise but smiled none the less, asking "How...did you learn how to play?"

At this Vinyl rolled her eyes and muttered "Foster dad made me learn when I was younger...whatever though, I still prefer my music over...this."

Octavia raised an eyebrow and said "Oh this isn't that bad...and did you say Foster Dad? He seems like a pony of good tastes."

Vinyl scoffed and levitated two sheets of music out of the case and onto their music-stands, muttering "Yeah well...maybe I'll introduce you to him if you want...but not right now. I've been meaning to finish this piece for awhile, it's been kind of a side project that I keep putting off. I've already got a good portion of it pre-recorded with the sound editing...all I need now are two cello players." Octavia smiled as Vinyl winked at her, putting one of her rear hooves on the remote and gently tapping the button marked with a '>>' Symbol. "You ready?" she whispered, levitating a bow in her hoof and flipping open her sheet. Octavia nodded and got into position, smiling as Vinyl said "Alright, here we go!"

~~~

Shake yawned, gently pushing his way into the club's iron door and looking over towards his bar counter. Work wasn't supposed to start until way later in the evening, but he had to do inventory and make sure everything was ready to go for the night time, thus, his early arrival. He was about to head behind the counter when the sound of cello music reached his ears. He frowned, wondering if he was hearing things and blinked as a steady drum and cymbal beat suddenly followed the cello. He looked over towards the door to the recording studio and whispered "No way...no way in Celestia's Mane is that..."

Quickly trotting over, shake pushed open the door to the studio and stepped inside, the sight before him making his eyes widen massively and his jaw drop. Octavia and Vinyl Scratch were back to back, hooves swiftly moving across a cello of their own, filling the room with a sweet, harmonic melody. He fell back on his haunches as he listened, blown away by the sheer beauty of the song, the fluid, intense movements of a pair of gray and white hooves. Eyes shut in peace, the two of them pressed against one another, the sweet harmony of music flowing around them and enveloping them in a warm blanket of happiness and joy. Tears started to spill out of Octavia's eyes as they hit the crescendo, her heart throbbing with overwhelming joy as Vinyl met her notes perfectly and flowed through the song with her. When the piece was finally over, he clapped his front hooves together and shouted loudly "That...was...AWESOME! Holy hay Vinyl you never told me you played cello! Sweet Celestia that was freaking rad! Bravo!!! Bravo!!!!" Octavia blushed and turned her head to Vinyl, who looked back at her with a wide smile.

For the first time, in a long time, Octavia felt happy, relieved, and free. She couldn't care less about her broken career now, but instead, heard only the sweet melody and harmonic music that her and Vinyl had played. She stared into Vinyl's red eyes of gleaming rubies, lost in her mesmerizing gaze. It was her, a simple DJ, who had opened her eyes to a world she thought might never have existed. A mare who taught her the freedom and joy that music could really bring to her life, and proved that she could really be free. She took a leap of faith...and landed just perfectly next to the white mare...

...The mare they call Vinyl Scratch.

Chapter Eight - DJ-0CT4VIA

"You know...you never told me you played the cello Vinyl..."

"You never asked."

Octavia and Vinyl were sitting at the bar in the club, enjoying a light drink while Shake cleaned and re-cleaned his glasses for the upcoming evening. It had been about two hours since the two mares had performed in the recording studio, and since then, Octavia couldn't stop smiling at Vinyl. She was still amazed at the skill Vinyl possessed when playing the cello, remembering the sweet harmony the two of them had created. Vinyl waved a hoof at Shake and said "Hey, if it's not too much trouble...?" Shake smiled and levitated a glass over to one of his many faucets, turning it on and filling the glass up with a brownish, fizzy liquid.

He slid it over to her and said "There ya go, on the house...as always..." Vinyl rolled her eyes playfully and took a sip out of the glass, letting out a satisfied sigh and turning her head to look over towards the main stage where her turntables and gear rested.

Hopping off the chair, she trotted over towards the stage and shouted back "Hey Shake! Did you get the lettering uploaded? I need to see how it looks on the projector."

Shake nodded and shouted "Yep! Should be up by now, but you should check it just in-case!"

Octavia, raising an eyebrow, hopped off the stool and trotted over next to Vinyl, watching as she got up behind her turntable and said "Um...Vinyl? What's Shake talking about?"

Vinyl tilted her glasses down and smiled at the small screen on her table, looking towards Octavia and waving a hoof about as she said "Don't worry about it! You'll find out later tonight, now come on!" She hopped off the stage and towards the entrance to the club, Octavia hurrying after her.

Catching up, Octavia turned her head and muttered "Where are we going?" Vinyl trotted forward, opening up the door and giving a goodbye wave to Shake, who in turn gave her a friendly nod.

Vinyl closed the door after them and said as they walked up the stairs "Hey...you said you wanted to meet him, well now's our chance!" Octavia raised an eyebrow and together, they stepped out onto the streets of Ponyville. Just as they started to make their way down the street, however, a teal-green blur shot past Vinyl and made her jump back out of surprise.

Octavia let out a sudden squeak as a pair of hooves shook her shoulders and a voice shouted "Oh my gosh, Octavia!!! Don't tell me it's true, don't tell me the conductor fired you!!!" Octavia was momentarily stunned by the frantic, wide-eyed expression of Lyra, who looked as if she had seen a ghost.

Sighing, Octavia sadly nodded her head and muttered "Yes Lyra...he fired me. I won't be performing with the Orchestra this year...," .

Lyra gasped, stuttering "B..but, Octavia! You h..have to! That was your goal, the gate-way to your future career! What are you going to do now!?" Vinyl rolled her eyes as Octavia shrugged, a sad look in her eyes. Lyra gave her a comforting hug and whispered "Listen, Bon Bon and I have a few friends coming over later on, you should drop by and say hello when you've got a moment, ok?"

Octavia nodded and returned the hug, smiling as she said "Sure...I'll be there in a little while." They exchanged goodbyes and went on their separate ways, Vinyl shaking her head as they made there way down the street.

She looked behind them towards Lyra, who was still walking down the street and muttered "I find it kind of funny how you lose a cello player and everpony thinks the world's ending." Octavia merely rolled her eyes, the two of them heading towards the edge of town.

~~~

"Here?" Octavia whispered, looking towards the small, cream-colored house that rested at the very end of the street. Vinyl nodded and looked over the tiny dwelling, grimacing at the uncut front lawn that made it hard to see the bottom half of the house.

She sighed "Yep...this is where I grew up for most of my life." Octavia made a move to go forward but was stopped by Vinyl's hoof, making the gray mare turn with a look of confusion. Vinyl looked towards the ground for a moment and muttered "Be gentle on him...he's a very soft pony...tends to get sad easily, ok?" Octavia slowly nodded and together they walked towards the house, Vinyl lifting a hoof and knocking a few times on the front door. Several awkward moments passed, with Octavia gently pawing at the ground and Vinyl clearing her throat at least four times. Finally, the door slowly opened and a chocolate brown unicorn colt stuck his head outside, his eyes partially wide and vacant.

His voice sounded a bit hoarse and weak as he spoke "H...hello? Who's there?" Octavia frowned, wondering why he would even ask such a question if clearly there were two mares standing in front of him, one even being his foster daughter!

Vinyl's voice, soft and tender, reached out to the colt with a whisper "It's me Dad...Vinyl." The colt's staring eyes softened and he smiled, holding a hoof out and gently waving it in the air. Vinyl smiled and slowly walked into his embrace, hugging him and whispering "Everything ok Dad? Getting around all right?" The colt nodded, but suddenly shifted his eyes over near Octavia. He wasn't staring right at her, but...near her, as if he knew she was there but he couldn't focus directly on her.

He whispered "Vin-Vin...? Is there someone with you?". Octavia blinked, looking towards Vinyl who in turn frowned sadly and gently held a hoof out towards Octavia.

She smiled a little and said "Dad...this is Octavia, Octavia, this is Dad." The colt held out a hoof, a small smile on his face, eyes moving around and over Octavia. The gray mare gently lifted her own hoof and pressed it against his, shaking it gently and watching as the colt smiled a bit wider.

Octavia muttered "Um...good to meet you sir, I heard you were the source of Vinyls' wonderful skill with a cello."

The colt smiled even wider as his eyes centered on Octavia and he said with glee "Oh you heard about that huh? I'm Chocolate Sprinkles, Vinyl's foster dad. My, Miss Octavia...you have such soft hooves, do you get them done regularly?" Octavia blushed as Vinyl rolled her eyes, gently putting a hoof on Chocolate's back and giving him a gentle rub.

She started to move the group inside and with a huff said "Alright alright...enough of the complimenting, she's too young for you Dad."

Chocolate scoffed and said with a playful tone in his voice "Of course she is, she's your age Vinyl. Excellent form to, just right for playing the cello."

Octavia blushed again as she looked upon the interior of the house, smiling at how warm and inviting the decor was to her. It contained the usual furnishings: Couches, chairs, a fire place, dressers. All she noticed, were at least some shade of brown. They moved down the front hall, Octavia taking a moment to to look over a row of framed photographs that were sitting on a long dresser on the right. Most of them contained Vinyl, and looked as if they were in chronological order by her age. She smiled as she looked over a photo of Vinyl hanging upside down from a ceiling fan and a cream-colored mare trying to desperately get her down. She jumped as Chocolate whispered from beside her "You know, Vanilla never could figure out how she got up there...to be honest I don't know either" Octavia turned her head and watched as Chocolate gently put a hoof on the frame, running it down the edge and letting a small smile form on his lips. It was then that she got a good look at his eyes and found herself frowning. His eyes were a grayish color, like her coat but lighter. They kept moving, staring towards the photograph but never really centering on it. Just as she opened her mouth, Chocolate spoke "I know, Miss Octavia. I can feel you looking, and that's perfectly alright. It's ok that Vinyl didn't tell you, seeing as she probably didn't want you to form an opinion of me before actually meeting me."

Octavia frowned, whispering gently "Opinion...? Sir I'm a pony of manners...I would never...I couldn't even..."

Chocolate smiled and whispered gently "It's alright, I didn't expect you to. When I touched your hoof, I could tell you were different...you're very kind, a big softie even. You're sad though...maybe even more sad then you know."

Octavia blinked, watching as Chocolate turned and headed for the living room where Vinyl was sitting, admiring the Hearth's Warming Tree that rested in the corner. Octavia followed him and watched as he sat in a large, oak colored lounge chair, holding a hoof out and offering Octavia a spot on the couch next to Vinyl. She hopped up as Vinyl moved over for her and gave her a comforting smile.

Octavia smiled in return but turned her head as Chocolate said "Well, Miss Octavia, do tell me a bit about yourself. Vinyl's already told me a few things and I must say I'm very curious!"

Octavia frowned, turning her head to Vinyl and whispering "You did...?"

Vinyl blushed, making Chocolate laugh as he said "Oh yes indeed, I believe her choice words were, 'I met this really cute mare at the club...she's got a pretty mane...pretty face...pretty cutie-mark right next to her pretty cute fla-"

"Daaaad!" Vinyl whined, burying her face in her hooves as Chocolate laughed, Octavia blushing with the color of apples. "What?" Chocolate said, smiling as Vinyl let out a low groan "Can't I poke a little fun?" Vinyl sighed and shook her head, keeping her face in her hooves.

Octavia, clearing her throat and trying to let the awkward moment pass, spoke softly "Well...um, I used to be a part of an Orchestra, but I was...let go recently..."

Chocolate nodded and smiled, opening his mouth and saying with certainty "Ah yes, Octavia Cavallero Sharpe, professional cello player of the Equestrian Symphony of Orchestrated Canterlotian Harmonics. Well...at least you're still a cello player, am I right?" Octavia's mouth dropped in awe at how much Chocolate seemed to know, listening as he went on "I understand if it's creepy that I know that...sometimes Vinyl wonders how I know so much as well. The best way that I can explain is...you lose one sense, you get stronger in others!" Octavia frowned, cocking her head in confusion. Just as she was about to ask, he answered with a simple statement: "I'm blind."

Octavia's mouth opened slightly, her heart throbbing slightly as Chocolate shifted in his chair, trying to get comfortable. She frowned as he went on "Don't feel bad for me, Miss Sharpe...it's alright. I lost my eyesight shortly after my dear Vanilla...passed away. I was so distraught that I got careless one day when working down at the ice-cream parlor...one of the machines short circuited and when I tried to reset the breaker, I flipped the wrong switch and it exploded right in my face...the sparks and light pretty much fried my eyes so...here I am!"

Octavia sniffed, her bottom lip quivering as she asked quietly "If...if I may ask, Mr. Sprinkles...how did Vanilla...?"

Chocolate took a deep breath, frowning for a moment before whispering the word that tore at Octavia's heart: "Marekemia..."

Octavia gently slipped off the couch, walking over and pulling Chocolate into a tight hug, whispering "I am so...so sorry. My own Mother passed from Marekemia..." Chocolate smiled and gently returned the hug, a sniffling Vinyl watching the scene and smiling a little.

Chocolate whispered as Octavia pulled away "It's alright...she's at peace now. Ever since then, I've come to appreciate life and Vinyl a lot more. Though I can't see...Vinyl's brought a wonderful gift to this dreary house...the sound of her music. Being blind, I can't see...but I can hear. When I hear Vinyl's music, whether it be the cello or her club music, I can see so many patterns of beautiful color. I can feel and hear sadness, anger, joy...everything and anything she feels. I can feel her crying, or hear her smiling...she's truly a wonderful daughter to me..." Vinyl hopped from her spot on the couch and rushed over, giving her father a hug and gently nuzzling his neck. He smiled and whispered "Thank you so much darling...you better get going, it's getting close to opening time, isn't it?"

Vinyl glanced over at the large Grandcolt Clock that rested against one of the walls and nodded, whispering "Thanks Dad...I'll be back later on tonight, and it might be late so don't wait up ok?"

Chocolate smiled and reached out with a hoof, feeling Octavia grasp it firmly with a tight grip. He whispered "It was a pleasure meeting you Miss Sharpe...be good to my Baby Vin-Vin."

Octavia nodded and whispered back "No sir...the pleasure was all mine. You have a wonderful evening sir."

~~~

"Oh dear Celestia is the line always this long!?" Octavia gasped as her and Vinyl quickly made their way towards the club entrance, the line of ponies outside growing longer and longer. Big Macintosh, dressed in his black bouncer suit, gave them a curt nod and let them by, watching as more and more ponies rushed over to get a spot in line. The two of them burst through the iron door, making Shake look over with a semi-surprised look on his face.

He shouted "You're late! Come on, get her up there so we can start letting everypony in out of the cold!" Vinyl rolled her eyes and rushed towards the stage, beckoning the cello mare to follow.

Hopping up on stage, Vinyl quickly pointed towards the turntable and various other electronic boards and switches, saying quickly "Ok, beat is an essential thing, it's not always about base. When you get a good rhythm going, you cycle through songs by turning this dial. When you think you've got a track, hit the red button here, and listen on the headphones. If you think you can incorporate that song into the set and keep the beat, then go with your gut and roll with it!" Octavia blinked, stunned as Vinyl nodded towards Shake, who in turn rushed over and opened the iron door, shouting up at Macintosh to let the ponies in. Shake quickly moved away from the door as ponies started pouring into the club, spreading out amongst the dance floor or along the walls. Some moved directly to Shake, who quickly began to receive and fill orders, his magic lighting up most of the bar area. Vinyl watched as the crowd began to thicken, and tapped a microphone that hung just above her head from one of the speakers. A thudding noise echoed through the speakers, indicating the mic was working.

Smiling, Vinyl leaned her mouth up towards the mic and shouted "YO YO Everypony!!! How we all doing tonight!?" The crowd cheered as Vinyl went on, her smooth voice exciting the crowd and making their cheers intensify greatly "We've got a bit of a change-up here this evening! She's a bit new so you all be nice to her now! Give it up, for DJ Octavia!!!"

Octavia let out a loud "EEP!" as the crowds cheered loudly, Vinyl flicking a switch nearby and turning on the projector on the ceiling. The screen behind them flicked to life as Octavia turned her head and gasped, realizing exactly what Shake had meant when he said 'Lettering'. On the screen, detailed in gray and pink letters was the phrase:

DJ-0CT4VIA

Vinyl smiled and pushed a large green button on the table, A steady beat echoing out through the speakers. She smiled and shouted "Good luck Octy!'"

Octavia stuttered as Vinyl hopped off the stage, disappearing into the crowd "V...Vinyl wait!!! Oh no oh no oh NO!!!! When you said 'learn about your music', THIS WASN'T WHAT I HAD IN MIND!!!"

Her words fell on deaf ears however, as everypony in the room broke out into song

"Everypony in the hoooouse, toniiiight! Everypony having such a good time! DJ's gonna make us loooose, our minnnds! We just wanna see ya.....FLANK THAT!"

Octavia could do nothing except lift her head up and scream "OH SWEET CELESTIA!!!!"

Chapter Ten - Vinyl Scratch Vs. Octavia

"Vinyl I don't know...can we even get in?"

"Octy', relax! I know a few ponies, we can get in for sure!"

"Yes but, to perform!? How will the Performance Officials ever allow us to play!?"

"Rules say we need at least one piece of approved instruments in our bit, and voila, cello!"

The two of them were seated on the front patio of Bon Bon's shop, enjoying a Chocolate Sundae and the cool weather of the midday. The previous night, fresh in their minds, constantly made them blush and lose focus, dragging them away from the task at hoof: Getting into and performing in the Canterlotian Gala of Music and Symphony. This was the performance Octavia had been dead set on entering with her friends in the Orchestra, and even thinking about the performance had her stomach in a knot. Vinyl took a large gulp and threw her hooves up to her head, whining loudly "Ack! Brain freeeeeze!"

Octavia frowned and narrowed her eyes, shouting across the table "Vinyl please stop goofing around! The Gala of Music and Symphony isn't something to take lightly! It can easily turn you into the biggest hit of the century or the biggest laughing stock of all time!!!"

Vinyl sighed, rolling her eyes and shaking her head as she said "Octy', for Celestia's sake, relax!!! With what I got planned, we're gonna go to the top! Haven't you been listening to me at all over the past week?!" Octavia didn't look convinced, simply grimacing and shifting her eyes over to see Bon-Bon and Lyra walking out of the front door, smiles on their faces.

Lyra trotted up and gave Octavia a hug, exclaiming "Oh Octavia, you're going to be awesome at the performance, I just know it!" Octavia's eyes widened and she looked over towards Vinyl, a sheepish grin on her face.

The gray mare hissed "Vinyl you didn't!!!"

At this Vinyl shrugged and muttered "Didn't what...have Shake announce to everypony that we were going to Canterlot together to perform in one of the greatest performances in Equestrian history with only about a day and half window to practice in? Of course I didn't..."

If looks could kill, Vinyl knew she'd be dead, her own eyes widening as Octavia blew a puff of steam out through her snout and glared at her marefriend with a power nearing the infamous 'Stare'.

~~~

As the sun reached its midday point, the two lovers found themselves once again down in the recording studio of the club, a cello in Octavia's hooves and a broad assortment of Keyboarding and Electronic gear nearby to her left. Vinyl was sitting on her haunches, a look of worry on her face as Octavia went through the sheet music with wide eyes and an open mouth of shock. Vinyl whispered as Octavia closed the booklet "S...so do you like it?"

Octavia slowly looked up, a look of awe etched in her face as she whispered back "Vinyl...do you realize the amount of skill and mastery that is required to play this? A pony would have to have the speed of the Goddesses or some pretty powerful magic to play a cello this fast!"

Vinyl sighed and shook her head, pointing an accusing hoof up at her and growling "Oh cut the pessimism for once Octy'! Just a week ago you were telling me you weren't into the kind of music I was into, and look at you now! You were DJ-ing and having sex with a ruffian electro pony!, so don't tell me that this is beyond you too!" Octavia blush was like wildfire as she heard Vinyl put that statement so bluntly, her irises shrinking. Vinyl face-hoofed and groaned, continuing on "Look, the point is in the past week you've done a whole heap ton that you thought was impossible, or something you didn't think was suited for you, and you enjoyed it! Octy' I can see you've been having more fun then anypony could even fathom, so why should this be impossible to?!" Octavia dipped her head, frowning and thinking over what Vinyl had said. Could she really pull this off? Was she really capable of a song...of this caliber? With enough practice she could possibly do the song, but with only a 24-hour window...it seemed hopeless. She sighed sadly and shook her head a little, lifting her head to speak but suddenly squeaking as Vinyl whose face was now mere inches away from hers. She whispered "Octy'...if not for the glory, or the thrill, or the chance to prove that flank-hole conductor that you've got what it takes to be the best...then at least for me. Please...take just one more leap, for me?"

Octavia stared into her marefriend's ruby eyes, looking deep into the sea of red that brought a wave of comfort and warmth to her heart, mind, and soul. She leaned forward and gently placed her lips against Vinyl's, giving her a tender kiss and whispering through it "Alright..."

Vinyl pulled away slowly with a giant smile on her face, hopping off the stage and trotting away towards her keyboards. Just as she was about to reach them however, she stopped and whirled around, pointing a hoof at the gray mare and shouting "Well then, Miss Sharpe! I, Vinyl Scratch, DJ-P0N3 of Equestria, hereby challenge you to a duel of music at the performance tommorow night!"

Octavia giggled at Vinyl's filly like challenge, and decided to play along, pointing a hoof back at her and shouting "Oh really!? The 'great' Vinyl Scratch dares challenge the art and grace of Octavia Cavallero Sharpe?! What are your terms, Miss Scratch?"

Vinyl put a hoof to her chin and thought a moment before smiling and glaring at Octavia with an evil grin on her face, her voice booming across the studio "The loser has to be the other's slave for a week, and...wear a french maid's outfit!" Octavia gasped, her hooves flying up over her mouth and her eyes widening. A silence hung in the air for a moment, neither of them moving.

Finally, Octavia lowered her hooves and with a determined expression on her face, shouted "I, Octavia, accept this challenge! Miss Scratch, IT, IS, ON!!!!!!!!!!"

~~~

"OH SWEET CELESTIA, HOOF CRAMP!" Octavia shouted, whining loudly as she gingerly laid her cello down. Her right hoof throbbed from the intensity of the song, the duo finishing their eighth practice session.

Vinyl rushed over, shouting "You ok Octy'?" Octavia sighed and nodded her head, blowing on her hoof gently and giving it a tender shake. She winced as Vinyl gingerly put her hurt hoof in her own and gently rubbed it. She whispered "Gently...it hurts..." Vinyl looked at her hoof and nodded, tilting her head down and touching her horn against the hurt appendage. A flash of blue later and Octavia felt the pain in her hoof wash away. Giving it a gentle shake, she smiled, feeling no pain and no cramp in her muscles. She looked up into Vinyl's gently smiling face and whispered "Thank you..." The two of them stared at each other, each smiling softly. After a small moment, and using each other for support, the two of them reared back on their back hooves and wrapped themselves in each other's, holding one another lovingly. "You know..." Octavia whispered, nuzzling her cheek against Vinyl's "...you're always so good to me...you've done so much for me and I've barely done anything for you..."

Vinyl put a gentle hoof against Octavia's, shushing her and smiling warmly. She dropped her hoof and leaned her head slowly forward, pressing her lips against Octavia's and holding them there as a sigh escaped the both of them. Octavia blushed as Vinyl moved her hooves across her back gently, and moaned as she felt Vinyl's tongue slip past her lips and push against hers. They kissed passionately, Octavia leaning back slowly and laying herself back on the stage, not once breaking their delicate embrace.

Vinyl stopped for a moment, pulling back and partially panting as Octavia stared up at her with a wild blush. She smiled and whispered "Octy'...just you being with me...giving me an opportunity to spread the love and joy of music...just loving me, is enough..."

Octavia smiled, leaning up and giving the underside of Vinyl's chin and a part of her neck a firm lick, making the white mare shudder as she whispered "I love you..."

Vinyl look down and smiled, whispering "I love you too..." With wicked smiles on their faces, they both turned to look towards the light switch at the far end of the studio.

Vinyl's horn gleamed with magic and Octavia giggled, whispering "I think practice can wait for a few hours..." And in the next instant, blackness covered the studio.

~~~

The next day saw a flurry of activity, what with everypony trying to hail or hitch a ride on the Mare-Express to Canterlot. The performance was due to start in just five hours, and the excitement in the air was exhilarating. The Carousel Boutique had even closed for the day, with the dazzling owner prepping two shining stars for the night of their lives.

Rarity sighed as she ran a comb through Vinyl's hair, a chorus of squeaking echoing from the music mare. Rarity groaned and face-hoofed, shouting "Honestly, Vinyl darling, do you ever think to BRUSH your mane!? Look at all these knots, by Celestia it's tangled worse then Rainbow's!"

Vinyl scoffed and shouted "So?! It's my mane, I can do whatever I want with it!" Octavia sighed, rolling her eyes as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, her mane done up in rollers.

In just a few hours, Vinyl and Octavia had managed to hitch a ride on one of the trains heading up towards Canterlot, Vinyl reading a quick letter from Shake out loud "Ok...he says our equipment is checked and waiting for us back stage...and he even scored an organ, nice!"

Octavia looked over with wide eyes and whispered "An organ!? Shake plays the or- seriously, what else are you two hiding from me?"

Vinyl looked over and stated with a blank face "I'm into dirty bed talk and getting strawberries eaten off my belly" Octavia stared down at the floor with the widest eyes imaginable, her blush spreading across her cheeks as Vinyl giggled and tenderly kissed her cheek, whispering "Wai wub woo Tavi' Tavi'!", squishing her face up and getting a pretty hilarious looking glare out of Octavia.

With only about an hour until their scheduled performance time, Octavia and Vinyl found themselves backstage in a private booth, tuning their instruments and going over the music one with Shake in the back practicing on a miniature keyboard. They stopped as a pony with headphones poked his head in and gave them a wave with his hoof, signaling that they were on deck. Vinyl let out a deep breath and turned towards Octavia, whispering "You ready?"

Octavia nodded and whispered back, smiling "About as ready as I'll ever be...let's do it!"

~~~

"Ladies, and Gentlecolts! Let's hear it for Equestrian Symphony of Orchestrated Canterlotian Harmonics! Well played Mr. Conductor!" Octavia's old boss, smiling with pride, bowed graciously as his Orchestra cleared the stage, the curtain closing and the next performance setting up. The announcer-colt drew in a breath, walking to the front of the stage and shouting "The next performance shall begin in five minutes!"

A squeal from the balcony booth above had a few heads turning as a dark, black and blue pony jumped with excitement and exclaimed "Oh we can't wait for this one! We have read the program and are most excited for thee! Thou shall receive our best praise yet!" Princess Luna was ecstatic, her front hooves up on the railing and her eyes wild with glee. Beside her, Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow and checked the program book, her brow furrowing as she read the next performance.

She muttered as she looked up "Huh...I wondered where Miss Sharpe had gone off too..."

The announcer-colt once again trotted up on stage and shouted "Ladies, and, Gentlecolts!!! Are you ready, for the most daring and amazing of showdowns in Equestrian history!?" Everypony in the crowd frowned, cocking their heads in confusion as the colt went on "Tonight...we have a very unique performance, a feat of music so daring, so spectacular, that NONE have ever even dared to perform it! A combination, of two arts, and the battle, of two mares! With thudding beats and sweet strokes of a bow, two mares will battle it out here on stage, and bring you the best performance ever conceived by Pony-Kind! Give it up, for the ultimate duel of mares:

Vinyl Scratch, Versus, Octavia!!!!!

The colt galloped off the stage, and in the next instant the curtains opened, a chorus of voices echoing out. As the lights blasted onwards, everypony in the audience gasped at a wild looking Octavia, her eyes narrowed with a lustful look and her bow clenched in her smiling teeth.

She gave a quick bow and rushed over towards her cello which rested on its stand, hopping up on her rear hooves as Shake began to play his organ. She positioned her hoof on her bow and waited...and as the beat suddenly rushed out to her, her hooves began wildly flying across her cello. More lights clicked on and revealed Vinyl Scratch quickly turning and pushing knobs and buttons on her boards, making sure the beats met perfectly with the organ and cello. She placed her hooves on her turntable and shot Octavia a wild smile, receiving one in turn and the two of them continuing their wild battle of Electronic Cello-like music.

The crowd was stunned, the wild beats, the perfection, the beauty of two mares as they brought to the performance a sound that none had ever dreamt of. A harmony of opposites, and the beauty that they brought together. In a way, it was actually a fitting representation of Vinyl and Octavia themselves coming together to create a love and beauty that brought gasps and tears to everypony who was fortunate enough to look upon them. As the music hit its crescendo, the beats were brought out rapidly and Octavia reared her head back, her bow flying across her strings and actually creating a few wisps of smoke that disappeared into the air. She finished with a quick flourish, her bow flying up into the air and her cello falling from her hooves. She panted, giving a weak bow and feeling her back hooves grow weak. As she started to fall, a pair of white hooves caught her and gently held her close.

Vinyl shouted "Octavia, Octavia!!! Are you ok?! Speak to me!" Octavia opened her eyes slowly, staring up into the eyes of her lover and smiling widely. She put her front hooves around Vinyl's neck and pulled her into a deep kiss, a kiss for all of Canterlot to see.

As the music ended, a silence followed their performance. In the next instant, Luna screamed wildly and cheered, the crowd erupting into applause and screams. For them...it truly was the best performance in all of Equestria.

(Sorry if it seems rushed, wanted to get this in before work!)

Chapter Eleven - At the end of the Another Day

"You know, Applejack was right, this is the best place to catch Celestia's Sunset!"

"Vinyl...must you be so loud? I'm trying to rest...now be a good girl and fetch mommy's brush!"

"..."

Vinyl sighed, rolling her eyes and picking up a gray-colored brush from nearby with her magic, levitating it over towards Octavia and brushing her mane gently. They were situated together on the same hill Applejack and Rainbow Dash had napped on when they had come back from the Everfree Forest.

Grimacing, Vinyl looked over her own body, the tight, and overly revealing french maid's outfit making her flank itch. She groaned "Octy', this isn't even fair! How was I the one who lost!?"

Octavia giggled as she leaned over and gave her marefriend a tender kiss, whispering as she pulled "Because Celestia put the crown on my head first, and because if you want me to ever eat that strawberry off your belly, you'll do something to actually earn it. We may be in a relationship Vinyl...but I hope we're clear and there's no confusion when I say you can be the unicorn, but I control the horn..."

Vinyl blushed and ran the brush through Octavia's mane again, dragging out a deep sigh from the content mare. Vinyl whispered softly "Oh...damn it Octavia, you're so mean..." The two of them shared a tender kiss, Vinyl resting on her belly and letting Octavia lean back against her, resting her head comfortably on her side. They watched the sunset and smiled as the sky lit up with the most beautiful colors of orange and red, the world preparing itself to glide peacefully into Luna's Night.

A voice made their heads turn "Howdy Ya'll! What's goin' on up here?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash were trotting up towards the pair, a cyan wing draped over the country mare's back.

Vinyl smiled and shrugged, shouting towards them "Nothing much! Just enjoying the sunset ya know?"

Applejack nodded and held up a hoof towards Octavia, saying "Hey, great job at Canterlot! Ah reckon' that was a pretty good show! Hey, listen, if it's not too much trouble for ya'll...we got a proposition for ya!"

Octavia turned her head towards them, a small smile on her lips as Vinyl nodded and exclaimed "Whatever it is, we're in!"

~~~

"Applejack, if you wanted to use the recording studio, you could have just asked!" Vinyl squealed, flipping on the power switch to her turn-table while Octavia gently tuned her cello.

Applejack smiled, giving her Violin a quick test as Rainbow gently plucked a few strings on an electric guitar she had brought with her. She said "Well schucks Vinyl, ah didn't know ya'll let other ponies use this place. Rainbow and I were kinda inspired by ya'll to start playin' music, and we were wondering if you could give us ah few pointers."

Octavia smiled, placing her bow on the cello and turning her head to Applejack, a happy tune in her voice "Music isn't really a set pattern...it's wild and free, so just follow along!" Vinyl nodded, smiling as Octavia tapped the bow against the strings and shouted "Alright, follow my lead!" It was then that Octavia began to play a few simple lines on the Cello, a steady beat that Vinyl could easily get into. Before long, Vinyl had joined in, followed by Applejack and eventually Rainbow Dash. The four weaved in and out of the flow of music in perfect harmony, a smile etched on all of their faces.

~~~

"Well...that was a lovely time..." Octavia panted, rolling on her side and smiling over at Vinyl, the same smile on her face as well. They had ended their evening with a friendly goodbye to Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and had decided to retreat back to Hoofington's for a little...quiet time. Vinyl put a hoof over Octavia's, gently rubbing hers as the two breathed out a sigh of relief.

Vinyl whispered as Octavia closed her eyes "Hey Octy'?"

Octavia nestled her forehead against Vinyl's and whimpered "Hmmm?"

"I love you..."

"I love you too Vinyl..."

They laid there together, tired, weary, and exhausted from the events of the past week. Though they were riddled with fatigue, nothing could keep down the sheer joy and happiness that had enveloped both of their hearts, the music of love and freedom dancing about in each other's minds. Some say it was the perfect ending to a perfect love story...but for them, their story wasn't going to be ending any time soon.

As Vinyl always said, "Music has no ending...it's just a constant stream of happiness and wild freedom...why would you ever make it stop?"

Vinyl kept her eyes partially open to watch Octavia gently fall into a happy slumber, her smile still set perfectly on her lips, which Vinyl kissed with the gentlest touch.

It was the perfect evening, the perfect moment, and the perfect harmonized beating of two loving hearts...

~Of the mares they called Octavia and Vinyl Scratch~

~The End~

(Stay tuned for the After Party!!!)

The Crossover Afterparty!!!

Vinyl knocked on the door gently, the wooden rectangle opening on its own slowly. Loud music was blaring in the background as the party raged on without a certain colt who everyone had been missing. Vinyl stuck her head in and shouted

"Wolokai, come on! Everpony's wondering where you...oh." The colt in mention was passed out, hunched over his keyboard with the final chapter of his latest story ready to go, his mouse pointer over the word 'Publish' but his hoof unmoving. His heavy breathing gently moved a napkin across the table, and his wings were ruffled and hanging limp at his side.

From beside Vinyl, Octavia whispered "Poor dear...he's been having a rough time lately hasn't he?" The two mares entered the room and shut the door quickly behind them, muffling the loud music in the living room. They trotted up to him, Octavia putting a gentle hoof on his back and whispering "I'll get him to bed...make sure you save whatever is on the computer and shut it down." Vinyl nodded and watched as Octavia slung his hoof and leg over her shoulder, gently heaving him up and stirring up a low grumble out of his lungs. Vinyl smiled, shaking her head and moving into his seat, scrolling down through chapter and giving it a quick read over. She nodded after a moment, smiling in particular at a picture of her and Octavia before hitting the 'Publish' button and returning to the main screen for the story.

She looked over and whispered loudly to Octavia "Jeez, they really love his stuff!"

Octavia scoffed and rolled her eyes, whispering back "Of course they do darling...he's a good writer...I just wish he would start feeling better soon."

Vinyl nodded and whispered "It'll get better...just wait till he sees what we have planned for him! Um...when were we planning on doing this again?"

Octavia sighed and face-hoofed, grumbling "For the last time Vinyl...we said after he's finished Shyness Vs. Kindness and Twilight Vs. The Great and Powerful..." Vinyl nodded and looked down the list of chapters, raising an eyebrow as she noticed one missing.

She turned and whispered "The story's missing The Afterparty chapter!"

Octavia rolled her eyes and tucked the sleeping colt into bed, trotting over and whispering loudly "Then just...add it, write something!" Vinyl put a hoof to her chin and thought for a moment, a wide smile crossing her face.

Dear Readers, you know...you guys and all.

Hope you all enjoyed the story, you must have since I keep reading all these cool and rad comments. Wolokai's been feeling a bit down recently, and is kind of stressed, work, college and all. But don't worry, because he's already mentioned that Leap of Faith: Shyness Vs. Kindness will be out in a few days or so! Me and Octy' have noticed every time that he walks away from the keyboard, that he has a smile on his face. You all really do a fantastic job of keeping his spirits up, and from the looks of things he's doing a pretty badass job of keeping you all entertained. Hope you all stick around and follow him and stuff, cause he's a pretty cool colt, definitely deserves the recognition and praise!

-Vinyl Scratch.

Octavia looked over at Vinyl and frowned, muttering "Really...? Ugh, give me the keyboard."

To Wolokai's most gracious and wonderful Readers,

You are all the most wonderful of ponies, and I must say you've really brought a tremendous amount of joy to a certain colt's spirits. He really appreciates all you've done to help and make his stories an inspiration and enjoyable read for you all! Don't tell him, but we've got a surprise for the dear in a few stories, so don't go anywhere! As Vinyl mentioned, the 'MacxShy' story is going to be appearing in a few days, so don't miss out! He did mention this one might be a bit shorter then the others, but that's no reason to say the quality will be different! Do stay with us, as this darling colt continues to take our breath away with heartening words and beautiful emotions.

-Octavia.

"Really? For Celestia's sake Octy', what a way to sound cheezy!"

"Oh do stop being such a brute Vinyl, I was at least using proper grammar and not, ugh, 'slang'"

"This isn't Canterlot Octavia, relax. You don't have to impress everypony with your super fancy words and stuff"

"Sometimes I just don't know what to do with you!"

"I could give you an idea..."

"Ugh, how vile! Can't you keep your thoughts clean for two seconds?"

"I have to get dirty before I get clean Tavi' baby..."

From the far side of the room, the colt opened his eyes and stared at the two mares arguing, their raised whispers stirring him awake. He watched with bloodshot eyes and a frown...before starting to smile. He closed his eyes and let out a quiet sigh, shaking his head and letting sleep envelop him once more.

"Those two..." he thought... "Sometimes...love is weird like that."

(Special thanks to everyone who made this possible and my wonderful followers who've stuck with me over our adventures! As I put in the story descrip., all credit of songs and music used in this fic are properties of their respective owners and I in NO WAY own any of it! See you in a few days! - Wolokai)

Chapter Nine - Vinyl's Got Us Fallin' In Love!(The Musical!)

Octavia turned the dial on the turntable, cycling through the massive list of songs and trying to find a song to fit the current beat. She had already gone through about three songs and was already a hit! Pony's cheered, danced, and shouted along with the lyrics of the song. The gray mare even caught herself bobbing her head to the music, just as she watched Vinyl do when she first laid eyes on her. Just as she was to hit the button to cycle in a new song, a white hoof gently laid over her own, making Octavia look up into the smiling face of Vinyl.

She leaned in and whispered gently in her ear "Nah...next song's mine Octy..." She turned her head towards shake and let out a sharp whistle, making the bar-colt look over with a nod. Many of the patrons groaned as he put a 'Temporarily Closed' sign on the counter and hopped over, weaving his way through the crowd. He jumped up on stage, holding his hoof out towards Octavia and smiling.

At this, the gray mare frowned and muttered "But I was actually having some fun!" Vinyl and Shake laughed, the both of them shaking their heads and smiling at her.

Vinyl whispered in her ear again "It's alright, it's just for a few songs, there's another lesson for you to learn about music...you ready?" Octavia raised an eyebrow, taking off the headphones and handing them to Shake. Vinyl looked over towards a blue box sitting under one of the tables, using her horn to levitate a black record out of it and towards them. She placed it on the turntable and winked to Shake, who winked back. Octavia frowned, wondering just what in the hay was going on when she suddenly felt her body getting dragged forward, Vinyl pulling her off the stage and into the crowd.

She shouted as they pushed past ponies dancing to Octavia's latest song "Vinyl!!! What are you doing!?" The music in the club abruptly stopped, a spotlight from above clicking on and centering on Octavia and Vinyl. The club quickly came to a halt, the patrons looking around with confused expressions.

The speakers thudded a few times and everypony's head turned to hear Shake shouting through the mic "Yo Yo Everypony! Sorry to cut the beat, but we got a special song comin' up now for all ya'll ravin' love birds! I'm DJ Shake n' Bake, and you're listenin' live to the greatest show in Equestria, DIG IT!" He flipped the needle onto Vinyl's record and spun the volume button up, smiling as he walked past the turntable and towards a mic and stand near the front of the stage.

For a moment there was silence...but then, a deep beat of electronic noise echoed out of the speakers, Shake's smooth, clear voice echoing out across the club

"Vinyl Vinyl Vinyl Vinyl...Yeah Mare...!"

"So here in the corral, with our flanks'a rockin' from, side to side, side side to side!
Thank god Vinyl is here, I feel like a zombpony came back to life, back back to life!"

Everypony in the club started to stomp the floor in a unified beat as Vinyl stood up on her hind legs, bringing Octavia to hers as well and pulling her close, spinning her gently and pulling her back.

"Hooves up! Yeah suddenly, we all got our hooves up! No control, of my flankin'!
Ain't I seen you before? I think I remember those, Rub-y eyes, eyes eyes eyes!"

Vinyl threw off her shades, staring into Octavia's eyes with her own ruby colored ones and smiling, flinging her and Octavia's hooves up and starting to dance wildly, her mane shaking back and forth as the music intensified

"Cause baby toniiiight, Vinyl's got us fallin' in love again!!!! Yeah baby toniiiiight, Vinyl's got us fallin' in love again!!!
So dance dance, Octavi-uh-uh, enjoy the fun fun, Vinyl's not done! Cause Tavi' toniiight, Vinyl's got you fallin' in love toniiight!"

The crowd went wild as Octavia smiled, getting into the groove herself and dancing wildly with Vinyl, their hooves gripping each others sides and their flanks and heads shaking back and forth. Vinyl spun Octavia and pulled her into her hooves and dipping her back, leaning down with her and kissing her cheek. Octavia blushed and smiled as Vinyl pulled her back up and the dance party continued.

"Can't fail with beats like this, Vinyl's rockin this coral, now now now, now now now now!
Gon' set this club on fire, with her love and music go wild wild wild, wild wild wild wild!

Hoooves up! When the beat jus' drops, we all put our hooooves up! Put them hooves, on that flaaank!
You know you can't resist, looking deep into those ruby eyes, eyes eyes eyes!!"

Vinyl spun, giving a firm slap on Octavia's flank and making her squeal, her eyes widening. A heavy blush and a wide smile spread across both their faces as Shake again broke out into his chorus

He let out a loud "WHEW!" as the beat continued on for a moment, taking this moment to speak "Hope everypony's enjoying the party! Let's hear it for Vinyl Scratch and Octavia huh!? Guess it's true when they say opposites attract!" The crowds cheered and their shouts brought even wilder dancing from the white and gray mares, Octavia finally losing her self to the music as Shake exploded into the chorus for a last time

"Cause baby toniiiight, Vinyl's got us fallin' in love again!!!! Yeah baby toniiiiight, Vinyl's got us fallin' in love, fallin' in love!!!

So dance dance, Octavi-uh-uh, enjoy the fun fun, Vinyl's not done! Cause Tavi' toniiight, Vinyl's got you fallin' in love toniiight! Yeah baby toniiiight, Vinyl's got us fallin' in love again!!!!

So dance dance, Octavi-uh-uh, enjoy the fun fun, Vinyl's not done! Cause Tavi' toniiight, Vinyl's got you fallin' in love toniiight!"

The song ended as Vinyl spun Octavia into her hooves and hugged her tight, the two mares pushing their lips against one another and bringing the crowd's volume up to an insane volume. Cheers, hoots of joy, and stomping of hooves shook the walls of the club, enough so to make Macintosh outside turn his head in confusion, wondering just what was going on down there. The two music mares held each other for a moment, their eyes open and staring into one another's. Finally, they pulled apart slowly, smiling like idiots with ruby-red blushes in their cheeks.

Vinyl turned her head and waved a hoof over towards the stage, shouting "Thank ya DJ!"

At this, Shake merely shook his head and stepped back behind the turntable, working on getting the set back in order and chuckling "Heh heh...buck yeah!"

Vinyl felt something run along her jaw and she turned her head back towards Octavia, smiling as the gray mare ran a hoof down her neck and shoulder, her whispering floating through her ear "You know Vinyl...I may be a mare of...'class', but I think I can stand to get a little bit...wilder, tonight..." At this, Vinyl could only blush and let her eyes grow wide.

~~~

The door to the spare room burst open, the same room in which Octavia had been taken for safe keeping the night she had been drugged. Octavia felt herself getting pushed backwards, Vinyl's body pressed against hers as her back hit the wall. She let out a soft gasp as Vinyl rammed her lips against hers, the two of them holding onto each other for dear life. Octavia was like puddy in Vinyl's hooves, her body growing limp and her lips weakly moving against her new found love's. She let out a soft groan as Vinyl started kissing down her jawline and onto her neck, the two of them moving on over towards the couch.

Octavia squeaked as the two of them fell backwards onto the couch "Ooh! Easy! I'm a sensitive pony!"

At this, Vinyl smiled evilly and began kissing her near the bottom of her neck, mumbling "Ooooh...sensitive huh?" Octavia whimpered as Vinyl trailed her kisses down across the top and middle of her belly, slowly moving downwards.

She felt a kiss near her thighs and she let out a sharp gasp, her eyes widening and her breath coming out in ragged pants, her voice weak "Y...yes! Kind of...sensitive...a...b..bit down.....th....OH SWEET CELESTIA, VINYL!!!!!!!!!"

~~~

"Wow...that wasn't too bad, eh Octy?"

"...."

Octavia didn't respond, her eyes closed and a small smile settling on her face. She was resting on top of Vinyl, their fur matted with sweat and their chests heaving for air. It had been about an hour since the two of them had danced like ponies with the disco fever, and neither one could even dream to budge now.

Octavia sighed, her eyes opening slowly and her whisper making Vinyl smile "I didn't even know I liked mares...surprise surprise..." Vinyl chuckled and gently hugged her lover, the two of them sighing and letting the chilly air from the A/C vent cool them off. Octavia gently looked up towards Vinyl, whispering "You don't think we may have...jumped the gun on this do you?"

Vinyl looked up towards the ceiling and shrugged, whispering back "Nah...I don't regret it. Besides, we can just say it was a one time thing until we actually establish a good relationship...why are you looking at me like that?" Octavia's eyes had softened and a warm smile had spread across her face, blushing as she heard Vinyl's words.

She put a hoof on Vinyl's cheek and whispered "You know...I don't know what it is about you Vinyl that made me start to fall in love with you, but thanks to you...I'm free. Was that your lesson just now, teaching me to be free and wild?"

Vinyl looked down and smiled, nodding and pulling her into a brief kiss and whispering "Yep...just like you were meant to be. Would you be alright with that though...if we...you know, became marefriends? If you're not into that it's fine..." She frowned for a moment and looked away, wondering if they had indeed went too far too fast.

Octavia turned her gaze back with a gentle hoof and smiled, whispering "Vinyl Scratch...I don't think we would have done what we just did if I wasn't interested in a mare. Other mares, maybe not...but you...I think you I could deal with." They both smiled, their eyes gazing into one another's. They shared one last, blissful kiss before snuggling into one another and closing their eyes, sleep finally enveloping them.